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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, September 13, 2010 <br />7:00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />PAGE 12 of 14 <br />(12. METROPOLITAN LIVABLE COMMUNITIES PROGRAM PARTICIPATION, Continued) <br /> <br />Murphy stated he is in agreement with Council Member McMillan and that not too many people <br />understand the nuances between these different housing goals. The City should decide whether they want <br />to actively pursue some of these goals or not. Murphy stated it would be a struggle to find any pockets of <br />the community that would want the City to spend money helping to put affordable housing in the city. <br />Murphy stated in his view this should be looked at further in a work session given the possible <br />implications. Murphy commented he is not sure where the City is going to get the money to meet the <br />goals of the Metropolitan Council. <br /> <br />McMillan stated she visited the CommonBond open house in Wayzata and that they did a great job of <br />rehabbing the existing building. McMillan stated if you look at it from that point of view, that there are <br />existing buildings within the city that could be rehabbed, it may be easier to accomplish affordable <br />housing rather than by constructing new housing on subsidized land. McMillan stated there is no reason <br />why that could not be done in areas of Orono. <br /> <br />Franchot stated his understanding of the Metropolitan Livable Communities Program is that if the City <br />continues their participation, as the City looks at varying housing opportunities, they would be able to <br />look for grants and additional funding. In order to join that group, the City needs to allocate a certain <br />amount of money. <br /> <br />Franchot commented that he does feel discussion of the program is useful and that in order for Orono to <br />meet the needs of lots of people, they do need to have a serious discussion about affordable and lifecycle <br />housing. Franchot stated the program does not dictate strategies for density but that it is just giving the <br />City the ability to take advantage of grant money that may be available. <br /> <br />Gaffron stated that is accurate. <br /> <br />Bremer noted they have not applied for any funding under this program since 2000. <br /> <br />McMillan commented she would like to see some theoretical situations that could work in Orono as it <br />relates to some of the housing goals. <br /> <br />Gaffron stated Staff could provide additional information on the program. The Metropolitan Council has <br />funded approximately 200 projects in the last 10 years and they provided a synopsis of that to Staff. In <br />addition, a representative could come out to a work session to discuss affordable and lifestyle housing. <br />Gaffron noted there is an October 1st deadline but that there probably is some flexibility. <br /> <br />Bremer asked Staff to find out if the deadline is actually October 1st or whether it can be delayed. <br /> <br />Murphy noted this is a volunteer program administered by the Metropolitan Council that provides the <br />City with the opportunity to compete for grants and loans to support activities that help the City meet its <br />affordable and lifecycle housing goals. Murphy commented in his view the City needs to have a serious <br />discussion on how they want to achieve those goals. <br /> <br />The City Council took no formal action on this item. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Item #02 - CC Agenda - 09/27/2010 <br />Approval of Council Minutes 09/13/2010 [Page 12 of 14]