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94 order to make a decision regarding establishment of a Housing Improvement <br />95 Area for Westwood Village I. Therefore, council moved to re-open the Public <br />96 Hearing on Westwood Village I's request for a Housing Improvement Area <br />97 (HIA)I, previously closed on December 18 2006; and approved continuation <br />98 of the hearing until additional information could be provided. (Attachment B). <br />99 <br />100 <br />101 3.0 Discussion <br />102 <br />103 3.1 A HIA is a tool available to local units of government provided by MN Statute <br />104 4 .. I I — 4 ..2 1. The HIA can be created to help fund improvements to common <br />105 areas within housing areas that can not otherwise be economically feasible through <br />106 private financing. The HIA works similar to a public assessment process with the <br />107 payback on the cost of the improvements, plus interest and administration costs, <br />108 which are added to the taxes of the owners within the identified area over a period of <br />109 years. <br />110 3.2 The HRA 2008-2012 Strategic Plan and overall goals of the City's Comprehensive <br />III Plan would support use of an HIA, ("Preserve existing housing and develop new <br />112 housing in partnership with federal, state and regional agencies and non-profit <br />113 community groups and businesses."), In order to establish a housing improvement <br />114 area,, Council must find,, first,, that without the establishment of the area the <br />115 improvements cannot be made and, second, that the proposed improvements are <br />116 necessary to preserve the housing units in the proposed area. <br />117 3.3 The Westwood Village I hired Load Bearing, Inc as construction manager to <br />118 represent the Townhome Association interest in the "housing improvements" that <br />119 include replacement of roofs, siding and trim, gutters and downspouts, soffit and <br />120 fascia and any necessary related improvements and repairs to the housing units and <br />121 garages within Westwood Village I. Load Bearing developed the specifications, put <br />122 the work to bid,, reviewed the bids and verified that the proposals are "apples to <br />123 apples"'. Mr. Munson and Mr. Proulx from the City Inspection department reviewed <br />124 specifications and bids and felt that the scope of work will meet the described <br />125 improvements that are needed. (Attachment Q. <br />126 3.4 Recent financial statement of the association has been reviewed by Staff and <br />127 indicates that,, while there are funds available for routine maintenance of the <br />128 grounds, there are not adequate finances to pay for the proposed capital <br />129 improvements. Homeowners associations tend to find it nearly impossible to obtain <br />130 financing for these kinds of improvements because the association can provide little, <br />131 if any, acceptable securities. Having each owner obtain separate financing is <br />132 cumbersome and could stop a project if just one owner decides not to cooperate or <br />133 does not have adequate security for a loan. Westwood Village I did seek alternative <br />134 financing through Bremer and US Bank. Both banks declined the loan request. <br />135 (Attachment D) . <br />136 3.5 State law requires that before the project can proceed, the association must provide <br />137 the City with a financial plan, prepared by a third party, showing how future capital <br />Council Meeting (09-22-08) ­ Page 3 of 5 <br />