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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-10-17 HHSCMINUTES OF THE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION City Clerk Conference Center 300 E. Superstition Blvd., Apache Junction, AZ October 17, 2007 - 4:10 P.M. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: SUE CLABUESCH, CHAIRPERSON (arrived 4:24 p.m.) ROBERT EVANS, VICE CHAIRPERSON KIMBERLY BROSSMAN COURTNEY RIDDLE RUTHIE WEST STAFF PRESENT: KATHLEEN CONNELLY, CITY CLERK JAN MASON, DEPUTY CITY CLERK 1.Call to Order/Roll Call. Vice Chairperson Evans called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m. Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason called the roll and advised there was a quorum present. 2.Discussion on FY 2007-08 funding applications and procedure for reviewing applications and 3.Status report on FY 2006-07 funding recipients. Vice Chairperson Evans requested the city clerk to inform the new member about some of the guidelines and procedures. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they have a copy of Ordinance No. 653 in their packets.It was adopted because council was always being requested to give money during mid- budget year and some reasons were good, some were not.They formalized the process, giving applicants terms and conditions for applying.They have to file no later than January 31 during the next budget year, they have to agree to provide certain documentation on who is being served, and it has to be for city residents only.Agencies outside the community apply but their services go to city residents only. Commissioner Riddle asked if Gold Canyon counts. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 17, 2007 PAGE 1 OF 9 City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated Gold Canyon does not count, Maricopa County does not count, and the unincorporated areas of Pinal County do not count.The city is literally surrounded by other jurisdictions.Most agencies are pretty good.They are sent a map along with the agreement once the approval is given; they are cautious in making sure they are city residents.Every agency they have funded in the past not only serves city residents but they go above and beyond to serve other communities.They overlap into other jurisdictions and use other money for that.She advised their packet has a list of who applied, a chart of who has applied in the past, and the applications.She commented the Apache Junction Reach Out Food Bank is very good at reporting and serves above and beyond what the city funds them for, including city residents and the surrounding area.Their policy is not to turn anyone down and they are careful not to duplicate other efforts.They are asking for $20,000; $15,000 for the purchase of food and the remaining $5,000 is to offset some of the costs related to the walk-in freezers.She commented she also gave them all of their 501C information and their budget details.She did not give them the quarterly reports as those are too bulky.The Boys and Girls Club is still at their facility on Winchester.They service more than what they receive from the city.They get a lot of donations and have a lot of fundraisers.Some of the money they are raising is going for construction of a new facility on the other side of the county complex. Vice Chairperson Evans commented the legislature set aside $500,000 for prevention programs and the Boys and Girls Clubs are basically the only ones that can apply for it.He does not know how it will be distributed. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated it will probably be distributed to the main branch in Tempe and then they would split it up from there. Commissioner West asked if there are more kids now. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated there is.When you call up, all you hear is kids in the background.They are maxed at the facility. Commissioner West commented she has heard the adolescent crime rate has gone down. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 17, 2007 PAGE 2 OF 9 City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she does not know about that.It would be good news.The Boys and Girls Club is requesting $36,800 and Judy is familiar with the fact that it usually gets winnowed down.She is willing to work with what they get.They want to continue the prevention programs that they have.The Community Alliance Against Family Abuse applied 2 years ago but there were concerns about their ability to document.They withdrew the application and did not apply last year.They have a new director and are requesting $10,000 to $15,000.They did not set a specific amount.As they have not received any prior city funds, there are no records in that area.She is not familiar with the program.It appears they are again working with the school district so they may have the same issue of being able to pull out and document the service units.It is for prevention and intervention, including some teen pregnancy and other drug and prevention stuff. Commissioner Riddle asked if this is for everybody, not just teenagers. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated it sounds like it will be at the school.She thinks it will be at the high school and junior high; she does not believe it is intended for adults.In the past they have proposed the city issuing gasoline charge cards; it did not work out because it would be difficult to monitor and control.The next applicant is Community Action Human Resources Agency, which is located in Eloy.They are accustomed to the fact that the funds are dwindling and have voluntarily decreased the amount requested over the years.They are requesting $8,000 this year.Years ago they had requested $30,000 to $40,000.It is again for home repairs, especially for seniors and people with disabilities who own their own home and are living in it. They also install handicap -accessible features.They are good with partnering with other agencies and other funding sources. If the city money is not enough, they partner with others to get the project done.There have been no problems with them; they provide good documentation.The East Valley Senior Services is another agency located outside the city and they run the senior center.They have a separate contract that allows them to occupy the premises at the center.They provide congregate meals, home -delivered meals, socialization, card games and other programs.They are requesting $40,000 with $25,000 being for the congregate meals and $15,000 for the home -delivered meals. They are very good at submitting their documentation.The HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 17, 2007 PAGE 3 OF 9 Habitat for Humanity is a new applicant.The application is tied to the subdivision they have put in near Ironwood and Mockingbird.They build the houses with sweat equity; the owners must help build their homes and other homes in the subdivision.In return, they get to move in with no down payment.It is an international program. Commissioner Riddle stated it basically gives low income people the opportunity to own their own homes.They also work with the lenders to get low interest rates.They build their own homes. In essence, the whole community comes in to build their home with them and then they agree to go to the other homes and help build those. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they are asking for $15,000 to do some of the exterior improvements such as the landscaping, irrigation and gravel.The Salvation Army is the next applicant. Commissioner Riddle commented she thought they had left Apache Junction. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated that is a question she would have to ask them.She has heard both, that there is someone here the minimum hours a week and she has also heard that they are mostly closed.She does not know the reality.Roger Hacker, the city grants specialist, talked to them. (Chairperson Clabuesch arrived.) City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated the Salvation Army, through a grant, had been given a multi -passenger van.Because they were not using it, and were possibly misusing it, the van was taken back from them in the early part of this year.Their documentation has been sketchy. She has had to deny some of what they have sent in because they were not people in the city.The last applicant is Superstition Mountain Mental Health.They were one of the original applicants many years ago.Their application is a dual request, with $15,000 for client needs, such as mortgage assistance or utility bill assistance, and $2,500 for psychiatric services.When they were funded by the city, she never had an issue with their documentation. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 17, 2007 PAGE 4 OF 9 Commissioner Evans commented he is applying for a chief executive officer position with them at this time.It should not prejudice his decision. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she had checked with the city attorney and been told it would not be a conflict of interest.If he had been hired it would be. Commissioner Riddle asked if there is a data base that shows where they have been helped, or do they go to each individual office each month for help with rent. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they have been encouraged to talk to each other.There was a human services network running that Superstition Mountain Mental Health was responsible for. Previously $4,000 was being given to them to keep it up and running.When they stopped applying, there were no other agencies that wanted to do that.They may be meeting on their own, but she is not aware of it.She believes there is an unofficial internal network. Commissioner Riddle stated she knows some of the bigger cities do that when they get city funds. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she does not think they have a data base, but she thinks the food bank checks with St. George's who then checks with another agency and so on.This year they have $100,000 to work with. Chairperson Clabuesch asked if she had done that. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she believed Councilmember Dietz did that.He made sure they changed it this year. Chairperson Clabuesch asked if infrastructure landscaping is something they can fund. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated it depends.If it is in the public right-of-way it gets questionable, and even more so if it is a requirement the city has made as part of their development. She has put in a call to development services but no one has gotten back to her yet.She should have the information at the next meeting.If it is for each property, they can say it is HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 17, 2007 PAGE 5 OF 9 truly tied to a city resident.If it is for the outside in the public right-of-way, it gets a little iffy. Chairperson Clabuesch stated they really need to talk to them. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they need to talk to them and get as much information as they can from development services. Vice Chairperson Evans commented it might be a little iffy as to that having to do with health and human services. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated it is more of an aesthetic beautification. Chairperson Clabuesch asked if they got anything from Arizona Bridge to Independent Living. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they did not. Vice Chairperson Evans commented they were a Phoenix organization and had a $7,000,000 budget.They made $1,000,000 the year before. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated St. George's did not apply again this year.They had told her last year that they were not going to do that again.Community Alliance Against Family Abuse and Habitat for Humanity are new.Superstition Mountain Mental Health is not new but they have not applied for funding for a few years. Chairperson Clabuesch asked why she thought the ones that they had before had dropped out. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she thinks Arizona Bridge to Independent Living had an expectation that they would get funding and they were not happy that they did not. Commissioner Riddle asked if they could take the information home. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated absolutely. Commissioner Riddle asked if it is confidential information. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 17, 2007 PAGE 6 OF 9 City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated it is not.It is all public record.The only thing she gets from the agencies that may be confidential is the client list, and that would only be Superstition Mountain Mental Health and Community Alliance Against Family Abuse because of the psychiatric care and domestic abuse issues.She never sees who, just the address. If someone files a public records request on those lists, she would go to the city attorney and have him rule that even those addresses are not for release.The city is very protective of this information.She has never had anyone ask for them. Commissioner Riddle commented she wanted to make sure after dealing with foster care issues in the past. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she is the only one who sees the reports.She sends up the check requests to finance.She has never had anyone come in to look at the applications.It is such a worthwhile project people do not question it. Commissioner Evans asked about the quarterly reports. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated it depends.The food bank might submit as much as 30 pages per quarter.They are required to identify the name, address, the form of identification, the date of service, the type of service and give them the initial person and monitor the process.They are all really good at what they do with the exception of the Salvation Army. 4.Selection of future meeting dates. Commissioner West asked when the next meeting would be. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated it is up to them as to when they want to have their next meeting. Commissioner West asked when is their deadline. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated the next set of council meetings are November 5 and 6.If possible, she would like to meet with the agencies, have their interviews and give her their recommendations so that she can go to the council for the November 5 work session. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 17, 2007 PAGE 7 OF 9 Commissioner West asked how they were going to interview all these applicants in time. Chairperson Clabuesch stated they usually do it pretty quickly. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they have two weeks. There was general discussion on how many meetings they would need, what agencies they would interview, and what dates were available for the board.The consensus was to have the interviews on October 23. There was general discussion on who they would interview.The consensus was that they not interview the food bank, boys and girls club and senior services, but the commission would like to find out what they can do if they do not get fully funded. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they most likely do not have an expectation of being fully funded. Commissioner Brossman commented they are back to having just 5 to interview. Chairperson Clabuesch stated they could do all of those in one day. Commissioner West asked who the fifth one is. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she has Community Action Human Resources Agency, Community Alliance Against Family Abuse, Superstition Mountain Mental Health, Habitat for Humanity and the Salvation Army. There was general discussion on the time to start the meeting, how long the meeting would be scheduled for, and if they wanted a separate meeting for deliberation on their recommendation to the council.The consensus was to do it all in one meeting. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they are more than welcome to visit those agencies they are not interviewing. There was general discussion on how long the deliberations would take. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 17, 2007 PAGE 8 OF 9 Vice Chairperson Evans called for a motion on the next meeting. Commissioner Riddle MOVED THAT THE NEXT MEETING DATE BE OCTOBER 23, 2008 AT 4:00 P.M. Commissioner Brossman SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous. The motion carried. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she would do it the same way she has in the past with a 10 minute presentation and 5 minutes for discussions and questions, and they will do them in alphabetical order.Sometimes they have had to trade slots due time constraints and she lets them do that on their own. 5.Adjournment. Vice Chairperson Evans adjourned the meeting at 4:58 p.m. Sue Clabuesch Chairperson Kathleen Connelly City Clerk HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 17, 2007 PAGE 9 OF 9