Austin Housing Finance Corporation Meeting Transcript – 10/15/2015 We're now going to go ahead and recess the city council meeting so that we can move to consider the Austin housing finance corporation meeting. To that end I will convene the Austin housing finance corporation meeting. It is 3:00. On October 15th, in the city council chambers. Ms. Spencer, do you want to take us through this, I'm sorry you're not feeling well. >> Betsy Spencer, treasurer of the Austin housing finance corporation. [3:02:52 PM] We have seven items before you today, one is approval of the minutes, items 2 through 5 are all items related to the go repair program that we administer with the general obligation bond funding, minor home repair for seniors and disabled. Items 6 and 7 are both related to the Austin Colorado creek apartments project. One is to set a public hearing and the other item is to -- an inducement resolution, which allows us to apply for the private activity bond funds. I offer them all on consent and am available for questions. >> Question, Mr. Mayor? Could we put on the overhead, I'm not finding the agenda, unfortunately. Could we put those on the overhead, please. >> Let me help you find the agenda. If you go to the city council page, you can find the agenda next to the city council meeting. >> Zimmerman: We could. Is there a way we could have a paper copy, other people could see it, too. >> Mayor Adler: I would like you to finish, though -- would you tell us how to find it, please? >> Just go to the city council page, where it has the city council meetings listed and the first agenda is the meeting -- the full meeting agenda. And right below that is the Austin housing finance corporation agenda. You can click on that agenda and it will appear. >> Mayor Adler: Okay. Then we also have a hard copy that's been printed. Is there a motion to adopt items 1 through 7? Ms. Pool makes that motion. Is there a second to that motion. Mr. Renteria. We have a speaker. We have a speaker, in fact two speakers, I think, on item no. 7. 6, rather. The first speaker is Gus Pena. [3:04:57 PM] >> I got you covered, too, mayor, council, Gus Pena, proud native east Austin night, proud United States marine veteran. I just got out of the hospital yesterday. It's very important for me to appear on this item no. 6. When I ran for justice of the peace, I was endorsed by the Austin police association, sheriff's office, dps. I'm just not here to speak meaningless terms, open, dumb statements, et cetera. But on item no. 6, it states and I read it, public hearing to receive public comment regarding the issuance of up to $25 million of multi-family housing revenue bonds. Mayor, you remember that press conference that y'all had, right? With senator Watson, allegedly it was 252 homeless veterans here in Austin, Travis county. Which I strongly debate is incorrect. I was interviewed again by fox 7 last week, actually just right after I got out of the hospital and -- and only 99 veterans, homeless veterans have been housed out of 252. The question question to you was this: Are you going to be able to meet -- meet the statement of housing all homeless veterans in austin-travis county. Mr. Mayor, I supported you heavily. I was discharged from St. David's and that same evening I asked home phone bankers you had. Only one. I went down there and phone banked you for. Let me tell you this, Mr. Mayor, I'm going to say this respectfully, the boss, my wife said keep it honest, true, respectful. That's hard, honey. Remember the movie what price glory by Gary cooper, what price glory do we have to pay the veterans. What price homelessness. The city gives more to developers than we receive in real, low, income affordable housing. Transitional housing is needed. That's spoken very little. I brought that up back in the 1980s when Bruce Todd ran for mayor in the '90s, that was one of my first main focuses. [3:07:06 PM] Homelessness wasn't as bad as it is now. What I want to say is this, we ain't doing enough holding accountable the developers. We're giving too much. We don't receive enough. Okay? And I'll quote this - - let us just not talk the talk, let us walk the walk. A society's worth is measured but its treatment of the less fortunate. And let's say hope for the homeless. We can find no social or moral justification -- more justification, nothing, for lack of housing. What more are we going to do to improve the quality of life of the people that are poor, homeless, helpless and hopeless? We're doing a bad job. Mayor, I respect y'all. But even my campaign, one of my campaign issues when I ran for council was affordability. [Buzzer sounding]. And we ain't getting it done. We need to do a better job. We're not getting enough, we need to receive more. Thank you very much. >> Mayor Adler: Next speaker that we have on this item no. 6 is frank Ivey. Is Mr. Ivey here. Okay. We are back now to the agenda, it's been moved and seconded, adoption of 1 through 7. Any discussion? Those in favor of items 1 through 7, please raise your hand. Those opposed? Mr. Zimmerman votes no, others vote aye. With councilmember kitchen off the dais. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Mayor Adler: Hope you feel better. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you.