2026-09-30 - City Council - Interviews

00:18So, good afternoon and welcome to the

00:20pre-aggenda interview for Wednesday,

00:22September 30th, 2026 for the Housing

00:25Opportunity Fund Advisory Board. Will

00:26the clerk please read the title of the

00:28bills? Bill 852,

00:31resolution appointing Deanna Davis to

00:33the Housing Opportunity Fund Advisory

00:35Board with the term to expire September

00:376, 2030. Bill 854, resolution appointing

00:42Oliver Beasley to the Housing

00:44Opportunity Fund Advisory Board with the

00:46term to expire September 6, 2030. Bill

00:50855, resolution appointing Walter Lewis

00:53to the Housing Opportunity Fund Advisory

00:55Board with a term to expire September 6,

00:582030. And Bill 856, resolution

01:01appointing John Katz to the Housing

01:04Opportunity Fund Advisory Board with a

01:06term to expire September 6, 2030.

01:10>> Thank you. For the record, we are

01:11currently joined by Councilwoman

01:12Strawberger and Councilwoman Warick and

01:16Councilwoman Gross. What I would like um

01:19we can start with Miss Davis if each one

01:21of you would simply introduce yourself,

01:22tell us a little bit about yourself,

01:24tell us why you're interested in serving

01:26on this board. After we let all four of

01:29you had a chance to speak, we'll turn it

01:30over to members for a question.

01:33>> Um so my name is Diana Davis. Uh my

01:36profession is a real estate agent, but

01:39over the last 15 years I reinvested

01:43volunteered for my community, which is

01:45the Lmer area. Through that process, we

01:48were able to secure a grant, Detroit

01:50neighborhood grants. Um, through that

01:53relationship, we were able to have a

01:56partnership with Walnut Capital. Um,

02:00I've always been interested in

02:03housing and community development.

02:10>> I'm John Katz. My company is the Brandy

02:12Wine Agency. I'm a licensed real estate

02:15broker and insurance producer.

02:19Brandywine is one of the larger

02:22for-profit managers of affordable

02:24housing. We take care of approximately

02:273,000 deeply affordable units within the

02:29county and uh about a thousand to

02:35maybe 1300 units within the city of

02:37Pittsburgh.

02:39I'm uh

02:41I've been involved with affordable

02:43housing and uh housing stabilization for

02:4825 years.

02:54Hello everyone. My name is Walter Lewis.

02:56Uh currently serve as the president and

02:58CEO of the Homewood Children's Village.

03:00I also serve as the chair of the

03:02Homewood Community Development

03:04Collaborative. Um and you know my

03:07interest in this work is um as we think

03:10about sort of the work of the village

03:12and and and just trying to uh sort of

03:14really res create restoration within

03:17Homewood, a big piece of that is uh

03:19housing um home ownership um and and

03:23helping you know people to get connected

03:25to those opportunities. Um, and so I've

03:27had the great fortune of working with a

03:28number of people and partners and

03:30helping people get connected um, to

03:32these kinds of resources and supports

03:34um, and through the work of the

03:35collaborative really beginning to think

03:36about it on a larger community sort of

03:38wide level and not just individual

03:40people. And so um, you know, it's my

03:42hope uh, to continue um, you know, to

03:46serve in that in that way and make sure

03:48folks get connected to the resources

03:50that they need.

03:54>> Good afternoon. My name is Oliver

03:55Beasley. I serve as the chief strategy

03:58officer for the housing authority city

03:59of Pittsburgh. Um,

04:03for that reason, it's clear why I'm

04:05interested in HOF. I'm interested in

04:06housing people um safely, securely, and

04:09building uh wealth and equity across the

04:11region.

04:14>> Thank you very much. Dr. Reflect, we'll

04:15be joined by Councilman Charlotte. Um,

04:18I'll simply go down the line. Uh,

04:20Councilwoman Schwberger,

04:23>> thank you. I I think I'll only have one

04:26question and um I'll introduce that by

04:31first saying thank you for your

04:33willingness to serve and um we know that

04:37this is an incredibly important issue,

04:39an incredibly important board for you to

04:42be serving on. And I think um

04:47it's

04:49the elephant in the room is that this is

04:51a day when we're talking about um

04:54perhaps doing more with less or doing

04:56what we can with less, right?

05:00If when it comes to housing, when it

05:02comes to making difficult decisions

05:04around, you know, where limited funds

05:07can go to make the most impact to both

05:11provide critical housing for those who

05:15um need it the most. and

05:18um

05:20in you know doing everything we can to

05:22encourage people to live and to stay in

05:25this city and to um provide you know

05:31funding to programs that are that are

05:33tried and true. What's your

05:36if you have one, what's your theory for

05:38or what's your kind of strategy when

05:40faced with those decisions generally?

05:42like if you have examples from outside

05:44of housing or if you have a theory for

05:47how that works within, you know, housing

05:49in particular, that's also helpful. E,

05:51you know, you can answer in any way you

05:52want. But I'm just curious because it's

05:54let's just be honest, it's what we're

05:56dealing with as a city right now and

05:57what's it's what the UR is dealing with.

05:59It's what the housing um opportunity

06:02fund is dealing with as well currently

06:04and you know into the foreseeable

06:05future.

06:07Um, so I can start. Um, I think for me,

06:11um, I I generally try to take a systems

06:14approach to these kinds of things. Um,

06:15you know, everything's interconnected.

06:17Um, uh, and one of the things that I I

06:20don't believe in is, uh, sometimes when

06:22faced with fewer resources, the

06:26maybe gut response is, well, let's just

06:29kind of divide it evenly and and spread

06:31it out. and and sometimes that approach

06:34doesn't allow anything to be effective.

06:36Um and so, you know, just making sure

06:38that we're for me being strategic about

06:41what resources that we do have and

06:43trying to ensure um that we're making

06:45the greatest impact with the decisions

06:47that we're making.

06:51Uh just to piggyback a bit on what he

06:53spoke about, aside from taking a systems

06:55approach, a more place-based approach to

06:58stabilization and growth for not just

07:00the properties themselves, but the

07:03people in the areas for economic

07:05mobility. Um so that the through

07:09generations of the children, the parents

07:11and succession is how we're going to

07:12stabilize the areas in my in my opinion.

07:23I've either been a a consumer of these

07:25programs or my clients have been

07:27consumers of these programs.

07:30And uh I appreciate how important they

07:33all are.

07:35And when faced with the challenge of

07:38where to make cuts, I think it will be

07:41important to hear from

07:43uh staff where they're seeing the need.

07:47And uh

07:51hope I'm hoping that the that we find

07:53find other cuts in the budget and can

07:55preserve some of this funding.

07:59So we did

08:01>> yesterday when we had our orientation

08:04that was one of the things that were

08:05going through my head like as far as

08:07like what pro what products already

08:10worked meaning like um one of the

08:13programs they talked about was a joint

08:15venture with action housing like how did

08:17that work who went through it what was

08:20the good points what was the bad points

08:21I think we would need more background to

08:24really understand where we could cut or

08:26where we could

08:29Thank you all. That's um that's helpful

08:32and um encouraging and so I appreciate

08:36you all like I said and thanks for

08:37answering that one question.

08:40>> Thank you. Let the record reflect. We've

08:41also been joined by Councilman Wilson.

08:43We've been going down the line but I'll

08:45let you get acclimated first. I'll go to

08:47Councilman Charlotte.

08:50>> Thank you uh Mr. President. Thank you

08:51all for your willingness to serve here.

08:54Um, you know, the housing opportunity

08:56fund is really important citywide, but

09:00but really is one of the things that I

09:02can point out in the city that I think

09:04we do well in my district. Um, I can't

09:07say that for a lot of other things.

09:09Can't say that about trash backup. Can't

09:11say that, you know, about demolition,

09:13but I can say that about um, you know,

09:16about the housing opportunity fund. Um,

09:19and so I I kind of wanted to to go

09:22through some of the the programs that

09:23the housing opportunity fund has has

09:25had. And I think one of the things that

09:27we will be looking at, I guess, as we're

09:30all trying to figure out how this budget

09:32cycle is going to go is

09:35um

09:37you know, how do we how do we advocate

09:39to keep some semblance of these programs

09:43uh operating

09:45while

09:47we're not funding them, you know, at at

09:50least at the levels that we were before.

09:52Um, so the program that I think all well

09:56I can tell you my my staff is most

10:00familiar with is is the HAP program. Um,

10:03and what we you know the the way that

10:08HAP works from my perspective is we get

10:10a call. We're never the first call. you

10:14know, we're we're the six call of it's

10:17really cold in my house in the winter

10:18and the the windows are, you know, just

10:22not working anymore.

10:24Can you help me? And it's it's never

10:27somebody on their best day. You know,

10:28they're not not presenting themselves as

10:30as the the person they want to present

10:31themselves as. Um, and we're able to get

10:35them into the program if, you know,

10:37maybe not right away, but hopefully

10:39hopefully soon enough when the windows

10:41open. Um, and generally it's the Hilltop

10:44Alliance that's able to work with them

10:46to get them through this process. It

10:48used to be the Hilltop Alliance actually

10:49performing the the work as well that has

10:52has changed um administering the grant.

10:55But I I wanted to ask a little bit about

10:57you know any of your familiarity with

10:58that the hat program and you know what

11:01that what that can mean for individuals

11:04and and frankly it also like major

11:06burden off my my staff because if

11:08without that where do we turn you know

11:12how

11:14we what what do we look for? So if if

11:16you guys could talk a little bit about

11:18your familiarity with with that program

11:20in particular

11:32administered through the being

11:34administered through the URA. Um I can

11:37remember exactly what you're talking

11:38about councilman from my time working

11:39with the city and doing constituent

11:41affairs. Uh it's a very important

11:43program. Um, it needs to, it is a

11:45necessity for a lot of people in the

11:47city. And I think that having that

11:50ability and resources to step up and

11:52help constituents around the region is

11:55immensely important.

11:59And I don't know the intricacies of the

12:02budget and everything, but I do

12:03understand exactly what you're talking

12:04about and how what that means to the

12:06region and what that means to um

12:08individuals in all nine council

12:10districts.

12:13And I would just add that I think

12:16uh HAP is important programs like HAP

12:18because you know a lot of times as

12:21developments happening or things are

12:22happening and investments are being made

12:25um sometimes uh

12:28current residents homeowners feel often

12:31like left out of that process. Um, and

12:33so I think having some resources that

12:37are continuing to invest in um, those of

12:40us that are here within the city um, I

12:43think is really important. And so um, I

12:45think it, you know, kind of goes back to

12:47the earlier conversation. These are all

12:49difficult, you know, kind of choices.

12:50Um, but making sure that these types of

12:54resources still exist um, in some way,

12:56shape or form or capacity, I think is

12:58really still important.

13:01The home improvement program is probably

13:04the program I have the least experience

13:06with being somebody that takes care of

13:08apartments, but I can appreciate the

13:11value uh that it serves in allowing

13:13individuals to age in place, live with

13:16dignity in their home, not be displaced

13:18from their community and have amenities

13:21in, you know, safe living environment.

13:25>> So, I totally agree that we do need the

13:28program. Um, I can only speak from my

13:31previous experience like in Laura when

13:33we got the choice neighborhood monies.

13:36There was money allocated for homeowners

13:39specifically for the facade, right?

13:42>> And we also still had to use other

13:44sources like Habitat. We had a

13:46relationship with Habitat.

13:48>> Then we also had a relationship with

13:50Tubing, the heating and cooling, right?

13:53So there's ways that we can utilize the

13:56money we have, but also look at other

13:58resources that may be available besides

14:01the HP program. You know, I know Tuby

14:04every year does a program where they

14:06come in different communities and help

14:09give either fix the furnaces or give

14:12them brand new furnaces. So that might

14:14be a way of borrowing some relationships

14:18with other larger companies.

14:20And I think that's going to be what

14:22we're we're going to have to lean into

14:24now is figuring out what what we can do

14:28with those partnerships. Who else can

14:30fill this fill this gap? Um I if this

14:34program is deeply diminished, these are

14:37the folks that are usually benefiting

14:39from these programs are not voters.

14:41They're not people that come to

14:42community meetings. They're not

14:43community leaders. They're people that

14:45>> they're everyday people

14:46>> that, you know, are just trying to to

14:49get by. And that's why I say like I'm

14:51always like the seventh phone call when

14:52that happens. You know that they're like

14:55they've tried everything else and now

14:57it's it's the call to me. And mean I

15:00will always argue that the most

15:02affordable kind of housing that we can

15:04have is keeping someone in their home.

15:05If we're displacing someone and trying

15:08to figure out what to do with them,

15:09that's going to cost us a lot more money

15:12than,

15:13you know, the window upgrades or the

15:16furnace upgrades. um or bathroom

15:20upgrades or whatever needs to be done to

15:22keep someone in their home that is is

15:25much more affordable, better cost

15:27savings for the city. And I think

15:29someone mentioned development, you know,

15:31and this is often happening in

15:33neighborhoods that don't see

15:33development, that don't see ribbon

15:36cutings and groundbreings like, you

15:38know, many of our other neighborhoods

15:39here. Um it's a program that I wish, you

15:43know, what we allocated to it before I

15:45didn't think was enough. And I I think

15:48the reality is that it is going to be

15:51trying times for that. The another

15:53program and um John, I'd be kind of

15:56interested in your perspective on this

15:58is the uh lawyer for a day. I I I don't

16:03believe that's actually what we call it,

16:04but the eviction pro protection

16:06programs. Have you had experience with

16:08that?

16:09>> Yes. Uh so certainly uh clients that

16:15that we provide housing for have uh

16:17benefited from

16:20uh lawyer of the day and there is a

16:23whole ecosystem of eviction prevention

16:26that's going on within the city and the

16:29county that is in large part funded by

16:32HOF including uh partnership among just

16:36mediation Pittsburgh renthelp

16:39um action housing. I believe uh that

16:44there's uh rental assistance that's

16:47comes from the HOF budget and that the

16:50HOF legal budget in part pays for

16:53mediation which uh

16:57helps residents avoid unnecessary legal

17:00filings and makes makes the process of

17:03dealing with their landlord more

17:05accessible to them. And uh I am a board

17:08member of JMP. I am a manager for action

17:11housing. So that's why I have uh you

17:15know more than average uh knowledge of

17:18the programs. But it's been incredibly

17:21important since co people remain very

17:25vulnerable and uh it it isn't better. It

17:30hasn't been better because the co

17:33affected the clients that I serve in a

17:35way that uh

17:38has maybe improved moderately but

17:42housing is still unaffordable and out of

17:45the reach of uh many people in the city

17:48and the county.

17:50My understanding from, you know, from

17:52people that I've talked to about this

17:54program is that yes, it it also keeps

17:58residents, you know, residents are happy

18:00because it can keep them in housing, but

18:02it also makes landlords happy because,

18:05you know, you create a a better system

18:08for them to catch up. I mean, an

18:10eviction is expensive for a landlord as

18:12well. So it's these programs are nice

18:16because they've aligned the landlord and

18:19the resident's interest in keeping them

18:21housed. Landlord can continue to pay

18:24their obligations, their mortgages,

18:26utilities, taxes to the city and county.

18:29Resident can continue to live in their

18:31home and uh resident in the landlord and

18:34the court system. avoid the unnecessary

18:37burden of the court process and the

18:40resident uh you know the client that's

18:43ultimately being served by this public

18:45policy avoids uh unnecessary legal

18:49record in addition to not being

18:52displaced to important programs.

18:55>> Again, I hope another thing that we can

18:58have other other folks fill in, you

19:00know, fill the gap because I I think

19:02that is so crucially important. um the

19:07you know and h happy you know again is

19:10another super important program that

19:12comes out of here. We won't won't dwell

19:14on that at all, but um or the rental

19:17gap, which we will need more and more

19:21of. But the last program that comes out

19:23of the Hoff that I I'm always really

19:26interested in is the um down payment

19:29assistance program, which there's such a

19:34burden on buying a home in the city of

19:37Pittsburgh. It is easier to buy your

19:39house outside the city of Pittsburgh

19:41because of the the deed transfer tax

19:43that pays, you know, essentially was

19:45created to pay for the housing

19:47opportunity fund and the down payment

19:50assistance up to 120 AMI

19:54can help alleviate some of that problem.

19:57But, um, you know, again, another thing

20:00that I I'm I would would have liked to

20:02see us expand. I would like to see us go

20:04past 120% AMI. doesn't look like uh

20:08that's that's going to be at all

20:09possible this year, but would you guys

20:12be able to talk about about that as

20:13well? What what you think?

20:16>> So, I know that we're talking about

20:19cutting funding, but let's talk about

20:20home ownership in the city of Pix. That

20:23money does come in hand with a lot of

20:25families, right? Um a lot of my focus

20:29with in my business is low to modern

20:31income families, right? It's building

20:33generational wealth. So that 5,000 to

20:37that under 80% AMI makes such a

20:40difference as far as helping them with

20:42their down payment and their closing

20:44cost. Even with the 115 AMI, it's still

20:48a help, right? Because you're looking at

20:50firsttime home buyers, right? And it's

20:53not like they're coming in with these

20:55large salaries or anything of that

20:57nature, but they do want to invest in

21:00the city and they want to live in the

21:02city. So, I think that's an area that

21:06we're looking at cutting. That might be

21:08not the best place, but it does help a

21:12lot of people throughout the city of

21:13Pittsburgh.

21:16>> If I could add on, um, I agree. And

21:19specifically even thinking about that,

21:22you know, up to 115%, you know, AMI is

21:24still important. um because while it's,

21:27you know, above that threshold, if you

21:29look at what the incomes people are

21:30actually making, you know, folks still

21:32often don't have, you know, those kind

21:33of resources just sitting around. And

21:35so, it's such a huge um support and it

21:38helps to advance the other goals that we

21:40have as a city, just retaining our

21:42residents, um continuing to promote

21:44growth within within the city of

21:46Pittsburgh. So, again, I think it's

21:47really important. Um and again, one of

21:49those things, you know, obviously we'll

21:51want to see, you know, balanced in the

21:52in the final analysis.

21:57Uh just briefly um using all the

22:00resources we have at our disposal just

22:03as a um reminder everyone at the table

22:06and just so everyone knows the watching

22:08the home buyers program at the housing

22:10authority. You don't have to be a

22:12housing authority resident to use it. So

22:14if there's constituents in your area

22:16that are looking to buy housing because

22:19we know we know what the wealth building

22:21potential is when you own a house that's

22:23always option as well. I was reminded of

22:25it when Councilman Mosley walked in

22:26because he serves on our board.

22:30>> Thank you. Um that's that's all for me.

22:34You thank you for your um for your

22:36willingness to serve and look forward to

22:38working together with you guys in the

22:40future. Thank you, Mr. President.

22:46>> Yeah, thank you and thank thank you all

22:48for being here today. Yeah. So this is a

22:50you know a very timely conversation. I'm

22:54glad that you are that you're here. Um

22:59yeah so um

23:02just to sort of put some some numbers on

23:04the table. So, you know, for the the

23:06controller Heights did an audit in 2024

23:09of the housing opportunity fund and um

23:12uh so, you know, the total allocation

23:16uh was set at 10 million in 2016 and has

23:20not increased right with inflation. Um

23:25uh her recommendation uh was that for

23:28the homeowner assistance program

23:31um and this is a quote that the

23:34overwhelming majority of participants

23:36are utilizing all available funding

23:38indicating that the maximum funding

23:40amount may not be sufficient to cover

23:42all necessary repair costs and the

23:45maximum funding amount has not changed

23:48since the program was introduced in

23:502019. um the URRA should consider

23:53increasing the maximum funding amount

23:55yearly with inflation. Right? So that

23:58was a that was a recommendation uh in

24:00the 2024 audit. Um in 2022

24:04uh 1,024 people were assisted by the

24:07housing opportunity fund uh and the

24:09average cost per person was $4,21.

24:14So actually not that much, right? Per

24:17person. So, in in terms of of efficiency

24:21of dollars, um,

24:24in 2022, 47%

24:28of homeowner assistance program

24:30participants had a household income of

24:3230% or less of the AMI, so like you

24:35know, um, our our poorest residents,

24:39right? Um, and in 2022, 64% of HAP

24:45participants were um were women.

24:49Uh, and so, uh, the controllers's

24:51recommendation was that the HOF advisory

24:54board members should continue to

24:55allocate HOF dollars to the

24:57demonstration program each year to

24:59enable the URA to respond to housing

25:01related emergencies as they arise, as

25:03well as being able to supplement

25:05programs that run out of money. Um

25:10so um I think with that sort of the

25:13question and I know it's uncomfortable

25:14right because we're in this budget

25:16conversation

25:17um but uh the question I am that that I

25:21am interested in is you know and I think

25:24uh you may have said is like this idea

25:26that we should be sharing you know that

25:28this should be sh that the the the pain

25:31of a tight budget year should be shared

25:35equally right across

25:38Um and so my question is why is it you

25:42know when the city does have options

25:45right uh we have revenue raising options

25:48a number you know we could raise parking

25:50we could increase the deed transfer tax

25:52we could increase the millillage right I

25:54know we did that next year last year and

25:57um those are hard decisions obviously

25:59for elected officials right um but you

26:03know we do have options at our disposal

26:06we also have huge departments, police,

26:08IT with massive budgets. And and I do

26:11want to say when we're talking about

26:12housing opportunity fund, we're talking

26:13about $10 million.

26:16Um, so in 2026 of, you know, a $720

26:20million budget, right? So this is really

26:22just a tiny tiny piece. So, I'm

26:25wondering if if if you feel comfortable

26:27answering why is it that the thing that

26:31we're going to cut, you know, the thing

26:32that's in the headlines that we're going

26:34to cut is um this program that is

26:38helping some of the poorest and most

26:40vulnerable residents in the city. And if

26:43that feels like

26:46um the best path forward

26:56I'll speak because I think it's uh

26:58relevant to my my earlier comments. I

27:00mean again I think you know I manage an

27:04organization and difficult times you've

27:07got to make cuts and things. Um but one

27:10of the things that I do in my practice

27:12is you know really try to still lead

27:15with um ultimately like what our values

27:18are. Um, and I think

27:20budget

27:22tight seasons, you know, it forces us to

27:24to to deal in that reality. And and I

27:26think this is where I really personally

27:29try to work to resist the urge to just

27:31do these kind of even cuts and like

27:33everybody, you know, shares a little bit

27:35of the pain and instead try to focus on

27:38strategically what am I trying to

27:39advance or what do I actually need to to

27:41sort of get done? And so, you know,

27:43obviously I'm biased as, you know, um

27:46sort of joining this advisory board

27:50um and and would hope that in the final

27:52analysis um that this is something that

27:55um can be, you know, preserved and and

27:58ideally preserved at minimum at the the

28:02levels that we've seen because to your

28:04point, you know, when you compare it to

28:06the the overall budget, um you know,

28:09it's this isn't this isn't the reason

28:11that we're in, you the position that

28:13we're in. Um, that said, again, I think

28:15it's a big city. There's a lot of

28:17priorities, but it is ultimately a test

28:19of, you know, our values and where does

28:21it rank, you know, in terms of

28:22importance for us as a as a city. Um,

28:25and again, I'm biased, but my hope would

28:27be that this little pot of funding would

28:31at least continue to rank at a level

28:33that we still think it's worth investing

28:37$10 million in a, you know, $700 plus

28:39million dollar budget um for the for the

28:42housing opportunity fund.

28:48>> Um, okay. Okay. And then I'll ask uh um

28:53just in your personal experiences

28:55because I mean there's there's sort of

28:56the numbers but then who who who are the

28:59I mean in your personal experience who

29:02are

29:03the types of people who depend on these

29:07funds? I mean if you are distributing

29:09those funds in your in your professional

29:11life I know at housing authority um you

29:14may be getting some crossover.

29:16I don't know if you

29:21>> one more time. I'm sorry. The question

29:22was who gets the funds?

29:24>> Yeah. I mean, what are the type, you

29:25know, families, seniors, like in your

29:28experience?

29:30>> Through my limited experience of being

29:32there since January in my general

29:34understanding of how HAP works from the

29:36URA is how Councilman Charlotte said is

29:39for the lower AMI um constituents of the

29:42region.

29:46me in our personal experience in our

29:48communities. I'm not following you.

29:50>> Yes, that's what that's what I

29:52>> so within LMER and Lincoln limit is a

29:54lot of the elderlys and then a lot of

29:57families also that have maybe two or

30:00three children depending on the type of

30:02house they're living in. You know,

30:04fortunately for Llama, we have a lot of

30:06new construction so we don't have that

30:09big impact. But when you start looking

30:11at Lincoln and Lmon, the houses are

30:14larger.

30:15Um, they need more work. So, yeah. So,

30:18it's families and some of our seniors.

30:25>> Okay. Um, yeah, I I don't think I have

30:29too many too many more questions. I

30:31mean, I just uh I do just again want to

30:34underscore

30:35um and and also the the ripple effect,

30:38right? like the ripple effect of an

30:40eviction for example, right? The

30:41eviction prevention program is wildly

30:43successful. I think Councilwoman Gross,

30:45you had a post agenda on that a while

30:46back.

30:48>> $2 million addition on top of the

30:51>> Right. Right. So, it's I mean, wildly

30:53successful in keeping folks in their

30:54homes. Um, and the ripple effect of

30:57course of people getting of, you know,

31:00not being able to pay that utility bill,

31:03not being able, you know, getting

31:05evicted or, you know, having a a

31:07predatory LLC

31:09lobbying PLI complaints, you know, in an

31:12effort to try and push folks out of

31:14their homes. Um, exacerbates all all the

31:17other, right, all the other services

31:19that we provide as a city, public

31:20safety, whatever, right? um um you know

31:24evictions cause

31:26um homelessness cause instability among

31:30um youth um and etc. right? Which then

31:33adds additional costs which I I don't

31:35even think are quantifiable necessarily,

31:38right? Um so, you know, it's like the

31:40the return on investment, so to speak, I

31:42think is is strong, right, for keeping

31:45keeping people in their homes and um

31:49making sure that that families can can

31:51be safe and thrive in their homes. Uh,

31:54at any rate, well, thank you all so much

31:56and uh I hope that we I hope that as

31:58council we can figure out a solution to

32:02um to making sure that we are not

32:04cutting this money, right? That we are

32:06continuing to fund the housing

32:09opportunity fund and that we are

32:11continuing to make sure that that the

32:13most vulnerable people who call our

32:15offices uh can continue to get the help

32:18which you know which they use every year

32:20and which runs out every year. So to be

32:23continued. Um but I look forward to

32:26working with you all. So thank you.

32:33>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you to

32:35all of our candidates here uh for being

32:38willing to serve um and taking the time

32:41to kind of share your thoughts with us,

32:42but also with the public because um I

32:45think it's it helps the public

32:47understand the work that we do and their

32:49opportunities to to help um the city

32:53decide what it's doing right on boards

32:55and commissions. So, I appreciate you

32:57being here. Um, so council has a seat on

33:00the housing opportunity um, fund

33:03advisory board as well. And so I've been

33:04serving in that seat after um,

33:06Councilwoman Kale Smith served in that

33:08seat for a number of years. And so I

33:11have a a closer view. I'm probably not

33:13the best in terms of being as attendee,

33:17I'll be honest, because we often have

33:18conflicts.

33:20um but it meets monthly and

33:24it's um I think a valuable resource to

33:27have because they're these are tough

33:30decisions, right? So many of the

33:33programs that my colleague talked about

33:35um before

33:37um all had value and are all there's

33:41more demand

33:43than we have resources. Um, so as

33:45Councilwoman um, Warwick mentioned, I I

33:48think the lawyer of the day program was

33:50a great

33:52example of work that was piloted at the

33:55HOF with the smaller amount of money as

33:57it was I think started in four of the 12

34:00or 14 magisterial districts. I always

34:01kind of forget how many different

34:03magisterial courts we have.

34:06Um, and then the hope is that we were

34:07able to expand it citywide. So I um

34:13I it was a resolution to amend I think

34:15stop the violence funds to allocating

34:17from in 2024 2 million of that $10

34:20million allocation towards the lawyer of

34:23the day program to be able to expand it.

34:25So we we still have the funding and the

34:28annual allocation at the HOF and then

34:30the additional 2 million I think is

34:32finally flowing um and we've just got an

34:34email about it expanding to another

34:36court. Um because what we saw in the

34:39pilot program was something like 90% of

34:42the tenants who were helped by the

34:46lawyer of the day program were

34:48female-headed households. There were

34:49children, right? It's our kids

34:53who were really bearing the brunt of

34:54evictions. Um, and I remember as we were

34:58digging into it and doing some of the

35:00learning from the first pilot project

35:03that was in the four courts, um, it was

35:07teachers who contacted me and said, you

35:08know, some of our kids change schools

35:10five times a year.

35:13That's how much housing instability they

35:15have.

35:17So, I I I think as Counciloman War was

35:20saying, you know, it's it's incredibly

35:22important to try to keep funding these

35:23things because eventually they're not

35:25going to be able to stay in the city,

35:27right? And we know that from like the

35:292010 to the 2020 census, as good as or

35:32bad as those numbers are, that it was

35:34really our poorest um

35:37Pittsburgers who we lost out of our city

35:40neighborhood. So, we would be a larger

35:42city. um we certainly gained higher

35:45income people from 2010 to 2020 but then

35:47we lost an equal number of people from

35:51um our our poor neighbors. So, um, I

35:56think it's an it's important that we

35:58keep these programs in front of us to

36:00continue and invest in it to keep not

36:03just income diversity for its own virtue

36:06and to to help those neighborhoods for

36:08their own virtue, which is, I think, a

36:11worthy program for us, but for all of

36:14the people saying we need to increase

36:15the city population, I would argue, is

36:19the reason to keep these programs.

36:22Um, so I feel really strongly about

36:24that. Um, I think I've I've looked over

36:28we just are getting your resumes in

36:29front of us and um I've taken notes on

36:32some of your previous answers, but I'm

36:34not sure if anyone's asked you kind of

36:36just open-ended questions of

36:40um you you said maybe a little bit in

36:42your opening comments, but I wanted to

36:44give you another chance um to say kind

36:48of what you what you think your skill

36:51sets will be on the housing opportunity

36:53board. uh advisory board because it's

36:56nice to have a range of experiences

36:58because again these are these are you

37:01know tough conversations that we have

37:03around these programs. So I don't know

37:04if you wanted to start Miss Davidson's

37:06kind of saying like so from what your

37:08experience is or what you've got on your

37:09resume in front of us.

37:13>> Yeah.

37:14>> Yeah. Because let me let me just frame

37:16it this way. None of you have really

37:17talked about like always giving the

37:19money to just new construction,

37:21but there's a lot of um pressure on the

37:25advisory board to give more money to new

37:29construction and less money to the kinds

37:32of programs that council members have

37:33said that they value. So, I just thought

37:36I'd give everybody an opportunity to um

37:40you know, of course, it's the URA's

37:43skill set to do new construction. That's

37:45kind of what redevelopment authorities

37:48were created to do, have been doing for

37:51decades. And they will always have

37:54projects that need rental assist that

37:56need assistance. They call it rental

37:58assistance, but it's not actually rent

38:00assistance for renters. It's uh

38:03construction for new rental units.

38:06Um, and I think we should put money into

38:10new construction, but that doesn't mean

38:11it has to come out of this pot. right?

38:16There are lots of pots of money for new

38:17construction. Um, and so it's it's a

38:20matter of debate. So I don't know kind

38:23of if you just had anything additional

38:25to say about like where what you think

38:27you're would be valuable about your

38:29perspective or your background

38:31>> for personal background.

38:33>> Yeah. Yeah.

38:33>> Construction.

38:35>> No, about anything like Yeah.

38:37>> Okay.

38:41>> So there was an event occurred maybe a

38:45couple years ago. Again, you know, I'm

38:46the vice chair

38:49and if anyone knows person, so I don't

38:52look for an issue. for solution.

39:14Make a long story short, it was very

39:16successful

39:17and we were able to raise $30,000

39:22again with a community festival. Let's

39:24cut back on community festivals. All

39:27right.

39:27>> Yeah, we like to we like people at home

39:29to be able to hear you, too. Let's cut

39:31back on our community festivals.

39:34>> In 2019,

39:36we had over 1,500 people come to Lmer.

39:39Again, we raised close to $20,000.

39:43So, with that being that's my personal,

39:46so I could look at the budget for Ho for

39:49the housing opportunity fund, but

39:51yesterday was the first time I seen it.

39:52So, I don't have answers to something I

39:56really haven't been able to spend time

39:59with or either understand the process.

40:02>> That's fair. That's fair. So, like we

40:04have the allocation plan. Just for

40:05background for the rest of you, I

40:07apologize. Um,

40:10we asked to kind of fill out a

40:12spreadsheet and so like we were emailed

40:16a spreadsheet.

40:18>> Yeah. We say not yesterday,

40:19>> right? And so like we're just kind of

40:21asked each to kind of say like okay for

40:22next year how much would you put under

40:24each of those programs? And I tend to be

40:28a voice on the advisory board saying we

40:32need more for you know cash assistance,

40:34we need more for the the home repairs.

40:37We need more for the legal assistance.

40:39And I'm not sure that I

40:42before you know spending 10 years

40:44working on these issues. I think when

40:45when council was talking about funding

40:47the HOF even 10 years ago, a lot of the

40:49talk at this table by council members

40:51was we shouldn't waste money

40:55on, you know, uh

40:59we should build up our inventory of

41:01housing.

41:03And it sounded right at the time, but as

41:05I was just saying, I think we've learned

41:08better, many of us, right? That

41:11investing in the residents that we have

41:14is actually

41:16a challenge is is is the place we're

41:19losing population if we don't make those

41:20investments.

41:22Um, so it's not that we shouldn't do

41:25both, but that these programs that

41:28stabilize individual households, whether

41:30it's the senior with the home repair or

41:33the young family with the home repair or

41:34rental assistance or um, uh, having a

41:38lawyer for the day to, you know, because

41:40they know the landlord is going to walk

41:42in with a lawyer at the magistrate

41:44district and um, court and so it's

41:46helpful for the tenants to have a lawyer

41:48walk in with them as well. Um,

41:52I think we we're seeing real progress

41:56investing in this program. So, I just

41:58wanted to kind of say if there's

41:59anything else because you do all have

42:02really deep resumes in these issues. Um,

42:05so I didn't know if there was anything

42:06else you wanted to add given the

42:07conversation that we've had so far. I'll

42:10just leave it open to you.

42:13Anybody else? Mr. cats.

42:21>> I think the gap funding is the only

42:22program that I I haven't talked about

42:24yet today and uh

42:28>> I've never applied for it. I I can

42:31appreciate the importance of it because

42:34some of the a lot of the new housing

42:37that's being built is different than the

42:39existing stock. I think about special

42:41buildings like the Mosaic building in

42:44Oakland or a building that I manage for

42:47Action Housing who targets clients that

42:50are autism spectrum

42:52>> and there there and then I also think

42:56about if Pittsburgh doesn't win uh tax

43:00credit deals, right?

43:01>> And we lose them to communities that we

43:03compete against, it's a shame to not

43:07take the Commonwealth money. So, well,

43:11I've never applied.

43:13Uh,

43:14it's like a menu of all good things,

43:17that spreadsheet that you looked at,

43:19right? And, uh, it was interesting for

43:23me, uh, in my orientation to see the

43:27staff recommendations which were on the

43:30sheet that I looked at. and uh

43:35you know if I come on HOF board I'd be

43:38very interested in hearing from staff

43:40why they scored it that way.

43:42>> Sure. Sure. I always like to remind the

43:44public that council also did allocate

43:47some $50 million from the um federal

43:49relief programs, the American Rescue

43:51Plan dollars for affordable housing to

43:54the URA in addition to the $10 million a

43:57year that we send over for the HOF and

43:59then also authorized the housing the um

44:02affordable housing bond um which was

44:05another 32 million I believe maybe 30

44:08million um from in addition. So, I mean,

44:12we're well over hund00 million in the

44:14last 10 years um that we've added and a

44:17lot of that the bond money for example

44:19would be for new construction. It

44:20wouldn't be for the programming. Um and

44:23then the ARPA funds I think also mainly

44:25went into construction. I don't think I

44:27have a outcomes and investments from

44:29that as well. Um, so I just like to

44:32point out to people that it's not only

44:34the HOF allocation that's going into

44:37affordable housing construction,

44:39but there's always more needed. And

44:42since we started this conversation

44:44in 20 and Councilman Lel started the

44:47conversation back in 2014,

44:50you know, we were using a rule of thumb

44:52as new construction

44:55as $250,000 a unit and we know now it's

44:59500,000 per unit at least and some

45:03projects are more for new luxury unit or

45:07affordable unit. just like a rule of

45:08thumb of what how much it costs for, you

45:11know, a new dwelling unit, which is

45:14the same dollar is going half as far as

45:17it used to. So, um I I'm not sure if I

45:21have any kind of direct questions. I'm

45:23I'm I am happy to hear the conversation

45:26from council members and from you all as

45:29candidates on um how to stabilize

45:32households, the types of households that

45:34we're investing in and um the I think

45:38opportunity to

45:41put

45:43various pots of money together, right?

45:46Right. So whether that's the um the

45:48federal um housing authorities which is

45:52kind of separate money um and um

45:56blending programs from variety of

45:59sources to provide the services and to

46:00invest in new construction. I'm I'm glad

46:02to see that you all kind of are familiar

46:05with the industry, familiar with the

46:07landscape and you're most of all

46:08familiar with our our communities and

46:10their needs. So I'll stop there. Thank

46:13you all and thank you Mr. Chair. Thank

46:15you, Councilman Mosley.

46:17>> Thank you, Mr. President. I want to

46:19thank everyone for being here. I know

46:20you all uh very intimately

46:25um and thank you for your work um that

46:27that you do in the community, whether

46:28it's housing authority board, the work

46:30that we do together in Homewood and the

46:32work that you do, John, and the work.

46:35And thank you for that very uh glowing

46:37uh social media post you put out today

46:38about me. I truly appreciate that.

46:41>> I tears in my eyesaw.

46:44My god.

46:44>> It's always good timing when you put out

46:46a nice social media post and then come

46:48to the table. Um, and I apologize if I

46:51missed um this part. Uh, I was held up

46:54at at a meeting and obviously a lot of

46:56questions have been asked and I'll be

46:58able to also um look at the replay on on

47:00on YouTube, but I I did want to hear

47:02from your unique perspective you um with

47:06the Lmer Consensus Group and also a

47:08realtor in the community obviously the

47:11development work you do and the property

47:13management work that you do across the

47:15county as well as the work that we do

47:17together at the at the homewood

47:19collaborative and the work that that we

47:20do together at the housing authority. if

47:22you could each from your own unique

47:24perspective talk about how a tool like

47:27um the housing opportunity fund um is is

47:30is a critical tool and and from your

47:33unique perspectives of where you

47:34currently sit um you know one uh could

47:37you talk about the value of the tool and

47:38how it could potentially um bring bring

47:41more value um you know particularly from

47:44the perspective each of your unique

47:46perspectives.

47:49So, um I could look at it from a couple

47:52of ways, right? So, we take um Mayflower

47:57Street in Lmer right now and I think we

48:00have seven homes under construction and

48:03I think six was completed and they

48:06utilized some of the funding for the

48:08what I say the end use meaning the

48:11buyers through the housing opportunity

48:14program through the down payment

48:15assistance.

48:17I also think that ELDI utilized some of

48:20the funding for the gap financing.

48:24I know Brenda Tina Daniels just is doing

48:27a project. Again, that gap financing

48:31helped her with her project.

48:34So, yes, I see the value in it.

48:37>> Thank you, Mr. Katz. Uh I think I

48:41mentioned to council person Gross that

48:44uh when I look at the services HOF uh

48:47performs, I see value in all of them.

48:50But from my personal experience,

48:54uh

48:56the families that I serve have benefited

48:59probably most profoundly from the rental

49:01assistance and the court diversion

49:03programs. Mhm.

49:05>> And uh it's been a a special uh special

49:10program.

49:11>> Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Lewis.

49:14>> Um yeah, I mean I think when I think

49:16about the housing opportunity fund, I

49:18mean, I think similar to John, like all

49:21of the programs are beneficial. When I

49:24think about folks in our community, um,

49:26you know, we obviously have folks that

49:28are in need of housing and so having the

49:30gap financing to help with some of the

49:33new construction that's happening in the

49:34neighborhood is critical. Some of those

49:35projects would not get off the ground

49:37without those kinds of resources and

49:39that's going to provide uh quality

49:42housing for a lot of people. Um, but

49:44then you also have folks that are trying

49:46to become new homeowners, right, in the

49:48same community and people at, you know,

49:49again, different income levels, people

49:51who are trying to strive and and

49:53improve. And then you have people who,

49:55you know, have been in a neighborhood

49:56for, you know, decades, right? And and

49:59but they need work on their homes. And

50:01so the fact that we have a fund that can

50:04address all of these needs for me is

50:06really really critical and important.

50:08Um, and uh yeah. Yeah. So, I just I see

50:11value in the work that uh the housing

50:13opportunity fund does.

50:14>> Thank you, Mr. Beasley.

50:16>> Yeah. And just to kind of round this out

50:19and again, I've been piggybacking off

50:21you all afternoon, so thank you. Um, and

50:24as council person Gross mentioned, yes,

50:26it is expensive to more expensive to

50:29build now, but it is also expensive to

50:32buy down payment homes and um, using all

50:35the resources that we have at our

50:37disposal to get people in homes that

50:39that want to be homeowners and want to

50:42live that American dream to grow equity

50:44in their homes, I think is really

50:45important. And um again, so just that

50:48coupled with what we do at the housing

50:50authority and all the partners around

50:51the region, I think is a huge huge

50:53opportunity for a lot of residents.

50:55>> Thank you.

50:57>> Yeah, I think that my questions knowing

50:59that a lot of questions I was going to

51:01ask have already been asked.

51:03>> Thank you. Um I'll echo that sentiment.

51:06Um so I don't really have questions. Uh

51:09more of a statement. I've worked with

51:11you all. Well, I don't know Mr. cats,

51:13but your resume speaks for itself. Um,

51:16so I thank you all for your willingness

51:17to serve. What I will simply say is I

51:20will continue to advocate for the

51:22housing opportunity fund, but I'd also

51:25be slightly disingenuous if I didn't say

51:27it's going to be very tough for us to

51:29figure out this year how to fund it at

51:31its current levels. Um, and so whether

51:34we can fund it at the current levels or

51:36whether or not we can't, I believe this

51:38council will try to figure out a way to

51:40do so. But once we do so, to

51:43Councilwoman Gross's point, there is

51:46this tension that I think has always

51:48existed between new construction versus

51:51stabilization,

51:53social service work that keeps someone

51:54in their home versus the home ownership

51:57opportunities. And how to balance that

51:59is a very tough task that you all I hope

52:02well I assume you all will take very

52:04seriously. um because your

52:06recommendation then ultimately comes to

52:07the URA board which ultimately comes to

52:10city council for approval and we

52:12collectively at this table consistently

52:14have that debate and there's no I don't

52:17think there's a single

52:19there's no one right answer I think to

52:21the question um that are all equally

52:24important that are all equal needs that

52:26our city has and there's way more demand

52:29than any of these programs can fill

52:30unfortunately so you all will be tasked

52:33for making some tough decisions

52:35And I thank youness I thank you for your

52:37willingness to be able to do that.

52:40With that being said, I believe we've

52:42exhausted um the business of this

52:44meeting and so we are adjourned.

52:46>> Thank you.

53:21Heat. Heat.