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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-30-2015 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes-1- REGULAR MEETING July 30, 2015 PLANNING COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm by Chairman Cruz. POSITION MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT No. 1 Tanya Bowers No. 2 Tony Bachart No. 3 Paul Mendez No. 4 Alecia Greenaway No. 5 Joe Cruz No. 6 Loren Polk No. 7 Zahra Khan No. 8 VACANT No. 9 Gabriel Portugal APPEARANCE OF FAIRNESS: Chairman Cruz read a statement about the appearance of fairness for hearings on land use matters. Chairman Cruz asked if any Commission member had anything to declare. There were no declarations. Chairman Cruz then asked the audience if there were any objections based on a conflict of interest or appearance of fairness question regarding the items to be discussed this evening. There were no objections. ADMINISTERING THE OATH: Chairman Cruz explained that state law requires testimony in quasi-judicial hearings such as held by the Planning Commission be given under oath or affirmation. Chairman Cruz swore in all those desiring to speak. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: There were no minutes to approve. PUBLIC HEARINGS: A. Block Grant 2016 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Fund Allocations (MF# BGAP 2015-003) Chairman Cruz read the master file number and asked for comments from staff. Rick White, Community & Economic Development Director, stated that this is an annual process where citizens and groups can apply for funding through three sources: CDBG, HOME and NSP. Angie Pitman, Block Grant Administrator, discussed the Community Development Block -2- Grant program and history and gave a brief Power Point presentation. Pasco receives their entitlement of funds by meeting standards set by HUD. During the presentation, Ms. Pitman discussed the three goals that were updated in the updated Five Year Consolidated Plan. In order to be funded, an activity must meet one of the three goals. The City can carry out CDBG programs either as the recipient of the funds with house staff or consultant and contractors or by selecting subrecipients to carry out these activities . All activities that are funded have to meet specific criteria. The project has to benefit low to moderate income persons in Pasco, it has to meet eligibility criteria, it has to be a goal or objective in the Five Year Consolidated Plan, meet local needs as defined by the City of Pasco’s Resolution No. 1969 and the subrecipient has to be able to demonstrate capacity and the project has to be feasible. In 1991, Council passed Resolution No. 1969 that designated the Planning Commission as the advisory committee and Council set goals and priorities. Ms. Pitman explained the types of activities that were and were not allowable. Mr. White added that there are many activities allowable under CDBG but due to Council policy and Resolution No. 1969 set the parameters for what the City will fund. Ms. Pitman went on to explain that the request for proposals were advertised in local papers in English and Spanish, and directly mailed to recipients who have received grant funds in the past five years. Items recommended for funding will form the basis for the 2016 Annual Action Plan that is submitted to HUD for approval. The 2016 Work Plan will represent the second year of the Consolidated Plan. Based on last years’ entitlement, staff estimates $665,000 will be available for funding. Program income if received and prior year’s activities that don’t move forward will be reallocated for 2016 as they are received. Commissioner Bowers asked how program income is generated. Ms. Pitman answered that there are some funds that provide rehabilitation of housing and as those old loans are repaid they come back to the City to be reused on CDBG eligible activities. Ms. Pitman continued discussing the request for proposals. Fourteen (14) applications were received for a total of $1,552,500 which leaves a total deficit of ($887,500) from the funds available. Activities are funded based on the priorities, goals and risk factors. With no further comments that applicants can present their application in the public hearing. Chairman Cruz reminded the Commissioners are to look for eligibility and viability. Michael Goins, 403 W. Lewis Street, presented on behalf of the Downtown Pasco Development Authority. They are requesting funds for the Façade Improvement Program to help revitalize the downtown. This year with the increased activity in downtown, there is more interest in this program. He is requested $90,000 to tackle 5 projects at $15,000 per project and the remaining $15,000 would go towards a project manager and consultant fees. He briefly discussed how he would carry out the program. Currently there is 1 business owner going through the program right now. Vierra’s Bakery was a successful project that used this program. Chairman Cruz asked how many businesses have used this program in the past. Mr. Goins responded one façade every two years but it has been slow for various reasons -3- but he feels there is a much better system in place at this time. Commissioner Bowers asked if he has received CDBG funds for this in the past and if it’s a renewal. Mr. Goins replied yes. Steve Howland, 1234 Columbia Park Trail, Richland, spoke on behalf of the YMCA of the Greater Tri-Cities and he explained that he is requesting funds for the Martin Luther King Center in Kurtzman Neighborhood of Pasco. Last year was the first year they started receiving CDBG to assist with operational costs to keep their doors open after they lost their funding from the United Way. Roughly 500 kids utilize this center, participating in the after school programs and soccer programs. They YMCA matches CDBG funds with their own funds as well as other grant funds. Most of the money helps with the staffing and operations while the City has been taking care of the facility. Chairman Cruz asked Mr. Howland to discuss the programs offered at the center. Mr. Howland answered that the center opens every day after school hours during the school year and the kids are free to drop in, they have a homework center, game lab, computer room, weight room for some of the older kids and gymnasium. They also have an after school program in cooperation with the City, basketball and indoor/outdoor soccer leagues. The center is not just for the kids. Parents can utilize the computers and fitness area as well. It is a safe place for the kids to come after school. In the summer hours are a little limited but they are still open in the afternoons. Commissioner Bowers asked how much for admission. Mr. Howland responded that they pay an annual fee of $10 but they do daily passes as well and if there are people who cannot pay the rate, the YMCA will w aive the fee or work with the families. Marilou Shae, 110 S. 4th Avenue, spoke as a representative for the Pasco Specialty Kitchen. She explained that the Specialty Kitchen has a couple of applications – one for technical assistance, flooring and remodel of the facade. For technical assistance she is requesting $85,000, not including leveraged funds. In the past few years they have received $50,000 of CDBG funds which is roughly half of their income, with the other income coming from the clients that utilize the kitchen. This year they have operated Food Truck Friday and they have created 15-20 jobs, $70,000 in revenues for these small businesses in the first 4 months of the program, which has had a multiplier effect sourcing more local food, hiring local people. As it is, Michael Goins and herself are the only two running Food Truck Friday so they are looking to pump up their resources. In 2016 there will be 14 new individuals, 9 new business entering the Food Truck Friday program and the Specialty Kitchen has a men toring and training program to assist these businesses getting their start. The flooring application is to replace the 12 year old flooring that has taken flood damage, is chipping and is not the most sanitary. The façade application is to help energy efficiency and make the façade more inviting. It is the only organization on the block that doesn’t have a façade. Commissioner Bowers asked if it is a requirement to be a resident of Pasco to utilize the -4- Kitchen. Ms. Shae said that it is not a require ment and there are clients from Richland, Kennewick and Pasco. Commissioner Bowers asked if the jobs created are just for people in Pasco or for all of the Tri-Cities. She asked if there are any records or percentages of jobs created that stay in Pasco. Ms. Shae said the jobs created by these businesses since they are utilizing the Kitchen are considered Pasco jobs. Commissioner Bowers asked in a different way how many of the jobs created belong in Pasco. Ms. Shae responded that of the Kitchen clients, the percentage that are Pasco residents are 45-50%. Chairman Cruz added that it is more of a regional/community asset because he knows of people from outside of Pasco that benefit from the facility because there aren’t many other facilities like this. Ms. Shae agreed that there are no other facilities like the Pasco Specialty Kitchen. Spokane’s kitchen closed years ago. There are people from Connell, Benton City, Walla Walla and other places that utilize the kitchen. Chairman Cruz asked Ms. Shae if she could give some examples of some of the products people can find in the stores or in the area. Ms. Shae replied that AC’s BBQ Sauce, Swampy’s BBQ Sauce, who because of Food Truck Friday he has so much business he started catering. There are also jams, a tea catering company, a gluten free baking company and Country Merchantile utilizes the kitchen to make their own private label products. She was recently contacted by Brahms’s House of Chocolate because they want to bring in their processing lines for the next 6-8 months. They also have many local caterer’s that utilize the kitchen. Meals on Wheels would also like to use the kitchen to package up and the elderly would eat the food at the kitchen. Mr. Goins came back up to the podium to help answer a previous question on how many jobs stay in Pasco. Last year it was a task of theirs to come up with an Incentive Program to keep jobs in Pasco which will begin September 1, 2015 and they will begin tracking that for staff to keep clients in Pasco. It is their goal to keep the jobs in Pasco and work on restaurant recruitment. Ms. Shae added that they are coming up with a strategic plan. Commissioner Portugal asked if the taco trucks had challenges since they were not a part of the Food Truck Friday. Ms. Shae answered that between herself, Mr. Goins and the DPDA board, they approached -5- roughly 27 taco trucks, they would love to have taco trucks at Food Truck Friday. The biggest challenge is that they don’t want to give up their location, they have an ex isting contract and many are not willing to go through the licensing and permit process to be a part of the Specialty Kitchen. They made several attempts to have vendors attend board meetings and they never showed up. Commissioner Portugal asked how much the licensing fees. Ms. Shae responded that the licensing fees vary on the type of business but generally speaking $200-$300 to get started. Commissioner Portugal asked if that included licensing for Food Truck Friday. Ms. Shae answered that the Food Truck Friday is separate and it costs $25 per week for the license each week. Commissioner Bowers asked about the Specialty Kitchen serving low-moderate income clients. She asked how the kitchen does that. Chairman Cruz also asked how the Country Merchantile would fall within the low- moderate income clients. Mr. White answered that it is not a requirement that the kitchen serve low -moderate people but low-moderate clients are required to receive the CDBG subsidized rate to use the kitchen. Other people can utilize the kitchen but they will have to pay the full rate. Chairman Cruz asked how many square feet is the Specialty Kitchen. Ms. Shae responded that it is roughly 11,000 square feet. Chairman Cruz asked if she had any estimates because $72,000 for the flooring seems high. Ms. Shae said that she got 3 estimates. The material they wish to install has a 15 year warranty and is a vinyl plank instead of linoleum. She spoke with contractors about doing cement but that was going to be even more expensive. They also don’t know the condition of the subflooring. Chairman Cruz asked if $72,000 is the total figure or just a phase. Ms. Shae answered that it would be done in phases in order to keep the kitchen open but $72,000 is the total amount. Commissioner Portugal asked how many taco trucks are participating in Food Truck Friday. Ms. Shae stated that there aren’t any even though she and bilingual board members have approached them, spoke to them and passed out flyers. She stated that she would love to -6- have taco trucks participating at the Food Truck Friday’s. Commissioner Portugal asked if she is the main recruiter for bringing in vendors to Food Truck Friday. Ms. Shae responded that she is but people can also talk to city staff, DPDA board members and she would be happy to get people signed up. Chairman Cruz asked Mr. White to run through the remaining applications. Mr. White briefly discussed all City applications for funding:  CDBG Program Income for $120,000 which includes all salaries for all of the staff that works on CDBG, supplies and overhead;  Civic Center Youth Recreation Specialist and Martin Luther King Jr. Center Recreation Specialist are for funds to cover part of the salaries of staff to assist low - moderate income youth in the community in census tracts 201-204;  Senior Center Recreation Specialist covers partial salary for a staff person that serves low-moderate income senior citizens in the community;  Peanuts Park Restoration was a large request for $400,000 to make physical improvements to the park. The City is working with a consultant and has had public outreach to get a community sense of what they would like to see happen at the park and this would be the first stage;  Code Enforcement Officer would pay for partial salaries for an officer to handle code enforcement issues in census tracts 201-204 to keep those neighborhoods on the right track; and  Downtown Sidewalk Improvements would make improvements to the sidewalks, updating the signals where they would have audio to meet ADA standards in census tracts 201-204. Chairman Cruz reminded the Commission that in deciding what to fund, it is important to look at the activities that can be partially funded and still move forward or activities that need all of the funds to make the project happen. Some of the activities, such as some of the City activities, might be able to be partially funded and when program income is received, funding for the rest of the project could happen. Commissioner Mendez asked how the Downtown Sidewalk Improvement application fits in with the neighborhood revitalization effort. Mr. White stated that the neighborhood revitalization effort is for Park Street between 5th and 7th. That was funded in 2014 for the program year of 2015 so it is already funded. On Park Street there is already a sidewalk but due to overgrowth of tree roots, the sidewalk needs to be repaired for safety, where the Downtown Sidewalk Improvements are for 2016 and putting in sidewalks and audio signals where they don’t exist currently. Commissioner Bowers said at looking at the CDBG fund summary there are over $1.5 million in requests but only $665,000 available so she asked if it is the Planning Commission or Council that decides who gets what. -7- Mr. White answered that the Planning Commission makes a recommendation to Council and then Council will have final approval. Commissioner Mendez asked for clarification of the priority rankings and risk analysis. Ms. Pitman answered that the priority ranking came from one of the pages the applicants turned in on their application. For eligibility the projects have to meet national and local criteria. In the City of Pasco, physical improvements are a high priority and local goal. The physical improvement projects are a high priority, such as projects that reduce barriers to physically impaired persons, acquisition and construction, improvements to area facilities or neighborhood preservation and revitalization. These projects are ranked at A1 priorities. Economic Development opportunities are A2 priorities. The risk is based on an annual form that staff uses to see if the applicants have ever had any monitoring findings, if special skills are needed, if the staff is new to the program or experienced. Commissioner Bowers said it would be helpful to see the ranking key. She asked if all of the proposals take into account the three priorities. Ms. Pitman said that is the first filter – if they don’t meet one of the goals then they don’t even make it on the list. Chairman Cruz asked if staff would like the Planning Commission to go down the list to make decisions. Mr. White responded that the typical process is to first hold the public hearing and then at the following meeting staff will come back to the Commission with staff recommendations after sorting through priorities and risks. Then the Planning Commission at that time can deliberate and decide what they wish to recommend to Council. Chairman Cruz said that process has worked in the past and is fine with him. Commissioner Bowers asked if the staff takes into consideration their ranking or if the Planning Commission takes into consideration the staff’s rankings. Chairman Cruz responded that it is a little bit of both and clarified the process. Commssioner Bowers asked if they like everything if they could just give a percentage to each application. Chairman Cruz answered that doesn’t typically work since some projects cannot happen if they are only partially funded, however some projects can happen if a little money is cut. Ms. Pitman added that those activities that cannot be funded can still be added as a contingent later for when or if funds become available. Mr. White said there will be a second public hearing in August. With no further comments the public hearing was closed. -8- B. Block Grant 2016 HOME Program Allocation & Annual Work Plan (MF# BGAP 2015-004) Chairman Cruz read the master file number and asked for comments from staff. Angie Pitman, Block Grant Administrator, discussed the 2016 HOME Program Allocation and Annual Work Plan. Pasco receives funds by forming a consortium with Richland and Kennewick, to increase affordable housing units within the community. Based on previous years, Pasco anticipates receiving $107,000 for 2016, this is after a requirement that 15% of funds be reserved for CHDO projects, which are special housing projects such as Habitat for Humanity. There are also funds that are reserved for the lead agency to administer the program. As of now, the only activity the consortium is using is the Down Payment Assistance Program and is what the proposed 2016 funds will go towards and a CHDO project that the consortium agrees upon each year. Rick White, Community & Economic Development Director, explained the Down Payment Assistance Program and how the Planning Commission recommended that it would be the sole project funded by HOME funds. Chairman Cruz explained that with other housing projects, such as construction, there were problems but the Down Payment Assistance Program had much less liabilities and in many cases is a forgivable loan. With no further comments the public hearing was closed. Commissioner Bowers said she would like to see on the map the census tracts 201-204. Mr. White said all census tracts 201-204 is everything east of Highway 395 to the end of Pasco. Commissioner Mendez asked how many families are helped under the Down Payment Assistance Program. Ms. Pitman replied that 10 families are proposed for program year 2016. Currently staff is processing 6 applications that will close in August and since January there have been an average of 6 per month. Chairman Cruz stated that he would classify this program as very successful. He reopened the public hearing for a member of the audience to speak. David Ruiz, 409 N. 23rd Avenue, asked what qualified as a family, do they have to be married or have kids. Ms. Pitman said it is simply based just on household income, any person in the household over the age of 18 is considered and their income qualified for the program and is based on family sized. Chairman Cruz asked what the income would have to be for a family of 4. -9- Ms. Pitman said that for a family of 4 they could not earn more than $56,250 as that is 80% of the median income. There were no further questions or comments and the public hearing was closed. C. Block Grant 2016 Neighborhood Stabilization Plan (NSP) Fund Allocations (MF# BGAP 2015-005) Chairman Cruz read the master file number and asked for comments from staff. Angie Pitman, Block Grant Administrator, discussed the 2016 Neighborhood Stabilization Plan (NSP) Fund Allocations. Years ago the City of Pasco received a pass-through grant from HUD through the State of Washington for neighborhood stabilization. Those grant funds were allowed to be used to recapture foreclosed properties in distressed neighborhoods. Since receiving the grant the City has done a total of 12 down payment assistance loans, recovered 5 properties (1 of which is on the market now) and as they sell the City receives program income. The money that comes back can be used for more down payment assistance of foreclosed properties and in some cases, also used for minor rehabilitation the homes to bring to up to standard. Commissioner Bowers said it sounded like a revolving fund. Ms. Pitman replied that activities that generate program income are like that. David Ruiz, 409 N. 23rd Avenue, asked what kind of minor rehabilitation programs the City offers. Ms. Pitman said through CDBG funds, there is money available that was awarded to Community Action Connections (CAC) as a subrecipient for owner-occupied rehabilitations. The NSP rehabilitation program would be in conjunction with the down payment assistance of foreclosed properties and minor rehabilitation funds could be added to get the home up to standards. Rick White, Community & Economic Development Director, added that recently the City provided down payment assistance for a foreclosed home that had a roof in disrepair, so bundled with the down payment assistance the City was able to work with the homeowner to repair the roof and add that into the down payment assistance loan. With no further questions or comments the public hearing was closed. Commissioner Bowers asked if the CAC is a CDC. Ms. Pitman responded that unfortunately they were unable to attend the meeting. Commissioner Bowers asked if there are other CDC’s in the community. Ms. Pitman clarified that they are called CAC for Community Action Connections. -10- Mr. White clarified that CAC is not a CDC (Community Development Corporation). Pasco does not have a CDC. There were no further questions or comments. COMMENTS: With no further discussion or business, the Planning Commission was adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, David McDonald, City Planner