Housing Commission

9/9/2019 - Minutes I. Call to Order Members Present: Robert Millar, Anna Wageling, Sean McMannon, Leslie Black-Plumeau, Chris Melnyk, Jessica Bridge City Staff Present: Heather Carrington Guests Present: Councilor Jim Duncan, Mike Hoey Local 44 News Call to Order by: Robert Millar at 6:01 PM Minutes Recorded by: Anna Wageling II. Public Comment Staff shared an email containing public comment on the Housing Trust Fund document. The Housing Commission discussed the comments point by point, and made revisions to the document where appropriate. III. Approve Previous Meeting Minutes Meeting minutes from the August 12, 2019 meeting were approved. Presentation: Robert Discussion: All Decision: Approved Motion by: Anna Second: Jessica IV. Department and City Updates The Commission welcomed Jim Duncan as the new City Council liaison to the Housing Commission. A brief overview of the FY20 Work Plan for the Commission was provided to the new liaison. The Housing Commission was invited to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly completed Casavant Overlook building, a true mixed income rental building which contributes to Winooski’s overall housing affordability. Winooski officials will be in attendance at the ribbon-cutting, and the City’s Communications Coordinator will be taking photos for the LoveMyCity initiative in partnership with the National League of Cities. Staff will send the calendar invitation to Commissioners this week. V. Commission Reappointments Staff has reached out to current Housing Commissioners to confirm whether they are interested in reappointment. Jessica Bridge will continue a currently unexpired term. Five remaining Commissioners have requested reappointment. The terms will each be two year terms from the expiration of the originally staggered previous terms. Those who wish to be reappointed include: Commissioner Term Expiration Robert Millar June 2021 Anna Wageling June 2020 Leslie Black-Plumeau June 2020 Sean McMannon June 2021 Chris Melnyk June 2021 The Commission has also had a member step down upon the expiration of his term. This creates one available seat on the Commission. The retiring commissioner was the sole representative of the Winooski Housing Authority, Winooski’s largest provider of affordable housing in the city. Given the importance of maintaining representation of such a key affordable housing partner, staff directly contacted the new Executive Director of the organization to invite her participation on the Commission. “Deac” graciously accepted the invitation to apply, with the caveat that she would step down in favor of any WHA board member who expresses interest in serving. VI. Debrief Housing Trust Fund Recommendations Presentation to City Council Robert, Jessica and Heather all concurred that the presentation of the HTF document was well-received, there were good questions raised and the Council provided clear direction. The Council questions and comments generally fell into two categories: possible policy document revisions, and program operations questions. These questions were individually addressed in the revision working session under the next agenda item. VII. Housing Trust Fund Revision Working Session Based on Council Feedback  city. Given the importance of maintaining representation of such a key affordable housing partner, staff directly contacted the new Executive Director of the organization to invite her participation on the Commission. “Deac” graciously accepted the invitation to apply, with the caveat that she would step down in favor of any WHA board member who expresses interest in serving. VI. Debrief Housing Trust Fund Recommendations Presentation to City Council Robert, Jessica and Heather all concurred that the presentation of the HTF document was well-received, there were good questions raised and the Council provided clear direction. The Council questions and comments generally fell into two categories: possible policy document revisions, and program operations questions. These questions were individually addressed in the revision working session under the next agenda item. VII. Housing Trust Fund Revision Working Session Based on Council Feedback Some of the major issues the Commission discussed included: • Potential barriers to access in the program, such as requiring applicants to the Home Improvement Loan or Down Payment Assistance programs to attend City Council meetings, or the translation of applications for people who don’t speak English fluently. • Matching affordability term requirements to loan terms thus the duration of the use of City funds will be equivalent to the required property affordability term. • Ways to address issues of equity in the program, such as utilizing a blind application review process and designating a key contact to shepherd applicants through the process. The program is already envisioned as a tool to promote greater economic equity, and the Commission is looking for ways to increase its effectiveness in that realm. This will be an ongoing conversation and will require continuous improvement as resources become available. VIII. Adjourn Motion by: Sean Second: Chris Time: 7:20 PM