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NOW CALL TO ORDER THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE[Consent]
CORPORATION.IT'S 10:35 AM ON MARCH 21ST, 2024.
WE ARE MEETING AS A BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF A HFC IN THE CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS AT AUSTIN CITY HALL 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET, AND HAVE A MAJORITY OF, WE HAVE ALL OF THE BOARD MEMBERS FOR A HFC PRESENT AND I'LL RECOGNIZE STAFF.
GOOD MORNING, MR. PRESIDENT MADAM VICE PRESIDENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
MY NAME IS JAMIE MAY, I AM THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER FOR THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT TODAY ON YOUR AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION BOARD AGENDA.
YOU HAVE ONE ITEM AND THIS IS A, UH, COMPANION ITEM TO, UH, WHAT WAS JUST APPROVED ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.
ITEM NUMBER 65 FOR THE PURCHASE.
AS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER VELA MENTIONED THE PURCHASE OF, UH, PROPERTY ON EAST RIVERSIDE.
UH, AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION IS EXCITED TO INVEST IN THIS PROPERTY AND TO BE PART OF THIS ACQUISITION AS WE KNOW THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO DEVELOP LARGE AMOUNTS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON THIS PROPERTY ALONG WITH ALL OF THE OTHER AMENITIES THAT, UH, UH, DIRECTOR, UH, VELA MENTIONED.
UH, I OFFER THIS ON CONSENT MEMBERS.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OF STAFF WITH REGARD TO THIS ITEM? I'LL, UH, DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING? I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION.
DO YOU WANNA DO THAT NOW OR YOU WAIT TILL AFTER THE SPEAKER? I CAN DO IT AFTER SPEAKER.
UH, THEN I'LL TURN TO THE CITY CLERK AND ASK THEM TO CALL UP ANY SPEAKERS THAT WE MIGHT HAVE.
FIRST REMOTELY, WE HAVE XENOBI JOSEPH ON ITEM A FC ONE MAYOR COUNCIL SLASH DIRECTORS.
MY COMMENTS AS IT RELATES TO THIS $27 MILLION PROJECT CONNECT ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDING IS THAT HISTORY MATTERS.
AND I JUST WANT COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ IN PARTICULAR TO RECOGNIZE THAT ON OCTOBER 17TH, 2019, COUNCIL REZONE THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR.
IT WAS 1,308 AFFORDABLE APARTMENT UNITS THAT WERE GREEN LIT, IF YOU WILL, IN OCTOBER 23RD, 2019, HALTING DISPLACEMENT ON THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR.
THERE WAS AN ARTICLE BY UT LAW PROFESSOR HEATHER WAY, ELIZABETH MUELLER AND JAKE WEGMAN, WHICH SAID THAT THIS WAS A GREEN LIGHT FOR THE LARGEST TENANT DISPLACEMENT PROJECT ALONG THE EAST RIVERSIDE CORRIDOR AND ONE OF THE LARGEST IN AUSTIN'S HISTORY.
AND IT DID NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.
SO ESSENTIALLY, YOU ARE SIMPLY REPLACING THE UNITS THAT YOU REMOVED IN 2019, MARCH, 2021, YOU HIRED NEFERTITI JACKMAN AS THE FIRST ANTI DISPLACEMENT OFFICER AFTER YOU DISPLACED THE TENANT.
SO I WOULD ASK YOU TO BE TRANSPARENT AND TO INCLUDE THIS HISTORY AS YOU MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS PARTICULAR DEVELOPMENT.
AND I WOULD ASK YOU TO VISIT THIS AREA.
IT'S NEAR THE DOLLAR GENERAL, AND RIGHT NOW IT'S LIKE A GARBAGE DUMP NEXT TO THE DOLLAR GENERAL.
IT'S LIKE AN ENCAMPMENT THAT HAS BEEN ABANDONED.
I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT MATTERS AS WELL.
AND ON THE IN MAYOR ADLER'S 2020 ADDRESS, HE DID MENTION THE DELIBERATE SEGREGATION AND COMPOUNDED LACK OF INVESTMENT OVER GENERATIONS IN HIS 2020 STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS.
AND SO I JUST WOULD ASK YOU TO BE TRANSPARENT AND TO BE HONEST, AND TO REMIND COUNCIL MEMBER POOLE, THAT AFTER GEORGE FALL WAS MURDERED, SHE'S THE ONE THAT SAID WE NEED TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE.
SO PLEASE LEAD BY EXAMPLE, PUT THE HISTORY IN THE RECORD AND PLEASE DON'T JUST USE THIS SITE TO TRY TO GET FUNDING FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR PROJECT CONNECT.
I THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO MAKE MY COMMENTS AND WOULD ASK YOU TO LOOK AT THE HISTORY AND THANK YOU.
NEXT IN PERSON WE HAVE MONICA GUZMAN.
MS. GUZMAN, GOOD MORNING MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
I'M MONICA GUZMAN, POLICY DIRECTOR AT GAVA.
AUSTIN VAMOS AUSTIN GAVA AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE TOKYO ELECTRON PURCHASE.
ACCORDING TO THE PROJECT CONNECT TIMELINE, FISCAL 24 IS THE FOURTH YEAR.
HOWEVER, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE CITY IS STILL MORE OR LESS IN YEAR TWO WHERE FUNDING FOR LAND ACQUISITION IS CAPPED AT 23 MILLION, 4 MILLION LESS THAN THE PROPOSED 27 MILLION.
I READ MAYOR WATSON LIKENS THE PROPOSED HOUSING TO THE MUELLER NEIGHBORHOOD, UNAFFORDABLE TO MANY AND A COMPONENT BEING WORKFORCE HOUSING.
SINCE WORKFORCE HOUSING IS GENERALLY ACCEPTED TO BE AFFORDABLE TO FOR 80 TO ONE 20% MEDIUM FAMILY INCOME, WHICH EXCEEDS THE MFI RANGES FOR ANTI DISPLACEMENT FUNDS, WHICH ARE CONCERNED ABOUT USING SAID FUNDS FOR PAYING PART OF THE LAND ACQUISITION COST.
WE ALSO HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AFFORDABILITY OF THE PROPOSED HOUSING.
WILL IT BE AFFORDABLE TO CURRENT DISPLACED RESIDENTS WHO ARE STRUGGLING AT OR BELOW 60% MFI? WILL IT BE AFFORDABLE TO RESIDENTS WHO
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MIGHT OR WILL BE DISPLACED BY THE PROJECT CONNECT BLUE LINE? HOW MANY UNITS, IF ANY, WILL BE AFFORDABLE FOR THE 30 TO 80% MFI RANGES SHOWN ON THE PROJECT CONNECT ANTI DISPLACEMENT DASHBOARD.HOW DID THIS PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT SCORE ON THE PROJECT CONNECT RACIAL EQUITY ANTI DISPLACEMENT TOOL? SINCE THE RACIAL EQUITY, UH, ANTI DISPLACEMENT ASSESSMENT IS NOT POSTED IN THE BACKUP DOCUMENTS, WE REQUEST IT BE POSTED FOR REVIEW.
IF THE RACIAL EQUITY ASSESSMENT HAS NOT BEEN DONE, WE ASK YOU TO POSTPONE YOUR VOTE TO ALLOW TIME FOR COMPLETION OF THIS NEEDED ASSESSMENT.
THESE QUESTIONS AND REQUESTS ARE CRITICAL CONSIDERING THE PROPERTY SITS IN DISTRICT THREE, WHERE ACCORDING TO THE CITY'S DEMOGRAPHIC DASHBOARD STATES, 75% OF THE DISTRICT ARE LOW TO MODERATE INCOME LEVEL AND IT'S LOCATED AT OR NEAR THE BORDER FOR THE MON TOPLESS NEIGHBORHOOD, A COMMUNITY AT OR BELOW 50% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME.
UH, FRAN TE WITH AUSTIN MUTUAL AID.
I AM, UH, IN THE STREETS WORKING WITH, UH, THE UNHOUSED AND I WOULD SAY THAT THE NUMBERS ARE INCREASING BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
I TOO STAND WITH MONICA AND, UM, SIGNED UP NEUTRAL WHEN, AFTER LISTENING TO SOME OF THE CALLERS WOULD ASK THAT YOU POSTPONE THE VOTE SO THAT WE CAN, UM, KNOW THAT YOU HAVE, UH, MADE PROVISIONS FOR DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING OF THESE 1100 UNITS.
I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU HAD A SMALL SHELTER IN THE BASE OF ONE OF THE BUILDINGS NEXT TO THE CITY OFFICES.
I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU HAD A DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY OF THOSE BEING DISPLACED.
AND HAVE THERE BEEN PROVISIONS MADE FOR THOSE BEING DISPLACED? WHAT ARE THOSE? I THINK I HEARD, UH, MAYOR WATSON MENTIONED WORKFORCE HOUSING.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS NOT,
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE CONSIDERATION.
WE ARE FOLLOWING THIS AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE, UH, ASKING OTHERS TO, UH, SPEAK UP.
THAT CONCLUDES ALL A HFC SPEAKERS, BOARD MEMBERS.
THAT CONCLUDES ALL OF THE A HFC, UM, SPEAKERS.
IS THERE, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OF STAFF? I'M GOING TO CALL FOR A MOTION AND A SECOND AND THEN, UM, I'LL GO TO COMMENTS.
UH, BOARD MEMBER CADRE MOVES ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT AGENDA, WHICH IS THE ONE ITEM.
IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND BY, UH, BOARD MEMBER VELA? UH, ANY ANYBODY WISHING TO BE SHOWN AS ABSTAINING FROM A VOTE ON THE A HFC? OKAY.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, BOARD MEMBER KELLY, I WILL SHOW YOU AS ABSTAINING.
WELL, I'M NOT USED TO HEARING THAT, SO IT'S, UM, I, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU SAID.
I, I APPRECIATE, UM, ANYONE WISHING TO BE SHOWN, SHOWN RECUSING THEMSELVES ON A VOTE.
ANYONE WISHING TO BE SHOWN VOTING? NO.
ANY DISCUSSION WITH REGARD TO THE CONSENT AGENDA? WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE CONSENT AGENDA IS ADOPTED.
UM, WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING OF THE AUSTIN HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION IS ADJOURNED AT 10:44 AM.