City of Lawrence
Affordable Housing Advisory Board
2015 Annual Report
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MEMBERS: |
Emmanuel Birdling, Stuart Boley, Rebecca Buford, John Harvey, Dana Ortiz, Shannon Oury, Nancy Thellman, Matt Sturtevant, Tim Stultz |
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STAFF LIAISON: |
Casey Toomay, Assistant City Manager |
Background
Pursuant to Ordinance 9129, the Affordable Housing Advisory Board, “shall make an annual report to the Governing Body, no later than March 1 of each year, recounting Board activities of the preceding calendar year. Such report shall, at a minimum, disclose all financial transactions involving monies raised and received by the Boards, including gifts and donations, and all projects which the Boards recommended and for which the Governing Body approved expenditures of money from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The annual report shall be filed with the City Clerk.”
Summary of 2015 Board Activities
The City Commission adopted Ordinance 9129, establishing the Affordable Housing Advisory Board in July 2015. The Board held its first meeting in November. At that meeting, members were introduced and provided a presentation on the Kansas Open Meetings Act. The Board reviewed their scope of work and selected Matthew Sturtevant to serve as Chair. It was decided that the Board would hold regular meetings on the second Monday of each month.
At their December meeting, the Board reviewed draft by-laws and heard an overview on affordable housing from City Staff. The Board also decided to distribute a Request for Proposals for an affordable housing demonstration project for the $100,000 the Commission approved for 2016.
2015 Project Status
No projects were recommended by the Board in 2015, however, there was one project related to affordable housing that got underway in 2015. In January of 2015, the City Commission adopted Resolution No. 7102, approving conditionally an application for low income housing tax credits for Bethel Estates of Lawrence, a proposed senior housing development, located at 25th Terrace and O’Connell Road. The tax credits, which were awarded by the State, will be used to finance the new construction of the facility which will consist of one and two bedroom units. The proposed housing development will ultimately contain 90 independent living facilities targeted to tenants who are older ambulatory adults age 55 and older. Construction on the project is expected to begin in early 2016.
Financial Transactions
The table below summarizes the financial transactions of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund in 2015. The table shows the beginning fund balance as of January 1, 2015. No moneys were raised or received in 2015 and there were no expenditures. The ending balance in the fund remains at $102, 672.
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Beginning Balance (as of January 1, 2015) |
$102,672 |
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Revenues |
$0 |
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Expenditures |
$0 |
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Revenues over Expenditures |
$0 |
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Ending Balance (as of December 31, 2015)* |
$102,672 |
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*unaudited |
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2016 Project Forecast
A number of affordable housing projects are already underway or are expected in 2016. In early February, the City Commission approved a resolution of support for an application for low income housing tax credits for the Estates of Lawrence, another project located on O’Connell Road. Responses to the Request for Proposals for an affordable housing demonstration project are also due in February. The board will review the proposals and forward a recommendation on to the City Commission in early March. The Board will also be forwarding a recommendation to the City Commission on the parameters for a $100,000 transitional housing voucher program to assist families currently living at the Lawrence Community Shelter. Finally, the board will be discussing a process for awarding the funds that were budgeted in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for 2016.
This report is hereby submitted by the Affordable Housing Advisory Board of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, this 22nd day of February 2016.
Matthew Sturtevant
Chair, Affordable Housing Advisory Board