Commission on Aging

WHEATON HOUSING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES REGULAR MEETING March, 12, 2015 The regular meeting of the Wheaton Housing Commission was held in the Gamon Room, Wheaton City Hall, at 303 W. Wesley Street, Wheaton, Illinois. The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, 2015 by Housing Commission Chair, Tom Hudock. Present: Chris Ellerman Absent: None William Gilbertson Nancy Harding Thomas Hudock Jeannie Iseman Stuart Johnson Jan Kay Andrea Petti Mike Rybinski Raj Salgia Robert Willock Joe Kreidl - City of Wheaton Lindsay Qualkenbush – City of Wheaton Special Guests: Three students from Wheaton North High school observed the meeting session. Public Comment: None. Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Kay moved and Commissioner Johnson seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the February 12, 2015 meeting. Motion carried unanimously. Communications: None. Housing Assistance Program: Lindsay Qualkenbush, Executive Assistant, City of Wheaton prepared and distributed 2015/2016 interview assignments and packets. Interviews and forms need to be completed and returned to Mrs. Qualkenbush no later than March 31, 2015. The Commission discussed and determined that the capital gains received by Applicant #22 did not result in his receiving any physical income, causing him to exceed the maximum annual income requirement of the program. Rejected applicant #1 was eliminated from 2015/16 program as the additional sources of income she revealed this year, brought her $8,000 over the maximum annual income requirement. Applicant was notified of her rejection. Old Business: Commissioner Petti was unable to meet with the Wheaton High Schools regarding the “Well Being Check Program” for Wheaton senior’s citizens suggested by a student who attended the October 2014 meeting. Commissioner Petti will update the Commission at the April 2015 meeting. 1 Chair Tom Hudock’s memo to City Manager Rose was submitted on 3/11/15 and provided the additional information requested by City Manager Rose to support the changes to the Commission’s Policies and Procedures Manual. Once City Manager Roses’ approval is obtained, the final draft of the Policies and Procedures manual will be submitted to the City Council for approval. For the record, a copy of Chair Hudock’s memo has been included in the March 2015 meeting minutes. Chair Tom Hudock request feedback from the Commission on the presentations conducted Elevate Energy and SCARCE Outreach DuPage. The Commission concluded that the programs were good, but do not support the clientele served by the Wheaton Housing Commission. New Business: Commissioner Johnson is in the process of completing an analysis of various income adjustments the Commission may want to consider in order to expand the applicant base and/or increase the monthly stipend to current year and future applicants. Special Recognition: Chair, Tom Hudock requested that special recognition be entered into the record for Lindsay Qualkenbush, Executive Assistant, City of Wheaton. Mrs. Qualkenbush has worked diligently in supporting and assisting the Housing Commission Members as they serve Wheaton’s low income senior population. Discussion of Next Meeting Agenda: Assuming the Commission receives positive feedback from the City Manager on the amendment to Section 2- 413 of the City Code, the final draft of the Policies and Procedure Manual will be reviewed and approved for submission to the City Council for approval. Commissioner Petti will provide information from her discussions with Ms. Angel Raso of Wheaton North High School and Wheaton Warrenville South High School regarding the feasibility of a Senior Well-Being Check Program to be developed and facilitated by the two high schools. The Commission will discuss and review if the income documentation required by applicants to the 2015/16 program should be revised. Review expansion of applicant base through a communication mailer or other methods to Wheaton’s senior population. Identify whether contacts at suburban and city newspapers may be able to assist the Commission in increasing awareness of the assistance program available to Wheaton’s low-income senior population. Initiate discussion regarding the election of Housing Commission officers for 2015/16. Adjournment: Commissioner Willock motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 p.m.; Commissioner Gilbertson seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. 2  MEMORANDUM TO: Don Rose, City Manager DATE: March 9, 2015 SUBJECT: Chapter 2, Article V, Division 11 Code Amendment (Housing Commission) FROM: Tom Hudock, Housing Commission Chair Dear Mr. Rose, First, please allow me to apologize for the delay in responding to your memo of January 5th. Due to the weather, we did not have the opportunity to meet in January and I am now responding following our February meeting, at which the Commission discussed the content of your memo. I will try to respond by addressing each of the areas of concern that you identified in the letter. • What “need” has the Commission identified that requires it to become involved in the suggested activities? The Commissions’ purpose currently states, “It is the policy of the city to encourage and develop the best possible living conditions for the present and future residents of the city, and to attain and maintain a stable and well-balanced community. The Housing Commission shall propose policies and programs to the city council which will assist all persons, regardless of age, race, color, creed or income, to have equal opportunity to secure safe and adequate housing within the city. To accomplish these ends, the housing commission will:”. In this regard, the Commissions’ primary activity is to serve the senior citizen population through the administration of the Housing Assistance Program. Our proposal will allow time as a Commission, to serve as a public forum for residents, serving the whole demographic as stated in our purpose. In addition, while the "need" should be regardless of economic conditions, current poverty statistics are on the rise in DuPage County as can be seen in the PBS documentary, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business-july-dec11-poverty_12-30/ . Allowing a space and time for residents to address their housing concerns will be a more effective use of the Commissions’ existence. Also, the information discussed and investigated in this expansion of purpose will allow the Commission to more effectively support its role in advising the Mayor and City Council regarding these types of issues and making any appropriate recommendations. 3  • What standards will be utilized to assess issues brought to the Commission? In the past, the Commission has invited speakers from federal, state and local governmental agencies to give presentations with regard to housing, income standards and resources available to the senior residents of Wheaton. With the expansion of purpose, we would look to become more educated in a more diverse group of topics expanding beyond seniors. This information would be the foundation from which we would evaluate the issues that should be brought forward to the Mayor and City Council for further discussion and possible action. • How would the effort of the Housing Commission differ from the existing activities of the City’s Code Compliance Inspector? The City’s Code Compliance Inspector deals with the existing property brick, mortar, and landscaping issues. What we are looking to address, are those concerns that could become issues for the City in the future. Also, we would look to address existing issues that could possibly be considered as a modification of the Code Compliance Inspectors role or that could be addressed by different perspectives relative to the actions taken by the City Council. For example, when the City issued the contract to remove the diseased elm trees, they could have include a provision in the bidding, that the winning bidder supply services to low income seniors to remove, for instance, 20 diseased trees from private property either at a reduced rate or possibly for free. The Commission would be exploring opportunities to possibly support low income individuals with some form of reduced service fee if appropriate, when the City negotiates a contract for service to be provided by an outside contractor, • An estimate of City staff time associated with the activities you are proposing. Currently, the Commission would take responsibility to draft any requests or proposals to the Mayor and City Council in the same manner as we prepare our own meeting minutes. It is estimated that little if any additional resources would be required from City staff. Should a new program be purposed to the City Council, that would require additional staff resources or funding, it would be the responsibility of the Commission to identify the resources and funds needed along with an estimate of the associated additional support required from staff, as an integral section of the proposal being submitted for the Mayor and City Council’s review. Expanding the responsibilities of the Housing Commission will empower the Commissioners to better serve the diverse population in the city and explore issues relative, not only to housing adequacy, but also the needs of Wheaton’s population to sustain and thrive as residents of the City. Your consideration and support of this code amendment is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your assistance. Respectfully submitted, Tom Hudock, Chair Housing Commission 4