Austin Housing Finance Corporation Meeting Transcript – 12/03/2020 Title: City of Austin Channel: 6 - COAUS Recorded On: 12/3/2020 6:00:00 AM Original Air Date: 12/3/2020 Transcript Generated by SnapStream ================================== Please note that the following transcript is for reference purposes and does not constitute the official record of actions taken during the meeting. For the official record of actions of the meeting, please refer to the Approved Minutes. Today is December 3rd, 2020 and I am going convene the Austin housing finance corporation. Meeting. We have a quorum of the DI [3:34:09 PM] directors present, 3:33, staff, do you want to take us through the agenda? By the way, there is there is backup on the agenda for item 2. >> Yes. Mayor and counsels this is Mandy de mayo, Austin housing finance corporation. The items on your agenda the first item is approving the meeting minutes from the last meeting on November 12th and the second item is a very important item which includes two late backup, which I will briefly discuss but this is authorizing staff to move forward with an agreement to enter into an ahab agreement, per in situation to housing assistant payment contract for the sparrow at Rutland -- housing project which we are a partner. The Vecino group and -- of [3:35:11 PM] austin as you all know -- will provide 171 units of permanent supportive housing, 101 of those units will go, will, in fact be dedicated to people experiencing chronic homelessness coming through -- the system. We are very excited about this project. The schedule follows as we anticipate, we should see ground breaking some time in the summer of 2021 with leasing in late 2022. This will of course provide this -- authorizing the launch of the inaugural program of our local housing vouch sore this will provide an ongoing annual operating subsidy for this project, the annual amount is $650,000. We have a three-year contract for a total of 1.95 million, and we will bring it back every few years to hafc corporation [3:36:14 PM] provided funding is available for continuing of that contract. >> I am happy to answer any questions. I offer -- >> Mayor Adler: Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? Councilmember Casar makes the motion. Is there a second? Councilmember Ellis seconds. Any discussion? Councilmember Casar. >> Casar: Mayor this this is another one that can just go on consent because it is such good work by our staff and I am sure support of the dais but a lot of work over time. I want to thank everyone on council and the councils before us for adding money to the housing trust fund. I know that has been something councilmember tovo has worked on for quite some time which supports a number of our programs, including kicking off a local housing voucher which I think we should all be proud of and for it to serve folks experiencing homelessness and addressing that very high priority for us is so important [3:37:15 PM] and I am excited it will be providing over 100 permanent supportive homes in district 4. We know what we need, we know we need to do so much more of this. Go through construction projects like this with one the housing voucher and through the hotel motel strategy I really appreciate the folks in the nearby community embracing this as we see that happen all across the city for this to be successful but really hats off to everyone and hats off to sparrow group. I have high expectations for this I think and expect will be met and we are really stepping up in a way where we saw the federal government recede on housing vouchers and public housing decades before this. I think stepping up in this way will start correcting a lot of what we have seen and it is a critical part of ending homelessness. Thank you, everybody for your work on this. >> Mayor Adler: Okay. [3:38:15 PM] Let's take a vote on the con subsequent agenda. So did we do that already? Those in favor raise your hand. Those opposed. Unanimous among the directors. >> Thank you so much. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you, Mandy, that's the end of our agenda. I adjourn the meeting of the Austin housing finance corporation here at 3:38 on December 3rd, 2020.