Called to order at 4:00 by Yehle

City of Lawrence

Affordable Housing Advisory Board

November 4, 2015 minutes

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Stuart Boley, Rebecca Buford, John Harvey, Dana Ortiz, Shannon Oury, Nancy Thellman, Matt Sturtevant, Tim Stultz

MEMBERS ABSENT:

Emmanuel Birdling

STAFF PRESENT:

Casey Toomay, Assistant City Manager; Toni Wheeler, City Attorney; Scott McCullough, Director of Planning and Development Services; Danelle Dresslar, Community Development Manager;

Assistant City Manager Toomay called the meeting to order at 11:00 am.

1. Introductions and Expectation, Update Roster Information

Toomay passed around a roster in order to collect updated contact information to post on the City’s website.

Members of the board introduced themselves and discussed their interests in the issue of affordable housing.

2. Conducting Business: Kansas Open Meetings Act, Robert’s Rules, Meeting Quorum

City Attorney Toni Wheeler presented an overview of the Kansas Open Meetings Act and how it governs the conduct of the board and its members. Important highlights included:

KOMA applies when there 1) is a majority of the membership of the board is present, 2) there is interactive communication, and 3) members discuss the business of the body;
The majority of this membership of the board is five;
Members should avoid using the reply all function when using electronic communication;
Meetings must be held and conducted in public;
No executive sessions should not be held without prior approval of the City Attorney’s Office;
Board members should contact Toomay or the City Attorney’s Office with questions.

3. Review Scope of Work (Ordinance 9129)

Toomay walked the Board through Ordinance 9129, establishing the Affordable Housing Advisory Board. It outlines the purpose of the Board, membership of the Board, terms of office, duties of the Board, and other requirements.

4. Selection of Chairperson

The Board discussed selection of a Board Chair. A motion to nominate Matt Sturtevant was made by John Harvey. The nomination was seconded by Shannon Oury. Hearing no other nominations, the motion to make Sturtevant Board Chair passed 8-0.

5. By-laws

Toomay mentioned that the City Attorney’s Office was drafting by-laws for the Board to review and adopt at the next meeting.

6. Discuss Future Meeting Dates and Times, Tentative Items for Next Meeting

The Board discussed setting a normal meeting scheduled. The Board will meet the second Monday of each month at 11:00 am in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall.

There was discussion of the acceptance of donations by the City to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Stuart Boley requested clarification from the City Attorney’s office and how to accommodate those interested in donating funds to the Housing Trust Fund.

The Board discussed tentative items for the next meeting. Director of Planning and Development Services Scott McCullough offered to walk through the memo that his staff put together for the City Commission early in 2015 to provide an overview of affordable housing issues.

The Board also expressed interest in hearing an update on the additional funding approved by the City and County for the Lawrence Douglas County Housing Authority voucher program.

There was discussion about the need for a definition of “affordable housing”. There was also discussion about the need to determine the focus for the Board.

The Board discussed the importance of moving forward with a demonstration project quickly to maintain momentum and show success to gain support. However, there were others that felt it was also important to spend some time getting oriented to the facts and figures related to this issue before getting to the demonstration project.

Sturtevant, Oury, and Rebecca Buford agree they would meet separately to discuss this issue before the next meeting of the Board as a whole.

There was additional discussion about what to include under the umbrella term of affordable housing. Should workforce housing be included? Senior housing?

Buford wondered in a hired facilitator would be helpful to assist the Board with narrowing their focus. Toomay offered to serve in that capacity since she is not a subject matter expert like the other City staff and Board members.

Toomay also offered to put together some background materials for the Board. Board members agreed to send items they thought would be helpful for the group to Toomay to include in a notebook.

Sturtevant asked staff what they hoped the Board would achieve. McCullough said it would be good to see the Board gain a more visible understanding of what the plan has been/is related to these issues; identify what, if any, deficiencies remain, come up with a plan to address those deficiencies through a pilot program, and then have higher level policy discussions in the future. Community Development Manager Danelle Dresslar added of would be helpful for the Board to recommend funding sources to supplement federal funding for affordable housing, especially considering the recent downward trend.

7. Adjourn

The meeting was adjourned at 12:00.

These minutes were approved by the Board 12/14/15.