Community Development Commission Meeting

UNAPPROVED MINUTES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING Tuesday, August 28, 2018, City Council Chambers 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL 61801 Call to Order: Deputy Chairperson Diana called the regular meeting to order at 7:04pm. Roll Call: Kelly Mierkowski called the roll. A quorum was present. Commission Members Present: Michael Braun, Chris Diana, Rev. Robert Freeman, and Abdulhakeem Salaam. Commission Members Excused/Absent: Anne Heinze Silvis, Jerry Moreland, and James Winston. Others Present: Kelly Mierkowski, Grants Management Division Manager/Community Development Services; Lorrie Pearson, Planning Manager/Community Development Services, and Christopher Hazel. Approval of Minutes: Deputy Chairperson Diana asked for approval or corrections to the June 26, 2018 minutes. Commissioner Braun moved to approve the minutes and Commissioner Salaam seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Petitions and Communications: Deputy Chairperson Diana asked if there was any written communication to the Commission, there were none. Audience Participation: Deputy Chairperson Diana stated that audience members could speak if they so wished or after a particular item is presented; no one from the audience stepped forward to speak. Staff Report: Kelly Mierkowski, Grants Management Manager, provided a brief overview of the staff report provided to the Commissioners that evening. Old Business: Deputy Chairperson Diana asked if there was any old business. No old business items were presented for discussion. New Business A RESOLUTION APPROVING A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT AGREEMENT (Daily Bread Soup Kitchen, Project No. 1819-CSSP-01) A RESOLUTION APPROVING A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT AGREEMENT (Urbana Park District –Youth Summer Employment Program, Project No. 1819-CSSP-02) Ms. Mierkowski presented to the Commission regarding the CDBG Subrecipient Agreements. The agencies funded through the Consolidated Social Service Funding pool, who the fit the priorities decided by the Commission in February 2018, were chosen to receive CDBG public service funds. The priorities were (1) supporting homeless needs and (2) supporting services and training for low-income persons. Daily Bread Soup Kitchen met the priority for supporting homeless needs, they provide many services for homeless and at-risk of homeless. The Urbana Park District – Youth Summer Employment Program met the priority for supporting services and training for low-income persons, collaborating with the Urbana School District and Community Coalition who assess students for the program. There is no impact to the City General Fund or CDBG budget as the funds were already included in the FY 1819 Annual Action Plan. Approval of the agreements by the Urbana City Council will allow for timely expenditure of the CDBG funds. Staff recommended that the Community Development Commission forward the Resolutions to the Urbana City Council with a recommendation for approval. Commissioner Braun asked about how the Urbana Park District Youth Summer Employment Program works, and Ms. Mierkowski gave an explanation. Commissioner Braun moved to recommend approval of the Resolutions to Council as written, Commissioner Freeman seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT PROGRAM SUBRECIPIENT AGREEMENT WITH CRISIS NURSERY (FY 2018-2019) A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT PROGRAM SUBRECIPIENT AGREEMENT WITH THE CU MEN’S SHELTER (FY 2018-2019) Ms. Mierkowski presented to the Commission regarding the Emergency Solutions Grant Subrecipient Agreements. The issue is whether the Commission should forward the Resolutions approving the Subrecipient Agreements with Crisis Nursery and CU Men’s Shelter to the Urbana City Council with a recommendation for approval. The Emergency Solutions Grant is determined by the Champaign County Continuum of Care as far as who and what agencies are funded, as the funds are for shelters. Agencies apply to the Continuum of Care for funding, which come from HUD to the State of Illinois (IL Dept. of Human Services), who then disburses the funds through an application process. Ms. Mierkowski explained the process in which the City of Urbana was asked by the Continuum of Care, due to experience with administering a supportive housing program, to administer these funds on behalf of other agencies, who did not meet the threshold of $25,000 set by IDHS. Crisis Nursery will receive funds for operations of their agency and will provide essential services, and the CU Men’s Shelter will receive funds for the operation of the shelter only. An application was submitted to IL DHS in March 2018, and the City received notice that the funding had been approved in July 2018, with the contract available for execution. The City is then required to execute agreements with each of the subrecipient agencies. Ms. Mierkowski pointed out in the memo that amount of funding that each entity will receive under this grant. 2 Staff recommends approval of the proposed Resolutions. Commissioner Freeman pointed out that in the memo the CU Men’s Shelter is referenced differently. Ms. Mierkowski stated that the error would be fixed before the agreements went to the Urbana City Council for approval. Commissioner Freeman moved to recommend approval of the Resolutions to Council with changes, Commissioner Salaam seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Study Session: No items for this agenda. Adjournment: Before adjourning, Deputy Chairperson Diana noted that the Commission is sad to see Ms. Mierkowski is leaving the Grants Management Division for another position, noting that he remembered when Ms. Mierkowski first started years ago and that the experience since becoming Manager has been very productive and enjoyable. Ms. Mierkowski was wished the best of luck. Seeing no further business, Deputy Chairperson Diana adjourned the meeting at 7:26 p.m. Recorded by Kelly H. Mierkowski Manager, Grants Management Division UNAPPROVED 3