Minutes_Housing Commission 3 27 12MINUTES OF HOUSING COMMISSION MEETING
DATE: 27 March 2012
TIME: 4:00 PM
PLACE: Housing and Community Development Department
350 West 6th Street, Suite 312, Dubuque, IA 52001
Chairperson Kapler, following staff assurance of compliance with Iowa Open Meeting Law, called the
meeting to order at 4:02 pm.
Commissioners Present:
Commissioners Absent:
Staff Present:
David Kapler
Amy Eudaley
Jim Holz
Ricardo Woods
Mitzi Krey
Dorothy Schwendinger, OSF
Judie Root via telephone
Dorothy Culbertson
Lisa McCallister
Regine Ronek
David Harris Cpl. Scott Koch
Ericka Lessears Randy Gehl, Public Information Officer
Erica Haugen Janet Walker
Public Present: None
Review and Certification of Minutes of 27 November 2011 Commission Meeting
Commissioner Eudaley moved to approve the minutes. Commissioner Holz seconded.
Commissioner Culbertson abstained. All others present in favor. Motion passed.
Correspondence/Public Input
None
Old Business
Report from Subcommittee: Housing Commission Goals — 2012
Commissioner Holz described that the Committee met and developed goals that he presented to
the Commission. He stated that they are looking for feedback. Commission Schwendinger
wanted clarification if these were goals for the Housing Department or the Commission.
Commissioner Holz stated that they are goals for the Department and for the Commission. There
were several ideas for getting news and information out to everyone. Commissioner Kapler
suggested that Commissioners take goal #1 and come up with 3 or 4 ideas on how to implement
it. The subcommittee will meet again before the next Housing Commission meeting.
Commissioner Holz moved to follow Commissioner Kapler's suggestions. Commissioner
Eudaley seconded. All other present in favor. Motion passed.
New Business
Use of Social Media
Randy Gehl, Public Information Officer for the City of Dubuque, explained the Social Media
outlets that the City currently uses. He explained "Notify Me" which people can sign up for to
receive notification as to different events going on in the city. Randy showed the Commission
how many people are signed up for "Notify Me" for the Housing Department. Also he showed
that the City now has a Facebook page and Twitter page. Erica Haugen, the FSS Coordinator,
also showed the Housing Department's Facebook page that she monitors.
Amendments to the Administrative Plan Regarding Falsification of Applications, Role of
Section 8 Investigator and Comparability Areas for Rent Reasonableness Calculations
Janet explained that rent reasonableness changes to our administrative plan are to adapt to our
new software which uses census tracts rather than zip codes. Commissioner Holtz moved to
approve. Commissioner Eudaley seconded. All others present in favor. Motion passed.
Janet explained the added word "disqualifying" to this section. The section requiring disclosure
of previous criminal activity was removed, as background checks are automatically run on all
applicants. Janet also explained that we cleaned up the wording regarding the role of the Section
8 Investigator. Commissioner Holz moved to approve changes. Commissioner Schwendinger
seconded. All others present in favor. Motion passed.
Information Sharing
Complaints Received
Commissioners received a summary of the complaints the Housing Department has received
since the last meeting.
Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re- Housing Program (HPRP) Close -Out
Commissioners received a summary of HPRP Program performance and notice of scheduled July
program close -out.
Adjournment
There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting adjourned at 5:20
pm.
Minutes taken b
Ericka Lessears
Recording Secretary
Respectfully submitted by:
avid Harris
Department Director