WECAN Board meeting minutes May 2022

WECAN Board Meeting Minutes May 5, 2022 Virtual meeting via Zoom at MHO @ 6:30 pm

 Board Members present: Byron Ballard, Joe Fioccola, Mike Kenton, Sylvia Organ, Carrie Pettler, Pattiy Torno and Suzanne Willis. 

Board Members not present: Stephanie El-Hajj, Rebecca Lance, Rachel Larson, Rich Peterson, Brittany Wager and Davina Weirich.  

Others present: Teresa Stevenson, Andrew Crosson.

CALL TO ORDER: Sylvia called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm.

 APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Byron moved and Pattiy seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the April 7 Meeting as distributed and corrected. The motion passed.

 TREASURER’S REPORT: Pattiy reported The Neighborhood Matching Grant first reimbursement payment was received within two weeks from the City in the amount of $1556.20 and was distributed to all. The current balance is $1717.23

 BLOCK JESSIES: PATTIY saw on WLOS that on Wednesday 3 people were arrested from a rental property at 43 Rector street with a large amount of fentanyl and weapons. She also updated on Owens-Bell Park that Parks and Rec was supposed to move the signs on Wednesday when she did some planting at the dogwood loop but now will begin at 6:30 am on Monday. Staff will also edge the path to the bridge with railroad ties to contain mulch. She asked for approval to remove the volunteer Bradford pear in the sunny cultural garden between the pin oak and the maple we planted for Terry Bellamy. It is non-native and invasive and there was no objection. She offered to have Curve pay for the removal and then heavily mulch until the fall and plant then. JOE completed ivy removal on Thursday.

 HAYWOOD STREET COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT UPDATES Carrie introduced Teresa Stephens the new property manager for Haywood Street Community Development and Andrew Crosson

asking them to explain what property managers do.  In general: They both have hands-on experience in affordable housing. Givens’ focus has been on senior affordable housing and section 8 since the 1970’s with experience with HUD and tax credit properties and regulations. They accept vouchers. She noted that they are not yet under a formal agreement but expect to sign one very soon. Their approach is social work and compassion. ‘People are People.’ Their goal is to try to keep people successfully housed. Specifically from day-to-day managers will receive rents, applications, qualifications, keep maintenance up to par, contract with vendors, landscaping, trash removal and general administration plus building relationships with residents. They make sure that regulations are being followed by residents and staff. Sometimes the job entails mediating.

Q: How much involvement is there in the tenants lives? They are adults and share as much or as little as they choose. Q:How much experience do you have with children? Givens experience with Federal funding says they can’t exclude and have had some under age 18 living with grandparents.

Q:Is Givens local? Givens manages the Givens Estate, Highland Farms since 2012, Great Laurels since 2007, 262 apartments at Givens Gerber Park since 2016, 2017 and 2018. Q: Whose responsibility is being financially sound? HSCD has a fiduciary commitment to the Haywood Street Board. Management has a hands-on approach to budgeting, and spending with a long term goal of sustainability. They will not defer needs and will build reserve funds. Q What is the staff ratio for a 45 unit building? It depends on the budget. Normally it would employ a part time manager and a part time maintenance person. These may be supplemented with staff from Givens such as social worker or community nursing through Givens Life Ministries outreach. Q: Can you explain how qualifications are maintained?  Year-to-year residents must qualify they must show their finances 120 days before their anniversary. Q: What if a 30% renter makes too much money? Vouchers are reviewed annually by the Housing Authority. The only time residents may or shall leave (not definite on the wording) is if their income exceeds 120% of AMI. Otherwise the designation may float within the building. There will be a transfer policy and the neighborhood preference is to maintain in the building rather that frequent short term turnovers. Carrie will explain to the HSCD board to try to create consistency, cohesiveness and relationships.

Teresa asked: Q: MHO has 3 properties in WECAN what have you learned from them?   In WECAN Merrit Park, Prospect Terrace and Clingman Lofts are both condos and not rentals but on Depot Street which is outside WECAN they do have rentals. Residents of the Patton Apartments have not participated in WECAN and the Hilliard apartments have just begun to fill up, so WECAN does not really have any learning to share here. Givens produces a Community Handbook which contains hard legal information such as the lease and house rules but also has soft information in Move-In Packets such as fire plans, water cut-off locations and can include a letter from WECAN on how to participate, introduction to the neighborhood, nearest playground, bus stop, neighborhood history. Andrew added they will also have traditional monthly meetings that WECAN can attend not just address on the front end.

Q:What is the best outcome? Could the Community space be open to neighborhood use? The board vision included neighborhood events.

            Andrew explained the relationship between Givens and Haywood Street Church. They are both United Methodist Church organizations affiliated with Central UMC. They have a strong bond with Givens Life Ministries outreach to design programs to meet neighborhood needs such as the Welcome Table and Respite Center. They partner with Pisgah Legal in alternatives to evictions. There have only been 4 actual evictions since Gerber Park began. Housing is the foundation for health.

Q: What does WECAN ask from Homeowners? Nothing. There is a Community Garden, FaceBook page, Halloween haunted trail, wecannews@blogspot.com has 25 years worth of annual newsletters and meeting minutes. WECAN is very walk-able and Sylvia offered to give tours on request.  Byron added that the neighborhood has a history with Haywood Street which was connected physically before the I-240 ramp cut us off and the founders of Haywood Street were from the neighborhood and included her great-great grandfather.

 EVENTS PLANNING: a proposal for chalk Art at Owens-Bell Park on Saturday was nixed for predicted rain. An email thread proposed a July 4 celebration at Owens-Bell Park with a 6 pm cook out and maybe chalk art. A garden event proposal for May 15 led to the question of how decisions are made. A thread email suggested that a process was starting to gel. It is not formal or finalized but people are engaging and it is still evolving. Joe will start a thread. He also reported that Lyn has applied for another grant through Bountiful Cities and for Pollinator Certification through GreenWorks. MELK: Suzanne contacted Eric at GreenWorks and he looped in back to Joe.     

 BRIDGE NOISE: Pattiy noted it is loud but she appreciates that the bridge is bring fixed just maybe not so much at 7 am on Saturdays.

 COALITION of ASHEVILLE NEIGHBORHOODS: Byron reported that volunteers are requested to help out. See their website asheville-can.org. Their next meeting is at 5 pm on May 26 on Zoom (link on website.) There is a position statement on the rethinking Boards and Commissions which she will post on the Face Book page. Jones School Playground could receive a large donation but for squabbling bout continued maintenance. Video interviews with city council and mayoral candidates are also available on the website. Pattiy added Black Wall Street AVL is hosting a Mayoral / City Council candidates forum on Monday from 6-8:30 @ 8 River Arts Place.

ADJOURN: Meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m.            

 Next WECAN Board meeting June 2, 2022 @ 6:30 pm

Minutes submitted by Joe Fioccola