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08-03-2020 HRA MINRegular Meeting of the Elk River Housing and Redevelopment Authority Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, August 3, 2020 Members Present: Chair Larry Toth, Commissioners Denny Chuba, Michelle Eder, Nate Ovall, Jayme Swenson Members Absent: None Staff Present: Economic Development Director Amanda Othoudt and Economic Development Specialist Colleen Eddy 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 5:30 p.m. by Chair Toth. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Consider August 3, 2020, Agenda Motion by Commissioner Eder and seconded by Commissioner Swenson to approve the August 3, 2020, HRA agenda. Motion carried 5-0. 4. Consent Agenda Moved by Commissioner Ovall and seconded by Commissioner Chuba to approve the August 3, 2020, consent agenda as follows: 4.1 July 6, 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. 5. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. Housing and Redevelopment Minutes Page 2 August 3, 2020 6. Public Hearings There were no public hearings. 7.1 HRA Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program Update Ms. Eddy presented the staff report. She indicated the past due homeowner has not made their third $200 payment and staff is looking to the commission for direction. CEE suggested since the homeowner is back to work, it may make sense to offer them a loan modification and move the past due amount to the end of the loan and extending the loan term by one year. She stated staff is looking for direction. Commissioner Eder asked when their third payment was expected. Ms. Eddy indicated Friday, July 31, 2020. Commissioner Swenson asked if CEE received any communication from the homeowner. Ms. Eddy indicated the homeowner indicated she was back working. Chair Toth asked if the homeowner is open to CEE's suggestion. Ms. Eddy stated the HRA will make the decision on whether to offer a loan modification and then communicate that to the homeowner. Commissioner Ovall asked if the payment due on July 31 was their current payment or part of their past due repayment plan. Ms. Eddy stated this payment was part of the multiple $200 payment proposal. Commissioner Ovall struggles with this because of the commission's offer of a good faith compromise by allowing smaller increment payments and having continued broken promises by not performing as outlined. He feels if they cannot afford their payments, they are limiting the HRA's course of action and asked if the homeowner was considering living at the property or sell. He emphasized he was not being insensitive but was trying to come up with the best course of action that would benefit both parties. Commissioner Eder asked why they have not listed their home for sale if their intentions were to sell. Ms. Eddy stated previously the borrower stated in a conversation to CEE they intended to sell but she was not aware of their timeframe. Commissioner Ovall suggested the borrower either make their payment within the week or provide the HRA with a listing agreement with an established realtor with a known commodity. Housing and Redevelopment Minutes Page 3 August 3, 2020 Commissioner Eder not in favor of doing a modification. Commissioner Chuba stated in their defense, it is one of their oldest loans and have repaid almost $5,000 back to the HRA, showing a history of payment. Chair Toth asked about the borrower's unemployment record. Ms. Eddy stated she has been unemployed off and on, back at work now. Since the inception of the loan, she has been off and on employed, and payments have been very sporadic. Commissioner Swenson agreed with Commissioner Ovall's comments and felt it was a test of who was going to react first. Chair Toth stated he has been concerned with this loan for some time. After some discussion, it was the consensus of the HRA to either provide a payment at city hall by end of day Friday, August 7, 2020, or provide the city with a listing agreement for the fair market value of their home. 7.2 406 Main Street NW and 419 3'd Street NW Building Moving Agreement Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. Commissioner Eder asked what the estimate came in from Veit for the tree removal. Ms. Othoudt stated it was $8,910 for five trees plus stump removal along with two additional trees along the property line. Commissioner Eder recommended getting at least two other bids for tree removal. She felt the quote seemed high to her. Commissioner Ovall asked if the stumps even needed to be removed if the property would be graded after the houses removed. Ms. Othoudt stated there were a few stumps that need to be removed to allow the houses to be moved off the property. Commissioner Eder asked if we could counter-offer $15,000 for the acquisition of the two houses and the garage, and the city takes care of the tree removal. She was not in favor of taking profits of the sale and spending it on tree removal. Commissioner Swenson also asked for a few other estimates for tree removal. Commissioner Ovall noted the tree removal is costly because the homes are being preserved. He stated it would be less costly if the homes were being demolished. Housing and Redevelopment Minutes August 3, 2020 Page 4 Commissioner Chuba asked if they were saving money by having the homes removed. He would prefer to have a few other bids for tree removal. He does not want this to drag on. Ms. Othoudt indicated the bids were in the $17,000 to $20,000 range to have the homes demolished. It was the consensus of the HRA to get a few more tree removal estimates. Motion by Commissioner Eder and seconded by Commissioner Chuba to approve the house moving agreement with Otting House Movers as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Commissioner Ovall and seconded by Commissioner Chuba to proceed with tree removal with a budget up to $8900 and allow staff the authority to receive and request two additional tree removal bids and accept the bid they believe is the most financially prudent. Motion carried 5-0. 7.3 Stained Glass Window Settlement Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. Chair Toth asked about details of the incident. Ms. Othoudt stated the property was secured, doors were locked, and was not sure how it happened. The police investigated the incident. Motion by Commissioner Eder and seconded by Commissioner Ovall to approve the release of claims agreement between the HRA and Barbara Olesen and Jerry Olesen as outlined in the staff report in the amount of $526.00. Motion carried 5-0. The HRA recessed at 6:06 p.m. to go into work session. The HRA meeting reconvened at 6:08 p.m. 8.1 Blighted Properties Residential Forgivable Loan Program and Policy Discussion Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. They reviewed the applicant check list on page 11 of the application to determine ease in filling out the application and whether the item is necessary or appropriate. Under E) Financial statements: it was decided to request federal tax returns for both person and business applicants to allow a clear picture of their total debt. Debt should include student loan debt and payment amounts/history (if deferred during COVIDI9). Housing and Redevelopment Minutes August 3, 2020 Under M) Remove entirely. Page 5 Page 14- Application Review Worksheet: It was the consensus of the commission to remove the scoring component of the checklist worksheet. 8.2 Inhabitable Properties Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. Commissioner Eder discussed similar type properties which when listed on MLS they are typically listed as a cash sale. Commissioner Ovall suggested this type of sale could evolve into a partnership with the city to utilize our blighted properties program. He stated he was interested in hearing as these properties come up but asked if this met our strategic vision. He stated if there are cluster neighborhoods, the city could focus on those areas or specific neighborhoods during strategic planning with quarterly meetings with the building and planning departments. It was the consensus of the HRA to utilize the blighted properties program for inhabitable properties and engage in strategic planning in the future for properties or neighborhoods requiring rehabilitation. 9. Adjournment Chair Toth adjourned the meeting at 6:27 p.m. Minutes prepared by Jennifer Green. Tina Allard, City Clerk r r louslToth, _Lr ing & Redevelopment Authority