19th Ward Community Association
Housing Committee
General Meeting Notes for posting
September 27, 2012
final

The Meeting convened at 7:10pm.

Present: John B, Marian B, Larry F, Toni O, Donna S, Marita S, Eric V

Reviewed notes; approved as submitted

Discussed code violations other than visible from the street

Toni reviewed totes project: process and results to date.

Toni reviewed building code violations project. Start with major arteries. Porches, hanging gutters, encroaching driveways, paved front yards, high grass, roofs, anything else visible from the street. Emphasis will be on items that are most visible to passersby. Will check to see if the City has an open case before proceeding with letters to owners. After 4-6 weeks of no movement, the properties will be reported to the City. For dealing with code violations, June and Toni have obtained an E-mail for this project: J.T.house@aol.com

Larry discussed Florida law regarding roof repairs. Florida will cancel insurance and assign offender to a very expensive insurance pool if they do not maintain their roofs properly. He was advised how to approach a problem landlord with a deteriorated roof – City, and County in the case of Section 8. Eric informed us that any house, owner-occupied or rental, can be cited. It was suggested that Larry copy the housing committee in emails sent to the City or County.

The recruiting poster will be sent out with the notes.

Cooling program flier - Donna mentioned a flier describing a program that provides air conditioners for qualified residents. Interested candidates may apply in person at 917 E. Main St. (Phone: (585) 442-4160) and need to provide all documents listed on the flier for approval. Asthma and sleep apnea do qualify if documented by the physician that the condition is exacerbated by the heat.

Eric VanDusen, Chief Operating Officer of NeighborWorks Rochester discussed getting Free energy audit from NYS.

Eric also discussed the “Empower Program” for homeowners and renters for insulation, energy-efficient appliances.

Marian will start a Facebook page for the Housing Committee

To help address housing problems that Larry mentioned, the group encouraged him to start a block club on Evangeline Street. There is a Block Clubs tab on Location19.org that has information on block clubs in three sub-tabs: Find a Block Club , Start a Block Club , Join a Block Club.

Toni mentioned that there was a preference to use the term “Subcommittee” rather than “Project” for the Tote and Housing Code violation groups that she and June have started. The committee approved the change to the term "Subcommittee".

John reviewed for the new attendees that approval of minutes would be done by email with the rough draft of the minutes sent to each attendee for prompt review. They should contact Marian with corrections or additions by the date requested in the email. The final revision of the minutes will then be sent to all interested parties an a version for posting will be placed in the 19th Ward Housing Committee group on Location19.

The Meeting was adjourned at 8:30 PM.

Submitted by M and John B

Housing Committee recruitment flier:  Housing Committee Flier 10-1-2012.doc

Cooling program flier:  AC Flier 2 (3).pdf