OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Broward Housing Council Regular Meeting – June 27, 2025

Upcoming and Archived Meetings — Friday, June 27, 2025
BodyBroward County, Florida
SessionUpcoming and Archived Meetings
DateFriday, June 27, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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8:56

So good morning, everybody.

8:58

It is ten oh nine.

8:59

I'd like to call this June meeting of the Broward Housing Council to order.

9:04

So can we go through with the roll call, please?

9:07

Yes.

9:08

Thank you.

9:08

Good morning, everybody.

9:10

Um, Alex Almazar.

9:16

Marcia Barry Smith.

9:19

Maura Ballman.

9:21

Michelle Collie.

9:26

Luke Harrigan.

9:28

Arnell Joyce.

9:29

Chris Kresman.

9:32

Mike Pearson.

9:33

Nathan Pearl Mutter.

9:35

Here.

9:36

Ashley Rochet.

9:38

Commissioner Rogers cannot join us today.

9:40

She's out of town on county business.

9:43

Um, Ralph Stone.

9:45

Tanisha Taylor.

9:47

We have a quorum.

9:48

Thank you.

9:49

Thank you very much.

9:50

Uh, I'd like to start off this meeting with uh introduction of our new housing council members, which is quite exciting.

9:58

Uh, first up, a recommendation from Dr.

10:00

Ned Murray at FIU is Alex Almanzar.

10:03

Welcome.

10:05

Thank you for having me, everyone.

10:07

I'm very excited to be here.

10:08

I am the research coordinator at the FIU Metropolitan Center.

10:18

Awesome.

10:18

Thank you very much.

10:19

Plus, I'll I'll say that Alex was a ghost author of the 10-year master plan.

10:25

Fantastic.

10:26

Thank you for your work.

10:28

Great work.

10:29

For those that don't know, Alex is here from FIU as a member that has technical housing experience.

10:50

That being said, I do have uh Ralph who needs to uh run here.

10:55

So I'm going to uh let Ralph do his presentation before we get into the continuum of care.

11:00

Darby, remind me what you wanted me to report on, because I think I remember.

11:07

That's a lot of pressure.

11:09

If you don't remember, I'm out of here.

11:12

No, no, no.

11:13

The uh 12 lots that we were doing within the okay, sure.

11:18

So uh coming out of the recession, this is going back to 2010.

11:22

Uh the county had accumulated uh almost a hundred vacant lots in the the unincorporated area, which is called the the BMSD, the Broward Municipal Services District.

11:32

And it was a drag on the neighborhood, obviously.

11:36

So we decided to create a an infill housing program for first time home buyers, and we did I think the first tranche was around 20 houses, and I remember we contacted the property praiser's office and said, What kind of value can we put on these lots?

11:50

And he went, uh none.

11:52

Uh so since that time we've we're uh over I think we're close to 90 homes.

11:59

And uh you know going on what uh going on 10 years.

12:06

So it's been a really successful program.

12:10

If you're familiar if you're driving through the the BMSD, you can actually tell which ones are our homes.

12:17

They're uh three bedroom, two bath, two car garage, fenced in backyard, minimum of 1,500 square feet.

12:23

So in the the recent cycles, we we uh originally went out with to the private side, then then we did kind of a combo thing, but recently we've done uh a nonprofit solicitation for the lots in habitat, uh minority builders in the urban council were our builders last time around, and they are all three our builders this time.

12:45

They each have four lots.

12:46

So a couple of meetings ago, the board did approve uh awarding those three nonprofits four lots each.

12:55

Uh they're actively out there starting to do the pre-development work, and uh we think about this time next year they're gonna have 12 new homeowners.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Homelessness███████████████████████████████████████████43%
Affordable Housing█████████████████████████████████33%
Community Engagement████████████12%
Procedural██████6%
Public Safety████4%
Public Health██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Broward Housing Council Regular Meeting – June 27, 2025

The Broward Housing Council (BHC) held its regular meeting on Friday, June 27, 2025, starting at 10:09 AM and adjourning at 11:19 AM. The meeting included the introduction of a new member, a presentation on the Continuum of Care and homelessness, approval of prior meeting minutes, council reports, appointment of a member to the Continuum of Care board, and planning for the annual fall workshop.

Introduction of New BHC Members

  • Alex Almanzar was introduced as a new member, recommended by Dr. Ned Murray of FIU. He serves as the research coordinator at the FIU Metropolitan Center and was noted as a ghost author of the 10-year master plan.

Reports and Updates

  • Ralph Stone (County Staff): Reported on the county's infill housing program in the Broward Municipal Services District (BMSD). Since 2010, nearly 100 vacant lots have been developed into homes for first-time homebuyers. The current cycle involves 12 lots awarded to three nonprofits (Habitat, minority builders, and Urban Council), each receiving four lots. Homes are 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 2-car garage, minimum 1,500 sq ft, with income limits up to 120% of area median income (AMI). A flood elevation change caused a year delay but was resolved. The program is expected to surpass 100 homes soon.

  • Patrice Paldino, Director of Broward County HOSS-D (Housing Options, Solutions, and Supports Division): Presented on the Continuum of Care (CoC) and homelessness. Key points:

    • The CoC is authorized by HUD; Broward County is the collaborative applicant for federal funds.
    • HOSS-D manages homeless programs, shelters, and contracts with nonprofits.
    • The CoC board has three committees: Performance, Outcomes, Needs, and Gaps (PONG); Housing Action Committee (working on landlord incentive program); and Consumer Advocacy Committee (recently held a homeless symposium in Hollywood).
    • Point-in-Time (PIT) count is required but undercounts due to weather and HB 1365 chilling effect. In Q2, street outreach teams met 5,129 individuals (3,500 households).
    • The county has 587 shelter beds (North and Central Homeless Assistance Centers) and recently added 18 beds at the South HACK. A renovation at Central HACK aims to add 40 beds.
    • HOSS-D budget: $26M general funds, $18M grant funds (total ~$45M). FSAD (prevention) has another $68M.
    • Innovative solutions: Hotel conversion (Villages at New River – 140 units at $750/month, 17 families placed), shared living (16 people, mostly over 55, at $800-$900/month, costs $82,000 vs. $16,000 per person per year for shelter).
    • Discussed HB 1365 (anti-camping law): No lawsuits yet; county uses a complaint system (Cue Alert) with 5-day response; task force works to engage homeless individuals.
    • Identified affordability gap of $1,000-$2,000/month per household; suggested using rental subsidies as more cost-effective than shelter.

  • Chair's Report (Christopher Krzemien): Announced that the Governor approved $50 million (not the expected $100 million) for the Hometown Heroes program, effective July 1, 2025, with eligibility narrowed to first responders, teachers, veterans, and healthcare workers.

  • Director's Report (Darby Delsalle): Provided updates on:

    • HB 913: Extends deadline for condo structural inspections through end of 2025, allows temporary pause on reserve funding, and permits associations to use loans/credit lines to satisfy reserve obligations.
    • HB 393: My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program – reduces required unit owner approval from 100% to 75%, requires associations to pay at least $1 for every $2 state grant, and updates eligible improvements (roof covering).

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the April 25, 2025, meeting minutes: Motion by Beth Daly, seconded by [member not named], all in favor. Minutes approved.

Discussion Items

  • Appointment to Continuum of Care Board: Tanisha Taylor volunteered to serve as the BHC representative on the Broward County Continuum of Care board. Motion by an unnamed member, seconded; all in favor. Taylor was appointed.
  • Annual Fall Workshop Planning:
    • The council decided on an in-person workshop at the Ann Kolb Center.
    • Proposed dates: October 16 or 23, 2025 (Thursday options).
    • Theme: "Future Proofing Broward: Building Resilient Communities Through Housing Innovation" (proposed by a member).
    • Format: Panel discussion followed by breakout roundtable groups to generate actionable ideas.
    • Potential speakers: Patrice Paldino (HOSS-D) and Marty Kare (suggested by Beth Daly, who will contact him).
    • City National Bank will sponsor the workshop again.
    • Staff will confirm venue and dates, then share presentation materials.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Kuean Nelson, Founder of Glorious House Foundation: Spoke about her organization helping women in transition. She is seeking a single-family house to serve as a transitional home and encouraged landlords with available properties to contact her. She also noted that some homeless women report difficulty accessing the homeless hotline (311) and getting appointments.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved meeting minutes of April 25, 2025.
  • Appointed Tanisha Taylor to the Broward County Continuum of Care board.
  • Set preliminary plans for the fall workshop: in-person at Ann Kolb Center, October 16 or 23, 2025, with theme "Future Proofing Broward: Building Resilient Communities Through Housing Innovation," featuring a panel and breakout groups.
  • Next regular meeting: Friday, August 22, 2025, at 10:00 AM in Room 430, Broward County Government Center East.

Meeting Transcript

So good morning, everybody. It is ten oh nine. I'd like to call this June meeting of the Broward Housing Council to order. So can we go through with the roll call, please? Yes. Thank you. Good morning, everybody. Um, Alex Almazar. Marcia Barry Smith. Maura Ballman. Michelle Collie. Luke Harrigan. Arnell Joyce. Chris Kresman. Mike Pearson. Nathan Pearl Mutter. Here. Ashley Rochet. Commissioner Rogers cannot join us today. She's out of town on county business. Um, Ralph Stone. Tanisha Taylor. We have a quorum. Thank you. Thank you very much. Uh, I'd like to start off this meeting with uh introduction of our new housing council members, which is quite exciting. Uh, first up, a recommendation from Dr. Ned Murray at FIU is Alex Almanzar. Welcome. Thank you for having me, everyone. I'm very excited to be here. I am the research coordinator at the FIU Metropolitan Center. Awesome. Thank you very much. Plus, I'll I'll say that Alex was a ghost author of the 10-year master plan. Fantastic. Thank you for your work. Great work. For those that don't know, Alex is here from FIU as a member that has technical housing experience. That being said, I do have uh Ralph who needs to uh run here. So I'm going to uh let Ralph do his presentation before we get into the continuum of care. Darby, remind me what you wanted me to report on, because I think I remember. That's a lot of pressure. If you don't remember, I'm out of here. No, no, no. The uh 12 lots that we were doing within the okay, sure. So uh coming out of the recession, this is going back to 2010. Uh the county had accumulated uh almost a hundred vacant lots in the the unincorporated area, which is called the the BMSD, the Broward Municipal Services District. And it was a drag on the neighborhood, obviously. So we decided to create a an infill housing program for first time home buyers, and we did I think the first tranche was around 20 houses, and I remember we contacted the property praiser's office and said, What kind of value can we put on these lots?

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