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MINUTES
Citizen’s District Council Meeting
City of Muskegon CDBG
Conference Room 203
Muskegon, Michigan
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Patricia Montney at 5:34 p.m.
ROLL CALL
Roll call was taken by Liz Parker.
Present: Patricia Montney, Marcia Hovey-Wright, Dan Rinsema-Sybenga,
Addie Sanders-Randall, Virgie Jackson, Thomas Pastoor, Stephen
Gawron
Excused: James A. Dalum, G. Ellouise Hieftje, Ryan McCabe
Staff Present: Wilmern Griffin, Liz Parker
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Dan Rinsema-Sybenga made a motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting
(November 13, 2008). Marcia Hovey-Wright seconded. Motion passed.
OLD BUSINESS
City Commission Approvals for Program Changes
Wil Griffin advised the group the City Commission approved the elimination of the
qualifications of first-time home-buyers and the three years since owning a home from
the HOME program. A Public Notice announcing this will appear in the Muskegon
Chronicle on Saturday, January 10. Pat Montney would like to see the program added
to the City’s website. The City Commission also approved the combining of liens for the
Emergency Repair program.
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NEW BUSINESS
January Term Expiration Dates for Five Members
The following members’ term will expire on January 31, 2009:
Patricia Montney A – rep for one of 4 wards – Ward I
Marcia Hovey-Wright A – rep for one of 4 wards – Ward II
James A. Dalum A – rep for one of 4 wards – Ward III
G. Ellouise Hieftje A – rep for one of 4 wards – Ward IV
Dan Rinsema-Sybenga B – citizen at large
Pat Montney, Marcia Hovey-Wright and Dan Rinsema-Sybenga have submitted their
applications to renew their terms. James Dalum notified the group at the last meeting
he will not renew his term as he is not available when the CDC has the grant review
meetings. Ellouise Hieftje notified Liz Parker she will not renew her term as she has
been on the CDC for almost 10 years and needs to decrease her community activity
load. Ryan McCabe, whose term doesn’t expire until January 31, 2010 (C – CDBG
target area rep), notified Liz Parker he has to resign from the board due to a scheduling
conflict with his attending WMU. Liz Parker notified the City Clerk’s Office that
replacements for these positions are needed ASAP.
Marcia Hovey-Wright wanted to know what a Target Area was. Wil Griffin explained
that some neighborhoods in the City of Muskegon were considered low income at one
time, and they were considered Target Areas: McLaughlin, Angell and Jackson Hill, to
name a few. However, over the years, with the changing economy, many of the
neighborhoods in the City of Muskegon are now considered a Target Area.
There is concern about getting replacements in time for the grant review meetings,
starting the end of January. Pat Montney is concerned if everyone else does not show
up for these meetings, there won’t be a quorum. Steve Gawron said the appointments
can be made at any time by calling a special meeting. Pat Montney wanted to know
when the appointments changed from December to January. Per Steve Gawron, it’s
been January since he’s been on the City Commission for the last seven years.
OTHER BUSINESS
Grant Review Meetings
Pat Montney brought up the question of when the City of Muskegon will be notified by
HUD of the amounts for the 2009 – 2010 CDBG/HOME grant funding. Wil Griffin stated
HUD has advised everyone to use the same numbers as last year since they don’t know
when they will be announcing the funding amounts. Dan Rinsema-Sybenga said “at
least it’s not a cut.”
Liz Parker handed out a list of who has applied for a CDBG/HOME grant application.
Pat Montney wanted to know when all this was going to go before the City Commission.
Wil Griffin said the City of Muskegon Administration will give their recommendations
after all the applications are received and reviewed. Then, after the CDC completes all
their grant review meetings and makes their recommendations, the grant worksheet will
be updated and submitted to the City Commission. The CDC will be notified of the City
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Commission meetings/work sessions in which this will be discussed and/or final grant
decisions made. Wil Griffin said April 17 is the deadline he has to give the final decision
to HUD. Pat Montney thought we should schedule an additional grant review meeting
as three are currently scheduled and last year the CDC held four full meetings. The
group decided on Thursday, February 12, from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. as the fourth grant
review meeting date.
Pat Montney wanted to know what City of Muskegon departments were applying for a
grant. Wil Griffin said it was the usual: CNS – administration of CDBG & HOME
programs, Vinyl Siding and Emergency Repair; Finance – new fire station bond
payment; Planning – façades and Code Enforcement Officer; Engineering – street
assessments; Affirmative Action; Leisure Services – youth services and DPW – Sr.
Transit.
YouthBuild Grant
Wil Griffin wanted to let the group know the CNS department will be applying for a
YouthBuild grant through the Department of Labor. The YouthBuild Grant is designed
to assist youth ages 16 – 24, who are unemployed or don’t have their high school
diploma, get their high school diploma or GED, learn construction skills and hopefully
continue on to a community college.
Mark Your Calendars
The CDC reviews will be 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. in Conference Room 203 on
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
ADJOURNMENT
Patricia Montney adjourned the meeting at 6:00 p.m.
Respectively submitted,
Liz Parker
Community and Neighborhood Services
City of Muskegon
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