REP FC 103 2023/10/31 2022-2024 - Laserfiche WebLink

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FC -103 Page 2 October 31, 2023 Committee Member Ashley L. Kierkiewicz thanked Ms. Kunz and Mr. Shiroma for putting this forward and expressed her excitement for these projects. Ms. Kierkiewicz asked what sort of ongoing support the Office of Housing and Community Development would provide regarding support, oversight, and technical assistance to people awarded through this program. Mr. Shiroma stated that there would be oversight throughout the whole process. Ms. Kierkiewicz then asked what the timeframe was for each project to get families into these homes, to which Mr. Shiroma replied that they are given one year to agree with them through a grant agreement, and then they have five years to provide occupancy. Committee Member Michelle Galimba mentioned that the Housing Department hosted two public hearings. Ms. Galimba was interested to know if they found the information from the community helpful and if they used some of the feedback to help sculpt their Administrative Rules. Ms. Kunz confirmed that they held those meetings before finalizing the rules and did incorporate them into the rules. Committee Member Susan L.K. Lee Loy thanked Ms. Kunz and Mr. Shiroma for the list of housing projects and for seeing them spread throughout the island. Ms. Lee Loy asked for more details regarding the purchase contract for the Mental Health Kokua program. Mr. Shiroma stated they requested the Affordable Housing Project funds to purchase the property and planned to use private funds for the rehabilitation if the purchase was accepted. Committee Chair Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder asked about prioritizing household earnings between 100 percent and 140 percent of the area median income (AMI). Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder asked what the 100 percent AMI for Hawaii County was, to which Mr. Shiroma replied looking at a four -occupant, three-bedroom home, the AMI would be $108,000. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder then asked for the income on the same home at a 140 percent AMI, to which Mr. Shiroma replied that it would be $144,000. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder commented that when he hears "affordability," he thinks of the families that make less than that. Ms. Kunz commented that there are funds for the families who make less than that. But she's heard from the workforce that they need housing and don't qualify for housing projects because the AMI is too low. Ms. Kierkiewicz asked Ms. Kunz if they could provide a list of funding opportunities supporting the different AMIs around the island. Ms. Kagiwada also requested a one-page listing of each project, total units, and AMI. Ms. Lee Loy echoed the request of Ms. Kagiwada and wanted them to add the estimated date for the units to come online. Ms. Kimball requested the graphs provided through the housing study that reflect the needs per district bin, income bin, and the number of rentals versus for -sale units. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder mentioned that if they are to provide all of these statistics, he would like to see the background reports to those statistics stating who was asked, who provided comments, and who attended the public hearings. He commented that the committee hears about surveys, reports, and polls all the time, but when you look into them, the people who attended aren't from the community, or there weren't enough people in attendance to provide comments. FC Report No. 103