1974-10-29 Special CC MinutesSPECIAL MEETING OF THE COUNCIL AND THE HOUSING AUTHORITY
OF THE CITY OF ALAMEDA - - - - - - - - - - HELD JOINTLY
TUESDAY EVENING OCTOBER 29, 1974
The meeting convened at 7:00 o'clock p.m. with President La Croix presiding.
ROLL CALL:
The roll was called and Councilmen Beckam, Corica, Hurwitz, McCall and President La Croix, Jr,,
(5), were noted present.
On roll call by the Clerk, the following members of the Housing Authority were noted present;
Commissioner Kenneth Kofman, and Chairman Anne B. Diament, (2). Absent: Commissioners Godfrey,
DeWitt and Palmer, (3), who had made prior commitments.
Also in attendance were John D. Goss, City Manager; Ronald D. Creagh, Assistant City Manager;
Richard D. Marquardt, Executive Director of the Housing Authority; and Ethel M. Pitt, City Clerk.
It was further noted that approximately fifty persons were present in the audience, all of
whom were provided with a copy of the written report of the City Manager.
Receipt of the Notice and Agenda of said Special Meeting had been acknowledged by the Council-
men and the members of the Housing Authority present and was on file with the City Clerk. The
purpose of the meeting was for a presentation by the City Manager regarding the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974, and action thereon, if so desired.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. For the visual and audio edification of those in attendance, Mr. Goss presented a slide film
and narration developed by the National League of Cities.
As an introduction to the film, Mr. Goss reported that in the past cities could avoid applying for
various types of Federal funding programs because of their desire not to get involved in a particular
prOgrd0. HOw2Ver, he stated, the Federal government had now declared that for those metropolitan
cities of over 50,000 population there would be a specified allocation for various purposes, and it
was then up to the jurisdiction to determine whether or not it wished to seek those funds. He said
this required an application procedure, the Housing and Community Development Act sets out various
eligible and ineligible activities and certain certification and application requirements had to be
met.
Mr. Goss said the purpose of this meeting was primarily as an information work session to gain addi-
tional knowledge about the Act, which was signed into law on August 22, 1974. He stated that within
the next several weeks it was expected the city would receive the final regulations of the U. 3.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as the application forms.
Following the film presentation, Mr. Goss elaborated upon his written report. He stated the Act, as
related to Alameda, would provide an increase in available funds. He noted the funds would not
come to the City immediately as there was a matter of three steps before the entitlement amount was
reached. He reported that under the entitlement formula the following allocations would be available:
1975--$267,000; 1976 - S634,000; 1977 - $467,000; and for each of the last three years in the
program, 1978 through fiscal year 1980 - $883,000; a total of *4,817,000' He stated these amounts
would be allocated to the City based upon a current evaluation of the entitlement formula which was
based on population, housing and poverty.
Mr. Goss remarked that this was a new approach to Federal funding and gave cities an opportunity to
develop community development plans, as long as they principally assisted those of moderate or low
income. He said one of the major implications of the Act to the City was that it tended to bring
the interests of the City and the Housing Authority closer together; the focus of the Act was on
housing and planning and if the Council should wish to proceed and apply for the funds, it was
necessary for both agencies to work together in developing the application. He said it might be
that some of the projects implementing the Act would be jointly accomplished by the Authority and the
City. He pointed out that the funding and explanation under discussion at this meeting had to do with
only Title I, Community Development, of the Act; that the Act consisted of eight Titles and there
might be other Titles under which the Housing Authority, or others, might apply for Federal funds.
Mr. Goss noted that certain certification requirements must be met by the applicant (City) which
would involve a showing of evidence of citizen participation, equal opportunity employment, relocation
payments, environmental impacts of projects, financial management in accounting for funds expended
under the Act, and that its Community Development Program had been developed so as to give maximum
feasible priority to activities which would benefit low or moderate income families, or aid in the
prevention or elimination of slums or blight.
Mr. Goss reported the deadline for submitting an application to HUD was April 15, 1975, however
provision had to be made for a 45-day review period by ABAG prior to submission. He stated this would
mean the application should be finalized in January, 1975, which would require a substantial effort
by the existing staff resources who were already implementing several other projects including the
Goals Study, Design Review Board, et cetera.
President La Croix noted, for the interest of the audience, that some of the eligible activities which
could be fUnded by Title l would be historical properties, rehabilitation of the present housing
stock, parks and playgrounds.
Mr. Goss stated each proposal would require evaluation within the context of the r2gu]dti0nI.
He said a great deal of emphasis would be given to programs which would assist moderate and low
income persons and perhaps a program developed for funding of low interest loans for rehabilitations.
He stated that ineligible activities would include the development of public buildings and facilities,
stadiums or similar facilities, schools, airports or other transit facilities, hospitals or
medical facilities, new housing construction, general operating and maintenance expenses, et
Cetera
In conclusion, Mr, Goss aaid if the Council should decide that an application for the funds
allocated to the City should be pursued, that with the assistance of part-time help and the
Director of the Housing Authority, he felt the required information could be developed. He
reported the Goals Study would be of no assistance in the initial application, however could
be very helpful in following years in restructuring the application. Mr. Goss estimated the
cost of supplemental part-time help as between $l`OOO and r5,000,
President La Croix commented that public hearings would be held on the application for the receipt
Of input from the residents of the community, in order that the necessary priorities might be
established.
There followed a general discussion of implementation of a program to guarantee low interest
loans for rehabilitation purposes, the method by which an area or individual might be determined
to be eligible for these loans, citizen participation requirements, project determination, the
affirmative action program, the possible effect of "Measure A", the application review by ABAG,
and the role of the Housing Authority.
The following persons expressed their support and offered their services in connection with the
program. Mrs. Ann Taylor, 1049 Otis Drive, of Alamedans with H.O.P.E.; Mr. Brit Johnson, 850
Portola Drive, President of the Alameda Chamber of Commerce; Mr. James Maresca, 338 Lincoln
Avenue; Mr. Charles Tillman, 2415 Roosevelt Drive; Mr. Arthur Roke, 810 Paru Street; and Reverend
Russell E. Palmer, 404-F Whitehall Road.
Commissioner Ken KOfmdD requested that the following items be kept in mind in setting up guidelines
to implement the program. (1) How did you deal with moderate income families of moderate income
and there was no mechanism within the City, at this time, to handle that aspect. (2) The Act
stated there should be a combination of moderate and low income in planning, which would require
a great deal Of coordination between the Housing Authority and the City to make sure both elements
were met. (3) The Act talked about no concentration of low income housing, which he believed
would prohibit the rebuilding of the Makassar Housing Project at its present location.
Councilman Beckam moved the report of the City Manager be received and he be instructed to proceed
with implementation of the report, according to Exhibit A attached, and that he be allowed not to
exceed $5"000 for intern assistance in the prosecution of the application. The motion was seconded
by Councilman Hurwitz ane carried on the following roll call vote. Ayes: Five. Noes: None.
Absent: None.
Councilman McCall suggested that Mr. James Price of HUD and members of his staff be invited to
attend the first public hearing on the program.
President La Croix asked Chairman Diament to request the members of the Housing Authority to authorize
Mr. Marquardt to work with the City Manager in formulating the application. Mrs. Diament stated
she would convey this request to the Commission.
ADJOURNMENT:
2. There being no further business to come before the meeting, the Council adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
City Clerk