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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOC Housing Authority minutes 051816 : E G K Orange County Housing Authority (OCHA) Board w Minutes May 18, 2016 6:00 p.m. Southern Human Services Building Conference Room ID 2501 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 4 Members Present: Jean Bolduc, Chair; Diane Beecham,Vice-Chair; Evelyn Johann; Mark Marcoplos; Daniel Bullock;Tammy Jacobs j Members Absent: Gina James (excused) Staff Present: Audrey Spencer-Horsley, Director, Department Housing Human Rights and Community Development and Secretary, OCHA; Angela Rockett, Administrative Assistant E Welcome/Introduction E_ The meeting was called to order at 6:15 p.m. by Jean Bolduc, Chair. Approval of Minutes Evelyn Johann made the motion to approve the minutes for the April 20, 2016 meeting, seconded by Mark Marcoplos and was approved unanimously. Public Hearing: Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV)Annual Plan t Audrey Spencer-Horsley gave a brief overview of the HCV Annual Plan. Jean Bolduc then opened the floor for the Public Hearing and comment on the HCV Program Annual Plan. There were no speakers or public comments. Mark Marcoplos wanted to know the status of the Resident Advisory Board. Angela f Rockett stated that there had been two meetings and they went well. Ms. Spencer-Horsley noted that at the recent Advisory Board Meeting April 13, 2016, three people volunteered to serve on the Resident Advisory Board. She said that Community Empowerment Fund hosted the meeting at their Chapel Hill Office and participated in the initial meeting held in Hillsborough last fall. The residents shared their concerns about lack of good community relations at the properties where they lived and offered suggestions on the Proposed Affordable Housing Strategic Plan for the county. Tammy Jacobs suggested that when there are community meetings planned to let Board members know so they may attend and have more direct involvement in hearing community concerns and suggestions. There were no further comments and the Public Hearing was closed. I Departmental/County Report c Audrey Spencer-Horsley provided an update on the HCV homeownership initiative and stated that one person is ready for homeownership. She stated that two or three more are expected to be ready by the end of the summer according to the Director for the Center on Homeownership and Economic ! Development, a new partner in working to increase the level of participation and success. She said I<< attendance and interest in the orientations has been very good. She stated that the challenge now is finding suitable units for homeownership by program participants. E fig E i Audrey Spencer-Horsley noted that Diane Beecham will be the representative from the Affordable Housing Advisory Board (AHAB) on the Bond Education Committee. Ms. Spencer-Horsley provided an update on the Proposed Affordable Housing Strategic Plan, community outreach meetings and discussions at the Board of Orange County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting. The OCHA Board members discussed the BOCC's possible reservations about the OCHA Board having a role in overseeing affordable housing property which is consistent with the OCHA's mission and state statute and perhaps more education in this area would be helpful to the BOCC. i Financial Report Ms. Spencer-Horsley reported that the total number of HAP payments for April was for 562 voucher holders. She stated that the Department is now pulling from new applications. The HAP payments for the end of April were$308,660.55. There were 13 port-outs and there were currently 33 vouchers on ri the street. Other Business In discussion about how long it is taking voucher holders to find a place, Ms. Spencer-Horsley stated that clients have initially 60 days to find a place and then 30 day extensions are provided up to generally 120 days, more are now needing 120 days and even then some are not successful in finding a suitable rental unit. She stated that there is a great need for affordable units for new and existing HCV clients. Existing clients are being displaced as owners increase rents, upgrade and or sell their units. There was discussion about agencies that provide help to clients in locating housing for those having a hard time finding a unit. There was further discussion by the OCHA Board members about providing more information to the BOCC on the most vulnerable populations and being more specific with the BOCC about needs for housing and focusing more on solutions to address the needs. Additional }r. comments included the need to come up with immediate solutions to prevent voucher turnover. The Board members discussed the pros and cons of the county, non-profits and or the OCHA Board possibly Ik managing new units and paying living wages. In concluding the discussion, Board members agreed that Iauu the OCHA and the AHAB Boards are willing to help do research and assist in educating the BOCC in what other communities are doing successfully to address affordable housing needs. There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 7:32 p.m. Respectfully submitted: Angela Rockett, Administrative Assistant Audrey Spencer-Horsley, Director/Secretary ;i i 'i I' i?