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The consensus of the Council was to direct Staff to apply for the grant. <br /> 2.04: Rental Housing Inspections Program Discussion <br /> Community Development Director Hanson reviewed the Staff report in regard to the rental housing <br /> inspection program. <br /> Mayor Kuzma shared that this program was approved by the Council with a unanimous vote as <br /> they all felt that they wanted to have a program that would fund itself and help rental housing units <br /> be kept in good shape. <br /> Councilmember Riley noted that there are a lot of rental houses in the City that are corporately <br /> owned. He asked what the percentage is of homes rented by corporations versus people. <br /> Code Enforcement Officer Swalchick shared that 33% of the City's rental homes are owned by <br /> three companies. He noted that they have caught many lifesaving items in these homes including <br /> gas leaks, deck collapses, and fire egress items. <br /> Heidi Neilson came forward and shared that she owns one townhome in the City. She shared that <br /> she feels like she and the other 67% of properties that are rented out by people,not companies, are <br /> not being represented. She noted that Ramsey's license fee is four times higher than surrounding <br /> cities. She explained that she likes to find reliable, long-term tenants and in order to do this she <br /> keeps her rent affordable and with this licensing fee increase she will no longer be able to do that. <br /> She added that she is also concerned with requiring background checks for landlords. She noted <br /> that she is also concerned with the Crime Free, Drug Free class and addendum to the lease. She <br /> said that Ramsey is requiring this class within the last five years or it needs to be retaken. She <br /> stated she was using this addendum on her lease before Ramsey even had rental licensing. She <br /> shared that she took this class 15 years ago and has used the addendum as part of her lease since <br /> then. She asked why she should be required to retake this class and pay the fees involved with it. <br /> She asked what the objective is for these new requirements. She said it feels like they are trying to <br /> get rid of all single-family rental properties and asked how these new requirements even passed. <br /> She asked why they cannot just do inspections every few years to save money. She said she has <br /> no problem with the rental license, but she does have a problem with the new fees and <br /> requirements. <br /> Austin Jones, 7118 139th Avenue NW, came forward and shared that Ms. Neilson made great <br /> points. He asked if business owners in the City are required to have background checks done. He <br /> shared that he asked the building inspector what the background check was for and he did not have <br /> an answer as to why. He asked how many homes have not been registered into the program. <br /> Community Development Director Hanson said it was 135 homes. <br /> Mr. Jones asked how many violations the City has sent out to these homes since registering for the <br /> program was a requirement as of January 31 of this year. He noted that if they are trying to increase <br /> income to run this program, he would be curious to see how many violations they have sent. He <br /> City Council Work Session/August 12, 2024 <br /> Page 7 of 12 <br />