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Human Services Advisory Commission
 Meeting Minutes
 July 12, 2005
 7:40 – 9:40 PM
Rockville Senior Center

Eric Wang

Members Absent:

Darrell Butler

Mary Caroline Colletti

Bill Goodwin

Tom Lawrey

Staff Present:

Sarah Gicale

Mary Lou Jacobs

Guests:

Kathy Mitchell, President, Land Development Consultants

Cindy Hill, Member, Human Rights Commission

Re:  Call Meeting to Order /Introductions

Tim Stranges called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m.  Tim announced that Bill Goodwin had submitted his resignation from the Human Services Advisory Commission. 

Re:  Developing a Focus re:  Issue of Affordable Housing
Guest:  Kathy Mitchell, President, Land Development Consultants

Kathy explained that she has worked on all sides of the affordable housing issue.  This has been an ongoing and growing problem for many years.  Her first job out of graduate school was a study of housing based on the 1970 census.  Things have not changed since that time.  There is never enough housing; that which exists is never in the right categories; and there is always a low vacancy rate.

It is difficult for buyers to find the variety of housing types needed.  The region has an aging population.  Yet there is an insufficient amount of the kind of housing that seniors want.  This is not just a matter of bricks and mortar or square feet.  Financing can be an issue, especially in providing what is right for each person’s status.  And everyone wants not just the house they envision, but also stores and other services nearby.  The demands on the housing market are incredible.  Facets of the overall problem include the following:

• There are over 60,000 low or moderate-income households in need of affordable housing in Montgomery County.
• There are nearly 2,000 families on the County’s waiting list, which is currently closed.
• One must work 182 hours a week at minimum wage to rent the average two bedroom apartment in today’s market in Montgomery County.
• On any given day, over 1500 people are homeless in Montgomery County.
• Over the course of a year, over 4500 people experience homelessness in the County.
• 26% of the County’s homeless adults work but cannot afford housing.
• 72% of the County’s homeless adults are disabled.
• 26% of the homeless in the County are children.

David L’Heureux asked what percentage of those who are homeless in Montgomery County are residents of Rockville.  Mary Lou Jacobs said that the records kept in her office show about 200 homeless persons a year are from Rockville.  Kathy added that the characteristics of the homeless population seem to change.  Currently, it appears to be younger.

Kathy continued that the County is losing units at the low end and adding units at the high end; and the supply is not keeping up with the demand in any price range.  There is significant growth in the number of households that are right on the edge.

• Despite the fact that more homes have been built in the County in the last five years than in the fifteen years prior, the overall vacancy rate for housing is still under 4%.  (A vacancy rate under 5% is considered a critical housing shortage.)
• Most new housing units built recently in the County have been luxury, high-cost units, not affordable to low and moderate-income residents.
  
• While some of the new housing developments were large enough to trigger the requirement for inclusion of Moderately Priced Housing Units (MPDU’s), the new yield is inadequate to either replace the older MPDU’s lost as they aged out of the program, or other affordable units throughout the County that were lost to market inflation and the “McMansion-ization” of older neighborhoods.
  
• Owner/landlords of the rental apartment complexes are taking advantage of the favorable mortgage and construction loan market to convert to condos or redevelop to higher priced units rather than refinance through the County’s loan programs for affordable housing.

Montgomery County has the lowest percentage of rental apartment units.  The County has always supported home ownership and has always been able to provide the jobs and good schools necessary.  More importantly, no one wants rental housing built in his or her community.

Other housing issues include the following: 

• People with disabilities have a difficult time finding a place to live. 
  
• The aging population has no housing to move up into (the turnover of empty-nesters used to be a good source of affordable housing). 
  
• Condos being built have the features that young professionals want and they are taking up all the available housing. 
  
• Young families are moving farther and farther out.

Nevertheless, Kathy does not believe this to be an insurmountable problem.  The development community will give you anything you want.  If the Rockville community decides it wants affordable housing, they can get it.

Tim asked how the Commission could help.  Kathy suggested advising the Mayor and Council to get focused and express what it is they clearly want—not just to developers but also to the County and the State.  If the City would do that one single thing, Kathy feels it would really make a difference.  The County has a high level group looking at housing policies, zoning, and densities.  The biggest problem is that the community won’t accept the solution, which is to build more affordable housing.  People need to get past the notion that affordable housing is “public housing.”  It’s important that the actual buildings not be cheaply constructed.

Rockville has a high number of families and individuals who come to stay.  Residents in Rockville “age in place” so a good way for the Commission to begin might be to go after senior housing.  The City does not have moderate-income housing for seniors although it is possible to see “patio homes” in other areas of the country.  And senior housing is acceptable to most communities.

Eric Wang commented that it is also important to help people improve their ability to manage their finances and become more creative in life skill management.  He feels that if one has a high school diploma, he/she can work nontraditional kinds of jobs to make enough money to afford existing housing.  Kathy agreed but said this area is conservative and people are discouraged from following paths that won’t lead to a “professional” job.

Tim thanked Kathy for her presentation.  He then asked Cindy Hill if affordable housing is an area that the Human Rights Commission would like to work on with the Human Services Advisory Commission.  Cindy said she thought so and was excited at taking this information back to her commission.  Tim brought up the topic of housing for people with disabilities, which Mary Caroline Colletti had mentioned as an unmet need.  He wondered if there was any requirement that MPDU’s include elements for people with disabilities.  David L’Heureux suggested a conference on the housing situation.  Tim thought it might be helpful to pursue something on the city level similar to the housing workshop that RHE sponsored.  He also continues to be interested in any City-owned land that is underutilized.  Mary Lou said possibly the Commission could request a list of City-owned properties, if it exists, or GIS maps.

David said he was also interested in having the Commission do a survey of people with disabilities in Rockville, e.g., how many are there? What types of problems do they encounter?  Tim said he thought the Human Rights Commission would be interested in this topic as well.  Cindy agreed.

Re:  Approve June 14 Meeting Minutes

The last sentence on the first page was changed to read, “Instead the consultant will focus on the direct provision of human service activities by the City.”  On page 3, the last two sentences of the second paragraph were changed to read, “As the year goes on, he hopes that Commission members can keep the City’s roles in mind.  He considers them a legitimate part of the Commission’s charge.”   David L”Heureux then moved that the minutes be adopted as amended.  Deborah Hopson seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.

Re:  Updates from Chair

• Tim said that he had the pleasure of serving on the group responsible for choosing the consultant who will evaluate the provision of human services in Rockville.  The proposals were narrowed down to two and then both of those consultants were interviewed.  The consultant that was chosen is Metis Associates from New York City.  The study will be conducted by Fran Lochte who, he thinks, has a great analytical mind and is an excellent writer.  She will also be easy to work with.  Since the Commission is to serve as one focus group for this study, Tim proposed that there be an August meeting on August 23rd just for this purpose.  He also asked that excerpts from the Metis proposal be sent out in the next mailing.
  
• Salute to Non-Profits:  Tim thanked Mary Lou Jacobs and Agnes Saenz for attending the meetings and thanked the City for helping financially with mailing out the invitations.  Agnes moved that the Commission earmark $100 from their budget to help defray expenses for this event.  Deborah Hopson seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.  Mary Lou asked if there were volunteers to help in “validating passports” during the event.  Agnes Saenz, Sarah Gicale, Paul Mutyambizi, and David L’Heureux all agreed to help.
  
• Vacancy on the Commission:  Tim said that several appointments for Commission members are due to expire in September.  He asked that members let him or Mary Lou know if they are planning to resign so that all vacancies can be advertised at once. 

Re:  HSAC Focus for the Next Year

• Housing
  
• People with Disabilities:  David said he would be willing to spearhead a study of people in Rockville with disabilities.
  
• Language Minorities:  in previous meetings Mary Caroline Colletti has mentioned an interest in this area.
  
• Health Care Issues:  Agnes said she expects the need for more clinic hours to increase.  She will keep the Commission advised throughout the year on the progress made by the CMR Health Project.  They are learning that people who need health care have many other needs as well, prescriptions being just one of those needs.
• Commission to acquire needs information with someone else doing the work.  Members should consider what information they would find useful.
  
• Rockville Emergency Assistance Program (REAP): Mary Lou said that the Department has initiated a look at recidivism in this program.  Staff will be initiating a series of conversations with different stakeholders and it would be helpful if the Commission would act as a sounding board.  The issue is that when REAP applicants return, they increasingly come back owing large amounts of money.  The ability for the network of agencies to respond is affected.  The Commission represents the values of the community and is a logical group to ask for comment on various options.

Tim then suggested that he write up this work plan for the coming year in a letter to the Mayor and Council and ask them for feedback.  After discussion of other alternatives, everyone agreed.
  
   
Re:  Plan Agenda for August Meeting

The August meeting will provide an opportunity for the Commission to serve as a focus group for the consultant. 

Re: Adjourn
   
Deborah moved to adjourn the meeting.  David seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.  The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m.  The next meeting of the Human Services Advisory Commission will be held Tuesday, August 23, 2005, from 7:30 - 9:30 p.m., in the Solarium at the Rockville Senior Center.