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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-08-26 Work Session Minutes Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Suite 200, Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.deschutes.org MINUTES OF WORK SESSION DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2009 ___________________________ Present were Commissioners Dennis R. Luke and Alan Unger; Commissioner Tammy Baney was out of the office. Also present were Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator; David Inbody, Assistant to the Administrator; Judith Ure, Administration; Tom Anderson, Community Development; representatives of NeighborImpact and the City of Bend and several other citizens; and two representatives of the media. Vice Chair Luke opened the meeting at 1:30 p.m. 1. NeighborImpact – Foreclosure Prevention Strategies. Erik Kropp introduced Laura Fritz and Corky Senegal of NeighborImpact, and Jim Long, the Affordable Housing Manager for the City of Bend. Ms. Fritz explained that the foreclosure rate in Central Oregon is the highest in the State, and affects all income levels. The issues are typically related to loss of income or unemployment, and not necessarily sub-prime loans. Commissioner Luke said that builders were doing spec homes and people had been investing in more than one house. He asked if there is a relationship of these versus a home that someone is living in as a primary residence. Ms. Fritz replied that their focus is on the primary residence, and she could not say how the numbers relate. Many people in the construction and real estate industries have been affected. Banks will not work with someone if there is no ability to pay. She said that NeighborImpact was hit last year by this crisis. They had two housing counselors professionally trained in foreclosure prevention, but they are hiring more now to meet the need. There are other groups out there who will help, but they charge a fee. NeighborImpact is HUD certified and its services are free. There is a big distinction. No income test is required for this service. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, August 26, 2009 Page 1 of 7 Pages Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, August 26, 2009 Page 2 of 7 Pages They tried to work with everyone on an individual basis, but it is now overwhelming. Instead, a foreclosure workshop is now being offered every two or three weeks. People who need counseling first need to attend the class, before receiving individual counseling. The biggest complaint from their clients is that it is difficult to get information from the loan servicer or bank. Another reason for the workshop is to provide information they can use to work with their lender themselves. Attendance in the workshops usually is about 20 people. These have been offered since April, but only in Redmond. They serve the tri-county area. NeighborImpact would also like to get information out on what people need to avoid. At this point, they are typically in a panic and vulnerable to scams. There are companies out there that will charge to assist them, but many of these will just take what little money the person has left. (copy of class information) Commissioner Luke asked if they are hearing about people walking away from their home or having damaged it before leaving. Ms. Fritz said she is not in one-on-one contact with clients, but knows there are instances of this. If someone does not have income, it is a challenge to keep his or her own home. Ms. Fritz asked the Board if they could help get the word out about what hey do in this regard, as they want people to be made aware of this service before it is too late to help them. Dave Kanner suggested putting the information or a link on the County’s website. Commissioner Unger said that public service announcements would help people become more aware of NeighborImpact and its services. Ms. Fritz asked if some kind of information could be inserted with the next property tax billings. She said that working with the County adds another layer of legitimacy to what they are offering. Commissioner Luke replied that there is an associated cost of printing and inserting. He said that members of the Central Oregon Builders’ Association and the Realtors get weekly updates via e-mail, and other groups may have newsletters or e-mail lists of members. Mr. Kanner said he would put the County Communications Coordinator in touch with Ms. Fritz to help reach the different groups. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, August 26, 2009 Page 3 of 7 Pages Jim Long of the City of Bend stated that part of the Recovery Act funding could be utilized to stabilize housing. It has to be used for down payments on bank- owned, foreclosed properties. It involves a competitive grant based on census tracts. A consortium application can also be done, involving other areas. Some could be used for down payment on housing, while some could be used for rehab assistance. His group is working with NeighborImpact and Housing Works on this program. The goal, if they get funding, will result in getting perhaps 300 homes out of jeopardy. It would be a zero interest, deferred payment program, with the funds coming back in at time of sale. It is not an investment program and has to be for primary residences. Corky Senegal added that additional stimulus funds would be aimed at the homeless issue, preventing homelessness and stabilizing people’s situations. She gave an overview of how the funding might be used and the timeframe involved. There are from 28 to 35 households on the rolls at any given time. This augments the rental assistance program, but are grants and not loans. There has been a slight increase in emergency shelter services funding from the federal government, but they took big cuts from the State, some as much as 32%. Erik Kropp added that homelessness is a regional issue. The ten-year plan to address homelessness shows that a homeless person in one county does impact another. Commissioner Luke said that the realization is there and the various entities are working together as a region on this. Ms. Senegal added that this adds strength. The State and HUD are watching what happens in this region to see if the same would work elsewhere. Andy High of the Central Oregon Builders’ Association said that he is involved in reviewing applications on rehabs and remodels for banks. A lot of members are working on these rehabs and remodels now. His group is working on a program to make sure that when people move out, they leave things in reasonable condition and that the property is secure after they leave. They have people working on these situations every day right now. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, August 26, 2009 Page 4 of 7 Pages 2. Request from Bend Community Center for DEQ Grant. Bruce Abernethy requested that the County apply to DEQ for a solid waste grant on behalf of the Bend Community Center to help augment their waste prevention efforts. One is a bundling program for clothing left over from thrift stores to keep that material out of landfills. The market is about 7-8 cents per pound. It is shipped to underdeveloped countries where they use it for a variety of purposes. There is not a bundling operation like this in Bend. There is one in Redmond at the Opportunity Center and another in Prineville. Between all of the local thrift stores, they should be able to generate 400,000 lbs. a year, which will then be kept out of the landfill. The Bend Community Center operates a program out of a bike shed, teaching at risk youth skills related to bike repair and maintenance. They are working with the Bethlehem Inn on this and doing repairs on site. They hope to have a permanent station for this at the Bend Community Center warehouse, and will work with the landfill to pull out bikes and bike material. The request to the County is for the County tor request a grant of $15,000 to purchase a used moving van and a used forklift. If the County is willing, the application must be postmarked by August 28. Commissioner Luke said that something similar to this was approved for the Bethlehem Inn. He asked whether two applications could be submitted. Judith Ure replied that the guidelines do not address this. LUKE: Move that the County Administrator be able to sign this application for the County. UNGER: Second. VOTE: UNGER: Vice Chair votes yes. UNGER: Yes. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, August 26, 2009 Page 5 of 7 Pages 3. Update on Fee Waiver Request. Tom Anderson stated that a situation that could trigger a modification of the ordinance relating to fee waivers was discussed last week. He said it was a similar situation to the one currently presented, having to do with a home that burned down and the people having no insurance. The individuals with the current request are trying to replace the dwelling through a reverse mortgage, and are working with the USDA on a grant for the septic system. In order to replace it, they asked that the fee be waived. It costs about $3,300 for a placement permit and specialty permits. The fee waiver policy has normally been for the public good or indigency, but there is another guideline listed under which the Board can issue a blanket fee waiver for classes of hardships, such as catastrophic fire. In doing more research, there was at least one and maybe two others that have come to the Board before regarding single properties, and the fees were waived. Mostly this is income-related with an application that discloses financial information. Staff does not do extensive checking, but looks for adequate information. Commissioner Luke stated that once something comes to the Board it is then public record, so he would like something like this handled at the staff level. Commissioner Unger asked if the fee could be deferred, tied to the property. Mr. Anderson stated that there is no provision in the policy for deferral, but there is one for community service in exchange for the waiver. There is a maximum amount they can get through the USDA. He encouraged them to include the permit information in the application. They is not much they can do in terms of the mortgage; as there is not enough funding combined with the USDA assistance to cover it. NeighborImpact has a home rehabilitation program, but new construction does not qualify. The Commissioners wanted to know whether the people are actually in the position of needing this funding. Mr. Anderson stated that he has a balance sheet showing the cost of replacement, the expenses and where funding will come from, to determine if there is a hole in the funding for what is needed. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, August 26, 2009 Page 6 of 7 Pages UNGER: Move that the County Administrator and Community Development Director review the documentation and determine how to handle the transfer of funds, as appropriate. LUKE: Second. VOTE: UNGER: Vice Chair votes yes. UNGER: Yes. 4. Discussion of Discretionary Grant Funds. David Inbody said that the first quarterly payment was $50,000 lower than what the County budgeted, although the lower amount was not a surprise. Commissioner Luke added that one reason is the legislature kept $6 million of it. Mr. Inbody stated there are seven outstanding grants, and he wanted to know how the Board wants this shortfall handled. He will bring the applications back to the Board to review further, when Commissioner Baney is present. 5. Other Items. Dave Kanner stated that the Humane Society of Redmond would like to turn the vacant land adjacent to the shelter into an RV storage area that would accommodate 57 vehicles. Mike Daly of their Board asked to submit a site plan review application to the City of Redmond, but since the County owns the land, the County needs to be the applicant. The estimate of income is about $36,000 per year, which would be used for operations. Most of the labor and materials has been donated for fencing and grading. They will put down gravel. The rental will be priced at the same rate as other storage facilities. Other RV storage facilities have a waiting list, so the demand is there. The Board will be updated on this issue in a couple of weeks. UNGER: Move approval. LUKE: Second.