City of Lawrence, Kansas

HOMELESS ISSUES ADVISORY COMMITTEE

October 9, 2012 Minutes (Lawrence City Commission Room)

Members present: Hubbard Collinsworth (at-large), Brad Cook (Bert Nash Homeless Outreach Team), Karin Feltman (LMH), Brent Hoffman (Family Promise), Trent McKinley (LPD), Cary Strong (Lawrence Business Community)

Members absent: Lt. Matt McCluer (Salvation Army), Elyse Towey (LDCHA)

Staff present: Danelle Dresslar, Margene Swarts

Public present: CJ Brune, Hilda Enoch, Saunny Scott, Crystal Camis (Willow Domestic Violence Center), Cindy Pippert (Independence, Inc.)

The meeting was called to order at 8:35 am by Chair Cook.

ITEM NO. 1 Introductions

The members of the HIAC and guests introduced themselves.

ITEM NO. 2 Approval of the Agenda and the September 11, 2012 Minutes.

Motion by Feltman to approve the Agenda and the September 11, 2012 meeting minutes of the HIAC; seconded by Strong.

Motion passed unanimously.

ITEM NO. 3 Housing Vision Reports

A. Non-Housing – LMH Emergency Room Statistics

Feltman asked to defer the item until November as the report was not yet available.

B. Emergency Shelter/Temporary Housing – Willow Domestic Violence Center

Crystal Camis presented for the Willow Domestic Violence Center. Camis said the Willow serves Douglas County, Franklin County, and Jefferson County. Last year there were 239 women and children served at the agency with just under 6000 shelter units. The agency runs an emergency shelter location in Douglas County and the three counties receive outreach services. The agency has seen a whirlwind of cuts to their funding on a state level including the loss of the Orientation, Assessment, Referral, and Safety (OARS) program. The OARS program loss included the loss of 2.5 agency positions who handled a caseload of over 100 clients. Camis said the Willow has been working to absorb the staffing loses. In addition there was a cut in state funding for an outreach position in Jefferson County, and the agency’s court advocate has had to be dropped to a part time position from a full-time position. There is good news in that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) has just announced a new RFP for grant funding so the agency is writing that grant at this time. It is still in the works, but they are hoping to uncover funding for two to four new positions. The agency is trying to make up the ground that they lost with the cuts.

Feltman asked if the new positions would be getting the old positions back or a restructure of the older positions.

Camis said it keeps changing as they are writing it. There will be replacement in the sense that they are looking to replace the lost community services, but they are also using this as an opportunity to look at new things. They do not currently do any case management, and they are looking at that aspect to add to the agency services. There are some new requirements in the grant that are keeping some agencies from being funded so they are working their way through the application.

Swarts asked what the OARS program did.

Camis said the OARS program was a partnership between the domestic violence agencies and SRS. It allowed client advocates to work with those needing benefits but had trouble with the SRS requirements. The OARS program allowed for these women to keep their benefits but with alleviated SRS requirements. It was State of Kansas funding.

Collinsworth asked how much funding the Willow needed to make it more viable than it is now.

Camis said the agency consistently runs at a little under $1 million for an annual budget. They have not done the math yet based on the cuts so to answer how much they need is an impossible question to answer. She said they could use five more full-time staff, though.

Collinsworth asked what the five positions would be doing.

Camis said they are working on a shift to prevention in the community. There are more bodies at the shelter, and they could use two court advocate positions, then prevention positions. Camis said the Willow feels that it is not doing a great job of getting into the community to let everyone know about the services that they offer.

Collinsworth asked if a partnership could be made between the school resource officers and the Willow to help with the education piece in the schools.

Camis said the officers are a go-to person just like the counselors are. They are very involved in the education piece at the school level.

Feltman said the court advocate position sounds like a very important position. She asked if the new grant included making this position full time again.

Camis said yes, but that is not really within the scope of the new grant. The agency is working on moving titles and responsibilities around.

Cook asked if Camis thought the DCF grant would be funded.

Camis said the agency is optimistic, but there are a lot of issues in partnering with DCF. One of the main questions is how can the agency maintain confidentiality and survivor safety with this grant and reporting requirements. They feel good they will get something, but not sure what that will look like yet.

Swarts asked if confidentiality within this grant is problematic.

Camis said there is a huge undercurrent of forms that are sent back to DCF through the process. These forms sometimes contain items that the agency does not typically disclose. They are working on a way to allow them to meet the grant requirements and still maintain the necessary level of confidentiality.

Collinsworth said he appreciated Camis talking to the group.

C. Transitional Housing/Supportive Services – LDCHA

No report from LDCHA.

D. Permanent Supportive Housing – Salvation Army Project Able

No report from the Salvation Army.

E. Permanent Housing – Independence, Inc.

Cindy Pippert was present from Independence, Inc. She said she had been with the agency for some time and with housing for the last three years. She said Independence, Inc. works together with LDCHA and different apartment managers to assist those who have disabilities. It is a struggle for people with disabilities to find reasonable, affordable housing. In Lawrence the rents can be upwards of $800+ for a two-bedroom unit. She said that with social security as a primary income the most a lot of folks can pay is $300. There is not affordable safe housing there at affordable levels. Pippert said she knows that all the apartments in town do not rent at 100%, but it is hard to have a landlord commit to little or no rent for a vacant unit. This is their money maker, and they typically will not rent for free. Pippert said she understands it is a business, but she does know of two places that will work with renters. One is in Lawrence and is located at Prairie Ridge where there are two apartments that are rent free. One person who rents one of these units is given a check for utility allowance as well. She said the other complex is in Eudora and there are also two units there. Pippert said this is helpful, but this complex is for older people. For young families there is not a whole lot available for them at low or no rent. She said the wait list at LDCHA is ridiculous and they are not getting replacement vouchers for turnovers. Pippert said this part of her job is a struggle. With the economy many programs are being cut. She said her agency is within two people of shutting the doors. Funding with state has tremendously dropped. She said she would like to have something more to give encouragement to those who are looking for housing, and that so many people that come into the agency come in with a need. The hardest part of the job is to remain encouraging for clients. If they are a young family there is assistance at Family Promise. Pippert asked the Committee what they thought the average age is for someone that is homeless.

Cook said there is definitely a younger subset in the homeless population, but there are still older ones as well. There are some outliers, but he sees the range typically between 25 and 45.

Feltman said she volunteers at Just Food. They have seen a 55% increase in the number of children they serve. They are seeing more families in general.

Pippert said the national average is the age of eight. There are typically parents with the children and agencies and providers would like to see if there is a way to find a more viable option for this group of people. Many services can fill the cracks, but the problem is not solved.

Feltman asked Pippert what her position at Independence, Inc. was.

Pippert said she handled several duties including Independent Living Skills (ILS) which covered things like cooking, budgeting, and transportation. She is also the Housing Specialist as well as the Accessible Housing Program (AHP) coordinator. The AHP helps with accessibility modifications in rental units such as ramps, grab bars, and other such modifications. The renter must qualify as low-moderate income.

Feltman asked if all the clients served by Independence, Inc. in the housing programs are disabled.

Pippert said yes.

Cook said Independence, Inc. will also give rides in town and occasionally out of town for appointments.

Pippert said that was correct. The agency will transport people to appointments from Lawrence to Eudora and Baldwin as well as Topeka or Kansas City. The agency recently started encouraging a payment because this activity is one that is losing money. There is a real need in the community to assist these folks in getting to the doctor and to their appointments.

Feltman asked what the charge was.

Pippert said the charge was $2 for Lawrence, Eudora, and Baldwin for medical appointment transportation. For the out of town medial trips to Kansas City or Topeka are $20 round-trip.

Collinsworth asked if the agency had looked at additional funding.

Pippert said yes and that the agency has looked at funding through Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). KDOT is already a large part of the funding base for this program. The rides are a help for people but they are not a means for financial income. There are costs such as van repairs, gas, and other maintenance costs. The agency cannot always plan for things like breakdowns or the cost of gas. A lot of times the program is in the red. It is a good service and Pippert said she worked in that department for 13 years.

Cook said LCS was still on track to move in late December. The contractor is still looking at a completion date of December 21.

ITEM NO. 4 2013 Agenda Planning.

Swarts said for 2012 the HIAC discussed a set agenda with the pieces of the Housing Vision each being reported on a monthly basis. As the year went on the HIAC incorporated a non-housing piece to the reporting schedule. There was a calendar put together to spread out the different components. Swarts asked if this was working for the Committee or if there are changes they would like to see to the process.

Feltman said she liked the variety of reports each month and how it is helping the HIAC get a bigger picture of the services available. She said it has helped her in her job with LMH to know more about the available services in the community.

Cook said some meetings go longer than others and the content can range anywhere from 30 minutes to the full 90.

Swarts said staff can look at the balance of the reports, but at the same time the group does not necessarily know when something else will arise that needs to be an agenda item. She said staff will try to be sensitive to the scheduling of reports.

CJ Brune asked if there was any progress on the notion of a drop-in shelter.

Cook said there was not. He said the City Commission received the HIAC letter but they are just waiting and seeing what happens.

Swarts said the City Commission will likely not move forward with that item at this time as there is no true knowledge of what the impact of the shelter leaving will be at this point.

Cook said the Downtown Clergy group is planning a follow-up meeting on this topic.

Feltman said she would like to hear from more of the healthcare agencies such as Health Care Access, Heartland Medical Clinic, and New Hope.

ITEM NO. 5 Receive 3^rd Quarter Bert Nash Report

Swarts said this item was to receive the required third quarter report for the homeless outreach team. This report will be forwarded to the City Commission.

Feltman said she was curious about the bicycle item. She asked if there was a program for donations through the police department.

McKinley said the PD has huge storage issues and it has created a problem. He said there was an online auction that helped with this.

Feltman said she remembered a bike donation program was previously done.

Collinsworth said it could be a partnership between the PD and Parks and Recreation.

Swarts said the City as a whole has a storage problem, not just PD.

Feltman said in addition there would need to be people to refurbish the bikes.

Cook said the outreach team received five bikes and they gave them all out.

Feltman said it looked like they served fewer clients in the third quarter.

Cook said one of the case workers was on maternity leave. That affected the number served. The report shows just the outreach team. They are low on funds for the rest of the year so they are winding down what they have left.

ITEM NO. 6 Miscellaneous/Calendar.

Swarts handed out a flyer on the new trash carts. She reminded the HIAC that the City is going to a trash cart system for residential sanitation. This does not affect apartment complexes or businesses. The flyer discusses who to call and who to talk to about the program. The carts will begin to be delivered in mid-October and the automatic cart people will receive is a 65 gallon cart. Citizens can get a larger or smaller cart based on their needs. They can also exchange their current cart for a different size.

Saunny Scott said she thought the City could not move forward with recycling until 2014.

Swarts said that is the case for recycling, but the new carts are for the trash service only. There are still private recycling companies in the community such as Wal-Mart and Deffenbaugh and others, but this trash cart change is not meant to impact recycling. Nothing can happen for until an 18-month public process has been followed. Swarts said the new trash carts can be used for yard waste, though, just not recycling.

Strong said most cities have gone to this sort of container program with their sanitation services.

Feltman asked what the procedure would be if the trash container provided does not match up with the needs of the resident.

Swarts said the containers should be the best fit for normal usage. The city wants as much of the trash a resident throws away as possible to be within that container. If a customer has a consistent overflow of trash that cannot fit in the container the City will provide a larger size to accommodate the residence. Customers can also request a size change if they know that the provided container will not work for their everyday needs. Swarts said customers can still call the city for a large pickup.

Cook asked if there is a new monthly fee for the containers.

Swarts said there would be a cart fee, but it is a minimal fee. If a customer already has a cart they are already paying the $14.95 fee. If they do not have a cart they are still paying the sanitation fee. The current cart rental fee is around $2.00. The sanitation bill in general will not change due to this program enhancement. There will only be a minimal fee for the cart rental.

ITEM NO. 7 Public Comment.

Enoch asked if the HIAC knew anything about the new LDCHA project.

Cook said Towey was not present and he would ask her to talk about it at the next meeting.

Enoch said the housing authority has 400 people on the wait list. She asked Cook what Bert Nash did when someone was evicted from their residence.

Cook said the outreach workers do what they can to assist the person who has been evicted. He said those they work with are getting evicted from private landlords, not the housing authority. Cook said if there is an eviction and the outreach workers know the landlord they will try to fill the unit with another person who needs housing. Ultimately it is the landlord’s choice. There are some landlords that work well with housing folks and some do not.

Enoch asked what will be done with the 400 people on the wait list.

Cook said there is not enough money to house them.

Enoch said there needs to be a private group assembled and a large meeting called to discuss this matter. She said there needs to be a partnership between the community and construction people.

Cook asked how Enoch envisioned the partnership.

Enoch said the City should take leadership in bringing these people together. Winter is coming and there are too many people on the wait list.

Cook said funding issues are beyond the city.

Enoch said the City has CDBG funds.

Swarts noted the 2012 CDBG funds have been allocated.

Enoch said the discussion needs to happen now to look at upcoming funding cycles.

Swarts said staff does not know what kind of CDBG funding will be available for 2013. In the 2012 grant year HOME was cut at 37%. That is one of the reasons that the Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) funds decreased so much in 2012.

Cook said property values have gone down as well.

Enoch said once the City knows what the CDBG funding looks like they can invite people to a meeting to discuss housing.

Swarts said there are agencies that have been previously involved with CDBG and HOME that are struggling with funding as well. LDCHA still follows the same program and Tenants to Homeowners continues to provide affordable housing in the community. There are public service agencies that are funded that provide housing services. The grant does not come to the City year after year with extra money. There is much less money now than in the past. The same people that have been receiving the funding for their community activities still need that allocation and more.

Enoch said she understood that there is a finite amount of money in the grant. She suggests calling a meeting and seeing if the funds can be matched by developers. They can double that money or more. Even one small project will help to ease the wait list.

Cook said he had a very hard time seeing wealthy land developers giving away money, land, and services for free.

Enoch said it was an exchange for what they are provided in our community. It is worth a try.

Feltman said it was not a bad idea, but she was unsure the HIAC was the group that needed to put together that meeting. She said she did not disagree that something could be done, but the HIAC is unable to do or fund a project themselves. This may need to go through a different venue. Giving a recommendation for that type of project is one thing. Spearheading the project is another.

Enoch said when the CDBG money comes in this needs to be a discussion.

Pat Benebe said there was a big problem in how HUD was distributing the funds for vouchers and Section 8 housing. HUD has set aside $24 billion for rental housing subsidy and $366 billion for homebuyer activities. There needs to be a way for HUD to redistribute this money more evenly between the two sectors of housing. She said she was unsure of what the HIAC could do or what the City could do, but HUD was established in 1974 to eliminate deplorable housing conditions. They have not made much progress. There are the same issues and the same problems today as there was in 1974.

Cook said the Executive Director of Housing was coming to speak to the Coalition for Homeless Concerns and they can make her aware of the concerns.

Pippert asked if the Lawrence Community Shelter was still looking at moving on December 21.

Cook said the construction was to be done on that date and they could move in after that. He said once the shelter moves from downtown there will be no drop-in center and there are numerous questions about where people will go who are still downtown. The City will not approve another SUP for a downtown drop-in center. There cannot be much more planning done for that at this point as the City is taking a wait and see approach.

Scott said this issue has never been publically discussed and this is a real problem. If the community has to wait too long there is another issue with the planning process timeline.

Cook said Shaun Hittle at the Journal World had an article earlier this year in the papers that talked about it and made it known that there may be a need. He said he was unsure if the drop-in facet was specifically mentioned, but part of what the HIAC did with the letter to the City Commission has been used in various community newsletters. Chad Lawhorn discussed this issue in “Town Talk” on the day the City Commission received the letter. He briefly mentioned it in the column and linked to the letter.

Feltman said LMH frequently uses Journal World contacts and she could ask around if the HIAC wanted her to.

Cook said he would also be happy to talk to the Journal World if the HIAC thought it was important to do so.

Enoch said she wanted to comment on Feltman’s earlier discussion about if the HIAC was the appropriate board for the developer discussion. She said Feltman said the HIAC had no power to fund these things or hold this type of meeting. The HIAC is the City’s advisory board on housing. They can go before the City Commission with a plan and a list of representation and that could only be helpful. This body would be the meeting sponsors and they could take the leadership to send out the letter inviting people to the meeting. This meeting needs to happen before the funding for next year is allocated. It is a good idea to see if the funding can be locally doubled and projects could be built. Enoch said she feels this body is the appropriate group to get the ball rolling. The City does not have to do anything because they have this body to do this type of activity.

Feltman said the HIAC could write a letter to the City Commission. The letter can list the players that should be at the table and what the purpose of the meeting is, which is to look at the feasibility of a joint building project in the community. She said the letter can ask if the City Commission would consider calling that meeting.

Cook said the plan needs to be big enough to get something done, but the letter should be brief enough to get interest. The group does not want to spend time writing a plan and have it not move forward.

Feltman said it would be a recommendation of a plan that was brought to this body.

CJ Brune said with the shelter relocation being two months out, does Cook have a clearer idea about how many current shelter guests will be moving with the facility?

Cook said not yet and that some guests are still unsure of what their plans will be. Some are very excited about the new building, and some are undecided as it is still early.

Brune said she was told many of the people living by the river went to the shelter over the weekend because of the weather. Those people are representative of shelter guests that will not make that move.

Cook said in terms of the letter, it should be no more than one or two paragraphs just speaking to the idea of a developer meeting.

Swarts reminded the Committee that their title is the Homeless Issues Advisory Committee. The charge of the group is homeless and homelessness, not housing. The conversation needs to define what the body’s charge is, and what type of city funding is being talked about as a funding source. Swarts said she is unaware of any city funds that are available. If the discussion is about a new initiative the body will need to request new funding. That is the conversation that needs to happen to start this discussion.

Enoch said her suggestion was when the CDBG funds come in see if they can be used for this type of activity.

Cook said if the CDBG funds were used and there is no additional money then funding is taken away from someone else.

Enoch said it was a discussion point.

Swarts said applications for the 2013 grant year are due December 3, 2012. The HOME funds are allocated to first-time homebuyer activities, TBRA, and Community Housing Development Organizations such as Tenants to Homeowners who work with affordable housing. Rental can be done with HOME funds also, but there are many regulatory pieces to projects such as that. Most developers do not want to be involved with this type of development because of all the hoops they have to jump through in terms of the regulations. With CDBG there cannot be new construction, but there can be emergency loans and comprehensive homeowner rehabilitation loans. The CDBG funding can also go to public service agencies to operate as well as for client services such as utility payments and security deposits. The CDBG funds can also be used for infrastructure. Anything done with CDBG has to benefit low-moderate income people. That can be accomplished on an area-wide basis such as a sidewalk project in a low-mod area neighborhood, or a direct benefit activity for limited clientele if they are income eligible. As a direct benefit a person can receive home repairs, a new furnace, a new roof, or comprehensive rehabilitation of their home. CDBG also funds a Weatherization program. This is a direct benefit activity and the recipients have to be low-mod. This is verified through an application and income verification process. There are things that can be done with both pots of money, but it is important to realize that there are a lot of agencies that are currently participants in the grants the City offers, and they are doing work that is recognized as valuable and helping clientele that can be in the homeless category. The funds can be rerouted to other activities, but then there will be agencies that will no longer receive money to administer their services. If you are helping a new grantee and project someone else will be displaced.

Cook said if this was the case he was not in favor of pursuing a letter or a meeting about CDBG funds. All agencies have had so many cuts and he is not in favor of advocating taking money away from other agencies.

Collinsworth asked Swarts how much has been cut in the grants for 2013.

Swarts said staff does not know yet as the 2013 budget has not been determined. Last year CDBG stayed at a very similar level to the 2011 allocation, but HOME was cut 37%. Staff is unsure how this will look for the 2013 program year. It is no secret this is an election year, and Congress has passed a six month continuing resolution. Swarts said she has been working with these grants for a very long time and she cannot guess what will happen with the funding. She said usually she has an idea of where the numbers will fall, but this year she has no idea. She said it has been a real concern that year after year the allocated amount has gotten less and less, and she fears that it will continue to be cut until it is no longer a viable program. She said the HIAC members can always talk to their congresspersons on their own.

Cook said his position on the meeting is to not proceed with a letter to the City Commission.

Collinsworth asked if staff had a timeframe on when they would know what the allocation would be.

Swarts said staff did not have a timeframe. She said it was unknown if Congress would pass legislation leaving funding “as is” after the Continuing Resolution expires of if there will be changes. HUD funding is tied in with the Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy as well and there has been no talk of where that funding will fall. The 2012 grant year started on August 1, so the agencies funded under the 2012 grant have started moving forward. Since the grant year starts on August 1, this is not so much of a problem locally, but there are some communities with earlier start dates that are affected by a budget not being finalized at this point.

Enoch asked the Advisory Committee to write a letter to Congressmen and give them figures for the need for more housing.

Cook asked if that could be written as a group.

Swarts said she thought as an advisory board to the City any letter written to a congressperson would need to be a recommendation to the City Commission. By the time the HIAC could act on such a letter and forward it to the City Commission, the election will be over. Perhaps this is something the body can look at moving forward.

ITEM NO. 8 Adjourn

Motion by Feltman to adjourn the October 9, 2012 meeting of the HIAC; seconded by Collinsworth.

Motion passed unanimously.

Attendance Record

Members

01/12

02/12

03/12

04/12

05/12

06/12

07/12

08/12

09/12

10/12

11/12

12/ 12

Hubbard Collinsworth

Brad Cook

Wes

Dalberg

Karin Feltman

Brent Hoffman

Matt McCluer

Trent McKinley

Mike

Monroe

Shannon Murphy

Cary

Strong

Elyse

Towey

X - Meeting Cancelled Due to Inclement Weather

E - Excused Absence

U - Unexcused Absence

() – Last meeting in term.

* - First meeting in term.

^ - Last Meeting