The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutMN-IURANI-2016-03-11 108 East Green Street Ithaca, New York 14850 (607) 274-655 MINUTES IURA Neighborhood Investment Committee March 11, 2016 I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Chair Tracy Farrell at 8:30. Present were T. Farrell; Vice‐ chair, Karl Graham; Teresa Halpert; Fernando deAragon; Paulette Manos; and Lynn Truame and Rene Funke (staff). II. Public comment None. III. Review of Minutes – February 2016 Moved by F. deAragon, seconded by T. Halpert; unanimously approved as written. IV. New Business 1. CHDO/CBDO re‐certifications: INHS, Historic Ithaca, GIAC a. INHS CHDO: L. Truame recapped the staff analysis of INHS’ submission for re‐ certification as a CHDO. F. deAragon moved, T. Halpert seconded: HUD Entitlement Grant Program – 2016 Designation of INHS as a CHDO Whereas, the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA) has been designated by the City of Ithaca as the Lead Agency to develop, administer and implement the HUD Entitlement grant program, including funds received through the Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) program, and Whereas, grant recipients under the HOME program are termed Participating Jurisdictions (PJs), and Whereas, PJs must reserve not less than 15% of their HOME allocation for investment in housing to be developed, sponsored, or owned by Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs), and Whereas, each PJ must identify annually CHDOs that are capable of carrying out projects to address priority housing needs identified in the Consolidated Plan, and Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency Whereas, a PJ may use HOME funds to provide special assistance to CHDOs, including:  Project pre‐development loans;  Operating assistance;  Use of HOME project proceeds;  Capacity‐building assistance; and Whereas, on February 23, 2016, Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. (INHS) submitted materials documenting their qualifications and requested renewal of their designation as a CHDO and CBDO by the IURA, and Whereas, at their March 11, 2016 meeting, the Neighborhood Investment Committee of the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency compared submitted materials against CHDO criteria and recommends the following; now, therefore be it Resolved, that the IURA, acting in its capacity as the Lead Agency for the Participating Jurisdiction of the City of Ithaca, hereby renews its designation of Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. as a CHDO for the 2016 Action Plan. Carried unanimously. b. INHS CBDO: L. Truame explained that although the INHS submission identified eleven board members as meeting CBDO requirements, due to the absence of some members from town, only eight executed self‐certification forms were submitted. Of those eight self‐certifications, one was not acceptable (Jonathan Albanese, who was identified as a partner in the law firm Coughlin and Gearhart on the INHS submission, but whose self‐certification identifies him as “of counsel” to that firm). Truame requested that INHS submit a substitute self‐certification, but one was not received in time for the committee to consider it at the March meeting. With only six acceptable self‐certification forms INHS would not qualify as a CBDO. Truame suggested that the committee vote on the submission as presented, knowing that additional information could be considered if submitted at a later date and CBDO certification could be considered at that time. None of the activities proposed by INHS for the 2016 Action Plan qualify as CBDO activities. T. Halpert moved, F. deAragon seconded: 2016 IURA Designation of Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services as a Community‐Based Development Organization WHEREAS, the Board of Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS) seeks designation by the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA) as a Community‐Based Development Organization (CBDO), and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca has designated the IURA to administer the City’s HUD Entitlement Program that oversees Community Development Block Grant funds awarded to the City, and WHEREAS, an eligible category of CDBG activities is a “Special Activity by CBDO”, that offers certain advantages, such as exemption from the 15% expenditure cap otherwise applicable to public service activities, authorization to carry out new housing construction (normally prohibited with CDBG funds), and discretion to allow income generated by a CDBG‐funded activity to not be considered CDBG program income, and WHEREAS, the following four tests established at CFR Title 24 §570.204 must be met to qualify under a category of “Special Activity by CBDOs”:  The entity qualifies as a CBDO, including the 51% board membership test;  The CBDO will undertake an eligible project;  That the CBDO will carry out the funded activity directly or with an entity other than the grantee;  That the CBDO will not carry out a prohibited activity, and WHEREAS, a CBDO must maintain at least 51% of its governing body’s membership to be made up of any combination of the following:  Low‐ and moderate income residents of its area of operation  Owners or senior officers of private establishments and other institutions located in its area of operation  Representatives of low‐ and moderate‐income neighborhood organizations located in its area of operation, and WHEREAS, a CBDO must have as its primary purpose the improvement of the physical, economic, or social environment of its geographic area of operation, with a particular emphasis on the needs of low‐ and moderate‐income persons, and WHEREAS, the project undertaken by the CBDO must qualify as one or more of the following project types:  neighborhood revitalization;  community economic development;  energy conservation project; and Whereas, at their March 11, 2016, meeting, the Neighborhood Investment Committee evaluated INHS with respect to CBDO eligibility requirements as documented in the attached materials and staff review of bylaws and organizational documents and recommended the following; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the IURA determines that INHS has not provided evidence that the organization currently meets the requirements for eligibility as a CBDO, and be it further RESOLVED, that the IURA does not designate INHS as a Community‐Based Development Organization (CBDO) at this time, and be it further RESOLVED, that the IURA may review additional submission from INHS at any point in the coming year should the organization wish to pursue re‐certification and propose a qualifying proposals for possible CDBG funding under the category of “Special Activities by CBDOs”. c. GIAC: L. Truame distributed the GIAC CBDO submission and recapped the staff memo regarding re‐certification as a CBDO. Staff brought the committee’s attention to the additional information submitted by GIAC supporting the qualifications of two board members. P. Manos moved, T. Halpert seconded: 2016 IURA Designation of the GIAC, Inc. as a Community‐Based Development Organization WHEREAS, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center, Inc. (GIAC) seeks designation by the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA) as a Community‐Based Development Organization (CBDO), and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca has designated the IURA to administer the City’s HUD Entitlement Program that oversees Community Development Block Grant funds awarded to the City, and WHEREAS, an eligible category of CDBG activities are “Special Activities by CBDOs”, that offers certain advantages, such as exemption from the 15% expenditure cap otherwise applicable to public service activities under certain circumstances, authorization to carry out new housing construction (normally prohibited with CDBG funds), and discretion to allow revenue generated by a CDBG‐funded activity to not be considered CDBG program income, and WHEREAS, the following four tests established at CFR Title 24 §570.204 must be met to qualify under a category of “Special Activities by CBDOs”:  The entity qualifies as a CBDO, including the 51% board membership test;  The CBDO will undertake an eligible project;  That the CBDO will carry out the funded activity directly or with an entity other than the grantee;  That the CBDO will not carry out a prohibited activity, and WHEREAS, a CBDO must maintain at least 51% of its governing body’s membership to be made up of any combination of the following:  Low‐ and moderate income residents of its area of operation  Owners or senior officers of private establishments and other institutions located in its area of operation  Representatives of low‐ and moderate‐income neighborhood organizations located in its area of operation, and WHEREAS, a CBDO must have as its primary purpose the improvement of the physical, economic, or social environment of its geographic area of operation, with a particular emphasis on the needs of low‐ and moderate‐income persons, and WHEREAS, the project undertaken by the CBDO must qualify as one or more of the following project types:  neighborhood revitalization;  community economic development;  energy conservation project; and Whereas, at their March 11, 2016, meeting, the Neighborhood Investment Committee compared GIAC’s application against CBDO eligibility requirements and recommended the following; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the IURA determines that the Greater Ithaca Activities Center, Inc. does meet the requirements for eligibility as a CBDO, and be it further RESOLVED, that the GIAC‐proposed Hospitality Employment Training Program activity qualifies as an eligible CBDO community economic development project and is therefore exempt from the 15% CDBG expenditure cap on Public Services, and be it further RESOLVED, that the IURA hereby renews its designation of Greater Ithaca Area Activities Center, Inc. as a Community‐Based Development Organization (CBDO) and finds their Hospitality Employment Training Program for 2016 CDBG funding under the category of “Special Activities by CBDOs”. Carried unanimously. 2. Consideration of applications for funding from the 2016 Entitlement Grant The committee considered the submitted applications and assigned initial relative levels of priority for funding. Staff was directed to contact three applicants with clarifying questions concerning specific aspects of their submission. Recommended funding allocations will be taken up at the April 8, 2016 committee meeting. 3. Status of 2015 TCA Housing First project L. Truame and R. Funke provided the committee with an update on the Housing First project. IURA staff have had considerable difficulty obtaining required information from Tompkins Community Action. Vouchers and reports have been chronically late and frequently incomplete. The program was first funded in the 2013 round and those funds were only fully expended in March of 2016. Staff have been unable to process the first request for 2014 funds due to non‐compliance of the submission with HUD regulations. TCA was awarded funds in the 2015 round, but as of this date a contract for those funds has not been executed due to the impossibility of spending those funds down in a timely manner, given the backlog of funds from prior years. K. Graham moved, T. Halpert seconded: Recommendation to Substantially Amend 2015 Action Plan Whereas, 2015 Entitlement Grant Project #5 – Housing First, to be undertaken by Tompkins Community Action (TCA), was allocated $30,000 in the City of Ithaca’s 2015 Action Plan, and Whereas, this program was a continuation of the same program that was funded with both 2013 and 2014 Entitlement Grant funds, and Whereas, TCA made their final draw on 2013 Entitlement funds for the program and submitted an invoice to begin to draw 2014 Entitlement funds for the program in March 2015, and Whereas, the invoice submitted for 2014 Entitlement funds for the program cannot be processed at this time due to non‐compliance of the submitted leases with HOME regulations, and Whereas, TCA has not submitted an application for funding for the Housing First program in the 2016 Entitlement Grant round and does not intend to continue with the program, and Whereas, the full $30,000 in allocated 2014 Entitlement Grant funding remains available to TCA to support the program’s current participants, as long as all applicable HOME requirements are satisfied, and Whereas, a contract for 2015 Entitlement Grant funding for the Housing First program was never executed due to the impossibility of meeting timely drawdown requirements for the 2015 funds given the amount of as yet unspent 2014 funds, now therefore be it Resolved, that the Neighborhood Investment Committee of the IURA hereby recommends making a Substantial Amendment to the 2015 Action Plan, withdrawing the commitment of 2015 Entitlement Grant funds to project #5 – Housing First and returning those funds to the pool for reallocation to an eligible project in the 2016 Action Plan, and be it further Resolved, that the IURA will hear public comment on this proposal at the March 24, 2016, Public Hearing at which consideration of the 2016 Action Plan will commence, and be it further Resolved, that the IURA Chairperson, upon advice of the IURA Attorney, is hereby authorized to execute all necessary and appropriate documents to implement this resolution. Carried unanimously. V. Old Business None VI. Motion to Adjourn