Minutes Housing Comm. 10 26 04
MINUTES OF HOUSING COMMISSION MEETING
DATE:
TIME:
PLACE:
26 October 2004
4p.m.
Housing and Community Development Department Office
As Chairperson Kapler and Vice-Chairperson Eddy were absent from the meeting, the first order of
business was for the Commission to appoint a Chair for this meeting. Commissioner Schwendinger
motioned to appoint Commissioner Holz. Commissioner Culbertson seconded. Motion passed by a
voice vote.
Chairperson Holz called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. following staff assurance of compliance with
Iowa Open Meeting Law.
Commissioners Present:
Danita Grant
Angie Mozena
Dorothy Culbertson
Jim Holz
Harry Neustadt
Dorothy Schwendinger, OSF
John Plein
Commissioners Absent:
Char Eddy
Bill Helling
Dave Kapler
Staff Present:
David Harris
Aggie Tauke
Tusdee Blus
Janet Walker
Public Present:
Daniel Engling
Welcome New Commission Member: AmlÏe Mozena
Introductions were made for and welcome was extended to our new Commission Member, Angie
Mozena.
Review and certification of Minutes of 28 September 2004 Commission Meeting
Commissioner Neustadt moved to approve the 28 September 2004 Commission meeting minutes.
Commissioner Culbertson seconded. Roll call. Commissioner Mozena abstained. All others present in
favor. Motion passed.
Correspondence I Public Input
Mr. Daniel Engling was present to discuss the agenda item regarding the application policy for disabled
veterans. His comments were deferred until this item was to be discussed later in the meeting.
Old Business
HUD 2006 - 2010 Consolidated Planning Process; Aggie Tauke, Community Development
Specialist
Aggie provided information on the Consolidated Plan. A 5-year plan is required by HUD, which is
currently in the process of being written. Surveys have been done, and several agencies and
commissions have provided input into the process. The next step will be to prioritize the data they've
gathered. Aggie then reviewed the handout she provided to the Commission. She stated that federal
funds can be used on medium or high priority items only. The Commission then reviewed the items
presented and determined which would be high and medium priority, so as to ensure that all items
receive funding. Aggie will provide follow-up information as more becomes available. This will be part of
what will be presented to the CD Commission.
Application Policy for Single, Non-disabled, Non-elderly Section 8 Participants
Janet provided an update for the Commission. She has spoken with Kelly Larson. Kelly didn't feel there
would be any local discrimination issues; however, she referred Janet to HUD, who in turn referred her to
Fair Housing, and from there she was referred to the attorneys in the HUD office. This group of
attorneys will be reviewing our current policy and provide a recommendation. Janet will provide this
information to the Commission when it is received.
Request for Appeal: Krista Anderson
Ms. Anderson has requested an appeal hearing by David Harris. She was denied her assistance for
vacating without notice. She did not appeal within her given timeframe (20 days) and now must request
an appeal through the Commission. Her request letter was reviewed by the Commission and
Chairperson Holz asked if we knew when she had been released from Mt. Pleasant. He stated that
under the circumstances, and since we don't know when she was released, that he could understand her
lapse in time in making her appeal. Janet provided additional information, stating that Staff had been
informed by her landlord that she had vacated the unit. On June 21 5t a termination letter was mailed to
her by her caseworker, and on June 26th the letter was returned to our office. She was subsequently
terminated July 1, 2004 from our program.
Commissioner Grant moved to allow Ms. Anderson a hearing with David. Commissioner Culbertson
seconded. Roll call. All present in favor. Motion passed.
New Business
Application Policy for Disabled Veterans
Janet noted that all changes to the Administrative Plan are in bold type. The definition of a disabled
person currently is those persons receiving SSI or SSD. Janet has spoken with Charlie Brimeyer at the
Veteran Affairs office and he has provided the information with which she has rewritten the policy to
accommodate disabled veterans and disabled persons not receiving SSI or SSD. This policy will be
(changes are in bold):
3b. Verification of disability shall be written notice from the Social Security Administration or
Veteran's Administration. The applicant shall be considered disabled if he/she is
receiving SSI or SSD from the Social Security Administration or if they are under 65
years of age and receiving Medicare benefits. The applicant shall also be
considered disabled if he/she is receiving VA benefits and one of the following
circumstances apply:
i. Under 65 years of age and receiving a Non-Service Connected Pension
ii. Receiving "Service Connected Compensation" Benefits at 70% or above
iii. Receiving Individual Unemployability Benefits
Mr. Daniel Engling was present and asked to address the Commission as a disabled veteran. He is
currently 10% disabled and has applied for SSD/SSI and an increase of his VA benefits. He questioned
the percentages proposed to determine VA disability. He has recently been told by his doctors that he
can no longer work, but at his current percentage, he wo,uld not be qualified to apply for Housing
Assistance, even with the proposed changes. He said that he does have children, but does not have
51% custody of them. Therefore, his situation does not constitute a family under our policy and he is not
eligible to apply based upon that criteria either. Janet then explained what 51% custody means, stating
that we cannot help 2 parents in separate households claiming the same children in each household.
One parent must have 51% custody and that would be the household in which we would count the
children for assistance. She stated that court documents, proof of health benefits, tax documents
claiming the children as dependants, school records are all acceptable proof of primary custody. David
noted that Mr. Engling has two separate issues - one is the VA disability issue and the other is his family
composition. Mr. Engling is working with Charlie at the VA to apply for his pension, but that process can
take months before benefits could start being received.
Mr. Engling suggested that veterans be allowed to apply and given a specific timeframe in which they
would be required to obtain their disability payments, or be terminated from the S8 program. Janet
addressed this stating that once someone is given the assistance, HUD regulations prohibit us from
adding stipulations for terminating them from the program (i.e. if they did not end up receiving their
disability benefits). She then made suggestions to Mr. Engling of other sources of assistance for him.
Commissioner Neustadt motioned to incorporate 3b. into the Section 8 Administrative Plan.
Commissioner Culbertson seconded. Roll call. All others present in favor. Motion passed.
Washington Street Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy
David presented the plan using a map presentation board of the proposed affected areas. There is a
high concentration of rental properties, low income, single parent families as well as low property values
in this area. The premise is to encourage owner occupancy in this area, and to provide additional
incentives to attract persons with higher incomes to move into this area. There are plans to build a park
for the children. John Gronen is proposing a tax credit-funded adaptive reuse of the former Dubuque
Casket Factory in this area as well.
Meetings are being held with department heads to discuss this project. The City Manager has indicated
support of the concept.
Housing Assistance Plan
This was an addition to Aggie's presentation, in which David provided information from the Loras College
census data. This information was used by David in preparing the Housing Trust Fund application.
Trends and needs identified in the analysis included growth of the non-white population, lead paint, the
age of the population, inadequate rental units (3 bedroom or larger) and increases in single parent
families.
Information Sharing
NAHRO
David mentioned and reviewed the information on the handout he provided regarding impacts on funding
cut backs for the Housing Voucher program.
HUD E-mails
Janet noted that we have additional monies coming to us from HUD, including for homeownership
assistance, lead paint testing and increased audit costs.
Commissioner Neustadt then asked David about the money originally designated for our building
renovation. David stated that it had been reallocated this year to the City Garage instead, and that our
new budget timeframe would be for the 2006 budget year.
Direct Deposit
Janet noted that we would like to implement another cost savings program, that being mandatory direct
deposit for all of our landlords. Currently, only 20% participate in this option. The reason for this
proposal is the number of lost checks, and the extra cost involved in stopping them, reprinting, etc.
Janet asked the Commission if they felt it would be acceptable to require participation. As a group, they
felt it would be. Commissioner Culbertson stated that perhaps we should ask the current 20% that
participate to promote it at the next Landlord Association Meeting. The Commission also made a
suggestion of providing advanced notice (60 days) to the landlords so they have time to adjust to the
change.
Stewart Hearing
Janet stated that the hearing is tomorrow. A packet of information was sent out to all involved and
Angela Stewart was notified. A Police presence will be there, as well as Staff, the Iowa Department of
Inspection and Appeals. Atty. Ann McDonough represented the Housing Department as the Hearing
Examiner.
Miscellaneous Updates
Commissioner Grant found in favor of David's decision in the appeal hearing for Brandy Marion.
Friday the City of Davenport will be in Dubuque to meet regarding our Code Enforcement programs, our
relationship with the COP Program and our Housing Summit experience.
David stated that ECIA (County Housing) will be building a tax credit housing project in Asbury and
they've asked for a letter of support from us. The Commission tabled their request.
Adjournment
There being no further business to come before the Commission, Commissioner Grant moved to
adjourn. Commissioner Culbertson seconded. Motion passed by a voice vote. Meeting was adjourned
at 5:30 p.m.
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