SRO Minutes 04-16-15.pdf

SRO TASK FORCE
Meeting Minutes April 16, 2015
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
1650 Mission Street, Room 431

Members Present: Rosemary Bosque (DBI); Dan Jordan (SRO Tenant); Nicolette Alexander (Tenant Representative); Pratibha Tekkey (Central City SRO Collaborative); Raul Fernandez-Berriozabal (SRO Families United Collaborative); Sam Patel (SRO Operator); Yvonne Mere (City Attorney’s Office); Angela Chu (Chinatown SRO Collaborative; Scott Walton (HSA); Amelia Rudburg (Non-profit SRO Operator/Manager); Wolfgang Stuwe (DPH Housing & Urban Health)

Excused Absences: Johnson Ojo (DPH-BEHS), Bruce Burge (SRO Operator)

Guest: Kitty Fong (SRO Families Collaborative); Jorge Montiel (DPH)

Minutes:  Nicole Rossini (DBI-HIS)

1. Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order at 9:10 a.m.

2. Roll Call/Determination of Quorum:

There was a quorum.

3. Approval of Meeting Minutes for January 15, 2015 and February 19, 2015

There was a motion to approve the January 15, 2015 minutes by Scott Walton, and seconded by Wolfgang Stuwe with corrections to reflect that Yvonne Mere was in attendance at the January 15th SRO Task Force meeting, and to correct Nicolette Alexander’s comment regarding the Visitor Policy on page 4.

There was a motion to approve the February 19, 2015 minutes by Nicolette Alexander, and seconded by Yvonne Mere with corrections to reflect that Yvonne Mere was in attendance at the February 19^th  SRO Task Force meeting.

Public Comment:

None

4. Administrative Announcements:

Rosemary Bosque stated that she did not have any specific announcments and indicated with the membership’s approval that this item be tabled until Jadma Noronha’s arrival since Jadma wanted to introduce some of her to the Task Force membersRosemary proceeded through the agenda because some members had to leave by 10”00pm and she did not want to loose the quorum.                           

Public Comment:

None

5. Discussion Regarding Proposed Directory of SRO Services/Resources

Rosemary Bosque stated that once the directory is finalized by the Task Force, the Department of Building Inspection (DBI) will post the  content on their website and maintain the information  Rosemary indicated that the sample directory distributed was an initial draft to facilitate Task Force input regarding, (a) what categories of information to include, and (b)the amount of information to be provided, etc.,She suggested that the Task Force utilize various sources already available on agency websites  such as the vast amount of information available on the Department of Public Health’s website (DPH). 

Rosemary asked the Task Force membership which additional topics they wanted to include in the directory, and queried Sam Patel on what information he felt would be useful to  hotel operators and employees.

Sam Patel stated the draft appeared to cover most topics.

Wolfgang Stuwe asked if the program information would be added as the draft appeared to be incomplete.

Rosemary Bosque stated that the program information would be added, but she wanted the input of the Task Force members for program descriptions.

Scott Walton stated the development of an introduction would encourage tenants to make sure that the owners are aware of the issues in the SROs in which they reside. He suggested that when referring to Master Lease buildings, a caveat should be added indicating that HSA is not the building owner.

Scott  also suggested that where the directory refers to food resources, there should be distinction between how  to report related issues, and places to access food. He also advised  that the directory should not be too long and thereby more difficult to use. In keeping with this he suggested that descriptions be in simple language so people can decide what information to access.

Amelia Rudberg suggested that information be added regarding obtaining medical services and Medi-Cal.

Nicolette Alexander suggested that the Collaboratives be added as a resource to the wellness section regarding  related social events they host or sponsor such as tenant meetings, etc.

Rosemary Bosque stated that the Collaboratives should be polled regarding wellness activities that they may be sponsoring

Angela Chu suggested that resource operation hours be included with the website address.

Jorge Montiel suggested that the directory not belong.  He lso suggested instructions to encourage tenants to make property owners are aware of the need for hotel repairs or maintenance.

Scott Walton stated he was concerned about including operating or service hours within the directory because this would cause the information to be out of date more frequently. He suggested that in lieu of hours, the agencies could be asked to provide a second phone number. He also suggested that  directory users could be encouraged to access 2-1-1 and 3-1-1  to obtain more current information

Nicolette Alexander noted that some tenants do not have phones, and suggested including a listing of sites where tenants could access computers for free.

Rosemary Bosque said the directory would be printed for distribution to SRO’s. The Department of Building Inspection (DBI) could inlcude a copy of the finalized directory  within the Annual Unit Usage Report (AUUR) that is mailed to the hotel operators annualy.

Scott Walton suggested giving a copy of the directory to  the agencies that maintain the 2-1-1, and 3-1-1 services as additional referral materials

Rosemary Bosque stated that the intent is to  notifiy   agencies that their information is to be included in the directory.

Raul Fernandez-Berriobazal echoed Angela Chu’s idea to add the hours with a disclaimer that the hours are subject to change and to contact the agency to make sure the hours are correct.

Pratibha Tekkey stated that the directory should be translated into different languages.

Scott Walton stated that language translation services  provided by 311 was another reason to provide such agencies with the directory.

Yvonne Mere clarified that 3-1-1 only makes referrals to city, and city-sponsored agencies.

Scott Walton stated the directory should be given to both 3-1-1 and 2-1-1 since these agencies perform different referrals. 

Angela Chu stated that  the directory should be translated into Spanish, and Chinese since these monolingual communities are often without resources.

Amelia Rudburg stated that the 2-1-1 program description  needed to be further clarified

Rosemary Bosque stated that the current descriptions were examples for the initial discussion and these would be enhanced as the directory developed.

Yvonne Mere suggested that the directory encourage tenants to notify hotel operators  of requested repairs,in that the directory is not meant to supplant tenant and hotel operator communications..  She indicated that the directory should be used for locating available resources when communications breakdown.  She volunteered to assist the Chair with the drafting of the introduction.

Rosemary Bosque requested that the Task Force members email her with any comments or suggestions for inclusion in the directory

Sam Patel asked if he could discuss the draft directory in the meeting he has scheduled with the SRO operators the following day.

Rosemary Bosque stated that he could share the draft so that the operators could offer comments and suggestions for the directory.

Public Comment:

None

6. Report from SRO Collaboratives

Central City Collaborative: Pratibha Tekkey stated that the Collaborative has been working on a Public Safety campaign within the Tenderlion She indicated that the Collaborative brought approximately three hundred (300) tenants to the Police Commission Hearing, and voiced their concerns about proposed redistricting. She stated that the Police Commission was receptive to their concerns, regarding redistricting and Polk Street boundries.

SRO Families United Collaborative: Raul Fernandez-Berrizobal stated that the Broadway/Sansome apartment project went well with the transition of families from SRO’s to public housing. He shared the story of a single mother no longer had to carry her wheelchair bound child up the stairs as they were now in a building with elevator service.    The Collaborative along with Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC) are developing a five (5) year plan to deal with family homelessness.  A draft was sent to the Board of Supervisors who seemed receptive, and the plan would be presented to the Mayor for approval.

Chinatown SRO Collaborative: Angela Chu stated that there is a SRO Hotel in Chinatown serving tenants with eviction notices. Twenty—six (26) eviction notices were served for violations, such as, cooking, smoking in public areas and the use of computers in tenant’s units. This building has caught the attention of the Mayor and the building owners have stated that they would not be moving forward with the evictions at this time.

Public comment:

None

7. Prioritization of Future Meetings

Rosemary Bosque stated that Nicole Rossini had researched some of the information with the Department of Parks and Recreation for the wellness portion of the directory. The Task Force still needed to add the Visitor Policy on the agenda. She stated she would work with Yvonne Mere to invite SFPD and talk with Delene Wolfe about a representative from the San Francisco Rent Board. She stated she was aware the membership would like for both SFPD and the Rent Board to be present at the meeting. The Visitor Policy would probably make it on the agenda for the June meeting. The Task Force would once again be reviewing the directory at the May meeting.

Public Comment:

None

General Public Comment

None

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 9:48 a.m.