CITY OF DANBURY

Danbury Housing Partnership

155 Deer Hill Avenue

Danbury, Connecticut 06810

Minutes of the September 4, 2008 Meeting

Present: Barrows, Lemme, Nolan, Sangut, Scalzo, Schierloh, Sistrunk, Valeri,

Zaborowski

Absent: Rev. Coelho, Elpern, Lima, McLachlan, Rev. Payton, Rev. Pitts,

Reese, Shepperd, Sullivan, Judge Yamin

Also Present: Mark Hasskarl, Tanya Medve

The meeting of the Danbury Housing Partnership was called to order by Chair Mark Nolan at 3:05 PM.

A motion to approve minutes of the August 14, 2008 meeting was made by Carolyn Sistrunk, seconded by Gary Lemme and passed unanimously.

There were no members of the public present wishing to address the Partnership.

Mr. Nolan welcomed Tanya Medve of Ability Beyond Disability and Director Mark Hasskarl of the Danbury Public Library. Mr. Nolan invited both to attend our meetings as community partners. Mr. Nolan also indicated that he had invited Jonathan Chew from HVCEO but he was not able to attend due to illness. Mr. Nolan indicated that he would be inviting more people to join us as community partners to assist with the work of the Partnership.

Mr. Nolan informed the members that Dream Homes’ presentation on the HMIS annual report had to be canceled at the request of Dream Homes. Ms. Sistrunk moved to amend the agenda by removing item 5 and to add the presentation on the HMIS report by Dream Homes to the October agenda. The motion was seconded by Milena Sangut and passed unanimously.

Under committee reports, Mr. Schierloh reported that he and Wayne Shepperd had continued working on the Partnership website in lieu of having a meeting of the Public Relations, Education and Marketing Committee. With technical assistance from Mr. Hasskarl, members were given a brief tour of the website through the use of a laptop and projector. The committee will continue to develop the site and members were encouraged to submit suggestions. Mr. Nolan noted the potential for the site to be used to create public awareness and as a vehicle for fundraising in conjunction with the development of a power point presentation based on the model suggested by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Paul Scalzo reported that the Housing and Community Development Committee met on September 4, 2008 and continued their efforts to identify and map parcels with the potential to be utilized for affordable housing development. The committee also will be reviewing amendments to the City’s Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice presented by Sue Zaborowski. Bill Beattie will be the guest of the committee at their next meeting to discuss two project proposals by the Jericho Partnership involving transitional housing. They will also discuss other projects or programs that may be needed in the community.

Denise Valeri reported that the Social and Supportive Services Committee met on September 3 and reviewed with Dream Homes some suggested revisions to the HMIS report. The committee also discussed issues involving the Celebration Breakfast and Project Homeless Connect. Ms. Valeri noted that the committee would be meeting monthly and focusing on tasks in the Ten-Year Plan not already being addressed by the Continuum. Discussion ensued in which Ms. Sistrunk noted that the original Taskforce had decided that the Continuum and the Partnership had to be separate entities but that there should be close coordination between them. Ms. Valeri noted the need for more members on the committee to undertake their responsibilities. Mr. Nolan encouraged Ms. Valeri to reach out to community agencies to recruit community partners to work with the committee and the Partnership.

Ms. Sistrunk reported that the Financial Resources and Fundraising Committee met on September 3, 2008. The committee initiated an extensive review of all tasks in the Ten-Year assigned to it. The committee identified goals in the Ten-Year Plan that need to be amended, re-structured or deleted. Ms.Sistrunk cited as an example the multiple and sometimes duplicative listings regarding transitional housing. The committee also began establishing priorities and schedules for tasks that have yet to be addressed. Ms. Sistrunk recommended that all committees undertake a similar review and report back to the Partnership by a time certain. Following discussion, it was agreed that all committees should conduct their reviews and report back to the Partnership at the November meeting. The review should include setting priorities for goals to be addressed as well as recommended amendments, deletions or additions to the Ten-Year Plan. The Partnership will submit a request to approve amendments to the Ten-Year Plan along with the Annual Progress Report due by the April, 2009 Council meeting.

Ms. Valeri reported on the meeting of Ad Hoc Celebration Breakfast Committee conducted on September 4. Over 250 invitations have gone out to attend the event which is scheduled for October 2, 2008 from 7:30 to 9:00 am at Ethan Allen. The committee is looking for sponsors of tables of ten with guests to be asked to “tip” their waiters. Partnership members are also being asked to donate items for a raffle basket or donate the money and have Denise do the shopping for them. The committee discussed making arrangements to have front line social service workers as guests at sponsored tables. The committee also selected the recipients of the three Partnership awards to be presented. The selections will be revealed once the chair personally notifies the award recipients.

Mr. Nolan reported that he had continued his efforts to procure the “Where God Left His Shoes” film but that it appears that a viewing event in November is no longer possible. Mr. Nolan will continue his efforts and suggested that we consider planning to have a film event in March of next year.

With respect to the Senior Housing Feasibility Study, Mr. Nolan reported that he was working with Dennis Elpern on finalizing what format would be best for the final report. Mr. Nolan would like to be able to present a power point version of the final report to the Common Council and other interested parties. Mr. Nolan also noted that there was a lot of information in the draft HVCEO housing study that would be useful to us.

Mr. Schierloh provided an update on the “Housing For Heroes” initiative. The Veterans Housing Workgroup has a meeting scheduled for September 10, 2008 to continue its work. NPDCD is anticipating the final grant award announcement from the VA for the Vet House project by October 1.

Ms. Sangut reported that planning is proceeding for the Project Homeless Connect event to be held on December 3, 2008 at the Danbury Elks Lodge from 9AM to 4 PM. The workgroup has sent out letters to agencies to participate in the event and have started getting responses back. They will be meeting at the Elks at the end of the month to do a floor plan. The workgroup is also working on flyers for the event and making arrangements to have hot food available.

Ms. Valeri, Ms. Sistrunk and Mr. Nolan will be volunteering to be present at the information booth at the Taste of Danbury donated by the Non-Profit Rental Housing Corporation. Ms. Sangut will be providing information on Project Homeless Connect. There will also be a handout sheet on the Housing Partnership, material form Dream Homes, information from the Housing Authority and other interested agencies.

Mr. Nolan reported that there were no new appointments to the Partnership but that he was actively recruiting community partners to work with the Partnership to achieve its goals.

Ms. Sistrunk made a motion recognizing the efforts on behalf of the Partnership by Mr. Schierloh. Motion seconded by Mr. Nolan. Mr. Nolan ignored a request for a point of order by Mr. Schierloh and called for a vote. The motion carried with all voting in favor except Mr. Schierloh who voted in the negative.

Motion to adjourn was made by Ms. Sistrunk, seconded by Ms. Zaborowski and passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 4:00 PM.