HomeMy WebLinkAboutRDA AG PKT 2004-02-23 #A Seal Beach, California
January 26, 2004
The Redevelopment Agency of the City of Seal Beach met in
regular session at 6:45 p.m. with Chairman Yost calling the
meeting to order.
ROLL CALL
Present: Chairman Yost
Agencymembers Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson
Absent: None
Also present: Mr. Bahorski, Executive Director
Mr. Barrow, City Attorney
Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development
Services
Ms. Yeo, City Clerk /Agency Secretary
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Doane moved, second by Antos, to approve the order of the
agenda as presented.
AYES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
NOES: None Motion carried
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Chairman Yost declared Oral Communications open. Ms. Sue
Corbin, Seal Beach, stated that the Agency audit was not in
the agenda packet at the library, asked where the report is
and how can the citizens see it. The Chairman advised Ms.
Rita Brenner, Trailer Park, - that the item to which she
wished to speak was a Council item, she could comment now
or under the City Council Oral Communications. Ms. Brenner
said she would like her comments as a matter of record,
said she feels that the Agency has been hearing things
about the Trailer Park /Civic Stone saga, first of all the
program does not fairly provide for the residents that
really need the program, residents were told that whomever
filed first would get aid first, it is known who filed
first, second, etc., and who was not aided first and
second, there have been seniors who were denied and are
still waiting, one disabled senior waiting needs new
windows and heating, there is a single mother with one
child whose home is torn up and has been for many months,
last year Civic Stone got someone to do part of the work,
all they did was tear down walls, took off some of the
outside, left everything, said the work would not be done,
that a new mobile home would be better, but Civic Stone had
paid the contractor up front, no one watched what they were
or were not doing, Linc and Civic Stone indicated that
money would need to come off of the woman's allotted loan
up front, that is not fair. Ms. Brenner said now there are
three others, two are seniors, that signed a regulatory
agreement whereby they will receive specific sized new
mobile homes, given the time and price to do repairs to
almost any of the homes in the Park it seems it would cost
less to bring in new homes. While the games between Linc,
Civic Stone and the City were being played an adult couple
RDA Item A
Page Two - Redevelopment Agency Minutes - January 26, 2004
had a new home built, a redo, a roof, windows, kitchen,
appliances, now a fence is being furnished and a new
Jacuzzi will be put in, just two years before the couple
had a new roof and windows replaced by the County,
shouldn't that money be repaid,_ does no one check these
people, also, they did not have to sign a regulatory
agreement, why, this couple got more than $10,000, there
are others that are getting more than $10,000, which does
not have to be repaid, if one applicant has to sign a •
regulatory agreement then they all should, or vice versa,
was this couple part of the old crowd and got something for
it, it is not fair. Ms. Brenner claimed that there are
also people using two to three names, disabilities, getting
State money, but they did not tell the truth so they could
get anything and everything free, the people who really
need the help are not getting it. Ms. Brenner said she has
been informed that the City Attorney and Planning Director
are in charge of this program and she is calling for an
audit and investigation of the program with a report within
one month. Ms. Joyce Parque, Seal Beach, asked if there is
going to be an audit of Civic Stone, how they have handled
the money, who will do the audit, in the real world the
federal government does audits to make sure that the credit
reports and income tax reports are true. Ms. Parque
claimed that once a mobile home is repaired it can never be
moved, so why are they not paying property taxes. Chairman
Yost declared Oral Communications closed.
To the question of the Chairman with regard to availability
of the Redevelopment Agency financial reports, the
Executive Director explained that they are available in the
office of the City Clerk, at the libraries, and the Finance
Department.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Campbell moved, second by Antos, to approve the minutes of
October 27, 2003 meeting.
AYES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
NOES: None Motion carried
ANNUAL AUDIT REPORT - JUNE 30, 2003
The Executive Director noted that this is a standard annual
audit report for the Redevelopment Agency as of June 30,
2003, it is not the GASB 34 model, it breaks that out,
reported that during the year the Agency increment exceeded
expenses by $349,000 and the Low and Moderate Housing Fund
revenues exceeded expenses.
Chairman Yost asked if there is a process for evaluating or ,
auditing Civic Stone relating to the housing funds as the
Agency has dictated. The Executive Director explained that
transactions relating to the Trailer Park are reviewed by
bond counsel, outside of the home improvement agreement
there is always an audit, there are monthly reports by
Rosnow Spevacek, technically the Agency does not audit the -
Civic Stone program, an audit could be costly, however it
is a fairly straight forward process, any documents the
Agency would like to see can be obtained, a report could be
compiled as to how many loans were awarded, what they were
for, it is believed there was such a report a few meetings
'Page Three - Redevelopment Agency Minutes - January 26, 2004
back. Chairman Yost requested that that be an item for the
next agenda.
Chairman Yost stated he would leave the meeting at this
point due to the proximity of his home within five hundred
feet of the Trailer Park, the next item relating to the
Park, and turned the conduct of the meeting over to Mayor
Campbell.
Doane moved, second by Antos, to receive and file the June
30, 2003 Annual Redevelopment Agency Audit Report.
AYES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: Yost Motion carried
CONDITIONAL RENTAL SUBSIDY AGREEMENT - SUBSTANTIAL
REHABILITATION PROJECTS
The Director of Development Services presented the staff
report, explained that this item is presented for Agency
consideration in order to allow certain types of
applications within the Trailer Park for what is called
substantial rehabilitation under State law requirements to
proceed. He noted that there are conflicting provisions
between the State law requirements on the affordability of
units that undergo substantial rehabilitation and the
existing bond documents relative to the acquisition of the
Trailer Park, the issue is the long term affordability of
units whereas under substantial rehab are required to have
a covenant recorded on the property for fifty -five years to
maintain the long term affordability under State law
requirements. He noted that Linc expressed some concern
that by signing those types of unit regulatory agreements
at some time in the future the affordable rent could be
calculated pursuant to the State law provisions, and might
in some manner impact their ability to make the long term
bond debt payments by ,restricting the rent on certain
units. The Director explained that the agreement before the
Agency has been negotiated between City counsel and counsel
for Linc, whereas the Agency would agree to make up
whatever the shortfall amount might be of the long term
affordability rents over that period of time, and as
indicated in the staff . report there are two properties
involved in this, both properties at this point do not
receive a subsidy for the rent as far as affordability, it
is also not seen where that situation would occur, the
staff report also indicates that these are the only two
properties that staff will approach the Agency with under
this type of situation. He explained further that one of
the properties is the result of the initial work starting
as a rehabilitation loan however once they started to tear
into the unit there was substantial termite damage found
which was unanticipated and put the property into a
substantial rehabilitation category. The Director noted
that this is an issue that counsels for the City and Linc
have been working on for about four to five months, the
recommendation is execution of the agreement attached to
the staff report. Councilman Antos asked what would be the
practical impact of signing the agreement if the Agency at
some point in the future were to decide to abolish the
Agency. In response, the Director said he did not know if
' Page Four — Redevelopment Agency Minutes - January 26, 2004
that would be an issue that could be addressed at this
meeting, the Agency in the past has provided staff reports
on the impact of disbanding the Agency prior to its normal
termination as set forth by ordinance, that could be
brought back to the Agency, yet this is basically a
guarantee that rents will not rise to a level to where Linc
would have to subsidize a portion of the rent to maintain
long term affordability, at this point the ability to pay
rent, by both properties, exceeds what the long term
affordability figure is, and it is expected that those
numbers would stay in line over the period of time that the
covenant would be in place, there are other identified
costs involved with regard to bonded indebtedness, etc.
that would have to be considered in any disbandonment of
the Agency. Councilman Antos said assuming that at some
point in time the property might change hands and there
would be another owner, would this agreement remain in
effect with a new owner whose income was such that they did
not need the rental subsidy for affordability. The
Director noted that the proposed agreement is applicable to
successors and assigns of the resident and Linc as the
property owner, the second is that under the regulatory
agreement that the residents of these two units sign there
are provisions in the agreements that the Agency previously
approved that discusses the fact that they can not sell to
persons of less income yet can sell to persons of equal or
greater income provided it does not exceed the moderate
income level, if it does then the Agency has the option of
buying the unit at that time if that was desired.
Councilman Antos surmised that if the unit were sold to a •
moderate income person at some point that did not need the
rental subsidy then this particular provision would not be
applicable and the owners would basically pay the going
rent for that type of unit. Mayor Campbell noted that the
Park residents pay a vehicle license tax on their units,
and inquired what other tax they pay. The Director noted
that there are a number of different ways that personal
property taxes are paid on these units, if a mobile home or
travel trailer they pay a license fee to the Department of
Motor Vehicles as one would with a car, that type of a
license fee is not paid on the manufactured homes rather a
personal property tax not a property tax, because they do
not own the in -fee title to the property itself, it is
taxed as personal property such as a boat or business
inventory in a commercial enterprise, the Trailer Park
property as a whole is owned by Linc Housing and they pay
property taxes on the-entire mobile home park, the
residents in the Park do not own land, they lease the land
and then place a unit on the land, the type of tax that is
paid is dependent upon the type of living unit, in cases
where the mobile home or travel trailer or portions thereof
exist they may be paying a license fee and personal
property tax, it depends upon the individual situation..
Doane moved, second by Campbell, to approved the
Conditional Rental Subsidy Agreement and authorize the
Executive Director to execute said Agreement, and
furthermore, that the applicants for 54 Riversea Road and
139 Cottonwood Lane be authorized to proceed with the
replacement of their unit within the loan limits and
guidelines of the approved Home Improvement Program.
•
Page Five - Redevelopment Agency Minutes - January 26, 2004
AYES: Campbell, Doane, Larson
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: Antos, Yost Motion carried
ADJOURNMENT
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Agency,
to adjourn the meeting at 7:06 p.m.
THESE MINUTES ARE TENTATIVE ONLY, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL
OF THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH.
Redevelopment Agency Minutes Approved: