Lodi Improvement Committee

LODI IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING MINUTES August 9, 2016 6:00 P.M. ROLL CALL BOARD STAFF PRESENT ABSENT Curt Juran (Chair) Maria Rosado Joseph Wood, CDD Rehana Zaman (Vice-Chair) Kari Chadwick, CDD Sunil Yadav Fran Forkas I. MINUTES “May 10, 2016” MOTION/VOTE: The Lodi Improvement Committee, on the motion of Member Zaman, Yadav second approved the Minutes of May 10, 2016 as written. The above motion carried by the following vote: Ayes: Chair Juran, Vice Chair Zaman, Mr. Forkas and Mr. Yadav Noes: None Absent: Ms. Rosado II. ANNOUNCEMENTS/PRESENTATIONS Celebration on Central Mr. Wood stated that the annual community resource fair is scheduled for Sunday, September 25th. He asked the committee if they would like to get their own booth or share with other projects such as Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area, Asset based Community Development Process and the Lodi GRIP Program. Mr. Juran stated that he feels that the Committee should participate. Mr. Yadav asked for clarification regarding the fact that they have shared the booth in the past. Mr. Wood stated that the Committee has shared in the past. He added that he is planning on reserving two booths because of the number of projects that are happening right now. He also asked the Committee Members to think about what they would like to share with the public and to have those ideas to staff in a timely manner, so staff has enough time to get it together. III. AGENDA ITEMS A. Presentation from Lodi’s Committee on Homelessness Mr. Wood reported that John Ledbetter, Chair of the Lodi Community Foundation and Lodi’s Committee on Homelessness, has accepted the invitation to make a presentation before the Lodi Improvement Committee. Representatives from the two Sub-Committees on both long-range and short-range strategies will be present as well. Lodi Improvement Committee Regular Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 9, 2016 Page 2 of 6 As part of your packet provided in advance of the meeting a copy of the Committee on Homelessness’ Report on the “Current Conditions, Challenges and Recommended Strategies” that was presented to the City Council in September of 2015. Since that report to the City Council, the full Committee and the two sub-committees have been meeting regularly to work on the strategies and goals referenced in the report. The public is invited to those meetings and there has been fairly decent attendance on several occasions. In an effort to consolidate efforts, the monthly “Hand Up” Homeless Outreach group was invited to join either the full Committee on Homelessness or one of the two sub-committees. The Committee intends on providing the City Council with an annual update sometime in the next few months. Mr. Wood introduced Mr. John Ledbetter. Mr. Ledbetter gave a brief report based on the Homelessness In Lodi report. Short-term strategies consist of:  Continuing the camp sweeps.  Continuing to work with the Salvation Army.  Continuing the mid-day meal that used to happen at Lawrence Park and is now taking place at the Salvation Army location.  Continuing to work with the faith based community with the Adopt-A-Family Program.  Continuing to talk to the various organizations around town.  Try to get a facebook link on the City of Lodi website to help answer the community’s questions.  Try to get help from the Community Block Grant Program. Ms. Pat Fehling came forward to add additional information for the items above. She stated that the committee is working hard helping the homeless get trained and employed. During the camp sweeps members are on hand to help pass out information regarding help in getting off the streets. Long-term strategies consist of:  Providing additional low cost housing in Lodi.  Provide additional transitional living facilities for those homeless that are not yet clean and sober which is a requirement of the Salvation Army.  Provide a respite facility for those that are waiting to receive treatment. Mr. Ledbetter stated that the San Joaquin County Government is starting to see the real need and are starting to get more involved. He added that if LIC is interested in conducting an Open Forum on homelessness it would be a good idea to conduct it jointly with the Committee on Homelessness. Chair Juran stated his appreciation for the presentation and the work that is getting done by the Committee. He asked for the resource guide that was mentioned. Ms. Fehling stated that they can email it to Mr. Wood. Mr. Juran asked if a resource guide has been made for property owners. Ms. Fehling stated that they are working on it and will send it to Mr. Wood as soon as it is complete. Mr. Juran asked if the committee is familiar with Lodi Improvement Committee Regular Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 9, 2016 Page 3 of 6 the Next Door site. Mr. Ledbetter stated that he has not heard of the site. Mr. Juran stated that it is a great resource for contacting and communicating with local residences. Mr. Juran asked if the Committee was working with California Human Development for finding job opportunities. Mr. Ledbetter stated that they are not currently working with them. Ms. Zaman stated that Diamond Foods in Stockton are currently hiring. Mr. Juran would like to see some Block Grant monies used for this project. Member Forkas asked what percentage of people asked for help with this last sweep. Ms. Fehling stated that 3 out of 60 people asked for help. She added that after eight years of living on the river one of the residences has finally asked for help. Mr. Ledbetter stated that not all of them can be helped or want to be helped. He added that a lot of them need to get clean and sober before they realize they want the help. Mr. Forkas asked what size of facility the committee is looking for to accommodate the transitional housing. Mr. Ledbetter stated that they are looking for an 8 to 10 bed facility. Ms. Zaman asked how the committee is involved with the businesses downtown. Mr. Ledbetter stated that all of the downtown has been invited to participate in the committee. Mr. Wood added that the committees meet at 2:30 in the afternoon and that might make it difficult for the business owners to join, but there could be some better ways to communicate. He stated that he can make it a point to report the happenings with the Homelessness Committee here are the LIC meetings and if the local business owners want to express concerns here he will then convey those concerns or ideas to the members of the Committee. Chair Juran asked if more restrooms in the downtown would help with some of the issues downtown. Mr. Ledbetter stated that it has been discussed and it couldn’t hurt. Mr. Ledbetter also stated that as a community Lodi needs to be careful that it doesn’t attract more homeless. Ms. Zaman added that Lodi is a compassionate community and needs to be careful with promoting panhandling. Mr. Ledbetter stated that the committee is also against panhandling. He added that during the last sweep when the people were asked where they originated from they answered with Lodi. Mr. Wood added that a major fear for most communities is that they will do so well at offering resources for the homeless that they will then become an oasis. The City Council is on board with stressing with the Board of Supervisors in requiring all communities to offer shelter for homeless and the one way in ensuring that happens is through funding. James Bates came forward to add some comments. He stated that he has been clean for seven years now. In the past he has lived in various locations in and around Lodi as a homeless man. He also stated that some of the residents of these camps don’t want to be helped and will not seek it out until they are ready to stop getting high. He has turned his life around and is now trying to give back to the community that he feels he has wronged in the past. He also believes that offering a little self-esteem by getting them jobs might help bring more of the homeless out of the camps and keep them from getting high. Mr. Juran asked Mr. Bates if he has participated in the Committee on Homelessness. Mr. Bates stated that he just recently heard about this committee, but would like to help. He added that he wants to start a Facebook page called Lodi Pride where people can connect Lodi Improvement Committee Regular Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 9, 2016 Page 4 of 6 and show areas in need of help. Ms. Fehling gave Mr. Bates information regarding the committee. Vicky Crowl asked what she could do to help out on this committee. She is here to collect the information so she can pass it along on her Facebook page. Mr. Wood added that some information came across his desk today regarding federal funding for helping in this area. The funding is based on activities from the previous year. The funding has been consistently cut over the past few years. Mr. Wood would like to draft a letter reaching out to the federal agency requesting that no more cuts happen. He added that more information will be brought back to the Lodi Improvement Committee. B. Follow up on Issues From Previous Meetings Follow up on Goals for 2015/16 Mr. Wood gave brief reports on the following goals as stated below:  Address Main Street Issues o Code Enforcement, Lodi Fire Prevention and Lodi PD have conducted another inspection/enforcement of the building and have noted the usual substandard housing conditions due to damage and inadequate maintenance and management. o I have provided the City Attorney’s Office with information regarding a possible enforcement/abatement tool through receivership.  Cherokee Lane o This project was bid and a contract has been awarded. The project should be underway in the next few weeks.  Habitat for Humanity o We are still looking at finding a means of funding site acquisition for Habitat.  Monitoring Alley Improvements o The next phase of Alley Improvements has been bid and the contract has been awarded. The project should be underway in the next few weeks.  Eastside Afterschool Programs and Activities o Junior Giants Program – Our 2016 season came to an end with the final games on Thursday, August 4th and the End of Season Picnic/Awards Ceremony on Friday, August 5th. This has been our most successful season so far, even though we did have to cancel games and practices two different weeks due to the extremely high temperatures.  Community Improvement Award/Community Service Award o No action.  Gang Problem/LodiGRIP o We took the next group of youth to Mule Creek on August 6th. All of the youths had some sort of breakthrough. o We are always looking for “out of the ordinary” activities or even trips to take the group on to expand their horizons. We’re thinking of day hikes, a Yosemite trip, kayak trips, etc. If you have an interest in supporting or assisting these efforts, please contact us. Lodi Improvement Committee Regular Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 9, 2016 Page 5 of 6 o We are submitting a grant application to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Community Gift Program to fund some of these extracurricular activities.  Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area o With the results of the initial Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) survey in hand, we are looking at utilizing that information even as we move forward to initiate a grass-roots effort to better define community assets. A two-day community workshop is tentatively scheduled for September 16-17th at the Lodi Boys and Girls Club. Community leaders identified in the original survey, as well as some of our youth leaders from the LodiGRIP Program, along with other members of the affected neighborhoods will learn how to complete the process of asset- mapping and effective community engagement through the ABCD methodology. Mr. Wood added the workshop will be broad-based and have heavy emphasis on the community coming up with the solutions. o The formation of the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area will be postponed to December/January, when more information is available.  Nuisance Properties o 359 E. Lodi Avenue – No new information. Comments by the Public on Non-Agenda Items  Lisa Viscara asked if more information regarding the items that have been discussed here tonight can be posted on Next Door. Mr. Wood stated that he would take care of that. Ms. Viscara offered to share some information regarding how the city she used to live in went about handling a lot of these items. Comments from Board Members on Non-Agenda items  Mr. Yadav asked what the start date is for Cherokee Lane. Mr. Wood stated that he did not have an exact date, but would find out. IV. New Business A. Goal-Setting Session  The current Goals were adopted in November of 2014. That instance was the first time that the goals were established in the course of a Regular Meeting, as opposed to a Special Meeting, which was usually held on a Saturday. Prior to that November 2014 meeting, it was also the practice of having the goal-setting session in April/May of each year; however, this routinely was delayed until appointments/reappointments were made by the Mayor/Council.  Would the LIC be interested in making the meeting in November as the meeting to establish goals for the following year? Chair Juran would like to see it done a little earlier and suggested the October regular meeting. Mr. Forkas would like to have it on a Saturday rather than in an open forum regular meeting. Mr. Yadav stated his agreement with Mr. Forkas. Ms. Zaman stated