City of Lawrence, Kansas

HOUSING PRACTITIONERS PANEL

October 6, 2005

MEMBERS PRESENT:	MEMBERS ABSENT:
DG CO AIDS Project- Mari McCleerey-Janssen	Ballard Community Center
ECKAN- Jeanette Collier	Bert Nash CMHC- Lynn Amyx
Independence, Inc.- Kendall Simmons	Bert Nash PATH- Kent Hayes
Landlords of Lawrence- Bob Ebey	Brookcreek Learning Center- Jessica Tuttle
First Step House- Debbie Withrow	Children’s Learning Center- Holly Turner
HCCI- Tammy Kahle	Coalition on Homeless Concerns
Independence, Inc.- Kelly Nightengale	Habitat for Humanity- Jean Lilley
LDCHA- Charlotte Knoche	Lawrence SRS- Penny Schau
Law. Comm. Shelter - Loring Henderson	LDCHA- Milton Scott
Lawrence Board of Realtors- Marilyn Lynch	Trinity Respite Care- Teresa Martell
Lenders- Joe Oberzan
Pelathe Comm. Ctr.- Teresa Staskal
Project LIVELY- Sandra Kelly-Allen
Salvation Army- Vivian Baars
Salvation Army – Wes Dalberg
Tenants to Homeowners- Rebecca Buford
WTCS – Sarah Terwelp
STAFF PRESENT:
Neighborhood Resources Department- Lesley Rigney and Margene Swarts

Simmons called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m.

APPROVAL OF MAY 5, 2005 MINUTES

Ebey moved to approve the May 5, 2005 minutes.  Nightengale seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

INTRODUCTIONS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Members introduced themselves. 

Collier introduced Emily, the new intern at ECKAN.

Henderson introduced Chris, the new intern at LCS.

Baars introduced new Salvation Army Director Wes Dalberg.

Knoche announced that LDCHA is hosting a briefing for service providers October 13.  They are gearing it to new employees.  Experienced service providers are welcomed although there may not be new information. 

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

HMIS – Henderson announced that HMIS is beginning to move.  It took longer to get the software sorted out than they had expected.  The Salvation Army is already on the system and the rest are going to join as soon as they are set up.  There is a form and some other information that was handed out at the September 8 meeting with MaacLink and that needs to be returned to Henderson as soon as possible.  A simple single form is needed from participating agencies.  September 18 in Hutchison and in conjunction with the Statewide Homeless Summit, a meeting of groups from around state of Kansas regarding a statewide HMIS is taking place.  In addition, DCCF wants grant money for HMIS spent by the end of the year for record-keeping purposes.  MAAC said that they could bill for services so that the DCCF board can be assured the money is being spent.

Swarts agreed to speak with DCCF if needed. 

Henderson said that everyone needs to sign the HMIS form.  He has extra copies and is collecting completed forms to turn in.  He does not know whether or not The Salvation Army needs to complete one.

Outreach – Collier said that Hayes is not in attendance because he is working with a client. 

Funding – Simmons and Staskal are unaware of the responsibilities of the funding committee.

DP – no report

PSS – no report

HDN – Terwelp asked Kahle to give an update on the new H2H program.

Kahle stated that the first group started class September 27 with 15 participants and are down to 9. So far, it has been positive – participants are very eager to learn and to obtain housing and are doing their homework.  Two who are eligible for housing after class next Thursday will be graduating.  The last Tuesday of the month there will be another series starting.  ECKAN, WTCS, LCS, SA and LDCHA all referred – some agencies said that participant feedback has been positive.

Ebey clarified that if individuals qualified for LDCHA, they would not qualify for H2H. 

Collier stated that many clients that agencies are going to refer will not be able to afford rent unless it is subsidized.  She asked for the bottom line as far as income is concerned.

Ebey said it depends.

Kahle said that there are different ways to look at the budget.  It is done on a case by case basis.

McCleerey-Janssen clarified that landlords can set rent at whatever they want.

Ebey said that it has to be lower than usual.

Kahle said that for those who do not qualify, she sits down at the end of the program and helps them figure out how they can qualify in the future.

Simmons asked if it is good for people to be referred even if they can not qualify immediately.

Kahle answered yes.

Terwelp said that they are working on a website that would have openings of rental space, but having to find funds to support a web site is their next challenge.

Collier asked if it would be just an update of rentals.

Terwelp said that they would ask landlords to submit openings so they can look and tell which part of town has openings and how much rent is and have a contact number.

Nightengale asked who was involved in putting the site together.

Terwelp said that it is still an idea and they used to have one through KU but it fell apart because no one was maintaining it.  She asked if organizations would be willing to pitch in $20 per year to make it happen.

Ebey said that a city website would be $25 per month. 

Nightengale suggested attending the DCCF informational meeting to find out about grant opportunities. 

Terwelp said if landlords would find the website useful, they could ask for a small maintenance fee from them as well.

NRAC – Collier stated that she attended the annual dinner meeting.  The last 2-3 meetings have been spent updating the CDBG application and she thinks it is a tremendous improvement.

Swarts said that it is not available on the web yet, but it will be soon.

Collier said the Committee is meeting next Thursday. 

Swards added that the new Committee Chair is Kirsten Roussel and the new Vice-Chair is Janet Gerstner.  Vern Norwood has served her last term and is no longer on the Committee.  The Mayor has appointed Carol Nalbandian.  There is still an at-large position left to fill.  If anyone is interested, contact the Mayor or Swarts will pass along any requests.

Collier said the Committee had several discussions about coordinator positions and decided not to change anything at this time.

TFHS – Swarts stated that the TF is finished.  The Final Plan has been adopted and the Mayor is in the process of appointing the new Community Commission on Homelessness.  Some members of the TF have indicated interest in serving on the Commission and the Mayor is going to appoint some of those.  He has chosen about eight to appoint and is going to appoint them all at once, maybe at the next City Commission meeting.  Depending on who the appointees are – one may or may not already serve on body.  They should start meeting pretty quickly.

Henderson asked about the process for the four new case managers, if there has been any discussion.

Swarts said that she was recently directed to prepare the RFP.  Staff is starting to work on the document and it is likely that it will be out there and ready to go by January. 

OTHER BUSINESS

Swarts stated that January 12 there will be a technical assistance workshop at the HUD office regarding CoC programs and particularly the Shelter+Care program including an overview of programs, eligible activities/participants, etc.  She has been working with HUD to get training on various CoC programs that we could apply for locally.  Anyone interested in the workshop should let her know and she will get everyone a spot.

Knoche attended a past workshop on the Supportive Housing Program and she wishes she had gone before they applied.  It was a good training.

Swarts said that they tweak programs every year and once they issue the NOFA they can not talk about it.  She has some questions regarding various agencies and who may be able to apply for funds in order to fill some local gaps.  She does not fully understand the entire array of programs and is trying to get to know more about it. 

Knoche said she would attend because she thinks that housing authorities are the only agencies that can administer Shelter+Care programs.

Swarts is going to suggest an on-site training in Lawrence to ask specific questions about this community.  There have been lots of staff changes at HUD.  Two have moved to aid with hurricane efforts.  They are short on staff and spread out, but she will see what she can do. 

Staff handed out the resource guide and asked for updates. 

Knoche said that CAIRS is available online.

Swarts passed out the order form for the CAIRS directory and said that staff can e-mail it to interested agencies.

Swarts announced that staff would not be attending the KSHC Summit.  Several members of the Panel will be attending and since all who are attending are involved in the local CoC – they may speak for it.  Staff wishes they could attend, but it is good that Lawrence will be represented.

Ebey asked about the Consolidated Action Plan for the State and if staff would be attending the Public Hearing scheduled for this month. 

Swarts said that staff would attend if possible, but that they have already attended one earlier in the year.

Henderson said that he will let members know when the HMIS meeting at the KSHC Summit will be taking place in case others want to attend.

Knoche instructed subcommittees to meet during the next session and to bring reports back to the next Panel meeting.

Terwelp asked for staff to send out a request of what is needed from subcommittees.

Rigney said all that is needed is the meeting date, who was in attendance and a short paragraph summarizing the discussion.

Collier said there is an upcoming meeting about the next few months’ utility concerns.  The purpose of the local group is to inform service providers of the forecast for the year and to discuss how they are going to deal with it. 

Ebey said that a group is challenging utility hikes in court if needed.

Kahle said that new bankruptcy laws coming into effect will cause increases in losses of everything.  HCCI has been accredited by the state as a nonprofit agency that can support people going through bankruptcy.  It is expected to get worse in March.  Credit cards are going from 2%-4% and minimum payments are going to double.  The Topeka HCCI office handles bankruptcy issues.  Last year 200 people applied for bankruptcy services.  This is going to impact a lot of people.

Collier asked if the utility group would challenge both Westar and Aquila.

Ebey said that it is a state committee that is made up of small groups – State Utilities Committee – and yes, it will challenge both.

Collier said that although Westar is less expensive, they are now disconnecting for $50 balances.  She asked if either utility company offers utility assistance.

Ebey said that Aquila has some funds available for utility assistance.

Knoche asked who is doing the upcoming Energy Conservation Fair.

Swarts said that the City of Lawrence Waste Reduction and Recycling is involved, as is Tenants to Homeowners, Inc.  They are pointing out ways to conserve energy in homes.

Collier said that ECKAN has funds available for furnaces if there are any tenants or homeowners needing furnace upgrades. 

ADJOURN

There being no further business, Nightengale moved to adjourn the meeting.  Terwelp seconded the motion, which passed.

The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.