Minutes 03-18-2025-Business Meeting

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52 PUBLIC COMMENTS: Ryan Lavalley said he is one of the coordinators of the Orange County HOME Coalition. He thanked the Board for looking for funding for home repairs, but asked the Board to not use MAP funds for that gap. He said since 2017 they have coordinated the layered home repair network and now, they know the extent of home repairs needed. He said it is more acute in the upcoming fiscal year due to losses from other revenue streams. He said that the MAP funds are not an effective place to find the additional funds. He said that the Home Preservation Coalition revealed the need for home repairs in the county and this would stifle the program that shined the light on the need. He said Aging staff has effectively steered the budget strategically and collaboratively. He said there are 2.5 years left in this plan. He said when they build age friendly communities, they built friendly communities. Ann Bradford said she is the chair of the Orange County Advisory Board on Aging, and they are responsible for completing the goals in the MAP. She said for the 2017- 2022 MAP, a formal evaluation was completed and revealed 90% of projects were completed. She said even during the pandemic, the department was able to achieve great success. She said some of the balance is from one-time federal grants. She said there are times that funds have not been used by other providers and offered to Orange County. She said a capital project will receive the ARPA $62,000 and will not use existing ARPA funds. She said they anticipate depleting the fund balance at 2027-2028. She said they need the funds to remain in the department so they can complete the MAP goals as developed. She said that as the Carol Woods representative to the community, the funds were specifically given to the department to fund the MAP. Vice-Chair Hamilton said she is struggling in differentiating between the MasterAging Plan and Master Aging Projects. Janice Tyler, Director of the Department on Aging, said that the Master Aging Plan is not the strategic plan for the Orange County Department on Aging. She said the Master Aging Plan is the plan for the community. She said it was a massive effort and it was not done in a silo. Vice-Chair Hamilton said that helps, but it also brings up that its overall for the community. She said that people don't have food, and if the basics aren't done, she struggles with innovating when there are still basic needs to be met. She said she is interested in the flexibility of using funds when we have them because of what they are dealing with. She said everything counts. Janice Tyler said the community set the priorities. She said there were seven workgroups, and 160-175 people in the process. She said they had to prioritize the work. Vice-Chair Hamilton said conditions change, and maybe that's the tension with this MAP. Commissioner Fowler said she struggles with the idea of not using funds for housing because it was uncovered by the MAP. She said it would be reckless to not have basic needs before going into other items. She said that putting some money towards housing would be a reasonable use. Chair Bedford said it sounded like Commissioner Fowler was interested in a combination of options 1 and 3. Commissioner Portie-Ascott said she her understanding of the need for senior housing and housing repairs. She asked if there was a way to do both and the requests in option 1. Chair Bedford asked Janice Tyler asked if the Handy Helper projects are different from the urgent projects. Janice Tyler said Handy Helpers are more about accessibility with items like ramps and grab bars. Ryan Lavalley said the issue is between the Urgent Repair programs spend about $15,000-$20,000 and those are the ones that are most needed. He said they need large repairs, and the need is more than what the Handy Helper program can provide. He said one example is a mobile home fund. He said it takes a lot of money to do the comprehensive repair that is needed in the county.