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2023-06-07 Minutes1 NEW HANOVER COUNTY-CITY OF WILMINGTON WORKFORCE HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE June 7, 2023 | REGULAR MEETING Committee Members Present: Sharm Brantley, Tom Gale, Melanie James, Eric Knight, Katrina Knight, Frank Smith, Paul Stavovy, Edwrin Sutton NHC Staff Present: Tufanna Bradley, Katie Burket, Rachel LaCoe, Sarah Lipkin Sularz, Theo McClammy, Pam Robbins, Andrew Zeldin City of Wilmington Staff Present: Abie Bonevac, Suzanne Rogers Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 3:07PM by Chairperson Brantley and a quorum was established. Agenda Approval and Minutes Mr. Eric Knight made a motion to approve the meeting agenda, seconded by Mr. Paul Stavovy and adopted unanimously. Mr. Tom Gale made a motion to adopt the May 3, 2023 draft minutes, seconded by Ms. Katrina Knight and adopted unanimously. Public Comments None. Special Presentation Katrina Knight: Good Shepherd Center Ms. Knight presented a summary of Good Shepherd’s new initiative called “Home for Good,” which included an overview of the organization. Good Shepherd currently has three locations and is planning for site expansions in the future. The nonprofit provides a range of programs and services, including a soup kitchen, sheltering, and rehousing efforts. The “Home for Good: A Campaign for Permanent Solutions” initiative is a path toward more permanent supportive housing. The idea was created by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and Good Shepherd designed its initiative to include several goals. The main goals include more supportive housing, a dedicated shelter for families with children, and a path back to housing for our most fragile neighbors. There will be a focus on aging in place in the future. This initiative includes a campaign committee and an advisory committee, and currently has about $2.9 million in private funding. Ms. Knight shared three upcoming projects: 32 units of permanent supportive housing planned for the old fire station location on Carolina Beach Road, a combination of family shelter space and 24 permanent supportive housing units as part of the Martin Street Expansion across the street from the current shelter, and 15 units of permanent supportive housing at Driftwood in collaboration with Cape Fear Collective. Good Shepherd needs about $7 million total for the 2 Carolina Beach Road development, which will be the first to complete, and will be looking into local funding opportunities and the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency’s SHARP funding. The committee discussed how residents are selected for these units. The process is connected to the Continuum of Care (CoC) coordinated entry system, as well as knowledge of residents at the Good Shepherd shelter. There is a federal definition of chronic homelessness and residents must meet that definition as a requirement for some programs. New Business Bowen Report Presentation & Discussion Staff presented highlights from the Bowen Housing Needs Assessment Update including changes in demographic trends and housing demand since 2021. The update includes changes to the study areas – the study now includes city data and thus covers the entire county, rather than separating out the city and county data. The report shows an increased need for sale and rental units at almost all income levels. The committee discussed how the data shows that the percentage of cost-burdened households at certain income brackets is decreasing, which seems good at face value, but is an indication of displacement. Staff Updates City – Staff distributed a flyer detailing a series of webinars and events throughout the month of June for National Homeownership Month. There will be an Affordable Lending Fair on June 24th at the MLK Center. County – Staff announced that the Workforce Housing Services Program (WHSP) goals and priorities for this year’s Request for Proposals (RFP) will be presented to Board of County Commissioners at the June 19th meeting. There will be a virtual information session held prior to the RFP release. Staff gave the committee updates on progress at both Covenant Senior Housing and Estrella Landing projects. Announcements Covenant Senior Housing will have a groundbreaking ceremony on June 16th at 2pm, all are invited to attend. Committee members whose positions are rolling off in August will need to reapply for their position, if desired, by early August. There are three City appointees and three County appointees that are at the end of their existing term, and all are eligible to reapply. Elections for leadership roles will be held in September. Adjourn Mr. Knight made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mr. Gale. The meeting was adjourned at 4:51PM.