COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION City of Austin Commission on Veterans Affairs Recommendation Number: Kiro Action Veterans Transitional Housing Program (KAVTHP) WHEREAS, the City of Austin Commission on Veterans Affairs was chartered in 2013 by City Council to advocate solutions to Austin Veterans homelessness, housing, employment, education/training, women issues, PTSD/mental health and counseling. WHEREAS, the Commission on Veteran Affairs, (Commission) is authorized by Austin City Code 2-1-126 to serve as an advisory body to council concerning the well-being of military veterans in the Austin area. WHEREAS, Veterans homelessness in Austin is complicated by the lack of affordable housing leases within Austin with close proximity to resource providers, employers and infrastructure. Vouchers and third-party lease payments often are not enough to lease acceptable housing within Austin, further, public transportation with access to Veterans service providers and work are a challenge and limit housing options for Veterans. WHEREAS, Veterans employment, education, training, women and family counseling, PTSD/mental health, healthcare, and VA benefits counseling are scattered throughout Austin and decentralized; making access to vital and necessary services difficult for some Veterans with disabilities, limited economic, mobility and transportation resources. WHEREAS, the Commission is specifically authorized to recommend programs designed to support the well-being of military veterans in Austin. Veteran homelessness has been a particular issue affecting veterans nationally, and Austin, as a whole. At the date of drafting the Commission recommendation in Austin, there are 123 unsheltered veterans on a high-priority list to receive housing due to medical conditions and physical disabilities, 103 on the normal list to receive housing and an average of thirty-eight (38) veterans that become homeless every month in Travis County. All the homeless veterans referenced are signed-up in assistance programs, but will continue to stay homeless upwards of 90-days until housing is found and is dependent on current market rental and affordable housing in Austin. WHEREAS, the Commission received a request from the Kiro Action Group, to create program called the “Kiro Action Veterans Transitional Housing Program”, (KAVTHP). The program will house one-hundred (100) veterans in need of transitional housing in a pilot program with the goal of expanding the program on successful deployment. KAVTHP asks for assistance and support in their request from the City of Austin. KAVTHP requests assistance from the City of Austin to dedicate under-utilized city-owned land to deploy Kiro Action homes in 3-10 locations spread across districts in the city and locations chosen in partnership with …
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION City of Austin Commission on Veterans Affairs Recommendation Number: 20200706-D002 Kiro Action Veterans Transitional Housing Program (KAVTHP) WHEREAS, the City of Austin Commission on Veterans Affairs was chartered in 2013 by City Council to advocate solutions to Austin Veterans homelessness, housing, employment, education/training, women issues, PTSD/mental health and counseling. WHEREAS, the Commission on Veteran Affairs, (Commission) is authorized by Austin City Code 2-1-126 to serve as an advisory body to council concerning the well-being of military veterans in the Austin area. WHEREAS, Veterans homelessness in Austin is complicated by the lack of affordable housing leases within Austin with close proximity to resource providers, employers and infrastructure. Vouchers and third-party lease payments often are not enough to lease acceptable housing within Austin, further, public transportation with access to Veterans service providers and work are a challenge and limit housing options for Veterans. WHEREAS, Veterans employment, education, training, women and family counseling, PTSD/mental health, healthcare, and VA benefits counseling are scattered throughout Austin and decentralized; making access to vital and necessary services difficult for some Veterans with disabilities, limited economic, mobility and transportation resources. WHEREAS, the Commission is specifically authorized to recommend programs designed to support the well-being of military veterans in Austin. Veteran homelessness has been a particular issue affecting veterans nationally, and Austin, as a whole. At the date of drafting the Commission recommendation in Austin, there are 123 unsheltered veterans on a high-priority list to receive housing due to medical conditions and physical disabilities, 103 on the normal list to receive housing and an average of thirty-eight (38) veterans that become homeless every month in Travis County. All the homeless veterans referenced are signed-up in assistance programs, but will continue to stay homeless upwards of 90-days until housing is found and is dependent on current market rental and affordable housing in Austin. WHEREAS, the Commission received a request from the Kiro Action Group, to create program called the “Kiro Action Veterans Transitional Housing Program”, (KAVTHP). The program will house one-hundred (100) veterans in need of transitional housing in a pilot program with the goal of expanding the program on successful deployment. KAVTHP asks for assistance and support in their request from the City of Austin. KAVTHP requests assistance from the City of Austin to dedicate under-utilized city-owned land to deploy Kiro Action homes in 3-10 locations spread across districts in the city and locations chosen in partnership …
COMMISSION ON VETERAN AFFAIRS MEETING MINUTES SPECIAL CALLED MEETING COMMISSION ON VETERANS AFFAIRS MINUTES The Commission on Veteran Affairs convened in a Special Called Meeting on July 6, 2020 via WebEx Remote meeting. Chair Doris Williams called the Board Meeting to order at 10:27AM. Board Members in Attendance: Doris Williams - Chair July 6, 2020 Manuel Jimenez - Vice Chair Alfred Bingham Jose Corrasco Staff in Attendance: Tina Lee 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Elizabeth Rosenberg- Collura (Left @10:30) Thomas Just Adrenne Luna Pete Salazar Chair Williams asked the Commission members to review the minutes from the special called meeting on January 15, 2020. Chair Williams made the suggestion to spell out TAP as “Transition Assistance Program” on the forth bullet. Chair Williams made a motion to approve the meeting minutes after the correction and Commissioner Pete Salazar seconded the motion. Motion passed with no objection. 2. BUSINESS Sam Haytham with Kiro Action updated the Commission on their progress with the solution with overcoming Veteran homelessness in Austin. Sam Haytham has secured meetings with veteran non-profit organizations, State, Mayor, Council, and City manager with their full support to make the mission come into fruition. Current prototype is at Mueller and Sam is seeking for the Veterans Commission to come up with the language to help the Mayor, City Manager and public to explain the reasoning and purpose of deploying the project. The Veterans Park has started the initial work on creating the park before COVID and currently there are no current updates on the updated timeline. Prior to COVID, the timeline of finishing the park which was originally slated for completion for June and will request Parks and Recreation to provide an update at the next meeting. Commissioner Just and Vice Chair Jimenez has no current updates on the Veterans Court Referral Policy and will get together to come up with the language for the proposed draft to be released to the City Council on the guidance that prosecutors should COMMISSION ON VETERAN AFFAIRS MEETING MINUTES lean more towards referring veterans towards veterans court. Current criteria is stringent and many veterans are not being referred and would like to see a program where veterans will be able to go to a specific court. Vice Chair Jimenez would like to get in touch with Community court and to re-engage with the process of the referral process and the …
COMMISSION ON VETERANS AFFAIRS SPECIAL CALLED MEETING Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. City Hall Bull Pen Room 1029 301 West Second Street Austin, TX 78701 AGENDA COMMISSION MEMBERS: Doris Williams (Chair) – Mayor Steve Adler Chris Ehlinger – Alison Alter: (10) Manuel Jimenez (Vice Chair) – Sabino Renteria: (3) Josephine Hinds – Jimmy Flannigan: (6) Alfred Bingham – Natasha Harper-Madison: (1) Adrenne Mendoza – Delia Garza: (2) Jose Carrasco – Greg Casar (4) Thomas Just – Paige Ellis: (8) Elisabeth Collura-Rosenberg – Kathie Tovo: (9) Pete Salazar – Leslie Pool (7) Jason Denny – Ann Kitchen: (5) CALL TO ORDER CITIZEN COMMUNICATION The speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address items not posted on the agenda. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Discussion and possible action regarding approval of the minutes from the Commission on Veterans Affairs Regular meetings on January 15, 2020. 2. OLD BUSINESS a) Update on Veterans Park from the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department ( Sponsors: Jason Denny, Pete Salazar) b) Finalize and vote on the final language of the recommendation to create a Department of Veterans and Military Affairs (Sponsors: Thomas Just, Jason Denny) c) Discussion on providing further guidance on Veteran Courts referral policy (Sponsors: Thomas Just, Jason Denny) 1 d) Discussion on proposed TAP (Transition Assistance Program) pilot program (Sponsors: Thomas Just, Jason Denny) e) Discussion and possible action on resolution for Kiro Action Group (Sponsors: Pete Salazar, Jose Carrasco) f) Nominations and elections of new officers 3. NEW BUSINESS a) Discussion of the role of a member of the Commission on Veteran Affairs and the process of having the needs of the Veterans within the community addressed and implemented as the representative of the Mayor and Council Members. (Sponsors: Doris Williams, Manuel Jimenez, Elisabeth Collura-Rosenburg) 4. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 Hours) before the meeting date. Please call Tina Lee at the Veterans Program Department at 512-974-3306 or Tina.Lee@austintexas.gov for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Veterans Commission, please contact …
COMMISSION ON VETERANS AFFAIRS REGULAR MEETING Wednesday, January 15, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. City Hall Executive Session Room 1027 301 West Second Street Austin, TX 78701 AGENDA COMMISSION MEMBERS: Jason Denny (Chair) Ann Kitchen (5) Josephine Hinds – Jimmy Flannigan: (6) Pete Salazar (Vice Chair) Leslie Pool: (7) Adrenne Mendoza – Delia Garza: (2) Alfred Bingham –Natasha Harper-Madison: (1) Manuel Jimenez – Sabino Renteria: (3) Elisabeth Collura-Rosenberg – Kathie Tovo: (9) Thomas Just – Paige Ellis: (8) Chris Ehlinger – Alison Alter: (10) Doris Williams – Mayor Steve Adler Vacant – Greg Casar CALL TO ORDER 1. CITIZEN COMMUNICATION The speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address items not posted on the agenda. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Discussion and possible action regarding approval of the minutes from the Commission on Veterans Affairs Regular meetings on September 18, 2019 and November 20, 2019. 3. OLD BUSINESS a) Update on Veterans Park from the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department ( Sponsors: Jason Denny, Pete Salazar) b) Finalize and vote on the final language of the recommendation to create a Department of Veterans and Military Affairs (Sponsors: Thomas Just, Jason Denny) c) Discussion on providing further guidance on Veteran Courts referral policy (Sponsors: Thomas Just, Jason Denny) 1 d) Discussion on proposed TAP (Transition Assistance Program) pilot program (Sponsors: Thomas Just, Jason Denny) e) Discussion on providing further guidance on Veteran Court referral policy (Sponsors: Thomas Just, Jason Denny) f) Nominations and elections of new officers 4. NEW BUSINESS a) Presentation and discussion by Sam Haytham from Kiro Action on possible solution on homelessness. (Sponsors: Pete Salazar, Manuel Jimenez) b) Discussion and proposal to draft letter to AISD school officials regarding Veterans Day Parade. (Sponsors: Jason Denny, Pete Salazar) c) Discussion and possible action on any applicable changes to the current bylaws 5. STAFF UPDATES 6. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 Hours) before the meeting date. Please call Tina Lee at the Veterans Program Department at 512-974-3306 or Tina.Lee@austintexas.gov for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. …
COMMISSION ON VETERAN AFFAIRS CITY OF AUSTIN JANUARY 15, 2020 www.KIROACTION.com www.KIROACTION.com WHAT IS KIRO ACTION HOUSING? KIRO ACTION is a home, disaster relief, pop-up hotel, workers accommodation, veteran housing, and government relief structure all-in-one. Our solutions are put together in a few hours with our patent-pending designs without any heavy equipment or specialized machinery. Our solutions are real homes, built above code and over engineered, can withstand fires, high winds, have working bathrooms and electrical features; all like a normal home. We are not like some of the awful solutions on the market that are a tent or glorified shed. Our homes look and feel like a real house because we use the same building technologies in the commercial and housing industry, but with advanced materials and process. Our designs fit together in three-hours, can be moved around by three-four people, built to (and above) code. If there is a foundation, then the home can be secured to it, making it a permanent home. If there is no foundation, then you can incorporate our foldout patent-pending foundation to put it anywhere from an empty parking lot to a field. Our smallest housing solutions for refugees and general homelessness are priced at 12-14k USD (depending on options and volume), rated to last 20-years (and much longer) with the materials used, average 200 square feet (19 sq m) with a fully functioning bathroom and kitchenette. We started our organization after Thanksgiving 2019, and within 46-days we combined a team of builders, former diplomats, former government officials and have a team that has a combined 280 years in construction. In those 46-days, we built multiple designs, prototype and expanding on manufacturing in North Austin. www.KIROACTION.com WHAT IS KIRO ACTION HOUSING? Our prototype is setup near Mueller and is roughly 20 ft by 10 ft with the ability to sleep up to 4-people (3 adults and 1 child). With our solutions, we have the ability to make homes larger or smaller using our grid building system. If 200 sq ft is too small, our modular building design can be increased in 200 sq ft increments with ease, meaning you can have a customized unit that is 200 sq ft to 1000 sq ft (and above). www.KIROACTION.com WHY DID WE CHOOSE THE NAME “KIRO ACTION”? “KIRO” ((cid:2)(cid:1)) combines the definitions of “crossroad” and “forked road”. Many people that are in need of affordable housing, …
COMMISSION ON VETERAN AFFAIRS MEETING MINUTES REGULAR MEETING January 15, 2020 COMMISSION ON VETERANS AFFAIRS MINUTES The Commission on Veteran Affairs convened in a regular meeting on January 15, 2020 at Austin City Hall located on 301 West 2nd Street in the Executive Session Room 1027. Chair Jason Denny called the Board Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Board Members in Attendance: Jason Denny- Chair Pete Salazar- Vice Chair Alfred Bingham Chris Ehlinger Josephine Hinds Manuel Jimenez Doris Williams Staff in Attendance: Karen Haywood, Tina Lee 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Denny asked the Commission members to review the minutes from the regular called meeting on September 18, 2019 and November 20, 2019. Vice Chair Salazar made a motion to approve the meeting minutes and Commissioner Josephine Hinds seconded the motion. Motion passed with no objection. 2. BUSINESS Parks and Recreation updated the Commission on the status of Veteran’s Park and construction started on November 15th. They currently have placed an erosion control and fencing, irrigation, planting materials and working on the right of way permit. Projection for completion for May 2020. More information on the background, purpose and schedule can be found at http://www.austintexas.gov/department/veterans-park-plan. Plan to schedule a ribbon cutting ceremony 3 months prior to completion. Recommendation to create a Department of Veterans and Military Affairs was approved by Board Member Manuel Jimenez motion, Board Member Doris Williams second on a 7 vote and the 1 abstain, 6 yes. Manuel Jimenez discussed the resolution for the creation of Veterans Courts at the municipality level. Resolution was sent to Council and no current updates have been made. The motion to postpone item 3D, Transition Assistance Program, to the next meeting was approved on Board Member Pete Salazar's motion, Board Member Josephine Hinds seconded on a 7-member vote COMMISSION ON VETERAN AFFAIRS MEETING MINUTES Officer elections: Manuel Jimenez nominates Doris Williams and approved with no objections. Doris Williams nominates Manuel Jimenez to be the Vice Chair, Sam Haytham from Kiro Action presented to the Commission on the possible solution to Veteran Homelessness in Austin. These structures are easy to install, quick to deploy and transport to other areas if needed. These structures could house up to 4 people with the needed amenities-built in such as a bathroom and kitchen. The structure is 200 sq. feet that would take 3-4 people to put together and …
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION City of Austin Commission on Veterans Affairs Recommendation Number: 20200115-B003 Creation of the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs WHEREAS, the City of Austin seeks to be a national leader and community model in healing the military civilian divide by intentionally reintegrating those who have served as well as their families into our communities with purpose; WHEREAS, the City of Austin has prioritized veteran issues such as becoming an effective zero homeless veteran city and seeks to hire and support veterans and their families in order to send a message to United States military veterans that they are welcomed and honored in the city of Austin; WHEREAS, the City of Austin should capitalize upon being uniquely situated to recruit and retain defense spending and investment that has significant positive impact on our economy such as Camp Mabry and the Army Futures Command; WHEREAS, principles of the chain of command and accountability dictate the need for an office solely responsible for achieving the above-mentioned goals. Moreover, such an office presents substantial opportunities to reduce costly duplicative efforts through effective coordination and a cohesive vision; WHEREAS, the creation of such an office would send an important message about the City of Austin to veterans everywhere and give those who have served a more clear and direct voice in city government. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Austin Commission on Veterans Affairs recommends the Austin City Council that the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs be created forthwith. Date of Approval: January 15, 2020 Record of the Vote: Approved on a 6-0 vote with board member Bingham abstaining and 3 board members absent (Collura-Rosenberg, Ehlinger, Just) Attest: ___________________________________________
