November 17, 2005 Minutes (City Commission Room)
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
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Ed Brunt, Jane Faubion, Kim Gouge, Helen Hartnett, Loring Henderson, Phil Hemphill, Barbara Hogue, Shirley Martin-Smith, Robert Mosely, Sara Taliaferro |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
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Katherine Dinsdale |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
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Lesley Rigney and Margene Swarts |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
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Introductions
Members and staff introduced themselves.
Martin-Smith stated that she is representing the business community and has also served as City Commissioner, Mayor and most recently as a member of the Task Force on Homeless Services (TF). She became involved because she feels the community does not need negative conversations about homelessness and she wants to be part of group that is going to make a difference for the homeless and the community at large.
Hogue stated that she is representing the homeless community and has served on the Coalition for Homeless Concerns. She has direct experience with homelessness in Lawrence and thus can offer a different perspective. She volunteered at the Community Drop-In Center for seven months and wanted to put energy into the solution instead of the problem. She is also a writer and is currently working on two books. She has been in the area for five years.
Hemphill stated that he is a neighbor of the Lawrence Community Shelter and attended many TF meetings in order to become familiar with the issues. He wants to make a difference in the community and has lived in Lawrence for 30 years.
Mosely stated that he is a retired engineer and is working with Habitat for Humanity on the family selection committee. He had direct experience with homelessness and wants to get different view. He intends to do as much as he can to solve some of the problems associated with homelessness. He has lived in Lawrence for seven years.
Henderson stated that he was born in Lawrence, but lived in Washington DC for 30 years and got involved with homeless programs there (shelters, kitchens, etc.) He was the cofounder for a housing program for immigrant families that has grown to encompass 10 apartment buildings. He returned to Lawrence 12 years ago to retire and now serves as the director for the Lawrence Community Shelter.
Gouge stated that he has lived in Lawrence for 24 years and has worked at Hallmark for 27 years. He was involved with the Leadership Lawrence class in 2004 and developed an interest in government and policy. He wants to make a difference in the Lawrence community.
Faubion stated that she has lived in Lawrence for 25 years. She is an idealist and pursued a political science degree in order to make a difference. She has run a charitable healthcare provider program and currently serves on the Health Care Access board. She has been involved with all 25 sites in Kansas. She coordinates the Health Policy and Management program at the University of Kansas. She is primarily concerned with access to healthcare (physical, mental, dental.)
Hartnett stated that she has been in Lawrence for six years. She is a professor in social welfare at KU and also served on the TF. She was involved with a lot of the planning and wanted to be involved with the implementation. She has run several programs for homeless men and women and has served as a state and federal lobbyist. She currently teaches classes that fit with the topic of homelessness and serves on the Kansas State Homeless Coalition.
Brunt stated that he has lived in Lawrence for 28 years and has been with the Lawrence Police Department, which he is representing, for 27 years. He also has had personal experience with homelessness - friends and family who have been homeless and cares about the issue personally as well as professionally.
Taliaferro stated that she served on the TF and has been in Lawrence for the past 13 years. She is a member of the League of Women Voters, is on the board of Lawrence Alliance, and is also affiliated with Lawrence Association Neighborhoods (LAN). She became involved with the Task Force as Pinckney NA Coordinator when neighbors and service providers were having difficulties and she mediated that disagreement. She found that neighbors had real concerns, but that service providers were doing the best with what they had. When service provider had to shut down, she wanted to help solve the problem.
In Dinsdale’s absence, Swarts stated that Dinsdale is a former TF member and represents the faith-based community. Swarts said she is hopeful that the group can come to a consensus about a meeting date and time. She is encouraged by the fact that everyone has an interest in dealing with homeless issues and continuing the work of the TF.
Discuss CCH purpose and responsibilities
Swarts read the section of the Task Force on Homelessness (TF) Final Report that outlines the responsibilities of the Community Commission on Homelessness (CCH). It was acknowledged that as the group implement parts of the plan and does more research, things may change. To be able to establish every element of the plan and to have it all in place at once is not a realistic expectation and there may be some aspects that have to change in the future.
Swarts explained that members could establish formal or informal procedures. She suggested defining a general structure of procedures.
Swarts recommended that the group meet monthly in the beginning, but it is up for discussion. She stated that after everyone becomes acquainted, she would recommend quarterly meetings at the least. Some members have the history coming from the TF and some do not.
Martin-Smith said that some of the TF members were appointed, not only because of interest, but so that new people coming on board would have access to the TF and the 2 1/2 years of work already completed. She stated that when the group gets to the point that everyone is comfortable and grounded, they can talk about meeting less frequently.
Hogue asked for clarification - that the TF figured out the solution and the CCH is tasked with implementing the report.
Martin-smith said yes, but that all TF members recognized that new things will come along. The new body will be tuned into current issues and be able to adapt the plan to current needs. Their job is not just to make the plan happen.
Taliaferro said that there are a lot of general guidelines and that this group has to flesh out the details. The report is a starting point and a reference.
Henderson said it seems that a big part is public education as well as implementation – there are huge gaps in the understanding of the issue of homelessness.
Swarts asked if the group wished to adopt procedures or by-laws. For example, the Housing Trust Fund Board adopted by-laws that were stringent, other boards and committees might adopt loose guidelines. It is up for discussion.
Henderson asked about the difference between by-laws and procedures.
Swarts said that generally by-laws are more rigid and can control behavior. It depends on the makeup of the body. There are no rules defined as of yet as there is nothing in the ordinance or plan that defined rules or process. One common issue is attendance – if a member loses interest or has to miss several meetings, they sometimes feel that they can no longer participate. The group should decide how they want to deal with this and what their expectations are. It could be helpful to have a procedure. A member can resign at any time, but it should be in writing to staff or the Mayor. She said that regarding conduct and conflict of interest, staff included the city ethics guidelines in the orientation notebooks. She suggested the group elect a chair and vice-chair.
Elect chair and vice-chair
Taliaferro nominated Martin-Smith but she declined, stating that she was committed to too many other things.
Martin-Smith asked Henderson and Helen to Chair/Co-chair.
Henderson said that since he is the only service provider on the CCH, he was not sure he was comfortable in that position.
Hartnett said that she is worried about the leadership and time issues.
Swarts said that the Chair was not necessarily expected to lead discussions, but to keep the group on task.
Martin-Smith said that they could drive the agenda as a group in the beginning.
Henderson said they should set a timeline for electing a chair and asked Brunt if he would consider Co-Chair with Hartnett.
Brunt said he did not see Henderson serving as Chair a conflict of interest and suggested that Henderson and Hartnett serve as Co-Chairs.
Taliaferro suggested a three-month trial period at which time the group may elect a different Chair.
Henderson said he was concerned with a conflict of interest regarding the recently-issued RFP for case management services.
Swarts said that the entity that is the successful agency will enter into a contract with the City and thus proposals will be evaluated by staff and possibly other interested parties. If there were CCH members that wished to serve on that review committee, it was likely possible.
Henderson said that as long as the group is comfortable with it, he would agree to serve as Co-Chair with Hartnett.
Martin-Smith moved that Hartnett and Henderson be elected to serve as Co-Chairs through the end of March, 2006. Hogue seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Hartnett stated that she and Henderson would work on an agenda as well as the CCH procedures before the next meeting.
Miscellaneous items and calendar (establish regular meeting date and time)
Swarts stated that Dinsdale is not available to meet on Thursday afternoons. As far as evenings go the City Commission Room is only available Fridays. There are meeting times available during the day.
After some discussion the group concurred that Tuesday mornings would work and scheduled the next meeting for Tuesday, December 13 at 8:30 am.
Martin-Smith said that it would be helpful to stick to a timeline.
Hartnett agreed and said it will help to maintain members’ interest.
Swarts said staff would ensure that members have materials before the meeting. Please let staff know if there are any problems with e-mail or attachments. The minutes and agenda will be sent out approximately one week in advance. She handed out contact information.
Review case manager team RFP
Swarts said that the Mayor requested staff proceed with the RFP for case management.
Martin-Smith briefed the group on the issue. The question was posed to the TF by the City Commission – what is the most important thing to do now. The TF said that if they could get moving in a good direction, it would be to get case managers out in the community to help persons experiencing homelessness.
Hartnett said the TF was asked to come up with an implementation strategy – tiered and over time. For the first year they considered what could be most feasible and make the most impact.
Henderson said there was discussion around which agency would get case managers and it was decided to issue an RFP.
Hartnett explained what an RFP is.
Swarts said staff developed the RFP, it has been reviewed by legal staff and upper management and approved by the City Commission. It will be issued tomorrow on the web and staff will be sending out e-mails and hardcopies to everyone that has any interest. It will be awarded based on the scope of services and criteria. Staff thought it was important to have a local presence and aimed for an open-ended but tight proposal.
Hartnett said she thought it could be clearer what is expected of applying agencies.
Faubion wondered about the evaluation criteria.
Henderson pointed out the evaluation criteria section, but questioned the deadline for proposals.
Swarts asked if members would like to sit on the review committee. She will pass names on to the City Manager, Mike Wildgen. Some members might have more interest in this than others.
Faubion said she had substantial experience in this area and that she would like to sit on the review committee.
Henderson clarified that although money will go to one agency, the team will serve the entire community.
Taliaferro stated that she would be interested.
Gouge said that he would as well.
Swarts said the next CCH meeting is scheduled two days before the RFP’s are due and she will report to the group if any have been received. As far as the clarity issues are concerned, this is the first time that the staff has issued an RFP for services such as this. Staff modeled the RFP after other similar documents from other cities, but they will be able to improve on them in the future.
Henderson asked about the contract period.
Swarts said staff left it open so it would be easy to renew a successful partnership or to terminate an unsuccessful one.
Swarts noted various newspaper articles regarding efforts in other communities to address homelessness that she would be glad to pass along to the group if they are interested. Members can also e-mail relevant information to staff so it can be distributed to the group.
Swarts said staff wanted to give the group a place to start and had put together orientation notebooks. It is up to the group if they want to bring them to meetings or not. Staff will e-mail the link to all TF materials to the CCH members.
Martin-Smith suggested talking about the agenda.
Henderson said he wants to put something on the agenda regarding membership of the CCH. The TF felt that there were gaps (law enforcement, health) in TF membership and Salvation Army is a current gap in the CCH. He asked if now that the CCH is organized, the group would have to put up a proposal to the City Commission to add some members. Another gap is the voice of the homeless. Many in the homeless community are upset that there was only going to be one representative and felt entirely left out of the TF process. They are asking for more representation, especially from the currently homeless community. He said that it may be uncomfortable dealing with mental health issues, addiction, etc., but that is what this group is trying to address.
Martin-Smith said that it bears some discussion and the group can add it to the agenda - to address the number and representation of the group.
Hartnett said there are ways the group can talk about making it work.
Hartnett suggested an item regarding what information the group members need to be comfortable with the plan. Before the meeting, members should look over what is available on-line and decide what else they need.
Hemphill noted he has read the plan but would like to become more familiar with it.
Hartnett asked for any other agenda items.
Taliaferro asked if the co-chairs would like comments from the group about procedures and what would be most helpful.
Hartnett suggested that members e-mail her or Henderson with pertinent information and noted that something would go out to the group before the next meeting for consideration.
Public comment
James Dunn representing the Landlords of Lawrence and Oread NA stated that Candace Davis served on the TF and could not attend this meeting, so he came. He deals with many agencies and case managers who serve his clientele and noted that he wanted to be at the first meeting of the new commission.
Adjourn
There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 2:15.