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Home My WebLink About2012-01-11 Homelessness Steering_MIN DRAFT Minutes January 11, 2012 Ad hoc Homelessness Steering Committee Ashland Public Library 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Attendance Ayers, Parker, Lewis, Saldana, Rohde, O’Bryon, Hopkins-Powell, Voisin (Council liaison), Slattery (Council Liaison) Reid (City staff) Absent None Call to Order Parker called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. Approval of Minutes nd Hopkins-Powell/Rohde m/s to approve the minutes of the 2 December meeting; minutes were approved with no corrections. Agenda Update Parker announced a change to the agenda, Mayor Stromberg asked to have some time on the agenda, the Mayor will replace item #3 on the agenda. nd New date set for 2 Meeting Due to a lack of quorum for the next meeting date, a new date needed to be selected for the second meeting of every month as those meetings conflict with the Housing Commission’s Regular meeting. It was decided that the first meeting of the month would continue to take place nd on the 2 Wednesday of the Month and that the second meeting of the month would take place th on the 4 Monday of every month. Consequently the next meeting date for January will be rd Monday January 23, 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.in January. Mayor Stromberg joined the meeting at 4:15 Mayor Stromberg came to the meeting to get some feedback from the commissioners. Specifically to get their individual thoughts on some questions; What did you expect when you were asked to join this committee? Did the committee accomplish what you thought it would? Any frustrations with the process? Accomplishments? Where do you see the committee going? Many of the committee members were very enthused at the beginning of the process, and were impressed by the commitment of the members. A Majority of the committee members expressed frustration and disappointment with how the council and committee has interacted, with the inability to move seemingly benign ideas forward Page 1 of 4 and cited a lack of clarity regarding their charge. Some committee members felt that the volunteer’s commitment, time, energy, and hard work has not been honored by the council. Most of the committee members felt that the work that they were doing was good and important, and should be continued. Many members commented that the issue of homelessness is so large and complex that the committee has only had enough time to explore the initial stages of the process, and that more time is needed in order for the group to have some impact on the issue. The committee members had an extensive, intermittent discourse on the nature of advocacy and its role in city commissions in general, and within the Steering Committee specifically. Further issues raised were; down town business owner representation on the committee, dealing with the behavior issues in the downtown, public impressions of homelessness and of the work of committee itself, and lack of non-profit partners at the table who are willing to implement some of the proposals/ideas. Mayor Stromberg stated that he felt that the Committee has taken hold of its charge and done good work with what they were given. Item #4-Discussion of a comprehensive plan/Discuss ways to engage: Business owners, churches, nonprofits. The committee needs to incorporate the business community in the discussion: Small groups to engage, interview, and get feedback Hold a forum Committee Chair Parker stated that her vision is that if services are provided it would relive the down town of the panhandling issue. She would like to engage the faith community to see what they can provide. Committee Member O’Bryon was in favor of holding a forum or hosting focus groups that might enhance what this group might put forward. Council Liaison Slattery stated that community education is a key component. Public Comment: Audience member, Sandra Coyner, upon being recognized by the chair stated that she felt that it was time for the committee to receive a more honest charge, that Councilor Slattery and others might be better served by restructuring the committee. Ms. Coyner felt that the downtown issue is not a homelessness problem but a law enforcement issue and needs to be addressed by a different committee. Council Liaison Voisin stated that there are two different issues and that they need to be approached in different directions, behavior problems and homelessness. Council Liaison Slattery stated that he felt that the solutions going forward need to have a low budget impact that the group needs to find ways to improve the situation without asking for budgetary resources. Page 2 of 4 Committee Chair Parker posed the question; How do we move forward? Committee Member Rohde felt that there was conflict within the community about the nature of the activity, a fundamental difference of opinion about what the community wants to do. Rhode felt that education was important. Rohde suggested that a group called Deep Democracy may be able to bring together the various groups suggested in agenda item #4 (the downtown business owners, church groups, and non-profits) to implement the focus groups suggested by Committee Member O’Bryon. Committee Member Hopkins-Powell asked; what is the intention of the hosting a focus group? Committee Member O’Bryon stated that the focus group could gather concrete perspectives, comments, and thoughts from these groups. O’Bryon felt that the questions should be consistent, and they should garner input from the individual groups. Committee Chair Parker stated that the focus groups would bring the groups together and get their thoughts then those thoughts can come back to the Steering Committee for a discussion of what can be done. Parker felt that the committee members were still in the process of discovery and felt that making time to meet one on one with the groups listed in agenda item #4 would educate the members in what services are available. Committee Member Saldana stated that she did not feel as discouraged as some of the other members and felt that the committee needed to do a better job of messaging, learn more from the council, and explore opportunities for education. Saldana also mentioned that the Jackson County Homeless Task Force has a matrix of service providers that was created for the ten year plan which she could bring for the committee members to review. Staff Liaison Reid suggested that a future meeting/panel discussion could be arranged between the Steering Committee and the Jackson County Homeless Task Force which could potentially inform that education and discovery process purpose as well. Committee member Lewis felt that if the Committee wanted its charge to be revised, clarified, and extended, that the committee needed to come to the council with a logic plan for the wide body of issues that need to be addressed. Lewis suggested that the committee come prepared with a plan for the next year, a goal for the extended period and the reasons why the committee needs more time. Staff Liaison Reid suggested that instead of coming before the council at a regular meeting that a joint meeting of the Homeless Steering Committee and the Council could be arranged. Public Comment: Audience member, Sandra Coyner, upon being recognized by the chair stated that she agreed with committee member Lewis that the Committee should focus on building a strong, logical case to present to the City Council about why the Committee should be extended and how its charge should be revised. She suggested that such a logical case should include four elements: Page 3 of 4 1. How the committee fulfilled the charge given in April, 2011, and the successes that resulted from its work on that charge; 2. Barriers that Committee faced in working to fulfill that charge; 3. How the Committee should be charged to continue its work, beginning with consulting widely in the Community to identify and articulate the various perceptions of what sort of issues or “problems’ Ashland faces with regard to homelessness; and 4. Continuing its work to identify responses appropriate for our city but extending its search beyond citizen input to include study of successful projects undertaken in other cities, including Palo Alto and Seattle. Wrap Up It was suggested that the Education sub-committee (Rich, Laura, Graham) schedule a meeting. Look at Parking Lot Ideas. Put together ideas for the 12 month plan. Meeting adjourned at 6:05 Next meeting dates January 23-City Council Chambers, 1175 East Main 4:00-6:00 February 8-Ashland Library February 27-City Council Chambers, 1175 East Main 4:00-6:00 Page 4 of 4