Written by the reviewer from the ASR + docket; [verbatim-ASR] = quoted machine transcript; [paraphrase] = reviewer's wording, not a quote.
0:01 I'm going to call a meeting to order.
0:03 I can't see the administration's table.
0:05 Is everybody ready in attendance?
0:12 All right, give me one second here.
0:16 OK, I'd like to call a pursuant
0:20 to likely codified ordinances 109.01b1 as chair.
0:29 I'm calling for this evening's finance committee
0:32 to be held partially by videoconference
0:34 due to the special circumstance of personal illness.
0:38 Under ordinance 109.01c, councilmembers
0:42 participating remotely need not be
0:45 present for the purposes of voting or determining a quorum.
0:53 So I'd like to call the meeting to order.
0:56 There's a couple points I'll make.
0:57 First, I'm going to be fairly brief in my remarks.
1:03 I hope councilmembers that will be in a position
1:06 to approve and report out both matters before us tonight.
1:14 Before I forget, the law direction is there.
1:17 There's a typo in the section two of resolution,
1:26 the second resolution of the docket, which is related to,
1:32 well, let me just call it up.
1:36 This is a minor point, but I wanted to get it,
1:39 so I don't forget it.
1:43 Section two of the ordinance 2025-60.
1:50 No, I'm going to run.
1:51 Hold on one second, yes.
1:52 Section two, resolution 2025-65.
2:01 Section two, resolution 2025-65.
2:12 Properties are deeded to have been met.
2:14 I think it probably means property
2:17 are deemed to have been met.
2:20 So deeded should be deemed, I think, in section two.
2:23 Just don't let us forget that.
2:27 To the top of the order, we've got the presentation
2:31 from Director Byneton and Development Officer Weiman,
2:38 and I think at least one of the co-chairs of the Citizens
2:42 Advisory Committee to present us
2:46 on what their recommendations are.
2:48 Before jumping into that, Council, colleagues,
2:50 do you have any questions or opening remarks
2:58 Why don't we proceed with the presentation?
3:00 Thanks, Director Byneton, if you're there, or Mr. Weiman.
3:09 My name's Dan Weiman.
3:11 I serve as Development Officer in the Liquids Department.
3:21 My name is Dan Weiman.
3:22 I serve as Development Officer in the Liquids Department
3:24 Planning and Development.
3:26 I'd like to thank committee members for this opportunity
3:28 to discuss Liquids federal funding sources
3:31 and the annual Citizens Advisory Committee
3:33 process through which these funds are allocated.
3:37 It's my pleasure to introduce FY26 Citizens Advisory
3:40 Committee co-chair, Claire Foley,
3:44 and thank her for her service to our community.
3:46 Unfortunately, Claire's co-chair, Gail Davis,
3:49 is unable to attend this evening.
3:51 Again, my sincere thanks to Gail and Claire
3:54 for their active participation, leadership,
3:56 and service to our community.
4:05 As you see, the 17 members of this year's Citizens Advisory
4:12 Committee are on the left side of the slide,
4:14 and co-chairs Davis and Foley are indicated.
4:17 On the right side is this year's meeting schedule.
4:21 The committee convened four times
4:23 in August and September, which is typical annually.
4:28 Two of those meetings, the first and the fourth,
4:31 included mandatory public hearings.
4:34 HUD requires that at least two public hearings
4:38 be held each year during the CAC process.
4:44 Although all of the meetings are made public
4:47 and are open to the public and properly noticed.
4:53 The committee reviewed funding applications
4:55 and heard presentations from city departments
4:58 and not-for-profit agencies requesting
5:01 2026 Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG,
5:04 and Emergency Solutions Grant, or ESG funds.
5:10 And finally, during its fourth session,
5:14 the CAC developed 2026 CDBG and ESG funding allocation
5:19 recommendations based on an estimated CDBG award in 2026
5:24 of $1.75 million, which is a bit lower than previous years
5:30 given statements by the current administration
5:35 regarding decreased funding for federal housing programs,
5:41 as well as an appropriation by the US House of Representatives
5:50 of $3.3 billion, which is level funding the same as 2025,
5:56 but a $3.1 billion appropriation by the Senate,
6:01 which still needs to be reconciled.
6:03 So given those variables, I just thought
6:08 we needed to be conservative in our estimate
6:10 to make sure we didn't overshoot it.
6:12 And it's better to kind of under-promise
6:17 and be able to increase the allocations
6:21 when we find out what the actual award is
6:23 rather than to over-promise and then have to decrease them.
6:29 Next slide shows the Citizens Advisory Committee's
6:35 2026 allocation recommendations in the far right column.
6:41 Also included here are each activity's 2025 allocation
6:47 and each activity's 2026 funding request.
6:52 What you see shaded at the bottom,
6:55 the bottom seven programs are called activities
6:58 in CDBG parlance are what are called
7:02 public services activities.
7:04 Those are shaded and called out
7:11 because those activities may not exceed 15%
7:17 of total allocations, which in our case
7:20 would be 1.7, as indicated at the bottom of the slide,
7:25 15% of $1.75 million, which is $262,500.
7:31 So if you add up on the far right column,
7:35 those seven amounts, you will arrive at $262,500.
7:41 We cannot allocate a penny more than that
7:46 given the 1.75 million.
7:48 What happens if we are to receive a higher allocation
7:55 ultimately is that those awards
7:58 would be increased proportionally
8:00 based on their original proportion of the 1.75 million.
8:04 So if we receive 1.8 million, for example,
8:08 the food pantry allocation would be increased
8:10 to whatever percentage of $262,500.
8:17 $262,500 is their allocation, sorry,
8:23 the 81045 that they would get under the original scheme
8:27 with 1.75 million would increase
8:30 to that percentage of 1.8 million.
8:33 And that would happen across the board
8:35 for all of those allocations.
8:38 So that's how that would work.
8:40 So the CDBG administration allocation
8:45 at $350,000 is also subject to a cap by HUD
8:50 and that is 20% of the total allocation
8:54 which is necessary given the year-to-year carry forward
8:58 that we have remaining in that account which is minimal.
9:02 So we do need the full 20%,
9:04 which is $350,000 of that 1.75 million
9:08 in order to properly administer the program.
9:12 Street improvements allocation is 850,000.
9:17 We are for the first time ever funding
9:20 public art through CDBG, which is a nice thing to do.
9:25 It's a little different than anything we've done before.
9:28 At 425, we typically year in and year out
9:31 fund building code enforcement.
9:34 Sometimes it's a bit higher, but this year,
9:36 given the year-to-year carry forward, it's 65,000.
9:39 Our affordable housing programs are recommended
9:43 to be funded at 75,000,
9:45 which keeps them at a viable funding level.
9:49 Liquidalized paint rebate program,
9:52 because they had had a large carry forward year-to-year
9:55 for a couple of years, had not been funded in 2025,
10:00 but we have actually increased their funding substantially
10:04 from their typical 42,000 to 75,000,
10:08 which is a nice thing to be able to do.
10:11 And finally, CDBG regulations allow
10:16 for the facilitation of the delivery of the home program,
10:22 which the city also receives home funding.
10:25 So we often allocate funds to facilitate
10:30 to the delivery of that program,
10:31 and we are doing so in 2026,
10:33 at least recommending that at $30,000.
10:36 So I can answer any questions council members have
10:40 about these allocations after the presentation.
10:48 are much simpler, straightforward proposition here.
10:54 The committee's recommendations
10:55 for emergency solutions grant funding,
10:58 which are very similar year in and year out.
11:03 The only organization in the city that is capable of
11:08 and experienced administering ESG funds
11:11 is Lakewood Community Services Center or LCNC.
11:15 And they operate, used to operate two programs
11:18 that were eligible in emergency shelter
11:21 and a homelessness prevention program.
11:24 Because when they moved their headquarters
11:27 to the former city youth building,
11:31 they were unable to continue providing
11:33 emergency shelter services.
11:34 So now they provide just one ESG eligible program,
11:37 which is homelessness prevention,
11:39 which is basically rent and utility assistance.
11:42 So $155,000 of the $160,000 estimated reward
11:48 CEC recommended to provide
11:50 for homelessness prevention services.
11:52 And the city typically take,
11:56 utilizes $5,000 every year in ESG funding
11:59 to administer the program itself,
12:02 which is substantial below the statutory cap
12:04 of seven and a half percent of $160,000.
12:09 I'm sorry, but I guess that's the end of my presentation
12:16 because there are no more slides.
12:17 So, you know, I fooled myself there.
12:20 Anyway, thank you very much for the opportunity
12:23 to present these recommended allocations to you.
12:31 And if you'd like to ask me or Director Buyington
12:34 or co-chair Foley any questions about the process,
12:39 or the allocations themselves,
12:41 or anything else about the CEC, I'd be happy to.
12:45 Co-chair Foley, would you like to say a few words?
12:49 And thank you for your service.
12:59 Sure, thank you for having me
13:01 and allowing me to be engaged in this process.
13:06 In talking with my co-chair Gail Davis before the session,
13:11 we kind of drafted a little statement
13:13 that we wanted to say about how the process went this year.
13:19 Our recommendations were in line with the city's
13:22 for how to fund these important programs.
13:26 But we'd like to convey
13:27 that this group thought very critically
13:28 about how these funds should be used to serve Lakewood.
13:32 It's our experience
13:33 that Citizens Advisory Committee members
13:36 are often highly engaged and invested
13:38 in their role on this committee.
13:41 This year, some members of the group expressed
13:43 a desire to be more engaged
13:46 in the overall process in ways
13:47 that extend beyond their current responsibilities
13:50 and existing structure.
13:53 This is unsurprising given a genuine interest
13:56 of the typical committee member
13:59 in making meaningful change in our community.
14:02 While we haven't made any changes to the CAC
14:05 as a result of this conversation,
14:06 we may spend some time in the coming months
14:08 exploring the kinds of changes
14:09 that the committee could make
14:11 to increase engagement and their feasibility.
14:15 We're proud of these recommendations
14:16 and hope that they are adopted
14:18 and can serve Lakewood citizens well.
14:23 Well, thank you and very well stated.
14:25 I appreciate that and agree.
14:30 Director Bynum, do you wanna mention anything
14:32 or can we open it to council members?
14:36 Thank you, Chairman Bullock.
14:38 I don't really have much to say,
14:40 but I just wanted to thank Mr. Wyman.
14:42 He does such a great job and the CAC as well.
14:45 And I appreciate their time,
14:47 you know, reviewing these recommendations.
14:49 And I'd also like to say that I am excited
14:51 to see that the recommendation for public art
14:53 came through as Lakewood Alive explained,
14:57 you know, it's a great program
14:59 and the residents are loving the projects
15:01 that are happening right now.
15:07 Oh, Mr. Wyman, just a clarification on,
15:12 you know, affordable housing is such a priority
15:15 as it is for our town
15:17 and it's increasingly difficult to pull off
15:22 Wouldn't we wanna invest more
15:23 in affordable housing programs
15:26 and our community development in the home
15:29 presumably, I think the home activity delivery also.
15:32 You did a helpful job of refreshing our memories
15:36 on the pain program.
15:38 Now, I think what you're gonna say is
15:42 we base our allocations on observed caseload trends
15:47 which are a little bit neander up and down,
15:50 but you can do pretty good projection.
15:54 And then there's income limits
15:57 for qualifying for these programs.
15:59 So if we had the money, which we don't,
16:02 to triple or quintuple those levels,
16:05 wouldn't we wanna do that?
16:06 And your answer is?
16:09 Of course we would, given an unlimited budget,
16:11 we would love to be able to provide
16:14 and fewer restrictions on who can use the money
16:18 and how we can use it.
16:20 We would obviously allocate more.
16:23 The $75,000 funding level in 26
16:26 is really based on the fact that we have
16:29 a certain amount of program income
16:31 that comes in for the low interest loan program
16:33 which is appropriate or even more than sufficient
16:40 in 26 to fully fund that piece
16:43 of the affordable housing programs that we offer.
16:49 And the ramp or repair accessibility
16:53 and maintenance program, weatherization assistance program
16:58 and home improvement grant program
16:59 which are sort of the other non-revolving loan funds
17:02 that we administer for affordable housing.
17:05 Those three activities combined also have
17:09 with that infusion of $75,000 in 2026 funds
17:14 have a more than sufficient funding level
17:18 to given the, what you said,
17:22 given the sort of pace of projects
17:24 which has picked up enormously over the past two years
17:28 under Marty Castelletti's leadership.
17:33 So those, the volume of projects dipped
17:39 during the pandemic, obviously,
17:42 and then really through the 22, middle of 22,
17:50 and Marty who has been in construction
17:54 as well as administering these kinds of programs
17:58 is really a great project manager
18:01 and he has really increased the volume tremendously.
18:06 And so even given the increased volume,
18:10 the $75,000 really does enable us
18:14 to maintain this increased level.
18:19 I have enough sort of buffer at the end of the year
18:22 so that we can continue to allocate
18:25 let's say 75 to $125,000 a year
18:28 and keep things rolling.
18:30 Okay, so your point is we are at max pace.
18:36 And so what that number represents
18:39 is Lakewood City government is all in
18:44 on supporting affordable housing
18:45 or is it more like now we're doing what we can afford?
18:49 Sounds like it's we're all in.
18:52 I would say the former,
18:53 and remember we also have significant
18:56 home investment partnerships,
18:59 funding that is not discussed during this hearing.
19:04 It's just separate and apart.
19:08 We received that as a member
19:09 of the Cuyahoga County Housing Consortium
19:12 and the annual allocation fluctuates
19:18 between let's say 175 and up to $275,000 a year.
19:22 That money is more difficult to spend
19:24 because we can't do the types of projects
19:28 we do with CDBG smaller homeowner based
19:31 or one to three family projects.
19:35 That's the kind of project that we've discussed
19:37 with council in the past.
19:39 The Nelson Court projects that go side by side,
19:43 four to five unit conversions
19:45 that we've invested $800,000 in
19:47 over the past several years
19:49 that will be the second building
19:51 will be completed in 2026 and 1472 Bell Avenue
19:56 which was recently completed.
19:57 The council just recently authorized the sale of
20:01 that we invested $422,000 I believe.
20:06 That is another way that we are all in on affordable housing.
20:11 Okay, well, obviously if we trust all affordable housing,
20:16 the budget would be much larger,
20:17 but it sounds like the bottleneck
20:19 is not our funding investment
20:22 as much as the criteria for these programs, right?
20:26 I wouldn't even call it a bottleneck.
20:28 I'd say that it's, I mean,
20:31 I don't know that we have the capacity
20:32 to hire a second person.
20:35 We've been at this staffing level for many years now
20:39 and I just, that's not quite feasible.
20:42 So I think that we are doing a tremendous job
20:47 with the staff that we have.
20:48 Yeah, that's great to hear.
20:50 But if we had more staff capacity,
20:52 we would have more crew put on these projects.
20:55 If we had more staff, we'd do less projects probably
20:57 because we'd have far less money to do projects.
21:00 That wasn't the question I was asking.
21:01 If we had staff and the money to back it,
21:04 we could get more done.
21:07 Okay, I didn't know that.
21:09 So thank you for answering my question.
21:11 Okay, council members, sorry for hogging the mic.
21:16 I'm gonna go to committee members.
21:17 First, councilwoman Striebeck,
21:18 do you have any questions or points?
21:22 Could you go back a couple of slides
21:24 and show me the history again with the allocations?
21:31 Yep, and I absolutely understand
21:35 why you would be conservative with this administration.
21:39 Can you talk a little bit about the time frame
21:42 and when you're expecting these numbers to actualize?
21:46 That's a great question.
21:50 It was difficult to predict under normal circumstances,
21:56 and I would call these not normal circumstances.
22:00 Given the shutdown, which looks like it might be soon,
22:06 it ends imminently, if you've been following the news,
22:12 which has delayed things beyond what they usually are.
22:15 But HUD works in a very peculiar way.
22:21 So we don't find out
22:27 what our current year allocation is,
22:30 sometimes until July or August,
22:37 once in September of the current year.
22:41 And that means when we find out
22:44 and that they just tell us,
22:45 and then pretty quickly after that,
22:47 they send us contracts, right?
22:49 And so within a day, I get the mayor to sign contracts,
22:54 Now, typically, they send us a signed contract by HUD,
22:59 and the mayor signs, and they're fully executed.
23:03 This year, they sent me an unsigned contract a while back.
23:09 I had the mayor sign them and send them back,
23:11 and then the shutdown happened.
23:13 So this year, we still are waiting.
23:18 So it's now November, what, 10th,
23:22 and we have not received fully executed contracts,
23:26 nor have our funds been deposited.
23:27 I was discussing this with Renee not 45 minutes ago.
23:32 I have no, I believe that we will receive the funds,
23:38 assuming the shutdown ends,
23:39 HUD sort of kind of gets through
23:41 whatever backlog they have.
23:46 and those funds will be electronically deposited
23:49 in our account with time enough to,
23:52 for me to recoup all the funds that we've advanced
23:57 before the end of the year.
23:58 That is, I think, realistic.
24:01 This is an outlier this year.
24:03 Typically, we will find out, like I said,
24:09 the earliest may be June,
24:12 at the latest, August.
24:15 So that's, you know, that's what we,
24:19 that's what we're working with on an annual basis.
24:21 So it's really a, there's a huge lag.
24:25 And my concern is, have you been conservative enough
24:28 if there is that so much of a lag?
24:31 I don't think I have been.
24:34 I mean, I think it's truly based on
24:38 what I spoke of earlier, which is
24:40 the House is publicly approved
24:49 an appropriation of the level funding,
24:52 which would keep us at the same level
24:54 we were at last year, which is 1.83 million.
25:00 And the Senate is 200 million below that.
25:04 So I went conservative.
25:07 I do worry about the administration getting involved
25:13 and trying to knock everything out and down.
25:16 So, yes, I mean, but that,
25:21 I just think that 1.75,
25:23 given my 15 years of experience doing this,
25:26 I understand that everything now is kind of
25:30 up in the air and anything could happen,
25:34 but that was my best estimate based on my experience
25:38 and what I try to keep current on with the graduate
25:42 to what's going on at the federal level.
25:47 Yeah, Councilor Volk, I have a question, if that's okay.
25:56 I'm always, you know, I had a little experience
25:58 prior to my time on council working on the board
26:01 of Camps Corner Development Corporation,
26:04 and I'm always appreciative of the way we do
26:06 our CBD funding here in Lakewood,
26:09 as opposed to our neighbors to the east.
26:12 Our neighbors to the east.
26:15 And I think it really,
26:18 so it was a good process
26:20 and it gives a lot of certainty
26:21 to the partners we work with.
26:23 So I really appreciate it.
26:24 The one thing to co-chair Foley,
26:28 you hinted at kind of some suggestions
26:30 that you guys might have for the process.
26:35 That's really not in front of us here.
26:37 This is the appropriation,
26:38 but I'm curious if you're comfortable sharing more
26:41 of what you meant by that.
26:49 We have, so our current process
26:55 is we hear proposals from a number of organizations.
27:02 Our final meeting is us kind of deliberating
27:07 and coming to a decision about how much funding
27:09 we'll give each organization.
27:11 Between the end of proposals and that final meeting,
27:14 we also get a recommendation from the city
27:19 about that is filled with nuances
27:22 and experience and expertise steeped into it.
27:26 So we take that very seriously.
27:31 It's compressed into four meetings, however,
27:35 while we haven't kind of thought about
27:41 or iterated about what a deeper engagement
27:44 might look like, there was desire to do that.
27:48 Of course, the last meeting we had
27:49 to kind of get to that recommendation.
27:52 So that conversation that I hinted at
27:56 had no conclusions or even suggestions.
27:58 It was just more of a desire to understand
28:01 if there was a feasible way
28:02 to become more involved in the process
28:06 beyond those four really highly engaging meetings
28:11 So no suggestions, just a question
28:17 about what's possible and feasible.
28:20 Thank you, yeah, and I've heard similar feedback
28:25 and I think it's one of those things
28:26 where every process can be improved.
28:30 I think that there's no process out there
28:32 that can't go with some improvement.
28:35 And so, but I guess, you know,
28:37 as the policy makers for the city,
28:41 you know, interested in,
28:43 and I know Gail Davis as well
28:45 and some of the other CAC members.
28:47 So I think we could probably deep dive
28:48 a little bit more into that.
28:49 I'm curious as the allocations,
28:53 how did you come to the numbers?
28:54 Was it like basically a percentage of each one?
28:57 You know, like, so 81045,
29:00 is that what the administration recommended
29:02 for food pantry assistance,
29:03 or did you guys run some numbers on that?
29:07 These are exactly in line
29:08 with the city's recommendations.
29:10 Okay, all right, thank you, I understand.
29:13 No further questions, Chair Boll.
29:32 Any more questions from Councilman Baker?
29:35 No, I just want to thank the administration
29:39 and Co-Chair Foley for your work here, it's a...
29:45 Okay, I'd like to open it up to other Councilmembers.
29:48 Councilman Srebrick, excuse me, Councilmember Marks.
29:57 No comment from Councilmember Marks.
30:03 Yeah, thanks, my questions were actually answered by,
30:06 or asked by previous folks, so I'm good, thanks.
30:09 Okay, thanks, Councilwoman Hamilton-Steiner.
30:17 I think that it is commendable
30:20 that you and the group came up with
30:23 a way to improve the process and get more engaged.
30:26 I served on Charter Review Commission
30:28 and we felt the same way,
30:30 in the sense that you have six months
30:33 to essentially do some deep diving
30:35 and to do a lot of work,
30:37 and it just was not enough time,
30:40 but that's charter-bound and all that stuff.
30:43 So, and I'm not, and I should know the answer,
30:45 but I probably have to dig a little bit more
30:49 or if anyone, or if maybe Chair Baker knows,
30:55 if the CAC, if that's charter-bound,
30:58 like they're the four meetings,
30:59 or is that ordinance, or?
31:02 I think it's either ordinance or resolution-based,
31:04 but I'd defer to you.
31:09 So, this is interesting,
31:12 perhaps Maureen can help on this.
31:14 I tried to do kind of a,
31:16 Maureen can help on this.
31:18 I tried to do kind of a deep dive
31:20 into the establishing legislation for the CAC.
31:25 References to the CAC go back to the mid-'80s
31:32 but I cannot locate any if Maureen can help.
31:37 Establishing legislation for the CAC itself.
31:40 What is definitive is that,
31:45 I have some notes here,
31:47 it's a very subject,
31:48 that Resolution 71-2496
31:56 establishes like what says is a participation plan,
32:00 which is a HUD-required plan,
32:04 based on 24 CFR 91.105,
32:09 basically requiring every community
32:11 that receives EBG funds
32:14 to adopt a citizen participation plan
32:16 that has certain parameters,
32:20 pretty general parameters.
32:22 It does not require any community
32:23 to have a citizen advisory committee.
32:28 That is not a requirement.
32:30 Most EBG recipients decide to utilize
32:35 that type of committee as the vehicle
32:38 to implement its citizen participation plan,
32:42 which is what Lakewood does and has done
32:45 since the mid-'80s.
32:48 And the most detailed description
32:52 of what the CAC is and does
32:55 is included in that resolution,
32:59 the exhibit to that resolution,
33:03 And really, it's very,
33:05 I mean, it's pretty straightforward and simple.
33:09 And it just describes who's on the committee,
33:13 who appoints who and for how long,
33:19 but it's pretty definitive
33:20 on the committee's advisory role
33:26 and then ultimately, obviously,
33:28 it's counsel that makes,
33:29 that ultimately makes and approves allocations.
33:33 So it's, that's really,
33:37 so if you, I'm not gonna give a chapter in verse,
33:41 but resolution 712496 is really where
33:46 all of the information about the CAC exists
33:49 and where it is defined.
33:52 Can you send that to counsel,
33:54 or can the clerk's office, I just,
33:56 I've never, and sorry for jumping in.
33:59 Yeah, I've looked in our code,
34:01 and our code references the CAC,
34:03 but it doesn't reference the formation of the CAC,
34:07 it's the references in targeted areas
34:08 or targeted deteriorating areas.
34:13 the only intentional change to that plan
34:17 and to the CAC itself was in 2020,
34:21 when the pandemic required us to amend it
34:26 to suit some virtual activities.
34:30 Other than that, in 29 years,
34:33 there hasn't been any
34:37 organic movement to make any changes to the plan
34:42 or to the CAC's remit or purpose
34:46 or the scope or breadth of its activities, so.
34:53 No, thank you, thank you.
34:55 So I guess I'm just supporting Chair Foley
34:59 and Chair Davis and the group
35:01 in wanting to be a little bit more engaged
35:04 and connected with the organization.
35:06 It seems like the organizations that are coming
35:08 and requesting the dollars
35:09 and maybe have a little bit more hands-on
35:14 sort of in shaping that,
35:16 and especially since council ultimately
35:18 gets to approve that,
35:19 if what I'm hearing, the citizens,
35:21 want to be more involved,
35:22 I would definitely want to support that,
35:24 and that totally tracks with our community
35:26 and wanting to be involved
35:28 and what we're seeing with CASE
35:29 and just wanting to be more involved
35:33 and engaged and connected,
35:34 which is always great,
35:36 because that just keeps us a healthy,
35:39 thriving democracy, so I support it.
35:50 I'm gonna start moving really quickly here.
35:53 Actually, Mr. Baker,
35:54 since I can't find the right screen,
35:55 can you make a motion to approve
35:58 or recommend for full adoption,
36:00 if you're willing, this resolution to the full council?
36:05 Yes, I will make a motion
36:06 to recommend full adoption of resolution 2025-66.
36:15 It is, motion has been made and seconded.
36:19 Hearing none, all in favor say aye.
36:23 And the ayes have it, thank you.
36:25 I'm trying to do this in two minutes.
36:28 Mr. Baker, I hope if we go,
36:30 we need three minutes,
36:32 we can take that liberty.
36:35 So the next item is resolution 2025-65.
36:42 Is the law director there?
36:45 Yes, I'm here, Mr. Chair.
36:47 Okay, did my typo correction parse for you,
36:51 all provisions of the Code of Veterans
36:52 with respect to the sale or lease
36:54 of the sale on property are deemed to have been met.
36:58 So change, so I can make a motion
37:00 to change deeded to remove,
37:04 or strike deeded and replace it deemed.
37:08 Yes, sir, we apologize for that typo.
37:10 Thank you for, you know, identifying.
37:14 So do you need me to make a motion or can that be?
37:20 I'll just make the motion.
37:22 I'll move that the word deeded in section two
37:26 of the resolution be stricken
37:28 and replaced with the word deemed.
37:35 Motion's been made and seconded.
37:39 None, all in favor say aye.
37:42 I recuse myself on this vote, Councilor,
37:44 even though it's a procedural matter
37:46 that you're bringing up,
37:48 my wife's on the board of the organization,
37:49 the city is seeking to amend the lease
37:52 of the property too, so I'll abstain.
37:54 Thank you, your abstention is noted.
37:56 So we have two yes, one abstention.
37:59 That motion carries.
38:01 Very briefly, I support this resolution
38:05 and I guess my other request is to Councilman Srebik,
38:09 are you comfortable tonight referring this out of committee?
38:14 I think that would be helpful
38:15 to both the city and the tenant.
38:18 This is for the Lakewood Child Care Center's lease,
38:21 they're a five-star, which is hard to do for years,
38:26 credited child care agency.
38:28 They have run it for years
38:30 in first a hospital-owned building
38:32 that transferred to the city about 10 years ago.
38:37 And if we were to agree,
38:39 what this would do is position that child care agency
38:43 to have some long-term confidence as a tenant
38:48 that they'll be there for a while
38:49 and therefore they can make improvements
38:51 and investments to expand
38:52 and I believe add the number of infants they can care for,
38:56 which is the hardest to do or most expensive per capita.
39:00 So since they're a tenant,
39:02 there's a split incentive between,
39:04 hey, I'm renting, I don't own the facility
39:10 so I could get kicked out,
39:11 so does it make sense for me to invest
39:13 in something that'll take 10 years to pay off?
39:16 Well, I think this new lease terms would resolve that.
39:21 Director Byneton, is that a fair statement?
39:25 Yes, it is, Chairman.
39:27 So I guess my confidence in this
39:31 that on both the tenant and they're of superb quality,
39:37 they provide a much needed service in town,
39:41 which is to provide affordably priced
39:43 and high quality health care at a convenient location
39:47 and something we care about, right?
39:50 And second, if we lost this tenant,
39:56 that would take a significant blow
39:59 to the supply of quality health care in town.
40:04 Third, we're in a position in the city
40:07 to have some say in this case directly,
40:09 whereas pick another building we don't own,
40:12 well, it's up to that property owner, it's free market.
40:15 So we essentially can renew our commitment
40:21 to this priority and that's what makes sense to me.
40:27 So I'll stop talking.
40:30 Oh, and I've also had a chance to confer a little
40:33 with the tenant and they're affirming
40:39 what Director Byneton already said,
40:41 that they agree with the terms
40:45 are put them in a strong position
40:47 for the long-term growth.
40:50 Councilwoman Schriebig, I can't ask your colleague
40:53 on this committee questions, but any thoughts?
40:56 Yeah, thank you, Chair Bullock.
40:58 I did wanna ask Director Byneton a question
41:01 about the tenant improvement allowance.
41:04 And if you could explain that a little further
41:06 and I did read through the contract
41:10 and the carryover each year,
41:12 but I was wondering if you had any ideas
41:14 of what they were planning to improve,
41:17 if they're planning to build out
41:18 or is it an interior remodeling
41:21 or if you could shed any light on that, thank you.
41:25 Certainly, through Chairman Bullock.
41:27 So as you know, we have the North Point Realty,
41:31 they are the liaison,
41:33 the management team for this property.
41:35 When improvements need to occur at that building,
41:39 they're responsible for bidding it out
41:41 or getting the quotes and moving forward.
41:43 However, the Child Care Center
41:45 would like to do some interior work
41:47 and like Chairman Bullock has mentioned,
41:52 they wanna make improvements that are more long-term.
41:54 So they're putting together their list
41:56 of what they would like to do
41:59 and that's why they would like to carry over the money
42:01 when necessary some years
42:03 to have a little larger projects.
42:05 So it starts at, let's see,
42:08 I think it was $15,000 a year to start with
42:12 for so many years and then it increases,
42:15 but they haven't talked about doing a large buildout.
42:18 There is an opportunity on the second floor
42:23 and we have not come to any sort of agreement
42:25 or negotiated on that yet
42:26 so that might be something
42:27 that the tenant improvement allowance could go towards,
42:31 but essentially they just want the ability
42:34 to move faster and do painting
42:36 and if they need shelves,
42:39 minor renovations as needed moving forward.
42:42 Is there anyone on the second floor right now?
42:46 There is not right now.
42:47 The clinic had vacated the second floor
42:50 when we've had some discussions internally
42:53 and with the Child Care Center
42:55 about possible lease in the future,
42:58 but we're not to that point yet.
42:59 Thank you and thank you Chair Bullock.
43:02 I am ready to support this amendment.
43:05 Okay, I appreciate it.
43:07 So I'll make a motion to recommend
43:10 for adoption to the full council.
43:13 Resolution 2025-65 is amended.
43:19 Motion is made and seconded.
43:23 And I will call for abstentions as well.
43:26 All in favor say aye.
43:29 Opposed and abstentions.
43:35 And the ayes have it, the motion carries.
43:37 Director Bidenton, I want to say in particular,
43:40 thanks to you for your diligent work
43:42 on this and your responsiveness.
43:44 You and I have been conferring,
43:46 I don't know, 18 months here and there,
43:48 but you've been really thoughtful in this
43:52 and I appreciate it.
43:54 Okay, without objection,
43:55 the Finance Committee is adjourned.
44:00 Thank you Councilman Bullock.
44:01 I will just go ahead and move into the special meeting.