Minutes - 05-09-2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

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~:~ $120,000 of acquisition funds for the Orange/Person/Chatham Mental Health Agency to assist them in acquiring properties to rent to their patients ~:~ $100,000 for the Community Revitalization Loan Program Tara Fikes made reference to page 12 of the agenda abstract that included a report of how housing funds were expended over the last five years. Also, on page 16 is a project description summary for the current year that shows all of the proposals that were received for funding and shows the Program Council's recommendations. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to page 49 and public policies that are impediments to fair housing and said that some of the Commissioners took issue with the educational impact fee posing an impediment. He made reference to page 50 and residential segregation, which does not refer to development patterns and developer choices. He also made reference to page 51 and the number of fair housing complaints. He said that this could, in part, be attributed to a lack of awareness, but not totally. He made reference to page 54, under Priority 1 C and the fact that we keep repeating the statement that an estimated 10-20% of the County's septic systems fail at any given moment. He said that he thought this had been refuted. He made reference to page 15 and the $265,000 housing price in Orange County. Tara Fikes said that the housing price in Orange County has been changed to $247,661. She will try to get separate figures for Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, and Orange County. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to page three of the Executive Summary and said that he would like to know what program is in place to inspect houses if they lack indoor plumbing. Tara Fikes said that they track this through other people and the houses, which lack indoor plumbing, are usually in one area of the County. She said that there was not a systematic inspection system in place. She said that staff relies on Environmental Health for information as well as other non-profits that have closer contact with the residents of these homes. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to page five and the sixth bullet and said that it should say "land use strategies." He made reference to page seven and verified that the last line should read "project homestart." Tara Fikes said that this plan could be amended because she was required to do an annual action plan, which may incorporate changes. She will strike the mention of the 10-20% of septic systems in Orange County. Commissioner Gordon made reference to discrimination based on the source of income and said that this should be clear. She asked if it was discrimination if someone was not allowed to rent because of his or her inability to pay. Tara Fikes said that a lot of times there is money available through housing vouchers. She said that this distinction could be made clear indicating that the plan is not talking about people who do not have any type of resources available. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to the indoor plumbing issues and said that the last data he saw was from the 1990 census and asked if there was any other formal method to get this information. Tara Fikes said that sometimes the Rural Center commissions a study throughout the state, but there was not really another formal method of determining how many do not have indoor plumbing. Commissioner Jacobs said that Orange County just hired a Health Educator to work on the Waste Treatment Management Plan, and part of that is going to be two years of community outreach to septic system maintenance. He said that maybe incentives could be offered for people to get plumbing systems. He suggested that the two departments -Environmental Health and Housing and Community Development -work together. Commissioner Brown asked about the clarification for Project Homestart and how the facilities were being used with the Durham/Orange Coalition for Battered Women. John Link said that there has not been an agreement between the InterFaith Council and the Coalition for Battered Women to use this facility. He said that there was a new group that was