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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1978 07-20 HCMMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION JULY 20, 1978 CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission met in regular session and was called to order by Chairman Phyllis Plummer at 7:40 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairman Phyllis Plummer, Comriiissioners Dolores Hastings, Ronald Turner, Patricia Weitzel and Clifford Williams. Also present were guest Barb Jensen, member of the Conservation Commission and board member of the League of Women Voters, and Eileen O slund President of the League of Women Voters and Administrative Assistants Mary Harty and Brad Hoffman. Commissioners Magnuson and Duenow were not present at this evening's meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 6 -20 -78 There was a motion by Commissioner Weitzel and seconded by Commissioner Williams to approve the minutes of the June 20, 1978 Housing Commission meeting as submitted. The motion passed unanimously. HOUSING CONFERENCE DISCUSSION Chairman Plummer introduced agenda item; housing conference discussion. Chairman Plummer explained that two prior committee meetings had been held to discuss the .date of the conference, scheduling and agenda for the conference. She explained that September 16 had been tentatively set as the date for the housing conference. The Commission agreed that the date September 16, 1978 would be an appropriate date, Chairman Plummer also explained that a tentative time schedule should be set up in order to determine deadlines. Administrative Assistant Brad Hoffman suggested that speakers should be lined up by approximately the first week in August and also mailings should be prepared by the first week in August. Chairman Plummer ex- plained that mailings would go to elected officials, appointed officials and community leaders. There would be an invitation extended via the media to the public to attend the conference. Commissioner Haroldson arrived at 7 :45 p.m. Discussion ensued concerning which community leaders and officials should be sent invitations. It was the concensus of the group that invitations should be sent to leaders in the north and northwestern metro area. Chairman Plummer sug- gested that Phil Cohen might be able to suggest an appropriate listing of communities. Chairman Plummer also suggested that it would be appropriate to acquire a mailing list for community organizations. If such a mailing list does not already exist, 7 -20 -78 -1- Chairman Plummer suggested that a mailing list for community organizations should be drawn up in order that community leaders from these organizations could also be invited. The next item of discussion was a site for the proposed conference. It was the concensus of the group that Brooklyn Center High School would be a good site to hold the conference. Chairman Plummer requested that Administrative Assistant Brad Hoffman check with school officials as to the availability of Brooklyn Center High School. The Commissioners felt that the school site would be appropriate because it offered large meeting and also many small meetings areas in class- rooms. At this time Chairman Plummer asked the Housing Commissioners to look at several handouts that she had given to them. These handouts included one prepared by Nancy Reeves of the Metropolitan Council which was a proposed outline for the Brooklyn Center Housing Awareness Seminar. Another handout was a tentative time schedule prepared by Eileen Oslund. Another handout was an earlier outline prepared by Phil Cohen entitled Proposed Housing Awareness Seminars. The final handout was a listing of possible speakers for the Brooklyn Center Housing Seminar as prepared by Phil Cohen and as reviewed earlier by a committee of the Housing Com- mission. The Commissioners began by discussing the outline as prepared by Nancy Reeves for the Brooklyn Center Housing Awareness Seminar. Discussion centered on the theme which Nancy Reeves had developed. The theme as developed by Nancy Reeves was "to develop awareness of needs for housing assistance, and to explore available options for meeting the needs" Commissioners questioned whether or not that theme was broad enough or whether or not it was too narrow a topic. Commissioners also discussed the fact that there might be different needs among participants in the seminar as determined by whether or not they came from a first ring suburb, a second ring suburb or a freestanding community. A suggestion was made by Commissioner Weitzel to divide the workshop part of the sessions into three general areas, one area speaking to concerns of developed suburbs, one area speaking to concerns of developing suburbs, and one area speaking to concerns of freestanding communities. The Commissioners seemed to favor Commissioner Weitzel's suggestion, but a decision on the suggestion was deferred until later in the meeting. At this time Chairman Plummer called the Commissioners attention to the handout prepared by Eileen Oslund on a tentative schedule for the seminar. The tentative schedule as discussed earlier in committee meetings would include a registration session from 8 :00 until 8:30, a general session from 8:30 until 10:30, a break from 10:30 until 10:50, a set of mini workshops from 10:50 until 11 :35, a second set of mini workshops from 11 :40 until 12 :25, and a general wrap up session from 12 :30 until 1:00. The time frame suggested then, would be from 8 :00 until 1:00 p.m. The Commissioners concurred that this tentative schedule would be appropriate for the seminar to be held on September 16. At this time Chairman Plummer called the Commissioners attention to the handout on possible speakers for the Brooklyn Center Housing Seminar. After a general discussion on the speakers and their availability, Commissioner Haroldson sug- gested that general session speakers might be Tom Feeney representing the federal viewpoint, James Solem representing the state viewpoint, and Nancy Reeves 7 -20 -78 -2- representing the Metro Council veiwpoint. There was a further suggestion by Barb Jensen that the general session might also include Mike Gleason, representing a people's perspective. A general discussion ensued as to the merit of that particular combination of speakers. Commissioner Haroldson felt that the combination of speakers suggested would be effective because they would be able to present a perspective which covered the federal, the state, the metropolitan and the people. Chairman Plummer suggested that an appropriate combination of speakers might be Pat Lucas, Nancy Reeves, James Dlugosch and Mike Gleason. Discussion ensued as to the relative merits of this combination of speakers. A decision was made that general session speakers would include: Pat Lucas to speak on building codes and to give her viewpoint on the Metropolitan Council's planning in housing assistance; Nancy Reeves to speak on housing needs as seen by government; James Dlugosch to speak on the financing of housing assistance; and Mike Gleason to speak on human needs in housing assistance and to give his viewpoint on public versus private interests in housing assistance. The Commissioners began discussion on speakers for the mini workshop sessions. A decision was reached that the following speakers and topics should be included in the mini workshops: In workshop two, Frank Knoll would speak on housing legis- lation, past present and pending. In workshop three, Nan McKay and Dean Otterson would speak on housing assistance as a community issue and give both the pros and cons of this issue. In workshop four, Mary O'Hara would speak on special housing needs to include handicapped, battered families, elderly, and other special groups. In workshop five, a Department of Housing and Urban Development representative, possibly Tom Feeney or Roger Olson, and a Minnesota Housing Finance Agency representative, possibly James Solem, would be invited to address how state and federal programs dovetail in the area of housing assistance. In workshop six, Roily Comstock would speak on the futures.in housing. In workshop seven, Blair Tremer&would speak on the importance of local programs. 'Chairman Plummer indicated that the speakers so listed would be the Com- mission's first choice in speakers. The Commission realizes that they may have to choose alternates but they will not do so at this time until the first choice speakers have responded whether or not they would be able to participate. It was the concensus of the Commission that a final wrap up session would be valuable if conducted in such a manner that participants went away wanting more informa- tion and having gained new insight into the problem. There was a suggestion that if Phil Cohen acted as moderator for the rest of the sessions, he might be an appropriate person to end the seminar with closing statements and a wrap up session. There were no other suggested names for discussion leaders for the wrap up session. Chairman Plummer asked that decisions regarding the order of speakers be left to the Housing Commission committee. Administrative Assistant Brad Hoffman reminded Commissioners that they were invited to attend the public hearing to be held on Tuesday evening, July 25 at S 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers on community development. 7 -20 -78 ADTOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Hastings seconded by Commissioner Weitzel that the meeting be adjourned. The motion passed unanimotisly. The meeting was adjourned at 11 :10 p.m. Chairman 7 -20 -78 -4-