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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-IURANI_2010-10-08Approved 11/19/10 108 East Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850 (607) 274-6559 Minutes Neighborhood Investment Committee 3rd Floor Conference Room, City Hall 8:30 a.m., October 8, 2010 Present: Tracy Farrell, Susan Cummings, Teresa Halpert and Fernando de Aragón (9:45 a.m.) Staff: JoAnn Cornish, Sue Kittel, Alice Vargo I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Farrell at 8:40 a.m. II Additions to or deletions from the agenda - None III. Public comment - None IV. Approval of meeting minutes: September 24, 2010 The minutes of September 24, 2010 were approved with corrections. Motion by Halpert, second by Farrell, unanimous V. New Business A. Reallocation of funds 2009 #4 - 421 Second Street - Resolution There was a discussion on 421 Second Street, while the Committee recognizes the successful projects CHI has undertaken, they have all been protracted events requiring a lot of board and staff time to move the projects along. HUD has concerns about conflict of interest and structure of the committees and board; some of these issues are still outstanding. Staff has notified CHI of this resolution. Motion by Cummings, second by Halpert Reprogramming of 2009 # 4 funds- 421 Second Street Whereas, at the monitoring visit by officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in July of 2009 certain concerns regarding the operations of Community Housing of Ithaca, Inc (CHI) were identified, and Whereas, HUD staff made recommendations at that time about steps which could be taken to ensure CHI’s compliance with all HUD regulations and ongoing success of the organization, and Whereas, the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA) directed staff to work with the IURA attorney to develop a plan for addressing the concerns raised, and Whereas, on October 13, 2009, a letter was issued to Community Housing of Ithaca outlining initial steps the organization needed to take to address the issues, and Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency NI Meeting October 8, 2010 Page 2 of 4 Whereas, that letter stipulated that the IURA “will not provide any further funding for CHI projects, including the 421 Second Street renovation project (2009 HOME)” until the requirements set forth in the letter had been met, and Whereas, based on the lack of a sufficient response by CHI, the IURA passed a resolution on January 28, 2010, putting the project funds on hold until the IURA attorney and HUD were satisfied that a fully functioning not for profit organization was in place to implement and oversee the project, and Whereas, Community Housing of Ithaca was notified of this action by the Agency on February 1, 2010 and supplied with a copy of the resolution and a letter signed by Chairperson Peterson, and Whereas, on February 17, 2010 a packet of materials was submitted by CHI discussing the relevant issues and partially addressing the concerns, and Whereas, in response to this lack of a complete and satisfactory response to the issues, a meeting was held on April 28, 2010 between IURA staff, consultant Harry Sicherman, IURA Attorney Mariette Geldenhuys and CHI board member Chuck Guttman to discuss steps to be taken to resolve the conflict of interest and not-for-profit status issues identified by HUD as a concern, and CHI members agreed to take the necessary corrective steps, and Whereas, no further progress was made after this meeting, a letter was issued on August 13, 2010 listing seven requirements necessary to satisfy the stipulations in the January 28, 2010 resolution and Whereas, on September 10, 2010, materials were received from CHI discussing the issues at hand and noting that there had not been an official meeting of the Board since their February 17, 2010 meeting, and Whereas, most of the necessary actions require action of the CHI Board, and Whereas, the CHI Board met on June 8, 2010 but no quorum was present, no action was taken and the meeting consisted primarily of reports from the three board members present, two of whom are CHI’s attorney and his law partner, and Whereas, CHI met on September 28, 2010 and provided minutes to the IURA, but the minutes are virtually identical to the minutes submitted for the June 8, 2010 board meeting causing the IURA to be concerned that there is no active participation by and discussion among board members at the board meetings, and Whereas, the board met only three times in 2009, and twice in 2010 (once without a quorum), which casts doubt on the level of control and oversight the board exercises over the operations and assets of the corporation, and Whereas, the documentation submitted by CHI purports to address the list of items provided by the IURA, but the IURA has concluded that CHI is not a well-functioning not-for-profit corporation, managed and overseen by the active participation of a viable board of directors; and Whereas, this issue was discussed at the NI Committee meeting on September 24, 2010, and Whereas, the direction of the NI committee is to reallocate the 2010 # 4 HOME funds totaling $38,425 and make it available for the 2011 Grant cycle, and NI Meeting October 8, 2010 Page 3 of 4 Whereas, it was noted at the NI committee that there are many indicators that a viable not-for-profit housing organization is not emerging from the current organization of CHI, that the budget for the 2009 project is now 2 years old and that the house on1 421 Second Street was occupied and is not impacting the neighborhood, and Whereas, should CHI satisfy all the requirements in the August 13, 2010 letter it could apply for the funds in the 2011 Grant round for that same project or another, just as any community based entity could, and Whereas, the status of Community Housing of Ithaca and the recommendation to reallocate the 2009 funds was reviewed at the October 8, 2010 Neighborhood Investment Committee meeting and reaffirmed at that time, now therefore be it Resolved, that the IURA finds that the issues identified in the 10/13/09 letter have not been satisfactorily resolved, and be it further Resolved, that the $38,425.00 of HOME funds allocated for project # 4 of the 2009 Action Plan will no longer be available for this project and these funds will be made available for appropriate projects in the 2011 Grant process Approved Unanimously 4-0 B. Reallocation of funds 2010 #8 - Rte 13 Pedestrian Crossings - Resolution This project will not be ready this year; and they can reapply for 2011 money. There have been delays and problems getting the Rail Road to cooperate with access and right away. Kittel reported that Tim Logue stated the communication with the Rail Road was moving along, but very slowly. Once the design is complete there will be a lengthy land acquisition process before the construction can begin in late 2011. Motion by Cummings, second by Halpert Reallocation of funds from CDBG 2010 #8 - Rte 13 Pedestrian Crossings Whereas, CDBG funds of $145,300 were allocated for the Rte 13 Pedestrian Crossings project (2010 #8), and Whereas, the funds for this project have not been used due to delays, and will not be used in 2011, and Whereas, the Neighborhoods Investment Committee reviewed this matter at their October 8, 2010 meeting and recommended the following; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that funding for the Rte. 13 Pedestrian Crossings (2010 #8,) be reallocated to a new project as a part of the 2011 grant process. Approved 3-0 de Aragón abstained from voting due to a perceived conflict of interest as he works for Ithaca- Tompkins Transportation Council, which received funding from NYDOT. C. Reallocation of funds 2010 #3 - 100 W. Seneca Street - Resolution Paul Mazarella has been invited to come to the November NI committee to update them on 100 W. Seneca Street this. This project will be resubmitted in February of 2011 with a new project design and NI Meeting October 8, 2010 Page 4 of 4 financial plan. This Agency has requested this resolution be revised to include more information and how funds will be allocated. Cornish suggested going back to the original plan of L/M housing - mixed use. Other sources of funding could be found easier with a building with mixed use. Motion by Cummings, seconded by de Aragón Reallocation of funds from HOME 2010 #3 - 100 W. Seneca Street Whereas, HOME funds have been allocated for the 100 W. Seneca Street project (2010 #3), and Whereas, the 100 W. Seneca Street project (2010 #3) cannot be implemented because it was not awarded the necessary tax credit to fully fund the project, and Whereas, the Neighborhoods Investment Committee reviewed this matter at their October 8, 2010 meeting and recommended the following; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that funding for the 100 W. Seneca Street project (2010 #3) be reallocated to a new project as a part of the 2011 grant process. Approved Unanimously 4-0 D. Other There was a brief discussion on small shelters for TCAT. It was requested that this item be put on next month’s agenda. Kittel left at 10:15 VI. Old Business A. Possible update Ithaca Neighborhood Housing - 100 W. Seneca Street Project B. Other VII. Staff Report A. Other VIII. Next Meeting Date - November 12, 2010 IX. Motion to Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 10:20 a.m. J:\Community Development\Admin Files\MINUTES\NIC\2010\10October\October Minutes.doc