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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 02/24/1998 - JointI HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission of the City of Corpus Christi of February 24, 1998, which were approved by the City Council on March 10, 1998. WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, this 10th day of March, 1998. Armando Chapa City Secretary SEAL MINUTES JOINT MEETING OF THE CORPUS CHRISTI CITY COUNCIL AND CORPUS CHRISTI PLANNING COMMISSION February 24, 1998 12:18 p.m. CITY COUNCIL Mayor Loyd Neal Mayor Pro Tem Dr. David McNichols Javier D. Colmenero Alex L. Garcia Jr. Dr. Arnold Gonzales Betty Jean Longoria John Longoria ABSENT Melody Cooper Edward Martin Brooke Sween -McGloin (Planning Comm.) PLANNING COMMISSION Richard Serna, Chairman Bert Quintanilla, Vice Chairman Brent Chesney Ron Guzman Billy McDaniel Danny Noyola Sylvia Perez David M. Underbrink City Staff Present City Manager Bill Hennings City Attorney James R. Bray Jr. City Secretary Armando Chapa Mayor Neal called the meeting to order in the Basement Training Room of City Hall. He noted that a quorum of the Council was present to conduct the joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission to discuss Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding guidelines and other matters related to the Commissioners' duties. Mr. Tom Utter, Assistant City Manager for Development Services, said he intended to address three main issues: a history of the CDBG program, CDBG guidelines the City Council has adopted, and the present funding situation. He first gave a detailed description of the CDBG program both nationally and locally. He said the program has changed over the years and it is now known as the Consolidated Annual Action Plan (AAP), which consists of all the CDBG funding, HOME program (for housing needs), and the ESG (Emergency Shelter Grant) program. In addition, funding for the Housing Authority falls under the AAP. Mr. Utter said that since 1976, the Planning Commission has held public hearings on the AAP and they make recommendations to the City Council, which holds its own public hearing each year. He noted that over several years the City Council established CDBG guidelines which were codified on March 22, 1994, and reaffirmed by the Council on November 18, 1997, as follows: A. No Community Development Block Grant funds be authorized to applicant agencies for the support of operating expenses. B. No capital grants will be made without sufficient evidence of the financial capacity of the applying agency to operate the program. Minutes Joint Meeting February 24, 1998 Page 2 C. Priority will be given to those applying agencies that make substantial new capital contributions to the project for which they are seeking funds. D. Housing shall be maintained as the top priority for the CDBG program as well as placing greater emphasis on public infrastructure (city) in CDBG-eligible tracts. E. No individually funded CDBG project will be eligible for future CDBG funding for a minimum of two years from the date of its last funding. (This excludes projects which are specifically staged for several years of CDBG funding, such as a street project which has its engineering funded one year and its construction the next.) Mr. Utter pointed out that the Planning Commission's public hearing for this year's AAP is scheduled for March 11, 1998. He also referred to a financial listing of the annual allocations of the three AAP programs (CDBG, ESG, and HOME), as well as other available funds and funding requests, which he explained. Responding to Council and Planning Commission members' questions, Mr. Utter said staff abides by their request to include all of the grant applications --even the ones deemed ineligible --in the compilation of grant requests; however, the ineligible applications are indicated as such. In addition, Mr. Utter said staff meets with different groups about their applications to answer any questions they have. A discussion ensued about one application in particular, and Mr. Utter reviewed the federal rules regarding funding for religious organizations or entities. He added that staff is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to monitor the projects that receive funding. A discussion ensued regarding addressing infrastructure needs versus human needs. Mrs. Longoria said the reason this meeting was being held was due to the vast difference between the Planning Commission's recommendations and staff's recommendations during the grant process Last year, in that the Commission recommended many more social service agencies be funded. She said staff's recommendations were based on policies and opinions that have been expressed by the Council over the years. Mr. McDaniel questioned whether that would result in the Planning Commission merely "rubber stamping" staff's recommendations. Mayor Neal said he thought the simplest thing to do was to follow the guidelines, which are very specific. Dr. Gonzales pointed out that there are a limited amount of funds available and the Planning Commission and Council have to set priorities on how to disperse that money. There was further discussion about identifying organizations whose projects are ineligible for funding. Mayor Neal said he is frequently approached by different organizations with questions about the funding process, and he encourages them to work with staff on how to properly prepare their applications. He said he has not had anyone return to him with a complaint that staff did not assist them. Mr. Colmenero noted that more and more non-profit organizations will be seeking funding, and their requests often become emotional issues, which makes the funding decisions that Minutes Joint Meeting February 24, 1998 Page 3 much more difficult. Dr. McNichols said the process needs to be formalized so it is clear to an organization that they will not receive funding if their project is ineligible for a certain reason. Mr. Noyola said there is a feeling that the funding guidelines are not balanced --that there has been a shift away from non-profit organizations and toward infrastructure needs. He added that the non-profit organizations are going to be the loudest critics of that practice. Several Council members stressed that they did not want the Planning Commission to "rubber stamp" staff's recommendations. Mr. Longoria pointed out that the Council members receive calls from their constituents all year long about infrastructure needs, such as lighting and streets, which the Planning Commission does not hear. Mr. Serna and Mr. Noyola discussed the necessary process of citizens being allowed to address the Planning Commission and City Council with their funding requests. Mr. Utter said that speaking for city staff, over the 22 years of the CDBG program, Corpus Christi's program has the highest benefit to low-income groups of any CDBG program in the state, and possibly one of the highest in the country. There being no further business, Mayor Neal adjourned the meeting at 1:25 p.m. on February 24, 1998.