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Minutes 04-11-13 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PUBLIC PARTICIPATION MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2013, AT 4:30 P.M. IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, BOYNTON BEACH CITY HALL 100 E. BOYNTON BEACH BOULEVARD, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present for the City: Octavia S. Sherrod, Manager, Community Improvement Division Debbie Reamsnyder Debbie Majors, Grants Coordinator Attendees: Carl Zimbro Sherry Johnson Esperanta Saintvil Carmelita Smith I. Opening A. Call to Order — Octavia S. Sherrod Octavia Sherrod, Manager of the Community Improvement Division, began the meeting at 4:38 p.m. and welcomed all who were in attendance. Ill. Overview of CDBG Program Ms. Sherrod explained the meeting was the City's annual citizen participation portion of the CDBG program. The meeting is required by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) who mandated receiving citizen input about the use of CDBG funds. A. History Ms. Sherrod explained the City's entitlement status is determined by the Secretary of the Department of HUD, based on population, and the amount is determined by a set formula. Activities undertaken by municipalities must benefit low to moderate - income individuals, address slum and blight and /or address a particular urgent, community need such as a hurricane, fire, tsunami or other disaster. There are also federal requirements that need to be met. Staff has to have an Annual Consolidated Plan and develop a long -range plan every five years. Each year, the plan is updated to specifically reflect what they will accomplish that year. Meeting Minutes Community Development Block Grant Boynton Beach, Florida April 11, 2013 At the end of the year, staff compiles a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. She noted in the past 16 years, the City has received $8,496,845. Some of the items the program could address were: ➢ Open space ➢ Urban renewal ➢ Neighborhood development program grants ➢ Public and neighborhood facilities ➢ Water and sewer ➢ Acquisition and disposition of property ➢ Clearance and demolition ➢ Earthquakes and flooding ➢ Relocation assistance. ➢ Code Enforcement and Crime Prevention Ms. Sherrod explained the City spent over $345,000 on urban renewal projects. One project was the Boynton Beach Senior Citizen Center on Federal Highway. The City spent $386,600 on land acquisition, in accordance with the Heart of Boynton (HOB) plan. The plan is a long -range plan to redevelop that area. It has been ongoing for a number of years and has been undertaken in conjunction with the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to acquire property, build new single - family homes and attain other goals. Another such project included reimbursing the City $43,170 for architectural plans for the Wilson Center. In the past, the City acquired property for a public use and relocation was needed when the Boynton Terrace Apartments suffered severe hurricane damage. The buildings were condemned and tenants had to be relocated. Staff amended the plan and assisted in their relocations. In 2005 and 2006, about $38,000 was used for moving expenses or deposits to facilitate tenant moves. Housing construction is an eligible activity when a Community Development Corporation (CDC) is used. In 2009, the City received an extra allocation of CDBG dollars from the Neighborhood Stabilization I and III Programs (NSP). The NSP I allocation was $2.9 million that was used to purchase 15 foreclosed properties. The City rehabilitated them and sold them to low to very-low income individuals. The NSP III program allocation was $1.1 million. The City funded some of the Ocean Breeze West development project, in the former Boynton Terrace location, in partnership with the Boynton Beach Faith Based Community Development Corporation, Habitat for Humanity and the CRA. The City expended all of the NSP I funds and were completing expenditures from the NSP III funds. Housing rehabilitation activities include lead -based paint testing and abatement on houses constructed prior to 1978. In this circumstance, certified contractors must be used to remove the paint and many homes were identified. Funds are used for the 2 Meeting Minutes Community Development Block Grant Boynton Beach, Florida April 11, 2013 removal of architectural barriers and housing rehabilitation for homeowners of single - family, detached homes located within City limits. The City provided funds for employment training, creation and retention of jobs, and special activities for the Boynton Beach Faith Based CDC. She noted the Boynton Beach Faith Based CDC and the R. M. Lee CDC merged to form one CDC and they helped facilitate various housing and economic development projects as they occurred within the City. The CDC also helped with single - infill housing in the HOB. In prior years, the City received state monies from the State Housing Initiative Partnership (SHIP) program via the Sadowski Act. These funds are generated through a percentage of the documentary stamps paid on real estate transactions and deposited into a Housing Trust Fund for homeownership assistance. The City has spent $.5 million dollars, supplemented by $3.5 million in SHIP funds on public facility improvements. Examples of these include the acquisition, installation, construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure such as sidewalks and street paving. These funds can be used for the acquisition, construction or rehab of neighborhood facilities for individuals with special needs, senior citizens, homeless centers, group homes and others; however, the City does not receive the kind of funding to undertake projects of that magnitude. Public services, including job training and employment, health care, and substance and domestic abuse programs, are CDBG eligible expenses. The program funds a mentoring program at Boynton Beach High School to teach students how to deal with bullying and dating. High school students mentor elementary school students and the program has received accolades. Funds were spent on emergency services through the Community Caring Center. They offer employment training with the Palm Beach County Resource Center. The Community Caring Center fulfills many HUD requirements and deals with people in need. The service is vital to the community as they provide bus passes to look for jobs, help prevent homelessness, help senior citizens with medications, and provide vouchers for medical care and food. The City offers childcare and summer camp scholarships for residents, including free or reduced lunches, tutorial programs and student and youth mentoring programs. Specialty camps are offered without regard to one's economic status. The CDBG program funds the Legal Aid Society and the Fair Housing Council to assist the public in housing and other matters. Interpreters were available in Creole and Spanish and flyers in the same are distributed. They distribute educational materials to all City -owned facilities, park centers and others and when staff receives calls, they are referred to agencies. 3 Meeting Minutes Community Development Block Grant Boynton Beach, Florida April 1 1, 2 013 Staff anticipated about a 5% decrease in CDBG funds for 2013/2014. Of those funds, 15% can be used for social /public services, and 20% can be used for planning and the administration of the program. The other 65% would be used for housing rehabilitation and economic development. There are many more mandates to the program. Because the program mandates affordable housing, an analysis of the housing market and severity of the market is conducted. Staff has to address homeless needs for renters, owners, families, families with disabilities, individuals with HIV, and others who lose their homes due to foreclosures. Staff has to identify housing, facilities meeting needs of the homeless and chronically homeless, families with children, veterans, unaccompanied minors and youth and mainstream services such as health, mental health, and employment services especially those that target homeless people. They have to develop a system for reducing and ending homelessness. Staff has to pay attention to individuals with special needs who are not homeless, the frail and elderly, those with disabilities, individuals with substance abuse issues, HIV and public housing residents. The Community Caring Center is a good example of an agency paying attention to the elderly, especially their food and nutrition needs. Many individuals in distressed neighborhoods that have limited incomes and have to buy medicine and food. They still have mortgages to pay and have to worry about electric bills, and many other issues. The City does not have a public housing authority, but is served by the Delray Beach Housing Authority, the Palm Beach County Housing Authority and the City of West Palm Beach Housing Authority. The County owns properties and they, along with Delray Beach, issue vouchers so tenants can rent anywhere they want as long as the owner agrees to accept Section 8 vouchers. The program has addressed public facilities and emergency and transitional shelters. Staff has to be knowledgeable of all agencies that provide services to individuals in need. They also work closely with the Boynton Beach Police Department and keep apprised of the statistics about how many beds are available for those in special circumstances. Public Audience and Using Sub - Recipients Esperanta Saintvil, from Recovery and Empowerment, operates an afterschool FLAT mentoring program, and she expressed she needed help with the application process. Ms. Sherrod explained there is an application workshop on April 18th, at a location to be determined. Interested parties should submit one original bound hard copy application and one copy on a flash drive. Individuals could also make an appointment to meet privately with Ms. Sherrod. She noted last year the Review Committee reviewed 4 Meeting Minutes Community Development Block Grant Boynton Beach, Florida April 11, 2013 applications online. She introduced Debby Majors, the City's Grants Administrator and Voluntary Compliance Administrator for the program. Sherry Johnson, of the Community Caring Center, inquired about the Five -Year plan, and when it would be updated. Ms. Sherrod noted the current plan covered years 2012 to 2017, but the City is still required to have an annual One -Year Action Plan. Ms. Johnson further inquired if the Action Plan referred to the HOB, and whether notice is given to receive public input on the plan. Ms. Sherrod responded public input is provided through this forum. Ms. Johnson inquired if a grocery store component was ever included in the plan. Ms. Sherrod responded she did not believe so and noted there was discussion about revisiting the HOB plan and they will look for input from the public, residents and merchants of the area when it is addressed. Development of the HOB was a slow process. Ms. Johnson went on record she wanted to be a part of that conversation. Since the plan was published in 2012, the Department of Agriculture designated this area as a food desert component and she wanted to ensure the language was included in the plan. The boundaries for the food desert were from Federal Highway to 1 -95 and from Ocean Avenue to Hypoluxo. It did not mean there are not enough grocery stores, but the food in those stores must be healthy and affordable. She explained there are funds available to assist communities to address this and Ms. Johnson wanted the City to be able to tap into those dollars. As a non- profit, she wanted to pursue that component and have language in the plan when it is updated. Ms. Sherrod explained the City is developing a strategic plan to revitalize that area and partner with other non - profits like Habitat for Humanity, the CDC and CRA to make a difference in the community. Adjournment There were no further questions or comments. Ms. Sherrod thanked all for coming and ended the meeting at 5:21 p.m. Catherine Cherry"_ Minutes Specialist 051313 5