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Home My WebLink About2A Redevelopment Commission Minutes 2.10.22 South Be n d Redevelopment Commission 227 West Jefferson Boulevard, Room 1308, South Bend, IN SOUTH BEND REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING February 10, 2022 – 9:30 am https://tinyurl.com/RDC021022 Presiding: Marcia Jones, President The meeting was called to order at 9:31 a.m. 1. ROLL CALL Members Present: Marcia Jones, President Troy Warner, Secretary Eli Wax, Commissioner Vivian Sallie, Commissioner Leslie Wesley, Commissioner Members Absent: Don Inks, Vice-President Legal Counsel: Sandra Kennedy, Esq. Danielle Campbell-Weiss, Esq. Jenna Throw, Esq. Redevelopment Staff: Mary Brazinsky, Board Secretary Others Present: Santiago Garces Angelina Billo Elizabeth Maradik Amanda Pietsch Laura Althoff Daniel Parker Benjamin Dougherty Kara Boyles Zach Hurst Leslie Biek Charlotte Brach Caleb Bauer Conrad Damian Ed Semmler Mark Petersen Dave Banik Greg Jones Tyler Woods DCI DCI DCI DCI DCI Admin & Finance Admin & Finance Engineering Engineering Engineering Engineering Mayor’s Office Resident South Bend Tribune WNDU Miami Hills South Bend Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting – February 10, 2022 2. Approval of Minutes • Approval of Minutes of the Regular Meeting of Thursday, January 27, 2022 Upon a motion by Secretary Warner, seconded by Commissioner Wax, the motion carried unanimously, the Commission approved the minutes of the regular meeting of Thursday, February 10, 2022. 3. Approval of Claims • Claims Submitted for February 1, 2022 Upon a motion by Commissioner Sallie, seconded by Secretary Warner, the motion carried unanimously, the Commission approved the claims for February 1, 2022, submitted on Thursday, January 27, 2022. 4. Old Business 5. New Business A. Administrative 1. Resolution No. 3546 (Amending Special Tax SB Morris Project) Ms. Throw Presented Resolution No. 3546 (Amending Special Tax SB Morris Project). This resolution specifies from the previous special tax resolution that only cash amounts in the reserve fund would be considered whether to levy that set out in that resolution. This change comes from our tax surety. Commission approval is requested. Secretary Wax noted that at the last meeting a decision on surety had not been made. Does this mean that the surety decision is made to get a bond set? Ms. Throw noted that is correct; we aren’t counting the police just the cash. Upon a motion by Commissioner Sallie, seconded by Secretary Warner, the motion carried unanimously, the Commission approved Resolution No. 3546 (Amending Special Tax SB Morris Project) submitted on Thursday, February 10, 2022. 2. Resolution No. 3547 (Amending Special Tax Potawatomi Zoo Project) Ms. Throw Presented Resolution No. 3547 (Amending Special Tax Potawatomi Zoo Project). This resolution specifies from the previous special tax resolution that only cash amounts in the reserve fund would be considered whether to levy that set out in that resolution. This change comes from our tax surety. Commission approval is requested. Upon a motion by Secretary Warner, seconded by President Jones, the motion carried unanimously, the Commission approved Resolution No. 3547 South Bend Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting – February 10, 2022 (Amending Special Tax Potawatomi Zoo Project) submitted on Thursday, February 10, 2022. B. South Side Development Area 1. Development Agreement (Miami Hills Project) Ms. Maradik Presented Development Agreement (Miami Hills Project). This Development Agreement is for the Miami Hills Apartments. The property is a HUD subsidized affordable housing property with 150 units housing some of the most vulnerable of our community’s population that has significant tenancy and property issues for over 30 years. HUD has helped facilitate an owner that can handle the complex and its challenges. By late 2020 Infinity RE II took ownership. They have been diligent and responsive to the city as well as the tenancy issues and repairs. They have been building a more communitive and responsive relationship with the tenants. Support to this is critical to the residents as well as the broader surrounding community because affordable housing in good repair that has consistent maintenance is important to the vitality of communities. Commissioner Wax asked about the city’s commitment to the property. Ms. Maradik responded the city will commit to replacing exterior vinyl siding as well as facia and soffit with the replacement of windows to the property with estimated cost of $1M. Commissioner Wax asked what the new owners are investing into the property. Ms. Maradik states that they have already made quite a bit of improvement with additional on the way. Greg Jones, IREII owners stated that they appreciate the opportunity to help this section 8 community. So far, they have spent $2.6M. That does not include what they have done in operation cost which is approximately $1.3 and did not take a single dollar in profit in 2021. All cash flow was put back into the property. They have done 100% interior rebab. They have cleaned up over 400 code violations and handled exterior improvements that were necessary for health and safety. Crime is the biggest hurdle they are dealing with. The 1st time they arrived on the property they were met by SWAT Team. They now have license plate readers. Dave Banik, IREII continued the conversation with an explanation of Watch Tower. They are working with a 3rd party group called Watch Tower Security that owns the camera system installed. They strategically placed cameras throughout the property which they can pull footage from at any time. The company permanently stores the footage. They can request as many views as they want which helps get them ahead of lease violations, code violations and crime on site. The license plate reader helped them provide assigned parking as well as assigned guest spots. This way they know who has entered the property and who is leaving the property of ensuring the property. Commissioner Wax asked if there have been positive results from the security upgrades. South Bend Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting – February 10, 2022 Mr. Banik states that yes, the assigned parking has been good, and the security has helped with the leases. The police department has access to the camera system and can pinpoint activity prior to walking onto the property so they are not walking in blind. Mr. Jones, states both HUD and the local police department have seen significant improvement and they have not had a material event since they’ve owned it. The partner is expensive but worth it even in things that the sidewalks are clear and salted for resident safety. Santiago Garces states that this has been a collaborative effort with work across multiple administrations with members across the councils responding to the situations. The owners have made the improvements and public safety as promised. We feel comfortable enough to partner with IREII in providing funds to make further improvements to the property. Commission Wax thanks everyone for answering his questions. He knows this property has been a struggle in the past and appreciates the efforts to bring the property into a safer and more livable environment. Upon a motion by Commissioner Wax, seconded by Secretary Warner, the motion carried unanimously, the Commission approved Development Agreement (Miami Hills Project) submitted on Thursday, February 10, 2022. C. Multiple Development Areas 1. Budget Request (2022 Annual Paving) Ms. Boyles Presented Budget Request (2022 Annual Paving). The mayor allocated funds in the budget for implementation of the 2022 Annual Paving Program, which is part of our three (3) year strategic plan, also known as “Rebuilding Our Streets”. We are doing over $9M in investments this year into our streets. This piece of TIF will help to make this happen. We will have contractor as well as internal projects paving and crack sealing. The TIF dollars will be all throughout the city. The overall request is for $2.5M in River West, $55,000 in River East, $1.13M in South Side and $118,000 in West Washington totaling $3.803,000. This request will help fund the paving and reconstruction of streets in all four (4) TIF districts as identified above. These funds will contribute to every aspect of this year’s plan (i.e., contractor bids for paving, community crossings, etc.). Commissioner Wax asked if the amount allocated are prorated based on the amount of work being done in each district. Ms. Boyles replied that is correct. They are prorated across every project. South Bend Redevelopment Commission Regular Meeting – February 10, 2022 Upon a motion by Commissioner Sallie, seconded by President Jones, the motion carried unanimously, the Commission approved Budget Request (2022 Annual Paving) submitted on Thursday, February 10, 2022. 6. Progress Reports A. Tax Abatement B. Common Council C. Other 7. Next Commission Meeting: Thursday, February 24, 2022, 9:30 a.m. 8. Adjournment Thursday, February 10, 2021, 9:52 a.m. Troy Warner, Secretary Marcia Jones, President