September 25, 2008 Minutes (City Commission Room)
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
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Aimee Polson, Vern Norwood, Julie Mitchell, Patty Welty, Marci Francisco |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
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Curtis Harris, Quinn Miller, Brenda Nunez, |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
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Stephanie Raskie, Margene Swarts |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
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James Dunn |
With the resignation of Chair Roussel and in the absence of Vice-Chair Harris, Vern Norwood was nominated by Polson to Chair the meeting. Welty seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Norwood called the meeting to order at 5:49 p.m.
Introductions
Members, public and staff introduced themselves.
Approval of September 11, 2008 Minutes
Mitchell moved to approve the September 11, 2008 minutes. Francisco seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Miscellaneous Discussion/Calendar Items
Swarts discussed the remaining meeting dates for the rest of the year. They are as follows;
October 9, 2008;
October 23, 2008;
November 13, 2008; and
December 11, 2008
Swarts stated that staff will not be available for the November 13, meeting and stated that there is no anticipated business to be discussed for that date. She also noted that depending on the actions of the Committee tonight with regard to the 2009 CDBG/HOME application, there is no anticipated business for the rest of the year. She asked if the board would like to cancel those meetings and only reconvene if there is a need to meet.
Francisco asked that we keep the December date and noted that the meeting could be canceled if necessary.
Francisco moved to cancel the October and November meeting dates. Polson seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Discuss updated Citizen Participation Plan
Swarts noted that the City Commission unanimously recommended approval for the Plan. She stated that she is currently working with the legal staff and should have the ordinance ready for the City Commission to approve in October. Basically, on the consent agenda for October 7 will be Ordinance 8335, adopting the Citizen Participation Plan, repealing Chapter 1, Articles 11, 12, and 17, and establishing the Community Development Advisory Committee.
Members briefly discussed the new makeup of the Committee. If the two current members eligible for reappointment (Miller and Mitchell) are reappointed, that will leave three openings to be filled, two from a Low/Moderate Income Area and one At Large.
The Committee agreed the December 11 meeting might be a good one for getting acquainted and discussing the plan for the new year.
Polson inquired where the low/moderate income appointments would be from. Swarts replied it could be either a neighborhood or an area.
Swarts distributed the low/moderate income area map, with both neighborhoods and Census Tracts and Block Groups delineated and explained the map.
Recess for Public Hearing
Chair Norwood opened the Public Hearing and asked Swarts for input. Swarts stated the Notice regarding the Public Hearing was published on September 17 which also started the 30 day written comment period. The comment period will end on October 17, 2008.
Swarts stated that the documents for the meeting are already available on the website. The documents discuss expenditures for CDBG and HOME, and detail information regarding various neighborhoods and agencies, and document the match requirements for the HOME program that were not available at the last meeting.
Swarts stated that the city is in a “healthy position” regarding match and explained the process used to determine how much match is necessary and available. She also explained how match can be gained and saved. She noted that the City has had a 100% match reduction waiver for the program years 2003-2009 because Douglas County was declared a disaster area after the tornado, two winter storms, and an ice storm. She went on to describe how the City requests the waiver after the disaster is declared.
Norwood asked if that affects our relationship with FEMA and Swarts said that it does not.
Swarts described some of the options used for match, which can include cash, sweat equity of Habitat homes not built with HOME funds, waiving of building permit fees for affordable housing, the discount from architects, engineers, builders, etc., as well as the waived property tax on properties Tenants to Homeowners has in the land trust.
Swarts said that she would answer any questions, however there were none.
Chair Norwood opened the floor to comments.
James Dunn, citizen, 936 Kentucky St.
Dunn questioned the committee regarding post-occupancy case management. He stated that people can get assistance from a variety of agencies to get into a home, but once they are placed, there is no follow-up care. This can create an emotional situation for someone who has gone from a group living facility to living alone. He stated that the tenant can get off track and it can become a “maintenance nightmare”. He also stated that perhaps people who have been homeless for a long time may not know how to take care of a home. He went on to tell a story of having people move in and creating a pest problem within three days. He indicated that the prior occupant had had the police over very often and also had pest problem so bad that the case manager wouldn’t go into the dwelling. He asked that as the Committee look at proposals, they ask the question regarding follow up/follow through.
Dunn added that he thinks the “performance measures” and “outcomes” for agencies and neighborhoods is a good thing.
Norwood asked if some of these problems were from a lack of housekeeping.
Dunn stated that he thought it was, and that the tenants don’t know how to maintain the property. He expressed frustration that so much is done to help get the tenant into a home, and then there is no follow up. In the instance he spoke about, friends noted the person had also stopped attending his church group which was an indication of a problem. Dunn is concerned about recidivism.
Norwood asked if the tenant had had training with a case manager before being placed.
Dunn stated that he didn’t know but that he did know that those programs exist.
Norwood asked if completing those programs were required.
Dunn stated that yes, they are. He had never attended a session so he didn’t know what they taught. He stated that he thought they either didn’t teach enough, or perhaps taught too much and overwhelmed the client. He stated that Robert Baker from HCCI does a session. It was also noted that the Salvation Army has some educational classes.
Norwood stated that she could see how it would be overwhelming. She stated that she was aware of some state programs for individuals with no training regarding giving their children medication. Or individuals who get jobs and need help with public transportation, figuring out bus schedules and understanding to include walking time in their planning. She stated that to go from homeless to having a nice place, it might be devastating.
Dunn replied it could be a lot of problems.
Dunn inquired if the CDBG/HOME allocation is known yet for next year. Swarts stated that she had not yet heard but the government is currently under a continuing resolution so at this point, it will be roughly the same amount as last year.
Norwood asked if there are any mentoring programs available.
Swarts said that she was only aware of specific need support groups such as battered women, HIV/AIDS, and alcohol/drug abuse through DCCCA. There are more programs that have a safety net for a specific population.
Dunn stated that for those who don’t have those issues there is a gap.
Norwood stated that if “Step Up to Better Housing” services were available, there could be a great need for homeless who are suddenly housed to help them break the cycle.
Swarts stated that the City Commission partially funded the Housing Connector and the LDCHA and Bert Nash are looking for grant funding for the program. The person will be officed at the housing authority charged with finding units from landlords or interested parties for free or reduced rates, and working with case managers to match the units with homeless individuals/families. There should be a program up and running in the spring. The CCH recommends emergency housing or emergency temporary housing for people on the streets or in a shelter for a short time. These individuals and families often recover from homelessness easier.
Chair Norwood stated that was a good idea and asked if there where any other questions. As there were none, Norwood closed the public hearing and the meeting was reconvened.
Discuss changes to CAPER
Swarts asked if there are any suggested changes to the CAPER.
None were suggested.
Discuss 2009 CDBG/HOME Application
Swarts handed out the application and stated that the Committee had worked on this last year so there may not be any changes.
Norwood asked if we could number the pages and Swarts stated that would be no problem.
Francisco stated that it would be best to always print the first page and asked if the first page be numbered one to make printing the application easier.
Election of Chair and Vice-Chair
There was discussion regarding if the Committee wished to elect a new Chair and Vice-Chair at this time.
It was decided to hold elections.
Polson nominated Welty for Chair and Mitchell for Vice-Chair. Welty and Polson accepted the nomination. Francisco seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Polson moved to close nominations and accept the nominations by acclamation. Francisco seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Norwood stated that since Welty was the new Chair she would hand over the meeting to her.
Completion of Miscellaneous/Calendar Items
Francisco mentioned the City Commission Study Session with the Committee in November and asked if the group should reconvene before that meeting so that the new Chair can present the group’s comments.
Swarts suggested the group could choose a time after the Study Session is determined. She can notify the Committee for a meeting to discuss their ideas.
Adjourn
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:44 p.m.
Attendance Record
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Member |
01/10 |
01/14 (Study Session) |
01/24 |
02/07 |
02/28 |
03/13 |
04/10 |
04/17 |
9/11 |
9/25 |
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Jeanette Collier |
+ |
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+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
* |
* |
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Julie Mitchell |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
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+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
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Patti Welty |
+ |
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+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
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+ |
+ |
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Brenda Nunez |
+ |
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+ |
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+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
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Marci Francisco |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
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+ |
+ |
+ |
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Quinn Miller |
E |
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+ |
E |
+ |
+ |
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+ |
E |
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Curtis Harris |
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+ |
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+ |
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Vern Norwood |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
E |
+ |
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Kirsten Roussel |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
E |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
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Susan Mangan |
+ |
+ |
E |
E |
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E |
* |
* |
* |
* |
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Aimee Polson |
+ |
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+ |
+ |
+ |
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* Resigned prior to meeting.