Last week the Housing Authority of Champaign County had their Board of Commissioners meeting of the month of April. The meeting's open session was split up on either side of a closed session about a real estate purchase or sale (agenda packet here). Unfortunately I was only able to catch the first half due to time constraints. If I get more information I'll update here, but more than likely it'll just be a link to the minutes from the May meeting packet later this month (link here).
Somehow I had forgotten where the agenda packet links were and kept missing it on the Board of Commissioners page after seeing "coming soon." They're still there. On the PC version of their website they're under "About Us" at the top of the page and then the "Board of Commissioners" button. On the left-hand side there's a link to Documents and they're there for 2017 and 2018. On a phone or handheld device it's under "Menu" -> "About Us" -> "Board of Commissioners" and then "Documents" on the menu. I'm not sure if my confusion is because there aren't links from the meeting information page, or if there used to be links that are now gone there. It could be that I just forgot how I got there.
The new Executive Director, David A. Northern, Sr greeted attendees and the public audience with hallway handshakes on the way into the meeting. Public comment included a thank you from a partner organization on a construction project and then a long line of kids, teachers and staff of the Urbana Neighborhood Connection Center. It sounded like there had been a presentation planned in previous months, but in lieu of those plans they wanted to give a brief overview and let the parents and students speak towards the benefits to them and the community. The program offers resources to students and parents alike to succeed in school, resolutions, literacy, on-line support for reports, and so much more. More information at their website here. They topped it off with pictures highlighting their success stories and graduates:
Most of the meeting was consumed by a presentation of data from a recent research report on HUD's Moving to Work program. The information was dense and the questions and answers wonky and over my head. Some of the presentation reflected expectations. Difficult situations in life had impacts on the success of employment gains, e.g. lack of transportation options, nearby jobs, children with disabilities, etc. Two issues that were highlighted were chronic and acute health conditions and criminal background being barriers to needed services and options. This data may help tie in with the Housing pilot program and other Housing recommendations of the Racial Justice Task Force.
There will apparently be a presentation of this data to HUD in Washington this week as well. They discussed possible outreach efforts to inform the public. The question and answer discussion mainly dealt with specific details of comparison city data, participation incentives, and feedback.
The rest of the open session involved voting on the agenda items being voted on unanimously yes to pass. There was a technical question or two along the way. On the media contract the new Director highlighted the need for the community to know about what the Housing Authority does and is doing. A lot of it sounded like it was geared towards image with "spots" highlighting the positive things they do. As the Chair put it, they do an excellent job... but they're not telling their story. This (f) and the next resolution (g) passed with minor amendments unanimously.
They then went into closed session on a property purchase/sale. More information on the rest in a future update and/or the minutes in the May meeting's agenda packet here.
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