Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-IURA-2026-01-22` 108 E. Green St. Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 274-6565 MINUTES ITHACA URBAN RENEWAL AGENCY BOARD 9:00 A.M., Thursday, January 22nd, 2026 Common Council Chambers, Third Floor (City Hall) 108 E. Green St., Ithaca, NY 14850 Members: Robert G. Cantelmo (Mayor), Chair; Siobhan Hull; Donna Fleming Excused: Karl Graham, Vice-Chair; Shaianne Osterreich Vacancies: 0 Common Council Liaison: Excused. IURA Staff: Nels Bohn; Anisa Mendizabal; Charles Pyott [virtual] City Staff: None. Guests: None. I. Call to Order Cantelmo called the meeting to order at 9:00 A.M. II. Agenda Additions/Deletions None. III. Public Comments None. IV. Review of Meeting Minutes: December 18, 2025 Fleming moved, seconded by Hull, to approve the meeting minutes with no modifications. Carried Unanimously: 3-0 V. Governance Committee (GC) A. Procurement – Independent Contractors 1. Community Development Consulting: The Harrison Studio Fleming explained there are three separate procurement contracts being reviewed and considered for approval. The first one is for a contract with H. Sicherman & Company, Inc./The Harrison Studio to provide community development consulting services (including loan underwriting analysis). Approved: 2/26/26 IURA Minutes January 22, 2026 Page 2 of 7 Fleming moved, seconded by Hull: 2026 Procurement of Community Development Consulting Services — H. Sicherman dba The Harrison Studio WHEREAS, the contract with H. Sicherman & Company, Inc./The Harrison Studio (Sicherman) providing community development consulting services, including loan underwriting, expires on February 29, 2026, and WHEREAS, in accordance with IURA procurement policy and regulations contained in 2 CFR Part 200 for procurement of professional services, the IURA issued a competitive Request for Proposals for legal services on December 20, 2025, and WHEREAS, the RFP was sent to the current IURA contractor, firms that indicated prior interest or responded to prior RFPs, and published as a legal ad in the Ithaca Journal, and WHEREAS, the IURA received the following proposal: • H. Sicherman &Company, Inc. dba The Harrison Studio WHEREAS, whereas per applicable procurement regulations, a contractor selected through an initial competitive selection process may be renewed for up to two additional one-year terms without undertaking a new competitive selection process, and WHEREAS, Sicherman submitted a proposal to continue providing community development services to the IURA in 2026 at the following hourly rates: • $175/hour – R. Charles Bell • $145/hour – Michael Thomas (loan underwriting), and WHEREAS, the 2026 rates represent a 0.0% increase from the current contract rates for loan underwriting services, and WHEREAS, IURA staff is highly satisfied with the quality of services provided by the Harrison Studio, and WHEREAS, the 2026 IURA budget authorized a total of $6,000 for community development and loan underwriting services, and WHEREAS, on January 16, 2026, the Governance Committee reviewed this matter and recommended the following action; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that IURA Chair is hereby authorized, upon review of IURA legal counsel, to execute a one- year contract extension to February 28, 2027 for independent contractor community development consulting services with H. Sicherman & Company, Inc. dba The Harrison Studio, at a maximum hourly rate of $175 per hour with the total amount not to exceed $8,000, and be it further IURA Minutes January 22, 2026 Page 3 of 7 RESOLVED, that the source of such funds for community development consulting services shall be derived from a variety of funding sources, including, but not limited to, CDBG and HOME funds, and expenses shall be billed to the appropriate source of funds for which the services were performed. Carried Unanimously: 3-0 2. Legal Services: Mariette Geldenhuys, Attorney & Mediator Fleming explained that the second contract is with Mariette Geldenhuys, Attorney-at-Law, whose work IURA staff is highly satisfied with. Fleming moved, seconded by Hull: 2026 Procurement of Independent Legal Services: M. Geldenhuys WHEREAS, the contract for independent legal services with Mariette Geldenhuys, Attorney-at-Law (Geldenhuys) expires on February 28, 2026, and WHEREAS, in accordance with IURA procurement policy and regulations contained in 2 CFR Part 200 for procurement of professional services, the IURA issued a competitive Request for Proposals for legal services on December 22, 2025, and WHEREAS, the RFP was sent to current IURA contractors, firms that indicated prior interest or responded to prior RFPs, and published as a legal ad in the Ithaca Journal, and WHEREAS, the IURA received the following proposals: • Mariette Geldenhuys, Attorney-at-Law • The Law Office of Sharon M. Sulimowicz, and WHEREAS, per applicable procurement regulations, a contractor selected through an initial competitive selection process may be renewed for up to two additional one-year terms without undertaking a new competitive selection process, and WHEREAS, Geldenhuys submitted a proposal to continue providing legal services to the IURA in 2026 at a maximum billing rate of $250 per hour, a 0.0% increase from the current contract rate of $250 per hour, and WHEREAS, the IURA staff is highly satisfied with the quality of legal services provided by Geldenhuys, and WHEREAS, the 2026 IURA budget recommended a total authorized contract amount of $13,000 for legal services; and WHEREAS, on January 16, 2026, the Governance Committee reviewed this matter and recommended the following action; now, therefore, be it IURA Minutes January 22, 2026 Page 4 of 7 RESOLVED, that IURA Chair is hereby authorized, upon review of IURA legal counsel, to execute a one- year contract extension through February 28, 2027 for independent contractor legal services with Mariette Geldenhuys, Attorney and Mediator, at a maximum hourly rate of $250 per hour with the total amount not to exceed $11,000, and be it further RESOLVED, that the source of such funds for legal services shall be derived from a variety of funding sources, including, but not limited to, CDBG and HOME funds, and expenses shall be billed to the appropriate source of funds for which the services were performed. Carried Unanimously: 3-0 3. Legal Services: Law Office of Sharon M. Sulimowicz Fleming explained the second legal services contract is with Sharon Sulimowicz, Attorney-at-Law, whose work IURA staff is also highly satisfied with. Fleming moved, seconded by Hull: 2026 Procurement of Independent Legal Services: S. Sulimowicz WHEREAS, the contract for independent legal services with The Law Office of Sharon M. Sulimowicz (Sulimowicz) expires on February 28, 2026, and WHEREAS, in accordance with IURA procurement policy and regulations contained in 2 CFR Part 200 for procurement of professional services, the IURA issued a competitive Request for Proposals for legal services on December 22, 2025, and WHEREAS, the RFP was sent to current IURA contractors, firms that indicated prior interest or responded to prior RFPs, and published a legal ad in the Ithaca Journal, and WHEREAS, the IURA received the following proposals: • Mariette Geldenhuys, Attorney-at-Law • The Law Office of Sharon M. Sulimowicz, and WHEREAS, per applicable procurement regulations, a contractor selected through an initial competitive selection process may be renewed for up to two additional one-year terms without undertaking a new competitive selection process, and WHEREAS, Sulimowicz submitted a proposal to continue providing legal services to the IURA in 2026 at a maximum billing rate of $250 per hour, an 11.0% increase from the current contract rate of $225 per hour, and WHEREAS, the IURA staff is highly satisfied with the quality of legal services provided by Sulimowicz, and IURA Minutes January 22, 2026 Page 5 of 7 WHEREAS, the 2026 IURA budget recommended a total authorized contract amount of $13,000 for legal services; and WHEREAS, on January 16, 2026, the Governance Committee reviewed this matter and recommended the following action; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that IURA Chair is hereby authorized, upon review of IURA legal counsel, to execute a one- year contract extension through February 28, 2027 for independent contractor legal services with Mariette Geldenhuys, Attorney and Mediator, at a maximum hourly rate of $250 per hour with the total amount not to exceed $6,000 unless assigned a project for a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit project where the counterparty pays for IURA legal services, and be it further RESOLVED, that the source of such funds for legal services shall be derived from a variety of funding sources, including, but not limited to, CDBG and HOME funds, and expenses shall be billed to the appropriate source of funds for which the services were performed. Carried Unanimously: 3-0 4. Accounting Services: K. Cook Fleming explained that the IURA Accountant has resigned to take a full-time position, but has agreed to provide transitional accounting services on an independent contractor basis. Fleming moved, seconded by Hull: Independent Accounting Consulting Services – K. Cook WHEREAS, the IURA part-time Accountant has resigned to take a full-time position with January 16, 2026 as her last day of employment with the IURA, and WHEREAS, Ms. Cook has agreed to provide transitional accounting services on an independent contractor basis through the annual IURA audit scheduled for the second week in February and to train a new IURA accountant, and WHEREAS, an IURA search committee is currently interviewing candidates for the Accountant position and the IURA will benefit from transitional accounting services, and WHEREAS, the current IURA Accountant earns $40.73 plus an 11% employer contribution to retirement, and WHEREAS, an independent contractor is responsible for both 7.65% employer and 7.65% employee FICA contributions for Social Security and Medicare, and IURA Minutes January 22, 2026 Page 6 of 7 WHEREAS, the proposed hourly rate for transitional accounting services is: $40.73 hourly wage $4.48 payment in lieu of retirement benefit $6.23 FICA contributions $51.44/hour, and WHEREAS, on January 16, 2026, the Governance Committee reviewed this matter and recommended the following action; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that IURA Chair is hereby authorized, upon review of IURA legal counsel, to execute an independent contractor agreement with Jill Cook to provide transitional IURA accounting services through March 31, 2026 at an hourly rate of $51.44, and be it further RESOLVED, that the source of such funds for community development consulting services shall be derived from a variety of funding sources, including, but not limited to, CDBG and HOME funds, and expenses shall be billed to the appropriate source of funds for which the services were performed, and be it further RESOLVED, the IURA thanks Ms. Cook for her 11 years of dedicated service to the Agency. Carried Unanimously: 3-0 B. Hiring — Fill Vacant IURA Accountant Position Cantelmo asked if the position’s number of hours is sufficient to support the organization. Bohn replied that, in the event the workload increases over the course of a year, compensatory time would be provided to the employee. Fleming moved, seconded by Hull: Fill Vacant IURA Accountant Position WHEREAS, the IURA part-time Accountant has resigned to take a full-time position with January 16, 2026 as her last day of employment with the IURA, and WHEREAS, an IURA Accountant search committee includes the following persons: • Shaianne Osterreich • Kathy Schlather • Nels Bohn • Anisa Mendizabal, and WHEREAS, the search committee has conducted numerous candidate interviews, and WHEREAS, on January 16, 2026, the Governance Committee reviewed this matter and recommended the following action; now, therefore, be it IURA Minutes January 22, 2026 Page 7 of 7 RESOLVED, the IURA Director of Community Development is hereby authorized to offer employment to the candidate recommended by the IURA search committee to fill the vacant IURA part-time Accountant position an annual 2026 salary of $46,590.23. Carried Unanimously: 5-0 C. Committee Chairperson Report None. VIII. New/Other/Old Business A. IURA Grant, Loan, & Lease Reports: November 2025 Bohn reviewed the Grants Summary, explaining that the left-hand “On Schedule” column calls out any projects (with a ) that are declining funding or not progressing on schedule and may need attention. All loan payments are current. All lease payments are current. There has been notable recent progress in spending down CDBG funds, including: • $44,000 voucher from Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. (INHS) homeowner rehab program. • $230,000 sidewalk improvement project voucher. • $70,000 Cass Park bathroom reprogramming was supported by Common Council. The IURA must spend $600,000 in CDBG funds by the end of May, and staff are actively monitoring drawdowns. C. REPORTS: IURA Chair/Mayor, Common Council Liaison, & Staff IURA Chair/Mayor’s Report Cantelmo reported the newly appointed Common Council liaison, Patrick Kuehl, will be serving on the Board over the coming year. Common Council Liaison Report None. Staff Report Bohn remarked the meeting agenda packet contains an update on the Continuum of Care’s ongoing progress in addressing homelessness. Bohn added that the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have conferenced in terms of appropriations, so there should be level funding for both Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program and HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). VIII. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned by consensus at 9:21 A.M. — END — Minutes prepared by C. Pyott, edited by N. Bohn.