Mayor & Commission Meetings

PROSPERITY PACKAGE AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Monday, November 9, 2020 1:00pm Committee Members Present: ● Commissioner Ovita Thornton, Committee Chair ● Commissioner Russell Edwards ● Commissioner Mike Hamby ● Mayor Kelly Girtz Staff: ● Blaine Williams, Manager ● Deborah Lonon, Assistant Manager ● Hayley Banerjee, HCD Director Others: ● Terris Thomas, Family Connection Commissioner Edwards moved to approve the agenda; Commissioner Hamby seconded the motion. 1. Review activity of the neighborhood leaders program and the grant writers’ activity, the two programs that were created in response to poverty reduction efforts. Neighborhood Leaders Update  Terris Thomas gave an update on the work of the 17 Neighborhood Leaders. Their work includes referral to food assistance, financial assistance, legal assistance, and COVID testing. The Neighborhood Leaders are also receiving professional development training.  Manager Williams sent out the written Neighborhood Leaders reports to the committee members for review before the next meeting. Grant Specialists Update  Manager Williams provided an update on the Grant Specialist positions. The positions were previously posted, but there was a limited applicant pool. Due to COVID, hiring was suspended. The positions are currently posted and the posting closes on November 19, 2020. If this applicant pool is not strong, HCD will explore a hybrid of one Grant Specialist and contracting with a grant writer for specific grant opportunities. The starting salary is $45,000. Part of the challenge includes hiring for two entry level positions instead of the original proposal of a Grant Coordinator and Grant Specialist. The job description was emailed to the committee by Manager Williams. Collaboration  Commissioner Thornton requested an update on collaboration among nonprofits. Director Banerjee provided observations from HCD staff on the ongoing collaboration between agencies receiving CARES and Resiliency Package funding. Nonprofit agencies are  collaborating with partners they may never have worked with before and many of these agencies are struggling to provide funding and reports on all current funding sources, including: CARES, Resiliency Package, CDBG, HOME, and CoC funding.  Mission Statement and Future Direction of the Prosperity Package Committee  Mayor Girtz suggested focus on the Neighborhood Leaders program and the Grant Specialists’ work. Commissioner Thornton expressed interest in including the mission statement of the committee on all agendas. Additionally, this committee can inform the budget process and related anti-poverty work. 2. Discuss any modifications in these programs that might be considered by the full Commission moving forward into the coming budget year.  The committee will discuss at the next meeting once there has been time to review the written Neighborhood Leaders reports. 3. Discuss how participatory budgeting could contribute to poverty reduction efforts in Athens.  This will be included in the work of the full Mayor and Commission. A presentation has already been given and discussion of implementation has begun. 4. Set a date for the next meeting (target: Jan/Feb 2021)  The next meeting will be held Monday, November 16, 2020 at 1:00pm. Next Steps  Next Meeting: Monday, November 16, 2020 at 1pm via WebEx  Revisit the Prosperity Package mission statement  HCD will provide an overview of collaboration between CARES- and Resiliency Package- funded agencies