##VIDEO ID:NuQ20zF69dM## welcome to the uh Housing and Redevelopment Authority meeting for Cook County Aug October 16th 2024 uh we'll begin uh first I note a quorum with the Commissioners Hansen O'Brien Olson and gaer approval of agenda is item number one is there a motion or discussion I'll move to approve the agenda a second it's been moved and seconded any discussion all those in favor say I I opposed uh approval of the September 2024 meeting minutes is there a motion to move that I move to approve any I'll second that thank you any uh comments or Corrections noted hearing none all those in favor say I I opposed motion minutes are approved opportunity for public comment is next on the agenda we have a member of the public in a manner of speaking um yeah board uh Ryan Nelson with P&R companes and gun gun plan view LLC is here as is uh Kyle Anderson of the same and so we getting to an agenda item there shortly so if they they could probably speak to answer any questions unless U Mr Nelson if you had anything you wanted to say out the gate or do you just want to stand for questions stand for question okay okay uh on to new business uh resolution 2414 authorizing a First Amendment to restated development agreement with Gunflint view LLC uh Jason you want to yes CH so uh I sent a link the email to the board I'm sure you had fun reading lots lots of things um as the resolution uh describes and the agreement shows uh the ITR had a previous program uh I think it was called the community infrastructure program no longer exists uh the three programs or three grants that we've recently received in 2024 in earlier this year March were under the housing program and the difference there's there have been several differences uh but the the primary difference here uh is that there's different understanding of what um constitutes a project in those two different programs and so the Gunflint view previously switched back Village uh and then saw to Flats before that uh that's what was applied for originally in 2022 uh December of 2022 uh and that was through the Eda under a program that no longer exists uh so all of that's to say some things have changed uh and things were complicated um and the uh the developer n realized in a August uh that there was a discrepancy in our understanding of what the project definition was so we had some several long conversations myself with ITR staff with the developer with board chair um and we determined that to be able to honor the uh intent and the the rule of the grant agreement uh that we that the developer determined they weren't able to uh abide by all of the terms as they understood them so in light of that unfortunately the decision was well we can't accept the money from ITR if we can't adhere to all the terms as they require um and sense that of course we've I have scoured over the other things to make sure that were all of the other grow you know grants that we've received were understanding and those are all fine um this is the of course the single one um so uh in light of that decision uh this resolution and the amendment removes the I portion from the agreement and as everybody knows everybody's disappoined including ATR um and it was not an insignificant amount and it was the um so it's okay uh so the resolution proposes to terminate uh again the ITR portion remove that from the original agreement uh and then also to allocate the 180 that was allocated for York BG to help fill the Gap and then an additional 20 and in in the conversation and the message I sent to the board I laid out uh that we're in a financially healthy position at the moment so uh we have predevelopment and development funds to do just that um and then the developer has committed to filling the remaining gap for the project because obviously they're well underway and invested and they want this to be successful and I'll say we wanted it particularly to make sure to keep the rent restricted units and make this still a mixed income project and they are still committing to doing that um if the ater is willing to assist with these additional funds it was a lot I understand it's complicated situation but if you have any questions I'm happy to try to tackle them Jason is the uh change in understanding of the scope something that would you said you checked the the other projects that are ITR fund it and those and the understanding there is is clear um do we know whether the broader scope that uh interpretation will apply for future projects being put to a project the whole project unless otherwise specified so this is why can see there's some ambiguity there um with the for example temp Temperance Trails York bro project the project was presented as uh before the board and how we packaged it I guess was infrastructure for speculative building now of course the H we were working on specific developments it wasn't speculative we were doing infrastructure for a discrete project set um but for their portion they were funding speculative infrastructure and so their project was just the infrastructure because they weren't banking so to speak on the future specific houses that were in our agreements that was the Crux of the project definition confusion if you will so to answer your question yes we know that now moving forward unless it's that sort of situation which they us a lot of parties in their service territory are being very keen and aware of now y um we will make sure that we understand which is which y moving forward okay long-winded answer but it's a long-winded problem what's the criteria for prevailing wage how do they figure that how so commissioner what do you mean the criteria how do they know what prevailing wage is oh caling wage is established by county and so it's posted the state posts state establishes it for each so does the I believe the federal government also has prevailing W documentation so you can there's different forums and actually Mr Nelson could speak to that too but they have ways you can look at up for County for each classification labor Carpenter Etc excavator and and that's how you yeah and it isn't just a wage it's wages and benefits I think and correct um so it's pretty you know complete but uh and it is posted M yep it is posted and I will say that we were I have all of them in my uh and they were all submitted to the ITR before we recognized this was an issue uh the developer provided Pilan wage certification and certified payroll for the infrastructure portion project we had all of that um as we were required to collect um but yeah thank you you're welcome is there a movement the motion to approve resolution 2414 I'll so move second or that I'll second that any further comments or questions uh I would just thank the developer for staying with it uh this wasn't an easy decision for anybody but uh we appreciate your commitment to project and to our County so thank you uh yeah we appreciate uh as the developers your guys's understanding of our of the misunderstanding of a lot of things that were just really muddy and um now that we're coming to the end of it and we've realized that there's you know some things that could come back to us later on and uh you know hurt us financially it's not something that we would want to take on that risk and uh we'd rather just you know just call it done right now and and move forward in a different direction any other comments or thoughts at this stage if not we'll call the question uh all those in favor say I I I opposed unanimous approval resolution 2414 now it takes us to resolution 24:15 resolution authorizing the director to apply for Grant funds of up to 400,000 for the from the triple art for the purpose of supporting construction of new single family homes in the city of gr maray b as you can imagine were very specific about how this application is going to be uh submitted um and in fact I just submitted this afternoon the preliminary uh and uh this of course as you know is for the nanu or nanu I'm so sorry noris scogan project uh yesterday was scandy beu for Ed I'm just fixing a bunch of terms together um the uh the nor kogan project uh on East set of town on the north side of Fifth Street uh and uh they have like every project ever in Grand marray uh run into cost challenges uh specifically with regard to the infrastructure and earthw work and so their mission because this is very much a mission-driven project is to provide uh there's multiple components it's a nonprofit um that's going to be building the homes but this uh application is actually for the LLC entity that will be building the infrastructure so they want to build the do the site work under the LLC for liability reasons and for funding reasons and then the nonprofit entity will build the homes um so we're applying for in infrastructure for speculative Home Building uh at this site uh the city of garray um another thing going for this project I'll say is that it's already been platted it's been approved um so we're we're not really subject to some you know wild cards in that regard um so the developers already proceed seeding uh and the if we are successful they will start construction in the spring they have a contractor who's already lined up they have bids and this really is a function of just running into exorbitant cost amounts um that uh again every I open bids this afternoon for the heights I can get to that later so every project is having cost problems but uh this just enables uh me to actually apply for those funds through ITR um and then we would submit them by in the next two weeks uh for I believe the meeting is in November any questions I'd move to approve resolution 24:15 I second movement seconded resolution 2415 uh any further discussion all those in favor say I I opposed resolution carries thank you board next item board member application for the District 3 HRA seat um our process is to make a recommendation and send it to the county board for approval uh any discussion or thoughts on the applicant I thought he did a good job of explaining his background and his interest in housing and and specifically in really uh uh uh uh it's hard to d a lost for a word but he put he's doing working on his own house to making it as energy efficient as possible I guess Energy Efficiency is one of the things that caught my eye in there and uh so uh any further thoughts um I happen to know him personally and his wife and he's worked on many projects that I've designed as engineer and uh in fact I'm helping him with his current project as well but uh very smart man um really thinks this is a good fit for him for for some service um and both bill and I recognized that he would be a good person to ask for this job and we did should we uh approve a resolution or make a motion to uh send the application to the County Board I'll so move I'll second moved and seconded any further thoughts if not all those in favor say I I opposed look forward to having a fifth member here soon a Full Slate of Commissioners uh other businesses directors welcome some applications as well obviously they're in a transition already um are they also are they constrained by District uh no they're constrained instead by uh city and county appointments so um you said Howard and Steve they're both out of the city correct those are both County but I think too right if yeah myON is city city I think yeah I think so I think it's two and one so two two out of the city okay yeah and uh the mayor Benson we talked at the meeting yesterday at the Eda meeting um the city is trying to also broadcast General openings um because it's we were just talking about this with the meeting it's in a smaller Community there lots of people wor lots of hats and it's hard sometimes to get folks to to volunteer like you folks for stuff like this so if you know have any good-hearted uh well-meaning and interested folks um send them to the Eda so that was a little add to the agenda um I told them I would plug and I plugged uh the heights uh again uh tax abatement was approved so that was the last public approval that we needed for financing purposes um this after this morning at 11: I opened the sealed bid there was one bid received for that project per the ITR guidelines with do sealed bid that whole project is subject to prevailing wage and we knew that um so they are now going to they're very likely selecting that bid they didn't have another one uh and so they're going to work work with that contractor to better fine-tune numbers um as of right now the objective is that that will be um under construction uh in the spring they'll order order the modular units and then start as soon as the weather cooperates is the plan but I just wanted to slightly celebrate one we got a bid uh and two uh tax bement is the first time it's been actually approved uh in Co County or gray for housing and so we're pushing the envelope on on things to get stuff done may I ask what region of the world the Builder is from what region of the world yes uh North America uh yes the the builders from um the arrowhead region yeah y any other questions about the heights generally okay uh the other thing which I included in the email that is worth celebrating uh and my director's report is that the we submitted a 1.3 million dollar Grant request for Minnesota housing and we were selected um for the 16 units on Highway 61 um so we'll have more more to do which is the which is the goal um and so I just got an email from uh Minnesota housing yesterday and they're sort of now getting the documentation together for folks on what the process is next steps and okay they're still a little as I understand a little bit on the short staff side so they're trying to catch up um but uh the anticipation there is to you you can't really do much uh from a Precision perspective until you know if you have a giant funding source like that so you know there were some estimates on the front end for the application and now this developer has to go and and have some more meaningful conversations over the winter the anticipation would be a a summer construction start for for this as well and would this uh uh funding include prevailing wage correct yeah mhm yeah and actually they're uh more waiting to see what they mean by that and that will be in their grand contract but the developers worked with Minnesota housing before and they know that the states the ties W to the to the projects so project definition has become increasingly important when you're talking about what applies to what is it the is it the dollars that the grant is going toward is that the project is it the whole you know total development costs and so actually and chair I shared this with you at the end of November I'm going to be I was asked to speak uh at a greater Coalition grer Minnesota Coalition of housing one of the topics is prevailing wage uh they want to have the input from grer Minnesota on how that affects housing or how it does it or what we think about it that the capital get lobbied quite a bit from trade unions understandably uh and so they're trying to get a wider perspective on the challenges so we have an opportunity to try to provide some insight uh so anyway uh another one uh in the pipeline again we don't not all of these happen obviously so it's good to have different things moving forward mhm any questions about that yet to be named project I don't think we're going to name it 100 West 800 West Highway Sy not that creative to this Bluff is free is available we'll take that under advisement I suspect they're not going to take that but I'll let them know um otherwise financials are attached uh to any questions on the financials it's pretty Pro fora um go ahead T oh sorry I thought you were going to say something um the last thing under my report is just the general Eda update um president sbba was out of the country I think for the last couple weeks and so asked if I'd be willing to assist yesterday with the board meeting um to help walk through the packet which I did uh but my I'm done as inter room just for the record I'm no longer the interim Eda director um and uh we are in the middle of the hiring process I am remaining on the hiring committee um I just want to update you we have um interviewed the uh we have one more interview tomorrow uh and then we have we will be moving folks a few Folks at least two through to a second interview process um the objective of the board actually is to have somebody uh to recommend at a special meeting at the end of the month to the board I believe we scheduled for the 29th so of course it's all subject to them accepting and working all all the details but finding a place to live yeah yeah yeah that is that has become that's been a very big part of the conversation actually um some of the folks that uh We've interviewed are from out of state and so there's a lot of conversation about hybrid and what that looks like what the expectations so recognizing that um be some nice apartments available in if only it was sooner than that 6 months is a long time uh but um yes the timing didn't quite work out one um but I wanted to let you know that we are proceeding and we have a couple of promising uh candidates uh and we're hopeful that that person will be in the seat by the end of the year um and UD can carry on with its important work I just note that DDA really turned things around from the first go through with one applicant uh to now several applicants and from I don't know how many were there eight or nine or and much better qualified it sounds like and uh and that's in part due to Jason's input that uh you got to pay up for talent and in this case you know that's what it took and and all of a sudden I think the Eda is on the road that they need to be on or they want to be on for sure of having a good qualified executive director to go from here so thanks to Jason for his input that helped that along thank you I'm the board was very I will say the board was very open to it I think they're very uniform and trying to make sure that we um get a solid person in the seat to help carry on the projects that are already happening and there's some big things happening right now with Tac Harbor with the Northwest you know the transfer station with the golf course those are big conversations so they want to make sure they get somebody who knows um how to sort of navigate the Ed Economic Development world and know some resources so we're we're optimistic and hopeful uh it's just a little bit of a bump until that person starts and then gets up to speed so I think 2025 wow that's crazy to say 2025 will be a busy but eventful year for the Eda and I think in a good way um but I'll if any as that materializes I'll keep keep you updated that was all from me unless you had questions okay other topics anybody have one I guess I would just note so far it looks like commissioner O'Brien and I will attend the Northeast Housing Opportunity Workshop next week in uh down in duth and uh it looked like a reasonable agenda so uh I wouldn't say that I'm on it I would but uh looking forward to it and I'm I am interested in hearing a bigger Regional picture of dealing with the i in Minnesota housing they need to uh and sometimes these things happen so I don't want to I just want it to be clear that that we really do appreciate and value the I R's contribution to Cook County and well they were they were pretty well turned around by the state legislation as well I mean as well I mean kind of going from one manner of operation in in a you know they this their history into a new legislative regime that is different and so I admire him for taking that [Music] on uh committee report uh brief finance committee report we received the draft audit uh from Red path for this is for fiscal year uh 2023 um the good news is that the audit um they found no material irregularities with the uh with the finances and so we're prepared to issue a clean audit for us and we expect to receive that sometime in November and we did authorize a progress payment for the work authoriz pay progress $7,000 to Red path for that any other I don't know we don't have any other committees except the Personnel committee I think uh to meet at end of year but uh any other any commissioner items for the good of the group here including the county commissioner items I'm not a county commissioner but I would remind folks not a commissioner manyur um uh we have uh next Thursday a legislative luncheon that the chamber's hosting um for uh representative scraba will be here Senator hosch child and uh I think Roy not Smith from I will be here representing n um and so I'll be attending that and meeting with them individually to just talk talk about our goals and some things that they we're thinking about uh from a legislative perspective this next year I just met with Linda jurich this morning to map some of that out so just letting you know that they're going to be up in the neck of the woods uh and we have a chance to get in front of them and and share what we're trying to get done and and get some feedback from them is that a public meeting where we're encouraged to attend or or or is it uh it's not it's not a public meeting in the sense that like this is um it's talking with director jurich we not we're not trying to be ex she's not it's not my meeting she's not trying to be exclusive so people could come there questions or answers or thoughts i' love answers if you have them that would be otherwise is there a motion to adjourn don't be shy I I'll move is there a second of the motion all those in favor say I I think I'm I'd have to go back through the minutes but this may be the fast commission our history I'm sure that Jason could yeah I'm not going to prolong thank you good work everybody yeah Jason do you still need Carpenters or contractors names number