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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-13-2001 Called Meeting CALLED MEETING COMMISSION CHAMBER November 13, 2001 Augusta Richmond County Commission convened at 12:15 p.m., Tuesday, November 13, 2001, the Honorable W.H. Mays, III, Mayor Pro Tem, presiding. Present: Hons. Colclough, J. Brigham, Mays, Kuhlke, H. Brigham, Shepard, Beard, Williams and Bridges, members of Augusta Richmond County Commission. Absent: Hons. Young, Mayor and Cheek, Commissioner. Also present: Jim Wall, Attorney; George Kolb, Administrator; and Lena Bonner, Clerk of Commission. The Invocation was given by the Rev. Williams. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: You want to proceed, Madame Clerk? The Clerk: Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor. 1. Motion to approve City’s Year 2002 Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant, Emergency Shelter Grant and HOME funds. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Kolb? Mr. Kolb: Mr. Vice Mayor, members of the Commission, this meeting has been called as a public hearing on the aforementioned three grant funds that you receive from the federal government. It is required by law that we have this comment period and this public hearing prior to your adopting the motion, so I would recommend that you open the public hearing and Ms. Rose White from the Housing & Neighborhood department is here. She can respond to any questions that you may have or the public may have, as well as to give you a brief overview of the plan that you are submitting to HUD. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. White, I think you’ve had a long history with this. You’re a young lady but you’ve been around this program for a long time. If you want to get us started on that, I’m certainly not going to interfere, and then we can go to other persons that may want to comment during the public hearing period. Ms. White: Okay. Let me start with just letting you know that this is the final version of the plan for Year 2002. You already approved the proposed plan back in October, I believe, and we had to solicit a 30-day comment period from the public. That comment period expired at four o’clock yesterday. As a result of that 30-day comment 1 period, we received three comments on the plan. The first comment was from a citizen. He was expressing his dissatisfaction with the funds being granted to religious organizations, and that really was a misnomer. We do not grant funds to religious organizations. We may grant funds to organizations that may be affiliated with religious organizations. The second comment was from East Augusta CDC. They’re requesting additional funds. They want the plan to be revised to incorporate additional funds for their project that they’re doing in east Augusta. The third comment was from the Neighborhood Improvement Project. That’s a non-profit organization that works out in 30906 and they’re asking for additional funds for their tutoring program. They are already included in the plan for $10,000. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. White, and I guess just for the record, any comments that you’ve had prior, all of those are intact and are ready as far as your official records; am I correct? Ms. White: Right. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: The department has already done, with the exception of the ones you mentioned. Ms. White: Okay, the only comments that we received were these three. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Just for the record, was there -- I guess on items 2 and 3 on the additional fund requests -- Ms. White: Okay. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Were there numbers submitted with those requests? Ms. White: In the letter, I believe Dr. Hatney did request an amount. We have $75,000 already allocated in the plan, and I think he’s asking -- is he asking for $200,000 more? Okay. $400,000. He’s asking for an additional $400,000. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Additional or total? Ms. White: Additional. Okay. Now I need to let the Commission know it is the Commission’s decision if they want to revise the plan and grant the additional money. All we are expected to do is forward to HUD the Commission’s actions on these comments. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Let me ask this. On this -- you mentioned one other one that’s in here, I believe for $10,000 on 30906? Ms. White: Yeah. 2 Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Is there an additional amount that was in there? I just was trying to get it out in case any Commissioner wanted to comment on any of those numbers before we, you know, proceeded with anything. Ms. White: Okay. That particular organization didn’t designate an amount as far as additional funds. They just stated to the effect that they need more funds in order to carry out their tutoring program. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: But no specifics? Ms. White: No. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Are there any comments from any of the Commissioners to Ms. White at this time, or to Mr. Kolb? Mr. Williams? Mr. Williams: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, I just want to ask a question. I guess my question is what we’re doing today, we’re not deleting or adding anything today, are we or are we not? Those proposals that came to Ms. White will be something will be considered in 2002; is that right? I mean you know, this public hearing is not to ratify or to add or to even subtract anything; is that right? Ms. White: If that’s the decision of the Commission not to make -- Mr. Williams: Well, I’m guess asking the question of Mr. Wall or the Administrator. Somebody need to tell me, you know, is that -- what are we doing now? Mr. Kolb: Commissioner Williams, you’re actually approving the action plan that we will submit to HUD. Although you certainly can amend anything in this budget at this time, we are not recommending that you do so. You have amended it earlier this fall, last month in fact, and approved that particular plan. So we would recommend that you not make any changes at this point in time. As far as the comments are concerned, they can be considered for next year’s application. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Jerry? Mr. Brigham? Mr. J. Brigham: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, do any of these people want to address any of this, that are here today? I thought I’d ask. If not, I’m going to make a motion. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: It’s asking time, isn’t it? Mr. J. Brigham: Yes. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: What I was trying to do was going through the Commission first on these particular items, and I guess what Commissioner Williams was trying to find out was this the final stage in terms of where items could be considered to be changed or if you had -- say for instance we don’t know whether or not we’re going to 3 get any money left to do reprogrammed. If anything goes the tide of the economy, we’re probably going to be using up all that we’ve got in terms of where we are. And I think it’s probably legitimate at this time if there’s going to be a discussion or if there is going to be an alteration, we realize what’s here on the table, but I think what you’re trying to get to is is this the point in time that a motion, not only to approve what we have previously done that came from HND, but is it also appropriate at this time that if there is going to be a substitution of any kind in this matter, this would have to be come the time in order to deal with that submission or -- and I stand to be corrected -- but I guess we would be looking then at what, the submission for 2003. So that was what I was trying to get clarified, and I think he was trying to reach that point. If we, once we approve and it goes to HUD, unless there comes back where we have programs and are asked to say be reprogrammed, and sometimes as we have had to do in the past, where there are monies standing and we’re caught at the last minute, which I’ve never really liked that process of all of a sudden going out and searching for a program to give monies to, when it’s better to do it, I think, on the front end of trying to find those legitimate programs. I saw Commissioner Lee Beard’s hand and Commissioner Jerry Brigham again. Mr. Beard: Mr. Mayor, I was just wondering, and maybe this should be directed to Ms. White, if there are funds available where it could be reprogrammed and we could consider some of the requests that are being made. And I’m especially interested in the one in east Augusta that requested that. And I know there have been some other requests from other sources, and I don’t know whether they have come to you. I see they’re not on here, but it’s a possibility that they exist. I know there are some requests for entrants from one of the Commissioners somewhere down the line that we were requesting some of that, and I’m not sure of the figures that were involved in that. So I guess my question would be how do we configure that into all of this? Would we need to put this -- if there are monies to be reprogrammed out of this later on, do we do it there or do we do it on the front end here and now in some type priority? Ms. White: Okay. When you’re talking about reprogrammed money, you’re talking about existing money that we already have. Okay. This budget is for money that we’re planning to get next year. Now there are certain projects, at least there are three projects, three organizations who have said, you know, they don’t need their money and they’re willing to forfeit that money. It’s not very much money. It’s the Hale House, 100 Black Men, and the Board of Ed. And that comes to about $12,000. We have street light money in the Laney-Walker area; that’s $197,000. And I think the Administrator is going to program some of that -- reprogram some of that to code enforcement, and I believe we may have about $11,000 left in there. Let’s say we have available to reprogram per se I would say about $16,000 that can be used for those streetscape improvements at those intersections. And you can go ahead and I would need to prepare an agenda item and present it before the Administrative Services Committee for action. Mr. Beard: So in other words, in this 2002 budget that we are going to approve here for this, these would be all of the projects that are involved or that have applied for or have been approved by your committee, your advisory committee? 4 Ms. White: Right. All the projects that are in this year 2002 action plan are the projects that were approved by the Citizens Advisory Committee. In addition, I think the Commission made a revision for McDuffie Woods Park and Meadowbrook Park -- Mr. Beard: Yes, I saw that. Ms. White: -- and I think we added some additional money for economic development, I think $124,000. And I believe there was another project that was changed. Mr. Beard: Well, let me just ask you one other question and then I’ll be through. If there were to be projects added to this, what would be the procedure? And maybe you’ve answered that and I just didn’t catch it. Ms. White: Okay, then. If you want to add some projects to this today -- Mr. Beard: Not necessarily today but in the future. Ms. White: Okay. In the future, if you want to add any project, you have to determine where you’re going to get the money from; okay? Then you have to do a 30- day comment period to the public to let them, make them aware of where the money is coming from and what the money is going to be used for. So more or less, it will be decreasing the amount of one project and adding money to another project. And that can be done anytime. It’s just that you have to go through a publication of an ad and a 30-day comment period for the citizens. Mr. Beard: Well, just one other question. On comment number two, what are we doing with that? Is this just a comment, are they requesting, or what? Ms. White: Okay. It’s submitted as a comment, but actually they are requesting additional money from year 2002. Okay. This plan that you have for approval today, if you want to decrease certain projects and give this project more money, that’s at your discretion. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Before recognizing Commissioner Jerry Brigham and Commissioner Bill Kuhlke, and it may be within what you ask, I wanted to pause one second and just ask Ms. White and Mr. Kolb, I guess coming from the undertaker I don’t know any other way to put it. What’s our drop dead date or are we on it? And I think we probably need to get that out in the open to a point of are we looking at any time in this or are we looking at today in this? And I think that needs to be put out here and I think that will clear in terms of where we may need to go if something else is going on here. Ms. White: Okay. Tomorrow I have to submit the plan to HUD so they will th receive it by the 15. Day after tomorrow. So it has to be in the mail tomorrow. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Kolb? 5 Mr. Kolb: Mr. Vice Mayor and members of the Commission, I would recommend that you approve as is. You can amend this any time during the fiscal year, especially if you discover funds are not being used as quickly as the applicant has done so or as at first requested. So just to kind of keep it clean and keep us out of deadline, an issue of deadline problem, I would just recommend that you move forward with the application as is. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Jerry Brigham and then Mr. Bill Kuhlke. Mr. J. Brigham: I make a motion that we accept the Administrator’s recommendation. Mr. H. Brigham: Second the motion. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: We have a motion and a second that’s on the floor to accept the motion of the Administrator to approve the plan as written that’s in our books. Commissioner Kuhlke? Mr. Kuhlke: Mr. Mayor Pro Tem, my only comment, and I direct this to Mr. Kolb, is that I know that we’re talking about utilizing some block grant funds for the demolition of some housing. And we do have $50,000 in there, but I think since that I an area where we can get some funds, that it’s something that if we get into a recapture situation, Mr. Kolb, that we need to take a look at that before they’re committed somewhere else if we had that need. And I just wanted to make that comment. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: There is a motion and a second on the floor. Is there any further discussion? Mr. Colclough: Yes, sir. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Colclough? Mr. Colclough: You mentioned Augusta Woods and Meadowbrook. Are they in this? Ms. White: Yes. $200,000. Mr. Colclough: Each? Ms. White: No, $100,000 each. Mr. Colclough: But I don’t see it. That’s why I asked. But you say it’s here? Ms. White: Yes. 6 Mr. Beard: It’s in the back-up. It’s in there. Mr. Colclough: Okay. I got you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Is there any other comment from any of the Commissioners or anyone? Mr. Williams? Mr. Williams: Yes, I need to ask Ms. White. I [inaudible] about the program that we talked about, about the beautification part. Is that for -- are we talking about 2002 right now, you’re saying; is that right? Ms. White: For those, for that particular project, I’m talking about existing money that we already have, not 2002 money. This is money that we can use right now. We can reprogram from certain projects and use right now. Mr. Williams: Okay. And I got with Mr. Mack and the tees and landscape director, [inaudible]. I talked about a project in the inner city about some beautification. Is there any money that we can reprogram for that? Ms. White: Yes, we have about $16,000 that we can reprogram for that. Mr. Williams: So how can we bring that forward to -- Ms. White: I can prepare an agenda item for the next Administrative Services Committee and put that on the committee agenda for approval. I can submit that item to Mr. Kolb for his review and have him add it. Mr. Williams: Okay. I got with Mr. [inaudible] and it’s not a great amount, but there are some things that we rode around in the inner city that we’re trying to do something in a lot of the blighted area that really the main reason, the main focus we even using Housing & Neighborhood Development money, so I would certainly like to see that agenda item is brought forth and sent to Administrative Services. Ms. White: Okay. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: If there being no further comments, are there any -- and I know we’ve got a motion and a second on the floor, I think in fairness in terms of where we’re using our public money and we’ve got the named agencies that are there, but in terms of the add-ons or the potential add-ons which were discussed just this morning, does anybody representing any one of those agencies that wanted to have anything to say at this point in time? The Chair will recognize you in order to do that. We all are in a pretty tight time frame. We got our committees here today and I got some folks that have been waiting since yesterday in order to get started, but we’re going to start that one on time to get it moving, but we did want to get you on for the record. And my reason for going ahead, the Chair is going to go ahead and recognize is the fact that we probably may have to go ahead with what’s been printed and what’s written, but I think it’s 7 important and I say this particularly in fairness to Ms. White being able to come in today -- she’s worked a long time, but in terms of her not being a director and of having to deal with this, I think it’s important that the smaller agencies be recognized, gentlemen, to a point that they probably cannot really stand to be eliminated or changed around. But I think if we’ve got some large categories in here that are in general, we may want to look in the coming year to a point that if those agencies are not ready to begin their projects, that we look at some of these that may have large programs, that have outside funding that can leverage those programs in some cases 5 and 6 to 1, rather than us stopping projects that are beginning to really turn whole areas around. And with that, I’m going to shut up and I’m going to let the young lady make her comment. Would you state your name and address for the record, please? Ms. Watkins: My name is Charlene Watkins. I am the -- Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Turn the mike toward you a little bit, please. Ms. Watkins: I’m Charlene Watkins. I am the Metro Director of Development at East Augusta Community Development Corporation, where Dr. Johnny Hatney is the CEO and President. Dr. Hatney wanted to let the Commission know of the work that we’re doing down in east Augusta. We have completed, as you’ve seen in the letter that he’s written to you, completed several projects down there and we are also working on a number of other projects. We have obtained some leveraging dollars to do an economic development project down there. There is the Greene’s property right on the corner of our major -- one of our major projects, which is the Lincoln Square Project we have renamed and called it East Augusta Commons. We hoped to purchase that property, which is adjacent to the Lincoln Square Project to keep the revitalization effort ongoing in that area. We had hoped to receive some funds from HND to proceed with that project. We were very disappointed when we did not receive it. The $75,000 that they proposed to give to us in the year 2002 does not allow us to effectively carry on our programs, especially that particular program. The $75,000 will help us in our purchase- to-lease program, but not to help us build other units, single-family units in the area. We’ll probably build one home perhaps in that area. We have so many wonderful projects going on down there. I would invite all of you to come down to see the revitalization effort that we’re undertaking and that’s going on down there. I just want everyone to know that we are doing the work that we are funded for, that we were funded for last year. We are doing wonderful, wonderful work down there and I just want everyone to know that and I would hope that you would come down and visit us. Thank you. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Any comments from any of the Commissioners to the lady? And the reason why I brought that out and took the time, gentlemen, is that I know this is probably going to pass as is, but Mr. Kolb, what I would really hope, because it’s going to take, it’s going to take votes if you added it on today, and it would take votes at some other time if you dealt with reprogramming. But I think we seriously need to look at agencies. We’ve said many times we want to see our dollars stretch further. I think by evidence of the recent $4.2 million project that they are going through right now, it’s in 8 its stages of completion, that the city’s portion of that was about $500,000. The other $3.7 million in terms of what they put together in trying to turn that area around. Any of the older residents that know about the old Green’s property, an old restaurant, know how long that’s been just sitting there and been abandoned on that end of town. And while we got folk that may be sitting around waiting for a project to happen, I think it’s almost on the verge of criminal finance that if you’ve got somebody rolling, and if they’ve got leveraging, that you not seriously look in terms of what they are trying to get done, because if financing to leverage is in place in this year, not being able to predict the economy, we don’t know what’s going to happen, you know, in the following year. And you can’t rely on verbal promises, and that’s why I said particularly to be fair to Ms. White, I do know that the director in terms of -- had looked at in terms of promising to do something about this particular situation this year. Because it was also requested last year. And now we’re looking at probably just on this one of doing it now to be presented in 2003. So while I agree that we are on a drop dead date and we’ve got to move, I would hope that seriously that if we’ve got some of these general categories for large things that are say six figures of money and nothing’s moving and then rush in here next year this time or a month before and say we’ve got $500,000 or $600,000 we need to spend in 30 days and we’ll try to gather a project up to do, when we’ve got some that are in place who have some other financial backing and able to bring something to the table other than just the city’s money. And I think that’s where we need to be trying to leverage five and six times those dollars. I agree, Mr. Kolb, we’ve probably have got to move. But I think to take good projects and say come back next year and we search with those that are there, that’s just not what we ought to be about the business of doing. And I’m not blaming anybody. I know you are there in a time warp, Ms. White certainly is in one, and maybe next year there might be a different outlook from that department on how we do some things. And I’m hoping that does occur. But for one, I’m really about fed up to a point of where we get into that kind of shotgun hostage position in September of every year of saying we’ve got money to hand out. And what it means is somebody has not looked thoroughly through at a lot of these large projects to be able to move on, when you’ve got people who are moving on and are able to do something with it and have bank support and other entities that will give money, and I’m not going to get called for dictating from the chair. I’m going to go ahead on it and carry that particular motion. Did you want to say something, Ms. White? Ms. White: Could I say something? Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Yes, ma’am. Ms. White: When I was addressing Mr. Williams about some reprogrammed money, I was talking about CDBG. Now I believe there is some existing HOME money that may be available for housing. So that budget needs to be reviewed of existing money that we already have that we have not designated to a housing project. Existing money, not future money. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: I’m not on that committee, but I think there will be people who will be soliciting your guidance in terms of the fact that if there is something laying 9 around and if it’s there, for the main portion of it, to help low and moderate income communities, then it needs to be utilized and it doesn’t need to be dormant. That’s my only comment with that. Mr. Henry? Mr. H. Brigham: I was going to ask Ms. White if she would bring that back to our -- well, it’s too late for the next Commission, but let us know what is laying around. Cause we need to get that moving. Ms. White: Okay. Okay. Mr. H. Brigham: Don’t need to carry it over. Ms. White: Okay. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Ms. White, not to put all the pressure on you, but there was one helpful thing that the subcommittee that Commissioner Cheek and Commissioner Kuhlke headed up, and one of the things I think, Bill, that y’all put in place was in terms of that review process of looking early on at those projects which maybe are not moving through the course of the year, that if we keep in that vein of those that are there, particularly on those that are say six figures of money, that are doing housing things, that if maybe their funding is not coming through, it may be a good suggestion, Mr. Kolb, that we can move early and give some type of closer deadlines in there so that even if they are put on to 2003 and we’ve got somebody that’s been denied in 2002, and say a bank or some other financial institution is ready, willing and able to go ahead and help carry that project forward, that we move them up and then move somebody else to 2003. Cause I think when we’re trying to juggle, you just don’t know when those opportunities are going to move away from the table when they’re on the table, and I just hope this year we won’t -- if somebody is not moving by summer, then basically they’re not going to move. And I think it’s time then to implement what Mr. Kuhlke and those were looking at our of that subcommittee in order to get that into a moving frame rather than a dormant frame. And I know you’ve been interested in that a long time. Mr. Kuhlke: Call the question, Mr. Mayor Pro Tem. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: All in favor of the motion to do so will do so by the usual sign. Motion carries 9-0. Mr. J. Brigham: I move we adjourn. Mr. Shepard: Second. Mr. Mayor Pro Tem: Non-debatable motion. The meeting stands adjourned. [MEETING ADJOURNED] 10 Lena J. Bonner Clerk of Commission CERTIFICATION: I, Lena J. Bonner, Clerk of Commission, hereby certify that the above is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Called Meeting of Augusta Richmond County Commission held on November 13, 2001. Clerk of Commission 11