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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-03-04 CorrespondenceINTER-DEPARTMENT MEMO TO: Mr. Dale Helling, Acting C' y Manag FROM: Chief Sam Hargadine ~„~ ~ ..~~ RE: Waterfront H Vee Li uor License renewal Y q DATE: February 27, 2008 - 4- 4c(11) The Waterfront HyVee store has had the following violations occur within a three year period. July 21, 2006 August 23, 2007 January 17, 2008 Sales to Minor Sales to Minor Sales to Minor Presently this store is serving a 30 day suspension after they paid a $1500 fine for the August violation and they have yet to be assessed a civil penalty for the January offense. Mr. AI Dix, the local manager, has advised me that the loss of alcohol sales for this 30 day period is in access of $500,000 and they are expecting a 60 day revocation for the January offense once ABD issues the sanction. That loss of sales will be over one million. Since the January offense the local store and corporate office in Des Moines have been communicating with my office and working on every possible solution to address the short comings. Some of these solutions include: • HyVee is implementing a secret shopper program to test their own procedures and to ensure procedures are being followed. • Assigned a loss prevention security manager to oversee the Iowa City stores and assist with implementation of new procedures. • Lastly, our department is working with HyVee providing specialized TIPS training for HyVee employees. If they have one more violation they face a one year suspension from the ABD. HyVee has expressed repeatedly that they do not like the corporate image of being lumped in as a problem liquor establishment. Because of the willingness to work with me and institute policy and technological solutions I am recommending the renewal of their liquor license this year. Should there be any violation(s) within the next license year my recommendation to the Council will be to deny the license. City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: February 26, 2008 To: City Clerk and City Council From: John Yapp, Acting JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner ~y"1~"- Re: Item for March 4, 2008 City Council meeting: designation of No Parking -Tow Away Zone on one side each on Weeber Street, Wylde Green Road, and Talwrn Court As directed by title 9, Chapter 1, Section 36 of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A(10), Install NO PARKING ON UNIVERSITY HOME FOOTBALL GAME DAYS -TOW AWAY ZONE at the following locations: • The west side of Weeber Street between Edingale Drive and Benton Street • The west side of Wylde Green Road between Ashley Drive and Benton Street • The east side (outer curve) of Talwrn Court Comment: This action is being taken to maintain a travel lane on these streets during University of Iowa football games days. Weeber Street, Wylde Green Road, and Talwrn Court are all 25-foot wide streets with on-street parking permitted on both sides of the majority of the length of the streets. Most of the year, there are enough gaps between parked vehicles that a travel lane is maintained. During University of Iowa home football games, however, excessive on-street parking leaves an inadequate travel lane for emergency response vehicles. These signs will allow the No Parking designation to be enforced the entire day (midnight to midnight) of a University of Iowa home football game. 4f 2) Marian Karr From: Joe J [jmj2400@yahoo.com] Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 9:41 PM To: Council Subject: E-Mail Sent To All NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally III)Groups In Iowa My fellow NAMI Chapters: Imagine yourself living in Illinois and your son has Asperger Syndrome and a mental illness that can be cured, but he is rotting in jail for 11 months. You cannot visit him as the commute is 8 hours long and you cannot see him but for 20 minutes. Imagine that you have communicated to the Court, all Attorneys and anybody that will listen that your son Daniel needs mental health care treatment. He has not always been like this, but is suffering from some trauma. He is stuck like a record. He is not capable of making rational decisions, but the legal system decides to try him for stalking, violating orders of protection, witness tampering, etc. Every motion filed by Daniel is taken seriously since he is an adult. The legal system says we could sentence you to 13 years for the crime of mostly sending e-mails. They do not care if you have not been violent. Yes, we are talking about the Iowa legal system not a foreign county. You contact every State Senator and State Representative in Iowa. A few have kind words and some suggestions, but most do not respond. Imagine this is your son who graduated with an A- average from the University of Iowa. Imagine your parents are highly regarded professionals who are active in the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill(NAMI). Imagine you love your son dearly. Imagine the state has a bill that can change things and will set up a mental health court, but it just sits in 2007 and does not get passed. Surely, the voters must hear this story. The legislature must pass this bill providing for the establishment and administration of a mental health court pilot project for nonviolent criminal offenders in three counties. That bill is Senate File 142. Please write your State Senators and State Representatives and tell them to vote for this bill and pass it. Also please write to your Governor Chet Culver and your U.S. Senators, Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin. Attend the NAMI IOWA Legislative Breakfast on March 19, 2008 in the Iowa State Capitol Legislative Dining Room and tell them to pass the bill. Please do it for my family and everybody in Iowa who has mental illness and is caught in the legal system. Joseph M. Jason (847)537-3009 Barrington, Illinois National Alliance for the Mentally Ill(NAMI). Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try.i,t._now, 2/21 /2008 4f(3 Marian Karr From: John Yapp Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 4:08 PM To: Marian Karr Cc: Kathryn Johansen; Dale Helling Subject: FW: Dubuque street Hi Marian -this was e-mailed to me, but it is addressed to the City Council. For an upcoming info packet.. . Thanks, John Yapp, Executive Director Johnson County Council of Governments From: Bryan Ringen [mailto:bryan-ringen@uiowa.edu] Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 10:08 AM To: John Yapp Subject: Dubuque street Dear City Council, Dubuque Street: With the increased corridor traffic on Dubuque street heading south, It is very difficult to head to the east side of Iowa City. There are no designated left turn lanes or arrows. Hopefully the City of Iowa City can help with traffic flow for the folks that live on the east side of town. We need a way to take a safe and time efficient left turn. Thank you for your consideration, Bryan Bryan Ringen 3568 Vista Park Drive Iowa City, IA 52245 H 338-9968 O 335-3305 2/20/2008 03-04-08 4f 4 February 22, 2008 To the City of Iowa City: The purposes of this letter are to appeal the Notice of Violation we received from the City of Iowa City on February 19, 2008, regarding snow and ice removal from our sidewalks and to contest the policy for issuing such notices. We were not in violation of ordinacel6-1 A-8. We request cancellation of the Notice of Violation or, in the alternative, a hearing on the alleged violation. We have lived in our home at 317 Magowan Avenue for over 30 years. In these 30 years there has never been a complaint made against us or our property for ice and snow removal. Throughout this extremely snowy and icy winter we have worked tirelessly to maintain the sidewalks on our property. We were in disbelief to receive the notice of violation when temperatures were well below freezing in the aftermath of one of the winter's heaviest ice and snow storms. We had removed the snow and ice to the best of our ability given the #ime and circumstances. We feel confident that our walks were clearly in as good or better shape than the majority of properties in town at that time. Our neighbors will confirm that our sidewalk is always clear of ice and snow immediately after a storm. We recognize the importance of keeping sidewalks passable for the school children and neighbors who walk past our house on a daily basis. As people who jog outside year round, we can identify many homeowners in our neighborhood who regularly ignore the City's requiremerrts for snow and ice removal. The City has taken no action toward these properties, which has endangered us as well as our neighbors. When we spoke with Ryan Olson, he informed us that there had been a complaint about a property down the street. He said the city's policy, in "fairness" to that homeowner, is to check other sidewalks on the same side of that block and issue notices to those properties as well if sidewalks are not cleared to the concrete. It is our contention that this is not ~fair~ at all. (f the person who complained about our neighbor had a complaint about our property, certainly they would have included our address when reporting to the city. We believe that the City policy regarding inspection of houses for snow and ice removal is arbitrary and capricious. To arbitrarily inspect ail homes on one side of the street in a block where one house has received a complaint is illogical, unjustified, and illegal. Failing to cite houses for a code violation where there is clearly visible dangerous ice and snow build-up, especially when the inspection is stopped at the corner of a property that is being cited for a violation, is totally indefensible.. It would be "fair" to issue violation notices to those property owners who rarely if _ ever shovel their walks, warranting complaints to the City. _-~ We request an immediate hearing on the violation or rescission of the Notice of ~ , Viol tion/~.~~_ n _ Vv~ ~~, + I U ~- ~ ~,~ - .. Tom Cilek Ma C~k ~-~~~~ ,~ February 29, 2008 Tom and Mary Cilek 317 Magowan Avenue Iowa City, IA 52246 Re: Notice of Violation Dear Tom and Mary: ~ r ~~®~r~ ~ _~~(~~ ~1.~_ CITY OF IOWA CITY 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240- 1826 (319) 356-5000 (319) 356-5009 FAX www. icgov.org This is in response to your letter to the City Council dated February 22, 2008. This has been a particularly difficult winter for snow and ice removal, both for City operations and for individual property owners attempting to keep their sidewalks snow and ice free. Indeed, citizens who received a notice of violation last week were only required to salt and sand the sidewalk. The normal policy is to require that the sidewalk be completely cleared over the entire width and down to concrete within 24 hours. Because it was predicted that temperatures would warm to near 30 degrees last weekend, property owners were given additional time to remove the snow and ice and only required that the walk be salted and sanded within 24-48 hours of receiving notice. Because the City does not have sufficient staff to canvass all city sidewalks after every snowfall of one inch or more, we enforce the sidewalk snow removal ordinance on a complaint basis. When an inspector investigates a complaint, he or she will check the whole block on that side of the street from intersecting street to intersecting street. This policy originated out of a concern for fairness. I understand that this is a compromise between giving notice just to the property for which the City receives a complaint versus inspecting every sidewalk in the entire city. However, we regard this policy as fair and reasonable, as well as an efficient method of enforcement, given the limitations on staffing. The policy has been in effect for at least 20 years. Regarding your sidewalk, the City received a complaint on Monday morning, February 19, that the sidewalk at 359 Magowan was not cleared of snow. On that same day, Ryan Olson inspected that sidewalk, and consistent with the policy, he inspected the entire west side of the 300 block of Magowan. He found many sidewalks to be non-compliant. For these he placed a "tag" on the house, which is a notice stating that the sidewalk is in violation of the City ordinance. On February 20, a "Notice of Violation" was mailed to those addresses that were found to be in violation. Included with that notice was an enclosure informing the owner that the sidewalk need only be treated with an ice melt product and sand for traction and that the owner had until February 25 to remove the ice and snow. There is no hearing or appeal process for a Notice of Violation such as you received. However, if a property owner believes their sidewalk is not in violation, they may contact the inspector and receive a further clarification of the nature of the violation and how it should be corrected. If, after re-inspection, the City finds that a sidewalk has not been cleared as required by City ordinance, the City then hires a company to remove the snow. That company bills the City for this expense, and the City, in turn, sends out an invoice to the property owner for reimbursement. If the owner does not pay the invoiced amount, the bill proceeds through the assessment process. Approximately three -times a year the City Clerk prepares a schedule of properties for which the owners have not reimbursed the City for snow removal, weed cutting, February 29, 2008 Page 2 etc. The assessment schedule is attached to a resolution that is presented to the City Council to decide whether the property should be assessed for collection of the bill in the same manner as a property tax. The City notifies each owner of the date, time and location of the City Council meeting at which the resolution will be considered, and the owner is afforded an opportunity to address Council at that time and to contest the bill. I hope that this helps answer some of your questions regarding the process. I am advised that your sidewalk has been cleared as requested, and the City thus considers this matter resolved. Please let me know if you have other questions or concerns. Sincerely, Dale E. Helling Interim City Manager cc. pity council Sue Dulek, Assistant City Attorney mgr/assUltrslcilek2-28-08. doc Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: mike holladay [michaetholladay@hotmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 10:04 PM To: Council Subject: Novel Snow Removeal Stratagies For an increased ability to remove snow without needing to hire independent contractors why not retrgfit school buses with snow plows? The buses obviously have the horse power to handle the job and the bus drivers won't be working on snow days or even during the hours of snow removal. It would have to be mandatory because even a 20% volunteering of the bus fleet would make a large dent in snow removal capabilities. I'm not sure if this is a good solution and it's an early stage solution to snow removal and highway safety challenges- but it may be something you want to explore. Michael Holladay .. _. Helping your favorite cause is as easy as instant messaging. You IM, we give. Learn more. 2/27/2008 Marian Karr From: LuAnne Lefler [lulefler@keystoneit.com] Sent: Friday, February 22, 2008 7:01 PM To: Council Subject: snow removal This correspondence will become a public record. Will you please explain why I, as a homeowner am required to remove snow from sidewalks and in my the case city's multi-use trail) within 24 hours and the street in front of my house remains a crater filled war zone ? The last snowstorm I did see the plow make ONE pass by the house, however the previous storm I did not see a plow for at least 48 hours. Are there different rules for the City and its residents? LuAnne Lefler 35235. Jamie Lane Iowa City, IA 52240 319-337-6812 lulefler@keystoneit.com Scanned with Copfilter Version 0 83beta3a (ProxSMTP 1.4) AntiSpam: SpamAssassin 3.1.4 Antivirus: C1amAV 0.88.4/5941 - Fri Feb 22 16:18:46 2008 by Markus Madlener http://www.copfilter.org 1 Marian Karr From: Cliff Pirnat [cpirnat@mchsi.com] Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 9:26 AM To: Council Subject: winter This winter has been rough on a lot of citizens and the city has tried to keep things going. I use Lower City Park practically daily, and am glad the city clears the snow and ice. But like today, there is at least 3 vehicles clears snow from the path ways and roads. This is an everyday occurance, and today they are widening the road ways an extra 3 feet past the curb. Fine and dandy but our street and many in town have 6-8 inches of very hard ice on them, plus the streets are narrow. The city vehicles pass on our streets but never make attempt to clear them.. Even i and some neighbors clean others driveways and sidewalks. Can only guess its to help local business that sell tires, align front ends and change mufflers which again helps the city. The money overspent at the recreation spots during a winter like this could be better alocated. cliff pirnat 705 manor dr Iowa city,ia 52246 1 Marian Karr From: Soap Opera [soapop@gmail.com] Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 3:32 PM To: Council Subject: Pedestrian Mall Seven days after the ice storm the portions of the pedestrian mall that the City is responsible for are still covered with ice. In stark contrast to the area where they employed private contractors or businesses did there own work which have been cleared since the day after the storm. How is this acceptable? In good weather as a pedestrian mall business We already have to contend with vandalism, vomit, litter and urination not just in the area at large but in are own lighted entry way. All failures on the City's part to keep the area clean and maintain order. Often are section of the mall is slick from grease. Another failure of the City who clearly don't adequately monitor the stands that they licence. Now in bad weather the City is just going to abandon its responsibilities and forgo cleaning the pedestrian mall. I'm a business smack in the middle of the pedestrian mall we have been here for 26 years. We have seen bad weather before, but what we haven't seen is the utter incompetence or perhaps just disinterest in keeping it clear that have characterized the downtown snow/ice removal efforts all winter. If this was the first time I wouldn't be complaining to the Council. If I could do it all myself I would. I know this situation could have prevented. I've kept the walks clear in front of our business the whole time. Unfortunately I'm surrounded by businesses that don't. Forty- eight hours is what the City gives home owners to clear their walks. I would like the Council to explain why they feel the City is exempt from that. I would like to point out in the month of December the top floors of all the downtown ramps were never cleared. That is 20~ of downtown parking simply closed off. It took the City three days to clear the walks on the first ice storm. Now a week has gone by. Someone needs to be held to account for this. we can't survive if the City doesn't do it's job. Sincerely, Matthew Theobald The Soap Opera 119 E. College Street Iowa City, IA 52240 (319)354-1123 1 r` Marian Karr From: Dale Helling Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 11:57 AM To: 'LuAnne Lefler' Cc: Council; Rick Fosse Subject: RE: snow removal Dear Ms. Lefler, Thank you for you recent email to the City Council regarding snow removal. Your message has been forwarded to all Council members for formal acceptance as part of the consent agenda for the March 4 regular Council meeting. Perhaps I can provide some helpful information. The City does require that natural snow and ice accumulations be removed from sidewalks by the adjacent property owner within 24 hours after the end of any weather event. This ordinance is enforced on a complaint basis and once inspected, a non-compliant property owner is given an additional 24 hours to remove the snow/ice. Regarding snow/ice removal from City streets, City crews can normally clear these within 48 hours after a storm ends. In the case of the severe weather we recently experienced, rain, then freezing rain, and then heavy wet snow fell, followed by extreme drop in the temperature, resulted in a thick layer of packed snow and ice on streets that we were not able to reach soon enough after the storm with a snowplow. This layer of ice bonded securely to the pavement and even heavy duty snow removal equipment could not remove it. Likewise, snow and ice not quickly removed from the sidewalk formed a similar bond and through February 25th we required only that those cited for sidewalk accumulations apply salt or ice-melt and sand and thus make the walkway passable. Only this past weekend, with the warmer weather, have we been able to actually begin clearing these streets. We will continue this effort this week. If Jamie Lane has not been cleared, we will hopefully be able to do so in the near future. We try to be consistent in how City ordinances are enforced and how we apply our policies regarding snow removal. That notwithstanding, weather related circumstances can create challenges and we do try to accommodate citizens accordingly. During this especially harsh winter, our resources have been severely stretched and we appreciate the patience residents have shown. Sincerely, Dale Helling Interim City Manager cc. Rick Fosse, Public Works Director -----Original Message----- From: LuAnne Lefler [mailto:lulefler@keystoneit.com] Sent: Friday, February 22, 2008 7:01 PM To: Council Subject: snow removal This correspondence will become a public record. Will you please explain why I, as a homeowner am required to remove snow from sidewalks and in my the case city's multi-use trail) within 24 hours and the street in front of my 1 house remains a crater filled war zone ? The last snowstorm I did see the plow make ONE pass by the house, however the previous storm I did not see a plow for at least 48 hours. Are there different rules for the City and its residents? LuAnne Lefler 35235. Jamie Lane Iowa City, IA 52240 319-337-6812 luleflerc~keystoneit.com Scanned with Copfilter Version 0 83beta3a (ProxSMTP 1.4) AntiSpam: SpamAssassin 3.1.4 Antivirus: C1amAV 0.88.4/5941 - Fri Feb 22 16:18:46 2008 by Markus Madlener ~ http://www.copfilter.org 2 - 4- 4f 5 Marian Karr From: Phil Mattox [pmattox@essex1.com] Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 3:19 PM To: Council Subject: Susan Stanton Dear Members of the City Council: I am very sorry that you did not call back Susan Stanton for a final interview. I saw Susan speak before a Transgender conference in Chicago last June before CNN cameras. Later the following evening I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with her about being a transgender city official. I found her to be one of the most genuine individuals that I have ever met regardless of their gender. You see, I was an elected City Council member in the 80's in a medium sized town in NW Illinois. I had to go through the firing of a City Manager for sexual harrassment and the hiring process for a replacement. I know how tough it is to find the right fit. I have a son who granduated from the University and have had the opportunity to vist Iowa City on numerous occassions. You are looked upon as one of the most progressive communities in the Midwest. I think that Ms. Stanton would have been a good fit for your city though lacking the experience of snow and ice remeoval. I hope and pray that Susan will find a City that will benefit from her expertiCe. I just wish it had been Iowa City, Iowa. Phyllis Lane msphyllislane@hotmail.com 1 Marian Karr From: nostrog@inavia.net Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 1:51 PM To: Council Subject: city manager To City Council Members: It is very important to me that your choice for city manager gets along with the disability community and that they place importance on the issues which are important to people with disabilities. As an example, motivating Steve Atkins to take action was like pulling teeth. Although an issue may have been extremely important to us, he would not have taken it seriously. He might have not been against us, but many other issues were seen as very important and only after heavy prodding would our concerns be brought to the fore-front. On the other hand, Dale Helling has been a pleasure to work with. 1 can't emphasize enough how important that the city manager sees the public not as enemies but as potential partners Nancy Ostrognai 2003 Gledale Road 338-7690 1 ~ ~ Cs) Marian Karr From: Carol deProsse [lonetreefox@mac.com] Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 9:31 AM To: Council Subject: CM Finalists Attachments: Regarding the CM Finalists.txt; ATT9945401.txt U Regarding the CM ATT9945401.txt Finalists.txt... (66 B) February 29, 2008 Mayor Bailey and City Council Members, ~b'I~~- ~, ,~~) After reading several articles in The Press Citizen regarding the search for a City Manager, I stopped by the Civic Center yesterday to get copies of the edited resumes of each of the five finalists and the comments filed by citizens after the public session held to meet the candidates; I left for Minnesota that day or would have attended. $ased on what I read, I have several comments to offer as you consider what to do next. Continue searching. It is my opinion that you eliminated the best candidate of the five, Susan Stanton. What your reasoning was I do not know, but I hope it was not discriminatory M.A. "Art" Chaudry has had six places of employment in 34 years. For 12 years he worked for Johnson & Johnson in various positions, none of which axe directly related to city management; the same is true of the 12 years he worked for Hoechst Marion Roussel as well as the five years of cumulative experience with the Kansas City Royals Baseball Club and H&R Block. The remaining years of employment, combined with his previous years make him better suited to be a CFO, not a city manager. Should Kevin retire, perhaps you could consider Mr. Chaudry at that point in time. Finally, Mr. Chaudry had more than several concurring comments regarding his apparent arrogance, talking too much, not being much of a listener, etc. Michael Matthes has 13 years of cumulative experience, all based in Des Moines. Des Moines is not a University town in the same way that Iowa City is (the nature of Drake University, it's location in Des Moines, the make up of its student body, etc.}; I consider this a fairly significant matter worth further exploration with the candidate. Where was Mr. Matthes before Des Moines? I only read the Des Moines Register occasionally, but I do not hold the opinion that it is a particularly progressive town, either in its politics or it's approach to city management. We are in the 21st century, facing incredibly difficult financial times and most of the candidates do not present evidence of particularly innovative thinking regarding the future as it relates to city management, planning, and development. I do not think that the candidate's asking those who attended the meeting why they love Iowa City or stating that he listens well are main qualifications for a position of such importance to the future of Iowa City. Also, Janelle Retig's comments regarding Mr. Matthes also warrant further exploration during your interview with him. When you visit with the two finalists, beside asking technical questions regarding TIFs, etc., please make some inquiry as to what they read (Susan Stanton clearly being the best read among the five), what, if any, are their hobbies, whether they enjoy the out of doors, exercise and other such matters, so as to help determine their possible fit in a town that is populated with a well read, healthy, creative citizenry. Regarding the article on the front page of yesterday's Press Citizen: what others say about the candidates can be taken two ways: they say something nice because the person may not be hired and they will have to continue to work with them, or they want the person to leave so they'll say nice things in order to get help rid themselves of having to work with that person. 1 Thank you for taking my concerns under consideration as you make your deliberations. Carol deProsse Former member, Iowa City City Council 26-Feb-08 February 26, 2008 City Council City of Iowa City 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Ladies and Gentlemen: 2714 Wayne Avenue #1 4f 6 Iowa City, Iowa 52240 I'm not sure everyone on the council knows who we are, what we'd like to accomplish, or what we have done so faz. I will be at the council meeting on 4-march-08 to answer any of your questions or feel free to contact me 515-975-3571 cell phone, 319-512-3444 home phone, or vets_helping_vets cr yahoo.com email. My reason for writing this letter is to ask the city to work with us to study the possibility of turning the old bus depot at the corner of Gilbert and College into a Vet Center. I'm not asking for any funds to do this but believe that we can work with the city building inspector, pazking dept, planning and community development dept, public works dept, city attorney, and the city manager to find out if this is a feasible project. I have found out several things talking to the City Manager's office, Building Inspector's office, and the Parking department. 1. This is not a historic place as rumored 2. There has not as far as I can fmd out a complete building inspection just a walk through 3. The walk through revealed that it would only take $40,000 to bring this building up to code 4. Others have proposed some study but want the city to pay an amount in excess of $15,000 5. We realize this property is not for sale but are optimistic we can work out a leasing situation until the city needs this for later expansion. I am left wondering why there is a movement to tear this structure down with the only complete information the council has is an estimate for its removal? The bottom line is this I believe working together Vets Helping Vets and the city can have a facility to help older vets; current vets, and vets in the future. ..~ Thank you, . Len McClellan ` r-, Cofounder __, Vets Helping Vets ~, ; VETS Helping VETS PATH Congress has established two programs, the Treatment for Homeless Persons (THP) and the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH), to provide addiction and mental health services for people experiencing homelessness. However, PATH focuses mainly on mental health issues, and both lack funding; PATH was funded in FY2006 at only $54 million and THP at only $44 million, greatly impeding their effectiveness at reaching and assisting homeless (National Health Care far the Homeless Council, 2007). A budget of $100 million for each program would render them much more effective. A targeted funding stream devoted to prov+ding services to homeless people with addiction disorders would help this population overcome homelessness. Approximately 40% of homeless men are veterans, although veterans comprise only 34% of the general adult male population. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimates that on any given night, 200,000 veterans are homeless (National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 2006). Faced wish a lack of affordable housing, declining job opportunities, and stagnating wages, people with these disabilities are more vulnerable to homelessness. The relationship between homelessness and alcohol and drug addiction is quite controversial. While addictive disorders appear disproportionately among the homeless population, such disorders cannot, by themselves, explain the increase in homelessness. Most drug and alcohol addicts never become homeless. However, people who are poor and addicted are clearly at increased risk. In the last two decades, competition for increasingly scarce low income housing grew so intense that those with disabilities such as addictive and mental disorders were more likely to lose out and find themselves on the streets. (Published by the National Coalition for the Homeless, August 2007). There are eumerous barriers to treatment and recovery opportunities. The number one reason for which people ~ not receimre treatment was the high cost and insurance barriers (NASADAD, 2007). Homeless people typically do root have health unsurance, including Medicaid. This means that few homeless people with addictive disorder are able to find the resources necessary to pay for their own treatment or health care. In addition, there are extensive waiting Fists for addiction treatment in most states. The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors estimated that in 2005, over 19.3 million people needed, but did not receive addiction treatment services. In the past, single-room-occupancy (SRO) housing housed many poor individuals, in particular those persons suffering from addictive disorders and/or mental illness. From 1970 to the mid-1980s, an estimated one million SRO units were eliminated as a result of abandonment, gentrification, demolition, and conversion (Wright and Rubin, 1997). Homeless veterans are more likely to be white, better educated, and previously or currently married than homeless non-veterans (Rosenheck, 1996). Female homeless veterans represent an estimated 4% of homeless veterans. They are more likely than male homeless veterans to be married and to suffer serious psychiatric illness, but less likely to be employed and to suffer from addiction disorders. Comparisons of homeless female veterans and other homeless women have found no differences in rates of mental illness or addictions (National homeless Coalition for Homeless Veterans) U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) administers two special programs for homeless veterans: the Domiciliary Care for Homeless Veterans program (DCHV) and the Health Care for Homeless Veterans program (HCHV). Both programs provide outreach, psychosocial assessments, referrals, residential treatments, and follow-up case management to homeless veterans. In 1995, the VA conducted a national survey of VA homeless programs and community organizations to identify needs of homeless veterans. The survey found that long-term permanent housing, dental care, eye care, and childcare were the greatest unmet needs of homeless veterans (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 1995). Similarly, participants in a National Summit on Homelessness Among Veterans sponsored by the VA identified the top priority areas as jobs, preventing homelessness, housing, and substance abuse/mental health treatment (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 1997). In general, the needs of homeless veterans do not differ from those of other homeless people. However there is some evidence that programs which recognize and acknowledge veteran experience may be more successful in helping homeless veterans transition into stable housing. Until serious efforts are made to address the underlying causes of homelessness, including inadequate wages, lack of affordable housing, and lack of accessible, affordable health care, the tragedy of homelessness among both veterans and non-veterans will continue to plague American communities References National Coalition for the Homeless, 2201 P. St. NW, Washington, DC 20037; 202/462-4822 National Health Care for the Homeless Council, Inc. SSI/SSDI Study, in Healing Hands, Vol. 1, No. 6, 1997. Available from the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, P.O. Box 60427, Nashville, TN 37206-0427; 615/226-2292. Homelessness: New Policy and Research Perspectives, 1997. Available, free, from the Fannie Mae Foundation, 4000 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, North Tower, Suite One, Washington, DC 20016-2804; 202-274-8074 or email: fmfgiabs@fanniemaefoundaton.or~. Veterans Affairs, Northeast Evaluation Center/182, VA Medical Center, West Haven, CT 06516; 203/937- 3850. National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 333-1/2 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20003-'1148. Phone: 800-838-4357. Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Dear Vets Helping Vets, I have been determined to write this letter for some time, my daily work and business sometimes prevent me from being able to take the time to sit down and do certain things i.e. like writing a thank you letter. Vets Helping Vets has helped PATH Program from the moment of its inception when Len McClellan and Tom Kelly sat on the porch at Shelter House and began to develop a strategy for helping Veterans. Not only do you help Veterans, but from the moment Tom and Len decided to begin this arduous task of helping the homeless, the cold, and the hungry they have included the folks in our community who are non-veterans. In October Len you took me to Prairie City to My Brothers Keeper where we acquired some 85 plus bed rolls, you not only gave me free reign on who received one you also supplied the PATH program at Mid-Eastern Community Health Center with a place to store these bed rolls as well as the blankets PATH received during our blanket drive. Yesterday gave me the push, knowing that this letter of thanks needed to be written this morning. I came to work today after a very tough day yesterday determined to write this letter of gratitude for all you have done. Although the situation with my consumer yesterday did not turn out as 1 had expected Vets Helping Vets stepped up immediately and offered help for PATH's consumer and her children. I was devastated when the Furniture Project once again let my client down and could not help her get a bed for her children after her having to wait since September 12, 2007. Len I called you in distress to ask you what steps I should take to rectify the situation at the Furniture Project. E.g. not returning calls, not helping my clients of color get their furniture, and basically sitting on an entire warehouse of furniture donating only to those they choose to help. Within minutes I received a phone call from Vets Helping Vets telling me to go to K-Mart or another department store and purchase furniture for these children. Len you stated that children need to be in a bed. You have told me many times that you believe that every Human "deserves to be warm, able to eat, and have a place to call home". You not only talk about it Len, Vets Helping Vets backs these words with action. We may yet be able to purchase beds for these children, but for the now other complications have arisen with this consumer and her children and I was unable to help her further yesterday. I went to sleep last night knowing that in the future if I have a critical situation as I did with this consumer and her children Vets Helping Vets will be there for these people regardless of whether they have a DD214 or three children sleeping on the floor for five months! I applaud your efforts and salute you for what you have accomplished in such a short time with few resources. I would also like to thank Michelle at Well Fargo for her never ending efforts to help Vets Helping Vets and the PATH program. ('ounscl~~r, PaTli Pr~-~~rani/Ht~mcless (hitrcach z I'>-33R-~~h-t cit. '?? The Community Mental Health Center for Mid-Eastern Iowa is dedicated to improving lives through high quality, accessib/e mentor/hea/th services and to promoting awareness of mentor/hea/th issues in the community. 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