RecordingTranscript available
Brooklyn Park EDA 3/24/2025
Brooklyn Park City CouncilMonday, March 24, 2025
Watch on original sourceDocument Analysis
Analyze the transcript to extract topics, key quotes, people, and more — then generate focused stories for any topic.
Transcript
00:00:06.934 --> 00:00:11.734
We can go ahead and call the meeting to order so if we can 00:00:11.734 --> 00:00:15.533
have uh first roll call, and then I’ll read the opening
00:00:15.533 --> 00:00:17.133
statement on Interactive Technology, and then we’ll go
00:00:17.133 --> 00:00:20.467
into the uh meeting and this is going to be a meeting for the 00:00:20.467 --> 00:00:24.667
EDA. So I remind folks, this first meeting is going to be
00:00:24.667 --> 00:00:30.467
for the EDA. Commissioner McGarvey. Commissioner Page. 00:00:30.467 --> 00:00:36.867
Here Commissioner Tran. Commissioner Zhang.
00:00:36.867 --> 00:00:44.934
Commissioner Erikson. Commissioner Klonovsky. The 00:00:44.934 --> 00:00:48.133
absent President Winston. President Winston, you have a
00:00:48.133 --> 00:00:52.533
quorum. All right, so quickly, as previously noted, um, 00:00:52.533 --> 00:00:54.734
Council member Shelley Page of the city council will be
00:00:54.734 --> 00:00:57.467
participating in the special meeting by Interactive
00:00:57.467 --> 00:01:02.533
technology pursuant to Minnesota statute section 00:01:02.533 --> 00:01:05.367
13D.02 rather than in person at the city council special
00:01:05.367 --> 00:01:09.133
meeting place at City Hall, room 8203, 5208 5th Avenue
00:01:09.133 --> 00:01:13.734
North, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. I am physically present in City 00:01:13.734 --> 00:01:17.467
Hall room 8203 along with council members, Christian
00:01:17.467 --> 00:01:22.000
Eriksson, Maria Tran, Amanda, uh, Shenzhong, and Tony 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:26.533
McGarvey. All council members can hear one another and can
00:01:26.533 --> 00:01:32.400
hear all discussion and testimony. So if we want to go 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:40.500
ahead and head into approval of the agenda. The emotion Uh, 00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:50.734
commissioner Tran. Yeah, I want to put the, the item 4.6. We’re 00:01:50.734 --> 00:01:55.400
not in that. We’re, yeah, we’re not in that meeting yet. We’re
00:01:55.400 --> 00:01:59.367
we’re on as, as stated earlier, we’re on the EDA meeting. Sorry.
00:01:59.367 --> 00:02:09.100
Do we need to open with the pledge of allegiance and roll 00:02:09.100 --> 00:02:12.634
call. No, not for, not for EDA. We do for the council, regular 00:02:12.634 --> 00:02:16.767
council meeting. Got it. Thank you. So is there a motion? OK,
00:02:16.767 --> 00:02:21.000
motion was made by Commissioner McGarvey. Is there a second? 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:23.667
All right, seconded by Council member Erickson, all those in
00:02:23.667 --> 00:02:28.467
favor say aye, aye. Are there any nays, any abstentions? All
00:02:28.467 --> 00:02:39.133
right, the motion passes, uh. 620. Um, All right, so we’ll 00:02:39.133 --> 00:02:43.467
next move into public involvement for uh form of uh 00:02:43.467 --> 00:02:47.767
part of the agenda. So I guess we’ll wait for, let’s see, is
00:02:47.767 --> 00:02:56.266
here. Oh, you’re up there, sorry. Uh, is there a response 00:02:56.266 --> 00:02:59.000
to prior public comment, Mr. President, Mr. Mayor, we don’t
00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:01.166
have anything tonight because this is a short turnaround from 00:03:01.166 --> 00:03:04.400
the last meeting of the special EDA meeting so we don’t have
00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:09.367
any response tonight. So, uh, folks who would like to make
00:03:09.367 --> 00:03:21.500
comments if. If you could turn that in. Cause I’ve only 00:03:21.500 --> 00:03:31.000
received one thus far, so. Thank you. OK, so I know we had 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:33.233
this person and I should have picked up the last name, but if
00:03:33.233 --> 00:03:39.000
you could limit it to 3 minutes and we have Laha, uh, The
00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:43.734
sharing? All right. Um, I’m gonna let you get your own last 00:03:43.734 --> 00:03:49.100
name but um uh if you wanted to go ahead and Make your comment.
00:03:49.100 --> 00:03:52.300
Uh, you want to go up there to where the microphone is and 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:57.133
limit it to 3 minutes, state name, address, and then, um,
00:03:57.133 --> 00:04:03.500
Make your comments for about 3 minutes. And if we get a ton of 00:04:03.500 --> 00:04:05.300
these coming in, we’re, we’re gonna end up limiting it, but
00:04:05.300 --> 00:04:16.867
for now, it seems like, uh, 3 minutes, so thank you. OK, um. 00:04:16.867 --> 00:04:21.300
Laha Perkins Hankton, um, I met, uh, 5 Building 5817 in 00:04:21.300 --> 00:04:28.100
Huntington Place. Apartment 36. And um. I guess I’m just
00:04:28.100 --> 00:04:32.934
speaking on behalf of the letter that um all of the 00:04:32.934 --> 00:04:38.200
tenants have gone around and signed, um, that they just have
00:04:38.200 --> 00:04:43.033
some questions about, um, what some of the options would be, 00:04:43.033 --> 00:04:47.367
um, if the property does go into foreclosure if they will
00:04:47.367 --> 00:04:53.467
receive assistance in moving. Um Because the loan is in 00:04:53.467 --> 00:04:57.533
default. Is there any way that, um, any of the monies that has
00:04:57.533 --> 00:05:01.867
been paid since the tenants are paying, uh, their rent now, um, 00:05:01.867 --> 00:05:07.634
if any of the money could be put aside. Um, and we can make
00:05:07.634 --> 00:05:10.634
maybe some other decisions on what happens, um, with those 00:05:10.634 --> 00:05:19.834
funds. Um And then, uh, if the property is purchased, um, if,
00:05:19.834 --> 00:05:24.166
if there’s a way to limit the screening process that happens, 00:05:24.166 --> 00:05:27.867
um, I guess these are just questions that everyone has had,
00:05:27.867 --> 00:05:30.667
um, since we’ve been knocking on doors and just asking where 00:05:30.667 --> 00:05:36.400
everyone is at, um. With the purchasing of the property, um.
00:05:36.400 --> 00:05:40.133
But I had a lot of questions answered last time, um, and 00:05:40.133 --> 00:05:44.400
what the options were about moving, so I would just say. Uh,
00:05:44.400 --> 00:05:47.734
just reinforce those details so that everyone knows. Um, where,
00:05:47.734 --> 00:05:54.166
you know, where they stand. Um, on the foreclosure. Um But I 00:05:54.166 --> 00:05:57.800
think there are some people here listening today. about
00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:01.667
your guys’ input and what you have to say. That’s all I’ll 00:06:01.667 --> 00:06:20.166
say. All right, thank you. Next we have, uh, Denise Butler. 00:06:20.166 --> 00:06:24.467
Good evening, everyone. Uh, Denise Butler here. I’ve been
00:06:24.467 --> 00:06:29.266
living in Brooklyn Park since 1992. On a couple properties
00:06:29.266 --> 00:06:34.300
here in the city. Um, Mayor council members, um, I’m here 00:06:34.300 --> 00:06:39.000
to support the residents at Huntington. I am also the
00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:43.133
associate director at Acer, but more so standing here today as 00:06:43.133 --> 00:06:47.634
a a resident and a neighbor in solidarity with my neighbors
00:06:47.634 --> 00:06:52.266
here at Huntington. Um, I’m in the West District, so I’m 00:06:52.266 --> 00:06:54.033
walking distance from Huntington, um, in the town
00:06:54.033 --> 00:07:00.800
homes, um. In Brooklyn Park. And so I’ve been here from The 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:04.133
last time we was here, right? And so we asked for a lot of
00:07:04.133 --> 00:07:08.400
stuff. And today we’re here to listen to the demands of the
00:07:08.400 --> 00:07:10.867
tenants. They’ve been consistent, they’ve been 00:07:10.867 --> 00:07:13.166
organized, they’ve been showing up and they’ve been speaking up
00:07:13.166 --> 00:07:15.767
and they’ve been making sure their voices have been heard,
00:07:15.767 --> 00:07:19.133
so there’s no excuses to say, oh, where are they? They didn’t
00:07:19.133 --> 00:07:22.667
come, they didn’t speak, right? So we’re gonna throw that out 00:07:22.667 --> 00:07:26.934
the window today. And then secondly, they have a list of
00:07:26.934 --> 00:07:29.734
demands that they understand their council has tax dollars
00:07:29.734 --> 00:07:32.266
that are being leveraged in. this conversation and they’re 00:07:32.266 --> 00:07:35.533
really asking their city council representatives to
00:07:35.533 --> 00:07:39.200
utilize that leverage in the sale and say, hey, these are
00:07:39.200 --> 00:07:41.934
how our tenants want to be treated. These are how the 00:07:41.934 --> 00:07:46.800
tenants want to be involved, and they did a great job of
00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:50.400
finding the solutions and writing it down and putting it 00:07:50.400 --> 00:07:53.133
together and getting the support of their neighbors, and
00:07:53.133 --> 00:07:56.266
I think that respects the attention of this council and
00:07:56.266 --> 00:08:00.100
to the new owner, right? As you are moving into our community. 00:08:00.100 --> 00:08:03.266
We’re telling you what it looks like to be in our community and
00:08:03.266 --> 00:08:08.100
be in community with us, so you need to listen and our tax
00:08:08.100 --> 00:08:11.734
dollars were helping you to acquire this investment and so 00:08:11.734 --> 00:08:14.634
we should all be able to benefit from this, and I’m just
00:08:14.634 --> 00:08:18.867
here to champion the voices of the residents and kind of
00:08:18.867 --> 00:08:21.467
uplift everything they’ve already said. I don’t think I 00:08:21.467 --> 00:08:37.533
need to add any extra to that. Thank you. Next we’ve got uh 00:08:37.533 --> 00:08:59.400
Meta Gaines. Hello council members. I’m Tamita Gaines. I’m 00:08:59.400 --> 00:09:04.133
at um 5841, um, on the Huntington Place property and I 00:09:04.133 --> 00:09:07.367
basically just want to um reiterate some of the things
00:09:07.367 --> 00:09:12.133
that we um were demanding as the um residents, uh, we want 00:09:12.133 --> 00:09:16.033
to ensure the tenants have a seat at the table during all
00:09:16.033 --> 00:09:20.900
decision-making processes. Um, hold meetings to co-decide the 00:09:20.900 --> 00:09:25.634
next steps. Uh, we want to improve communication, uh,
00:09:25.634 --> 00:09:30.000
either it’s um, you know, mail, email, or other accessible 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:38.867
platforms. And the tenants want um. Yeah, assistance with uh
00:09:38.867 --> 00:09:43.634
refunds, relocation or whatever the decision is we want to make 00:09:43.634 --> 00:09:48.934
sure that our voices is being heard at every single step, so
00:09:48.934 --> 00:09:54.800
that we’re not like blindsided like most of us were during 00:09:54.800 --> 00:10:00.133
this process. Um, we also requested a transparency on 00:10:00.133 --> 00:10:05.934
actually where the rent money went, and also, um, I sent the
00:10:05.934 --> 00:10:08.233
requests for the remainder of the rent to be escrowed to make
00:10:08.233 --> 00:10:20.400
sure at least the mortgage is being paid. Thank you. So next 00:10:20.400 --> 00:10:40.800
we have Elizabeth Smith. Hi, my name is Liz Smith. And I’ve 00:10:40.800 --> 00:10:45.567
been a resident of Huntington Place since May 31st and I’m,
00:10:45.567 --> 00:10:48.133
I’m sorry, not to be rude because we bring it down lower,
00:10:48.133 --> 00:10:50.500
because if you don’t bring it down lower than the, they don’t 00:10:50.500 --> 00:10:53.233
pick it up and it’s not recorded, so this is just so we
00:10:53.233 --> 00:11:02.000
hear you. I can stand for a brief moment. Hi, my name is 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:05.800
Liz Smith, and I’ve been a resident of Huntington Place
00:11:05.800 --> 00:11:09.634
since May 31st of last year, and I plan on making this place
00:11:09.634 --> 00:11:13.834
my permanent residence. I’ve never been in a cleaner, safer, 00:11:13.834 --> 00:11:20.266
more sanitary environment. And I’m really frustrated that the 00:11:20.266 --> 00:11:23.467
possibility of displacement could be happening to all of us
00:11:23.467 --> 00:11:29.300
and I would be devastated if I was moved out of my home. I
00:11:29.300 --> 00:11:34.533
would be devastated as to I would lose everything I own. 00:11:34.533 --> 00:11:37.634
Everything I worked so hard to accomplish, to acquire, all for
00:11:37.634 --> 00:11:43.800
nothing. I have some backgrounds and security former 00:11:43.800 --> 00:11:48.767
before my accident. I could help train and advocate the
00:11:48.767 --> 00:11:52.266
neighbors to, you know, in a sort of a neighborhood watch. I 00:11:52.266 --> 00:11:56.834
also want to advocate to installing handicap accessible
00:11:56.834 --> 00:12:01.367
entries into our new complex, uh, into our complex, um, as to 00:12:01.367 --> 00:12:04.533
currently don’t have that, and I’m afraid to push the issue
00:12:04.533 --> 00:12:08.800
with Aon because I’m afraid this, they may displace me into
00:12:08.800 --> 00:12:12.100
another one of their locations to accommodate. And I don’t 00:12:12.100 --> 00:12:16.900
think that should be the case. As a concerned citizen and a
00:12:16.900 --> 00:12:20.033
concerned neighbor. I only want the best for our community. 00:12:20.033 --> 00:12:23.200
I’ve grown fond of this place and I don’t want to lose it.
00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:28.634
That’s all I have to say. I I am in 5809 at Huntington Place.
00:12:28.634 --> 00:12:48.266
Thank you. Does anybody else want to speak because I’m 00:12:48.266 --> 00:12:57.934
seeing another blue form. It is. From. OK. As we have to calla 00:12:57.934 --> 00:13:01.634
Cochran. Thank you. Good evening, Mayor and council. Um, 00:13:01.634 --> 00:13:05.033
first of all I wanna thank you, the brave residents of
00:13:05.033 --> 00:13:07.500
Huntington for coming here and doing this. I’ve been in your
00:13:07.500 --> 00:13:11.367
shoes. I know what it’s like. Um, I thank you, Acer, for 00:13:11.367 --> 00:13:14.200
being there and, and putting, helping them come together
00:13:14.200 --> 00:13:17.367
because I know that this is huge. I ask that the council
00:13:17.367 --> 00:13:20.367
really listen to the residents speaking from a person who’s 00:13:20.367 --> 00:13:23.000
been in their shoes. It’s really important that you guys
00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:26.900
are here to listen and support them. Um, as far as ongoing
00:13:26.900 --> 00:13:32.734
things, as far as the lack of um accessibility for people 00:13:32.734 --> 00:13:36.400
with disabled, um, things going on. I really want to see our
00:13:36.400 --> 00:13:39.734
new owners have that in there. I remember a time where there
00:13:39.734 --> 00:13:43.266
was a man. And he was in a wheelchair and he lived on the 00:13:43.266 --> 00:13:46.634
3rd floor, and when the heat went out, people had to help
00:13:46.634 --> 00:13:49.367
him downstairs. We don’t want our residents in those
00:13:49.367 --> 00:13:52.400
situations. But again, I just wanted to say that I support 00:13:52.400 --> 00:13:56.767
all of you. Um, I support the city and I would really like to
00:13:56.767 --> 00:13:59.634
see the residents be supported. It means a lot to me. Thank you.
00:13:59.634 --> 00:14:12.166
Alright, so, um, thank you all for your comments, uh, Director 00:14:21.934 --> 00:14:24.500
request, so just to clarify I think Director Gladhill will
00:14:24.500 --> 00:14:28.233
probably do a good job of this, but to clarify, this is a
00:14:28.233 --> 00:14:30.800
discussion about whether we’re going to forgive the loan. If 00:14:30.800 --> 00:14:34.634
we don’t forgive the loan, what direction do we go in? But this
00:14:34.634 --> 00:14:37.200
is not dollars that are sitting on the table that we can just
00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:41.166
put into another bucket. These are dollars that were given to 00:14:41.166 --> 00:14:46.367
Aon, uh, and those dollars have been spent. Now, as with
00:14:46.367 --> 00:14:48.467
regards to transparency in terms of those dollars. I think
00:14:48.467 --> 00:14:50.734
we can help with some of that information, but I think Ann 00:14:50.734 --> 00:14:53.800
would be the people he’d want to reach out to to figure out
00:14:53.800 --> 00:14:56.133
not only how they spent those dollars, but some other dollars
00:14:56.133 --> 00:15:01.734
that we went to the state and we procured for, but again, The 00:15:01.734 --> 00:15:04.500
discussion is not about actual 4.5 or whatever the number is,
00:15:04.500 --> 00:15:07.100
a million dollars that are on the table that are sitting here
00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:09.834
that we can use for different, that’s not the discussion.
00:15:09.834 --> 00:15:14.200
Discussion is whether we forgive that or, um, what, what 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:17.266
direction we go the other piece is that it’s not simply about
00:15:17.266 --> 00:15:20.500
forgiving a loan. People will oversimplify it. This is about, 00:15:20.500 --> 00:15:23.667
there’s somebody that wants to come in, that wants to buy at a
00:15:23.667 --> 00:15:26.367
particular loca that that wants to buy Huntington Place, right,
00:15:26.367 --> 00:15:30.300
where y’all live. So I understand the concern, and 00:15:30.300 --> 00:15:31.834
generally when folks come in they say, look, I want an
00:15:31.834 --> 00:15:35.100
unencumbered. I don’t want to come in in 0 $4.5 million so
00:15:35.100 --> 00:15:38.634
they’re asking for this to be them and the lender are asking
00:15:38.634 --> 00:15:44.000
for this to be, uh, forgiven. So that is about what much of 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:47.734
this discussion is, is that, right? So as far as leverage,
00:15:47.734 --> 00:15:52.000
You can look at it from several different angles, uh, but it is 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:55.934
not about $4.5 million cash that we can put into a specific
00:15:55.934 --> 00:15:58.934
account, and then people can use that for what they wish to
00:15:58.934 --> 00:16:01.133
use for. That is not the discussion here today and I 00:16:01.133 --> 00:16:05.900
just want to clarify that for folks. So director, Excuse me,
00:16:05.900 --> 00:16:10.100
uh, director. Uh, Gladhill, thank you. Yes, thank you, Mr. 00:16:10.100 --> 00:16:14.867
Mayor, Mr. President, members of the EDA, um, I’m not gonna
00:16:14.867 --> 00:16:17.533
do the full presentation that was provided at the last EDA
00:16:17.533 --> 00:16:20.734
meeting, uh, so I encourage those, uh, tenants, those 00:16:20.734 --> 00:16:23.634
residents that are interested in a very detailed background
00:16:23.634 --> 00:16:27.367
to go back and look at that uh video. We also know that coming
00:16:27.367 --> 00:16:31.166
out of this decision will start our engagement process, and we 00:16:31.166 --> 00:16:35.834
do plan to get into Huntington plays, maybe use Zane with Teen
00:16:35.834 --> 00:16:39.133
Center as a, a spot to start to talk about where do we go from
00:16:39.133 --> 00:16:42.300
here? how do we best help the residents whether they stay at 00:16:42.300 --> 00:16:46.000
Huntington or need to look for additional housing, uh, so the
00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:49.200
dis the discussion does not end today. There is quite a bit of
00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:52.300
discussion and support, we will provide moving forward 00:16:52.300 --> 00:16:55.734
regardless of what decision is made here today. Uh, the mayor
00:16:55.734 --> 00:16:58.200
laid this out pretty well. Um, I’ll just phrase it a little
00:16:58.200 --> 00:17:01.400
bit differently in terms of what’s in scope today. It’s 00:17:01.400 --> 00:17:04.634
about that EDA loan, um, and trying to come up with a
00:17:04.634 --> 00:17:08.367
settlement offer on the primary lender, uh, for Ann at
00:17:08.367 --> 00:17:12.233
Huntington Place. Uh, we are not here to decide who buys the 00:17:12.233 --> 00:17:14.734
property. We’re not here because we don’t have the
00:17:14.734 --> 00:17:18.000
leverage, the opportunity to add additional performance
00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:22.200
standards, um, and we’re not prepared or able to legally 00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:24.634
talk about different ownership options. We can talk about that
00:17:24.634 --> 00:17:29.667
after. this decision, so we don’t lose the opportunity to
00:17:29.667 --> 00:17:31.900
get something back versus 0, which I’ll talk about in a 00:17:31.900 --> 00:17:35.767
minute. Um, if we continue to delay action on our loan
00:17:35.767 --> 00:17:41.367
forgiveness. Um We’ve had the slide since the first 00:17:41.367 --> 00:17:45.367
presentation we’ve added to it a little bit over time, um, but
00:17:45.367 --> 00:17:49.100
our primary priority really is limiting displacement of those
00:17:49.100 --> 00:17:52.133
existing tenants, uh, while also protecting the EDA 00:17:52.133 --> 00:17:56.000
investment we’ve already made into the property as well. Some
00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:58.734
of the outcomes might seem a little bit, uh, different and
00:17:58.734 --> 00:18:02.266
maybe it doesn’t seem on the face of it like our goal is 00:18:02.266 --> 00:18:04.467
limiting displacement of existing tenants, but after
00:18:04.467 --> 00:18:08.266
quite a bit of review, I can promise you that really is the
00:18:08.266 --> 00:18:10.800
number one goal. can’t promise that there will be no 00:18:10.800 --> 00:18:13.533
displacement, but we are working very hard, uh, to limit
00:18:13.533 --> 00:18:18.100
that, um, as we move forward. On this slide, we’ve really
00:18:18.100 --> 00:18:22.533
taken 4 or 5 options and brought it down to 2 based off 00:18:22.533 --> 00:18:25.800
of EDA direction at our last meeting. Uh, the two
00:18:25.800 --> 00:18:28.900
alternatives are really this, it’s forgive the loan, um,
00:18:28.900 --> 00:18:33.367
which at this point with interest is $3.8 million in 00:18:33.367 --> 00:18:41.200
exchange, the primary lender has offered a settlement of 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:45.266
$450,000 plus and has offered access to a $4 million federal
00:18:45.266 --> 00:18:49.200
grant, uh, that It was really intended to transform
00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:51.934
Huntington Place, um, we have a wide variety of options of what 00:18:51.934 --> 00:18:56.200
that might look like. Um, we feel that a path forward is
00:18:56.200 --> 00:18:59.467
directing that to Zane Wood Teen Center, which is directly
00:18:59.467 --> 00:19:03.367
adjacent to and connected to Huntington Place as a community 00:19:03.367 --> 00:19:08.000
amenity, uh, for, uh, Huntington Place itself. Now,
00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.867
when we think about $450,000 compared to a $3.8 million 00:19:12.867 --> 00:19:15.000
dollar loan, uh, that doesn’t seem like a good deal, and
00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:18.734
that’s true that it’s not, however, The reality is, um,
00:19:18.734 --> 00:19:22.400
the primary lender is taking a $50 million loss on this 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:26.100
property, due to a variety of factors, uh, the value has
00:19:26.100 --> 00:19:30.400
dropped, um, the project is not cash flowing, so there are no 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:34.100
true proceeds that net proceeds at time of sale to be able to
00:19:34.100 --> 00:19:38.367
pay back the loan. We are 3rd in line. There’s a primary loan,
00:19:38.367 --> 00:19:41.100
a secondary loan, and then we’re a third, so there has to 00:19:41.100 --> 00:19:45.266
be enough proceeds to pay back the two primary loans before we
00:19:45.266 --> 00:19:49.533
would have anything here, so in that context, at least we were
00:19:49.533 --> 00:19:52.900
able to negotiate something between these, this $450,000 00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:57.166
and the $4 million grant. Um, and then because of some of the
00:19:57.166 --> 00:19:59.734
conversation we heard here today, we think it is fair to
00:19:59.734 --> 00:20:03.400
ask for both, which is more than the balance remaining on 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:06.800
the loan, um, but things have changed and there is going to
00:20:06.800 --> 00:20:09.300
be a higher level of displacement than what we
00:20:09.300 --> 00:20:14.133
expected, uh, when we first had negotiations with Anon. So 00:20:14.133 --> 00:20:18.867
here’s a little bit of the mechanics again,, $450,000 cash
00:20:18.867 --> 00:20:23.133
settlement, access to the $4 million loan and that those are 00:20:23.133 --> 00:20:26.867
contingent, so if either of those doesn’t happen, the loan
00:20:26.867 --> 00:20:29.533
forgiveness does not move forward, and we have to come
00:20:29.533 --> 00:20:33.000
back and consider another offer. There’s no guarantee that NEF, 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:36.000
National Equity Fund, the primary lender, is going to
00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:40.200
accept that offer. We had some conversations earlier today. Uh, 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:43.467
they’re not super excited about that, but I said, this is,
00:20:43.467 --> 00:20:47.367
seems to be our best offer. have out here today. What this
00:20:47.367 --> 00:20:50.400
means to Huntington Place is that it is likely to sell to 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:54.133
mass capital group out of New Jersey, and we know the
00:20:54.133 --> 00:21:00.634
proposed plans are investing up to $18 million remaining 834 00:21:00.634 --> 00:21:03.800
one-bedroom units. There are affordability protections that
00:21:03.800 --> 00:21:09.100
remain in our restrictive covenants. Um, that still might
00:21:09.100 --> 00:21:13.734
lead to an increase of from 900 to 950 to about $1100 per month. 00:21:13.734 --> 00:21:18.734
Um, and so there are some rent increases coming. If you have
00:21:18.734 --> 00:21:22.000
section 8 rent vouchers, your rent is still capped at that 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:27.767
30% of your income. We do know that mass capital plans to uh
00:21:27.767 --> 00:21:31.100
make each individual um lease reapply at the end of their 00:21:31.100 --> 00:21:34.233
lease, and then you would be moved to a newly renovated unit,
00:21:34.233 --> 00:21:38.400
and there would be new tenant screening criteria. In the
00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:41.000
letter you got from tenants, there was a lot of talk about 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:45.400
no displacement, no rescreening, uh, we would have to amend
00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:48.834
certain ordinances. Uh, we don’t have a no displacement
00:21:48.834 --> 00:21:51.834
ordinance right now. We have a tenant notification ordinance, 00:21:51.834 --> 00:21:55.533
so legally we can’t tell this buyer. not to re-screen, um, we
00:21:55.533 --> 00:21:59.634
can try to do the best we can to just uh minimize those
00:21:59.634 --> 00:22:04.667
impacts. Um, and this does not preclude, I would say that if 00:22:04.667 --> 00:22:07.867
we move forward with this, there is also the conversation
00:22:07.867 --> 00:22:11.000
from the tenants about, um, purchase as a cooperative type 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:14.800
of housing, maybe there’s a, a land bank that is an
00:22:14.800 --> 00:22:17.867
intermediary. Um, it doesn’t preclude those conversations,
00:22:17.867 --> 00:22:21.133
but those conversations really aren’t with the city. We can’t 00:22:21.133 --> 00:22:23.800
require that, but if the tenants with our support want
00:22:23.800 --> 00:22:28.100
to try to negotiate that with Aon and their lender, we could
00:22:28.100 --> 00:22:32.500
still do that even coming out of tonight. So then in terms of 00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:36.166
what happens if we don’t forgive the loan. So instead of
00:22:36.166 --> 00:22:41.533
getting that cash value of $4.45 million on the current 00:22:41.533 --> 00:22:45.200
settlement offer, we would get 0, so we would no longer likely
00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.734
have access to that 4.45 million. Can’t say that it
00:22:48.734 --> 00:22:51.800
won’t come back, but it’s highly unlikely in discussions 00:22:51.800 --> 00:22:54.800
with the lender that we would. At that point, the buyer
00:22:54.800 --> 00:22:57.634
becomes unclear. It’s likely that I’ll go into foreclosure
00:22:57.634 --> 00:23:00.900
in that process, it still might get sold to Mass capital. It 00:23:00.900 --> 00:23:04.100
might get sold. to someone else, which might do better, might do
00:23:04.100 --> 00:23:08.133
worse, uh, than the current proposal. So a lot of
00:23:08.133 --> 00:23:11.867
uncertainty that could come if we don’t help forgive the loan. 00:23:11.867 --> 00:23:15.100
Like you would continue to remain as 834 1 bedroom units,
00:23:15.100 --> 00:23:19.000
at least in the short term. We’ve had lots of conversations
00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:22.500
about mixing income or having some percentage of market rate, 00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:25.200
adding some 2 to 3 bedrooms. Uh, right now, that’s not on the
00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:28.100
table, but we’re hopeful in future iterations that we can
00:23:28.100 --> 00:23:33.133
get, uh, to that point. And There’s still risk in the other 00:23:33.133 --> 00:23:35.867
option. There is significant risk in this option, which
00:23:35.867 --> 00:23:39.000
would be not to forgive the loan. We’ve looked at a lot of
00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:41.867
options. I put these out here again just for the record, um, 00:23:41.867 --> 00:23:44.934
a lot of different discussions we’re having since our last
00:23:44.934 --> 00:23:48.200
meeting we have had conversations with Hennepin
00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:52.467
County in Minnesota housing. There are some future uh cycles 00:23:52.467 --> 00:23:54.567
of funding opportunities that perhaps we could up that
00:23:54.567 --> 00:23:58.367
investment, um, above and beyond the $18 million that is
00:23:58.367 --> 00:24:02.100
currently there. No promises, that’s a competitive process. 00:24:02.100 --> 00:24:04.667
There’s more needs than dollars that the state and the county
00:24:04.667 --> 00:24:07.634
have, um, but we’ll continue to go after those competitive
00:24:07.634 --> 00:24:11.734
funds. It’s a little bit on, you know, potential future 00:24:11.734 --> 00:24:14.000
vision, so a lot of conversation again about mixed
00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:19.133
income, 2 to 3 bedrooms, uh, we also have to pay close
00:24:19.133 --> 00:24:23.400
attention to the state, county and federal grants, um, some of 00:24:23.400 --> 00:24:26.634
those might restrict how much market rate housing we can
00:24:26.634 --> 00:24:29.300
provide there again that’ll be part of our future discussions,
00:24:29.300 --> 00:24:33.100
but the question I posed to you all is the transfer to mass 00:24:33.100 --> 00:24:35.834
capital, is that at least a step in the right direction
00:24:35.834 --> 00:24:38.834
that allows it to cash flow better, that maybe in future
00:24:38.834 --> 00:24:42.634
years we can start. to bring in market rate and maybe convert 00:24:42.634 --> 00:24:48.166
some of the units to 2 to 3 bedrooms. And for the residents
00:24:48.166 --> 00:24:51.133
itself, um, we do have these flyers, um, we can get some 00:24:51.133 --> 00:24:54.533
more available for you if needed. Uh, we are here as a
00:24:54.533 --> 00:24:58.767
safety net. Uh, we have these existing renter resources that
00:24:58.767 --> 00:25:02.467
can help you either stay, uh, some free legal advice if we 00:25:02.467 --> 00:25:06.734
need some relocation. Uh, this is your tool that we can tap
00:25:06.734 --> 00:25:10.934
you in with. Um, we’re happy to answer those questions as we go, 00:25:10.934 --> 00:25:14.133
um, as well, and we’ll start to do some more community
00:25:14.133 --> 00:25:17.467
engagement, housing fairs after um a final. decision is made
00:25:17.467 --> 00:25:21.233
about who is going to purchase mass capital. Uh, so this is 00:25:21.233 --> 00:25:23.834
again, not the end of the conversation. We do have a good
00:25:23.834 --> 00:25:26.867
safety net for you all. Uh, we’d be more than happy to
00:25:26.867 --> 00:25:29.166
connect you with those resources and be a partner with
00:25:29.166 --> 00:25:33.867
you. So again, our decision here tonight is really all 00:25:33.867 --> 00:25:37.634
about the EDA alone. It’s not about some of these other
00:25:37.634 --> 00:25:39.367
opportunities that we can continue to discuss, but we
00:25:39.367 --> 00:25:43.000
need to make a decision on the loan in the, the near future. 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:46.834
At some point, the lender who hasn’t been paid since
00:25:46.834 --> 00:25:50.467
September of 2021 is going to initiate foreclosure 00:25:50.467 --> 00:25:53.767
proceedings which might reduce the protections to the tenants
00:25:53.767 --> 00:25:57.100
that exist today. So with that, I am happy to stand for any
00:25:57.100 --> 00:26:05.100
questions. So, I will say this, I’ll make a brief comment, and 00:26:05.100 --> 00:26:08.133
I’ll go to some of the questions, um, well, I’ll ask
00:26:08.133 --> 00:26:11.500
one question before we start. When, when did it come across 00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:16.800
our desk as a city that, um, Mass capital was considering
00:26:16.800 --> 00:26:21.367
buying this property. buying Huntington Place. When we were 00:26:21.367 --> 00:26:24.634
aware that they were considered that they were considering. It
00:26:24.634 --> 00:26:30.100
was September, October of last year. OK. So we have known and 00:26:30.100 --> 00:26:33.300
Ann is telling us that they communicated with residents in
00:26:33.300 --> 00:26:35.367
October, September or October to make them aware of this as
00:26:35.367 --> 00:26:41.734
well. Yeah, when I, when I, when I’m asking folks to speak, 00:26:41.734 --> 00:26:43.800
then we’ll give you a chance to speak, but if you could just
00:26:43.800 --> 00:26:47.300
respect the decorum of the council be very much
00:26:47.300 --> 00:26:51.367
appreciated. Um, So what were you saying? Yeah, so there, 00:26:51.367 --> 00:26:54.100
there was some tenant meetings, I’ll be at, at least the first
00:26:54.100 --> 00:26:56.767
one did not have adequate notice, and then the city
00:26:56.767 --> 00:27:01.000
stepped in and held a meeting on site a few weeks later. Um, 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:04.667
so there were some meetings that were hosted, um, obviously
00:27:04.667 --> 00:27:08.000
we had intended on continuing those conversations. We were
00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:12.133
also asked in late September to make a decision by end of 00:27:12.133 --> 00:27:14.800
October and just kind of slid by one month increments. We
00:27:14.800 --> 00:27:17.467
didn’t realize we were going to have this amount of time coming
00:27:17.467 --> 00:27:19.100
there and then we got in this position of we need to
00:27:19.100 --> 00:27:22.400
Understand what’s actually on the table for consideration and 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:24.734
our engagement was, I always planned to come after this
00:27:24.734 --> 00:27:27.300
decision. We thought it was going to come sooner, um, but
00:27:27.300 --> 00:27:30.834
it kept sliding out, but we are at this point here today, and I 00:27:30.834 --> 00:27:35.100
think some of this timeline, so residents weren’t made aware
00:27:35.100 --> 00:27:38.367
now whether all residents were aware that’s, that wasn’t the
00:27:38.367 --> 00:27:42.000
question. But residents were made aware September, 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:44.800
October-ish, and I do believe that part of this being pushed
00:27:44.800 --> 00:27:48.300
back has been because of the questions that Brooklyn Park
00:27:48.300 --> 00:27:52.667
has been asking to more time and more understanding. So in 00:27:52.667 --> 00:27:57.634
terms of people uh engaging, uh, the city folks have had since
00:27:57.634 --> 00:28:01.266
September, October to do that, uh, and to bring much of this 00:28:01.266 --> 00:28:04.934
input forward. Um, nevertheless, uh, what I would say is this
00:28:04.934 --> 00:28:10.867
the thing that concerns me the most, and I, I, I, uh. want to 00:28:10.867 --> 00:28:14.800
give it a fair picture of what the city. Uh, is struggling
00:28:14.800 --> 00:28:18.367
with because it’s not just your voices that we’re hearing from,
00:28:18.367 --> 00:28:20.934
uh, even though those I think are extremely incredibly 00:28:20.934 --> 00:28:23.133
important voices when it comes to this, and I’ve made my
00:28:23.133 --> 00:28:25.767
thoughts known about that, even before I got into the office,
00:28:25.767 --> 00:28:30.133
how important Huntington Place is to the city. Um. But the 00:28:30.133 --> 00:28:33.266
thing that concerns me the most is, uh, the displacement, and I
00:28:33.266 --> 00:28:36.500
think the city has said that’s important to us as well. But I
00:28:36.500 --> 00:28:40.934
am also concerned about a worst case scenario, uh, and that is 00:28:40.934 --> 00:28:44.634
the leverage that they have against us is if we move
00:28:44.634 --> 00:28:47.767
quickly, uh, and this, and the bank says, look, we haven’t
00:28:47.767 --> 00:28:50.500
been getting paid since 2021 on this thing. We haven’t been 00:28:50.500 --> 00:28:54.133
making any money, we’ve been losing. We’re done waiting.
00:28:54.133 --> 00:28:57.934
Then it goes into foreclosure. Somebody who buys it for
00:28:57.934 --> 00:29:00.533
cheaper, maybe the covenants that are sitting at it that 00:29:00.533 --> 00:29:02.767
allow it to be affordable or effected, and then they go on a
00:29:02.767 --> 00:29:06.467
very different direction. That can mean extreme. I don’t want
00:29:06.467 --> 00:29:08.100
to say displacement anymore. I’m tired of displacement,
00:29:08.100 --> 00:29:10.467
right? That could mean folks just can’t live there no more. 00:29:10.467 --> 00:29:14.467
They gotta move. Right? We use this word displacement. It
00:29:14.467 --> 00:29:16.634
separates us from what’s really happening, right? So let’s be
00:29:16.634 --> 00:29:20.800
honest, folks may have to move, um, some folks may struggle 00:29:20.800 --> 00:29:23.467
with homelessness, some folks may struggle with some other
00:29:23.467 --> 00:29:26.467
issues. It’s just called a spade a spade, right? That’s
00:29:26.467 --> 00:29:30.367
the Major concern that we are dealing with as a city. And 00:29:30.367 --> 00:29:33.634
that is the leverage they have, the, the bank is saying, look,
00:29:33.634 --> 00:29:37.867
we ain’t been paid, uh, being owns owns this, but Ann owes us
00:29:37.867 --> 00:29:40.567
some money on this big money on this, we’re not getting paid. 00:29:40.567 --> 00:29:43.734
We wanted to, we’re ready to just move on this thing. So
00:29:43.734 --> 00:29:47.033
that’s the leverage there. The 4.5 million offers some
00:29:47.033 --> 00:29:50.867
leverage in terms of us saying, well, we want to be because 00:29:50.867 --> 00:29:53.367
Mass Capital wants to buy it or other buyers want to buy it
00:29:53.367 --> 00:29:56.667
unencumbered so we can have some of these discussions, but
00:29:56.667 --> 00:29:58.734
the very real reality we I think we’re trying to do as
00:29:58.734 --> 00:30:02.934
we’re saying, we’re trying to limit displacement. Um, and at 00:30:02.934 --> 00:30:07.500
the same time, we’re trying to help other residents understand.
00:30:07.500 --> 00:30:12.033
The severity of what’s going on in Huntington Place, and that, 00:30:12.033 --> 00:30:15.367
uh, just because you don’t live there doesn’t mean it doesn’t
00:30:15.367 --> 00:30:17.367
matter because we have some people saying, well, we’ll let
00:30:17.367 --> 00:30:20.033
it go into foreclosure, let’s see what happens. And that’s 00:30:20.033 --> 00:30:23.200
not something that I think the majority of the council was
00:30:23.200 --> 00:30:25.400
really ready to consider. And so while we have this
00:30:25.400 --> 00:30:32.867
conversation, I would really ask residents, um, Listen to 00:30:32.867 --> 00:30:38.734
how we as a council are talking about this. Listen to who is
00:30:38.734 --> 00:30:40.934
concerned about displacement, who was concerned about living 00:30:40.934 --> 00:30:42.934
conditions because someone said this is the cleanest place
00:30:42.934 --> 00:30:46.834
they’ve lived, and, and I I’ve, I’ve walked in and some of
00:30:46.834 --> 00:30:49.467
y’all have seen me walk the halls in Huntington Place. And
00:30:49.467 --> 00:30:51.634
I know the reality of Huntington Places, I would 00:30:51.634 --> 00:30:54.734
severely disagree with you and I would disagree that anybody
00:30:54.734 --> 00:30:58.734
des deserves to live in those particular conditions, um, the,
00:30:58.734 --> 00:31:01.634
the yard where there’s dog dew and all that stuff out there. 00:31:01.634 --> 00:31:05.500
The pests, the mold, the asbestos, um, I would, I would
00:31:05.500 --> 00:31:08.634
be hard pressed to say that I would put my grandmother, my
00:31:08.634 --> 00:31:12.367
mother, my daughters, my son, my father, the people I love, 00:31:12.367 --> 00:31:15.467
cousins, I’d be hard pressed to say that that would be my
00:31:15.467 --> 00:31:18.300
Preference that they live in conditions like that. So have
00:31:18.300 --> 00:31:20.800
an understanding or pay attention to how folks are 00:31:20.800 --> 00:31:23.100
speaking about this and how they’re taking this to a
00:31:23.100 --> 00:31:26.266
concern because it’s, it’s not, we’re not being given many good
00:31:26.266 --> 00:31:33.100
choices. Here, but displacement. To my mind, is the number one 00:31:33.100 --> 00:31:36.367
concern, uh, because y’all are residents and so in Brooklyn
00:31:36.367 --> 00:31:40.166
Park, we take care of all of our residents where they live 00:31:40.166 --> 00:31:43.800
uh above 93rd or where they live below 85th, right? So keep
00:31:43.800 --> 00:31:48.133
that in mind, but we have to make a determination and
00:31:48.133 --> 00:31:50.834
there’s some limited leverage, right? Some limited strength 00:31:50.834 --> 00:31:54.667
that we can negotiate from as a city, um, but there’s some
00:31:54.667 --> 00:31:57.200
things on their side that they have going where they’re saying,
00:31:57.200 --> 00:32:01.000
this is time sensitive and a decision needs to be made. Um, 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:05.734
so, uh, the other piece I’ll say is this, is that If we move
00:32:05.734 --> 00:32:13.233
in a in a direction, um. Where it is allowed for this deal, 00:32:13.233 --> 00:32:17.634
this some deal goes through or is closed rather than directing
00:32:17.634 --> 00:32:21.300
all the attention at the city. And I, I’m talking to the 00:32:21.300 --> 00:32:23.867
residents. I’m not talking to any go-between. I’m talking
00:32:23.867 --> 00:32:28.133
directly to the residents, rather than directing that at
00:32:28.133 --> 00:32:30.100
us. Organize yourselves and talk to the county and talk to 00:32:30.100 --> 00:32:35.533
the state. Because the county and the state long, a long time
00:32:35.533 --> 00:32:38.300
ago, and some of y’all are coming here from the GO,
00:32:38.300 --> 00:32:42.533
Chicago and other places, right? Some of y’all know the game a 00:32:42.533 --> 00:32:45.400
long time ago, policies were put into place to say, these
00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:47.667
are the resources that Huntington Place is going are
00:32:47.667 --> 00:32:50.266
going to get. This is what y’all are gonna get. We’re not 00:32:50.266 --> 00:32:54.500
going to give you any more than that. But this is what you’re
00:32:54.500 --> 00:32:57.467
going to get. And this is a decision we’ve made in terms of
00:32:57.467 --> 00:32:59.800
the living conditions that you have and then they come to and
00:32:59.800 --> 00:33:03.467
then folks come to the city and they say this has been put in 00:33:03.467 --> 00:33:06.800
place and it’s all you, all your responsibilities. I want
00:33:06.800 --> 00:33:11.934
to make this very clear at a state level, at a county level. 00:33:11.934 --> 00:33:16.200
This is a state and county level issue. This isn’t just
00:33:16.200 --> 00:33:19.400
the city of Brooklyn Park. So if a deal goes through and we
00:33:19.400 --> 00:33:24.734
do the basic math. $18 million has been allocated in addition 00:33:24.734 --> 00:33:30.100
to the purchase price. To go door to door and do upgrades, 00:33:30.100 --> 00:33:33.834
whether it’s syncs, whether it’s bathrooms, X, Y, and Z.
00:33:33.834 --> 00:33:37.734
That’s around $15,000 per door. The real number that people
00:33:37.734 --> 00:33:41.800
were saying needs to happen to clean out the mold, the 00:33:41.800 --> 00:33:45.634
asbestos, the pests, everything you’re dealing with at
00:33:45.634 --> 00:33:48.867
Huntington Place is around, let’s just say, 60 to 80
00:33:48.867 --> 00:33:54.734
million to be nice. Right? So I wanted to be very clear if the 00:33:54.734 --> 00:33:58.400
deal goes through and cosmetic clean cleanup is made, that is
00:33:58.400 --> 00:34:04.200
cosmetic. I got 34 generations of people with asthma in my 00:34:04.200 --> 00:34:07.133
family because they grew up on the south side of Chicago.
00:34:07.133 --> 00:34:11.133
That’s in my DNA now. So when you think about the health 00:34:11.133 --> 00:34:14.000
consequences that come out of there. The city doesn’t have
00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:18.300
$80 million to fix that. The lender is telling you, we don’t
00:34:18.300 --> 00:34:22.367
have another $80 million. We’re not going to take another $80 00:34:22.367 --> 00:34:25.400
million cut, a loss on this. They’d say we’re underwater
00:34:25.400 --> 00:34:28.467
with that. The buyer is saying, I’ve got to make some money off
00:34:28.467 --> 00:34:31.734
this so that I can sustain what’s going on. The people 00:34:31.734 --> 00:34:35.767
that have the pockets and who made this decision, 30, 40, 50,
00:34:35.767 --> 00:34:40.000
60, 70 years ago as to who should live where. That’s the 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:42.767
county and the state if you’re saying somebody needs to come
00:34:42.767 --> 00:34:46.567
in and make this livable for our health. For our long-term
00:34:46.567 --> 00:34:52.400
health as a community. So if you’re gonna organize. Aim the 00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:54.734
cannon at the people with the pockets that can make the
00:34:54.734 --> 00:34:59.533
difference. Because it hasn’t been aimed there. It’s always
00:34:59.533 --> 00:35:02.033
been aimed at the people with the least in their pocket that 00:35:02.033 --> 00:35:04.667
can do something about it. And then when we go to the Capitol
00:35:04.667 --> 00:35:08.467
and we say, well, here’s $10 million. And that doesn’t get
00:35:08.467 --> 00:35:11.467
spent the way we like necessarily. Here’s another 4.5 00:35:11.467 --> 00:35:14.300
million, and the feds say, well, here’s another 4.5 million. OK,
00:35:14.300 --> 00:35:17.934
well let’s do the math. 18 to 20 million. What’s that gonna
00:35:17.934 --> 00:35:22.867
do for the 60 to 80 million? So that’s the question that we’re 00:35:22.867 --> 00:35:29.133
dealing with. So if a deal goes through, That remains. Now I
00:35:29.133 --> 00:35:31.233
will stand with you in the breach and have that 00:35:31.233 --> 00:35:33.800
conversation with the state and the county. I’ll have a press
00:35:33.800 --> 00:35:39.300
conference about it. But that’s One of the underlying issues
00:35:39.300 --> 00:35:43.100
that we’re struggling with here, even if this goes through and 00:35:43.100 --> 00:35:47.000
nobody is displaced, that is still a very real reality that
00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:50.834
we have to deal with. And at some point, If people have 00:35:50.834 --> 00:35:57.166
moved. From Gary To Northside to Huntington Place, and
00:35:57.166 --> 00:36:00.266
they’ve dealt with this for a long time. At some time, that 00:36:00.266 --> 00:36:03.900
has to stop. Dealing with the health implications of this.
00:36:03.900 --> 00:36:06.100
Same thing for immigrant populations that are moving in
00:36:06.100 --> 00:36:09.233
here, and other folks that are moving in here. So please
00:36:09.233 --> 00:36:13.000
understand I’m, I may be taking a long time to flesh this out, 00:36:13.000 --> 00:36:16.767
right? But that is the overarching. thing that would,
00:36:16.767 --> 00:36:19.867
these are the overarching factors that we are very much
00:36:19.867 --> 00:36:23.667
dealing with. And so I don’t want this to be focused in the 00:36:23.667 --> 00:36:26.834
wrong direction because before I was in office, I was up there
00:36:26.834 --> 00:36:29.467
advocating for Huntington Place quietly. I won’t make a lot of
00:36:29.467 --> 00:36:32.233
noise, but quietly and effectively. So I will leave it 00:36:32.233 --> 00:36:35.133
at that. I know that council member Erickson, uh, wanted to
00:36:35.133 --> 00:36:37.400
say, I mean, commissioner Erickson wanted to say
00:36:37.400 --> 00:36:39.233
something and then Commissioner McGarvey wanted to say
00:36:39.233 --> 00:36:47.834
something as well. I have one question, um, Mr. Gladhill, and 00:36:47.834 --> 00:36:54.200
then I make a few comments, um. I know that a $30 million 00:36:54.200 --> 00:36:55.400
commercial transaction involving multiple lenders and
00:36:55.400 --> 00:36:59.400
stuff like this. This doesn’t happen like your home mortgage.
00:36:59.400 --> 00:37:03.734
That you close in 60 days, whatever. What is the realistic 00:37:03.734 --> 00:37:09.033
timeline of How this plays out in terms of closing ownership
00:37:09.033 --> 00:37:13.834
transfer happening, etc. Yeah, um, commissioner, uh, Mr. 00:37:13.834 --> 00:37:17.000
President, best guess, we’re talking 30 to 90 day range. I
00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:19.100
mean, there’s been some work that has been done already, but
00:37:19.100 --> 00:37:22.367
they need to go into a new purchase agreement. They need 00:37:22.367 --> 00:37:25.634
to finalize the new financing, um, so I don’t want to
00:37:25.634 --> 00:37:28.300
undersell it or oversell it, sell it plan, you know,
00:37:28.300 --> 00:37:31.367
mid-year this year that a transaction could be complete. 00:37:31.367 --> 00:37:37.567
Really? OK. Um I mean, the, the mayor said a lot of things that
00:37:37.567 --> 00:37:42.166
I agree with and that are absolutely true, um. I think 00:37:42.166 --> 00:37:44.834
since the council first heard about this in the EDA first
00:37:44.834 --> 00:37:51.200
heard about this at the end of last year. Um I mean, everyone 00:37:51.200 --> 00:37:53.533
up here has racked our brains for ideas. We’ve all talked to
00:37:53.533 --> 00:37:58.300
the people in our circles. And You know, I’ll be honest, we’ve
00:37:58.300 --> 00:38:05.166
come up with about 25. Terrible ideas. And another. few ideas 00:38:05.166 --> 00:38:11.000
that just The money’s not there, the state’s not supportive, 00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:14.300
County’s not supportive, um. The fact of the matter is that
00:38:14.300 --> 00:38:21.000
the city does not own Huntington Place. Aon does. And 00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:25.900
And honestly, Anne’s lenders own. Huntington Place And the
00:38:25.900 --> 00:38:29.734
number of things that we The leverage we have, the, the
00:38:29.734 --> 00:38:41.000
triggers we can pull are few and far between. Um And As much 00:38:41.000 --> 00:38:48.400
as I don’t. I want to forgive anything to Anne. Because the
00:38:48.400 --> 00:38:53.266
Aon folks have been In my opinion, Terrible since the day 00:38:53.266 --> 00:38:56.934
I met them. I mean, I’ve heard them say things about residents
00:38:56.934 --> 00:39:16.000
that Oof Um You all deserve better than that. Um But I 00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:19.734
think that the proposal that’s in front of us tonight. Gives
00:39:19.734 --> 00:39:22.300
the city the greatest chance to control the greatest number of 00:39:22.300 --> 00:39:29.634
variables. And even in that case, It’s terrible. I don’t, I
00:39:29.634 --> 00:39:35.800
can’t imagine. Mass capital spending $15,000 a unit. And 00:39:35.800 --> 00:39:40.667
suddenly they occupancy goes up to 80, 90% and They I mean, 00:39:40.667 --> 00:39:44.367
they’re saying raising rent to 11, 1150. You can get a
00:39:44.367 --> 00:39:47.767
two-bedroom at Eden Park for that. Why would you stay at
00:39:47.767 --> 00:39:58.166
Huntington? Um I don’t I think, I think mass Capital’s numbers 00:39:58.166 --> 00:40:03.667
are magic. Or depend on magic and I think we’ll be right back 00:40:03.667 --> 00:40:11.533
here again in a couple of years. Um So do I think that voting in 00:40:11.533 --> 00:40:19.533
favor of this thing tonight? is a magic cure for What ails
00:40:19.533 --> 00:40:22.734
Huntington and ultimately what ails Brooklyn Park. No, I don’t, 00:40:22.734 --> 00:40:26.100
but I think it gives the city the greatest amount of control
00:40:26.100 --> 00:40:35.634
in the greatest amount of Stability For the residents, at 00:40:35.634 --> 00:40:43.233
least for the short term. And It’s the best of a slurry of 00:40:43.233 --> 00:40:53.367
terrible options. Commissioner McGarvey. Thank you, Mr. 00:40:53.367 --> 00:40:58.100
President. And thank you, Commissioner Erickson. I agree
00:40:58.100 --> 00:41:01.667
with everything you said there, but I wanted to just stop and 00:41:01.667 --> 00:41:05.100
say thank you to the residents of Huntington Place who are
00:41:05.100 --> 00:41:08.667
here tonight for coming here tonight for all the folks that
00:41:08.667 --> 00:41:13.033
signed the petition that was in our email for those that put 00:41:13.033 --> 00:41:19.567
together the effort. To To come up with these alternative plans
00:41:19.567 --> 00:41:22.634
that, that we were emailed. I don’t know if you’ve all seen 00:41:22.634 --> 00:41:27.467
them, but there are some good ideas there. However None of
00:41:27.467 --> 00:41:31.533
those ideas is on the table tonight, and I, I’m, I’m, I’m 00:41:31.533 --> 00:41:35.367
reiterating what the mayor, or excuse me, the president of the
00:41:35.367 --> 00:41:40.133
EDA has already said, I’m reiterating what Commissioner 00:41:40.133 --> 00:41:43.934
Erickson has said that those are great ideas, and I would
00:41:43.934 --> 00:41:49.300
encourage you. To do what it takes to pursue those ideas,
00:41:49.300 --> 00:41:55.300
but please know that those ideas. For instance, uh, uh co 00:41:55.300 --> 00:41:58.734
op ownership scenario, etc. some of the other ideas have to
00:41:58.734 --> 00:42:05.367
be Disgust with the owner. Of the property, whomever. That 00:42:05.367 --> 00:42:13.800
ends up becoming. Um So thank you, thank you for being here. 00:42:13.800 --> 00:42:17.233
Thank you for coming up with these ideas. I’d encourage you
00:42:17.233 --> 00:42:25.467
to pursue them. And uh to once again reiterate. Commissioner 00:42:25.467 --> 00:42:34.200
Eriksson’s point. This Is the You know, this decision tonight 00:42:34.200 --> 00:42:39.367
does not negate those ideas. It does not. It won’t help those
00:42:39.367 --> 00:42:44.200
ideas, but what it does is it moves this process along, and 00:42:44.200 --> 00:42:50.667
again, it’s one option out of many terrible options, but it 00:42:50.667 --> 00:42:56.533
is the one that gives the city. The most leverage to use
00:42:56.533 --> 00:43:00.266
commissioner Erikson’s words and uh That’s all I’ve got, but 00:43:00.266 --> 00:43:02.400
again, thank, thank you everyone for being here and
00:43:02.400 --> 00:43:06.767
thank you for the effort that’s being put into solving This
00:43:06.767 --> 00:43:13.233
problem. Thank you. Yeah, thank you for that, uh, comment, 00:43:13.233 --> 00:43:17.467
commissioner McGarvey, uh, I did, I don’t have a desire to
00:43:17.467 --> 00:43:25.467
come off harsh, but It You know, we’re we’re not being given 00:43:25.467 --> 00:43:28.367
some great options here, right? And I think I’m probably
00:43:28.367 --> 00:43:32.767
inclined to go with what’s in front of us, but I guess a 00:43:32.767 --> 00:43:36.634
begging, beseeching. Um, residents and there are folks
00:43:36.634 --> 00:43:41.867
out there that have worked with Huntington in the past, um, 00:43:41.867 --> 00:43:47.300
That I do think do it from some level of sincerity organized,
00:43:47.300 --> 00:43:50.834
make it very clear what you’re dealing with, um, because the 00:43:50.834 --> 00:43:54.133
city is going to do what we can do and we have done. Uh, quite
00:43:54.133 --> 00:43:58.500
a bit in the past, but there has to be some voices raised
00:43:58.500 --> 00:44:04.233
about this, and I think to, um, you know, Commissioner McGarvey 00:44:04.233 --> 00:44:07.100
and Commissioner, uh, Erickson’s points. What’s,
00:44:07.100 --> 00:44:08.934
what’s in front of us today? Many of the options that were
00:44:08.934 --> 00:44:12.100
put in front of us or many of the suggestions that were given 00:44:12.100 --> 00:44:16.533
to us on that list. Those are not within the capacity of the
00:44:16.533 --> 00:44:19.867
city, uh, and there could be some issues if we try to
00:44:19.867 --> 00:44:23.166
leverage what we have in front of us to accomplish those 00:44:23.166 --> 00:44:26.200
things. That doesn’t. mean that you don’t have people out there
00:44:26.200 --> 00:44:29.934
who will help make that happen. It doesn’t mean that I will not
00:44:29.934 --> 00:44:33.667
support those things, uh, within my capacity. What it 00:44:33.667 --> 00:44:37.634
does mean is that we have leverage to do certain things
00:44:37.634 --> 00:44:41.133
and given what we have right now, some of the suggestions 00:44:41.133 --> 00:44:44.867
that were made are outside that purview does not mean that we
00:44:44.867 --> 00:44:47.100
cannot come together and perhaps take those in other
00:44:47.100 --> 00:44:50.367
ways and use leverage to get those either from the new owner 00:44:50.367 --> 00:44:53.233
or to get the state or other folks to do what they need to
00:44:53.233 --> 00:44:59.266
do. Right? And that is a longer discussion, but if you’re
00:44:59.266 --> 00:45:02.166
talking about creating modern day segregation. I’m gonna be 00:45:02.166 --> 00:45:05.233
very frank with you and very clear with you. The state and
00:45:05.233 --> 00:45:10.100
the county have made a a concerted effort. The Jim Crow 00:45:10.100 --> 00:45:14.266
that my family moved away from down south. They in some ways
00:45:14.266 --> 00:45:18.100
have said, we’re gonna let it happen in certain areas. You
00:45:18.100 --> 00:45:21.166
don’t get to say you’re not going to do that and then go on 00:45:21.166 --> 00:45:23.533
and do that. So that’s the reality that we’re dealing with,
00:45:23.533 --> 00:45:27.100
so I’m willing to take that fight on. But you have to have
00:45:27.100 --> 00:45:29.900
people that are in it for the right reasons, and you have to
00:45:29.900 --> 00:45:34.000
come in in a concerted manner, and you cannot lose energy or 00:45:34.000 --> 00:45:36.734
faith in the process. But for today, we have the decision
00:45:36.734 --> 00:45:40.467
that is in front of us. Uh, and I’m inclined to go with the, 00:45:40.467 --> 00:45:46.000
with what has been proposed to us, uh, today, uh, so that we
00:45:46.000 --> 00:45:49.634
can minimize, uh, folks losing. their home, because I get tired
00:45:49.634 --> 00:45:52.834
of this displacement word. We can minimize folks losing their 00:45:52.834 --> 00:45:57.567
home or where they stay, um. Uh, Commissioner Erikson, uh, I
00:45:57.567 --> 00:46:02.867
know you weren’t speak again and the commissioner Jong. And 00:46:02.867 --> 00:46:05.133
then we have Commissioner Page. I see the hand up as well.
00:46:05.133 --> 00:46:07.800
Thank you. I just wanted to clarify something that I said
00:46:07.800 --> 00:46:12.533
when I mentioned the Collection of 25 terrible ideas. I’m not 00:46:12.533 --> 00:46:15.767
talking about the ideas that came from you all by a Miss
00:46:15.767 --> 00:46:19.567
Gaines. Those are some of the better ideas I’ve seen. They’re
00:46:19.567 --> 00:46:23.667
just not ideas that are in the city’s purview to implement 00:46:23.667 --> 00:46:29.233
with private property owners, but I mean, hopefully people
00:46:29.233 --> 00:46:32.467
listen to what their customers demand. And when mass capital 00:46:32.467 --> 00:46:36.634
takes over, you’ll be their customers, so. To the mayor’s
00:46:36.634 --> 00:46:41.266
point, don’t stop organizing, don’t stop fighting against the 00:46:41.266 --> 00:46:46.634
people who can change the situation that That you’re
00:46:46.634 --> 00:46:52.467
facing. And, um, like the mayor said, we will Do whatever legal 00:46:52.467 --> 00:47:01.100
maneuvers we can. To make Mass capital, be good to you. But In 00:47:01.100 --> 00:47:05.367
a society that values private property rights and It’s
00:47:05.367 --> 00:47:10.367
limited. I’m gonna be honest, it’s limited. But That doesn’t 00:47:10.367 --> 00:47:15.100
mean we shouldn’t stop fighting for it. So Just wanted to make
00:47:15.100 --> 00:47:20.800
sure you heard that. Your ideas were not the bad ones. 00:47:20.800 --> 00:47:29.367
Commissioner young. Thank you, Mayor. Um, I just wanted to say
00:47:29.367 --> 00:47:33.667
thank you to the tenants for being here yet again today, um, 00:47:33.667 --> 00:47:38.934
I think I just really wanted to reiterate what the rest of, um,
00:47:38.934 --> 00:47:42.233
The EDA had already mentioned, great questions, and you guys 00:47:42.233 --> 00:47:46.000
are all asking the right questions, um, but in all
00:47:46.000 --> 00:47:48.133
honesty, we don’t have the answers to them because you
00:47:48.133 --> 00:47:50.900
guys are asking the wrong people. Those are great 00:47:50.900 --> 00:47:53.467
questions that should be addressed to Aon, to the state,
00:47:53.467 --> 00:47:56.767
to the county, um, and trust me, we have been asking the same
00:47:56.767 --> 00:48:00.634
questions that you all have been asking us as well too, um, 00:48:00.634 --> 00:48:04.500
I also wanted to say great options, great ideas, and
00:48:04.500 --> 00:48:08.934
alternatives, um. And those are ones that we have actually been
00:48:08.934 --> 00:48:12.533
trying to push at the state legislature as well too, um, 00:48:12.533 --> 00:48:18.800
but then yet again, Asking the wrong level of office, but that
00:48:18.800 --> 00:48:24.667
is not to say that we are not in support. Of the ideas. And 00:48:24.667 --> 00:48:29.734
are not asking or just tossing away your questions, um, like
00:48:29.734 --> 00:48:34.367
Chris, uh, Commissioner Erickson had mentioned, we have 00:48:34.367 --> 00:48:38.533
run through so many scenarios in all of our heads. We had
00:48:38.533 --> 00:48:41.934
discussed with one another. We had tried to figure out every 00:48:41.934 --> 00:48:46.100
single type of route we have literally been sending our
00:48:46.100 --> 00:48:48.767
staff on wild goose chases, trying to figure out different
00:48:48.767 --> 00:48:54.634
types of routes and options, um, to mitigate or try our best to 00:48:54.634 --> 00:48:58.934
avoid displacement, um. And I think all in all, it comes down
00:48:58.934 --> 00:49:03.767
to the beauty of organizing, right, um, because ultimately 00:49:03.767 --> 00:49:08.133
you all have uh power as well too, and so I heard recently
00:49:08.133 --> 00:49:12.734
that you guys do, um. Tendant meetings at Huntington, like 00:49:12.734 --> 00:49:15.900
every other Thursday or so, or like every two Thursdays, that
00:49:15.900 --> 00:49:19.133
would have been great to know, communication goes both ways. I
00:49:19.133 --> 00:49:22.367
would love to be there. I’m pretty sure much of the other 00:49:22.367 --> 00:49:25.734
commissioners would as well too, and its spaces in areas like
00:49:25.734 --> 00:49:29.800
this and like that in which we should be working together to
00:49:29.800 --> 00:49:32.467
organize and start holding people accountable, but on top 00:49:32.467 --> 00:49:37.367
of that as well to look at resolutions that we could come
00:49:37.367 --> 00:49:42.100
together for at the state and county level. Um, and so I just 00:49:42.100 --> 00:49:49.734
wanted to share that little tidbit. Mhm. To Commissioner
00:49:49.734 --> 00:49:57.100
Page. Thank you, President. I just want to thank everyone for 00:49:57.100 --> 00:49:59.233
bearing with me for being remote. Um, it was important
00:49:59.233 --> 00:50:03.900
for me to be here, so I want to thank the commissioners, um, 00:50:03.900 --> 00:50:07.734
but most importantly, the residents and I, I did not
00:50:07.734 --> 00:50:12.667
catch the name of the resident who said very clearly, you need 00:50:12.667 --> 00:50:16.166
to listen. That’s someone after my own heart because that,
00:50:16.166 --> 00:50:18.900
that’s what we need to do. We need to listen, to listen, not
00:50:18.900 --> 00:50:23.667
to respond, um, and I see that through this group of 00:50:23.667 --> 00:50:26.500
commissioners, um, it’s been delayed because we’ve been
00:50:26.500 --> 00:50:31.133
listening. It’s been delayed because we’ve been transparent 00:50:31.133 --> 00:50:33.400
and expecting transparency, um, and it’s been delayed because
00:50:33.400 --> 00:50:39.133
we want to give you our support. And I want to make sure I say
00:50:39.133 --> 00:50:43.667
this very clearly that, um, we started off with nothing from 00:50:43.667 --> 00:50:49.934
the other. side. Um, we were getting $0 and we were to
00:50:49.934 --> 00:50:52.533
forgive this and, you know, there’s a good group of 00:50:52.533 --> 00:50:55.900
residents that say just wore clothes. I don’t pay my bills.
00:50:55.900 --> 00:50:59.567
I don’t have to do it. I get that. I feel that that’s part
00:50:59.567 --> 00:51:03.734
of my life, um, and my work life, um, but we dug a little 00:51:03.734 --> 00:51:07.467
bit deeper for some more transparency and imagine where
00:51:07.467 --> 00:51:12.800
we got. We got to 450,000 with the possibility of even more to 00:51:12.800 --> 00:51:17.634
do more, um, for generations at Huntington. So, We’ve made
00:51:17.634 --> 00:51:22.934
progress. We’ve pushed for that transparency, and I have to 00:51:22.934 --> 00:51:26.133
tell you this has been one of the most difficult things for
00:51:26.133 --> 00:51:30.533
me to completely understand, um, but I think and applaud the 00:51:30.533 --> 00:51:34.667
folks sitting there in person that have been working on this
00:51:34.667 --> 00:51:40.000
a lot longer than myself, who were able to make us understand 00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:47.000
that through many bad choices we have opportunity. If we
00:51:47.000 --> 00:51:50.734
foreclose, we don’t know who could buy it, um, and we don’t 00:51:50.734 --> 00:51:53.934
think that the current buyer is the answer to everything, but
00:51:53.934 --> 00:51:58.133
we know um a seller does not have to speak to us, and they
00:51:58.133 --> 00:52:01.934
have volunteered to speak with us multiple times. Um, I’ve 00:52:01.934 --> 00:52:08.367
seen the passion, especially in um I want to make sure I say it
00:52:08.367 --> 00:52:12.100
correctly, Commissioner Erickson, um, I mean what you 00:52:12.100 --> 00:52:17.500
said tonight is, uh, just so supportive and passionate about
00:52:17.500 --> 00:52:20.634
where I feel most of us stand that we want to take care of 00:52:20.634 --> 00:52:23.800
the residents, so that doesn’t go away because of something
00:52:23.800 --> 00:52:28.100
we’re doing. Our job is to listen to what everyone says,
00:52:28.100 --> 00:52:32.000
get an informed decision and try to recoup costs that our 00:52:32.000 --> 00:52:36.266
city um and our residents have have spent and, and sometimes
00:52:36.266 --> 00:52:39.800
that’s not out of their pockets, sometimes that’s taking
00:52:39.800 --> 00:52:46.800
resources from city services, etc. um, and in this case, The 00:52:46.800 --> 00:52:50.200
best of the circumstances appears to be. Um, what’s 00:52:50.200 --> 00:52:54.934
exactly on the table for us to discuss, but That doesn’t mean
00:52:54.934 --> 00:53:00.200
we stop fighting for. The rights of the residents for the 00:53:00.200 --> 00:53:07.100
level of Raising the bar for those living conditions, um,
00:53:07.100 --> 00:53:09.934
That’s, that’s your accountability because that’s
00:53:09.934 --> 00:53:13.467
one thing we need to really talk about. It’s the least 00:53:13.467 --> 00:53:16.266
amount is we talk about listening transparency, support.
00:53:16.266 --> 00:53:21.500
We need to get right back to accountability. Every email, 00:53:21.500 --> 00:53:24.133
every conversation you’ve sent to the city. Send it to the
00:53:24.133 --> 00:53:28.100
owners of the building. Organize to the people who own
00:53:28.100 --> 00:53:33.266
that. Organized for the new owners, and we will, I will, I 00:53:33.266 --> 00:53:38.533
will talk for me only. I will stand beside you. I will
00:53:38.533 --> 00:53:41.867
continue to press for those conditions to be improved for 00:53:41.867 --> 00:53:46.233
your voices to be heard, um, but at this point,
00:53:46.233 --> 00:53:50.934
understanding that we have to get something from them. Our 00:53:50.934 --> 00:53:56.767
city staff. got pretty far, um. And it will never be perfect,
00:53:56.767 --> 00:54:01.000
but I just want to make sure for the person who said you 00:54:01.000 --> 00:54:06.867
need to listen. I have. I will continue to, um, and for those
00:54:06.867 --> 00:54:10.467
who say just foreclose this is get rid of Huntington. We’ve 00:54:10.467 --> 00:54:15.500
all seen it. We’ve all heard it. I understand that. I hear that
00:54:15.500 --> 00:54:18.634
at this point, I think there would be a higher liability
00:54:18.634 --> 00:54:21.400
because we don’t have control over who’s going to take that 00:54:21.400 --> 00:54:25.100
property. And so I think if you’re Controlling as much as
00:54:25.100 --> 00:54:31.400
you can, um, I also appreciated some passionate responses from 00:54:31.400 --> 00:54:37.500
Our mayor and our president of the EDA um Sometimes the
00:54:37.500 --> 00:54:42.634
loudest voice. Um, isn’t the way to go. Um, and in this case, 00:54:42.634 --> 00:54:46.500
he’s worked tirelessly. I know, uh, many people up there have
00:54:46.500 --> 00:54:49.133
worked tirelessly behind the scenes. You don’t get to see
00:54:49.133 --> 00:54:52.400
all of that because it isn’t all public, but we are 00:54:52.400 --> 00:54:56.233
listening. It is loud and clear, um, and I’m supportive of the
00:54:56.233 --> 00:54:59.233
actions that are that are presented to us today for that.
00:54:59.233 --> 00:55:05.834
So thank you guys for your time. cousin Eritrean, I mean, 00:55:05.834 --> 00:55:15.800
commissioner Tran. Thank you, Chair. Um To tell the truth, I 00:55:15.800 --> 00:55:20.200
feel very sorry for this situation to Huntington 00:55:20.200 --> 00:55:28.934
resident. Because, um, you know, from last year, um, I went to
00:55:28.934 --> 00:55:33.734
Washington. see for a conference and I found out that 00:55:33.734 --> 00:55:39.133
the public housing. Shortage is not just in our state, but
00:55:39.133 --> 00:55:45.567
nationwide. And so this situation is heartfelt because 00:55:45.567 --> 00:55:50.934
we sit here, we want to do something for residents, but it 00:55:50.934 --> 00:55:59.400
outreach, um, And according to uh The case that I’ve been, you
00:55:59.400 --> 00:56:07.467
know, helping, uh, Resident in the past. I believe Um, You can 00:56:07.467 --> 00:56:14.367
reach out to the legislators in your area in your district. 00:56:14.367 --> 00:56:17.800
They are more powers in this kind of thing to support the
00:56:17.800 --> 00:56:24.467
resident. Um, why don’t you, um, you are very organized now, so 00:56:24.467 --> 00:56:32.000
reach out to them and um the uh according to the, the The 00:56:32.000 --> 00:56:36.834
riding sending to the email it looked very good. It just needs
00:56:36.834 --> 00:56:43.667
someone, you know, who had power to to support uh You are 00:56:43.667 --> 00:56:53.867
And uh Wish you luck. But Um That is according to one of the 00:56:53.867 --> 00:56:59.200
case I’ve been helping residents in the past. I
00:56:59.200 --> 00:57:04.033
believe that the legislators in your district have more powers 00:57:04.033 --> 00:57:16.266
in this kind of thing. Thank you. Ah So I’m gonna go ahead 00:57:16.266 --> 00:57:20.100
and make the motion to waive the reading and adopt 00:57:20.100 --> 00:57:24.266
resolution number 2025 for giving certain loan with ANBP
00:57:24.266 --> 00:57:27.734
LLC, Huntington, wait, um, oh yeah, Huntington Place
00:57:27.734 --> 00:57:33.867
Apartments, contingent upon receipt of $450,000.44 million 00:57:33.867 --> 00:57:37.100
dollars federal congressionally spending uh congressional
00:57:37.100 --> 00:57:41.033
spending grant and confirmation of continuation of 00:57:41.033 --> 00:57:46.734
affordability requirements. Exactly All right, so, uh,
00:57:46.734 --> 00:57:51.000
Moshe was made by myself, President Winston, seconded by 00:57:51.000 --> 00:57:54.367
uh commissioner Eriksson. We will need a roll call vote for
00:57:54.367 --> 00:58:05.400
this. Commissioner Tran. Commissioner Zhang. 00:58:05.400 --> 00:58:12.367
Commissioner Erikson. Commissioner McGarvey. I 00:58:12.367 --> 00:58:19.233
Commissioner Page. I could not hear the 1st 3. I apologize.
00:58:19.233 --> 00:58:28.367
They said, I OK. I. President Winston. Motion carries but 6 00:58:28.367 --> 00:58:34.200
yes and 0 noes. All right. Thank you. Um. Few few things 00:58:34.200 --> 00:58:38.533
and, and, uh, I, I don’t want people to leave here and bad
00:58:38.533 --> 00:58:41.000
spirits or sour spirits, but I do want people to understand 00:58:41.000 --> 00:58:43.634
that there’s a, there’s a fight ahead. Now luck isn’t going to
00:58:43.634 --> 00:58:47.133
get you all out of this. I want to make that very clear, but I
00:58:47.133 --> 00:58:50.800
also want you to think of a different model, maybe of 00:58:50.800 --> 00:58:52.934
organizing. I understand that you’re working with Acer, but I
00:58:52.934 --> 00:58:58.734
also want you to understand that as council members, uh, or
00:58:58.734 --> 00:59:00.900
commission members when it comes to the EDA we are 00:59:00.900 --> 00:59:05.800
available. We’re available, right? So sometimes you can
00:59:05.800 --> 00:59:08.634
reach out directly to us if you have us directly at the table
00:59:08.634 --> 00:59:12.667
when you’re having these discussions, you can begin to 00:59:12.667 --> 00:59:15.467
craft a strategy from the horse’s mouth rather than
00:59:15.467 --> 00:59:18.734
coming to us, uh, a certain way, right? and saying, well, what
00:59:18.734 --> 00:59:22.266
about X, Y, and Z? If you have at the table, we can say, well, 00:59:22.266 --> 00:59:25.667
This worked, this work, this won’t work, then we can agree
00:59:25.667 --> 00:59:30.000
to disagree on things. But this isn’t maybe like in the past 00:59:30.000 --> 00:59:33.467
where you had folks who are just like, I don’t want to be
00:59:33.467 --> 00:59:37.367
bothered with them folks, right? Um, I don’t see it that way. I
00:59:37.367 --> 00:59:40.900
don’t think the majority of us see it up here. I think, you 00:59:40.900 --> 00:59:44.734
know, you are part of our residence, right, of the city,
00:59:44.734 --> 00:59:48.400
so begin to build those relationships and build that
00:59:48.400 --> 00:59:51.767
strength and then you do, you two more things I want to point 00:59:51.767 --> 00:59:55.934
out. Um, the other pieces. We’re going to go forward and
00:59:55.934 --> 01:00:00.166
make it very clear that those living conditions and, and I 01:00:00.166 --> 01:00:04.367
listened, but I just Disagree. Uh, I don’t think they’re
01:00:04.367 --> 01:00:09.934
livable. I, I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t put family
01:00:09.934 --> 01:00:12.000
members in, in, in that situation if I had other 01:00:12.000 --> 01:00:14.634
options. I’m just gonna be honest with you, and that’s not
01:00:14.634 --> 01:00:17.300
disrespect. I’ve lived in humble housing before. I don’t
01:00:17.300 --> 01:00:22.033
think it’s livable. And I think y’all, um, can get better. So I 01:00:22.033 --> 01:00:25.734
think there’s gonna be a longer term fight here. And I need, I
01:00:25.734 --> 01:00:31.800
think you need to say, who has Kind of been with us organizing 01:00:31.800 --> 01:00:35.367
September, October, or even before then to address these
01:00:35.367 --> 01:00:39.166
issues. And then we have to have a coalition. I’m not gonna
01:00:39.166 --> 01:00:42.934
deal with folks who come. And, and try to make a name off of 01:00:42.934 --> 01:00:46.533
this. That’s just not my style. But I will deal with folks who
01:00:46.533 --> 01:00:50.266
say, I’m in this to improve this. I’m not gonna deal with 01:00:50.266 --> 01:00:54.100
people who want this for a funding source. Unless it’s the
01:00:54.100 --> 01:00:56.233
residents who want a funding source to have better living
01:00:56.233 --> 01:01:01.533
conditions. So I’m, I’m willing to get in that fight with you. 01:01:01.533 --> 01:01:06.867
Because I think it’s necessary. I think it’s even important and
01:01:06.867 --> 01:01:10.634
critical to the long-term viability of our city that you 01:01:10.634 --> 01:01:12.900
all have certain living conditions. I think it’s that
01:01:12.900 --> 01:01:18.100
important that it’s a priority, um, for the city. The third
01:01:18.100 --> 01:01:21.900
piece regarding displacement. Now, you know, um, if this goes 01:01:21.900 --> 01:01:27.233
through mass capital. Uh, updates or changes um criteria,
01:01:27.233 --> 01:01:31.467
right? I think our city has said we are concerned about 01:01:31.467 --> 01:01:33.734
displacement. Displacement doesn’t, we’re not just
01:01:33.734 --> 01:01:37.767
concerned about, you know, folks losing their home, um, if
01:01:37.767 --> 01:01:40.400
the deal doesn’t go through, we’re also concerned about it 01:01:40.400 --> 01:01:44.800
if the deal goes through. So, you know, we’re gonna put our
01:01:44.800 --> 01:01:47.734
heads together with staff and other folks and say, if some of
01:01:47.734 --> 01:01:51.200
that is going to occur, what are resources available at the 01:01:51.200 --> 01:01:54.400
city level and what resources at the state level to help
01:01:54.400 --> 01:01:58.133
mitigate that or help people deal with those particular
01:01:58.133 --> 01:02:03.000
issues, so either way. The city is very concerned about folks 01:02:03.000 --> 01:02:07.133
having a place to stay. But the, the piece I want to add on is
01:02:07.133 --> 01:02:09.934
we are now as a city getting more and more committed to
01:02:09.934 --> 01:02:12.767
making sure that where that place is, is livable and 01:02:12.767 --> 01:02:18.500
respectful. So I hope folks understand, uh, where we’re
01:02:18.500 --> 01:02:22.300
coming from with that particular piece, but continue 01:02:22.300 --> 01:02:25.800
organizing and continue putting that together. And I do think
01:02:25.800 --> 01:02:31.667
that things can change, um, at Huntington Place. All right, so, 01:02:31.667 --> 01:02:36.100
um, I think that was the one item, wasn’t it, for the EDA?
01:02:36.100 --> 01:02:40.266
All right. So there being no discussion items, uh, the EDA 01:02:40.266 --> 01:02:42.934
meeting is adjourned and we’re gonna go into the regular city
01:02:42.934 --> 01:02:47.266
council meeting, we will take a 5 minute break, and then folks
01:02:47.266 --> 01:02:50.934
come back and we’ll start, um, we’re not gonna be going back 01:02:50.934 --> 01:02:53.800
into Huntington Place, um. But folks who want to go for the