 All right, it's 6.05, we'll call this meeting into order. This is our first meeting back from our summer recess. I wanna wish everybody a, hopefully everybody had a great day. As a teacher, Mondays are always hit or miss. The day was definitely a miss, but however, I think we reached until end of session. So I know everybody's excited about the first day of school for six weeks. I don't know, it's a little different for me. But I wanted to, again, welcome everybody, those of you who have been on this committee in the past, and those who are brand new and will welcome our new members in a moment. My name is LaVon Barnes and I am the chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee. And hopefully Dr. Langloss is here. And if not, Dr. Langloss is the vice chair of Citizens Advisory Committee. So I will do a roll call. I think Matt, do you wanna? Yeah, I can do that. Chair Barnes. Yeah. And Dr. Hosely Hyman. Yeah. And Adam Sada. I was here. Yes, forza. Okay. And Alicia Smith, Freshwater. Yes, I'm here. All right. And Donald Hughes. Present. All right. And Ebony West. Here, thank you. All right. Jillian Riley. Present. Okay. And Lee Effred is one of our new members. It's Lee Eufford. Yes, I'm here. No, it's totally fine. First and last, we were hard. No worries. I'm sorry, Mr. Hughes, I believe he's also a new member as well. And Rachel Eberhard. Here. And Shanika Bynum is also a new member. Present. And I believe that I miss anyone. I think I have everyone, Mr. Chair. Jillian Riley. I'm sorry. I said Jillian Riley as well. Ah, Jillian Riley. He called me. Oh, okay. I'm sorry. Oh, just Mondays. That might be it. Yeah, I believe that's it. And so, can you see my screen, the agenda's on the screen, Mr. Chair? I can. I can. So again, welcome for the third time. And I'm gonna have our new members introduce yourselves. This is not a hazing moment. This is just more of an introductory moment. We'll get started. It's Leah, right? I wanna make sure. Lee. Yeah. It's Leah. Yeah, you were right. You got it. Yeah. Name, what your current application is and what got you interested in wanting to be on a citizen or a public committee. If you have specific pronouns, that's also important. That way, we respect everybody that's in the committee. Great. So my name's Leah Eford. I know it's hard. So don't feel bad if anyone mispronounces it. It's totally fine. My pronouns are she, her. I am currently working as a program coordinator at Duke's Clinical and Translational Science Institute's Community Engaged Research Initiative. It's very long. We use a lot of acronyms. And what got me interested, I actually just graduated in May from UNC with my MSW and my MPA. Very interested in the intersection between local government and nonprofits and how social services are guided by citizens. So I was really excited to get involved in an opportunity like this. So I'm glad to be here with everyone. Thank you. Ms. Bynum, how are you? Oh, how are you? How are you? I'm doing great. Same introductions. All right. So Shanika Bynum, I am also a coordinator at Duke within the School of Medicine by trade and my social worker for about 14 years. And I'm here because I saw a meet in my community. So I'm in the Lakewood Tuscaloosa, I think I'm saying it right area. And I saw there was a need for representative in this area. And so I just said, I just said, why not me? And we're glad that she chose us. Thank you. Mr. Hughes, what's going on Mr. Hughes? Good evening Mr. Barnes and the rest of the committee. My name is Donald Hughes. I am a native of Durham. I'm a product of the Durham public school system. I was born and raised in East Durham in particular. And I went on to college in Greensboro at UNC Greensboro where I studied economics and came back home to Durham where I earned my master's degree in public administration from North Carolina Central University. For the last six years I worked in Washington DC where I worked for the state labor agency there helping to connect residents to employment services which we know is extremely important in the midst of this global pandemic. I returned home to Durham about a year ago and I've been working for the last year to help Black and Brown communities get vaccinated to get connected to COVID-19 vaccination by working with a local nonprofit that's also based in East Durham. I decided to apply for this board and I am happy to serve one to bring the perspective of a Dermite or someone that was born and raised in Durham. I have a real, I guess, recollection of the history of this community in terms of economic development, meaning our entire city. And I just wanna be sure that what happens in Durham happens in an equitable manner. And I think that this committee, this board is one way to really impact that positively. So I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve, Mr. Chair. Absolutely, we appreciate you and your experience on being a part of this board as well as Leah and Shanika as well. I think that you are joining a very lively group. We are ones that do challenge authority, you know, we do ask questions and we make sure that, you know, like Donald said, you know, that there's equity regardless of zip code in Durham County, in the city of Durham. So we look forward to your opinions, your comments, your questions and your concerns and also your solutions, which is the most important thing to me is that we try to help with solutions and not just have meetings to have meetings. So at this time, I'm gonna just go ahead and move on, you know, last meeting, you know, we did not hold elections for this new cycle. And I wanted to hold off until we got our new, some of our new members and knowing that we'll have, I think we have two vacancies and we have three members that are not present right now, but the business must move forward. And so we need folks who are willing to serve more so on our executive team. And the executive team meets the week, the Monday before our meetings to set the agenda. And to also, you know, also bring to Mr. Johnson and Mr. Starr's, our concerns as a board, you know, I think that's one of the things that I'm very proud of with our executive committees that I've been on is that the questions that and concerns that this membership has raised, I always bring that to our community development staff team and they have worked with us in whatever capacity that we've needed them to work with, whether that's bringing in other members, whether it's bringing in elected officials or bringing in important folks who are serving on some of the organizations that we give federal dollars to and asking them, you know, how are they using those federal dollars to making sure that, you know, during the most vulnerable times, during the most vulnerable is being impacted in a positive way. So we need a secretary. So we're going to, we need a secretary. We've had a really, really solid group of secretaries the last, I think I've been on this board at least five years now. So it feels like five years. We need a good secretary. So I would like to entertain any nominations and you can nominate yourself in the role of secretary who will take minutes with the help of Zoom. You don't really have to do much but kind of transcribe the minutes from Zoom and also sends out the secretary will also send out the agenda for the next meeting. So I entertain any motions. I see a hand from my favorite Smith, of course, of course. Yes, Mr. Smith Freshwater. Mr. Chair, thank you. I've never ever done this before but I nominate yours truly myself, Alicia Smith Freshwater, for secretary. I don't know if anybody, if they want to take me out. Thank you, thank you. I heard us. Every day that was quick. Every day that was real quick. Everybody's gonna close nominations, aren't she? With name. Is there any other nominations from the floor outside of Ms. Alicia Smith Freshwater? I'll take a motion to close nominations with the said name and vote the acclamation. Nominations have been closed with the said name. Alicia Smith Freshwater and I, somebody can correct me if I'm doing my Robert's rules wrong. There haven't been no other names. We can vote by acclamation. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed. Congratulations. Welcome to the team. That's what it starts right now. Thank you. I'm ready, I'm ready. I'm ready. Thank you. We put that one first. Alrighty. Congratulations again, Ebony. Thank you for the second. I don't know if we need seconds, but we'll take them, I'll take them as it is. We'll take nominations now for chair. Obviously the chair is the spokesperson for the body. And we'll also, don't get me wrong, Mr. Johnson, is the chair, is the chair, will the chairs take both the position here and the position on the affordable housing implementation board? Or is that just going to be, I will still add that. You'll still be the pointee to the, housing implementation committee until your term is up. And for, thank you. And so I shall take nominations from the floor for chair of the affordable, I mean, excuse me, other citizens advisory committee. I nominate LeVon Varnes. I accept the nomination. Any other nominees from the floor? Hearing no other nominees, I'll take a motion to close said, and I could be out of order because my name is the name on there. And I don't see Brian here yet. Feel like I'm here. I move to close nominations for the body. I second. The position of chair. I second. I second. Bye bye. Thank you very much. I have a motion to close the nominations and to also vote by acclamation with the said name as in LeVon Varnes, myself as chair. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. All those for granting me another term as chair is truly been an honor to serve as the chair. And I look forward to putting out some more good meetings for our folks here. All right. And lastly, nominees for vice chair, vice chair obviously fills in the role of chair when needed, as needed. I look at the vice chair, somebody who's hand in hand. I'm not partying right now. Myself as the sole voice, I believe in black partnership. And so vice chair is 1A. So I will take nominations from the floor for vice chair. And I will say openly that Dr. Langlock would accept the nomination. So basically what I'm saying is Brian is willing to. Yeah, I nominate Brian. Dr. Brian Langlock has been nominated as vice chair and the other nominees for vice chair from four. Not hearing any names and speaking on behalf of Brian who was stated in the previous meeting that he would accept the nomination. I'm looking for a motion to close nominations and vote by acclimation with the said name. So move to close nominations. Thank you. It's been moved. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed? We will congratulate Dr. Langlock when he pops up in this meeting and when he does pop up in this meeting we'll give him a standing ovation just because he's late. But we'll go for one from there. All right, I'm gonna go quickly move into approving our 21-22 calendar. Matt, please take a quick look at our calendar. Obviously we always meet on the fourth Monday of the calendar year, I mean of that month except on the November and December meetings where we usually try to move those up to the third Monday due to Thanksgiving and Christmas. And because you do not see July on there it's because July is usually when we take our summer recess. So you will not see July on the calendar because of that. So everyone has had a look at the meeting. The meetings will be moved to accept the calendar for the 21-22 year. I make a motion to accept the calendar for the 21-22 year. Dr. Hyman. Second. Will that be used? Thank you, it's been moved and properly seconded. Any discussion or questions? Hearing none, seeing none. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed? Awesome, you've adopted our calendar for the year. Thank you. All right, even quicker is the volunteer t-shirts. If Matt, I'll let you kind of go into that of how you would like that to be done. So I'll pass the mic. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the city clerk's office has offered t-shirts for all volunteers of boards and commissions for the city of Durham. And I sent out as part of the meeting agenda email a link to just tell us what your t-shirt size is. And we actually do, Mr. Chair, I believe there have been about seven folks who've already completed that. And the understanding is that if you don't have to take a t-shirt, but it's free. And so just a token of the appreciation of the city clerk's office. So I can resend the link if you didn't get it or if you need to see it again, it's just a Google form that you can complete. And it should take about two minutes to do. And then we will follow up with the clerk's offices to the process for getting the shirts to everyone once that's finished. The deadline to submit your t-shirt size is August 27th. And that's all, Mr. Chair. If there's any questions. And that was the site of the Google community. Yeah, there's a Google site that has just a form that you just put your email in. There's a little description of what the t-shirt is. I believe they just come in. I don't think you get to choose the color, but just select your name and then whatever your size is and then just click submit. And like I said, I did check before the meeting. I saw there was about seven or eight folks that already had already done that. So I'll go ahead and put this link in the chat while we're in the meeting here in case anyone missed it. Awesome, awesome, thank you. So we'll move to agenda item number six. And that is to answer any of the questions about our meeting to will still be virtual until told otherwise. I do not have a response or answer as of right now is if, you know, when the city decides that we will start meeting in person, if there was an option on being able to stay virtual due to your own reasons for not attending an in-person meeting. But we don't have to worry about that as of right now because right now all the meetings will be virtual. We will still send out a link. Matt has done such a great job of seeing those links and it reminds you the same day of the meeting. Of the meeting, so you don't have to reach emails, try to figure it out because we all know we get involved with email anyway. So just remember that that link is personal to you. It's not, everybody does not have the same link if I'm speaking, it's a personal link for each individual member, is that correct? Mr. Chair, could I just make one comment on that? Absolutely. So if anyone has any trouble joining the meetings or you didn't get the link, feel free to reach out to me for any technical assistance. And just also want to note as a reminder to committee members that these are public meetings and as part of these Zoom set up, what we do is we send to the city clerk as well as the county clerk a public link. So if anyone from the public wants to join these meetings, they are open as well. No one's registered to participate tonight but just so you know that these are public meetings and if you do have folks, friends or family or other acquaintances that are interested in joining the meeting from the public, I can make sure you have that public link as well. That's all. I have a random question regarding the virtual meetings. I do vaguely remember it's been, time is just kind of crazy right now. I do vaguely remember us filling out a form regarding our comfort level with meeting virtually slash in person. And I know we have a couple of new members since I don't know if they've had the opportunity to fill that out, but it could be helpful just to generally keep up with how folks are feeling. Yes, ma'am. I do know city council did receive those that feedback from committee members from all the boards and commissions believe over the summer and I don't recall exactly what those responses were but they were for all members of all boards and commissions and they did discuss it at a city council meeting not too long ago. So I'm not sure if Mr. Johnson may have more information on that he may be able to comment on that. Yeah, actually I do. That survey was not generated by community development. It was generated by the clerk's office on behalf of the city council. If you recall when that survey occurred that was when the city council was debating what to do about the direction for all the boards and commissions under the city's jurisdiction and they were trying to ascertain the board members and individual board members preferences which they did and they did gather. If you remember, the council did decide to go back into in-person meetings themselves in July but since that time, as you know, the Delta variant has risen and the council itself has decided to go back to virtual meetings and they have just discussed at this past work session the policy that we're talking about now for all boards and commissions to continue meeting virtually. And so, I mean, we'll be glad to entertain and know each other's preferences don't have to do it now but for the foreseeable future, the boards and I might recommendation to the board is to continue to meet virtually and then we'll cross the bridge when we have another option in the situation changes. Does he use? Yes, I just want to echo what Ms. Ebony West said. I think it would be helpful for the four new members of the board to at least express our preferences to the chair of this board in the event that the topic comes up again with the ever-changing status of meetings in the city due to the coronavirus 19. So if we could have the opportunity even if it's an informal email that sent out I would love to be able to express my thoughts on the topic. So I'll just leave that to Mr. Johnson for something that we can send out new members. Yeah, we can come up, we can work out something. Absolutely. And again, my position is that I want everyone on this board to feel comfortable and I will definitely speak on behalf of our board in expressing concerns about if we should get to that point having to meet in person again. I mean, as much as I think that we would love to wanna meet in person, this is the same bet is to continue to be virtual even though I'm going to miss you know, Mr. Johnson's Christmas meals. I don't think anybody really on this board has had the kid food that Mr. Johnson bought on holiday season that we love so much. I'm going to hope that we can get something delivered to our houses via Mr. Johnson individually. So, but yes, I think we will just for us to see what we do. I'm going to move on to topic number, topic seven. And this is point of emphasis for me as chair. Again, our earlier stated about kind of going to meetings where we meet and nothing comes up a meeting besides time wasted. And I am one who, and I think this board, members of the members who have been on this board know I like to breeze through a meeting. But when we have topics of conversation that are important that we need to give time and air and life into those conversations that are important. And so every week, every month, we as an executive board come up with an agenda. And yes, you know, our four new members, we'll have six new members to be honest with you once we get the two appointees from, I think from the county. Usually we will go through some type of orientation where we go through each of the different blocks that we oversee. However, right now we have a lot more, we just went through that with our new previous members prior to. There is, and for their PowerPoints that we're going to be able to give our four new members to keep them, to keep y'all at least knowing what the different acronyms are, what the, you know, what does each thing, which he grant do, and what does it focus on. And then at a later point, we can do a refresher and go a little bit more in depth. However, I think that this board needs to be more than just knowing about a program. And so this is an opportunity that I want to give to the membership body about topics that we want to see on this board based on what we do. And so I'm going to open the floor up for discussion about what topics would we like to discuss going into this new year. I can give an example of one that we talked about in the Executive Committee meeting last week was that we talked about, we have a new city election. So we will have a new mayor. One way or the other, we're going to have a new mayor possibly some new council members as well. And obviously the bond, the affordable housing bond that was passed in evictions and all that stuff is going to be ever more present in this new year, in the end of this year and going into next year. And so we wanted to talk to see if we can get Mayor Schuul to come to a meeting and ask him questions about what that transition of power looks like when it comes to the agenda or when it comes to the bond, when it comes to certain things that was on the plane and whether or not those things that we have voted on in the past stand packed both for the new mayor comes in, can that new mayor just kind of wipe that off and do something different? And I think that was something that was, that's very important to this board because a lot of the decisions that we've made have been based on one agenda. And so that was one thing that we definitely talked about. And so like I said, I want to like to open the floor up for topics for future meetings. Yeah, I have a couple. I think one thing that we've done well in the past is have folks from the agencies that we fund come and talk. I love that. I think the past couple of meetings before we took a break was really helpful to hear about the different programs and you can never really hear that enough. Like we approve funds that the staff recommend and it's always really good to hear how those thousands and millions of dollars are going to use syndrome and really what the needs are directly from those agencies. So that's one. I think the second thing that I've been thinking about just how we can work better with other county and city boards. So I'm on the EAB and they do a lot of advocacy or trying to do more advocacy with a planning commission because a lot of what they do is around housing developments and the environmental impact it has on communities. And I really just think that they need support and that work as well. They're trying to figure out what that looks like. And I think it just would work so well with the work that we do in addressing housing needs and homelessness in the community. It's just all intertwined. And so I think that like this is kind of a big goal but like how could we bring EAB other boards together for like a multi-board meeting to talk about what's one thing we can all work together on this year, this fiscal year and really come together on. I think that would be really, really great. Thank you for those suggestions. I think those are awesome suggestions as well. Mr. Chair, I think a good topic for us to have is that as an advisory board, we do have a mission and a mission. I would like to see us at least discuss some of our key performance indicators, our metrics, how are we doing? Are we achieving our goal? What do we need to do course correction on? And then I know with the grants, we make recommendations of how the grants should be allocated the funding to various agencies. So what is there a timeline? Are we doing that on time? I mean, have we fallen behind on some of those things? And what's the progress made from quarter to quarter over the year in fulfilling our mission, our reason to be? So I'd like that to be a topic. What are our performance metrics and are we hitting? That's awesome. So I have a couple of items, Mr. Chair. Yes. All right. So the first on the list would absolutely be a discussion around the affordable housing bond and the impact that it's going to have already has had on our community. And particularly, what does that look like in terms of community engagement? So what has occurred in terms of us directly engaging those that will be impacted by the affordable housing by meaning those that are in communities that are gonna be redeveloped? And then also how has the community at large been engaged? And that's something that I would love to see this particular board take an active role in being liaisons and ambassadors to our community to really hear from the public about how this process is impacting them and how in real time it is going. I think the second piece would be similar to what Jillian mentioned, how there's some overlap between some of the other boards that exist throughout this county. I had the privilege of serving for about four years on the Durham Workforce Development Board. So I think in particular, there are three of the boards that I would love to immediately figure out what the working relationship could be or even if it's just a one-off conversation. So that would be the Office of Economic and Workforce Development and the Workforce Development Board. Neighborhood Improvement Services, I'm not sure what boards fall under that particular department, but I know the work that they do really is similar. And then of course community development. So it down the line when we're able to maybe meet in person one day, some type of session between all three of those offices or departments and the respective boards would be appropriate. And then finally, as you all get to know me, one of the things you will find out is that I have really strong views about my community and the direction the community is going and how as a resident and now a new homeowner, how my taxes are being utilized to really improve the conditions of this community. And I think as a board, in addition to being able to provide some of our responsibilities as required by our bylaws, I think that it is in our interest to actually have a position to really say what we stand for and what we envision in terms of the direction that the city is going and advocating for that direction. So I would hope that we could have some sort of, I don't wanna call it like a policy medium, but a discussion about the priorities of the Citizens Advisory Committee in terms of our lofty goals that we could set in our strategic vision for the city of Durham or for the county of Durham. Thank you. Those were all those suggestions right there as well. Thank you, Ebony. Yeah, sorry, I had to raise my hand. I know that I'm off video. I think this might get a little bit to what Julianne was saying too, and Donald, but I know one of the major purposes of our committee is to really think about how we can engage citizens in this process. And so I almost wonder if we could have a planning or a planning session or just a brain merge of ways in which we can do that a lot better. And I think that's one. I know we kind of just like introductions earlier, but really thinking about the networks that we have, people that we know, the connections we have, and how we can work those networks and get more folks involved in this process. And I think that is something that I would really like us to do if it's just like one meeting where we just have like a mind meld session of what our connections are, where is there like outreach that can be had? Are there aspects on our, or like is there gaps in our committee of communities that are not being reached? Like, you know, Shanika said, like she joined because, you know, there was a gap in representation and really how can we make sure that we're reaching out in an effective way? Absolutely. I think I have the perfect position for you. Thank you for your questions. Further. Thank you for those suggestions, really, really good suggestions. Anybody else? I definitely, this is, even if you are brand spanking new, you know, again, this is, this board is only gonna be what we decide it's going to be. This is the, if I'm not mistaken, the oldest city board out of all the boards. I think this is the first one. And so a lot of times this is not the, what I would call the sexiest board because sometimes people will say the planning commission or the human relations commission or there's that in the fall. But what we do as an advisory board impacts thousands of our fellow citizens, more so and even more now because of COVID, it has, well, between COVID and the gentrification that's never going to end, unfortunately in the triangle, it's going to widen further the economic gap between native folks like Donald, who've been here, who know Durham in one way. And then you have the transplants, like some of us who have seen the new Durham per se. And, you know, I think the great thing about our board is is that we don't care, you know, I think most of us are, all of us, excuse me, are serving for the right reason. And that is to make sure that regardless of the zip code that somebody lives in, that they can experience the Durham that they want to experience. And that's what we, that's important to me personally. And I'm sure that's important to every last one of y'all personally because we all love the city in this county. We wouldn't be in the city if that was the case. So if there's anybody else that has any other suggestions and there doesn't have to necessarily be, again, you have to come up with one today. You know, we have a long, we have months sometimes where we're trying to, I'm trying to figure out, okay, what is important for us to talk about and that's going to keep our membership body engaged. And that's to me is we're not going to sit here for an hour and a half and not be engaged. I want us to fire those questions off the way that we do. So Mr. Hughes had mentioned something about the, I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, how the bond is going to be implemented and the effect of that bond on, especially the black and brown community that's mostly on a fixed, that could be on a very much of a fixed income that does not have a lot of the economic resources that we're starting to see flow in here now, right? So we have brought in members of that board, outside of myself to come in and talk about the amazing PowerPoint of the direction of the wind and how the housing market is and Durham and the forecasting for what it's going to look like. I'm definitely looking to bring that back because I think new members need to definitely be experienced to that particular conversation for a very powerful meeting. We also make sure that we have like the Durham Housing Authority, who had the chair of the Housing Authority multiple times come in to talk about how the bond is being implemented and where we stand currently. So those are things that came from listening to members and what they wanted to see in here. Rachel says, I agree with all the topics mentioned. I would love to see us be more proactive in our meetings and provide more feedback and recommendations to the department. Absolutely, Rachel, I think that's an excellent point. I want us to be rowdy, cause good trouble as John Lewis would say. Leah, you have a question, Ann or suggestion. Oh yeah, something, and this may be part question, part suggestion, something that I'm curious about kind of coming from my background is how the city and our advisory board as part of that can inspire and to a certain extent require local government to actually collaborate with community-based organizations more than just as a granting entity. So how can we make sure that these organizations have the capacity they need to perform the work that they wanna do? And how can we use that as an opportunity to get folks more engaged in the process of the granting itself? Because these are the folks who are in the community every day, they know people, they know the needs a lot more intimately than any of us can. And so how do we use that expertise to guide our decision-making and set these folks up for success? Absolutely, I'm writing everything down too. So it's not these things that are going in vain. Ebony, is your hand still up or are you just? No, I just forgot to put it down. Thank you. That's fine. Excuse me. Yes, to build off of Leah's comment, it's extremely important as a member of this board or any board that we understand our roles as board members, but also the expectations of grantees or sub-recipients. So I know that HUD has a website that actually has a basically CDBG online training, which gives a broad overview. And this is something that the grantees and sub-recipients are asked to review. But I think it would be helpful if at some point over the next few months or year we could all go through some sort of discussion about what has changed in terms of HUD rules. We know that in the wake of this pandemic and the CARES Act and other federal legislation that I'm sure there have been changes that I have no clue about. Sort of hear from staff about what the updates are. So that when we set expectations for grantees, we're clear on what they have to endure and that will make us better in our position of oversight and advisory. Absolutely. I'm just going to make sure that I read comments because the YouTube verse meant to be able to see this. The world states that yes, this is going to especially be important as an American rescue plan funds start with financial restrictions. Absolutely. So again, if you think about topics as we continue throughout the months, please email me, email Brian, and that way when we do have our, and Alicia now welcome, that way when we do have these executive body meetings that we are bringing that up to staff and staff is helping to facilitate what we're trying to do. And like I said before, they have done a great job of answering the call and we've asked them to do that. If there's no other topics, I'm going to move forward to number eight. And I'll let Matt talk about this, but this kind of goes into what I want as a division for this board as well, at least it becomes something that's part of what we do. And that is our volunteer opportunity. So many of you have mentioned like, where does this money go? How is it going to be used? What are the guidelines? What are the metrics, right? And I think a big part of that is us as a body and as individuals becoming familiar with the procurement review opportunities of the RFPs and RFQs that come into the seat, I don't know, every month feels like. So I'll have Matt talk more about the RFPs and RFQs and how we as a body and you as an individual can be more involved based on what you feel is more important to you. So Matt. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So what we talked about in the executive committee meeting was that we've moved away from regular annual time where we do RFPs that request for proposals or RFQs request for quotes. Those are the procurement opportunities that we have. And years ago we did those all at the same time every year and then it allowed the board then would do sort of review in the fall months into the spring. So that was the time that we had the majority of all of our procurement opportunities where vendors and organizations would apply for funding. We've moved to more of a rolling process for a number of reasons. And one of the main reasons is that we now have multiple funding sources and multiple types of procurement opportunities that are occurring all throughout the year. And so what we did last year that seemed to work pretty good for both members of the body as well as our staff and the processes that we simply advertised when those were going to occur and we invited members of the CAC to volunteer at their convenience if they were able to to be part of those review committees. And so we had several CAC members who did do that last year particularly with we have a lead grant. And so we discussed in the executive committee meeting to continue to do that type of a process where that when we did have an opportunity that we would just invite the body to volunteer and then give you sort of the schedule of what that timeline was gonna be and what the commitment is. And then that seemed to work out pretty good as opposed to just having the full body be involved in the process that typically didn't work as well or folks weren't always able to commit to everyone. So we discussed that we would continue to do that this year and I'd be glad to answer any questions or take any suggestions or comments on that point. And just to go further with what we talked about is putting, is to have more voices, right? So a lot of times when we hear it, we're in a meeting, you hear the chair voice or whoever's presenting his voice and then kind of get old, I honestly talk a little bit of teaching. So part of being on this procurement review opportunities and being a part of these RFPs and RFQs is you can report back to the department of suggestion and report it back to the body, what those RFPs were and how they affect the city and in CAC and how that goes through that process. And so I want to answer those questions. So Matt, the question was, what is the CAC's role in the procurement process and are there any specific CAC pool process for us in funds? So I'll jump in and answer that. So the citizens advisory committee does not have a formal role in a city's procurement process. There was a time when the, particularly it was late to homelessness where the citizens advisory committee served as the committee of basically first review. But just as we talked about earlier, things have changed as it relates to hood and that's no longer expectation for the citizens advisory committee. So what we've done, and this is where this transition has occurred that Matt talked about, is that while not required to be a part of the formal review processes for the citizens advisory committee members to be included in the review processes, meaning that they serve on panels. So that when we have our panels that are made up of various players to review the application process, and I typically appoint those panels, that the citizens advisory committee is one of my go-to panels particularly when we're looking for citizen input and having citizens to be included as part of the review process. One of the things that has been carried in over the years, and I've been sitting in this chair for actually it's 10 years this month, is that the complexity of the review process has increased dramatically and the narrowness of the time period that we have to review them has gotten even narrower. And that is one of the challenges in the homelessness arena is that they've gotten very technical. And is it the realistic to expect someone who almost doesn't work on it every day to be able to comprehend and understand all of the information in the time period that one needs to evaluate it that they give us because they've shortened it. And so that's one of the challenges. The homeless services advisory committee actually had to restructure itself in a way that it could better accommodate that review on homelessness side. So hopefully that was a lot of information but it offered some response to the question that was asked. And one other point and typically what we do even if they're, even if CSU members aren't directly involved in the review and ranking and rating process that we do bring the recommended funding, the funded organizations that were that are being recommended, we bring those forward for review and so give the CDC some insight into what organizations are being funded and for what purpose. That continues as well as part of this body. And I'm trying to remember if Rachel ever served on one of the RFPs, I know that Brian has. Or if there's anybody in this body currently that has experience with the RFP process and the RFP process, if you have time in and talk about your experiences real quick. Unfortunately, I have not. I do believe Brian did for maybe the lead in healthy home. Aren't she? Brian and Kiresh also, he's no longer a member, but he was also involved last year as well. And I believe maybe Carl Newman. Yeah, I think Carl has too. And he's just out today. And so maybe what we'll do on next week, next month agenda is have them talk about that as well. And Matt, we can kind of get our new members on that email chain of where the, when those RFPs come in, those opportunity opportunities and maybe they might want to manage that. Yes, sir. And we'll do that. And just to let everyone know, I mean, there is actually an open RFP opportunity for the Homeless Energy Solutions grant program. It actually closes this week. And then we've also had several lead grant opportunities over the summer as well. And we anticipate one for the multifamily production of preservation in the coming months as well. So just to give you a sense of, we do have some active, we do have some active RFPs right now. So. Alrighty. So members, if you would like to jump into that by all means reach out to Matt, we'll make sure that we're getting the right progression. Move forward to item number nine, Community Development Week, which is April of 22. So Ebony had talked about ways to engage our community in outreach. Well, multiple members have said something about collaboration for the board, collaboration with members of the community, making sure that the citizens of Durham know what we do. And so, Mr. Johnson, can you just touch a little bit on Community Development Week? And then I will try to conjure up some members to help be a part of that planning. We don't wanna throw it together last minute. We do wanna make sure that we have a well-thought-out plan going into April because it will be soon enough. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Community Development Week is a week where a national recognition for Community Development Block Grant Program and the Home Investment Partnership Program needs a two key funding sources for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. And what our trade association has asked is that, and we participate every year for local communities to highlight the work that these funds do in their community, highlight for citizens, highlight for your congressional officials, highlight for your community, the people that these funds serve. So there's a week that we do, including a proclamation by the city council, but also there have been past years where we actually, CAC members, have volunteered and coordinated and volunteering at organizations that have used CDBG and home funds, done tours of places that have received home funds with the goal of attracting attention to those programs. And during that week, we've had in Durham some great successes in using those funds to improve our community. And when all the communities across the country do something similar and likewise, it provides a synergy that of course, the community knows, but also those who make decisions about these programs also know. We've also here in Durham won awards and national awards for the work that we've done with these funds. And of course we always wanna highlight that at every opportunity. But that's the overall purpose of community development. It is important. It's been important for Durham, especially now that we have a member of Congress representing Durham, is chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee for Housing in the US Congress. And so we also have to keep that in mind as well. Appreciate that, Mr. Johnson. And so with that being said, some of the projects that we've done in the past that I know we've served food at I think a rescue mission, we've hosted, we're in person, like this is a group set, we receive the funds so they can present to us some of the things that they were doing with the funds. I think we've done Habitat for Humanity as well. And so this is a week for us to be able to engage our community with some cool events and projects. So I'm asking a member by the name of Ebony West since she was so gracious in her. The answer is yes, I'll volunteer to do it. Thank you. Good, I didn't even have to do it much. Thank you, I appreciate it. I knew who it was leading. Yeah. As well as other members who would love to help, of course myself, plan these events and projects that we can get back to the city of Durham and the county of Durham during that week and a day. So if you would like to be a part of that planning group, it does not require a lot of time in regards to like, you know, this, we have two hours separate meetings. It's really just, you know, maybe once a month we're gonna get together, you know, 35, 40 minutes and just kind of talk about the plan of how we can make sure that week is filled with different types of events and projects that's gonna help the community. Fair, I'd like to volunteer, Dr. Harmonia. Thank you, Dr. Moonee Colesley. I mean, I truly appreciate that. This is a, listen, I love this group. I really do. I do not have to ask for much. And so if you would like to be a part of that with Ebony, you could reach out to Ebony on myself in the coming weeks, months, if you feel a need to serve in the capacity. So I appreciate you, Dr. Harmonia, for giving up some of your time. All right. Okay, I know I'm waiting for you to take a minute and breathe. I will volunteer as well. Thank you. Let's, again, appreciate you. That's a strong three. That's a strong three. Yes, Mr. Johnson. So I would offer as a suggestion for the committee is if they, while this is in April, if they try to meet before the end of the calendar year and to formulate thoughts. And the reason I suggest that it was once the new year comes in, April rolls around very fast. Yes, sir. And so to the extent that we can do some planning and thinking before December, before we go out on Christmas, a holiday recess, that would be advantage to our advantage. And I know that from years past. Yes, sir, I will definitely, we will definitely continue that. And I will get with Ed and we can figure out a date that I feel is good for everybody that's over and you dated them to meet as a group to start planning. Moving on to item number 10, other business. Mr. Johnson, do you have any other business staff? Do you have any other business that we need to discuss? Mr. Chair, I do not. Mr. Chair, I do not. We are going to add new members to the community development listserv. So you'll begin to receive the emails that we send out to members of the community and our sub recipients and those. So you'll receive those won't be too voluminous, but nonetheless, you'll be included on those emails that go out about a range of things. I do want to share that over the summer recess, the housing authority has been able to close on some of this deals for the rehab of JJ Henderson working on that. And then there's another project in the senior tower. It's also a proceeding. So they are making some progress in that regard. And so I just want to offer that that occurred. And we can talk about that more in detail in a future meeting. You have two questions. I saw Mr. Huthan and Mr. Rowan. Yeah, so I was just going to ask if the staff could provide us since we are just coming back from the July recess and update similar to that which you provided Mr. Johnson about any high level or extremely important projects that have moved since the previous meeting or even maybe the previous couple of meetings where an update may not have been provided to the full committee. And in the form of a written statement because this is new to me. So understanding or hearing that the housing authority has closed on two projects. That's something that as a board member, I think I would like to know. And that way if I have or I'm asked in my capacity as a member of this committee or my community member what's happening in Durham, I'll be able to at least provide some very high level responses to our community. Yes, I was curious. So just for the new folks, I mean, Ms. Conyers just did such a great job explaining all of our grant programs. And I mean, we've got to have some of those recorded. I don't know if we could send those out. You know, the CBDG is obviously our main one, but I feel like when we get into the hop law and the other ones, it's, those are where some of those details get lost sometimes. And so sending those out, I think would be really good if the new folks went at mine on their own time watching a couple hours of meetings to learn about those programs would be helpful. Yeah, and I would probably even rewatch some of them too, just to refresh myself for the past couple of months. Mr. Chair, if I could to make a comment there. So that is something that we had talked about, you know, the PowerPoints and descriptions of all the different types of funding. We do have those. And what I mentioned to the executive committee is that I'm building just a Wiki page at Google site to sort of host materials and resources that are pertinent and relevant to the members of the committee to include the PowerPoint presentations from last year from different funding sources. There is much of the information that's pertinent for the board is on the city and or the county's website, but it's not always in one place and easily accessible. So my plan is to be able to use this as, you know, a place that can be, you know, hopefully assist in facilitating onboarding information exchange and to rehash some of those presentations. So I just wanted to kind of mention that I something that I'm working on. And it's going to be part of that. That same link that is the, that's got the form that you filled out for the t-shirts. I'm just going to kind of use that as a Wiki page that will just be for members of this body. Absolutely, absolutely. Great, Matt. Thank you for that. And just to follow up. So who has replaced Ms. Conyers? No one yet. We are in the process of recruiting for that position, but there is no replacement for Ms. Conyers. And I'll just have to say that they're, they're even the new person, whoever that may be they replace Ms. Conyers and anyone that knows Ms. Conyers could have done that. She's a past master and I greatly miss her. Mr. Hughes. Yes, I just want to touch back on something that Rachel brought up in terms of the board being proactive in the work that we're doing. I know a couple of weeks ago or maybe last month the city manager or the city council, the city asks for feedback in terms of how Durham is going to be spending ARPRA funding, American Rescue Plan Act funding. And I wanted to know if this board and its advisory capacity submitted any type of letter, just kind of expressing like some priority areas related to the spending of that funding. And then also once the determination is made or there seems to be some direction in how the city is going to move, would we be able to receive, I guess, an update from staff about the implications related to community development? To answer the first part, we did not send a letter. However, I think going forward to Rachel and your point, we will, that'll be something that we need to do, start going forward and making our voices go from as a board and drafting something up in response to decisions that they make, that's what we do. So I appreciate that. That is definitely something that I think that's pertinent to what we have to start doing. I wanted to talk about, there is a website. I don't know. So let me, Mr. Chair, let me add to that. So two things, if I'm not mistaken, the process for the ARPA funds, which are not under jurisdiction of community development, those are citywide, the process I think is still open to receive individual comments and also comments from groups. So that's something you may want to consider because I don't think the council that's made any decisions, the administration has not made any recommendations for the council to consider just yet, but there's a website for that that is entertaining suggestions. So that's one piece. Then I would also say on, from a community development standpoint, we have a part of the ARPA funds is set aside for homelessness and homelessness community through the homeless services advisory committee is going through a process all this fall in terms of prioritization, in terms of where the funds that have come to community development, which is a separate amount of money, will be used to work through the homelessness challenges and programs that we have. So I'll just put that out there to let you know that there is work going on. But I think the comment period is still open. Do we know the comment period closes? I don't know right now. I'll be glad to look at that. I just have to look at the website and see. And if so, if it doesn't close within the next, before our next meeting, I can definitely entertain and email the body to put together some type of members who would like to chime in. We've done that before. We've created Google docs and things of that nature for response or comment of where we would like to see where that money goes. So that could be something that you can help spearhead and lead once we find out when the comment period is over and then the body will be able to chime in and add language. That's something that is a thing that you might be interested in, but I absolutely appreciate that. LaVon, I'll mention something about that process. And I'm not sure to, from what I recall, I think the proposals were due at the end of July for the city. And I'm not sure if that's the same website that Mr. Johnson's referring to, but the other thing too, that I think we need to keep in mind is both the city will be receiving the ARP funds as well as the county. So there's going to be two different buckets of money. And there's quite a bit of overlap too with housing. And so something I think for this committee to kind of consider is how kind of that allocation would align and help support some of the department strategic goals, especially as it pertains to the affordable housing implementation work that I'm hoping we can kind of start to discuss more and Chair Browns, I know you'll kind of help facilitate that sort of discussion as well. So the other piece with kind of how this money it sounds like will be allocated to different projects and different organizations. And I think Ebony, you might've mentioned this at a past meeting too is just for us to also understand how this process is taking place so that we can better communicate to those organizations that we're already tapped into how they can go about submitting and being aware of just the timeline as well. Because some of these organizations just don't have the staff capacity, right? To kind of go after some of this money. And so I think overall it's going to be a significant amount of money that's coming in both to the city and the county that can help support a lot of the goals that we're kind of helping the city oversee and carry out. And so I would love for this to be a priority for this committee, especially because this money will be coming in over the course of the next five years. So I think this is an area that we can really make a big impact on. Absolutely. Mr. Hughes. Yeah, I just want to add, I guess to clarify I guess my request on my statement a little. I think you captured some of it. I think it's twofold. So one piece of it is from a philosophical standpoint. Like where do we stand as a committee? And what is it that we're asking of leadership in terms of how the funding should be directed in terms of buckets? There's a limited amount of funding. And of course there's some priority areas that we as individuals may feel the city should address but also collectively as a board, as a committee. So that's one piece of it. But then also I don't know if it was Ebony or someone on the committee that mentioned kind of our affiliations to organizations. So while we may represent ourselves as members of this community, I know that some of us also are affiliated with community-based organizations that take stances and positions on issues that matter or importance to our community. So I think it's important for us to have a discussion because there may be instances where there's a specific project that we want to uplift or like I said broadly, we want to uplift the focus on community development and the utilization of these funds. Absolutely. And I think that again, that's why those topics for future CAC meetings, that's critical to what we're doing is if members don't raise these issues, I don't want to speak for everybody. So I'm glad that we're bringing this to the table and that way we can work with the staff to put the stuff in future meetings and make these priorities for this board. I just quick before I move on to announcements in adjournment is I did put the link. This is a brand new link for where the affordable housing bond projects are being updated this is the forever home Durham.com. So somebody did ask about, what are some of the projects? Where do they stand? Who is it affecting? How many people are being put in putting the housing? I really liked this website because it gives you up to date information. If Mr. Johnson wants to touch on it just a little bit further, but I mean, it gives you the answers of what you're looking for. Where's this money going and how it's being used and where those projects stand and who's already been helped? Because there's already people who've been helped with the bond already. So Mr. Johnson, you can, if you would like to touch on this website real quick. Well, I would just like to encourage members to look at the website. This is new, probably about less than 45 days. Yeah, about 45 days old. I would share with you as your, the chair bonds as your representative of the CAC on the affordable housing implementation committee. And we do have all of the information and all the presentations from the affordable housing implementation committee meetings are on the website. So you can look at those as well and all the data that is shared by the housing authority and well as the community development department. We are, you know, we have suggestions. We are, you know, always taking suggestions. We had our consultant, Moss plus Ross and French West Vaughan to help us design the site. And so we're, it's in its infancy. And so I'll just bring it to your attention. I thank chair bonds for bringing it. Thank you. So I'm gonna move on. We're just gonna get close to that line and I do appreciate everybody for contributing. Is there any announcements? Any announcements from staff first? The announcements. Mr. Chair, I don't have any. No further announcements. Absolutely. Any announcements from our members? I mean, good news. And this is a part where we become family here. If there's good news that you want to like to share. Mr. Chair, we celebrate you. With no other announcements. Oh, Mr. Hughes, yes. I don't have an announcement and I know that we want to adhere to the time. But I just want to thank you all again for the ability to serve on this committee. And I didn't get to say this at the start when I introduced myself, but I especially want to thank the staff for the work that you do to support this committee. And Matt, while I don't know you, but I know Mr. Johnson very well, I think he's probably seen me grow up here in Durham. So it's a pleasure to be able to work with on the both of you. Absolutely. We love, we love Matt and Rosalind. We missed the food. Mr. Chair Barnes, could I chime in? Oh, I didn't see Council Member Farnes. Nice to see you, sir. Hey, good to see you too, brother. And I just wanted to access the city council liaison to extend my formal invitation to Brother Hughes and the other new folks. And, you know, today was the first day of school for me, for my kids, which is why I was running late. We're still running around doing back to school stuff. So my announcement or my word of affirmation is for all the folks out there with kids. Welcome back, welcome back to school and looking forward to a good year. Fingers crossed, but optimistic about us turning things around here in Durham with regard to, you know, being back in school. Personally, as a parent, I'm thrilled, but I don't have to rest y'all. Thank you, Chair Barnes. We appreciate you, Council Member Freelon and I got to the group before I've been in school for six weeks. So definitely the first day of school happened to 19. That's a personal conversation. Other than that, I truly appreciate this first meeting. Mr. Chair, I did, we'll email this link out, but I just put in the chat, the email to the city's process on American Rescue Plan. So I just put that in the chat and where they are in the process, but we'll email it out. I appreciate that. And again, I want to give my sentiments to everybody that is on this committee right now. And thank you again for allowing me to serve as your chair. This is going to be a great year for us. I think it's changing in this, how this committee works. And I just appreciate every last one of y'all for volunteering your time and your service to help better the folks of so many of our fellow citizens. It is, it is definitely humbling work. And with that being said, I'll take a motion for adjournment and we will see each other on September, is it 24th? Move. Yes. September 24th? No, September, excuse me, September 27th, September 27th. I heard, I heard a motion. I can take. Thank you. I'll see y'all on September, y'all. Thank y'all. Bye bye. Thank you, bye y'all. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. Thanks, man. Thank you, Alicia. You're the best. Matt's going to be bothering you now. I'll email you, Alicia. I'll get you, I'll send you.