 I'm all about starting on time. It's 11 o'clock. It's 1101 actually and I'm a check with the city clerk to see if we can go ahead and Call the meeting to order. Yes, ma'am. We're ready to rock and roll All right, so I'm gonna call the meeting to order and then Erica. How do you want to do the? Attendance In this environment I can easily take attendance by checking the participants online as individuals join so that probably the easiest if you all Missed you in the minutes. We can update it at any given time. Just let me know Okay, and what I would like to do is because many of you are New new faces to me some of them aren't I'm new faces to many of you all Just to do some brief introductions before we get into the approval of the minutes I'm Tina Herbert and I well council woman. I think I'm supposed to say that council. I'm a Tina Herbert And I used to be city staff y'all so Missy knows that I struggled with this whole title thing but I actually volunteered to Work with the affordable housing task force because it is The issue is very important to me. I'm what a lot of folks do not know is that growing up My mother had a section 8 voucher And so when I tell people people say what neighborhood you're from They hear oh, I grew up there. Oh, I was there Oh, I was there and it wasn't until this campaign that it really That even I began to see that the reason that I lived in so many different neighborhoods Was because my mom had a section 8 voucher and she preferred to live in houses. And so we lived in metal lakes We lived in Greenview many years. We lived in Lincoln Shire. We lived in cinnamon Seminary Ridge. So anyway, but it does the campaign process was actually very interesting to me because it helped me kind of understand that path and Then I went to law school and I had this little girl this little cheeky name a side of my baby And actually lived in public housing in Raleigh, North Carolina In Chayda's Heights, which is the exact foreclam of Allen Benedict Court like exact floor plan and Chayda's Heights is now gone, but I had the the blessed fortune of Waiting three years I waited three years to get into public housing because that's how long the wait list was and then I Made hot cotton When after a year in public housing in my fourth year I got my section 8 voucher in Raleigh, North Carolina and got to move into some apartments And I was telling someone recently I really felt safer in the public housing And I really did then the apartment complex because we had the the police station really close and I was really you know near the office But it was it was a very good experience for me because I was in law school and had a four-year-old No, was she two-year? I don't tell her I didn't know but the key thing was I wouldn't have been able to finish law school Very seriously if I had to worry about paying rent You know real rent because we couldn't work our first year and I remember my law school folks One of my law school friends who had you know, just the regular old apartment. He got evicted And you know where he had to come and sleep on the couch For like two months He had to come over to Tina's section 8 apartment and stay on the couch because he couldn't afford the payments And I said you all kind of see why I made the decisions that I made because I really needed to focus on school And then I also tell people And I'm not in the least bit ashamed about it because I promise you in my taxes I have paid the government that every single penny that they have ever invested in me And I do think that it was an investment at a critical time for me. So for those reasons Having affordable housing is very important to me And for the reasons that people seem to think that I don't look like section 8 is another reason why affordable housing is important to me because every time I tell that story or say something folks are like What Tina we're not talking about you because during the campaign I really got a lot of pushback on Affordable housing though a lot of pushback and I would and they you know We would say well, we want new development, but we don't want section 8 vouchers And I had to say oops I had section 8 voucher and then the next thing would be when I Tina been I talking about you We're talking about everybody else. I said no, but you are talking about me so that that really That is one of the bigger, you know, I have some personal reasons why I understand the need for affordable housing And the difference that it can make in people's lives. So that's why I volunteered for what is probably going to be y'all are going to help make it one of the easiest jobs. I'm sure But I wanted to give you all that background so you can kind of understand what you're dealing with. And so my, you know, my perspectives Are probably a little different than most but but they're real perspectives of what I have experienced and I don't have to ask anybody about what that experience is like And so I'm glad to be here. I'm grateful to be here and I would like to get an introduction from each of you. Just one or two minutes really quickly who you are and why you're here. And we'll go from there and I'm going to start with the next person on my screen, which is miss Anita Floyd, who has known me since I was a babe, I think. Hi, miss Anita. I'm pleased to be here joining this team. I have spent Most of my career working on issues of homelessness and housing starting with the women's shelter where I got to develop housing for homeless women and of course at united way 15 years of Working with my lovely colleague Jennifer to do lots of things not just planning on homelessness, but also A big education. I think for me was when we did the flood recovery because We had worked on rental housing And it was really distressing to see The quality of the home ownership that people that really it was an asset, but really it was a liability And that's why I'm here just to continue to do that. I'm at mercy now Which is you know another opportunity to be working on these very same issues that I have embraced my whole career And it's good to see so many colleagues because I've worked with all of y'all for a long time Glad to have you miss Anita to sex Okay, no takers. I'll take the next one on my screen is julie and athen Hey, I'm yeah, I'm julie and aven. I'm with mercy and um I I started here when I was a child. I've been here for 31 years And you know mercy started out as a Program to support individuals in the community that had been diagnosed with a serious mental illness And to assist people in kind of acclimating back into the community After a major hospitalization and when I started in the 90s the That acclimation was a lot of people showing up at the Center each day with their bags of belongings that they couldn't keep with them when they were in the shelter um, so they would bring them and tuck them under the staircase and Stay with us during the day and then go back to The foundation army in the evening say we started in the early to mid 90s developing housing And we really miss the old section 811 program for developing housing for people with disabilities because we could develop it and have the rent support project rental assistance contract attached so that it would always be affordable for individuals with disabilities, so it's Over the years going from the section 8 housing. I mean the section 811 And now into the continuum of care housing for homeless individuals But I think where we are at this point is looking for new avenues for development of housing um, the as I said the um The 811 program has completely changed. We we would love to have involvement with one the housing authority to pursue that in the future We requested that two years ago. The program has changed now, so the private nonprofit can't just apply for the 811 it has to be um a housing authority And um our department of mental health is very willing to put up some matching money for it So I I hope we can see that come to fruition Otherwise like with the continuum of care money There we're really kind of just at a place of renewing all about the existing projects each year. It's not like I just put in a lot of new money out there for For for new housing and even that it's not development. That means we've got to find a property that meets the fair market rent and that we feel Not only that it passes housing quality inspection, but also for us safety we don't like to put anybody in a multi-family Complex where we wouldn't be comfortable living ourselves Welcome, julianne Miss sue berkowitz Good morning, everyone. I'm sue berkowitz that I'm with south carolina apple seed legal justice center We're a multi issue Organization that works on legal issues impact the low wealth community Obviously housing is a huge issue We often look at it from from the perspective of how do we keep people in their housing as well as conditions? And are always hearing folks who are both in need of housing as well as Facing eviction and so one of the things that we've been really looking at and focused on with some of the other providers is How do we make The process a fairer More open process in getting people representation that they need and so I'm really excited to be Working with all of you again Obviously if we increase the availability of affordable housing That makes it the the need for protecting people from eviction Not quite as much, but it always something it's a it's a definitely a balance and we have to be thinking of it from oh Sorry, my lights go out when I don't move too much That we need to be thinking about Not that we develop it, but how do we make sure that people who have housing are able to maintain it? Welcome to soon next I have Jim and Jim. I'm not going to mess up your last night. I won't let you I'll let you off the hook. Jim Zeke. I'm a retired recycling and solid waste manager that retired to uh, Columbia after a stents up in uh, Ohio Wanted to be warm again. I represent more justice. It's an organization of over 26 churches with a average weekly a Church attendance of 15,000 people We advocate for those people that don't have a voice and uh, we firmly believe that we can make a difference by raising our voices And advocating for affordable housing. We're also working on group violence and mental illness Thank you, my mom My mom is a a member of re chapel and very active with more justice. Oh very good very good We're very familiar with three chapel our offices out of reach up. Okay Um, welcome Jim the next person I have is and I didn't bring my reading lists if y'all can tell Um, Reggie Barner Good morning. Um, thanks for the opportunity. Um I guess for me, I'm retired after 30 years in the public housing Section eight world worked in several different cities in south carolina And once I retired I served as an interim up in sparenberg and in greenville and And continued to do consulting work within the southeast on affordable housing development working with primarily now working with housing agencies Housing authorities as well as high net worth individuals that are still looking to do affordable housing Targeting individuals at 80 percent of a mi are below And so I don't really do or consult much on market rate Even though some of it is a mixture and then advocate for policy changes At the state local and federal levels a lot of the work that we need to do and should be doing Effects local government state government and federal government And so a lot of the work that i'm doing now is trying to help communities and boards advocate for policy changes and And see how it can be a value there. That's kind of why i'm serving on this committee I live in achon now originally from greenville, but have done work all over the state Well, welcome mr. Reggie from achon um, and the next we have um Miss yolanda bean Good morning everyone I thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of the affordable housing task force My name is pronounced evanda. It is spelled with a y it always confuses people So i'm so used to getting yonda yolanda Just you name it. It's never evanda, but it's evanda I am the interim ceo for columbia housing and casey housing Representing approximately 6500 families We administer major programs such as public housing and the housing choice voucher program more commonly known as a section eight I am the interim as I indicated ceo. I've been in this role now for 90 days tomorrow Super excited New to the position, but certainly not new to the industry I've been in the industry for over 20 years. Um, I actually got My start in achon, uh, south carolina Under the leadership of reggie bonner who happens to still be a mentor of mine um, interestingly enough my career started as a resident services part time um A part-time assistant to the resident services program So I worked directly with the residents to deliver different social service programs and supports that they needed um, but it started again as a part-time position But it wasn't long after my potential was realized By mr. Bonner that the position became full-time and then I had the pleasure of advancing and working in almost every department within the agency Which has been fantastic for advancing my career um I am a product of generational poverty Affordable housing is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I'm passionate about it Knowing what it means to have safe quality housing and so this is my life's work and um I've had the pleasure of doing it not only in south carolina, but also in ohio Mr. Zeke for four years Where I actually oversaw HUD section 202 and HUD Section 811 program. So I'm very familiar with that program and look forward to Discussing potential partnership opportunities with ujuli And I also worked in Louisiana last For three years for an organization that had been under HUD receivership For five years prior to my joining Was able to Transform the agency within a couple of years Actually satisfying the terms of HUD's agreement at that time Within record breaking time. So I'm super proud of the work that I along with my team did there and then ivory actually reached out to me in June of 2019 To ask me if I would consider joining her team here At that time she was considering the position as CEO for Columbia housing She's since moved on to portland, Oregon Where she's overseeing the largest housing authority in Oregon. And so we're super excited and proud of her as well But that's um a little bit about me in a nutshell I'm glad to be here and looking forward to working with you all and lending my my expertise and gleaning From you all as well Well, welcome miss elanda. I've got it right Next I have miss jennifer more All right, morning everybody. It's great to be here Jennifer more. I work in united way and vice president of community impact. So I oversee our community work So we are a collaborator and investor around homelessness and housing This past year. We were really fortunate to partner with a private Foundation out of Ohio We have trained here this morning called the seamer institute where we're doing two generation approach work now Um, so that's a new thing for us So it is working with families that are facing homelessness to address generational poverty To increase income workforce development skills and then have That two generation approach for wraparound services with the children and the family as well So that's a new thing we're doing. We're very excited to share with y'all The other quick tidbit We did announce this at our ceo association meeting last week and we're working on a more formal public announcement But we were a very generous recipient of a mckinsey scott gift And our board has approved us using half of that towards affordable housing So we're looking for capacity building investments capital investments and innovative projects things that prevent evictions So fiction prevention pilots errors property. We're very interested in so we'd love to talk to anybody We will start those conversations very soon. So great to be here. Thanks everybody Glad to have you jennifer Next I have briana or nardin Good morning. My name is bernardin and i'm a fast forward We are a nonprofit that works kind of parallel to housing. So we work in training and employment For individuals who are in the midlands area who are low income and homeless And a little bit of me. I am currently working on my doctorate Through the medical college of lisconsin with a focus on affordable housing specifically in south carolina Thank you, miss briana. Um, and then we have miss lila anna solz I'm laughing because you got it right. Oh, it's like, okay tina. Is it gonna be la? So, um, I'm lila anna solz and I am with homeless no more um and So I have been with homeless no more for 18 years um in the nonprofit sector for over 30 Yeah, um started out at st. Lawrence place which was our transitional shelter for at risk and homeless families for children In 2015 we rebranded the homeless no more and took on emergency services Otherwise known as family shelter here in town Um took a trip to an organization called home front in new jersey and decided that it was going to become a system of care for families So we start with emergency second step is transitional st. Lawrence place We then added affordable housing development. So, um went out got a few national certifications Added a doctorate along the way. We now build affordable housing from the ground up We also rehab and within the next three years we'll have 200 units scattered throughout richland leisington counties We also have recently added a home ownership component because the only way to build generational wealth is through home ownership. So, um over the next six months you will um see the addition of houses within communities that um are historic And want to keep the families who have been born and raised in those areas. So, um the fifth piece of our puzzle is um Advocacy at the state national level. Um, we saw during uh, covid especially Most of the issues that we knew existed. Um, kind of put under a magnifying glass So, um education wage equity food security, um affordable housing Everything that touches the families. We are a holistic approach. We have education Programs we have life skill programming. So, um becoming a voice for systemic change We have never believed in band-aids. Um Still don't believe in band-aids. So, um taking on a more visible role. We've always been behind the scenes but kind of stepping out front per se as we um continue to tackle the the other issues. So, um That is that is homeless no more and um what I've been doing for the past 18 years kind of in a nutshell Glad to have you miss Lila Anna. Um, I said, I don't do nicknames. Well, it's one of those rules I had growing up. So It's actually interesting because it's not a nickname. It's laziness so Um, and so the last person I have I hope this is correct. Um, is Chris Zimmer and Eric Can you let me know if there are other people I can't see but I think that's it Well, good morning. Yep. Still morning. Good morning everyone. Happy to be here. Um, hopefully maybe sometime we can get together in person Um, you know, we got a lot of very influential names from the group here and look forward to getting to know you all a little bit more My name is Chris Zimmer. I serve as the market president for truest bank here in the midlands tourist formerly bb and t we merged with sun trust a couple years ago at this point But all the branding is now done. So I'm our market president for the center part of the state. I also Spent a lot of time working with the columbia chamber. I'm on the executive committee of the columbia chambers. So we're in a few different hats That understand how critical affordable housing and homelessness in general is to the midlands community Personally, um, I spent many years on the board of the family shelter Long long long time ago, but that was my first Experience with a problem and and was introduced to it and devoted a good bit of my Time to supporting the family shelter back in the oh something So so personally passionate about making a meaningful Change to our great community from the bank standpoint. We understand how critical A stable home is to to a community and again same from the chamber side. So Really really coming from a few different places, but all three places Very clearly understand how Important affordable housing is to having a vibrant community. So looking forward to seeing how I can help either personally with the bank's resources Or the chamber's resources Look forward to helping this group Thank you chris. I'm glad to have you and erica. I'm gonna let you go through the maze because what I just realized is Clearly my screen Is not large enough to show me everyone So Yeah, let's keep going as quickly as possible Because I think this part is important at least for me y'all because I don't I don't know everybody. So this is helpful Yes, ma'am. So in addition to a handful of city staff, we have miss shayla riley Pamela bueno read from the comment and dylan gonals. So if those three could round out the introductions Hello, everyone, and I'm sorry. I sound like the time my wisdom tooth pulled yesterday. So I'm all puffy So you might not want to see me today Um, but I'm shayla riley. I'm with co will banker realty Midtown office, which is on javay I Did do a small development called d8 swinton point which was behind benedict college which caught the attention of the affordable house affordable housing task force Excuse me. Um, so it's been very Exhilarating to be able to be part of it at my hometown girl. I was born and raised here in columbia um been doing real estate about 20 years and i'm also a board member at the sales and marketing commission for the builders association. So my job is to help bridge a gap between um residential builders and this committee so that we can make sure and try to make sure that You know, the builders are aware that They can build plans that can be market rate and affordable. So that's why i'm here Glad to have you miss shayla Good morning. I'm panel about the rate on the directive marketing and community affairs for the comet As i'm sure everyone in on this call Understand that if someone needs affordable housing, then they probably need transportation too So things that we're trying to make sure that we do especially with um our reimagined the comet Program um, which Basically looks at our routes and make sure that we're in the places that we need to go and that we're as efficient as possible We try to make sure that you know with the new affordable housing complexes coming up that transportation as part of Um that discussion and that we're able to make sure that we serve the people in those neighborhoods Thank you Welcome miss tamela Um, and then I think dylan is the last person Hey tina our councilman herbert. It's good to see you and everybody here. I'm glad that we're able to gather again My name is dylan gunnels. I'm the executive director at haven home housing justice nonprofit focused on scattered housing and so our goal is to purchase and renovate single family homes And offer them at affordable rates on a case-by-case basis as well as offering social programming That helps the individual residents move into that self-sufficiency and eventually home ownership I'm very excited to say that our offering Is finally complete with the attorneys and so we'll be able to go public with that in 30 days So i'll be able to start telling you about the properties that we've actually purchased and renovated in the residents that we're actually serving So we've come a long way in a year and i'm very excited And so what got me into this space I guess is is two fold one Um, I have never been homeless or never experienced extreme poverty But when I first moved to columbia, um, I had absolutely nothing so I know that experience of All of my furniture being donated and duct taping windows to keep the air out and gunshots two apartments over and and I can relate to that and so Taking that experience and then moving into the pandemic when we started mutual aid midlands and started working with folks that were Making those decisions about you know paying Their rent or putting food on the table and they were on the verge of eviction Didn't know what to do and it kind of led me on this rabbit trail of Housing and learning all the things that most of you all have been doing for much longer than me So I admit that but it took me on many rabbit trails and I started to realize how interconnected this issue was Um, and then I've just been a nonprofit my whole life. I started in case management and fell into development and professional fundraising and those connections led me to Lauren who founded Haven home and Those two passions collided and and I've been here for a year now. So looking forward again to telling you all All that we're able to accomplish now that the offering is here So thank you so much and Jennifer. I'll be giving you a call to to learn more about what funding you have So thank you Glad to have you here Dylan. He's also my constituent. So as you know, even more special for me Um, so yeah, thank you so much for indulging me just so I can have a better idea of everyone here Um, I did want to move through and we we're perfect at the time. It's going to be perfect. I think With the approval of the minutes Is there a motion to approve the minutes of october 12? 2021 And december 14 2021 Motion made to approve both sets of minutes I can't So it's been moved and properly second. Is there any discussion on the I will tell you all that I am going to vote nay But i'm voting nay because I wasn't here and I wasn't a part of the group So not that I have any problems with it. It's just that I can Say yes, um, if there are being no questions this eric and can you call the roll for us? um All in favor All right Any opposed Nay one Yes, ma'am duly noted Thank you All right, so one of the reasons um That I also wanted to make sure that I worked with this Um committees because I did watch the meetings last year Um, and I wanted to make sure that this crew of people who have been meeting actually since 2020 that we have some type of closure And or a new beginning however, we decide to make it but before Because there are a couple of different recommendations out there just so you all know And I I felt that we needed to honor the work that has been done And so that's why we have the committee reports on here today And really we don't need in I don't need anything really fancy But what I do want to Want each of you to do is just give me an idea of What decisions and or issues you have decided to address And then what you would want to do going forward And it may be we don't need to go for it with this lantina You know after this long period of time We decided but I just kind of want to get an input of what you've accomplished And what you think the committee could accomplish going forward and if If you're thinking maybe not and that's fine to say say to say that as well And I'm a real transparent parent person, but I just kind of want to get input And then after we go through those pretty quickly we'll look at a path forward And so the first one I have on here is the accessibility committee with miss julian All right, thank you The accessibility committee met a couple of times. I think it was in 2020 And what you know, we were predominantly coming up with is that we need to utilize universal accessibility standards And I think you know For the most part when we're talking accessibility, we are talking individuals that are needing senior living people with disabilities Perhaps individuals that have mobility challenges And and those things can all fall under a universal accessibility standard And there also was discussion around Accessible housing for individuals that were coming out of incarceration Frankly, I think that's probably more of a public policy issue than it is an accessibility issue it has to do with you know background checks and And I think that probably doesn't necessarily fall under the accessibility standard We didn't get a whole lot of traction in all honesty. I think we spent most meetings I was trying to decide how we were going to define affordable or attainable housing Okay, and so going forward Is this something that could Be because I do like the need or at least that conclusion of A use for a universal accessibility standard Is this maybe something this particular committee if we draft that particular statement To put in a particular place that we'll figure out where it's going to go and a reporter of some nature Do you think that There's more to do after that Or is that a part of this bigger picture that we're doing? I think My suggestion would be that the city make a commitment to any development that the city's going to be involved in You know, whether it's through this task force or the a city Department or division, I think there should be a commitment to developing housing that meets universal accessibility standards and You know past that I think each individual developer Knows how should know how to implement Using those standards in developing housing Um, I like that Um, anybody else have any comments on that? I offer that that if you're you know, if you're you're using any federal money There are guidelines you have to follow that it's not up for conversation even for a rehab Okay Next is the finance committee with mr. Reggie barner Okay, so We we had a lot of topics that we've talked about Over the last couple of years But as you all know that there's ever Moving target if you will Around affordable housing issues from a funding standpoint And one in particular that really everybody's put their focus on statewide right now has been related to the state tax credit program as well as the bond program Under the four percent program and so while well, there's a lot of issues that's being addressed Right now in the in the senate and in the house They've come to some resolutions regarding that From a dollar amount standpoint But you know that's still on the state level and there's a lot of development whether you bond is working on projects Locally in columbia as well as other Non-profit or private developers are working on projects So I think we still need to address some issues from a development standpoint. I think more specifically locally You know columbia has one of the largest or highest tax Taxes in and property tax in the in the state and that prevents from an affordability Issue so I think it's part of what we tackle this year Is to address I know the mayor has talked about that and other members of council Have talked about that as well. And so I do think that at some point as a committee We need to begin to have some some dialogue around the whole tax abatement issue or the incentive Council passed a couple years ago And I was part of that task force when that prior to this task force being done I was a part of that group working with city council To help get that legislation drafted and passed that focused on incentives For affordable housing development, but it really hasn't gone anywhere And I know that it has to be a collaboration between the city and the county But but I do think we we need to put some teeth behind that and have some more deliberate discussion Around that as well as there's another piece of legislation statewide that also has benefit locally and that's regarding For lack of a better word Is is is focused on inclusionary housing where developers would be required to make a certain percentage of housing That they develop affordable and I know that there's some state legislation But that may be something locally To have continued conversation Around as well. So that's kind of where where we are in and so I think there's a tremendous opportunity And then I also know that there's been some discussion around a local housing trust fund as well, so Again, I think we have some opportunity But if anybody else has anything else to to add to that Those would be the initial focuses that I think we can begin with for this year Well, and I actually do have a couple of things Depending upon your time Mr. Varna because miss ebona spoke so highly of you So we do the city does have the tax modernization committee that is strictly dealing with that issue And So I'm going to allow them To deal with that issue because they have a full committee just on that But I think it is important for us to have a liaison Who is aware and so I don't know if your time will allow But I would love to ask mr. Taylor if you could Be our representative on that committee Um, and I like the fact that you brought it up like it's not me saying but I can tell that that's something you have an interest in Um, can I make that suggestion to him? Can I offer? Can I offer you up for our representative? Sure, and joe and I worked together before on a state board. So I've worked with joe For a long time. So, okay That's perfect. Um, and then with respect to the inclusionary housing that was a recommendation I started trying to read all of this stuff, but that was a recommendation back in was it 2005 2007 I need to see why there's not been any action on it and um, I actually just got a call from someone yesterday saying Asked him about the tax abatement. They were like y'all, you know, you implemented the ordinance, but it's just been sitting there um, and so folks are starting to ask that so Um, it does sound like there's a whole lot for the finance committee to to be actively actively involved in Um, and I like to hear that so Um, but I'm gonna see joe today and I'm gonna put you on and put you in his ear Um, anybody else have any input? Oh, and in the housing trust That is a question that I need to discuss because way back in my day at the city We funded the nittlands housing trust and then I want to make sure that we're not Creating another housing trust because from my nonprofit days, it just sounds like a lot more overheated or you know Can all of these things kind of work together? But the funding is the big issue regardless of you know, it's all about the dollars that can be put in there Um, anybody else have anything to add besides all of my comments All right, so next I have legal and zoning with miss lila anda and miss sue So I'll segue quickly into the inclusionary um Because that was on my list as far as inclusionary zoning which works or works really well in charleston um, and is at the state house level um And just never has picked up traction here. Um, so Um, when I think about this committee, you know, I mean there are pages and pages of zoning ordinances and it's kind of what julienne said about what um, what is um policy versus um, I I never quite saw this committee Our our need was not We should not be looking at the city's zoning ordinances And coming back to this committee and saying here's the pro and con of this um, so I would prefer it being more of a It would be great if we could figure out inclusionary zoning and then work To further that agenda which may be in tandem with finance or or something um Again, it's at the state house. It was not picking up a lot of traction at the end of or as we near the end of session um The the other just food for thought of all of this is as you look Uh On this zoom screen We're we're missing a for-profit developer um And what you will hear me Yeah at the top of my lungs is I'm a certified developer But I still need a kevin connolly to build it Um, just like columbia housing needs a kevin connolly to build it just like the city of columbia Needs a mongo or a connolly They they do have a voice in this conversation And if we want hundreds of units built um They're going to give us a I don't want to look up and find us in an echo chamber per se um And the the state affordable housing task force Is a pretty good mix like i'm looking at this name at these names and i'm thinking a lot of us are on that task force With a handful of so I I do think we might need to add um to for-profit Um, because we have to have them to build it. It's it's it's a it's a relate my partnership um That that's kind of where I fall in the zoning I mean I I can can tell you where the issues are but It's not anything that we need to take up as a task force The other thing that i'm not real sure where it fits in our conversation is Um, and I I can you know point to haven home um, so the condemned properties around town are being scooped up by intra capitalists in huge numbers so How do How do we access the These condemned and slated for demolition properties how do we i'ma send you the list but go ahead and how how do we go how do we Flip these properties Save the save them for the the neighborhoods And turn them into true affordable housing and you know and and let me very clear when I say haven home a venture capitalist I don't care who does it. I just want it to be affordable a true affordable housing um I just know that in our in our neighborhood the minute we Announced our plans. It was its gentrification its gentrification and we're like no we've been here for 30 years It's not gentrification But I I do think that is that enlist of I think it's over 200 right now properties One title search is about 900 dollars So if you're not A venture capitalist or someone who's got the backing of it's really hard To track down who owns it and then pay what they want which is usually a ridiculous amount of money So That is something that To make the most of these properties throughout the city I think We probably need to look at Well, and I just before Sue goes so I was I just sent you that list and I can share the list everyone I will tell you that is on my radar and at every neighborhood meeting I go to I give them the list that's because I said I'm pretty sure a whole bunch of the people had this list And I need you all to know what's going on in your communities. What I am realizing is that Um people particularly in my district don't have a clue Okay How to how to do it and I don't have the capacity Pallabarack to to help them and so um that is the area of interest of mine And what I try and explain to people is you may not be able to afford it But three or four your neighbors, maybe y'all get together and you know that even if you rent it out I'm you going to make sure that they're the right kind of tenants and that they fit in the neighborhood And you're going to help them out if they need help Um, so that is the issue that um But that's what I've been doing is letting at least people Because we're watching it happen and it's supposed to watching it happen At least have the opportunity The last thing that I told you I was going to say and I said I didn't know where I was going to put it on this agenda But I'm going to say it Here it goes. So So if you look at north side Community in Spartanburg and the success of that area It is not a neighborhood. It is a community because their their neighborhoods are a little bit larger than ours It worked because of community navigators um neighborhoods has a training Where you take the community representatives your your your people who have been there who who have have a stake in that area And they're at the table as you design what's going on around them So they understand the construction and they're part of the planning process and it's not seen as gentrification It's not seen as a venture capitalist coming in or a nonprofit that they know So their trainings they don't make sure and I don't want to cut you off though No, I just Just know But I wrote that down because I want to see it and I've gotten your messages But I do want to make sure We get ensued and two more people And because I either do have a 12 club meeting. Um, it's fine, but I had to say that out loud Yeah, guys the community neighbor the community navigators for they've got to be key as we solve this crisis Okay, miss sue Okay Oh, I'm already off me. Um You know we legal and zoning got kind of pushed together because nobody was really interested in either of them and so um We've never really met as a as as a committee and so I would one if we're going to stay together as a task force Think about how do we restructure those issues so that we have a way to Really meaningful meaningfully work through the issues versus trying to make them maybe fit where they don't fit quite right together And so for legal issues, you know, as I mentioned, you know, one of the things that We worry about is is that when people do have housing what happens to them when they're faced Or when they're in jeopardy of losing that housing now it could be for foreclosure But very much so in the city of columbia eviction is a huge issue And we know that especially in certain parts of ours Of uh, columbia, especially the st. Andrews area We have some of the highest levels of eviction for medium-sized area the highest level of eviction for medium-sized areas And so one of the things that we've been looking at because south columbia is a statewide group as we've been looking at How do we meaningfully give a right to counsel to individuals for facing eviction? I mean, I'd like to see right to counsel anytime somebody's losing their housing Similar to what we see when somebody's faced with a criminal charge That is, you know expensive and probably not realistic without a state change But one of the things that we've seen is how housing courts and eviction courts have worked very very well In other parts of the country also in other parts of the state and apple seed We've we've written a grant to try to bring an attorney in and we'll know hopefully this week through equal justice works To try to do that for richland county area, which of course columbia is part of because the eviction court system is part of the county system As well as looking at Some of the the court rules and the the way things are Happened to people when they're going through eviction so that we can even the playing field and but it's not just okay We're going to give tenants an attorney And we know that often landlords have one But what it does is it maybe solves the issue before it ever gets to court And we start looking at evictions in a different way so that we're not looking at Evictions as a collection matter, but we're looking at evictions as well If somebody does have have to duct tape their windows as dylan said That's a problem because how do you afford your rent if you're it's all going to dominion which already has high rates so I would love for this task force to be looking at those issues and Hopefully we bring other folks on and and if we have an attorney that Will be doing this with our office, you know We would offer that attorney part of their time to be a part of putting that whole project together So that it can help with mitigating the problems of eviction and maybe eventually foreclosure for People in the columbia environment Sounds good Alrighty next we have miss the partnership committee with miss jennifer more Hey everybody so About a year and a half ago. I believe we merged or started jointly meeting with the community education committee So I think brena is on if we wanted to Provide the updates we did talk about having a storytellers guru I guess from my perspective and again, I don't want to speak for brena and her group but What we've always seen especially with the partnership committee And community education is that we're the kind of the the folks to to go out there and make the asks when there is a clear plan from the full committee or the individual committees and so When we need to deploy Education efforts or partnership efforts around specific things that the group is recommending. That's where we would kick in so So I can say I've been delinquent and the portion of the partnership committee has not gotten together In a little while and we've lost a couple members from moving jobs or moving out of the area So um, that's kind of where we are but I would defer to to brena For the rest of the update And then just real quick kind of unrelated to the committee. I just did want to echo council woman her word your comments about the housing trust fund We we helped create the blitz housing trust fund here, you know At way and we are very sensitive to the idea of having two trust funds with overhead for two different organizations So we do hope if there is an effort to create Another trust fund or really we just want financing and money taken resources to go into a housing trust fund We just want that to be the most efficient as possible as far as overhead staffing and things like that. So I'll jump Brena is here. Okay I'll say I'll jump in real quick and just say I think it would be great to continue to merge with jennifer and the partnership committee We do have a small outreach list that we've put together as a joint committee And then moving forward. We were waiting for some ideas and goals from the committee in general before we go out into the community with partnerships And come up with some asks to work together Okay, any other Um Topics or is there anything else that maybe wasn't a committee? That anyone is thinking that that might be something i'm overlooking Okay, well, oh go ahead dylan go ahead. Well, I do think and I think all of us at the table here Are aware of what i'm gonna say, but I do think that when we're having this overarching conversation about housing affordability We need to be talking about Those large-scale investors. We need to be talking about the folks that are swooping in and purchasing At a rapid level that is manipulating the market that is pushing people out that is You know purchasing properties for cash You know, we're starting to see minor pieces of legislation that can help combat that We're seeing some neighborhood associations and homeowners associations coming together and saying That they want to be more involved in the process and keeping that from happening So I just don't want to neglect that part of the conversation when we're talking about affordability Now and I think that's critical and if we could find a way to give them the tools You know people who aren't necessarily in everyday real estate And those issues giving them a plan or one two three or A seminar one on one. I think that would be very helpful plus some financing I just want a second. I'm sorry. Excuse me again for my throat um I second what he just said, especially on the builder side too So there needs to be some more communication with the builders association Because we have builders who are selling lots Um two hedge funds before the house even gets out of the ground There's one particular neighborhood where they sold 25 lots to an investor Um, I cannot tell you what that does to the pricing of the neighborhood I cannot tell you what it does to the quality of the neighborhood Um, but the is to me borderline block busting where The are monopolizing where they can come in by all of these homes and most of them from 200 and 300 range Which is now the median for columbia purchasing Power so with the interest rates going up the average median. I can't find a Four bedroom home under 260 very easily. So When we're talking about this We have to also change the builders minds on what people need because people really don't Of the millennial buyer pool In that's not affordable price range where they're maybe just coming out of college have a state job They only make maybe 50 60 thousand dollars a year. That is now considered affordable housing So I can't find homes for those People and so we're having a talent retention problem Where people are leaving columbia after graduation To go to other cities where maybe they can't afford the housing more because they're getting paid more So I think you know, I haven't had anybody from the task force Reach out to me about communicating with the builders association But I do think it's very very important that the builders themselves Hear the kind of models and floor plans that people can have Versus these big five bedroom three and a half box homes That just my generation We're just not buying like that and they're really expensive. So maybe you know doing more vertical development More townhomes things such as that in areas where we can I think that will be appealing to them if they knew that maybe The city they had the city support Um because building is so expensive now If they're gonna build it then they should build it for more people All right, well, yeah, this has been very very helpful I'm gonna tell you what I'm thinking about doing first of all I want to go down to the last agenda item number four. Is this a good meeting Time for everyone if we can keep it to an hour If we do it monthly, okay Um, and I will try to do it in person meeting but it'll be a minute because because schedules are kind of crazy The last thing is going to the discussion of our work plan Do you all mind if I take this information and what I've heard today? Did I send you a survey? Um, so that you all kind of helped me prioritize the issues because my ultimate goal is for us to come up with Three things usually three is just a good solid number of what we know We ourselves can actually do accomplish Or recommend for the city Um, and we kind of divide that from advocacy issues Um, you know, because there's so many different issues, but is that okay if I kind of get those questions together and if y'all think I'm missing something just let me know But to kind of formulate that discussion and so that when we come back the next time We'll have those results and we can kind of see if we're all on the same page and if we're not and so forth Does that sound okay for everyone? That's a great idea Any other questions or concerns several people have to go still has to go. I have to go Anybody else any any pressing questions or concerns? Otherwise, um, I'll take a motion to adjourn And I'll get you a survey out in the next seven to ten days Dylan you may have to remind me seven to ten days Question to adjourn Thank you all so much Um, non-debatable motion nice meeting all of you and hopefully we'll get spend a little bit more time together Those that I don't know. Thank you all so much. Okay. Thank you All right. Bye. Bye. Bye