HOUSING & NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION COMMITTEE MEETING

APRIL 5, 2006

COUNCIL CHAMBERS

Convened: 6:05 p.m.

Adjourned: 8:16 p.m.

 

Present were:       Chairperson Councilor Barbara G. Haller

                             Councilor Michael C. Perotto

                             Councilor Gary Rosen

                             Councilor Frederick C. Rushton @ 6:50 p.m.

 

Also:                     HHS Commissioner Jill Dagilis

                             Director of Neighborhood Services Dennis Hennessy

                             Housing Director Scott Hayman

Grants Director Donna McGrath

                             Code Director David Holden

                             City Clerk David J. Rushford, clerk

 

1.       Communication of the City Manager Relative to a plan submitted by the Southern Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) to the City detailing their intentions to meet the needs of the region’s Homelessness Population.

#22A CM February 28, 2006

         In Committee March 22, 2006 - Recommend Hold

         In Committee April 5, 2006 – Recommend Hold

 

Speakers:

1.     Bill Breault, 4 Hathaway Street, Worcester

2.     Sandra Katz, 26 Lee Street, Worcester

3.     Rev. Bob Batchelder, 128 Central Street, Auburn

4.     Mike Winsor, 6 Haviland Street, Worcester

5.     Peter Stefan, 838 Main Street, Worcester

 

Chairman’s Orders:

 

Request the City Manager meet with the local state delegation to discuss options that might be available to seek clarification of the original intent of the Dover amendment as to whether or not the amendment is applicable to the community care model of housing for people participating in recovery programs.

 

Request the City Manager request SMOC to provide the City Council with curriculum guidelines and course content that is proposed to be used in their programs they intend to put into several locations across the City of Worcester.

 

Request City Manager contact the local state delegation and ask them if they are satisfied with the partnering relationship they have with SMOC and report back to City Council their response to that question, and, if any of them answers “no”, whether they would like to have the City arrange for meetings to establish such a relationship.

 

Request the City Manager contact various neighborhood organizations and community providers and ask them if they are satisfied with the partnering relationship they have with SMOC and report back to City Council their response to that question, and, if any of them answers “no”, whether they would like to have the City arrange for meetings to establish such a relationship.

 

Request City Manager request the City Solicitor to clarify for the City Council whether or not tenants in rooming house locations that may also have a contract with a landlord outlining behavior, such as is proposed by SMOC at their proposed Dayton Street and Duxbury Road facilities, in any  way affects their rights and status as a tenant.

 

Request the City Manager request SMOC to provide the City with a written commitment to keep on the tax rolls all three program houses they propose to open in Worcester, and, an additional listing of the properties they intend to remove from the City’s tax rolls.

 

Request the City Manager provide the City Council with data revealing the tax dollars that shall be lost by the City by SMOC removing properties from the tax rolls.

 

Request the City Manager seek from SMOC detailed description of clients of each Worcester SMOC and SMOC-affiliated site.

 

Request the City Manager request SMOC to provide the City Council with a listing of properties in which they or their affiliates have an interest in ownership or operation that would include a description of the client mix and whether or not they obtain public funding.

 

Request the City Manager obtain from SMOC a written statement that changes the definition of their clients at the proposed June, Claremont and Catharine Street facilities so that they are classified as being in recovery and not engage in substance abuse for at least a period of 30 days.

 

Request the City Manager request SMOC to return to the Standing Committee on Housing & Neighborhood Revitalization with detailed written information concerning their education curriculum guidelines they proposed to institute at their proposed facilities in Worcester.

 

Request the City Manager provide the City Council with a copy of the lodging house task force report adopted by City Council in 1990.

 

Request the City Manager request SMOC to provide the City Council with a copy of the application they have made to provide services to the Department of Corrections for the period beginning July 1, 2006.

 

Request the City Manager provide the City Council with a copy of the License Commission record showing a change of management for the SMOC property located at 701 Main Street.

 

Request the City Manager request SMOC to provide the City Council with information concerning the residential address of the administration of SMOC.