Loading...
06-01-2020 HRA MINRegular Meeting of the Elk River Housing and Redevelopment Authority Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, June 1, 2020 Members Present: Chair Larry Toth (in person), Commissioners Denny Chuba (in person), Michelle Eder (via Zoom), Nate Ovall (via Zoom), and Jayme Swenson (in person) Members Absent: None Staff Present: Economic Development Director Amanda Othoudt, Economic Development Specialist Colleen Eddy, and Sr. Administrative Assistant/Recording Secretary Jennifer Green I . Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Housing and Redevelopment Authority was called to order at 5:37 p.m. by Chair Toth. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Consider June I, 2020, Agenda Ms. Othoudt stated item 7.2 will be removed from the agenda and rescheduled for July 6, 2020. Motion by Commissioner Swenson and seconded by Commissioner Chuba to approve the June 1, 2020, HRA agenda, removing item 7.2. Motion carried 5-0. 4. Consent Agenda Moved by Commissioner Chuba and seconded by Commissioner Swenson to approve the June 1, 2020, consent agenda as follows: 4.1 May 4, 2020, minutes. 4.2 Check Register as outlined in the staff report. 4.3 Balance Sheet as outlined in the staff report. 4.4 Revenue/Expenditure Report as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 5-0. Housing and Redevelopment Minutes June 1, 2020 5. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. 6. Public Hearinks There were no public hearings. 7.1 HRA Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program Update Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. Page 2 Commissioner Ovall stated he was in support of the proposal laid out by CEE for the late borrower which provided for a three month payment modification in the amount of $300.00 and if the borrower makes three $300.000 payments on time, the past due amount, including interest and late fees, will be capitalized and moved to the end of the loan and extending the loan for 12 additional months. He felt it was adequate to help bring the loan in a meaningful direction and provide the borrower a fresh slate. Motion by Commissioner Swenson and seconded by Commissioner Chuba to approve the loan modification for the 365+ days late borrower as referenced in the staff report and allowing for capitalizing the past due amount, including interest and late fees, to be moved to the end of the loan and extending the loan for 12 additional months as outlined in the CEE proposal in the staff report. Motion carried 5-0. 7.3 Main Street and Gates Redevelopment Project — Award Demolition Contract Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. She earlier distributed a bid to the commission from Steinbrechet Companies, Inc., for the 326 Gates Ave. property which was inadvertently left out of the packet. She explained the proposals received from Veit Companies and Turf Enterprise Incorporated did not reflect the costs of road excavation to cap sanitary sewer lines or the removal of hazardous materials but their bid amounts were still within the original proposed demolition budget of $140,000. She stated Steinbrecher Companies, Inc. did include the costs of road excavation to cap sanitary sewer lines and removal of hazardous materials in their bid and felt their bid was the most thorough of all three companies. She requested authorization from the commission to allow her to negotiate a contract with Steinbrecher in a set amount not to exceed a certain dollar amount as voted upon. Commissioner Swenson had concerns with Veit's bid not including more details. Commissioner Eder agreed and asked Ms. Othoudt to request a more detailed estimate from Veit since they are a reputable company and she would like to receive completed estimates from all three companies to make an informed decision. Housing and Redevelopment Minutes June 1, 2020 Page 3 Ms. Othoudt stated she did request more information from Veit and as a result they revised their bid because of her questions they lumped in all parts of the bid into one estimate. She indicated she could reach out to them again to further clarify if they would like. Commissioner Eder asked if the Veit bid of $73,900 includes everything. Ms. Othoudt stated everything except for the costs of road excavation to cap sanitary sewer lines and removal of hazardous materials. Commissioner Ovall asked for clarification of Steinbrecher's bid documents as they reference seven properties where the others reference only five properties. Ms. Othoudt indicated the two properties most recently added have not yet been deemed substandard by LHB, Inc. and therefore she removed those two properties from Steinbrecher's bids. She clarified that the bid for $108,000 from Steinbrecher was for five properties and the bid amount was for everything they asked for. The $73,900 Veit bid was also for five properties but did not include excavation for road and sanitary sewer lines. The bid for Turf Enterprises of $100,430 was for five properties and did not include excavation for road and sanitary sewer lines. She noted that $140,000 was budgeted for seven properties. Commissioner Ovall wondered if they would be over budget with the addition of the two properties. Ms. Othoudt stated they will be selling the homes on the two properties that are not included in these estimates provided they receive a satisfactory word back from LHB. She stated they will receive $10,000 for the sale of the two homes and there will be minimum demolition costs for moving the basements, so it is likely they will be at or below budget based upon those considerations. Commissioners Swenson and Eder discussed estimated charges of $7,200 per house for Turf Enterprises to cap the sewer lines. Commissioner Ovall asked what recommendation Ms. Othoudt was looking for. Ms. Othoudt prefers the HRA set a not -to -exceed dollar amount because they must include curb shutoff costs. Commissioner Ovall discussed making a motion to authorize the executive director to select one of the three bidding contractors to complete the demolition of the five referenced properties provided the contracts include the pertinent expenses and do not exceed $108,000. Ms. Othoudt requested that the HRA also include the name of the contractor they would like her to negotiate with. Commissioner Ovall stated his concern with going that direction is the HRA does not have a complete contract from Veit or Turf. He stated he would propose to allow her the authority Housing and Redevelopment Minutes June 1, 2020 Page 4 to choose the company to allow gathering additional information and return to the HRA with a full and complete contract. Commissioner Swenson asked for clarification on her request. Ms. Othoudt requested the HRA to authorize the executive director to negotiate the contract with one of these three companies and bring it back to the HRA at a special meeting for execution of said contract. Commissioner Swenson stated that sounded good and asked if the city has any history with any of these three companies. Ms. Othoudt was not aware of the HRA working with any of these companies. Commissioner Ovall stated the city has worked with Steinbrecher on the Lion John Weight Park stormwater pond dredging project but could not vouch for the others. Motion by Commissioner Swenson and seconded by Commissioner Chuba to authorize negotiation of a final contract in an amount not to exceed $140,000 and bring the executable contract and bring the contract back to the HRA commission at a special meeting for execution. Motion carried 5-0. 7.4 Subordination Request for 602 Gates Avenue NW Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. Commissioner Swenson stated she will abstain from voting because this is her personal request. Motion by Commissioner Eder and seconded by Commissioner Ovall to approve the Subordination Agreement between Northport Funding, LLC, and the Housing and Redevelopment Authority for 602 Gates Avenue NW as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 4-0 with Commissioner Swenson abstaining. 8.1 Blighted Properties Loan Program Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report and reviewed the changes made by the attorney based upon discussion from last month's meeting, asking for the commission to verify the changes made to date and do they meet the intent of the program and the policy itself. She requested specifically the change to qualifying projects and upon completion of the project, the structures on the properties will be owner -occupied, following design standards of the neighboring homes, and be at least 1600 sq. ft. with a 1.5 bath and 2 -car garage. She asked if these modifications meet the HRA's intent to the policy. Housing and Redevelopment Minutes June 1, 2020 Page 5 It was the consensus of the HRA Commission that the changes made so far reflect the intent of the program. Chair Toth asked questions about the point system. Ms. Othoudt stated they would discuss the point system at a future session. Ms. Othoudt reviewed page 2 and 3 modifications made at the prior meeting. Commissioner Ovall asked about clarification of the last sentence, "If the above conditions are not met, the loan will be due and payable in full." He requested when and in what form would the loan be paid. Ms. Othoudt stated she will seek clarification from the attorney on the sentence. Ms. Othoudt discussed page 4 of the policy. Chair Toth asked if city staff is responsible for inspecting the projects to see if they are meeting our program requirements. Ms. Othoudt stated staff will be required to meet all building requirements. Ms. Othoudt concluded the HRA will finalize reviewing the remainder of the document and attachment worksheets at a future meeting. Commissioner Ovall requested to review the attachment checklist that he felt might be overly laborious and onerous and not necessarily overly pertinent. He stated he felt it seemed heavy handed and wanted to make changes to the requirements. Ms. Othoudt suggested he meet with her to review the attachment checklist together and Commissioner Ovall concurred. 9. Adjournment Chair Toth adjourned the meeting at 6:29 p.m. Minutes pre a y Jennifer Green. t Tina Allard, City Cl La Tot air Housing & Redevelopment Authority