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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-04-12; Housing Commission; MinutesMinutes of: Time of Meeting: HOUSING COMMISSION 6:00 P.M. Date of Meeting: Pla ce of Meeting: CALL TO ORDER APRIL 12, 2018 COUNCIL CHAMBERS Chairperson Newman called the Meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Commissioner Randall led with the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Present: Commissioners: Joy Evans Absent: Staff Present: Alan Newman Kristy Randall Shaunee Williams Arline Carrillo Community & Economic Director: Debbie Fountain APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of March 8, 2018, were approved as written. ITEM NOT ON AGENDA There were no items not on the agenda. NEW BUSINESS Chairperson Newman brought the meeting to order. Marie Jones-Kirk, Community Services Manager, gave a presentation on the Homeless Response Plan. She then opened it up for questions from the Housing Commission. Commissioner Evans asked where on Avenida Encinas is there a problem. Ms. Jones-Kirk answered that it is south of Palomar Airport Road. North of Avenida Encinas there is an open space and a gully area where there is an encampment. There is also an area by Poinsettia Station where people are sleeping in their motorhomes. Commissioner Evans asked who Brian is. Ms. Jones-Kirk answered that he is the Sergeant for the Homeless Outreach Team. Ms. Debbie Fountain, Community & Economic Director, said the Homeless Outreach Team is made up of three officers. They spend time in the village and barrio and other parts of the city. Some of the officers are involved in crime suppression. There is an email on Ms. Jones-Kirk's report that you can use. HOUSING COMMISSION MINUTES April 12, 2018 PAGE 2 of 4 They have been out in the community helping to coordinate the Hepatitis A vaccine. Over the past couple of years, we have put together quite a bit of information; both teams are working together closely and collaborating. It is slowly coming together. The HOT team is beginning to have success. There are a lot of departments involved such as public works, the fire department, the police department. Commissioner Evans asked when the social workers will be hired. Ms. Jones-Kirk answered that their goal is by the end of May. Commissioner Evans asked what is a Request for Proposal, an advertisement in the paper? Ms. Fountain answered it is a process that the city goes through. We ask for proposals and it can be an organization or a person who would provide the service. We include a description of what is expected of this person. Anyone can submit a proposal. Chairperson Newman asked if this would be subcontracted out. Ms. Fountain said we are not hiring the individuals; they will be contractors. Chairperson Newman asked who the people are that respond to the requests. Ms. Fountain answered there can be service organizations that hire the social workers and then contract with the city or individual~ can be hired. Commissioner Evans asked, when you say out there, where is that exactly? Ms. Fountain said we mailed it out to organizations that we know may have social workers. It is also on an electronic bid board that the city has. It really depends on wha~ it is we are looking for. There is always a component of it on the website. Commissioner Evans added, like the city website when looking for a job. Ms. Fountain agreed, yes, it is like applying for a job. Commissioner Evans said okay. Chairperson Newman asked who are the people who might be looking for this type of work? Ms. Fountain said we may send it to a local education institution. Recently we had a Request for Proposals for Administrative Hearing Officers, and we didn't get anything through our normal advertisements. In that case, we would send it out directly and try a larger market. Commissioner Randall said it is good to work together. Ms. Jones-Kirk commented that some were not ready for this type of work yet, and others might hire specifically to meet the city requirements. HOUSING COMMISSION MINUTES April 12, 2018 PAGE 3 of 4 Chairperson Newman asked where groups like Interfaith and McAlister get their funding. Ms. Jones-Kirk said there are various fund raising efforts, grants and other sources to fund services. She wanted to be sure she also mentioned Item 4, the reappropriation of $750,000 of CDBG funds as they become available. It is exciting to have that money and to be thinking creatively. We just cannot go off the old model. This is such a viable opportunity for us to acquire housing and to move people out of the affordable housing to allow other rental units to become available for the homeless. Chairperson commented that it was discussed at the last Housing Commission meeting. Ms. Fountain said yes. In the past, we always declined our option to purchase an affordable unit when it became available. We decided to think creatively and explore our options. We can repurchase the affordable unit at a restricted price and take money out of the CDBG fund or the Housing Trust Fund to exercise this option. If we decide to exercise our option, we would take ownership of the property and then decide whether we want to rent, lease or own the unit. The market is light now. We were happy to find out we can use the CDBG money to purchase the affordable units. It would take a much larger amount of that money to purchase an apartment building. We were excited when the City Council approved this. Commissioner Evans asked if staff knows of any realtors. Ms. Fountain answered that within the city we have a Real Estate Manager to help us with the acquisition of the affordable unit. Ms. Fountain had a couple of announcements. First, she was promoted to the position of Director of Community & Economic Development. Currently I have been doing both jobs, but now it is official and I will continue doing both jobs until I decide what we can do to fill my previous position. One of the things I told my boss when he offered me the position, is that staff has been stepping up and still providing the same level of service that we have been providing for some time. We have continued to provide a high level of customer service. The second announcement is we will be having someone from the City Clerk's Office to give an overview of training on how to handle public meetings. They have been doing training on how to make a motion and how to take discussions and similar tasks. This training is helpful for commissions and boards. The training will be helpful, especially if you are on any other boards. You will receive tips and guidelines about how to effectively run a meeting. They did have a Chair and Vice-Chair training that our Chair and Vice-Chair were not able to attend, but they will have more in the future. Commissioner Williams commented that it was at 2 in the afternoon. Ms. Fountain said the City Clerk's Office will be flexible and will attend a future meeting of the commission. As we mentioned before, we will continue the Homeless Response Plan updates each month. Also, if there is something you would like to see on the agenda, please let us know. We will try and get Sergeant Hargett here so he can introduce himself, and he can give you a summary of what the Police Department is doing. We are making good progress. HOUSING COMMISSION MINUTES April 12, 2018 PAGE 4 of 4 Commissioner Williams said she heard it was Ms. Fountain's birthday. Ms. Fountain said thank you. Commissioner Evans said she receives emails from the city and on April 18th there is a meeting for the proposals for the Barrio. I have never known the boundaries of the Barrio. Ms. Fountain said it is Carlsbad Village Drive to Tamarack and from the railroad tracks to the 1-5. Commissioner Evans thanked Ms. Fountain. Ms. Fountain commented that the Barrio meeting is a hearing with the Planning Commission. We have had several drafts and this one is the third draft and hopefully the final one. We do expect more than one hearing. The first Wednesday in May will be the next one. Commissioner Evans asked if it is okay for someone to go. Ms. Fountain said yes, it will be a full crowd. The Housing Commission for April 12, 2018, was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Deborah Fountain Community & Economic Director PATRICIA CRESCENTI, Minutes Clerk MINUTES ARE ALSO TAPED AND KEPT ON FILE UNTIL THE WRITTEN MINUTES ARE APPROVED.