Columbus, Georgia

MINUTES

COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA

REGULAR SESSION

AUGUST 27, 2002



The regular monthly Work Session of the Council of Columbus, Georgia was

called to order at 9:00 A.M., Tuesday, August 27, 2002, on the Plaza Level of

the Government Center, Columbus, Georgia. Honorable John J. Rodgers, Mayor Pro

Tem, presiding.



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PRESENT: Present other than Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers were Councilors R. Gary

Allen, Glenn Davis, Berry H. Henderson, Julius H. Hunter, Jr., Charles E.

McDaniel, Jr, Richard Smith, and Nathan Suber. City Manager Carmen Cavezza,

City Attorney Clifton Fay, Clerk of Council Tiny B. Washington and Deputy Clerk

of Council Sandra Davis were also present. Councilor Evelyn Woodson arrived at

9:03 a.m., and Evelyn Turner Pugh arrived at 9:15 a.m.



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ABSENT: Mayor Bobby G. Peters was absent.



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INVOCATION: Offered by Mayor Pro Tem John J. Rodgers.

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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Led by Councilor R. Gary Allen.

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OATH OF OFFICE OF COUNCILOR - ELECT DAVIS:



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers welcomed newly elected Councilor Glenn Davis to the

Council Chambers and then called upon Judge Aaron Cohn, Judge of Juvenile

Court, to administer the oath of office.



Honorable Aaron Cohn, Judge, Juvenile Court of the Chattahoochee Judicial

Circuit, administered the following oath of office to Councilor Glenn Davis:



OFFICIAL OATH OF COUNCILOR OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA:



STATE OF GEORGIA

MUSCOGEE COUNTY GEORGIA



I, Glenn Davis, do hereby swear (or affirm) that I will well, truly and

faithfully perform the duties of Council Member of Columbus, Georgia to the

best of my ability and that I will support and defend the Charter thereof as

well as the Constitution and laws of the State of Georgia and of the United

States of America.



I do further solemnly swear and affirm that I am not the holder of any

public money due this State unaccounted for; that I am not the holder of any

office of trust under the government of the United States nor of either of the

several states, or of any foreign state, and that I am otherwise qualified to

hold said office, according to the Constitution of the United States and laws

of Georgia, and that I will support the Constitution of the United States and

of this State.



SO HELP ME GOD!

Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 27th day of August 2002.



/s/ Aaron Cohn, Judge, Juvenile Court

of the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit



After he was sworn in, Councilor Davis then introduced his family, who was

present in the Council Chambers, which included his wife, Teresa, and his three

daughters, Sheret, Tiffany and Gabriel.



He also thanked those individuals who worked with him on his campaign, as

well as those constituents who elected him to this office. He said he looks

forward to representing them and doing a good job and diligently working hard.

He said you have truly been a kind friend to him, and he appreciates their

support.



Councilor Davis said he is looking forward to working with the Council as a

team and said that he will never forget what a small group of thoughtful,

committed individuals can do to change a City. He said it will be an honor to

work with the Council, as part of a team and continuing to better the quality

of life for our City.



He said he would also ask all of the candidates and all the campaign

committees, if they would take a determined effort to go out and pick up all

those political signs.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers recognized the presence of Mr. Harold Bryant, who

was seated in the audience.

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CONSENT AGENDA:



THE FOLLOWING SEVEN ITEMS LISTED ON THE CONSENT AGENDA WERE SUBMITTED AND

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL UPON THE ADOPTION OF A SINGLE MOTION MADE BY COUNCILOR

ALLEN AND SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SMITH, WHICH CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY THOSE TEN

MEMBERS OF COUNCIL PRESENT FOR THIS

MEETING:





An Ordinance (02-86) - Rezoning approximately 2.2 acres of property

along the northern boundary of the A-O section of Columbus Park Crossing from a

C-3 District to an A-O District. (12-CA-02-Fickling & Company, Inc.)



An Ordinance (02-87) - Rezoning approximately 20.449 acres of property

located at 300 Jackson Avenue from an M-1 District to an M-2 District.

(39-CA-02-PTI Ventures, Inc.)



An Ordinance (02-88) - Rezoning properties located at 1528, 1529, 1531,

1532, 1535, 1536, 1539 and 1540 Ridge Creek Way; and 1021, 1022, 1023, 1024 and

1025 Timber Creek Way from a C-2 District to an R-1A District.

(43-A-02-Planning Division)



An Ordinance (02-89) - Rezoning approximately 0.92 acres of property

located at 2501 Old Whittlesey Road from an M-1 District to a C-3 District.

(44-CA-02-Milner)



An Ordinance (02-90) - Amending Ordinance No. 97-6, which rezoned

properties bounded by J.R. Allen Parkway, Whitesville Road and Bradley Park

Drive, by amending Condition #2 to allow for an additional, right-in/right-out

only, curb cut. (45-D-02-Crosse)



A Resolution (494-02) - Authorizing the acceptance of a pass-through grant

from the Governor?s Emergency Fund, in the amount of $10,000 to assist with

construction of a bathhouse at Camp Robert Lewis, in Fortson and amend the

multi-governmental fund by a like amount.



A Resolution (495-02) - Authorizing the City Manager of Columbus, Georgia

to file an application with the Federal Transit Administration; and the Georgia

Department of Transportation for Federal Transportation Assistance, authorized

by 49 USC Chapter 53, Title 23 United States Code, and other Federal Statues

administered by the Federal Transit Administration.



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THE FOLLOWING THREE NEW ZONING PETITIONS, RECOMMENDED FOR CONDITIONAL

APPROVAL BY BOTH THE PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION AND THE PLANNING DIVISION

WERE SUBMITTED AND AN ORDINANCE WAS CALLED FOR BY COUNCILOR

SUBER:





Petition submitted by David Cummings to rezone approximately 0.32 acres of

property located at 1105 and 1109 19th Street from a R-3A District to a C-3

District. (48-CA-02-Cummings)



Petition submitted by David Cummings to rezone approximately 0.16 acres of

property located at 1101 19th Street from an A-O District to a C-3 District.

(49-CA-02-Cummings)



Petition submitted by Mike Russell to rezone approximately 1.84 acres of

property located at 10051 Veterans Parkway from an A-1 District to a C-3

District. (50-CA-02-Russell)

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Councilor Woodson said she would like to express her thanks to her

colleagues for their prayers and support and the people of District Seven for

her re-election. She said it was tough when her disparity kept coming, but said

her faith in God made her a stronger woman and made her succeed. She said she

will continue to do her work and put a challenge to all of the candidates that

expressed their sympathy and love for South Columbus and said in January she

would like to see you, to help fix South Columbus, since that was a promise

made by everyone.



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CONDOLENCES IN THE DEATH OF CHUCK WILLIAMS? BROTHER:



Councilor Woodson said she was just told that Ledger-Enquirer staff writer

Chuck Williams? brother passed away and said that she would like to have a

resolution expressing the Council?s condolences in his passing.

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WORKSESSION AGENDA:



HOPE VI GRANT:



Mr. Lenn Williams, Executive Director of the Columbus Housing Authority

said he is here this morning to update the Council on what they think is an

exciting project for the community. He said as you know, we are looking at the

possibility of a Hope VI Grant for the Peabody Apartments, which would allow

them to demolish the 510 units that are currently there and replace them with

mixed income housing.



He said it would generate substantial economic investment in that area around

the Medical Center. He said they have hired consultant firms to assist them in

putting this application together, which they feel is the strongest team of

consultants in the Country at Hope VI.



Mr. Williams said the notice of funding and availability that has recently

been issued by HUD; so, therefore, they thought it was now time to brief the

Council on this, to let you know where they are heading in this process.



He said they have allocated approximately $491 million this year, which is

roughly the same amount as last year. He said this is a very competitive

process and said on last year 66 housing authorities made application, but only

16 were funded, which is about 14%. He said of those, none was funded that were

first year applicants last year. He said the requirements are much more strict

this year, than they have been in previous years. He said they believe that

they can be successful, even in this competitive environment.



After Mr. Williams concluded his presentation, he then called upon Mr.

Allen Pruitt, of Wallace, Robinson & Todd Consultants and Mr. Jim Brooks of The

Boulevard Group, to go into further details on this proposal and highlight the

requirements.



Mr. Allen Pruitt went into some details in highlighting those requirements

that the site must meet, which includes the following:



1) Criteria of need ? Does this site need revitalization?



Meets the category of severe distress, which refers to the distress by

the nature of the building construction itself, problems with the buildings and

the way they were built. He said there are also problems with the site and the

infrastructure.



2) Effects of the site on surrounding properties.



Properties around the site that are vacant and under-utilized,

occupied by buildings, which are not in very good condition. These are the

detrimental effects that we can see resulting from the Peabody site and its

conditions, the way it is today.



Mr. Pruitt said these two factors meet the criteria of need, among many

others, but said these are the most important. He said the site has many

important advantages from HUD?s point of view, which includes the following:



(1) It has many good things around it. Beyond those properties that are

immediately adjacent to it that are vacant and under-utilized, there are a

number of things going on right across the street at the Medical Center. He

said there is a tremendous amount of economic opportunity there, in terms not

only of development and further development and recruitment, but also in terms

of jobs for the residents of the new community.



(2) There are already improvements proposed for the Talbotton Road

corridor, improvements of the road, as well as the trolley are sufficient

investments that HUD looks for when they evaluate these kinds of proposals.



Mr. Pruitt said they are already underway and are committed to make it

happen and will benefit the revitalization of the Peabody site. He said how we

are going to improve the lives of residents of this site, education and jobs

are two very important ingredients for those residents.



Mr. Pruitt said the adjacent Medical Center and the historic district all

suggest that this is the beginning of a revitalized community there, but for

the negative effects of the Peabody Apartments. He said if we can remove that

negative and replace it with a positive, meaning a mixed income community of

public housing residents, moderate income residents and market rate residents,

which is what HUD is looking for.



After Mr. Pruitt concluded his fifteen minutes presentation, he then

responded to several questions of members of the Council. City Manager Cavezza,

as well as Mr. Lenn Williams also responded to further questions of the members

of the Council.



Councilor Turner Pugh said she thinks that the Housing Authority needs to

get together with the School System to look at the schools that surround your

housing units, other existing housing units, and look at the school?s capacity

in those schools, and what they can and cannot withstand.



Regarding the Section 8 Program that was mentioned by Mr. Lenn Williams,

which will be used as a means of replacing some of those residents who may be

displaced due to the revitalization of the Peabody Apartments, Councilor

Woodson asked if there was a listing of those who are willing to have their

homes or apartment buildings be a part of the Section 8 Program.



Mr. Williams said they continue to work with landlords to try to bring

more landlords into the program, as it provides more choices for residents. He

said they are also in the process of beginning a landlord advisory committee,

where they work with the landlords and they help bring in other landlords in

the program.



Councilor Woodson said that she would like for us to have a more detailed

briefing on this Section 8 Housing Program at a later date, to see who all is

participating in it, because that is going to be very important.



Several members of the Council questioned City Manager Cavezza as to where

the $9 million funding will come from, to which City Manager Cavezza pointed

out that the consultants would address that concern.



Mr. Jim Brooks then appeared and said that he will talk about what the

specific Hope VI requirements are this year, so you can understand what the

criteria will be. He said this is a very public planning process that they are

about to go through, which involves a series of meetings with the residents,

neighborhoods and other stakeholders. He said they go through an extensive

residence information process, to make sure that all of the public housing

residents, surrounding neighbors and surrounding businesses understand the

process and understand what their choices are.



He said the residents get to choose where they want to be relocated, what

kind of houses they want to have and what kind of opportunities they want to

have. He said this is a family driven process, and part of what is in the Hope

VI application is a very explicit relocation plan that is part of what gets

reviewed and scored by HUD.



Mr. Brooks said they want to know if the Housing Authority is sensitively

and correctly dealing with relocating families and do they have the resources

to relocate those families, which is part of what is looked at by the Hope VI

application.



He then continued for some fifteen to twenty minutes in outlining several

different aspects of those requirements that are required and looked upon by

HUD in the Hope VI application, which includes the following:



Notice of Funding Availability



Strict Performance Requirements



Project Readiness



Finances





After Mr. Brooks concluding the presentation, he responded to several

questions of the Council, as it relates to the funding of the project, as well

as the planning process for this application.



Mr. Lenn Williams also addressed some concerns of the Council, as it

relates to the financing as well.



Mr. Brooks and Mr. Williams responded to further questions of members of

the Council, as it also relates to the Section 8 Housing Program.



City Manager Cavezza said he now feels a little better about the question

of the $19 million funding. He said we have already put a substantial amount of

money in that area, through infrastructure and also the water works has a

portion of that; and in addition to that we have done a lot of roadwork and

there is additional roadway planned for that area. He said we would also be

coming before the Council to re-designate a redevelopment area around this

area, to compliment this portion. He said the redevelopment money would also be

applicable to the project. He said he now feels a little better about putting

this package together and bringing it back to the Council.



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UPTOWN COLUMBUS, INC.:



City Manager Cavezza said that we have present today, Mr. Ron Mullenix,

Chairperson of Uptown Columbus, Inc., Mr. Jerry Newman, Chairperson of the BID

Board, and Mr. Lon Marlowe, who is chairing a committee that is working with

the merchants in Uptown Columbus to put some policies and procedures together,

which would allow them to facilitate their activities down. He then pointed out

that Mr. Bernie Quick of Uptown Columbus, Inc. will be making the presentation

today.



Mr. Bernie Quick, President of Uptown Columbus, Inc. pointed out that he

has provided a notebook, which includes the overview of Uptown Columbus, Inc.,

a list of the thirty members of the Uptown Columbus, Inc., Board of Directors,

as well as the Vision, Mission and Goals, and the various programs that they

follow.



He said it also has a list of the 15 Board of Directors of the Uptown

Columbus, Inc. Business Improvement District, as well as a copy of the monthly

report of all the activities that they track within the Business Improvement

District.



Mr. Quick then gave a twenty-five minute slide presentation of the

different programs of Uptown Columbus, Inc., and the Uptown Columbus Business

Improvement District, as well as reviewed the projects and programs in the

Uptown Columbus community that supports their vision missions and goals, which

includes the following:







Rivercenter for the Performing Arts



Business Improvement District

- BID Awards

- BID Summary Report



Uptown Columbus, Inc.

- Advocacy

- Recruitment/Retention/Development

- Marketing/Promotion/Communications

- Maintenance

- Safety

- Stockholder/Membership

- Strategic Planning



- Events



Block Parties

Uptown Alive

Uptown Concert Series

Yard sale



- Aesthetics

Streetscape

Tree Wells

Trash Cans

Facades





- River Restoration



- Certified Development Company

- SBA 504 Loan Program

- SBA 7A Pre-qualification

- Uptown Fa?ade Loan Program

- City?s Small Business Loan Program





After Mr. Quick concluded his presentation, he then responded to questions

of the Council.



Regarding the issue of the river restoration, as mentioned by Mr. Quick,

City Manager Cavezza said this is just a study, and said there are alternatives

to removing the dams, breaching the dams in spots might be an alternative, as

well as rafting around the dam. He said these are some of the things that they

are looking at, because there are some concerns about the ecstatic and

recreation portion. He said all these questions will be answered before

anything is done.



Mr. Quick then responded to further questions of City Manager Cavezza

regarding this matter.



City Manager Cavezza said we would need to come back to the Council on the

two SBA Loans and talk more about that program. He said the City funds the

overhead and, as pointed out by Mr. Quick, he is trying to get the SBLP Program

in place.



Councilor McDaniel said Uptown Columbus, Inc., does a great job, and he is

appreciative of what they do; and said Mr. Quick and him agree on most

everything. He said he wish that Uptown Columbus would consider, when they have

the activities, and you get the license to sell alcohol on the median, he

thinks that you should consider letting those merchants who have licenses down

there have that facility. He said he doesn?t think it is fair that they have

licenses and Uptown Columbus has those events, and not allow them to

participate. He said he thinks it would be fair to let those people who have

the licenses do the alcohol on the median.



Mr. Quick then responded to a question of Councilor Henderson as it

relates to the committee that is working on adopting some policies and

procedures, for working with the merchants in some of the specific instances

that Councilor McDaniel was referring to.



He said they have had a 14-member committee of merchants that have met

over the last few months, and said Dr. Lon Marlowe and Deputy City Manager

Cavezza has done an awesome job in working on that. He said he is an ex-officio

member and said he will let the committee decide what they want to do and how

they do it. He said they wrote it based on what some of the other communities

in the Country were doing and said it is interesting to find out that some of

their counterparts of International Downtown Association don?t have some kind

of rules and regulations for doing events.



Mr. Lon Marlowe then appeared and said they have completed the report,

which will be submitted to City Manager Cavezza shortly. He said he is waiting

for Deputy City Manager Hugley and Bernie Quick to give a final review to make

certain that they have included all the drafts.



Mr. Marlowe then went into further details in responding to some questions

of the Council regarding the report.



City Manager Cavezza said he think the issue is accountability of funds

and said one of the things that they have talked about is that after every

event, they must account for every dollar and that information is distributed

and everyone knows where it goes. He said within this committee, there is some

dissension, but said the overwhelming majority supports this concept. He said

like the tree ordinance, not everyone was in favor of it, but everyone had an

opportunity to input into this process. He said there are two issues, closing

the streets and selling alcohol. He said when you close the streets, you are

impacting on everyone in that area, and said some people don?t want that to

happen; but said it comes to the Council for a decision. He said there is a

provision now to sell alcohol in front of their business and said we did this a

while back with one of the bars. He said if they want to sell alcohol, they

must come in with a request to him, and he grants the request, and then we will

require them to pay a catering fee to the City. He said they have to leave

access for people to move back and forth across their area; and make sure that

no one leaves their area with cups or beer in their container.



Mr. Marlowe said it was unanimous on the concept of a rental fee and a

revenue fee, but said disagreement came on the amount and the percentage, and

said in the final meeting they lowered the fee considerably from what was

originally proposed; however, it did not gain 100% support.



Councilor Woodson said she thinks that we need to have a briefing on this

issue, because there are a lot of questions and no one has the material

available to see what?s in the report. She said she has a problem with the

renting of the street. She said her understanding of the fee was to cover

security, trash, etc.



Mr. Marlowe then responded to further concerns of Councilor Woodson.



Councilor Turner Pugh said a while back she has asked, and also asked Mr.

Quick to look at how Savannah handles their street events. She said people are

walking up and down the streets with cups and it is not just limited to just in

front of that place when they have the street parties and events in Savannah.

She said it doesn?t seem to be an issue in Savannah and said if Savannah can do

it, why is it such a hard issue in Columbus.



Mr. Quick then responded to several of those concerns of Councilor Turner

Pugh and explained how Savannah handles their events.



After she expressed her further concerns on this matter, Councilor Turner

Pugh then said she would like for City Manager Cavezza to have the staff to

check with Savannah and other communities, to see how they handle their outdoor

events, St. Patrick?s Day, and/or street parties.



Mr. Jerry Newman appeared and expressed his sentiments and how happy he is

with the Business Improvement District. He said Columbus is privileged to have

one of the best, if not the very best Business Improvement District in the

Nation. He said that comes to them almost weekly from various people that calls

and want to know what we are doing. He said most of that goes to Mr. Bernie

Quick, because he is the person that got behind the Business Improvement

District.



He said from time to time, they will need more security and said that will

be something that they will need to come to the City Manager and request. He

said as the City grows we will need that downtown.



Mr. Ron Mullinex also appeared and made brief comments, saying that as

Chairperson of Uptown Columbus, Inc., Board, what they want to do is focus on

the big issues that were briefed by Mr. Quick on this morning. He said it is

imperative that they solve the particular issue of the policies and procedures

so that we can move ahead. He said he thinks that a resolution is much closer

than it has been in the past, and said when the draft is presented, you will

see that a good bit of effort has gone into it. He said they have the vast

majority of the merchants that are on board with this report.

He said he will continue to work with those merchants who are not.



He also said that their books are open, and said he is making sure that

each of their merchants know that they can check their books, as they are

totally accountable. He said financial statements are put out every month and

said they are open to everyone. He said there may have been a perception in the

past, that they weren?t able to get the numbers, but said they are going to

provide the numbers.



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HOME PROGRAM:



City Manager Cavezza said they have done some work on our Home Program and

said they think they have made some good progress in this area. (See below for

presentation)



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REPORT OF AN ACCIDENT:



City Manager Cavezza advised the Council that he just received word that

there was an accident on Vista Drive @ Buena Vista Road, where one of our

garbage trucks backed over an inmate. He said the inmate is in the hospital and

has some internal injuries that appear to be severe, and we are not sure of his

status.



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HOME PROGRAM:



Prior to Ms. Lynnette Gross making her presentation, she introduced two

members of her staff who was present with her, Michelle White, Housing Manager,

and Marilyn Denson, Housing Technician, who has worked diligently on these

suggestions that she will bring forth on today. She said that she would like to

give them a lot of credit for their work in this regard.



Ms. Gross then gave a detail presentation of the Home Program, and those

current programs, which the City provides, and outlined those proposed changes,

which includes the following:



Policies and Procedures

Proposed Revisions



HOME PROGRAMS:





Current Programs:



Home Buyer Program

First time home buyer

$5,000 towards down payment and closing costs

Deferred loan over 5 years.

Current HOME Limit $86,317



HOME OWNER REHABILIATION PROGRAM:



$20,000 toward correcting code deficiencies

Grant deferred over 10 years

Rental Rehabilitation

$15,000 per unit to correct code deficiencies

Grant deferred over 5 to 10 years



Ms. Gross said they have some proposed changes to present to the Council

and said that these changes come from networking with many other cities across

the United States and Georgia. She said they had meetings with their lending

institutions, as well as our non-profit organizations in Columbus, Georgia.



She then went into more details and outlined those suggested changes,

which are outlined as follows:



$5,000 towards down payment only

* pre-paid up to $1,000 (taxes & insurance)

(this suggestion is a result of our meeting with the lending institutions on

August 15, 2002)

* decrease down payment assistance to $3000

(this suggestion is a result of our meeting with the non-profit housing

agencies.

Another proposed change is to increase the HOME Limits from $86,317 to $95,000.

This is due to the increase HUD?s Limits and in the market.





Must have homebuyer Counseling Certification from HUD approved counseling

organization (Federal Regulation)

Environmental Assessment will be performed on each property (Federal Mandate)

Certificate Number will be issued to each participant (homebuyer)

The City will issue a Certificate Number (good for 120 days with one 30 day

extension requested in writing).



Certificate Number will be issued upon receipt of Counseling Certification

and Pre-approval letter from lending institution.



Ms. Gross said right now, they don?t have any accountability and said this

is something that they are trying to get a handle on. She said if someone asked

them, how many people are out there currently wanting loans, she would not be

able to tell you; nor does she know how many people the banks are working with

that may come in next week, she wouldn?t have any idea. She said this would be

an accountability process for them to be able to know how much money they have

left and how many certificates they have left, as well as give you an

accounting of how many people they are working with and how many have been

funded, etc. She said when they had their meeting with the lending institution

they really liked that idea.



In response to City Manager Cavezza, Ms. Gross said once they receive the

certificate number, they have up to 120 days to bring that to her.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said that is new and significant; because that could

knock someone who has a contract on a house, conceivably out of a house, by

having someone walking around with an authorization and a certificate. He said

they will have to be re-qualified every so often.



Ms. Gross said this is why they have said 120-days, with one 30-day

extension, and said if they don?t have a house by then, their certificate is

revoked and they re-issue the number.



Several minutes of discussion developed on this matter, with members of

the Council expressing some concern in this regard, with Ms. Gross responding

to several questions and concerns of the Council.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said he is not saying that he is opposed to

something like this, but said that he would like to go a little bit more slowly

and try to address this on a more realistic basic; because that is a long time.

He said he thinks it should be shorten, possibly 60-days, with a 30-day

extension.



Councilor Henderson said he agrees that the 120-days is too lengthy, but

said he thinks that 60-days may be too short, and said he think the 90-days

would be sufficient.



After continued discussions on this aspect, Ms. Gross then responded to

further questions and concerns of members of the Council regarding the proposed

change as it relates to the certificate being issued.



City Manager Cavezza said he thinks that we probably need to go back to

the lenders and get some additional input from them before we make any final

decision.



Ms. Gross also responded to some questions of Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers, as it

relates to the HUD Counseling. He asked if this is something new. City Manager

Cavezza said it is not something that is new, but hasn?t been done in the past.

He said he thinks they are requiring it now.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers then asked Ms. Gross to see who sets the parameters

on the HUD Counseling, and determine if that is a part of their regulations

now. He said he would like to take a look at that, because there are some

market programs that HUD will accept as alternatives that are significantly

less taxing that the mortgage insurance companies put out, that provides a

better education than HUD would.



Ms Gross then continued with her presentation, as outlined below.



Current funding allows for 118 homebuyer loans this year.



We have funded 9 as of August 21. This will allow us to fund down payment

assistance for 109 homebuyers for the remainder of the year.



The certificate will allow for Staff tracking of:



1. Current number of clients being served.

2. The number of Certificates remaining to be allocated.



Owner Rehabilitation Program

Owner Rehabilitation Program - $30,000 Deferred loan to Very Low Income (Grant)



Current funding allows for 22 loans/grants there are currently 142

applications on file.





Suggested Changes

Owner Rehabilitation Program

Changes to policies include:



Loans:

1% - 3% - 5% loan as income increases (ability to pay will result in a

revolving loan pool to enable us to serve more citizens).



Home Owner Rehabilitation (cont.)

Example family of 3 with adjusted gross income of:

$12,200 deferred loan (grant)

$15,900 1% loan

$19,080 3% loan

$25,400 5% loan



Home Owner Rehabilitation (cont.)

Environmental Assessment Checklist will be performed on each property to be

rehabilitated. (Mandated by Federal Regulations)



Ms. Gross responded to several questions of the Council, as it relates to

the contractors and the rehabilitation program. After further discussion and

concerns expressed by the members of the Council, City Manager Cavezza also

responded to questions of the Council, and pointed out that we have revamped

this program and said that it is now a tight process.

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NOTE: Councilor McDaniel left at this point in the proceedings, with the

time being 11:20 a.m.

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If we cannot correct all code deficiencies with $30,000 then we will partner

with our CHDO?s, and Columbus Housing Initiative to provide re-construction.





Home Owner Rehabilitation (cont.)

Re-Construction:

Temporarily relocating the occupants;

Demolishing the old structure; and,

Building a new structure using the original footprint.

(This is an eligible activity under rehabilitation ? HUD Rules)

Home Owner Rehabilitation (cont)

All re-construction will be in the form of a low interest loan, or a life

estate activity.



This is to insure the house remains as low income housing stock.



The life estate can only be utilized by the elderly that have no mortgage on

their homes at the time of re-construction.



In response to several concerns of the Council, Ms. Gross said if we

cannot address all housing code deficiencies with the $30,000, and we have our

housing inspector goes out and he does an inspection and we cannot fix

everything that is a code deficiency with the $30,000, then they would be

eligible for a reconstruction.



Ms. Gross said they are establishing a committee in the event that there

are problems, an appeals type committee and said maybe that same committee can

look at the demolition process.



Home Owner Rehabilitation (cont.)

Community Reinvestment Staff will be charged with insuring the Owners and

Contractors understand each parties responsibilities and abide by the policies

established and adopted by Council.



Suggested Changes

Rental Rehabilitation



Rental Rehabilitation Program ? from $15,000 to $20,000 per unit.

All rental rehabilitation will be in the form of a loan with interest at 65% of

prime at the time of closing.



Current funding allows for 14 loans/grants





Suggested Changes

Rental Rehabilitation (cont.)

Changes to policies include:

Owner?s ability to contribute to the project will be considered as an

eligibility factor.

All rental rehabilitation funds will be considered as a loan.

Environmental Assessment Checklist will be performed on each property to be

rehabilitated. (Mandated by Federal Regulations)





Proposed Changes

Rental Rehabilitation (cont.)



The purpose of this program is to provide decent, safe and affordable housing

to those citizens who rent. However, rental properties are income producing

and are considered as a business. Thus, our limited funding should be used as

a bridge to make the project feasible and allow for conventional financing.



CHALLENGES:



There are challenges that will need to be addressed:

Lead base Paint abatement

Limiting Flexibility ($30,000 what if cost were $31,000)

Allowances for other items (i.e. $500 paint, $1,000 carpet or maximum of $3,000

for any other items or only code deficiencies.)



Ms. Gross said when she presented this to the other people that have seen this

presentation they said we need to have a limit. She said if it is $30,000, then

it needs to be that, because when you start fluctuating at what point do you

stop. She said do we make allowances for other things.

She said this is where she needs some feedback from the Council, in what they

think will make the program better.



Mr. Gross responded to several questions of the Council, as it relates to

lead base paint.



Several minutes of discussion developed on allowing the additional

allowances for other items, with several Councilors expressing their views on

this matter. Councilor Suber said even though that someone would come in and

saying that we are bringing this particular home at $17,500; there are other

concerns that could be in this house, and you must also remember that this is

for low income individuals. He said if you are just going to do the basics,

then there are certain things that person will still be living in a home that

might not be painted and if it will take an additional $2,000 to do it, then it

is better to spend that additional $2,000 versus just spending that $17,500.

He said he thinks we need to look at it from that prospective.



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said he agrees from an owner-occupied standpoint,

but from a rental rehab standpoint, he sees us helping someone who should be

doing it of their own accord anyway, because it is income producing property.

He said he can see us helping with the code violations, but lending someone 65%

to put new carpet in a house, he can?t get it done for that.



Councilor Suber said he don?t think we should do this for the rental rehab

property, but only for the owner-occupied.



Ms. Gross said if the Council is in agreement to add additional

allowances, if we do not meet the cap of $30,000; then she would like to see it

as a whole figure, and that we could go up to $3,000 or $5,000; whatever the

Council agrees upon.



Councilor Turner Pugh then recommended that we do it with the maximum of

$3,000. She said we will see how that works over the next year and if it needs

to be changed after we have had some testing time, then we can do that.





Councilor Allen said he would like for Ms. Gross to come back and report

to us how it?s working, so that we can see whether or not it needs to be

?tweak? somewhat. He said what you are recommending applies only to

owner-occupied, to which Ms. Gross said that is correct.



Ms. Gross said they can have a listing of line items pricing that they can

get up front. Councilor Allen said he is recommending a menu of allowable items

within the $3,000.



In response to Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers, as to whether she would agree to a

menu of eligible items within that $3,000 rather than just opening it to

anything, Councilor Turner Pugh said she didn?t have a problem with that as

long as the menu is not too slim.



In concluding her presentation, Ms. Gross said they are now requesting

that the Council approve the changes to the existing programs as outlined, as

well as approve the new polices and procedures as written. She said she want

this Council to be able to take pride in what we accomplish with our HOME

dollars.



Ms. Gross said Ms. Kathy Vaughn from the Columbus Housing Initiative is

now present here in the audience and said that she has asked what was the issue

with the $3,000 reduction in the Homeowner?s Program and said that she would

like to address that.



Ms. Kathy Vaughn said she would like to ask why that was not accepted, to

which Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers said it was decided for the next year that we would

stay with the $5,000 and see what the demand actually looked like, with $1,000

being allowed to be paid towards prepaid items.



Ms. Vaughn said the $5,000 threshold has been in place for the last two

years and said the demand has exceeded the dollars allowed so that several

months before the fiscal period ends, they have had to go and reallocate funds

to accommodate the demands that is in the pipeline. She said dropping down to

$3,000 will not eliminate anybody from that market, but it will increase the

ability to satisfy the demand by another 70 families. She said if they stay at

$5,000, they would be facing the same shortage that they have had for the last

two years, and look at reallocation of funds. She said by dropping down to

$3,000, they are not changing the market at all, but said it makes a difference

of a monthly payment of about $11.00, and said that is not enough in making a

difference in anybody qualifying for a loan. She said this is a very proactive

step to ensure that they have the funds that they need to satisfy the demand

that they have seen building under this program.



Councilor Turner Pugh said she would like to thank Ms. Gross for bringing

this packet to the Council, and said she thinks that we still need to stay with

the $5,000 and give it a year to see how it goes. She said to see the proposed

improvements over what we had in place, she is real pleased with this.



Referring back to the reduction of the $3,000, Councilor Henderson said if

it includes more families, he doesn?t have a problem with it, but said his only

concern would be, if we are still able to cover any of the prepaid items. He

said on a HUD loan, if it is typically 97% loan to value. Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers

said that is correct.



Ms. Vaughn said they looked at all the HOME participants that they have

dealt with within the last year, and how much was going toward closing costs;

which under these new guidelines would not be allowed. She said it was close

to $2,000 that these families were using toward closing costs, and said that

burden will now be shifted. She said by doing it the way you are, you are

increasing the amount that each family will be able to use toward down payment

assistance, but you are still limiting the amount to less than what the demand

is.



After continued discussion on this matter, Councilor Henderson then

suggested that we monitor it for the next six months, to see whether or not

that $4,000 for down payment and the $1,000 for prepaid really continues to

cover what they want, with the increase in the price of the houses.



Ms. Vaughn said they will track each family through the Columbus Housing

Initiative that does participate and said they will do a comparison chart to

show you what the effect of that families? loan would have been, if they had a

$3,000 versus a $5,000 loan. She said then in six months, they would go back

and see how many more families, they could have put in there.



Councilor Suber said he has some fear that when you start reducing the

amount of money you are putting the people in a position where you are helping

them to fail, if they don?t met that criteria; when you are going from $86,300

up to $95,000. He said automatically that will be additional funds that these

people have not been accustomed to spending in the beginning. He said he thinks

that we need at least one year, then we can make some adjustments next year, if

we have to do that.



After more than forty-five minutes of discussion, Ms. Gross said as

Administrator of this program, she would like to have the hard data and track

it; and said if it is agreeable that we are going to reduce it, she needs

enough upfront time, to educate and get it to the lending institutions; after

which this matter was finally concluded.



City Manager Cavezza said they will go over these changes and bring it

back to the Council, for their approval, and have all the recommendations

outlined.

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IN MOTION X:



City Manager Cavezza reminded the Council of the In Motion X event, which

will be held this Saturday in Uptown Columbus.



*** *** ***



UNITED WAY KICK-OFF:



City Manager Cavezza also reminded the Council that on Thursday, September

5, 2002 11:300 a.m., at the Trade Center will be the United Way Kick-off in

South Hall.

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COMMUNITY MEETING:



City Manager Cavezza again informed the Mayor & Council that there will be

a community meeting on September 9, 2002 to discuss the Forrest Road Widening

Project, which will be held at Forrest Road Elementary School at 6:00 p.m. He

said this primarily concerns the area east of Woodruff Farm Road. He said we

will be talking about some unique problems and concerns in that area.



*** *** ***



SEPTEMBER 11 CEREMONY:



City Manager Cavezza also reminded the Council that on September 11th at

8:20 a.m., there will be a City-wide observation and anniversary of that event,

which will be held at the Civic Center at the new flag pole. Mayor Pro Tem

Rodgers said the Mayor had asked him to substitute 8:15 a.m., for

8:20 a.m., to have everyone in place, so that the pledge will begin at 8:45

a.m.



*** *** ***



Councilor Turner Pugh said she received a telephone call from a gentleman

that has something to do with vending machines, where you can get CDs out of.

Councilor Suber then said that the police department is working on it.



City Manager Cavezza said that the CDs have been removed from those

machines. Councilor Turner Pugh then asked if there are any laws on the books

that needs to be done that would prohibit these kinds of things.

City Manager Cavezza said that there is no law that prohibits. Councilor Suber

said it is state law.



*** *** ***



MAP OF COUNCIL DISTRICTS:



Councilor Suber said that the map that they received of the Council

districts was not the new district. Deputy City Manager Richard Bishop said

that they are working on that, and said they will get those new maps.



Councilor Henderson said the at-large Councilors would like to have a copy

of those district maps, as well.



Councilor Allen said with the new district lines, for House seats, Council

seats, School board, it might be good for us to develop a map; create some kind

of map where the citizens can look at and tie into, and put it on our website

and they can see what district they are in. City Manager Cavezza said they can

look at doing that, and said it shouldn?t be a problem.



Councilor Hunter also asked that we be provided with a condensed copy of

these maps.



*** *** ***



Mayor Pro Tem Rodgers then asked if there was any additional business that

needs to come before this Council, but there were none. With there being no

other business, Councilor Suber then made a motion for adjournment. Seconded by

Councilor Turner Pugh and carried unanimously by those nine members of Council

still present, with Councilor McDaniel having already left the meeting, and the

time being 12:05 P.M.



*** *** ***



Tiny B. Washington, CMC

Clerk of Council

The Council of Columbus, Georgia