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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-IURANI-2015-08-14 Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency 108 East Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850 (607) 274-655 MINUTES IURA Neighborhood Investment Committee August 14, 2015 I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 8:35 by Vice chair K. Graham. Present were: K. Graham, T. Halpert, F. de Aragon, N. Bohn (staff), P. Mazarella (INHS) and J. Bowes (INHS). L. Truame (staff) arrived and N. Bohn left the meeting at 9:00. II. Public comment None. III. Review of Minutes – July 2015 T. Halpert moved, F. de Aragon seconded. Approved as written. IV. New Business 1.Update from INHS on 210 Hancock project Paul Mazarella described the current configuration of the project as 54 1- & 2-bed rental units in the mixed use building and 12 townhouses, of which 7 will be for sale and 5 will be rental. All townhouse units will have three bedrooms and one townhouse will be fully accessible. The change to convert some townhouses to rental was due to financial feasibility concerns for for-sale projects. INHS expects they will need to provide a deferred second mortgage of $40-$50,000 per unit to achieve affordability on the townhouse units (approximately $130K - $140,000 sales price) in addition to the receipt of HOME funding for those units. Inclusion of five townhouses in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit project should shorten the overall construction schedule for project build out. J. Bowes reported that the deadline for early round submissions for unified funding has been established by NY Homes and Communities as October 6, 2015. V. Old Business 1. Draft Action Plan, Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing – resolution The committee continued their review of the draft AI Action Plan, which was revised by L. Truame based on comments made by committee members at the July 2015 meeting. The committee discussed possible changes to the action steps addressing Impediment 7, the lack of a meaningful enforcement mechanism for complaints of housing discrimination. L. Truame noted that, unlike the other impediments, this one involved changes to a City ordinance, an action that would be entirely outside the purview of the IURA. Given that, it was difficult to know how to word the proposed action steps. After some discussion, it was decided to reformat the existing action step to emphasize that future steps to address the impediment would be identified after the City had discussed the impediment, and options to address it, in more depth. K. Graham asked about the apparent increase in homeless families with children noted in Impediment 8 and suggested an action step be added to investigate the possible need for a family- oriented emergency shelter. The committee agreed to add this to the Action Plan. This would also be a good question to raise with the Continuum of Care, possibly at an upcoming Homeless and Housing Task Force meeting. 2. Update on SSCC security cameras L. Truame reported that the scope of the projected had been expanded to include interior cameras. Apparently, there have been some problems with vandalism occurring inside the building. The IURA’s total financial commitment to the project remains unchanged; the difference in cost will be covered by the City as part of the Building Maintenance and Solid Waste Supervisor’s budget for the building. VI. Motion to Adjourn Meeting adjourned by consensus at 9:36.