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FAIR HOUSING
ADVISORY COMMISSION
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MARCH 15, 2004
ATTENDANCE: Herbert A. Grant, Chair; Heather Rodin; Bernadine Tatem;
Rev. Jeffrey A. Ingraham; Rahoul Dupervil
OTHER: Margaret Suib, Fair Housing Officer
I. CALL TO ORDER
The Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
II. INTRODUCTIONS AND WELCOME OF NEW COMMISSIONERS
The Chair welcomed Rev. Ingraham and Mr. Dupervil as the newest members of the Commission. He stated that he had recently been appointed Chairperson as well.
Mr. Grant stated that there had not been a quorum since the October meeting and that from this point on it is imperative that this Commission come together as a body to conduct the business it should be doing on behalf of the citizens of Norwalk.
Mr. Grant stated that as of today he received the second consent decree. He said it would be sent to each Commissioner. He stated that the decree puts into proper perspective the Commissioners role and responsibilities. He urged the Commissioners not to wear the hats of other agencies they represent since they are not representing that agency per se. The Commissioners are appointed from that agency to ensure that there is a cross section of community represented on the Fair Housing Commission. Mr. Grant stated that the Commissioners should be very objective as to what they do and how they do it. He said the consent decree states very clearly Ms. Suib’s role and responsibilities as Fair Housing Officer and the mandate that she is charged with. Mr. Grant stated that the Commission has a responsibility to ensure that the work that Ms. Suib does is instrumental and beneficial to the community and to the Commission. He said the Commission is not responsible for the day-to-day management of Ms. Suib. That supervision rests with the agency to which she has been assigned, the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency. He stated that Ms. Suib is staffed to the Fair Housing Advisory Commission.
Mr. Dupervil stated that he has lived in Norwalk for the past 10 years. He stated that he has been a representative for the Haitian Laborers for many years. He has also served on the Human Relations Council for the last 10 years and is very active in the Haitian community. He stated that Mr. Grant has his support.
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March 15, 2004
Page 1
Ms. Suib stated that she has been the Fair Housing Officer for the past 7 years. She is an attorney and past the Bar in 1981. She has practiced in Louisiana, New York and Connecticut primarily in the areas of Litigation and Employment Law. She stated that most people don’t know it but Employment Law and Fair Housing are side by side in the Federal laws, one is Title 7 and one is Title 8. She said it is a job she loves.
Ms. Custis stated that she is a Paralegal by trade and has worked for Telesco Secretarial Service for about 8 months.
Rev. Ingraham stated that he has lived in Connecticut for 23 years. Originally born in the Bahamas, he spent 4 years in Florida and the last 23 years in Connecticut. He has served as Pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in Norwalk for the past 15 years and has served on the Board of Commissioners of the Housing Authority. He stated that he is extremely activity in the community and is active in the Norwalk Clergy Association and the Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship. He is prepared to serve on this Commission to the best of his ability.
Ms. Tatem stated that she is a representative of NEON. She stated that she was sent to the Commission to ensure that there is fair housing in Norwalk because of unfair renting practices. She said the rents in Norwalk are astronomical. She stated that she is a life-long resident of Norwalk and she has seen some changes for the better and for the worse.
Ms. Rodin stated that she is the NAACP representative. She has lived in Norwalk for 50 years and has been activity in the community for a number of years. She stated that she previously served on the Housing Authority for 10 years.
Mr. Grant stated that he has been in the private sector for over 30 years. He started his career at CBS, Inc.. Mr. Grant gave a brief history of his years employed at CBS. He stated that he was on the Board of Directors of New Neighborhoods, Inc. and was instrumental in the design and development of affordable housing on Stillwater Avenue in Stamford. Mr. Grant now has his own business in Entertainment Management. His son is a professional jazz performer and has performed throughout Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts. He stated that this Commission is here to make the community a better one. The charge is for all of the Commissioners to be on the same page in this effort.
III. APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 20, 2003 MINUTES
The following corrections were made:
Page 3, Second to last Paragraph, “Mr. Jacoby is paying Norwalk Redevelopment…” should read “Mr. Jacoby is allocating to Norwalk Redevelopment…”
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March 15, 2004
Page 2
Page 4, Paragraph 3, Sentence 3, “…which has led to some money problems…” delete the word “money”.
Page 4, Last Paragraph, “Current Direction” should be “Current Allocations.”
Page 7, Second Sentence, “…one on one instead of tonight.” Add “since the Commissioners had not reviewed the report.”
Page 8, “Ms. Rodin said Fair Housing would do an evaluation…” should be Ms. Rodin said Fair Housing would do a substantive evaluation.”
Page 10, Second Sentence, “…Common Council, the Zoning Commission” should be “…Common Council and the Zoning Commission.”
** MS. TATEM MADE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES AS
AMENDED.
** MS. RODIN SECONDED THE MOTION.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
IV. FAIR HOUSING OFFICER’S MONTHLY REPORT
Ms. Suib stated that the fiscal year ends June 30, 2004 and the new year begins July 1st. She said that lately things have been very busy with the Norwalk Housing Authority. She has been involved in several cases where the Housing Authority has been attempting to terminate Section 8 assistance. There was discussion regarding these cases as they related to protected classes. Ms. Suib stated that she and Mr. Dupervil talked about addressing the language barrier in the Haitian community. She said there is a lot done in our systems for Spanish speaking people. Many things are translated into Spanish. However, there is almost nothing done with the Haitian/Creole community. She said she and Mr. Dupervil talked about getting the Section 8 regulations that people are expected to abide by translated into Creole. She said they are developing a project to ensure that the Haitian community has the assistance they need.
Mr. Dupervil suggested having sketches put on Haitian television regarding laws and regulations pertaining to Section 8 so that he can sit down with them and discuss it.
Ms. Rodin said that she would make a resolution that the Fair Housing Officer is authorized to continue to work with the Housing Authority on making available materials for the Haitian community. This was the consensus of the Commission.
Ms. Suib said that a part of her job has been to work in conjunction with the Health Inspectors for the City of Norwalk. She said the Health Department felt, and she agreed, that she should have a broader knowledge of the Housing, Health and Building Codes. She stated that she has signed up to go to the Connecticut Association of Housing Code Officials meeting in New Haven, Connecticut on March 25, 2004 to expand her training specifically in Health Codes. Ms. Suib stated that for the last few months this
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March 15, 2004
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Commission has been working on an Anti-Predatory Lending Campaign. She stated that in the Spring the Commission would need to continue passing out informational flyers door-to-door explaining what Predatory Lending is about. She said as part of that, last November she spoke at a conference about Predatory Lending and what can be done about it. As an outgrowth of that conference she has been invited to join a brand new statewide group of attorneys with regards to this.
Ms. Tatem referencing Page 1 of the Fair Housing Officer’s Monthly Report under “Out of Town Requests” asked why Ms. Suib was tracking Stamford since they have an agency for that. Ms. Suib stated that she does not actually do anything other than answer a few questions. Mr. Grant suggested that the heading be changed to “Out of Town Inquiries/Referrals.
Ms. Suib referenced a two-page handout to the Commissioners outlining 3 conferences she is requesting to attend over the next few months. She said the Commission would need to decide which conferences she would be able to attend before June 30th.
Mr. Grant said that he would like all of the Commissioners to review the requests in light of the second consent decree and job description that he would sent to them tomorrow. He asked Ms. Suib to do a comparative analysis of the things that are outlined in the job description that are the responsibilities of the Fair Housing Officer as it relates to the Fair Housing Commission. He asked that Ms. Suib cross-reference the activities of the month with the responsibilities of the Fair Housing Officer so that the Commission has a clear understanding of what is vitally important and what is secondary.
Ms. Rodin stated that these are conferences that have always been given approval for the Fair Housing Officer to attend and are basic for the job. She said the new job description has not subtracted from that. She asked if there is any problem with the Commission authorizing whatever expenses are necessary to get the registration and airfare done for these conferences.
Mr. Grant said he is endorsing what Ms. Suib is doing. However, he is asking that she take it one step further and do an analysis and comparison so that the Commission has a game plan.
** MS. RODIN MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE EXPENDITURES FOR
MS. SUIB TO ATTEND THE FAIR HOUSING ASSOCIATES OF CONNECTICUT’S FAIR HOUSING CONFERENCE, THE NATIONAL FAIR HOUSING ALLIANCE ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND THE SPRING TRAINING SESSION.
** MR. DUPERVIL SECONDED THE MOTION.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
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March 15, 2004
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Ms. Suib said that in the budget for the current year is included $600.00 to $800.00 for
Fair Housing Advisory Commission Events. Ms. Rodin suggested planning to continue with the Anti-Predatory Lending Campaign. Mr. Grant suggested that a specific topic be decided upon so that the Commission’s focus would be on developing a plan of action to ensure a successful event.
Mr. Grant stated that the Commission is charged with developing a plan of action and Ms. Suib is responsible to the Commission to help implement the plan. He said the job description that came from the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency is totally different from what has been signed off and approved by the Mayor, John Britain and legal counsel. Mr. Dupervil stated that once the Commissioners get a copy of the job description they would be better able to discuss this issue. Mr. Grant stated that he would get a copy out to the Commissioners tomorrow.
Ms. Suib outlined expenditures in the budget for stationary, the design of a logo and new business cards. There was discussion regarding revamping the spreadsheet for the Fair Housing Budget. Mr. Grant asked Ms. Rodin to e-mail him a list of items that should be discussed with Tim Sheehan.
V. BUSINESS
Mr. Grant stated that he attended the Mayor’s State of the City meeting with regards to the proposed changes listed above with the possibility of eliminating the Human Relations Director. He said the Mayor gave the charge to Rev. Lindsey Curtis to review and evaluate the possibility of merging and/or eliminating the position. Mr. Grant said he would like to get the Commissions input and concerns regarding this issue. He said the Hour Reporter that covers City Hall will attend the next Fair Housing Commission meeting and is primarily interested in the Commission’s view as it relates to this issue.
Ms. Rodin said she thinks it is paramount that the Commission takes a position regarding the Human Relations Commission since the charge of this Commission needs the Human Relations Commission and access to their process of enforcement. She stated that a letter should go out to Rev. Curtis, the Mayor and the Task Force stating that this is something that this Commission agrees on and approves.
Mr. Grant stated that he has to advise the Hour Reporter tonight as to the consensus of this Commission.
Mr. Dupervil stated that the Human Relations Commission is very important to the Fair
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March 15, 2004
Page 5
Housing Commission. It was the consensus of the Commission that the City of Norwalk aggressively pursue filling the vacancy of the Human Relations Director and to maintain the entities as they are established. Ms. Suib will write a letter to the Mayor and to Rev. Curtis to this effect on behalf of the Fair Housing Commission.
Mr. Grant stated that the Fair Housing Commission needed to establish itself as a Commission within the community.
** MS. RODIN MADE A MOTION THAT THE FAIR HOUSING COMMISSION GO ON RECORD FOR AN IMMEDIATE HIRING OF A
NEW DIRECTOR FOR HUMAN RELATIONS AND THAT THE FAIR
HOUSING ADVISORY COMMISSION, THE FAIR RENT COMMISSION
AND THE HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION REMAIN 3 SEPARATE
ENTITIES.
** MS. TATEM SECONDED THE MOTION.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
B. COMMISSION WORK PLAN
Mr. Grant stated that he received a decree and the job description. He said in the decree it calls for the Commission to develop a work plan. He stated that it is Ms. Suib’s task to help the Commission in this process but the Commission is charged with it.
VI. OLD BUSINESS
Mr. Grant met with Tim Sheehan. He said Ms. Suib is not employed by Norwalk Redevelopment Agency. He said there has been some conflicting information in this regard but that he would take on this issue on behalf of the Commission and Ms. Suib.
He said that he spoke with Matt McClave and would meet with him with respect to developing an affordable housing plan.
VII. NEW BUSINESS
Mr. Dupervil asked that a list of the names, addresses and e-mail addresses of the Commissioners be made available to the Commissioners. Ms. Suib and Mr. Grant will work on this.
Rev. Ingraham said the concept of the Sabbath is very important to him. He hoped the nature of the work would not be so critical that there could not be a break in the schedule during the summer months. Ms. Rodin said the Commission is required by ordinance to meet once a month. Ms. Suib said the Commission meets 4 to 6 times a year.
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March 15, 2004
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VIII. ADJOURNMENT
** MS. TATEM MADE A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING.
** REV. INGRAHAM SECONDED THE MOTION.
** MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda L. Custis
Telesco Secretarial Service
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