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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
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Ed
Brunt, Jane Faubion, Kim Gouge, Helen Hartnett,
Loring Henderson, Phil Hemphill, Barbara Hogue, Shirley Martin-Smith, Robert Mosely, Sara Taliaferro |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
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Katherine
Dinsdale |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
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James
Dunn |
Introductions
Members and staff introduced themselves.
Martin-Smith stated that she is representing the
business community and has also served as City Commissioner, Mayor and most
recently as a member of the Task Force on Homeless Services (TF). She became involved because she feels the
community does not need negative conversations about homelessness and she wants
to be part of group that is going to make a difference for the homeless and the
community at large.
Hogue stated that she is representing the homeless
community and has served on the Coalition for Homeless Concerns. She has direct experience with homelessness
in Lawrence and thus can offer a different perspective. She volunteered at the
Community Drop-In Center for seven months and wanted to put energy into the
solution instead of the problem. She is
also a writer and is currently working on two books. She has been in the area for five years.
Hemphill stated that he is a neighbor of the
Lawrence Community Shelter and attended many TF meetings in order to become
familiar with the issues. He wants to
make a difference in the community and has lived in Lawrence for 30 years.
Mosely stated that he is a
retired engineer and is working with Habitat for Humanity on the family
selection committee. He had direct
experience with homelessness and wants to get different view. He intends to do as much as he can to solve
some of the problems associated with homelessness. He has lived in Lawrence for seven years.
Henderson stated that he was born in Lawrence, but
lived in Washington DC for 30 years and got involved with homeless programs
there (shelters, kitchens, etc.) He was the cofounder for a
Gouge stated that he has lived in Lawrence for 24
years and has worked at Hallmark for 27 years. He was involved with the
Leadership Lawrence class in 2004 and developed an interest in government and
policy. He wants to make a difference in the Lawrence community.
Faubion stated that she has lived
in Lawrence for 25 years. She is an
idealist and pursued a political science degree in order to make a
difference. She has run a charitable
healthcare provider program and currently serves on the Health Care Access
board. She has been involved with all 25 sites in Kansas. She coordinates the
Health Policy and Management program at the University of Kansas. She is primarily concerned with access to
healthcare (physical, mental, dental.)
Hartnett stated that she has been in Lawrence for
six years. She is a professor in social welfare at KU and also served on the
TF. She was involved with a lot of the planning and wanted to be involved with
the implementation. She has run several
programs for homeless men and women and has served as a state and federal lobbyist. She currently teaches classes that fit with
the topic of homelessness and serves on the Kansas State Homeless Coalition.
Brunt stated that he has lived in Lawrence for 28
years and has been with the Lawrence Police Department, which he is representing,
for 27 years. He also has had personal
experience with homelessness - friends and family who have been homeless and
cares about the issue personally as well as professionally.
Taliaferro stated that she served on the TF and has
been in Lawrence for the past 13 years. She is a member of the League of Women
Voters, is on the board of Lawrence Alliance, and is also affiliated with
Lawrence Association Neighborhoods (LAN).
She became involved with the Task Force as Pinckney NA Coordinator when
neighbors and service providers were having difficulties and she mediated that
disagreement. She found that neighbors
had real concerns, but that service providers were doing the best with what
they had. When service provider had to
shut down, she wanted to help solve the problem.
In Dinsdale’s absence,
Swarts stated that Dinsdale is a former TF member and represents the
faith-based community. Swarts said she
is hopeful that the group can come to a consensus about a meeting date and
time. She is encouraged by the fact that
everyone has an interest in dealing with homeless issues and continuing the
work of the TF.
Discuss CCH purpose and responsibilities
Swarts read the section of the Task Force on
Homelessness (TF) Final Report that outlines the responsibilities of the
Swarts explained that members could establish formal
or informal procedures. She suggested
defining a general structure of procedures.
Swarts recommended that the group meet monthly in
the beginning, but it is up for discussion.
She stated that after everyone becomes acquainted, she would recommend
quarterly meetings at the least. Some
members have the history coming from the TF and some do not.
Martin-Smith said that some of the TF members were
appointed, not only because of interest, but so that new people coming on board
would have access to the TF and the 2 1/2 years of work already completed. She
stated that when the group gets to the point that everyone is comfortable and
grounded, they can talk about meeting less frequently.
Hogue asked for clarification - that the TF figured
out the solution and the CCH is tasked with implementing the report.
Martin-smith said yes, but that all TF members
recognized that new things will come along.
The new body will be tuned into current issues and be able to adapt the
plan to current needs. Their job is not
just to make the plan happen.
Taliaferro said that there are a lot of general
guidelines and that this group has to flesh out the details. The report is a starting point and a
reference.
Henderson said it seems that a big part is public
education as well as implementation – there are huge gaps in the understanding
of the issue of homelessness.
Swarts asked if the group wished to adopt procedures
or by-laws. For example, the Housing
Trust Fund Board adopted by-laws that were stringent, other boards and
committees might adopt loose guidelines. It is up for discussion.
Henderson asked about the difference between by-laws
and procedures.
Swarts said that generally by-laws are more rigid
and can control behavior. It depends on the makeup of the body. There are no rules defined as of yet as there
is nothing in the ordinance or plan that defined rules or process. One common issue is attendance – if a member
loses interest or has to miss several meetings, they sometimes feel that they
can no longer participate. The group
should decide how they want to deal with this and what their expectations are. It could be helpful to have a procedure. A member can resign at any time, but it
should be in writing to staff or the Mayor.
She said that regarding conduct and conflict of interest, staff included
the city ethics guidelines in the orientation notebooks. She suggested the group elect a chair and
vice-chair.
Elect chair and vice-chair
Taliaferro nominated Martin-Smith but she declined,
stating that she was committed to too many other things.
Martin-Smith asked Henderson and Helen to
Chair/Co-chair.
Henderson said that since he is the only service
provider on the CCH, he was not sure he was comfortable in that position.
Hartnett said that she is worried about the
leadership and time issues.
Swarts said that the Chair was not necessarily expected
to lead discussions, but to keep the group on task.
Martin-Smith said that they could drive the agenda
as a group in the beginning.
Henderson said they should set a timeline for
electing a chair and asked Brunt if he would consider Co-Chair with Hartnett.
Brunt said he did not see Henderson serving as Chair
a conflict of interest and suggested that Henderson and Hartnett serve as
Co-Chairs.
Taliaferro suggested a three-month trial period at
which time the group may elect a different Chair.
Henderson said he was concerned with a conflict of
interest regarding the recently-issued RFP for case management services.
Swarts said that the entity that is the successful
agency will enter into a contract with the City and thus proposals will be
evaluated by staff and possibly other interested parties. If there were CCH
members that wished to serve on that review committee, it was likely possible.
Henderson said that as long as the group is
comfortable with it, he would agree to serve as Co-Chair with Hartnett.
Martin-Smith moved that Hartnett and Henderson be
elected to serve as Co-Chairs through the end of March, 2006. Hogue seconded the motion, which passed
unanimously.
Hartnett stated that she and Henderson would work on
an agenda as well as the CCH procedures before the next meeting.
Miscellaneous items and calendar (establish regular meeting date and
time)
Swarts stated that Dinsdale is not available to meet
on Thursday afternoons. As far as
evenings go the City Commission Room is only available Fridays. There are meeting times available during the
day.
After some discussion the group concurred that
Tuesday mornings would work and scheduled the next meeting for Tuesday,
December 13 at 8:30 am.
Martin-Smith said that it would be helpful to stick
to a timeline.
Hartnett agreed and said it will help to maintain
members’ interest.
Swarts said staff would ensure that members have
materials before the meeting. Please let
staff know if there are any problems with e-mail or attachments. The minutes
and agenda will be sent out approximately one week in advance. She handed out
contact information.
Review case manager team RFP
Swarts said that the Mayor requested staff proceed
with the RFP for case management.
Martin-Smith briefed the group on the issue. The question was posed to the TF by the City
Commission – what is the most important thing to do now. The TF said that if
they could get moving in a good direction, it would be to get case
managers out in the community to help persons experiencing homelessness.
Hartnett said the TF was asked to come up with an
implementation strategy – tiered and over time. For the first year they
considered what could be most feasible and make the most impact.
Henderson said there was discussion around which
agency would get case managers and it was decided to issue an RFP.
Hartnett explained what an RFP is.
Swarts said staff developed the RFP, it has been
reviewed by legal staff and upper management and approved by the City
Commission. It will be issued tomorrow
on the web and staff will be sending out e-mails and hardcopies to everyone
that has any interest. It will be
awarded based on the scope of services and criteria. Staff thought it was important to have a local
presence and aimed for an open-ended but tight proposal.
Hartnett said she thought it could be clearer what
is expected of applying agencies.
Faubion wondered about the
evaluation criteria.
Henderson pointed out the evaluation criteria
section, but questioned the deadline for proposals.
Swarts asked if members would like to sit on the
review committee. She will pass names on to the City Manager,
Faubion said she had substantial
experience in this area and that she would like to sit on the review committee.
Henderson clarified that although money will go to
one agency, the team will serve the entire community.
Taliaferro stated that she would be interested.
Gouge said that he would as well.
Swarts said the next CCH meeting is scheduled two
days before the RFP’s are due and she will report to the group if any have been
received. As far as the clarity issues
are concerned, this is the first time that the staff has issued an RFP for
services such as this. Staff modeled the RFP after other similar documents from
other cities, but they will be able to improve on them in the future.
Henderson asked about the contract period.
Swarts said staff left it open so it would be easy
to renew a successful partnership or to terminate an unsuccessful one.
Swarts noted various newspaper articles regarding
efforts in other communities to address homelessness that she would be glad to
pass along to the group if they are interested. Members can also e-mail
relevant information to staff so it can be distributed to the group.
Swarts said staff wanted to give the group a place
to start and had put together orientation notebooks. It is up to the group if they want to bring
them to meetings or not. Staff will
e-mail the link to all TF materials to the CCH members.
Martin-Smith suggested talking about the agenda.
Henderson said he wants to put something on the
agenda regarding membership of the CCH.
The TF felt that there were gaps (law enforcement, health) in TF
membership and Salvation Army is a current gap in the CCH. He asked if now that
the CCH is organized, the group would have to put up a proposal to the City
Commission to add some members. Another gap is the voice of the homeless. Many in the homeless community are upset that
there was only going to be one representative and felt entirely left out of the
TF process. They are asking for more
representation, especially from the currently homeless community. He said that
it may be uncomfortable dealing with mental health issues, addiction, etc., but
that is what this group is trying to address.
Martin-Smith said that it bears some discussion and
the group can add it to the agenda - to address the number and representation
of the group.
Hartnett said there are ways the group can talk
about making it work.
Hartnett suggested an item regarding what
information the group members need to be comfortable with the plan. Before the
meeting, members should look over what is available on-line and decide what
else they need.
Hemphill noted he has read the plan but would like
to become more familiar with it.
Hartnett asked for any other agenda items.
Taliaferro asked if the co-chairs would like
comments from the group about procedures and what would be most helpful.
Hartnett suggested that members e-mail her or
Henderson with pertinent information and noted that something would go out to
the group before the next meeting for consideration.
Public comment
Adjourn
There being no further business the meeting
adjourned at 2:15.