Community Development Advisory Board

Community Development Advisory Board Minutes City of Bellingham, Washington Thursday 6:00 PM September 11, 2025 City Council Boardroom Video Recorded https://meetings.cob.org Call to Order The Community Development Advisory Board meeting was called to order by the Chair at 6:00 PM. 1. Introductions Present: Shannon Laws (Chair), Andrew Calkins, Ben Spicer, Katherine Freimund, Lola Thompson, Matt Unger, and Matthew Main Jace Cotton (City Council Rep) Absent: Ryan Wood and Jasmine Fast City Staff: Samya Lutz and Kathleen Morton 2. Approval of minutes from previous meeting August minutes were approved by general consensus with recommended changes to attendee names. 3. Link to Meeting Video Click here to view the meeting - Public Comment Period During this time, citizens may take up to three (3) minutes to address the members about any topic not on the agenda. Citizens wishing to speak during this time will be recognized by the Chair for comment. No members of the public were present. Agenda Items Presentation . Presentation by Road2Home p. 7 Clark Schofield, Interim Executive Director was unable to attend the meeting. Wors Session . Review of Draft CAPER p. 8 COB staff provides an overview of the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) now available on the COB website. Public Comment is available until October 6, 2025. Several questions were asked by members in regard to leveraging dollars, adding more qualitative data and stories as well as questions about resale of KCLT homes.  . Budget Update p. 29 Staff will be continued conversations on projections for the Community Development budget in relation to the Action Plan. Staff anticipate that significant cuts will need to be made to services contracts however, COB council will be providing recommendations for budget reductions at September 29th Council meeting. Staff provided an update on HUD contract; City staff received HUD agreement yesterday and documents are currently under review within the legal department. . Independent Rent Study in Bellingham p. 30 COB staff provided CDAB results of the 2025 Independent Rent Study, conducted in August. The study establishes the payment standard used for rental assistance programs contracted with the City of Bellingham. Study showed an average .4% increase across newly listed rental listings during the month of August and closer alignment to the HUD payment standard. Other Business . Staff Updates City of Bellingham Staff will be hosting an event during Housing Week on our new Home Sharing Program. To register for the event, check out the webpage here: Explore Home Sharing in Bellingham | Sustainable Connections . Announcements / "What's the Buzz" Shannon Laws share an article with members on an article that discusses the affordability of Housing in the City of Bellingham. Community Members can view the article here: Op-Ed: How Bellingham Can Solve Its Housing Crisis » The Urbanist Lola Thompson shared an announcement that Housing Week is coming up in October and will have many housing related events. Community Members can check out a full list of events here: Housing Week 2025 – Whatcom Housing Alliance . Future Agenda Items CDAB members would like hear more client stories about the services funded by the City that are provided in Close-out Reports. Members would also like to City staff to provide a brief background of their experience as well as overview of their role with the City. CDAB members would also like to hear from HUD representatives on what's happening on the federal level for funding and changes. Minutes prepared by: ____________________________________________ Kathleen Morton, Development Specialist II Minutes edited by both staff and Community Development Advisory Board members.