MINUTES

Neighborhood Revitalization Board

St. Etienne Conference Room – Armory Building

July 16, 2003

Present: Bob King, Mike Gibson, Nadine Hogate, Kimberly Hansen, Martha Walden, Mike Kinter, Jean Minahan, Carol Bower, Joann Muldoon, Pam Carmichael

Absent: Willa Mae Allen, Betty Volm, Dolph Pulliam, Paul Sadler

Staff: Kathy Kahoun (CD), Robert Schulte (CD), Mindy Miller (CD), Ben Bishop (CD), Larry Hulse (CD), Jay Leipzig (CD),

Guests: Gary Dodge

The meeting convened at 5:03. The Board welcomed new member Pam Carmichael. King said they would move the introduction of Larry Hulse up on the agenda so he could attend another meeting. Hogate moved to approve the agenda as amended, seconded by Muldoon, carried by unanimous vote. Hogate moved to approve the minutes of the July 16 meeting, seconded by Walden, carried by unanimous vote.

INTRODUCTION OF LARRY HULSE, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR. Kahoun introduced Larry Hulse who recently became the director of the City's Community Development Department following the retirement of Jim Grant on July 25. Hogate asked if he had any plans for the Board. Hulse said most of the systems that were in place were working pretty well, although some internal changes would be needed in the Department due to staff reductions. Hogate said she doubted the City would be refilling lost positions any time soon. Hulse agreed, saying cities all over the country were in similar positions or worse. Muldoon asked if there would be delays in planning due to the loss of planning staff. Hulse said that was possible, and the planning staff would not be able to take on as a many projects as formerly. He said one factor in their favor was that as veterans of quite a few neighborhood plans, the current staff was experienced and efficient. Muldoon asked when the City would go to the four day week; Hulse said the unions had not agreed, so that was not in place at this time.

Kinter said he found the Community Development's Permit Center difficult to work with. He said he felt he should get some credit for his expertise as a professional and experienced developer, and not be treated the same as somebody who didn't know what they were doing. He felt it should not take so long to get permits, and the suburbs did a better job. He said some contractors were turning down work in Des Moines because it was too much trouble to get the permits.

Hulse said it was important to realize that the kinds of projects are not the same in Des Moines as in the suburbs, nor is the sheer volume of permits. He said the Department is aware of the problems, and Administrator of the Permits Center has been working with a group of contractors on this issue.

Carmichael said the other side of this issue was that for the kinds of work her agency did, the suburbs were not as helpful. She said Des Moines provides considerable technical assistance and front-end work for her projects - things she does not have enough staff for. Hulse said nobody wanted getting permits to be a bad experience and the Board should feel free to contact him with their suggestions to improve the process.

OFFICER'S REPORT/CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION. Kahoun reported on recent City Council actions, including appointing Pam Carmichael to the Board, setting the hearing on the Highland Park SSMID, and receiving the Ingersoll Planning Committee's report.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The Board held election of officers. Muldoon nominated Betty Volm for chair; Hogate nominated Hansen; and Walden nominated King.

Allen	out	King	King
Bower	Volm	Minahan	Volm
Carmichael	Volm	Muldoon	Volm
Gibson	out	Pulliam	out
Hansen	Hansen	Sadler	out
Hogate	Hansen	Volm	out
Kinter	Volm	Walden	King
Result:	Volm 5,	Hansen 2,	King 2

Minahan nominated Muldoon for vice chair; she declined. Hogate nominated Hansen; Minahan nominated Kinter.

Allen	out	King	Hansen
Bower	Kinter	Minahan	Kinter
Carmichael	Hansen	Muldoon	pass
Gibson	out	Pulliam	out
Hansen	Hansen	Sadler	out
Hogate	Hansen	Volm	out
Kinter	Hansen	Walden	Hansen
Result:	Hansen 6,	Kinter 2,	1 pass

In the absence of the newly-elected chair, King handed the gavel to Hansen. Bower nominated Minahan for secretary; King nominated Bower.

Allen	out	King	Bower
Bower	Minahan	Minahan	Bower
Carmichael	Bower	Muldoon	Minahan
Gibson	out	Pulliam	out
Hansen	Bower	Sadler	out
Hogate	Minahan	Volm	out
Kinter	Minahan	Walden	Bower
Result:	Minahan 4,	Bower 5

CONTRACT SALES UPDATE. Bishop and Leipzig told the Board enforcement of the new contract sales ordinance is going very well. The program has generated $13,000 in revenue and 173 sales have been registered. No cases have been filed for noncompliance. Bishop said he believes the number of houses sold on contract is going down, which may be in part due to the ordinance, and in part due to the interest rates being so low that low income home buyers can get conventional financing. NCS is doing the checkup inspections, and so far their findings closely parallel the private inspectors' reports. CCI is checking the assessor's records to watch for any sales that might slip through.

Carmichael said she had heard that contract sales companies are finding other (possibly questionable) ways of doing the same business and she felt that negated any progress toward getting contract sales stopped. Walden said such practices could only further complicate situations where houses were sold and resold. She said she remembered a case where a house had twelve people who believed they owned it. Bishop said the ordinance couldn't stop the sales, but was designed to make sure the buyers know what they're getting into.

Bishop passed out brochures that are being given out telling about the ordinance and advising people to get the facts before they buy on contract.

2004 HUD CONSOLIDATED PLAN. Schulte distributed Board Communication No. 707 which detailed funding projections for CDBG, ESG, and HOME programs for the 2004 Consolidated Plan. He also distributed Board Communication No.708 which gave the schedule of presentations, performance reports for this year's projects, and staff recommendations on the proposals received for 2004. Schulte said proposal books would be distributed the following day and the monitoring staff will be at the next NRB meeting to answer any questions the Board has on the proposals. Schulte said 28 agencies had responded to the RFPs and 44 activities have been proposed. Requests total $9,250,411.

Schulte went through the projected funding figures, and explained the regulations that govern program income. Dodge said his calculations show that only 12% of the projected figures is recommended for allocation to nonprofits, if the pass-through projects are not counted (that makes it 47%). Schulte said 98% of the money went to low and moderate income services, and that exceeded the HUD requirement of 71%.

Schulte asked the Board to review the schedule and funding projections and take action at the next meeting. Schulte said staff recommended that reprogramming be done in November. The Board discussed the staff recommendations. Dodge asked why there was a substantial increase in the recommendation for Neighborhood Conservation Services Technical Assistance program. He said it seemed unfair that when City staff had been cut and the clients were referred to nonprofits, those nonprofits received recommendations lower than last year.

Schulte said the Board should forward any questions to the monitoring staff ahead of time so they could bring the answers to the next meeting. He asked if the new members wanted a short training session before planning conference; they declined. Muldoon asked that Schulte compile information as to how much money went to subrecipients versus City departments by category for the upcoming proposals. Schulte said the presentations will be held September 9, 10 and 11 in the St. Etienne Room in the Armory, and deliberations will be on September 13 at 9:00 at the Botanical Center .

NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT. Kahoun said Ann DiDonato will be at the September 3 meeting to give a presentation on conflict of interest and the gift law. The Waveland Park Plan will be delayed going to Council due to the need to publish in the newspaper. Kahoun said the planning staff have been working with the Ingersoll Planning Committee who are requesting a consultant to work with them on their Corridor Plan. They are also working on the Beaverdale Village Plan to get a SSMID in place and expand the historic district, and on the NDC proposal to rehab the Wherry Building.

COMMITTEE/REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS. Hogate distributed information on the activities of the NFC and NDC and said in attending their meetings as the Board's representative, she was impressed by both organizations. There will be an open house for the Boxing Club project in September and she urged members to go and see the excellent work that had been done. Hogate said she and some friends had been talking with the Annie E. Casey Foundation trying to get something for neighborhoods, and to find a way to shorten the time it takes to "recycle" abandoned houses. She said she would like to make their group an ad hoc committee of the NRB, and will discuss this with staff.

OTHER BUSINESS.

Muldoon said she noticed the NFC had made a statement saying they did not favor the Hawthorn Hill project. Dodge said he had also spoken to NCS staff about not relying on this developer for this project since so many of his projects were not complete. Kinter said he found some of the developer's plans impractical and not space-efficient. Kahoun said the approval the Board passed was contingent on completion of other projects.

Muldoon asked if anyone had heard the rumor that the new grocery store wasn't solvent. King said he heard that they were doing well, especially with their new program of working with the area churches.

The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.

Carol Bower, Secretary