2026-10-27 - City Council Work Session and Special Meeting

Mhm.

>> Mhm.

>> All right, we are ready to get started. Today is Tuesday, October 27th, 2026. This is the City Council's work session. I am calling it to order and giving notice to the public and to City Council that we may vote to go into executive session, which will not be open to the public for discussion and consultation with the city's attorneys for legal advice on any item listed on the following agenda. Can we have roll call?

>> Mayor Daggett.

>> Here.

>> Vice Mayor Sweet.

>> Here.

>> Council member Aslan.

>> Here.

>> Council member House.

>> Here.

>> Council member Matthews.

>> Here.

>> Council member Milazzo.

>> Here.

>> Council member Spence.

>> Here.

>> Council member Matthews, would you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance?

>> It'd be my pleasure. Please stand if you're able.

>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

>> Council member Milazzo, do you have our mission statement up?

>> I do.

>> Will you read it, please?

>> The mission of the City of Flagstaff is to protect and enhance the quality of life for all.

>> Thank you. And Council member Spence, our land acknowledgement.

>> [clears throat]

>> The Flagstaff City Council humbly acknowledges the ancestral homelands of this area's indigenous nations and original stewards. These lands still inhabited by native descendants border mountains sacred to indigenous peoples. We honor them, their legacies, their traditions, and their continued contributions. We celebrate their past, present, and future generations who will forever know this place as home.

>> Thank you. I don't have open call to the Oh, I do have open call to the public after the um number four and number five, my

[Water Services Citizen's Academy graduate recognition and October employee work anniversary presentations omitted.]

[Open call to the public omitted.]

All right, we are down to item number seven. The RAD program.

>> [clears throat]

>> The Rental Assistance Demonstration Program.

>> Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. I'd like you to notice that all my family left. Um no, I they have permission to. Um and I want you to know that while I opened this presentation, I was the one who picked out the picture of my husband with the dogs. And that he didn't know that that was what was going up there. So occasionally I'm in a position to have a small moment of of victory. Um he's a very serious person and would not have chosen that photo himself. Mayor um Council, I am thrilled to be in front of you this afternoon with an overview of and an update on our Rental Assistance Demonstration effort. I um want to express my sympathies to those of you that have heard this presentation once, twice, three, or six times from staff. So, um I I do figure that as you hear things, um new questions may occur to you. And that works out just fine. On today's agenda, what is RAD and why do it? I promise I'm going to define it. What's happened to date? We're bringing up bringing a resolution resolution to you on November 17th um for consideration. So, we're going to go over what the resolution does, what um redevelopment efforts are being discussed, how things get built, to implementation authorities contained within that resolution, and our next steps. This slide is directly out of minus the from the resident engagement presentation tag tag from um the resident engagement meetings we had 2 weeks ago. And um first things to know, now of course of course this was directed at residents, so the word is you, but you are not losing your housing first and foremost. You do not need to move or make plans to move right now, and there are multiple opportunities for you to be involved in this process. Um we hit this message, you'll notice at the end of the slide looks very similar um because we really we really mean it. I um shared with our um residents during the resident meetings that we didn't want anybody with a sour tummy or laying awake at night wondering about their housing security, that you may need to relocate temporarily or move temporarily, but that no one will be losing their um home through this process. So, what is RAD? Housing authority is applying asking for permission to apply to work with HUD to preserve affordable housing long term. HUD calls it the Rental Assistance Demonstration Project or RAD. We're just going going it this effort or the RAD the effort. One of the reasons you're going to hear us calling an effort instead of a project is because project can come with with negative connotations when attached to public housing. And while it is a [clears throat] project, we're going to be undertaking it. We have a project manager. It's something that a lot of folks in the public don't understand differences of words. So, it will eventually have a name that will not be rad. Um but as you hear me talk about it, rad effort, I do believe there is a slide in here that says project. That's leftover from before we changed our vernacular. We're being very intentional about how we talk about some of these things to work to alleviate misunderstandings or rumors within the community. As I know you are aware, public housing funding um becomes a long-term rental assistance contract under a different program through the rad effort. And this can fund repairs, improvements, rebuilding, everything from minor repairs all the way to full redevelopment. So, federal funding for public housing repairs has been shrinking for years and years while our needs, especially underfunded as they are, keep growing. Flagstaff is in a declared housing emergency. Our properties are aging and need reinvestment. And this project is also supported by the city's 10-year housing plan by protecting and expanding long-term affordable housing. We were talking about creating this project, implementing this project when we were writing the 10-year plan. Even before that, we were having some envisioning conversations. This isn't new. We just finally jumped off the cliff. So, what is this different contract program? So, this is another point that I want to share in certain venues, people who can share messages out in public. Public housing funding becomes a long-term rental assistance contract under the Section 8 program. This is really important. Funding shifts from a public housing contract to a long-term Section 8 contract. This contract makes funding easier for us to obtain and improve the property. Section 8 has multiple areas of programs underneath it. One of them is vouchers, and that is the one the public is most familiar with. So, if you say Section 8, the automatic thought process is vouchers. These will not be vouchers. The subsidy will remain attached to the unit, just like with public housing today, that housing subsidy is attached to the unit. So, we will have a Section 8 contract for the units instead of a public housing contract. So, when we say we're shifting program platforms, we're going to use language like that. We're not trying to hide anything. We're trying to simplify things so that in casual conversation, people understand what we're saying and do not believe that we are shifting to all vouchers. We've already had that misunderstanding. Um and so, we're working to utilize language that will work to avoid that in the past or in the past. I'd like to avoid it in the past. Let's also avoid it in the future.

>> [snorts]

>> Goals of this effort is to keep the property affordable long-term. And then primary is to protect current residents and their rights, minimize the impacts on both the residents and our nonprofit partners, improve the property and address our building needs, maintain public or nonprofit ownership or control, and what we've been talking about in talking about RAD, in talking about housing bond, etc., is and the 10-year plan is increase the number of units. We have very low units on very large properties, and we have an opportunity through this effort to change that. Key resident protections. This is really, really important, and we spent quite a bit of time with this with residents. Um again, right at the top, rent remains affordable. The rent stays um an income-based equation with the exception of less than 10 households. And those 10 households have an income that shifts them to another structure called flat rent. Their rent will still stay affordable. If there's an increase, it's a 24-month phase-in. So, there really is rent will stay affordable and for the vast majority, it will stay an income-based calculation. There's no re-screening because of this effort. It's not as if someone is coming in to us as a new resident and going through the full process again. Um folks are income qualified every year at their recertification, but they're not re-screened. This is the same thing. Residents have the right to remain in the development after any rehab or redevelopment, not during, but after. Um and right to return if temporary relocation is needed. They have the right to organize and participate. In the past, we have had resident organizations. We make that well known. We chat with folks about it and we have not seen a willing not a willingness, but a a need or a want to from our residents to organize and participate in an organized way. Um in the resident presentation, we have additional information about that that should they choose to organize and participate as a resident organization, um we are able to provide technical assistance. We have a small amount of funding set aside, etc. Um in order to help with that effort, should they choose to go down that road. Um and they also have uh the continued right to grievance and hearing procedures. That's always a right, um but it stays within um stays their right under these activities as well. And then they have an option to request a tenant-based voucher after a required waiting period of returning to the development. And here's one of the fun parts about working with HUD. So, we started researching this and I'm like, over here it says this and over here it says this and so, I finally went to my friend Claude and went, "What is the waiting period?" And um it came back with this is an unclear area within federal regulations. It depends on the funding source. It depends on a couple of different efforts and it is one to two years and my pledge to the residents was this is years down the road and by the time we get there I will know more about it. But at this point in time our focus has been in a different area. However, the overall concept is if the resident moves back into the development and it doesn't work for them, it doesn't work for their family, perhaps it's someone with PTSD and there's more people around and it doesn't work, they have the right to request a tenant-based voucher and move out into the community and we are obligated to provide it to them. And so um that's really the punchline for that and why there's an ambiguous after the required waiting period.

>> [snorts]

>> So what's happened to date? I put at the top instead of a full summary, discussion and planning for a long time. Um in the last year or so we've hired and worked with a consultant who has provided the the capacity for us for them to do on our behalf a portfolio analysis of what our current public housing portfolio looks like, um household sizes, who's living in it, income sizes, etc. We've had a third-party capital needs assessment performed. We've done a bunch of required background work that is it's a lot but it's it's really not worth mentioning and the consultant also put together the first draft of the RFP to um obtain a development partner with which to embark on this journey with. It's my understanding from purchasing and staff that this RFP is on the verge of being published if not today than tomorrow. Um we engaged an architect. Well, why isn't that a little early? Well, we engaged an architect so we could have a full site analysis conducted. And so that we could have very very preliminary drawings done. Um so that when we embark on the public participation process, our residents, you, other members of the community, etc. have something to respond to when you come into a community charrette. This is what it looks like now, this is what it looks like if we maximize the density, this is what it looks like if we put these things here. Focused on Siler Homes for the first one so that people when coming in can knock it down like a straw man or circle in something and put a star so that there is something to have discussion around and about, but they are in no means and we have not embarked on planning processes and drawings etc. without the ever so important community input. Resident engagement We had two meetings on October 14th at Cogdell at noon and the Aquaplex at 5:30. We have met with three of the key stakeholders. These are folks that are located on Housing Authority city property. Tinkertopia today, Boys and Girls Club recently and May Cog Head Start um last week. All three entities are interested in remaining part of our developments. Passionately want to remain part of our developments. Um you have an example of um I know you can't read it, but it's a fun flyer made by staff as well as that pop-up box is if you went to the housing page on the day of the hearing of the public meetings and we're looking for where to watch it because they were hybrid, this box assaulted you, I mean popped up right as you came onto the page. You couldn't miss it. So if it was something somebody wanted, they were looking for, staff arranged that to have that right there. We did have people online at the Brandon Homes uh meeting we had 10 in person, four online, and six staff. At the Aquaplex meeting, we had six in person, two online, and five staff. And that feels like a lot of staff to resident ratio, but what that also allowed us to do was be available for one-on-one questions and conversations, mainly a lot of conversations after um the presentations and questions. Our residents are not shy about asking questions. Sometimes I present in public and people just kind of stare and not you guys, but other groups, stare and I'm like, okay, no questions. Our residents are not shy about asking questions. We're actually required to create a record of all of those questions and the answers provided and submit it with our application. Um and what that lets HUD do also is see if there are things that we're working with that need additional technical assistance, etc. It also helps us keep track of it. Um it was it was fun. It was fun to engage with residents that way and answer questions. And we had some very, meaningful conversations with some of our

[Anecdote about a private resident and staff omitted.]

Um two Thursdays ago Housing Authority Board voted to forward the resolution to you with a recommendation for approval. Again, that body is a recommending body. They are not an approval body. So that resolution that they approved comes with a recommendation for your approval. What the council resolution does that will be presented for your consideration, it recommends that City Council authorize staff to apply to HUD for this wonderfully named RAD program.

>> [snorts]

>> It acknowledges that RAD does convert public housing assistance into a long-term Section 8 rentals assistance contract. And it recommends that the Housing Authority serve as a developer or co-developer on the redevelopment uh resulting from that application. Redevelopment efforts cover Siler Homes, Brannen Homes, and all of our scattered sites across Flagstaff. We are planning, and when I say planning, we are visioning a mix of housing types including family and senior housing, and of course we are working um to significantly increase the number of affordable homes homes homes available at these sites. How it gets built It is staff's recommendation that a new nonprofit corporation be formed to help with very various elements of the development. Financing in order to do this will combine tax credit financing, grants, loans, city general obligation bond funding from Prop 442, not city general funds, and a qualified development partner will be selected to help design, finance, and build the projects. You know how I like to do my slides, I like to anticipate your questions. Hang on now, what do you mean a new nonprofit? Yes. But at the request of you, if you accept the staff recommendation, this would call for no new staff, no new funding to start with or for the first multiple multiple years to be determined perhaps in very long-term. The language within the resolution is on the screen here is to form a new nonprofit corporation with the Housing Division Director working with legal counsel on incorporation, governance, and submission as directed by the city manager or their designee. Of course, we're coming to council for feedback and input and um direction on that as um this would come to us um through the city manager and we know where she gets her direction. Um this is identified as a best practice for several reasons. It satisfies HUD's control requirements. It allows us to structure our LIHTC partnerships correctly and keeps project risk and guarantee funds separate from the rest of the housing authority and the city. Let me give you an example. We generally cannot contract contract with ourselves. So, when the property converts and gets project-based vouchers, we'll be getting a housing assistance payment contract from HUD. Well, we also need to be able to administer those housing assistance payments and we can't contract with ourselves. So, another example is um if we transfer subsidy from a scattered site unit to one of the main sites, HUD's rules require that the public housing asset transfer to a separate entity recognized under state law. The bigger driver, of course, is usually financing and LIHTC deals need to be held by a single asset ownership entity structured with a general partner who runs the project and a limited partner who typically supplies the tax credit equity. Uh federal regulations require that the housing authority {slash} the city remain in majority um partnership role in every partnership made. Um and I have some more information on even further control being required. Um a non-profit affiliate gives us a clean vehicle to hold controlling interest um in those properties while insulating both the housing authority and the city of Flagstaff from overall liability associated with the endeavors. We're not talking about a nonprofit to wander into the realm of our community. We have very great effective nonprofits who are sitting behind me. We're not structured like the Sharks and the Jets on either side of the room. It's just how it happened. Um this is more or less being considered for the reason of a legal tool, a legal vehicle that will allow us to accomplish what we need to do with lower risk um greater ability to move. Implementation authority within the resolution directs the city manager or their designee to take actions as needed to carry out the resolution including signing applications and agreements. And we will of course keep the FHA board and the city council informed as the project progresses. I foreshadowed this a moment ago. I did have a question come out of the community not at the resident meetings but someone else to say, "How smart is it to embark on a federal program at this point in time?" Well, actually um we're in a pretty decent place. The 21st Century Road to Housing Act enacted just this past summer makes this program permanent. It's been a demonstration program. Demonstration is usually we're going to demonstrate it works and then we're going to move on. It's been a demonstration program for more than a decade. I don't Maybe they'll change the name. Maybe that's where it comes from. Um but it makes the program permanent and it by removing the sunset provision associated with it. It uh the cap increases. They're not near the cap. We were safe in applying now but it raises that cap. As a demonstration program they said we're only going to do this many and then they raised it and now they raised it. Um uh conversion limit to 550,000 units. If you're wondering what the cap is now, I'd be happy to email that to you at another time. I do not have it off the top of my head. And it further takes the affordability mandate even further than it has been in the past which requires that converted public housing authority properties be properties be strictly used for affordable housing rather than commercial, for-profit, or athletic facilities. Not that this was within our intent. However, it further locks down um the property the federal government invested in when creating uh public housing so many years ago. In the very, very first iterations of uh the RAD program, there was no restriction on housing authorities remaining a majority partner, and those very first conversions were lost to the market. Now, that was 10 12 years ago. Since then, a lot of lessons have been learned, and I think we're seeing further implementation of those lessons here. This does not prohibit us from continuing to provide community beneficial services within and on the properties, such as Head Start and Tinkertopia and Boys & Girls Club. Um unless Boys & Girls Club turns pro with their basketball teams, we're probably safe. So, our next steps, Council, um we are planning to be back in front of you on November 17th. Um and then gather all the pieces and parts and things together and submit the applica- application to HUD and publish a co-developer RFP, which is in the coming days. This slide is also directly from the resident engagement presentation. There's a lot of work to be done before any changes to buildings or land are made. It will likely look like nothing is happening for at least a year. We didn't want to start this process, be talking to everybody about it, and then be like, "Well, I haven't seen them do anything." Well, we're going to be working very hard, but it's on the paperwork side. It's a federal program. There's a ton of paperwork and permissions and contracts and negotiations. Um community um planning charrettes, additional resident input, I don't anticipate until next summer. Dirt and buildings, I think we're easily 24 months away from. And so, I did not want people seeing something and being like, "Oh, well, they talked about it and didn't then it." It's going to look like nothing is happening. Um so we wanted to put that out right out in front and then this is from our resident engagement presentation. We have a monthly newsletter that goes to every public housing household. And [name] from staff has taken on the task of making sure we have a monthly update called the RAD Corner right now in the newsletter where we have pledged to write an update even if there is no update such as the RFP was published and we're waiting for the deadline to pass for responses. So that folks can get used to seeing that there's information there. And we don't ever want to leave it blank because with a lack of information often comes a vacuum and that's where we get rumors and that's where we have ideas come out and float around. Our goal is to be as absolutely transparent as possible to be open and honest with residents what things look like. Do we have to relocate folks? I don't know. It's likely. Do I know where? No. We're going to have these community planning processes around us. One of the intentional things that we are working on and I noticed I used it wrong this evening is we're working not to use the word our plans because they're not our plans yet. We have not worked with the community. We have not worked with our residents to create a joint plan. We have some ideas. We have things for the community to respond to but they are not our plans. They are some visioning from staff. I think there'll be a point in the future when it's logical to shift from the plans to our plans when we've worked with the community and honestly truly have our plans um designed and developed with our co-development partner, our residents, our surrounding community and our stakeholders. This slide's going to look really familiar. I told you it would look similar to the front. Folks are not losing their housing. They do not need to move or make plans to move right now and there are multiple opportunities to be involved in the process. And with that I would be happy to answer any questions.

>> Councilmember Milazzo.

>> I have so many, Mayor, that I'm happy to let others go first and then if my questions are already answered by those, then I don't need to ask them a second time.

>> Go ahead cuz it works the other way around, too.

>> All right. Thank you, [name].

>> You're welcome.

>> Um I remember when this first came to us on the Housing Authority board and it has been a long time coming and I know you all are very excited about it and I am incredibly excited about it as well. So, I'm really looking forward to what you have coming down the pike in the next year. So, this is fantastic. As I promised, I will have lots and lots of questions for you.

>> [laughter]

>> I think this is your third shot at questions from this presentation. Just saying.

>> Uh the last time I didn't ask any questions because I did not want to create a conflict of interest since I was

>> be chosen very fair? Okay.

>> while we were having this conversation. Um You used the term long-term several slides. Do you have a number of years? Is it indefinite? Is it 50 years? Is it 100 years?

>> Mayor, Councilmember Milazzo, long-term in terms of development or in terms of how long the developments will last?

>> In terms of the contract between the city of Flagstaff and HUD.

>> Thank you. Um Thank you for the context. It'll be indefinite contract. Right now, we have a contract for our public housing dollars um that is renewed every year. The beauty of the RAD program is that right now under public housing, we receive two funding sources. We receive an operating fund and a capital fund. This program doesn't need mean more money, but it means those two funding sources will be combined into one, which gives us greater flexibility and the contract that we have right now for public housing is is annual with no escalation, no guarantee of funding. So, sometimes given federal budgeting, we can be 4 5 6 months into a fiscal year and not know what our budget is. That's really hard to do from an implementation standpoint. What this does, it's called a CHAP. So, this is going to be fun because we have a community home buyer assistance program that is next on the application, but the CHAP is the agreed to it's it's a it's a RAD term. It's RAD. That will um that contract have an escalation amount in it. So, we will able be able to plan more than a single year at a time for addressing needs within the developments. And so, that long-term contract is indefinite should the federal government continue to have um a Section 8 program and fund it.

>> Great, thank you. Um my next question is um what is the time frame for when um if someone who is currently a tenant under the public housing requests a voucher, what is the time frame you have to provide that voucher to them? And how does that impact the waiting list and etc. for those vouchers?

>> Mayor Council Member Milazzo, a tenant protection voucher is one issued directly for this purpose from HUD and will not impact um the current flow of our waiting list when we get there.

>> Great, thank you. Um the next question I have is uh I think you answered that one. Um I think I'm mostly Oh, I have two more. Um first is the I assume that the plan is for that this new nonprofits purview to be very very restricted so that it doesn't impact other nonprofits within our community. Is that accurate?

>> Mayor Council Member Milazzo, that is the staff's vision. We will of course come and accept direction from City Council, but what we have realized in talking to our partners around the state um and to um some HUD staff that is popping into our office once in a while lately is that it's it's a best practice to do so and it helps us move through a development process without having to come back and have city council form all of these different um corporations necessary in order to go into development. When we discuss this with staff, when I spoke with some of our community partners and said, "What are your thoughts? What are your worries?" um I think the worries are what you think they would be. And I think um you will see a recommendation coming out of staff that um takes those into consideration and narrows what we're doing to our properties. Now, does that mean that we can't partner with other community nonprofits in the future? I don't think so. Um but we are still very new in this. We are um taking our first steps in this direction. I'm learning a lot. Um it's kind of like drinking from a fire hose. I've always told some of my nonprofit partners, I'm like, "I'm so glad I don't have a nonprofit." Um this would be different because it's really under the city umbrella. So, it's not truly going out and trying to make budget, that type of thing. So, yes, it's not intended to go out and compete for limited local dollars, any of those things.

>> Great, thank you. Um the last question is probably two or three years early, but I'm going to ask it anyway. Do you have plans for all electric and or solar on this new development to reduce costs to the city as well as to residents for the long term?

>> Thank you for the question. Um it's a tiny bit early. We're going to be doing some community visioning surrettes and um what we have always discussed with sustainability, especially in reference to public um buildings is that we We work to incorporate everything is sustainable that makes financial logical sense. Um we understand the um importance of controlled utility bills, especially because the bulk of those utility bills are paid by us. Um in this case, uh we understand those principles, but when it comes down to providing an additional unit or an additional sustainability feature, um what I've told sustainability is we are going to be very, very apt to err on the side of an additional sustainability unit rather than another sustainability feature. Now, there are a lot of funding sources out there for us to be able to go knock on doors to identify additional funding to incorporate sustainability features. Um so, I would say it's more than on the table. I would say it's a lovely centerpiece around what we're doing, but as your housing director, um our recommendations will be based on maximizing number of units while still satisfying as many of the sustainability goals as we can.

>> You thank you so much for that answer. You know I am a wild advocate for both housing and sustainability, and I don't find another low-income house uh unit or affordable unit to be non-sustainable. I think that is part of sustainability. So, I do encourage the language to shift a little bit

>> Okay. Thank

>> to a different type of sustainability, which is more affordable housing units, which is in a a sustainability goal.

>> Thank you.

>> And thank you, Council and Mayor. I'm done.

>> Vice Mayor. Thank you, and thank you for the presentation. Um I have seen this a few times now. I feel like I could almost give it. Um

>> You are welcome to use

>> [laughter]

>> I So, I really appreciate that you are so open and communicative with the residents, and I know throughout this process you will continue to be. Um I'm just wondering given the the sessions you had with for feedback, was there anything that was kind of a surprise or a an occurring theme that maybe isn't in the presentation that they're concerned about?

[Discussion of a community rumor omitted.]

And so, I think the other questions that we heard from residents were more about if we have to move where they'll be will they'll be will there be financial help? Yes, as part of residents rights and protections, those types of things. Um We did not We had a question about services on site. We had questions about Anything popping in anybody's head?

>> Mix of units.

>> Mix of units. What we did talk about I defined middle housing in the the resident presentation because it's something they're going to start to hear. And everyone should have the same baseline of of operating and understanding of what things meant. So, we talked about not rows and rows and rows and rows of apartments, but rather a neighborhood and a community and with connectivity within it. And so, when you hear the term middle housing, it means smaller groups of attached housing. It means X, Y, and Z. Perhaps we have some townhome style units. Perhaps we have X, Y, and Z. And I have a vision in my head of what the charrette looks like, and I don't know if that's what it's going to look like or not, but um Monopoly houses aren't realistic, but you know, some manila folder cut-out pieces will get more fancy than that, but where people can say, "I would like to see these." We meeting with Tinkertopia this morning was an interesting conversation about [name] where they are in the development. Um some board members have some other thoughts about well, maybe easier for the rest of the community to get to because they serve more than just Siler Homes, that type of thing. Which is why I've been really happy with our conversations with our stakeholders and how um engaged they are to stay within the developments and continue to serve who they serve. So, I think that was the the flavor of it. The other questions that came were very individualized.

[Resident question and rumor omitted.]

And so, I'm happy to provide you the question-answer transcripts if you'd like.

>> [snorts]

>> Thank you so much. That was a lot of great information, and I'm glad that I asked the question. Um I I just want to state that I'm I'm very excited about this update, and I think that working on our existing affordable housing is just as important as creating new housing. So, I appreciate all of your work. Thank you.

>> Council member Matthews.

>> Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, [name], for the presentation and all the work. Uh one of my questions did get answered already. But, um the newsletter, um how is it distributed to ensure that all the residents are receiving it?

>> Mayor Councilmember Matthews, um the newsletter is sent via snail mail to every household. There are some notices that we do attach to to doors, but we know what happens with those. They get taken off by the first kid home, and it goes on the counter. So, when we do those, we try to use neon-colored paper. Um but the newsletters, it's a it's a it's a cost, but it's something that we budget for and feel like it's very important to continue to do.

>> Thank you. And then my um real question, my bigger question is um you know, I always talk about the speed of government and the processes. That was probably our first conversation we ever had when I got on council. [laughter] Um so, you talked about ex- you know, second in expectations and you know, a ways before we see, you know, shovels in the ground. Is that can that be expedited through additional staffing, or is it just because we're doing one government applying to a bigger government, and that's just how it is, or can we do something about that?

>> Thank you for the question, Councilmember Matthews. The speed of this could be impacted by additional staffing at HUD. Not staffing that we control. I have been fortunate enough to meet with twice now two individuals who are actually line workers in the Chicago office where the RAD applications go when you turn them in. And I have gotten some excellent tips on make sure you X, Y, and Z, you know, cross this T, dot this I. This can speed us up, but they're down to a pretty bare-bones staffing. Um the joke I made in the resident presentations was I don't control HUD and the speed of which which they're able to do. The pieces on our side that we can control are our responses in negotiating the chap and what that looks like on our part. There's not a lot of room to give, but it's a data-based exercise. And so those are the those are really the pieces that we control within this. We are ahead of the game in putting out our RFP for a co-developer at this point in time rather than waiting until we are closer to a negotiated chap with HUD. Um and so I other than council's support as we move into this um I'm not sure there's a whole lot we can do to move up this phase. As we get into community planning and charrettes, we'll be asking you to share the message in the community of when those are. Um while we did not have that many people at the meetings um in comparison to how many people live in the development. I told you they weren't shy about questions and then talking with our housing services specialists for each development, what was shared with me is there were some very key people that are message carriers that were at that meeting. And so we're also depending on some of that word of mouth. So sharing the message as we move forward, etc. Uh we we have had fantastic support of course from city manager's office on down. And in barking on this, I told you a couple weeks ago it felt like we were about ready to jump off a cliff. And I feel like I didn't jump by myself. I'm surrounded by a fantastic team not only within housing, but within the organization.

>> Thank you and thank you to the whole team cuz I know it is a collective effort and I appreciate everybody's support and focus on this. Thank you.

>> Thank you. It is mind-numbing at times. We've never done this. And so I think um legal has a little tracker on me that when I get near their offices it goes off because here I come with a why can't we do this question? And so I make their brain I know I make brains hurt occasionally, but um I haven't yet been grounded from their offices. So I'm just going to keep going. I'm always see I'm always welcome. No, it's a great partnership and and usually it's not a no way. It's a we can probably figure that out. Give us some time we'll work on it. And so far we have figured it out. So we're just going to keep going. Thank you.

>> Thank you for the great presentation and thank you to staff. This is a huge undertaking in addition to everything that you're already doing and has the potential to be monumental for the residents of Flagstaff. So we appreciate all this work. Thank you.

>> Thank you.

>> [snorts]

>> Speaking of housing.

>> Speaking Speaking of housing.

>> Number eight is bond funded community home buyer assistance program and employer assisted housing program annual update that we are all looking forward to. Sorry, one moment. Where's the play button? There we go. No, I wish. Sorry. Thank you so much. Good afternoon Mayor, Council, staff and community members. I'm [name] Housing and Grants Administrator for the Housing Division and I'm so happy to be here tonight to introduce our partners at Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona. Um the city of Flagstaff has partnered with Housing Solutions for over 27 years now and they've been an incredible partner in helping Flagstaff residents achieve home ownership. Together we've provided more than $6 million in home buyer assistance in addition to millions of dollars in CDBG funding that has supported some of Flagstaff's most vulnerable residents, including survivors of domestic violence, children and families experiencing homelessness, and low and moderate income households working towards greater housing stability. Having worked at Housing Solutions myself, this partnership is especially meaningful to me. I was lucky enough to have [name] as a mentor all those years ago. I don't want to age us. And I have seen firsthand the care and dedication that the Housing Solutions team brings to their work. One thing that has never changed is their commitment to their clients. They are thoughtful, compassionate, and persistent advocates, in a good way. Not just for the families they serve, but for the programs and policies that make home ownership possible in our community. They bring tremendous expertise to this work, and they genuinely care about getting it right. So, today's presentation um is also a great opportunity for us to share with Council and our community how the voter-approved Proposition 442 affordable housing bond dollars are being put to work. Flagstaff voters made a significant investment in affordable housing back in 2022, and that included $7 million dedicated to home buyer assistance. And we're now seeing those dollars help local families, educators, health care workers, first responders, and other members of our workforce be able to put down roots and purchase homes in our community, where home ownership can often feel out of reach. I think it's so important that we share not just how these public dollars are being spent, but also the real impact they're having in our neighbors' lives. So, we're so lucky to have Housing Solutions as partners. I'm really excited for you, Council and our community, to hear about the impact of these down payment assistance programs and the families they've helped over the past year. And with that, I'll turn it over to the Housing Solutions team and [name].

>> All right. Thank you so much. I'm excited to be here this afternoon. Um thanks to [name] and the housing department Um for setting the tone. I really think it's going to be a presentation I hope that you feel good about and can see the success and the impact in our community. So, um, batten down the hatches cuz we're ready to celebrate and continue the hard work. So, it's a pause of happiness. So, I do want to start a little bit about CHAP, the background. As [name] mentioned, the current CHAP program is funded by the housing bond that was passed by our voters, which dedicated $7 million towards down payment and closing cost assistance to help eligible first-time home buyers in our community with the upfront cost of home ownership. Um, the city of Flagstaff contracted with Housing Solutions last August, August 2025. So, the report that you'll see today is the first 14 months of implementation of those funds. And of course, the little background on Housing Solutions. So, as a reminder, we are a HUD-approved housing counseling agency. We've been serving Flagstaff in Northern Arizona since 1990. We've partnered with the city of Flagstaff since 1999 to administer various financial assistance programs helping first-time home buyers. The city of Flagstaff was one of the first to get on board with investment in home ownership through a down payment assistance program. And I have to tell you, I talked to a lot of elected officials, community leaders, folks across the state in Northern Arizona who constantly say, "How do we do what Flagstaff's doing?" So, they see the work, they see the impact, and they very much want it replicated in their communities because of the trends that you've set, the investment that you've made, which has resulted in some significant impact. Um, since 1995, we've worked with you guys, we've worked with other partner funders, whether it's the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, the state of Arizona, city, Coconino County, Cottonwood, you name it, to assist 522 families is is it says on here with direct financial assistance, but as of yesterday it was 527 and it's 526 tomorrow it's 527. So, we continue to see program utilization even after the presentation had to be submitted for y'all. So, we can we continue to have fun with that. And I do want to take a second to recognize a couple of staff members in the audience, [name] and [name]. So, if you want to wave. [name] and [name] are the frontline folks who work with clients on a daily basis to understand program details, to do the housing counseling, to talk about barriers to home ownership. I get to stand up and talk, but they are the true champions of this program on a day-to-day basis and I just want to thank them for all that they do. Okay, so I do go through a little bit about the programs just to situate the community if this is the first time you're ever hearing about CHAP or permanent affordability or employer assisted housing before we get into the impacts. So, if you've heard it before, sorry about that, um but I'll get through it quickly. So, as a reminder CHAP stands for Community Homebuyer Assistance Program. As I just told the new board member this morning, the acronyms in this field are immense. We love them, so if I say something that you're like, what the heck does that mean? Um please let me know, but for this presentation CHAP does not mean HUD or RAD. It means um Community Homebuyer Assistance Program. And that program provides up to $50,000 in matching loan funds. We underscore matching and loan intentionally in that sentence um to buyers who are mortgage eligible. So, you have to be able to get a first mortgage, right? People have decent credit, they can um make a payment to their mortgage lender on a recurring monthly basis. So, we're helping people who are can otherwise purchase, but with the discrepancy between home prices and incomes in our community have trouble with those upfront costs of home ownership. Um CHAP could be used for down payment, it could be used to cover closing costs or an interest rate buy-down, kind of whichever makes the most sense, bang for your buck when the lender's putting the package together. Uh funds are a 10:1 match, so up to $5,000 of buyer funds are matched with up to $50,000 of CHAP funds. If you come in with 4,000 of your own funds, you get 40,000. So, um we certainly find that most people get that $5,000. It's a really good bang for your buck buck. CHAP is a loan. It's never forgiven. We'll talk about repayment here and how that works in the future, but it is secured against the property in second position behind your first mortgage. And in order to be eligible, so we do not claim that CHAP helps helps everybody. It does It does not. It was intentionally targeted to specific um potential buyers in our community. Uh the first criteria is that you have to be a first-time Flagstaff home buyer. So, that means you've not owned a home in the last 3 years. There's some carve-outs, so if you were an owner with a spouse, um then you lost that home during a divorce or whatever, um there's some specific ways HUD likes to define home ownership with some nuance. But for the most part, if you haven't owned a home in the last 3 years, you're a first-time home buyer. The house you buy have to be has to be located in city limits. Makes sense. Taxpayer dollars aren't going to help you go buy um in Cottonwood or Camp Verde, for example. And then at least one home buyer in the household and on the primary mortgage must have lived or worked within the Flagstaff Metropolitan Planning Organization boundary for the 12 months consecutive prior to purchase. So, we're trying to help folks who live and work in our community be able to stay here. And then you have to go through some hoops. You have to meet with us. We have to determine your eligibility. You have to do home buyer education. And then we look at household income. And we look at income from all adult members of the household um to see if they uh household combined income does not exceed the limits that were set by the council and are based on area median income guidelines that are published annually by HUD and then given to us by the city housing department staff. Um typically that process happens in the spring. When exactly is dependent on when HUD gets it out. Um so right now we're dealing with 2026 income limits. So for example, a three-person household's total income cannot exceed more than $151,200 a year. Not bad income ranges. We're certainly not always serving the lowest of low-income folks with this program. It takes a little bit of money to be able to afford enough of a mortgage to be able to purchase. So this is filling that workforce housing need gap. And then repayment never forgiven, always repaid, always in capitals. Um repayment occurs when something happens with that owner. They trigger repayment. So they could sell their home, they could refinance for cash out, or if they don't owner-occupy it anymore. If they want to keep ownership, but maybe move to Phoenix for job and then rent the home out, that's going to trigger repayment to y'all um to replenish the fund. And then um if you buy a house that has a different resale formula, like a land trust home or a deed-restricted home, it's just dollar for dollar. You get 50,000, you pay back 50,000. But if you purchase a home on the market that does not have other resale restrictions, there is an appreciation share formula for repayment. And I um I like So how this works is that I think I do an example. No um no, I don't. Okay. So how this works um is that it's a percentage of the assistance to the home purchase price. So let's say you buy a $100,000 house, which does not exist, and you get $10,000 of assistance, that's 10% of the purchase price. When you go to sell your home down the road, it's appreciated to 150,000, you're still going to pay back 10%, which is now 15,000. It's a pay-it-forward model that helps to recoup more funds in the future a similar buyer buy a higher priced house. And when explained to folks, people are really on board with that. In that simple example I gave, you made $45,000 of appreciation even if you paid back 15,000 instead of the 10 you borrowed. So it gives you an opportunity to enter into that market. If you decide to repay CHAP assistance within 7 years, that appreciation share is reduced by half. So, it gives incentive to repay cuz if we can get the money back into the fund, we can help more families cycle it through. So, there is an incentive to repay within the first 7 years of ownership. Um in addition to normal CHAP, which I just explained to you, um you all created a pilot program that is CHAP permanent affordability. It has two goals. One is, of course, to help people buy a first home, but the second goal is to increase the city's inventory of permanently affordable homes that are either in your land trust or restricted through a deed restriction document. So, a portion of that money is now going into this permanent affordability program, which is new this year. Um the program lowers the buyer's acquisition cost through strategic city investments in exchange for that permanent affordability. Similar eligibility criteria, first-time home buyer, the house has to be within Flagstaff city limits. There's a couple of different additions. The first one is that the home sales price cannot exceed $600,000. That's because you're going to get a percentage of the home purchase price as assistance, not a flat 50,000. So, the city needs to put a cap on it, otherwise that percentage gets to be a lot of money. Um still have to uh work or live within the area, and you have to complete our homebuyer education and counseling. Another difference for the permanent affordability program is the income limits. So, instead of 150% of the area median income, household income cannot exceed 125% of the area median income. So, a little less. So, for that three-person household again, the income cannot exceed 126,000. And then, the permanent affordability assistance is not a loan. It's instead um funding that comes into the home purchase in exchange for either a deed restriction or the home entering into the city's community land trust program. So, the buyer would get up to 30% of the purchase price. So, if you're buying a $500,000 house, 30% is $150,000. So, then they are responsible for the $350,000 that is the net of that for um mortgage, their own down payment, etc. And then the ground lease or deed restriction would record at the same time as the primary mortgage at purchase. They have to owner occupy the primary residence and then it's going to be a restricted resell in the future. In this case, the buyer can refinance for cash out, but only up to that lower limit, right? So, they can't refinance up to 500,000, they could refinance up to $350,000 is the max value of the home. And then um there is a resale that comes with this and future eligibility criteria for the next buyer. The resale formula is um uh an appraisal-based formula. So, you take the appraisal at sale minus the appraisal at when you bought it, look at that appreciation, and the owner, who is now the seller, gets 25% of the appreciation. I do give an example of this cuz that's a lot of words and numbers just make it make more sense for me. So, if in this situation a buyer is using permanent affordability chap assistance to buy a $400,000 house, they can get 30% of that purchase price in assistance, which is $120,000. That makes their initial affordable purchase price $280,000 instead of the $400,000. That's a lot more manageable for folks. And if we assume they own it for a period of time, while they own it, the home market valuation goes from $400,000 to $500,000. It's appreciated $100,000. They would get 25% of that appreciation. Easy math. I did that intentionally. So, they get $25,000 in appreciation, which gets added to that original um affordable purchase price. So, the home would sell for $305,000 in the future. That buyer walks with the $25,000 of appreciation under this situation as well as 100% of whatever they've paid down in their primary mortgage and whatever down payment they put to the home. So, they're only sharing the appreciation, not all of the equity in the home. And then the third program I'm here to talk about is employer assisted housing. So, this is not bond funded. This is y'all um putting general funds towards uh um an employee benefit through an annual general fund allocation. Um it's contingent on the city budget allocation for the fiscal year and program demand. EAH provides up to $20,000 of matching loan funds to buyers who are eligible. Um the funds are matched two to one, so up to 20,000 of home buyer money, their contribution could be matched with $20,000 in uh employer assisted housing funds. EAH is a loan. Everything's a loan. Oh, well, the first two are the first one's a loan, this one's a loan. Um and it has partial forgiveness. So, it's also recorded in second position behind your primary mortgage. In order to be eligible, at least one buyer on the mortgage has to meet employment requirements with y'all. And so, a city of Flagstaff employee must not have owned a home within the Flagstaff MPO boundary within the last 3 years, first-time Flagstaff buyer. They have to do housing counseling and home buyer education. They have to occupy the home as their principal residence. And because this is an employee benefit program, there's no income restrictions for the household. The home has to be located within the FMPO boundary, though. So, because this is a loan, there is no payment and no interest. Up to $10,000 of the loan is forgiven on a pro rata basis over 10 years if the home is owner occupied and if the employee continues to work with you guys. When funds are forgiven, the IRS does consider that forgiveness of debt income, so it does add to their W-2 um income amount at the end of the year for tax purposes, which we disclose to buyers when they buy or before they buy. Um and then funds are repaid immediately to the city of Flagstaff if the home sells, if somebody wants to refinance to get equity out of their house, totally fine. Um but they have to pay it back and then employment with the city is terminated or they no longer owner occupy the home. So, in addition to determining eligibility, working with lenders to explain the program, getting um loans funded, all of the fun things that we do, one of our tasks is outreach and education. So, we list in here some of our efforts over the last 14 months to share information about these programs with the community. Very soon after the program launched, I got to stand here on the other side of the podium and talk to a group of community members who were interested in learning more about the launch of the new program. We had a really robust turnout, which was lovely. It was in partnership with the Association of Realtors and the city of Flagstaff um advertised and hosted it, which was great. So, that was a nice launch. We've done podcasts, we've had newspaper articles, we've gone to realtor meetings and talked about the program to realtors. We um give information out to our volunteer HAT committee, which is comprised of local lenders and title officers. Um we participate in city sponsored housing events. In fact, we're here in I will not here, we're at the library next week for rental to home ownership um tabling event and we're working to create a virtual realtor lender training that can be accessed at any time for those partners. So, here's the fun part. What's happened? Um in the last 14 months, 25 households, 52 people have utilized the the vanilla CHAP, the normal CHAP assistance to purchase a first home. That's a total of $1,137,000 that has been administered out into the community. Average assistance a little under that $50,000 cap, 45,492. The average homebuyer contribution is 21,000. So, people are coming in with some money in here and they still need help in order to get that home purchase over the finish line, which means really in any other market they could have probably bought a house and been totally fine. Um, average mortgage 334,000, average purchase price 393. So, folks are not buying million-dollar homes. They're finding town homes or condos or manufactured homes that are within their price range, which is awesome. We are serving an average household income of just under a hundred thousand dollars and an average household AMI, area median income, of a hundred and ten percent. I do want to point out five of those twenty-five buyers purchased permanently affordable homes. So, three of those buyers layered CHAP with the city's FAP. Once again, we love acronyms. Um, Flagstaff Affordable Homeownership Program program to purchase a developer-built affordable home. So, those are negotiated between the city and the developer to reduce price and put it into either a land trust or deed restriction depending on the mechanism used. And then two buyers used CHAP to buy uh Housing Solutions Community Land Trust home cuz we've started our own Community Land Trust program. Twenty-eight percent of buyers are female-headed households and the average length of time people have lived in Flagstaff prior to purchase is 12.3 years. So, these are not folks who are coming here and buying a house in a year. They are folks that are typically here for quite some time wanting to put down roots in the community that they love. Employers, six employees of Northern Arizona University have purchased with the CHAP program. Six employees are in government, broadly speaking, maybe City of Flagstaff, Coconino County, etc. Three employees are in the medical field. Typically Northern Arizona Healthcare, but there's one that's in a related medical field. Two employees work for Flagstaff Unified School District and four employees work at Gore. So, these are robust um community employers that are having a benefit because of your investment in their employees homebuyer success. Um, at the time that we did this report, we had three additional households under contract. As I mentioned, two have already bought, one will buy tomorrow. For the CHAP Permanently Affordable Program, we've had two households buy. We launched this in the spring, so we launched regular CHAP first and then launched the Permanently Affordable one a few months later. So, two households have purchased. Total assistance is 292,000. So, the per household assistance is of course much greater because this is resulting in permanent affordability. Average assistance 146,000. Average buyer contribution still nothing to sneeze at. People are coming in with money to buy a permanently affordable house. The mortgage is a little lower, but the average purchase price is a little higher cuz they got 30% assistance to buy that house. 510,000 is the average purchase price. And then the average household income is a little higher, and the average household AMI is about 114% of the area median income. Two buyers purchased. The average length of time they've lived in Flagstaff prior to purchase was 10 and a half years. And actually, both of these buyers work at NAU. I don't know why that happened, but there you go. Maybe they're talking about it at NAU. I don't

>> [snorts]

>> Um, and then your employer assisted housing program. So, these are employees that work for the city of Flagstaff. Seven households purchased with your um investment. A total of 134,000 dollars was loaned out. Average assistance just shy of that 20,000 cap at 19,143. Average home buyer contribution much greater. You'll see also incomes are higher because once again, there's no income cap on this program. It's a employee benefit. Average monthly mortgage is higher, average purchase price is a little higher, and the average income is 150% of the area median income. Average length of time living in Flagstaff prior to purchase for your employees was 14.7 years. Been here a while. Eight City of Flagstaff employees benefited from the program. You might question that cuz there's seven households, but one household had two Flagstaff employees. So, you got double bang for your buck on that one. Um and then three of those Flagstaff employee co-borrowers are employed in the medical field. So, we just kind of popped that in, too, cuz it was the the highest amount of um industry uh leverage. The other three buyers were in um other scattered fields. I do want to share with you some impact. So, I love data, but, you know, your heart is like, "Whoo, okay. Um numbers only can do so much." So, we do share some quotes from some first-time homebuyers who've received assistance through your pro- your funded programs this fiscal year. Um this one's a longer one. I will read this one um because it's a little shorter. So, purchasing our first home was a major milestone for our family and the beginning of a new chapter. We are grateful to have a place we can call our own, where we can build memories, create stability, and grow together for years to come. So, that impact is um very much appreciated from the clients that we serve. We get lots of thank you letters um telling us that folks get to paint their house, get the dog, um plan for the future, plant a garden, all of that kind of fun stuff that I think a lot of us take for granted.

[Illustrative stories about private households omitted.]

And then I'll end with this. Um we talk about 25 households or two households or seven households this fiscal year, and that is a snapshot, and we should all pause and celebrate. I hope you think we should celebrate this impact, but historically, looking at City of Flagstaff investment in homeownership, you all have helped 380 households buy a home. Prior to CHAP bond investment, there was the CHAP program, there was CDBG investment, you've done employer assisted housing for many, many years. And so, we did some data crunching to be able to share with you that historic impact as well. So, 380 households, 966 people, $4 million in CHAP assistance, $520,000 in EAH assistance. CHAP B is 1.13 million, CHAP PA is 2.9 2.92 292,000. Sorry, I don't want to get my numbers wrong. Um it's it's leveraged for nearly 4.5 million dollars in homebuyer contributions, 1.9 million dollars in other assistance we've brought to the table through Wish or state of Arizona funds or whoever gives us money, we layer it, and it's leveraged 69 million dollars in mortgage financing. 37% of all of our buyers are female-headed households, and historically the average household AMI is 89%. So, thank you. And then one last thing before I turn it over, um we have a gift for you all. So, if I can get some Vanna White help. And then I'll be quiet. I swear I've talked a lot. So, we wanted to visually represent these 380 households um for your impact. And so, we have these boards to give to you. Each of the little keys on there represents a family that has been impacted um and opened the door to homeownership through City of Flagstaff program investment. So, there's the blue keys, those are historic CHAP investment. There's the white keys, those are your employer-assisted housing households. And then the um the yellow keys are your CHAP B program, and the two over there on the side that are a little different color yellow are your permanent affordability. So, we hope that you guys will put this up wherever you want to. Um we have additional keys so you can add to it over time. Um on the little key itself, it gives a brief description of the family, and then on the downward part it tells the year that they purchased, so you can kind of see what's happened over time. But um I mean, it's fun to be a part of this program. So, thank you for your vision, insight, and impact. And I'm happy to answer any questions, but um that's that's all she wrote from my perspective. So, thank you for everything.

>> [applause]

>> Could

>> Oh, yes. So, here, where do you want it?

>> Just right behind you.

>> Oh, behind me. Okay. She's coming. Behind me is I guess I'm on camera, so then they want to see I don't know if I can Yeah, there you go. So, yeah. Cool. Cool. And we'll give these to your housing department, they can they can decide or you can decide or whoever can decide where they want to put them. So, yeah. Happy to answer any questions. Is that my next Okay, that's my next thing.

>> Uh Council Member House.

>> [clears throat]

>> Thank you, Mayor. Thank you so much, [name], and the whole Housing Solutions team. This is It was an amazing presentation, and that gift is so meaningful um for I know us and the rest of the community. So, I hope we can put it somewhere where not only we can see it, but also the rest of the community has just awareness of the impact that this programming and partnership has had over the past several years um and that will continue for our community into well into the future. The only question I had for you was actually just to give you an opportunity to share more about the upcoming program that you mentioned um on Sunday at the library. If you could just share more details on what that program is, and I'm stretching out the question because I see someone else is probably coming up, but more information on what that program is, what services will be offered, and yeah, just what all is included in that.

>> Thank you, Mayor. Vice Mayor. Council Member House. So, the event is actually Thank you for the opportunity opportunity to speak about it, but it'll be happening on Thursday, November 5th from 4:00 to 6:00 at the downtown library. This specific event has been planned with assistance from [name]. I think he was here at the Housing America Month Proclamation. He's one of our NAU students that we've been working with and he's done a phenomenal job. Um the theme this year for a resource, it's going to be a tabling event so people can come to the community room at the downtown library from 4:00 to 6:00 again on Thursday of next week and they get resources for renters that are interested in homeownership. So, [name] Stearns going to be there. We have a lot of other partner organizations coming also um and yeah, is that I think that pretty much covers it. Come and get your swag, your free swag.

>> Thank you very much and apologies for getting that date wrong. So, Thursday, November 4th. Thank you.

>> Yeah, the 5th.

>> 5th.

>> Yeah.

>> Uh dates don't matter. Thank you.

>> Come hang out at the library. We'll be there. It'll be great.

>> Exactly.

>> Councilmember Milazzo.

>> Thank you, [name]. Hi [name], how are you?

>> I'm okay. I'm wondering what questions you're going to throw at me but I'm good.

>> Oh, you know I love questions. Um I've got two that I know of at the moment. Um you mentioned 600,000 as the cap on the permanent affordability. Is that a fixed number or is that subject to change by year or council direction or something?

>> Yeah, thank you for the question, Councilmember Milazzo. So, it's fixed right now at $600,000. We um from time to time we'll bring back program guidelines to you all for adjustment so that's something that can adjust over time um given utilization or what the market's doing. Right now we feel like it's a decent number. Um so, it kind of limits the amount of money the city has to invest per household but also gives enough of a range that people can find homes in that range.

>> Great, thank you. The other's kind of a comment, but also a question. Um when you talk about the um calculation for when someone receives um assistance with a community land trust, for example, right or on it. Um one of the things that I would like to see more of is the return on investment for someone who is receiving that assistance versus someone who would have to come to the purchase with their own cash. Um for example, the $400,000 house you were talking about, um if you assume it's a 10-year uh um if they if they wait for 10 years before they sell it, they end up paying something like 506,000, and if it only appreciated to 500,000, they're actually somewhat underwater. If they came to buy it with their own cash, that 80,000 and 20% down, whereas with support and help, even though the resale is reduced because of the program, they actually end up walking away with a much greater return on their investment. And I think it's really valuable for us to distribute that kind of knowledge to the community.

>> I I would agree. Oh, thank thank you, Council Member Melazzo. Um I would agree. So, all we can certainly do some calculations, and we talk in more detail with potential buyers, right? So, like, here's the pros and cons, here's what you're getting into. There's a whole permanent affordability orientation that the city does. Um so, I I do think that happens on that end. But, for the community in general, I agree with you. We'll um kind of create some more scenarios. Um the other interesting piece, I think, is if you had to borrow that extra money, what did you pay in interest on that extra borrowed sum over the 10 years of ownership, um and how does that how does that change where you're like, "Yay, I got an extra $80,000, but I paid 70,000 in interest to borrow that over time." So, I think there's some additional calculations that provide context that we can add.

>> Great, thank you. And I also think it's important to recognize um that the assistance that the city provides through you um stays within the city, whereas if you take out a loan for your down payment, it's probably going to be a national bank and your interest payments are going out of the city. Your payments on the bigger part of the loan are also leaving the city, so it's also a reinvestment in our community in that way.

>> Yeah, absolutely. Um and I think the other nice part about the design of CHAP, which has been a similar design before CHAP bond existed, it was CHAP general fund, is that loan feature, right? So that one-time investment of um taxpayer dollars cycles over and over and over again. So yay, we've helped 25 households with with regular CHAP, but that money will come back. And it might not come back next year or the year after, but when it does, it could then be reinvested to help more families, which is just the magic of the program is that that one-time investment just has unlimited opportunity to help in perpetuity. So I love that part of the design and thank you for asking the question so that I could say that out loud.

>> Thank you, Mayor.

>> Well, thank you very much. Um and thank you for the visual. That is really beautiful and what a lovely way to to display the impact that the program has had. Um once again, thank you to all of you. Thank you to staff. You You all have a great partnership and are able to get a lot of stuff done. So, thanks for the presentation.

>> Thank you so much. We appreciate our partnership and you. So, you guys make it happen.

>> All right. We've gone through RAD, CHAP. I see no um public comment. So, announcements and updates two from council and city manager. Let's start with council member Spence.

>> Thank you, Mayor. Um just to follow up the I mentioned a couple weeks ago that uh a field trip up to Observatory Mesa and Natural Preserve was scheduled um but had to be last Thursday but was canceled because of the rain and muddy roads. So, um we are it is going to be rescheduled uh at a future date when the roads dry out and any council members that want to go on that uh trip, the guided trip to Observatory Mesa, should contact uh [name] to make a reservation. The second thing is the PROS Master Plan open house, which was scheduled for last week, got canceled because of the severe weather warning. And that has been rescheduled for day after tomorrow, this Thursday, at the Aquaplex from 5:00 to 7:00. So, this is an open house for the public to learn about the master plan process and uh the public is invited. Thank you.

>> Council member House.

>> Apologies, Mayor. I couldn't find my unmute button there for a second. Um yeah, the only thing I have tonight is just reminding the community that the open house scheduled for by the uh Flagstaff Police Department was also uh rescheduled from last week and it was rescheduled for Thursday, October 29th, from 3:00 to 6:00 uh at the police station on Sawmill. So, I hope to see other community members there. Thank you, Mayor.

>> Vice Mayor.

>> Thank you. I have [clears throat] something for city manager. I would like to look into a conversation surrounding an ethics policy for council and commissioners.

>> Um thank you, Vice Mayor. We'll We'll definitely do that. We've had some internal discussions and we'll um start working that and bring it back to council.

>> Thank you.

>> Council member Aslan.

>> Nothing tonight, Mayor.

>> Council member [name].

>> Nothing tonight. Thank you.

>> Council member Matthews.

>> Thank you, Mayor. Just a few things. Um I came in on the second half of the Mexican Consulate mobile event, which was well attended. I think they had 185 um people that they served. I met the um several people there and of course our we had county representative there and I know that you guys were there as well, but um I was happy to see so many people get um serviced and just all the services that they provide. Um thank you, Vice Mayor, for bringing up the ethics uh policy. I look forward to that as well. That's it.

>> I want to remind the public that the Flagstaff Fire Department is having an open house on Friday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. and this is at station number three, which is on Nestle Purina. And the Northern Arizona Alzheimer's and Dementia Alliance held a luncheon last week and um I encourage people who are caregivers of of a loved one in our community to reach out to this organization because they can provide some resources and some help. And I just want to thank the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition for a spectacular year worth of Dark Skies celebrations. The Amber Moon concert last Sunday was really beautiful and they have just put in such an extraordinary effort to highlight Flagstaff's role as the world's first International Dark Sky City and they deserve um a lot of thanks from the community. City Manager.

>> Um Mayor and Council, just one thing to add. Uh Thursday is the United Way breakfast and um the City of Flagstaff is actually a pacesetter this go around, so we'll have a poster with our um our current total um and I I believe many of you are attending that event on Thursday. If not, um contact [name]. So, thank you.

>> And what's our total? Right now?

>> We are So, our goal is 22,500 and I believe we are um close to 16, just below 16,000. Um and we have a lot of amazing raffle items um for those who haven't donated yet yet. Thank you.

>> Thank you. All right. So, I am adjourning this meeting and we are moving into a special meeting and I am calling it to order and giving notice to the public and members of the City Council that at this work session, the City Council may vote to go into executive session, which will not be open to the public for discussion and consultation with the city's attorneys for legal advice on any item listed on the following agenda. 12 B, consideration and possible action regarding the executive session of October 27th, 2026. Can I get a motion?

>> I'll move.

>> And the motion is to direct and authorize the city attorney and or designated city representative to proceed as discussed in the executive session of October 27th, 2026 for items 5 AI and 5 BI.

>> I'll second.

>> Discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any Any opposed? All right. Thank you very much. And Possible action in it. Okay, 12C consideration and approval use of the council initiative fund. And I believe that this came from council member House.

>> Yes, Mayor, it did. Um good afternoon, [name] [name]. I'm your communication and civic engagement director.

>> [laughter]

>> Um so yes, as you just explained, um council member House did bring forward a request to utilize our council initiative fund to make a contribution to the [name] Memorial Fund for first responders. Um so we're here to have that discussion. I'm looking for um council direction and action on that request. Um we also can um discuss any other requests that you might have at this time for the use of that fund. Um currently we have $24,000 available to be used before the end of this fiscal year.

>> Thank you. Council member House, did you want to say anything about this?

>> Yes, thank you, Mayor. Um thank you, [name], for getting this on the agenda so quickly. And thank you, Mayor and city manager, for um being supportive of of bringing this forward. Um as we all know, we were all very much impacted and rocked by the news of um [name]'s uh uh passing and um and seeing the uh quick response uh from the fire department and and team to pull together this memorial fund to support ongoing support services for our public service teams. This felt like a a very appropriate use of this fund. So, I would ask the rest of council for your level of support. I'd like to match at least what we and I don't remember the total that we did for the um the prior community incident where we lost um uh uh first responders in the incident up in the neighborhood, but I'd like to at least match that contribution if not a greater amount.

>> [name], do you remember how much that was?

>> If you can give me a moment, I can go grab my computer and I believe that I can find that.

>> Wonderful, thank you. And then Vice Mayor, I believe that you had something you wanted to bring up.

>> I do and thank you for giving me the opportunity and certainly thank you Council Member House for bringing forward um your your thoughts on where we can use some of our fund and and I thank you for that. Um I am asking council to sponsor two events that are coming up totaling $500. It's the Stone Soup event on December 10th and the Cookie Festival happening the following week. This involves the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association. And I'm I'm requesting this because Sunnyside has been working on a couple of extra major plans right now. One is their neighborhood plan. The other is the um business association that they are trying to help form and both are taking a lot of time and resources that weren't necessarily planned for SNA and I think that these two community events, they are annual and I have spoken to um the organizers saying, you know, that this would not be something that council could do year after year, but I think with this year and knowing how much they are spending on other events right now, it it surely would help and um talking with the organizer, it would be the $500 it would be used for plates, naps, napkins, cups um advertising, they do a lot of kids activities at both events, staff time, decorations um these wonderful events that we all enjoy don't happen by accident. It takes a lot of work, energy, and money. And so I would be asking for $500 for the two events.

>> All right, and Council Member Matthews.

>> Thank you. One is just a technical clarification. Um why wasn't this at the two and from? Like why are we doing this in executive session? I'm just curious.

>> Go ahead.

>> So this actually isn't in executive session. So we called this as a special meeting. The first item was to authorize [name] and his team to do as you directed in executive session.

>> the the the funding, the memorial funding. I was just curious why it wasn't in a regular um agenda.

>> Cuz today's a work session day, so we have to have a special meeting in order to take action.

>> That's why I was confused. Um so I guess first of all, [name], um if you'll share with us what the match fund cuz I was curious of that. Our our fiscal year ends in July 1st and I have one two that's coming up um that has to do with the indigenous uh commission um but I'm not prepared to present it tonight. But I just want to make sure we remember that we have seven, eight months eight months left to go. So.

>> Sure. Um so, the contribution that we made um that was referenced by Council Member House, um we did a contribution of $1,000 per um first responder that uh lost their lives. So, it was a total of $2,000 um for that contribution.

>> I might suggest um recognizing that we do have other things that we want to find that um we take that to I'd say 5,000, but we can talk about that.

>> I was just going to suggest that number. Thank you, Mayor.

>> I feel really good about that, Mayor. Thank you for bringing that up.

>> And Council Member House.

>> Yes, thank you. I support that number as well and uh thank the rest of Council for the consideration on it and um moving that forward. I also just wanted to express support for the uh item brought forward by um Vice Mayor Sweet. Um I am contributing a donation of uh the bread, I believe, I is what I committed to for the Stone Soup Dinner because I am not able to be there in person, um but it's not going to cost $500, so

>> [laughter]

>> I support um doing this this uh contribution for those two events as well. And thank you, uh Vice Mayor, for bringing those forward.

>> Thank you.

>> I agree. I support both of those as well. Do we have nods? Uh Uh I almost said [name].

>> Yes.

>> [clears throat]

>> Far from.

>> [laughter]

>> Happy to be where I'm at. Thank you. Uh, I I do want to men- mention that uh, even though the initiative uh, fund was put on the agenda here for the memorial fund uh, it's in general as well use of council initiative fund and the additional item brought up by the vice mayor can be included. However, the motion would need to include both. Uh, you can do it in one motion, but we do need to vote on it.

>> Thank you. All right. Um, so I am looking for a motion that we contribute $5,000 to the [name] Memorial Fund for first responders and $500 to the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association for their cookie festival and their stone soup event.

>> So moved.

>> I'll second.

>> Discussion? All those in favor?

>> I.

>> I.

>> Any Any opposed? All right. We are adjourned.