HUD e-Briefs from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon & Washington
Mary McBride, Region X Regional Administrator (206) 220-5356 Leland Jones, Editor

www.hud.gov/alaska
www.hud.gov/idaho
www.hud.gov/oregon
www.hud.gov/washington
http://twitter.com/hudnorthwest

RAD-Y TO GO
On July 26th, The Federal Register published the final rule governing HUD's Rental Assistance Demonstration project which allows public housing agencies and owners of certain at-risk, Federally-assisted properties to convert their current assistance to long-term contract that should better allow owners to leverage millions of dollars in debt and equity to address immediate capital needs and preserve these affordable housing units. HUD's innovative demonstration is based on a Congressionally-funded study of capital needs that found that the nation's 1.2 million public housing units need nearly $26 billion to keep these homes in safe and decent condition, a figure well in excess of the roughly $2 billion annually that the Congress appropriates for capital repairs. The initial application window for the competitive component of RAD (for public housing and owners of Mod Rehab projects) is scheduled to be open from September 24, 2012 to October 24, 2012. For more, visit HUD's website.

P.S.
And please don't forget that HUD has set an August 7th deadline to apply for funds under the Project Rental Assistance Demonstration Project. More at www.grants.gov.

NEW TOOL
Calling it an "exciting new way we can help working families in Washington buy the home of their dreams," Kim Herman of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission announces the launch of its new HomeAdvantage under which the Commission will offer first 30-year mortgages - FHA, conventional, Fannie Mae, RHS or VA - to borrowers with annual pre-tax household incomes of $97,000 or less at a competitive interest rate but provide a second mortgage to be used for down payment or closing costs. Borrowers need not be first-time homebuyers, but the mortgaged single-family property must be their primary residence. The second will be for up to 4 percent of the loan amount will be deferred for 30 years at zero percent interest, but is 30 years, or if the borrower sells, refinances or transfers ownership. "This should be a great new program," Herman added.

UPDATE
July 24th Federal Register includes HUD update on amounts specifically excluded by any Federal statute from consideration as income for purposes of determining eligibility or benefits. For more, visit www.gpo.gov

UP & RUNNING
Oregon's new Foreclosure Avoidance Mediation Program became operational on July 11th. Established by the State Legislature, allows homeowners threatened with a non-judicial foreclosure or at risk of foreclosure the right to meet with a pre-mediation housing counselor and then their mortgage servicer in a face-to-face in mediation "to explore alternatives to foreclosure including loan modifications, refinancing, short sales and other options". before a final foreclosure decision is made. The homeowner must pay a $200 fee 15 days in advance of the mediation. Oregon Housing & Community Services has helped 11 agencies across the state add some 26 pre-foreclosure counselor positions. "A tremendous amount of work has been done by community advocates, mortgage servicers and state agencies to get this important program ready on time, and within budget," said Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum whose Department of Justice took the lead in implementing the program. For more about the program and the list of its counselors, visit www.foreclosuremediationor.org.

BRIEF BRIEFS
Seattle's Downtown Emergency Service Center wins 2012 national achievement award from National Alliance to End Homelessness. . . Thanks to hard work by the Housing Development Center and Columbia Cascade Housing, 54-unites of affordable housing are rescued, rehabbed and re-opened at Rio Bella and Rio Bella Heights in Hood River. . .ARCH Community Housing Trust, Autumn Gold Senior Services and Idaho Housing & Finance Association celebrate grand opening of 24-unit, River Street Senior Community in Hailey on land donated by the city. . .Saying that the "overall impact" of domestic violence on Oregon "communities is profound and unacceptable," Governor John Kitzhaber signs executive order creating 19-member Domestic Violence Prevention & Response Task Force. . .Catholic Housing Services of Western Washington unveils plans to build $9 million, 42-unit, permanent supportive housing complex for the homeless in Bellingham, the first of its kind in the city. . .Thanks to Eastern Idaho Economic Development's first-ever Operation Facelift, 20 business in Aberdeen, Dubois, Idaho Falls, Leadore, Pocatello and Salmon get "cleaned up, painted and given a new look". . ..Spokane Neighborhood Action Program - SNAP - wins $1.2 million U.S. Labor Department grant to, says Spokesman Review, "help ex-offenders transition into their communities". . . Home Partnership Foundation, an Idaho Housing & Finance non-profit subsidiary, wins a 2012 Apex Award for marketing & communications for its Avenue for Hope Housing Challenge which raised more than $46,000 for 16 organizations to help end homelessness. . .Southern Oregon University students take a look at Ashland's 20-year old manufactured housing code and conclude, reports Mail-Tribune, that easing some of its "arbitrary" requirements could increase city's supply of affordable housing. . .

BUST BUSTER?
When the Bremerton Housing Authority won a $20 million HOPE VI Public Housing Revitalization grant in 2008, it knew exactly what it wanted to do. Demolish 570 units of pretty worn-out World War II-era public housing in an area called Westpark and build a brand new neighborhood called Bay Vista with some 800 units that would provide new housing opportunities for both renters and owners, those on limited incomes and those who were not. Plans called for the Authority to build most of the initial new housing, but the experience of most of the nation's other 250 HOPE VI projects suggested private investors and developers would soon follow with market-rate housing. But something happened on the way to this new neighborhood - the nation's housing market collapsed and private investors became about as easy to find as five-leaf clovers. .Even a year ago, The Kitsap Sun reports, an Authority official said the housing downturn meant that private investment in Bay Vista wasn't "going to be what we hoped for." A year later, though, The Sun says "two local construction companies are putting their money down, becoming the first private residential developers to go into the emerging" Bay Vista "neighborhood." And, reportedly, talks are underway with a third developer on the purchase of even more lots. All of which, says Authority board president Linda Stevens, may be "positive indicator that market conditions may be stabilizing,"

PROUDER STILL
Proud Ground, the Portland non-profit community land trust, has had lots to brag about this year. In April, it announced that it had helped its 150th family to become homeowners since the organization's founding in 1999. And in July it celebrated the grand opening of $2.8 million Svaboda Court, a homeownership project in southeast Portland. The area has lots of residents who are of Slavic descent for whom the word "svaboda" means "freedom." Freedom, for example, like owning your own home which, at prices ranging from $105,900 for a 2-bedroom to $131,900, are within reach of families earning from $25,000 to $45,000. If the experience at the Proud Ground complex across the street is any indication, some 70 percent of Svaboda's households will be headed by women. Maintenance costs should also e affordable. With Energy Star appliances, solar water-heaters and triple-pane windows, the homes to exceed Oregon's High Performance Home standards and Proud Ground is certifying as LEED Platinum. "The key to our success is the true affordability we offer," Proud Ground deputy director Kathy Armstrong told The Oregonian, "We're keeping their house payments lower than many are paying in rent."

BACK TO SCHOOL
It was back to school for HUD Deputy Secretary Maurice Jones on a recent whirlwind visit to the Northwest. In addition to visiting LEED Platinum housing recently completed by the Puyallup Tribe and the Tacoma Housing Authority's Salishan HOPE VI community and the newly-opened, HUD-assisted LeMay America's Museum of the Car, the Deputy Secretary joined Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland for a visit to McCarver Elementary School in the city's Hilltop neighborhood - one of Tacoma's poorest - for a briefing on a cutting-edge educational initiative put together with resources from the Authority, Tacoma Schools, the non-profit Building Changes, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and HUD. Hilltop has a lot of homeless families and, as a result, McCarver Elementary has a high turnover rate. Very high, as in 100 percent or more. It's not unusual for a teacher to start the school year with one group of kids, all of most of whom have been replaced by another group come Thanksgiving with that group gone and replaced by Valentine's Day. It's tough, one McCarver parent explained, for teachers to get to know the kids and you might as well throw the lesson plan out the window. And high turnover = low educational performance. So, how to re-stabilize enrollment? The Authority proposed and HUD okayed the assignment of 50 Housing Choice Vouchers to eligible McCarver families on the condition that if they accepted a voucher, they had to keep their kids in McCarver. After just a year, the Deputy Secretary heard, it's paying off. "According to an evaluation by Geo Education & Research," Kathleen Merryman of The Tacoma News Tribune reports, " "This year there have been fewer suspensions, children are coming to school more, parent engagement has increased significantly, and children are starting to show academic and behavioral progress.". No wonder housing authorities and school districts across the country are beginning to make their way to McCarver. When the Deputy Secretary "asked to see a place of best practices and innovative ideas, where they are not shy about talking about challenges, it was, hands down, Tacoma," And the Soaring Eagles of McCarver was a great to start.

BRIEF BRIEFS TOO
Rasmuson Foundation awards $450,000 to RurALCAP to acquire and rehab child development center in Anchorage and $250,000 for improvements in Head Start centers in rural communities. . .Lakewood, Pierce County's second-largest city, gets its first farmers market. . .South Central Community Action Partnership says it will launch self-help homebuilding in Mini-Cassia area of Idaho "within the next five years or sooner". . . Home Forward and Lifeworks NW unveil plans for a residential substance abuse treatment center and adjacent apartment complex for residents needing the service, funded with tax credits awarded by Oregon Housing & Community Services. . .Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle CEO Michael Wilson pledges Bank's support for Bike & Build program in which volunteers bike across country, stopping to help construct affordable housing projects in, in 2012 alone, 11 communities like Portland, Caldwell, Coeur d'Alene and Idaho Falls. . ., Cocoon House in Everett, a shelter for at-risk and runaway teens, wins $100,000 Washington Women's Foundation grant. . .Thanks to 8,000 hours of volunteer labor, two more families accept keys from Benton Habitat for Humanity to homes they can call their own. . .,Washington State Housing Finance Commission provides almost $13.9 million in bond financing for construction of 150-unit Affinity at Southridge elderly housing in Kennewick. . .Catholic Social Services of Alaska, El-Ada Inc. in Boise, St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County, Community Action Team of St. Helens, Central Oregon Veterans Outreach of Bend, ACCESS of Medford, the Transitions Project of Portland, Blue Mountain Action Council, Catholic Charities of Yakima, YWCA, Opportunity Council of Whatcom County, Community Psychiatric Clinic and Catholic Community Services, all of Seattle win total of $5,7 million in VA Supportive Services for Veterans Families funds to promote housing stability among eligible families. . . Over three days in June, nearly 3,000 applied to live at Home Forward's New Columbia community in Portland, reports Oregon Opportunity Networks ON the Beat, while, in July, some 1,300 people sought homes at four of its housing communities that serve seniors and persons with disabilities. . .Thanks to a year-long fundraising drive led by Soroptimist International of Port Angeles, says Peninsula Daily News, Rose House gets a $28,000 "facelift" for a Victorian home that provides transitional shelter to victims of domestic violence. . .Seattle Housing Authority says 74 percent of residents support smoking ban in effect since April 1st.

NOFA-TUNITY
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service has set an September 17th deadline to apply for some $27.9 million in grants and loans to increase the supply of available, off-farm rental housing for domestic farm laborers who are defined as those who receive "a substantial portion of his/her income from the primary production of processed or unprocessed agricultural or aquacultural commodities.:" Eligible applicants include housing authorities, state and local governments, Indian tribes, non-profit organizations, and community-and faith-based groups and priority will be given to applicants seeking funds for housing projects that are energy efficient and generate energy. Successful applicants also may be eligible for operating or rental assistance in addition to construction/rehabilitation loans and grants. For more information contact the USDA Rural Development office serving your state or see www.gpo.gov.

NOFA-TWO-NITY
Pending Congressional authorization, the Department of the Treasury has opened the 2012 competition - its 10th - for "up to $5 billion" in New Market Tax Credits that are designed to spur "spurs investment of private sector capital into distressed communities by providing a tax credit to corporate or individual taxpayers who make qualified equity investments in designated Community Development Entities (CDE)." CDE certification applications are due August 3rd while program applications are due September 12th. A Webcast on the how-to's of applying for the 2012 funds can be found at treas.yorkcast.com and application materials at www.cdfifund.gov. Since its inception, CDFI has made 664 awards totaling $33 billion in tax credit allocations.

NOFA-THREE-NITY
The King County Housing Funder Group - comprised of the City of Seattle, King County, the Seattle and King County housing authorities, ARCH- A Regional Coalition for Housing, Building Changes and the United Way of King County - have pooled their resources and issued a single, streamlined Notice of Funding Availability to award "approximately $43 million" to preserve and expand the supply of affordable housing and to end homelessness in King County. Funding sources and program purposes vary and deadlines range from as early as August 31st to as late a September 20th. For more, visit www.seattle.gov.

NO-FOUR-TUNITY
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) requires a Contractor to assist with provisional housing placement services through the HUD-VASH program within Alaska, particularly in Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Anchorage, Wasilla, and/or Kenai. The application deadline has been extended to August 24th. For more, please visit www.fbo.gov.

LAST-BUT-NOT-LEAST-PORTUNITY
The City of Seattle's Office of Housing also is inviting applications for some $17 million for the "acquisition, rehabilitation, and/or new construction of affordable rental housing for low-income households." The application deadline is September 7th. For more, visit www.seattle.gov.

BRIEF BRIEFS THREE
Washington State Housing Finance Commission provides almost $14.8 million in bond financing for 178-unit, 7-story Interurban Senior Living Apartments in North Seattle. . .On four evenings in June, reports Idaho State Journal, some 300 volunteers from Valley Pride and other groups helped 82 residents of a 10-block stretch of Harrison Street in Pocatello collect and dispose of 71,540 pounds - yep, almost 36 tons - of trash, discarded appliances and yard waste through its "Reignite Pride" campaign. . .U.S. Department of Labor awards Workforce Central of Tacoma $6 million to help heads of homeless families train for "in-demand careers" and almost $5.5 million to Worksystems Inc. of Portland to work with Home Forward help 480 public housing residents gain life and employment skills to attain self-sufficiency. . . Oregon Housing & Community Services awards funds to Northwest Housing Alternatives for 45 new units of affordable housing for the elderly in Hillsboro and 30 units of housing for the elderly in Lake Oswego. . .Twin Falls Times-News says 4 more families get keys to the homes they helped build in Kimberly through USDA and South Central Community Action Partnership self-help program. . .Native American Youth & Family Services names Matt Morton as executive director. . .Homes First says it expects to move in to new Sawyer Street home for adults with disabilities in Olympia by early August. . .Advocates and owners of "aging" Northgate Apartments, reports Seattle Times, "apparently" agree to keep 66 of its 207 units affordable to low-income renters. . ."Oregon Bankers Association selects Mark Stevenson, president & CEO of Capital Pacific Bank of Portland as Chair and Kenneth D. Trautman, president & CEO of People's Bank of Commerce in Medford as Chair-elect. . .The place I lived in before, it was a dump," a resident of the Metropolitan Affordable Housing's newly-opened Willakenzie Crossing in Eugene tells Register Guard, but this "is a wonderful community". . .Green building students at Peninsula College in Pt. Angeles have finished the exterior and about to start on interior, reports Peninsula Daily News, of their first mini-home - 256 square feet including kitchen, bathroom, living area and two sleeping lofts - they hope to sell to one of 8 interested buyers so they can build another one next year. . .USDA publishes Federal Resources for Sustainable Rural Communities at www.rurdev.usda.gov.

FACT-TASTIC
On Wednesday, July 11th, Everett hosted its 3rd annual Homeless Connect. The turn-out was impressive and the numbers, provided by The Snohomish Tribune, might tell us something about the nature of homelessness in 2012. More than 1,000 people registered. More might have come in. "Approximately 1,150 meals were served," The Tribune reported. "More than 670 bags and backpacks of toiletries were distributed. 130 people received foot care. 127 pets received basic care. 102 people received dental care. Approximately 400 volunteers came, and more than 60 organizations provided booths and services." "What we are really seeing are a lot more chronic conditions," said LuAnn Kay of "What we are really seeing are a lot more chronic conditions" among the homeless population such as high blood pressure and diabetes, Kay said. "Chronic conditions are not being taken care of because they can't find someone who'll take them".

WORTH A READ
The economic impact of tribes and native villages in Alaska, notes Fairbanks News-Miner, "is routinely overlooked." Recently, The News-Miner says, those entities "rightly sought to change that view," with a report finding that, "their organizations, when considered as a group, would be the region's fifth-largest employer," providing some1,238 jobs in the Fairbanks North Star Borough with a payroll of $72 million and 1,487 jobs in the Interior outside of Fairbanks with a payroll of $28.7 million. They also provide $135.1 million in direct spending in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, $42.7 million in direct spending in the Interior outside of Fairbanks. And, oh yeah, they pay $3.8 million in property taxes and contribute $2.5 million to charities in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The leaders, concluded The News-Miner, want "recognition from politicians who seem reluctant to recognize this economic clout when it comes to providing assistance with problems that afflict many of the region's villages. Whether or not this effort succeeds in changing minds in Juneau won't be known for some time, but the numbers can't be denied."

QUOTE TO NOTE
"We're finding a lot of callers who called us in ?08 and ?09 who said, it's the first time I've had to call for help. I've always been able to take care of my family. Now we're having callers that are repeat callers. They got stuck back then and they can't get out." -- Michele Brown,, president of United Way of Alaska, commenting on fact that "last year, 2-1-1 (in Alaska) had around 20,000 calls and Brown says they're on track to exceed that number in 2012" with 46 percent of calls so far this year "seeking housing assistance." Due to a shortage of funds, "more than half" of these "could not be helped." - KSKA-FM, July 13, 2012

NOTES TO NOTE
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announces proposed rule to enable "rural utilities and cooperatives to lend to homeowners and businesses" for eligible projects such as "consumer energy efficiency improvements, energy audits, small scale renewable energy systems, demand side management investments, and consumer education and outreach programs". . .Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle sets August 1st deadline to apply for $5.3 million in Affordable Housing Program funds and $4 million in down payment assistance under its Home$tart program. . .HHS sets August 6th deadline to apply for Street Outreach Program grants to serve runaway or homeless kids. . .HUD sets August 7th deadline to apply for funds under Project Rental Assistance Demonstration Project. . .Seattle City Council sets August 8th as date for second public hearing on Seattle Housing Authority's Yesler Terrace Choice Neighborhoods program. . .U.S. Green Building Council & Bank of America sets August 10th deadline to apply for Affordable Green Neighborhood grants of up to $25,000 to organizations that wish to pursue LEED 2009 for Neighborhood Development certification. . .Housing Washington sets August 15th deadline to apply for scholarships to attend Housing Washington conference October 15th to 17th in Tacoma. . .American Planning Association's Idaho Chapter sets August 20th deadline to submit nominations for its 2012 awards competition. . .Seattle Housing Authority sets August 31st deadline for organizations wishing to serve as master developer of its Yesler Terrace revitalization to respond to requests for qualifications. . .VA sets August 24th deadline to apply to become a contractor to provide VASH housing placement services in Alaska. . .King County sets August 31st deadline to apply for $8.3 million in funds for affordable multifamily rental and ownership housing. . .City of Seattle sets September 7th deadline to apply for $17 million in capital funds to support the production and preservation of rental housing. . .USDA sets September 17th deadline to apply for $27.9 million in loans and grants to expand supply of off-farm housing for farm workers.

COMING UP

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