HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Human Services Commission - 04/20/2017Kent Human Services Commission Meeting April 20, 2017
Minutes Kent, Washington
Approved
Date: April 20, 2017
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Place: Centennial, Mountain View Conference Room #401
Attending: Andy Rosas, Chair
Mike Heinisch, Co-Chair
Bill Hallerman, Commissioner
Merina Hanson, Human Services Manager
Dinah Wilson, CDBG Coordinator
Lori Guilfoyle, Coordinator
Christine Cain, Coordinator
Absent:
Gina Bellisario, Commissioner
Zenovia Harris, Commissioner
Amelia Drake, Student
Shatha Abbas, Commissioner
Wade Schwartz, Commissioner
Dennis Higgins, Council Member
Agenda:
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 2:35 p.m.
2. Roll Call
Six Commissioners absent.
3. Changes to the Agenda
Correction to item 8 on the agenda. It should read King County Levy.
4. Approval of Minutes, dated February 16, 2017
There were not enough attending Commissioners to reach a quorum so the pending
minutes from February 16, 2017 were not approved
5. Parks Director (Julie Parascondola)
Julie introduced herself to the Commission and gave a brief summary of her
background prior to becoming the City of Kent’s Parks Department Director. She
mentioned that she has been enlightened by the Human Services plight and now
sees it in a different light. Julie is intent on bringing the City’s Parks Department to
Kent Human Services Commission Meeting April 20, 2017
Minutes Kent, Washington
Approved
a nationally accredited department within 6 years through mentorship, training and
career development of the management and department staff.
6. Presentation – Orion (Kathy Powers)
Kathy introduced Orion as a business with purpose. They are committed to change
lives through removing barriers of employment in disabled and challenged
individuals. They offer supported employment to businesses and develop that
model in-house. Their training consists of a four month program including on the
job training and direct coaching. They offer various choices including vocational,
manufacturing, and customer service. Kent is currently the 2nd largest benefactor
of Orion’s supported employment next to Renton.
7. Legislative Update (Mike Heinisch)
There is currently a budget crisis in the legislature. Talks have currently stalled
although the last day to pass any legislation is April 23, 2017. If there is no
resolution of the budget by this date, a special legislative session will take place.
There is currently overwhelming support for mental health issues. This is good for
the Western State Hospital that has faced many cuts.
The legislature has created a panel focused on inter-generational poverty. The
focus of this panel is to identify and reduce the cycle of inter-generational poverty
by 50% by 2025.
There is immediate concern for the future of the HEN program.
8. King County Levy (Mike Heinisch)
King County is introducing several 1/10% initiatives May 31st. They are for Sales
Tax, Arts (Access for All) and Housing.
There is a Veteran’s and Human Services Levy scheduled for a vote this coming
November. The bill expires December 2017.
9. Updates (Staff)
There is a Youth Coordinator position currently open in Human Services that is a
combination of a collaboration of Human Services, the Police Department’s Public
Education staff and the Mayor’s Office. Lori Guilfoyle of Human Services will be
supervising the position which was born from Mayor Cooke’s Youth Initiative.
Merina passed out information on housing and health in Kent and committed to
sending the Commissioner’s a link to a website that contained information on
various Washington State cities and that would demonstrate the comparison of
those Cities with Kent.
Kent Human Services Commission Meeting April 20, 2017
Minutes Kent, Washington
Approved
Merina spoke about the state of CDBG for 2017. The City is currently safe with no
cuts for 2017, even though some were expected previously. 2018 is up in the air.
The KC Refugee Housing Summit will be held on May 24, 2017 at the Renton
Community Center. The summit is hosted by The State Office of Refugee &
Immigrant Assistance. Dinah offered to connect anyone that was not previously
invited with the sponsor.
There will be two current City of Kent Council members running for Mayor in
November 2017, Dana Ralph and Jim Berrios. Elizabeth Albertson, who is both a
former City of Kent Council member and former Human Services Commissioner, is
also running. There are a few other local candidates running for Mayor as well.
There are two open seats on the City Council in November. Community activists
Satwinder Kaur, Toni Troutner and Ty Whitfield will be running for those seats.
Adjournment
At 3:52 p.m., Mike Heinisch declared the meeting adjourned.
Dori Tolbert
Recording Secretary
April 20, 2017