City of Lawrence, KS

Community Development Advisory Committee

March 14, 2013 Minutes (City Commission Room)

MEMBERS PRESENT:		Linda Bush, Alex Delaney, James Minor, Julie Mitchell, Vern Norwood, Aimee Polson, Patrick Wilbur

MEMBERS ABSENT:		Quinn Miller, David Teixeira

STAFF PRESENT:		Danelle Dresslar, Margene Swarts, Rhonda Peterson

PUBLIC PRESENT:		Jeremy Farmer, Elena Ivanov, Lisa Pennington-Jewsome, Jessica Roberts, Susan Oury

Chair Polson called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.

1. Introductions.

Members introduced themselves.

2. Approval of the February 28, 2013 Minutes.

Minor moved to approve the CDAC meeting minutes with revisions from

February 28, 2013. The motion was seconded by Wilbur and passed 4-0.

3. Discussion of 2013 CDBG Public Services.

Dresslar provided the committee with an updated spreadsheet showing changes after the 5% sequestration budget funding reduction. After applying the appropriate deductions to the administration and public service line items that are under statutory caps, there is a $4,655 deficit within the capital improvement allocations. She added with regard to the Capital Improvement allocations, staff is recommending the cut be applied to the Weatherization program. The Weatherization program can perform at the same level with a budget cut, and city staff offered to absorb the cut within that program so that funding would remain the same for other items that have already been recommended funding.

Bush asked what that made the allocation amount for 15d.

Dresslar responded the amount requested for 15d would change to $45,345.

Polson moved to fund 15d, City of Lawrence Community Development Division, Energy Savings Improvements-Exterior Weatherization, in the amount of $45,345. Wilbur seconded the motion.

The motion passed 7-0.

Polson addressed the neighborhood Public Services allocations, and Dresslar provided a list of how much each neighborhood had requested for coordinator salary as well as newsletter expenses. It was pointed out that the performance reports for each neighborhood are out on the web. Polson added that she was once the coordinator for the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association, and the pay has not changed much.

Dresslar reminded the committee that three allocations have already been made.

Bush gave the committee a picture of the allocations made so far, which includes DCAP, HCC and LCS. She felt it was appropriate to cover the essential expenses for the neighborhoods, the coordinator salaries and newsletter costs, but pointed out that with the allocations already made, it is not possible to fully fund those line items. Funding is short by $25,000 to be able to allocate those amounts. She added there are still hard decisions to make.

Minor said possibly the committee could allocate the same amount or percentage across the board for all neighborhood associations.

Bush wondered if it would be a good idea to allocate funds on a per capita basis. There are established programs in East Lawrence she believes the committee would want to continue funding.

Norwood said there is no way to be fair and equitable in a situation where there is a flat percentage cut. Newsletter costs vary and activities in the neighborhoods are different; a flat allocation will not work. Drastic cuts will have to take place which will affect all neighborhoods.

Polson added the neighborhoods use the coordinators differently.

Mitchell said East Lawrence has more activities and uses its coordinator more. It does a lot to get communication out to its residents to promote community involvement.

Dresslar reminded the committee that other expenses are included in the totals requested for funding by the neighborhoods that are not itemized on the spreadsheet.

Norwood said it is important to allocate something to the neighborhoods, even if it is a small amount.

Polson asked if the City has made printing resources available to the neighborhoods.

Swarts responded the neighborhood associations can use the City’s bulk mail permit, but they still have to pay for the postage.

Polson asked if the associations were able to use City facilities to make copies.

Swarts replied the City has a state contract for copiers and supplies. She did not think the neighborhood associations could use City equipment since they are not a government entity.

Norwood said it would be helpful if there is a link online to publish the neighborhood newsletters to residents.

Mitchell responded the majority of residents in her neighborhood do not have internet access as they cannot afford it.

Wilbur posed the question, what is more essential, the coordinators or the newsletters?

Minor responded if the committee is not funding the coordinators, we are asking the neighborhood associations to change the way they do business. He suggested the committee look at individual organizations and cut where it can, but it is important to keep the organizations moving along.

Delaney asked how many residents request a newsletter; perhaps some spending could be eliminated by limiting or cutting the cost of printing for newsletters.

Mitchell responded the best way to get residents involved is to send something to their houses.

Wilbur asked if sending the newsletter succeeds in getting them involved.

Mitchell responded yes, particularly if it discusses something that affects them. She cited the instances of the proposed County Jail wanting to build in the neighborhood, and the Salvation Army.

Polson added newsletters help keep residents connected to the community.

Bush said she agrees; they receive a lot of appreciation for publishing the Pinckney newsletter.

Norwood reiterated there are hard choices to make, and there will be cuts no matter what.

Minor asked if the committee should focus on the organizations, then look at what’s left to allocate to the neighborhood associations.

Polson reminded the committee that all the organizations for Public Service allocations are non-profit organizations, with the exception of the neighborhood associations.

Mitchell added the CDBG-funded neighborhood organizations cannot charge more than $1 for dues.

Mitchell moved to zero fund 3b, North Lawrence Improvement Association, Clean Up Expenses. Wilbur seconded the motion.

The motion passed 7-0.

Norwood moved to fund 6a, Ballard Community Services, Emergency Service Council, in the amount of $10,000. Bush seconded the motion.

Bush said she would like to have some rationale for passing the vote.

Norwood said the lack of funding is the reasoning behind the proposed allocation, along with wanting to retain the ability to fund the other entities asking for money. The committee could always opt to change the decision later.

Wilbur asked if partial funding would have a negative effect on the Emergency Service Council.

Dresslar responded they provide financial services, so it would just be a smaller pool of people they would be able to assist.

The motion passed 7-0.

Polson moved to zero fund 9a, Just Food of Douglas County, Enhance Access to Healthy Food Program. Norwood seconded the motion.

Bush said she is concerned they are not funding anything for this organization.

Wilbur said he would rather partial fund 9a than zero fund it. Delaney agreed with Wilbur.

Polson asked how much does funding the neighborhood associations add.

Mitchell replied $42,672; that’s looking at cutting the funding for associations in half.

The motion failed 3-4.

Wilbur moved to fund 9a, Just Food of Douglas County, Enhance Access to Healthy Food Program, in the amount of $7,500. Minor seconded the motion.

The motion failed 3-4.

Bush said she wants to revisit funding for 9b later.

Polson asked how much did the neighborhood associations get last year.

Dresslar responded $32,540 was allocated to the associations in 2012.

Delaney said over $20,000 in allocations is necessary just to fund coordinator salaries alone. His opinion was that it would seem logical to cut the coordinators and run the neighborhood associations on a volunteer basis. That would require residents to be involved.

Minor added the newsletters can address the need for more volunteers due to the budgetary cuts.

Bush said while the committee can justify the cut in funding, the neighborhood associations could be allowed to spend the money however they want.

Dresslar pointed out the committee can specify what the associations are allowed to spend their allocations on, or they can leave it up to the individual associations.

Bush said she would rather the neighborhood associations deal with the impact of the cuts themselves.

Minor said asked if the newsletters are distributed to all residents.

Dresslar said they have to be as part of the Citizen Participation Plan.

Norwood added she does not want to not give the coordinators something. However, the committee cannot just try to be nice; drastic measures are required due to the budget cuts. Delaney agreed drastic measures are necessary.

Norwood pointed out Oread only asked for $10,000 last year.

Wilbur added Oread only spent half of the allocated funds.

Dresslar said Oread’s coordinator was only in place through March.

Delaney said when comparing the non-profit organizations to the neighborhood associations, it is hard to tell who and how many are participating in the neighborhoods.

Minor said newsletters are required so the money is not at issue. The coordinators could take a 25% reduction in their category.

Polson said the newsletter funding would take up the remainder of the funds to be allocated, which is $23,043.

Bush said neighborhood associations can deal with the cuts by reducing the number of newsletters that they publish.

Norwood asked if there is a requirement for the number of newsletters than have to be published.

Dresslar responded there is not, nor is there a requirement for the delivery method. It is just stated in the Citizen Participation Plan that newsletters are required.

Norwood suggested the associations could possibly publish an annual newsletter like a calendar.

Mitchell responded that would not work. Things come up that need to be communicated to the residents on a regular basis.

Polson said there is $30 remaining if the amount for newsletter costs are funded.

Delaney said rather than dictate to the neighborhood associations how they should use their allocation, an amount should be allocated to each association and the committee should let them decide how to spend it. Minor said he agrees.

Bush said the overall pool of funds is less than the organizations applying have requested; it is approximately 60% of what was asked for.

Minor said if the allocation was reduced by 20%, that would save $7000 for funding elsewhere.

Dresslar calculated the figures and said if coordinator salaries and newsletters were funded at 50%, the allocation would be $19,247.

Bush said if the committee used this method for calculating the allocation, the allocations should be made first for the other organizations then figure a percentage for the neighborhood associations.

Wilbur said there is still concern about allocations not fully spent in the grant year.

Dresslar responded any unspent money goes back into the grant for use in future capital improvements.

Norwood replied the unspent money is still money the committee could have allocated to another neighborhood association.

Minor said they should allocate neighborhood by neighborhood.

Norwood stated she thought allocating across the board is better. She added that if allocations were based on what the associations spent, it would be more equitable. Brook Creek spent all of its money, while Oread spent less than half.

Delaney pointed out that Oread could spend the remainder of the money at the end of the year on a block party or something similar. He suggested possibly the turmoil within the neighborhood association itself was part of the reason the entire pool of money was not spent.

Bush moved to fund 1a Brook Creek Neighborhood Association, Operating Coordinator/Expenses, in the amount of $3,191; to fund 2a East Lawrence Neighborhood Association, Operating/Coordinator Expenses, in the amount of $6,549; to fund 3a North Lawrence Improvement Association, Operating/Coordinator Expenses, in the amount of $4,819; to fund 4a Oread Neighborhood Association, Operating/Planning Coordinator Expenses, in the amount of $4,024; and to fund 5a Pinckney Neighborhood Association, Operating/Coordinator/Neighborhood Activities Expenses, in the amount of $4,898. Norwood seconded the motion.

The motion passed 7-0.

Norwood moved to deduct $1,000 from 4a Oread Neighborhood Association, Operating/Planning Coordinator Expenses, and to add $1,000 to 1a Brook Creek Neighborhood Association, Operating Coordinator/Expenses. Polson seconded the motion.

Bush said she feels $1,000 is a lot.

Norwood moved to revise her original motion and deduct $500 from 4a Oread Neighborhood Association, Operating/Planning Coordinator Expenses, bringing the funding to $3,524; and to add $500 to 1a Brook Creek Neighborhood Association, Operating Coordinator/Expenses, bringing the funding to $3,691. Polson seconded the revised motion.

The motion passed 7-0.

Bush moved to adjust the allocation of 7a Douglas County AIDS Project, Emergency Assistance Program, from $4,633 to $4,635. Delaney seconded the motion.

Norwood asked if there is a rule against making more than one request.

Dresslar responded no, there is not.

The motion passed 7-0.

Norwood moved to zero fund 9a Just Food of Douglas County, Enhance Access to Healthy Food Program. Bush seconded the motion.

Bush stated the committee has to vote to zero fund this item as there is no money left for allocations in Public Service.

Delaney recused himself from voting as Just Food is one of his clients, and he is currently working on Jeremy Farmer’s city election campaign. Delaney also had to leave the meeting at this time for another engagement.

The motion passed 6-0.

Dresslar stated all amounts had been allocated to Public Service items.

4. Discussion of 2013 CDBG Administration.

Norwood moved to fund 15f City of Lawrence Community Development Division, Administration (CDBG Administration Funds), in the amount of $144,141; and to fund 15f City of Lawrence Community Development Division, Administration (HOME Funds), in the amount of $37,640. Polson seconded the motion.

The motion passed 6-0.

5. Review of Allocation Decisions.

Dresslar said due to the 5% sequestration budget reductions, the previous regulatory capped allocations need to be adjusted in the HOME grant. Dresslar said the amount to allocate after the reduction is $338,762.

Norwood moved to adjust the funding of 17a Tenants to Homeowners, CHDO Project Funds, from $59,432 to $56,460; and to adjust the funding of 17b Tenants to Homeowners, CHDO Operating Funds, from $19,811 to $18,820. Polson seconded the motion.

The motion passed 6-0.

Polson asked if any of the representatives present in the audience would like to talk about funding for their organization.

Shannon Oury with Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority (LDCHA) introduced herself. She said LDCHA provides transitional housing for the city’s residents. It is a gateway from the shelter to other housing options. Oury stated LDCHA assists a vast majority of the population who require housing assistance; Family Promise has seven units and the Salvation Army has eight, which split family and supportive care. Oury said LDCHA sustained a 47% funding cut last year. They were able to make up some of that with other HUD vouchers and by participants of the program who graduated out, but they would not be able to do that this year.

Norwood wondered if it would be fair to split the difference using a percentage between the two remaining groups being funded in this category.

Polson said that splitting the difference in half gives one group a higher percentage allocation overall.

Wilbur added LDCHA is approximately two-thirds of the total between the two.

Norwood moved to fund 15c City of Lawrence Community Development Division, First Time Homebuyers Program, Lawrence Community Land Trust, in the amount of $90,377; and to fund 16a Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, Homeless Transitional Housing Program, in the amount of $173,105. Wilbur seconded the motion.

The motion passed 6-0.

Dresslar stated all amounts had been allocated to HOME items.

Polson said at the last meeting she made a comment about city programs and funding. She said she called the city of Manhattan to compare how they administer funds and found out they do not pass any capital improvements through to the community. She wanted to extend her thanks to the City of Lawrence for providing that benefit to its residents.

Dresslar responded that each city that receives CDBG funding has to go through the proper citizen participation channels, but each city can decide how to distribute the grant funds. Manhattan has been receiving CDBG for two years now, and their program is set up to disburse the funds in a particular way that includes their department housing programs and other projects. Dresslar thanked Polson for her complimentary remarks.

Bush said she would like to revisit item 9b, the refrigerated box truck for Just Food. She would like to zero fund 14a, the Breezedale Monument Restoration project, and move the funds to 9b. She added she had been given feedback by two residents who live in her neighborhood who attended the previous meeting who felt the funds would be better spent on the truck. She read an email from Melinda Toumi who thanked Bush for having the discussion about the monument. Part of Toumi’s comment said, “Hungry people can’t go to a monument and feel better.”

Bush said she visited the Breezedale neighborhood and visited with Doris Stubeck who is a longtime resident of the neighborhood. Stubeck gave her a lot of information and a tour of her home. Bush said Stubeck was not aware of the community’s effort to restore the monument. Bush asked the committee to reconsider funding the truck versus the monument restoration project.

Wilbur said while he does not want to minimize the monument project, he agrees with Bush’s assessment.

Mitchell said there was discussion at a previous meeting about the truck not being related to housing.

Minor said he is on the fence. While the Breezedale project made a better presentation on paper, Just Food gave a better verbal argument versus what they presented in their application. He said he feels that filling the need for food reaches farther than the monument does and is essential today.

Norwood said she drove by the Breezedale neighborhood, too. She wishes the committee could allocate funds across categories and fund Just Food’s access to healthy food program rather than the truck. She said historically, the committee does not fund vehicles.

Polson pointed out $25,000 is less than 5% of the allocations. She said she doesn’t think there was any frivolity in what was previously discussed. The Breezedale project is still a face of the city, and neighborhoods and communities within the city need to be maintained. Funding a vehicle is not a capital improvement project. Polson felt Jeremy Farmer’s previous comment about comparing a truck to a bus for food versus daycare was short-sighted. Daycare allows people to work, and there is a long range impact of families being able to work.

Bush moved to zero fund 14a City of Lawrence Planning & Development Services, Breezedale Monument Restoration, and to fund 9b Just Food of Douglas County, Refrigerated Box Truck, in the amount of $25,000. Wilbur seconded the motion.

The motion passed 4-2.

6. Miscellaneous/Calendar.

Dresslar said the next meeting is March 28, 2013. The committee will need to review its allocations and get ready for the public hearing. Dresslar is working on the Action Plan along with a new Five-Year Consolidated Plan. The committee will receive the document to review in the week prior to the public hearing, and as of the public hearing date the 30-day public comment period will begin. After the public hearing the committee’s recommendations will move forward to the City Commission for their approval.

The committee can discuss the calendar going forward at the next meeting.

7. Public Comment.

There were no additional comments from the public.

8. Adjourn.

Wilbur moved to adjourn the March 14, 2013 meeting of the CDAC at 7:04 p.m. Bush seconded the motion.

The motion passed 6-0.

Attendance Record

Members

Jan 10

Jan 24

Feb 14

Feb 28

Mar 14

Mar 28

Apr 11

Apr 25

May

Jun

July

Aug 8

Aug 22

Sept 12

Sept 26

Oct 10

Oct 24

Nov 14

Dec 14

Deron Belt

Linda Bush

Eric Hethcoat

Quinn Miller

Julie Mitchell

Vern Norwood

Aimee Polson

David Teixeira

Patrick Wilbur

James Minor

E Excused Absence

U Unexcused Absence

X Meeting Cancelled – Weather Conditions

- Meeting Cancelled – Committee Vote/No Business

* First meeting after appointment

** Last Meeting Prior to expired term

^ Last Meeting