April 12, 2018 Meeting Minutes
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
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Robert Baker, Jenna Coker, Alex Delaney, Jonathan Holley, Steven Koprince, Kendall Simmons, Blake Swenson |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
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Frank Pondrom |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
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Danelle Dresslar, Brad Karr |
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Chair Holley called the CDAC meeting to order at 5:33 pm.
1. Introductions
The committee members introduced themselves.
2. Approval of the March 8, 2018 meeting minutes
Koprince moved to approve the March 8, 2018 meeting minutes. Simmons seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0.
3. Public Comment
Nickie Daneke, Director of Housing of the Lawrence Douglas County Housing Authority, spoke to the committee about the LDCHA Tenant Based Rental Assistance program, which is funded by the HOME grant.
4. Discussion of 2018 CDBG/HOME recommended allocation
Dresslar told the committee they could discuss the previously voted upon recommended allocations for the CDBG and HOME grants; if there were no changes, these numbers would be published for the April 26, 2018 Public Hearing.
Baker indicated he felt the allocation process was rushed and the committee did not examine all of the information provided in the applications to determine a criteria for how the recommendations would be made. Koprince asked what alternatives Baker had in mind. Baker said, besides not approving of the review process, he felt allocating funds to three different agencies for emergency services who all list each other as partners would be better served by allocating the funds to just one agency for all the partners to access. Delaney said he read all of the applications and assumed the committee members would bring up any issues, if they had any, during the discussions. Baker said this year there was a limited amount of time for application review because of several meetings being canceled due to weather and quorum issues. Delaney said historically the board has dedicated one meeting to review of the HOME grant applications, one meeting to review CDBG non-public service applications, and one or two meetings to review CDBG public service applications.
Swenson asked if Baker wanted to change the emergency service agencies’ recommended allocations now, or give guidance for next year on consolidating their applications into one. Baker said it would be a difficult decision. Swenson said he felt the committee recommended allocations to each of the emergency service agencies because they each assisted a different group of people.
Delaney asked staff if they needed to vote again on the current recommendations. Dresslar said only if the committee wanted to change any of the recommendations. Holley asked the committee if anyone wanted to make a change to any of the current recommendations. There were no changes proposed.
Koprince asked if Baker had suggestions for changing the process of application review. Baker said it felt rushed this year because of having to combine the public service and non-public service application reviews into one meeting. Simmons said she felt the big problem were the meetings canceled due to a lack of quorum, and she would like staff to continue to contact the committee members before each meeting to gauge attendance. Baker asked if there was a policy to remove a committee member if they miss too many meetings. Dresslar said staff would review the ordinance to check on attendance requirements.
Holley asked if there was any additional public comment. Dawn Meyers, Grants Manager of Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas (CCNEK), spoke to the committee about Baker’s suggestion of consolidating the emergency service agencies. Meyers was not in favor of a coordinated entry for all emergency service agencies.
5. Discussion of 2018-2022 Consolidated Plan and 2018 Annual Action Plan and the Public Hearing on April 26, 2018
Dresslar explained the purpose of the new five year Consolidated Plan and the 2018 Annual Action Plan. The plan would be posted for public comment and a Public Hearing held on April 26, 2018. The public comment period would remain open for 30 days. The plan would then go to the City Commission for approval, before being submitted to HUD in June 2018.
Delaney asked if there were any CDAC meetings after the April 26, 2018 meeting. Dresslar said the committee would have no additional business until September 2018, to review the application template for 2019 and to conduct the fall Public Hearing for the 2017 CAPER. Dresslar said the applications for the 2019 grant year would begin to be reviewed in January of 2019, unless the committee would like to adjust the meeting schedule to include more application review meetings. Baker said there should be sufficient review time, if the meetings are not canceled due to quorum issues.
Delany informed the committee the April 26, 2018 meeting would probably be his last meeting; he would be stepping down due to time conflicts and his frustration with the possible upcoming reorganization of the committee by the City. Koprince said they would be sorry to see him go.
6. Miscellaneous/Calendar
The next meeting of the CDAC will be on April 26, 2018 at 5:45pm. The committee would conduct regular business, then recess to open the Public Hearing at 6:00pm.
Dresslar brought a request to the committee from the North Lawrence Improvement Association (NLIA) to use some of their 2017 grant allocation to pay for accounting fees. The NLIA 2017 grant application does not mention using the funding for accounting fees, so Dresslar asked the committee for direction on the request, since they allocated the funds based on what the application originally indicated. Baker asked if they were asking for additional money, or just a change of use of the funds. Dresslar said just a change of use. Simmons asked if there were any specifics of how much or why it was needed. Dresslar said the message from NLIA said since they had to obtain a Tax ID number, they were now required to file a form 990N, and needed an accountant’s services, but no dollar amount was provided. Delaney said he was comfortable with approving the request to allow the funds to be used for accounting fees to fill out forms they are not comfortable filling out themselves. Simmons felt NLIA should be able to either raise donations for the fees or request volunteers to assist with filing the form. Koprince said the allocation recommendations were based on the funds only being used for coordinator salary and newsletter expenses. Holley felt the coordinator salary and the accountant fees were the same pot of money, and if they had a coordinator capable of, or comfortable with, filing the needed form, there would not be any additional accountant fees. Coker said she felt NLIA had the ability to raise the funds, and was not comfortable with allowing the change of use.
Holley moved to approve the request to allow NLIA to use their 2017 CDBG grant funds to pay for accountant fees to file the form 990N. Delaney seconded the motion. The motion failed 3-3 with one abstention.
Dresslar said she would inform NLIA of the outcome of the vote.
7. Adjourn
Delaney moved to adjourn the meeting. Holley seconded the motion. The motion passed 7-0.
Attendance Record
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Members |
Jan 11 |
Jan 25 |
Feb 8 |
Feb 22 |
Mar 8 |
April 12 |
April 26 |
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Robert Baker |
X |
*+ |
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X |
+ |
+ |
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Frank Brown |
X |
U |
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X |
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Jenna Coker |
X |
+ |
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X |
+ |
+ |
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Alex Delaney |
X |
E |
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X |
+ |
+ |
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Jonathan Holley |
X |
+ |
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X |
+ |
+ |
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Steven Koprince |
X |
+ |
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X |
+ |
+ |
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Frank Pondrom |
X |
+ |
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X |
E |
U |
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Blake Swenson |
X |
+ |
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X |
+ |
+ |
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Kendall Simmons |
X |
E |
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X |
+ |
+ |
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E Excused Absence U Unexcused Absence
X Meeting Cancelled – Weather Conditions - Meeting Cancelled – Committee Vote/No Business
* First meeting after appointment ** Last Meeting Prior to expired term
^ Last Meeting