R2020-150 Resolution Authorizing a Memorandum between Woodford Homes, Inc. and the City of Decatur

Home Browse Search

October 15, 2020 TO: Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe & Members of the Decatur City Council FROM: Scot Wrighton, City Manager RE: Memorandum of Understanding with Woodford Homes, Inc. Woodford Homes, Inc. (and its partner,the Macon County Mental Health Board) has asked the city for assistance in building a new care facility on land near Carrie and Charles Streets.The October 19 agenda includes separate action to rezone the recommended site in anticipation of this project. Additionally,the petitioner has requested that the city provide about five percent (5%) of the project cost as a grant match using the city's CDBG/HOME funds in 2021. Because CDBG/HOME funds can only be used on housing projects, the city has used its federal resources in this way in the past. In exchange for the city's support of the new facility, Woodford Homes, Inc. and the Macon County Mental Health Board have agreed to hire new staff from the city's urban core area, and to transfer one of the existing properties used currently by Woodford Homes (when the new construction project is complete and the new facility is occupied).This (to-be-vacated) property is located at the corner of Charles and Orchard Streets in the Torrance Park neighborhood. The city already owns a large number of land parcels in this area of Torrance Park. The acquisition of this site would allow it to be used in the short-term for transitional housing, and in the long- term it can be joined with other tracts and cleared for a larger redevelopment project. This arrangement, summarized in the attached MOU, advances the objectives of the Macon County Mental Health Board, and aids the city in its revitalization efforts in the Torrance Park neighborhood; therefore, it is recommended that the MOU be approved.