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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunity Development Block Grant Commission - Minutes - 04/28/1993} CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 1 CDBG COMMISSION QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION Part 2 April 28, 1993 The Question and Answer Session began at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Planning and Environmental Services Conference Room, 281 North College Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado. Commission members present included Chairman Tom Dougherty, Bill Bertschy, Dan MacArthur, Joe Zimlich, Bobbie Guye, Harvey Nesbitt, Linda Cozen, Tom Byington, and Carolyn Early. Staff members included Ken Waido, Jackie Davis, Kayla Ballard, and Mary Libbey. Neighbor -to -Neighbor, Inc. - Choices Senior Housing Counseling - $18,200 Nancy McCambridge, Executive Director, noted that Choices for Senior Living used to be known as Choice of Latimer County, but the name was changed last year to clarify its purpose. Choices is a counseling program that centers around helping seniors to get through the thinking process, as far as their housing and care needs are concerned, before they get into a crisis situation of a financial or health nature for which they aren't prepared. The goal of the program is to help seniors and their families make the best decisions they can possibly make and can feel comfortable with, giving them support and helping them make the best use of their family resources, as well as those of the community. It is the only program of its kind in Latimer County, and the client base has risen steadily while the funding base has remained static, which is why this year's request has been increased. The program is running on one full-time staff member, one volunteer, and one student intern. There were 723 families counseled last year. She stated that if they continue at the rate they have been going these past three months, they will be up to 950 families for 1993, which is a healthy increase. They tap into other resources in the community as much as possible but there is a limit to how much of this can be done. Ms. McCambridge noted their advisory committee is working on increasing the funding level from other sources in the future. They are also beginning to charge for the counseling service for people who are able to pay. The Commission asked how much reverse mortgage counseling is being done. Ms. McCambridge replied that they counseled approximately 12 reverse mortgage sessions month in 1993. That program is growing because seniors who are 80 or above, living in homes CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 2 that are relatively valuable and who have no or little mortgage debt, can borrow the equity and use that money. The Commission asked who makes those mortgages. Ms. McCambridge replied Key Bank in Wyoming is making some of the mortgages. The Commission asked if the appreciation in rents is creating a greater demand for the Choices services or is senior population growing. Ms. McCambridge replied the community's senior population is growing, some of whom are parents moving here to be near their families who can help support them, not necessarily financially, but emotionally. She stated the real estate market trends of the community is having a serious impact because people who are in rental homes have had calls from owners who want to sell, so they have to find a place to go. However, that's not the bulk of the cause of the increase. The Commission asked what percentage of the money is CDBG money. Ms. McCambridge discussed page 3 of the application and replied that it was hard to differentiate federal funds that are passed down to local governments. The Commission asked what the HUD acronym "H.E.C.M." stood for. Ms. McCambridge replied it is for Home Equity Commission Membership. The Commission asked what Choices requested from United Way and Human Resources. Ms. McCambridge replied that Choices asked for what was shown as allocated. The Commission asked about the "$60,000 allowances doubtful" shown on the February 28 balance sheet and asked if this was quite high. Ms. McCambridge replied it was, but that was in the Comprehensive Housing Counseling program, not Choices. She noted those were loans that were made to clients that they may now have to be written off. She stated that they are now being much more careful as to whom they are lending money. She also stated that the financial statement referred to may not be an audited one. This amount has accrued over a period of years. The Commission asked why Choices was separated out from the other program. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 3 Ms. McCambridge replied that because Choices began as its own 501-(c)-(3) and, when it came under the Neighbor -to -Neighbor umbrella, it was agreed that it would not have to be responsible for its debts, so they try to keep it separate for accounting purposes. Neighbor -to -Neighbor, Inc. - Comprehensive Housing Counseling - $38,361 Nancy McCambridge, Executive Director, spoke to the philosophical changes made to the program the past year. She noted the program encompasses many areas, all geared at helping people find and keep decent, affordable housing. She emphasized that the scope and picture of the problem has changed in the last year or two, such as clients are different, the housing situation is different, and so the programs need to also change. She stated that one thing remains the same and that is too often people do not have the tools to make the decisions in terms of their money management and priorities, and that's where Neighbor -to -Neighbor counseling assists with helping them see the choices they have available in the realities of today's world for people who don't make a lot of money. She emphasized that the strength and basis of the Neighbor -to -Neighbor program is homeless prevention and to empower people to be able to make good decisions for themselves and their families. All the low-income assisted housing won't do any good if people don't understand that letting their credit get out of hand and spending all their money on things that don't include their housing. Counseling helps them see what their choices and best decisions are. Counseling that guides them through the maze of services available to them at their income level are also important parts of this program along with fair housing counseling, which is increasingly important in our community. The way the market is going, people are more apt to get in a position where they have a legitimate complaint about some way a landlord has treated them, so a fairly major portion of the counseling involved is with landlord/tenant issues, and many of these are fair housing issues. Ms. McCambridge stated that the counseling and money management skills education must go along with the financial assistance they are able to get from other programs and sources. She noted that, as alluded to earlier, they know now that some people need to have grants rather than loans. They're not in a position to pay back even an interest -free loan, so the program is much more careful about who gets a loan and who needs a grant than in the past. She stated that the client load for comprehensive housing is staying steady, with approximately 1,600 families last year, each taking an average of an hour to an hour and one-half of service and they are made accountable if they sign up for a loan. There is a collection policy and agency to help remind them they have to be responsible to repay for the service. Ms. Davis noted that both of these projects have been put under the public service category. She explained that she and Ms. McCambridge made the decision not to break down the fair housing counseling portion and put it under administrative since it is eligible under public service. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 4 Ms. McCambridge added that fair housing counseling is, in fact, a part of comprehensive housing counseling. The Commission asked how much was put into fair housing administration. Ms. Davis replied that whatever percent of people Ms. McCambridge served just for fair housing counseling had to be broken down and put under administration for this year. In the past, only housing counseling was shown under fair housing counseling and HUD stated that was incorrect. The interpretation of fair housing counseling is difficult because there is no complete definition and HUD could not supply a definition. Since it was too difficult, and a waste of valuable time trying to break everything down, it is now being put under Public Service. The Commission again asked how much was put into fair housing administration. Ms. McCambridge replied it was estimated at 20% or approximately $40,000. The Commission asked why the total amount being requested this year is less than last year's. Ms. McCambridge replied that in order to justify that amount of money and spend it appropriately, she would need more staff people, but she couldn't get enough money to hire an additional person, so she chose to pull back a bit and lower the expectations on the comprehensive counseling. But the increase in the Choices program was something that had to be done. She noted they are funded by several different sources and have so many different programs, that the data collection system is very complicated, and it, too, takes a lot of valuable time and energy, but they are responsible to report real numbers and report accurately to the city exactly what they are doing. The Commission asked if better economy and fewer foreclosures, fewer defaults and so forth, will lower the need for counseling. Ms. McCambridge replied no, essentially, that the HUD grant for counseling has decreased because of the lower foreclosure rate, but, just because the rate is lower, it doesn't necessarily mean that the clients in need of counseling are fewer. The Commission asked what happens to the people who don't receive counseling. Ms. McCambridge replied that they get evicted. Many would probably lose their homes to foreclosure. The counseling goes along with the financial assistance in many cases if the person meets the criteria. The Commission asked how the agency shows the benefits for the money spent. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 5 Ms. McCambridge responded that is difficult to extrapolate the various data. There's no purely scientific way to show it. They do some follow-up calls in the Choices program while the others are more difficult because it's based on phones and many can't afford phones. It's hard to make connections with these people, and many do not have the sense of responsibility to send a postcard back to us in six months for our follow-up purpose. Their lives are too complicated. We have to depend on evaluation immediately after the service is given. We may be able to get some follow-up data from landlords and property management. That may be something to attempt to do. The Commission asked if, in relation to the previous night's presentation of the land acquisition proposal, Neighbor -to -Neighbor approached the developer or if he approached them. Ms. McCambridge replied that they served on the Affordable Housing Task Force with the developer and became acquainted with the developer when their clients were getting apartments with them with their security deposit guarantee program. It came up in conversation between them regarding the program in San Francisco. The Commission recalled that there was approximately $600,000 in development fees in the land acquisition proposal and asked if this was the contractor's fees. Ms. McCambridge replied that is what Shield Street Corporation receives for making this project happen, which is about ten percent. The Commission asked if it was her position that this project would not have to be contracted out competitively. Ms. McCambridge replied that was her understanding from the way HUD works that the construction part of it doesn't need to be bid competitively if the land acquisition is done by CDBG. Volunteer Clearing House - Learn to Earn Program - $22,926 Elsa Lee Arlo, Executive Director, summarized the points of emphasis from the grant. She noted the variety of people the agency serves --married, single, men, women. There is a high percentage of culturally diverse people, 60 % to 85 % in this semester's classes, and the academic skills program takes people who have a high school diploma if they can't function on a 12th grade level, as well as people who need their GED. The program takes people who are working in their job placement but who need to enhance the level at which they are functioning. The client age group varies, with 83 % between 21 and 59. Ms. Arlo stated volunteers are used heavily--333 people last year, giving VCH 9,503 hours. There has been a good success rate with clients who have been given to them by Social Services for training programs. Another CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 6 important reason for the success of the program is the on -site child care. Since transportation is a big problem for clients, both locations are on a bus route --an important factor. She noted that when clients leave, going on to Front Range or job training, the agency has a 6-month, 1- year, and 18-month follow-up program. The Commission referred to page 3 of the grant request, noting that where question 1 asks if they have received previous funding, there is no amount listed. Ms. Sarlo replied that for the building renovation it was $136,000 for a three-year period, and the literacy program was funded for $13,000. The Commission asked if the literacy project is pretty much similar to this. Ms. Sarlo replied no, it was quite different. They worked only with literacy --there was no math, spelling, English, or keyboarding, but just reading skills. She noted that teaching reading skills is not enough; the biggest serious deficit being dealt with right now is spelling and math. The Commission asked if they had received a grant for 1992. Ms. Sarlo replied they did not. She noted that in connection with the literacy question, they have found the importance of including keyboarding in the program. She stated that people begin to use all the other skills --it's a concrete demonstration of why they need the other skills. It needs to be an integrated program. The Commission asked how it would affect the program if the $10,400 for child care workers were not funded. Ms. Sarlo replied it would affect it severely. She stated that one of the problems their program has is that the families are not in a position yet to be funded by Social Services for day care, and many do they have the transportation to take their children to and from a sliding fee scale program. Also, many of the culturally diverse children of these families have never been in an off -site location for day care; the on -site care is a "gentle" transition for being "away" from parents, yet still nearby. The program has a high percentage of Hispanic families who are very much in need of this kind of on -site child care. The Commission asked how many hours were served by the 333 volunteers. Ms. Sarlo replied there were 9,503 volunteer hours. The Commission asked how the program is different from Project Self -Sufficiency. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 7 Ms. Sarlo replied that Volunteer Clearing House is primarily an academic agency, dealing with learning but also in other areas such as nutrition, parenting, sewing, and there is a strong ability of social interaction with the people. The clients can move from this program into another program. She emphasized that one of the important functions of VCH is to serve as a bridge. The Commission asked how many clients the program serves. Ms. Sarlo replied that the goal last year was to add 50 clients to this particular track. She noted that in this spring semester there are 21 enrolled; the anticipation in a 12-month period is for 50 new people. She stated that funding for this project would enable them to expand the classes fully this summer in the evening. This project is open entry. If Social Services says now is the right time for the people to go, they don't have to wait until September to enroll. She noted that probably of those 50, 40 would complete the areas they need to complete, 10 would still be involved. Of the 10, several, such as mental health clients, would never complete it, but it is important to include these people in the program for as far as they can go. The Commission asked how the program was funded last year. Ms. Sarlo replied it was funded through allocations from United Way, a gift from the Kluver Foundation, appeals to local businesses, and reliance on volunteer teachers rather than paid staff. We had one key teacher and four volunteers. We have not been able to pay for a teacher for advanced keyboarding, which is badly needed. Project Self -Sufficiency - Project Self-Sufficiency/Family Self -Sufficiency - $35,500 Mary Cosgrove, Project Director, introduced Candice Grist, Single Parent Case Manager. Ms. Cosgrove noted the request is a two-part one: (1) $15,000 for current, existing program and (2) $20,500 to go toward what it's hoped will be a new family self-sufficiency program if HUD puts out a request for a proposal on that. The Commission asked if this is a two -for -one investment. Ms. Cosgrove replied that a better word might be leveraging new dollars into the community since they cannot convince HUD to give them the certificates unless they can tell them there is a way to provide this services, since HUD requires the services be provided in order to receive the new housing dollars. She stated that unless there is a way to convince HUD through a new application that there is a way to implement this, they probably would not select the Housing Authority as a recipient. By being able to say that the CDBG Board has set aside this money to make this a viable project, that does give a convincing argument that this can be implemented. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 8 The Commission asked if this would be so since this is using federal money to get more federal money. Ms. Cosgrove replied yes, because HUD does not give any kind of money to implement the new projects they set up. None of the Housing Authorities have built-in budgets for this. The Commission asked if these certificates would otherwise be available in Fort Collins. Ms. Cosgrove replied only if through this application the Housing Authority would be approved. The Fort Collins Housing Authority would actually submit the application, asking us for a letter of support saying we would provide the services for the participants who would be selected through this new program. She noted it is essentially a competitive process, with points given to the Housing Authority for various portions of the applications. The Commission asked if Project Self -Sufficiency's management service, then, is what causes the certificates to become available. Ms. Cosgrove replied that essentially, HUD sends a notice to all the Housing Authorities letting them know there will be certificates available, telling them what the application process and deadline is. After the applications are all submitted, HUD goes through a selection process to award those certificates. The Commission asked of the $49,433, was $20,000 toward the current services. Ms. Cosgrove replied the project is asking for $15,000 toward the current advisory position, with $20,500 for the establishment of a new case management position. She didn't believe she had added in funds for client assistance --she just asked for assistance with advisory services. CDBG funds are restricted with client assistance; there are certain things that can't be purchased with CDBG funds. She stated this is a more critical need for the project, that they are able to go other places to get dollars for client assistance more readily and have more flexibility. The Commission asked if the total being asked for, then was $35,000. Ms. Cosgrove replied it is, that the $49,433 amount shown as the requested funds is in error. The Commission asked if, depending on which amount is being requested, the second fund request is really only contingent upon those Section 8 funds becoming available. Ms. Cosgrove replied that was the way it was set up when they went through this the last time when the Housing Authority applied for assistance, it was made contingent by the committee that Section 8 certificates be awarded. She noted the only other option, which HUD would have to approve, is there are some housing authorities who are taking existing certificates and setting CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 9 them aside for family self-sufficiency and not waiting for new ones to come in. She stated that where the Fort Collins Housing Authority could have a problem with that is that HUD has a quota for how many of those could be set aside for special programs. Ms. Cosgrove noted that one of the reasons for requesting the higher amount was the hope that there would be some Stimulus dollars coming in, a large budget available this year, but that's looking dim at this point. The Commission asked if there were any measure effectiveness of the program. Ms. Cosgrove replied that the cost benefit analysis that was brought to the previous presentation contains pretty specific information as far as looking at welfare savings through graduates of the program. The Commission asked out of the $49,433, what would be the minimal amount that could be awarded. Ms. Cosgrove replied if they could receive $15,000 of the amount requested, it would go a long way toward helping them do what they are trying to do in the existing program. If that were not possible, she believed they could find other ways of funding it. She stated that would be true for the $20,500, that they could at least hire someone three-quarter time and do something significant with that to make the program work --it wouldn't be as complete as they would like but it would be viable. The Commission asked how Project Self -Sufficiency is different from the Volunteer Clearing House. Ms. Cosgrove replied that this project follows people more long -tern and intensively, but that VCH fills in a very important piece and do a lot of classroom work with on -site child care. She stated Project Self -Sufficiency send quite a few people over to work with VCH. They do work with people that are at a more basic learning level. Poudre Valley Hospital Foundation - Family Support Alliance - $15,600 Julie Johnson of the Poudre Valley Prenatal Program, introduced Carol Van Horn of the Children's Clinic, and Sharon Johnson, Coordinator of the Family Support Alliance program. Ms. Johnson stated that the request is to fund a half-time coordinator for 12 months. This person aligns the work groups, coordinates the computer network, facilitates the evaluation component of the project, and develops with the agency representatives the universal intake form and other common documents the agencies can use concurrently. She noted the accounting of the funds would be handled by the PVH Foundation and audited annually. The alliance is made up from four agencies: Larimer County Health Department, Lutheran Family Services, The CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 10 Children's Clinic, and the Poudre Valley Prenatal Program. She stated the Poudre Valley Hospital Foundation is not one of the agencies involved in the alliance as one of the work groups but handling the funding. Ms. Johnson stated the Family Support alliance is a demonstration project in existence until the end of August 1993. They have documented the need for expanded mental health service in Larimer County, identified some apparent gaps in the provision of parenting classes in Fort Collins, been fighting prejudice against fathers in the health care and social systems, and have been providing cooperative community services (in particular a family symposium that is going to be put on by a local family medicine center and the Health Department. Ms. Johnson stated that the alliance has been illustrating what a community should be doing: building partnerships instead of throwing more and more money at a problem and getting less. Instead of just talking about problems and accomplishing nothing, she noted they are realizing everything is going to have to change in health and human services to reform. This project will demonstrate what can happen when agencies communicate and work together -- patients and clients will benefit along with the community. She stated that if the alliance can obtain funding to continue the management of this demonstration project, they will seek funding from service clubs, businesses, county human resources, and foundations. This funding will be used to pay the case managers for their time on the project, additional clerical support, additional software development, and distribution of their evaluation results. She noted there is currently significant in -kind support from the Fort Collins Foundation, Poudre Valley Hospital Foundation, and Hewlett Packard as well as the four founding agencies. The Commission asked if when a client comes into one of these agencies, he/she is automatically interconnected. Ms. Johnson replied they are using the four agencies as a single one -stop shopping point. They can come into any one of the agencies, and, depending on what their needs are, the case managers come together to take care of the client's needs in one spot. All of the agencies use one intake form, so the client doesn't have to go from one place to another. Each case worker of these four agencies now knows enough about the other three agencies to be able to know where to send the client. The Commission asked if this helps avoid duplication of services. Ms. Johnson replied it does and the hope is that it will cut down on a lot of services because of the duplication --the replication of forms, appointments, interviews, and so forth on the administrative end. By making it more efficient, the hope is to be able to add more public services. She noted they are in the beginning of the evaluation process and will know more by the end of summer and able to provide some solid data to show to other agencies that this, in fact, can happen. The Commission asked Ms. Van Horn how she thinks this will benefit The Children's Clinic, administratively and in services. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 29, 1993 Page 11 Ms. Van Horn replied she believes it will benefit each agency, since many families involved in the demonstration project are in at least three agencies. She stated that hopefully what will evolve in one person, one agency will be responsible for a family, be able to share that information, instead of a different case manager at each agency. The Commission asked if this will reduce expenses in budgets. Ms. Van Horn replied that in time, the social workers should have more time for other families. If they know that this family is being attended to by another agency, then they should be able to trust that, work with that, and access that on the computer. The Commission asked if they have that trust. Ms. Van Horn replied she believes that trust is coming along beautifully and is being built. Ms. Johnson noted they are actually working with two groups: a steering committee whose idea this was about two years ago and then, starting in October, the coordinator and steering committee began working with the case managers of each of these agencies. This is what is called self -managed work group, deciding how this is all going to go, what's going to work, where are the gaps and overlaps, and they are telling us how this thing needs to be driven. They are talking among themselves and finding out what are the resources the other agencies have that they can tap into. They're letting down barriers, beginning to talk about no territory, which is very new and different in agency work. She stated the alliance is also looking at expanding the group, maybe even opening it up to Social Services, which would be the next logical component. The Commission asked for an explanation about the computer. Ms. Van Horn replied that the computer is one part of the demonstration project connection, that it has been great to watch the staff accessing it, whether it's information they need to share with the other three agencies or working on a specific client. She noted they are working on the confidentiality issue of the process and how to develop that. Parts of the computer component will remain "forever" after the demonstration project is over. The Commission asked how viable are some of the other sources of funding. Ms. Johnson answered that March of Dimes is no longer a source but the others are viable. March of Dimes was looking for a more patient -oriented project than agency -oriented. Hewlett Packard has been wonderful, donating the equipment and an employee to help with some of the programming and technical writing in putting together a manual. She noted that they see their needs and see how they are going to grow, they are hoping to find appropriate resources in Fort Collins. She stated they want to remain small at first and grow, but prove a point: agencies can work together, walls and barriers have to become a thing of the past. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 12 The Commission asked if the Poudre Valley Prenatal Program is a branch of the hospital. Ms. Johnson replied it is a service of the Family Medicine Center, which is part of PVH. The Commission asked if clients who utilize that agency pay for the services. Ms. Johnson replied they do not, that these are women who have no resources and who need prenatal care. She stated that the hospital took a leadership role after finding out there were only three physicians in the community who would even deliver these women. Most of them are eligible for Medicaid, so the program was developed using the Family Medicine Center group of residents and several physicians in town who are overseeing the project and put together this program so these women could receive prenatal care. She noted that after a three- year fund-raising program by the foundation, this program has been funded and will be funded permanently in Fort Collins. The Commission asked what was meant in the beginning presentation when mention was made about the bias against males in the social service system. Sharon Johnson replied as coordinating case manager, she has found there is a lot of ignoring of the father of the child; lip -service is given to families but fathers stand outside the system. She noted they are working to have a family perspective that looks at the father as a resource as well as someone who needs some help, too. Healthy Start, Inc./Children's Clinic - Increased Physician Services for Indigent Children - $36,775 Carol Van Horn, Administrative Director, stated that in the grant they asked for funding for a half-time pediatrician. The clinic now services 3,830 children, of which approximately 3,600 are active patients the clinic is responsible for, and the number is growing. She noted that the American Pediatrics recently recommended 2,000 children a manageable number of patients for one pediatrician, which is around 750 families. The Children's Clinic is at 2,000 families already and growing. Ms. Van Horn stated that the clinic is beginning to feel pressed in terms of acute care verses long-term changing of the family system, the dynamics, and need to impact the lives of the families. Acquiring a part-time pediatrician has allowed the clinic to adequately serve —there's more time for the doctors to treat the more complex family problems. She stated that the clinic needs to be real wise with the dollars spent now to make a change for the future -- it's the dollar up front that will make a difference down the road. The funding continues to be approximately one-fourth Medicaid as long as Medicare participates in Medicaid; however, of the almost 4,000 children, approximately 2,500 or more are Medicaid. She noted that Medicaid continues to give out the card, but there are no doctors in the community who are accepting Medicaid. Currently the clinic has families coming in on a two -week delay; children are seen CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 13 on an emergency need, but long-term, to be a part of the clinic, the families are asked to come back for orientation. The feeling of pressure is building as far as how many children can the clinic see and how well. The part-time pediatrician is imperative to the clinic to see more patients and also to be back-up to the full-time pediatrician. It also gives the clinic another person to reach out into the community; there are still 105 doctors working with the clinic. The part-time pediatrician does more than just work with patients. The other staffing is pretty much the same, with a four -fifths nurse practitioner and a registered nurse who is the intake nurse. The Commission asked if last year's CDBG grant paid for the purchase price of the building. Ms. Van Horn replied it paid for 55 % of it. The Commission asked if the building is adequate. Ms. Van Horn replied it's pushing it, but that's because the clinic is doing extra things, "special clinics" like the teen clinic and asthma allergy clinic (treating 200 children). The asthma clinic has helped keep children out of the hospital. She stated that the needs are growing for the Spanish outreach clinic. She noted that the children in need is so great, that even though they may have the Medicaid card, they have to end up going to the hospital for child care because doctors in the community right now are not accepting Medicaid, and the same problem is beginning to occur with Medicare. The Commission asked why doctors don't accept Medicaid. Ms. Van Horn replied that the billing is one of the reasons. She stated that one of the things the clinic is working on is perhaps becoming a biller for the doctors who might otherwise accept Medicaid if they had help with the billing, that they would take 5 %. If the clinic could get electronic billing, this cuts the long time down in the lengthy billing process. Many offices feel the people the clinic serves aren't as clean, so they don't want them sitting in the waiting room, yet the clinic has been able to prove that's not true. The Commission asked if the clinic has to turn children away. Ms. Van Horn replied that at this point, if the clinic is full for the day and they are not a current patient of theirs, they are referred to Convenient Care and ask them to come back and get established as a patient —usually that's within ten days. The clinic doesn't turn away newborns — within 10 days to two 2 weeks. She stated the clinic is seeing an average of 70 new patients a month. The Commission asked if the entire $36,000 is for the half-time pediatrician. Ms. Van Horn replied it is. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 14 The Commission asked if this person is already in place. Ms. Van Horn replied that he is there on a volunteer basis; he is working at this point with CDC and Summit County. His name is Bill Letson. The Commission asked if there is any way of telling where the patients are coming from. Ms. Van Horn replied that the majority are from in the city, around 55%, with only 20% from outside the greater Fort Collins area. The Commission asked Ms. Van Horn to paint a picture of the average patient --a representative patient. Ms. Van Horn replied that there are a lot of teen parents with two to three children; often it is just a teen mom whose husband has left them. Overall, the overall wellbeing of the family is usually in jeopardy, which means the entire community is in jeopardy. She stated she thinks the clinic is a stop -gap that needs to be there. Many of the problems being treated are up -front are prevention to community problems down the road. The Commission asked how many doctors the personal expenditures (attachment D) represented. Ms. Van Horn replied it's one and one-half. The Commission asked what is the average annual salary for the doctors. Ms. Van Horn replied it is $70,000. The Commission asked if, concerning attachment B/C, there was still the $70,000 for the Medical Director. Ms. Van Horn replied this is the doctor --he is the Medical Director, a physician who is treating patients. Catholic Community Services Northern - Hostel of Hospitality/Hope Job Bank - $25,000 Jim Overman, Coordinator and Director, stated that of the funding requested, $20,000 is for the shelter and $5,000 for the Hope Job Bank. He stated that at the shelter, within three days someone gets with the new client and helps him/her work out a plan for change. As long as the client is working on that plan, he/she can stay for 30 days. He noted that they don't really have the staff, however, to work effectively on this program, so they are looking for sufficient funding to provide some additional staffing to help people direct their lives toward some CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 15 solutions and not just warehouse them. He stated that the agency did not receive any CDBG funding last year, which was a surprise. Since several years ago United Way began urging agencies to set aside a reserve fund for when such things happen, Catholic Community Services did that. However, it seems that in some areas of raising funds, that has hurt them because people see the reserve funds and don't contribute. He stated that the reserves, some of which are designated funds, are getting used up, however. They are finding there are more and more homeless every year because of the lack of affordable housing --people come to the shelter and have no place to move on to. The Commission asked what an HC supervisor and SS coordinator means under the sections listing personnel cost projections. Mr. Overman replied HC stands for Hospitality Center and SS for Support Service. The Commission asked is it feasible to consolidate their services with New Bridges or are the two philosophies too different. Mr. Overman replied that he was part of the task force that evolved into New Bridges --the philosophy is there. The problem at The Mission is that there is no space at the times necessary to have a day shelter at The Mission --programs are going on at the times New Bridges needs space for the day shelter. Space and personnel is the problem. The Commission asked how the job search is different from that of New Bridges. Mr. Overman replied that since March of 1986 they have had a contract with Job Service to have the day labor office at their facility, so they are officially working under Job Service. When the job bank closes at 11:00 a.m., calls that come in after that are referred to New Bridges. There is a close relationship working with them. The Commission asked if it were feasible to look at expanding the existing facilities to accommodate day -time services. Mr. Overman replied there is no plan for further capital building; they are on a limited space, less than an acre. There isn't any space for further expansion of the building. Also, with federal funding, the current emphasis now is not on shelters but transitional housing. The Commission asked why Job Service doesn't fund the full cost of the job bank. Mr. Overman replied that it was a good question. He stated that what happened in the last funding cycle was that if in the government process an agency receives $10,000 or over, then it has to go out for bid. Because there's been a good relationship with Job Service, they wanted to keep it below $10,000 so it wouldn't have to be put out for bid. Last year the agreement was CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 29, 1993 Page 16 for $9,250 and the papers were signed, but people higher up said that couldn't be done, so it was cut to $5,000. The Commission asked if Mr. Overman thought he could be competitive in the bidding process. Mr. Overman replied it was hard to say. The Commission asked about the 1,247 individuals who stay at the shelter --if 347 of these claim Fort Collins as their residence, who are these other individuals; are they people just coming through the community, who stay for a few nights and then move on? Mr. Overman replied these people are from other areas outside Larimer county; that could be other areas of Colorado, Wyoming, even Northern Nebraska. The Commission asked if these people are using the facilities for hotel purposes during a short, ten days of work, and moving on. Mr. Overman replied no, that they are coming here for a better opportunity, but when they get here, they see the stark reality of low -paying jobs and no housing. Some may move on, some find jobs eventually. The Commission asked what percentage stay here and work. Mr. Overman replied there is no way of tracking this once they leave the shelter. The Commission asked if the day shelter perpetuates a dependency on the system. Mr. Overman replied he did not think so if they are run properly with sufficient staff to work with people and effectively get them working on their plan. This program considers itself a place where people can rest up, get a new direction, turn their lives around, and get started. The Commission asked if this new direction is related to any kind of religious activity. Mr. Overman replied it is not, that Catholic Community Services is the agency but it is a private, non-profit social service agency with no religious thrust in any of its programs. The Commission asked if this is the first time the agency would do what it is proposing. Mr. Overman replied it is not, that they used to have funds where they had the staff to do this, but these funds were lost and staff cuts had to be made. E CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 17 Care -A -Van, Inc./SAINT - Peak Hours Service - $29,234.40 Marjorie Walsh, Executive Director, Jack Peverley, Operations Manager, and Jerry Bortz, board member, were present to answer any questions. Mr. Peverley stated that last year Care -A -Van provided over 136,000 rides, and SAINT, the volunteer division, provided 9,237 rides, for a total of 145,000 trips. They had to turn down 703 requests for rides --potentially 1,406 rides. With many of these being requests for "subscriptions" trips, which means the people needed more than one ride on a regular basis -- maybe as many as five times a week. He stated that potentially that was as many as 24,000 trips in a year that Care -A -Van may have turned down because there were no financial resources for them. He noted that during recessionary times the need for Care -A -Van goes up and the funding seems to go down even though they work hard to raise funds and have over 24 funding sources. He stated that although they receive funds through the Colorado Department of Transportation, the State of Colorado is one of only eight states that does not provide direct state funding for transit. Care -A -Van started out 20 years ago providing 16 trips a day; today it is 600 trips a day and still isn't enough. He stated they need to bring driver's wages up to a competitive standard and put more buses out on the road. They have more buses but not enough funding to put more drivers in the buses. He noted that last year's CDBG grant allowed them to place a bus into service four hours a day, three days a week. He noted that with the new Americans with Disability Act in effect, they anticipate a need for bus service will increase even more. It requires that they give next -day service, not the current 24-hour service; in other words, if someone calls at 5:00 p.m. and wants a ride at 8:00 a.m. the next day, Care -A -Van must give it to him/her. The Commission asked why the City doesn't provide this service since Care -A -Van is a private, non-profit agency. Mr. Peverley replied that they have a contract with the City to provide this service, so essentially it is the City's responsibility. Their contract with the City is up July 1 and they will be going into negotiations. He noted that Care -A -Van has also gone to fenders' meetings and have invited some of these organizations and other people who help fund Care -A -Van as well as private organizations such as doctors' clinics, since they directly benefit because Care -A -Van is there. Mr. Peverley stated he thinks these funders are beginning to get an understanding of what their problems are, but if they come through and the City comes through, it probably won't be in large amounts of dollars all at once. Ms. Walsh stated that with the funders meetings they are trying to establish what the level of transportation is that is needed in this area and then work together to have a plant to make it happen and are making some progress. She noted they have been operating with a deficit for the past two years, sometimes over $2,000 a month. Because of this, they have had to pull back in order to operate with their resources. Consequently, for the last three months there's been CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 18 no deficit; they've sold some old buses and put that money in, so there's actually a small reserve now. But when they pull back, people don't get rides, so they get a lot of complaints from these people. Ms. Walsh stated she thinks they are working toward a day when there is going to be a dedicated tax to make this work but Care -A -Van is asking for help through this transition year. Also, keeping the complaints down gives the public a positive attitude towards helping the funds. The Commission asked how they made their decisions about who is eligible or gets the service. Mr. Peverley replied that Care -A -Van does an intake form of every person who asks for service, and who they serve is the elderly (60 years and older) and disabled people, which is a broad category that includes people in wheelchairs, people who are blind or hearing -impaired, and the developmentally -disabled. They also serve low-income people as determined by the amount of family income. The Americans with Disabilities Act makes this an entirely different situation. Because this is a city with a fixed -route bus service, Care -A -Van is required to respond to ADA- eligible people to provide complimentary para-transit service. Whether or not a person is eligible to ride in a para-transit service depends on the disability and a the ability to get to a bus stop. He noted that a person in a wheelchair who lives close to a bus stop may not be eligible from an ADA standpoint if the bus is an accessible bus. The Commission asked if the ADA contract with the city is included in the 145,000 rides. Mr. Peverley replied that it is. Ms. Walsh explained that they have not gone into the full ADA service yet because they haven't settled the 1993 contract with the City. She stated what could happen, however, is that it may take so much money just to do ADA-eligible people, that the healthy elderly people with low income will be left out, and that is one of the reasons Care -A -Van is trying to raise these funds now. Mr. Peverley stated this has happened in other parts of the country, where other people have had to be eliminated for lack of funds in order to comply with the ADA-mandated assistance. The Commission asked how the agency knows to whom to say no. Mr. Peverley replied that they have just sent out Care -A -Van eligibility cards to their riders with a box to check if they are ADA-eligible. They have been receiving many phone calls with questions about what this means. It is a complicated matter. A person may not be ADA-eligible until a storm comes preventing him to make his normal trip to the bus stop, on that day he is ADA-eligible also. Commission Member Byington left the meeting at this time. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 19 Helpline - Community Service Exchange - $32,928 Barry Carroll, of Community Service Exchange, and Mary Allison, Director of Helpline, were present to answer any questions. Ms. Carroll spoke specifically to the needs assessment section of the application. She stated that since this is a new program, she felt it was difficult in the application to document this area's performance. She noted that the United Way study cited that 85% of the population of Fort Collins in 1982 had employment and income concerns, and 49 % of them cited underemployment and low wages as being something they were in contact with either personally or through a relative, neighbor, or friend. Ms. Carol stated she found in her interviews with other social service agencies that this translates into a large part of the population unable to pay for services on a day-to-day basis or that occur incidentally, such as night-time child care, transportation, car repairs --countless little things that pop up and become a problem when there is no money to pay for them. She noted that underemployment and low income is very hard to address with Social Services, but one of the things that can be done is to have the income that people are earning go further, and that's what a time -dollars program can do. One of the objectives is to provide a currency that enables people to convert personal time into a marketable asset by helping to meet the needs of others. This is a self-help, self-sufficiency and community -building kind of agency. She stated that one of the other big issues in Fort Collins is managing the city's growth and maintaining the feeling of community. With Colorado being the fourth worst state in the nation for the gap between the richest and the poorest residents, the time -dollars program helps bring people together to share and exchange resources they need, and it reinstitutes the structures of family and neighborhood. Ms. Barry stated she felt there is a need to structure that kind of exchange and activity and that translates into a stronger community where people are less isolated. Time -dollar programs are currently in 80 communities in 20 states nationwide. One such program is centered around health maintenance where volunteers are making home visits with seniors recently released from the hospital, helping the HMO reduce their costs (through providing transportation, cooking meals, making sure the people are taking their medication) by reducing hospital re-entry rates. The HMO passes their savings onto their volunteers by letting them pay one of their quarterly premiums with their time -dollars. The Commission asked what is used for currency. Ms. Carroll replied credits are used, which are kept track of on the computer with existing time - dollar software. The intake form is keyed to a database enabling tracking of income level and any aspect of the member or services exchanged month by month or day by day. Participants receive monthly account statements listing hours used and hours earned. When someone calls for a service, all the intake information is available on the computer for matching people and services. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 20 The Commission asked if the spool -up time isn't difficult when there is someone who has the time -dollars to spend but there is no match for the service he/she needs. Ms. Carroll replied that since submitting the grant application, she has somewhat rethought how this program is going to work with other agencies. She stated that for the first month of the program there would be a limited population of members that have been enrolled, but she's made contacts with all the agencies listed on the additional sheets, and they've all agreed to refer members or take their current volunteers or participants in the program and help them enroll in a time -dollars program, so there's a possibility of starting with a large enough group of people to meet the needs. She noted that basically the coordinator, which the largest percentage of the funding goes for, is working hard when someone calls to fill that need --recruit a new member, if someone calls with a need that doesn't have a match yet, such as a dentist. The coordinator is working with doctors, dentists, or health care plans to make sure the bases are covered. She stated that she has also been involved in a proposal which was written for the city which is going to focus on youth services, where there will probably be a way for a small part of that to go toward the time -dollars program idea with youth, where they will be working in service projects for the city earning credits which will enable them to get some services or even some fun things like movie passes. She noted she re-evaluated the minimum amount of money needed for this to go at $17,200, which would basically go for a half-time coordinator, 50% of full-time employment plus payroll taxes and health insurance, to get this going, and the other costs would come from other either in -kind (such as agreements for printing) or from bits and pieces of other grants that are being submitted. The Commission asked how Ms. Carroll anticipates sustaining funding of the program after the start-up year. Ms. Carroll replied there are several ways of doing this, one of which is possibly to be assumed under the regular budget of the HelpLine. Ms. Allison stated that the HelpLine receives a tremendous number of calls from people every year looking for these services, so there is a good pool of people, and this would be a good program to be able to offer under the HelpLine. In terms of dollars, there is a new program that is going to kick off in July with he lawyer referral system and the hope is that it would generate enough funds to fund the crisis line a little better and create funding for new programs that could broaden the reach of the HelpLine. The Commission asked if they would receive fees the lawyer referrals. Ms. Allison replied yes. Ms. Carroll stated that another idea would be to have fund-raising activity where people volunteer to do community services and then they get pledges for that. The state of Michigan �i �i CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 21 actually contracts with the service credit programs to provide X amount of service hours per month and then pay very low cost and that funds the ongoing cost of the program. The Commission asked why Ms. Carroll felt it was necessary to pay this kind of a salary for the project coordinator, the $28,000. Ms. Carroll replied that it takes one person to coordinate the whole thing. From that salary comes over 10,000 service hours per year --all of which is not going for just salary but actually towards coordination of the whole program. The going rate for program directors, executive directors of programs such as these is $33,000 to $35,000. Ms. Allison stated she had encouraged Ms. Barry to be realistic about what she would need to live and what she felt she was worth and her education and background and what she would bring to this program. Ms. Allison believed this was a fair figure for wages. Ms. Carroll added that in the original application she put down that she would be doing this 75 %, but she felt she would be doing it full time, not just 30 hours a week. She noted she had said full time at $28,000 because what she was really asking for was $21,000, but $28,000 was what the job is worth basically. Ms. Carroll addressed the issue of the tax question, saying that the IRS has found in Michigan and Missouri where these are state -sponsored activities, that because at heart they are charitable, that they are outside of the regular market economy and therefore credit hours and time -dollar programs are tax exempt. The Commission asked what happens to people who accumulate dollars but can't spend them. Ms. Carroll replied that in other time -dollar programs, people join not mainly to earn the credits, the credits are a way to make them feel valued, and they really join because they want to belong to a community, and they like the idea of having some credits if they need them later on. In Michigan and Missouri, where the programs are state -sponsored, the programs have grown large enough so the states are willing to guarantee that if a person has a service credit and cannot find anybody to provide the service you need, the state will pay to provide it for them. Crossroads Safehouse, Inc. - Shelter Addition and Rehabilitation - $32,928 Jennifer Jones, President of the Board, introduced Board members Susan Furniss, Gail Cotton, and Ann T urnquist. Ms. Jones stated that the primary reason for needing to expand the present facilities is that Crossroads has reached shelter capacity, having to turn away one out of every four women in 1992 who were seeking safe shelter. They did, of course, work with them to CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 22 find alternatives, such as placing them in a safehouse in another town. But that meant placing them away from their families and support group, schools, and jobs. This grant would allow Crossroads to increase the capacity 50%, which, projected out, would allow the agency to shelter an additional 150 women over the next 12 months once the extension would be completed. She stated that in addition to being able to expand the shelter capacity itself, this would allow for the first time counseling space for these battered women as well as a group counseling area. The third benefit of the expansion would allow bringing the house up to the new ADA guidelines which currently it does not meet. At present one of the handicapped volunteers has to be taken through one of the bedrooms in order to get her to the counseling area being used. Ms. Jones distributed a handout showing a rough outline of what the expansion would look like. It would be to the west of the existing two units and would also include expansion of the existing playroom. In summary, Ms. Jones stated she had asked herself the question, "Why would the Commission choose Crossroads from among all the other worthy causes being considered?" and the answer that came to her was, "You have to start with meeting a person's most basic needs: food, clothing, and shelter that provides a safe environment." That's what Crossroads is all about, meeting those most basic of all needs, but it has reached capacity for doing that. The Commission asked if for 4,000 square feet, the cost came to about $87 a square foot, which seems a bit high. Ms. Cotton replied someone told her it was $74 a square foot, which she understood from people who do commercial work is not too outrageous. She stated the Commission should bear in mind that Crossroads is required to meet Davis -Bacon wages, which adds a fair component to the amount. Ms. Jones stated that the City project management fee is involved in the cost since the houses are owned by the City. The Commission expressed concern about the new structure looking like more than an average house in the neighborhood, and since one of the successful aspects of the program has been to blend in to the neighborhood, the Commission wondered if Crossroads had any concern about this. Ms. Furniss stated that because the addition would be behind the house, she didn't feel it was going to be as obvious from the street as it might look from the blueprint plans. She noted that part of the plan is to add additional security, that even if it does become more known than it has been in the past, they don't feel like that is going to be a problem. The more people that have been served and volunteered there has made it harder and harder to keep the location truly secret anymore. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 23 The Commission asked whether the property to the left or right is suitable as an additional facility. Ms. Cotton replied that one was for sale but it was deemed to be absolutely cost ineffective because of the type of federal regulation that would have required Crossroads to pay one year's rent for each occupant of that house because of "displacing" and it would have needed a great deal of work to make it in compliance with ADA guidelines. It was not an operable option. The Commission asked whether labor and materials could be donated to offset the cost. Ms. Jones replied that they are looking at the entire internal furnishings being donated; they aren't a part of the cost at all. These are truly construction figures. Ms. Cotton stated that because they must meet City codes and the facility actually belongs to the City, they can't just call every contractor in town and ask them to donate X number of hours or construction material. Jackie Davis stated that as far as she knew, it has never been done. Ken Waldo stated that the City can receive contributions. The Commission asked how the building was originally purchased. Ms. Cotton replied with CDBG funds. The Commission asked whether there were other existing buildings that could be bought instead of constructing them, and how long would the addition make this building serviceable for their needs. Ms. Jones stated that without investing considerably more, they were looking at having two facilities with the double cost of the staffing, the outreach programs, the counseling, and so forth. To have the same capacity as what they are looking at, they are not able to come up with an existing facility or building a brand new one that would even come close to the cost --it would far exceed the cost of this proposal. Ms. Cotton stated other options were investigated, such as the Housing Authority building on Mountain, and a number of other things were considered, but for reasons of cost, this proposal seems to meet the needs most cost effectively without building an entirely new facility and abandoning the existing one. There were also concerns that if they did that, in the interest of serving all Larimer County residents, they should look for something more to the south of Fort Collins, and they could not locate anything that was remotely affordable between Fort Collins and Loveland. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 24 The Commission asked how long this proposed addition would make the facility suitable for their needs. Ms. Cotton replied that originally it was difficult to convince Fort Collins there was a need for a safehouse, but when they opened their doors in 1980, within one hour the house was full and turned away twelve women including their children. She stated she felt there will never be enough. Crossroads had to increase after seven years, and now, after seven years, increase again. They would expect to get another seven years out of the new proposal. Ms. Jones stated that they expect to provide different kinds of services to women, too, that will limit the amount of safehouse space needed —this is another direction they have been going, with more outreach, counseling, and prevention to try to decrease demand. A lot more can be done without necessarily having to always shelter. Ms. Cotton stated that another thing they are trying to work with is to cut down the amount of time that women have to stay at the shelter --to find affordable housing or other arrangements that don't have the same security where the counseling and so forth could be taken care of. But right now the need is for an emergency shelter where security has to be tight. Ms. Davis added that before buying the second house, they did look at a nursing home as one of the facilities for a safehouse, but the utilities and maintenance were too much to be able to afford it. Crossroads Safehouse, Inc. - Shelter Manager - $18,403 Ms. Turnquist stated that the purpose of the position is to provide a number of services to the women who are in the shelter: helping women access community resources; handling crisis situations (such as suicide), including early intervention; orienting women to stay in the house; informing them about what to expect when accessing resources in the community; daily support and encouragement; advocating for the women with other agencies; and managing the physical facility. She noted that the goals of the position have been to support the work of the counselors and the women and to reduce the length of stay in the house. She stated that what they've seen in the six months that they've had this position funded (by CDBG in 1992 and 1993) is a 10% decrease in length of stay even with the low availability of affordable housing. This position is important to Crossroads and will become even more important if the shelter capacity is increased. The Commission asked if they will be back next year for additional staffing funds if CDBG pays for the addition to the shelter. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 25 Ms. Turnquist stated that it is not their intention, that they are working on several fund raisers this year to help the additional staffing, utilities, and on -going expenses next year. They are optimistic about their ability to raise these funds based on past experience. The Commission asked what the cost is to families to stay in the shelter --is there any cost. Ms. Cotton stated that they ask to take it either in payment of $1 a day or barter, such as wash the drapes or clean the living room or whatever. It is a minimal amount because most of these women don't have jobs or other financial resources --they are on their own out there. The Commission noted that the $190,000 for staff salaries seemed rather high and asked how many people that included. Ms. Turnquist replied she believe there were nine staff. The Commission asked if all of these staff were full time. Ms. Cotton replied they were not. The Commission asked if they have an in-house computer system. Ms. Turnquist replied they have a PC that was donated by Hewlett Packard. The Commission asked if the deck faces north and whether there are windows there and were they going to do something with solar orientation. Ms. Turnquist answered one of the reasons they did that was for security —by having the major part of the glass on the north side, it looks into their own yard and no one can see into those windows. She noted that the architect, who was kind enough to donate his services in the preliminary sketching, did give consideration to that and positioned windows on the south side higher than can be seen into that would provide a certain amount of solar effect. Senior Employment Services of RSVP - Job Finding Services - $10,834 Candy Johnson stated that she works with older workers in Larimer County and especially Fort Collins, furnishing evaluation of job skills, trying to overcome possible employment barriers, counseling on the local job market, and offers referrals and placements. She stated she has a 75-80% job placement rate, working within Job Service as far as desk space though she is not a state or county employee. Job Service refers people 55 and over to her and she works closely with Job Service as far as having the clients register with Job Service to find employment and has a high grade of older workers. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 26 Ms. Johnson stated that she had 20 new clients this month compared with 6 last month; out of those 20, 16 were below the HUD income guidelines (income below $13,000)--six of them are trying to survive by living off $550 a month and need jobs. She noted that she had helped find 15 jobs for these people. The services she performs for the clients include helping them upgrade their resumes. The Commission asked what was her relationship with Care -A -Van. Ms. Johnson replied that they are the sponsor of RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program), which was brought in through them as an action -funded program with an established governmental sponsor. In 1982 RSVP sponsored Senior Employment Services with a special stipulation through Action --it really has nothing to do with Care -A -Van except they do the major paperwork and have the 501(c)(3). The Commission asked to whom she reports. Ms. Johnson replied to the RSVP Board and John Henry Peck. The Commission asked if many of the jobs come from her being in the Job Service offices. Ms. Johnson replied she gets job orders from Job Service and that she can get into their mainframe and she does over -the -phone outreach and sends out mailings. The Commission asked if this program is part of the senior citizen tax write-off program. Ms. Johnson answered no. The Commission asked if the program is dependent on CDBG funding. Ms. Johnson replied it is. She stated that before she came in August of 1992, it was JTPA funded, and as a full time position, but that isn't so now. The Commission asked if she received the $2,500 from the Office of Aging. Ms. Johnson replied she has not. DMA Plaza, Inc. - DMA Elevator Equipment Rehabilitation - $89,160 Cathy Sandfort, Administrator, explained briefly about the DMA Plaza and distributed a handout. She stated that as the administrator of the building, one of her jobs this past year was to get a reality check as to where they are with the building and she is in the process of putting 0 10 CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 27 together a capital needs assessment for the building, looking at the major components that are going to need to be replaced in a building that is now 20 years old. She noted that the building's only area for producing income is rent, and rents cannot be raised on people with low, fixed incomes. Expenses have gone up, especially electricity --the building is 100% electrical. Electric heat was a big thing when it was built in 1972, but now the bills are horrendous. She stated they have done what they can as far as installing an energy management system to put a limitation on the kilowatt hours used, and have done a lot of little things around the building, but it is not energy efficient. The exterior calk painting should produce some energy savings but not a great deal. Putting on a new roof in the last ten years helped a little bit. She stated that some of the major things they will need to replace, such as refrigerators, are coming up. But when a large expense is coming up, such as the elevators, there is no place to go but to other sources such as CDBG. She noted that this is a stable project, one that has been in Fort Collins for 20 years, which is managed well and has a sensible board that knows the direction of the building and the needs of its people. The Commission asked if the $89,160 is spent on the elevator, will this mean a decrease in expenses. Ms. Sandfort replied no, that the service contract is $535 a month. She noted that the elevator service at present is not charging what they should be to relevel the elevators. Releveling is important since 15 % of the residents are over 82 years of age and their depth perception is not good, which makes the liability a big factor. With no increase for a few year, this should help as far as maintenance --there shouldn't be the leveling problem there is now. She noted a useful life of an elevator runs between 20 to 30 years according to the Dover people. If the DMA stays with the present elevators, there will be increased costs for leveling and the maintenance people can cancel the contract if it becomes too expensive to take care of the equipment. Also, she stated that with the new ADA code, with more handicapped tenants, the DMA is out of compliance now with both ADA and fire standards. The Commission asked if DMA will be back next year again for more funds. Ms. Sandfort replied there are several things they are considering, such as looking at other funding and pooling the purchase of equipment with other groups to bring down the cost. The Commission asked what other capital cost can be expected. Ms. Sandfort replied that the refrigerators are all going out at the same time and that the electric panels are in need to be replaced. She stated they are working on reducing operating costs all down the line --with the electric meat demand control --but there is a need for major things like window replacement. The Commission asked if they did not look ahead in 1972 when they built the facility. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 28 Ms. Sandford replied that when the DMA was built, there weren't a lot of incentives given to non-profit developers and there was the annual adjustment factor: HUD made sure to give 5-6% adjustment whether it was needed of not. Also, we were denied rent increases. The bottom line is HUD set up projects to fail. The Children's Fund - Children's Mental Health Fund - $9,000 John Cross apologized for missing the scheduled night's presentation. Mr. Cross then discussed the needs as presented in the proposal. He noted he had called Social Services to ask if more mental health care is needed for children, but he can't show this need by documentation. He stated there are 7,600 cases of child abuse in the county each year. Based on his experience, he feels there is a need for more mental health care. He noted that he interviewed physicians, judges, therapist, social workers, asking what would be the most helpful, and they all pointed out that there is attention for children with serious problems who have to be removed for long- term care, who need help with residential facilities. He gave an example of three children who are currently being treated but it is very expensive--$80 an hour for therapy. There are 20 local therapists who are willing to provide services starting at $25 an hour. These therapists would cover almost every area: sexual abuse, testing and evaluation, divorce and separation issues including the family. To review the cases there is an interdisciplinary committee put together that includes a school counselor, social worker, physicians, and attorney. The Commission asked for an explanation of the budget on page 4. Mr. Cross stated that they are trying to raise $15,000 in the near future; they are asking for $9,000 to combine with a federal campaign and hope to raise the other amount. The Commission asked what the $15,000 in supplies is made up of. Mr. Cross stated he considered the operating expenses to be the fees they pay out for therapy -- professional services. The $1,500 for personnel would be primarily to get the committee together to handle the reports from the therapists, and administration. So far it is operating on donated office space --telephone and all. The Commission asked what was the annual salary for the administrator. Mr. Cross replied it is $1,200-4100 a month for 1-1/2 days per week. The Commission asked how people find the service. Mr. Cross replied that people come through Social Services mostly. Last year they had $8,000 they could use for services and that was enough only for 4 court cases involving termination of 0 CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 29 parental rights. There was very little money for children in situations they couldn't help, so they sent them over. The Commission asked how many received private funds. Mr. Cross replied there were none --there is no other source for these children. The Commission asked if the Larimer County Mental Health Department doesn't have people to help. Mr. Cross replied they do have counselors but they can't do much of this because their orders come from Denver --they've changed a lot on what their focus is. Right now it is for children with problems that cause them to be removed from their homes, children in danger of out -of - home placements. That's not necessarily what The Children's Mental Health Fund is concentrating on. Putnam-Fullana Education Association - Cultural Diversity Media Collection - $18,000 John Cross stated there is a need at the schools to get away from asking parents for funding all the time, so a separate organization was set up to get a tax-exempt status and then go and find foundation money for projects at the schools. He noted that the second goal was to develop this into something that could be used throughout the district. There is an immediate need to put together a collection of culturally -diverse materials that could be housed at Putnam, where there is a more immediate need for them (with a 40% minority population in the school). The original idea was to put together a traveling collection of material, but that proved to be unworkable as far as coordinating curriculum and arrival of the collection at a school. He stated that it seemed better to have the collection housed at one school and run by courier through the District Media Center to serve all the schools. A list of the materials will be prepared to let the teachers know the collection is there. He noted the Adopt -a -Book project raised $100 this winter to buy 60 to 65 books for the school library. The other project they are working on would be to have the school library, starting at Putnam, open during the summer, making the books available 12 months a year. The Commission asked if the media aides, listed in the budget section, would double as couriers between the schools. Mr. Cross replied no, the aides would be checking the books in, getting them ready to go back out, and so forth. The school district would provide the courier service. The Commission asked if the school district could provide the media aides. CDBG Commission - Question and Answer Session April 28, 1993 Page 30 Mr. Cross replied that the Media Center staff were all out at the Administration offices and this would be difficult. The Commission asked if the actual cost of the material was $12,800. Mr. Cross replied yes. The Commission asked who the publisher was. Mr. Cross replied there would be books from all the publishers, and these would be bought wholesale. The Commission asked if there were any other source of funding through any other programs through the Colorado Education Department. Mr. Cross replied they had not found any. He stated there was not a lot of culturally diverse materials in the past but there are a large number available now. This would cover everything -- Australian, oriental, Italian, Russian --not just looking at a narrow view of what is in the population of the classroom. The Commission asked about the culturally -diverse program mandated at CSU recently --would such a collection spark the same issue in the public schools? Mr. Cross replied no, none of this would be required; it would be available to teachers to use, not forced on them. He noted that all of the projects being worked on by this association are things that have been asked for by teachers. The Commission asked what would the culturally -diverse library book be about. Mr. Cross answered that what he thought it was about was black inner-city children and Cinco de Mayo, but the teacher's view of culturally -diverse is about aboriginal in Australia, daily life of a children China --they're going all over the world. And they want more than books --video tapes and current maps. Their view is more nationality culture, more or less anthropological. The Commission asked if Mr. Cross had to choose between the two fundings, which would he want them to fund. Mr. Cross replied he would prefer the funding of the library books since they are working on some other funding for the children's mental health issue. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m.