CC Minutes - 09/27/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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staff could research best practices and see what kind of models were available. Mr. Lee said Kansas City sought to create a seamless connection in the human services system. Mr. Kelly said his involvement with the Housing Policy Board has impressed him with the staf?s support of these programs, adding that it has also made him realize that the problems are much bigger than the funding. With regard to priorities, he said it made sense to continue with what was underway, but he would add a component that provided for integrated services counseling for individuals. At Mr. Papa's request, Ms. Dawson described the Housing Investment Partnership Program, whose goal was to provide affordable housing over the long term. Mr. Meisner agreed with comments made by Mr. Lee, adding that government in general tends to "treat symptoms." He said jurisdictions needed to approach the problems comprehensively. He asked staff to compare rental assistance to capital investment programs. Ms. Dawson said the City does not at this time provide rental assistance services because of the difficulty in administering the program. Mr. Meisner said he hoped staff would research a rental assistance program, noting that that type of assistance provided more immediate relief. Ms. Nathanson joined Mr. Lee and Mr. Meisner in pointing out the important connection between social services and the "brick and mortar" or direct housing programs. She recalled a previous discussion about where community social services are located in the community, commenting that a comprehensive approach may better distribute those services. Mr. Fart said the City had a remarkably professional staff, adding that housing programs in some cases already combined a few other services and he was sure the council's comments were not "falling on deaf ears." Ms. Taylor said she was very concerned about the high cost of subsidized housing, favoring rental assistance over home ownership programs for two reasons: services can be more widely spread; and the service is more transitional. She asked staff how the plan's priorities would be set. Ms. Dawson said all the jurisdictions, through their representatives on the various committees, would have input and their recommendations would come back to the council for final adoption. Addressing a question from Mayor Torrey, Mr. Weinman described HUD funding recently allocated to the University of Oregon. Mr. Lee noted the United States Congress' reduction in the block grant program. Ms. Dawson said the last word she had was that the allocation had not changed. Mr. Lee said it might be wise to lobby the federal government to ensure that is the case. He urged the City to at least take some steps toward integrating services and suggested a pilot site-based program. Mr. Lee said there had to be more creative ways of addressing services. Mr. Pap~ echoed comments about the professional staff and wondered if records were kept to track the success of families benefitting from these programs. Ms. Dawson said successes were tracked in a limited number of specific programs, such as the threshold program which places renters into home ownership. Mr. Kelly said he was surprised by some of the projects listed as past recipients of block grant programs and asked for a list of the projects funded in the current Consolidated Plan. He also requested copies of the next MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 27, 1999 Page 4 5:30 p.m.