City Council - Regular Meeting

Yeah. No hot bikes, please. No hot mics.

We're live. Good evening everyone. I'd like to call the study session of the university city council meeting to order at 5:30 on March 9th, 2026. Uh prior to turning over to the uh subject matter at hand for the uh study session, are there any changes to the regular meeting agenda? Council member Smotherson.

Uh thank you, Mayor Crow. Um it's not to the regular meeting schedule but one of the things I wanted to address with this study session is first of all uh we have members of shed here and I think that they would and uh just to introduce themselves but what asking the city manager is uh could we or would we allow someone to speak during this study session and how would we proceed with that if that would be if that's relevant because I think they are relevant and uh who they are and having the president and I as vice chair here. I'm not sure if that's something that's Well, it's relevant, but I think if we'd known ahead of time, that would have been nice to have known if you're making this request.

Okay. And and then my apologies, but that's fine. I don't that's that's not a problem. I mean, I I think I think if they're here and we've got time, I I sure don't mind it. I don't know if Brooke the city manager does, but uh Mayor C uh Mayor Pro Tims Motherson, I don't mind. Um, I haven't had the opportunity to speak with shed regarding some of the changes that we um made through the initial discussion I had with Joel. Um, but I don't mind them speaking generally, I guess.

No. And and that's okay. That's fine. And I do understand and I I I'll know next time to make sure that that's something that we let you know in advance. Okay. Uh the second thing u that I'd like to address is if with this uh would you please I would actually like to add remove the wording on the first page and that is council adopted the plan and its recommendations at the January 13 2025 meeting. We've not adopted this plan. We've not approved this plan and it's not we the only thing we did in the wording is we accepted the summary but this plan has not been approved by council and has not been adopted.

Honorable mayor crow mayor pro Tim Smotherson um no no concerns about changing the word from approved to accepted uh referring to the strategy that was accepted January 13, 2025. Thank you. Would any other questions regarding the agenda hearing? None. Miss Sharp.

Thank you, Mayor Crow and members of the city council. Tonight we have uh Steven Franklin, our third ward coordinator, and uh interim director of planning and zoning and economic development manager Becky Alvin here to present um the plan proposal for pilot programs uh the down payment assistance and the home repair that we're looking to launch. Uh before doing so, there were a couple of items that I wanted to uh make you all aware of as I know there this is often a topic of discussion when we are talking about this plan. I wanted to go over the balance for the account um the cost to date and the breakdown of the 10 million and how it comes in over 23 years. Uh so as of today the current balance on the third W account is a little over 5.8 million. Uh those funds are in investment accounts. um so that they are growing interest as we are going through this process. Uh cost to date for yard and co we spent $254,975 and uh the only other items to come out of that fund has has been the uh administrative cost for the third war coordinator. Nothing else has been paid out of that fund to date. Yard and co cost for the third ward coordinator. Lastly, a the for yard and co was $254,975. The breakdown of the 10 million that is to be received over the 23-year period is as follows. Upon the sale of the parcel to Costco, we received $3 million. That money was immediately put into an account. Some of it was invested. Uh after that, we will receive $92,000 annually for 23 years from the SID, $18,000 annually for 23 years from the pool tax,

and $14,300 annually for 23 years from park and storm. And it is important to note that the park and storm funds are restricted and can only be used for park and storm water related matters. So, I wanted to make sure to put that on the record um because we're often getting questions about how much money is in the account, how much have we spent, and how the funds are allocated. So, I wanted to make sure I provided you all with that. And Park and Storm was $14,300. And with that, I would uh turn it over to Stephen Franklin and Becky Alvin to proceed with the presentation.

Um to my colleagues, if you get a chance to use your microphones when you're asking questions that helpful for the people who are watching at home, the magic of the green button at the bottom is it'll pop it in the center and then the green light will come on on top. Uh thank you again. Uh my name is Stephen Franklin. I'm the uh third w uh revitalization coordinator. Uh what I wanted to accomplish this uh afternoon is just discuss the uh third ward implementation plan proposal. Uh basically I'll start off with a program overview. Uh we'll also discuss our implementation proposal with our two pilot programs. Uh the eligibility guidelines for both of those proposals. uh the program administration uh of both programs also uh propose our proposed options in our matching and uh income options for the uh home repair grant. And then also we're going to seek guidance from the council as we discuss matching and income proposed options. First slide please. Okay. So, grounded in this whole third ward housing uh revitalization plan, um there's an extensive community engagement with the third ward to create strategies for the investing of the $10 million revitalization funds from the market at olive tiff and the third ward. Council adopted the plan recommendations uh at the third uh January 13, 2025 meeting. Uh the plan recommendation included nine uh developments of nine uh programs through what they call the housing toolkit. So two of those programs we'd like to add to this proposal. Um the home repair program and the uh path to ownership program and

I'll go into those pretty extensive as we get through the slides. Uh one of the other grants aging and place and his grants uh also the weatherization assistance program. We'll bring those online at a a later date. Uh the tenant opportunity to purchase programs is more of an ordinance and that'll definitely be something that we can add later. Uh the launching of the two programs and I'll just go over the uh implementation proposal slide. So we're going to launch two programs uh test the process from start to finish uh make the tweaks before fully launching both programs in uh fiscal year 27. So, we've bought on an online application portal. Uh residents will have the ability to access that portal through a link off the website. This will give us the ability to have residents and potential uh individuals uh receiving the grants follow upload documents uh read to see exactly what steps they need to do to make sure they're uh putting in the proper grant information. And then also um it'll allow us to be able to go into the program after this pilot and make adjustments. The system is designed for us to make adjustments along the way. We'll be able to track uh application process how easy it was for residents to be able to put the information into the system. But we also know that through this whole process, there are a lot of individuals that won't have access to any system. So, we plan to proactively have uh paper applications where we'll be able to access some of this information and we'll be able to upload that information manually. The goal with the online application portal is to be able to have information in the system, build a profile on individuals that are eligible for this program, but also later be able to use that system for outreach for the other programs that are coming up. It'll actually build a database where we can send information

directly to individuals who requested information on these programs. Uh the path to home ownership program, uh that is a actual purchase program for homes. Uh there will be up to $10,000 available for that program. Uh generally uh covering down payment and closing cost support. Uh we're going to cap that grant at 10 grants for this fiscal year. Doing that pilot. uh we've reached out to lending institutions so they'll be partnering with us as far as making sure that information gets out. Uh also there's a workshop component that each resident will have to complete and I'll go into that uh in the later slides. The other program the home repair out of every program in this tool kit that was developed the home repair uh program offers the most amount as far as a grant that's up to $15,000. Uh it's a 5-year forgivable structure and we'll touch on that a little bit more in the details, but we're trying to cap this grant at 20 grants. This grant also is the one that delivers the most eligible uh fixes for an individual's uh home repair. Uh partnership with shed was also going to be discussed uh as we uh talked about a little bit earlier to assist in the program administration. Uh we have some information I'll share with you on that. Uh and the main thing to remember is through the system and through the uh ability for the application portal to come online, we'll have a lot of structured oversight and information that we can pro provide to the council later as far as pulling reports, gathering information, and looking at the whole process of this as it goes through the system. Okay. So, we're going to start with the uh eligibility guidelines for the path to home ownership program. And I truly believe uh once this gets started, this is going to be one of the most popular programs in the whole system. Uh mainly

set up for first-time home buyers. One of the guidelines is the property has to be outside the 100redyear uh FEMA flood plane. Uh we talked about uh the required uh home ownership education through financial institutions. I've spoke with uh pretty much every branch that's located within the University City area in the third ward area. um the workshop we didn't want to create to have another tool that the city had to do. So, we're going to partner with these financial institutions who have these workshops and the financial literacy piece of this already in place. So, we'll partner with them. They'll be able to pro provide that information, but also these are the same institutions that are going to be able to provide these loans. Uh the great thing about this $10,000 grant, it's possibly stackable with other programs that the banks already have in place. So it wouldn't be that far-fetched for a homeowner to come up to a closing situation and have well over 15 to $20,000 to come down at the table, which is actually a very tremendous program. Uh 5-year owner occupy requirement, which in most programs throughout the St. metro area and throughout the Midwest. Uh these are sort of the HUD guidelines that our program follows on the 5-year occupacy requirement. And just a little on the application process, uh because we do have the online portal, uh applicants will uh be able to submit their mortgage information as far as a pre-approval letter. Uh the great thing about this program itself, it's not a lot of heavy lifting on the back end for the city. uh the individual still has to get a loan from a financial institution. And once that's uh uh uh picked up from the uh individual, they'll be able to upload those uh documents as far as home buyer education certificates and uh the then the city would be able to, you know, submit any type of grant uh commitment, letting that individual know that uh they're in pretty good shape as far as getting this. Um the funds are actually

sent through the title company so the resident doesn't have to touch or receive any of the money. So the home repair grant like I said one of the biggest uh grants in the whole program. Uh eligibility guidelines uh pretty similar to most programs 5-year residency in the third ward. uh that 5-year res residency actually supports individuals that have been living in the third ward for quite some time. Um because this is this program plans to go for you know several decades. It's easy for a person to be able to fit into that category as time goes on. Uh the continue res residency for after the project is completed. Normally uh any of the grant programs there is a 5-year commitment. uh that 5-year commitment is broken, then there will be some type of um part of that grant that you would have to pay back broken down incrementally in uh fifths uh for the 5-year program. But once that 5-year commitment is met, then all of that drops off. Uh it has to be an owner occupied prop uh property. We definitely don't want to incentivize any type of uh flipping or investments in this whole process. Uh and then the the main things that anybody in these programs uh throughout the market uh already have in place needing to know that you have to have a clear title uh current on real estate taxes uh current on your property uh personal property taxes current on your mortgage payments and must have homeowners insurance. Uh the eligible improvements that can be done with this uh grant is probably the most extensive of uh any of the type of products that we have. Uh things like cleaning, painting, uh staining of exterior surfaces, uh repairing any place uh replacing masonary, windows, doors, uh walls, ceiling, roofing, uh any type of

flooring repairs, also uh plumbing and electrical and mechanical repairs including uh air conditioning and heating also flood repair mitigation at some pumps. We did uh as a a team talk about the priority given to these uh the priority given that we want to give to exterior repairs and roof replacements. And our example for that was somebody could be trying to uh do some repairs to their floor uh but that floor repair came from a leaking roof or a ceiling leaking. So why would we uh allow that person to use the grant for that repair when we know that the the uh replacement or fixing of that roof would make more sense for that person to use money for that. So that's why uh the party is given to exterior repairs and roof uh replacements. If I may interject really quickly, Stephen, I also want to point out that exterior repairs are also prioritized because um aesthetically it increases the curb appeal and it it has a probably a bigger impact on the neighborhood than say internal repair. So the collective property values versus the individual property value that comes with the repair, the interior repairs.

Thank you. Okay. And the uh home room uh repair program also uh has the matching and income options. We definitely have a slide dedicated to that. We'll get into that more uh with the reimburseable grant. Uh also a sliding scale match for individuals. And then our tiered re uh repayment forgivable loan, but like I said, we'll we'll touch on that a little bit later. Uh the application process on the home repair grant is pretty similar. um you know with the uh addition of shed and helping with the administrative functions uh things like the property inspection and act uh having access to those repair needs uh approving applications and contractor selection also uh applicant uh will submit payments uh the city the city will verify their work and everything is completed and then those payments can be sent on to the contractor. So, as far as uh program administration, of course, uh the path to home ownership, that grant uh remains with the city as far as the application uh system and the program oversight. Uh the staff will re review the applications that are submitted, make sure they're uh complete and uh the uh eligibility and completeness for those applications are met. also coordination with the participating lenders and uh title companies. Something we've already started um to make sure that proactively everybody will know this type of grant is out there as far as uh the mortgage lenders are concerned. And then also uh the grant funds on that path to home ownership uh they're sent directly to the uh company at closing. The home repair grant uh the proposed agreement with shed it allows shed in the city to connect residents, community partners, and resources. something that shed is very good at doing already in the community. Uh we've uh reached out to different resource partners uh in the area to make sure that we're not duplicating any services uh that we can bring everything that we can to bear as far as making sure this program is up and running. Uh shed would in uh a few

cases would provide a homeowner communication. Uh our communication team with the city would also provide that communication. Um they're also provide a contract coordination and construction monitoring and uh another great thing is we're looking at a dedicated shed workspace within the city. Uh of course shed is being out in the uh community. Uh but a lot of these applications will come through particularly on the fourth floor. Individuals will be able to have someone if they spoke with shed they'll be able to continue that conversation but also have access to the individuals running the program on the back end. Okay. So, this is uh one thing that we were particularly looking for council guidance on. So, um after the matching and income requirements are met, this is actually the last slide. So, I'll leave this slide up to uh take on some information as far as any questions. We'll be able to look directly at that. But like I said, these are options. Uh option one, a reimburseable grant. Uh this is where an applicant would pay uh the 100% of the project. Um they would pay that 100% of the project upfront and then the city would match that uh part of a a portion of their money after the work is complete. Uh in our facade and business program, there's a piece there where the city reimbures up to 50%. So we could follow the 100% match or the 50% match as the options go. Uh the one thing that I did realize after getting into the community, talking with individuals about the match because of course that was the question that came up most as I was approaching uh different associations and different meetings within the community and some people didn't have a problem with the match. Uh those individuals I think were ready to do projects anyway. They were ready to make their investment like they've had in their home. They had easy

access to uh HELOC and uh different type of products as far as home equity uh could have access to credit cards and savings and they were just really waiting for us to start this program and putting off doing this themselves because they realized that that there would be a match for say a project at $15,000 where the city would come in and reimburse them. So there are individuals that were able to be able to do this. uh we came up with option two for the sliding scale match that's um actually based on the uh AMI for the area the area medium income uh this is 2025 HUD numbers uh we looked at a individual that's 0 to 50% at the AMI uh city funds would repair the total project so if the grant for home repair is $15,000 and their work uh entitled them to for $15,000 grant the city would reimburse uh or pay that contractor, that individual wouldn't have to put any of their money up front for that particular project. But then as we scaled it up for additional income, we looked at the 50 to 60 uh AMI. Uh the city funds there would be a 90 uh 10 uh match and all the way up from the 61 to 70% AMI, city funds would be 75 to 25. And then also the 71% and up uh city funds would be 50/50 as far as a match. Like I said, just a a different option. Uh the tiered repayment forgivable loan. Um we looked at the 80% AMI households at at or below 80%. City funds repairs that up to $15,000 and that loan is forgivable for 5 years. So that wouldn't be a a grant where the individual would have to put up their own money. Whatever that repair was, the city would uh provide that funding and repair that uh for that cost. And then also on that households

over 80% AMI, we looked at a repayment structure that uh household over 80% AMI would also have uh let's say a $15,000 max repayment, but over two years they would pay parts of that loan back. And then years three, four, and five, they wouldn't have to pay uh any of the the uh amount back for that, giving the person with the that additional income a way to get into the program also. So uh and then there was the fourth option uh which um that right they didn't make the slides but that's really easy to explain. It's just the full match of whatever the grant is no upfront from the residents. So uh the my next slide was just questions. So if anybody uh had any questions on any of the uh options we'll go ahead and take those. Mayor Crow, members of the city council, um we are seeking guidance on this uh because the plan that was accepted had no income requirement but a sliding scale based on AMI. Uh in my own experience, most home repair programs by a city or uh anything using tax dollars really uh usually has an income requirement. Uh the concern is that by not having some type of um AMI income requirement going by census track having something in place um it incentivizes people who may be able to make the repairs on they their own to not do so and and wait for this program. So with that in mind we were thinking between that and leveraging the funds stretching the dollars. So, how can we make sure that, you know, if if someone has the funding to do so, that they have something have some skin in the game, if you will. Um,

and also making sure that we're stretching every dollar of the third W revitalization fund as far as we can. So instead of coming up with actual dollar amounts uh which is what most in entities use they would go by household size and dollar amount we came up with this structure and of course the fourth option as uh Stephen mentioned is a free-for-all basically uh no income requirement no match um just if you apply for the fund and you meet the the requirements then you are um eligible for the repair the grant up to 15,000 Lastly, um I'd like to point out that I lost my train of thought. So, I'm going to stop. When I remember, I'll let you guys know.

As I call on Council Member Clay, just real quick, everything we're talking about tonight though is really bookended by this is for these are the the rules and structure just for the pilot program. And as the pig pilot program matures and/or lapses, if you will, ends, this program can easily change as it then gets moved out to a broader network. Am I correct? This is just for the limited purpose of the pilot program.

Honorable Mayor Crow, yes, you are correct. This is for the limited purpose of the pilot program. Uh taking the recommendations that were in the strategy and seeing how they work. And I just remembered what the last thing was. The uh we will use a lottery to it's not first come first serve. So we would open applications, bring them all in and then we would do a lottery process to select um the applicants and then those that were not selected for this pilot process would be put on the wait list and they would be uh the first to be contacted when we fully launched the program for home repair. Council member Clay.

Uh thank you, Mayor Crow. Um, and thank you, Mr. Franklin, um, and the team for your presentation. Um, this has been, uh, certainly a long time in coming. Um, I know, uh, Councilman Smson and I, my colleagues, um, have been anticipating this. Um, and even though I say that, I do recognize that we need to look no further than our neighbors to the east in St. Lewis to understand the ramifications of a grant program that is not well thought out and well executed. Um so having said that have some questions about um the program itself or the programs that you're proposing and some of my questions are are germanine to both. So I'll start with those. Um, is there a uh a lean associated with either program given there's a five-year commitment associated with it? Yes, there is. So, yes, uh that lean uh a 5-year forgivable lean and it's based off of most programs that run similar type of products and services as this. Uh it's not a lean that affects credit or the ownership of the house. that lean uh basically is a mechanism that lets the city know that uh this person who received a grant of $15,000 is doing something different. Uh so that lean would let us know that they're either not owner occupied, they're trying to rent it, uh or they're going to put that up for sale. So, if it's a $15,000 uh loan, uh then and they're in year two, uh then they would just have to pay back that in fifths, whatever was left on that on that grant. That's how that would work. And that that is the lane.

Okay. Um and I recognize I I have a series of questions. You may not have the answers to all of them as you're working them out. So, I I completely understand that. And and some of these thoughts are actually not my own. um got some feedback from uh an engaged citizen who had some some great thoughts as well. So um second relates to the there's a 5-year period associated with each program. Is there some sort of annual check to determine that the person is still in the house and doing what they need to do during the 5-year period? Yeah. So we record that lean through St. Louis County. So there's a process that we we're going to put in place. uh that lean is signed information from that resident and then we track that as far as the five years go. So that stays in their file, stays in our automated system uh as as the information that's put in and we'll be able to track that throughout the whole process and then we have uh uh documentation when that lean is over to be sent directly to that resident also.

Okay. Um, the down payment assistant program is up to $10,000. Could I get four? Could I get five? And what determines the amount uh less? Yeah. Well, less including 10, right? And that was the uh one of the questions that came up as we had outreach with lenders uh in the market. So, yes, it could be a lower amount. Every program is different and it's going to really uh go by the program that that individual is getting in as far as the lender goes. So, every bank has a different program. Some banks FHA programs uh have a lot more down payment money and assistance that can be stacked with this. Some uh lenders don't have those programs or they have programs where the down payment portion is a big part. So, yes, there could be a difference in everyone coming at at a certain point. So, as closing and that information that's provided by that lender and that product will let us know exactly where they need to be. Um, my thought process on that is, of course, uh, as a as a mortgage lender, if there's 10,000 available, we're going to definitely shoot for $10,000 because it's just going to make the home more affordable. But a lot of the programs and lending that those lenders will be able to do is going to dictate that depending on type of program. FHA programs, firsttime programs, just like in the amounts that the actual programs can provide other than our grant are different based on the type of loan that person gets. So let let me double click on that for a moment. Say I'm coming to the table because you said this program is stackable. So, I've got, you know, wash shoes program and and and maybe another um so I'm bringing $20,000 to the table on a $110,000 house and I'm applying for this program as

well. Is 10,000 kind of the default? And then if if there's some extraordinary circumstance, you would do less or how how would I have a sense of what I might be eligible for for this program given I'm bringing $20,000 to the table. Right? So, the current recommendations in the plan didn't discuss uh fees that aren't used for the home the path the path to home ownership. So, that's something that we would have to actually, you know, work through uh to make sure that u we're making uh great use of the funds. Uh because of course, if the person doesn't use the $10,000, that means there's just more money for the next individual. So, uh, as it stands right now, there was no guidance as far as, uh, the amount that could be used, but basically from information that I that I've looked at in other programs that we did research on, uh, that is determined by the type of loan that that person is getting and they finalize and close on the house.

Okay. That that may be a piece to to work out. Again, I understand not not everything is is in place. um as it relates to the to the home repair program. Um is it a once in a-lifetime opportunity? So if I get it in the pilot and I'm in city for 40 years, I can't get it again. Is that that is correct?

Okay. Yes. um if there and and this is getting into the weeds admittedly uh but a lot can happen in 5 years um and we've talked about the lean process um with the home repair program if there is um a a death of the primary owner and then you get a transfer property. Not necessarily expecting you to have an answer to that, but just one of the things to kind of think through um in the process,

right? And that actually was bought up in the recommendations and uh those type of uh situation and scenarios can always be bought up to the city manager and leadership team to make that one-off decision based on that actual resident. Okay. All right. I think that's all I have unless the conversation spurs something else, but thank you again. I appreciate the work on this. Thank you, Council Member Smson. Oh, thank you, Mayor Crow. Uh, just a quick question for you, Mr. Franklin. And, uh, it's good to meet you formally, sir. Right.

So, it's good to see you and, uh, that we have, um, this program started. What I just simply wanted to ask, um, if if you are or the city manager could answer the question is is with the AMI and what does the what is the scale that uh, St. Louis County uses if in fact they use that. Yes. And uh St. Louis uh county does use that. Uh so for example on that sliding scale the 0 to 50 AMI um they base that normally off of a family of four and that's coming in around $55,000 uh dollars a year. And you see all these are based off the uh 2025 numbers of HUD and the county.

And that's it. That's what St. Louis County is using. Yes. Um 0 to 50 at that at 0 to50 right now it's $55,700. Okay. Thank you, sir. Council member McMahon.

Thank you, Mayor Crow. Thank you for the presentation, the information, helping us to make better decisions. I appreciate it. Um, one of the things I' with some of the issues that have recently come up, I would like to maybe see as a requirement for these that not only are uh the residency requirements and owner occupied, but possibly that we make sure their trash bills are paid would be a requirement or code enforcement that's connected with it because we don't want to, at least in my opinion, provide help with repairs and then 5 years down the road those don't they're not maint maintained and we're back to where we are and we just repeat the cycle. So, some of those things I I would think we'd want to make sure the taxes are paid and I know some of that if it's a loan it'll be in your mortgage, but we've also got personal property tax. We want to make sure those are paid and all of those things. If we're giving out taxpayer money to help other taxpayers, I think we should all be contributing to the taxes that we go. Um, is there any projections as to the number of homes in the repair program or the longevity of the program based upon the different options or we just not don't have the data yet to do that until maybe the pilot programs?

Well, how many uh homes could possibly participate uh as a general neighborhood or area? Is that what you're asking?

Yeah, long long term. I mean, one of the things we want to do is to maximize how long this money is available so this program can last as long as possible. So, do we have projections between option one, two, three, and four? How which ones looks at least best to to keep this going as long as possible? Well, I mean the one thing uh the recommendations for total grants excluding the path to home ownership completely different uh will get us at about 500 grants total for the life of the tiff. So if everyone maxes out with the ability to get $15,000 then it'll be a set number. But we don't see foresee most programs that everyone uses the full amount especially with home repair. But then got to remember too there's three other grants that have a dollar amount. The aging in place, the weatherization, uh they have amounts also. So when you put as the pilot stops and we roll in the other programs, uh we'll be able to identify that and make sure that we have enough grants online.

Thank you. Appreciate it. Council member Briner, you you're off now. You forgot Um, I have a couple of qu Council member Clay, your light is on. You wanting another bite of the apple in a second? I am, but if you want to. Okay. Thanks. Let me let me go through just a couple of questions if I can, please. If you if you could, Mr. Franklin, could you get where did you did the number 10,000 and 15,000 that come from the financial institutions or where did those numbers pop out from or from the report? Where? Yes. So, those came out of the recommendations from the task for

third plan. Yes. Thank you. So that all came through there. So if we go through that then unless I'm missing it. The pilot program is $400,000 give or take. Did I is my math off on that? Uh yes, give or take with the understanding that we don't have a number from shed yet as far as program administration. But just the the numbers in your presentation for PAT the home ownership and home repair if you add them together for the pilot program is is $400,000. Yes. Okay. And then on the required home ownership education through financial institution uh for the homeowner ballpark of what is the time commitment for that course? Is it online? Is it in person? How does it

I'm trying to determine the number of people who are really going to say you've got to be kidding. I've got to do that. Yes. And in most programs there there is that requirement. So what we've done and and why we reached out to the financial institutions is one the city didn't we didn't want to create the program. I agree.

And also uh give the ability for the homeowner to have the relationship with a bank to find out uh if their institution already offers that program. So we've aligned banks that have workshops already in place. We've also aligned with uh other nonprofits that have these programs because they're specific to any type of FHA financing. A lot of the financing that will possibly be stacked with our grant, every institution has if it's HUD related has a workshop that's mandatory. And so those workshops uh online and in person.

Yes. So the they depending on the institution itself uh but we have some uh non-financial institutions uh like the Justin Petersons and other programs like that who also run these workshops and we'll have that uh information available on the website so that the individual trying to get this grant will have a good idea of time commitment with the ones that are online that are ones that are already associated with programs they've been in before or my bank has a program where I can just easily get And then the again the time commitment is it 5 hours is it it's some I've seen uh are uh time timelines of a week spread out giving an individual uh time to go in the day time to go in the evening. Uh some of the online courses are or two parts because most financial literacy programs are built on not just uh the basis the basics of maintaining a home but also they're going to be selling them products for the lending. Right? So that's all included type of loans that they should get, the difference between the FHA requirements and the guidelines on that versus a normal loan that they might qualify for. And I'm going to follow up on I'm amazed uh council member McMahon, my question is who is are the current on their trash bill. So we're at least all thinking probably at least in the same way there and then occupancy permits for those people who are already residents of University City in the third w we have an occupancy permit issue here at times. The last thing is, and this council has a little bit of a history with clawbacks. Um, is there what how does the how do you see the clawback working? I think it's one thing to say that we're going to put a lean on the property. I think it's another thing for us to say to to track it and to enforce it. that I'm just curious as as to how I I think if someone passes away and the and the house goes to their child and and there hasn't been a retitling effort, unless I'm missing it, the lean's still out there and we don't know that anything's

occurred. All right. So, the lean in for I I'm just I'm trying to think of the the if you will the the what we would call the back office on the leans as to how you are how you monitor and how you claw back with with this program as a as a pilot. I know I know I don't believe I'm that concerned, but I think we're all concerned as this thing expands as to how the leans would be um monitored.

Honorable Mayor Crow, uh John Mulligan and I briefly discussed a similar clawback to what we did with the relocation assistance. Um and I don't recall the exact details of that, but I recall that we had a clawback for the relocation assistance with the marketed island development. Additionally, even if they didn't change title, they would have to change their occupancy permit. So, I do think there is a way that we could track that internally and be alerted. Now, if they did not do that, um, you know, we can certainly incorporate into the program maybe an annual check-in or monitoring. um not just to make sure that the person is still there, owns the property, but also just to see how the how everything is working out for them with the repairs. Uh again, community engagement, just going out, checking in with them, making sure everything is held up. I think we can incorporate that into the program.

Okay. I'm a little I like the community engagement part. I I really I don't know how practical it would be as it as it expands. Um next question. It says the path to home ownership is going to be reviewed by staff. I guess my question is is staff you or is staff more or is there more staff? Yeah, there is more staff the business development staff but also the uh the whole process with the uh software system allows us to track a lot of applications at one time. Uh that that system does proactive emails uh reporting. uh we'll be able to take a look at all documents assigned to each applicant in their process of where they are. So, we're looking at possibly 20 30 grants a year. Uh maybe two or three grants a month max. Uh with the system and the other individuals and also especially for the home repair, the administration would shed. We should we should be okay as far as tracking.

No, I' I've got the home repair part. Mine was on the path to home ownership. It says staff reviews applications and you replied back and said business development. Those are that's business development from the financial institutions, I'm assuming. or is it business development through us? So the the business development team will also work on this program is is what I meant. Mayor Crow, if I may. I'm He's referring to the economic development team as a whole with you know he is you're talking about you're talking about Becky Becky and Juan and Lee. Yes. Sorry about that.

I was lost on that before I Who? So you're talking about Okay. I I I got that part there. Um I guess I want to go just ver and I've got I think there's a couple questions left. um of the three options that you were giving us, uh having been involved with the EDRST and how that process works, I think we have to say that the the EDRST fund with the facade improvement isn't really what I would say a swinging success for the folks putting up the money and then getting reimbursement from us. So, I'm not sure and and I'm not sure I'm even on the same page as council member McMahon when he said he wants this to last as long as it can. I think I I would say I'm happy for it to last as long as it can, but I'd like to help as many people as I can with as much money as we have prudently whether it lasts longer or hits the street sooner. So my I guess my question is of these three options, if the pilot program is for the residents to learn and the city to learn, is is option two the one that gives us the most interaction and flexibility, interaction with the banks, interactions with the residents, and gives us the opportunity then to to then, shall we say, go higher or go lower as we've learned from the pilot. I guess I guess I'm trying to say option one is one that frankly from my experience with EDRC hasn't really worked. I I think I think it sounds really pretty easy but it just doesn't work. I think people are going to say no. So if I'm down to options two and three, and I'm not saying my colleagues even agree with me on this. They may have a totally different idea. If I'm between two and three and I'm trying to learn, is two the one that gives us the most exposure to improving this program? I that's not a setup question for you, Mr. Frank. It's just kind of is that the one that that that puts the money out on the street, but also helps us to learn from what mistakes we will likely have occur during that process. And that

could be that can be viewed as a rhetorical question by all of my colleagues. Um, Mayor Crow, I think off the off the cuff, I think maybe um when I look at the forgivable loan, um, that would require us to obviously create a loan program, we would have to be tracking, making sure the payments are coming in. It would be a zero interest uh, loan, but, you know, we'd have to make sure the payments were coming in. And um if I'm being honest, from my history with home repair programs, I've seen those fail the most. Um option two probably would be the best way to start and assess and then if we find that that is it's too complicated or we didn't get enough people coming in, then we can certainly come back and and tweak. Um, and I'm personally, we presented option one, but I personally am not a fan of option one. Um, I think most people that are in need of this type of home repair program might have a hard time coming up with $7,500. Um, or even paying the entire 15,000 upfront. Um, so again, when we were when we have that with facade improvement, we're talking about businesses, even though they're small businesses, they have an easier time with that. Um, whereas a resident who probably has foregone these repairs for years and years may have a hard time coming up with 15,000 to pay up front. So, I would personally lean towards option two. Um, and then of course there is the unlisted option of no income requirement, no match, just apply for the funds. And that is the one that is going to you'll see your money the money go fast. It will go very fast with that type of program. Um, the other two options just

allow us to leverage the dollars and and stretch it out a little bit more. Okay. Just so everyone knows, in the interest of time at 6:20, we everybody I'd like all the council members to be able to ask their questions. I really would like to hear from shed if we can. So, we may go to everyone who's watching, we may go over a little bit uh of our 6:30 uh time because I think the rest of our agenda for the evening is relatively light. I think council member Briner, you were you were next.

Thank you, mayor, and thank you for the presentation. And um the question I had was you talked about with the home this being a lottery the first year for the um pilot if we have a priority for the external on the home repair. Should we just for the first year say that's what's going to go into the lottery because otherwise you're ranking projects and that's kind of hard to do with a random system. So that's just a thought um like where you could come with a conflict with your lottery system versus like having a priority system. Um, and then second, I just want to say option two makes the most sense to me, particularly if um we are trying to improve the housing stock in the third ward and really really get those properties that are h struggling to do the improvements like if that's going to be our priority. Now, if we have another priority, that's fine. But if that's our priority, um I feel like housing or option two maybe gives us the most bang for our buck too. Like so that's my thought. Thank you.

And I think uh the thing to remember also is the home repair grant is just one grant. So the other grants that we can bring online could have other guidelines. So, if we do see as the pilot has been kicked off that uh there's a group of individuals that are being, you know, it's we're making it a little bit harder for them to get into the program. Uh the other grants, they're they're not uh aligned for every type of eligibility as guidelines go, but they do the same thing. So, we have the ability to to come back and bring those online also. Um but then as far as the sliding scale um there's a lot of um cities and markets using that that 0 to 50 uh which would be the free uh grant or they don't have to put any money up front uh would cover a decent percentage of the third ward. Council member Fuller make thank you Mr. Mayor. Um pilot program is for what length of time? one year.

So, it'll be to the remainder of this year. Okay, fine. Um, another quick question. How are we going to get this information out to the cis and third ward other than, oh, it's on the web, right? So, uh, are we going to educate our folks? That's another question.

Yeah. And we're definitely looking at a a communication plan using the communications team here at University City. Uh we would probably uh have the biggest impact on doing a mailer uh sending out to the third ward residents. Everybody gets it at the same time, driving them back to the link to the website, then also proactively meeting in locations, library, recreation center, not only meeting there and letting everyone know we're going to be there, but being able to take applications in and move a person forward through the program.

Final question. Um, when we go to the home repair program, um, I know we have a lot of self-styled engineers and carpenters out there, but, uh, how can we vet some of these folks, uh, as well as contractors that want to participate in this program? Can we guarantee that that repair man that's going to come in and make home repairs is literally not going to walk away with our money. So, uh, at the beginning of this plan, yeah.

Yeah. I'm sorry. Uh, with the program itself, uh, in the process and and the portal, uh, there's a minimum of three bids that have to be uploaded and that'll allow us to be able to look at that information because the contractor has to put business information in. We'll be able to look at that through information that we have at the city, but also make sure that we get the best bid possible for the program. Uh, Council Member Teeman.

Uh, thank you, Honorable Mayor. Uh, just ever so briefly, having dealt with this as much as you have, do you have a personal preference of these four options? Well, uh, my personal preference and, uh, reading the recommendations from the very beginning and then having conversations with the residents, uh, I, I'm the firm belief that there are individuals that, uh, when I spoke about the match, didn't have any issue with it and were ready to go. Then I spoke with individuals that did have some problem or thinking why would I have to come up or where am I going to get this money to come up with this program. So I think a mixture of both. Um all these options they're set in different bullets but we can take one bullet and put it with one of the other options. It's something that we can do to make sure that this is for the third ward. Whatever is going to have uh help the residents the most. I think that would be the one uh that I would go for. So, a lot of information within those options that I like um the sliding scale, but um I think uh the ability to have individuals get in on the program at the very beginning without putting money in is always best case scenario. Council member Clay, thank you for your patience.

Oh, of course. Of course. Thank you. Um three quick points. uh one to the uh conversation about the long longevity of the program overall. It was always my understanding that the funds coming from the markets of development were always about leveraging and seeking more. Um this was not to be the end all beall because we know $10 million cannot be the end all be all. Um we want to do with it what we can but always seek more funds. that was my understanding to help with sustainability of the program. Um second as it in in the conversation about um financial literacy courses it it seems like um we have nonprofit partners beyond housing prosperity connection I'm very familiar with and others who offer that free of charge because there are uh courses that that cost

and I think we would want to avoid those and I think we want to skew more to our nonprofit partners that would likely have free programs. Financial institutions may have may have something, but um we don't also want product pushing as well. Um so I I think perhaps leveraging our nonprofit partners might be the best route. Um the final thing is it relates to the income requirements. U my preference is is option two. um with an addendum. Um maybe 80% and above is a 25% homeowner uh stake and and or 75% homeowner stake and a 25% city funds just to make things last a little longer because if you're above 80% um ostensibly there's more resources there. We know everyone's situation is individually different but um just a thought there. Uh but uh the the framework of option two is is the one I prefer. Uh if there are no other questions, I know we're running a little light on time, but I know that uh our colleague council member Smotherson had asked if shed would like to make any comments or questions, and I'm happy to make that time available for you or you're welcome to speak at another time because we recognize that this is going to be a relationship that we hope to have for a long time with you. So, you're welcome to to come up, but there's no pressure at all. Uh none whatsoever. speak.

Just have to give your just have to give your name and address and then then have at it. Okay.

Okay. So, uh my name is Joel Pew and the address 3341 Marshall Lav. Um Okay. So, I did want to point out some things first uh to uh Council Member Clay's uh comment with us administering. We are applying for home repair funds. So, we hope to leverage the the funds that you guys have as well. Um, and then to council member Fuller's uh question or comment as well about outreach, there's a number of third ward activities that third W members go to already and I think as Madison would be definitely be able to tell you. Um, and I think that there's definitely a lot of points that we can do outreach uh and really let the third ward know. Um, there also are a number of neighborhood organizations that are kind of uh trying to get started and growing and so I think uh outreach through them would also be helpful. Um, also for the contractor verification, this is something uh that I had to do a lot at the county and there are a couple resources as well that I think can be able to help us with that. Um, one being the secretary of state to verify that they actually are registered business instead of just a person doing it. Um and then also uh because as an organization we do we work in this space in the construction space we have a number of partners that also work with uh contractors that we'd be able to leverage and ask if we're not sure about a contractor. Um the other thing I want to say is that um you know we really look forward to the potential of partnering with university city. I hope over the time that shed has been in existence that we've uh proven to be adept at partnering u both within the city and outside of the city and just with residents in general. So um I don't have much else I want to say. We do I do want to touch base more with Brooke uh to kind of work through some of these details before I would actually give any type of opinions about something. So all right thank you Joel. Thank you very much to all of my Brooks you'd like to

add?

Just a few more things. I'm sorry. So, um I do want to point out that part of the partnership with SHED will allow us to uh my hope is that it will allow us to leverage the dollars because as a nonprofit, SHED can actually go after other funding that we can't go after as a municipality. So, between them applying for grants and us applying for grants, I think that we would be able to leverage the dollars. Um I also wanted to point out that there are no self-repairs in this program. So, these will have to be certified and registered contractor's license um that our department I mean I I'm not sure if we have a contractor's registration which is something I'm accustomed to um in previous cities but we will make sure that we're working with actual reputable contractors. And uh lastly, I wanted to confirm that it I if I have a consensus that we're looking at option two um from everyone um because our next step will be to actually build out the um marketing information everything and bring that to you all as well as the application and bring it to you all for actual approval um before we launch the program. So, am I getting a consensus? If you don't need a vote, but just a pretty much option two, everyone. Okay. Thank you.

And then you will bring it back then to us for a final vote as Yes. Um I'll get with the team, but it should be fairly quickly. Um I won't commit to the next meeting, but maybe uh at least the first one in April, but I'll work with the team and with Joel to bring everything to you all for approval. Uh thank you very much to my colleagues. Um, I think the agenda is not necessarily that long. Are you good to go to keep going without a break? I'm seeing I I'll do the same thing that our city managers did. Do we have consensus? If we have consensus, uh, we will adjourn the study session and move directly into the meeting. and Kina know.