CDAC October 2021 Draft Minutes
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DRAFT MINUTES CITY OF GLENDALE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE VIRTUAL MEETING – ZOOM ONLINE OCTOBER 21, 2021 6:30 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT: Lisa Baker, Chair Leslee Miele, Vice Chair Kelly Carbello David Giles Theodora Hackenberg Ezekiel Ojo Alicia Rubio Abby Vick MEMBERS ABSENT: Elida Feltus Kirstin Flores Vivian Lizarraga STAFF PRESENT: Matthew Hess, Revitalization Administrator Ismael Cantu, CAP Administrator Karen Mofford, Housing Supervisor Michelle Yates, Community Engagement Manager Heather Grant, Administrative Support Specialist Lt. James Cunningham, Glendale Police Department Officer Greg Mills, Glendale Police Department 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Baker called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Roll Call was taken. 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS No comments were received via email or voicemail. 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Motion by Committee-member Carbello, second by Committee-member Giles, to approve the September 16, 2021 Community Development Advisory Committee meeting minutes as written. The motion carried 8 – 0. 5. OLD BUSINESS None. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Sec. 25-90. Camping prohibited; exceptions Mr. Hess recalled that the Committee previously requested an update and discussion on enforcement of the City’s camping ordinance as it relates to homelessness. The ordinance was provided to the Minutes of the Community Development Advisory Committee October 21, 2021 Page 2 Committee-members, which classifies violations as a class 1 misdemeanor. He announced that members of the City’s Police Department were present to provide information. Lt. Cunningham stated that the police have been trying to conduct outreach when working with homeless individuals; however, a lot of people are not really receptive to the help. Officer Mills said that the urban camping ordinance was more of a last option to enforce as he tries to get the homeless individuals involved with CASS or similar programs. He relayed that he had to enforce four or five cases of urban camping in the last month. He again stressed that the ordinance is only enforced after services have been offered and several citations have been issued to the individual. Lt. Cunningham reported that beds are available for the homeless; however, many refuse the beds or the services. He said many times there is mental illness or drug abuse and the psychology is very complex. He stated that the officers give the individuals a lot of opportunities to come in and obtain services; however, it can take many attempts to get the individuals to do so. Committee-member Rubio inquired about the process for repeat offenders. Lt. Cunningham explained that once a citation was issued, the individual has fifteen or thirty days to appear, depending on the court schedule. He stated that cite and release has been the directive due to COVID. He said that if the individual did not appear in court, a warrant would be issued and the officers could pick up the individual. He relayed that staff was working on a program for misdemeanor repeat offenders. Committee-member Rubio asked if funding was an issue with developing the program. Lt. Cunningham replied in the negative. Committee-member Rubio commented that she is a long-time Glendale resident and used to play at Chicken Park. She stated that she recently took her daughter there and there were people brushing their teeth and taking a shower in the park. She understood the police had a hard job and felt bad for the homeless individuals as well. She said that things are better across from City Hall. She wondered how to court big businesses and development to come to downtown Glendale with the homeless situation in the City. She asked the officers to let the Committee know how it could be of assistance. She stated that she was supportive of getting people the services that they need. Mr. Hess stated that the Homelessness Master Services Agreement was a comprehensive approach to homelessness and it included the Repeat Offender Program. He relayed that Phoenix Rescue Mission was working on this program with the Police Department and it was one piece of the overall strategy. Committee-member Hackenberg said that she was pleased to see the ‘It’s Okay to Say No’ signs and asked if there would be more signs placed in the City. Mr. Hess replied that this could be addressed as a future agenda topic. Committee-member Carbello asked if Judge Finn’s diversion program ended when Judge Finn left. Officer Mills replied that the diversion program was still in existence. Mr. Hess stated that staff can provide more information to the Committee on the program. Committee-member Carbello suggested perhaps expanding on this program, since it was already in place. Chair Baker inquired as to what constituted a violation to get a ticket for urban camping. Officer Mills explained that typically, a warning is given first. He said people generally stay in the same area Minutes of the Community Development Advisory Committee October 21, 2021 Page 3 and he deals with the many of the same people every day. He said some people leave a mess behind and he will then call the Right-of-Way Department or Parks and Recreation to pick up the trash. Lt. Cunningham relayed that an individual does not have to camp in the same place over time to be cited for urban camping. He stated that if the person has bedding, the officers will look into their sleeping set-up. Committee-member Carbello asked if the officers have seen an increase in homelessness or if the number of homeless in Glendale increases if the number of Phoenix homeless decreases. Lt. Cunningham explained that there are individuals who do not want to have contact with the police and they move on, however, others move in. Committee-member Rubio thanked the officers for their good work. Chair Baker concurred and thanked the officers for attending the meeting. b. Division Updates – First Quarter of FY2021-22 Mr. Hess announced that as one of the CDAC goals for FY21-22 was to improve performance reporting for programs and subrecipient contracts, a quarterly Division report would be presented by staff this evening. Mr. Cantu gave a report on the Community Action Program (CAP) and its Crisis Assistance Services, which included the following information. Expenditure Overview: • Households Served: 467 • Services Provided: 830 • Assistance Provided: $1,431,393 • Percent Expended: 19.6% • Funds Available: $5,860,050 Housing Assistance Detail and Utility Assistance Detail: Detailed financials for assistance programs were provided. Operational Updates: • 3 new full-time positions approved (FY21-22) • Emergency Rent Assistance Program o ERA-2: $5,164,515 (received/vouchers) o ERA-2: $1,086,198 (expended) • Additional allocations expected: ARPA LIHEAP energy assistance Vice Chair Miele relayed that most of the school district social workers were receiving calls about immediate evictions and the callers express urgencies to the eviction. She asked if landlords were providing less notice. Mr. Cantu stated that evictions have been ramping up because of the expiration of the COVID eviction moratorium. He stated that this week, he has been calling landlords on behalf of residents to request a few more days to get rent payments out. He offered the CAP Office’s assistance with calls that the social workers were receiving and explained how his department could potentially help tenants with three months’ rent. Vice Chair Miele relayed that she does send people to the CAP Office. Mr. Hess stated that those in need should contact the CAP Office as soon as Minutes of the Community Development Advisory Committee October 21, 2021 Page 4 possible because if an eviction was occurring in a day or two, it restricted the ability for CAP to provide assistance. Committee-member Carbello asked if people would be sent to CASS if they were about to be evicted. Mr. Cantu replied that if the people were not evicted yet, he would see what his team could do as opposed to sending them straight to CASS. He commented on the importance of not duplicating efforts. Mr. Hess stated that if people were in crisis, they could put their name in at many places. Mr. Hess stated that if a person started with CAP first, staff could make referrals to other centers if CAP itself could not provide assistance. Ms. Mofford gave a report on the City of Glendale Housing Authority’s Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher Programs, which included the following information. Expenditure Overview: • Public Housing: $373,982 • Housing Choice Voucher: $2,537,072 • Percent Expended: 98% • Funds Available: $239,371 Performance Overview: Detailed statistics for the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher Programs were provided. Operational Updates: • Foster Youth to Independence Program o 14 leased and as of today, 10 issued/searching • Landlord Incentive Program • Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) Program • Administrative Plan Additional of (Project-Based Vouchers) PBV and EHV o PBV: These are in conjunction with developers and non-profits. The voucher stays with the unit and does not move with the tenant. Mr. Hess stated that the Glendale Housing Authority was the only housing authority in the state that has exceeded the minimum standard for the number of handicap accessible units. Mr. Hess gave a report on the Community Revitalization Planning & Development Projects and Programs, which included the following information. Programs: • Rehabilitation Projects: 35 completed, 38 in process, 21 on waitlist • Homeowner Water Assistance: 66 approved, $33,174 expended, new applicants to CAP o The demand for water assistance was not as high as hoped and some of the unused funds will be allocated to landlord incentives • TBRA: 1 housed, 8 looking, 15 in eligibility, 16 ineligible o Issues with the rental market are affecting this program. People are being allowed to find housing outside of Glendale. • Master Services Agreement: Program launch completed. 24/7 line operational and services are now available to the public. o Strategic marketing and proper messaging to the public is important. o A meeting is scheduled for next week regarding messaging and materials. Minutes of the Community Development Advisory Committee October 21, 2021 Page 5 Projects: • Bethany Crossing o Two HOME-assisted units o All units are LIHTC compliant o 72 total units o At 100% lease up • Cielo Apartments o Closed escrow / $21 million investment o 80 units o Completion in early 2023 Operational Updates • FY2020-21 CAPER submitted with less than $5.5 million expended • FY2021-22 funding agreements in place • Technology upgrade implementation started. This will streamline all financial reporting and will include a dashboard. It will increase staff’s capacity and efficiencies. It should be up and running by February 2022. • Recruitments for two positions in process Chair Baker asked if the phone number for the new Master Services Agreement would be publically available by the next CDAC meeting. Mr. Hess stated that he could not guarantee it, but the goal was to have this available as soon as possible. He explained that messaging was needed regarding when to call the phone number versus when to call 911 and to inform the public that the service was only for Glendale residents. He stated that the messaging needed to be very clear to avoid causing any confusion. He relayed that a soft, internal launch was done with City departments that interact with the homeless population and staff was ironing out the wrinkles. This has been an ongoing task for the last five to six weeks. He commented that now was the time to work on marketing and advertising. Committee-member Rubio asked if the phone line would have Spanish speakers. Mr. Hess replied in the positive. He relayed that the phone line would be 24/7 and a call would be answered at either the Norton and Ramsey Center or the downtown campus. He explained that operators who answer the phones at either location must provide the same consistent information. Committee-member Rubio asked if there would always be a live operator answering the phone. Mr. Hess replied that there were some times when a message had to be left; however, this was not the intent. He explained that if an operator was on a call at one location, the call should roll over to the other campus. He said that one big part of the program that he wanted was for a live operator to answer the phone. Chair Baker inquired about the number of operators working the phones. Mr. Hess stated that at the Norton and Ramsey Center, there were two primaries and two or three landlines were added. He noted that if all of those lines were occupied, the call would roll over to the downtown campus. He recalled that there were two people at the downtown campus to answer the phone lines. 7. DIRECTOR’S REPORT No report. 8. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS Committee-member Rubio voiced appreciation for staff and stated that it was evident that their work was not just a job to them. She said that there is a lot of work that goes into all of the programs and Minutes of the Community Development Advisory Committee October 21, 2021 Page 6 commended staff for doing a good job. Mr. Hess stated that staff’s vision is for Glendale to be a national model for Human Services. 9. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting of the Community Development Advisory Committee will be held virtually on November 18, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. 10. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Committee-member Rubio, second by Vice Chair Miele, to adjourn the meeting at 7:52 p.m. Motion carried 7 – 0. [Committee-member Vick was no longer present.]