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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes 2.1.24Attachment A Page 2 of 8 SKHHP Advisory Board February 1, 2024 MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER Dorsol Plants called the meeting to order at 3:34 PM. ROLL CALL/ESTABLISHMENT OF QUORUM Advisory Board members present: Maria Arns, Tina Narron, Uche Okezie, Hamdi Abdulle, Olga Lindbom, Rumi Takahashi, Kathleen Hosfeld, Andrew Calkins, Kent Hay, Ashley Kenny, Menka Soni, Patience Malaba. Other attendees: Claire Vanessa Goodwin, SKHHP; Dorsol Plants, SKHHP. II. JANUARY 4, 2024 MEETING MINUTES Tina Narron motioned to approve January 4, 2024 Minutes, Seconded by Uche Okezie. (10-0) III. EXECUTIVE BOARD LIAISON REPORT Tina Narron provided a brief update from the January Executive Board meeting. A lot was covered, including the confirmation of our six new Advisory Board members. There was also an opportunity for some of us to introduce ourselves to the Executive Board, and I hope we can find more opportunities this year to get to know each other. Dorsol Plants also provided a brief legislative update for this year’s session. Most of the meeting was on Tax Increment Financing or TIF. This is a funding mechanism established in Washington where a city can use money from future tax earnings to support a current development. Federal Way is currently using this process, and some other cities are considering it. The whole meeting is available online if you want to learn more about it. IV. ROLE AND PURPOSE OF THE ADVISORY BOARD Dorsol Plants reviewed the role and purpose of the Advisory Board. The most critical element to remember during your service is that this is your board, and what we do together is determined by you. The decision- making is in the hearts and minds of the board members in this room. The Advisory Board meets monthly, on the first Thursday from 3:30 to 5:30 PM. As a government board, we need at least eight people to attend to hold a meeting or to have a quorum. SKHHP staff will reach out the week before the meeting to try and determine if enough board members are available to meet. Dorsol Plants asked if the day and time of the meeting still worked or if there would be interest in sending out a survey to find a different day and time. Rumi Takahashi said the day and time worked for her. Tina Narron said she was happy with the day, but there seemed to be greater attendance during the evening meeting. Menka Soni joined the meeting at 4:11 PM. Hamdi Abdulle said she was okay with the first Thursday but thought the meeting was too long and asked if it would be possible to reduce it to one hour. Dorsol Plants concluded that it sounded like Thursday worked, but the time or length of the meeting did not. He will assemble a brief survey for the board to complete by email. Dorsol Plants added that if the first Thursday would continue to be our scheduled meeting, the July meeting would fall on the July 4 holiday. Dorsol Plants asked if the board wanted to find a different day or cancel the meeting. Attachment A Page 3 of 8 Menka Soni suggested canceling it since many people will travel for vacation. Hamdi Abdulle agreed with Menka Soni. Dorsol Plants will remove the July 4 meeting from the schedule. Dorsol Plants began discussing how the Advisory and Executive Board stay connected to complete SKHHP's mission. The Advisory Board has traditionally sent at least one member to each Executive Board meeting to provide an update for the Advisory Board. This is especially helpful when the Executive Board is considering recommendations from the Advisory Board. Last year, the Advisory Board opted to be randomly assigned a month out of the year to attend the Executive Board meeting. If the day and time don't work, SKHHP staff can work directly with the individual to find a replacement, and another month, they can attend as an alternative. The Advisory Board member who attends the Executive Board meeting provides a brief update at the following Advisory Board meeting. If an Advisory Board member is eligible for compensation, attendance at the Executive Board meeting is also covered. The Executive Board meets on the third Friday from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, and they appreciate having the Advisory Board in attendance. Rumi Takahashi asked if the Executive Board meetings were virtual or in-person. Dorsol Plants said all the meetings are held over Zoom, but the Executive Board does hybrid meetings once a quarter, with the next one being in March. Rumi Takahashi asked if the meetings were always held in Auburn when in person. Dorsol Plants confirmed that has been the case so far. Patience Malaba joined the meeting at 4:18 PM. Dorsol Plants reviewed suggested topics for the 2024 Advisory Board meetings. The suggestions were based on individual discussions with the board and at our January meeting. The list includes comprehensive plan updates focused on the housing element, affordable housing financing, and models of supportive services in housing. The list is incomplete, and Dorsol Plants is still meeting with Advisory Board members. Any ideas or suggestions can be brought forward in a meeting or directly to SKHHP staff. Rumi Takahashi said she would be curious to hear more about what structures exist for inter-jurisdictional collaboration around prioritizing funding housing projects. She wondered if there a way to establish priorities so the funding mechanism can be smoother and not as much guesswork. Patience Malaba wanted to target presenters who could talk about how to go further. 2024 is a major comprehensive plan year, and rather than a high-level discussion on a comprehensive plan, a presenter that can go deep where substantive change is possible. Hamdi Abdulle said that any impact we will make needs to speak to how we will reduce homelessness. Having tools to measure the effect ensures we are doing the job. Ashley Kenny wanted to learn more about what supportive services are working and how those services can be increased in our area. V. SKHHP INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT (ILA) AND 2024 WORK PLAN Dorsol Plants provided an overview of the documents that guide SKHHP. The SKHHP Interlocal Agreement (ILA) is the founding document for the Advisory Board and all SKHHP. If the ILA tells SKHHP who we are and what we do, the Bylaws and Group Agreement are the documents that tell us how we do it. Lastly, the annual work plan helps to frame how to take the extensive mission of SKHHP to increase affordable housing and turn it into steps on a ladder to reach our goal. Briefly, here is how the ILA describes the Advisory Board and what they do. "Advisory Board - A board consisting of 12 to 15 community members appointed by the Executive Board to provide advice and recommendation to the Executive Board on land and/or money resource allocation for affordable housing Attachment A Page 4 of 8 projects, input on policy needs related to housing stability, program design, and development, recommendations for emergency shelter and other immediate affordable housing needs, and to provide public education and community outreach services." According to our bylaws, these are the duties of the Advisory Board. “SKHHP is committed to amplifying and ensuring community voices inform policy, programming, and funding decisions that help increase housing stability throughout South King County. The purpose of the Advisory Board is to: Provide connection and advancement of the broader interests of local communities. Inform and influence SKHHP Executive Board decisions by drawing on collective knowledge and experience to provide recommendations to the Executive Board on land and/or money resource allocation for affordable housing projects, policy needs related to housing stability, program design and development, emergency shelter and other immediate affordable housing needs, and to provide public education and outreach. Strengthen Executive Board, staff workgroup, and other interested parties’ understanding of community needs and interests related to affordable housing and homelessness in South King County.” The Advisory Board utilizes consensus decision-making when developing recommendations or other shared work. "Consensus decision-making consists of a cooperative process for making decisions in which everyone consents to the decisions of the group. In this process, input is encouraged from everyone. Ideas are presented to the board and are modified by the board until a decision is unanimously made”. Dorsol Plants acknowledged that this process may be new and different for some people. When the Advisory Board makes a decision, the goal is not to outvote one another but to create a product or resolution that works for the entire Advisory Board. This isn't to stall or overcomplicate the process; it's a recognition that each board member is an expert with unique knowledge and experience. Consensus decision-making unites those ideas together to make something more robust. A strong, heavy rope is not made from a single piece but is smaller pieces woven together. It's that unification that empowers cloth to lift metal, and the unification around an idea can be just as strong. The Advisory Board created the Group Agreement to help define how to interact positively and collaborate as a team around challenging ideas. Dorsol Plants said that during his time as an Advisory Board member and as SKHHP staff, the group agreement has never needed to be enforced. The Advisory Board regularly discusses moral issues that can be life or death for the community we serve. Every board member brings their passions and morals. The Advisory Board works more effectively when everyone feels free to express those values and be heard. The Advisory Board Group Agreement includes. “Listen to understand; be open to learning and willing to embrace some discomfort in order to learn. Consider intent versus impact: take responsibility for what you say and do. Respect everyone’s ideas, experiences, voices, diversity of perspectives, and boundaries. Include all voices and involve everyone, even when we don’t agree. Assume best intentions. Step up and step back – recognize when we need to step up and when we need to step back. Active participation and preparation Keep an open mind. Use intentional language but also do not nitpick others language. Understand Advisory Board role – revisit agreements, purpose, etc., agree to look back. Manage in respectful manner – listening and pausing. Attachment A Page 5 of 8 Try to not take things personally. Use ‘I’ statements. Address conflict sooner rather than later. Actively bring all of the responses from first question to conflict management Be okay with calling each other out respectfully – could be private chat or to the full group letting the person the know. Find ways to express ourselves when we’re hurt. Allow time and space if needed (creating space for pause button) Recognize that people approach things differently. Take ownership for mistakes. Understand that might not be able to ‘fix it.’” Dorsol Plants asked if anything is missing or need to be added now that the Advisory Board has new members. Patience Malaba said she didn't see anything missing, and some of the agreement could be consolidated. She expressed concern about the statement to avoid taking things personally. This can work against creating equitable spaces; sometimes, impact vs intent can be a more important consideration, and she suggests removing the statement from the group agreement. Olga Lindbom suggested an alternative: "Be curious and ask for clarification." We are all people and take things personally sometimes, but switching that to curiosity and seeking to understand can help mitigate the issue. Rumi Takahashi liked that suggestion and thought the intent of the bullet was more about not assuming that someone is trying to attack you personally; it's not intended to be a personal matter. Maybe rewording it to "assume the best" and include Olga's suggestion on curiosity. Kathleen Hosfeld added that she learned a helpful tool is to clarify if it's a conversation about you, you and me, or a third thing. Often, the intent of a conversation is about a third thing and not the personal relationship. An example is a parent telling a child that they aren’t doing a good job doing their chores and that they need to empty the dishwasher tomorrow. The child hears that I’m failing at my chores, or my parents are mad at me, but the parent is just communicating the need that the dishes to be done. Patience Malaba agreed with curiosity, but we need to acknowledge that we live in a system that has harmed people, and asking someone not to take that personally isn't helpful. Dorsol Plants committed to taking the notes and feedback from the board and providing an updated draft for their review at the next meeting. The SKHHP 2024 Work Plan is broken down into goals. Every goal is defined by actions that must be taken to complete it within the year, and each action is ranked by priority. To ensure that any action taken by SKHHP has the intended impact, each goal has indicators to determine how effective our actions have been. An example would be Goal One, which is to fund the expansion and preservation of affordable housing; one way to know if SKHHP has been effective is by counting the number of units financed in 2024. Goal Two is where we see how some actions are a higher priority. This year, preservation will be a primary focus of our work because some statistics show that we are losing two from disrepair or increasing rents for every new housing development. Adding air to a balloon only works if you ensure the air isn't escaping the other side. This focus on preservation was something both the Advisory and Executive Board decided would Attachment A Page 6 of 8 be crucial this year, and as we begin to think about developing the 2025 Work Plan, it's essential to think about what SKHHP’s priorities should be next year. This year is the first that the Advisory Board has been provided with specific action in the Work Plan. Goal Three includes Action 13, “Coordinate with the Advisory Board in collaboration with housing organizations and stakeholder groups to provide education and engagement opportunities for elected officials and community members.” We will spend the last portion of our meeting discussing how to implement Action 13. Goal Four, the final goal, primarily falls on SKHHP staff and is focused on maintaining operations and doing the administrative work. Work to develop the 2025 will begin next month, and your input will be essential to help guide SKHHP’s work over the next year. Ultimately, the Advisory Board is an opportunity to represent and support our neighbors and community in South King County. Only you know what you are truly capable of doing, and this is your chance to express that through SKHHP’s mission. SKHHP staff are happy to facilitate and empower your work, but this is your time, expertise, and board. Claire Goodwin clarified that completing the Work Plan is the SKHHP staff’s responsibility and that the Advisory Board does not have to complete the whole work plan. VI. ADVISORY BOARD COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Dorsol Plants began the discussion around implementing Action 13 by reminding the board that, as representatives of our community, we are responsible for providing our friends and community the resources and knowledge to participate on the topic of housing in South King County. At our January Advisory Board meeting, the board produced a few topics to consider engaging the community around. Advisory Board members took a virtual poll to select the top two topics. Misconceptions around housing stability and homelessness (7/11) Fruitful Funding: Cost-effective strategies for ending homelessness and the housing crisis (7/11) Anti-Displacement and Homeless Prevention: Rental Assistance (5/11) Climbing the housing ladder: Moving toward a forever home (2/11) What is Permanent Supportive Housing: Demystifying Service Provision (1/11) Post-home purchase stewardship: How to keep the home you just bought (0/11) Another suggested topic was jurisdictional support in advocating for property insurance relief for Permanent Supportive Housing providers. The topic of engagement is essential, but the type or method of engagement is equally important. The Advisory Board produced some ideas from the January meeting, which include holding a public meeting or forum, hosting a housing trivia night, pairing individual Advisory Board members with a planner from the city of residence, arranging a community market/bazaar, and organizing a community potluck or food event. Dorsol Plants opened the floor for other ideas or suggestions. Patience Malaba said there are many newly elected officials in South King County, and the first event should be an educational opportunity that includes them. It's essential that the event is not one touch but creates a space for new conversations on affordable housing. Kathleen Hosfeld wants to help the community understand the different housing types and how they are funded. Often, outreach events will focus on rental housing and should include all housing types. Menka Soni asked if we have considered engaging with the corporate world to provide education and engagement. Patience Malaba said that was an excellent idea and that the South Side Chamber of Commerce would be a great place to start. Dorsol Plants mentioned that Uche Okezie and Tina Narron have helped SKHHP staff with preliminary philanthropic conversations. Attachment A Page 7 of 8 Patience Malaba suggested scheduling an affordable housing tour or open house to provide elected officials with real insight into what affordable housing looks like. Rumi Takahashi said that a tour would be a way to highlight funding challenges and how public investment can be lost without ongoing service support—a 'reality tour' that provides a realistic picture of what is happening on the ground. Dorsol Plants continued that the Advisory Board cannot do this work alone. Last month, the board started to put together a list of housing organizations and stakeholder groups to collaborate with as we engage our community. The list includes South King County Cities, Black Home Initiative, Habitat for Humanity, Homestead Community Land Trust, King County Housing Authority, Multi-Service Center, and Catholic Community Services. Rumi Takahashi suggested adding the Renton Housing Authority to the list. Patience Malaba suggested adding the Housing Development Consortium. Rumi Takahashi asked if it would be possible to add Sound Transit to the list. Patience Malaba supported connecting with Sound Transit. Rumi Takahashi suggested adding African Community Housing & Development. Kathleen Hosfeld suggested adding the Skyway Coalition. Claire Goodwin asked if the group would be willing to commit to something in this meeting, acknowledging that it might be too soon. Rumi Takahashi asked what level of collaboration SKHHP staff was looking for the board to commit to. Claire Goodwin said that has yet to be decided. We may be organizing an event in partnership with one of these organizations or supporting one of these organizations' events. Kathleen Hosfeld said we need to consider the intent and mission of each group, and often, when planning outreach, it brings together the providers and the builders but not the people served. She hoped to understand better what we hope to get from these groups. Dorsol Plants provided one active example that he has been working on, which would have the Advisory Board partner with Habitat for Humanity to give a tour to show Middle Housing types. Patience Malaba said that for her, the starting place was a convening of elected officials and developers; the community can be invited to attend. There should be a comprehensive education platform that leads into a conversation about the resources and funding needed to accomplish work such as preservation. She mentioned a similar event in Burien in 2018 or 2019. Claire Goodwin said that was one idea for the Advisory Board to chew on, but the board would need to decide what role they would want to play in an event like that. Kathleen Hosfeld asked what resonates with the Executive Board and the cities; as an Advisory Board, she wants to serve the cities. Claire Goodwin said the value the Advisory Board provides is bringing the community voice to recommendations such as the annual work plan and the Housing Capital Fund. The community engagement piece is new for the Advisory Board and is an ongoing conversation. Dorsol Plants added that his conversation with city planners around the Advisory Board has been around helping to break down barriers for greater participation in city planning. Menka Soni suggested setting up an informational booth about SKHHP at the Festival of Color, which will be happening at the Seattle Center in March. The event is free; she would welcome everyone even if we do not do an informational booth. Attachment A Page 8 of 8 Dorsol Plants concluded that community engagement is a big topic. The Advisory Board will continue to discuss how to engage throughout the year. SKHHP staff will take the ideas and discussions from tonight and create a draft action plan for us to review at our next meeting on March 7. Rumi Takahashi asked for a working definition of community engagement for this context and what we are trying to communicate or provide information about. Olga Lindbom asked what communities we want to engage in because there will be different strategies based on the audience. VII. UPDATES & ANNOUNCEMENTS Claire Goodwin shared that the City of SeaTac took action on January 23, 2024, to become a member of SKHHP. The next steps are for the Executive Board to approve the agreement that SeaTac moved forward, and we anticipate that happening at the February Executive Board meeting. SeaTac will contribute $300,000 from its general fund to the SKHHP Housing Capital Fund. Claire Goodwin informed everyone that she would be taking time off for maternity leave from May to September 2024. Jeff Tate from the City of Auburn will be helping to fill in during Claire’s absence. VIII. CLOSING/ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 5:27 PM. Program Coordinator-SKHHP