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9 <br />Excerpt from the February 4, 2014 BOCC Approved Minutes <br />5. Public Hearings <br />a. Orange County Consolidated Housing Plan Update <br />The Board received comments from the public regarding the housing and non - <br />housing needs to be included in the Annual Update of the 2010 -2015 Consolidated <br />Housing Plan for Housing and Community Development Programs in Orange County <br />and proposed uses of 2014 -2015 HOME funds. <br />Tara Fikes reviewed the background information from the abstract. She said her <br />department anticipates receiving the same amount in funding as last year ($333,418) for <br />acquisition, rental assistance, new construction and housing rehabilitation. Commissioner <br />Pelissier referred to the Plan to End Homelessness and asked if there are any items in this <br />grant to encourage permanent housing. Tara Fikes said the housing department tries to <br />make sure that the community knows that there is interest in creating more permanent <br />housing. She said there is a real push for this during the preparation of the continuum of <br />care application, and the hope is that this carries over. Commissioner Rich asked if there <br />is anything additional or outside of the box being done that is not listed in the plan. Tara <br />Fikes said she cannot think of anything at this point, but she will give this some thought. <br />Chair Jacobs said the Senior Housing that was done with a private developer was a major <br />investment of housing bond funds. <br />PUBLIC COMMENT: <br />Mary Jean Seyda said she is the chief operating officer of CASA, an organization <br />that develops and manages rental housing for mostly disabled and homeless citizens. She <br />said one of their tenants, John, a veteran, lost his job and then his housing. She said he <br />ended up camping in the woods for 4 years before an outreach worker found him and <br />developed a relationship with him. The outreach worker was able to put him in touch <br />with the VA and then with CASA. Mary Jean Seyda said John now has his own <br />apartment funded by the County Commissioners. She said having a safe secure place <br />enables him to cook, clean, and make all of his appointments at the VA. She said John <br />has expressed that the ability to only pay 30% of his income for rent allows him to even <br />get a burger once in a while. Mary Jean Seyda said this is one example of the power of <br />affordable housing, and she advocates for these funds to serve the County's most <br />vulnerable populations. She said housing is one of the simplest solutions for <br />homelessness. She advocated for funding for more affordable apartments and for rapid <br />re- housing. She said the rapid re- housing is beneficial because it takes people out of the <br />lFC shelter and places them in housing quicker, and it also provides a bridge for some <br />people to prevent them from becoming homeless. She acknowledged Tara Fikes and her <br />staff for their dedication and commitment to finding housing solutions in Orange County. <br />Susan Levy, Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity, said Habitat has <br />developed 11 creative partnerships in 2013 to build 11 new homes. She said the families <br />who purchase these homes are hardworking members of the community. She said 9 of <br />FY 2014 -2015 Action Plan 4 <br />