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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-02-07 Special Meeting NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36 SPECIAL MEETING, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 PAGE 124 ASSEMBLY The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners met for a Joint Special Meeting with the Wilmington City Council on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. at the Wilmington Convention Center, 10 Convention Center Dr., Wilmington, North Carolina. Members present: Chair Bill Rivenbark; Vice-Chair LeAnn Pierce; Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, Jr.; Commissioner Dane Scalise; and Commissioner Rob Zapple. Staff present: County Manager Chris Coudriet; Clerk to the Board Kymberleigh G. Crowell; and County Attorney K. Jordan Smith. City of Wilmington Council present via roll call: Mayor Bill Saffo; Mayor Pro-Tem Clifford Barnett, Sr.; Councilmembers Salette Andrews; David Joyner; Kevin Spears; and Luke Waddell. Councilmember Charlie Rivenbark was absent. City of Wilmington staff present: City Manager Tony Caudle; City Attorney Meredith Everhart; and City Clerk Penny Spicer-Sidbury. Chair Rivenbark and Mayor Saffo called their respective Boards to order for the Joint Special Meeting, reporting that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the unhoused population. Chair Rivenbark asked for a motion to adopt the meeting agenda as presented. Motion: Commissioner Barfield MOVED, SECONDED by Vice-Chair Pierce to adopt the meeting agenda as presented. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Mayor Saffo asked for a motion to adopt the meeting agenda as presented. Motion: Councilmember Waddell MOVED, SECONDED by Councilmember Spears to adopt the meeting agenda as presented. Upon roll call vote, the MOTION PASSED 6 TO 0. PRESENTATION Assistant County Manager Tufanna Bradley, Deputy City Manager – Operations/CIP Thom Moton, Jr., City of Wilmington (CoW) Housing and Neighborhood Director Rachel LaCoe, County Social Work Supervisor Katelyn Mattox, and Wilmington Downtown, Inc. Vice-President Christina Haley presented the following information:  Unsheltered Population Taskforce proposal:  Framing the Issue: past efforts of the City and County: • Housing spectrum: Source: NC Housing Coalition’s County Profile – New Hanover County Source: NC Housing Coalition’s County Profile – New Hanover County  United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Definitions: NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36 SPECIAL MEETING, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 PAGE 125  Unsheltered homeless: An individual or family with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground  Sheltered homeless: An individual or family living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements (including congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels and motels paid for by charitable organizations or by federal, state, or local government programs for low-income individuals)  Spectrum of unhoused:  Unhoused strategies:  Crisis intervention: emergency rental assistance program (ERAP), street outreach, emergency shelter, transitional housing, and recovery housing  Permanent housing: rapid-rehousing, housing choice vouchers, permanent supportive housing, and other alternatives  History: In 2008, the Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness and Reduce Homelessness in the Cape Fear Region was released which focused on two major goals:  Provide prevention and supportive services  Provide permanent housing for homeless individuals and families  County/CoW supported unhoused successes:  Library Social Worker, Getting Home Street Outreach Program, ERAP, and The Healing Place  Driftwood, Eden Village – Tiny Home Community, and SECU Lakeside Reserve  On the horizon: Robin Hood Road facility, Salvation Army, and Starway Village  Downtown Wilmington:  Wilmington Downtown, Inc.:  What it does: business recruitment, retention, site selection, infrastructure and development assistance, clean and safe downtown streets, community engagement and outreach, revitalization, historic preservation, public art, downtown marketing and promotion, microloan lending, and façade improvement grants  Central Business District (CBD) taxable real estate value as of tax year 2022: $723,000  Municipal Services District (MSD) budget Fiscal Year (FY) 24: $584,000:  MSD services: graffiti removal, street light outage reporting, litter and biohazard removal, business contacts, pressure washing, hospitality assistance, hospitality escorts, and street outreach  MSD street outreach: more than 8,000 interactions with downtown’s unhoused NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36 SPECIAL MEETING, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 PAGE 126  FY23-24: actively working with 75; POIs interacted with: 216; Food Stamps/Medicaid: 40; NC IDs secured: 38; Shelter: 37; Rehab/Detox: 33; Mental Health Crisis Intervention: 131; and Housed: 74  Outreach success:  Veteran currently in rehab after years of drinking on the streets  Two individuals frequently interacting with police downtown, were housed  Utilized funding to reunite individuals with families outside of Wilmington  Linked multiple individuals up with Med North/Coastal Horizons to get mental health assistance  Special projects encampment cleaning:  FY 23 focus areas were placed on cleaning areas where there was a high density of unhoused taking shelter in the district:  MSD-led cleanups with WPD assistance: NHC Library Block – 2, Third Street Bridge – 3, and City Gateway Property – 1  110 bags of trash  54 hypodermic needles  WDI organized cleaning efforts with MSD Outreach, North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), and WPD with volunteers from social service organizations and faith-based communities (19,000 pounds of trash per the NCDOT landfill tickets)  WDI and MSD have also worked closely with CoW to clean encampments under th the 4 Street bridge last year  Faith-based groups such as Living Hope have provided relief near the CBD offering services and opening shelters such as the WARMING Shelter and a day shelter at local churches  Getting Home Street Outreach Program (GHSOP):  GHSOP is a partnership between County Health and Human Services Social Workers and Wilmington Police Department (WPD) Officers approved through an interlocal agency agreement in September 2022 by County Commissioners and Wilmington City Council  The County provides four (4) social workers and one (1) social work supervisor. WPD provides up to four (4) LEOs, and one (1) WPD supervisor.  MOU with WDI to model the success of Block-by-Block Street Outreach  The mission is to prepare unsheltered residents for shelter and re-homing through service provision, while enhancing public safety. The team strives to keep and maintain clean and safe areas, primarily where the homeless gather.  Service hours: seven (7) days a week, 8AM to 9PM  Social workers assess the needs of each individual and connect to services within the community based on self- determined goals  Work to bridge individuals to services/re-homing in collaboration with other Street Outreach teams, resource providers, faith-based community, CoC, and WPD  Work to maintain clean and safe areas in collaboration with County, City, NCDOT, MSD, and more, including the creation of the Bin Den  Outcomes/Successes January - December 2023:  Tangible and intangible connections:  The Bin Den:  GHSOP opened the “Bin Den” to offer unsheltered individuals a free place to safely store their belongings, helping declutter the area and aid in the visual aesthetic  Individuals can check their belongings in each morning, freeing them to work or attend meetings while dually improving the daily optics of the area  Totals: 67 new participants, 926 accessed belongings, and 27 current participants  Homelessness and the role of the Continuum of Care entities:  Continuum of Care (CoC):  A CoC is a community planning body that coordinates homelessness and prevention activities in a specific geographic area and submits funding applications to HUD NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36 SPECIAL MEETING, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 PAGE 127  National model  North Carolina has 12 individual CoCs, and 79 counties are served under state’s central administration  Map of Cape Fear Homeless CoC:  Cape Fear Homeless CoC – NC 506:  Lead agency: The Lead Agency is designated to carry out the activities of the CoC, including fiscal and compliance activities. Regular admin tasks include management of the annual HUD application, coordination of other funding opportunities, project/system monitoring, meeting management, and other duties as needed.  Collaborative applicant: The collaborative applicant is designated by the CoC Board to be the entity that submits the collaborative funding application to HUD for homeless assistance programs. $541,164 was awarded in 2022.  Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) administration: Collect client-level data and data on the provision of housing and services to individuals and families at risk of and experiencing homelessness  Coordinated Entry (CE) (aka Coordinated Access System): Process developed to ensure that all people experiencing a housing crisis have fair and equitable access and are quickly identified, assessed for, referred, and connected to housing and assistance based on their strengths and needs  Comparison NC CoC Funding:  What the Cape Fear Housing CoC is not:  Street outreach service delivery agent  Emergency shelter operator  Regulator of entities serving homeless beyond competitive grant awards  Mobilizer of homeless service provide response during/following natural disasters  Large agency – three FTEs (two full-time and three part-time CE assessors)  Consideration of Taskforce:  Taskforce charge:  Understand the needs of the unsheltered population of our area  Listen to the interests and a description of services provided by the various groups involved with this population  Determine a comprehensive approach to service delivery that best suits the needs of the unsheltered in our region  Recommend a priority of initiatives believed to be the most efficacious in delivering services to this target population  Recommend roles for various agencies in the provision of those services  Project plan and budget:  Stage 1: Preparation and Assessment NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36 SPECIAL MEETING, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 PAGE 128  Why Fountainworks?  Project costs:  Next steps and timeline:  Establish taskforce:  Appointments:  Committee of 29 individuals from throughout the community  Members will represent persons from all walks of life who will not have a direct/vested interest in service delivery to this population.  County Commissioners: each appoint three (3) members  Wilmington City Council: each appoint two (2) members  Timeline:  Appointments to Clerks’ offices by February 21, 2024  Taskforce kick-off meeting in early March  Taskforce will meet monthly (twice in March)  Work to be complete by October 31, 2024  Formal presentation at joint County-City meeting in late 2024/early 2025 GENERAL DISCUSSION Discussion ensued about the establishment of a proposed taskforce and Fountainworks. Mr. Moton, in response to questions, confirmed that the plan is to engage with existing service providers and understands the need to be flexible and for the process to align with community needs. He noted the community’s existing vast talent and knowledge base and that the final report will be the taskforce’s product with some staff support. As to Fountainworks, a reference list from their work with such entities as Wake County, City of Durham, Duke University, North Carolina State University, Homeland Security, will be provided and reflect its practice of working with governing bodies and focused issues. Commissioner Scalise requested metrics from Fountainworks’ past projects to learn what it achieved in other places. He noted the need for the work to be purpose driven and make a difference for the entire community. If the goal is to spend funds and look like Asheville, NC, particularly the downtown area, he is resolutely opposed to it. Mr. Moton explained that more than one data source will be used, and the community input will be crucial in having comprehensive information. Councilmember Waddell expressed concerns with data issues, particularly in determining if individuals are residents of New Hanover County, and how long they have been here. Discussion ensued about the CoC policy regarding the housing first model. Councilmember Waddell voiced concerns about the model potentially monopolizing resources at the expense of other effective measures, such as short term shelters. It is important to him that taskforce members are free thinking and learn from best practices of successful models working elsewhere rather than the prevailing policy. Ms. LaCoe responded that there is a need to find a balance between crisis intervention, such as nightly shelters, and permanent housing solutions. Mayor Pro- Tem Barnett emphasized the importance of considering the other wraparound services that can be offered to unhoused individuals as well as ensuring equitable housing across the community. Mr. Moton, in response to questions, stated an evaluation element of the taskforce will be to understand the different groups of unhoused individuals while also learning best practices. Ms. LaCoe explained how the CoC data informs what is occurring in the County and City in comparison to the tri-county area. Ms. Bradley and Mr. Moton further explained the charge of the taskforce and confirmed that more detailed information will be provided to both governing bodies. Additional discussion ensued about how the taskforce will function. Mayor Saffo stressed the need for thorough discussions to be held with law enforcement to learn about the judicial process of unhoused individuals as well as the hospital, mental health providers, and faith based groups providing services. Council Member Waddell NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 36 SPECIAL MEETING, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 PAGE 129 agreed, expressing his hope the opioid data will be incorporated into the discussions. Commissioner Barfield voiced concerns about creating another taskforce as the issues and challenges are already known. He prefers a strategy that incorporates and supports individuals and organizations already actively working on this issue, both financially and in other ways, to enhance their working capacities. He sees no need to employ an outside consultant, particularly one who does not live here. He also commented on the need to build a facility akin to The Healing Place, specifically designed to address mental health issues. Mr. Moton, in response to questions, stated a regional approach to sourcing the solutions is missing from what is currently being done. An agreed upon and supported cohesive strategy is needed for the region for all to work together to advance individuals into being healthy and housed. It is important to understand the individual needs of unsheltered individuals and ensure equitable access to intervention services. He explained the purpose of the HMIS for identifying and assessing the severity of needs as one of the tools that can be utilized to track and assist individuals. Further discussion ensued about addressing the various issues around the unsheltered population with concerns being raised about creating another level of bureaucracy. Opinions were expressed about the need to recognize that one size does not fit all and that this is a complex issue. Councilmember Joyner provided a brief overview of the judicial process when prosecuting unsheltered individuals. Concerns were also raised about a taskforce of 29 individuals being too large and how it is a premature ask. After a brief discussion, both elected bodies expressed support for a future joint meeting that included stakeholders, including nonprofit organizations and community members, to learn more about the work being done and available tools to further develop collaborative solutions to address the needs of the unsheltered population. The elected bodies expressed appreciation for the presentation. ADJOURNMENT Hearing no further discussion, Chair Rivenbark and Mayor Saffo adjourned the meeting at 11:02 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Kymberleigh G. Crowell Clerk to the Board Please note that the above minutes are not a verbatim record of the Special Meeting of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners. The entire proceedings are available online at www.nhcgov.com.