2026-09-09 - Government Operations Committee

00:04We are live.

00:06>> All right. Good evening. It is 8:09 p.m.

00:09Uh, this is the government operations

00:11committee. I'm the chair, Michael Beck,

00:13and joining me at the table is community

00:14member Maller, committee member uh

00:17community, sorry, committee member, uh,

00:19councelor Fish. Uh, we got councelor

00:21Leonard. We've also got committee member

00:24councelor Walker, as well as chief

00:26pelleter. I believe we have a few other

00:28members who will be back to join us in a

00:30in a moment. Um, but if we'd like to get

00:33started on the first item, which is an

00:35order authorizing an update to the

00:38ambulance transport policy here and

00:40after referred to as emergency medical

00:42services transport plan, Chief Pelier.

00:45>> Yeah. So, um, main law now requires

00:48municipalities to adopt a written plan

00:50outlining how emergency transport

00:52medical services are provided. council

00:55did um adopt the policy back in 1999 uh

01:00which kind of outlined how the able to

01:01run and in reviewing that policy we've

01:04identified some revisions that needed to

01:06occur to make sure we're in compliance

01:07with the new law and to more uh make

01:11sure that we're more in line with our

01:13current operational model. So some of

01:16those um some of that language change is

01:19more outline what the uh requirements is

01:22that we have to post in the paper and

01:24make sure it identifies that the city of

01:26Bangor fire department is the

01:28transporting service. um it allows the

01:31chief to um identify the number of

01:33frontline ambulances versus just having

01:35a set number that was in place before

01:39and it simplified some of the inter

01:41facility transport language that used to

01:44be there. So, okay, I just want to state

01:47for the record that Council Poon joined

01:48us. Uh any questions on this particular

01:51item?

01:53>> I have a question. Council Miller,

01:56>> I'm curious about how many mutual aid

01:58contracts do we have with neighboring

02:00fire for ambulance services.

02:03>> Chief, we have a few um

02:07I know we have with um for the light we

02:11have um

02:14burn hands

02:16chief Octton to come up as well. Um, the

02:19only reason I asked the question is,

02:22do we have any, let me ask this one. It

02:26was my understanding from years ago that

02:28we had no there were contracts for fire

02:32but with a county but none for EMS

02:36services.

02:36>> That's correct.

02:37>> What's where do we stand on that now? We

02:39go individually as opposed to a county

02:41system.

02:42>> So, we have formalized mutual aid

02:44agreements within the county chiefs. Uh

02:46we have a statewide um mutually

02:48agreement for for fire with EMS. That's

02:51some of the things that we've been

02:52working on at at the state level.

02:54Locally, we do have some contracts in

02:55place in case we're all tied up. We do

02:58have somebody that can come back and um

03:01provide service for us more often.

03:02That's Northern Light is our first um

03:04line. Um Fire is another option. Hampton

03:07Fire is another option. Um you know, the

03:10fire department farms, they do have an

03:11ambulance. um specifically northern

03:13light is the only true ambulance service

03:15that we have actually agreement with

03:18any other discussion questions

03:21all right looks like we're looking for a

03:22motion for recommendation to full

03:24counsel I'll entertain that motion by

03:26the way for the member councelor Dean

03:28has joined us

03:31>> I make a motion uh to um recommend the

03:34changes uh in the policy and uh go to

03:38councel

03:39>> second motion a Second. Uh, do we have

03:42any doubt?

03:45Okay, that'll move forward to full

03:46counsel with our recommendation.

03:48>> Thank you very much.

03:49>> All right, that brings up the second

03:50item on the agenda. We have a built for

03:52zero update from main housing.

03:59Please introduce yourself when you come

04:00to the table.

04:03>> Yeah, sure. Sure. There's also a right

04:05here.

04:14Well, good evening. Uh, my name is Eric

04:16Jorgensson,

04:17senior director of government relations

04:19and communications at the main state

04:20housing authority, main housing, and I'm

04:23joined by my colleague.

04:24>> I'm Kelly Watson. I'm the director of

04:26the home initiatives.

04:28>> And we understood you wanted an update

04:30on the bill for zero initiative, and

04:32we're happy to provide that. Um just a

04:35just a little background. Main housing

04:36serves as the state's housing bank. We

04:39are uh program administrators for

04:42certain federal programs like uh section

04:448 vouchers and HEAP. Um we are also the

04:47housing authority for the parts of Maine

04:49that don't have their own housing

04:50authorities. So we're now part of state

04:53government. Um we're created by the

04:55legislature back in the late 70s or late

04:5760s. and um we work closely with the

05:01legislature and with the state and we

05:02play a coordinating role in a lot of

05:04things. Um so we're really happy to be

05:07talking about bill for zero here

05:08tonight. I think our goal will be to

05:10provide you an update and then to um

05:14answer any questions you have and listen

05:16and see what we can see if we can help

05:19shed light on things to the extent we

05:21can. Um

05:23I would just say that uh just in a

05:26general sense um our role with

05:29homelessness is that we are we play a

05:31sort of a coordinating role um we

05:34distribute funds to shelters to the

05:36extent that those funds come in from the

05:37state and they're available. We also

05:39play a coordinating role in service in

05:41coordinating services and that's sort of

05:43where the bill for zero program comes

05:45in. I would say that policy is generally

05:48set by the two statewide entities that

05:51deal with homelessness, the statewide

05:52homeless council and the continuum of

05:55care. Um so those are they set the

05:57policy, we support those entities, we do

06:00work around coordinating and that sort

06:01of thing. Um generally, you know,

06:04homeless response is generally handled

06:06on a local level, but we work to

06:08coordinate and distribute funds and that

06:10sort of thing. Um before I turn over to

06:13Kelly, which I want to do in a moment,

06:15just want to say on a personal level, um

06:18I know that um this is a frustrating

06:21issue for all of you. Uh I I served for

06:24eight years in the legislature

06:25representing Portland and and

06:27homelessness was an issue that I heard

06:29more about than anything else when I

06:31went to the doors and it is. It's a

06:34subject that's really hard to figure

06:35out. It's really hard to solve. These

06:37are very difficult cases. So, I just

06:39wanted to say going into this that, you

06:41know, we we I think we understand where

06:43some of your frustration comes from and

06:46certainly want to hear about what your

06:48situation is and provide our updates.

06:51So, with that, I'll turn it over to

06:53Kelly who will tell you a little bit

06:54more about Bill for Zero.

06:56>> Great.

06:56>> Thank you. Um yeah, so I wanted to start

06:59with um just a little level setting

07:01around built for zero and I think um

07:03prior to my u moving into this position

07:07uh folks from main housing may have come

07:10to the council and talked about it. So

07:12um I won't spend a lot of time on it but

07:14just uh to sort of talk about um built

07:16for zero is a movement um a framework um

07:21that is sort of built around a

07:23methodology um that comes with like four

07:26pillars basically. Um one of them is to

07:30build an accountable team. Um another is

07:32to define specifically what success

07:35looks like. Um another is to know every

07:38person by name. So having a data set um

07:41with a binding list um so they can

07:45understand the scope um of homelessness

07:47and also um what we call in the data

07:50world dduplicate. Make sure you're not

07:52counting people more than once. Um and

07:54then direct uh resources strategically.

07:59In addition to that framework um there

08:02are three sort of key ingredients for

08:04success um that are outlined in in bill

08:07for zero. One is enough housing

08:09resources. Um another is an outcomes

08:12focused response. So looking at the data

08:14and what it's telling you and um using

08:17that in the response and then another is

08:20uh targeted help for people facing the

08:23highest barriers. So that's housing plus

08:26intensive services.

08:28And so that is an overview of what bill

08:31for zero is. It's a movement from

08:33community solutions

08:36which is a a national entity and I'll be

08:38giving some resources at the end if

08:41people are interested in more looking

08:43more into community solutions and what

08:45they do.

08:47Um I also wanted to just um talk about

08:50sort of how um our homeless system is

08:54structured in um the hub hub system. Um

08:57again, I think you probably all heard

08:59about it, but basically um about four

09:02years ago, the homeless system was

09:04redesigned um on a regional basis. Um

09:08and um as part of that redesign, uh a

09:12coordinator was um put into each of the

09:16nine homeless service regional hubs.

09:18They're not all on county lines, but

09:20they um they are close to on county

09:23lines. Some include more than one um one

09:26county and others don't. Um and so the

09:30hub coordinator u position is funded by

09:33main housing um through state state

09:35funds uh but they sit at agencies um

09:40within the community. So we don't employ

09:43them. They have an employer of record um

09:45and we we sub with that um employer for

09:48them to uh employ that that health

09:51coordinator. Um and so the role of the

09:54hub coordinator um in their work in the

09:57community is to convene and facilitate

10:00cross agency collaborative teams. Um it

10:03is to work to achieve quality real time

10:06data which you've probably heard about.

10:09Um it is to track how system performance

10:12metrics.

10:13A big piece of their role is managing

10:16the centralized prioritization referral

10:20process, also known as coordinated

10:22entry. Uh, and then also working with um

10:25the members in their community to

10:27identify problems and work with them on

10:30system improvement.

10:34I did want to again uh talk a little bit

10:37about coordinated entry um to explain a

10:41a big piece of the hub coordinator role.

10:44Um coordinated entry is a system um that

10:47is supposed to standardize the referral

10:49process um of persons experiencing

10:51homelessness into um housing resources.

10:55It's a federallymandated system. Um, and

10:58so the housing providers that receive

11:02funding from uh the federal government

11:05through the COC grant uh program are

11:09required to have their housing resources

11:11in coordinated entry, meaning that they

11:14are required to take their referrals

11:15from the coordinated entry system as

11:18opposed to um just having sort of an

11:20open application um or their own

11:23weightless process. So there are pillars

11:26to coordinated entry as well. The first

11:28is access. Um meaning that that someone

11:31experiencing homelessness, excuse me,

11:33[clears throat]

11:35um should be able to go find a point um

11:37to access the coordinated entry system

11:39which are called access points um at the

11:42name. And the next is assessment. And so

11:45when a person reaches an access point um

11:48they go through an assessment um that

11:51reviews their situation, their housing

11:53barriers and needs um which then sort of

11:56results in ultimately a score. Um I hate

12:00that it boils down to a score because

12:01there is a lot more that goes into it

12:03but um but again it's supposed to be

12:05sort of as standard standardized and

12:08objective as possible. Um so from that

12:12assessment comes prioritization. So, so

12:15taking those um people that have come

12:17into the coordinated entry system,

12:19prioritizing them and then the referral

12:21process is the last um pillar of that

12:24which is um utilizing sort of the data

12:28that we have on the people on the

12:29prioritization list and getting um

12:31referrals to those housing resources um

12:34that most appropriately match their

12:37their housing barriers and needs. um

12:40coordinated entry has um

12:45resources from the C the COC grant

12:47program because they're required by HUD

12:49and also um has some increasing um

12:55resources from outside entities that are

12:58not doing so because they're mandated to

13:00but because they see the value in um and

13:02putting those resources through

13:04coordinated entry. um it does not

13:06encompass the whole entire um housing

13:09resources in Maine unfortunately it um

13:12so a coordinated entry system I think to

13:14like fully work would have all all the

13:16resources within it um but we're sort of

13:18working at that and that's a big piece

13:20of health coordinator's role is to try

13:23to encourage um housing providers to

13:26maybe um see the benefit in

13:29participating in entry and getting

13:30referrals there

13:33[clears throat]

13:34so now I've sort of levels that I'll

13:36just move on to um some of the

13:38accomplishments I wanted to highlight.

13:40Um this at the state level um we have

13:43five hubs that have reached quality

13:45data. Um quality data it means that

13:48those areas can confidently say that

13:51they um have are counting at least 90%

13:54of all persons experiencing homelessness

13:56in their in their hub at any given time.

14:01Um, we've gone through the coordinated

14:04entry implementation process. Uh, at the

14:07beginning of the the homeless um system

14:10redesign, we were actually just sort of

14:13getting coordinated entry off the ground

14:15uh with HUD technical assistance helping

14:18us. And so that implementation has

14:20happened. It's a functioning system.

14:23there is on ongoing continuous

14:25improvement um that happens by committee

14:28of the COC because coordinate entry is

14:30um is actually a COC function.

14:33Uh we have regional improvement teams

14:35and coordination um standing stood up in

14:38each hub. Uh and some hubs have multiple

14:41um teams that are working on on

14:42different areas and I'll talk a little

14:44bit about hub 7 in a minute.

14:47Uh we have um point in time coordination

14:50execution. The point in time count is a

14:52um a count um one night of the year in

14:55January every year where we attempt to

14:58count everyone who's experiencing

14:59homelessness on that night. Um the hub

15:02coordinators when they came on took over

15:04the coordination of the unsheltered

15:06portion of that count. So there's a

15:08shelter portion that um accounts for for

15:11folks that are in emergency shelters and

15:14and other um housing facilities.

15:17And most of that data comes directly

15:19from a database that um that they're

15:21already entering data into. So it's sort

15:23of a data pull. Um but then there's this

15:25unsheltered portion um which includes

15:28sort of anyone experiencing street

15:30homelessness um or people living in

15:33other places not meant for habitation um

15:35as well as um folks that may not be

15:39captured in that data set that's in the

15:41the software that I mentioned.

15:44So that coordination and execution uh at

15:47the hub level is um has been a huge

15:51success um in comparison to sort of what

15:54was happening before the hub system came

15:55along. It was very much um just

15:58grassroots um efforts and some

16:00communities were doing really well and

16:02some communities weren't. It um it all

16:03kind of depended on how much volunteer

16:05manpower you were able to to get. So um

16:10we um as a system have had a redesigned

16:13website um which is exciting for us

16:15because we were working off a very old

16:16sort of blog style website um and a

16:19dashboard a data dashboard for um the

16:22hub system and the data I've been um

16:24referring to.

16:26Um and we've had strong attendance at

16:28the built for zero learning sessions.

16:29So, Community Solutions puts on a

16:31learning session annually and it's a

16:35chance for both uh for our hub

16:37coordinators to go and collaborate with

16:39other communities that are working on

16:41Built for Zero. Um, but we also have had

16:44um a lot of community participation and

16:48we've been able to I mean housing um

16:50provide some scholarships for um for

16:53providers and community um providers to

16:56to go to the learning session.

17:00Um, and so I want to just move on to hub

17:027 accomplishments. Um, specifically, um,

17:05and, uh, just want to say that our hub

17:08coordinators do a lot of work. Um,

17:10they're working with many players. Um,

17:13lots of intersecting pieces and, um, Jen

17:16Lawler, the hub 7 coordinator, is um,

17:18one of one of the rock stars. So, we we

17:20really um, feel lucky to have Jen um, as

17:23one of the the hub coordinators.

17:25Um some of the exciting things that have

17:28been happening are um hub 7 is one of

17:30the hubs that has reached quality data

17:32meaning they feel confident that they

17:34have at least 90% um of those

17:36experiencing homelessness captured in

17:38the data set. Uh the hub itself is the

17:42most coordinated um point in time count

17:45in the state. they have by far the most

17:47volunteers and um sort of most

17:50coordinated effort in making sure that

17:52they're counting everyone.

17:55Uh Jan has over 200 people on her

17:58lister. So she has a big group of people

18:00who are um both getting information and

18:03participating in meetings.

18:05Um she is doing warming shelter

18:08coordination with partners uh that's

18:10happening year round. so that she

18:12actually has a warming shelter um

18:14meeting that happens monthly. Um and

18:16they work throughout the year both

18:19during the season making sure that

18:20services are coordinated but then after

18:22the season making sure they're prepping

18:24for the next because it comes really

18:26fast um and uh and they're she's doing

18:29good work um coordinating that. Um she's

18:32been able to make some great rural area

18:34connections and collaborations. So, um,

18:37Piscatus Piscatus County is one of the,

18:40um, areas that has no shelter, uh, no

18:43emergency shelter, and, uh, she's been

18:46able to do outreach with the service

18:49providers there to, um, to figure out

18:53sort of the needs and, um, challenges

18:55they're experiencing um, and and able to

18:57get some collaboration there.

19:00Um and the hub 7 um coordinated entry

19:04system has 14 coordinated entry access

19:07points um which is uh is a a great good

19:10amount of access points um in any one

19:13one hub for folks to be able to access

19:14the system.

19:18Uh I talked about the the warming

19:21shelters this year. Um the group uh to

19:24my understanding is the group has worked

19:26really hard to come up with a

19:28collaborative um effort in the the RFP

19:32um process. It's currently open actually

19:34closes Friday. Um and my cities they

19:37actually brought in a grant writer and

19:39were able to um sort of work um as a

19:42team to make sure those proposals um

19:45were in good shape to to be submitted.

19:49um Jim Dob's report and I don't think

19:52this is probably a surprise but that the

19:54outreach capacity um continues to be a

19:57significant challenge. Um it sounds like

20:00staffing challenges um sort of create uh

20:05sort of workload issues and um it's

20:07difficult for those outreach teams to

20:09take on new referrals. Um and so that's

20:11a a challenge that they're tackling.

20:16Um so then I just wanted to cover some

20:19of the meetings that are happening um

20:22both at the hub level and then statewide

20:24meetings and resources. Uh so I I have

20:28mentioned some but um Jen has a homeless

20:30provider meeting that's a monthly

20:32inerson meeting and that is um it's very

20:34provider centric and it's the the sort

20:36of boots on the ground providers getting

20:38together um and working through um so

20:41their challenges and um and

20:43collaborations to try to address those.

20:45Um the warming shelter meeting I've

20:47mentioned um is a monthly inerson

20:49meeting as well.

20:52uh she has a care coordination meeting

20:54which is every other week and uh that

20:56one is more uh seems to focus more on h

20:59outreach workers um and housing

21:01navigators. So again folks on the ground

21:03but um very specifically um sounds like

21:07working uh focusing on the outline and

21:09sheltered um community.

21:12Uh she has a northern panovska uh county

21:15meeting every other month and then a

21:17piscus county meeting which is happening

21:19bi-weekly. to doing some of that more

21:20rural outreach as well.

21:23Um in addition uh the coordinated entry

21:26meetings are happening. Um they are um

21:29split up into youth uh domestic violence

21:33and um then sort of like general um

21:35coordinate entry and that's for privacy

21:38um to to respect privacy um concerns

21:40around um some of those populations that

21:44um may be protected by VAWA or are under

21:4718 and um and their information um can't

21:50be shared in in larger groups.

21:53Um and then the statewide meetings I

21:55just wanted to mention. Um these

21:57meetings uh are where the hub updates

22:01are provided. Um so hub coordinators

22:03come to these meetings and give um

22:05detailed updates about what's going on

22:08um in their hub. Um including both what

22:10great things they're doing and

22:12challenges they're seeing.

22:13um that happens uh at the continual care

22:16meetings which are quarterly um the

22:18third Thursday of January, April, July

22:22and October. Um and as well as the

22:25statewide homeless council meeting uh

22:27which is a quarterly public meeting

22:30second Tuesday of March, June, September

22:32and December. Um that meeting also

22:34happens monthly but it is only open to

22:37um the p public participation quarterly

22:40but the public can view um each of those

22:42monthly meetings. Um and then I just

22:45wanted to put a plug in for um the the

22:49website I mentioned is

22:50mainhomelessplanning.org.

22:52Um it is the website that sort of

22:54belongs to the COC and the statement

22:56homeless council. Um but as Eric

22:58mentioned, we play um a supporting

23:00administrative role for both of those

23:02entities. And so we uh manage the back

23:04end um of that website and and the

23:07postings. Um and there's information on

23:11sort of everything that's happening in

23:12the um the homeless system there as well

23:14as um specific hub coordinator um

23:17updates, built for zero updates, um the

23:20dash data dashboard, um and then uh

23:22calendar of meetings that are happening

23:24as well. Um and lastly, uh just a plug

23:26for Community Solutions. Um their

23:29movement is um much bigger than Maine

23:32and um what they're doing is uh is

23:35really interesting. So um they do have a

23:38wonderful newsletter that sort of keeps

23:40um keeps us sort of breast of what's

23:42going on um in in the community

23:45solutions and built for zero movement

23:47and and the work that they're doing. Any

23:53questions from the committee or

23:54counselors?

23:57I acknowledge that councelor Carson is

23:58joining us at the table

24:01for fish

24:03>> um with um the coordinated entry uh with

24:08uh within the hub 7 or even with the

24:10relationship with built for zero zero

24:12and main uh main housing. I know main

24:15housing has a lot of other projects. So

24:18is the built for zero um just uh one

24:24department or one segment of housing

24:26that uh the coordinated entry uh must

24:30fall on. So if you have a relationship

24:32uh on a project with a developer whether

24:35private or municipality or nonprofit um

24:38and then coordinated entry uh when if

24:42it's under the bill for zero is it

24:44mandated they have to follow that number

24:47you know how they are qualified under

24:49the number uh thing if it's only for

24:52that or do you have is built for zero or

24:54main housing have other housing

24:57opportunities because you know the

25:00homelessness we're experiencing is is on

25:03on the rise and we also have those that

25:06are unable to to stay in the housing

25:09they have with the expenses. So we have

25:11a lot of elderly people that are on

25:13fixed income and they're at risk of

25:16becoming homeless. And so I actually

25:19heard last week about an elderly lady

25:22not far from where I live here in Bangor

25:24and she's actually living in her car and

25:28um she's she tried to get into uh

25:32housing and she was told that the only

25:34thing for her was this coordinated entry

25:37entry. So even though she's, you know,

25:3978 years old, um, she is nowhere in the

25:43radar because her number it wouldn't be

25:46the 14, 15 or 16. And, um, so I have a

25:51lot of concerns. You know, I know that

25:53our vulnerable people that are homeless,

25:55but I'm I'm really concerned about the

25:58coordinated entry. Um, we're just kind

26:01of losing some people that uh are older

26:05and very vulnerable to in

26:08use or violence and um you know so I

26:12really want to understand I don't want

26:14to take up everybody's night it's

26:15getting late but um you know and I've

26:17had a number of people tell me recently

26:20that the elderly are not going to be

26:21able to afford the $5 gallon fuel and in

26:24fact they may becoming homeless. So, um

26:29I I'm I have a heart for our homeless,

26:32but um I'm sad when I see so many

26:36projects coming to us for a lot of It's

26:40exciting in one hand that we're having a

26:42lot of projects for the unhoused. At the

26:45same time, it's very sad to me to not

26:48see more intervention and for that

26:51middle group that don't have substance

26:53use addiction or mental illness that

26:55they're just really about one step from

26:59being out on the street. So um I get um

27:03you know I want to understand and get on

27:05board but when I'm hearing every day

27:08about the coordinated entry system the

27:12number system uh and then again even for

27:14my Bangor residents the number system

27:17might take somebody from Bucksport or

27:19Lincoln or from somewhere

27:21[clears throat] else um and even though

27:23it may be a facility within Bangor my

27:26Bangor elderly lady is going to be

27:27sleeping in her car tonight where

27:30someone with substance juice addiction

27:31from Lincoln is going to bump her. So,

27:34um, so, you know, I'm just as a

27:37counselor, you know, I'm bringing this

27:39concern and issue to you guys because

27:42you guys are doing a lot of great

27:43things, but, um, at the same time,

27:46there's a big void and a gap and, um,

27:49then I don't know where I'm on that path

27:51if with the coordinated entry system

27:54when we are bringing residents into our

27:56housing with your partnerships in

27:58Bangor. Um,

28:01I'd like to see more of the bank core

28:03people and I know, you know, if they're

28:05here and they were a service provider,

28:07but is there any way through this that

28:09we can build or come back to Lincoln or

28:12even these home communities where these

28:14under these individuals have their ties?

28:17Can we help educate or involve Herman,

28:21Brewer, Lincoln, you know, the other

28:23people, the other towns in our hub? So,

28:26um, so those are just, you know, thank

28:28you for everything that's doing. There's

28:30a lot of exciting things, but on the

28:31other side of the coin, there's a lot of

28:33scary things coming coming that don't

28:36involve, you know, substance use

28:38addicted people, but are going to become

28:41a very big part of the population out on

28:44our street.

28:45>> Yeah, I I certainly I hear what you're

28:48saying. I mean, it's a frustrating

28:49thing. In some ways, I think the problem

28:51is when you're in a city, a larger city.

28:54There's two large cities in Maine. And

28:57this is a lot of times where people end

28:59up because they think there's jobs here

29:01or there's services here or other

29:03things. I mean, it's just sort of a and

29:05if there's any if it's it may be just

29:07sound I don't want you to think I'm just

29:08giving you platitudes because I'm not.

29:10But I do think that um if you asked any

29:13shelter anywhere or any community of

29:16people doing shelter work around the

29:18country, they would all say we've really

29:21got to, you know, the problem is people

29:23are coming here from other places. And

29:26to some degree that's true, but I would

29:28say we I actually had a meeting this

29:30afternoon with Department of Health and

29:32Human Services talking about this issue

29:35and there's a you know there's people

29:37leaving very frequently as

29:39[clears throat] well because they get

29:41they get sent to other states. They get

29:42a you can get a greyhound ticket. In

29:44Portland they used to call it greyhound

29:46therapy. You could get a ticket to

29:48someone where you had a sister or a

29:49brother-in-law or something in another

29:50state. So, I would say that I know it's

29:54frustrating when people come to your

29:55town from other places, but I would say

29:58a lot of times you're going to find that

29:59um the majority of people are from right

30:02around here, if not from the Bangor city

30:04area, from this county, this region. So,

30:08I I think that's part of it. Um,

30:10anything else? What What am I missing?

30:12And where have I blundered?

30:13>> No, I I don't not at all. Um, but I do

30:16want to I think I can maybe help clarify

30:18a little bit about coordinated entry

30:20specifically. Um there are many other

30:23projects um that do not go through

30:27coordinated entry. Um and so

30:28[clears throat]

30:29um most of the development projects that

30:32we do a main housing um income tax

30:35credit they don't go through coordinated

30:36entry. So so not every housing resource

30:39out there um in fact the majority of

30:41them do not go through coordinated

30:42entry. Um, I will say in sort of a

30:45perfect coordinate entry system, you

30:47also have a um a breadth of resources

30:52that sort of um meet the needs of anyone

30:57coming into homelessness. So,

31:00because of the way that sort of the um

31:02pro the resources are funded, the

31:05majority of those resources are slated

31:08for th the sort of those with the

31:10highest barrier. So, we're looking at

31:11the higher scores. But if you have a

31:14system that has resources that don't

31:17maybe come with services, but they have

31:19a housing subsidy for people who don't

31:20need the services, but they need the

31:22subsidy, in that case, you'd be you

31:24wouldn't be looking for the higher

31:25scores to match. You would be looking

31:27for the mid-range scores to m or even

31:28the lower scores. Um, and for example,

31:31we have a two-year subsidy program. And

31:34we know that a two-year program, you

31:36really you need to be matching people

31:38who sort of have lower acuity so that um

31:42they're not reaching a cliff at the end

31:44of that two years. And so the match in

31:46that coordinated entry system um should

31:48be the lower scores. I think again

31:51because our resources sort of aren't at

31:54the point yet where they stretch across

31:57that continuum, it's feeling a little

31:59bit like everybody who's um at the 15s

32:02and 16s of getting the resource. But um

32:05ultimately like the hope is that you

32:06actually have all of those resources and

32:09um are distributed that way. But um but

32:12I think there will always be resources

32:14that don't go through corn entry as

32:15well.

32:16>> Very good. Thank you. Um tier, may I

32:18follow up with just one more question?

32:20Thank you. Um and and I see that the

32:22data you you mentioned you have data uh

32:24in that hub 7 just qualified that we

32:27have identified or or be able to name uh

32:30or numbers somehow provide that data for

32:3390% of our unhoused in h seven. So

32:37that's great news. So um out of that

32:40would you say and I keep hearing this

32:42you know the public and in a lot of us

32:44even our own you know police department

32:46when they come in say we see 40 new

32:47faces or people run into people they say

32:50where where are you from and I know that

32:52that's a that's tricky question because

32:54if you were born here or you had

32:55contacts here you went to school here

32:57but um with the 90% I think that's great

33:00real data and from that data to hear you

33:04say the majority of them are local I

33:07think that that's a communication

33:09um piece of data, real data, we need to

33:12get out to the public.

33:14>> I'm just saying that in a general sense,

33:15whether it's the case here, I I don't I

33:18I think the majority are going to be

33:19people from this area is my guess.

33:23Probably Bangor, but I I I don't I don't

33:25have the numbers for

33:27>> Well, there you go.

33:28>> Um it's it's I have to qualify it

33:31because it's a specific data set. We

33:33looked at specifically um the non-family

33:36shelter, individual shelters. um data uh

33:39for the area and um it was for a data a

33:46time frame of um January 125 to June

33:5030th 26 um 68% were from Ponopscot

33:54County um and 49% specifically from

33:58Bangorf

34:00uh 1% were from Portland4 were coming up

34:03and 11% were out of state the rest

34:06didn't answer the question. So, um this

34:10comes from a data set that is client

34:12self-reported. Um the question is what

34:14was where is the last place that you had

34:17permanent residency? It's a tough data

34:20field.

34:22Um but that is sort of where that comes

34:24from. So, um it doesn't necessarily mean

34:26that um someone who reported their last

34:30residence being out of state is maybe

34:32didn't grow up in Bangor. So, it's a

34:33little

34:34>> because usually if people come back,

34:35they [clears throat] have a reason to be

34:36here. They're not probably coming for

34:38the winters.

34:40>> Thank you very much. Thank you.

34:41Appreciate it.

34:42>> Uncle Warner,

34:43>> I'll be very brief. Um, and I just thank

34:46you so much to both of you for for

34:48coming here. It's uh it does actually

34:51mean a lot because you know I I I'm just

34:53going to be frank like we are drown like

34:57we carry a huge amount of responsibility

35:01and burden taking care of all these

35:05individuals. And I mean, councelor Fish

35:07and I, we we had a uh discussion at a a

35:11workshop or committee meeting recently

35:12regarding the accumulation of data

35:15itself. And uh and and that's that's the

35:19first time I've heard that those those

35:21uh uh percentages right there. And we

35:23were talking about how we need to create

35:26our own system to to gather our own data

35:30for um individuals here because we're

35:32not receiving it whatsoever. And so I I

35:36don't want to get too into the the weeds

35:38here. I the the thing that I do want to

35:41say though is that we need constant

35:44communication you guys. We absolutely

35:46do. We we are uh I mean we we are not a

35:52through destination. We are the

35:54destination for people. And so when

35:56people come here, it's very likely that

35:59that uh unless they have another reason

36:01to go somewhere else, we are going to

36:03end up taking care of them. And like I I

36:05want to take care of people. I have a

36:07compassionate heart and I want us to

36:10build those institutions and build those

36:12relationships so that we can uplift

36:13people out of poverty and get them back

36:15into the economy. Um

36:19but but we are alone. We really are

36:22alone. And

36:24I see and feel, and I don't want to

36:27speak for everyone on this council, but

36:28there is a huge amount of effort going

36:32towards southern Maine. And I don't feel

36:34any of that is coming here right now.

36:37And

36:38I would very much appreciate more

36:41communication, more uh uh engagement

36:45with the community. I mean, we have

36:49amazing nonprofits and amazing uh places

36:53of faith that really also take on the

36:55burden of responsibility to help out

36:57these individuals here. But we are at

37:00our capacity of what we can receive and

37:03we need help and that is going to be a

37:07strategy for us going forward. We are

37:09going to outreach to Augusta more with

37:12legislative strategies, but I'm telling

37:14you guys right now like we need more

37:16engagement like we need more help. I

37:19mean we are at our with capacity. We are

37:22at our uh financial capacity in a lot of

37:25ways. So I I just want to make that very

37:27clear while I have you guys here. I

37:29again I appreciate all the work that you

37:30do. I appreciate you guys coming here

37:32but this has to be a constant

37:35communication engagement with us.

37:38Um, other question before I ask mine.

37:42Okay. So, I guess my first of all, I

37:46appreciate both of you taking in taking

37:48the time and and giving us an update on

37:50what's going on. I guess my first

37:51question is where do we stand on our

37:55goals of reaching functional zero

37:56statewide?

38:00>> Um, so the first step is to get to that

38:03quality data. Um and and essentially

38:05community solutions says you can't even

38:07start measuring where you are with

38:08functional zero until you get there. We

38:10just very recently got there again in

38:12hub 7 and statewide we don't have it. So

38:15I would say that I can't report to you

38:17what where exactly we are. I will also

38:20say that um when I look at sort of the

38:22goals that were set forward um for

38:25reaching functional zero, they were set

38:28prior to um a lot of changes at at the

38:32federal level and I think they need to

38:33be sort of recalibrated.

38:37>> No, I I agree. I mean the reason I ask

38:39is you know at the statewide homeless

38:41man I want to say with early 2023 there

38:43was optimism that we were going to reach

38:45functional zero for veteran homelessness

38:46by this year. and you know again because

38:49of the change at the federal level and

38:50whatnot it didn't happen. Um is main

38:54housing entertaining the idea of getting

38:56back into a statewide contract with

38:58built for zero and that was cancelled a

39:01few years after it

39:03>> not cancelled um we had a contract with

39:07them to help us start up the the hub

39:10system and um the design but there um we

39:14are still considered a built for zero

39:16community. We don't have a um financial

39:19contractual relationship with them, but

39:21we have a what they call coaching

39:22relationship. Okay.

39:23>> Um so they are still in our world. Um we

39:27are actually working to bring them back

39:29in to help us sort of uh re-evaluate

39:32where the system is and make some

39:34recommendations to us about where the

39:36system should go. Um we're not there yet

39:39contracting, but I'm working on it. So

39:41nothing's official. Um and um and I do

39:46just want to say um get to the point

39:49that Eric made is uh when we look at

39:51those sort of goals and policies, we

39:53look to the state with homelessness

39:54council and the COC to set those and

39:56then we sort of try to support them in

39:59that in that effort.

40:00>> Sure. Um one of the I guess concerns I

40:05have is I wonder if the hub coiners have

40:07enough support. I know main housing

40:10hires one per hub and you know and it's

40:14it's a lot of work. I mean you know our

40:16hub 7 coordinator is just busting her

40:19hump to to do everything she can and I'm

40:21wondering if it's a situation where

40:22we've got health coordinators suffering

40:24in silence you know and not wanting to

40:26ask for additional resources when you

40:28know they really could help have you

40:31know more assistance more resources more

40:34tools. Um, is that something that main

40:36housing may be willing to look into

40:39further

40:41or they're just gonna wait for the hub

40:42coordinators to speak up?

40:46>> Nor am I. Yeah.

40:47>> But, uh, yeah, I mean,

40:49>> I haven't heard that the coordinators

40:51themselves are at a sense of like I I

40:54think the bigger problem is there's a

40:56lack of resources at different levels.

40:58And that's we we're working within a

41:00giant housing shortage in the state of

41:01Maine, which you all know. You don't

41:03need me to tell you that. We've got um I

41:06think as you get better data, you have

41:09bigger counts because you're actually

41:10being more accurate, which is a

41:12depressing thing to see, but I think it

41:13actually means that we're getting closer

41:15to understanding the scope of the

41:16problem. Um and then there's a whole,

41:20you know, uh there's a whole bunch of

41:22different pieces that fit in. So whether

41:24it's the hub coordinator themselves or

41:27whether it's, you know, I think we

41:29really need we need to develop more

41:31housing and we need of different levels.

41:33I mean, I think probably, you know, on

41:35the sort of immediate level, you've got

41:37the winter warming shelters that are

41:39that that program starting up again.

41:40That's a critical program for short-term

41:43stuff. Then you've got various sort of

41:46per, you know, emergency shelters that

41:48people stay in for a longer period of

41:49time, but it's still not permanent

41:51housing, but it's it's a place to be

41:53safe and uh and dry and warm. And then

41:56you have things like um the home forgood

41:59program which is the program that

42:01provides permanent supportive housing.

42:03And the trick with that is that you know

42:05it really needs the key to that whole

42:08program is the level of support that it

42:11provides. I think you folks have all

42:13probably heard about you take people off

42:15the street, put them in an apartment

42:17building, they don't do very well in

42:19general. they they aren't, you know,

42:21they aren't trained to live indoors

42:23really and they've got a lot of there's

42:25a lot of things that can go wrong and um

42:27you end up with people getting evicted

42:29and it's it's not a good situation. And

42:32I think the key with home for good is

42:34that you actually have on-site 24 hours

42:37a day staff that help people with what

42:41their needs are. and you know just the

42:43complexity of the cases of people that

42:45are in these facilities is really um is

42:49is really critical. So I mean it's a

42:50whole there's so many parts and I mean

42:53whether the I I I don't know about

42:55enough about the hub coordinators

42:56whether that's a position that's they're

42:58really stretched or whether they're but

43:00but there's just a there's a shortage of

43:02resources all over the place in this in

43:04this particular field. We I mean we do

43:07have a um a person on staff that is like

43:11serves as their their coach and that is

43:14um the majority of of their their role

43:16and I think they try really hard to have

43:19one-on-one meetings with them um at

43:21least bi-weekly to find out where we can

43:25help. And um and a lot of times it's

43:28sort of trying to help um by means of

43:31having [clears throat] conversations

43:32with with different people or or

43:34supporting them in a conversation that

43:35might be difficult. Um and so I mean I I

43:38guess we're we're always open to

43:40whatever feedback they have for us that

43:42how we can be supporting them more. I

43:44don't know again like on the fiscal side

43:45if we have more funds to put forward but

43:47the the sort of support for them that we

43:51can provide is staffing level like where

43:54we're open ears for them.

43:57>> Sure. Um I guess one of the other pieces

44:00of feedback I picked over time is

44:04there's no real clearing house for what

44:06available resources there are. A lot of

44:08times your luck of getting house comes

44:10down to did you get the right case

44:11worker who was in the right meeting who

44:12worked on the right house as opposed to

44:15a generalized place they can go and kind

44:18of see placements because to me at least

44:20when they were pitching uh bill for zero

44:22for Maine in 2021 that was the the grand

44:25vision they give that you know you've

44:26got this command table city of Bangor's

44:28there and all these providers there and

44:30they slap on the case and we've got all

44:32these resources ready to rock and roll

44:34and we're going to put them together

44:35like Robocop and off they

44:38And you know, and and obviously if

44:40there's no resources to do it, there's

44:41no resources to do it. Um, but I guess

44:45that brings me my next point is one of

44:47the ways I guess as a council and and

44:49I'm to speak for myself, you know, we

44:51we've got a legislative committee who

44:53was ready to go to bat with our

44:54legislators to ask for more resources

44:56and talk about what we need. Um we're

44:59we're hopeful that this opens the you

45:01know partnership and communication of if

45:03we can be a louder voice for you know

45:05hey if this resource exists well then

45:07let's speak up for it if you know this

45:09program was just given a little more

45:11funding that would work for example one

45:13of the things we're considering is

45:15project hope and in my mind I'm thinking

45:18well it's being shopped around to

45:20communities who have a little extra

45:21money in their budget and can afford to

45:22do it where it would be great if it was

45:24a program that went to all the hubs and

45:26said here's a tool for you to help you

45:28with placements everywhere rather than

45:30sticking it to just one city to have to

45:32figure it out. If you know the hubs had

45:35more resources like that and if the

45:37funding's there as opposed to having to

45:40hopefully someone can make a match. I

45:42don't know if that's a legislative issue

45:43or what, but I I just if there's a way

45:46to get the hub coordinators more

45:48resources so that work can be done at

45:50that level because again I I envision

45:53this is you know these hub coordinators

45:55when they all get their their cylinders

45:57firing if they pick up someone you know

46:00in northern Maine and they get them into

46:02the system but there's nothing we can do

46:03to help them you know we shouldn't be

46:06finding out about them by accident like

46:07there should be some kind of warm

46:08handoff a process they can go through

46:10and I hope I'm hopeful that this is

46:12where we're headed, that, you know, we

46:14get everyone on the same page. That's

46:16what we're doing with coordinated entry

46:17that, you know, if you fill out the form

46:18and talk to somebody in Portland, it's

46:20going to be the same process as it was

46:22in Bangor, we're all working on the same

46:23page. Um, but anything we can do as a as

46:27a city to speak up at the the city

46:29level. Please let us know, you know, to

46:31fight for more resources. Um, and also,

46:34you know, any hub coordinators, you

46:36know, if they're feeling overwhelmed, I

46:39hope they're also willing to to speak up

46:40because, you know, it is a lot a lot of

46:42work. Um, but again, I do really

46:45appreciate you taking the time and and,

46:48you know, bringing us up to speed what's

46:49going on. And I hope it leads to, you

46:51know, some better communication, how we

46:52can be a better part as a city, uh, to

46:55help move some of those things, some of

46:57these things forward. Um, any other

46:59questions or comments?

47:04Okay. I appreciate both of you coming

47:06in. Thanks.

47:07>> Anytime really. We'll h we're happy to

47:09travel.

47:10>> Yeah.

47:11[clears throat]

47:14>> All right. On this next particular item,

47:16I have a conflict of interest. This is

47:18the together place proposal and other

47:19funding requests. I have a conflict with

47:21even voted on my council with together

47:24[clears throat] place. So, the committee

47:24will have to elect a temporary chair for

47:26this item.

47:28Would like to make a nomination?

47:31Even if it's yourself,

47:42thank you.

47:49>> Okay. Um, up next on the agenda,

47:54a moment.

48:02we have uh the together place proposal

48:04and other funding request

48:07um that's in the packet. So I guess we

48:09will start out first with um

48:13with the together please.

48:15>> Sure. Yeah. Yeah. It's really sort of

48:18two items worked into one. I think

48:21they're connected but not. Um, so you

48:24all know the history on the

48:26conversations that we've had about

48:28potentially providing some funding to

48:31the together place um in in response to

48:35a funding shortfall that that

48:37organization

48:38has. I think the exciting thing as of

48:43today is that that uh funding shortfall

48:47is substantially smaller than it was

48:50when we first started those

48:51conversations. I think at this point,

48:54unless there's been more good news

48:55received, the amount um that's needed to

48:59fully reopen the services that closed is

49:03$7,000

49:05um primarily due to the receipt of

49:08substantial amount of funding from the

49:11King Foundation as well as $7,000 from

49:14Ponobskot County opioid funds. Um at the

49:19last meeting you had requested that um

49:22the together place submit a plan for how

49:26they intended to use the money which is

49:30included in your packet. And I think it

49:33does provide some additional detail

49:36about um sort of the accountability and

49:40reporting back of metrics that the city

49:42could expect were we to provide that

49:46additional funding. Um certainly if you

49:49have questions about that proposal

49:52um the together place themselves who are

49:54here would be the most effective at

49:56answering those questions.

50:00Does anyone have any questions?

50:02Councelor Dean,

50:02>> I would just like to make a comment that

50:04I'm very impressed with the diligence

50:07that they have shown to come up with all

50:08the money that they need other than the

50:117,000. And I would propose that we make

50:14an immediate donation of the 7,000 from

50:17our opioid settlement funds so they can

50:19reopen because they have certainly done

50:21their due diligence. We've got this now.

50:23a very reasonable amount and I would

50:25like to see this back in operation fully

50:28so that the individuals will be served

50:31better than wherever they're going now.

50:34>> Council Carson and then council

50:36>> not on this committee so I can't I can't

50:39second that but I um I would just chime

50:42in that I um

50:44I I would 100% agree with us making that

50:48contribution. Um I think if together

50:50place is such an important organization

50:53and for me you know we talk a lot about

50:55the different places that we spend money

50:57but we really talk a lot about how we

50:59need to do more with recovery and that's

51:01what together place is about so I think

51:04be an important contribution to make

51:08>> I mean I'm sorry councelor walker

51:11getting ahead of myself

51:12>> um I definitely support you know filling

51:15in this gap for that I did have a quick

51:17question about the social media post

51:19that together police put on to today

51:22that said that it was they are less than

51:24$2,600

51:26away from reopening the doors.

51:29>> That would be a great question for I

51:32haven't been on the socials yet today.

51:34>> Okay.

51:35>> Would you like to join us at the table?

51:39>> Would you mind introducing yourself?

51:41>> Yeah, thank you. I'm the executive

51:42director for Together Titan Recovery

51:44Center. My name is Joseph Martell. Um

51:46it's good to see you. Um, so we did

51:49update our thermometer to say that we

51:51had reached 99% that does include the

51:54$7,000 match from the county. However,

51:58that $7,000 is contingent on the city uh

52:02matching those funds. So, it' be hard to

52:04calculate the exact math. I'm sure we

52:06could do do it for you. Um, but we were

52:08hoping uh that you would consider the

52:10$7,000 request today. Uh, and then any

52:14leftover funds would go towards our

52:15sustainability plan.

52:18Uh we are also uh in preparation for our

52:22RFP for the warming shelter. We are

52:24making investments in our infrastructure

52:26already um to support that as well. So

52:30uh and that is cash coming out of the

52:32pocket which is quite small at the

52:34moment.

52:37>> Council Rocker follow you for that

52:40clarification. I appreciate that and I

52:42do support too. I think together place

52:44is very important. um organization that

52:48we have in the area to help our

52:50community members and we've seen um what

52:54it's done to our community without

52:56having the doors open. So, I appreciate

52:59you all coming in, dedicating your time

53:01and bringing forth what we had asked,

53:03being very transparent about the

53:06financial responsibilities that you guys

53:08have. Um, so I'm in favor of matching.

53:12So

53:14>> did you I'm sorry.

53:16>> That's it. Just to reop. Yeah,

53:17>> I'm sorry.

53:18>> Foon, did you want to add anything or

53:20did you have something you wanted to ask

53:21or say?

53:22>> No, no. Well, I I'll just say that I am

53:25also in favor of supporting and I am

53:28really impressed with the efforts. Um,

53:31you know, guys have worked hard to to

53:34get to this point and I it seems like

53:37$7,000, you know, considering what

53:40initially we were um being asked for, I

53:43think is um sign significantly lower.

53:46And I I really think that that's what

53:48our opioid settlement funds should be

53:52used for. So, I would I'm not on this

53:54committee, but I would support that

53:57effort. Melo, did you have your hand up?

54:00>> Okay. Um,

54:03I would like to also say I know I was

54:05tough on you the first time around, uh,

54:08but that's only because bankers are

54:09always tough on me. So that's my fiscal

54:11mind. And, um, and Joe and I did have a

54:14conversation. Uh, and, uh, you know,

54:18they have even from that first meeting,

54:21uh, done some taken some steps toward,

54:24uh, better fiscal management. uh they've

54:26certainly proven uh all the effort

54:28they've made since that first meeting we

54:31had um and came back with uh their plan

54:35and um you know going to be reporting in

54:38the proposal was definitely added a lot

54:40more information. So um I I want to

54:43thank you for that and I was pleased to

54:45see that and as I always said I do want

54:48to see you stay open. It's it's uh

54:50you've been here a long time and the

54:52community there's a certain community

54:54that needs that. So um so I am uh also

54:58in support of of this request and

55:00congratulations and I hope you continue

55:03to improve and grow.

55:04>> Appreciate that.

55:07>> So do you need uh anything from us at

55:11this time on that or do we do you want

55:12us to wait until

55:16>> is there anything else? Well, let's do I

55:18think we should take a have a motion and

55:20a second and a vote from the committee

55:23members present on that item and I'll

55:27and then I'll prepare something for you.

55:32>> Um and I have a motion uh for the city

55:35of Bangor to match the $7,000

55:38um monies to the together place. I will

55:41make a motion for the city of Bangor to

55:44match the 7,000 out of the opioid

55:46settlement funds. I'd like to add

55:49immediately to that.

55:51>> Second

55:54motion and a second. And I'm going to do

55:56a roll call. Um, councelor Dean.

56:00>> Yes.

56:01>> Council Carson.

56:04Oh, you're not on the committee. Sorry,

56:05I'm on the wrong list. Uh, councelor

56:07Walker. Excuse me. Uh, Council Malor,

56:11>> no. And I'm going to say no because

56:14I have issues with the county wanting us

56:17to support a matching grant when we were

56:21supposed to get support from the county

56:23on a $400,000 matching grant with Hearts

56:26of Main United Way and they decided to

56:29contribute $150,000 and we gave 400,000.

56:33So I mean I think they've got to be more

56:37receptive and I vote no.

56:40>> Understood. And I will be a yes vote. So

56:43we have um two three three yes and one

56:47no. So your your motion said immediately

56:52this will require full council approval.

56:55Um so we'll I'll prepare for you for

56:57Monday. It's a meeting. I'll do it.

57:02>> Just want the doors to

57:03>> And I think if we're going to move on to

57:06the next subject, even though it was one

57:08memo, I think it would be appropriate to

57:09invite counselor back back in um if

57:13we're complete with our conversation.

57:15>> I just have a question before I finish.

57:18Thank you for the phone. Go ahead and

57:20ask your question.

57:22>> Thank you for staying staying so long.

57:24um

57:27now that you have a well I mean I guess

57:29not an official commitment but um like

57:31how I I guess after Monday once it goes

57:34to the full council you'll have probably

57:37a full commitment I guess I don't know

57:39how we're going to vote but uh my

57:41question is like how quickly would you

57:43be able to continue or resume those

57:46services?

57:47>> So it's going to take a little bit of

57:48ramping up. I think about 48 hours or

57:50so, you know, we could have uh

57:53>> the doors open. Don't quote me on 48

57:55hours, but somewhere

57:57>> I think the outside was a week.

58:00>> Yeah,

58:00>> that was the week. Okay.

58:03>> Yes.

58:03>> We just want to make sure we have our

58:04volunteers back in place.

58:09>> Thank you, Carson. Did you have a

58:12question? I just wanted to respond to

58:13that that fact when you said it would

58:15require a ramp up and then you followed

58:17up with 48 hours to a week. I thought

58:19that's not a ramp up.

58:24>> The work has never stopped.

58:28>> Well, thank you very much.

58:32>> Will invite councelor Beck back to the

58:34table.

58:40I will relinguish my temporary role as

58:43chair. Give it back to councelor Beck.

58:45>> Thank you, counselor.

58:47>> Okay, it sounds like we're moving on to

58:48the rest of the memo.

58:49>> Yes.

58:51So um over the course of the last I

58:54don't know month or so I would say um we

58:58have received a number of additional

59:01requests for funding and I think I would

59:05be excited for some guidance on how we

59:09want to approach those requests. I think

59:13arguably all of them [clears throat] are

59:16expenses that would qualify for um

59:19opioid settlement funds because they

59:21provide, you know, uh services in at

59:25least in part to folks who may be at

59:28risk of substance use. Um the three

59:32requests that we've received to date are

59:35a request from Mana Ministries

59:38due to an unexpected incident that

59:41damaged their kitchen. Um the email that

59:44we received was seeking $8,000 in

59:47financial support. The well um anymore

59:56>> can you come to the table and call me?

59:59[clears throat]

1:00:00Yeah, but if you like to come on down

1:00:01and introduce yourself.

1:00:08>> Hello group.

1:00:12>> Would you like to introduce yourself?

1:00:14>> Pardon me?

1:00:14>> Introduce yourself.

1:00:15>> My name is Bill Ray. I'm the director of

1:00:17Nana. Have been since 1990.

1:00:20>> And you were saying that you no longer

1:00:21need that same

1:00:21>> I don't need 8,000. I only need 5,000.

1:00:25I don't want any more than I need.

1:00:28And one thing that that I don't know how

1:00:30to bring it up, we've been doing a

1:00:32warming center and a cooling center in

1:00:33the summertime and warming been in the

1:00:34winter time for the last four or five

1:00:36years. Just nothing we talk about.

1:00:38Nothing we just the people in the street

1:00:40know what we got and know what we do.

1:00:43That's all I care about. But I want you

1:00:45guys to know that sometimes I correct

1:00:47you, but um that's what we do.

1:00:51>> We put people into housing. We put

1:00:53people where they need to be.

1:00:54>> Well, thank you. I'm going to let the

1:00:55city manager continue. Okay. Yeah, I

1:00:57appreciate it.

1:01:00>> Um, [clears throat] so the second

1:01:01request that we

1:01:04>> sir, I'm happy to see back over here.

1:01:06>> Okay. Thank you.

1:01:07>> Um, the second request that we've

1:01:08received is from the well. Um, we

1:01:12received a communication from a

1:01:14representative of Jericho Road on behalf

1:01:16of the well um, indicating that they

1:01:18were in need of support for their

1:01:22daytime warming shelter that they

1:01:25operate in the winter. And I know um

1:01:27city staff were seeking out to see or

1:01:29reaching out to get more information

1:01:31about the scope of the need because the

1:01:32need was sort of non-specific in dollar

1:01:35amount. I don't know, Jen, I'm sorry to

1:01:37impose upon you. Do we have any more

1:01:39information about

1:01:40>> Oh, I'm I'm sorry.

1:01:44>> Sure.

1:01:46>> My name is Mel Kums. I'm the president

1:01:48of Jericho Road Street Ministries and uh

1:01:51the well warming center is a uh mission

1:01:53of ours, ministry of ours. Um we've uh

1:01:56this will be our fifth year.

1:01:59We uh

1:02:02we do uh I think some of the people have

1:02:04uh visited the place and uh we're quite

1:02:08unique and what we offer, what we do. Um

1:02:12uh we open up usually

1:02:15on the books it shows 7:00, but usually

1:02:17somebody's there by 6:10, 6:15. U going

1:02:22people are waiting at the door to come

1:02:24in. especially the [clears throat]

1:02:25people who spend the night out. Um

1:02:29we just want to keep it going. Um this

1:02:31year everything is so much more

1:02:32expensive. Um we've had a uh gentleman

1:02:36if you've seen around the city, the guy

1:02:38that uh did the 100 mile run for us. Um

1:02:42he raised at least 15,000.

1:02:46Um so we were originally looking for um

1:02:49for 30. Um

1:02:52so we don't need 30 now. I mean 15 would

1:02:55be awesome. Um money is still trickling

1:02:59in slowly so you know it may uh but um

1:03:03if we can get that we do uh we we we

1:03:06have offices an office there for um the

1:03:08options team which is the uh um

1:03:14yeah and all the all the different

1:03:17resources they're allowed to come in and

1:03:19use an office. We have you know we house

1:03:21people um the uh parole people they come

1:03:24in I mean we you know it's not just a

1:03:27warming center um and we want to make it

1:03:30more we want it to be um you know when

1:03:33people could come and the resources okay

1:03:35they can set up okay I've got a meeting

1:03:37with so and so at 9:00 and we h that

1:03:40happens now but we want it to be more um

1:03:44you know we get people into detox we get

1:03:46people into treatment we you know as we

1:03:48know you of the uh the uh addictions is

1:03:52horrendous. Um you know we uh we provide

1:03:57training uh we or this training is

1:04:00provided to us through the city um for

1:04:04um nan administering and uh you know

1:04:07getting people uh

1:04:10out of the situations hopefully that

1:04:12they're in. Um and that's what we strive

1:04:14for is you know we don't want to be just

1:04:16a place where you can come in and get

1:04:17warm. We want a place where you can get

1:04:18warm and find resources and uh you know

1:04:22to get you out of the situation you're

1:04:24in. Do we have a lot of success stories?

1:04:26No, I don't think we do. Uh but without

1:04:30the resources, we're not going to have

1:04:32any.

1:04:37>> Thank you.

1:04:37>> Great.

1:04:38>> Yes.

1:04:39>> And so then the the last request that

1:04:41we've received recently is from Teresa's

1:04:43Place. Um and there Oh, I'm sorry. Yes.

1:04:48Complex.

1:04:52>> Um

1:04:57record reflect that Council Leonard has

1:04:59left the room.

1:05:00>> So they're seeking a commitment of

1:05:03$120,000.

1:05:05That's 40,000 in each of three years of

1:05:08city financial support to sustain and

1:05:11expand their on-site supportive services

1:05:15at Teresa's Place. Um, and for those of

1:05:19you that were on last summer, I'm sure

1:05:22you'll recall that when Teresa's Place

1:05:24came online, that was a topic that we as

1:05:27a that I discussed with you about um

1:05:31sort of the funding streams and their

1:05:32capacity to offer full-time 24hour

1:05:37services at that location. And so their

1:05:40their attachment um is included in your

1:05:43packet and contains more detail about

1:05:46what they would be proposing to do with

1:05:48that funding for we to provide it. And

1:05:52you will also see in there that they're

1:05:53seeking funding from us, the county, and

1:05:55the state to support that, not just the

1:05:58city. Uh and so I think at this point I

1:06:02I don't think it's common for me to come

1:06:05to you with funding requests out of

1:06:08budget cycle. I think you heard earlier

1:06:11the nature of funding drying up is

1:06:14driving a lot of that I think um as well

1:06:17as just heightened need. So looking for

1:06:20some guidance from you on how you'd like

1:06:22to approach these asks. Council

1:06:25>> just have a quick question on Teresa's

1:06:27place. I don't know if you know this

1:06:28answer, but do you know if they are at

1:06:31capacity?

1:06:33>> I think they're generally full. Yes,

1:06:35>> I know it took a while to get up and

1:06:37running. I don't think we ever heard if

1:06:39they were at full capacity.

1:06:40>> Jen, do you know generally the answer to

1:06:42that?

1:06:48>> Okay, thank you.

1:06:52Fish,

1:06:53>> do we have any reports or any way I I

1:06:57know this is from the opioid settlement

1:07:00um funds and you know sounds like they

1:07:03qualify but um you know I do think that

1:07:06we have to think about um you know

1:07:09there's only so much of that as well and

1:07:13um

1:07:15do we have you know any reports about

1:07:18how successful this has been um you know

1:07:22what have they done? I mean, they just

1:07:24opened and it took a long time to open.

1:07:26So, you know, now they're back asking

1:07:28for a pretty substantial amount of money

1:07:30and with the together place. Um, you

1:07:32know, they came in, we knew there was a

1:07:34grant, a substantial grant that they

1:07:36lost. Um, and we even sort of said,

1:07:40well, we'd like to see better fiscal

1:07:41responsibility and what you're planning.

1:07:43And I kind of feel even more so. So if

1:07:46they were here, I think Joe's left, but

1:07:49it's he could see it wouldn't be just

1:07:51peeking on him, but they just opened and

1:07:54they had substantial amount of money.

1:07:57This is a lot of money they're asking

1:08:00for and you know, and and I just want to

1:08:03say I've heard some things that have

1:08:05been a little disappointing and I can't

1:08:07validate that they're true or not true,

1:08:09but I think before I could get on board

1:08:11with this, I need a lot more

1:08:13information. why they come in here

1:08:15needing so much money. Have we inspected

1:08:18or or had any kind of I don't want to

1:08:21say certification but evaluation maybe

1:08:24of where where they are to date how

1:08:28successful they've been you know what so

1:08:31um you know we've been to the well and

1:08:33and we've seen what they do and they're

1:08:35a warming shelter and we know that they

1:08:37have um you know sort of accountability

1:08:40as best you can with a vulnerable group

1:08:42of people but it's very impressive with

1:08:44what they have on and um I just don't

1:08:48have that. I have more questions about

1:08:52Teresa's place and more concerns

1:08:55that I am not comfortable, you know, uh

1:08:58and I and I'm not being biased. I'm just

1:09:00from the information I have. I

1:09:02understand mana. I understand um now the

1:09:05together place I and I understand the

1:09:08well and I don't understand why the

1:09:11together place is back here asking for

1:09:12this kind of money and and I don't even

1:09:15know uh if we have a valuation of how

1:09:18successful they're they are what are

1:09:20their problems what you know what

1:09:22obstacles are they experience what are

1:09:25the residents they're experiencing so um

1:09:28I'm not prepared uh to to say I'm

1:09:32comfortable with approving that.

1:09:35>> And if I may, I think I I agree 100%

1:09:39with a $40,000 ask. I think what I I'm

1:09:42really hoping to get out of this

1:09:44conversation is not necessarily a yay or

1:09:46nay on any particular proposal, but

1:09:49maybe um some agreement on how you would

1:09:53like to approach these proposals given

1:09:56that it is so unusual for us to get out

1:09:58of cycle requests. And I think it's

1:10:01probably coming to some of these are

1:10:03probably coming to us because we do have

1:10:05that identified pool of money of opioid

1:10:07settlement funds which is not an every

1:10:10year occurrence. And I think the

1:10:12question for me is how do these requests

1:10:15which would likely get paid out of

1:10:16opioid funds relate to the broader

1:10:20process of determining how that $250,000

1:10:24that we have this year is going to be

1:10:26spent. Jennifer Carson.

1:10:28>> Um, uh, thank you. And again, I'm I'm

1:10:31not on this committee. I I think about

1:10:33these three things a little bit

1:10:36differently. Um, I think, you know, with

1:10:41the small ones, I'll start with the

1:10:43well, I number of us have been there.

1:10:46We've explored that. We see the great

1:10:48work that happens there. Um,

1:10:52and I I I'm thinking about this in the

1:10:54warming shelter context. We already know

1:10:57that other warming shelters that we had

1:11:00to um put some money out for last year

1:11:03are not not going to need some of them

1:11:05are not going to need those funds this

1:11:07year. So there is a little bit of a

1:11:08different landscape in the total warming

1:11:11shelter um conversation and I I would

1:11:14certainly be inclined I think that's

1:11:15super important um and the work that

1:11:18goes on there. I'd be inclined to

1:11:19support that. I will make the comment

1:11:21here and then again in the next meeting,

1:11:23but I think the legislative committee

1:11:26could take on a question. Um, and we

1:11:28we've se received different ideas from

1:11:30members of the public and and other

1:11:32people about how to, you know, how we

1:11:34could advocate for pockets of state

1:11:35funding to really make these um to make

1:11:38sure that these things are

1:11:41are funded. I I do also think about, you

1:11:45know, we we established a committee on

1:11:48homelessness. it is in the in the right

1:11:52in the thick of doing its work and um

1:11:54thinking about ideas right and bringing

1:11:57analysis and it's going to provide us

1:11:59with a strategic plan and I sort of

1:12:00continue to go back to the my base point

1:12:03that every time we react and reflex and

1:12:06we hand out some money we are without

1:12:09really having a plan yet potentially

1:12:12hurting our future ability to execute a

1:12:15brilliant plan that that committee is

1:12:16going to bring um to And I'm being

1:12:19really positive there. It's going to be

1:12:20a brilliant plan, right? Um so I would

1:12:24have a lot more questions about the

1:12:26request for Teresa's place. And that's

1:12:29complicated. I I am extremely supportive

1:12:32of um the places that have these

1:12:34wraparound services. That's exactly

1:12:36what's been missing. It's why people are

1:12:37not being able to maintain housing,

1:12:39right, when they don't have that. But

1:12:44you know, 40,000 a year over the next

1:12:46three years and then what? and and then

1:12:48what and then what after that and are so

1:12:50are we are we going to be on the hook as

1:12:52the city of Bangor for funding those

1:12:55wraparound services for all eternity and

1:12:59I think that should be something we need

1:13:01to know as we consider consider that and

1:13:04of course perhaps could advocate for

1:13:06funding from other sources but I'd have

1:13:08a lot more questions on that one

1:13:10>> councelor [clears throat] Miller and

1:13:11then Dean

1:13:13>> well to your request I think we

1:13:17establish lish that we're this is an

1:13:19ongoing

1:13:21amount they want then they'll have to

1:13:23present it next year before the budget.

1:13:26I don't see this as an emergency item.

1:13:29>> The Teresa's place

1:13:31and I would think all anything coming

1:13:34that extends more than a year, we'll see

1:13:37you next year at budget time because I

1:13:39don't think we can be taking this every

1:13:41meeting. We'll have someone pounding on

1:13:43the door every day

1:13:46and obviously it wasn't too good

1:13:47planning pounding on the door every day.

1:13:49They know that on deadlines and we have

1:13:52to hold it.

1:13:56>> These more immediate requests we you

1:14:00know kind of determined that they are

1:14:01emergent. But look what happened with

1:14:03together place. We thought it was a huge

1:14:05emergency and yes they did close their

1:14:07doors but they were able to pump with

1:14:08quite a bit. went from 63,000 down to

1:14:117,000. And Bill Ray just told us that

1:14:14he's gone from 8,000 to 5,000. Not sure

1:14:16if the well might come into some money

1:14:18the next few days, but [laughter]

1:14:20>> sure.

1:14:21Let us know.

1:14:25>> I would be, you know, considering

1:14:28considerate of these smaller asks. I

1:14:30would agree that Tracy's Place needs a

1:14:32lot more investigation. Not that they're

1:14:35not doing wonderful work. I'm sure they

1:14:36are. I mean, we waited quite a while.

1:14:39Um, in fact, we held off closing an

1:14:42encampment because of it and it, you

1:14:43know, see where that went. So, I don't

1:14:46think we should make immediate emergency

1:14:49decisions when other things sometimes

1:14:52will come along.

1:14:54I think you put that together place. So,

1:14:58I would like to just hold off a little

1:15:00bit and get more information.

1:15:03>> Dr. when it comes.

1:15:05>> Um, I just wanted to say that I know

1:15:07that you don't want like a yes or no,

1:15:10whatever, but I like to weigh in on some

1:15:12of the things that are more important

1:15:14for for me. Um, I feel like Mana is one

1:15:19of the more important ones to get help

1:15:22get the building ready from the the

1:15:25accident they had to kind of have that

1:15:27immediate to have that open so that that

1:15:29those service team is I think when I did

1:15:32some research on it that they were still

1:15:35trying to offer services as far as like

1:15:37feeding people and stuff, but getting

1:15:39that building ready to go I think is

1:15:41very immediate to continue to help our

1:15:44community members. Um, and I think that

1:15:48the well also

1:15:51um would be second in order to to assist

1:15:55with considering the cold winds are

1:15:57coming. It's like 45 degrees this

1:15:59morning when I got up and I think that's

1:16:02important to keep those doors open, you

1:16:04know, and get [clears throat] them ready

1:16:07for the um Teresa's place. I do have a

1:16:11lot of concerns that were already talked

1:16:12about before. Um, I've had case managers

1:16:18that work with participants that live at

1:16:20uh Teresa's place and there's no hot

1:16:24water. These are just things that have

1:16:26been brought to my attention. Not hot

1:16:28water, there's no heat, no um air

1:16:31conditioning, the conditions of the

1:16:33hallways. This is why before I had asked

1:16:36that we have a could councils get a tour

1:16:40of Teresa's place and maybe that could

1:16:41be on the next you know thing that we

1:16:44could do to try to check that place out

1:16:46because I don't think that it's up the

1:16:49living conditions and the wraparounds

1:16:52first I think is great. I think it's

1:16:54great that we have these, you know,

1:16:56units available, but I think there needs

1:16:58to be a a a deeper dive into who are we

1:17:04helping, how is it helping? Um,

1:17:08and we don't have a lot of the

1:17:11information that we would really need.

1:17:12Um I think I mean they open before I

1:17:16have been on council but it doesn't seem

1:17:18like I mean and that's a lot of money to

1:17:21ask for without with little

1:17:24evidence based basically numbers and

1:17:27stuff. So that's I would that's how I

1:17:31would forward.

1:17:33>> Dr. Flyn,

1:17:33>> thank you. Um I'm not going to repeat

1:17:36what everyone else has said. I I think

1:17:38we definitely need a lot more

1:17:39information from Teresa's place and and

1:17:42probably for them to come in and and

1:17:44speak with us. Um I am happy to see that

1:17:48um we have representatives from Mana and

1:17:51the well here um and they stuck with us

1:17:54for over four hours to be able to

1:17:59count right to to answer our questions.

1:18:02And so I like [laughter] I think that's

1:18:04worth something. But um like I have I

1:18:07know that we tooured the well um last

1:18:10winter and they do great things. Uh

1:18:12we've seen that it is it's been a little

1:18:14while since I've been to Mana, but I

1:18:17have been to Mana and they are and have

1:18:20been doing great things in the community

1:18:23and they don't come ask us like for

1:18:26[laughter] we we just don't hear from

1:18:29them because they are so

1:18:30self-sufficient. But like they just had

1:18:32a situation that happened that was

1:18:34really unfortunate and I so I think with

1:18:37with Mana as well as the well like we

1:18:40are going into winter and those are

1:18:42pretty immediate needs and while I don't

1:18:46I I agree we don't want to take away

1:18:48from the work of the homeless committee.

1:18:50I don't like it is cold already and we

1:18:53are in that and so I think these are um

1:18:56kind of short-term things and I think

1:18:58going forward like I I don't see them

1:19:00having a plan that's going to like take

1:19:02us into this winter and resolve some of

1:19:05these problems. Um and then I guess the

1:19:09only other thing I'll say is like I I

1:19:10know when a couple weeks ago we didn't

1:19:13know yet when we were getting the

1:19:15additional opioid settlement funds. Is

1:19:17there any update to that? I don't have

1:19:19an update. No, I I did not ask today

1:19:22whether we've gotten

1:19:23>> Okay.

1:19:24>> So, that might be, you know, if we are

1:19:26considering Teresa's Place, that might

1:19:28be worth considering, you know, when we

1:19:31get more funds if, you know, if that is

1:19:34something that we do want to consider.

1:19:36>> So, I think what I'm here I'm sorry I

1:19:38keep interrupting and fish.

1:19:40>> Well, I know it's it's late. I probably

1:19:43should just postpone all my questions.

1:19:45Um

1:19:47I the other thing too is we get 200 you

1:19:49know I think that we these are important

1:19:52and especially with winter here and um

1:19:55the reasonable ask but you know the

1:19:58comments been made a few times and I've

1:20:01been thinking more about it lately and

1:20:02especially comments during that the

1:20:04homeless committee meeting you know are

1:20:06we smart to just take the 250 and

1:20:08there's 10 here and five there or in the

1:20:11long run in the bigger scheme of things

1:20:14if we have 200 50. Should we try to wait

1:20:18until we have a million or a million and

1:20:19a half or whatever and have a facility

1:20:22that you know day space or or an

1:20:24expansion or something that you know and

1:20:27and again maybe we wait to see what the

1:20:29homeless committee comes up with. But

1:20:31rather than have it on the taxpayers's

1:20:34backs if if you know we we don't divy up

1:20:37peace meal it here and there but we

1:20:40actually can do have a strategic plan

1:20:44and might even involve the service

1:20:46providers going into this bricks and

1:20:49mortar or whatever we come up with and

1:20:51then you know it helps them perhaps but

1:20:54um so today we have the this crisis and

1:20:57we've already um earmarked some of these

1:20:59but um you know it'll be interesting for

1:21:03us to kind of keep that in the back of

1:21:04our mind if the overall effect it might

1:21:07hurt

1:21:09you know now to not dive into that but

1:21:12if if we had a strategic plan and it

1:21:14might help solve this continuing beyond

1:21:18you know so I'll be done in while I'm

1:21:21talking I would like to wave my next

1:21:24thing on the agenda because it's late

1:21:25postpone that for another time because

1:21:28that would be an engaging conversation

1:21:29Sure. Sure. Uh, Congress Carson,

1:21:32>> I just want to piggyback off of that um

1:21:35and and support that idea. I think, you

1:21:37know, we talk a lot about um I mean, not

1:21:40not just the fact that we need a

1:21:42strategic plan, right? really think

1:21:43about accountability and then every time

1:21:45we get a request we have all these

1:21:47questions we try to come up with and and

1:21:50we were able to centralize you know have

1:21:52that pocket of money and centralize it

1:21:54around a strategic plan and put it in a

1:21:56place where that oversight and

1:21:58accountability is put and I like I'll

1:22:00say maybe public health would be a great

1:22:02example right where it's there and it it

1:22:05is you know it's sent out from there the

1:22:08accountability is built in and it's

1:22:10centralized and that would make our role

1:22:13as a council, you know, we send out the

1:22:16money, but we also do the oversight. And

1:22:18that would make our oversight role, I

1:22:20think, just remarkably

1:22:22um

1:22:24easier. U be able to do that and really

1:22:27to see all of those things in one place.

1:22:29And we talk a lot about collaboration,

1:22:32right? We want to be a better partner

1:22:33and we want that collaboration. We want

1:22:35to build that system. And the reality is

1:22:38unless we have a mechanism to do that

1:22:41and compel people That's not real,

1:22:43right? We can't we can't just like tell

1:22:45organizations what to do. So having that

1:22:48centralized would create a mechanism by

1:22:50which we can compel collaboration and

1:22:53compliance and coordination and all of

1:22:55those wonderful seawwords

1:23:00for for my part

1:23:02knowing the source of money and how much

1:23:05feedback we got before we set up the

1:23:07over settlement committ. I mean the

1:23:09phrase was used this is blood money.

1:23:11mean a lot to people and that it had to

1:23:13be transparent and it had to be a fair

1:23:16way to to do this.

1:23:19We're in a tough spot because the opioid

1:23:21settlement advisory committee is

1:23:23expired. This is all it's gone. You

1:23:25know, there was a process. The money

1:23:26went out and these emergencies didn't

1:23:28exist at the time that that process took

1:23:30place. I'm, you know, cognizant of that

1:23:32fact. But also

1:23:35looking at this at a high level, we're

1:23:36going to have to come up with a policy

1:23:37for future requests.

1:23:39>> You know, because if whatever council

1:23:41decides to do here, other organizations

1:23:43are going to see that and say, "What

1:23:44about mine?"

1:23:45>> You know, regardless of the situation,

1:23:47the emergency, everything else, if I'm a

1:23:49nonprofit, I'm going to be the same.

1:23:50Like, that's money. That's my mission.

1:23:52What can you do for me? So, we're going

1:23:54to need to come up with what is going to

1:23:56be our policy for taking these requests

1:23:59in. Um, you know, is there going to be

1:24:01an application process kind of like what

1:24:03they did before? You know, again, it's

1:24:05hard to set a cap because, you know,

1:24:06we're I agree with like I had bigger

1:24:09visions for this money, you know,

1:24:11especially the idea of having a, you

1:24:13know, some just somebody to oversee an

1:24:15an opioid crisis strategy of some sort,

1:24:19something, you know, anything. Um, so I

1:24:23I do want to, you know, point out that

1:24:24we do need to come up with whatever that

1:24:26policy is regarding what's in front of

1:24:27us. Yes. Teresa place we need a lot a

1:24:29lot more money. And I just again go back

1:24:32to fairness. If it if it ends up being

1:24:33opioid settlement funds, I'm one of the

1:24:35organization to get a smaller grant.

1:24:37It's like hold on. I could have done so

1:24:39much more just because I didn't have an

1:24:40emergency. I didn't get theund, you

1:24:43know. So, you know, again, I'm not

1:24:44saying one or the other right now, but

1:24:46we need a lot more information there.

1:24:48Councelor Carson. Um, and I also want to

1:24:50just piggyback off that because I just

1:24:52thought as you were saying that, you

1:24:54know, about having a process in place,

1:24:56you I think about you, you said it's

1:24:58blood money, these opioid settlement

1:25:00funds. It's also, I think, important for

1:25:02us to remember that, you know, there is

1:25:05a connection, you know, to

1:25:07[clears throat] the homeless community

1:25:08and we do see that. But at the same

1:25:10time, there are a lot of people who um

1:25:14experience substance use disorder and

1:25:16are not homeless. They're not outside,

1:25:19they're in houses, right? They And so I

1:25:22I do also I think about that process,

1:25:24but I worry that in the in reaction and

1:25:27earmarking things that we may sort of

1:25:30miss that mark, right, with what the the

1:25:32full intention of opioid settlement

1:25:34funds are supposed to be. And I would

1:25:36hate to see us create a process where a

1:25:39whole group of people are left out

1:25:41>> Yeah. of um of that opportunity that

1:25:44they that they earned through their

1:25:47right through being

1:25:50>> is it possible to get and I don't know

1:25:53who we reached out to or how but I

1:25:55really would like the council of not so

1:25:58much the it doesn't have to be the

1:25:59former committee members but the people

1:26:00in the recovery community who was

1:26:02willing to from the public who's sees

1:26:04this need and they understand something

1:26:06that they could reach out to council

1:26:08with and say this is

1:26:10where we agree you should spend the

1:26:12money on these these particular things

1:26:13something because that's because of what

1:26:16this money is. This is one of the harder

1:26:18decisions because you know again this I

1:26:20feel like the the rich trust fund uncle

1:26:23you know telling you know hey you'll get

1:26:25your sport you know when really it's

1:26:26never my money to begin with that's

1:26:28tough. Uh, so any way to get that

1:26:31feedback?

1:26:31>> So, Jen and I have had conversations

1:26:34about that, about how we could

1:26:36conceptualize a system to get that

1:26:40feedback to inform those spending

1:26:43decisions for the next round. Um, and so

1:26:47I think what I'm hearing you say is, you

1:26:50know, there's it sounds like there's an

1:26:52appetite for these two smaller, much

1:26:55more urgent needs. And so what I can do

1:26:57is I can sort of do some searching

1:27:00within our various funds to determine

1:27:03where we might have capacity to support

1:27:05those two urgent needs and bring those

1:27:07back to you. But that we can pause on

1:27:10the larger request and have that robust

1:27:13conversation as a group about how we

1:27:16will structure that larger pot of opioid

1:27:21spending for this next round. I think is

1:27:23kind of generally what I'm hearing. And

1:27:26I think you're right. I think a

1:27:27component of that needs to include

1:27:29public input. Um my my personal feeling

1:27:34is that the the committee

1:27:38was a really robust time consuming

1:27:40process, but we g we allocated $3

1:27:43million.

1:27:44This time around, we're only going to

1:27:46have $250. And I'm not sure that that

1:27:50full monthlong really in-depth process

1:27:54is going to make sense for a smaller pot

1:27:57of money, but I do think that Jen and I

1:27:59have been sort of I know Jen and I have

1:28:00been collaborating and talking about

1:28:02ways to still get that input um without

1:28:05that full-blown process. So, we'll come

1:28:07back to you maybe in October gov ops

1:28:11with some ideas if that works. And in

1:28:14the meantime, I'll see where I might

1:28:16find $20,000 for those immediate needs.

1:28:21>> For those smaller needs, u I'm assuming

1:28:24time of the essence of that be like a

1:28:26workshop you'd come back to or

1:28:27>> Yeah.

1:28:27>> Okay.

1:28:29>> Any other questions on this particular

1:28:30item?

1:28:33And then uh the last one uh councelor

1:28:35fish had some items you want to talk

1:28:36about. Did you want to make a motion to

1:28:37postpone to the next?

1:28:38>> I'd like to make a motion to postpone

1:28:40that conversation to the next government

1:28:42office. Second.

1:28:44>> Yeah, we're motion second. Any doubt?

1:28:48Okay, we'll postpone that.

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