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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-1817 CityClerk From:Rob Qualls <robbieq@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, March 25, 2024 12:12 PM To:Jones, D'Andre; Hertzberg, Holly; Jordan, Lioneld; Wiederkehr, Mike; Moore, Sarah; Turk, Teresa; Bunch, Sarah; Berna, Scott; CityClerk Subject:Summarized actions taken and Anticipated to support housing production CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the City of Fayetteville. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Good Afternoon Council, and Mayor, I have been closely following discussions around housing, and the competing housing related resolutions being discussed. I’m very happy to see stakeholders and city leaders discussing solutions. I do have a concern about the Summarized actions taken and Anticipated to support housing production. Several of the actions listed are actually a RESULT of a lack of housing production, not actions that support housing production. To be clear, actions taken to support our unhoused population, and people experiencing poverty, are commendable, important, and deserving of attention. However, they did not serve to create housing production. In my opinion, it’s highly inappropriate and misleading to include these items in a resolution as somehow related to increasing housing production. People receiving services have died in the elements while waiting to use their vouchers because there wasn’t permanent housing available. Funding for 7-hills needs to be accompanied by adequate staffing and resources to add units for people to live in. The Following items IMO, should be omitted from the combined resolution because they did not serve to increase housing production. In fact, they are a result of a lack of housing production:    Entering into a 99 year lease of City property with the 7Hills Homeless Center for the  Walker Residential Unit for emergency sheltering, providing $337,000 in maintenance funding to that facility, and providing an additional $801,926 in financial assistance to the 7Hills Homeless Day Center for daily services to homeless residents between 2018-2024;     Administering the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to improve housing,  public and community facilities, and provide public services to low-moderate income Fayetteville residents;     Committing $1,630,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds for a consortium of partnering  organizations to address housing instability in Fayetteville   1   Administering the Hearth Program, which has provided $2,576,580 in assistance between  2016- 2023 to provide permanent supportive housing and ongoing counseling, life skills training, and advocacy services to formerly homeless individuals and families;     Establishing the Community Development and Assistance Programs Advisory Board, whose  purpose is to advise the Community Resources Division and the City Council on the community development and public assistance programs mentioned above and whose purpose can be amended to place a specific emphasis on housing issues;     Establishing a new partnership with the Excellerate Foundation for the Sheltering Assistance  from Extreme Weather (SAFE) Program to distribute $50,000 for both cold weather and warm weather services during 2024     Increasing the staff that ensure life safety standards are met while providing for the  time sensitive processing of entitlement applications and the review and approval of construction Resolution: File Number: 2024-1817 Page 3 documents by building safety, engineering, planning, inspection, and other development related support staff     Participating fully in the regional activities and initiatives of the Northwest Arkansas  Council, Groundwork – the NWA Council’s Workforce Housing Center, the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, the Continuum of Care, and the NWA Urban Land Institute’s educational programs, to name a few.    I fully support efforts to solve our Housing Crisis. As I stated in my City hall comments years ago, after the Civil Rights Ordinance was passed, the next civil rights battle in Fayetteville is housing. Thank You, Rob Qualls 2140 E Jonquil Rd Fayetteville 2