Unitarian
Universalist
Affordable
Housing
Partnership

Minutes of the UUAHP Steering Committee- March 5, 2004

Members Present: Connie, Bob, Jo, Carol, Barb, Nan, Kay, Mary, Ron.
Treasurer's Report: $9,273.23 in account. FUS had a special collection Jan 25, 2004 which netted $2,163.95. There is another $20,000 from the last two service auctions at FUS. Jo will fill out forms to transfer this money to the UUAHP account. This is Ron's last meeting as treasurer. He will be at the May meeting and we will have a good bye party at the May 6 steering meeting.

Update on Unity's housing complex: Mary reported that this week Unity would be receiving 3 proposals for the apartment complex. UUAHP may be able to help with this when the final proposal is decided upon. There was some discussion that the complex did not serve our target group- those people making 30% or less of the MMI (Metropolitan Median Income) this is currently around $22,000.

Elections: Treasurer: Kay Dawson was elected our new treasurer.
Secretary: It was decided that this would be on a rotating basis, decided at each
meeting.

National Low-Income Housing Coalition: it was decided we would not spend the $50 to become members of this group since MICAH and other organizations we work with have the same information.

News briefs: Updated news brief on UUAHP was supposed to be passed out to all congregations in January. Some congregations did not know about this. It reported the activities UUAHP has been involved in this year as well as upcoming events.

Habitat: Dates for working on the North Side Redevelopment project (Heritage Village) with CBC (congregations Building Community) are as follows: Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday through May. The dates Unitarians are responsible for are:
March 5 and 6
March 26 and 27
April 23 and 24
Summer work week June 21-25.

Day on the Hill: 10 UU's attended
Publicity: Mary brought up the need to have more publicity- in her congregation.

UUAHP and MUUSJA:
We discussed the relationship between UUAHP and MUUSJA and felt that we needed to have better communication between the groups. Bob proposed that there are 3 directions we can go in: 1) go our own way 2) improve communications and 3) go with MUUSJA. It was felt that in the past UUAHP has not had much input in MUUSJA. Jo would like someone to take her place on the MUUSJA steering representing UUAHP. Currently only 4 members are on the steering committee. Jeff is moving to Oregon and will be leaving the committee. MUUSJA is going to have house parties in each congregation to let UU's know more about what the group does. These will be done by the end of May. Their goal is to have one member from each congregation on the steering committee. Mary brought up the idea that UUAHP and MUUSJA have bylaws that define their relationship to each other. Jo said that the MUUSJA bylaws were very general and had to be defined. If MUUSJA raises money this will place then in a 501C3 category and thus will need a good set of by-laws, goals, mission statements, etc.. The communications part of MUUSJA is being developed.

Grants to MUUSJA: Jo told of the $4000 matching grant from UU Service Committee to MUUSJA. The new Exec Director of UUSC, Charlie Clements, supports the concept of training persons for social justice work. There are 4 spots open at the Camp Wellstone training session in March ( 19-21) MUUSJA is looking for two UUAHP persons to take advantage of this. Betsy Allis is going as a MUUSJA rep.

Next Steering Meeting: Vic Rosenthal will be asked to speak at the next steering meeting. He was one of the founders of Jewish Community Action. We will invite all MUUSJA people for this too.

CCHT: Central Community Housing Trust: Jo said this group is looking for support from the Wayzata contingent because they will be trying to establish an affordable housing unit there. Alan Arthur, Executive Director would like to come to one of our meetings to discuss this. He lives in Orono. Jo or Bob will touch base with him first and then we could set up a time for him to come to UUCM. Perhaps ask Elaine and Bob Ambrose to attend. Alan lives in Orono.

Help in Fridley: Connie mentioned that there are 4 new developments scheduled in Fridley and none have any affordable housing in them. She wanted help and suggestions from the group. It was suggested that she contact MICAH and ask them for help in approaching the cities. Connie will report the results and where we can help. The MUUSJA house party is on March 28th in Fridley and this might be a good time to discuss the housing situation.

YIMBY Campaign:

Bob and Barb will compose a letter to all congregations about the campaign and this will be sent by the end of March to Ministers and social action/justice committees. The letter will state our goals, purpose and what we would like the congregations to do. The YIMBY campaign will go thru 2005, it was thought. The Yimby committee will put together 2-3 options for what the Sunday service could look like- at their meeting on March 10. Mary volunteered to do music for the program. We will contact seminarians to solicit their help. They could be paid a fee for their service. Kay will work with MICAH to identify methodology by which we will identify and communicate citing situations.

Submitted by: Nan Corliss ncorliss41@aol.com or 763-428-2505