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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-04-02 Bd Comm minutes Item Number: 4.a. CITY OF IOWA CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT April 2, 2024 Housing & Community Development Commission: November 16 [See Recommendations] Attachments: Housing & Community Development Commission: November 16 r CITY OF IOWA CITY �'�'v�� MEMORANDUM Date: March 26, 2024 To: Mayor and City Council From: Brianna Thul, Community Development Planner Re: Recommendation from Housing and Community Development Commission At their November 16, 2023 meeting, the Housing and Community Development Commission made the following recommendation to the City Council: By a vote of 8-0 the Commission recommends approval of the revised Aid to Agencies definitions and eligibility as presented by staff. Additional action (check one) X No further action needed (Approved at the December 12, 2023 Council meeting) Board or Commission is requesting Council direction Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action MINUTES FINAL HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION NOVEMBER 16, 2023—6:30 PM FORMAL MEETING THE CENTER ASSEMBLY ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Kaleb Beining, Maryann Dennis, Karol Krotz, Kiran Patel, James Pierce, Becci Reedus, Denise Szecsei, Kyle Vogel MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Erika Kubly, Brianna Thul OTHERS PRESENT: Crissy Canganelli, Sam Brooks, Erin Sullivan RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: By a vote of 8-0 the Commission recommends approval of the revised Aid to Agencies definitions and eligibility as presented by staff. By a vote of 8-0 the Commission recommends approval of the FY25 application materials as discussed. CALL MEETING TO ORDER: Beining called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM and welcomed new member Szecsei. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: OCTOBER 19, 2023: Reedus moved to approve the minutes of October 19, 2023. Patel seconded the motion. A vote was taken, and the minutes were approved 8-0. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR TOPICS NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. SHELTER HOUSE STREET OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT OVERVIEW: Crissy Canganelli (Executive Director) is joined here by Erin Sullivan, housing services director and Sam Brooks, their outreach services specialist and they're here this evening to talk about street outreach services.They hope to have a conversation with the Commission about services, the impact that they're seeing,the changes that they're noticing, and respond to any questions. Canganelli began by contextualizing how they started street outreach services, they began in partnership with the City of Iowa City in the spring of 2021, so this is a relatively new service that has been offered in the community. They had long wanted to be able to provide street outreach services but just did not have the financial capacity to do so, and now due to the partnership with the City of Iowa City, who dedicates about$35,000 annually right now to do this work, they're able to leverage some additional federal funding that is available for shelter operations and are able to fund one full time employee, Brooks,who provides supports, resource materials, supplies, and a vehicle for his dedicated use to be able to meet the needs of the community. Canganelli noted the primary scope of work really is happening in Iowa City, although Brooks is available to respond to concerns that are happening throughout Johnson County. Housing and Community Development Commission November 16, 2023 Page 2 of 11 Sam Brooks(Outreach Services Specialist) began by talking about the approach and philosophy behind street outreach. He noted it's critical that when they're working with the community's most vulnerable members to take into consideration the ways that they're engaging with them and the way that they're building trust and rapport for folks that have historically been failed by most of the larger institutions in some way or another.Therefore, the first step of street outreach and engagement is the engagement portion. A lot of the folks who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness have been staying outside for a significant amount of time, about a quarter of the folks who are engaged in street outreach are defined as chronically homeless, which is one year or more, and are in a place not meant for habitation such as a car, under a bridge, on the street in a tent, an abandoned building,or a parking garage and have a diagnosed disability. Brooks acknowledged those are two really important factors that they look at when they're working with this population because they understand how vulnerable things are. So, his initial goal is to build rapport through a mutually respectful relationship between himself and the person who's experiencing homelessness. It's important they're working together,whatever their identified goals are, to accomplish those goals, to navigate different systems, make sure that they can survive staying outside, and then make it to the ultimate goal of being housed permanently, stably with wraparound services so that they can end their experience of homelessness. One individual Brooks has been working with for his entire time on street outreach, during the first year the individual wouldn't speak to Brooks, he barked at him,they didn't talk. Brooks and Sullivan would talk about ways that they can engage that were client driven as everything they do is voluntary, so ways that they can then provide services to this person. A lot of it was just about existing in the same space as them in a casual way until there was enough comfort that they could then progress to talking about very casual things.This individual now meets with Brooks every Friday, and they chat a lot about grappling mostly because that's what he chose to talk about. Grappling is like wrestling and jujitsu, martial arts, and that is what he loves to talk about. However, they've also been able to bring a medical provider out to come and give this individual a physical at a place he was comfortable at. So, it begins with a general initial engagement so that they can then refer to different providers in the community. A lot of what street outreach is, is collaborating with different community partners, different service providers, City staff, different City departments to help this person navigate all of these systems in the safest and have the least conflict and the least interaction with emergency services as reducing law enforcement contact and unnecessary arrests and unnecessary ambulance trips. Erin Sullivan (Housing Services Director)concurred with Brooks that it's a very delicate relationship as this is a group of individuals in the community that do not engage with services unless absolutely necessary.Then there are individuals who are experiencing homelessness who are utilizing the resources but just have a lot of barriers to potentially getting permanently housed. Brooks has to balance his time between those individuals who are seeking him out and those he is seeking out. Brook's role is circular with the providers and the person experiencing homelessness to make sure that they continue to connect, how they communicate with one another, etc. Sullivan noted they want Brooks to spend more time really engaging with those individuals who are not seeking out those services but it's a delicate relationship, so they are continuing to just navigate and figure out how to build that trust.Again, there are many individuals in the community who are experiencing homelessness and know how to access resources and do so every day and then there are individuals in the community who are not. The street outreach position is essential in reaching those individuals who are out there in the community and have been for a long period of time, probably decades,who just are not engaging. They want to make sure that they know that there are resources,and to provide some of those lifesaving resources to them like blankets and tents and things like that in a way be able to begin that relationship. Brooks spoke about outcomes and noted in the last year roughly of the 190 individuals who were enrolled in street outreach throughout the year 89 of those were then moved into permanent housing from the street either by accessing shelter eventually, or straight from the street to housing. He noted that's probably the big number as that is the outcome that they look at, the goal is to end the person's experience of homelessness. Krotz asked for somebody who's unhoused if they're moving into housing or into shelter, especially housing, if they are experiencing a financial barrier how is that resolved. Sullivan stated there's a system 2 Housing and Community Development Commission November 16,2023 Page 3 of 11 in the community and across the state called coordinated entry and so when Brooks is talking about somebody moving into housing what that means is that they are enrolled into coordinated entry. Any human service provider in the community could put somebody in coordinated entry and on a weekly basis they have a meeting with all of these different human service providers to determine which housing intervention or which housing program would be best for that individual based on their needs.They might have a section eight voucher and just need assistance with a security deposit, CommUnity has a program where they could pay security deposits. Shelter House has a program called Rapid Rehousing that provides a security deposit and rental assistance.Those providers are all sitting at a table discussing the individuals for programs and which program can help them move into housing and providing whatever resources they might need from financial assistance, case management, accessing other mainstream resources, such as food stamps, Medicaid, and things like that. Krotz assumes the ultimate goal of the individual, as well as the program, would be for them to be self- sufficient. Sullivan confirmed that can be a goal. Each individual's goal plan is created individually and some individuals who maybe are experiencing short term experience of homelessness are going into a rapid rehousing type of program and probably will live independently in the community,whereas the individuals that Brooks is working with likely will need to receive wraparound services for a pretty significant amount of time as there's a reason people are outside for a long period of time. A big piece of that is housing related, and housing affordability, but there's also other kinds of mental health, physical health and substance use disorders that people need support to live in housing. Canganelli stated the goal isn't necessarily to be self-sufficient in so much as it is to be as independent as possible and that looks different for everyone. They are really trying to weave together the different services and resources that exist for people to help them to live as independently as possible in housing and to retain that housing successfully. She also wanted to clarify out of the 90 people, about 50% of those individuals that were engaged through street outreach had been living out on the streets, unsheltered with a high incidence of disability, co-occurring disabilities, 75%of them have a disability that is diagnosed, and often are cc-occurring. These are any combination of serious mental illness, substance use, intellectual disability, brain injury, and physical disabilities.After years of homelessness being able to successfully get into housing, and the conduit of going through shelter, they don't consider that a housing placement it's just people can go either through shelter to housing or straight from the street to housing. Dennis noted there's also the matter of safety. When she was working, she dealt with a man who was chronically homeless and finally received an apartment that was furnished, but he never slept in the bed because he hadn't slept in a bed for so many years that he didn't feel comfortable, so he just slept on the floor all the time. Sullivan noted when they first opened Cross Park Place, the 24-unit apartment complex on Cross Park Avenue,those are individuals who were sleeping outside for years in the community and one of those individuals there slept on the bench in front of the building for probably a month before he actually moved in because he was uncomfortable sleeping inside. Reedus asked if a lot of the individuals that Brooks is working with go to either the 501 or Cross Park Place, is that the most direct route. Canganelli replied when they have housing opportunities, Cross Park's 24 units are fully occupied, at 501 they opened 36 units in June and by August or September they were at capacity, so those units are fully utilized so unless a unit turns over, and the primary reason that they're seeing units turnover is really due to death of tenants, so the units don't turn over very much, then they're looking for units out in the community and that means finding landlords that are willing to work with them. Canganelli noted through the course of the pandemic, and in response to the pandemic, there have been some very specialized, additional small amounts of housing choice vouchers that have been made available, mainstream vouchers, emergency housing vouchers, and now seven stability vouchers. These are additional resources that they're trying to manage and prioritizing these different vouchers for these particular populations through coordinated entry has been imperative because it means that they get that housing subsidy as a resource because they don't have income,or they have extremely limited income. They are able to help them secure different mainstream benefits that they may qualify for and that was working until they lost that protection for individuals presenting a Housing Choice Voucher as a form of payment for rent,which occurred sometime in 2022. Because of that they are now experiencing a real additional barrier, even for those individuals who have a voucher, which is a precious resource, but are 3 Housing and Community Development Commission November 16,2023 Page 4 of 11 not able to use it as a form of payment for rent in the community because landlords are now requiring that these individuals demonstrate that they have 300%of the rent in cash income. She stated this is irrespective of whether or not they have a voucher, if they have a single person who has been on the street for decades,who has multiple disabilities and has a voucher in hand, a landlord can say sure he'll rent to them but the unit is $800 so they must show that they have$2,400 in income to be able to rent the unit. Reedus first heard of this when she was down in Florida about four years ago and what blew her mind was because the minimum wage up here is still $7.25 or$7.50 an hour so that means that literally people who are low income can't qualify and to make that kind of money is very,very difficult. Reedus noted one of the things that bothers her is when she hears people say people are homeless because they want to live outside,they don't want to have a home. If remembering correctly it was demonstrated that there were 17 people involved in the fires recently who had vouchers that couldn't qualify for a place due to the income levels so that showed the community that homelessness is, it's not as simple as somebody doesn't want to be inside. Reedus stated when Canganelli met with HCDC and gave an update for the 501 project she discussed the gap and closing the gap with the project, but now it seems like a much wider gap exists and the need is growing a lot quicker.What do they have to do to prevent it from growing even bigger? Canganelli stated as they were even going into the 501 project, they felt that gap, they talk about this a fair amount in board meetings and within team meetings that it's hard to recognize or acknowledge the things that they're not seeing. They are seeing an increase, or at least what is feeling like an increase, of unsheltered homelessness that they're aware of in the community,there's certainly an increase in demand on shelter resources even given that they have implemented homelessness prevention resources and eviction prevention resources during the course of the pandemic. Hopefully they'll be able to sustain those after this recovery period and recovery funding ends as they've prevented hundreds and hundreds of households from entering the homeless response system and experiencing homelessness. They've also increased their capacity to provide permanent supportive housing by building some infrastructure with bringing Cross Park Place and 501 online with 60 units of permanent supportive housing.They've also increased capacity to provide housing through a scattered site modality by using local landlords and partnerships with the additional housing choice vouchers, 147 total housing choice vouchers. Canganelli noted they were ahead of the curve as far as some other Iowa communities in developing permanent supportive housing and advancing some of these resources so they're not seeing the increase to the same degree that communities like Des Moines and Cedar Rapids are seeing. However, the fact is that they have a really major feeder in the community, which is the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and the VA Health Care System which gives an incredibly complex population to work with, and they're seeing very significant discharge increases and complexity of issues of people being discharged to the streets. So, while they're not to the point where some other municipalities are in the state they're definitely not maintaining the ground she once thought they were achieving.There are other macro issues that are happening around them such as that change in the protection for housing, being able to present a housing choice voucher and have that being used as a source of income, that's a major hit. Krotz is really surprised by that and also alarmed and disgusted by it, she preaches a lot about how people on disability or SSI may only get$700 or$800 a month and even if they have a voucher,they're spending a significant amount of income on rent, and that's if they can find a place because of the price range. Now, there's another barrier that landlords are requiring, and she is just really appalled by that. Canganelli noted that barrier clearly has a disparate impact on veterans and individuals with disabilities and in so much as there's a correlation with poverty, and of course households of color. Other macro issues that they're seeing is the healthcare system that has been overrun and never recovered.They weren't in great shape when they went into the pandemic, and they've been overrun ever since. The emergency room department and psychiatric inpatient units are out of control. People are being discharged in all manner of conditions to the street and to shelter, there are significant changes in the numbers and the complexity of issues that they're seeing and receiving from medical institutions. 4 Housing and Community Development Commission November 16, 2023 Page 5 of 11 Krotz asked how they receive information that somebody's being discharged but they have a special need. Canganelli stated they just show up at the door or in the parking lot. Sullivan stated that's something that needs to be improved,their communication and relations with the University of Iowa and the VA, because they know that they are discharging people to homelessness, but their social services department doesn't get involved and help to get the information transferred and they've seen a decrease in the social work department within hospitals and in doing the resource navigation work needed. Individuals are coming in with no referrals, not a lot of resources that they've been enrolled in, and things like Medicaid are really the only resource that they're coming to shelter with. Canganelli noted there are a number of different reasons why they are overwhelmed, the resources that used to exist in a continuum of care like housing placement services, residential care facilities are gone. Community based housing providers that are there that look like they should be able to provide ongoing housing and supports for individuals all number of barriers or rules in place that prevent people from being able to access those services that again push more people into shelter and then in line for permanent supportive housing. They have community-based housing providers that sit on vacancies and will not take people that have been referred who qualify for their services. There are also barriers that prevent them from accessing housing first and other entities that have become more out of reach due to system changes within the Department of Health and Human Services continuum. Entities that are paid for every billable unit of service to provide care and housing for people are finding ways not to. Canganelli noted however there have some really good things that have changed, some that may be minor, but changes within criminal justice system and the nation has moved towards adopting policies and interventions that are intended to reduce people who are suffering from a mental illness to the criminal justice system. By reducing overexposure to the criminal justice system, primarily meaning incarceration, as some of these interventions and policies have been implemented, and even locally, who was positively impacted by that change,well it wasn't wealthy people who had mental health issues being incarcerated, their lives haven't changed, it's the poor who were over incarcerated and are suffering from mental illness and their main provider treatment provider being the criminal justice system, prisons, but now those individuals are successfully not being incarcerated. However,where are those very poor individuals landing,they didn't build up the housing system to address the housing needs for these individuals that had been functionally housed in jails and prisons so now they're on the street and in shelters. So that positive intention and that positive change is having this very significant impact and changing the world of homeless services and is having an impact on what they're seeing as far as manifesting unsheltered homelessness because they're not able to accommodate folks in shelters. Canganelli noted they're here to talk about street outreach, it's a new resource and intervention that's been deployed within this continuum of services that really is intended to create the system, a homeless response system, and part of this move to housing first, or working to end homelessness and rapidly prevent homelessness where possible and move people to housing immediately from the street. They have looked at communities where they have also been successful in deploying this homeless response system. Where homelessness is increasing, legislator policymakers are pointing to housing first as being the cause for creating this increase and that's absolutely not the case. They can't build themselves out of this fast enough because they've languished and don't have enough housing opportunities in the market to address the needs of people who are at zero to 30% area median income. Trying to find those data points and find out what the real gap is difficult. She gave an example of Denver, she was there about a month ago, and it looks very different from just two years ago. There has always been a significant presence of unsheltered homelessness in Denver, but she's never seen it like she saw it October. There were encampments, very large encampments, all in downtown areas and they've done a lot to increase permanent supportive housing opportunities for people. Their chamber of commerce, and their local news reporting, reported that 16% of the population of Denver has an income of$20,000 or less and that housing opportunities that exist in Denver, for individuals at$20,000 or less of income, there is a gap of between 70,000 units and 125,000 units based on the way that these different entities calculated what that gap is, so how do they address that. Dennis noted there's no incentive for politicians to address it. 5 Housing and Community Development Commission November 16, 2023 Page 6 of 11 Reedus noted its really disheartening to see what has become of housing and the expense to be housed and the lagging wages, it doesn't even have to do with a federally mandated minimum wage-there are places in states and cities that don't pay livable wages. She remembers 2, 3, 4 years ago when they started talking about$15 an hour minimum wage and the whole world was like, no they can't do that. Well, that's not even a livable wage anymore. A livable wage is above $20 an hour at this point to be able to afford the kinds of housing options that there are. Reedus noted they get about$35,000 from the city, is that part of the ARPA money or is it going to be an ongoing thing. She is interested in since Brooks and Sullivan and the street outreach program has started, how has that increased success. Sullivan gave an example of what street outreach has done, when they opened Cross Park Place it took six months for the all the units to be filled. Canganelli mentioned the length of time that it took to fill the 501 units, only two months, and that is almost entirely because of street outreach, because the street outreach specialist was out engaging with those individuals and reading them for housing. The amount of work that Brooks does in terms of helping people gather those essential documents, like a birth certificate, a social security card, an ID, and then also having those conversations of how to get into an apartment, talking them through that entire process was essential to moving very quickly and getting people housed and moving them into 501. That is a micro example of how street outreach was a huge benefit to moving people quickly into housing when it became available. In that situation there was multiple units available and now Brooks has the challenge of finding those individual units. Brooks noted now there's not this pool of units available so now he needs to create a support network and weave the services that Canganelli was talking about to help in the interim for when somebody has engaged in services and started to get to a place where they're ready for housing when housing is available, creating a support network in the interim. Because of street outreach they now know just about the majority of people who are living unsheltered the community where before it was sporadic engagement. Reedus noted it helps to meet them at their place of need. Sullivan acknowledged exactly, it's a very small community, word travels fast and so what Brooks experienced is that somebody will meet somebody who's experiencing homelessness and they'll be like, hey do you know Sam?And they'll get them connected. Also because of the partnerships that they now have with the city where they meet on a monthly basis with numerous departments, they all know of the street outreach and know of Brooks and have his number so when there is somebody who needs resources, there clear partnerships that can reach out to Brooks and get him connected with that individual. That's probably one of the biggest changes, having a centralized person that everybody knows and can contact. Krotz was just talking with Thul today about this zero to 30% and just has to believe that there's something that they can do to help start a process as long as it may take to find some sort of solution to this because it seems to her, she feels it personally. She falls in that category and feels personally like Iowa City has become an exclusive place to live. She sometimes feels like she is not wanted, because she can only afford X amount of rent and that's even with assistance. She used to be really ashamed that she had to have help but is not embarrassed anymore. It is what it is because of her disabilities. But there's got to be something that they can do because she knows the city has a commitment to having affordable housing for people in a place where they want to live. Somebody who has a little bit of power maybe can start quantifying how many people this actually involves and trying to work out solutions. She is saddened to hear about the people that they work with who have the vouchers and still can't find a place. Pierce asked if that voucher change was a federal law change or a state law change or is it just something that's happened organically with landlords. Canganelli noted Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and Des Moines all had a local ordinance in place that protected the use of a housing choice voucher as a form of income, which protected households that were presenting them.Then in 2022 the State legislature made the decision to remove the ability of municipalities to have that local control. Pierce noted it's part of that larger conversation of the State removing that control. Canganelli stated they had a 6 Housing and Community Development Commission November 16, 2023 Page 7 of 11 rollout period, but they've definitely seen the impact. It was very disappointing to learn that it was a local landlord and high-profile individual in the community that led that campaign to the legislature and lead that effort for the policy change. Pierce noted it struck him that it was mentioned the turnover they see in the two particular complexes that they've developed is due to death, and wondered if they could talk more about that. Sullivan explained that at Cross Park Place they saw a number of individuals who passed away within the first 18 months of that program, probably due to a couple reasons. One is the population who live at Cross Park are definitely, at this point, aging in place. They're in older demographics-they are seeing individuals more from 60 to 80. Also,those were individuals who had pretty significant health care costs and those were individuals that were already frail from living outside for so long. While it is not necessarily proven medically, once people who have protected themselves for really long amounts of time outside to survive are getting their basic needs met on a daily basis,their tolerances for themselves and how to take care of themselves are pretty high. Once people move into housing and they start to let that guard down a little bit and start to engage in health care, which is positive. but the body doesn't have to protect themselves as strongly as they were outside. It would be really interesting to see what kind of studies are out there and whether if as permanent supportive housing continues to be evidence-based practice with long term results and outcomes. Reedus asked what other reasons they would leave other than death or incarceration. Canganelli stated they can stay forever;they have a renewable a lease. They have had a small number of people who have left housing when they've been able to take that project-based voucher and move it into housing in the community or locate closer to family and they consider those really successful exits. There have also been a very small number of individuals that have had preexisting criminal records and have been arrested and gone to jail. Sullivan added there's also individuals who need a higher level of care with that aging in place, and potentially need to just have more in home supports that they can't provide and will go to a higher level of care. Canganelli acknowledged that's where they're struggling now is seeing more people that have higher needs than really permanent supportive housing was ever intended to address and need 24/7 contact care and those resources do not exist anymore. Pierce noted he has also seen that people are needing a much higher need because that's something that he even saw a few years ago when he was on the board of an affordable housing provider, people would come to them but they couldn't meet their needs. Sullivan stated the vulnerability of the individuals that they are serving, and not just based on their physical abilities, is significantly increased and is really challenging to watch and witness. Because as Canganelli mentioned there is the decrease in the institution beds available in the State and when entities have to decrease their beds from 54 to 16 because of rules that the State is putting out, and having to have certain ratios as they don't want too many people with disabilities living in the same space together, all that impacts where people can stay. So while there are all really good reasons for why the State has limits, like maybe the number of people who can live in a in a building together, what has happened instead is just reducing the number of beds and not adding any anywhere else. They also saw the next phase of de-institutionalization where they're closing these beds but not providing any infrastructure to the community-based services within those homes and within those other kinds of residential community settings, but not just in terms of the number of beds, but also the training that the staff in those buildings need. Then on top of that there was a pandemic that completely wiped out the workforce that is now needing to be rebuilt and retrained. They could sit here and talk probably for another hour of all of the examples of individuals whose needs are way beyond the scope of services in a shelter, and even in a permanent supportive housing building, but they are doing what they can because they have nowhere else to go. No matter where they are in the community, they are serving them,that's their mission. Krotz asked if Brooks anticipates that through the people he has worked with and met, that there will be some who won't want to go into the winter housing and rather stay where they are. Brooks replied yes, there's a small number of people who stay outside every year. The third weekend in January nationally there's a count done that homeless response services all participate in and it's done then because it's the time of year when the most shelter emergency beds are available and they're able to accurately count the 7 Housing and Community Development Commission November 16,2023 Page 8 of 11 number of people who spend the entire winter outside. What they can do to help those folks is provide survival items such as tents, sleeping bags, hand warmers, gloves, etc.,those are all things that people need more consistently to make it through winter. Reedus said folks could look at their website to see the Amazon wish list if they want to participate. Canganelli noted the street count in Johnson County has stayed pretty much between 10 to 15 people during that last Wednesday in January. The Commission thanked Shelter House for their presentation as it was very informative. CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION TO REVISE AID TO AGENCY DEFINITIONS AND ELIGIBILITY: Kubly stated last year during the Legacy funding round, there were two Legacy Agencies that were not awarded funds initially by HCDC and HCDC expressed that they wanted them to be able to apply for the Emerging funds at that point. However, staff learned that because of a resolution that's in place, they were not eligible. Therefore, this proposal is to revise the regulations and to allow Legacy Agencies to apply for Emerging funds if they were not awarded Legacy funding. She noted the previous resolution for Emerging agencies was done in 2018 and that was prior to some of the big changes to the program that took place in 2020 with the Consolidated Plan as the Consolidated Plan didn't really address the Emerging agencies.Again, what staff is proposing is if a Legacy Agency is not funded through the Legacy process,they would still be eligible to apply for Emerging Agency funding. Other than that, they didn't make any other substantial changes to the definitions that are different from how they're currently operating the program. Kubly clarified this is not the Aid to Agencies subcommittee's work-that's a separate process. This is just being brought forward now because the Emerging Agency funding round is coming up and staff wants to know if HCDC would recommend allowing the Legacy Agencies to apply for Emerging funding if they did not receive Legacy funding. Reedus asked what the criteria is for being eligible for Emerging Agency funds. Kubly explained they had a definition of Emerging Agencies from the resolution that was in the agenda packet and now it will be essentially any nonprofit that's not receiving Legacy funding in a given year, and they have to be a 501(c)3 in good standing as well. Reedus doesn't have a problem with it as there's been sometimes in the past couple of years it felt like they didn't give as much money away as they could have and maybe there was available money left on the table. Kubly noted they can do up to 5% of the Aid to Agencies budget for Emerging Agencies. That name was kind of derived to be intended for new agencies, but then as the process evolved and Legacy Agencies were established, they realized that there were groups that weren't really fitting in either category. Emerging is now kind of a catch-all for anyone who isn't a Legacy. Perhaps they need to change the naming. Dennis just wants to make sure that HCDC, as the reviewing body that recommends to the Council, do their due diligence, so does staff receive the ongoing reports or whatever from Emerging Agencies and does staff have any concerns about any agency that's received money? Because HCDC sees the applications, does the recommendations, and then that's it. They don't always know about the follow through. She acknowledged the Emerging Agencies don't get a lot of money. Kubly noted if staff had any concerns about an eligibility or compliance, they would put in the staff notes for the commissioners. Krotz motioned to recommend approval of the revised Aid to Agencies definitions and eligibility as presented. Seconded by Dennis.Approved 8-0. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF FY25 APPLICATION MATERIALS: Dennis asked regarding what they just recommended about the Emerging Agencies definition and eligibility as they must be a 501(c)3-why then on the application does it say they can be public,for-profit faith based, CHDO or other? Thul responded that staff can update it. 8 Housing and Community Development Commission November 18.2023 Page 9nf11 Dennis noted a comment on the HOME and CDBG application for the scoring criteria, on number five- the scoring criteria of7O% to0S% leveraging uffunds iaolot. She iunot sure how much isappropriate. Overall, it looks good, but will bring up same issue every year until stuff get changed. Thul stated they did not change the scoring criteria from last year but did change it the year before. Prior to that, the leverage question used to be a huge portion of the scoring and it really swayed the outcome if they didn't have a large amount of leverage so changing that last year did help with the distribution of the score. |ttook the weight away from that one question. Dennis asked about question number seven. If the agency does not have the resources or fiscal capacity tncomplete the project, ahavvnu|dn'tgivmthmnoanynnoneynrmnypuin\a. Butod||, 1heyouu|dsounepom8y well and that's serious in her opinion. If someone gets a zero, she is going to recommend they don't get any money. Dennis stated she brings upevery year part three, number eight and what income are they targeting. These are federal funds, and the federal government has regulations that everybody has to follow and comply with,which can bevery time consuming. Sowhy does the City put more regulations nntop of what the federal regulations already are. She stated everybody has tubmunder 80%for CDBGand for HOME funds there's a formula that the federal government gives the applicant. For instance, rental housing is more restrictive. Dennis noted if there's an affordable housing provider that has a rental unit available, and the City said that the person that moves into that house has to be under 30% area median income. If a family that comes in and applies and they make $2 over the 30%AMI -there isn't another place for them.They make too much money and don't qualify. Thul noted the hard part is using one application and one scoring criteria to address both housing and public facilities projects andaokadiftheoornrniaoionheoanevioiontheyvvuu|d |ikek,mnmke1uthe question. Dennis said they should just ask if everybody that they're going to serve is under 80% because the HOME program regulations, especially for rentals.The HOME application for homeownership is more than likely it's going to be between 50% and 80%, but for the rental, if there's so many units then so many have to be below 60%. She can't remember the whole formula, but there's a formula. Reedus suggested that question could state a primary percent of median income under 80%. Dennis noted the application should follow the federal rates/guidelines. The City is adding more stringent regulations than the federal government requires. Thu| noted itreally depends onhow people submit their applications. This one iareally just helping them score and determine who the project imserving. AnmcdoLmUy. mornoofthennostnacmntprojeobs1hay've done with The Housing Fellowship allow the max ofGU% AMI. Dennis suggested ifthey're going todoarental project andw/ant8` nnakeaur*thayuanhouue everybody, they are going to say they will be serving everybody at and under 30%. Everybody's chasing points on these applications and if they say more than 30%AMI, they will lose points. Thul thinks the root of this was the last City Steps plan that incentivized serving 0%to 30% AML That could change next year with the new City Steps plan. Input from the commission will be requested. Vogel motioned tmapprove theFY25 application materials asdiscussed. Seconded by Patel. Approved 8^0. STAFF&COMMISSION UPDATES: Reedus gave a quick update on the Aid to Agencies subcommittee report. She stated they had a good meeting and really broke down the application. The biggest changes they are recommending is a profile information section that the agencies can do outside of the application process which will reduce the 9 Housing and Community Development Commission November 16,2023 Page 10 of 11 application.The second area would be the recommendation regarding an agency's outcomes. Hopefully United Way will get rid of that portion and do something else to allow the agencies to indicate how they're going to measure their program, and how they define success. The subcommittee thinks that would help a lot to be able to get that information because if an agency has multiple programs and they're getting funding from multiple entities such as United Way, Iowa City, Johnson County, Coralville-they're going to have different outcomes and their outcomes might not even match what Iowa City is giving money for. Next the subcommittee is going to be going through some of the rules and such.They will only have one or two more meetings and then she can make a final report to the Commission. The report is going to be recommendations of things that they'd like to see done. Reedus also noted the agencies were really engaged and there was some great comments and feedback in the report,especially with regard to the scoring process. Dennis proposed moving the January meeting ahead one week as she would not be able to attend at the current date proposed. Reedus noted the report from the subcommittee is going to be presented at that meeting and it would be nice to have Dennis here because she's got background and expertise. The Commissioners all agreed to move the January meeting to January 11. Thul put together a calendar for the upcoming FY25 cycle and included it in the packet. It is a little early to start thinking about it, but Thul wanted to place dates on their radar and give new commissioners an idea of what HCDC will be working on next during the funding cycle when it comes to reviewing the applications,getting scores turned in, and those kinds of things. Thul also noted they are trying something a little different. The question-and-answer session will be conducted in writing similar to what was done recently for Legacy Aid to Agencies. There will be no February HCDC meeting and instead staff have reserved time to meet one on one with any commissioners that would like help with scoring or reviewing applications. Reedus noted the questions are important and she always have questions that she submits for the Q&A and then has more questions when reviewing the responses. Perhaps it would be helpful to have a small work session before the questions go out where people who want to attend could, and the Commission could come up with the questions together. Her goal is to try and find a way to have more robust questions and to come up with all the questions that they need to have answered. Is a work session treated the same as a regular meeting in terms of public access and notification and all that. Thul stated if there's a quorum and they're discussing HCDC business, it would need to be a public meeting.The difficulty with an additional meeting would be timing.The January meeting is January 11 and the Q&A is in February. Reedus asked about as a secondary proposal that they submit the questions to staff, get answers, and then submit them to the Commission ahead of time. Kubly stated they do encourage anyone that wants to walk through the applications with staff to do so. That's why they set up the office hours for February, especially given all the new Commission members. Staff can help walk through applications and maybe that will help develop questions as well. ADJOURNMENT: Vogel moved to adjourn, Dennis seconded the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passed 8-0. 10 Housing and Community Development Commission November 16,2023 Page 11 of 11 Housing and Community Development Commission Attendance Record 2022-2023 Name Terms Exp. 9115 10120 11117 1/19 2/16 3130 4/20 5118 7120 9/21 10121 11/16 Beining, Kaleb 6130/24 O/E X X X O/E X X O/E X X X X Dennis, Maryann 6/30/25 O/E X X X X X O/E X X O/E X X Haylett,Jennifer 6/30125 X O/E O/E X X O/E X O/E Krotz, Karol 6/30/24 X X X X O/E X X X X X X X Reedus, Becci 6/30/24 X X X X X X X X X X X X Vogel, Kyle 6/30/26 X X X O/E X X O/E X X X O/E X Eckhardt, Michael 6/30125 X X X X X X O/E O/E Patel, Kiran 6/30/26 — — O/E X X X X X O/E X Pierce,James 6130/2026 — — — — X X X X Subramanian, Saranya 06/30/2025 — — — Denise Szecsei 06/30/2025 — — — _ _ X Resigned from Commission Key-. X = Present O =Absent O/E = Absent/Excused -- =Vacant 11 Item Number: 4.b. CITY OF IOWA CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT April 2, 2024 Human Rights Commission: February 27 Attachments: Human Rights Commission: February 27 Approved Minutes Human Rights Commission February 27,2024 Emma J.Harvat Hall Commissioners present:Jahnavi Pandya, Doug Kollasch,Kelsey Paul Shantz, Elizabeth Mendez Shannon, Viana Qaduora, Roger Lusala,Ahmed Ismail. Commissioners on Zoom: None. Commissioners absent:Sylvia Jons,Mark Pries. Staff present:Stefanie Bowers,Sergeant Kevin Bailey. Recommendation to City Council: No. Meeting called to order:5:31 PM. Native American Land Acknowledgement: Ismail read the Land Acknowledgement. Presentation to outgoing commissioner Ahmed Ismail: Ismail will be moving for work therefore he will no longer be able to hold his position on the commission.Ahmed received a plaque for his services. Correspondence:Staff responded to an email from a commissioner out of West Des Moines.They would like to collaborate with commissions across the state to spread awareness of civil rights. Approval of January 23,2024,meeting minutes: Paul Shantz moved,and Lusala seconded.The motion passed 7-0. Public comment of items not on the agenda: None. Updates on Outreach and Engagement by the Police Department:Sergeant Bailey reviewed what he and the engagement team did in February.Sergeant Bailey said they will be continuing lessons on financial aid abuse of seniors as it is a popular program. Planning and preparation for summer activities continues. Bailey summarized his experience with the incarcerated art program, his presentation at the University of Iowa about Policing in America (defense perspective vs. policing perspective),daycare safety presentation, and "Project Fun"and the turn out. Updates and feedback from the food bank drive,soul food dinner,and immigrant Q&A were also covered. Bailey noted that officer involvement has improved across the force. Bailey ended his update answering questions from the commission, including language barriers and what is in store for future immigration conversations.Sergeant Bailey stated an increase in participation in these conversations will require childcare,flexible scheduling,and possible recordings or emails to allow for accessibility. Trans Day of Visibility proclamation and event:It is stated and agreed that a Trans Day of Visibility event. There is a draft of the proclamation started and it will be sent to staff to submit for the Mayor's consideration. It is suggested that a program/event be planned for near the actual date of March 31. 1 Racial Equity and Social Justice Grant: Grant applications are being evaluated at the time of this meeting. A loose deadline for individual grant rankings is this Friday. Commissioners discussed what the upcoming special meeting dedicated to reviewing the grant applications and making a recommendation to City Council will look like,and staff reminded everyone to bring their grant rubrics to have and use at that upcoming meeting. Commission Committees: Building Bridges(Paul Shantz,Kollasch,Pandya) Breaking Bread(Dr. Liz,Qaduora) Reciprocal Relationships(Lusala, Pries) Jons will be able to select where she would like to serve between the Breaking Bread and Reciprocal Relationships committees. Efforts to avoid commission committees' participation declining throughout the year was discussed with a suggestion to incorporate set roles,which would be represented as F.O.R. • F: Facilitator-keep meeting on track,set agenda,define next steps. • O:Organizer-provide date,time, location,and/or zoom link. • R: Recorder-take notes,submit notes, report out after meetings. These"roles"are flexible and can be changed around within the committees and by event.Commissioners agreed this is a something to incorporate in future committee meetings. Transgender Day of Visibility program coordination was assigned to the Building Bridges committee. Announcements of commissioners: • Ismail mentioned an Iowa City Foreign Relations Council democracy event that will be held in the fall and suggested for commissioners to get involved. • Pandya visited recently with the mobility director for the County and discussed transit- related options available and the concerns within these options. • Mendez-Shannon worked with junior high students and noted their interest in information on how to budget. • Kollasch attended a panel discussion with two Johnson County Supervisors to discuss the Board of Regents'directives to the three state universities regarding DEI initiatives. Kollasch also attended a University of Iowa DEI task force presentation discussing how to work with new DEI rules/laws. • Paul-Shantz attended a conference in Barcelona connecting leaders to global issues including climate action. • Qaduora provided an update on World Hijab Day and mentioned the upcoming Community free meal on March 22 at the Coralville library and encouraged commission members to attend. 2 Lusala attended the Black History Ball and stated it was a successful community event and encouraged all commissioners to attend in the future. Announcements of staff:Staff provided a summary of the anticipated March agenda for the commission. 1. Community members would like to talk to the commission about recommending to the City Council to establish a transit commission. 2. Historians/consulting firm hired by the county to promote the renaming to Lulu Johnson to make a presentation for the committee. Adjourned:6:31 PM. The meeting can be viewed at htt s: cit channel4.com video.html?series=Local%20Government. 3 N N N N N O N P h N W t7 N h a A oa � O N � U e O (yy N CO UWN '� t00v mW xd " N x Q x x x Q x x x N N d d L L L ada N o ;61 c W c � •O ri.+ Le 'O m VI � •� � yi a L � ^� � d W •> o ° E i on '� C