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HC 3-14-2024 APPROVED1 City of Cupertino 10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014 (408) 777-3308 APPROVED MINUTES OF THE HOUSING COMMISSION MEETING HELD ON MARCH 14, 2024 CALL TO ORDER Chair Tatachari opened the meeting at 9:02 a.m. ROLL CALL Commission Members present: Govind Tatachari, Chair Connie Cunningham, Commissioner Angan Das, Commissioner Ryan Golze, Commissioner Yuyi He, Commissioner Staff present: Luke Connolly, Assistant Director of Community Development Alec Vybiral, Senior Housing Coordinator Jon de Ridder, Administrative Assistant Susan Michael, Capital Improvement Programs Manager, Public Works APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Subject: Approve the December 14 Housing Commission special meeting minutes Recommended Action: Approve the December 14 Housing Commission special meeting minutes. MOTION: Cunningham moved, and Das seconded to approve the minutes. AYES: Tatachari, Cunningham, Das NOES: None ABSTAIN: Golze, He ABSENT: None VOTE: 3-0-2-0 POSTPONEMENTS None ORAL COMMUNICATIONS None WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS 2 None OLD BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS 2. Subject: Election of Chair and Vice Chair Recommended Action: Elect a Chair and Vice Chair of the Housing Commission Senior Housing Coordinator Vybiral provided a brief overview and explanation. Chair Tatachari opened the floor to nominations for Housing Commission Chair. MOTION: Golze moved, and Das seconded to nominate Cunningham for Chair of the Housing Commission. Commissioner Cunningham gave a brief statement about her qualifications and experience. Chair Tatachari and Commissioner Das expressed their support for Commissioner Cunningham. Motion carried unanimously with the following vote: AYES: Tatachari, Cunningham, Das, Golze, He NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: None VOTE: 5-0-0-0 Chair Cunningham opened the floor to nominations for Housing Commission Vice Chair. Commissioner Das asked for clarification if Commissioner Tatchari was eligible for the position. Assistant Director of Community Development, Luke Connolly stated he was. MOTION: Das moved, and no one seconded to nominate Tatchari for Vice Chair of the Housing Commission. MOTION: Cunningham moved, and He seconded to nominate Golze for Vice Chair of the Housing Commission. Commissioner Das expressed his concern for Commissioner Golze’s lack of experience with the Commission and stated he would like to see a year as a commissioner before offering the position. Commissioner Tatachari asked if Commissioner Das should be nominated to give him the opportunity during his rotation. Commissioners decided to vote on the current motion. Motion carried with the following vote: AYES: Cunningham, Tatachari, Golze, He 3 NOES: Das ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: None VOTE: 4-1-0-0 Commissioner He stated that the combination of the experience of the Chair with the Commission and the Vice Chair with the community was a good one. Vice Chair Golze made a brief statement about his experience and thanked the Commission for the opportunity. Chair Cunningham closed the item. Chair Cunningham conducted a “get to know” exercise and asked the commissioners for their favorite animal. She stated hers was a bird. Vice chair Golze stated his was a cat. Commissioner Tatchari stated he has two, a peacock and a crow. Commissioner Das stated his was a dog. Commissioner He stated hers was a duck. Chair Cunningham asked that during upcoming meetings, commissioners and the public address the Commission Chair when making a statement and to use a commissioner’s title and last name. She requested that commissioners come prepared out of respect for the public, staff and fellow commissioners. Chair Cunningham suggested that if commissioners had questions before meetings, they should contact Senior Housing Coordinator Vybiral. She requested that commissioners limit their questions during an item on the agenda to three initially and give all commissioners a chance before following up with others if needed. She asked that staff monitor comment times for items to three minutes for the public and five minutes for commissioners to help keep the meetings on track. 3. Subject: Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-25 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program and Below Market Rate Affordable Housing Fund (BMR AHF) funding allocations Recommended Action: Consider the FY 2024-25 CDBG and BMR AHF funding applications and make recommendations to City Council for final approval. Chair Cunningham opened the item. Housing Coordinator Vybiral gave a brief overview and made a presentation. Deanne Everton, Executive Director, Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley, spoke briefly about their history with the City Cupertino, past accomplishments and continuing goals of the program. Chair Cunningham opened the discussion to public comment. There were no speakers. Commissioners asked clarifying questions. 4 Commissioner He asked for clarification as to how many months during the year is the air conditioning system being used at the Senior Center. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated he did not have that information but would inquire and get back to the Commission. Vice Chair Golze asked for clarification if the cooling system was being replaced or if it was just preventative maintenance being performed. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated it was complete replacement. He introduced Capital Improvement Programs Manager for Public Works, Susan Michael to explain further. Programs Manager Michael stated it was the intention to replace the cooling units. Commissioner Das asked for clarification if there were other priorities besides the cooling units that were more important. He stated that if the units were only approaching end of life and not at end of life, was there another project more critical. He asked for clarification if all the systems were going to be replaced or just what could be done for the budgeted $55,000. Housing Coordinator Vybiral responded that Priority Level 2 means that a project should be dealt with within the next one to two years. He clarified that the classification for this project was coming from a report already a couple of years old. He stated staff was recommending addressing the item as funds become available. Commissioner Das asked for clarification on if the system would be replaced with a more efficient system or something like what is already there. Programs Manager Michael stated the units would be replaced with ones that were like for like only updated. She stated it was a maintenance issue and not a redesign of the system. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated that only one of the systems would be replaced due to budget. Commissioner He asked for clarification if the fire alarm system was replaced already. Housing Coordinator Vybiral clarified that the project was funded the previous Fall and was in the process of being completed. He stated that when the project was complete any unused funds would be brought back to the Commission for reprogramming. Commissioner He asked if there were enough funds to complete the project. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated that that was the anticipation. Commissioner Tatachari asked for clarification on the Senior Center data report date. He also asked for clarification on the warranty length for the fire alarm system to help determine future end of life dates. Programs Manager Michael stated she agreed that the date on the report should have been there. She clarified that the report was completed in 2022. She stated that although she did not know the warranty on the equipment installed, the installation and work completed by a contractor is warrantied for a year. Commissioner Tatchari expressed concern that due to budget constraints the entire Senior Center would not be covered. Chair Cunningham asked for clarification on if the funds from HUD were not sufficient, would the City make up the difference. Programs Manager Michael explained that covering the gap from original estimate to actual bid is done by the City if possible. She stated that consideration is on a case-by-case basis and that City Council usually requires final approval. Vice Chair Golze asked for clarification if there is a budget shortfall, a project would not be taken on if it could not be funded. Programs Manager Michael clarified that if something is above $200,000 that it would have to go to City Council, but under that amount it is considered within operations jurisdiction to manage. 5 Commissioner Das asked for clarification on End of Life for equipment and if the cost per year for equipment could be estimated using it. Programs Manager Michael stated that End of Life can vary wildly. Chair Cunningham thanked Public Works for their time. Commissioner He asked for clarification of the “consultants” term in the Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley application. Director Everton clarified that sometimes the categories on the applications are converted from a property development table which are not the categories for their grant. Housing Coordinator Vybiral confirmed this. Commissioner He asked if the estimated people helped by the program stated in the presentation was for last year. Director Everton clarified that the goal and actual was for the current year. She stated that the goal and actual depend on how many applications are received and the extent of the repairs that are needed. Commissioner He asked if the minimum goal was 7 participants. Director Everton stated it was. Commissioner He asked for some examples of the repair work that is done. Director Everton provided examples of maintenance and safety issue repairs. Vice Chair Golze asked for clarification of other funding sources for the program. Director Everton clarified that other grants, sponsorships and volunteers were all utilized. Commissioner Golze asked for clarification that every dollar spent was the equivalent of $18 or $19 savings for Medicare/Medical. Director Everton confirmed. Commissioner Tatachari asked for clarification if the units being serviced were identified ahead of time. Director Everton stated that they were not and that clients were served as they came in. She stated that since this year’s quota has been filled, there will probably be a wait list for next year. Commissioner Tatchari asked if prioritization for more severe issues was a factor. Director Everton stated it was. Commissioner Tatachari inquired if there was some data available to track the conditions of the aging of the affordable housing units. Director Everton stated that the costs go up every year due to the more significant repairs that need to be performed on the aging homes. Commissioner Das inquired if there was a chart breakdown of costs from past years that informed how much money they were requesting for the upcoming funding cycle. He asked for clarification in the breakdown to address the staff cost as well. Director Everton clarified that the staff salary breakdown was part of the application. She explained the process in determining how much was allocated to each home. She stated she could provide specifics for the nine homes in the current year’s funding as they had already been budgeted. Chair Cunningham asked for clarification on if there was privacy issue for releasing information from past year’s performance costs. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated that Rebuilding Together provided quarterly and end of year summary reports that contained some confidential information, but also specific breakdowns of services provided. He stated that the City assisted with Environmental Reviews to ensure there are no negative environmental impacts before any other projects are begun. Director Everton stated that an end of year third party audit is performed. She stated that when the reimbursement request is submitted at the end of every quarter all invoices and breakdown of labor distribution of staff is included. 6 Commissioner Das asked for clarification on how the CDBG funds are distributed to the program. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated that the program spends their own funds and then submits a reimbursement request with all receipts and invoices. Commissioner He asked for clarification as to what if the program spends more than what was allocated to them. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated that the CDBG funds the City grants them cannot be exceeded. He clarified that if the program exceeds those funds the difference would have to come from other funding sources of their own. Commissioner Tatchari expressed concern about the shortfall of the CDBG funds for the year and keeping adequate stock of healthy maintained affordable housing in the City. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated that CDBG funds were determined by HUD. He stated the current shortfall was a one- time occurrence and that funds would going back to higher allocations next year. He further explained that staff is always looking for additional grants and possible alternative funding solutions. Chair Cunningham stated that in previous years the Housing Commission has asked the City to contribute funds. Commissioner Tatchari inquired about BMR HF fund and how that could be utilized for current needs. Housing Coordinator Vybiral clarified that staff meets with developers on a regular basis to determine if projects will move forward or are shovel ready. He stated it would not be advisable to tie up funds in a project that might not be ready for five or six years. He explained that when a project was ready for funds, it would be brought to the Commission. Commissioner Tatchari asked for clarification as to what the resolution was to be voted on. Housing Coordinator Vybiral clarified that the resolution in the staff report was just an attachment. He stated that the Commission would only be voting on how much of the available CDBG funds they would like to award to the applicants. Commissioner He asked for clarification on if the shortage in funding for the Senior Center AC unit project would be made up by the city or if the project would carry over to next year when more funding became available. Vice Chair Golze stated that he understood it to be a multiyear project and that allocated funds for this year would be used and if there was a shortfall, supplemental funds would be asked for the following year. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated that this was correct. Programs Manager Michael stated that if there was a shortfall, the project would be evaluated for other possible funding sources within the City and possibly postponed. She clarified that there were many factors to be considered. MOTION: Tatachari moved, and Golze seconded to provide CDBG funding as requested in Attachment C of the staff report for $96,237.00 to Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley and $55,468.80 for the City of Cupertino Senior Center Cooling Systems improvement. Motion carried with the following vote: AYES: Tatachari, Cunningham, Das, Golze, He NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: None VOTE: 5-0-0-0 7 Chair Cunningham closed the item. 4. Subject: Discuss Proposed Meeting Time Change Recommended Action: Discuss the proposed meeting time change for Housing Commission meetings and finalize the time for future meetings. Chair Cunningham opened the item for discussion. Commissioner Tatchari proposed changing the time to 3-5 p.m. to better allow commissioners flexibility during the day. Vice Chair Golze stated that other commissions had meetings after hours. He suggested to better coincide with full-time working professionals, 5:30-7:30 p.m. on a second or third Thursday of the month. Commissioner He suggested Fridays and 3-5 p.m. or 5:30-7:30 p.m. She stated she was free most evenings after 7 p.m. Commissioner Das stated he was in favor of a Friday meeting as it was a lighter day. He stated that anytime on that day was acceptable, but preferably the later the better. Housing Coordinator Vybiral clarified that Fridays would not work as not all staff works on that day. Assistant Director Connolly stated that Friday was not a good day if the commission wanted attendance. He clarified that City Hall is largely shut down on Fridays with staff working remotely. Commissioners discussed different meeting times for other commissions during the week. Commissioner He suggested the fourth Thursday of the month, as there did not seem to be any conflict with any other commissions. Chair Cunningham asked if there was any public comment regarding meeting days and time. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated there was not. Chair Cunningham stated that 9 a.m. on Thursday’s worked fine for her but understood that it didn’t for others. She clarified that the fourth Thursday worked best. MOTION: Tatachari moved, and Golze seconded to move the Housing Commission meetings date and time to the fourth Thursday of the month starting at 5:30 p.m. and ending at 7:30 p.m. Motion carried with the following vote: AYES: Tatachari, Cunningham, Das, Golze, He 8 NOES: None ABSTAIN: None ABSENT: None VOTE: 5-0-0-0 Chair Cunningham closed the item. STAFF UPDATES AND COMMISSION REPORTS 5. Subject: Update on Mayor’s Commissioner Meetings Housing Coordinator Vybiral gave a brief informational report. Chair Cunningham asked for clarification on if minutes were taken at the Mayor’s meeting. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated that the meetings were not recorded nor were minutes taken. He recommended that the commissioner attending take notes which would be incorporated into future Housing Commission meeting updates. Chair Cunningham asked for clarification to procedures to provide topics for the Mayor’s Meeting. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated he would coordinate with the Chair. Commissioner Tatachari stated that the three topics for the Mayor’s meeting are provided by attendees before the meeting. Commissioner Das asked for clarification on whether the meetings would be in person or on ZOOM. Chair Cunningham stated that the meetings would alternate between the two. Chair Cunningham asked if there were any other staff or commissioner reports. There were none. Commissioner Das asked if any decision had been made about the reinstatement of hybrid meetings. Assistant Director Connolly stated no decision had been made but the commission would be informed when it had. Chair Cunningham closed the item. FUTURE AGENDA SETTING Commissioner Tatachari asked that a discussion of the work program item sent to City Council concerning the creation of the housing database be considered. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated that if the City Council decides to move forward with the item, it would come back to the Commissioner for discussion. Commissioner Das asked for a PDF that outlines the work and costs for different CDBG projects on a quarterly basis to better assess their effectiveness. Housing Coordinator Vybiral stated that quarterly progress reports were a staff function, but the request would be considered. 9 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:55 a.m. to the next regularly scheduled Housing Commission meeting. Respectfully submitted: /s/ Jon de Ridder _ Jon de Ridder Administrative Assistant