HomeMy WebLinkAboutAHAB minutes 121019 Orange County Affordable Housing Advisory Board Minutes
Tuesday, December 10, 2019 at 6:00 pm
6:00 PM
Orange County West Campus
131 West Margaret Lane, Room 204
Hillsborough, NC 27278
Members Present: Keith Cook, Chair, Tammy Jacobs (Vice Chair), Douglas Boemker, James Eichel, Eleanor
Kinnaird, Allison Mahaley, Noah Oswald, Blake Rosser, Arthur Sprinczeles, Jenn Sykes
Members Absent: Mae McLendon (excused), Adejuwon Ojebuoboh (excused), Jennifer Moore, Cain Twyman
Public in Attendance: Olivia Fisher
Staff Present: Emila Sutton, Director; Diane Beecham, Community Development Specialist
I. Call to Order/Introductions—Chair Keith Cook called the meeting to order at 6:10 pm. He asked for a
motion to move the approval of the minutes to the top of the agenda and it passed.
II. Review and Approval of Meeting Minutes—On a motion made by Noah Oswald and seconded by Allison
Mahaley, the minutes of the November 12, 2019 meeting were approved with one change to distinguish that
the public in attendance was Olivia Fisher and a Daily Tar Heel reporter was also in attendance..
III. Message from the Chair
IV. Update on Department of Housing and Community Development, Emila Sutton —
Ms. Sutton introduced Corey Root, the Orange County homeless program coordinator. Ms. Root's is here to
present information on homeless system gaps.
The application for the 2020-2021 HOME program is now being reviewed by the Affordable Housing Coalition.
A workshop has been tentatively scheduled for January.
A RFP for the community engagement consultant services as part of the Con Plan has been released and
proposals are due on December 191n
The Housing and Community Development Manager has been hired and will start on December 301". A
temporary Administrative Assistant for the Chapel Hill office has also been hired.
V. Update on Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness, Corey Root, Homeless Programs
Coordinator— Ms. Root stated that the Partnership to End Homelessness is funded by the three towns in
Orange County and the County itself. Her position has two goals: coordinate among all the agencies that
provide direct homeless services (her position does not provide direct services); and provide this coordination
that is required by HUD in order to access federal funding. See attached presentation.
Keith Cook asked what should be the next steps in relation to this advisory board. Ms. Root responded that
any input from the board is appreciated. Also, when there is a proposal submitted by the Partnership to End
Homelessness, support from this advisory board would be appreciated.
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Mr. Cook requested that successful examples of where the Rapid Re-Housing model is working successfully in
tight real estate markets be provided to the AHAB.
He stated that the Advisory Board would like "Homelessness 101" training before they go out into the
community to advocate and educate. As such, Ms. Root should come back to the board sometime in January
so that the AHAB can take a "deeper dive" into the homelessness service gaps analysis.
VI. Updates from Board Members
Noah Oswald stated that he read an interesting opinion piece that was in the Charlotte Observer regarding
affordable housing. The article explained that affordable housing cannot be addressed solely in terms of
increasing its supply. Instead, economic issues also have to be addressed, including employment and wage
issues. Not only supply but also income must increase which then can help support additional affordable
housing.
VII. Old and New Business
a. Lunch and Learn with Staff: Ms. Sutton stated that she would like to schedule the first one in April or
sometime in the second quarter of 2020.
b. Community Meeting: Mr. Cook stated that he would like the February AHAB meeting to be scheduled
in southern Orange County.
C. Outside Agency Funding to be Evaluated by AHAB: Mr. Cook stated that he wants a list to be
compiled of grantee presentations to be made and start then in July. There also needs to be written reports
from the grantees to report how their grant funds have been used and their impact on their communities.
d. New Member Orientation: To be done in the second quarter of 2020.
Ms. Kinnaird stated that she would like EMPOWERment and Club Nova/CASA to come to an AHAB meeting to
speak about their strategies in finding affordable housing. She also wants a status report from Chapel Hill
regarding the Greene tract.
Vill. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM.
Submitted by Diane Beecham, Community Development Specialist
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