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REGULAR MEETING February 25, 2019
<br /> Councilmember Oliver Davis asked, When you go out to a property now, how is that different
<br /> from a fee if you find out that they are not following? There are people getting fined right now, do
<br /> you see what I'm saying?
<br /> Ms. Skibins confirmed, Correct.
<br /> Councilmember Oliver Davis asked, So, what?
<br /> Ms. Skibins replied, There are other enforcement tools built into the RSVP such as an inspection
<br /> warrant. So, right now, our hands are kind of tied with what we have available to us but with the
<br /> RSVP, things could escalate all the way to an inspection warrant where we can get a warrant to
<br /> actually go into the property and inspect if we need to. We don't have that right now.
<br /> Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, That is what I wanted you to share. Thank you for the
<br /> clarification. Thank you. I'm at peace.
<br /> Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston asked, We've talked a lot about safe and healthy, safe
<br /> and healthy. One (1) of the big things we are struggling with here is also affordability. Can you
<br /> speak to what you've seen around the country in terms of how we can have all of that — safe,
<br /> healthy and affordable.
<br /> Ms. Norton replied, I can tell you that the data shows there is not a spike in rent increases. It does,
<br /> over time, lower the maintenance cost for owners. Housing is more stabilized, and,in fact, we did
<br /> a deep dive in my own city to see if there was any trend in vacancy. There was some concern from
<br /> owners that they would abandon properties and leave because of the cost. That virtually didn't
<br /> happen. We've replicated that in a number of cities. The net effect is, truly, the rates of lead
<br /> poisoning go down, the rates of emergency department and hospital visits for asthma go down,the
<br /> rates for injury issues also go down. The data shows that, and I would be happy to share that at
<br /> some point in time with the community and Council.
<br /> Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston interjected, I understand the healthy stuff, I just want to
<br /> look at the affordability. So, what I'm hearing you say is that, in your experience, all over the
<br /> country, when cities have implemented programs like this, you have not seen an increase in rental
<br /> cost?
<br /> Ms. Norton replied, Absolutely. There's been nothing that has caused a blip. Not only have we
<br /> looked at that, but the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office or Lead
<br /> Hazard Control and Healthy Housing has looked at this issue. Over the course of about twenty-
<br /> five (25) years, the data is pretty steady.
<br /> Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated,I have a couple of follow-ups. So,one(1)of the components
<br /> in the last section of this is monitoring the progress of the program. I think we spoke earlier about,
<br /> and I don't know if you were at the Committee meeting, but, interest in making sure we capture
<br /> metrics, right? You've been in this field for twenty-five (25) years, at minimum, and I guess I
<br /> would like to know,perhaps,what type of metrics we can capture,as a community,before we even
<br /> go to the first (1st) door? I'm thinking of being very intentional and very smart about that, right?
<br /> Because, we want to know our hoped-for outcomes and if we are going to get those. Or, are we
<br /> going to miss the mark? I'm interested because this is widespread through the State and the
<br /> country. I think there are a lot of communities, but I'm interested in the ability to replicate and
<br /> duplicate, right? So, what can other cities learn from us, what can we learn from other cities? I
<br /> mean,it helps everybody,right? And then my last piece is just what metrics could lend themselves
<br /> to advancing research or grant writing? Or, funding sources? I mean, I know those are loaded but
<br /> that is something I would like. We are very responsible about what we choose to monitor and not
<br /> monitor, and the data we keep or don't keep,but I do want to make sure we are aligning with some
<br /> of these other long-standing programs that have been in place. So, I don't know if you could
<br /> address that in a general way. I guess, are there model metrics?
<br /> Ms.Norton replied, So,I'll start by saying the City of South Bend is starting an onboarding process
<br /> to become a Green and Healthy Homes Initiative City. That standard and metric of becoming a
<br /> Green and Healthy Homes Initiative City is a metric that was actually devised not just by our
<br /> organization but the US Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as eleven (11)
<br /> federal agencies between 2009 and today. That also includes the US Conference of Mayor's
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