Alachua County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Alachua County Growth Management Department
111 S.W. 1st Street, Room 6
Gainesville, FL 32601
Meeting Minutes
Members present: Carl Salafrio; Darlene Pifalo; Don Davis; John Brunner; Patricia Lee; Robert Stroh; Shaun Wasdo; Tim Flanagan.
Others present: Abu Karim, Growth Management staff liaison to the committee; Jay Moseley, Meridian Community Services Group; Mark Ludlow, services provider to the committee; Kali Blount, a member of the public.
The meeting began at 5:05 P.M.
Old business & Chair’s Comments
The minutes of the Committee’s meeting on August 13, 2008 were approved. Because of a deteriorating weather situation and therefore the need to begin discussion of the Alachua County 2008 CDBG Housing Rehabilitation application as quickly as possible, there were no Chair’s comments.
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Application
The CDBG grant writer, Jay Moseley with Meridian Community Services Group, handed out an overview of the grant project, discussed the CDBG application, and answered members’ questions as they arose. Mr. Moseley noted that, if Alachua County is awarded the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2008 CDBG grant, applicants for housing rehabilitation assistance will be ranked according to demographics. Such demographic information includes whether or not applicants are handicapped, elderly, or disabled, as well as applicant income levels. Handicapped, elderly, and disabled persons who are very-low-income receive the highest ranking.
Several members voiced concern that the ranking system precluded any consideration of the condition of applicants’ housing units and expressed their opinion that housing condition should be a factor in deciding on assistance. The discussion then centered on practical implications of taking applicants’ housing conditions into account. Mr. Moseley elaborated on the ranking criteria and suggested that it may be possible to rank applicants within point value categories according to general criteria such as whether a house needed major, moderate, or minor rehabilitation. The problem with such general criteria, Mr. Moseley noted, is the subjective nature of housing rehabilitation.
Several committee members noted the disconnect between CDBG program application guidelines and practical considerations of providing housing rehabilitation assistance. One member summed up the situation by remarking that the CDBG program is essentially a social program, not a housing program. A motion was made to accept the Alachua County FFY 2008 CDBG application as written; the motion was seconded and passed.
New Business
Mark Ludlow brought to member’s attention information in the handout, including a meeting schedule with discussion items for the remainder of 2008, the date and time for a Development Review workshop on August 27, 2008, and the date for an Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) input meeting on September 24, 2008.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting ended at 5:55 P M.