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FHCHI - youth house - CPA Questions FINAL (2).docCommittee Questions – FHCHI Application Responses due by 4:30 PM, Thursday, February 25 What is the asking price of the property which is still under consideration? When do you anticipate concluding the negotiations? The asking price of the property currently under consideration is $750,000. We are delaying negotiations until we have the leveraging platform of committed CPA funds, to add to the Friends’ base funding. Once we have the CPA funds designated we will be in a position to negotiate a P & S, inspection and timeframe for purchasing a property. How many units would be possible in that property? That property has six units with a total of 10 bedrooms (four 2-bedroom; two 1-bedroom.) The proposed property would be ideal for use as a youth housing site, in that one unit could be used as a staff office, and a community room – three (3) 2 bedroom sites and the two (2) 1 bedroom units would be allocated as youth apartments. Are there any other potential sites currently on the market? Currently there are six properties listed which meet our minimum general specifications (at least six bedrooms in multiple units, location near downtowns and/or transit, good condition.) Will the units be targeted to youth with ties to Northampton, or will the units be equally available to all? Is there any way to prioritize units for Northampton youth? Ties to Northampton will be among the preference criteria and will be defined as any of the following: originating from Northampton, attending schools, living in Northampton for a time period, family members living in Northampton and/or having community/support ties to Northampton. Some youth may originate from neighboring towns. Please provide more detail concerning the anticipated project-based subsidies (timing of application, to whom the application is being made, etc.), and elaborate on the notes provided on the Annual Operating Budget page concerning the various possible alternative sources of rental support. Upon completion of property acquisition DIAL/SELF will check with the regional housing authority and the MA DHCD to determine the available stock of Project based MA Rental vouchers and Federal Section 8 Project Based vouchers. Special attention will be focused on a new state voucher program that includes program funding along with rental funding. With an understanding of the available voucher stock DIAL/SELF will work with the local/regional housing authority to submit an application for the identified vouchers. Staff begin to develop a Youth Stability Plan with each youth during the assessment and application phase. Income generation is a key component of this planning process and includes: identifying all mainstream resources to which the youth is entitled, including assess to youth specific Transitional Financial Assistance (utility, partial rental subsidy, etc.), as the youth develops an employment/education plan. Dial/Self will develop a base rate that each youth will have to pay on a monthly basis, and prefers the capacity to have a “graduated subsidy plan” with a youth as an incentive for them to increase their income. Subsidized units will be reserved for youth who have greater barriers to employment and need more time to overcome these barriers. Both of the Friends other projects have successfully maintained the infrastructure of the housing with rent caps of $370-400/month. Several of the funding sources listed in the budget provide mobile subsidies with them, allowing DIAL/SELF to work with the youth to identify housing in the community in which the youth has ties, including: The Home and Healthy for Good LGBTQ Housing First grant brings with it a subsidy for participants through the age of 24 years, which is considered a reasonable timeframe for youth/young adults to develop and income, or in cases where a youth has severe limitations, apply for disability and long-term rental subsidies. The HUD Runaway and Homeless Youth grant has “graduated subsidy” funds that will be available to 1-2 youth over a 6-month time period. Dial/Self has two grant applications pending (award notification due in 3/16 and 7/16 that contain funds for “graduated subsidies”. The Operating Budget indicates rental income for 8 units, but the detail seems to list only 6 units. Please clarify – is it 6 units, but 8 residents? Our goal is to house 8 – 10 residents. We anticipate a mix of one- and two-bedroom units and/or efficiencies. In the current most likely house, there would be 10 residents in 6 units. See budget which has been revised to more clearly reflect what we anticipate Has a PILOT been previously negotiated for this type of housing in Northampton? No. Our collaborating partner has negotiated a PILOT in other towns in which they have developed this type of housing, hence this is why it is referenced. Who will determine the rehabilitation needs of the property, and what are that individual’s qualifications. As with our last two houses, purchase of the building will be contingent upon a complete inspection and report by a certified home inspection service. Additionally, in our previous two projects the Facilities Director (a licensed contractor in both cases), identified areas of upgrade that could be performed by volunteers, those that could be performed by the partnering agency’s maintenance department and components that needed to be contracted out to a licensed tradesperson. Will a formal Capital Needs Assessment be conducted in order to determine the amount of the annual contributions to the capital reserve? Yes, this will be established after we have a home inspection and identify and address the areas that need to be upgraded. Additionally, the DIAL/SELF facilities manager will conduct a formal annual inspection to assess any new capital improvement needs that have emerged. Concerning the Memorandum of Understanding, please explain the discrepancy between the proposed 30-year affordability restriction and the minimum fifteen year commitment of Dial/Self to use the residence as permanent supportive housing for homeless/at risk young adults. Can this be extended to 30 years? Yes. The difference in discrepancy is at result that two different restriction requirements were placed on each of the previous two house projects. Both the City and Friends increased the restrictions in its 2nd project. Our preference would be a minimum of 30 years. If Dial/Self were to cease that use of the property within the 15 (or 30) years, is it realistic to expect D/S to be able to comply with the affordable housing restriction if it has had to repay the FHCHI’s contribution to the property? Is it possible instead to have title to the property revert to FHCHI? Yes, that is possible. Additionally, in the last project funded, the affordability was a deed restriction and was meant to be conveyed with any transfer of ownership of the property. Repayment of funds to the City in the amount of the CPA award released the grantor or subsequent owner from affordability restrictions. If we were to partially fund this project would additional leveraging of private funds be possible? Full funding is preferred due to the enhanced scope of this project and our desire to not delay the project. However, FHCHI is prepared to extend its private fundraising as needed. In the event that the total needed for the project is not raised by early 2017, we would consider submitting an additional CPA funding request for a smaller amount. What would be the long term affordability guarantees or this project? 30 years? 99 years? We are happy to follow the Community Preservation Committee’s recommendation on this. The first project was 30 years, the second was 99 years. DIAL/Self has a full-time maintenance person, but does that person can handle 28 projects? If not, how many does D/S actively manage now and with what maintenance resources? The two primary housing sites (20 units) were fully rehabbed prior to occupancy and are managed through routine preventative maintenance. The maintenance person assesses the scope of work for specific projects and depending on the level of complexity, complete the maintenance himself or contracts it to a tradesperson. The application states that an appropriate property was found. Can this info be shared? Yes, however it is premature for this information to become public as no negotiations have begun with the owner, nor has there been a full home inspection. The building under consideration is located at 47 Summer Street, adjacent to State Street. While humble-looking on the outside, the inside is in quite good condition and it would not require sub-dividing the house to make separate living spaces, thus ensuring that all rehab can be targeted to structural or cosmetic issues. A total cost of $25,000 for rehabilitation and furnishing seems low. Can a detailed budget be provided? We prefer to purchase properties in good condition, to avoid major rehabilitation & repair. We would only consider a property needing rehabilitation if the purchase price plus the rehab costs were within the original budget, and if the house were ideal in other ways. In the previous houses, and in our plans for this one, general repairs and rehab (for instance, painting) were done by donated labor; most of the furnishing was done by donations and volunteer work. Past scopes of work on our other houses have included: a porch replacement, repairs to a garage and miscellaneous bathroom repairs/upgrades.