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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRDA Min 2003-01-27 I I I 10-28-02 I 11-25-02 I 12-23-02 I 1-27-03 adjourn the meeting at 7:56 p.m., the next meeting likely not until January, 2003. t~~J~~ Seal Beach, California November 25, 2002 The Redevelopment Agency regular meeting was canceled by action of the City Council. Seal Beach, California December 23, 2002 The Redevelopment Agency regular meeting was canceled by action of th City Council. Seal Beach, California January 27, 2003 The Redevelopment Agency of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 6:52 p.m. with Chairman Campbell calling the meeting to order. R~LC~L Present: Chairman Campbell Agencymembers Antos, Larson Absent: Agencymembers Doane, Yost Agencymember Yost arrived at 7:18 p.m. Larson moved, second by Antos, to excuse the absence of Agencymember Doane from this meeting. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Antos, Campbell, Larson None Doane, Yost Motion carried 1-27-03 Also present: Mr. Bahorski, Executive Director Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Ms. Yeo, City Clerk APPROVAL OF AGENDA Larson moved, second by Antos, to approve the order of the agenda as presented. I AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Antos, Campbell, Larson None Doane, Yost Motion carried PUBLIC COMMENTS Chairman Campbell declared the Public Comment period to be open. Ms. Joyce parque, 6th Street, made reference to the Mobilehome Mortgage Assistance and Substantial Rehabilitation Program for which there are fifty-seven applications, and asked if the applicants are aware that they need to sign a covenant for fifty-five years, said the other program had a covenant for forty-five years. The Development Services Director stated that the actual covenant document is still in the process of being prepared by the attorney firm, the agenda item will allow staff to go forward to talk to the applicants with forms in a format with which they are aware, the covenant will come forth at a later point in time. Ms. parque asked then how these loans can be made, also, claimed it was the attorney firm that did the Trailer Park covenants, she asked too how often the Trailer Park residents were required to complete a financial statement to be forwarded to the State, that was to have been done once a year. The Director corrected his response to clarify that under the unit regulatory agreement for the mortgage assistance program, on page four there is a section on covenants to maintain affordability that discusses the requirements for that program. Ms. Sue Corbin, Seal Beach, asked if the persons would know before they apply how long the covenant would be. She inquired why there is an amended conflict of interest code on the agenda, has it been brought to the Council, and added that the Brown Act does not disallow the' Council to answer questions rather disallows discussion of something that is not on the agenda. Mr. Jim Caviola, Seal Beach, stated he had sent letters to the Council/Agency, said the City was a victim of a felony by the former Council/ Agency member, it is disturbing to him that the City Attorney is representing him, that is separate from paying for his defense, which he believes the City does not have to do either, his question is who is now the attorney for the Council/Agency, an attorney who works for the city attorney firm is believed to have met with the Council/Agency in closed session the day five motions were won in court, it is now known that the residents do not own the Park, it is also now realized that federal guidelines were not followed, which he sent the Council/Agency this week, when the deed restriction was placed on the Park to obtain the loans that funded that project. Mr. Caviola asked that the Council/ Agency do something, at,present nothing is being done, the reason that all persons are victims is that was the low income housing element, the homes of the Park residents, the increased sale price of the Park was because of the former Council/Agency member, the City fronted $1 million for the bridge loan, that money is sitting in Sacramento, the City can have it when the people sign for it however they will not I I 1-27-03 I because of the situation, the bond broker received $344,000, the city attorney received $127,000 to draft documents that are now known do not conform to federal regulations, there should have been a one hundred year deed restriction on that property, then there would have been fifty-five years left for the residents to purchase the trailers and to sell their trailers, that is the scheme that is set up by the federal system so that they have a sense of ownership, that was voided with the thirty year covenant, this is typical redevelopment agency behavior, it is confusing and all became victims. Mr. Caviola asked that the CounCil/Agency join the lawsuit and reverse what has been done, the bonds are no longer tax exempt if the finding is that the Council/Agency did not follow the regulations, $6.7 million of federal bonds were floated against the regulations, the Council/Agency needs to do something to protect the homes of the Park residents, the City's low income housing, and remove Linc from the situation. Chairman Campbell inquired as to the deed restrictions at the time of the Trailer Park sale. The City Attorney clarified that his firm was not bond counsel for the Trailer Park bond issue, the majority of the questions should be directed to bond counsel, yet with respect to the statute that the speaker referred to, it went into effect in 2001, it was increased to fifty-five years for rental property and forty-five years for single family homes, at the time the bonds were issued there was a prior law that is thought to have been either fifteen or thirty years. Mr. Ed Lanahan said if Linc wants a trailer park why don't they go buy one, why are the Park residents buying the Park for Linc. Mr. Lanahan stated that his rent had been $240 per month, in two years it is $480 per month, in thirty years the people in the Park will have paid $20,736,000, when he inquired of Mr. Johnson of Linc why their name was on the Park documents he was informed that at the end of the thirty or thirty-five years they would sell it back to the residents if they want it, that is wrong, it is the people that are buying a trailer park for Linc, why would the people of Seal Beach want those kinds of people in this community. Mr. Lanahan expressed his feeling that all of the people of Seal Beach have something in common, they have been fooled, lied to, the Park was put in Linc's name behind closed doors, the people were not in that meeting, members of the Council/ Agency signed the documents, the residents were congratulated, the people would pay for the Park and own it. Mr. Lanahan asked that the Council/Agency join with the Trailer Park residents to resolve the existing situation, do what is fair and honest and right for the people of Seal Beach and the residents of the Park. He concluded by saying that when there were complaints that the spa did not work, the residents were told it would be replaced with a spa that would hold about thirteen people, instead they filled in the existing spa with dirt. Chairman Campbell explained that Linc looked into having the spa refurbished, several people objected, they then tried to have it fixed and found that it could not be fixed. Mr. Lanahan asked that the Council join with them to get the situation resolved. Ms. Reva Olson, Seal Beach, said all of the people have been taken or it is a conspiracy, the people do not know what happened behind closed doors, what kind of legal advice the Council/Agency may have gotten, or how it was negotiated, some people in the Park said they depended on Mayor Larson as he is an attorney, and said she hoped the CounCil/Agency would join their efforts. Ms. Karen Tarascio, Trailer Park, said she had offered to do some improvement work in the Park however was told that the residents could not do the work themselves for I I 1-27-03 insurance reasons, it needs to be known that the residents are willing to do whatever it takes to make the Park look better. Ms. Tarascio made the statement that as part of the purchase agreement of the Seal Beach Trailer Park a rental subsidy program was created to assure that none of the low income homeowners in the Park would be forced to move due to the new higher rents, per this agreement Linc receives $180,000 per year from the Redevelopment Agency setaside. She mentioned that one of the homeowners in the Park asked the City finance director for a written copy of the qualification rules and guidelines for the program, the response was that the City did not have any such information, the City provides the money to Linc to disperse and that the homeowner could obtain the information from Linc, the same homeowner went to the Linc office and requested the written copy of the qualification rules and guidelines however was told that no one was available to provide a copy and the homeowner was asked to leave the office, to that Ms. Tarascio offered that it is entirely reasonable to expect that the written information be available at the Linc office during normal business hours on a business day. On behalf of the homeowners of the Trailer Park, Ms. Tarascio asked that the Mayor, City Attorney, Finance Director and the Redevelopment Agency Director have Linc mail the written information on the Seal Beach Trailer Park rental subsidy program to every address in the Seal Beach Trailer park, the written information to include all details of the program, income limits, allowable expenses, etc. She asked that this information be made available immediately in that another rent increase is forthcoming on April 1st, 2003. Ms. Elizabeth Levi, Cottonwood Lane, said her home was purchased a year ago by using her mothers retirement income of $80,000, that was all of the money they had so they checked carefully into purchasing this home, they felt comfortable with the purchase as it was to be for low income persons which they are, she is on social security disability, her mother is retired and ill, and there are four children to support, this seemed to be the perfect place for her family, when they moved in they were promised ownership then shortly thereafter they found out that they actually own nothing. Ms. Levi noted that her mother is now very ill and should she pass away she would not be able to keep up the payments, and she would have nothing to sell, at present the residents that desire to sell can not because of the legal issues, something needs to be resolved, the purchase price was all of the money they will have in a lifetime, to acquire another home would be basically impossible. Ms. Levi said some help from the Council/Agency is desperately needed, they are in the Park because they are low income, it is their home which they will never be able to replace, to that she asked that help be forthcoming. I I Agencymember Yost arrived at 7:18 p.m. Ms. Rita Brenner, Trailer Park, expressed her belief that the Council/Agency were sincere in saying that the residents would become the owners of the Trailer Park. She noted that Mr. Johnson of Linc was present at the hearings, he was in the plan of Mr. Hall from the beginning, asked the status of the $1 million MPROP money that was to be reimbursed to the City, said Mr. Johnson made no attempt to obtain the signatures of the residents as required, their group could obtain the required signatures to get the $1 million for the City, the current president of the Homeowners Association has done considerable research, he has the following of the I 1-27-03 I residents, confirmed that the residents did look to Mayor. Larson for expertise given his past legal career. Ms. Brenner said after the Park was given to Mr. Johnson he refused to write up the eventual control by the residents, stating that it could not be done, that another fabrication that everyone fell for, if other resident owned parks were contacted it would be found that they too had come across the likes of Linc, they can explain what has been going on up and down the coast, they have people with expertise that can explain that eventual control can legally go to the residents, Mr. Johnson said once the bonds are paid that is not possible, a previous speaker however said that is not so, this situation can easily be fixed. Ms. Brenner noted a recent news article reported that $80 per year would go to the payment for the Park, to clarify, the residents have had an $80 increase every year, paying $80 more a month every year, they were told that would go towards their ownership. Dr. David Rosenman, Seal Beach, said as a citizen it appears that the Council/Agency got on the wrong side of an issue rather than listen to a litany of who said what, he too heard it said that the residents would own the Park, what he would like to hear is an agenda item for a future meeting for a corrective plan of action to deal with the deficits, his belief is that people continue to address this body because there is no response. Mr. Paul Jeffers, Trailer park, made reference to the comments relating to cleanup of the jacuzzi area, said he noticed persons working in the area about a month ago, when he inquired what they were doing he was informed that they were filling up the jacuzzi, to that he had made the statement that he recalled a comment of Mr. Johnson that money would be set aside to fix the jacuzzis, the response of the Park manager was that a survey was done and the residents indicated they no longer wanted the jacuzzi, to that Mr. Jeffers said he responded that there is a Homeowners Association where such things are to be discussed, to that the response was that the decision was to fill it up. Mr. Jeffers mentioned that there is a Affordable Housing Commission, Linc Housing, and Park management yet there is no communication, he wrote a personal letter to Linc about a month ago, there has been no response, the Park needs some management, there needs to be some communication to get things done that were promised. There being no further comments, Chairman Campbell declared Public Comments to be closed. I APPROVAL OF MINUTES Larson moved, second by Antos, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of October 28, 2002. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I RESOLUTION NUMBER 03-1 - CONFLICT OF INTEREST CODE Resolution Number 03-1 was presented to the Agency entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE SEAL BEACH REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ADOPTING AN AMENDED CONFLICT OF INTEREST CODE WHICH INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE THE STANDARD CONFLICT OF INTEREST CODE PREPARED BY THE FAIR POLITICAL PRACTICES COMMISSION AND REPEALS AGENCY RESOLUTION NUMBER 94-2." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 03-1 was waived. At the request of the Chair, the Executive Director noted that the reason the Conflict of Interest Code is on the Agency agenda is that it is a separate entity under State conflict of interest provisions. Larson moved, second by Antos, to adopt Resolution Number 03-1 as presented. 1-27-03 AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ANNUAL AUDIT REPORT - FISCAL YEAR 2002 By unanimous consent, the members of the Agency received and filed the Annual Audit Report as of June 30, 2002. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I MOBILE HOME MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE AND SUBSTANTIAL REHABILITATION PROGRAMS The Director of Development Services presented the staff report, explained that as noted in the report the Agency has previously approved a number of rehabilitation loan and grant programs using the housing setaside funds of the Redevelopment Agency, the agenda item is the last component of the various approved programs, these being the actual documents that a person who resides in the Trailer Park and wishes to participate in either the mortgage assistance program or the substantial rehabilitation loan program would be required to execute in order to participate in these programs. In response to a public comment, the Director cited Section 4 of the Unit Regulatory Agreement which specifies that the term of the Agreement is fifty-five years, Section 5 which discusses the covenants that are required to maintain the affordability in accordance with the provisions of the Health and Safety Code that sets forth the regulations for redevelopment agencies for offering these types of programs, there is a fifty-five year State law provision for rental properties, the spaces in the Trailer Park are rental properties in that they are not owned by the individual that owns the trailer itself. The Director noted that Mr. Alliason of Civic Stone, the consultant who manages these programs for the City and has direct contact with the individuals that wish to participate, was present to respond to questions. I Agencymember Antos said since these monies are coming from Redevelopment Agency funds, and since the Governor is attempting to take a large amount of redevelopment agency housing money, asked if that action will have any affect on the availability of monies for mortgage assistance in the Trailer Park, also, a member of the public stated that they had tried to obtain information on rental subsidy programs, the City does not have that information, Linc Housing has it yet it is not being made available to the public, and asked if it is possible for the City or Linc to provide that information to the people. With regard to the first question, the City Attorney said with respect to the proposal of the Governor, it is uncertain at this point what the final form of that proposal will be, however the key to that proposal, which changes almost daily, is that it applies to any of the twenty percent setaside which has not been committed prior to December 1st, 2002, this program is believed to have been approved in October, 2002, therefore arguably it has been committed and the Governor would not be able to reach the funds needed for these programs. With regard to the rental subsidies that were part of the agreement in year 2000, the City Attorney stated that those have been encumbered and theoretically the State would not be able to attach those funds either, in both cases these monies were encumbered prior to December 1st. In regard to the rental guidelines, the Executive Director offered to call Mr. Johnson of Linc Housing the following day to request that he I 1-27-03 I provide the guidelines. It was clarified that the agenda item is merely the documents related to the October, 2002 actions of the Agency, for information purposes only. Agencymember Larson said his thinking at this point is that an impartial person is necessary to meet with the interested parties, not take sides, he had never heard of Linc Housing, the people are not being given what they need, there are people who are living on social security, he can not sit as a Council/Agency member and just say that is too bad, something needs to be done, he does not want to get involved in the lawsuit, his normal reaction would be to do nothing until the lawsuit is over, that will be two to three years, yet meanwhile there are citizens of this City that need help, when people do not answer questions and are too busy to forward paperwork or discuss with the people what is going on, that is not right. Agencymember Larson stated he wants to do the best possible for the people who live here, at this point he does not know how but something has to happen, there must be someone who would be impartial, possibly the former Interim Manager. The response was that the Interim Manager could not as he sits on the Homeowners and Linc Boards. Chairman Campbell noted that due to the lawsuit the Council/ Agency can not say some things they would like. By unanimous consent, the Agency received and filed the Mobilehome Mortgage Assistance and Substantial Rehabilitation Programs report. I STATUS REPORT - HOME IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM The Executive Director noted that this is merely a receive and file report, the intent is to advise the Agency of the level of activity in the Home Improvement Program. By unanimous consent, the status report was received and filed. I AGENCY COMMENTS Chairman Campbell expressed her intent to comment on the City's defense of former Council/Agency member Boyd, this issue continues to come up as it relates to the Trailer Park lawsuit, the intent may have been to sue the former Council/Agency member as an individual however as soon as the lawsuit mentioned Mr. Boyd as a member of the Council and challenged the votes he took as a member of the Council, that pulled the City into the lawsuit, the Government Code states that the City has an obligation to defend Council members and City employees acting in the course and scope of their employment. The outcome of the charges brought by the office of the District Attorney is known, that is separate from the Trailer Park lawsuit and has its own venue. Like it or not in this Country one is innocent until proven guilty and pleading guilty to one set of charges does not mean one is guilty on all charges, it matters not what any person thinks personally, that is the reason for the defense by the City. With regard to the Brown Act, at every meeting before going into the Public Comment period a statement is made that the Council/Agency can not discuss or take action on any items not listed on the agenda unless authorized by law, that means the Councilor Agency can not engage in discussions, her personal feeling is that if someone asks a question there should be the ability to answer, yet that is not the way it is. Chairman Campbell noted that a lot is going on with regard to the Trailer Park issue, noting that she must be cautious as to what is said, she mentioned that they are in the process of trying to get the title transferred from Linc to the Seal Beach Affordable Housing Corporation, the documents say that when the bonds are paid the control of the Park will rest with the Seal Beach Affordable Housing 1-27-03 / 2-24-03 / 3-24-03 Corporation, the three Linc members will resign from the Corporation at that time, and two people from the community and two people from the Trailer Park will select three more members, that will be the seven member Board, they will basically have control, that is what was wanted, and likened the arrangement to a condominium situation. Chairman Campbell expressed concern with the incorrect comments and statements that are being made, yet when things are explained there are those who get angry because they do not like the message, it is unfortunate that things have degraded to this, it is wished there was an easier way, it may be necessary to let this play out in the courts. Councilman Yost offered an apology for his tardiness to the meeting, and said he would also not be adverse to disseminating more information. I ADJOURNMENT It was the order of adjourn the meeting the Chair, with consent of the Agency, to at 7:40 p.m. r-- ~ \ I " C'- ~~ Seal Beach, California February 24, 2003 I The Redevelopment Agency regular meeting was canceled due to the lack of business items in need of consideration. Seal Beach, California March 24, 2003 The Redevelopment Agency regular meeting was canceled due to the lack of business items in need of consideration. I