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Printer Friendly Minutes
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| Last Published: 1/3/2006 10:15:16 AM | |
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| | | Upon Roll Call the following members were present: | | Present: | 3 - DEB HERMANN, JIM GLOVER, TROY NASH | | Excused: | 1 - BECKY NACE | | | |
| 051433
| Estimating revenues and appropriations in the amount of $400,000.00 in the Supportive Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund for Home Weatherization grants; designating requisitioning authority; and recognizing an emergency.
NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING COMMITTEE recommends "ADVANCE AND DO PASS, DEBATE"
Robert Jackson, Neighborhood Services, stated this ordinance is the result of a lengthy process with the Kansas City Power and Light wherein they will provide $400,000 to be broken into two parts. One is $350,000 which is the beginning of a long term relationship of annual funding for weatherization assistance service and then a $50,000 contract which was, as a result of a past performance, a challenge to spend those funds down by December 31, 2005. This is the reason why this request is an emergency. It will also provide an opportunity to help higher income households to reduce their energy use and also to address some critical health and safety items, such as replacing furnaces, hot water tanks and addressing moisture problems in these households.
No public testimony.
No public testimony.
Ayes: 3 - Hermann, Glover, Nash
Nays: 0 |
| 051434
| Approving contracts with various agencies in the amount of $22,490.00 for projects and events from the Neighborhood Tourist and Development Fund.
NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING COMMITTEE recommends "ADVANCE AND DO PASS, DEBATE"
Gina Robinson, Neighborhood Services, stated this ordinance authorizes the Neighborhood and Community Services Department to enter into projects and events funded by the Neighborhood Tourism and Development Fund. These recommendations are based on the quarter meeting that was held by the Neighborhood Tourism Development Fund Committee.
No public testimony.
Ayes: 3 - Hermann, Glover, Nash
Nays: 0 |
| 051446
| Reducing the Contingent Appropriation of the General Fund by $675,000.00; appropriating $675,000.00 from the Unappropriated Fund Balance of the General Fund; designating requisitioning authority; and recognizing an emergency.
NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING COMMITTEE recommends "ADVANCE AND DO PASS, DEBATE"
Troy Schulte, Budget Office, stated that this is the next step in the process to have HUD turn the Home Funds back on. This is a $675,000 appropriation from the contingent appropriation to repay HUD for five single family homes and one multifamily project that had been deemed ineligible for Home Funds. This is the step the City needs to take to authorize the funds to come back on for the use by the City. This should clean up the last of the houses that were sold to ineligible homeowners or for projects that have languished too long under Home guidelines. The City will pay this money to HUD for the accumulated violations plus the interest owed to the Treasury. The amount of the money for the Home Funds that were used ineligibly will then be placed back in City's Home Depository Account to be used again on future Home projects.
No public testimony.
Ayes: 3 - Hermann, Glover, Nash
Nays: 0 | | |
| | | Health Department staff will present a "Pandemic Influenza Plan."
Dr. Rex Archer, Health Department, distributed copies of the "Pandemic Influenza Plan" to the committee. Dr. Archer thanked the committee for allowing to him to give an update what his department has been doing with pandemic influenza planning. He briefly touched five areas: why this is so important for protecting the health of our citizens; covering what are the stages of the pandemic and where are we today in regard to this issue; the role of Kansas City, MO as government and particularly the Health Department in this and how it is involved with the Federal Plan and reviewing that and making sure that his department is looking at the local components of that plan; what is the individual's responsibilities and what can they and should they be doing in regard to preparedness; what is business' opportunities and responsibilities as well as neighborhood community groups. Dr. Archer gave a brief history of past pandemic flu outbreaks and their statistics. He noted there is belief in the ability to cure things and that medical care is so much better now than in 1918-1919. There is some real challenges with that in that with this particular organism we rate dependent on number of ventilators. There not enough ventilators for any surge capacity in this country right now. There are some significant fears right now that they are not geared for this. A normal outbreak that there is a worst case scenario every five or six years from normal seasonal influenza basically max out our ventilators. He showed a chart of the death rate from infectious diseases over the last century. Dr. Archer pointed out, in the early 1940's, was the first period that had any treatment at all which was penicillin for infectious diseases. Most of the lives saved from infectious disease outbreaks are saved by stopping the spread of the disease not by treating it. He emphasized that the important thing now is going to be stopping the spread of the disease until a vaccine is there because an antiviral is probably not going work. Medical care doesn't do a lot of good if there is no ventilator and the body is basically turning on itself. In response to Councilman Glover's question about Tamiflu, he stated that Tamiflu is promoted by the company and they have good marketers for this product. The challenge is that this virus tends to mutate fairly and the medical community already sees some strains of these novel Avian Flu viruses that are resistant to Tamiflu. Most of the Medical community dos not believe that Tamiflu is going to be very effective, particularly once the outbreak moves out of whenever the original community is that it started in.
Lisa Hubert, Health Department, walked the committee through differences between an epidemic and a pandemic. She gave the purpose of the plan: to provide procedures for mitigating the consequences of an influenza pandemic; to define the roles, responsibilities and actions of key stakeholders before a pandemic and at each stage of a pandemic response; and to describe the role of the Kansas City Health Department in coordinating a local response to an influenza pandemic. Ms. Hubert proceeded to explain the phases of a pandemic and the structure of the pandemic plan. She stated that this pandemic plan is not just addressing Avian Influenza. "We are entering into the flu season and we have other strains of influenza that are a threat to our community."
Dr. Archer stated that his department is about to update its website with a full list of things individuals can be thinking about. He stated that we should be thinking about having nonperishable food items, water and all those kinds of things. His department is also creating some recommendations for businesses to be thinking about what they can do and how they can communicate with employees on its website. |
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