Community Development Commission Meeting

UNAPPROVED MINUTES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION RESCHEDULED MEETING Tuesday, December 11, 2018, City Council Chambers 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL 61801 Call to Order: Sheila Dodd, Grants Management Division Manager, called the rescheduled meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. Roll Call: Teri Andel, Planning Administrative Assistant, called the roll. A quorum was present. Commission Members Present: Michael Braun, Chris Diana, Rev. Robert Freeman, Jerry Moreland and Abdulhakeem Salaam Commission Members Excused/Absent: Anne Heinze Silvis and James Winston Others Present: Sheila Dodd, Grants Management Division Manager; Teri Andel, Planning Administrative Assistant II; Stephanie Fisher; Bob Freeman Approval of Minutes: Deputy Chairperson Diana asked for approval or corrections to the August 28, 2018 minutes. Commissioner Salaam moved to approve the minutes and Commissioner Freeman seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. Petitions and Communications: There were none. Audience Participation: Deputy Chairperson Diana stated that audience members could speak if they so wished; there was none. Staff Report: Sheila Dodd, Grants Management Manager, provided a brief overview of the major Grants Management Division activities and accomplishments:  Ms. Dodd introduced herself as the new Manager for the Grants Management Division. She stated that her first day was November 19, 2018.  She is working with the Human Resource Division to fill Matt Rejc’s previous position. There are five candidates interested and she hopes to have the position filled by the beginning of the new year 2019 so that the person would be involved with the process of updating the Annual Action Plan.  There are rehab projects underway. Grants staff is working on closing out the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) for the prior year and getting contracts signed for this year. Staff continues to be involved with regular meetings of the Continuum of Care (COC), Council of Service Providers to the HOmesless (CSPH), Housing Authority of Champaign County (HACC), Senior Task Force, Community Reinvestment Group (CRG) and HOME Technical Committee.  She has been trying to attend various webinars and online trainings to relearn the different grant programs Deputy Chairperson Diana asked if there were any concerns with Ms. Dodd having a conflict of interest with previously working for Habitat for Humanity. Ms. Dodd replied no, there is not a conflict of interest concern because Habitat for Humanity does not fund the City of Urbana. Old Business: Deputy Chairperson Diana asked if there was any old business. No old business items were presented for discussion. New Business Annual Action Plan Ms. Dodd stated that there will be a series of public meetings from January 7th through January 10th in 2019 in partnership with the City of Champaign and the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission to gather input on the Annual Action Plan and needs identified by Urbana citizens. Discuss Future Meeting Dates and Time Ms. Dodd reviewed the meeting schedule for the Community Development Commission for 2019. Due to Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, January 21, 2019, the City Council will be meeting during the Commission’s regular meeting time at 7:00 p.m. on January 22, 2019. She wondered if the Commission would be available to still meet on that date at 6:00 p.m. prior to the City Council meeting. The Commission members agreed with the time change for this meeting. Mr. Braun asked if 6:00 p.m. would be a better start time for the Commission overall. Ms. Dodd planned to ask the Commission to consider this. If the Commission members agree to the time change, it would require a change to the by-laws and the Commission can vote on it at the January meeting. Mr. Braun and Reverend Freeman did not have a problem with the time change. Ms. Dodd pointed out the change in date for the December 2019 meeting of the Community Development Commission due to the Christmas holiday. She moved the meeting to December 17, 2019. Mr. Braun questioned why Spring Break was on the calendar of scheduled meetings. Deputy Chair Diana replied that at one time, most of the members of the Commission worked for the University of Illinois. It sometimes posed difficulty trying to get a quorum. 2 Reverend Freeman asked if there might be times when Ms. Dodd would need the Commission members to attend City Council meetings. Ms. Dodd replied that she did not know, but if there are she will let the Commission members know ahead of time. Deputy Chair Diana added that in the past, the CDC members presence at City Council meetings was not necessary. However, sometimes, when the CDC members do not unanimously make a recommendation, members may attend the City Council meeting to voice their personal concern(s). Otherwise, City Council generally takes the discussion of the CDC as a solid recommendation, and the members do not need to attend the City Council meetings to reinforce it. Study Session: There were no items for this agenda. Adjournment: Seeing no further business, Deputy Chairperson Diana adjourned the meeting at 6:18 p.m. Recorded by Manager, Grants Management Division 3