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CITY OF MUSKEGON
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM
CITIZEN’S DISTRICT COUNCIL MEETING
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
5:30pm
AGENDA
I. Call to Order
II. Roll Call
III. Approval of Minutes (4/5/2022) Action Item
IV. Public Comments
V. Old Business
• Annual Action Plan 2022 Budget
VI. New Business
• None
VII. Staff Reports
• HOME ARP Submission
VII Adjournment
• Next Meeting – June 7, 2022
AMERICAN DISABILITY ACT POLICY FOR ACCESS TO OPEN MEETINGS OF THE CITY COMMISSION AND ANY OF ITS
COMMITTEES OR SUBCOMMITTEES
The City of Muskegon will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and services, such as signers for the hearing impaired and audio tapes
of printed materials being considered at the meeting, to individuals with disabilities who want to attend the meeting, upon twenty-four hours’
notice to the City of Muskegon. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact the City of Muskegon by writing
or call the following:
Community and Neighborhood Services Office
933 Terrace Street
Muskegon, MI 49440TDD: Dial 7-1-1 and request a representative to dial 231-724-6705
Minutes
Citizen’s District Council Meeting
City of Muskegon CDBG
City Commission Chambers
Muskegon, Michigan
April 5, 2022
CALL TO ORDER:
The meeting was called to order by Jeremy Lenertz at 5:31 pm.
ROLL CALL:
Roll call was taken by Samantha Pulos, and a quorum was present.
Present:
Perry Dennie
Jennifer Ross
Veania Coleman
Bre’Onna Sanders
Absent:
Ationza Smith
Excused:
Jeremey Lenertz
Paul Kurdziel
Staff Present:
Oneata Bailey
Samantha Pulos
Others Present:
Rebecca St. Clair, City Commissioner
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
A motion to approve the minutes from February 1, 2022 (Action Item) was made by Jennifer
Ross; Veania Coleman supported the motion, which passed unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
None.
OLD BUSINESS:
HOME ARP: Comments about past allocation, budget and proposed activities should be sent to
Oneata or Sam by 4/30/2022.
NEW BUSINESS:
Introduction: Everyone (board and staff) introduced themselves, welcoming Bre’Onna Sanders
as the CDC’s newest member.
Annual Action Plan 2022: We have until April 30th to give comments, most important to
understand that Norton Shores, Muskegon Heights, and City of Muskegon are in the plan
together, our funding allocation have not been announced yet. We will not take this to
commission until we have dollar amounts.
STAFF REPORTS:
None.
GENERAL DISCUSSION:
None.
ADJOURN:
Veania Coleman motioned to adjourn the meeting, Jennifer Ross seconded the motion, which
passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 6:31 pm.
NEXT MEETING:
The next meeting date is: May 3, 2022.
HOME-ARP Funding
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 appropriated $5 billion to provide housing, services, and
shelter to individuals experiencing homeless and other vulnerable populations, to be allocated by
formula to jurisdictions that qualified for HOME Investment Partnerships Program allocations in
Fiscal Year 2021. Of this appropriation, the City was awarded $1,218,250.00 and will be used to
assist a vulnerable population in an impactful way. These funds must be used to create new
programs or services. Funds have to be expended by 2030.
HOME-ARP Eligible Activities
• Production or Preservation of Affordable Housing
• Summer Youth Employment Training Program
• Supportive Services
• Purchase and Development of Non-Congregate Shelter. These structures can remain in use
as non-congregate shelter or can be converted to: 1) emergency shelter under the
Emergency Solutions Grant program; 2) permanent housing under the Continuum of Care;
or 3) affordable housing under the HOME Program.
City of Muskegon, Department of Community and Neighborhood Services Proposal
Across Muskegon County, community leaders have been working to find stable housing options for
unaccompanied minors between the ages of 11-17. Approximately 800 homeless youth have been
identified as unaccompanied minors. It is believed the number is significantly higher based on youth
who choose not to disclose their present location of residence. In the absence of a stable,
permanent home setting, these unaccompanied minors are faced with, for example, living out of
vehicles, affected by abusive relationships or relying on the sporadic and inconsistent grace of
acquaintances who make a couch available. We intend to use these funds to develop collaborative
community partnerships and alternative solutions to address this unmet need. Muskegon County is
the only county that does not have any resources for unaccompanied minors who are termed
doubled up, which is described as the sharing of housing of other persons due to the loss of
housing, or economic hardship. Typically, children who are displaced from families are able to be
placed in foster homes that may lead to permanent housing. Currently, there are facilities located
through the county Department of Health and Human Services office and Arbor Circle who are
providing available resources to youth who face homelessness or separation from parents. The
frequency by which these unaccompanied minors change the location of their residence
unfortunately does not create the legal standard, as recognized under the federal McKinney-Vento
Act and our county’s Continuum of Care, to receive critical housing services.
The Boys and Girls Club of the Muskegon Lakeshore is an important partner that provides a safe,
positive outlet and environment for area youth. We are fortunate that the BGC offers a sense of
belonging, supportive relationships and meaningful opportunities. They offer programs that will
help with academics, develop character and leadership, healthy relationships and meals. Although
these are all wonderfully supportive and important programs they do not directly address the
youth homelessness crisis in our community.
HOME-ARP Funding
The AYA Youth Collective, located in the City of Grand Rapids, is another model example of a facility
that offers drop-in programming or access to supportive housing for youth who are in crisis that
require services, including but not limited to, access to meals, transportation, medical services,
storage of personal items, and personal care services. This facility is able to meet the many needs of
youth who face homelessness or are in unsafe environments. This program also serves as a
connector to transitional housing to those 18 and older who are able to sign a lease.
Proposed Ideas
• Youth Center -
o The City seeks to invest in a community Youth Center that will be available for
Muskegon County youth. We are seeking to renovate an existing structure in the city
to make it publicly accessible and suitable to house youth.
• Youth Crisis Center -
o The City desires to replicate the AYA Youth Collective model to provide similar
programmatic offerings that meet the immediate needs of our unaccompanied
youth.
• Stakeholder partnerships - The City seeks to engage community stakeholders to explore
streamlining their existing service offerings for the benefit of a new Youth Crisis Center.
o Explore current building capacity of Muskegon Covenant Hall, and any available
property on site, to assist in housing impacted youth.
o Explore development opportunities with the nonprofit organization, Kids Belong,
which is seeking to create additional space for post-foster care, aged-out youth on
property under their control.
o Explore the past experiences of Dwelling Place which is investigating a scattered site
land trust model that would allow for affordable home ownership options with
capped growth – to allow for building wealth while also keeping homes
affordable. Dwelling Place is also experienced with tax credits for affordable housing
developments.
o Explore programming options with The Hope Project whose mission is to mitigate
the suffering of human trafficking. They seek to create transitional housing plans for
women and provide the necessary wrap-around services such as mentorship,
assistance with court appointments, jail visits, transportation, personal care, etc.
• Rental rehab partnership w/ Landlords- Mentorship to homeownership
o The City currently has under its control 1 housing units which could be used to
create housing instantly for youth.
o Incentivize current landlords to establish more affording housing options by making
funds available to renovate their property listings.
HOME-ARP Funding
The City’s goal is to create impactful housing options that meet the needs of unaccompanied
minors in our community. Through the collaborative services offerings of multiple community
stakeholders, we will succeed in bridging the gap between youth homelessness and
interdependence. It is critical to establish long term housing stability in the formative years of these
youth to put them on a successful path of person growth opportunities. Through the financial
participation and programmatic offerings of stakeholders, the needs of this vulnerable population
are destined to be met.