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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-RHAC-1995 Clerk City of Ithaca Rental Housing Advisory Commission Meeting Notes Tuesday,June 11, 1996 7:00 pm Present: Theresa Alt,Robyn Jenks,Erik Lehmann,Jane Schafrik,Sivilay Somchanhmavong We discussed how the RHAC could get staff help. It should not be the Building Department. At the time of the earlier commissidn it was supposed to be the Planning Department,but the Planning Department never was willing to do it,and the requirement was dropped from the legislation setting up the current commission. Erik Lehmann discussed plans for trying to get funding to work on better information on homelessness and housing needs. [Erik has since received$1000 from Common Council to pursue his research on housing needs for lowest income people.] We gave new member Sivilay Somchanhmavong an introduction to the work of the Commission and what is so far known about unmet housing needs in Ithaca. We tentatively proposed changing the meeting date to third Wednesdays of the month. ml viler/ City of Ithaca Rental. Housing Advisory Commission Meeting Wednesday, July 17, 1996 '7:00 pm Minutes Present: Jane Schafrik(chairing);Theresa Alt,John Efroymson(Common Council liaison),Erik Lehmann(intern),Myra Malkin,Sivilay Somchanhmavong,Shari Woodard Absent: Robyn Jenks(excused),Rick Milton,Terry Plater We said goodbye to Shari Woodard. Staffing for the Commission is still lacking. Mayor Cohen has talked about ordering the Building Department to provide staffing for the RHAC,according to John Efroymson. Jane Schafrik commented that it would be useful to have Kathleen Decker as staff because she is familiar with tenants'problems. Meanwhile Common Council is looking into the whole question of staffing for all boards and commissions. Myra Malkin agreed to write a letter to the Mayor pursuing his offer and do a follow-up call. Next meeting will be Wed.,Aug.21 (3rd Wed.of the month)at 6:00 pm(an hour earlier!). Common Council Liaison John Efroymson reported that Roey Thorpe is interested in being liaison to the RHAC. Theresa Alt will contact her. [It turns out that Wednesday is the one day of the week she can never make, andthat 6:00 is a problematic time for her on any day.] - Openings for members on the RHAC remain. The Landlords'Association is looking for a landlord. We also need more tenants(only Jenks,Milton and Plater are renters). All need to be City residents as we have our maximum of nonresidents(Malkin,Plater,Schafrik). Myra Malkin noted that her funding source does not allow her to lobby,so she might have to refrain from votes that concern legislation. Chairing: Theresa Alt in August,Sivilay Somchanhmavong in September;we will seek a permanent chair when the staffing question has been settled. Erik Lehmann proposed to design a questionnaire to interview people who are falling through the cracks of the system. He will then do the interviewing. Using the questionnaire and some data he will be able to come up with estimates of the numbers and needs. He is still interested in creating a universal human services intake form,since elsewhere such forms have led to comprehensive databases and better coordinated services: However,the Commission instructed him to stay with a short questionnaire focussed on rental housing questions. He promised to write up a questionnaire and send it to the rest of the Commission for comments,due July 27. Money for the RHAC is now in a special City account. Payment to Erik Lehmann should be half now and half when the work is completed. Theresa will contact the Controller to start the process. Deposit problems persist. John Efroymson reported on a call from a tenant who had paid a $750 dog deposit in addition to the security deposit. The landlord intends to keep the entire dog deposit for alleged cleaning. Jane Schafrik said the tenant should ask the landlord for receipts for all cleaning he does. She makes her tenants with dogs set off a flea bomb three weeks before the leave and again When they leave. She also suggest-the tenant take photos or videotapes of everything to take to court. A friend or agent can go to court if the tenant is out of town. References for tenants may not be useful if landlords give routine good references, The Landlords Association is trying to get landlords to give honest references,but if a landlord is a loner,the Association cannot do much. In answer to another question Myra Malkin noted that an illegal business on the premises is grounds for eviction under state law,even if it is not in the lease. Submitted by Theresa Alt City of Ithaca Rental Housing Advisory Commission Resolution November 18, 1996 Whereas, information gathered at neighborhood meetings and in discussions by the Rental Housing Advisory Commission (RHAC) itself as well as statistics collected by the Rental Housing Specialist in the Building Department indicate that tenants, particularly new tenants, landlords, prospective homeowners, and prospective landlords have a vast need for more information about their rights and responsibilities and about zoning regulations, and Whereas, the Rental Housing Specialist has been able on a half-time basis to answer questions and disseminate needed information, and Whereas, a questionnaire commissioned by the Rental Housing Advisory Commission indicates that the housing problems of lowest-income tenants in the ' City of Ithaca are intertwined with other problems and that there is a strongly felt need for advocacy services, and Whereas, the Friendship Center, an agency that is now searching for a location, when it had appropriate quarters was able to serve as such an advocate, Therefore, be it resolved that the RHAC urges the Mayor and Common Council to continue funding for the Rental Housing Specialist in the 1997 City Budget, and Be it further resolved, that the RHAC urges the City Planning Department as well as other City officials to assist the Friendship Center in finding a suitable and affordable location in which to carry on its essential work, and Be it further resolved, that this resolution be circulated to all members of Common Council, the Mayor, the Planning Department and Community Development staff, •