City Council

City Hall Meeting Minutes 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 City Council Information: 360.753.8244 Tuesday, May 23, 2017 5:30 PM Council Chambers Study Session 1. ROLL CALL Present: 7 - Mayor Cheryl Selby, Mayor Pro Tem Nathaniel Jones, Councilmember Jessica Bateman, Councilmember Jim Cooper, Councilmember Clark Gilman, Councilmember Julie Hankins and Councilmember Jeannine Roe 2. BUSINESS ITEM 2.A 17-0572 Ad Hoc Committee on Housing Affordability Status Report Community Planning and Development Director Keith Stahley noted the Ad Hoc Committee on Housing Affordability (AHCOHA) has been meeting since March 10 and has covered a lot of ground during this time. Mr. Stahley noted the purpose of the Study Session is to bring the entire City Council up to speed with what the Committee has covered thus far. He reminded the Council the Committee will not be making recommendations, but will develop a package of information and options to address housing issues. Mr. Stahley reviewed topics covered by the Committee since March, which include: · Faith Trimble of the Community Investment Partnership (CIP) shared recommended CIP funding rewards distribution. · The Thurston County Homeless Housing five-year plan - a strategy on how to move forward as a region -- is anticipated to be finalized shortly. Housing Program Manager Anna Schlecht has participated in the development of the strategy. · Meg Martin of Interfaith Works debriefed the Committee on Warming Center 2016/17 operations. It was clear the Warming Center was heavily utilized, underfunded, understaffed and in a problematic location. Discussions will begin shortly on plans to move forward for next winter. · Work continues in gathering data about shelter capacity. Many shelter beds go unused; work needs to be done to identify why this happens and how to address gaps in sheltering. City of Olympia Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes May 23, 2017 · The Point-in-Time Homeless Census data for 2017 is in the process of being finalized. · The Committee started the process of learning what other communities are doing to address homelessness including meeting with representatives of Bellingham and Vancouver, as well as reviewing programs and data from Everett, Seattle and Tacoma. · The Committee reviewed the Downtown Strategy recommendations for the City Council to bring together a broad spectrum of stakeholders to discuss how to move forward on issues of homelessness by working with regional stakeholders. Mr. Stahley discussed some immediate questions, which will help guide how to move forward. He also noted the Land Use and Environment Committee is hosting open house events regarding Missing Middle. Councilmembers asked clarifying questions. The study session was completed. 3. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 6:41 p.m. City of Olympia Page 2