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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-22-2004 IOWA CITY SCATTERED SITE HOUSING TASKFORCE MEETING AGENDA 22 November 2004 City Hall, Lobby Conference Room 4:30 p.m. 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Minutes trom October 4,2004 and November 8, 2004 3. Taskforce Deliberation Regarding Recommendations to the City Council 4. Discuss Future Meeting Dates 5. Adjournment Please Note Meeting Time MINUTES SCATTERED SITE HOUSING TASKFORCE OCTOBER 4, 2004 CITY HALL, LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Don Anciaux, Jerry Anthony, Darlene Clausen, Matthew Hayek, Jan Leff, Jan Peterson, Sally Stutsman, Joan Vandenberg STAFF PRESENT: Steve Nasby, Steve Rackis OTHERS PRESENT: Lisa Anthony, Allan Axeen, John Balmer, Jim Behle, Kari Clark, Emily Brigham, Julie Busch, Laverne Calhoun, Dan Carroll, Maryann Dennis, Charles Eastham, Jean Falk, Claire Heger, Andy Johnson, Beth Koppes, Mary Mccue, Barb McGee, Royceann Ricter, Joe Rowan, Pat Ruxton, Sue Ruxton, Patti Santangelo, Paul Show, Cornelius Smith, Tammy Spies, Nicol Valeikas, Christy Wolfe, Deb Wretman, Darcie Yamada CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Hayek called the meeting and public hearing to order at 6:35 pm. INTRODUCTION Hayek began the hearing by giving an overview of the Taskforce and its function. The Taskforce was created in April 2004 by request of the Iowa City City Council to examine assisted housing in Iowa City, including types of housing, distribution, and location. He said the Taskforce's operating definition of assisted housing is based on the development or acquisition of property for low to moderate-income households receiving any public assistance or support from state, federal, county, or municipal government. Hayek said this definition would include rental units such as those owned by Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship and Section 8; owner-occupied homes such as those built by Habitat for Humanity; transitional housing such as HACAP; emergency housing like Shelter House or DVIP; and residential facilities such as MECCA. Hayek noted that the Taskforce was formed largely due to a request by the Iowa City Community School District. In November 2003 the School District sent a letter to the City Council regarding the district-wide forum held in October 2003, which looked at conditions associated with poverty in Iowa City and related educational concerns. Participants at the forum noted that educational issues (high needs children) may be associated with the location of affordable housing appear to be concentrated in one or two elementary school attendance areas. He said that the Taskforce is looking at both current locations of assisted housing and possibly recommendations regarding the selection of future sites for affordable housing. Hayek continued, saying that the Taskforce has met nearly twice per month since its creation in April and they toured all of Iowa City to gain familiarity with the different areas and a number of assisted housing projects. They have also gathered data and reading materials from citizens, interested groups and City staff, which include information from studies conducted in other cities. Hayek added that numerous groups have presented to the Taskforce. The presenting groups included the Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship, Burns & Burns, Iowa City Housing Authority and Community Development staff, University of Iowa Residence Services, human services agencies such as HACAP and MECCA, the Neighborhood Council, the Iowa City Community School District, Iowa City Homebuilders Association, and a private lender (bank). Hayek said that the purpose of this public hearing is to solicit comments and ask for input. After the hearing, the Taskforce will begin deliberating, and then form an opinion based on their findings regarding concentrations of assisted housing and/or recommendations to the City Council on locating future assisted housing. Hayek noted that the recommendations, if any, will be made available for public review and another public hearing will be held to gather more feedback. After this second public hearing the Taskforce's decision(s) may be revised, as needed. Last, any recommendations made by the Taskforce Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Minutes October 4, 2004 Page 2 will be presented to the City Council for their consideration. Hayek said that the Taskforce hopes to be finished with their work by early 2005. The Taskforce will determine if, in their opinion, there are concentrations of affordable housing in Iowa City. If not, their work is done. If there are concentrations, then they must determine if concentrations are impacting the community in a positive or negative manner. If negative, the Taskforce will need to formulate a plan to address the issue, which could include encouraging or discouraging certain kinds of development in certain areas, or changing the allocation of money and funding to services or by the City. PUBLIC HEARING Sullivan: where is the current concentration, and is there is a plan to oversee this issue? Also, is there a concentration, since the term "perception" was used several times? Hayek replied that the Taskforce has gathered facts, but has not formed an opinion as yet. He said that he did not know whether there is a formal plan in the City to oversee this, which is perhaps why the Taskforce was formed. Also, different people can look at the same data and come to different conclusions, which is why the Taskforce is investigating this matter. Sullivan: is there a map showing current concentration? Hayek answered that they have consulted some maps, though they are not present at this meeting. Nasby noted that they are not currently posted on the internet but could be put up under icgov.org, under Scattered Sites after the hearing. Nasby passed around a 11x17 map showing the locations of assisted housing that was provided to the Taskforce. A member of the public asked how perception can be fixed if the problem is not acknowledged? Some of the issues cited were realtors recommending against buying in certain areas. Hayek responded that the group will be making a decision on whether the perception is accurate, and is asking for public input on the issue. Sullivan: reading levels are variable in Grant Wood, because of variable academic levels of the students, often those from school districts in Chicago. Also, it is difficult to have successful fundraisers at Grant Wood. Calhoun: regarding Chicago schools, the academic level of the students depends on their environment, both at school and at home. The educational approaches and curriculums are different between different school systems, which involves transition/adaptation issues with the students and parents. Also important are the expectations and support of the parents and the home environment. The school systems in Chicago are not necessarily better or worse, just different. Falk: there should be equality in school education and financial support, as well as assistance and interest of the parents. All people have the same bills, needs, and expenses. People need to have goals, motivation, and determination. Many people don't have housing or other shelter, or they are in small/inadequate housing. Over 1,000 people in Iowa City are living in cars or under bridges in winter. There should be more centers to help with shelter issues and offer assistance, especially since people never know when they might end up needing that assistance themselves. Currently there is a 4-year waiting list for Section 8 housing. Hayek: would like clarification that Falk sees the need for more shelter houses, and the waiting list on Section 8 housing should be reduced or eliminated. Falk agreed. Anthony: values differ according to income level, and people are received and treated differently for the same reason. The system is faulty, and people sometimes have to be dishonest in order to get assistance. She could not have made it without assistance. Noted that different people say different things about the schools - such as Grant Wood and Mark Twain - depending on their viewpoint. Social workers have good things to say about Mark Twain, for example. Hayek: would there be an advantage to spreading out the free/reduced lunch program recipients to other schools? Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Minutes October 4, 2004 Page 3 Anthony: There are pros and cons both ways, depending on how one looks at it. Problems are mentioned with having concentration of assisted housing, but what are they, and how would scattering help? People are more comfortable with others of similar backgrounds. Iowa City is very tolerant in many ways. Is it a question of services or funding? Anciaux: is transportation an issue? Would having assisted housing scattered help people be closer to their jobs. Anthony: work is often in factories or other outlying service areas. It may help. Valeikas: what is the significance of the number of free school lunches? Someone is paying for the lunches, regardless of where they are served so why is this an issue. Leff replied that the reason that program is noted is because there is a correlation between income and educational success. Statistically, students who receive freelreduced lunches across the United States are not as successful as students who do not. Sullivan: there are needs that go along with a need for free lunches, and a greater need for resources. Schools can only give so much support for these needs, and having a smaller percentage of students with these needs in each school would allow for teachers giving better assistance to the students. A higher number of students with those higher needs does not mean that the school receives more funding. Valeikas: regarding question of transportation and having housing closer to their jobs, people get in where they fit in. If you don't have transportation, you have to base your job on where you live, rather than the reverse. Anciaux: would you move if there were an opportunity, if there was affordable housing placed throughout in the city? Valeikas replied maybe, depending on what was available. Is this a question of displacing where people are now, or adding more assisted housing? Hayek replied that it's about adding new. Valeikas: if adding new, why is there a controversy? Hayek answered that one issue, for example, is whether to build or buy a higher number of units in less expensive areas, or to build fewer units in more expensive areas. Valeikas pointed out that availability of space is an issue that also directly impacts this. Dennis added that the City of Iowa City is not the only entity that provides housing. There are private non- profit and for-profit developers that also provide affordable housing. It would be beneficial for the Taskforce to partner with developers of affordable housing to increase acceptance of these developments. Carroll: it seems that one of the main goals of the community is to break the cycle of poverty, though this hasn't been stated specifically. It's not about dilution or spreading out the problem. It would be beneficial for every school in a community to share the responsibility for assisting with this goal. Hayek: would changing the way things are, for example with schools sharing the effort, help alleviate poverty? Carroll replied that it wouldn't end racism or classism, but it would help schools give people of different backgrounds get a solid education. Trying to get past the idea of "separate but equal" and overburdening schools in certain areas, and good public education will help people with their futures. Clark said she is currently a Resource Teacher at Mark Twain. She has taught and lived in inner city Chicago and have seen the kids in those areas. Resource teachers see the children with the greatest needs. She also noted some of the services available in the area: DVIP, MECCA, HACAP and UAY transitional housing. She estimated a 40% turnover rate at Mark Twain, and at least 100 homeless children went through Mark Twain last year. What accompanies poverty is increased chances of experiencing domestic violence, witnessing violence and drug abuse, poor nutrition and sleep habits, and transitional living. This lack of stability can be on a yearly or even a daily basis. Concentrations of poverty mean that these factors begin feeding off of each other. Social research indicates that areas of concentrated poverty are not good. Students in these situations haven't had consistent school experience, because they are often gone from school on a regular basis. Higher numbers of students are not at proficiency at their grade level, but redistributing resources isn't always the answer. Often there is no space for additional teachers to help with these special needs. Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Minutes October 4, 2004 Page 4 Dennis: why doesn't the school district bus kids? Clark replied that taking the children out of their communities is not an optimal solution. She would like to have an integrated community, rather than enclaves of wealth and poverty. Johnson: noted that it's less a concern about low income, but related to an increase in African American population in Iowa City and who "they" are. She said they need to deal with the parents, rather than the kids having problems. Sullivan disagreed that it's a racial issue. It's about kids with greater needs, which is often related to socio-economic status, but not always. Iowa City is 10 years behind on addressing this issue. Brigham: Iowa City is experiencing growing pains. There will always be enclaves of wealthier and poorer people. Students can be bussed to other schools, and that may help. McGee: regarding providing services to children, unfortunately space is an issue, though the staff at the schools may be excellent and the concern is the teacher-to-student ratio. Perhaps if housing were available in other areas, it would also be closer to other kinds of jobs. Rackis: free/reduced lunches may be a measurement of people at or below poverty line. However, is it the case that everyone on the lunch program is living in assisted housing? Taskforce members replied that is not necessarily the case. Rackis questioned whether the issue actually is assisted housing, or if that is just a subset of the larger issue of concentration of poverty in these two school districts? Hayek replied that is a fair question, and the Taskforce may see a correlation between the two. It is one measurement, but not a perfect one. Sandporter: came to Iowa because of promise of higher income. Costs of living in Iowa City were ridiculous, and have to apply ahead for housing. Lakeside was one place that accepted housing assistance, and then she got a job with Lear. However, she had people attack her for using the services and abusing the system after having an interview about the Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship program for the newspaper. Noted that people live where they are accepted. People on other side of town will not accept Section 8 vouchers. Peterson: would you move if you could? Sand porter replied yes, of course. However, people can't get housing everywhere, so going to other schools may require open enrollment and bussing. Asserted that developers will build where land is cheaper and create more units, and that's where assisted housing is accepted. Hayek: how people build depends on their goals. If the goal is larger number of units, then they will go where land is less expensive. If the goal is different, such as spreading certain types throughout the community, then cost of land is less of an issue. Is it worth building fewer units to spread assisted housing out? Sandporter replied no, that it is better to have more units, with open enrollment. Yamada: oversees a transitional living program at United Action for Youth that assists with housing for pregnant and parenting teens ages 16-21. Deals with needs of teen parents in the community, who faces additional prejudice. Largest barrier is age, with homeless teen parents under 18 who cannot attain housing. UAY will put leases in their organization's name and pay full rent for certain individuals, but they are always looking for people in the community who are willing to rent to them, since many landlords aren't willing to rent to their clientele even though UA Y supervises the parents, or there aren't any small units available. It is a small program, only able to serve seven families at a time, and is not an emergency program. Their clients don't have anywhere to go for emergency housing, since as parents they can't go to the youth shelter, and Shelter House can be threatening to young mothers with children. Clausen: how many people are on the waiting list for this program? Yamada reported that it depends, right now about five on list with some currently applying. There are usually more during the school year because of referrals from other community services. Santangelo: on the board for the Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship, and assist with several other services. Certain neighborhoods resist having assisted housing built in their areas, but there are very few lots in those areas that can be filled at this point anyway. Brought in a document from a website, which noted that sometimes scattering sites is not good because of convenience of services. Large apartment Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Minutes October 4, 2004 Page 5 buildings are not necessarily a problem, and scattering sites can isolate residents from each other and services, which weaken community networks. One of the reasons people are coming to Iowa City from Chicago is because of all the units that have been torn down, causing a large demand for affordable housing and long waiting lists with services. Hayek: what is your opinion on scattering sites? Santangelo replied that there are people at Grant Wood and Mark Twain have staff trained to assist students with special needs, which the other schools don't necessarily have. Shelter House goes to Horace Mann and will continue to go there even if relocated. Smith: moved from Waterloo seven years ago, and is a widow with two grandchildren she cares for. Has been a foster parent for twelve years, and have always paid high rent. Don't see why people are not given assistance with housing for community assistance such as foster parenting. Iowa City did not try to help with lower-income housing, so she had to go to a different organization. Calhoun: said that she is a young, black single parent with six children. Lived in low-income housing by choice. When she came to Iowa City, she did not get any help from local churches. However, people do need to do for themselves. Noted that intelligence can make all the difference, and resources are available to help people, but they have to find out about them. People are different, and their needs are different, but they should all still be treated equally and given equal access to services. Spies: when talking about strain on certain schools, if people in these schools say they are tapped out, she believes them. She works for Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship, and it is difficult to find areas to build or purchase homes in because of the expensive market. Services are limited by money, and assistance organizations want to service the greatest number of people possible. Bussing may be a good option; to help spread out the burden of assisting students with greater needs, since some of the neighborhoods don't want to have assisted housing. All school districts are responsible for fulfilling educational needs in the community. Involving North Liberty and Coralville in this discussion would be good, as well. Anciaux: where does the Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship get its funding? Dennis replied that it comes from many sources. Public funding is all federal financing that is passed through the state and the city. The funds are administered by the city, but the funds are not local tax or other revenue. ADJOURNMENT: Hearing was adjourned at 8:40 pm. s:/pcd/minuleslScatteredSileHousingTaskforcel1 0-04-04ssht.doc MINUTES SCATTERED SITE HOUSING TASKFORCE NOVEMBER 8, 2004 CITY HALL, LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Don Anciaux (left at 5:45), Jerry Anthony, Darlene Clausen, Matthew Hayek, Jan Leff, Sally Stutsman, Joan Vandenberg MEMBERS ABSENT: Jan Peterson STAFF PRESENT: Steve Nasby, Steve Rackis OTHERS PRESENT: Amanda Cline, Maryann Dennis, Charles Eastham, Alexis Kluklenski, Hieu Pham, Patti Santangelo CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Hayek called the meeting to order at 5:05 pm. He noted that though the public is welcome and encouraged to attend these meetings, the Taskforce will not be able to entertain visitors' questions or comments during the deliberations. Approval of the October 18. 2004 Minutes: Several revisions in spelling, grammar, and attribution noted for the Minutes. MOTION: A motion was made by Clausen, seconded by Vandenberg, to approve the October 18 Minutes as amended. Motion carried unanimously. Nasby said approval of the minutes from the October 4, 2004 meeting would be put on the next agenda. NEXT MEETING Hayek asked if the Taskforce could meet November 15 as scheduled? Anciaux and Vandenberg will both be available. Stutsman will not be available. Hayek tabled the discussion until the end of the meeting. DELIBERATIONS REGARDING RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL Hayek began the meeting by saying the students did a great job making the maps of the requested census data, and asked for assistance in reading and understanding the maps. Nasby described the 11 x17 gray map, showing low-moderate income areas in the census tracts according to HUD guidelines. HUD defines low-moderate income as being at or below 80% median income. The map also shows block group, census tract, and school district boundaries. He said the income numbers supplied by HUD are for 2004. In response to a question, Nasby said the circled numbers are for block groups, while the bold numbers are for the census tracts. The gray shading indicates areas of the community with greater than, or equal to 51 %, of the population in that area at the low-moderate income level. Hayek asked how block groups are determined. Nasby replied that the Census Bureau draws them. He noted also that census tracts are not necessarily equivalent in population. He can supply exact population numbers, if needed. Hayek asked if the tracts are ever changed. Nasby replied that they are changed periodically. Anciaux asked if the numbering system follows some sort of pattern. Nasby replied, not to his knowledge. Nasby explained that the 11 x17 green/yellow/red map displays poverty levels. HUD defines concentrated poverty as areas with greater than or equal to 40% of the population at poverty level. Poverty is defined as 30% of median income. Census tracts 21, 11, and 16 are all areas of concentrated poverty, which means that over 40% of the persons in these tracts are in poverty. In reply to a statement by a Taskforce Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Minutes November 8,2004 Page 2 member, Nasby agreed that many people in those tracts are aged 18-24 years, including students. Nasby noted that students do count in low-moderate income numbers, they do use services, and though they will graduate and leave, other students in the same income situation will replace them. Clausen asked how many elderly lived in those three tracts. Nasby replied that there are several elderly housing projects in those areas, including Ecumenical Towers and Capitol House. Clausen pointed out that many homeowners in tract 11 are elderly. Vandenberg asked how tract 23 could be in poverty on one map and not on the second. Nasby replied that the gray map shows all low-moderate income households, and the other shows only those at 30% so the criteria are different. Also, some areas have people with very low and very high incomes, which will pull up the average incomes. Nasby continued by saying green-shaded tracts are below the City average of poverty rate, which 19.5%. Yellow shading indicates areas between 19.6% and 40% of the persons in poverty and 40% is the Federal cutoff for concentrated poverty. Areas with greater than 40% are shown in red. He noted that this information is from 2000 census data. Clausen asked for confirmation that all numbers are from the citywide average, not just the green numbers. Nasby replied that they are, and the map is meant to show which areas are in greater poverty than the City as a whole. Also, census tract boundaries and school attendance areas are overlaid as requested by the Taskforce. Nasby next explained the police data, shown on the bluelred map. Clausen asked what an IRB is. Nasby replied he does not know what the letters designate, but that IRBs are calls that are reported to the State, which is equal to 90 incident codes in the Iowa City computer system. The blue numbers are designating the watch areas, and the red numbers designate the number of IRB incidents in each watch area. Leff noted that area three is larger than area two, and includes dormitories. Anciaux replied that area one would include the dorms. Hayek asserted that both areas include dorms. Nasby noted that if the watch areas were divided according to census tracts, he could have gotten the population density information and given them a per capita breakdown, but this was not possible as the population in each watch area is not identifiable. Vandenberg noted that the police data does not give information about the nature of the crimes. Nasby answered that the crimes plotted are the IRB crimes, which are typically the more serious ones. Rackis added that IRB is a standard statistical designation, so the data would be the same no matter where (city or state) they are reported; however, he did not know what the letters stood for either. Nasby said that one more piece of information is still coming. There are 2,855 calls represented on the IBR map, and he has received permission to plot their locations. That information will be available by the next meeting. Hayek asked if information about police personnel allocation is available. Nasby will ask. Anciaux remarked that one woman at the public hearing complained about the amount of policing that takes place in her area, though he lives in the same area and thinks there is not enough. Hayek added that the Taskforce had asked for the location of services at the last meeting, and this might be a service that would be useful to have information about. Nasby introduced the University of Iowa Field Problems students that did some of the data collection and mapping. Kluklenski explained the next map, which shows the area median household income by tract. The colors correspond to the range that was set in the legend, as indicated on the map. Another map also shows changes in poverty rates from 1989 to 1999 by census tract. Vandenberg asked how poverty is defined. Nasby replied it is defined as 30% median income. Hayek asked for confirmation that the number inside each tract is the number of persons below poverty level in that tract. Nasby replied that is correct, and that the color reflects the change in poverty rate. The gray or white areas were stable or declining poverty while the purple areas were increasing in poverty. Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Minutes November 8,2004 Page 3 Anthony asked if the 30% median income is calculated from the tract, or the entire city. Nasby replied it is 30% median income of the city as a whole. Nasby said that the students also put together data sets, which were included in the packets. Kluklenski explained that the orange maps show the percent of occupied rental properties. The numbers in each area are the median gross rent in 2000. Hayek asked if dormitory rent is included in the data. Nasby replied no, the data is collected only from the private sector. Vandenberg noted that the map indicates rent is lower downtown than on the southeast side of town. Rackis replied that the low-income elderly units might draw the averages down in these predominately student areas. Kluklenski explained that the next map shows the median price of owner-occupied homes in each tract. Nasby added that the darker green shows higher prices, while the lighter green shows lower prices. The gray area is statistically insignificant, due to the large number of rental properties (nearly 100%) in that tract. Hayek asked if there is any way to factor out the impact of students from the numbers. Nasby answered that there are age cohorts in the census data, but noted that not all people age 18-24 are students. Clausen added that students impact neighborhoods. Stutsman asked if students impact resources in the schools. Leff replied yes, such as the Family Resource Center at Horace Mann School. Mann has children of Hawkeye Apartments tenants, but also Hispanic students from the mobile home court in that neighborhood. Stutsman expressed concern with including student information, since students are voluntarily poor. Also, the school districts are concerned about a drain on serviceslresources, and student families possibly are not the primary users of school resources. Vandenberg agreed" that there is a difference between temporarily poor and generational poor people, and the educational background of the family impacts students' educational experiences. Also, there is not a direct correlation. For example, Hawkeye Apartments residents attending Horace Mann have a high incidence of ESL needs. However, the students are often high achievers because of their family backgrounds. There are many distinctions that need to be made, and not all may be possible with the available data. Hayek noted that the Taskforce should keep in mind the impact of students on the data, not only students in the elementary schools, but also students in the dorms. Clausen observed that students live throughout the city. Anciaux asked about data from Jones from The University of Iowa. Hayek answered that 85% of students live in the dorms, and each class is approximately 6000. Clausen noted that number is 85% of freshmen. The number drops dramatically in later years. Vandenberg noted that, for example, on the green/red map with areas of poverty over 40%, it would be generally true to say most residents are university students. Clausen did not agree entirely, adding that there are many long-term elderly residents in those areas as well. Rackis added that according to the University website, -15K students live in Iowa City limits in the private sector. He agreed that downtown has a number of complexes for the elderly. Clausen noted that the elderly live near downtown for the same reasons of accessibility that students do. Hayek agreed that student housing dominates the red- shaded tracts, which are 11,16, and 21. Hayek asked if Cline and Kluklenski would like to discuss the data on the spreadsheets. Cline replied that it is fairly self-explanatory. Hayek asked if the information on the left of summary file three is the percent of the overall population within a given census tract. Cline answered yes. Clausen said it is good to have these numbers, to use in the discussion about neighborhood cohesion. She noted that all areas of Iowa City appeared stable. Leff agreed that there was very little variance. Anciaux left the meeting at this point. Clausen noted that the physical assisted housing inventory might give some information on where the Taskforce can assume students live. In tract 11, for example, there are 1723 occupied units, and 1440 of them are rental units. Kluklenski explained that the second page of the table shows the percentage of total units that are rentals. Hayek noted that 100% of units in area 21 are rentals. Stutsman replied that measure would not apply everywhere. For example, there are 248 rental units in Pheasant Ridge, but that is likely to be an area of long-term poverty. Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Minutes November 8,2004 Page 4 Vandenberg asked how many elderly units account for the inventory. Nasby answered that the listed numbers include housing targeted both for the elderly and people with disabilities. It includes Autumn Park, Capital House, Ecumenical Towers, Concord Terrace, Emerson Pointe, Lexington Place, Regency 1 and 2, and Citizen Building. Vandenberg asked what tracts those buildings are in. Nasby replied tracts 4, 105, 21, and 13. Stutsman observed that there appears to be a lot of elderly housing spread around the city. Vandenberg asked if Systems Unlimited is only for people with disabilities. Nasby replied yes, and that their housing is all over the city. Hayek asked if tract information is available for other assisted housing, excluding DVIP. Nasby answered that most other housing programs are scattered throughout the city. MECCA is known. Clausen noted that Shelter House is in tract 11. Nasby added that residential facilities such as DVIP, Shelter House, and Four Oaks have a number of beds, rather than a regular occupancy number. The number of beds was then divided by 2.47 to get the unit equivalent for those facilities. Hayek asked if tract information for DVIP is available. Nasby replied that it would need to be requested. Clausen and Leff agreed that information is not needed. Other assisted housing is found in the following tracts: 18 Four Oaks Emergency Youth Shelter 11 Four Oaks Transitional Housing 18 MECCA 18 Villa Garden 11, 16 Successful Living 4 Pheasant Ridge 1 Peninsula 15 Longfellow Manor Vandenberg asked if the 84 Iowa City HA units are only the ones owned by the City. Rackis replied yes. Nasby noted that HACAP housing is also scattered and there are currently 20 units in tract 18, though two are changing out while others units are located in other tracts. Hayek moved the discussion to the school district data. Vandenberg distributed data detailing students on free/reduced lunch who are not proficient and students not on free/reduced lunch who are not proficient. Dada also included building enrollment for the school. Vandenberg noted a correlation between poverty and free/reduced. However, she also noted some irregularities with the data, which may be explained by higher remediation support available at certain schools. This seems to indicate that the system is working. For example, at Twain 42% are not proficient, but 61 % are enrolled in free/reduced lunch. Leff replied that Mark Twain has the greatest concentration of services available for students. Hayek asked what the proficiency ratings are based on. Vandenberg answered that the numbers are taken from standardized tests on reading comprehension, Iowa Test of Basic Skills (lTBS) scores. Some schools have a lower free/reduced number, and a lower number of students who are not proficient. Information was taken from scores in third through sixth grades to give a broader range of data, but the number of IEP is not factored. Learning disabilities are across the economic spectrum. Leff noted that the numbers do not factor in special education. Vandenberg replied that this could be done, as well as ESL. Hayek asked what IEP is. Vandenberg replied it designates Individual Education Program. Hayek asked if ESL and IEP information would be helpful to have. Stutsman answered yes. Vandenberg added that she brought information from specific schools in order to answer specific questions. Leff asked to have the numbers from Grant Wood. Vandenberg said that of the students, who are not proficient at Wood, roughly half of the students have an IEP. Clausen asked if all IEP students are not proficient. Vandenberg answered yes. Rackis asked for confirmation that 50 of the 101 students from the data are not proficient. Vandenberg answered yes, and that this does not include ESL. Wood does not have an ESL program. Clausen asked Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Minutes November 8, 2004 Page 5 about ESL numbers at Horace Mann. Vandenberg answered that 14 of 45 students are in ESL. Clausen asked if ESL is considered IEP. Vandenberg answered they are separate programs, though students can be in þoth. 10 ESL students at Mann are also in IEP, and overlapping data makes it difficult to make a simple table. Clausen asked for confirmation that the numbers cannot simply be added. Vandenberg answered no; they cannot, because of the overlapping data. Stutsman asked who is in IEP, and whether that includes special education. Vandenberg answered yes; students in special education are in an IEP. Stutsman asked what is considered special education. Vandenberg replied students with learning or behavioral disabilities, but it also includes mentally disabled, dyslexia, and severe behavior disorders as well. Leff added that special education ranges from students who spend 1-2 hours in a special classroom, to those who are never in a mainstream classroom. Vandenberg agreed, saying that an IEP would indicate there is a disability interfering with learning. Anthony asked what the column on the table designated "number/percentage not proficient" is a percentage of. Vandenberg replied it is a percentage of the building. Anthony disagreed, saying that the percentages are not correct. Vandenberg noted that the total numbers are from the bUildin~ enrollment and include all grade levels. However, not all ~rades participate in the standard tests, only 3r through 6th grades. Hayek asked whether students in 1 s and 2nd grades are tested, or if the data is unavailable. Vandenberg replied that students in those two grades do not take ITBS, howeve'r they do take other proficiency tests. The data from those tests would be challenging to decipher. Anthony asked if the tests for 1 st and 2nd grades vary between schools. Vandenberg replied that the reading assessments are pretty standard ized. Vandenberg said that data from grades 3 through 6 are good indicators, and the percentiles are compared to national norms, not just the State. Leff added that the normal scores for Iowa are higher, so comparing to Iowa scores would give different results. Anthony said there are other factors involved with achievement than free/reduced lunch. Vandenberg agreed, citing mobility as a large factor. She added that mobility information is available, in the data packet given by the School Board in June. Other factors that impede achievement involve basic needs, such as lack of food, shelter, and medical coverage. The schools try to intervene, but high numbers of students in classrooms with these needs make effective interventions difficult. Vandenberg added that she checked on information on what free and reduced lunch income levels are. They do not follow the median income guidelines similar to HUD, and she noted that HUD and the USDA do not count children the same way in their guidelines. A family of one is eligible for freelreduced at an income level of $12,000 or less, and for 30% median it is $15,000. But then each number goes up incrementally for HUD at 30% median by $2150.00, but the numbers increase for the Iowa City schools by $4,134.00. So the free lunch program is a little higher than 30% median. Vandenberg added that most students in the program receive free lunch, as less than 4% are on reduced lunch. Vandenberg noted that there is a wide continuum in the census data, and a high percent of the population in the district might be considered moderate income. However, moderate-income family needs are very different than the needs of someone who is homeless. Even the difference between 30% and 50% median is striking. Vandenberg asked for percentages of free lunch guidelines. Nasby replied that a household of one would be at 24% of median income, in relation to the data in the table. A family of five would be 37%. Vandenberg added that the numbers are hard to compare between the free lunch program guidelines and HUD. Anthony explained that the lunch program uses standard Federal poverty guidelines, which are the same regardless of median income level. That number increases by $4,134.00 per person. Stutsman found the student mobility information in the School Board packet from June 21, 2004. Vandenberg noted from that data that the school with the highest mobility is Mark Twain at 62%, while Grant Wood has 44%. She added that many high needs housing programs are located in tract 17, if elderly and people with disabilities are factored out. Anthony said that it depends on how "high needs" is defined, since different groups would have different high needs. Vandenberg agreed, and defined it in terms of family stability and the number of resources that a family needs apart from housing. Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Minutes November 8,2004 Page 6 Leff asked about the juvenile court data. Vandenberg replied that the data is available, but not as many elementary-aged students are involved in crime that is reported to the police. Leff noted that there were 261 cases reported in the east part of the city, while 219 were reported in the west. The west side is more than twice as large an area and has a larger population. Vandenberg added that some schools have Behavioral Disorder (BD) programs, which are not geographical, so children attend schools but do not live in that school's attendance area. Schools with BD programs include Horn, Lemme, Longfellow, Twain, and possibly Kirkwood and Grant Wood. Anthony asked for confirmation that the students in a BD program would be charged at the schools they attend. Leff answered yes. Vandenberg said that the data is tracked by the school where the student is registered. Hayek asked if students attend one school for BD and another school at the same time. Vandenberg replied that students are in BD all day. Leff asked what BLC is. Vandenberg answered that it stands for Behavioral Learning Center. There are two facilities, and the classes have a very small teacher/student ratio because the students have severe behavioral issues. Vandenberg added that she brings up BD programs because students in BD have a higher chance of having charges brought up against them. Sometimes the schools file charges if a student hits a teacher, for instance. Since not all schools have BD programs, that can affect the data. She added that the numbers of BD students in each school are not large, because the students are high maintenance. Clausen asked why the data is separated between male and female. Vandenberg replied she does not know, but having the data separated can help educators make changes to the programs. For example, an increase in female offenders several years ago led to the creation of more gender-specific programs for girls. Vandenberg passed around a map of bussing patterns from non-contiguous neighborhoods. The information is also included in the packet in narrative form. Hayek confirmed that there are six schools that accommodate students from outside their attendance areas. Leff agreed. Vandenberg explained that Breckenridge Mobile Home residents are bussed to Lemme, River Heights goes to Lincoln, Windsor Ridge feeds into Longfellow, Hawkeye Drive goes to Mann, Pheasant Ridge goes to Roosevelt, Lake Ridge goes to Twain. Leff noted that primarily overcrowding in certain schools has driven the bussing pattern. Vandenberg agreed, adding that the bussing history goes back about 20 years. Vandenberg asked if the Taskforce would be able to answer the question of concentration yet. Hayek replied not yet, and that he was waiting for the additional information presented at this meeting. He is not sure that the Taskforce can draw inferences yet, and would like to give everyone a chance to look at the data individually. He did not distill the list from the October 18 meeting yet, as he was waiting for additional data, but he typed up the list. Stutsman asked for elaboration on what the Taskforce members should be considering for the next meeting. Hayek replied that the Taskforce still needs to define what a concentration is, and passed out the list of the discussion points from the October 18 brainstorm session. Nasby will also include the handout in the next packet. Hayek asked Clausen to update the Taskforce on information about neighborhood cohesion. Clausen replied that she has some thoughts on how to gauge this factor. First, the Taskforce can look at how long neighborhoods have had an active association on an ongoing basis. Also, the number of activities planned by associations for neighborhood residents. Census data also gives information on population changes and on poverty level changes over time, which can be used to evaluate neighborhood stability. Hayek added that Marcia Klingaman said a measure of neighborhood cohesion would be subjective, but she is willing to discuss it with the Taskforce. Clausen noted that there has been very little change in census data over time. Hayek asked if mobility data is available for the census tracts. Is there data on how long people have lived in the City? Cline replied that she thinks so. Rackis added that inflow and outflow data is available in the last Housing Authority packet, and answers the question of where people lived by county in 1995 and 2000. Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Minutes November 8,2004 Page 7 Nasby noted that mobility data is available by county, rather than city or census tract. Anthony and Rackis agreed that the data is not available except at the county level. Rackis said that the largest inflow to Johnson County is from Linn County. People have a greater tendency to recognize what county they live in, but not what census tract. Vandenberg said she believed one of the census questions was how long you had resided at that address. Anthony noted that the information from that question is collected at the household level, but then aggregated to the county level. Vandenberg added that this information is available on a limited scale from the Broadway neighborhood, from a recent neighborhood survey. According to that survey, 51 % of the residents had lived there less than a year. Hayek said he would like to decide how to proceed to the next meeting. He would like to study the new data. He suggested the Taskforce members think about what has already been discussed, come to the next meeting prepared with comments, and be ready to reach a definition of "concentration." Also, they should look at the list he handed out and determine what should and should not be included in the definition, or if anything is missing. Vandenberg noted that it is difficult to tie free/reduced recipients to specific assisted housing units. However, a list of where students live in public housing could be gathered, which would entail assigning students in assisted housing to a specific school. This would only include public housing, and not Shelter House, DVIP, MECCA, etc. Vandenberg asked if the group is satisfied with the current school freelreduced lunch school, or if more is needed. Rackis noted that his program does have some of this data, but it would not include students who are outside of the public school system. Vandenberg agreed that gathering more data would require looking at individual data and files. Rackis added that there is a high turnover in the voucher program, but reasons for leaving are not tracked. So people can leave the program because of income, because they have moved, or for other reasons. Hayek asked if it reasonable to correlate between the freelreduced student number at the school and the assisted housing in the area, if elderly/disabled are factored out. Vandenberg replied that the data could be gathered for poverty level, but not for different types of housing. Hayek noted that first the connection between assisted housing and poverty needs to be drawn. Vandenberg agreed. Vandenberg asked if conclusions can be drawn from the current census tract, assisted housing, and free/reduced lunch information. Anthony replied that the data needs to be tied to the assisted housing units, because while no additional assisted housing units may move into a tract over a period of time, enrollment in free/reduced lunch may rise because of job loss. Vandenberg would like to pick a point in time from which to draw the data, since the numbers are constantly changing. Also, public housing is not the whole picture. Rackis replied that the data would have to be gathered building by building. Hayek added that he is willing to work with the City staff to see if the data can be gathered. Vandenberg noted that free/reduced lunch data is difficult to obtain, but it is possible to get data on where the students lived at one point in time. Also, there is a lot of movement between programs. Hayek suggested a brainstorming session outside of the meeting with Vandenberg, Nasby, and Rackis. Rackis said that he does not have information on the student residence of individual buildings such as Pheasant Ridge. Vandenberg replied that the bus list could be used for that particular instance. Hayek asked for suggestions from the Taskforce on how to proceed to the next meeting. Clausen asked for confirmation that members would be coming to the next meeting with drafts of definitions of concentration. Hayek agreed, and suggested looking at the list to define criteria, then discuss the criteria in relation to the data. Then begin a discussion on what the data says to the individual members. Vandenberg added that at some point data gathering will have to be ended in order to complete the deliberations. Hayek asked if the group should meet November 15 or November 22. Stutsman cannot attend the 15th. Vandenberg would have to leave early on the 22"d. Stutsman suggested starting the meeting at 4:30 p.m. Scattered Site Housing Taskforce Minutes November 8,2004 Page 8 Vandenberg said meeting November 22 would allow more time for considering the data. Nasby noted that Anciaux might have trouble starting at 4:30. Hayek confirmed the next meeting will be held November 22, 2004 beginning at 4:30 p.m. December meetings currently are planned for the 1 st and 3rd Mondays. Vandenberg asked how additional information should be distributed. Hayek suggested distributing the information in advance of the packet, and then also including it in the public information packet. Nasby noted that a packet will be sent out November 17. Stutsman asked for confirmation that the first December meeting will be on the 6th, Vandenberg noted that the 3rd Monday is during winter break. Hayek suggested Decembßr 13 as an alternative, and that discussion on December meetings be continued at the November 22 meeting. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the taskforce, Anthony moved to adjourn. Stutsman seconded, and the motion passed uncontested. Meeting was adjourned at 6:55 pm. s:/pcd/minutes/ScatteredSiteHousingTaskforcel11-08-04ssht.doc '0"'~"-"r'w " ,-