CD-22-0001

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TranscriptWhat was said at each appearance is below it. Machine transcription, with speaker names inferred from voice matching. 76% of 62 lines carry a name. It shows what was said, not what was decided, and both the words and the names can be wrong.

1. 1Oct 26, 2021
   Board of County CommissionersR57Regular businessApproved

   Approved minutes

   Approved Staff’s recommendation.

   Open this item →▶ Play from 1:15:38
   ▶ 1:15:3817m

   OakleyChair

   1:15:3857, or excuse me, R 57.

   Moore

   1:15:43You're

   OakleyChair

   1:15:43right. I think I'm right. Marcy. I know that.

   Unidentified speakerVoice A

   1:15:48Good morning. Commissioner Oak Marcy Esperg, Director of Community Development. Pasco County, I I feel like we've got a few minutes of feel good. So this is a feel good presentation following the money. So you get money, you spend money. That's the the the law of life, right? So I'm here today to talk about um a new housing project that's coming up. And it is with the Pasco County Housing Authority called Magnolia Oaks in Newport Ritchie. So as we

   1:16:18go into the next slide, you'll see that this project will consist of 77 units. New construction rental units, and therefore very low and low-income persons, primarily homeless veterans and families, and

   1:16:35non-elderly disabled and families. So when we break down the project, you see that we're going to have 40 units that are dedicated to our homeless veterans. 37 units for the non-elderly disabled who are either transitioning out of institutional or segregated settings at serious risk of institutionalization. They might be currently experiencing homelessness. previously experienced homelessness or they're at

   1:17:05risk of experiencing homelessness. So this is very much a project that's going to serve some of the vulnerable people in our community. What does the project look like? It's a townhome design with 34 one-bedroom units, 33 two-bedroom units, and 10 three-bedroom units. And a lot of times people ask, well, why is the makeup like this? And you'll see and I've said this several times, is that really the need, very much a need

   1:17:36in our community, is for uh single Adults want one bedrooms, and so it's good that we're having you know a good portion of those like that. There'll also be a community building and a swimming pool. And because we're working with very vulnerable people, uh we've we've all known and we learned that you can't just put somebody in housing and expect them to succeed, but you have to surround them with wraparound. Or supportive services, and this project will incorporate

   1:18:06that. So where is the project located? It is on the next slide. Uh The schematic plan looks like this. And then if you go down to the next slide, it is located on just under a 10-acre site in Newport Ritchie on Massachusetts Avenue. So it is right around the corner. And then we're gonna talk a little bit about the funding. So that's really why we're here today. Two

   1:18:37years ago, you approved $1 million in our regular 2019 action plan. So at that time that was the request and and that's what they thought the project needed. So we uh we dedicated one million dollars of our home funding uh to this project and as they've gotten numbers And as they've talked to HUD, they realized that there was a gap between the money we were giving them and the gap to what HUD is willing to finance. And so they

   1:19:07came back to ask for more money to close that gap. And that really is the purpose of our home funds, is to be that kind of gap financing. So we do have the funds available under our home investment partnership. Program. And so we are proposing that we give them additional funds to support the construction of these 77 units. So if you look at the project costs, it's gonna run a little higher than 16 million dollars.

   1:19:38We are proposing we give them 2.1 million for the construction of the units, and then there'll be funding or financing. The rest through HUD funding, and they've already gotten approval for that. On the timeline, you could see on the next slide that the all the sources, funding sources have been committed and or will be finally committed in December. Gosh, it feels like it's December already, but it's only October.

   1:20:08And they uh and then with your approval today that that funding source of HUD will be uh approved, hoping to start construction February 2022 with the completion in June of 2023. So uh we're coming to you today. Uh the final slide is the recommendation to approve the appropriation of the $2.1 million to the Pasco County Housing Authority for the construction of 77 units of affordable

   1:20:38housing. And we have with us today also David Lambert, who's the chairman of uh the Pasco County Housing Authority, and Terry Stobbs, the Executive Director. Or if you have specific questions about the project, or you if you would like to hear from David Lambert, he is also available. Thank you.

   OakleyChair

   1:20:57Ms. Darkey.

   StarkeyVice Chair

   1:20:58Um thank you, Marcy. We've been waiting for this for a while. I know they had uh I don't I don't remember what the issues were. They just told me but I forgot. Um that But I'm so excited about this coming forward and it's actually gonna be across the street from the park, the Magnolia Park. Um Are these one story? Aw are they all one story or is there any two story? Um that's my one question. Then how quickly can we start doing another one? That's my second question. Because this is what we need. This is this we need this badly all over the county.

   OakleyChair

   1:21:29We needed more of this. This is uh Which is

   1:21:33more is better.

   Unidentified speakerVoice A

   1:21:35And we uh and we have, you know, I I hate to say we have the money, but we have the money to do these things.

   StarkeyVice Chair

   1:21:41Yeah, let's go.

   Unidentified speakerVoice A

   1:21:42Uh you know, we I appreciate really, you know, and David will come up and answer your project specific questions, but uh the Pasco County Housing Authority is a great partner. Uh you know, it's it's It's you know, you have money to spend, my office does not go out and build, so we need partners like them to do that and also our nonprofit partners. So

   Mariano

   1:22:03Mr. Lambert. Uh good morning, Mr. Chairman Mariano with Lacucci Electric. Um Chairman of the Pasco County Housing Authority, first I want to say thank you to Our county administrator, our assistant county administrator, Ann Marcy, and the entire community development department, they have been just wonderful to work with on not only this project, but a lot of projects that we've worked together on. And this is the first of many that we have done. And the Pasco County Housing Authority is the community's housing authority. And I want to say eleven years ago

   1:22:33when Mr. Brown asked me to work with the Pasco County. Housing Authority, we were almost in receivership with from HUD, and now we are a top performing housing authority in the country. So that's something that all of you all should be proud of. And in doing so, Hud put the resources behind this community project. Um This community housing development. They will be one-story units. Uh it will have wraparound services from the VA. We will have a VA caseworker on

   1:23:03site in the community center. Uh Congressman Bill Arrakis, which Premier doesn't know this yet, has reached out to me and asked if we would consider putting a commun a federally qualified health center, Premier, and expansion in there. We are looking at that. Um This is a uh big boom for our community and will really go a long way to help with combating homelessness uh as well, especially uh this is a veterans family housing community, which is one that we desperately need within this county and it will help with uh

   1:23:33some of the homelessness along the nineteen corridor. Uh so uh Can

   StarkeyVice Chair

   1:23:38you explain the VASH vouchers that are going into this?

   Mariano

   1:23:42HUD HUD has allowed us to place VASH vouchers through uh it behind this so it will be a subsidized voucher to help get those families back on their feet. Uh With that, uh, you know, every voucher is every person who lives at the Pasco County Housing Authority in our communities or has a Section 8 voucher is required to put 30% of their income with it. So everybody has skin in the game, but it goes a long way uh with it. So the Vash vouchers are what's backing this and and Section 811 vouchers that are backing

   1:24:12this uh uh project so it will cash flow. This community so it will cash flow and uh be a viable project within our community. The feds will have a lot of money in this uh project long term for for over thirty years. So It's a significant uh um boon to our community. We do have another one that we are working on, not with the housing authority, but with the one with the nonprofit we created called Vincent Academy Adventure Coast. that will be thirty units or thirty eight units of mental health housing

   1:24:42behind Vincent House Pasco, which will go a long way. Uh and we have others that we are have in the pipeline. So we recognize the need. Uh the Housing Authority is ninety nine percent occupied at at all times now. Um So we recognize the need and and uh we are trying to do some other things to build affordable housing within our community on single family lots. And we've like I said, we have worked wonderfully with Kathy and and Marcy

   1:25:13and the entire community development staff. So it's it's gonna be a big, big deal for our community. Ms. Fitzpatrick.

   Fitzpatrick

   1:25:19Thank you, Chairman. Um I would just like to say thank you for taking the time to work heavily with the neighbors to with any of their concerns. So you have gone above and beyond to help with any drainage and flooding issues over there. Um I would like to know if there would be possibly a substation there for the sheriffs or an extra room maybe to help to keep with safety.

   Mariano

   1:25:45The sheriff hasn't requested that. Um I'm sure we could probably accommodate that. We welcome the sheriff at any of our communities. You know, public safety is a big issue. having a sheriff's president's presence at our communities uh is is fantastic. One of the things that we do do uh is every Single resident who comes in and leases from the Pasco County Housing Authority goes through a nationwide background check. Um Uh and we if you do living

   1:26:15in in our communities is a privilege. And we want you to be there and we want to make your family successful. That's why we have a very successful family self-sufficiency program. However, if you don't want to live in our communities and abide by the rules, we certainly don't want you there uh to cause problems. But yes, the sheriff, if he would love to have a substation there, I'm sure our board would be more than willing to Within the footprint 'cause we're not allowed to change the community building, uh, to do that. So

   StarkeyVice Chair

   1:26:42So kinda what you well um let me just ex explain that a a little if I understand it, if you commit a crime And you live in a in one of these f places you're out.

   Mariano

   1:26:52If it's a if it's a felony, especially with uh Any type of abuse, uh violence towards women, drugs, anything like that, you're you're out. And you can't come back for five years.

   Fitzpatrick

   1:27:04Well I'm qu asking because you had mentioned thirty-seven non-elder, disabled or transitional housing. So you will help give second chances?

   Mariano

   1:27:14So with with Vash, Vash is uh it has a different set of rules. Some veterans have issues with the law or things like that. As long as it's not a violent crime or drug offenses, we are allowed to bring you in and and to help you. And that is the goal. You know, we realize that everybody has issues in life, and a lot of our folks that come in have mental health issues. So that's the whole continuum of care that we're trying to put in place not only within the county but at the housing authority to to really get

   1:27:44these folks moving in the right direction. And our family self-sufficiency program. It has a ninety percent success rate. Uh roughly for where people don't come back into public housing. And that is the goal. And what that does with the Family Self-Sufficiency Program, we take a portion of their rent. after they go through all the financial classes and everything else and and are working And it allows them to do two things. One, put a Down payment on a new home. for their family. We we escrow that money, a portion of their rent, or pay for

   1:28:15them an advanced education, whether that be a technical school or college or something like that, to really kind of build the family unit. That will be in place too. Intensive case management. there with the VA and our staff uh works in conjunction. uh to try to get these folks because it builds better families.

   Fitzpatrick

   1:28:31And one last question. Um I appreciate both of you working very diligently for our to help with affordable housing and our veterans. I have heard on multiple occasions with Ozinam two and three and the Rosalie Rondew, I was asking questions about what is the capacity or do you have additional units available? And I had heard that it took a two to three month delay. Two

   1:29:05Offer the housing. Can you elaborate on that?

   Mariano

   1:29:08So Uh huh. Those

   Unidentified speakerVoice A

   1:29:10aren't your projects.

   Mariano

   1:29:11But that's not our communities, uh Commissioner O Saint Vincent Depolity Catholic

   StarkeyVice Chair

   1:29:15Charities.

   Mariano

   1:29:16Yeah, we are ninety nine percent occupied at all times. And our our team turns a unit, it's usually within seven days. The Housing Authority operates off of a s extremely thin margin. If a unit is not filled, we get no management fee on it. So if it's not filled, um it costs this the agency money and we cannot operate. But it also we want to get that person in and get the wraparound services and make them productive. So We don't have the issues that we're having

   1:29:46within our community. But those are not our units uh that that we have any type of control over.

   Fitzpatrick

   1:29:52Okay, 'cause I also heard um there's state qualifications and s I know I brought this up with Sally as well. I had heard that it took additional two to three months because the state requires additional qualifications. So instead of them people being able to go into these housings right away from two to three month, they had to wait two to three months because they had to raise the countertops two inches or we had to ra widen the doorways. So

   1:30:22I just wanted to try to make sure how can we streamline to make sure this doesn't happen again and if it's a state project, make sure that it's we're still meeting the guidelines. How can we work together on that?

   Mariano

   1:30:35So so we are The state guidelines are totally different than the federal guidelines. We don't have to, HUD inspects every one of our units a couple of times a year. As a matter of fact, HUD auditors and USDA auditors come into the housing authority. We don't follow those guidelines. They do what they're are called REAC inspections, and that's basically readiness for our housing to make sure it is not substandard within our community. So we have a certain number of disabled housing units that uh are already in the

   1:31:05pipeline. And um so it it isn't an issue with us. I'm not aware of these state issues, but on the federal side it it it doesn't impact the Pasco County Housing Authority.

   Fitzpatrick

   1:31:18Thank you.

   Unidentified speakerVoice A

   1:31:19I will follow up with you, Sven Sharm.

   OakleyChair

   1:31:25Mr Mariano.

   Mariano

   1:31:26Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a phenomenal project. Um I wanna say Pasco County is like The luckiest kind of with Lakuchi Electric to work with as a partner. What you guys do for economic development, have affordable housing, the Vincent House, et cetera, it's tremendous and we're blessed to have you. We appreciate you every step of the way.

   1:31:48This is phenomenal stuff. Um One of the things I've talked with before is about some of your members, um, if you guys ever need help on some of your existing places with landscaping, you know, we've got a landscaping fund if you want to dress some of those up. Um h happy to work with you. I just want to say the public, I've talked to the board members, but just so you know if we can help you in uh any way to improve what you're doing, um I think you're doing a phenomenal job. Very excited to see the project. We're we're happy to keep on working with you.

   Mariano

   1:32:15Commissioner We

   Fitzpatrick

   1:32:16Second.

   OakleyChair

   1:32:17Got a motion and a second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed, like, sign. Motion passed 5-0. Thank you.

   Fitzpatrick

   1:32:25Thank you.

   OakleyChair

   1:32:26Wonderful.

   Fitzpatrick

   1:32:26We love what you do. So