Housing Commission

MINUTES HOUSING COMMISSION PURPOSE OF MEETING: The five-member Commission is appointed by the City Council for three-year terms. The Housing Commission maintains awareness of housing needs and opportunities, including affordable housing; proposes housing policy initiatives and changes; investigates fair housing complaints and conciliates these complaints; mediates conflicts relating to the Virginia Residential Landlord & Tenant Act and offers reconciliatory services in conflicts relating to other housing laws. DATE OF MEETING: October 13, 2015 PLACE OF MEETING: Oak Room, City Hall MEETING CALLED TO ORDER BY: Chairman, Idrobo at 6:35 p.m.AT _____________ ____ THOSE PRESENT: Commission Members Staff Julio Idrobo, Chair Dana Lewis Tori McKinney Vice Chair Susan Richter Don Brobst Visitors M.T. Gutmanis John Taylor Tommy Goodwin Hugh Brown FCHC Liaison Kathleen Luisa Thomas Vaccaro Laura Hicks Approval of Minutes: Minutes of September 15, 2015 were approved with changes. New Business: • Chair Idrobo will recuse himself from the discussion that would occur on Casa De Maryland since he is associated with the organization • Funding amounts for FY2017 CDBG/HOME process were discussed. Public Service available $ 7,946, Non Public Service available $35,000, HOME funds $23,000. Presentations of three CDBG applications and one HOME application: 1. Homestretch –Requested $26,000 HOME funds Presenter: Christopher Fay, Executive Director, Homestretch HOME funding is requested to provide housing rental assistance and services to five families self -sufficiency, financial stability and permanent affordable housing will be achieved for all families. The objective is to move families from crisis to self-sufficiency. Suggestions and questions from Commissioners: Requested an assessment of last year’s funds and impact. Five homeless families are housed closed to the office since they need special attention. Normally participants remain in the program for two years and leave with the goal of self-sufficiency and graduate. Families are referred to Homestretch by shelters and currently 50% of the participants have a disability of some sort. Over the years all participants that have used HOME funds have graduated from the program with a 90% success rate. Has a study been done in the last three to four years on the outcomes? They’ve done third party outcome studies in the past by George Mason and George Washington University’s to determine how well graduated families do two to five years after leaving the program. The studies all confirmed that 95% that graduated remain safely housed and employed. Currently there are no other program like Homestretch. Likes how the family incomes have increased over time. When they get this number is this related in getting savings, how does this related to the 147%? Homestretch needs to attach all services at the same time for what their clients need and all the services are located at their office. Employment and education are important and 92% of families are employed since their children need taken care of. Some of the participants have over $5, 00 in debts and they pay off those debts in roughly a year and by the time they graduate they have at least over $5,000 in savings. When the participants leave there program were too they move to, and are they getting resources from the City? Everyone wants to stay in the City since it has offered them a sense of security. But everyone cannot afford to live and therefore they move further out. They have had one person purchase a home and they encourage the participants to get involved in the community programs. 2. FCHC Virginia Community Development Corporation – Requested $35,000 CDBG (Non-public service) Presenters: Thomas Vaccara, Executive Director and Lisa Richeson, Winter Hill Management. Funding for this project is to repair and/or replace four decaying retaining walls in Winter Hill Apartments. Suggestions and questions from Commissioners: What is the thinking behind this project? The goal for the apartment complex is to maintain the property so it is safe. The property is old and needs some maintenance. The retaining walls are by the two bedrooms were constructed in 1996 but have been patched and repaired over time. They need to be replaced. Why this one? You can see the bricks are showing signs of wear and need to be fixed every six months just to remove the mold. How does this fit in with the big picture of the infrastructure? They are looking at the whole property and what needs done and when it can be done but unexpected things happen. The property usually runs at 100% occupancy and has approximately 15-20 people on a waiting list. What other funds have you secured for maintenance? Funding is only what is in the reserves from rental income. When someone moves out we update the unit. How many handicapped units are there? There are six handicap units located on the first floor. 3. CASA de Maryland – Requested $8,000 CDBG (Public service) Presenter: Shanya Ourshothaman, Sr. Manager for Development, Lindalfo Carballo, CASA will educate Falls Church residents, in particular Limited English Proficient Latino and immigrant residents, about their rights and responsibilities as tenants, engage them in community building activities and connect them with housing related services as needed. Suggestions and questions from Commissioners: We would love to heat your thoughts on what is happening. They have been in the City since March –April and have offered run classes for 12 students from Falls Church, run legal rights projects, two workshops and one citizen’s workshop. Coming up in October expect at least 50 people attending a workshop. Mentioned membership, how do you become a member and what does it offer? Membership is for one year. When you are a member you can call them and they will help. Example one member had their car break down and called them for help. They connect with families and help them. You can participant in committees i.e. Human Rights, help people get involved in the community. Is there a requirement that people must sign up for committees? No it is not a requirement. Most of their operation runs by volunteers. Do you anticipate more members? Currently in Virginia we have 4,000 members. What do you do with other immigrant that come to you that are not Hispanic? They work with other groups in the community. They play a role as a referral to other services and are building partnerships with others in the area that can provide services. What have you served? We have served 996 in Falls Church. Is this City or greater Falls Church? Greater Falls Church. Since you moved into the City how many City residents have you served? Didn’t have the number, didn’t know. Something that is important in the City is partnership with others to eliminate duplication of services in the City, what have you done? The meet with the teachers when they do an outreach and they have been approached by an attorney who wanted to provide legal services. But they haven’t launched any partnerships.  4. Mt Daniel Elementary School – Request $8,110 CDBG (Public service) Presenter: Kathy Halayko, Principal Mount Daniel Mt. Daniel will provide Adult English Language classes, a Homework Club, Wednesday evening enrichment, Family Tech and Literacy Nights for our English language learners to support their progress at school. The Homework Club provides guidance with after school homework and other school activities. The Adult Literacy Program provides practice in learning to speak/write English, job preparation etc. Suggestions and questions from Commissioners: Was requested to give a little background on the program. The Family Literacy Program began in July 2002 from a grant from VA Department of Education called Even Start. After four years funding for small programs like this was discontinued. The School Board recognized the needs to serve families who are considered at risk because of low income, homelessness and limited English and this program has continued to support the literacy needs of some of our neediest families. Over the years the program continue to make changes and add programs such as the Homework Clun Adult English language learning which is designed as a family outreach program initiative to focus on the entire family. This year a new initiative they began is an after school literacy and enrichment program during early release on Wednesday afternoon during the months of January, February, March and April. Staff specialist, ESOL teachers and para professional will meet with students for enrichment activities that include a hands on STEAM activity such as gardening, engaging in science experiments, and constructing with a variety of materials, areas of math, technology arts and gross motor play. The teachers will also plan at least one field trip to extend the learning experience. END OF PUBLIC HEARING Staff Report: At the next meeting Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. the commissioners will discuss the final funding recommendations for Fiscal year 2017. On Tuesday October 27, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. the lottery will be held for the affordable units at West Broad Residence, 18 units, and one unit at Pearson Square. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. MEETING ADJOURNED AT: _____________________ SIGNATURE OF RECORDER: _____ _______________ The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation for any type of disability, call 703 248-5005, (TTY 711).