HomeMy WebLinkAboutAHAB Minutes 020921
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Orange County Affordable Housing Advisory Board Minutes
Tuesday, February 9, 2021 at 6:00 PM
Virtual Meeting
Members Present: Mae McLendon, Arthur Sprinczeles, James Eichel, Allison Mahaley,
Jenn Sykes, Douglas Boemker, Holly Meschko
Members Absent: Keith Cook (Chair), Tammy Jacobs (Vice Chair, excused), Noah
Oswald, Adejuwon Ojebuoboh (excused), Cain Twyman, Olivia Fischer (excused)
Staff Present: Emila Sutton (Housing and Community Development Director), Erika
Brandt (Community Development Manager), and Maria Dewees (Community
Development Specialist)
Public Present: Ro Lutenbacher (UNC MSW Student)
I. Call to Order/Introductions – Allison Mahaley called the meeting to order at
6:11 PM.
II. Board Member Updates – Allison Mahaley gave an update on the Board of
County Commissioner’s affordable housing bond funding determinations. A
total of $2.5 million was allocated to four affordable housing projects. Inter-
Church Council Housing Corporation was awarded $165,840 and
EmPOWERment, Inc. was awarded $700,000 in accordance with the AHAB
recommendations. The AHAB recommended $817,080 each for the Center
for Community Self-Help (CCSH) and Habitat for Humanity; however the
BOCC allocated $1.5 million to CCSH and $134,160 to Habitat for Humanity.
III. Department of Housing and Community Development (OCHCD) Updates
Ro Lutenbacker was introduced to the AHAB. She is a current MSW student
interested in learning more about affordable housing.
Emila Sutton gave an update on OCHCD’s COVID-19 Pandemic response.
The Emergency Housing Assistance (EHA) fund, administered by OCHCD in
partnership with the Towns and with several community agencies, and the
Housing Helpline (Coordinated Entry) are the most utilized pandemic
response programs. OCHCD also administers the Housing Opportunities and
Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) for rent and utility assistance.
OCHCD expects to receive more funds for EHA in the coming weeks. Orange
County and the towns of Hillsborough and Carrboro applied for and were
awarded Community Development Block Grant - Coronavirus (CDBG-CV)
funds from the NC Department of Commerce. Chapel Hill is a CDBG
entitlement community and received funds as well that will be used for
emergency rent and utility assistance. Currently, EHA is using local funds to
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assist residents with imminent utility shutoffs, evictions, and security deposits
and application fees for people moving from homelessness.
OCHCD continues to provide Housing Choice Vouchers. The waitlist is open
to people who are experiencing homelessness. The Street Outreach and
Harm Reduction team in coordination with the Housing Helpline have helped
about 30 households access vouchers and move to permanent housing.
Ms. Sutton reported that the Housing Helpline experiences a very high call
volume and asked Board members to please let OCHCD staff know if anyone
is unable to get through.
The Department is hiring for two temporary housing specialists to assist with
the EHA program and a Homeless Programs Coordinator.
Ms. Sutton expressed appreciation for the AHAB spreading the word about
the Department’s work
IV. Old and New Business
a. Outside Agency Funding Application Review and Scoring – The
AHAB is tasked with discussing and scoring five applications for Outside
Agency Funding that requested funds for housing and community
development projects:
Agency Project Funding Request
Center for Community
Self-Help
Northside Neighborhood
Initiative
$50,000 (all from
the County)
Community
Empowerment Fund Advocate Program $86,000 ($30,000
from the County)
EmPOWERment, Inc. Affordable Rentals
Operations
$105,000 ($40,000
from the County)
Habitat for Humanity of
Orange County Home Preservation $126,133 ($76,133
from the County)
Rebuilding Together of
the Triangle
Safe and Healthy Home
Solutions
$20,000 ($15,000
from the County)
Erika Brandt announced that the funding applications for Rogers Eubanks
Neighborhood Associate and Reentry House Plus have been transferred
to other departments.
Ms. Mahaley asked how much funding was allocated for the Outside
Agency Funding Process. The funding is based on the annual County
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budget (1% of the budget). Ms. Brandt stated that the AHAB’s application
scores will be reviewed by Finance and Finance and the County
Manager’s office will make funding recommendations based on those
scores.
The AHAB agreed to use a combined score averaging by averaging the
individual scores of each board member who submitted them:
Center for Community Self-Help – 93.55
Community Empowerment Fund – 97.50
EmPOWERment, Inc. – 97.33
Habitat for Humanity of Orange County – 98.69
Rebuilding Together of the Triangle – 95.65
V. Updating the AHAB Policies and Procedures – The AHAB has a set of
Policies and Procedures that has not been updated since 2012. Ms. Brandt
will provide copies of the current Policies and Procedures to all board
members to review, discuss, and update at the next AHAB meeting.
VI. Adjournment – The meeting adjourned at 6:48 PM.
Submitted by Maria Dewees, Community Development Specialist