I mean really nice.

Okay.

Are we ready to start?

She's not in the text.

She was testing it.

That was what she said.

But we can start.

All right, we're good.

We're good.

Okay.

All right, let's call this meeting to order for the December 10th meeting of the redevelopment authority of the city of Allentown.

Um we will kick the meeting off.

And uh as we have all of our board members here and our esteemed solicitor and staff.

Yes, we'll call you esteemed, Josh.

Um with that, let's jump to an approval of the minutes from November 12th.

Do we have a motion to approve?

I make a motion to approve the minutes.

Second.

Second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

Uh we'll jump to a public comment section.

I'm assuming we have no one in for public comment.

All right.

Do we have our reporters Jason on or that one's on?

Okay.

Um all right, we'll jump.

Um, do we want to jump into executive session now or can that we're going to computer?

Okay, so we will be calling for executive session uh towards the end of our meeting.

With that, let's jump to agenda item number 5.0, which are is our staff financial reports.

Okay, so uh the budget to actual report, which is the first one in there.

Uh it was about so it's about ten thousand dollars uh more of expenses this month than last month, but added over last month, and a lot of that is about eight thousand dollars of insurance expense, which I have historically just at year end been reclassing from prepaid to insurance expense, but I did one up through November 30th, so we could see where we were as we're looking at the budget for 2026.

So about 8,000 of that $10,000 month over month is uh insurance expense.

So you'll see that while insurance expense on the profit and loss went up $8,000, it went the prepaid insurance on the balance sheet went down eight thousand plus the three thousand dollars that is in our bill list this month for the chubb insurance.

I also recorded the loss on disposal of assets, which was 411 to 413 Ridge Avenue, but the loss was only a dollar.

Um so didn't make a big impact, but I put that on there.

We had sold that back in February.

Uh also important to note is included on your bill list is a hundred thousand dollar invoice for the staff support uh from the city of Allentown, and that is not included in these balances because that invoice is dated December, and this is just showing the financial up through November 30th.

So that's why there's the 100,000 dollars on your bill list, but you won't see that reflected here in the financials until next month when we'll record that as of year end.

And I think there was some uh confusion, I think with the invoice for the hundred thousand.

So the invoice that was attached to your board agenda to your e in your email.

Um it it's not a big difference, but it there was a different updated invoice that I had prepared.

Um but we'll we can get to that in a little bit.

Umside of that, it's the normal the comparison uh balance sheet comparison as November 30th, 2025 to November 30th, 2024.

Um there is also a comparison from November 30th to December 31st, 2024, which would be the last you know, the end of last year.

And like I said, I did those insurance entries and the loss on the disposal to update them a little bit so it's a little more apples to apples on these comparisons.

Um there's the profit and loss, which is the same information that was on your budget to actual.

Uh so about a $30,000 loss for the year, but as we're discussing with the CDVG contracts, uh some of that I will be submitting an invoice once the 2024 contract is fully executed.

I can submit an invoice to the city for the $100,000 of staff costs and about $100,000 worth of the operating costs for 2025.

So some of that should be made up then once we do that.

And I think the balance sheet comparison might be in here twice.

I think that's part of the reason there's so many pages.

Yeah, I think I think there might be more than one copy of that in the in this though, in in this because I it looks like there is the balance sheet comparison through December 31st, 2024, and then it looks like it's in there again after the profit and loss.

So I think there's just a duplicate, it's not a different report.

So can I um so we do meet once only a month, right?

And we're volunteers.

Sometimes I feel like I might forget what we said or what like if it's 802 walnut, I want to know when you say this, like for myself personally.

I want to be able to, because again, it always stays in my head when we started and Vicky really educated us, like there's things we should be knowing.

So when I read this and I read 802, I want to make sure that where it's at is where it belongs.

So could we have like an attachment with this of what what it is that we're what it was that it is because it says 802 walnut with what are you referring to?

Any any of the I'm just using that one in specific, like could we know where the reason for the it says 802?

I'll go I don't know, I don't know what you're looking at.

Well I'm on the the budget actual, so in the notes, there's a couple of addresses with amounts.

So it'll say city grants and special projects, sale of property, loan repayments, rental.

Um I know we discussed them because I know a few of the addresses, like I do remember, but sometimes I might not remember.

So could we have exactly what it is kind of in a little bitty breakdown of what 802?

Because that's four different categories, it's under four different incomes, but then it says 322 front street, um, 175,000.

What does that mean?

Well, there's no we didn't actually spend any actual for that, so that's just referring to the amount that was budgeted.

No, I'm just giving like I'm just saying like an example when it's there, but that's again, I it doesn't read so simple sometimes.

I have to be reminded of of what it is, or but I think property maintenance it says contractors, 13, whatever, just whatever we're using.

Could we we've already approved it probably in another budget?

Could we just have it here with the that that's going to make this very cumbersome to read though?

Like this is trying to just give you a summary.

Well, I don't want you to put it in here.

Could you just give us the attachment?

Uh so you want an attachment for each property.

I I think that would be kind of cumbersome.

So I sound a lot of work.

On I mean, we can run a report, but well, let me uh so if you're looking at the budget to actual spreadsheet, okay.

That is the budget that you um prepare, and so or that we've approved.

So for example, the sale of property, and there should be a line underneath there, like that may be a formatting issue with the um with the spreadsheet, but what that is saying, um we budgeted 1.175 million in anticipated revenue from the sale of property, and the notes reflect we were expecting to sell 332 front street, 802 walnut street, um, and the 332 front street.

We have 1.175 uh million for that.

That's what we are expecting to sell it for.

802 walnut.

We had a expected sale price of 70,000, 540 Hamilton.

We assume 200,000 there.

So that that's just explaining our assumptions and how we got to that total revenue number.

I it says sale of property, like you said, then the budget, then there's nothing in the actual, and then but what you said is that it doesn't tell me, it just gives me an address.

So that might have been four months ago that we had that conversation, and now we're here.

And I I want to be able to say that was not a sale or that's a sale, like even if it just references uh meeting 830, like in a note, but what do we do to reference what this means to us?

That was in the budget that was prepared last year.

That's the budget.

Right, but we're in we don't always have the same board members, and that was last year.

We're a year, it's a whole year away.

I don't I don't always gonna remember what I approved for last year.

I want to make sure I'm approving something that or saying something that I'm supposed to be saying.

But I don't know, I'm not sure what you mean because that's just giving the amounts that we budgeted.

332 front street, and then there's 1,175,000.

That was our assumption that uh we were gonna sell 332 front street for 1,175,000.

Where does it say that?

Right in this line.

Where does it say it our assumption was that we were gonna sell sell that?

That was in our meeting when we approved.

That's all I'm asking.

Is that that we that it doesn't read like that to us right now?

So if I wasn't at that meeting or I'm a new board member, like where do we see that in black and white?

But this was what this was the paper that you approved when we had our meeting that we discussed, it was the same document, and we went over and we discussed that.

So we have to refer to the minutes if you want to specifically talk, see like where the board voted for those.

And so I don't I don't want it to be that.

I just want to know the conver where this is so like what it is, because right now it's just an address and numbers.

I personally it doesn't tell me we didn't sell, we sell.

I want to see something in black and white before I vote on it.

All it's meant to be is notes.

Um you could actually probably take away that entire note section and say from sale of property this year, we budgeted 1.175370 in revenue from the sale of property.

Um, and to date we've gotten zero.

So that there has been no revenue from the sale of property.

We haven't sold any properties other than 411 ridge street for a dollar.

I mean, what we can do is when we do sell the property, we can add another line and maybe like and then have more notes that if we use if we use that, we could describe what we what we have and what it's for, if that's what you're looking for.

Like what what are what right?

What is a category of the conversation, like sale of properties, you know, because right now it just read addresses and amounts.

But so I kind of I had to think a little bit to remember.

Okay, I know the ri I know the front street off the top, I knew the walnut street, but I'm not always gonna remember every address.

So I want to make sure that it is like this one.

I was very familiar, but I might not always be familiar.

That contributed to that 1.17 going into the budget.

Every one of those addresses is there, and the amounts we thought we would get are there, right?

And not all that, but where did we get the address part?

That's the conversation that I might have forgot about.

I know now because I know the address, but what I'm saying is if next year, or let's say tomorrow we have a new board member, they weren't privy to the conversation.

Are we supposed to vote on something we don't remember?

Don't know.

We but you're not voting on the budget, though.

You're you're voting on just accepting the financial report.

So the budget had already been voted and passed.

Now that's the same thing.

But what about when we do spend?

That's why I'm using it.

We didn't use any now, but what about when the middle's different?

We move on with these reports, and we can try to adjust later to get you to where happy.

For example, I just know the trouble that happened last time.

So I I'm not questioning the process, but I want it to be black and white, so I don't wind up with egg on my face and not knowing something.

But I think you're referring to something.

I think you're referring to something different.

I think that was with the audit and always every meeting.

We never knew what we would just okay.

This and we didn't know anything.

So with this particular spreadsheet, um, the 2025 budget is never gonna change.

That's what you guys approve.

The only thing that's gonna change really is the actual, because that's what actually happened, and so that's where we record the actual activities that have occurred over the course of the year, and then that variance line is just showing the difference between what was approved and what happened.

This is when you fake like you know what you're doing.

Yeah, but see, we and I'm gonna say we like over here.

We did that, and we wound up with a lot of egg on our face.

And I don't I don't like to not, I don't I'm not a fake it to I make it, and Vicky yelled at us with reason and respect, like apparently like you should have known better.

So I want to know better now when I need to.

I will review it with you so you can I'm not questioning you because I know a lot more than I did, but I never want to vote on something if I'm confused.

Yep, yeah.

I have a question about the last item on the on the uh on the page, the loss on disposal of assets that that means that we sold that property for a dollar, correct?

Yeah, so we lost a lot more than a dollar.

But it was what we spent that's what we got from it.

We the loss these are actual numbers, not not the cost projection.

This is the actual what Ellen has to track is the actual money in the accounts.

So the actual if you think about this budget as the actual money that we propose to be in our account, and the actual money that we have spent or received in the account, that's all Ellen's telling you.

She has to check.

That we spent on QuickBooks on the City of Allentown and on a lunch for meetings.

We got and that it's clearly spelled out either what we got in or what we took out.

Now, if we want to look at a loss that goes against our general um financial uh well-being, that's different than the and no disrespect, Ellen.

But right now, this is a bookkeeping report to you.

Right, right.

That has nothing to do with uh profit and loss, profit and loss.

It has to do with the books, actual books, with books, and that's what she's trying to tell you.

And that mark is trying to say that for Jess, that actual column next to that one point one seven is empty because we did nothing.

We didn't buy, sell any project.

We didn't sell, and we didn't do anything.

So our projection is off by that much for this year.

We could change that next month, and then that column will change.

But but on this one 411, 413 Ridge Street, Ridge Avenue.

Does that does that is that loss then on the balance sheet?

It's not a loss.

We got it all.

Profit, we got a dollar.

Well, it had a value to it.

That was it was only a dollar in the balance sheet.

It's only a dollar.

It was only a dollar, it was only a dollar in value in the balance sheet.

Yes.

Okay.

It was only a dollar in the balance sheet.

Yes.

What I think you're asking, so then that the next part of the thing comes in the profit and loss where we figure out how much we spent, did it come out of C D BG, and then what our loss was that comes from the profit and we get that, that's a whole other thing.

And and so if you're looking at this budget to actual right now, it's saying um based on the revenues that have been received versus the expenses we paid out.

Um we're at a $30,000 loss.

Um, part of that is because we haven't done the CDBG reimbursement yet.

We will get that done before the end of the year.

Um, but that's contingent on us executing this contract.

Um, when that happens, uh, I think Ellen mentioned so there's the hundred thousand dollars for staff expense.

You guys are gonna pay the city for that now.

We will reimburse you for that, so that's in and out or hundred thousand dollars.

Um, and then there's about a hundred thousand dollars worth of C D BG reimbursable expenses that'll be coming your way.

So what shows is a thirty thousand dollar loss when we look at this next month, it should look like a seventy thousand dollar profit gain to the authority.

Yep.

Is the C D BG thing you just said on the agenda?

Yeah, okay.

Just one more thing, Ellen.

Could I I asked the last meeting, but you weren't here where it says professional fees, the website for we has said is not a pro like can we separate.

Right, that's on the 2026 budget.

Okay.

We fixed it for the 2026 budget.

So we'll never have a law.

We'll never go back once you guys approve the budget.

Yes, we'll never go back and amend that unless like we say we're formally amending this uh to reflect that.

But we typically don't go back and amend the previous year's budget that was approved.

Correct.

That would just the budget would be carried over every month, every month, and then you know, next year we could change it, but we wouldn't go back and change what you already accepted for 25.

Thank you.

So I make a motion to approve the budget.

Well, well, not the budget that that's later.

This is the financial report.

Oh, I'm sorry.

For accepting a financial report, right?

I made the motion to accept the financial report.

We have a second.

Do we have any further discussion on this?

Everybody okay else okay?

Seeing no more discussion, all those in favor signify by saying aye.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

All right, good, good.

Uh we will jump to agenda minimum number 5.2 with the invoices for payment, which are on the spreadsheet right past the financial numbers.

Only a few checks uh payments to go out this month with one of the uh for the 100,000 dollars is we just discussed.

Yes, so the one that's in that was in your packet that you received was the one that I gave that Ellen actually already created one, so we're just gonna be utilizing Ellen's uh creation.

Well, are we?

I saw one in the other budget, so do you guys bill us monthly?

What is our so in a perfect world in a perfect world uh going forward?

It took us a little while to get organized with contracts and everything.

Going forward every month, you're gonna get a bill for city staff services.

Um we're still working on that, right?

Per the intergovernmental time we're taking from you and we track the amount of time that we put in to the authority.

Um so we fill out a bi weekly time sheet that says, you know, I spent 10 hours working on RACA related things.

Um in 2026, at every month, you're gonna have an invoice from us for uh our staff time.

Just just to give you a little bit of a frame of reference that I had to learn kind of backing into it.

HUD contracts are supposed to come out for a July 1 to the June 30th.

They never do, they usually arrive from HUD in like October or November.

They then have to pass muster with our whole city count city process, all the departments and our legal, and then go back to HUD and be formally executed.

That puts us always six months behind, but way ahead of that contract arrival, you do the HUD action plan, and that action plan has to be advertised to the public, and it has to go through proper vetting, has to be approved by council.

You can't do any activity unless you've put it in the action plan, advertised it, got it blessed, and moved it on.

So we had to wait for this new contract to put RACA staff support in the HUD contract, and that contract is just being executed by the city last month and is just getting to HUD now.

So that's why we couldn't do the invoicing and we couldn't do everything we needed to do because we didn't have RACA in the year before this contract.

Now that it's been properly vetted, it's all in the contract.

As soon as they have fixed their seal of approval, which we're thinking is any day because they got the contracts today, we can then start invoicing on a regular basis, and we'll invoice space with backup documents for time so that Ellen can pass an audit that truly 100,000 of city time was spent on RAC, and then you'll have that update as it goes along.

But that's why it's taken us so long to give RACA a bill.

So now I think we're at these expenditures on the next page, which include the 100,000, so that as soon as RAC signs off, we can make that transaction.

I'll make a motion to approve that.

Well, no, I got a question.

Um, so you have we so on the other one.

I just want to make sure, because I I feel like I know how much time the other budget, the budget actual, the 15,000 over there that we didn't use, right?

We didn't use any of that according to Alan's thing.

It said 15,000, then it says actual for 5% admin, right?

So is that 100 plus 15?

No, no, or it's just our budget right now with you guys is 100,000.

To reorganize some things, and we've learned some things through our CDBG contracting.

Um, you know, but per our reimbursement agreement.

We said it's gonna cost you 100,000.

We're trying to get a better handle of how much time we're actually spending to see if there's a way for us to increase um CDBG dollars, or if some of that has to come if we make money on a property or something like that.

Right, like if there's more legwork, it yeah, we get I just want to know, like right.

The if if it's two 115 or 100 and that's the amount is not a like I know you guys do the work.

So right, like so like we were saying that 2025 budget is what was adopted like a year ago, and and we're not changing or updating or anything like that.

So we can figure it out before I think that's right.

So that's why, yeah.

I mean, when we did it last year, we sort of just put numbers in.

And that's why, like, we're saying we're we're not that's why we're not changing that, we're not updating that, we're not it just anything that would be updated after the adoption of the budget would be an actual sounds good.

Go ahead.

Oh, I'll make a motion to approve second.

All right, we have a motion to approve the payment of the 103,688 dollars and eighteen cents for the five invoices.

We have a second.

Any further discussion?

Yeah, I think it's first.

I was okay.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye, aye.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

All right, we will jump to our inventory update uh and a review of our properties.

Uh in your sheet.

Um, can you use the mic?

I'm saying oh sorry.

In your sheet, that's not in your packet, but was in your packet on the computer.

Um, it lists all of our properties, and Anthony uh does the inspection every week, and uh you know the properties are secure, they're quiet, and they're they're good to go.

Oh, it is.

I was gonna say it.

I'm sorry.

Okay, good.

All right, great.

So um everything is buttoned up and uh it's good to go.

Mark suggested uh for next year that um I tweak the spreadsheet and mark the date that Anthony actually did the inspection so you know when the inspection was done.

Um so that's something that I will be um having for you for uh next year going forward.

Explain the yellows.

The yellows um the the yellow is um 515 new street.

So the reason um because it spans against across three um separate columns, but it's actually one combined parcel.

Um the reason I have it separated is because it was three different parcels and it had differ different attributes for each of them, but the CDBG money was spent on those three properties.

Um so I just kind of separated it.

I can combine them now going forward because it isn't a physical combined parcel, but I just always had it separated.

So it's up to you if you want to see it separated or if you want to see it as one parcel because now it's 515 to 519 uh new street.

Did we do that for a reason?

Did we combine them?

Yeah, yes.

Oh because um what happened.

Well, it was an idea a long time ago back in 2020.

Um we had um 517 and 515, and then the um the storage uh property next to 517 was up for sale, and we actually purchased that property amplicably, and then we were going to make that storage a four-unit low-income um apartment building, and then have the two demoed properties, the 517 and 515 be the parking for um the property, uh, but then that kind of never went to fruition.

So it's kind of still sitting there, it's ready for um RFP whenever the board's ready to get that out.

Good.

That's on the half street behind a toy factory, right?

No, this is not this is a door.

This was not the toy, this is the door 515 New Street, it's a different property.

Uh that was the one with all the doors.

It was all the doors.

We had the door sale.

And there's like a little um thing upstairs, like a little storage like but like an apartment where somebody was there's not like a little place where you can put an office or a room up here.

There's an office, but there's no apartment.

There's no there's no um there's no like a warehouse uh in the kitchen or bathroom or anything like that.

It's strictly storage.

Good.

Explain to Kelly again where new street is.

It is it is off of Liberty, Washington, Washington.

You challenge my my um just saying if all the GPS to 515 New Street it'll take you right there.

No, well, the alleyway is Pratt Street, I think, right?

Yes, yes, but I mean it'll be a landmark.

It's near what close to Subner Avenue almost, Washington Grill.

I don't know.

I live in a hood, so I can tell you the store.

Like I, you know, nice my landmark and your landmark.

It's not near 10.

And Hyman is trying to buy the building of the block.

Like, I don't know what else.

Uh Elmo's Grill, you know, where they use it.

That's that's enough landmarks.

You don't want to go over there.

There used to be a thrift shop down the road.

Right.

It's near, isn't there?

There's a church there somewhere, church or community center, somewhere around.

St.

Paul's is not far.

Yeah.

Oh, it's not St.

Paul's, it's the St.

Francis.

St.

Francis.

Yeah.

Okay.

It's down that under the woods, right off somewhere.

I have a little a little bit of graphics.

All right.

Okay.

We're good with the so the inventory, I'll change the spreadsheet for uh next year.

Um you said that Mark asked you to add a line for inspection.

Is that like the person that you send out, or is that the city one that you have to order when you have a property?

Which one?

That's the city.

That's my the blight inspector that does the inspection of the properties weekly.

So it's just gonna, it's just gonna list the property that he was out uh doing inspections just so we have it cataloged, and it also is gonna be good if we're ever challenged on our insurances that we can prove that he was out on the inspection because he does take pictures and he keeps a shared drive file that he sends he shares with me, so we can always have that, and they can share it too.

Okay, you if you'd like to see it too.

So my thought is RACA inventory spreadsheet is just like over the course of the last month.

This is what's in our inventory, and this is what we've done with each property, so it's a little more specific than you know, this is what we paid for it, like some of the other stuff is just never gonna change, but we go out to every property every month to check on them, make sure that they're secure, there isn't trash, and if there was an issue associated with something we could note it in that report, so there's written documentation.

I like the date because then if the toy factory this was happening, then we could say, well, what happened to Bob?

Wasn't he Anthony?

What happened to Anthony going out to the um you know inspect?

So yeah, I agree.

That's a good idea, Mark.

Good.

All right, we're good with that.

We'll jump to agenda item number seven old business.

Um 7.1.

Um, I was hoping to have a draft revision for you for the intergovernmental agreement.

Um, I didn't get to it this month.

Um, but I don't we don't need to do anything with it before the end of the year.

I just want to clarify right now we have very specific positions listed in it for the staff reimbursement, and I want to make it more general.

Um, so hopefully next month I'll get to it and get it through our legal department and bring it back to you guys to see if you agree with it.

Good.

Um 2026 budget adoption.

So I can walk you through that.

Um I left 2025s in there for reference.

So the first column was the proposed 2025 budget.

The second column is our projected actual through the end of the year, and then uh the notes associated with that, and then the two columns that you really want to pay attention to in that spreadsheet are the one that's labeled 2026 and the notes associated with it.

Um City of Allentown reimbursement grant.

Um we're looking at 400,000.

Uh through CDBG, um a hundred thousand dollars for staff reimbursement and a hundred thousand dollars for um for property maintenance.

Uh so we're we're thinking there'll be six hundred thousand dollars worth of CDBG funds that will flow through the authority next year.

Um, that 400,000 is gonna be for acquisition and rehab activities on uh RACA properties.

Um we budgeted uh we significantly scaled down the um sale of properties if you saw last year we had 1.175 million uh worth of sales.

Um we did 125,000 um and we're looking at uh the ones that we're hoping to get rid of next year, 129 chestnut, 540 Hamilton, 811 new, 802 walnut, and 725 North 10th.

Um that's the total uh amount um that number could go up or down, but um that's a very conservative revenue number from those properties rental income is 27,600, and that's from our property on 9th Street.

So uh total revenue for next year, we're anticipating 752,600.

Are we expecting to get the um the reimbursement grant to go up $100,000?

Are we requesting more?

We have $300,000 for last year.

We're getting that's based on CDBG allocations to RACA um based on our existing contracts.

Um keep in mind some of these contracts that we enter into, we don't spend down all the money in a given year, so some of it rolls forward.

Um so that's where that six hundred thousand dollars is coming from.

Is this where you ask whether we should be having uh appraisals done?

No, I think that would be an executive concession there, yeah.

Yeah, I like that number.

Yeah.

Can I ask one of we haven't been selling properties for quite some time?

Why are we paying for MLS subscription?

We did that last month.

That was for for Kelly.

Yeah.

So not for the not for that's not for the to have a subscription under that's that's Kelly's that's Kelly's reimbursement.

Okay, yeah.

Because we not we're not we didn't use the MLS, so I probably missed the thing before the board requests the use of the MLS because one of the things we need to do, I think before we jump on buying a property is doing some of the due diligence in the past MLS listings to see whether or not we're stumbling on properties that have tons of work with no permits.

Are we stumbling on properties that have been dramatically altered from where they last were on their listings?

Can we get any information that tells us if we're buying a dog, or if we're really buying a really bad two-legged dog, and we just can't tell from the outside?

So we wanted some of that kind of insider info from the MLS, and the city doesn't provide an MLS to us in any way.

So we asked if we could get that unlack up for Kelly to use to help as we buy and sell these properties.

And the board had voted that that was an eligible rocket expense.

Yeah, we did that last last month.

No, it had to be too much because that wasn't so yeah, it was and you were sorry.

Right, yeah, it might have been when you weren't.

Um, but primarily because you know, also Kelly's um able to pull up the info and all of that, but it's uh she's she was paying for it out of pocket.

She's paying for it out of pocket, but she's not actively pursuing other clients or anything like that.

She's required to let us know when she's got property if she does have an option.

In the city of Allentown, she would be let us know.

My personal approach would I would have I would have looked forward, and this is because then government affairs, Matt Turk had made some, you know, like we could work together, so I feel like at the association we could have probably maybe negotiated not paying a fees.

Um he made up he made up, he said this was something we would do, and then him and Justin kind of said like we would work together on this, so to pay, and I know how much MLS fees are, so to pay a fee.

Um it just and we already have I don't want to say like we have access to a fee, so to to add on to cost, I just thought that was, and when it's not something that we've been using to sell properties, right?

No, yeah, it's basically it's just more of an informational kind of piece that reimbursement.

So if that budget looks acceptable, we would need a motion.

I just wanted to go through the expenses quickly, if that's all right.

Yeah, sure.

Um I have uh 175,000 budgeted for professional and administrative services.

That number includes the 100,000 that would be due back to the city.

Um and uh I left 75,000 in there if we needed to engage a consultant on something.

Um so it's just money that's budgeted.

We haven't spent anything, there's no commitment to spend anything.

Um, but that's why that's 175,000.

Um I have five thousand dollars in there for training development and travel.

So that's if you guys want to attend uh conferences, that type of thing.

Um33,000 for uh auditors and environmental reviews, and uh $20,000 budgeted for um insurance.

Then uh $400,000 for property acquisition and declarations of taking uh $55,000 uh for property maintenance, real estate taxes, water, sewer, all that fun stuff, um $30,000 for legal expenses, uh $2,500 for marketing and advertising notices, and $4,000 for uh office and program supplies, so quick books, MLS subscription, that type of thing, and then we have uh $250 uh line item for um miscellaneous expenses.

Our total expenses are $724,750.

Um, and if all of the revenue comes to fruition and all the expenses come to fruition, that shows the authority with a positive um balance of $27,850 of excess revenue compared to expenses.

Have we thought about using the Lehigh Valley News instead?

We have to use morning call because for our sunshine laws and our advertisements, and we have to have the um notices of services, so we have to use uh we have to use the morning call.

Well, who says that no uh no, it has to be a newspaper, it doesn't have to be specifically.

It has to be a highly because the Lehigh Valley doesn't print, that's morning calls the only one that prints Alan.

It has to be a printable news outlet, and morning call is the only one currently.

So we had this discussion.

We're trying to find somebody to develop a property as important as that is to us.

Yeah, we only have two mechanisms to reach out.

We're not we're not counting I'm not gonna be counting on people to respond to our RFPs based on them reading and advertisement in the morning call in the legal ads.

Uh we'll be putting it out through um public purchase and uh we have a list of a list of people probably a thousand people.

We'll find other ways that that's just to meet our legal requirements to advertise these meetings.

That is something that we're gonna look to the board for.

Although the city in Mass is quite a large group of interested in public purchase and interested by saying to RAC to Kelly directly, put me on the distribution list.

If you want anything that we generate to get out to the nonprofit world to the quote unquote little guys, you're gonna have to distribute that inferred.

So we are looking to the board to handle that part of it, because that's not something we don't we don't take the arts commission and the human, you know, uh relations commission and send them all our RFPs.

Like you guys need to help with that circulation if you think you've got groups that have expressed interest to you, circulate the RFP.

Because they ought to have a complete list of developers for commercial properties, I'm sure they would.

Most of the stuff we're gonna be developing is not really in their wheelhouse.

It could be it's not it's not big enough.

I've had this discussion with them numerous times.

Um, you know, unless it's 150,000 square feet and creating a significant number of jobs, they're not that interested in it.

Point taking.

I don't think we should give in to that.

Point taken for a new battle on another day.

So with that, if there are any questions on the budget, I'm happy to try to answer them.

Otherwise, uh, I'll move it to passage adoption.

We have a motion to approve the 2026 budget as presented.

Do we have a second?

Wait, I had another question.

Yeah.

You want a second second?

Okay, we have a motion, we have a second for the discussion.

So website design, do we have a designer and do we have a web like who who handles that?

I do I mean, I don't I don't do it.

I could I have somebody who helps when we have changes uh for the website, and then we also have to pay for our domain name as well.

Earlier in the year when we first came and when Ellen first joined on, we um discussed having an actual person or making it because it was a little it's not a in it's not really development like what we're talking about, it doesn't even look like the cities.

I would like it at least somehow.

I did make a lot of changes.

Have you been have you been on it lately?

Okay, all right.

Well, if you'd like to tell me what you want changed, we can schedule a time and we can but I ask because if if you are if you are if you are the chef and then she's the shoe chev and it's because I don't know everybody's titles, and then he's a cook.

Uh you know, if your job with us is the chef, then I want to I want to know who's designing like is that what you you know if you're a designer of websites, if that's you know so the website is what like it we've got.

It's really generic at this enhance what has been there.

Um I I would say especially once we start getting into disposing of more properties and things like that, it is something I want to refer people to.

Um it's just something we haven't gotten to yet.

Um so next year, you know, hopefully we'll be able to spend a little more time and judge it up a little bit.

But I I do want to say that we're taking on more now.

So if you're gonna be able to do that.

Yeah, but as board, I volunteer.

But I mean as a board, if you want to take on a separate website, go for it.

Like I like I I do marketing, so I I volunteer to assist with like design.

And even before the partnership, like when Tyrone was still here, he also and we you know, we volunteer.

So if it's something that as a board member we can help with, I I don't want to if you already doing the cook.

I don't want you to also be the bus person when you have somebody else to do that, and we could use the time appropriately.

So it yeah, so when when uh we came back, we made the corrections and we kind of made things flow a little bit better, and we updated the links and did all that stuff.

So if you want something to change, like I can connect you with the person that does the actual changes.

So there's a another person.

Well, so I just facilitate, I'm just coordinate and I say this is what I want.

But if you that we have it's Lehigh Valley um web design, she does all the changes.

And is that person a person?

That's that was my like so we have one, two, three, four, five, six people of city, right?

So now that's another person doing a web design.

That's was the second part of my question.

Yes.

No, it's not in-house, it's a third-party.

Right.

So who pays them?

You do.

Yeah, we do.

Right.

So that's again, that's that was why I'm like, that's we're paying or was it 2500 for the morning call and a web design when we could really properly save.

And I'm about being on a budget when you're paying a third party person when it's not necessary right now.

We paid like two for the for the domain name, it's like 250 dollars a year, something like that.

And then but you're saying you pay a design.

So in the beginning of the year, when we took over and you wanted the website, right?

Our we did have to spend money on her hourly charges, but we don't we don't it's not a monthly charge.

Right, it's a minimum, whatever maintenance charge.

The bulk of that is the advertising.

Right.

Um the advertising in the morning call is extremely expensive.

Um and then we only spent sixteen hundred and nineteen dollars this year on that.

But if if you look at the budget to actual, it actually tells you exactly how much we spent for website design.

If you look on that report that you were referring to before, just in the in the notes section.

Um, so it has Lehigh Valley website design and domain listings.

We paid 1,388.

We don't have what you what you just said, it doesn't say that on our side.

It does.

This is the budget to actual report.

Oh, on your on from the form from your form.

Yes, correct.

So that's what we spent, that's what we spent in 2025 was 1,388.

Thank you.

So the budget for next year, they we had budgeted $2,000 rounding up for that, and that's what we did move.

I think last month it was included on that line for professional fees, but now we moved it down to marketing.

For the 2500 down in in marketing is $500 for the morning call and the $2,000 that we had budgeted for the website design, which last month was on the different line item.

And there is absolutely no reason why the board could not appoint the person on the board who runs the list.

We don't care.

But that's why I'm I'm like remote.

We had that conversation.

So I wanted to like when we first started, we said let's work on whatever we need to work on.

But if it only costs $250 for the website domain, the rest of that money was kind of in vain.

And if we could save and I'd rather honestly use it when we do have our staff and when you guys do are doing your work than on a website design or anything that we don't need to.

I'd rather invest in my in the staff, not in someone that we don't need to.

If each one of that you know, for me that's why we need to boards, you know.

That would be an amendment to the budget to take that out of the budget, and that would be a board decision that you're managing your own website.

I I'm not saying to take it out of the budget, like Mark said earlier, you always should have a cushion or funding.

What I'm saying as a board, if we could just leave it there, as as I'm a board member, I'm volunteering my services to save that money.

Not let's not, but we can leave it there because we don't know, and then you could make an amendment later and say I need that for this.

Um or that, you know.

Okay.

So that's uh so that you guys have some flexibility.

You'll probably have to remove it from that company for you to manage it your own way.

Yeah, we don't want to do that.

Web fee.

So just keep that in mind.

I don't I don't I don't mind, Chris.

Honestly, I don't.

I it's it's a lot of money that we could save on.

I mean, I wish I only paid a thousand dollars.

Um yeah, I do this like so to do one and fifty or fifty-five for me when I do sit down and do web, it's not a big deal.

That's what I'm saying.

And I sit on this board and I only come once a month, so I feel like it's you know I I joined this board to give the best of me, so it's something I can give.

Correct.

Uh call the vote, Mr.

Chair.

All right.

Uh we have uh motion, we have a second, we have discussions.

Anything more to add?

All right, hearing none.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Any opposed motion carries.

We will jump to a l agenda item number eight point oh, new business with an engagement letter for the 2025 audit from Maher Doosle.

In your packet is an engagement letter from Maher Dusal, uh, who was our auditor last year.

Um the fees they're proposing for next year, is 24,700 to conduct the 2025 audit.

Um recommendation is to go forward with Maher Doosle again.

Um I think we've been getting excellent service from them, and you know, they've done it for us two years now, and um, you know, like I feel like they've helped us tremendously to get us reorganized.

This is something I think I'd love to put out for RFP at some point, but not now.

No, we have an RFP motion to stick with them last year.

I I think of an R2 uh the auditor, but you know, it's usually best practice every three to five years.

Put it out for RFP later.

No, I want to go with Maher Doussel again.

Oh, so you don't I I I'd rather like I this is the only thing I'm I read on the packet um this month because I know it was important and but I thought it was even better than the last year one, and I did go, so I'm happy I make a motion to approve whatever they said and the give them the money they want.

I did Google like auditors and like as an and they're they're for the mess that we have, this was a really good deal.

Um they worked well with you, right?

So I make a I definitely make a motion.

I'll second.

We have a motion or second.

Any further discussion?

Seeing none, all in favor signify by saying aye.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

Uh we'll jump to agenda item number 8.2 uh with the CDBG contract with the city of Allentown.

Yes, this is uh federal fiscal year 2024 CDBG contract.

Um and this contract is for our operating and maintenance expenses, so that's why it's only for 200,000.

Uh, it would include the hundred thousand dollars for staff reimbursement and the hundred thousand dollars we anticipate to spend on property maintenance.

Um so uh if there aren't any concerns with that contract, um, we can get it executed and uh start reimbursing the authority for their eligible expenses.

Tell me what this is again.

This is the CDBG contract right for that covers fiscal year 2024 for the maintenance of the properties like when you're help board up and all these things like that.

And when I say 2024, that's the year the funding came through for C D BG.

We will actually be reimbursing the authority for expenses that they incurred in 2025, usually runs a year behind it or after.

Um, so that this is basically the contract that allows us to reimburse you for your CDBG eligible expenses that you incurred this year.

But it allows us to access these funds from from the city.

And we gotta have the documentation in place, which we have looked at and reviewed as kosher on that front.

And Josh, you've reviewed this.

And uh were there any changes from the previous contract at all?

I mean numbers and the dates.

Numbers and dates, right?

But aside of that, there was no other no, it's essentially the same.

There's a little bit of verbiage change due to our current federal administration's taking out reference.

Understood.

Yeah.

And this has no impact on who will be using in 2026 or right now.

Okay.

We're reimbursing.

This is simply a reimbursement of the current operating.

We're making your expenses but eligible.

That's what I know.

I Vicky one time explained me the whole.

So I make a motion to approve Chris.

All right, we have a motion.

Do we have a second?

A second.

We have a second.

Do we have any further discussion?

Everybody on the same page with this?

Yes.

Okay, perfect.

Um all those in favor signify by saying aye.

Any opposed?

Motion carries.

Very good.

Uh agenda item number 8.3 is the 2026 meeting schedule.

Yep.

And the last page of your packet is um the meeting schedule that uh Gene uh started.

Uh it will be posted in the morning call and it uh follows our bylaws that it's the second Wednesday every month, and those are the dates.

Um, if you're okay with uh the dates that those meetings will be held, uh we can uh then post it in the morning call for the beginning of the year.

I notice it says 2 30 p.m.

We had been doing 2 p.m.

Is that a deliberate change?

Uh no, it should be 2 p.m.

Thank you.

We can't be any later.

Josh.

Thank you, Josh.

Very good.

Uh everyone good with our meeting schedule for 2026.

It's pretty much the same, right?

Second Wednesday.

We check to make sure that it didn't like conflict with any holidays or anything like that.

Yeah, all right.

Good.

I would still raise the concern that it's too inconvenient for the working people in the city, but I won't raise it.

How long do I have more?

So we did a night meeting and nobody came twice.

You know, I've I've long thought we ought to move it to at least like four o'clock so people can get you know when it was Zoom time.

We um we advertised like 60 uh 90 days, and nobody came anyway.

Uh we don't need a motion for this.

No, okay.

All right, very good.

Um we are looking at moving into executive session.

Um just need one second uh real estate to discuss our real estate um uh properties.

It is 301 and we will move into executive session now.

Gene, you don't leave.

Now your staff executives if they stay in executive session because you're taking the minutes.

What time I can all right, hold on a bit.

I mean, you will note that we went into executive session when we come back out the time.

Yeah, so then you'll pick up the minutes that'll go to the end until they adjourn after the executive session.

Other people need to counsel meeting years later.

That that's totally up to you.

I didn't want to keep you here.

All right, all right, very good.

Uh let's jump into our continuation of business with the agenda item number 10.0 and 10.1, the release of draft RFPs for 725 North 10th Street and 540 Hampton Street, as we had um discussion emails back and forth, um and all of that.

Do you want to pick us up, Mark?

Or so I I guess basically to summarize, we we had prepared two detailed RFPs that asked for everything we would expect to see in a proposal response up front.

Um based on discussion with the board.

There's some concern that that would be too onerous, and Alan has suggested um that we kind of do this as like a two-step process.

Um, and what what I'll call it like for lack of a better term, and we can come up with whatever terminology you all want, is when we initially put these out, he'd like to see us do like a letter of intent that comes in from interested parties that says, hey, I'm interested in acquiring this property.

This is what I want to do with it.

This is my experience doing this, and have like a simplified version of it to cast a very wide net.

We would take those letters of interest, um and break them down and then invite however many you guys wanted to to submit a formal proposal that would include a detailed business plan, proformas, um, all of the stuff you would need to make an educated decision about a proposal.

Um be kind of a two-step process.

I think the challenge we have with the two-step process, I think that works, is how do you decide who gets invited back to submit the formal proposal?

Like what's the scoring criteria to get out of phase one into phase two?

Which is why I sent out that uh score sheet that everybody should have gotten.

And I I really appreciate the staff being flexible and working with us on this, because I think this is a great um effort that we've got here.

And I know just Jessica and I spoke at some length.

I think it's a great well, I'm not suggesting we do this all the time.

I just think these two particular projects lend themselves to this kind of creativity and and different approach.

So I really appreciate the staff being willing to.

I know my side was aching from the Voodoo doll being posed, but I literally have one on my desk.

I think no doubt.

I think I've fine.

Every doll and it's hanging on the phone.

And its name is Alan.

It's weird.

I'm not opposed to your two-prong approach or to any of that.

I just want to be clear that from our experience in the city, you are gonna enter a very contentious situation.

And this board has been very sensitized to negative press, to people being unhappy, to um accusations, and when you open things to a multitude of people saying this is what I want to do, and you then have to whittle them, not based on pieces of paper in front of you, but based upon a concept, you open yourself to that flag.

Based on pieces of paper, you can say you didn't submit the pro forma, we can't look at you.

You don't have a letter from a bank stating you have any money.

We can't look at you.

It's very clear cut.

So the board can move in any direction and chooses to move.

Like I I'm not here to tell you as an authority what to do.

But I I like all of you personally, and I just think that when you say to nonprofit A that you're not in the second round, and you say to nonprofit B or for profit B, you have a great idea, which is gonna be subjective to what you think belongs in this neighborhood, you're going to get all of that backlash.

And we're perfectly okay with that, because frankly, we're used to backlash.

That's all we live in anymore.

But all of you are not.

And as a volunteer group, you just have to be ready that this could go very south very fast, unless you have extremely clear criteria.

But I want a restaurant here, or I want a picnic grove here, or I want an entertainment venue here, or I don't know what I want, give me all your ideas.

Somebody's gonna be left out of the team.

Why don't you want my hookah lounge there?

And are you slanted against Tuco lounges?

And why are you slanting against TUPA lounges?

And that's when it gets contentious.

So if you guys are ready for that, I fully bless your adventure, but I have to say that it is your adventure, it's not our adventure together because that's not how we operate.

We can support you, but this is on you guys to decide how you want to move forward.

I'm not the slightest bit of intimidated.

I know you're not, but you have a rest of the board, and you have people still working in a professional capacity, that might be one.

So I I don't want to cut that off.

I do have two concerns on a legal front with this.

And the first one, and I didn't I deliberately did not put this in writing in response to all the emails.

Let's remember things that are said in writing or available to everybody until the end of the world to look at, right?

One of the proposals was that we would favor those who had minorities in a position of ownership.

The current administration and the current Supreme Court are very conservative on affirmative action and DEI issues.

I am concerned that we will put a target on our backs or expose ourselves to legal issues.

If we have a category on our score sheet that says we're giving you extra points because there are minorities in the ownership group.

First of all, there are it's a minor amount of points.

Second of all, bring it on.

I'm not telling you what to do, which is my job as your lawyer is to look out for legal issues.

I'm not okay with it.

I'm just saying for the real estate part, it should probably be fair housing if we're favoring one.

And I'm just saying your money's coming from HUD.

So you can be as brave as you would like to be, but if it gets connected back to HUD, you get no money and either do it.

My my bigger concern with both of these projects is uh did you did you want to are you still going well yeah, I'm sorry, I just wanted to connect this.

It was kind of not that big a deal, but they did take out some DEI language out of the HUD contract, which was a uh from on high uh thing that the administration made a change from prior federal uh admin to do that, right?

So that that was a change in the document that we just approved.

Uh again, I'm not telling you what to do, just you know, we've got to be aware of are we asking for trouble, what's gonna come of it.

With respect to the two-step RFP, I this is not a thing that I've done before.

I don't bring any experience there.

Again, I just look at it and say, like, where's the avenues that people can sue us on this, right?

And the more steps there are, the more people who feel like they didn't get their didn't get their shot and want to complain about it, the more paperwork there is for them to look at and complain and say that was subjective, but I didn't get it.

I that's a thing we gotta consider and be prepared for, which again doesn't mean we shouldn't do it your way.

I'm not saying that, but the the more opportunities there are for people to look at something and say, hey, I wasn't treated fairly, I didn't get what I wanted, there's the more opportunities for people to then decide, and therefore I'm gonna sue you.

That makes sense.

Okay, good insurance.

I I'm my feeling on this is I don't, I mean, I want to see I want to see as many you know, smaller individuals be able to get into these properties like this, but at the same time, and I think I've said this multiple times, these two properties are the kind of properties they're gonna bury somebody.

So uh this is going to be, I mean, I I'm all for having someone local who's gonna have a local idea and do all of that, but uh my my head is on the other side of that, where they're gonna spend every dollar they have and then they need another million dollars because this properties are in such disrepair and they're now in bankruptcy, and now we have more egg on our face because we've partnered with somebody who had a really good RFP based off of our three-page document and scoring system when if we would have had a little bit more information or made them look at these things a little bit closer, knowing that they need a million dollars or two million dollars to be able to complete this project and they only have 500,000 at access to we end up looking worse than where we are right now with holding the property.

That's my only concern.

These are not small projects.

Um unfortunately, if you don't have deep pockets or have a you know, are able to complete these projects um you know, in a in a cost-effective manner in a timely manner, you're you're gonna be in bankruptcy.

Uh so as much as I would like to pare it down at the same time, I'd rather have more information from somebody to make a better decision knowing what knowing what it is.

Well, we're gonna get all that information when we get to phase two.

You know, I mean, you know, Mark and I talked before the meeting.

Mark wants to take the um the cash flow piece out.

Um, I think we should keep it because I think if it'll get help us to get a sense of whether these guys have got a good enough of a grip on reality to have a real uh legitimate proposal.

I don't want to, I don't want to entertain junk.

I want to entertain thoughtful hip, uh funky proposals that work.

I mean, I want this one these projects to get um uh on a tax flows.

I want I want to generate jobs.

I want to I want to have people that don't usually get the benefit of these opportunities to have that benefit.

And I think we are a perfect place for that to get done.

I think we could probably blaze a trail.

I think we should get we could get some really great publicity for the organization out of it.

I think we could get um you know uh other municipalities to to follow our lead.

So I I would hope that we would agree that this is a good idea.

These are small and manageable enough.

I I get it, um Chris, they've got a costly, but relatively speaking, for most developers, these are fairly small projects.

Um but that's not gonna be cool or funky, and I don't know.

I don't know how I don't want anybody to think that I was just gonna approve something because it was funky.

I want to approve something that's gonna work and it's funky.

But let me ask you a question, a philosophical question because this and I and maybe you vote independently which way you would go.

But let's say somebody wants to put a restaurant on the first floor of 540 and six units that live above it, and that person has built one family house and is offering you $300,000 to do that, and another person wants to put a restaurant on the first floor and they want to put four units above it, and they're offering you $600,000 for the building, and they've built skyscrapers everywhere.

Are you going with a little guy and taking $300,000 less to prove that point, or are you going for the money to get a profit into the agency?

Because in my mind, you've got somebody saying we need the highest value we can get, and we need the best product we can get.

And I'm talking about 540, I'm not talking about the toy factory, because I don't see these two as the same projects or in the same realm of things.

540 is a hot topic issue on Hamilton.

You're gonna get out of state investors, you're gonna get in-state investors, and you're gonna get offers, maybe even cash offers, maybe even without inspections, maybe above what any appraisal would show you.

You're not gonna get that in the toy factory, but you might get that on Hamilton.

Are you gonna say no for the little guy who's hip and funky who's giving you $300,000?

And it's okay either way.

I don't have a bad answer to any of this.

But philosophically, I think you as a board need to have worked that out before you start soliciting proposals.

My answer would be maybe.

Um I mean, it depends on the the strength of the advantage that the that one developer has over the other.

I mean, I I don't want to do a bad deal.

I don't want to do a project that sets somebody up to fail and be in worse shape and have a building that's a bigger dog than we've got now.

Um, but I also don't want to leave this open to the usual developers who are gonna take the money and run and never look back at this community and say I care enough about it to make a contribution to uh you know to the organization that's doing this work and and you know, so I mean it would depend on on the project, the specificity there.

Uh uh based on what you said, I might how do the rest of the board feelings?

I feel we have a financial duty to do what's best for the redevelopment authority as well at the same time, right?

And if that means taking a bid that's higher from a more prominent developer compared to you know, just an average person here in Allentown, I think we need to you know think about you know what we're doing there as well.

We have a financial responsibility to the redevelopment authority to grow our assets at the same time as redeveloped the city.

We can get that both of those things done at the same time, then that's a win-win.

We're gonna take half the price, but give it to somebody else that's not maybe a normal player.

Is that financial is that fiscally responsible on our behalf as a board?

And I guess why I bring that up is that and and I'm sure Jess and Chris relate to where I'm going.

House comes on the market because Grammy's moving into the nursing home.

Are they taking a pick me letter of the family with two kids who really wants this house to have kids in their backyard, or are they paying for more months in the nursing home so Grammy's taken care of?

I mean, those are the philosophical decisions that go on when someone sells property.

Where I see this board as being is on a crossroads, and whether you're viewing the toy factory as something fun and experimental, or whether you're viewing this other one as prime real estate, I I think you kind of have to have that idea before you set up the system by which you're gonna sell it.

I maybe I'm wrong, but there's always this the first thing real estate does is develop the strategy for the property disposition.

So to me, you don't have that yet.

So we're trying to craft an RFP that's shooting at a target, but we don't have a clear target, whether one is a moneymaker, whether the other one is a community project, whether they're both money makers, you know, we we just have it work that out.

So if you really want to see it all and take the heat of reading through it, you're gonna have a two step process.

But if you want to have a competitive bid process, that's a whole different structure.

I mean, maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I see it.

So I mean, the way for 725 Hamilton Street, I want to be clear.

5.400 or 725 North Pent.

I'm gonna start there.

Um, you know, our checklist of what we're requiring as part of that the submission.

What yeah, that Alan sent to everything.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I just had it on my phone.

I'm talking I'm going back to the RFP that we crafted.

Oh, okay.

Um we asked for a cover letter, uh a proposal form, project narrative, uh, an explanation of how the project will benefit the community, example, job creation, affordable housing, flight reduction, economic revitalization, um budget narrative and financial plan, description of the total project cost, sources and uses, five-year performa, evidence of financing capacities, and any subsidies or incentive incentives requested, um, project schedule and timeline, qualifications and experience, uh zoning or variance considerations, uh, purchase terms, and supporting documents, rendering site plans, maps, financial uh pre-approvals, that type of stuff.

Um, our scoring criteria, um, this is how the proposals will be evaluated.

Um the criteria, economic impact, job creation, affordable housing, and community benefit, that's worth 25 points.

Um project design concept, that's worth 25 points.

The financial offer is worth 20 points.

Uh, the technical experience qualifications of the team or individual is worth 15 points, and then the project approach, how they're gonna accomplish it, that's uh 15 points.

So to me, that's where you prioritize uh if the financial offer isn't that important, maybe it's not worth 20 points, maybe it's only worth five points if you're not putting a lot of weight in that.

And if those are the things, if if I'm reading just right, which I never know if I am until I'm under the bus, but if I'm reading just right, I don't think asking for those things was the problem.

I think the wording of how we were asking for those things was the problem by talking pro forma instead of budget or PL by talking firm instead of individual, by talking, if those are the simple tweaks that we said go ahead and make, but we still wanted to ask for those same things, we're still pretty much following procurement.

The other side of that is creating the two-step process and the scoring tier to get from one step to the next step and having an abbreviated list on your first round, but then a more robust list of what our requirements were on the second round.

So I kind of see those two things as the possibilities on the table.

Maybe there's a third, I'm not sure.

But I think that's what we're actually looking at is do you want to make the language more open to the smaller guy, but still the same type of requirements and do it all in one step, or do you want to go to the two-step, make some kind of a decision, and then move to a more formal process.

So I spent a lot of time, a lot of time, like really looking into it as a board member, as a realtor, as a nonprofit, as a mom who has kids who want to invest in community, and a husband who's a little guy contractor.

I researched, I look, who has two-step.

HUD has a process, they have a two-step.

UX, who we would give.

I knew Dan's answer right away.

Want to know why?

Dan is about finances and money.

That's his life.

Like that's what he does.

Me, I might have took the lower offer because we are here to be the redevelopment authority.

And one thing that we've heard over our time, and this, and Dan has been in disagreement with everyone when they say that because he's about money.

So that's why I knew his answer is that we're not here to make money.

We're here to redevelop and cooperate or align with the housing project that the city is currently working on.

That for me would have said I would give it to the $300,000 person because that person might be more in line with the city's housing plan because the way I read the city housing plan, and I've talked to Vicky and I've talked to Matt and different people it building Alantown and Antonians and the infrastructure of the city and making sure that everything, not just the little guy, not just this side of Hamilton, but the other side of Linden.

I would have went with a 300 because that's the one that I might.

Now the HUD that I read, the first submission is without a number.

And that's where I think it's not about the number to me.

It's about who can come in the door.

Is everyone welcome?

Who like my husband said, you know, you can't wear the hat to City Hall.

And I said, Well, today I'm gonna wear it.

I can be outside in the rain and I have to wear a hat.

I want everybody to be able to wear a hat if they need to wear a hat.

If you come in, like I get like what Alan's saying, we might, and I was really gonna ask out.

Like, we can't say a lot of things, and as a realtor, I know that, but I know that HUD has a two-step process that kind of says what we're all saying.

But the one thing that their first step is, and I showed um Chris right now another sample.

It's kind of what Kelly said, but it has a little bit of Alan's feel to it, and it's inclusive, but again, I want to stick with whatever the redevelopment authority is supposed to do.

I want our city, the toy factory is bothering neighborhoods, really.

It is I those people call me, it's bothering neighborhoods.

The city of Allentown, there's one on Hamilton, you know, that five, you know, that building, we shouldn't, and it's our it's like saying the redevelopment authority is supposed to take care of like and they've been having this building.

So I I agree we need to do, we do need to move forward, but I do agree that they're not the same project because we're later gonna have a house with a different, but I think that our project should be kind of not streamlined, but we will always have to tweak a little here and there, but it should be a general process.

This is how we're gonna do business, or this is not how we're gonna do business.

Is it a two-step for all of them or or one of them?

But I want us just to figure something out because this is that's been something that like we get a lot of backlash for, and I just want to do whatever's best for Allentown and people who are going to invest in Alentown.

And Jess, I've always been very candid with you, and I'm candid with this whole board.

So take what I'm saying or throw what I'm saying.

I used to believe exactly that, and I used to believe that the responsibility was also to the little guy.

But I also now in this role see as much as I want to support the little guy, getting the 600,000 lets me do three more properties than getting the 300,000 does.

And I'm not a numbers person, but I'm also thinking of how your resources, especially in a time when HUD is a variable, and and our funding is a variable, about how you build that financial security as an authority.

I don't want to ever cut out a little guy if a little guy can pull off a project, but I do think that there has to be some combination of the two approaches.

The other thing is that we don't get a lot of feedback, and I'm not saying that that's a that that's a good or a bad thing.

That's a lot more weight on your shoulders than we consider as an authority or as a board.

But I don't think people are calling Dan about the toy factory.

Maybe I'm wrong.

No, but I call calling out, right?

Or calling they bother me.

They're calling you, and they're calling you because you've put yourself out there and been open to that, and that's the only reason that I fear the two-step process.

So you're gonna make one guy very happy.

If you had projects 30 hours for you, and you didn't have a number, and you had two projects before you and you didn't have a number, and one was like what was you have 20 units coming, and that now they're putting a grocery store and they're putting a gambling outfit, but then you have this other one who's going to have maybe a food pantry and they're gonna have housing as well, and they're going to be investing in cleaning the community and you don't have a price, and you see this one is better, and later you find out it's the little guy.

That's what I that I don't want to look at the number first.

I want to see who has the best vision for the community without knowing that the JB Riley again coming to put the same person or Mr.

Books.

And again, the only thing that's the same thing.

I want to see you're taking somebody else people without a pre-approval letter.

No, no, no.

So the step process that I that I read online, it does you want to know that they are able, they have credible financing, right?

For it, like Chris said.

They have financing up to your max, then I have they need to come with a package.

We just it so one of the things that it says is you come with one and then a sealed number, it you have a sealed price, and we once we pass it, they have to submit both.

Unfortunately, at the same time, everything comes in.

We just don't open that sealed number in the next time.

When it moves to the next stage, then we figure out who's in and up.

It's not a public kind of you made it from one to two.

We take all the bids we get and then we decide who moves to what to do.

That's kind of what I read online, and I feel because I agree with you.

How do I tell somebody you didn't move to stage two just because maybe you were a little guy?

I want everyone to bid, and then we say, listen, this one was better, not because they were the they were just the best for the toy factory, they were the best for Hamilton.

This one's the best for Walnut, but without a number because the number kind of puts uh it, you don't you might not know who Bobby is, and he might be the little guy.

So I wanna we know who JV is, we know who Butts is, we know who Hyman is, we know who Strauss is.

I but we don't know the other people, so when they come in, I just want to look at theirs fair.

That's I just want to look at fair bids.

So is the idea that by having a two-step process where inviting people with sort of passion projects who aren't used to real estate development to who would be intimidated by the whole RP is that that's sort of their like you know, it's giving your three pager about I want to do it.

Yeah, yeah.

I I and so is that then a separate cutoff round, like only people who are approved.

No, it's the same.

If it's 30 days, it's 30 days.

Yeah, it's just opening the door for everybody to kind of be submitted and rewording the the the you know what it's on our end, how I can't we do that with a one.

What I hear is that process.

We we judge different.

She just told you a number, and you judge a pro a project based on a number and not the project.

And we're here to be developing the community and what's best for the community.

And I'm not saying you because I know you, Dan.

I think you do.

We look at the project, but not everybody does that.

So when we look at things, so some people will pick for the bigger number to make them more money just because that's what's gonna make the bigger number.

What I'm what I'm hearing, and this isn't quite like the two-step process that Alan was proposing, but it's not uncommon for RFPs to be submitted where you have like the technical proposal, this is my idea, this is how I want to do it, kind of thing.

But then the cost and financial piece of it is submitted separately under sealed, and you review the technical proposal first, score them, and then you open the cost proposals, and there's a a weighted score.

That um that's exactly that's a technical.

Is that is a full R but it's a technical and then a and then a big uh cost, a cost proposal.

So I have seen that.

I know how to run a process like that.

You know, it's it's a HUD process.

It's not I didn't invent this, it's not I'm not getting crazy.

And now I can copy and paste and send it to a comment.

That's exactly we do this proposal when we go to Alloy 5 and we go to 10 different developers and say we want to build a police station.

Give us your concept separate from your cost.

Anybody who puts the cost in the concept gets eliminated.

And we look at the three concepts we like the best, and then we pull in the cost, and then that cost gets connected to those three that we like the best.

But in fairness to Dan Jess, Dan picked the 600,000 with a storefront and the same number of units above it in each building.

And I don't see a million uses of 540 Hamlet.

You're gonna end up with retail on the bottom and housing on top, or a non-profit office on the bottom and housing on the top.

But there really isn't much else you're gonna do with 540.

Toy Story is a whole totally different set, totally different situation.

So that's something to also keep in mind that I don't think 540 is gonna turn into your maybe.

I'm wrong.

Maybe somebody will say it's an entertainment venue, maybe somebody will say it's a massive, I don't know, kids' jungle gym or something.

I don't know.

But I can't see 540 coming in with the degree of flexibility that you get with the toy factory.

Toy Factory is just far more flexible property.

I only want to say one thing too with the small guys, I would just be concerned.

We want to put something in place for straw buyers, because we'll have somebody that gets in a bid that's a small guy and then acts, then have to link up with a developer, which may not be what you want either, but we see it a lot with the city too.

So we have to have these little things in place.

So for me, it's not about the big guy or the small guy, it's the best project for the city.

I'm let's say tomorrow Dan will survive, and JD Right is his fund, because that we see that every day.

I'm okay with that because Dan's idea, we picked it without the price, and we opened the door for every person with a dollar or one million dollars to come in and do a bid.

And Dan's got picked.

It wasn't about who funded him, who he got the loan with, or that JB was.

It was Dan had a really creative idea, and somebody saw that in him and said, Yeah, I'm gonna fund it.

Like I don't care that it's you know, I just want the best person and afford it, that they're not sinkhole in it, and then we're back here again, like the Manhattan group, and we're revisiting again.

I don't I don't want that again, but I do want it.

I don't think we're gonna get like my husband, I don't think we're gonna get a small contractor.

I you know, we already know that that person, but there are people who are you know, many of these contractors that normally don't fit in.

I I would like for them to think when they read it, yeah, we're gonna come in.

We have the this uh the dysfunction, frankly, of having only four of us.

We're missing a fifth.

That's a that's the the deciding vote if we have a a tie otherwise.

And I'm just curious if I could if we could get a straw vote to get a sense of whether we have the support from a majority of the four of us to take this approach and then to figure out the details, negotiate those between the board members who want to be part of it and and Mark and Vicky to get the detail laid out on on how that gets done.

Do we have of the four of us uh uh we sympathetic enough to this concept to say yes, we're doing it, and then we can can we work out the the details on it?

Which concept beyond the two step the the pre-call idea, yeah.

And and uh, you know, the town is that I think those are cool.

So the prequel idea is different than an RFP that has two steps, a technical response, and then a cost proposal.

Oh, we're um so the proposal is a prequel that we will get I don't know third if we get 30 proposals, I'd be thrilled.

I mean, because I mean I think the way I view it, if people outside you have like a dumbed down proposal where they just need to like tell you what their idea is, what their experience is.

What is your guy?

They're just repeating it.

I'm sorry, yeah.

And how many you don't want to proposal, don't worry about that.

You don't want a proposal right away.

You want a letter of intent.

We want a letter of intent that says, I got this cool idea, this is how it works, this is how good I am, this is what this is how the money flows, and we'll and then and then we'll get them to do all the hard part after because we've said to them, you have a shot here.

We don't have you know with that, but I'm I'm not okay.

I'm not okay with telling somebody you don't have a shot because their ideas weren't funky and how do you think that's the way how do you tell them that they don't?

That's what I'm I'm that's what I'm struggling with too.

As a realtor, I tell you real estate-wise, you can't legally do that according to FHAP F H A, and then you really think well that we have right, and like to Vicky's point before, like when I'm selling the estate sale property that grandma lived in, and you get 10 offers, and the you you want to go with the FHA buyer, but someone else is paying cash, like you don't get a second shot at at your proposal there.

It's only one offer that you're that you're Kevin come in.

We do the the straw poll.

Uh uh to the two step pieces for the two-step.

I mean, I I'm I'll just I'll go first.

I'm good with what Kelly had said.

I was good with it from the start.

I think we should get appraisals for the property so that we know a baseline, but I'm good.

I'm good.

I think if you're bidding on either of these properties, although they're different, I think you should be able to fill out and submit your RFP the way that it's stated.

I did the same thing when I got the bid for the realtor uh position with the city.

You you have to do I could have submitted a three-page proposal.

I didn't.

I submitted a 20-page proposal.

So I think that no matter who you are, you should be able to support with whatever you're gonna do in that in through that RFP process.

I think what we're doing is we're putting more responsibility on ourselves to come up with.

No, I'm not the big guy.

You are the big guy.

I'm not the big guy put us two right now.

I'm the that's not that's that's not true.

That's not true.

I don't, I don't know.

All the real estate in the I'm I'm not the big guy at all.

I'm he is either JB right.

So for Alan's straw poll purposes, you you're the two steps.

I would be opposed to it.

Yes.

Yes.

No, I I'm for two step.

Okay.

I'd like simpler.

I don't want to go.

I don't if we don't have to go.

Yeah.

So we're deadlocked on that.

Which is Alan said if the mayor said this another person, that'd be nice, but like we're we're stock.

I mean, uh but I I want two step at one process.

See, mine is a little different.

I want you to submit the 20 pages from the JB Riley of real estate, but I don't want to know the I want to do that.

Then that's Mark's process.

That's what Mark's talk is.

That's one step.

That's one step.

That's not a one two part.

That's one step, and that separates separate.

We can work on the RFPs that Kelly and Kevin worked on.

We can make it so that there's a technical review and then a cost review.

And Jess, you can edit the document Kevin drafted that Kelly sent, that Kelly edited, down to being worded the way you think it needs to be.

If you add my husband in the car right home, my husband is a contractor.

That's not contractor language.

That's that's big scale only.

That's so scale back.

You know, so that's a verb.

I did the language.

Because even here sometimes I know real estate, I know property, but then there's city things that I've got to wait for Vicky's phone call to talk to me like I'm in second grade and explain it to me.

That's what I don't want in an RFP, and I don't want to judge somebody based on their price.

I want project, and I want it to be.

I have to tell you and but I'm okay.

But why can't we use the scoring sheet?

Something similar to this.

But you get the proposals if we don't do it this way.

Yeah, no, but the scoring is not even have nothing to do with the RFP bumper, right?

Right.

Well, and what does this have to do with the RFP part?

You gotta figure out how to get it out first.

So part of you want to be able to explain how you're gonna evaluate these proposals so that people know how to respond.

Right.

Like if our if our if we say the most important thing on this project, we're giving, you know, out of a hundred points, seventy-five points is allocated to how much you're offering for the property.

Like, tell me I I need to come in with like the highest financial offer I can.

Whereas if you say it's only worth 10 points out of a hundred, and you put a lot on the community benefit, right?

That says to me, hmm, maybe they're not looking to get top dollar for this project, but you know, are more interested in creating affordable housing units or something.

What happened?

Is that what we're saying?

Kevin, right they work together.

Yeah, I got your name like today.

Um let me say this.

So can we say that Alan, Jessica, and Kevin will sit down and if it's okay with Kevin.

I don't want to take more of the city's time.

Well, me and Alan can't come empty-handed.

We need to drive something up.

You gotta put the time in there, Kevin.

You know, put the time in, and then take all three of our things and figure something out, and then that way we're not wasting everybody's time on a subject.

And we're gonna use nice words in our email.

Yeah, and we're gonna be nice.

What was wrong with what I said in my email?

Listen, you read it to me, and it didn't sound so bad, it's what I read it myself.

And then I read it to my husband, who thought I wrote it.

I said I did not.

I agree.

It was strong.

Yes.

I know Alan too well to get offended.

No, but I so I re I guess that's probably why I didn't feel it when he read it to me because I know I already so I but when I read Chris, yeah, and I said, Alan read this to me.

And then he said the same thing, so I said, okay.

And then I read it to my husband.

He said I read it in my tone.

No, I said, but Alan wrote this, and then he was like, Oh, okay.

But it doesn't matter because you don't always read it.

You don't know what's home somebody reads something, but it was not nice.

Well, so the let me say this.

So Josh takes a deep breath.

You know you're wrong.

Well, when Matt, when the mayor approached me and asked me if I would serve on a redevelopment authority, he said that the situation is it's it's tra it's challenged.

You you know what the situation was.

No, it's not that you challenge it was the language you know, I'm not no, I'm not talking about that now.

I'm talking about so Matt asked me if I would if I would you know come in and try to help get this thing fixed.

And and so I engineered, I think, uh uh an agreement that we would contract with the city to be essentially a body that acts as one.

You know, we're we're staff and board, but we're acting together.

And um, I thought that was the most important decision we made up until the conversation we're having tonight.

This decision is as basic to what I believe as anything I've done.

And you know, this is about opportunity, this is about creativity, this is about winning a battle that we are destined to lose as a city against the suburbs.

We always have been and we always will be, unless we do very creative check the temperature type of type of uh innovation.

And if we're not gonna do this, I don't want to be a part.

I mean, this is the most important decision we've made since that decision to merge with the city.

And I would hate now to be in a position that we're in, to be able to take two buildings that are very conducive to creativity.

They're both critically important to the city, and for us to take the usual bus the businesses usual approach to offering these for development would be tragic.

And I don't want to be a part of it.

I think at the end of the project we get to decide who gets the profits.

It is a warning, it's not a threat, it's a warning.

I quit if we don't do this because this is this is an opportunity we're not gonna have again.

But Alan, the process that we're looking at, the process of an RFP with a technical side and the cost side is one thing.

The way you launch your RFP is totally up to you.

So there could be a kind of who we decide to choose is up to us too.

There could be a press release to this RFP that says the Allentown Redevelopment Authority is looking for the most creative, innovative, community beneficial, cost efficient, kicky goofy, whatever words you want to use, proposals to consider for 540 and 72.

We can hold only pre-bid conferences.

For people to go over the RFP and explain what we're looking for.

Like we get to decide at the end of the day who gets to who we choose for RFP anyway.

You call the RFPs, you're gonna be able to do that.

We're not eliminating people in the usual way we're gonna get junk.

We're gonna get junk, we're gonna get shitty proposals from shitty developers.

Why do you think that?

Yeah, I didn't know.

So Alan, you don't Alan, do you think if you if we hold a press conference with your um funky ideas, like I like what Vicky said.

We're not just putting an RFP out, we're saying it with our words.

It's not even no longer it's about what's on the paper.

You're saying it out loud.

Listen, this is open to all of you guys.

Come on, what is it?

What is our all-inspiring?

Yeah, all inspiring.

We're the all-inspiring, you know, that's what we're looking for.

Anyone you want to build a hut or you want to build a shack, or you want to build a 17-story, however, you want to word it, and Chris, our president will, you know, execute it and we'll do morning call and WFMZ.

And then we'll get the fresh and funky in here, and we'll make sure it's pumped out on every and we'll do a social media campaign.

Listen, we'll do a TikTok if you want to, you know, and then you will get really funky.

Somebody might want to come in and build a you know, a turkey farm in the middle of the city.

So is your concern, Alan, that we we'll get the same three developers because you know, if somebody has like a passion project or what I don't know, a karate dojo, but they don't know how to fill out a 20-page RFP, and you want to encourage them, is that what you're saying?

The the work that's gonna have to be done to respond to that RFP.

Yeah, it's gonna have to be done by the big guys that that know how to do that kind of stuff.

Can I talk to you as the founder of community action?

Don't you guys have a program over there called that they could help with?

And and you know, the kind of people that that are doing cool stuff are not gonna have the time or the resources to respond to that kind of a demand for for work.

But it doesn't have to be 20 pages to be expected from it.

And so if they don't have the the resources to fill out the 20-page paper, then they probably don't have the resources.

Yeah, but it doesn't need to be 20 pages.

And if you want, we'll say, listen, three-page minimal.

I don't want to sit here and read 20 pages of 20 proposals.

I don't have we're not doing the Chris Rad, um JB Riley of the real estate a proposal.

We can say a three, can we say like a three-page minimal so that we're not you can take what Kevin and Kelly have given you, and you can say a two-page budget right this year and last year.

You can say a qualifying document from a bank saying you're bankable.

You can say whatever you want to say to make those forms easier, but the bottom line is you can also attach that cover sheet that says what you're looking for.

You can offer technical assistance to someone.

We can have a call-in time that is during the RFP period for questions and answers from anyone, and we can offer them assistance from agencies that help people do RFPs.

So we can have a call in with your questions.

Real estate lab could help and the real estate lab could help them with those forms if that's what they need.

And the real estate lab could help them with those forms if that's what they need.

I mean, I community action has a program.

What is the heck is the name of it for businesses?

Yeah.

Start your business.

No, it's the one where they help you with your starting.

Yeah, rising tide.

Right, right.

And if you want to make a difference, and that's an opportunity to leave these nonprofits that ask us for this is their opportunity to say, we will help you.

Like so the Yorts are we used to help with business plans.

We but then we decided, okay, we're gonna hand it all to community action.

So why not make you know rely on these partners and say, listen, if you can't, we have partnered with and make one of you know them stand there with you and say, now they're gonna help you.

There is a lot of community resources of people that do help write out all these things.

That's our opportunity.

We are partnered with Bally Youth House.

They help their participants walk through and so we'll just have all of them stand next to Chris in the press conference, and we'll stand with them, and we can have all these things.

And then it is fresh and it is funk and hip because we have all the hipster organizations with us, but we can only be so hip because this there's HUD guidelines and you know, things like that on what and and charter guidelines.

Does that make sense?

What she's saying?

I don't know.

I uh calm down first.

Okay.

I definitely think we can like what I'm hearing.

Our RFP is focused in my mind is focused.

I want to make sure that you guys have all the information you need to make an educated decision.

Um, but what I'm hearing is that that can be intimidating to say the little guy or the creative guy.

And I think we need to focus on how we market in it.

And with the press conference, we can certainly do a technical assistance um for verbal workshop for people that are interested in applying, that we can go through the application and say, you know, this is what meets this criteria, and this is what meets that criteria to help them develop a strong proposal.

So I I think we can accomplish it all because I'm not interested in just getting run-of-the-mill proposals.

I want to see something that's gonna benefit the community in the neighborhood.

Um, but also feasible to be built, right?

You know, uh, there's a lot of people with great ideas.

Do we want a hundred random proposals or do we want 20 solid ones?

And Alan, you're thinking, but we haven't got any on the last times that we did RFPs.

One time we had to extend the date, we didn't get any.

Well, we also didn't put it out there.

No, no, I don't mean on these two.

We did RFP a property out, and we wound up getting uh the one that we did with the Manhattan, the one down there that we had two, and they went out twice, and we extend it.

And honestly, like I don't think those were very well promoted.

Right.

Um Yeah, they just went to the morning call.

That was like that's that's not advertising.

That's meeting HUD's legal definition of advertising.

That's not how you promote a project.

Like how you promote a project is kind of how we've been doing our uh Seventh in Linden proposal with the Allentown parking authority.

You know, there was been um LinkedIn posts, a press release.

Um I think we can accomplish it all.

So I think if we're not gonna keep holding on to these properties, we do need to get them out.

Um I think if we come up with the different steps, it gives us.

Do you have a we already done messed up the goal?

What should we shoot for to get this done?

Right.

That's what I'm that's what I was gonna say.

You can use the big screen in my office or use whatever you want to use and crank through the language to get the language where you feel you wouldn't be turning someone off, and then we'll put together a from day one.

Let's say we're gonna release this.

This should be the day we have the press conference, this should be the day we send out the social media, this should be the day it goes on LinkedIn, this should be the day that it gets blasted out by all board members to their whole contact list.

This should be the day it goes on public procurement, and then offer question and answer and supportive technical assistance session.

Have one at night, have one during the day.

Anybody who wants to bid on this proposal can sign up for one of those sessions.

Any question that's overwhelming, we'll try to help them.

We'll reach out to the real estate lab and say, if somebody really wants to bid on a property and can't do an RFP, can someone help them and see if we can go from there?

I I've already had uh conversation similar to that with Yusuf, and he's very excited to find a way to participate.

But that is connected to JB Riley, so I don't think that's the real estate lab for other for one of the real estate labs proteges, and I think it would not it wouldn't look so nice on our behavior.

It would it would look a little biased.

To provide technical assistance.

No, no, no.

Who's providing that that's it?

Was the name you mentioned?

Who is is that's a big guy's that's a big fish is person.

That's a big thing.

But he's just taking his knowledge and saying, hey, Dan, you don't know anything.

I'm gonna help you.

Right, but if still okay.

If the big developer comes in, that's an advantage.

Then we'll get a different person.

Right.

That I like the idea, just not the name.

It was that because it's an it could be what if that developer who is somebody's mentor comes in, that's an advantage.

Okay.

All right.

It was a great idea though, Mark.

I do like that.

All right.

So are we okay with that with redoing this process?

Yeah, but we need a deadline soon.

We're not gonna be wasting the time.

Okay, right?

The challenge.

We have to stop the meeting in five minutes because Chris has to be.

We're gonna have to figure out a time to get together.

The challenge is gonna be the holidays.

Um I have to go to the next mail.

I think we can try to get something turned around for the next meeting, but it may bleed into February, depending on people's availability and schedules.

Okay, so uh we'll circle back with some dates um to work on this and um take it from there.

This was a property.

Kelly interested.

Can we end executive session to go on into the process?

This is still executive session, so it's just really fast.

So you guys gave us the staff approval to purchase this property.

This is the property that's um went to share of sale and then got sold back to the bank.

We were gonna buy it at share of sale, and then we work with the bank to try to get the the offer in.

And uh Josh gave an offer for our 125.

This Dale Kessler is now listing it.

He called me, he has it listed for 1999, it's way too high.

I did an inspection yesterday.

There's copper missing, it needs a new roof, it has all different kinds of issues.

I have a contractor putting a proposal together of um what it would cost to bring it up to code.

Not that we're gonna be using that contractor, but just gives us an idea of what we're gonna be spending all in on the property.

I would like to go in and purchase the property and go in at 150.

You already gave staff the people up to 200,000 dollars.

So I just want to let you know that after we get that um that uh document from the contractor that that's something that we will be looking to do to get this property into good hands and rehab and uh taking off the light potential list.

Anything that's gonna have to be listed for 30 days before I talked to him and he said that we fall under the homeownership.

I talked about he said we could fall under there, so I was like, okay, because we want to try and get it in sooner because it's gonna go out to investors, we're gonna lose.

Right.

So we can't I try to speed the conversation up.

I hope that was okay.

Yeah, no, it's totally fine.

I was just gonna say obviously we can't vote on anything in the executive session.

We also don't need to vote here.

The board previously voted to give authority up to 200 to buy this property.

So I that's like I mean, if you want to change any of that, you can in regular.

If you want to pause this too, we can definitely pause and if you want to have a single meeting, we can do that too.

An update on the progress towards the directive that you guys gave to go out and try and buy it up to that number.

Questions.

Yeah, and when you get the contract before it's just somebody I've been using, but not saying that we're gonna be using him, it's just you can't give us all the price.

I want to know that if we buy this for 150, like 50, we're gonna be able to do the repairs and bring it up to stuff and get it to about 300, and maybe we have to leave 100 in because it's gonna go to an income qualified buyer.

But I want to know that the math sort of maths.

We're not gonna lose our shirt by buying it.

Right, or that it's an appropriate investment.

Like, I don't have a problem using 100,000 dollars of CDBG money that's subsidizing the affordability.

That's okay.

That's an appropriate use of those funds, but you know, if we have to put 500,000 into it, it doesn't make sense.

Now, this this will be high money, so this will have to be um given to a low to moderate income homeowner.

That's what qualified low to moderate, it will have a deed restriction.

And it will also remediate the only bloody on this block.

Correct.

So the block will come back into clients.

And the there's no comps really to go because all the properties that are on in that area are selling for 325.

So it's really hard to say, like you know.

But we offered 125 and the bank didn't take it, and he knows that we offered 125, seeing that the copper was missing yesterday, and just doing some, you know, just me being in there and doing an inspection and just seeing like what I know code wise, and then just having the the retaining wall is uh is an issue, so he's gonna give us a cost for that, sort of on the roof and all that stuff.

So foreclosure bank is American mortgage, yeah.

So I'm a short sale specialist, um, which is the same as uh foreclosure.

They don't they they might later say like but they will see they will drag it out and play with the money.

But it's a foreclosure, it's not short, it's not a short sales.

Is it same is the same paperwork so they but uh this lender is like the Wells Fargo and the Bank of America of 19, you know a predator.

They play the game.

Oh, but honestly, so I would I would hold, I'm sure they didn't get too many others, but I would I would do the way you're doing it.

And so I I right so I want to get it in fast because if once it goes to the investor, like they'll just gonna take the the highest bit, right?

But also I don't see an investor spending 200,000 on this house to get it into their hands too, because they're gonna have to put probably at least 75 or 80, it's gonna mess with their yields, so I just it's gonna be done incorrectly.

That's why I want to have that information from the contractor so we can make a supportive bid of why we're doing what we're doing.

Are you going through the bank or through?

Well, so here's the here's the I could have so I this is me understanding Dale's spring, and we're off record, so I can say this.

Dale just wants his commission.

That's right.

Right.

So I was thinking I could go through myself, but I didn't want to do that because it's weird.

If I go through you guys, it's it's it's a problem.

So if I go through Dale, he gets his commission, work it out faster because he has two sides.

I'm smart enough to know and when I'm being fooled, and it just gives him his commission, and we can hopefully go from there.

That's my thought process.

But he also has his loyalty investors that sometimes.

Yeah, but we're but we're beating them though.

Right.

Are we now or are we are the homeowner?

Right.

So no, I think.

The funny thing is, you know, Dale and I go way back from when I worked over at ERA and um, you know, we had we were much competition, but he called me, which was very weird.

So I don't know, maybe we strike to court, but we'll see.

I mean it will be in his benefit.

I could say we'll I would you you're the city entity, and he always got a problem.

So I'm not saying like still gonna have a problem.

Give it all the time.

He loves that because he is a modern day, you know, Joe Clark, but you know, in an essence, you know, yeah.

He I would say that to his father, you know, in a in a nice way.

I think that that makes a lot of things.

I made no promises, but like listen, you need you need to have a a good working relationship with but he wanted he wanted to come with me on the showing.

Uh because I want yes, I actually had so much fun.

I got to go to the house, I felt like I was really doing something that I should be doing.

It was great.

Um, but Vicky, that's your opportunity of the working relationship, no, to pull him by the ear.

Pull him by the ear.

So the mother.

That'd be nice.

No, Vicky is one of those people, that'll know.

But anyway, he wanted to go on the showing with me, and I told him I didn't need him to do it, that I knew exactly where I was doing.

Oh no, he likes it.

I don't know.

So anyway, um, but that's fine.

Well, but so I think we're good to do that.

Are we meeting on something or not?

No, we don't have to be able to do that.

So I think we can come out of executive session.

We have to come to a meeting for you to tell us about the contractor amount, or you just no, no, I don't have to.

Like if he says it's a hundred, that's what we were like.

No, yeah.

I can no, it's not I know you're a realtor too, Kelly, but like she's offering the 150.

Okay, that's what I'm gonna go in.

That's what she's going in.

But if she honor that as the one, we want to be able to payers.

Right.

That's right.

You're asking two, but offer you one fifty because I gotta spend eighty or fixing.

But I'm not and I'm hoping that we're gonna be the first in there and then we're gonna be able to have some.

So the one conversation is in the 200 is included with whatever we need to fix.

So it's 200 dozen to buy and fix it.

200 is what we gave them approved.

Go up to the I'll send you all that stuff because I don't it's the not official.

No, no, I know.

And then I also wanted to let you know about my conference.

I'll just email you all the information so you have it so we can end the meeting.

So I'll send it on an email.