MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF
THE MIDLAND CITY HOUSING COMMISSION
MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2012,
3:00 P.M.
333
CITY COUNCIL
CHAMBERS OVERFLOW CONFERENCE ROOM
MIDLAND, MICHIGAN
I. Roll Call
PRESENT: Bob Burgess, Bill Garchow, Rick Loose, Sharon Mortensen and Steve Rapanos
ABSENT: None
STAFF: Cheri King, Community Development Specialist; Brad Kaye, Planning Director; and Candy Balis, Manager of Washington Woods
OTHERS: Carol Locker, League of Women Voters
II. Election of Officers
A motion was made by Steve Rapanos, seconded by Bill Garchow, to nominate Rick Loose as Chairman and Bob Burgess as Vice Chairman for the coming year. Motion passed unanimously.
III. Approval
of Minutes of Regular Meeting of September 12, 2011, Special Meeting of October
3, 2011, Special Meeting of November 7, 2011 and Special Meeting of January 30,
2012
Motion by Steve Rapanos, seconded by Bob Burgess, to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 12, 2011, as corrected, with Steve Rapanos being shown as in attendance, and to approve the Minutes of the Special Meeting of October 3, 2011, Special Meeting of November 7, 2011 and Special Meeting of January 30, 2012 as presented. Motion passed unanimously.
IV. Public
Comments
None
V. New Business
Brad
Kaye was introduced as the new Planning Director. He came to Midland from the Traverse City
area. The township from which he came
did not have a Housing Commission.
The
next regular meeting of the Midland City Housing Commission will be on Monday,
June 4, 2012.
Bob
Burgess reported that Chemical Bank has sent out surveys to non-profits,
realtors, and city/county personnel, among others. These surveys will provide important data to
assist Chemical Bank with their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)
activities. The results from the surveys
will help them set goals for loans, donations to the community, and financial
literacy through local schools. The
results of the survey will assist Chemical Bank in making a plan for spending
in the coming year.
Sharon
Mortensen reported that the Health and Human Services Council will unveil the
results of the Behavioral Risk Factor survey, Youth Developmental Assets survey
and the Top Ten Community Needs, on March 28th from 9:00 – 11:00
a.m. at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library Auditorium.
The
Continuum of Care did a “point-in-time” homeless count on January 25,
2012. This time, the count included
people who are “doubled up”, under the McKinney Vento Act. HUD does not count people who are doubled up,
but the McKinney Vento Act includes those individuals. The count this year was 517 individuals who
are homeless in our community.
Legal
Services of Eastern Michigan will be holding a Fair Housing Summit at Delta
College on Friday, March 16th.
VI. Reports
a) Paired
Testing Update – Legal Services of Eastern Michigan
Legal Services of Eastern Michigan reported
that they have completed 38 tests for the calendar year of 2011. They conducted 32 tests on rental properties
and six tests on sales/real estate properties. They also reported two
individual client complaints. While this
information is somewhat helpful, the Housing Commission would like compiled
data with quarterly comparisons. Is the
city getting better or worse at complying with the Fair Housing Laws? How do they determine what they will test
for? The Housing Commission is
interested in trends, comparing this year to last year and previous years. Are fair housing issues keeping people from
obtaining housing in the city? Cheri
King will contact Legal Services of Eastern Michigan and ask for this
information for the next Housing Commission meeting.
b) CDBG
Update
Subrecipients are in the process of spending
the money allocated to them. The
handicap accessible playground equipment has been installed in Grove Park and
is serving the community. The projected
CDBG allocation for the City of Midland for the 2012-2013 fiscal year is still
$215,226. The proposed budget for 2012-2013
was approved at the January 20, 2012 meeting.
There may be additional funds in “carry-over” from the 2011-2012 fiscal
year. Motion by Bill Garchow, seconded
by Steve Rapanos, to appropriate any additional funds that might be available
for sidewalks in a low- or moderate-income area. Motion passed unanimously.
c) CHOICE
Report
The city is not doing a project in
partnership with the Midland Public Schools Building Trades classes this year
as there were not enough students to conduct the classes. At the present time, we are told there are 41
students registered for the Building Trades classes for the 2012-2013 school
year. The Reece Community Living
Endeavor has been identified as our partner for the next construction
project. We will be building a duplex
for their clients on a lot they own at 1202 E. Haley Street.
Housing Department staff had a booth at the
Midland Home and Garden Show this past weekend to display projects done through
the CDBG Program, Neighborhood Preservation and the Building Trades projects.
d) Senior
Housing Updates
Candy Balis reported that they have had a lot
of vacancies at Washington Woods this year.
Presently, Washington Woods is at 93% occupancy. Riverside Place is at 100% occupancy. Washington Woods has rented to individuals as
low as 55 years if they cannot find people over 61 years of age. They are at 19 percent market rent and 81
percent subsidized rent. They have tried
holding vacant 2-bedroom units for market rent tenants for up to six months but
this has not been successful. Both
senior housing facilities have saved a significant amount of money this winter
by not having to pay for snow removal.
VII. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 3:54
p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Cheri King
Secretary
MINUTES APPROVED BY THE MIDLAND CITY HOUSING COMMISSION
ON MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2012.