Human Services Advisory Council

Page 1 of 2 MINUTES Human Services Advisory Council City of Falls Church PURPOSE OF MEETING: To advise City Council on human services delivery to Falls Church citizens. DATE OF MEETING: June 23, 2016 PLACE OF MEETING: Oak Room, 3rd floor East, City Hall MEETING CALLED TO ORDER BY: Craig Cheney, Chair at 6:40 p.m. THOSE PRESENT: HSAC Members: Staff: Craig Cheney Nancy Vincent Alisa Macht Dana Lewis Anne Norloff Paul Stanford OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE: Laura Hicks, Singson Luchi, Kathleen Luisa, Patricia Rodriguez APPROVAL OF MINUTES: • May 19, 2016 minutes approved OLD BUSINESS: • Street Furniture Committee: Ms. Norloff attended the Streetscape Advisory Committee meeting and was able to advocate from the human services point of view. • Rent Relief Program Review: Members would like to review all of the programs available to seniors in the City. • Human Services Section of the Comprehensive Plan: Members would like a template to work from as they continue a draft of the Human Services Section. • HSAC Membership: Marybeth Connolly and Ms. Vincent explored the possibility of increasing the number of allowable HSAC members from five to seven. The City Clerk recommended against it because it may become difficult to have a quorum. Members agreed with the recommendation to remain at five. NEW BUSINESS: • Housing Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan: Ms. Lewis gave a presentation and solicited comments for the Housing Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. The comments included: o Low income people with disabilities could not afford to live in Falls Church. o There are no options in the City for low income households. o Allow increased occupancy in apartments. o Maintain the current affordable housing. o Allow garage and basement apartments. o Have Rent Control.  Page 2 of 2 o Expand the definition of affordability. Include people who grew up here and can’t afford to live here. o Rents are going up and people are being displaced. There is a new generation of homeless. o People are paying taxes to the schools and don’t have kids in school. Have a tax break for seniors. “I lived here all my life and want to stay here.” • Policy proposal for sliding scale for Dental Clinic: Ms. Vincent presented a new program to become effective July 1, 2016 for a sliding scale for clients who may need assistance to afford the copayment at the Dental Clinic. The current copayment is $40 and will increase to $50 on July 1, 2016. STAFF REPORT: • A community visioning session will be held Saturday, June 18 from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. at the Falls Church Episcopal Church to get input into the development of the first chapter of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. • A Senior Forum was held on May 17 to provide information on a variety of issues of importance to seniors. The event was successful with approximately 45 attendees. • The City is proposing changes to the Child Care ordinance in order to adopt changes made at the State. Home day care providers will be required to secure a State license when caring for more than four children. The current ordinance requires a State license when caring for more than five children. MEETING ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m. The next meeting will be rescheduled to Thursday, July 14, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. if convenient for the new members. SIGNATURE OF RECORDER: Nancy Vincent The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This document will be made available in an alternate format upon request. Call 703-248- 5005 (TTY 711).