Vernice Hankins
From: Ann Maggio <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2022 7:37 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Subject: Item 16-E: Support funding for letter mailed to the RAB Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
EXTERNAL
Dear City Council,
For some inexplicable reason, the SMHA hasn't set aside HUD funds to support the RAB. In your next joint session with the SMHA, please be sure their budget includes funding for the RAB so they remain in compliance with HUD regulations. For tonight, please approve the funding so the HA can send a letter to ALL RAB members. Emails exclude half the membership so this is the only way to include all members in the process.
HUD guidelines are quite clear about what Housing Authorities responsibilities are in this regard:
W hat are the PHAs' Responsibilities?
PH As have theresponsibilityto ensure thattheRAB can adequatelyserveits functionincluding:
• PH As m ustgivethe RABs suf icienttim e toreview and m ake recom m endations on thePlan.RABs w il be able to contribute best if they are provided w ith adequate inform ation regarding the PH A's program s and thepoliciesincludedintheFive-Yearand Annual PH A Plan. • The PH As should giveRABs advance noticeof m eetingsscheduled todiscussareasofthePlan (generaly,atleast48 hours,or m oredepending on the m eetingagenda). • RABs should alsobe provided w ithany existingdocum entsthat w ould assistthem to m ake productiverecom m endationsduring the w orking m eetings. • PH As should providetheRABs w ithreasonable m eans tocarryouttheirfunctionssuch as m aking availablea m eetingplacefordiscussingprogram sw iththeresidents.RABs should also have accessto any othercom m unication toolssuch asa telephone,w riting m aterial,or com putersthatm ay facilitatetheircontactsw ithotherresidenthouseholds ortoobtainfurther inform ationon theprogram s.
The wellbeing of over 1,600 households will benefit from facilitating the formation of a fully functioning, democratic RAB.
Thank you,
Ann Maggio Thanawalla
"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth." ‐ Albert Einstein 1 Item 16.E
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1 Vernice Hankins
From: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2022 12:39 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Christine Parra; Gleam Davis; Kristin McCowan; Lana Negrete; Oscar de la Torre; Phil Brock; Sue Himmelrich
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: City Council 8/23/22 agenda item 16-E -- SUPPORT!
EXTERNAL
August 22,2022
To: Mayor Himmelrich and City Council members
From: Zina Josephs
RE: 8/23/22 agenda item 16-E -- Mailer to all housing voucher holders
I strongly support the allocation of $1,500 for sending a mailer to all Housing Authority housing-voucher holders, providing information and notice of a Housing Commission meeting on September 1st.
The purpose of the meeting is to solicit input and feedback that will inform recommendations from the Housing Commission to the City Council regarding the Santa Monica Resident Advisory Board.
The creation of a functioning Resident Advisory Board that truly represents ALL voucher holders, as is required by HUD, is long overdue. Sending out this mailer will be an important first step.
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From: Danielle Charney <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2022 2:09 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Clerk Mailbox; Douglas Sloan; David White Subject: Item 16 E.
EXTERNAL
I sincerely hope you alot this paltry sum that means so much to many who have had no voice when it comes to their relationship with the Housing Authority.
We need a real RAB.. not one stacked with friends of the staff to do as they say... we need to give residents a voice that has been denied to them in this area.
It is such a tiny amount and so sad there is even the attempt by staff and this City to say no to something
so very important.
Thank you,
Danielle Charney
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From: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2022 11:48 PM
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: Sue Himmelrich; Gleam Davis; Lana Negrete; Christine Parra; Oscar de la Torre; Phil Brock Subject: SUPPORT 16-E: funding for HC letter to RAB
EXTERNAL
Dear City Council,
I urge you to approve this funding to facilitate the formation of a fully functioning, democratic SMHA Resident Advisory Board (RAB).
SMHA is obligated by federal HUD policy to ensure the RAB can function, which includes facilitating communication with and among RAB members. As such, and given that they are a federally funded, multimillion dollar institution, it is concerning that SMHA can't find money in their operational budget to send a letter. And this is not the first time SMHA has failed to facilitate RAB communication on its own.
However, SMHA program participants should not be punished for SMHA decisions. Please approve the funds requested in item 16e so these low income Santa Monicans can finally participate in the policy discussions that directly impact them. Then examine the SMHA budget and operations to prevent this deficit from occurring again.
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Best wishes,
Michelle Gray
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1 Vernice Hankins
From: Elizabeth Van Denburgh <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2022 12:09 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Sue Himmelrich; Kristin McCowan; Christine Parra; Oscar de la Torre; Lana Negrete; Phil Brock; Gleam Davis
Cc: David White
Subject: City Cnl. Mtg. 8/23/22 - Item 16E - SUPPORT Mailer to all housing voucher holders and LET'S SEND WATER CONSERVATION INFO. & TIPS MAILERS TO ALL SM RESIDENTS i.e., all multifamily households in apartment and condo buildings
EXTERNAL
Mayor Himmelrich and City Council Members,
I strongly support the allocation of $1,500 for sending a mailer to all Housing Authority housing-voucher holders, providing information and notice of a Housing Commission meeting on September 1st.
The purpose of the meeting is to solicit input and feedback that will inform recommendations from the Housing Commission to the City Council regarding the Santa Monica Resident Advisory Board.
The creation of a functioning Resident Advisory Board that truly represents ALL voucher holders, as is required by HUD, is long overdue. Sending out this mailer will be an important first step.
In a similar need for a mailer to reach ALL residents using water, I'd like to point out that during the extreme drought we are having that I was informed that WATER CONSERVATION INFORMATION AND TIPS brochures were ONLY SENT TO WATER ACCOUNT HOLDERS. What this means is that all single-family houses got a direct mailer informing them about the conservation requirements and tips to conserve. What it also meant is that direct mail only went to the account holder address for apartments (property manager, landlord) and condo (property manager, HOA) buildings. Apartment buildings and many condo buildings (converted apartment buildings) usually only have one water meter WHICH probably meant that almost no individuals in those buildings received that information. If we expect people to conserve water, WE HAVE TO INFORM THEM DIRECTLY via direct mail to their home address be it a single-family home, an apartment or a condo. We need to not cut costs where education and information outreach is involved regarding residents.
Regards,
Elizabeth Van Denburgh
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From: Brian O'Neil <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2022 9:38 AM
To: Sue Himmelrich; Kristin McCowan; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Phil Brock; Oscar de la Torre; Gleam Davis; councilmtgitems
Cc: David White
Subject: City Council 8/23/22 Item 16E -- SMHA Mailer -- SUPPORT!
EXTERNAL
To: City Council
From: The Board of the Pico Neighborhood Association
Re: Support for Item 16E, Council meeting of August 23, 2022 The PNA Board strongly urges the City Council to approve Item 16E, by which Council will allocate up to $1,500 of Council Discretionary Funds to offset the cost of sending a mailer to all Housing Authority housing-voucher holders providing information and notice of a Housing Commission meeting on September 1 to solicit input and feedback that will inform recommendations from the Housing Commission to the City Council regarding the Santa Monica Resident Advisory Board.
The Pico Neighborhood has the highest concentration of housing voucher holders in our city. The mailer provided for by these funds would enable the Santa Monica Housing Authority to inform Pico’s many low-income program participants about the creation of a revived Resident Advisory Board (RAB), as required by HUD.
Please support Item 16E.
Highest Regards,
PNA Board
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From: Theresa Marasco <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2022 11:57 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Sue Himmelrich; Oscar de la Torre; Lana Negrete; Christine Parra; Phil Brock; Kristin McCowan; Gleam Davis
Subject: 8-23-22 City Council Meeting Agenda Item 16E - Public Comment
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Himmelrich and City Council Members:
I am writing to request that the City Council vote to approve "the request of Councilmembers Parra, de la Torre, and Brock that the Council allocate up to $1,500 of Council Discretionary Funds to offset the cost of sending a mailer to all Housing Authority housing-voucher holders providing information and notice of a Housing Commission meeting on September 1 to solicit input and feedback that will inform recommendations from the Housing Commission to the City Council regarding the Santa Monica Resident Advisory Board."
There are more than 1,600 Housing Authority Program Participants that need to be notified of this very important Housing Commission meeting. The Santa Monica Housing Authority only emailed the notice of the Housing Commission meeting on September 1st to 907 Program Participants that they had email addresses for leaving out more than half of the clients.
The SMHA regularly sends communication both by email and snail mail - this issue should have never required an allocation of funds to send a letter to the Program Participants. Please vote in favor of approving the $1,500 to send out a mailer to the Program Participants.
Thank you. To help protect your
privacy, Micro so ft Office
prevented automatic
download of this picture
from the Internet.
Very truly yours,
Theresa H. Marasco
(720) 226-4051
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From: M S <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2022 11:59 AM
To: Christine Parra; councilmtgitems; Gleam Davis; Kristin McCowan; Oscar de la Torre; Phil Brock; Sue Himmelrich
Subject: SUPPORT 16-E: funding for letter to RAB
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Himmelrich and Councilmembers,
I am writing in support of the city Council allocating up to $1500 to offset the cost of sending a mailer to all Housing Authority housing-voucher holders providing information and notice of the September 1 Housing Commission meeting do they may attend and gather critically important information regarding their living situation, rights, wellbeing, and to solicit input and feedback This is inarguably the most important governmental body meeting Santa Monica voucher holders have ever been invited to. For many, if not most, it is the only public meeting with a santa governmental body they will have been directly/individually invited to.
Failure to send out this mailer is the very definition of anti-democratic and discriminatory. Many of the poorest and most disable do not have email accounts or regular unfettered access to their email, due to disability or circumstances beyond their control.
Few in the abled and economically secure communities can truly grasp this.
We are all counting on the City Council to do the right thing Thank you for considering my input
Michael Louis
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From: oz
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: Oscar de la Torre; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; Kristin McCowan; Gleam Davis; Sue Himmelrich; David White Subject: SUPPORT 16-E: funding for RAB letter
Date: Tuesday, August 23, 2022 12:00:10 PM
EXTERNAL
This is to urge the Council to authorize the $1,500 to be used to send the Housing Commission letter to RAB members.
The letter must be sent out immediately in order to reach the clients of SMHA in time for the September 1, 2022 meeting of the Housing Commission.
Please note that you as the Council are put in the position where you have to authorize the funding for the letter because SMHA staff has been refusing to do their job and facilitate a meeting for the RAB itself.
Now the Housing Commission had to be creative and come up with a workaround to give RAB members an opportunity to participate in *a* meeting – a meeting of the Housing Commission – so that RAB members can give feedback on how they would like the RAB organized.
Additionally, have you ever wondered what the SMHA federal annual budget is? Why does the City have to provide the $1,500 to send out a letter that the SMHA (with its multimillion dollar per year federal budget) should have budgeted for in the first place, according to HUD guidelines?
"PHA's Responsibility to the RAB
What are the PHAs' Responsibilities?
PHAs should provide the RABs with reasonable means to carry out their functions such as making available a meeting place for discussing programs with the residents. RABs should also have access to any other communication tools such as a telephone, writing material, or computers that may facilitate their contacts with other resident households or to obtain further information on the programs.”
source: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/pha/about/rab#:~:text=The%20role%20of%20the%20RABs,amendments%20or%20modifications%20to%20it.
The SMHA’s ongoing efforts to prevent a proper, functioning RAB from forming are similar to union busting – how embarrassing for a City that likes to call itself progressive.
Regards,
Olga Zurawska
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