April 11, 2013 Minutes (City Commission Room)
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
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Linda Bush, Alex Delaney, Quinn Miller, James Minor, Julie Mitchell, Vern Norwood, Aimee Polson, Patrick Wilbur |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
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None |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
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Danelle Dresslar, Rhonda Peterson, Tony Hoch |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
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Laurie Hooker, Jeremy Farmer, Loring Henderson, Ace Hicky, Kyung Hwang, Angela Lumpkin, Larry Schlosser, Travis Weller
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Chair Polson called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m.
1. Introductions.
Members and staff introduced themselves.
2. Approval of the March 28, 2013 Minutes.
Wilbur moved to approve the CDAC meeting minutes from March 28, 2013. The motion was seconded by Bush and passed 7-0.
3. Discussion of Investment Summary.
Dresslar said she made a mathematical error; when the numbers were recalculated for the sequestration cuts, she added two numbers together incorrectly, which made it look like there was $20,000 more to allocate. Since the committee just funded a lump sum allocation to the Comprehensive Rehab program with what was left, she made the correction in that number. It has been printed in the new comprehensive plan and published with the corrected number, the committee just needs to vote to fund the comp rehab program at $333,050 to correct it for the record.
Miller moved to fund 15a, City of Lawrence Community Development Division, Comprehensive Housing Rehabilitation, in the amount of $333,050. Delaney seconded the motion.
The motion passed 7-0.
4. Miscellaneous/Calendar.
Dresslar indicated in looking at the upcoming meeting schedule she does not feel there is a need for the second meeting in April or the first meeting in May. The proposed allocations will go to the City Commission on May 21. The next scheduled meeting of the CDAC after that would be May 23, 2013. Her suggestion would be to cancel the next two meetings and hold the next meeting on May 23, unless something drastic were to come up with regard to funding that would require discussion prior to that date. Dresslar said it is up to the committee to make that decision.
Minor asked if it is something that can be considered after the public hearing.
Dresslar said certainly, the committee can wait to make a decision until the end of the meeting.
Dresslar said Norwood had asked about the environmental appeal hearings the committee had recently heard, and if there was any word on the outcome from staff. Dresslar said that until July of 2013 the CDAC still presides over code enforcement appeal hearings. The proposed changes to the appeal process do not go into effect until the new codes are adopted July 1, so the CDAC would still function as the appeal board for code hearings. There is a possible appeal hearing on May 23; so that date has been set. Brian Jimenez, Code Enforcement Manager, will be at the CDAC meeting on May 23, and he will provide updates on hearings that were conducted in the past.
Norwood asked for confirmation of the appeal hearing date.
Dresslar responded May 23. The committee can hear the appeal and then go over any comments made by the City Commission from their meeting on the 21st of May. Dresslar hopes the final amounts will be published by that date as well, so the committee could look at any final adjustments at that time, if appropriate.
Polson asked if Dresslar thinks there will be any final adjustments.
Dresslar responded she does not know. Dresslar said she does not expect the numbers to go any lower than the cuts that were already implemented, but she does not know for sure.
Bush asked what is the best way to send any corrections for typos or calculations that may need to be made on the consolidated plan document.
Dresslar said to let her know what page number and section need to be looked at; she can be emailed at ddresslar@lawrenceks.org.
5. (6:00) Conduct Public Hearing.
Polson called the public hearing to order.
Dresslar thanked the public for coming and offered some background as to why the public hearing is held. The City is required to submit a Consolidated Plan or Annual Action Plan each year to HUD regarding the CDBG and HOME programs. The format has changed this year and HUD is utilizing a different system for this step in the reporting. The upcoming 2013 grant year is the first year of a brand new five year Consolidated Plan, and the document was created by staff on the new system so it looks different than the plan has in the past. The submission includes an executive summary, a community needs assessment, a housing market analysis, a five year strategic plan, a one-year Action Plan and a one year Investment Summary for 2013. The Plan as a whole discusses housing and community development needs and priorities, and the Investment Summary details the activities recommended for funding to address those needs for the upcoming program year.
Priorities are determined by the assessment of needs and completion of prior activities, as well as input from the City Commission. The Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) makes the recommendations for allocations for the CDBG and HOME programs based on input from other boards, census data and other information. The CDAC considers the Step Up to Better Housing strategy when recommending funding allocations. Attention continues to be paid to the homeless situation in the community with the allocation of funds to the Lawrence Community Shelter.
In past years the CDAC has had numbers to work with when considering allocations, and sometimes they have to make recommendations based on best estimates. This is one of those guessing years, as the final funding budget has not been determined yet with the federal budget talks. This year the committee began by using the figures from 2012, then the sequestration cuts were announced, which reduced the estimated funding amounts. The numbers being presented for consideration to the City Commission have accounted for those funding cuts. The committee has no idea what the final allocation will be and is hoping to hear something soon.
There are federal regulations as to how the funds can be spent. It is limited in several areas. No more than 15% of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) can be used for public service activities. No more than 20% of CDBG funds can be used for administration costs, and no more than 10% of HOME funds can be used for administration costs. The Community Development Housing organization, which is Tenants to Homeowners in our community, is limited to 5% of the HOME grant for operating expenses. They also have a minimum of 15% for CHDO set-aside funds, which helps them development and maintain housing in the community; there can be a higher amount allocated.
Dresslar said public comment can be about the Investment Summary, the Consolidated Plan, an item that someone would like to see funded or anything else the public would like to talk about or comment on.
Polson invited the public speak and asked that the introduce themselves and sign in on the sheet at the podium.
Ace Hicky introduced himself and thanked the committee for the opportunity to speak on behalf of Just Food and the refrigerated vehicle it is pursuing. Hicky has been with Just Food since its inception. When the organization was in its planning stages, he retired from the postal service and began helping through the annual food drive. Every May they would collect seven or more tons of food, bring it to the basement of the United Way offices, and try to spread it throughout the community as well as they could. He saw in the paper not long after that they were out of food. Jeanette Collier and Ann Weick had an idea to start an organization that would just provide food for those in need; hence the name Just Food. After a few years stimulus funding allowed them to get out of their location, and into their own facility. When stimulus funds ran out, they made an appeal to the public and have had a great success story in filling the need. They served 1000 households last month. They have a great program with the Farmer’s Market where they collect the surplus product not sold at the end of the week. The refrigerated truck will fill a need they have to be able to transport the food they get safely. Just Food offers cooking classes to help its clients make better use of the food they are given. They also offer exercise classes. Hicky likes to think of Just Food as the third leg in the community, along with the homeless shelter and the healthcare agency. They are all helping people in the community meet their basic needs.
Polson asked if anyone else would like to speak.
Loring Henderson introduced himself; he is the director of the Lawrence Community Shelter (LCS). He said he understands the committee has an extremely difficult job, especially when trying to make a decision based on what may or may not be federally funded given the sequestration cuts. Henderson asked for an increase in allocation for LCS from the amount that the committee has set to at least $45,000, which is the same amount that was allocated last year.
Henderson said they moved into the new shelter on December 29. The expenses have been pretty much as projected, which is to say high. They thought in some areas they would be, but at the same time they needed all of the budget that was projected to meet those expenses. For this year, they had requested a larger amount of money from the CDBG, but the amount that they received last year is what they were using to plan their budget. The two areas that particularly have hit them hard are utility costs and transportation. Last year the combination of utilities at $34,000 and rent at $32,000 was $66,000. In the new building there is not a rent expense, but rent is much higher. $68,000 was budgeted in 2013 for utilities. Based on the first three to three and one half months, it looks like they are going to spend $75,000 on utilities, so they are running over the budget. To get in to the building, they saved money by not putting ceilings in a lot of rooms, so there are big open spaces that make for higher utility costs. It was a tradeoff of utilities versus a higher construction cost, which would have made the building too costly.
Transportation is the other cost that has impacted the budget. The shelter is located way out at the edge of the city. The City has accommodated the shelter by scheduling a bus stop there every hour and by providing bus passes. The amount given for bus passes has not increased, but the shelter appreciates any amount. Henderson said he budgeted $12,000 for transportation costs, which includes some bus passes additional to the city’s allocation and gas for the shelter’s van. However, the current costs from the first quarter indicates that it will probably cost around $16,000 for transportation. That is primarily for the cost of the van, which is being used constantly. It costs between $70 and $80 each time to fill it up with gas, and it is being filled about three times each week. Because the shelter is located at the edge of the city, it takes about twenty minutes to run people in to town.
Henderson said they also feed a lot more people and provide more food than they used to. They provide two full meals a day and a light breakfast; they have gone through about eight and one half tons of food and served approximately 34,000 meals. He said they have managed to keep the food costs under control through good shopping, constant vigilance and donations, but that could be an additional cost in the future as well.
Henderson reiterated that the committee’s help in meeting the shelter’s budget is very important. Getting the same amount of funding that the shelter received last year is very important to them. Henderson said he is happy to answer any questions about the shelter.
Polson asked how much savings did the ceiling result in by not constructing it.
Henderson replied it is too expensive to put in now; it would cost several thousand dollars to add it. The systems in the ceiling would all have to be lowered. He said the projected increase in utility costs of $7,000 to $8,000 is not a huge difference, but it does increase their budget and they have to be able to cover the costs.
Bush asked for further explanation of the van and why it runs so much as opposed to people taking the bus.
Henderson replied that clients do take the bus; there are often 10 or more people waiting for the bus. The shelter has the bus stop, its own van and also a volunteer who transports people on a set schedule. The shelter also has two offices for visiting agencies so they can come to the shelter rather than having the guests have to go to their offices. They have also worked out a cooperative agreement between Independence, Inc. and Health Care Access where the shelter is given two blocks of time where clients are provided transportation to and from healthcare related activities and appointments. The shelter is trying in any way it can to work out the transportation issues. The shelter’s capacity is 125. They utilized that number based on data from the Salvation Army and the number of people they housed on a typical night when temperatures were below freezing, which was around 110. The shelter’s average number of guests is 115, which means the shelter’s van is running nonstop to meet the needs.
Bush asked if the issue is the lack of bus passes.
Henderson responded that more bus passes would help, but the City is helping in many ways. They are currently talking to city officials and Robert Nugent with the transportation department trying to work on the issue.
There were no further questions for Henderson.
Jeremy Farmer with Just Food introduced himself. He wanted to address how important the funding for the refrigerated truck is to the organization to be able to continue to provide healthy food alternatives for the thousands of people they serve each month. Just Food is also now stocking the food pantries at the Ballard Center, Penn House and the Salvation Army. Just Food would like to expand that network, so it is essential that all food that is currently being thrown away or composted can be saved and distributed to the partnering agencies. Right now stores throw away anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 of food every week in the community. This includes dairy products, meats and vegetables. This food could change a lot of people’s diets and lower the cost that Just Food is paying. It also provides a choice of healthy foods for the people they are serving.
He reiterated how important the funding is for Just Food, and added he hopes the emails the committee has received from members of the community in support of their decision has made a difference and has helped confirmed its decision. Farmer said they will have to rent a Penske truck this year to accommodate the food drive donations, which were around 21 tons last year; he is hoping that number increases to 30 tons this year. The funding for the refrigerated truck will make a big difference in helping them be able to get the food from the food drives and save the organization money in the long run, and will also enable them to collect more food for its clients. Farmer said he hopes the committee will continue its support of the funding for the refrigerated truck and continue to help them get food into the hands of Lawrence’s most vulnerable citizens who need it the most.
There were no questions for Farmer.
Kyung Huang introduced herself. She is a current client of Just Food, and she also volunteers at the organization. As a client, it is difficult to get fresh vegetables, fruit and dairy products. She tries to feed her children healthy food, but her budget constraints dictate that she choose the canned food over healthy food choices due to the cost. She has observed several clients who prefer to buy healthy food but do not have that option due to the difference in cost. Huang supports the refrigerated box truck so that fresh, healthy foods are available to clients like her and her children.
There were no questions for Huang.
Angela Lumpkin introduced herself. She is on the President of the Board of Directors for Just Food. She was taught from an early age not to be wasteful. She said herself and Ann Weick were talking one day and determined there was a lot of food was thrown away in the residence halls at KU. When students vacate their rooms and remove all of their belongings, they do not take the food items with them back home. They now operate a food drive at KU where they pick up thousands of pounds of food that otherwise would have gone to waste. This is one of many events where a refrigerated box truck is needed. Right now several thousand pounds of food are being thrown away each week because Just Food does not have the mechanism to transport perishable foods or the funds to buy a truck themselves. Just Food makes a difference in Douglas County. Making a one-time investment in Just Food by allocating funds for a refrigerated box truck will make a huge impact on the community for years to come.
There were no questions for Lumpkin.
Larry Schlosser introduced himself. He has been on the Board of Directors at Just Food for over two years. The thing that impresses him the most is that the food that is collected by Just Food is collected from the people of Douglas County, for the people of Douglas County. All of the food collected stays in the local community. The purchase of the truck will enable Just Food to do a better job of allowing them to collect food for those in need. Schlosser appreciates the committee’s consideration of their request.
There were no questions for Schlosser, and no additional comments for the public hearing.
Polson moved to close the public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Minor seconded the motion.
The motion passed 8-0.
6. Reconvene Meeting.
The CDAC meeting was reconvened at 6:31 p.m.
Polson asked if any of the committee members wanted to discuss the request from Henderson for additional funding allocation for the Lawrence Community Shelter.
Dresslar reminded the committee that the allocation funds for the shelter come out of Public Service funds, which do have a regulatory cap of 15%.
Delaney pointed out that the only two organizations getting 100% funding are DCAP at $4,635 and HCCI at $24,990. All others have already had cuts, so he doesn’t know where additional funds for the LCS would come from.
Bush said she had looked at the shelter’s numbers too. The history of funding for them showed last year’s amount higher than usual because Ballard was not being funded. Looking at the shelter’s funding from 2010 and 2011, Bush noted the amounts were around $35,000. Last year it jumped to $51,600. Bush feels the drop in funding this year is still better than what it was previously; she does understand it does not offset the change in the needs. She thought perhaps the higher funding last year led to some sort of expectation.
Norwood added it is important to remember the amount the committee is given to allocate changes every year.
Delaney asked, because of the contingent of people representing Just Food, if the committee was planning to propose any changes to the Capital Improvements allocations.
Committee members responded no.
Bush added the committee does not know what the final numbers will be; they are basing allocations off an estimate. The numbers could go either way. Bush said she would be willing to allocate more money to the shelter if the estimate increases, based on Henderson’s information.
Wilbur said he still would like a further explanation on the neighborhoods receiving funding, with Oread in particular.
Dresslar said Oread did not have a coordinator for half of the year, which is at least part of the reason its 2011 and to date the 2012 funds were not spent. Oread would need to speak to the question itself if there were other factors.
Miller asked what the timeline is on getting the numbers to the City Commission.
Dresslar responded the Consolidated Plan and Investment Summary will go to the City Commission on May 21, 2013. The final product is due to HUD on June 15, 2013. Dresslar indicated she would prefer to send the document in to HUD by the first week of June, in case there are problems with the new system HUD is using.
Bush asked when the committee will know the final numbers.
Dresslar said she is unsure of the timeframe from the Federal Government on releasing that information.
Bush asked if that means they won’t necessarily have that information before June 15.
Dresslar responded that is correct, the final numbers may not be known by June 15. The City would just have to present the best estimate if that were the case.
Miller said the committee should consider moving on at this point with what they have now and if something drastically changes be willing to take comments at that time and make changes later.
Bush said Oread has not published a newsletter since 2011.
Dresslar said there are several neighborhoods that are not current on that report; Oread is no farther behind than some other CDBG-funded neighborhoods on reporting.
Mitchell asked if Dresslar sends reminders.
Dresslar said sometimes she does, but she feels it’s the neighborhoods’ responsibility to take care of their newsletters and reporting. She added the department reserves the right to hold up reimbursements due to late reports, which is something that has been done in the past.
Delaney said he feels the fifty percent cut in the requested funding amount should be a wakeup call for them to address the problems in the neighborhood associations.
Bush said this may be a little off topic, but she thinks, after having been involved with the different processes, the neighborhoods are not on an even playing field; they do not have an even distribution of information. Bush said she would like to find a way for the committee to facilitate the neighborhood officers in coming together and share their experiences. She feels that might help them maximize the use of their funds. Bush thought having them try to fill out their applications in a more uniform manner would help.
Dresslar said there is no uniform way to measure each neighborhood’s performance. Each neighborhood sends in something different. Different things are important to different neighborhoods.
Bush said she is just talking about good stewardship of grant funding and helping that go farther, and helping neighborhoods that serve low mod residents get support from other neighborhoods that have maybe been in a similar position.
Norwood said that could be one of the side meetings the committee has in the future, to sit down with the neighborhoods and see what their needs are.
Minor said he thinks that is a good idea, as long as the committee is not dictating to the neighborhoods what they have to do. That could become a very thin line. If they come to an impasse, they could look to this board to settle any issues.
Norwood said the committee would have to be neutral and act as a sounding board to facilitate discussion.
Wilbur said while he agrees the committee should not dictate to the neighborhoods, they should be told that if they are awarded money, they need to spend it down. Especially when the budget for allocations is this tight. If a neighborhood is not spending its allocation, it should explain why.
Polson asked if a motion needs to be made.
Dresslar said she believes the committee only needs to make a motion if something is being changed. She said as soon as she hears anything about the allocation amounts she will be contacting the committee.
Bush said she thinks the only change to be made would be if the amount of the allocation changes, otherwise the allocations are as good as they can get given the information the committee has right now.
7. Discuss revised CDBG/HOME Allocations, if Applicable.
There were no proposed changes to discuss.
8. Miscellaneous/Calendar (revisited).
Norwood asked for confirmation that the committee is not meeting on April 25.
Miller said that is correct, and the committee is not meeting on May 9 either.
Polson asked for a motion to cancel the next two meetings.
Norwood moved to cancel the CDAC meetings on April 25 and May 9 if there is no additional information to discuss. Miller seconded the motion.
The motion passed 7-0.
8. Public Comment.
Henderson thanked the committee again for their consideration. He understands the difficult position the committee is in, and he’ll be back if there is more money to allocate. Henderson said he is only here because there is a need.
Miller asked if there has been a survey done that shows how full or empty the bus is that runs from the shelter location bus stop.
Henderson said there are not that many people at that stop. There are riders that get on and off at the east industrial park. The stop by the shelter also serves the jail and people participating in the work release program.
Miller asked if a traffic study has been completed.
Henderson outlined the bus route. He said it has to pick up the clients of the shelter on the way east out of town because the bus can’t cross traffic right now across the highway. When the stoplight is added in June, the route will be reconfigured. Henderson also added once they have six months of ridership, they may stops. Currently the bus only stops once an hour. Henderson said the City is working with them to resolve the issue.
Travis Weller introduced himself and said he would like to become a member of the CDAC; he is submitting his letter of interest to the City. He has lived in East Lawrence for almost a year and lived in North Lawrence prior to that. He lived in Chicago before moving to Lawrence. He thinks the CDAC provides a great service to its community and looks forward to hopefully becoming a member.
9. Adjourn.
Miller moved to adjourn the April 11, 2013 meeting of the CDAC at 7:03 p.m. Norwood seconded the motion.
The motion passed 7-0.
Attendance Record
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Members |
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Feb 28 |
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Apr 11 |
Apr 25 |
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Aug 22 |
Sept 12 |
Sept 26 |
Oct 10 |
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Dec 14 |
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Deron Belt |
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Linda Bush |
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Alex Delaney |
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Eric Hethcoat |
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E^ |
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Quinn Miller |
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Julie Mitchell |
+ |
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Vern Norwood |
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Aimee Polson |
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David Teixeira |
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E |
E^ |
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Patrick Wilbur |
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James Minor |
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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