HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-16-20 Public Comment - B. Wilkinson - Seat at the Table UpdateFrom:Tanya Andreasen
To:Agenda
Cc:Chuck Winn; Martin Matsen; Jeff Mihelich
Subject:FW: Seat at the Table Update
Date:Wednesday, September 16, 2020 2:30:19 PM
From: Bridget Wilkinson <bridget@onevalley.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2020 2:27 PM
To: Tanya Andreasen <TAndreasen@BOZEMAN.NET>
Subject: Seat at the Table Update
Hi Tanya,
Thank you for your generous support of Seat at the Table 2020. We are thankful for
your engagement and financial support as we plan for an informed conversation on
housing in Gallatin County following the Seat at the Table model.
We want to provide this update and keep you informed of our progress and
timeline. As a member of our planning team, we know that you're aware of thesechanges. However, we thought it would be helpful to have these updates in an email
correspondence as well for your records. COVID-19 has made the housing-focused Seat at the Table even more timely, but it
has also made implementing this community engagement event more challenging.
Over the past few months our Steering Committee has investigated the opportunities
of hosting a Seat at the Table in person with masks and social distancing, including aremote or online options and different remote tools to share the Housing Needs
Assessment findings. We have investigated, discussed and weighed the pros and
cons.
We have decided that the Seat at the Table community engagement event should be
postponed until spring or summer of 2021. There are many factors that support this
decision but of primary importance is ensuring that ALL members of the communityhave access to participating in this initiative. We know that many community
members who we want to reach through A Seat at the Table do not have access to
technology to virtually participate and during COVID-19 and social distancing we did
not feel we could safely offer this opportunity.
But not everything has been postponed.
We are moving forward with a regional housing assessment and finalizing a scope of
work with the consultants in September 2020.
The Housing Assessment will:
· Create a common understanding of countywide housing needs.
· Identify and explore the range of available regional housing strategies,
illustrated by case studies.
· Conduct an analysis of our local economy, housing markets, and community
housing needs now, and in the future.
· Will consider the challenges of our smaller communities, which lack the
resources to develop and implement robust community housing strategies.
The assessment will be completed by the end of 2020. In October and November, the
Seat at the Table Steering Committee will develop an outreach plan to share the data
from the assessment with our funders, community partners and public. Outreach and
education sessions (in person or online) will be scheduled January-February 2021. We are interested in providing an update and results of the assessment to you and
would like to schedule a presentation along with a copy of the report. We are also taking this time to learn more from other communities about moving from
the data sharing and public engagement activities to action and tracking progress with
realistic, meaningful metrics. For example, we are engaging with the Tahoe-Truckee
Community Foundation and MASS Design to learn about other community models forhousing and community engagement.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We will continue to keepyou informed of our progress and look forward to sharing the assessment findings in
a few months. Thank you for your critical support of this initiative. We are grateful for you, Tanya!
Sincerely, Seat at the Table Steering Committee
Bridget Wilkinson, One Valley Community FoundationRandy Carpenter, Future West
Alison Harmon, MSU Dean College of Education, Health and Human Development
Paul Lachapelle, MSU Extension
Deborah Albin, MSU ExtensionPhil Ronniger, MSU Adjunct Professor
Tanya Andreasen, Bozeman Community Housing
Jennifer Boyer, Volunteer
Cathy Costakis, VolunteerAmber Stacey, Belgrade Community Coalition