1981 03-12
~ecial Meeting -Meridian Ci
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March 12, 1981
The Public Hearing for the Application of a Single Purpose Community Block Grant
for the City of Meridian, Idaho was opened by Mayor Joseph L. Glaisyer at 7:34 P.P1.
Councilmen Present: Richard t~filliams; Grant Kingsford; Bill Brewer; Rick Orton Jr.
Others Present.: Earl l-dard; ~4ichael Frost, JUB Engineers, Inc.;Fl. John Wiltshire,
Reporter; City Engineer, Gary Smith
Mayor Glaisyer invited Michael Frost, Consultant, to step forward and explain the
purpose of this hearing.
Michael frost: "h1r. Mayor and Members of tf~e Council, we all know that several
months ago you submitted what was called pre-application for Community Development
Block Grant, and at that point of time we told you if you were invited to submit
a Final Application you would have a very good chance of getting that grant."
"You submitted a pre-application of some $220,000 and FIUD has since sent the f4ayor
a letter stating that you can apply for $121,000. The project basically, in the
beginning, was broken down into two categories, one was water the other was sewer,
and HUD has indicated that you should apply for the sewer. The application once
completed will look something like this (displays application), indicating that you
are applying for $121,000 -and a timetable is presented in which we will complete
the project, which includes the application, environmental review record. This is
a voluntary program because it is a rehabilitation program so that it will be the
development of applications for the citizens and the target neighborhood to apply
for the money -the City will then have to process those applications, there will
then be some type of bid document, bids will be let, construction will be done
and then it will be a loan settlement. You will also be required to provide for your
own audit. So, that is all indicated on the application."
"I've tentatively broken this down, I've tried to give you as much latitude as possible.
We've indicated that you. will spend $93,500 of that $121,000. General Administration
515,500 which includes x,500 for arr audit which may be high. Then, under contingen-
cies which cannot exceed 20°!D, we've taken $12,000 - which comes to the total of
$121,000. In the contingencies you can only apply to sewer rehabilitation or to
administration, so there is very little latitude there. There is also a series of
assurances that the City will have to give to the Federal Government before we can get
this Grant, those are fairly standard and the P4ayor is responsible for that. By
signing this document he is assuring the Federal Government you will comply with
these funds. I would suggest you read them very carefully."
"The next thing is what is called the Housing Assistance Plan which up until this
time for a single purpose grant, only had to be for one (1) year. Recently, within
the last 5 or 6 days,this has been changed so that now this will encompass 3 year
periods, the same as it does for Comprehensive Plan. These numbers are generated
with the best available data, which is the 1970 Census data projected to 1980 -
and using 1980 data available. Also, HUD has some figures that they have generated
from their own computer model ; I have talked to Tom Johnson, Economics Department of
HUD, and he indicated that we could do the following paragraph which I would like to
read to you. 'The City of heridian has programmed to undertake the development of
24 low income rental units for small families over the next year. Over the past years
Meridian has received a disproportiona;t'e share of low and moderate income units
because of it's proximity to Eoise and the lower land costs associated with development.
liowever, Meridian has recognized it's responsibility to low and moderate income
families and will continue to dd so. Please see attached adopted Comprehensive Plan.'
"Their feeling is that Meridian should be assigned their proportionate share of those
families. Using data that we submitted with the pre-application from your building
Department, from the Idaho dousing Authority, from HUD and Farm Home - we've deducted
the nur~ber of units you have in low and moderate income, which left you with a
deficit of 88 units. Because of the present market situation, and the vacancy rates
that are prevalent in Rda County and therefor in Meridian, we are not assigning any
units that are called - Elderly, owner occupied, small family, which is four or less
individuals, or large family all under owner occupied. They indicated that you have
a surplus of units in that area and it's not necessary for you to provide any more
units in that area. Because of the deficiency in the County, it would appear that
Meridian needs 55 more units of low income small family rental houses. The other
numbers of units which are 13 elderly and 6 large family have been discounted
because those numbers are too small to deal with economically. I talked to the
Idaho Housing Authority and they feel that 24 is the minimum number of units that
are economically viable for someone to develop, so we used that number. I have not
indicated that you want new units, you would prefer to have substantially rehabilitated
units which are in existance - you do not want any new units in the community"
"Those are the main areas of concern for the hearing this evening. The first one is,
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Special Meeting - Peridian City Hall ~ .2. March 12 1981
do you want to continue and submit this application for the $121,000 and do you concur
with the number of programmed housing units that we put under the housing system?"
Williams: "Do you :mean the number 24?"
Frost: "Yes"
Williams: "Over a three year period"
frost: "Well, this is your goal for next year"
Williams; "I don't think we had that many building permits last year"
Frost: "The vacancy rates were determined by material obtained from Ada Planning
Association and they also have current program that indicates the vacancy rate
in the two enumeration districts was 7.6 and 8 percent. The E!UD Portland office
has indicated that they felt the vacancy rate was 10 percent in Ada County and by
calls to local realtors found that they felt the vacancy rate was about 12 percent°
Williams; "Some of this seems to be contradictory to our Housing Strategy Plan that
has been developed over the last three or four years, as far as low and moderate
income housing and targeting where those are to go. This was a direct result of
E1UD requirements to develop the Housing Strategy Plan. The Housing Strategy Plan
was developed by the entities within Ada County and refers to where low and moderate
income housing will be targeted for. It was 90% within the Boise Metro area and
10% in the remainder of the County and smaller cities. In recent studies have shown
Meridian, for example, has got upwards of low and moderate income housino - total
number of housing units - 17 to 18% over this period of time, which would put it not
only double to housing strategy plan but in an isolated form it would be twice as
many as the whole area should have got."
Frost: "But they needed almost 8,000 units in Ada County."
Williams: "So they are saying in order to pick up 24 units next year?"
Frost: "Yes, and I think they recognize you will not probably be able to pick up
the 24 units, but you have to establish a goal and attempt to obtain that goal."
Kingsford: "Are you saying that we should attempt to refurbish existing units?
What kind of a program exists for say, a developer to do this, or for us to even push
for that to be done?"
Frost: "That is really hard to say, because in calling the HUD Office here and the
Idaho Housing Authority, they don't know what monies are going to be available. What
HUD uses this number for is to generate the number in their office for the total
number of housing in this area."
Kingsford: "E?ow are we committed to try and do that?"
Orton: "Didn't we adopt a policy that went more stringent than 10% allowed in rural
Ada County and the smaller cities - didn't we adopt 5% limitations?"
4lilliams: "I think 8%. There's no breakdown, per se, by the strategy plan of what
each City will take, but outside the Boise Metro area it would take 10%. We,in the
last two years,have taken the position that we are so disproportioned to the rest of
the area, as Boise for example, that we are going to let the rest of the areas catch
up to a more equitable balance before we allow more low and moderate income housing
into the City. This is so out of balance now -"
Frost: "These numbers reflect because we have deducted out of here, the number of
units that you already have in your proportionate share. 41e haven't assigned to you
a straight percentage of the County. That was an extremely high number - two or three
hundred."
4lilliams: "So you are saying in the application it would not be for new housing
but for the rehabilitation of existing housino?"
Frost: "Yes" "Substantial rehabilitation, Moderate rehabilitation for existing,
but there are no new units."
Orton: "Then that would not conflict with our general policies with limiting the
low to moderate income housing to 8% of total growth?"
Williams: "You would be remodeling low cost housing to low cost housing. If we can
go with the rehabilitation like that, I would agree with that Mr. Mayor."
Kingsford: "Is the amount for JUB Engineer consultant services to come out of the
$93,000 or Administration?"
Frost: "That will come out of Administration."
Frost: "Because this is a Rehabilitation Program, the City Council does not have to
determine at this point of time the funds that are available for. the rehabilitation
of these connections for sewer lines, you can either do what they call a forgiveable
loan - in other words you can loan the money to the people charging them no interest,
you can establish an interest rate for it, you might want to give the money to selected
individuals, which may be Female Heads of households - those that are over 65 - and
charge the other people - there are a multitude of things that you will have to decide
in this program."
Williams: "We would pay for the services to rehabilitate the sewer line? Would w•e
contract for that or would the individual contract it?"
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Special Meeting - Meridian City Hall .3. f~arch 12 1981
Frost: "You would want to contract it out - you would want to pay the contractor.
You would not want someone to come in and say 'I want to extend my sewer service line'
and you give them $500 or $600 and the person goes to Hawaii"
Williams: "Can we advertise that this money is available and people make application
for rehabilitation?"
Frost: "You have to."
Williams: "Do we address these applications to first come, first serve?"
Frost: "Yes, Low, moderate income."
Brewer: "We would want to treat the area that is the worst - start them before we
do anything else."
Earl 4dard: "I have been talking to 4Jayne (Atty) and Gary (Engineer) about needing
equipment for the rehab and for our benefit to use in this program."
Ptayor Glaisyer: "Are there any comments from the public?"
H. John Wiltshire, Valley (News: "If I understand-this money is going to be held by
the City?"
Ptayor: "The way that we perceive doing this is that we will receive the grant money
and the people that wish to have their sewer line rehabilitated will have to sign a
form requesting that waiver of any liability to the City, at which time we will
categorize it by the highest need that comes first, which Earl will take care of,
and those people will get their work done first. The money will be dispersed through
the City, no homeowner will directly receive any funds."
Frost: "They will also have to show the City some form of documentation as far as
their income in concerned."
City Clerk: "We will not get this money in one lump sum?"
Frost: "Wo, it will be submitted in $10,000 draw downs .You will get a letter of credit
from San Francisco Treasury."
Mayor: "Any other questions from the public?"
Wiltshire: "When will the priorities be established?"
Frost: "Well, first of all we are presupposing that the City of Peridian will get
the Grant, we are 90% assured that they will, so the tentative schedule is that if
PIUD gives us the money on the 15th of June, that the City would accept and process
applications from the 15th of July to approximately December. Construction could
begin as early as mid-Februrary. The City would have 18 months to complete the
project."
Orton: "How are these small contracts with individual loans, when a contract is
signed and the work is done, the fellow is going to want tiffs money. But as I recall
HUD disbursement policies are a bit awkward - if I remember right you have to request
one or two rather large disbursements during the project, it's shipped up here from
I believe the Treasury in San Francisco and you have three days to get it out of your
bank account which would mean we would either have to talk the contractors into
waiting for payment or we would have to finance payments and go on ahead. Do you
have any concept as to how we are going to handle that?"
Frost: "I think in the past year they have gone to the monthly drawdown in $10,000
increments, so what this amounts to is anticipated drawdown - here is the activity
and here is the anticipated drawdowns."
Kingsford: "I'm still concerned as to how we are committed on these low income
rehabilitation. Any ideas on what we are expected to do?"
Frost: "I think what you are expected to do in reality is to not provide any
stumbling blocks."
Mayor: "Do we need a Motion tonight?"
Frost: "fJo, you will need one the next meeting."
The P1otion was made by Kingsford and seconded by l~dilliams to adjourn the Public
Hearing for the Application of a Single Purpose Community Block Grant for the
City of P•ieridian.
Motion Carried: Williams, yea; Kingsford, yea; Brewer, yea; Orton, yea
Special Meeting and Public Plearing Closed.
ATTEST: ~` ~ J