Finance Committee

123 Madison Street Village of Oak Park Oak Park, Illinois 60302 www.oak-park.us Meeting Minutes Finance Committee Tuesday, October 10, 2023 6:30 PM Room 201 1. Call To Order Village President Vicki Scaman called the Finance Committee Meeting to order at 6:33 P.M. 2. Roll Call Present: Trustee Parakkat, Trustee Robinson, Trustee Wesley, and President Scaman Also Present: Trustee Buchanan, Trustee Enyia, Trustee Straw 3. Public Comment Chris Donovan: Lives on 700 block of South Elmwood. Provided a hand-out to the Trustees regarding the proposed car wash at Austin and Roosevelt. Questions if three car washes are needed in that area. The Roosevelt Road corridor plan calls for much more than this. Simas Varnas: Lives on 100 block of South Lombard. Med Men marijuana dispensary is a public nuisance and ought to be shut down. Witnessed an overdose on July 4 on the sidewalk at 114 South Marion. Dispensary is a magnet for drug users, immorality, and vice. Homeless people and panhandlers by the Metra station. 4. Approval of Minutes A. ID 23-454 Minutes from the September 11, 2023 and September 26, 2023 Meeting of the Finance Committee It was moved by Trustee Parakkat, seconded by Trustee Robinson, to approve the Minutes. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. 5. New Business B. ID 23-449 Oak Park Housing Authority 2024 Funding Request Presentation Village Manager Kevin Jackson and Deputy Village Manager Ahmad Zayyad provided an overall introduction. Village of Oak Park Page 1 Printed on 10/27/2023 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes October 10, 2023 Development Customer Services (DCS) Management Analyst Noemy Diaz introduced the Item. Oak Park Housing Authority (OPHA) Executive Director/Oak Park Residence Corporation (OPRC) President David Pope presented the Item. C. ID 23-448 Oak Park Residence Corporation 2024 Funding Request Presentation OPRC VP for HR & Administration Beth Swaggerty presented the Item. Trustee Parakkat asked what caused the federal shortfall and whether it is expected to continue. Director Pope responded that it began in the late Obama administration and has continued to today. They identify the level of funding necessary to fully fund the program and then short-fund it at some particular percentage. They acknowledge they are not giving enough to run the program the way it should be run. Trustee Robinson noted the significance that the condos and townhomes do not have to pay fees for OPRC's services. She said the Village is leveraging the eligibility criteria used for the housing choice voucher program for its overnight parking permit reduced fee program and is trying to maximize the efficiency of those dollars. Director Pope agreed the Village is taking steps to make it feasible for those at the lowest end of the income spectrum to be able to continue to reside in Oak Park. Trustee Straw inquired how small condos find out about OPRC's program. VP Swaggerty said word of mouth and the Village is a helpful referral system. OPRC reaches out to their list of all small condos and has additional resources and training materials on their website. Director Pope added the Village website has referral information as well. President Scaman inquired how long people stay on the voucher system and how quickly they open up for new applicants. Director Pope responded not nearly enough. The last time they opened was March 2022 which was the first time in 18 years. They received 21,000 applications and will re-open the waiting list in early 2024. It is open to anyone though there is a local preference for those living, working, or attending school in Oak Park. President Scaman said she would be interested in expanding the program. D. ID 23-421 Oak Park Area Arts Council 2024 Funding Request Presentation Analyst Diaz introduced the Item. Executive Director Camille Wilson White and Treasurer Bill Wallace presented the Item. President Scaman said the OPAAC makes a notable impact in our Village of Oak Park Page 2 Printed on 10/27/2023 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes October 10, 2023 community. E. ID 23-450 Downtown Oak Park 2024 Funding Request Presentation Analyst Diaz introduced the Item. Vice President Mike Fox and Executive Director Shannon Williams presented the Item. Trustee Wesley said he is a fan of DTOP and the marketing and events. Trustee Parakkat asked if the awning signage grant is linked to DCS or if it is separate. Director Williams said it is separate and it has been very successful. The grant is 50% up to $2K. President Scaman noted the Village will do an equity analysis on pay for all of its employees and encouraged all partner agencies to do one as well. F. ID 23-447 Visit Oak Park 2024 Funding Request Presentation Analyst Diaz introduced the Item. Executive Director Annie Coakley presented the Item. Trustee Robinson inquired about the ARPA grant amount, which Director Coakley said was $96K. President Scaman said she would like to maximize the potential to host and sponsor special events that will draw people from all over. Director Coakley responded that a main goal is to amplify the work Shannon and Camille do to invest in advertising beyond Oak Park. Trustee Straw wondered what the Village can do from a policy perspective to support the work Visit Oak Park is doing to draw in more tourism. Trustee Wesley said he would like to see more sponsorship of nonprofit events and he would like to see the Village's partners contribute financially. Trustee Parakkat requested a breakdown of where people are coming from, the share we are getting from other communities that are serviced by Visit Oak Park, and where they are spending their dollars. Director Coakley responded that they have access to Cook County's tourism economics data set that can provide that information. Trustee Enyia asked if there is a mechanism to promote events in nearby suburbs. Director Coakley said she has an event calendar and a closed Facebook page for community partners to constantly update all of their Village of Oak Park Page 3 Printed on 10/27/2023 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes October 10, 2023 events. They post a blog and post on social media. Trustee Parakkat noted that short-term rental licensing has increased over the last few years. He asked if tourism is increasing and how that is translating to benefit businesses. Director Coakley responded that statewide expenditures have increased $12B from 2021 so the Enjoy Illinois campaign is working and she is focusing on campaigns to encourage people to get out and be social. Trustee Parakkat requested the 2019 numbers, which Director Coakley said she can provide. Trustee Robinson agreed with Trustee Wesley about other communities contributing financially as Oak Park needs to watch its own dollars. Director Coakley responded that those conversations have begun. President Scaman agreed with neighboring communities contributing and offered her assistance with relationship-building. G. ID 23-451 Oak Park Regional Housing Center 2024 Funding Request Presentation Analyst Diaz introduced the Item. Executive Director Athena Williams presented the Item. President Scaman requested clarification on OPRHC's current situation with HUD. Director Williams responded that their understanding was that they were inactive due to their partnership with their intermediary from 2019-2020. She said they never received a statement that they were not in good standing. They received paperwork today that they are in compliance with no exceptions and she can provide a copy. She said there are some things HUD wants OPRHC to do over the next six months. President Scaman asked how that affects the funding the Village provided for this current fiscal year. Manager Jackson responded that the Village received notification from HUD today about the reinstatement because there had been a suspension related to the Cook County homeownership program. Director Williams said it was not called a suspension but rather an inactivation while they reviewed their documents. Manager Jackson said the Village interpreted it as a suspension and based on the language in its CDBG and general fund agreements with OPRHC, the suspension would be considered not being in good standing which would prevent the Village from committing any funding until that is cured. Analyst Diaz said HUD notified OPRHC stating it was not in good standing, essentially their license was inactive. It has been reinstated as of today on a probationary period. The Village's CDBG and general funding agreements are intertwined and state that if the agency is a recipient of Village of Oak Park Page 4 Printed on 10/27/2023 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes October 10, 2023 CDBG funding, they must be in compliance and good standing with HUD guidelines. Because OPRHC was not in good standing, the Village temporarily paused funding from the general fund during that timeframe, since June 2023. OPRHC has not received CDBG funding for Q2 and Q3 for Program Year 2022. President Scaman inquired what the probationary period means for any funding the Village Board approves for this year. She said her desire is to work to address our housing goals together and ensure the Village is not held liable with HUD for any funds that it is not able to provide. Manager Jackson responded that staff just received the notification from HUD today and will follow up with more clarification. Based on the feedback from the Village Board last year, staff will provide a recommended budget to the Finance Committee for review and then the Village Board will receive a proposed budget to consider for adoption. Director Williams requested staff to share the HUD document received by the Village. Trustee Robinson noted this 89% increase is the biggest increase in the partner agency asks and she appreciates the caution. She asked Manager Jackson what can be shared with the Trustees from the past year. Manager Jackson said the Village monitors and evaluates all of the agencies' reports throughout the year. Analyst Diaz added that the Village is conducting annual financial reviews of each of the six agencies and the Village Board will receive a memo with each of the agency's findings. Trustee Robinson said before the Village gets to the actual proposal, it needs to let everything in progress run their course so it is not jeopardizing its own HUD funding and is not in a position where it needs to reverse funding or create an operational funding deficiency. President Scaman agreed with pausing to better understand the situation with HUD. Trustee Robinson said the proposal is not quite aligned with two particular items that have been discussed by the Village Board: 1) the diversity of our integration needs (language access) and 2) the homeownership piece. She recommended fleshing those out in the next iteration. Trustee Parakkat requested any red flags from the monitoring process, an understanding of the performance-based model, and explanation for the increase before the housing study has been released. Trustee Buchanan requested clarification about the two funding restrictions that occurred. Manager Jackson said the Village has language in both the general fund and CDBG contracts of when there is an issue of non-compliance. Attorney Stephanides added that they are tied together so when one is not in compliance, they are both not in compliance. Trustee Village of Oak Park Page 5 Printed on 10/27/2023 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes October 10, 2023 Buchanan questioned whether it was Q2 and Q3 of 2022. Analyst Diaz explained that CDBG runs on a program year that begins on October 1. She corrected herself that it was actually Q3 and Q4, not Q2 and Q3. Trustee Wesley said he has some challenges around affirmative moves. He requested the demographic breakdown between black and white and to know whether apartments are shown that do not qualify as affirmative moves. He said he has challenges with using Ridgeland as a barometer of integration and feels like that is not necessarily relevant today. He said he wants a true integration strategy and not a managed integration strategy that is prioritizing white comfort over black presence. Director Williams shared feedback she received that there is a stigma with living east of Ridgeland. She said the marketing tools need to change that and the managed piece has to be intentional. She noted the proposal discusses engagement and collective impact and working through community and government together as a way to address that. Trustee Wesley responded that he is happy with intentional and doing this in a way that is not managed but also encouraged. He is not keen with continuing the practice from the past 50 years because times have changed. Trustee Parakkat asked if the 89% increase is to fund additional roles and marketing, which Director Williams confirmed. She said there needs to be a very strong marketing piece to create a welcoming environment for people of color. President Scaman said she hopes that would be in partnership with the Village's DEI goals. Trustee Straw inquired about the efficacy of the marketing aspect and wondered if the direct managed move services model is still an effective model when most people search for apartments online and contact them directly. Director Williams responded that a big part of the marketing is partnering with the marketing sites in addition to direct service and going to where people of color are and advertising and partnering in different communities. She noted the decline in affirmative moves follows the decline in some of the funding. The direct service is needed for more than just the rental, but also being ambassadors for Oak Park for people of color. She noted that OPRHC became a HUD agency in 2006 and prior to that the Village always funded OPRHC even with CDBG dollars. 6. Adjournment It was moved by Trustee Parakkat, seconded by Trustee Wesley, to Adjourn. A voice vote was taken and the motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:55 P.M., Tuesday, October 10, 2023. Respectfully submitted, Deputy Clerk Hansen Village of Oak Park Page 6 Printed on 10/27/2023