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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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As the city is preparing for the Governors team to come in as the second step in evaluating Flint's future, we have been told that documents relating to the lawsuit have been forwarded to the Governor and HUD. Since the State of Michigan is the pass through for the NSP 2 funds, will the State bear the costs of any mismanagement of funds received by Flint through the State. After all, the State must monitor the funds too,
Can these serious allegations be ignored? Can Flint survive the costs of defending the lawsuit? If Flint loses the case, how can we pay a large judgement?
Will Currry and his partners sue for nonpayment. Since they were given a cease work order by Young, someone in the project must have authorized the start of work. Permits were pulled.
Where is Hud and the OIG in all of this? They are supposed to be protecting the federal government's interest in this development. Will Flint have more monetary paybacks to HUD.
When the St John Urban Renewal started, that eventually became University Park, the Oak Park ( now Smith Village) residents were upset the urban renewal efforts did not include them. That was nearly 40 years ago and the housing stock in this area has continued to decline and crime is high. It seems that area is still an area of controversy. Streets like Wood Street are in need of a rebuild. Drug dealers and prostitutes are visible in some areas.
University Park, with it's berms and fences is somewhat secure only because of the vigilance of the residents and their crime watch. Smith Village will not have the defensive mechanisms of University Park, but the individual fences and cul-de-sacs should help. |
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Fri Sep 23, 2011 9:57 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Lets review this NSP2 (Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2) funding. The funding came from the fedseral government to the State of MIchigan. Michigan, as part of their application for funding, formed the Michigan NSP 2 Consortium.
In their July 14, 2009 letter to Secretary Shawn Donovan, Office of Block Grant Assistance, Governor Granholm's office stated:
"The "Michigan NSP2 Consortium", represents an unprecedented coalition of MSHDA serving as Lead Applicant, eight ( 8 ) land Banks and twelve (12) City governments working in a coordinate manner to remove blight and re-position neighborhoods in 93 NSP2-eligible census tracts to be full participants in the economic recovery of MIchigan."
The application requested funding of $32,500,000 for Flint and the Genesee County Land Bank Authority. tracy B. Atkinson signed on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer for the City of Flint. 'The person signing and executing this agreement on behalf of the Consortium Members, do hereby represent and warrant that he/she/or they have been fully authorized by the respective Consortium Member to execute this Agreement on behalf of the Consortium Member and to validly and legally bind this Agreement on behalf of the Consortium Member and to validly and legally bind this Consortium Member to all terms, performances and provisions herein set forth. Normally, one would expect this authorization to have gone through council. It may have, but I don't remember it. |
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Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:36 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The role of Partner Cities: (per the application NSP2-PTA 087743191)
* Neighborhood Revitalization Planning and Development
* Coordination of City services and resources to leverage NSP2 funds and Achieve ARRA objectives. (
* Direct Project management and/or selection and oversight of approved developers and/or housing program service providers for:
Housing rehab and development LMMI Buyers and renters in NSP
eligible neighborhoods
25 % set aside for buyers and renters at 50% of AMI
housing counseling
*Compliance reporting to MSHDA
Note; Flint has an embedded MSHDA staff person in the offices of DCED. |
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Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:08 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Role of Partner Land Banks:
* Property Acquisitions, Mortgage REO's, tax foreclosures & national Community Stabilization trust Bulk Purchases
* Demolition and Deconstruction
* property disposition to qualified developers
* Land Bank Operations
* compliance reporting to MSHDA |
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Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:13 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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MSHDA, as a quasi-government agency organized under the Michigan Department of Energy Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG) will provide grant management, trsining and technical assistance as well as providing NSP2 monitoring.
This lawsuit may represent a failure of the City to adequately manage their procurement process as well as the management of their developers.
The City issued the work permits to build the foundations on the three land Bank owned properties to an entity owned by Brett russell, a partner in Smith Village Construction. Although Russell has a builders license, the company he pulled the license under did not exist as a corporation until nearly one month after the permits were issued. That raises the issue of whether Russell and his company,as a developer or sub-contractor, had the required performance insurance.
There is also the issue of who gave the authorization to start work on the foundations prior to everything being put in place.
Did Young, on behalf of Smith Village Construction, submit a bill for these services prior to the proper contractual arangements being put in place.
Did Eason authorize the work?
City officials have said the company, Urban Builders, started work too soon, but they should not have walked off because" they knew they would get paid". Other officials have said the workers were fired after they walked off the job.
young said there were bids for the contractor/builder but Smith Village development (CIG, Strayhorn and DeMaria) did not meet the requirements. Young and Russell were partners in the Smith Village Development until they formed a new company Smith Village Construction when they became he new contractor/developer.
Which entity, the City of the genesee County land Bank, performed the bidding and why was the bidding done after after Metro Housing was shown as a partner.
Where are the contractual documents if both Eason and metro Housing state they have no documentation of the change in status. Did they have the approval of HUD to change deveoplers?
Snyder and MSHDA have some explaining to do. |
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Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:36 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Since the city cannot pay Urban Builders from NSP funds and yet at least one city official is assurring they will get paid, what funds will they use?
Will Currie, King and Holmes sue to get paid? Who authorized the start of the foundation work? Contractors don't initiate work on their own.
MSHDA has embedded staff, so did they know what was occurring? Should MSHDA be included in the lawsuit by Smith Village development. What was their role in the changing of the developer from Metro Housing to Smith Village Construction.
When did this mystery bid for developer take place? Was it performed by the Cityor the county Land Bank, as both are partners in the grant?
It does not show in either the county websites for current or past bid postings. Or did the city use their well known faxing of the posting to selected individuals. |
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Sun Sep 25, 2011 7:47 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| Start checking purchasing records for heavy duty shredders for the DCED office. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Sun Sep 25, 2011 10:18 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Interesting note:
The contractors working on the foundations in Smith Village never wanted to stop work on the project, but they needed to cut their losses. Had they continued they would be owed $300,000 instead of nearly $80,000. It seems the $8 miilion bond was not in place when they were contracted to start work and it is unknown how they will get paid.
The contractors are upset as the money was to jumpstart and enhance the Flint economy and not the Indiana economy where the modulars are being built. Some contractors are telling me modulars or factory built components could have been manufactured in Genesee County.
Complaints being made to HUD about the problems with Smith Village are being laid on the doorstep of MSHDA and the State of Michigan. NSP2 dollars were awarded to the states who then subgranted them. Flint and the Genesee County Land Bank are part of the consortium created by the State of Michigan for the ise of these federal funds. The state is on the hook for monitoring and ensuring these monies are spent in accordance with HUD rules and regulations. |
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Tue Sep 27, 2011 6:07 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Governor Snyders office is said to deny the culpability of the state in this matter. According to federal officials they are clearly on the hook and need to pay more attention. There may have been a second person acting as embedded staff in DCED from MSHDA. |
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Tue Sep 27, 2011 6:10 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Maybe the Governor's office did listen as the review for the EMF is tsaking only half the allowed time.
Michigan needs to pay attention as the HUD findings on the NSP2 funds, which they are responsible for, are growing and large paybacks are coming. |
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Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:28 pm |
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