Approved Meeting Minutes — original pdf

Approved Minutes

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (CDC) REGULAR MEETING VIA VIDEOCONFERENCING June 9, 2020, 6:00 pm Members Absent: Michael Tolliver Madra Mays CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS Board Members in Attendance: Joe Deshotel (Chair) Tandera Louie (Vice Chair) Raymond Young Amit Motwani Heidi Sloan Shavone Otero Karen Paup Cesar Acosta Julia Woods Alberto Mejia Fisayo Fadelu Bertha Delgado City of Austin Staff in Attendance: Sylnovia Holt-Rabb (Economic Development Department) Donna Sundstrom (Austin Public Health) Kymberley Maddox (Austin Public Health) Angel Zambrano (Austin Public Health) Angela Sommers (Neighborhood Housing and Community Development) APPROVED MEETING MINUTES Please visit https://austintexas.gov/cdc for more information about the Community Development Commission. Purpose: The purpose of the board is to advise the Council in the development and implementation of programs designed to serve the poor and the community at large with an emphasis on federally funded programs. CALL TO ORDER Chair Deshotel called the meeting to order at 6:03 pm with 9 members present. Commissioner Delgado joined the dais at 6:04 pm. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Discussion and possible action on the May 13, 2020 Community Development Commission meeting minutes. On Commissioner Louie’s motion to approve and Commissioner Acosta’s second, the May 13, 2020 meeting minutes were approved unanimously. Commissioners Tolliver and Mays were absent. 2. COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT (CSBG) a) Presentation, briefing and discussion on the Community Services Block Grant (Angel Zambrano, Manager, Neighborhood Services Unit, Austin Public Health). Angel Zambrano provided a presentation and answered questions from Commissioners about the Community Services Block Grant. b) Discussion and possible action on the simplified community needs assessment plan for Community Services Block Grant funds authorized by the CARES Act. (Angel Zambrano, Manager, Neighborhood Services Unit, Austin Public Health). Angel Zambrano provided a presentation and answered questions from Commissioners about the Community Needs Assessment Plan for Community Services Block Grant funds authorized by the CARES Act. The CDC supported the simplified community needs assessment plan for Community Services Block Grant funds authorized by the CARES Act with the understanding that the Community Development Commission would like to note that substantial inherent barriers exist which stymie the turnaround time of many of the interventions intended to provide rental assistance, utilities assistance, child care and basic needs. As Austin Public Health reported to Commissioners during the meeting on 06/09/2020, these delays, which can last weeks, can and do result in both fiduciary inefficiency (e.g., late fees for landlords), exclusion of households without formalized leases, and fragmented approval systems (i.e., distinct approval processes for rent, utilities, food, basic needs, and child care).  This Commission believes that these challenges to the system design should be: a) duly recognized, and b) improved, perhaps with more efficient unified processes as well as by offering more flexible and liquid financial options for recipients of assistance. On Commissioner Motwani’s motion to approve and Commissioner Fadelu’s second, the plan was approved unanimously. Commissioners Tolliver and Mays were absent. 3. NEW BUSINESS a) Presentation, briefing and discussion on the Dove Springs Public Health Facility (Kymberley Maddox, Assistant Director, Administrative Services Division, Austin Public Health, and Kalpana Sutaria, Project Manager, Public Works Department). Kymberley Maddox provided a presentation and answered questions from Commissioners about the Dove Springs Public Health Facility. b) Presentation, briefing and discussion on the City’s ANCHOR fund and CLEAR program for COVID-19 relief (Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, Interim Director, Economic Development Department). Sylnovia Holt-Rabb provided a presentation and answered questions on the City’s ANCHOR fund and CLEAR program for COVID-19 relief. c) Presentation, briefing and discussion on the FY 2020-21 timeline for federal programs (Neighborhood Housing and Community Development staff). Angie Sommers provided a presentation about the FY 2020-21 timeline for federal programs. 4. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Chair Deshotel suggested a discussion about Police funding and the possible reallocation of funding for social services. ADJOURNMENT Chair Deshotel adjourned the meeting at 7:30 pm without objection. The minutes were approved on the 15th day of July, 2020, on Commissioner Tolliver’s motion to approve and Commissioner Paups’s second. The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American 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 by calling 512-974-3144 at least 2 days prior to the meeting date. For more information on the Community Development Commission, please contact Angela Sommers at 512-974-3144. Commissioners may contact CTM for email/technology assistance: 512-974-4357