City Council - Community and Economic Development Committee

City of Bellingham Community and Economic Development Committee Minutes October 3, 2022, 1:00 PM Mayor: Seth Fleetwood Contact: (360) 778-8100, mayorsoffice@cob.org Council Members: Hollie Huthman, Chair Contact: (360) 778-8200, ccmail@cob.org Michael Lilliquist, Kristina Michele Martens https://cob.org/council All meetings are held in the City Hall Council Chambers at 210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, WA, unless otherwise noted. Call to Order The Community and Economic Development Committee meeting was called to order by President Stone at 1pm. Roll Call Present: Committee Chair Hollie Huthman, Second Ward Committee Member Michael Lilliquist, Sixth Ward Committee Member Kristina Michele Martens, At Large Council Standing Committee Meetings: Open to the public to attend. Note: there is generally no public comment period for Committee sessions. Standing Committee Members receive reports and information, ask questions and, when appropriate, vote on a recommended action for consideration by the full Council at the Regular Meeting. The notice of Committee Meetings identified below also serves as notice of Special Meetings of the City Council at the times identified as Council Members who are not members of the committee routinely attend and participate in the Committee Meetings. Committee Chairs give a report of the Committee Meeting at the Regular Meeting in the evening prior to deliberation and formal vote. 23467 1. Update on Gardenview Tiny House Village p. 3 Tara Sundin, Planning and Community Development, Ashley Burger, Road2Home & Josh Castle, Low-Income Housing Institute (LIHI) provided an update on the Gardenview Tiny House Village. LIHI and local partner Road2Home operate the village, welcoming first guests in October 2021, serving medically fragile and senior couples and individuals who are experiencing homelessness with 24/7 services. Gardenview provides community and staff spaces including a kitchen, hygiene facility, operations office, and case management offices. To date, they have served 54 guests, moved 13 individuals into permanent housing, made 175 service connections, submitted 99 housing applications, and obtained 65 personal documents. The organization has learned that tiny homes work, recovery takes time, community support is important to the program's success, systematic barriers add complexity to assisting the Community and Economic Development Committee Minutes Page 1 October 3, 2022  population, and there are limited resources for mental health services and affordable housing. 23468 2. 2022-23 Severe Weather Shelter Plan p. 19 Tara Sundin, Planning and Community Development, and Anne Beck, Whatcom- County Health Department provided an update on the 2022-23 severe weather shelter plan. Originally, WCHD received no proposals in response to their severe weather operators/facilities. Road2Home agreed to manage and operate a Severe Weather Day Use Center and an Overnight Severe Weather Shelter, in case of a severe weather event. Current winter plans include,  Winter Shelter – Christ the King agreed to partner with Lighthouse Mission Ministries (LMM) to offer an overflow shelter for the winter months of December, January, and February. Base Camp continues to hover around full occupancy, so this additional capacity is greatly needed. LMM and Christ the King are still finalizing operational details for the upcoming season.  Severe Weather Shelter – Road2Home agreed to operate a Severe Weather Shelter – activation of which will be decided by WCHD utilizing adopted criteria. For this coming season, the program will operate at the City of Bellingham’s Civic Field locker room facility. WCHD will contract with Road2Home and the City will serve as a partner agency given it will be located in a city-owned facility. WCHD and Road2Home will coordinate transportation between the Day Use Warming Center (see City of Bellingham 210 Lottie Street below) and Civic Field. Program details are expected to be finalized by mid-October.  Day Use Warming Center – Road2Home will operate a Day Use Warming Center, which will be located in the Library lecture room. The City will contract with Road2Home to operate this program. Program details are expected to be finalized by mid-October.  Motel Stays for Families with Children – City and County are utilizing federal funds to extend the motel stay program and are allocating funding to support ~70 families throughout the year. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:26pm. Community and Economic Development Committee Minutes Page 2 October 3, 2022