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In response to Council Member Claire's questions, Housing Coordinator Jones- Thomas said the additional $100,000 recommended for the Landbanking for Permanent Housing program represented the amount remaining after the Committee allocated funds to requesting agencies. She said the Committee decided "to make a contribution to affordable housing because that was one of the issues that all of the non-profits who came before them said was the Number One barrier they had to overcome in terms of helping people.... Part of the reason that amount was left over was because there was an overabundance of requests for public service projects, and that amount is limited, but there were not enough requests for capital projects." She said the same situation existed with the funding for Shelter Network, Family House Transitional Housing on Locust. In response to Vice Mayor Ruskin's questions, Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said accessibility improvements of course stay with the house when a tenant vacates, but the owner is encouraged to make that unit available to another disabled person. Vice Mayor Ruskin discussed how the Council could provide more money for the Assistance to Seniors at Risk of Being Homeless program which had been allotted $18,250 in the Committee's recommendations without overriding those recommendations. Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said that the Committee and staff had put together an RFP asking local non-profits what was the best way to use the $18,250 in serving the targeted population, and what specific services the non-profit could provide for all or part of that $18,250. She said none of the money would be spent on consultant services. She said the only response so far was from La Raza Centro Legal. In response to Council Member Ira's questions regarding the left over funds that went into the Landbanking Fund, Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said that when "the Council approves the plan, the City is obligated to tell the Federal Government how you will use those funds, based on the priorities that are set. There is no leeway for contingency funds or unallocated funds at the time you submit a plan. The committee decided that the Landbanking activity is where the funds should go in order to support housing." In response to questions regarding Priority No.4, Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said there had been discussions over the years about designing a new First Time Homebuyer Program trying to help people become residents of Redwood City. She said that Home Funds is an entitlement the City receives only when the Congressional appropriation is more than $4 Billion, which doesn't happen every year. She said that this year they did receive Home Funds and the Committee took the opportunity to set aside these funds as seed money to develop a larger program. In response to Council Member Leipzig's questions regarding general administration costs, Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas said $37,100 would support the administration of the Home Program, and the $150,000 listed represents on-going costs, and is a lower figure than requested last year. She said the statutory requirements state that the City can spend no more than 20% of its entitlements for administrative purposes. She said $150,800 represents 16% ofthat 20% that will be used to pay staff and overhead for administration of all of the Federal programs. She said the remaining 4%, $37,000 will go towards the Fair Housing Programs. REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTE BOOK NO. 56 MAY 11, 1998 MINUTES Page No. 458 PAGE 9