Commission on Human Needs Minutes - 04/18/2005 RECEIVED IN
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
Commission on Human Needs ,,rr
April18, 2005 Date ®`t"o�0"�J
Minutes of the Meeting By Pa Time 8:56
Today's meeting is a regularly scheduled meeting of the Human Needs Commission.
The meeting was convened in the City of Wichita Falls Council Conference Room.
Attendance was as follows:
Those in Attendance: Absent:
Dennis Marquardt (Chair) Travis Bohannon
Katherine Phillips (Vice Chair) Melinda Brinkley
Brent Walker Teresa Ramos
Pat Haywood Bob Johnston
Sheldon Johnson Ingrid Fitzpatrick
Sylvesta Shed Ronnie Sanders
Donna Piper
Don Roberts (Guest) Excused:
Charinda Sestak Amber Holt
City Liaison
Dave Goodrich
1. Call to Order:
Item 1: The meeting was called to order by the Chair, Dennis Marquardt, at 5:00
P.M. Minutes of the February 21, 2005 meeting were approved with the
following corrections: Dennis Marquardt,not Keith Cupples,called the
meeting to order; Donna Piper attended the meeting, but was not listed on
the attendance section. No other additions or corrections were necessary.
2. Committee Reports:
a. Committee on Aging and Disabled: There is no information to report.
This committee has not met for a few months.
b. Committee on the Status of Women: A sexual abuse workshop was held
last week and was well attended. The next scheduled meeting will be May
10, 2005.
c. Committee on Human Needs: This committee has been very active. They
have formed a Homeless Coalition and are looking for volunteers. There is
a Continuum of Care grant that has a large sum of money that is allocated
to the City of Wichita Falls every year, but it has been turned back in,
unused,because required collaboration with multiple city agencies is
lacking. The committee has drafted a working agreement for the City of
Wichita Falls to consider. Dave Goodrich will route it through the
appropriate areas for review.
Commission on Human Needs (continued)
d. Committee on Youth: No representation at the meeting,no report filed.
3. Old Business:
a. Commission members discussed the possibility of sending a letter of
appreciation to the former Mayor, Mr. Bill Altman, for his support to this
Commission during his tenure as Mayor. Pending his approval, the
Committee expressed interest in submitting a copy to the Times Record
News. Dennis Marquardt drafted and submitted a letter for review.
Committee members approved the letter, which was signed and will be
mailed tomorrow.
4. New Business:
a. Homeless Coalition: The Homeless Coalition is now meeting monthly.
They support 11 counties, including Wichita, and are looking for
volunteers to help. There is an urgent need for transition housing for
HIV/Aids victims. Sylvesta Shed suggested converting some of the
abandoned homes in this area into transitional housing. Will be discussed
further.
b. Committee Vacancies:
(1). Stephanie Green has submitted her resignation, effective
immediately. She is moving out of the area.
(2). Charinda Sestak announced that she is moving to California on
May 10th, so this was her last meeting as well.
(3). The Committee thanked each of the above members for their
dedicated services. Both will be missed. The above two
resignations plus two unfilled seats leave four vacancies on the
committee. Members are encouraged to help find interested,
committed replacements.
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Dennis Marquardt % ,®' '
Chair