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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAHAB minutes 081319 Orange County Affordable Housing Advisory Board Minutes Tuesday, August 13, 2019 at 6:00 pm Conference Room 204 131 W. Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278 Members Present: Douglas Boemker, Keith Cook (Chair), Tammy Jacobs (Vice Chair), Allison Mahaley, Mae McLendon, Noah Oswald, Arthur Sprinczeles, Jenn Sykes, Cain Twyman Members Absent: Alison Brown, Olivia Fisher, Eleanor Kinnaird, Nannie Richmond, Blake Rosser Staff Present: Sherrill Hampton, Housing and Community Development Director I. Call to Order/Introductions — The Chair, Mr. Kevin Cook, called the meeting to order at 6:20 pm. II. Approval of Minutes — On a motion by Mae McLendon and seconded by Arthur Sprinczeles, the Advisory Board unanimously approved the meeting minutes of June 11, 2019. On a motion by Allison Mahaley and seconded by Mae McLendon, the Advisory Board approved an amendment to this meeting's agenda. III. Updates from Board Members — Mae McLendon reported on an American with Disabilities Act (ADA) celebratory event hosted by the Triad Disability Awareness Council. Ms. Kinnaird asked about the accessibility of the units in the newly developed Greenfield Place and Ms. Hampton responded that there are accessible units in this development. There was further discussion on recruiting a disabled person to the Advisory Board. One concern expressed is how to go about asking a potential member if they are disabled. Cain Twyman reported that the Town of Carrboro will be having a joint review on the Kentfield subdivision on August 22nd Allison Mahaley reported that residents of 180 West are organizing because they have complaints about the development. Noah Oswald stated that Amazon is currently selling tiny homes. There was further discussion by the Advisory Board regarding the possibility of tiny homes in Hillsborough. Mr. Oswald also added that his neighborhood is no longer affordable. Doug Boemker reported that the Habitat and Carol Woods are no longer collaborating on the development of land owned by Carol Woods. Mr. Boemker stated that he thinks that there still is interest in developing the property but they will bring on a developer instead. IV. Planning for the September Meeting at a Different Location — As for logistics, the Carrboro Century Center and the Hargrave Community Center are not available for the September 10`" meeting. Mr. Oswald stated that the purpose of the meeting is for information gathering and sharing; the Advisory Board wants to get comments, Page 1 concerns and insight from the community regarding affordable housing. He stated that the Board should be able to share concrete examples of affordable housing in the County. Ms. Kinnaird added that she wants the Board to present the affordable housing bond information and the funded projects as they relate to the neighborhoods. Ms. Hampton said that the meeting will be advertised through flyers, a newspaper advertisement and possibly WCHL radio. She also suggested that either every member of the Advisory Board or several members each present a segment of the agenda so that various voices are heard. It was decided that the handout for the meeting include the AHAB charge and its members; services offered by the County; bond recipients; and summary information about the Department of Housing and Community Development. V. Director's Report — The new Local Voucher Program opened during the week of June 17-24th. A briefing for service providers was held on June 12th and the announcement for the new program was made to the public on June 3rd. Approximately 600 applications were received (although some were duplicates) and a 200-person waiting list was developed. Approximately fifteen (15) people will be selected from the waiting list to receive a voucher. The Department will start pulling the names from the waiting list in late September/early October. The program is targeted to County residents that are at or below 50% AMI and at risk of homelessness. Ms. Hampton reported that the Department is getting ready to launch the Targeted Tenant-Based Rental Program (T-TBRP) which is targeted to the homeless. The recipients of these vouchers will be referred through the Coordinated Entry process. It is important to note that the homeless that are being referred have to have some income because they will have to pay a minimum of $50.00 per month as part of the program, which is designed to build self-sufficiency. Ms. Hampton stated that the 2019 annual housing conference is scheduled for October 7-8th and the Department will be able to send 2-3 Advisory Board members. Ms. Twyman, Ms. Jacobs and Ms. Sykes indicated that they would like to go. She also reported that this year the annual report will be due in December, rather than in April. VI. Old and New Business — The joint meeting of the Orange County Affordable Housing Coalition and the Orange County Local Government Affordable Housing Collaborative is scheduled for August 27th at 5:30 PM at the Chapel Hill Library. A schedule of upcoming speakers needs to be developed, including a speaker for the November meeting. The County Manager's office is making reappointments now and there are two Advisory Board members with terms expiring. There is a new initiative in Durham regarding evictions of which they have one of the highest rates in the state. There was a documentary about evictions on PBS which indicates that they tend to be cyclical. The Human Relations Committee has gathered data on evictions on Orange County. The Advisory board discussed the possibility of Page 2 partnering with the Human relations Committee to look at systematic causes of evictions. This topic is a potential topic for a speaker in November. Adjournment — On a motion by Allison Mahaley and seconded by Cain Twyman, the Advisory Board voted to adjourn. Submitted by Cain Twyman, Affordable Housing Advisory Board Member Edited by Diane Beecham, Community Development Specialist Page 3