5. HRSR 07-08-2013 Elk REQUEST FOR ACTION
River
TO ITEM NUMBER
Housing and Redevelopment Authority .5.
AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY
July 8,2013 Brian Beeman,Director of Economic
Development
ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By
Discuss and determine which housing agency best fits the city's Jeremy Barnhart, Deputy Director,
housing needs based on the HRA's housing goals Community Operations and
Development Director
REVIEWED BY
ACTION REQUESTED
Information presented for discussion only. Action is anticipated at the August HRA meeting.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
The HRA has indicated a strong interest in being more proactive in housing programs. At the May 6,
2013 HRA meeting, the HRA set some housing goals and directed staff to address some community
housing needs including: 1st time home buyer's assistance, affordable housing,rehab assistance,and
foreclosure prevention.
In developing draft policies to address these goals, Staff has met with the Minnesota Housing Finance
Agency (MHFA),Minnesota Central MN Housing Partnership (CMHP),Tri County Action Partnership
(Tri-CAP),Brooklyn Park and Coon Rapids staff, and researched several other Minnesota housing
programs.
Through this process,it became clear that outside agencies provide the services desired by the HRA,at a
fraction of the cost of administering our own program. For example, CMHP or Tri-CAP can address the
HRA's preferences for 1st time buyer's assistance, affordable housing,rehab assistance, foreclosure
prevention, and a variety of other housing programs. It is staff's recommendation that the City utilize
these resources more aggressively for the benefit of city residents. Both entities will be at the meeting on
July 8th to further discuss their programs.
Staff seeks HRA consensus on which housing agency will best fit the needs of the community and the
HRA housing goals.After a consensus is reached, the HRA will take action on the hiring of one of the
housing agencies at the August 1, 2013 regular HRA meeting. In order to start applying for the Small
Cities Development Grant for 2014, one of the agencies will need to start the grant writing process in
August or September to meet the pre-application deadline.
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