Documented by Artemes Gidram

Here’s what you need to know

  • Adrian Jones and Sharon Williams were reelected to the positions of city chair and city vice chair.
  • Fresno Housing Authority CEO Tyrone Roderick Williams is successfully recovering from surgery for a brain tumor found in October.
  • Over $464,000 was invested in the Leasing Choice Voucher program this year.

Follow-up questions

  • How can the council get more community involvement in discussions and decision-making?
  • Will the joint commission work toward making committees and boards more inclusive?

Notes

The Scene

The Fresno Housing Joint Board meeting was held on Dec. 12, 2023, at approximately 5 p.m.

The meeting took place entirely over Zoom. The agenda is available on the Fresno Housing website.

Names of officials present:

Adrian Jones, city board chair

Sharon Williams, city vice-chair

Ruby Yanez, city commissioner

Isaiah Green, city commissioner, absent

Areli Rios, city commissioner

Paul Idsvoog, city commissioner

Cary Catalano, county chair

Valori Gallaher, county vice-chair

Joey Fuentes, county commissioner

Sophia Ramos, county commissioner

Amadeo Garcia, county commissioner

Kyle Chaney, county commissioner

Emogene Nelson, city commissioner

  • Meeting was called to order at approximately 5 p.m.
  • Green was absent during roll call.
  • CEO’s report
    • Tyrone Roderick Williams gave his report via a pre-recorded video. Tyrone announced that back in October his doctors found a tumor in his brain. He has successfully undergone surgery and is in recovery. Williams went on to thank everyone for their hard work and passion this year. He ended with wishing everyone a happy holiday.
  • Annette Lazzareschi, Fresno Housing Authority, was given a farewell sendoff for her retirement after 25 years.
  • Commissioner reports
    • Cary Catalano
      • Catalano said  there has been a lot of heavy lifting over this last year, and thanked those who worked for the agency and for residents. He pointed out that the Parlier superIntendent of schools was a resident of public housing, which shows how important this work is.
  • Election for city chair and vice-chair
    • In October nominations were held for the positions of the chair and vice chair for the city of Fresno.
      • Adrian Jones was nominated for chair and Sharon Williams was nominated for vice-chair.
    • Since there was only a single nomination for each position it was decided to vote for both positions on a slate.
    • Vote
      • Motion by Idsvoog carried unanimously
  • Consent agenda
    • No items were pulled.
    • Vote
      • County
        • Motion by Chaney passed unanimously
      • City
        • Motion by Williams passed unanimously
  • Presentations
    • Leasing Choice Voucher Program update
      • Customer service training
        • The training was for two days.
        • There were 48 participants.
      • 206 households were assisted, and $464,960 was invested.
        • 130 families moved into a unit.
        • There are 99 new units in the program,
        • There are 41 new owners in the program.
        • Some 186 households have attended resident education.
    • Walker Community Ventures
      • Deliverables
        • Phases of work over 18 months
          • Phase 1: Early research and learning phase (April-August).
            • Review of corporate documents
            • Organizational assessment and financial review
            • Focus on resident empowerment model/family self-sufficiency expansion research
            • Partnerships and fundraising cultivation
          • Phase 2: Programs and operations development and priorities (September-January).
          • Phase 3: External resources outreach and partnership (January-June).
          • Phase 4: Strategic operations plan developed for execution (April-September)
      • Fresno Housing Education Corp (FHEC)
        • Five out of eight board members have been interviewed.
          • They were assessed for experience, satisfaction and willingness to serve.
        • Some members have served for over 30 years.
        • All members are committed and want to contribute time, talent and treasure.
        • Concerns have been raised about inconsistent leadership and use of FHEC funds.
        • Recommendations
          • Appoint leadership
          • Provide structure for accountability, training, consistency and agency
          • Diversify the board
          • Clarify board expectations
          • Create fundraising goals and campaign
        • Next steps with Foundation for Fresno Unified students
          • Explore “Housing is…” model and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Fresno Unified School District
          • Rewrite the existing MOU between Fresno Housing and the Fresno Unified School District
          • Finalize the proposal for Foundation for Fresno Unified Students(FFUS)
          • Submit a proposal by Jan. 30 to the foundation.
      • Public comment
        • Eric Payne, executive director, The Central Valley Urban Institute
          • Payne said he was hoping that the process would have led to a broader engagement strategy with residents and assessing what their needs are, but he doesn’t believe that it happened.
          • Payne stated that there were voices on the board that he would like to see uplifted.
        • Catalano, county chair
          • Catalano responded by saying this was a difference over definitions. He said his definition of what Payne wants is different from that of the agency. Catalano said that even if their definitions are different, Payne should applaud or at least acknowledge the steps forward; he feels like it’s never enough.

Actions/Discussions/Public comment

  • Public comment.
    • No one spoke during the public comment portion of the agenda.

Conversation highlight

  • “I understand what it means to be leading the ship, but I also recognize the importance of centering community voice in those processes. And I think what you’re experiencing is a reflection of the issues not being addressed in a way that is more collaborative,” said Eric Payne, executive director, The Central Valley Urban Institute. 

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at fresnodocs@fresnoland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.

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