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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-10-19 Health and Public Safety �SpUTd tip' -, . wv 5 -.:..,~ PEACE .e �-t865- OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER, CITY CLERK HEALTH & PUBLIC SAFETY JUNE 10, 2019 3:30 P.M. Committee Members Present: Jo M. Broden, John Voorde, Karen White, Dr. Oliver Davis (late) Committee Members Absent: None Other Council Present: Tim Scott, Gavin Ferlic, Regina Williams-Preston, Sharon L. McBride, Jake Teshka(late) Other Council Absent: None Others Present: Bianca Tirado, Graham Sparks, Bob Palmer Presenters: Joseph Molnar, Aladean DeRose, Eric Horvath, Tracy Skibins, Shelby McGowan, Ann Watts, Jamie Morgan Agenda: Bill No. 19-40- Scrap Metal License Approval: 1st Choice Towing Bill No. 19-41- Resolution Approving Amendment to Resolution No. 4710-18 Regarding the 2017 Human Rights Interlocal Agreement Between the City and St. Joseph County Bill No. 19-42- Resolution Adopting the St. Joseph County Multi-hazard Mitigation Plan Update: Residential Safety Verification Program (RSVP) Ordinance Committee Chair Jo M. Broden called to order the Health and Public Safety Committee meeting at 3:30 p.m. She introduced members of the Committee and proceeded to give the floor to the presenters. Bill No. 19-40—Scrap Metal License Approval: lst Choice Towing Joseph Molnar, Ordinance Violations Bureau Clerk with offices located on the 4th floor of the County-City Building, stated, As you all may remember, about two (2)months ago, I came to you with the larger group of yearly scrap metal license renewals for the vast majority of properties that INTEGRITY' SERVICE'ACCESSIBILITY _ JENNIFER M.COFFMAN BIANCA L.TIRADO JOSEPH R MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Blvd.I South Bend,Indiana 46601 I p 574.235.9221 I f 574.235.9173 I www.southbendin.gov CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK have a scrap metal license. This one (1) property was left out because it was going through a change in ownership at the time. It used to be called Steve and Gene's. I believe Steve got out of the business and their sons didn't do it anymore, so they were selling. We didn't know who exactly the new owners would be, so, we held off on the licensing until the owner was found. One(1)was found and they are changing the name to Pt Choice Towing and it will be located at 3109 South Gertrude which is just south of Rum Village in the sixth (6th) District. It is a long-standing site. I looked back and they have had no issues with Code, Police or Fire. The new owner passed all the checks the Police does, so,no issues there. It sounds like he is putting money into the property and I think he has already demolished one (1) building, according to the Fire Department. Like I said, this property has had a scrap metal license for a long time now and this is just a change in ownership. I am happy to take any questions you might have. Committee Chair Broden asked, There was a note there about not using a building, could you explain? Mr. Molnar replied,Yes. Part of the delay, also,was the Fire Department couldn't get ahold of the new owner for a while because he technically didn't have the keys yet. When he finally got on site, there is the condition that they not use the building until he razes it, so he can use the rest of the grounds. The new owner told me that building hadn't been used in a long time anyway. So, it's probably a good thing. This should be the last license. There is one (1) more outstanding that received a license last year that has not passed all the inspections yet. So, it is currently not being operated out of. I think the owners are just trying to get out of the business. So, that could be part of the problem too. Committee Chair Broden stated, Thank you,Joe. You do a lot of work on these and we appreciate it. Committee Chair Broden then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to this legislation. There were none. She then turned the floor back to the Committee for further comment or main motions. Committeemember John Voorde made a motion to send Bill No. 19-40 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Karen White seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of three (3) ayes. Bill No. 19-41 —Resolution Approving Amendment to Resolution No.4710-18 Regarding the 2017 Human Rights Interlocal Agreement Between the City and St.Joseph County Aladean DeRose, City Attorney with offices located on the 12th floor of the County-City Building, stated, I am also Attorney to the South Bend Human Rights Commission. Just by way of history, the County adopted an ordinance similar to the City's Human Rights Ordinance in early 2017. At the time they adopted it, they didn't have an enforcement agency for it. At that point, the Indiana Civil Rights Commission or the EEOC would have been the natural enforcement agencies. However, we are here, and we offer services that I think are superior to those from both the EEOC and the Indiana Civil Rights Commission. So, in September of 2017, an interlocal agreement was entered into between the City and the County, for the City to enforce the County's Human Rights Ordinance. That has been continued and has been in effect through Resolution 4710-18 on April 23rd, 2018. What we learned was there was a missing document from that Resolution.The missing EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 2 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK document just provided that the working interlocal agreement could continue indefinitely, as long as there was discourse on the funding on an annual basis between the County and the City for the services the City provides. That discussion did take place. There was an appropriation from the County to the City,made in 2018 for budget year 2019. The money has been received by the City. Our Diversity and Inclusion Officer has notified the County that we would like to continue that arrangement. So, if you approve this resolution which attaches that missing document, we will have the ability to continue indefinitely with the City providing enforcement. Committeemember White stated, I want to make sure I have a clear understanding. Item two (2), is the County paying fifty percent(50%) of the salary and the City is paying the other fifty percent (50%)? Ms. DeRose replied, We have a half-time person. Committeemember White followed up, So then this statement here, that both parties acknowledge that the annual cost of a full-time investigator is $52,000. So, we are looking at only a part-time position? Ms. DeRose replied, Exactly. We've determined a full-time investigator would not be as efficient. That is the other understanding that was reached throughout the budget process was that it would be part-time. Committeemember White then asked, So if a full-time investigator was deemed appropriate, they would look at that $52,000? Ms. DeRose replied, We would probably look and make sure there was a significant enough increase in cases. Committee Chair Broden asked, What are the case numbers from the County, roughly? Ms. DeRose replied, Well, there is some nuance because a lot of this is part of Mishawaka. Many cases are from Mishawaka. But, between Mishawaka and County, outside of Mishawaka, it is twenty-seven (27) for calendar year 2019. Committee Chair Broden then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. Samuel Brown,222 East Navarre Street, stated, I'm presently a Human Rights Commissioner and Penny Hughes, our President, wasn't able to make this meeting so she asked me to step in. I hope you give this a favorable recommendation. We are excited about it. We have the skills and knowledge to do it, we just need your support. Thank you for listening to me. Committeemember White made a motion to send Bill No. 19-41 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Voorde seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of three (3) ayes. Bill No. 19-42 — Resolution Adopting the St. Joseph County. Multi-hazard Mitigation Plan EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 435 County-City Building 227 VV.Jefferson Bvld South Bend.Indiana46601 p574.235.9221 f574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 3 40 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Ms. DeRose stated, I wasn't aware I would be presenting for this, but I can. The Multi-hazard Mitigation Plan is a County and City endeavor. The County has approved and reviewed this with the systems and the City's agents. We have looked at the updated plan and we consider it to be a reasonable plan that considers changes between 2010 and 2019. So, it is current with our multi- hazard risks. The approval of this agreement will result in funding availability from FEMA for progress in our activities with regard to emergency mitigation. As the cover letter mentions, it doesn't guarantee that we'll receive funds from FEMA, but without it, we will not. Committee Chair Broden stated, I know you are pinch-hitting here, but I want to make sure of something. The plan we received was titled 2017. Ms.DeRose replied,Yes,and it is updated as closely as possible,in accordance with Federal Rules. That is a five (5) year plan going forward. I think the Federal Law contemplates a one (1) year approval process, anyway, between the date it is adopted by one (1) agency and then adopted by all agencies. So, we are within that time frame. Committee Chair Broden followed up, And I noticed there was not a Council representative on the current work group, so, it might be a good idea to include that moving forward. If you could pass that along, I would appreciate it. Committeemember White stated, I have one (1) question. The third (3rd) Whereas clause talks about the planning process, public involvement and local coordination. Can you share a little bit more about that process? Maybe Eric can respond to us later. Ms. DeRose replied, I just got word that Director Horvath is on his way down to the meeting. Committee Chair Broden stated, There is some detail on that. They went through that part of the plan, August 2nd was the meeting, I was not aware of it. But, for public input, they listed all the community members and had it available on the website. That was sent to us and we had just received that. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, The good thing is they updated the contacts because they had some people on the list that were retired. Committeemember Voorde asked,Does the City,through the Fire Department, still have a Hazmat Response contract with the toll road? Do we still provide that service to them? Ms. DeRose replied, I don't know for certain. I know we have multiple hazmat contracts, but I don't know whether or not the toll road is a specific contract entity. I can find out for you. Eric Horvath, Director of Public Works with offices located on the 13th floor of the County-City Building, stated,Yeah, so this is a multi-hazard mitigation plan that is updated every five(5) years or so. Last time it was updated was in 2008. So, this is a County-wide plan. The County's Emergency Management Group puts it together with input from various other entities. Then, it needs to be adopted by all the jurisdictions in the County. Once it's adopted by all the jurisdictions in the County, it enables us to get mitigation monies. We have to have an adopted plan in order to get money from FEMA. So, this plan points at all different hazards. It then sets out a process for us to follow in the event of certain conditions. Whether it is a tornado, a flooding event, or EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 4 ®CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK whatever,it lays out resources available. It's just kind of a more strategic plan to make sure people are all on the same page and we are not trying to prepare all those things when that hazard event happens. Committeemember Voorde asked,Does the City,through the Fire Department, still have a Hazmat Response contract with the toll road? Do we still provide that service to them? Mr. Horvath replied, I don't have the answer to that. I will have to ask the Fire Department. I know they still provide those services, but I don't know if they contract out. I can get that answer from the Fire Chief, though. Police and Fire have been involved in this process as well. Of course, a number of folks are involved in the process and this is something that is an ongoing plan. Committeemember Voorde stated, That is an expensive undertaking and contracting out would help defer the costs. Committeemember White repeated her previous question, The third (3`d) Whereas clause talks about the planning process, public involvement and local coordination. Can you share a little bit more about that process? Mr. Horvath replied, I can't because that would have been the County setting up those meetings, but I will get back to you. They have a list of all of the participants,in their appendix,in all of their public meetings they've had. I don't have those here, but we will get back to you on that. Committee Chair Broden stated, I think there is probably a little bit of sense that Council wasn't involved in this process. So, maybe going forward, can we make sure to some degree we are? I understand the representative groups are both elected as well as some staff individuals. I saw that with the first (1st) responders type thing but that might be a good component to at least find out how we can interface with Council in the future with updates.Then what I was curious about where any significant changes are. We've had two (2)pretty significant events in a short amount of time. Does the report reflect any mitigation efforts relative to those events?Basically,is there any change in approach that would be recommended. Then, I had one (I) other question. I learned we are a part of the Storm Ready Designation. I am wondering when the last community seminars were. I guess there is a duty to promote public readiness. Also, the most recent emergency exercises related to that designation. Council President Tim Scott interjected, Madam Chair,just to follow up on that, I believe that is a County responsibility, in conjunction with the City of course. I don't recall anyone from the County doing that, though. In that plan it just says a lot of education on each area, but I don't see that coming from the County. Committee Chair Broden followed up, Yeah, so what is the schedule? Are we hitting it? Do we need to update it? My own sense is that we are in definite need of that and we need to figure out how to hit that mark. If they are to lead, how can we follow and what is the schedule for that? When was it last done and when is the next community seminar? Mr. Horvath took down those notes and confirmed later follow up with Councilmember Broden. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 I I L)574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 5 CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committee Chair Broden then opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to this legislation. There were none. She then turned the floor back to the Committee for further comment or main motions. Committeemember White made a motion to send Bill No. 19-42 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Voorde seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of four ayes. Committeemember Dr. Oliver Davis arrived at the meeting at 3:49 p.m. Update: Residential Safety Verification Program (RSVP) Ordinance Tracy Skibins, Director of Code Enforcement with offices located on the 13th floor of the County- City Building, stated, I'm here to give a brief overview of the first (1st) three (3) months of the Rental Safety Verification Program (referencing a presentation which is available in the City Clerk's Office). She then passed out a flier that is available in the City Clerk's Office and stated, Also, I will share some feedback from the working group as well. So, really quickly, the goal of the program is to improve the safety or rental housing in the City of South Bend. Primarily,we are hoping to help families with children and we began 2019 with already open housing cases. For 2020, we will be transitioning to the different Census Tracts and going by the levels of lead. She continued,Along the way,we have had to build, and are grateful for,our community partners. While we are here, I would like to introduce a few of them. We have Ann Watson who is the Executive Director of St. Vincent de Paul. We have Aubrey who is the client services coordinator. We have Shelby who is the Program Coordinator for us. And then Jamie, of course, is from the Mayor's Office.Again,we are fortunate for our community partners because although RSVP looks great on paper, it is a little bit more complicated with all these folks in. Without them, we would kind of be at a loss. I would like to highlight St. Vincent de Paul but also the Notre Dame Law Clinic and Judith Fox's crew. They have been amazing. The Volunteers Lawyers Network, the Fire Department and the Department of Child Services. This has also been a great time and opportunity for our inspectors to be provided training by these folks as well. So, our inspectors can go into these houses and inspect. They met with the Department of Child Services, the Human Rights Commission, the Fire Department, you name it. We are trying to get them as involved as possible so that they can know the ins and outs as well as offer resources to the people they come in contact with during some of these inspections they have. She went on, (Referencing a slide in the presentation) Here are some statistics. We have three hundred and eight(308) initial notices mailed and active cases. One hundred and thirty-two (132) total inspections. Thirty-two (32) of those were voluntary. Ten (10) landlords responded. The outcomes, we have twenty-five (25) certified units. Three (3) have been condemned and that is when we work with the folks over at St. Vincent de Paul. One hundred and eight (108) failed and seventy-two (72) fines as of right now. There were eight hundred (800) violations found. There is an average of six (6) violations per inspection and the top violations seem to be substandard walls, floors, ceilings, electric and plumbing. We are working on developing and sharing resources with landlords so that they can address these problems, even before the inspectors go out there so they know what it is we are looking for. That will save the landlord, the tenant and our inspectors time if they can address all of these issues before we even step foot into the property. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 I 10574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 6 *CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK She continued, Ownership, we have ninety-three (93) South Bend owners. We have thirty-five (35) out-of-state owners and approximately six point five (6.5) properties on average per owner. We were asked to supply a map and here it is (referencing a slide in the presentation). This is the map of the failed inspections that we've conducted as of the end of May, June 1st. I'm sorry it is a little bit blurry, but it was the best we could do. And then this is the map of the passed inspections, which were twenty-one (21). The working group feedback, so as you know, we were asked to put together a working group. It has been fantastic. This (referencing a slide in the presentation) is some of the feedback we got from folks. They agreed the program was needed. They feel it is fulfilling its purpose and it is responsibly using City resources. It is affecting those people who really need it. They are pleased with the accessibility of the data on the program. They have been supplied a map of served areas which we've also supplied to you all today. They are requesting data on if the unit is occupied or not. Occupied Upon Inspection is not something we initially did but is something we have started to do. So, we are doing the best we can on trying to gather information on whether or not the unit is occupied or not occupied. This emphasizes the need for more affordable and safe housing options in the City of South Bend. That will require a community-wide effort and is something that is bigger than all of us in the room. We are really going to need to work together to increase the affordable and safe housing out there. Obviously, that is the overall goal of this program. Eventually, there will be a lot of safe housing in the City of South Bend but what are we doing until then? She went on,We are using this information and common violations will continue to develop better educational resources for those people so that they do pass the first (1st) inspection. We do want landlords to be aware of what it is we are looking for, again, to save both their and our time. Why do we do what we do? These are our inspectors (referencing a slide in the presentation). These are the inspectors that are a part of the RSVP. The gentleman with the hat on, he is the Chief Inspector. We do it because we run across issues like these(referencing a slide in the presentation) and nobody should have to live in these types of conditions. We do it for the single working mom of four(4), living in this condition right here(referencing a slide in the presentation). We do it for the veteran who can't get assistance from their landlord and is just living in a totally unsafe situation. And, we do it for a person who is displaced and forced to live out of her car with her young child, until she can find safe housing. Those are just a few examples we are reminded of, day in and day out, why we do this program and why we are all here today. Our Program Coordinator, Shelby, is going to share a little bit about her first (Pt) hand experience. She is the face and the voice of the tenants and landlords. Anyone requesting an inspection or calling with a complaint, Shelby is the person who they speak with. Shelby McGowan, RSVP Coordinator for the Department of Code Enforcement with offices located on the 13th floor of the County-City Building, stated, I want to talk about one (1) of our first (1St) condemned properties we had. The tenant called just to make a complaint about the property he was living in. We had Inspector Steve go out and do an inspection and we did end up having to condemn the property. It was said that if we had one (1) more rainstorm, the chimney could have fallen on the property next door. Then in the basement, the cracks and the gaps in the cracks of the foundation were extremely large. The tenant was also a disabled individual and they had a case worker with Oaklawn. I personally knew the property owner because he owns other properties in the City. I had his phone number and called him. He was concerned for this tenant. He knew of his lifestyle and everything, so, he gave me the case worker's phone number. He also gave back the four hundred dollars ($400) of monthly rent. He asked me to call the case worker, too, just to make sure the case worker knew this was pretty serious. The tenant did not want to EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 1 TD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 7 ®CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK leave until the end of the month and that was just his thing. We had St. Vincent de Paul who was able to help that tenant as well as Notre Dame Law who was also able to call Pete Taddeo and find him a property that they were able to get him in. Then St. Vincent de Paul was able to help him with a down payment to get him into the home. To make the story even better, the tenant already knew a guy living in this property, so it made change even easier for him when change was not easy for him. So, his property is now being condemned under the Unsafe Building Law. She continued, It is nice to have the ones that have voluntarily done their inspections. Central High and Stevenson Mill have both passed. We did twenty percent (20%) of both of them and they all passed. Stevenson Mill passed on the first (1St) time. We did have to go back to Central because there was chipping paint in a common area and smoke detectors. They had the detectors installed that day and our inspectors came back the next day to verify it. We also have had a gentleman that owns multiple properties in the City from the north to the south side. All of his did pass on the first (1st) time, except for one (1) and that was on College, if I remember correctly. He was amazing. He had the Health Department out there in the same week to test if it was lead. It was the whole unfinished basement ceiling. So, if you can imagine, that is a lot of paint. He really didn't want to paint it. The Health Department did test it and sent us a letter to inform us it was non-lead-based paint, so he then passed. Ms. Skibins stated, As you can see, a lot goes on behind the scenes that we are not able to put on paper for you all. Thank you, Shelby. Are there any questions of me? Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston stated, I'm really interested in how this has manifested with the Miami Hills thing that is going on? Ms. Skibins replied, I think it really sparked a fire under somebody's bottom, to be honest. So, we are in conversation with them and they have so far been pretty receptive. Everybody has pulled together, finally I think, to try and get that addressed. Councilmember Williams-Preston followed up, Great. I know there were several buildings and there were problems with one (1) in particular but that was that one (1) thing we talked about. It allowed for you to inspect others. Ms. Skibins replied, I think there were six(6) or seven(7) current open cases,but then we are also going to go back and inspect twenty percent (20%) and they have until I believe June 15th to schedule those inspections with us. We will select those apartment units. Councilmember Scott stated, So, if you go back to Miami Hills and do the same thing, and you find more, can you go back and even inspect more? Ms. Skibins replied, Yes, we can. Councilmember Scott followed up, And, are you working with those landlords who are getting that seal of approval or has that still not rolled out? I think with St. Vincent de Paul and our good landlords, I brought it up when this was presented, the people with the seal of approval, maybe they are the alternatives for the people that have to leave the bad properties. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 wwwsouthbendin.gov 8 ®CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Ms. Skibins replied,Yes and that is a work in progress.We do post on the website all the addresses that have passed inspections. We again want to be sure we are promoting that, so we know where there is safe housing in the City of South Bend. I would like Ann from St. Vincent de Paul to speak to you because, again, this is grey. It is very much needed but we also need more help from the community and I think she is going to speak to that piece. Ann Watson, Executive Director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in St. Joseph County with offices located at 520 Crescent Avenue, stated, We have been hearing anecdotal complaints from people for as long as we have been giving financial assistance. We give out between $3,500 and $4,500 in rental assistance each year and we've been hearing complaints of living conditions like this for years. So, when Code Enforcement came to us and said we would like to try this program, we were absolutely on board with that. Our interaction with them has been great because when they get someone in this situation, the process that we've had set up was with Code Enforcement going to the Notre Dame Law Clinic directly and they legally represent the tenant right away which is very important because that can be a big hurdle for the people we are serving. They are then coming to us and we are either helping them, like the one (1) gentleman that Shelby mentioned or putting them in temporary housing. We've established a partnership with Suburban Suites where we can put people in temporary housing.You can fit a whole family in one(1)particular room and we set up a direct billing process to make it easier. Aubrey is our point of contact within the Society for doing that. The biggest problem there is that the funds are limited and there aren't those safe and affordable places for people to go yet. So, after they have exhausted their resources through this program, we are struggling to find permanent housing. The last thing we want to do is help someone get out of a bad situation,be good for a couple of weeks,then be on the streets again. So, I think that is one (1) of the biggest challenges we have. If we could make a developable list of alternative housing or temporary housing for some of these people, that would be wonderful, as well as a list of landlords that are good and have,maybe, some spaces available. Otherwise, we've been very amazed with how this has worked. It helps us so much to know that we can help someone get out of a situation like this because they are they are there, and this happens all the time. Thank you, very much. Committee Chair Broden asked,To that need for additional housing stock that is readily available, has there been any outreach to the rental organizations or the realtor associations? Anything like that? Ms. Skibins stated, No, that needs to happen. I have not made that contact. Committee Chair Broden asked, Are there any other updates to stakeholder groups? Or is this the first (1st) update? Jamie Morgan, Project Manager for the Mayor of the City of South Bend with offices located on the 14th floor of the County-City Building, replied, We wanted to check in with Council first (1St) and move forward with the other groups that were really a part of this process. Councilmember Scott asked, Has Human Rights been involved with any of these cases? Ms. Skibins replied, Human Rights has been in contact with us and they ask us to supply them with information. We do,but then after that, I don't know what happens after that point. We have a relationship and they are a partner with us, as well. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION 1 EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 1574.235.9173 I 11)574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 9 ®CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committeemember White stated, I have two (2) comments. The first (1St) of which, this update is very nice and if you could make this available to the public as well as others in the City,that would be great. When I was at the Miami Hills Apartments and spoke with some of their residents, we talked about the RSVP Program and the need for those that are renting to have rental insurance. Councilmember Jake Teshka arrived at the meeting at 4:06 p.m. Committeemember White continued, I know that was something discussed and is something we need to have further conversations on in terms of how we help those with limited income having that protection, as well. I just wanted to put that on the table. I don't know what that would look like. I'm not saying the City should, but I think we need to look at that because that was an issue that many of the residents stated if they had that, they would be gone. I just want to put that forth for further discussion. Councilmember Williams-Preston asked, Can you speak more to the working group? How often have you met? How is it going and how did you select the folks? Ms. Skibins replied, The working group is made up of two (2) landlords, two (2) tenants, and actually Jamie, I'll let you speak on this if you don't mind. Council President Scott replied, The composition is per the Ordinance. Ms. Morgan stated, Per the Ordinance, we convened a working group. We found that since we weren't able to compensate people for their time with us, we wanted to really make it as easy as we could to make sure we are getting the feedback from people. It was an online only digital group. So, we sent them something very similar to what you all received. Then I sent them a series of program monitoring questions to spark information. We met with Councilmember Broden pretty early on since she's been such a champion. It's important to provide metrics with these sorts of things. We also looped in Councilmember Scott so that we were able to get the two (2) Council Members involved with us. Councilmember Williams-Preston followed up, So,besides the Council Members,how did you go about choosing the landlords and tenants? Did you have volunteers? Ms. Morgan replied, We reached out to United Way and to our friends at the NNN who helped with the housing summit which convened a lot of stakeholders together right before this. The neighborhood groups have really been looking to identify landlords. So, in the end, we were able to select a few people out of a few community recommendations that we received. Ms. Skibins stated, Then we take that information and we try to address whatever issues they see and statistics they want us to keep track of. One (1) of the examples of that was whether the unit was occupied or not occupied. That was something we were not tracking before but we are now. Councilmember Williams-Preston then asked, So, will you send those out? I mean, I don't remember what the Ordinance said. Maybe it's delineated in the Ordinance but how often will you be checking with that? EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 10 0 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Ms. Morgan replied, So, it'll be a six (6) month and a three (3) month check-in. This is just a preliminary. We seem to be on track. Councilmember Williams-Preston stated,Cool. I ran into someone who is a landlord in my District and he had a lot of questions. Who can I direct him to? Ms. Skibins replied, Shelby and the 311 Call Center. Also, the RSVP Website, there is a ton of information on there including what the inspectors are looking for. That is in hope that landlords address these issues before the appointment. Committee Chair Broden asked, Is there any insight to the staffing time and how the caseloads are being managed? Ms. Skibins replied, Again, we initially thought the average would be about twenty (20) minutes per inspection but it has taken a bit longer than that,just because we are dealing with the structures we already know have issues. They take a little bit longer. With three (3) inspectors dedicated to this program, it has been a bit of a challenge to keep up with the inspections, especially if we have an emergency situation. Our inspectors typically have a full day of inspections, then if emergency situations like maybe a property needs to be condemned, we have a difficult time because we then have to reschedule everything just to make sure we fit that in. So, we are working and crunching numbers but having a couple additional inspectors would definitely be beneficial. Committee Chair Broden followed up, And the average time per inspection is now what? Ms. Skibins replied, It ranges from twenty(20) up to sixty(60)minutes. Committee Chair Broden then opened the floor to members of the public. Linda Wolfson, 809 Park Avenue, stated, One(1) of the members of the organization I work with approached me. So, I'm going to substitute for her. A lot because of the publicity in the paper, a question was raised about the relationship between the HUD Inspections and the City's Inspections. I know there was a decision made initially that units that were being inspected already by a regular program would be exempt. But, I don't know all of the nature going on in Miami Hills and that's why I hesitate to make any conclusions. But,it appears, and in fact there was a long list, of these multi-apartment buildings in the City that had significant numbers of apartments that are Section Eight (8) Apartments. I'm wondering if you're monitoring that. In the long run, I'm not suggesting because I know it's a big money thing to say, well, we can inspect them too, but this person was saying don't trust them, then we have to inspect them because people shouldn't live like that. So, I just was going to suggest it now in terms of the data you gather. That is something to help figure out how bad the situation is and what can be done about it. Ms. Skibins replied, That is a very good point and that is true. So, if there is a HUD inspection, typically that is not something we would address unless there are issues, or the tenant reaches out to us. So, as soon as that contact is made, we would go out and inspect, yes. Ideally,we should not have to do that, but yes, we would be sure to follow up. That is what we did with Miami Hills and we would do that with any other property if any other tenant reaches out to us. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION 1 EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 vvww.southbendin.gov 11 CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committee Chair Broden asked, So as a follow-up, absent a complaint from that HUD tenant, this program wouldn't have interfaced in that situation, would it? Ms. Skibins replied, Unless there was an already open housing complaint, that is correct, yes. Andre Stoner, 628 Cushing Street, stated, I just want to express my appreciation for the report and for the work that is happening. It seems it is diligent and thorough. These are remarkable partnerships that are really important. I am also really appreciative of the questions that arise to see all the needs we learn about. This is addressing a lot of the really significant multi-unit problems we have in our community. I am really impressed and pleased. Samuel Brown, 222 East Navarre Street, stated, I'm in favor of the program. I have a watchdog group called Citizens United and I really think it's a good program. What I want to know is, the people that fail this,how long does it take for them to get off that list and get things updated? Will the public know about this list? Do they go to the website? How do the people know who these bad people are? Ms. Skibins replied, So,the website is updated weekly with the addresses that have been inspected and that have passed. Committee Chair Broden asked, Is the property owner notified as soon as they pass the inspection? Ms. Skibins replied, They know right away but we mail them the certificate. Councilmember Scott stated,This is good. Thank you, Chair, for doing this. Tracy,thank you, and everybody else for doing this. Thank you. When we pass large legislation for something important like this, it is good to do the follow up. I look forward to the next follow up because what that working group learns will help us make tweaks and improvements to this Ordinance. With no further business, Committee Chair Broden adjourned the Health and Public Safety Committee meeting at 4:15 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, 1 rn.�ti J'Jr . Broden, Committee Chair EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION ! INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 12