##VIDEO ID:1L0zPxKNjF0## for it is officially 7:03 this is the regular Housing and Redevelopment Authority meeting of the city of Richfield um happening September 16th 2024 I'll call this meeting to order we'll start with our open Forum so each speaker uh is to keep their comment period to three minutes to allow sufficient time for others comments areb an opportunity to address the HRA you can refer to the H agenda and minutes web page for additional ways to submit comments you can also call into the open Forum by dialing 1415 65500 1 using webinar access code 2630 079 8317 and the password is one two three four is there anybody here to speak at the open Forum right anybody called in all righty um if anybody does call in as always let us know um we will move on to uh approval of the minutes of the regular Housing and Redevelopment Authority meeting of August 19th 2024 is there a motion to approve the minutes I'll move approval is there a second second it has been moved and seconded um any changes to anything see none all those in favor say I I I opposed the minutes have been approved that takes us to our first presentation so uh number one our local sales tax presentation I will toss it over to director palman thank you uh city manager Katie Rodriguez and Recreation services director Carl Hiller are here tonight uh to present to you on the local option sales tax I'll turn it right over to them thank you director good evening Commissioners uh thanks for having us here tonight um I actually have a question and Commissioners Supple and Heyford oi don't need to answer but how many people are familiar with the the questions that are going to be on the ballot this fall how about the how about the projects that they will fund okay well we will uh leave time for lots of questions yeah yes it is it is also in your packet I don't know if you can view your packet on your screens okay the presentation is included in your packet chair actually clerk Friedrich if you want to try the lecturn PC and see if that works and then you'll just have to move it for me there yeah we just have to give it like three seconds here yeah there's a little delay is it up now okay there we go all right we'll get started um so we've got three projects um and Richfield as you know was built out really quickly in the 60s uh the infrastructure a lot of it is original and in it is passed its useful life and thanks to some maintenance over the years um some of these projects are replacing original infrastructure or it's the first major maintenance that we've had on it the three main projects are a new building at Wood Lake Nature Center uh various major maintenance at vets Park including the pool the trails the picnic shelter and upgrades to the ice arena uh these two projects would start next year and then the third is a new Community Center building and that would start in 2029 or 2030 although we would begin engagement in 2026 to help shape the project and please do interrupt me with questions as I go on the community center used to be a public library and it was not built for recreation programming uh here's a list of some of the the needs that would be addressed with the new building some things to note the Mechanicals are starting to fail uh there are water issues and the building will never accommodate the kind of programming that Richfield residents are asking for the current Wood Lake Nature Center has also outgrown its building it seems like nature is reclaiming it um there are snakes in the walls there's rodents that are getting in and it also has erosion issues um it is not energy efficient and it is not Ada accessible also there's not enough room to accommodate the demand for the building you'll you'll see a theme here um many of the basic infrastructure and mechanical systems at vets Park need replacement the pool liner is 63 years old um people don't believe me when I tell them that it is original uh each year when we fill it up we hold our breath as it settles um and one year we actually had some emergency repairs and thanks to our staff for patching it up but it is on borrowed time the trails are starting to get to the point that we're having some safety concerns because of their condition um also making the ice arena accessible is a goal and the roof over the picnic Pavilion needs to be upgraded as well so how did we developed these plans um a lot of it was listening to Residents um we've heard for years about the desires for a more modern amenities at these Parks uh we recently invited more targeted uh engagement to get the details so we could shape these projects um we've also had the facilities assessed and just one example is at the community center just to address the the problem infrastructure and Mechanicals it would be 10 million million doll and that's like just to get it up to Snuff that is not expanding it and allowing for other Recreation programming so I'm going to talk about the the plans for the projects and I will note that director Hugh Miller is the expert on all these projects so please do ask questions um the community center is in the oh sorry is in the early stages of the planning um since the start date is four to 5 years out uh we will ramp up engagement with residents in 2026 though um we've heard from people of all ages um that they need indoor Gathering space we are in Minnesota after all um we hear from Seniors that they want an indoor walking Track we hear from youth that they want more gym space um we hear from families that they really want more playtime um uh they all want space to gather indoors and build community Carl and I just worked a table at pennfest yesterday it was great to share some of the details of the projects because people are really excited not just about the community center but about all the projects we were pleased to secure $3 million in federal funding and 12 million in state funding um we got funded at a really high level that year compared to the other cities so really happy about that and of course that means that the the ask to the residents through the local sales tax is a lesser dollar amount we just had a couple work sessions on the project and it was really exciting to see the new building take shape um we' we just added this slide with some of the pictures um from that August 28th work session and um as they were presenting it I I remember when I was hired I was told by several people actually that wood Lake Nature Center is a it's a Richfield treasure and so you feel a little pressure um to make sure that building lives up to expectations and I really do feel like that it will and it will preserve this this Oasis of nature in the heart of our community I've already talked about some of the major maintenance planned at vets Park um but I didn't talk about how well used vets park is in recent years we've had record-breaking attendance um at the farmers market the ice arena and the pool uh We've also had increasing demand for really large parties to rent our Parks um uh well Veterans Park uh it will take investment though to make sure that this well- love park is there for generations to come our funding plan includes the state and federal funding that I've talked about um also a proposal that'll be on your ballot uh including I'm sorry for a half cent uh local sales tax voters have the final say on this and uh the vote is this fall although I say that as if it's in the distant future and early voting starts in 4 days uh we had U ofm analyze a local sales tax and they project that 45% of the tax would be paid by Richfield taxpayers and the rest would be by non-residents uh it's important to note that all the surrounding cities Bloomington and Dina and Minneapolis all have a local sales tax so then they're when they're shopping in Richfield they're paying um so when they shop in Richfield if we have a local sales tax they would be paying for those amenities that they use just like we're doing when we shop in their communities now the umm study estimates that residents would pay just shy of $4 a month if all three questions passed that's about $47 a year by comparison it would be about $21 a month in property taxes on an average Richfield home and it's also important to point out that even though renters don't Direct directly pay property taxes they do pay it through their rent also important is to note is the local sales tax will expire when the projects are paid for or a maximum of 20 years any changes need to be approved by the voters like we can only spend that local sales tax on these projects here's a sample ballot um there will be three questions on your ballot one for each project and the questions are on their own so they either pass or fail on their own um the local sales tax is 05% and a maximum of 20 years whether one question two question or three questions pass we did take quite a bit of time with the council to make sure there's uh clarifying language on the ballot but we're still getting questions on it so I just want to say it again no matter how many questions pass it will only be 0.5% and it will be a maximum of 20 years um if only one or two questions passed it's possible they could get paid off well actually even if all three get passed it's possible they would be paid off sooner you can access the sample ballot at the Minnesota Secretary of State's office you can also access it on our website um if the local sales tax projects don't pass uh would bring it back the plans back to city council it's possible that the projects could be U funded by property taxes and also the city would lose the if they don't pass the city would lose that $12 million in funding for the state if wood Lake nature Pro Nature Center project did not go forward um also we're at the point with some of these amenities that if we don't replace them then we would have to just eliminate the amenities and like the pool is an example of that so on our website you can access the visit our Legacy our future.org website it's got a lot of information on there we uh are actively adding to that frequently Asked question page um so if we hear a question while we're out in the community making these presentations we're adding it to the page um if you have questions now let us know and um we can always ask us later too anyone have any questions go ahead so um this weekend I was at the farmers market and also at pennfest and there are a lot of people discussing this and one question that came up that I wasn't sure of the answer to had to do with like the trails at Veterans Park because they talked about making the trails more accessible and the person there was talking about how they used to love the boardwalk and why did we have just a viewing platform and will the trails be reconfigured so they could do a short Loop if they're like with a stroller going out of the um playground if we could you know add trails to make sure you could have a short Loop so it was two separate questions one was about the viewing platform and the other ones would any of the trails change yeah um there's potential for the trails to change we'll do some engagement before we redo the Trails um um but we're definitely thinking about at least one big pave Trail around and then potentially a shorter Loop too um in regards to the boardwalk um part of the reason that was taken out was due to maintenance concerns the long-term maintenance for a boardwalk is significantly higher than the trails or um groundbased walking paths and the view the viewing platform allows people and gives people the opportunity to experience the marsh and the lake in a different way than when you're on land but has less mainten ongoing maintenance and longterm liabilities for the city thank you anyone else I'll just com and say thank you for going through this I think you know as a resident and voter um I'm very excited about this and I think the path forward to not raise our property taxes is the best one forward so I'm excited to see that thank you thanks for coming oh no that's a picture I don't want to see me one second oh there's two buttons there we go there we go okay than thank you okay so this takes us to item number two approval of the agenda is there a motion to approve the agenda so moved is there a second uh second it has been moved and seconded any uh comments questions concerns seeing none all those in favor of approving the agenda say I I I opposed the agenda has been approved taking us to item number three the consent calendar thank you uh the consent calendar contains several separate items which are acted upon by the H in one motion once the consent calendar has been approved the individual items and recommended actions have also been approved no further HRA action on these items is necessary however at any however any HRA commissioner May request that an item be removed from the consent calendar and placed on the regular agenda for H discussion and action all items listed on the consent calendar are recommended for approval item a on your calendar tonight is to approve the final revised executive director's official budget document and item B is to consider uh consideration of a Section 8 payment standard adjustment and I submit these items for your approval thank you um is there anyone who wants to remove anything from the consent calendar before we vote on it I move the consent calendar I'll second the consent calendar it's been moved and seconded all those in favor say I I opposed the consent calendar has been approved uh excellent taking us to item number five a public hearing regarding the consideration of approval of the Richfield Housing and Redevelopment authorities five-year public housing plan I will hand that over to executive director pal thank you chair re Daniels the Department of Housing and Urban Development or HUD requires every housing authority to develop a five-year public housing plan within a required format in order to remain compliant with HUD rules and regulations after development of the PHA plan comments and feedback are solicited from tenants a public hearing must be held and the PHA plan approves d by the local Housing and Redevelopment Authority once the PHA plan is approved by the H it is submitted to HUD the plan includes the following information the H's goals and objectives for serving the needs of low-income very low income and extremely low-income families a progress report on HRA activities supporting low-income very low-income and extremely low-income families in the past five years and the H's goals for serving the needs of victims of domestic violence and compliance with the violence against women act um I will mention for those of you that were not around five years ago when we approved uh the PHA plan for the last for the uh for the h and the public housing authority um this PHA is a required document by Hud uh our public housing authority only uh administers the Section 8 program we do not own housing we do not run housing we do not have public housing um that is owned by the HRA here so in in our case this uh plan is fairly simple um it's very similar to the plan that's approve was approved five years ago um updating what we've done over the last five years making sure that we are always compliant with HUD rules and regulations um our program um has been recognized as a high performer by Hud um so while I'm happy to answer any questions about it tonight it's a it's a fairly simple document when we only administer the Section 8 uh program thank you uh any questions before we move to a motion yes go ahead so can you say more about the section here where we're supposed to be serving the needs of victims of domestic violence in compliance with the violence against women act thank you let me pull up the plan here and um find that particular question so in this case um the Housing Authority must provide a statement of our goals activities and objectives related to the violence against women act um in the document we state that Richfield is acting in full accordance with uh vawa and that we are committed to ensure the physical safety of victims actual or threatened domestic violence Dating Violence or stalking who are assisted by the h a we collaborate with law enforcement authorities victim service providers uh to provoke to promote the safety and well-being of victims of actual or threatened domestic violence Dating Violence or stalking we do not deny assistance to victims due to verifiable domestic violence Richfield HRA provides all participants with written information about this uh these rules and regulations at the time of admission and whenever we have any new movein to our jurisdiction when we are alerted that there is um a vowa issue it's our standard operating procedure to walk a tenant through each step of the process in order to move them from their unit this allows for a smooth and easy transaction and gives clients much needed support during this crisis uh Richfield HRA also includes information about the program in notices of denial of assistance and termination of assistance um one of the benefits of having our Section 8 program administered inhouse here really is the uh level of assistance that our staff can provide um in these circumstances and in others did that answer the question the the reason I was asking is I know there have been inquiries so if somebody is trying to get out of an abusive situation we've been able to help them use their voucher somewhere else without penalty is that yes I believe that is how it works our um our staff will help them to find a new unit um where they would be able to transfer that voucher yes and and in the situations I'm aware of the landlords have been very Cooperative but I just want to make sure we were doing our part as well yes thank you anyone else all right is there a motion for approval Madam chair I think we need to open a public he first oh thank you um is there mtion to open the public hearing I I think you can just do it okay we'll open the public meeting thank you we haven't had one of these in a while um seeing there is no one here is anyone called in no okay um so is there a motion to close the public hearing that I know we vote on I move we close the public hearing second it has been moved and seconded any comments questions or concerns about the public hearing closing seeing none all those in favor say I I I opposed the public hearing is now closed um are we voting on just the public hearing no we we have to approve the plan I I move that we approve the plan for the staff recommendation thank you is there a second I'll second that it has been moved and seconded to approve the Housing and Redevelopment Authority's 5-year public housing plan um any comments questions um I'll just say it's it's um thank you for doing this and I think it is also really nice to see the report um from the past years on how we've been going about this and moving forward and I know it's probably simpler than other authorities considering we don't own housing but I think it is still really important and when we can go over these details especially um more important ones it's really great to see so thank you all right uh all those in favor say I I I opposed the motion has been passed taking us to item number six H discussion items is there any H discussion items I will just maybe say you know I had heard that pen Fest was quite the hit and I know that staff was there I was unable to make it but um and I know commissioner Hansen is quite involved with that so thank you for all your work you're doing you yeah yes um I will just request um if if uh we don't have the information this month but I thought Community Development had a cute little uh like flu ball voting thing and I'm hoping that the executive director can share the results at that that vote perhaps at a future meeting what were they voting on like which programs they'd like to see more funded as of when I saw it I think Energy Efficiency and first- time home buyer we're doing the best but I'm curious what the final results were awesome okay uh I item number seven executive director pman do you have a report yes thank you I do have a couple of updates tonight um I was going to mention how popular uh the housing programming game was at pennfest um the folks that worked pennfest took a much needed day off today some of them so I do not have the results but I will bring them um another update related to the aster Commons project which is the project that um is proposed for just across the Street here at 66th in Portland uh they unfortunately have not been selected um for a tax credit award this year they were they did receive um an early denial letter we will um meet with them and Minnesota housing to explore the scoring and any feedback on that project uh and and talk with them about how we might move forward the Penn Station project is still in the running um for tax credits and and we would um expect to hear about that um late this year early January and we will keep you posted thank you thanks um taking us to item number eight claims is there a motion to approve claims I'll make a motion to approve claims second it has been moved and seconded any comments questions concerns seeing none all those in favor say I I I opposed claims has been appr approved and that takes us to adjournment thank you everyone roll no Ed there there come there is an Eda meeting have a good y see you later oh there there is an Eda meeting yes thank you there is an Eda meeting um I I'm noticing that the agenda is not pulled up on my computer um so perhaps it is not on yours either no um that's our default okay I'm opening so you should be able to access your the agenda from the city's website right um so perhaps we can just pull it up that way preit beforehand so that's why we knew yes I it but when it's not there to REM you that's I'm just teasing oops Eda it's good you stopped us we we'll cut this out of the YouTube right we know people thank you okay everybody we good yep okay I will call this meeting um it is 7:31 um of The Economic Development Authority meeting of the city of Richfield um September 16th 2024 um we'll start with the open Forum so each speakers to keep their comment period to three minutes to allow sufficient time for others comments are an opportunity to address the Eda please refer to the Eda agenda and minutes web page for additional ways to submit comments you can call into the open form by dialing 4156550001 using webinar access code 2630 079 8317 and the password is 1234 seeing no one in the audience is there anyone dialed in is anyone called no okay thank you um taking us to our first um piece here which is approval of the minutes of the regular Economic Development Authority meeting of August 19th 2024 is there a motion to approve the minutes so moved I'll second the motion it has been moved and seconded any comments changes seeing none all those in favor say I I opposed the minutes have been approved item number one is approval of the agenda is there a motion to approve the agenda uh so moved I'll second that it has been moved and seconded any changes comments right seeing none all those in favor say I I I opposed the agenda has been approved um is there any items on the consent calendar no um president there are no items on the consent calendar tonight Perfect all right um um item number four then consider a resolution authorizing application to the henpen county business district Initiative Program executive director yes thank you I will ask uh economic development manager Jan youngquist to present the report thank you thank you good evening president V Daniels and Commissioners hen County's business district initiative or BDI program provides grants for implementation of strategies that enhance the economic Vitality of priority business districts in Suburban cities within the county staff is proposing to submit an application to the BDI program requesting $45,000 in Grant funds to work with a consultant to develop a branding and placemaking strategy for downtown Richfield downtown has long been identified as a priority business district dating back to the 1960s the area around Lindale and 66 has been considered richfield's downtown in 1998 the Lakes at Lindale master plan was adopted Ed with the mission to make the area richfield's thriving urban center master plan set the stage for significant Redevelopment that has occurred in the area additional plans that followed include the 2013 Lakes at Lindale connectivity plan and the 2016 Lakes at Lindale wayfinding plan which focused on branding the area as Lakes at Lindale however the wayfinding plan has not yet been implemented and the lakes at Lindale name is not well known in our community the area that is considered downtown has grown since adoption of the Lakes at Lindale master plan the 20 240 comprehensive plan guided both the Lakes at lindel and the nickolet and 66 Street areas as mixed use and melded them together into an overall expanded downtown area additional priority was placed on downtown with the adoption of the 2023 to 26 strategic plan which identified a vibrant downtown as a desired outcome developing a downtown Strate strategy is a strategic initiative to support the outcome and proactively marketing downtown as an action step significant strides have been made toward advancing many of the themes for creating a thriving urban center that were identified in the original Lakes at Lindale master plan the downtown area does not have a distinctive identity however the proposed branding and placemaking strategy project would be rooted in community engagement to develop a shared vision of what downtown Richfield is is and what sets it apart from our neighboring communities the goal is to use branding and placemaking to build on and highlight downtown's Assets in a way that drives economic growth brings awareness to local businesses and enhances downtown's vibrancy The Branding and placemaking strategy would also be used to inform implementation of the wayfinding plan applications to the BDI program are due on October 1st of this year it's anticipated that Henman County Housing and Redevelopment Authority would announce its funding Decisions by the end of 2024 and if funded the project would commence in 2025 um that ends my presentation I'd be happy to take any questions thank you anybody have any questions ask outright yes go ahead um not a question but just a comment that I just want to say that I'm I'm excited about this U I really appreciate you putting the sort of full history and and the point being that you know although we use different names for it we've kind of been at the same goal for quite a long time um and I think this is a great way to focus us and I think one thing in particular I want to call out um I was complaining last year or whatever about uh sorry about particular language that staff was repeating in many staff reports about it will serve as a as a vibrant downtown um and so much of our language about downtown has been in the future like when and you can go back 20 years when Richfield Urban Village is done that will contribute to downtown um you know when City Bell is built it will contribute to downtown when uh you know you get the idea but so I the idea about not only is this going to help guide our future but that's going to celebrate what we have today um I think that's so important and I think it's something that we haven't been doing nearly enough of so I'm so glad that uh staff is pursuing external funding I will certainly be supporting this and I'm just really excited to see this moving forward else is there a motion to approve so moved second it has been moved and seconded any other comments questions I I too appreciate the detail because I never think of downtown as kind of the Hub and that expansion and so I think it is really good to get the community involvement and have a plan for where we're at today and really start to embrace whatever we may call it whether it be downtown or something else um so thanks for um going after this grant I think it's a good use of um those funds there um all those in favor say I I I opposed the motion passes um any Eda discussion items see none item number six executive director pman do you have a report I do not have a report tonight thank you um item number seven claims is there a motion to approve claims I'll move to approve claims is there a second uh second it has been moved and seconded any comments questions concerns all right all those in favor say I I opposed claims have been passed that takes us to adjournment thank you everyone