08-11-75 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING 1979 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING (CONTINUED) available for improvement of the neighborhood if the individual home owners wished to take advantage of the program to improve their homes. He reminded Mrs. Mellander that the program was between the individual home owner and the city, not groups formed within the neighborhood. Mrs. Mellander felt the Housing Allowance Office could take care of the individual home owner. Mr. Hojnacki again stated that a government project would not be constructed and there would be no relocation. The funds would be utilized for individual home owners to improve their homes. Mrs. Louvenia Cain, 1207 West Washington Street, expressed some concern regarding the emergency repair program. She indicated that, in the Model Cities program, a larger committee had been set up. She questioned only a three -man committee to head the program. She referred to the statements made by Mrs. Mellander and indicated that the funds would be made available if the home owners wished to take advantage of them. She indicated that the funds would not have been made availabl if the need was not there. Mr. Crighton explained that it was felt a three -man committee would be more expedient. Mrs. Cain wondered who the committee would consist of, and she suggested that a layman be considered other than just staff personnel. Mr. Manuel Garcia, 917 Harrison Street, wondered if the money would be used for the property owners, and Mr. Hojnacki indicated that it would be. Mr. Garcia indicated that there were many people within the community in need of help for repairing their homes. He felt the program was a good one. He could not understand why a certain group would not want the funds made available for those persons in need of them. Mrs. Mellander stated that she felt the people in a certain area should be able to ban together and help their neighbors and not have to rely on government programs. Mr. Frank Slaby, 725 South Dundee, wondered how many current housing projects in the city were vacant. He referred to the Harbor Homes project. Mr. Hojnacki stated that Harbor Homes was not a project area. He again explained that, with the Community Development funds, additional housing units were not being constructed. He indicated that it had been determined the building of the housing projects should not be continued because of the problems encountered and now the government was allocating money directly for use by the property owners. He indicated that the vacant structures Mr. Slaby had referred to had nothing to do with the proposed ordinance. Mr. Slaby indicated that he was aware of that; however, the housing projects were a problem of neighborhood deterioration. Mrs. Julia Omacht, 436 North Lafayette Boulevard, indicated that 25 years ago the corner of Lafayette and Marion had started to decline. She stated that quite a large sum of money had been put into the houses on Marion Street and today those houses were improved and still standing. She indicat that the home owners in the area had accomplished this without federal funds. She stated that many people did not want government help but wanted to help themselves. She felt the responsibil of the individual owners would grow and it would be a disservice to bring a government program into the area. Mr. Ernest Swick, 922 Diamond, wondered why the project was being started in the northwest part of town. Mr. Hojnacki indicated that the neighborhood was in need of assistance because the housing in that area was deteriorating. He again repeated that the neighborhood would not be touched but that funds would be made available for those persons who wished to improve their homes. He could not understand why the residents of the area were so against the program. He again stressed that the housing project would not be constructed. Councilman Kopczynski indicated that, unfortunately the residents of the city have been "taxed to death" by the federal government. He knew of many people who could not take care of their homes. He felt that, at the federal level, the people have been too heavily taxed. He indicated that only certain people would be benefiting from the housing programs being proposed and this depended on which census tract they lived in. He felt those persons in census tracts 24 and 34 were in need of some assistance and the program should be made available to them. He objected to the pro- gram being proposed because he felt it was discriminatory. He talked about the program being run on a city -wide basis. He felt the Council should not act on the ordinance because it was not benefiting the entire citizenry. Mr. Hojnacki indicated that the decision to determine where the grant programs were located were based on studies accomplished. He indicated that some areas were not as in need of assistance as others. He stated that provisions were being made to help the home owners in the areas Councilman Kopczynski was referring to. He stated that all the programs had been determined based on citizen participation. He felt this was the best mix for housing improvement in the City of South Bend. Councilman Kopczynski indicated that he was only asking that all persons within South Bend be eligible for the programs. Mr. Hojnacki indicated that the benefits made available were different to different people in different parts of the city. Councilman Kopczynski maintained that the ordinance was "discriminatory based on fact ". Mr. Hojnacki indicated that one of the goals of the program was to encourage private financial partici pation. He objected to the discrimination charge made by Councilman Kopczynski. He indicated that some target areas were designed by HUD. He felt the aid should be concentrated in certain areas so that some improvement could be seen. Councilman Kopczynski felt everyone in South Bend should be eligible for a loan or grant based on the criteria established. He made a motion to refer the ordinance to the Committee of the Whole, seconded by Councilman Szymkowiak. Councilman Serge wondered what could be done about the vacant homes in the neighborhoods. Mr. Hojnacki . indicated that the proposed ordinance only dealt with improvements to the homes being lived in. He indicated that this problem was the other side of the program and would have to be enforced by the Substandard Building Department. Councilman Miller indicated that he disagreed with Councilman Kopczynski on three basic points: First, if the program went city -wide, too much would be promised to too many people; second, it was oversimplified to say there was discrimination because there was much criteria in the program that could be considered discrimination; and third, ethically, it was the responsibility of the city to help the most disadvantaged first before movin on. He supported the program although he knew it did not contain all the answers. Councilman Szymkowiak felt there was a certain amount of discrimination involved in only providing assistance in certain areas. He talked about the problems encountered with substandard buildings and irresponsible landlords. He felt the ordinance should be tabled for further study and each councilman should be able to provide input into the programs for his particular area. He felt the councilmen knew best what the residents in the districts wanted. Councilman Taylor indicated that approximately $9 million would be received over a three -year period in Community Development funds and the main thrust would be used for housing rehabilitation. He felt that some councilmen have started to compare: "You have something I don't have ". He hoped the city would not be caught in that trap. He felt individual accomplishment was the best way to handle the problems and the best results could be seen in the Park Avenue location. He did not want to give South Bend's share of funds to other cities because the people have been taxed and deserve whatever come back from the federal government. He felt the program should not be tabled or delayed at this time. Councilman Kopczynski indicated that the Southeast neighborhood was given $500,000 for a rehabilitation program and other parts of the city were not considered. Again, over $500,000 would be given to the Southeast neighborhood and other people were being denied the funds. He felt this was the unfairness of the program. He indicated that he wanted to see the program on a city -wide basis and not just within certain areas. Chairman Newburn indicated that the