Housing and Human Services Commission

City of Sunnyvale Meeting Minutes - Final Housing and Human Services Commission Wednesday, February 26, 2014 7:00 PM West Conference Room, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair Gilbert called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. SALUTE TO THE FLAG ROLL CALL Present: 4 - Commissioner Patti Evans Vice Chair Diana Gilbert Commissioner Younil Jeong Commissioner Barbara Schmidt Absent: 3 - Chair Dennis Chiu Commissioner Chrichelle McCloud Commissioner Navpreet (Ruby) Sidhu Council Liaison Gustav Larsson present Chair Chiu (absence excused), Commissioner McCloud (absence excused) Commissioner Sidhu (absence excused) PRESENTATION Capital/Affordable Housing Projects Proposals Sunnyvale Community Services Executive Director, Marie Bernard, and Downtown Streets Team Director of Program Operations, Chris Richardson, gave a brief presentation and answered questions regarding their proposal for their Work First Sunnyvale program, which provides services to homeless individuals and those at risk of becoming homeless. To date, during the first two years of operation, the program has helped 22 people to obtain regular employment and 14 people to obtain permanent housing. Eleven clients are currently in permanent housing through the City's Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) program (funded by HOME funds). City of Sunnyvale Page 1 Housing and Human Services Meeting Minutes - Final February 26, 2014 Commission Bill Wilson Center (BWC) Program Director, Lynn Morrison, gave a brief presentation regarding their proposal to rehabilitate three BWC properties: a five-bedroom maternity group home for homeless young women, which needs a new roof; a five-bedroom transitional home for girls transitioning from the foster care system, which needs a new heating system; and their runaway youth shelter, which needs a new HVAC system. Charities Housing (CH) Director of Property Management, Cynthia Alvarez, gave a brief overview of their proposal to rehabilitate three CH properties. Stoney Pine is a 22-unit apartment complex that houses developmentally disabled adults and their families. The proposed improvements include: replacement of flooring and cabinetry, exterior and interior painting, and installation of solar power to offset utility costs. The two other properties provide housing for low-income seniors in a group home setting. The proposed improvements include: accessibility improvements in bathrooms, installation of solar panels, roof replacement, paint, and exterior ramps to replace steps that could become a hazard for the aging tenants. PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Housing Officer Suzanne Isé informed everyone that Project Sentinel would be at the Columbia Neighborhood Center to provide information and assistance regarding tenant/landlord issues and dispute resolution services on Friday, February 28, 2014, from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. The event is free of charge, no appointment needed. Assistance will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. CONSENT CALENDAR Vice Chair Gilbert asked if there was a request to pull the item from the consent calendar for discussion. There was no request. Vice Chair Gilbert asked for a motion to approve the consent calendar. 1.A 14-0220 Draft Minutes of the Housing and Human Services Commission Meeting of January 15, 2014. Commissioner Evans moved and Commissioner Schmidt seconded the motion to approve the consent calendar comprised of the draft minutes of the meeting of January 15, 2014. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 3 - Commissioner Evans Vice Chair Gilbert Commissioner Schmidt City of Sunnyvale Page 2 Housing and Human Services Meeting Minutes - Final February 26, 2014 Commission No: 0 Absent: 3 - Chair Chiu Commissioner McCloud Commissioner Sidhu Abstain: 1 - Commissioner Jeong PUBLIC COMMENTS None PUBLIC HEARINGS/GENERAL BUSINESS 2 14-0218 Review Draft Request for Proposals for Housing Mitigation Funds Vice Chair Gilbert asked Ms. Isé for a staff report. Ms. Isé gave a brief overview of the draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for affordable housing projects, scheduled to be issued on Friday, February 28, 2014. She noted that non-profit and for-profit housing developers may apply for up to $8 million in Housing Mitigation funds for development, rehabilitation, and/or preservation of affordable housing in Sunnyvale. She noted that this draft RFP is similar to the one issued in 2012. The slight revisions that have been made to the draft were in response to input received during the public outreach meetings that took place last summer for the Housing Element update. More specifically, two types of special needs households have been noted as priority needs and given a bigger emphasis; developmentally disabled individuals and households transitioning out of homelessness. Also, the section about projects that support transit ridership has been modified to be slightly more flexible. Ms. Isé added that this RFP is more focused on new construction, since there aren't many non-profit affordable housing properties left to rehabilitate, and market-rate rental properties pose feasibility challenges. Commissioners discussed briefly and asked staff several questions about the RFP. Ms. Isé then asked the commissioners if they would like to make any changes to the RFP. The commissioners had no changes to the RFP. NON-AGENDA ITEMS & COMMENTS City of Sunnyvale Page 3 Housing and Human Services Meeting Minutes - Final February 26, 2014 Commission None COMMISSIONER ORAL COMMENTS None STAFF ORAL COMMENTS None INFORMATION ONLY REPORTS/ITEMS None ADJOURNMENT Vice Chair Gilbert adjourned the meeting at 7:47 p.m. City of Sunnyvale Page 4