Loading...
Minutes_Community Development Advisory Commission 6 18 14COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING UNAPPROVED MINUTES DATE: Wednesday, June 18, 2014 TIME: 5:30 p.m. PLACE: Housing and Community Development Department 350 W. 6t" Street, Suite 312, Dubuque IA 52001 Commissioner Theresa Caldwell called the meeting to order at approximately 5:33 p.m., following staff assurance of compliance with Iowa Open Meeting Law. Commissioners Present: Janice Craddieth Tom Wainwright Theresa Caldwell Paula Maloy, SVM Ann Michalski Mary Bridget Corken-Deutsch Rob Blok Commissioners Absent: Angela Kelley, Ricardo Woods Staff Present: Public Present: Brenda Henry Kris Neyen Erica Haugen Kim Glaser Alvin Nash Certification of Minutes: May 21, 2014 Commissioner Michalski moved to approve the May 21, 2014 Commission meeting minutes with an amendment. On the original minutes, Commissioner Woods was omitted from the Commissioners Absent. It was noted to amend the Minutes to include Commissioner Woods as absent from the May 21, 2014 meeting. Commissioner Maloy seconded. Roll call. All present in favor. Motion passed. Correspondence / Public Input None Old Business Commissioner Caldwell commented she was unable to attend the Bridges Out of Poverty conference because there were not funds available to pay for her registration fee. She had attended three other sessions of Bridges Out of Poverty. Commissioner Craddieth was able to attend via a scholarship for Getting Ahead Graduates. Alvin Nash confirmed it was an oversight on his part and that we could have found funds to ensure that opportunity was available to the commission. Alvin Nash assured the commission that funds would be made available for attendance at such events. New Business Match for Lead Paint Hazard Control Grant Presentation to the Commission by Kim Glaser, Lead Hazard Control Program Manager Erica introduced Kim Glaser to speak about the Lead and Healthy Homes programs. Unapproved Minutes of Community Development Advisory Commission June 19, 2014 Page 2 The City of Dubuque is applying for $3.4 million to continue the Lead Hazard Control Program for an additional three years. The Lead Hazard Control Program requires a match. The City provided $180,000 match from CDBG funds for the previous cycle of the Lead Hazard Control Program Grant. Kim Glaser reviewed program accomplishments since 1997. Over time, the program has increased the quantity and quality of work done per unit. This has resulted in a decrease in the number of units assisted per year and an increase in cost per unit; however, the repairs last longer and are more sustainable. Since 1997, elevated blood levels have reduced from 12.8 in target areas to approximately 2.5 in target areas. The program has addressed about 12% of the older housing stock in Dubuque. In addition to lead reduction and removal, the program will also include a Healthy Homes component that helps to make the homes more holistic and safe. Kim described the training opportunities that have been made available to the community individuals to help provide job opportunities to individuals who fall within the Section 3 classification. Commissioner Wainwright suggested the program work with Dubuque Building and Trades to try to get more qualified local businesses to become lead qualified contractors for the projects in the City. Commissioner Michalski asked whether or not the fact that the City of Dubuque has maintained funding since 1997 could work against us verses other cities that are just trying to get started with a program that has never been funded before. Kim explained where the matching funds come from that is required for the application. A discussion was had on how to get the information for the program out to the qualifying families/individuals. Several suggestions were made on how to get the information out to the community. Commissioner Maloy moved to provide a letter of support verifying match for the lead program. Commissioner Craddieth seconded the motion. Motion passed. Consolidated Planning Process Erica Haugen distributed a meeting schedule for the FY2016-2020 Consolidated Planning Process. Entitlement communities are required to complete the consolidated planning process to assess community needs and identify strategies and plans to use CDBG to meet those needs. The commission reviewed a preliminary meeting schedule, which consists of a series of focus groups and public meetings. Commissioner Maloy suggested that the Washington Neighborhood Association has a list of members that could get a mailing for the dates of the focus groups. Erica suggested that the commission attend local meetings for different groups to try to get feedback from other associations. The only focus group meeting currently scheduled is on August 12, 2014 for Continuum of Care. Citizen Participation Plan The Commission reviewed the Citizen Participation Plan and made recommendations on how to best reach low and moderate citizens for input to the Annual and Consolidated Plan, as well as how to reach minorities and non-English speaking populations. Commissioner Caldwell feels that not many low and moderate income people read the newspaper to see any ads that are required for this plan. She believes Unapproved Minutes of Community Development Advisory Commission . June 19, 2014 Page 3 that community announcements would be better served on the radio rather than in the newspaper only. Commissioner Maloy discussed the option of having it on Facebook and Twitter, as well as access for smartphones. Commissioner Michalski suggested church bulletins. Commissioner Craddieth shared that flyers do not work, as people do not really read them. She also suggested advertising the Plan on the City bus. Commissioner Block suggested that future meetings have a public input agenda verses a spelled out agenda. Commissioner Wainwright suggested talking to Rudy Bellman of the Golden View to put information on the Plan in the paper. Commissioner Michalski discussed the proper complaint process and how we could share with the community this option so their complaints can be heard and handle appropriately. Kris Neyen suggested using the WebQA for issuing complaints or receiving feedback on the plan. Alvin Nash shared that the City is in the process of completely changing the website and that the changes are close to being complete. Erica would like to update the Citizen's Plan with the Consolidated Plan and the suggestions that were made at this meeting before making permanent the current suggestions. Reports Voluntary Compliance Agreement (VCA) — Update to the Analysis of Impediments Alvin Nash talked about the training being done by John Marshall University and the update the Analysis of Impediments. The updated to the Analysis of Impediments will include an Action Plan to address barriers to fair housing. He updated that the Administrative Plan for Section 8 has been completed and is ready to be submitted to HUD. Alvin also shared that he will be hiring an assistant to help him with the VCA and with the Capital Improvement Project. Commissioner believes there has been a real change in the attitude toward housing, but the property owners in the past did not want to spend the money to make the necessary changes so the lead program is proving to be beneficial to getting the necessary changes made. She believes that the City culture is changing but the culture still remains an impediment. Commissioner Michalski also suggested that the Law Enforcement be added to the Department Responsible in Impediment No. 1(c). She also felt that under Impediment No. 4, more departments need to be responsible other than Human Rights and Legal Dept. It was also discussed that another objective should also be added under No. 4. Under Impediment No. 5, she would like to see the Economic Development Department be included as a Department Responsible for both of these objectives. Erica will provide the Commission's comments to John Marshal Law School for consideration in the updated Analysis of Impediments. Housing Commission Update They met on June 3, 2014 and reviewed the changes to the Administrative Plan. The proposed changes were made to comply with the Voluntary Compliance Agreement. The Housing Commission voted to approve the recommended changes. Adjournment Unapproved Minutes of Community Development Advisory Commission June 19, 2014 Page 4 There being no further business to come before the Commission, Commissioner Maloy moved to adjourn. Commissioner Michalski seconded. Motion passed by voice vote. Meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:05 p.m. Brenda Henry Rehabilitation Programs Secretary Respectfully submitted by: Erica Haugen Community Development Specialist