Travis County Commssioners Court
October 14, 2003
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Housing Finance Corporation
Now let's call to order the Travis County housing finance corporation. 1. Consider and take appropriate action on request for payment to any baby can of Austin, inc.
>> good afternoon, I'm harvey Davis, manager for the corporation. And I'm here with dr. Leila karl, the executive director of any baby can. I'm asking the board approval to pay the second payment of the contract with any baby can, this payment is due on October 15th, 2003. I have reviewed the contract to make sure that they have complied with all of the provisions in the contract in order to receive the payment. They have submitted their certified financial audit. We have that in the file. And my opinion, I recommend the board approve this payment, also dr. Karl would like to give a short update on the status of their building.
>> the amount of the payment is ...
>> thank you.
>> good afternoon.
>> good afternoon. Mile leila karl the director of any baby can. I just wanted to come here and thank you for this contract and this money. This -- this purchasing -- purchasing this building is about the best thing that we have ever done. We are in three office buildings and paying $100,000 a year in rent which was going down the tube and not taking advantage of our tax exempt status. Since we moved in, about 18 months ago, the programs have quadrupled, the numbers of people coming to the programs have quadrupled, our weekend classes for tutoring, g.e.d. Training, english as a second language, have just grown by leaps and bounds. Last Saturday we had 101 family members there. In fact the last two Saturdays we've had over 100 people. We've had to add -- we had two evening classes for parent training and we've had to add another one. We had two classes for childbirth, education in english and spanish and we had to add another one. And it's just amazing. Then we recently started in addition to the Saturday classes, we started a four-day a week drop-in family parenting program, family literacy, computer literacy, i.b.m. Gave us 10 computers, brand new, we set up a lab in the library. And we had -- we had two late afternoon, so that fathers can come after work, it's just amazing, we have volunteers who come and train them in literacy. And in mornings, four mornings a week we have about 15 moms and kids and the mothers do not speak a word of english. Cannot read a word of english or spanish. And they are so excited to have this opportunity they tell me over and over, thank you so much, thank you so much. It really hit me in my very core to realize that there are so many people and in Travis County that cannot read and cannot write and cannot speak english. And so they can't work. And it's just -- it is just so heart warming to see this and the children, it's a family thing and all of the research shows that you need to involve the whole family, the parents need to be able to help children with their home work, they need to become computer literate, that's what we are doing. Thanks to you all, I just wanted to say that.
>> I want to say thanks to you and harvey for making sure that -- being partners in this, making sure that everything is being taken care of.
>> I invite you to come any time. It's like a circus, but it's wonderful, you are welcome any time to come see it, thank you.
>> leila I have a question for you. It's interesting that we would have a program, not to believe program that we have, but people come and they can't read or write in any language. Does the program have any sort of counseling for -- how many children do you have?
>> we served -- last year we served a little over 3,000 children.
>> no, how many -- is it ever asked how many children do you have knowing that they can't read or write, is there a part of the program where there is some sort of parenting advice about we have a situation here where we can't watch these numbers grow exponentially, I know we have met each other once or twice, but I would really like to understand exactly what you all do, maybe you can come to my office and give me that. That would be an interesting thing for me to know. I mean, from probably a lot of the non-profits about what programs do we have for people that -- that we might suggest that -- that if you can't take care of yourself, I mean, if you can't read, if you can't write, I mean, what chance do we have for -- for other kiddos coming -- coming in? Is that anything that -- any part of your program has any kind of conversation about?
>> absolutely. One of our programs addresses that. It's our healthy and fair start program. We go in the homes, we hand out literature at the w.i.c. Clinics. Where other churches and advertising and the parents invite us to come into their homes. I will tell you that some of these homes are so unbelievable and that people are living in these homes, that they are so poor, they are -- they have dirt floors, they have no doors, no screens, no window screens, wires dangling, three generations living in one room with no running water. One family was living in a four-plex that had rats at big as chihuahuas that were biting the children. We got them into foundations community. Another mother had a shooting on her first doorstep because of the drug deals going down and we got her out of that complex. She has two children. It was a grandmother and she was taking care of two children with disabilities. We got her into foundations community. But you -- you cannot break the cycle. That program is aimed at prevention of school dropouts and prevention of child abuse. Because those children are so high risk for being dropouts by the tomb they hit first grade or even kindergarten. And part of it is the parents don't know how to parent. So we --
>> exactly.
>> so we go in the homes, we went in one home not too long ago there was a nine month old baby, grandma was taking care of the baby, she was not very spry and the mother was in jail. And the nine month old baby was strapped in a car seat all day long in the middle of the living room floor. So he wasn't learning to crawl, he wasn't being stimulated at all. And so we got him out of that car seat and showed the grandma how to work with him, how to talk to him, move him around. We -- we had a hen tore, we -- a mentor, we contracted with an agency that does mentoring and respite care. We got a person who would come and take the little boy to the children's museum, bring him to our office, put him on one of the little explorer computers and read to him and just did all kinds of things to stimulate him. Now he's doing fine. The grandmother is working with him. But you cannot break the cycle of poverty unless you have the child and the parent together working together. And -- and, you know, they can't make a living if they can't read and help their kids. So we are trying to prevent child abuse. We watch out for family violence and dropouts, school dropouts which cost the county and the city $64 million a year. It's awful. What the cost is to us.
>> what you just described there, it's called family planning. That's why -- that's why we are very proud of our votes and our support of planned parenthood and the programs that occur in our health clinics. It's education. Planning to have --
>> I fully understand the magnitude of the problem. Every one of the agency that's we help fund can come and probably give tit for tat on stories that --
>> you don't even want to hear some of them.
>> I -- I didn't come from a silver spoon background myself so I have seen of the dirt floors and things that you are talking about and -- but I look forward to, leila if you will contact me and put aside an hour so I really can know what any baby can -- I mean, when you are reading a list of 54 people that you fund, you know, to the tune of half a million, you really wonder, wow, I mean, what really happens in these programs. And so -- you know, I have been here long enough now that I can at least start scheduling, you know, with people like yourself that can really sit down with me because I do have a lot of people that will ask me, what does that any baby can do? I said, I don't really know. I mean --
>> most people recognize the name, but they don't know that we deal with more adults than we do children, really. But we work with the whole family. Which I think is important. I would be very happy to come and visit with you.
>> thank you.
>> all in favor? That passes by unanimous vote.
>> thanks.
>> thanks for the opportunity to give you an update.
>> good job. 2. Consider and take appropriate action on request to approve: a. Resolution authorizing the execution and delivery of first supplement to trust indenture and first amendment to loan agreement in connection with multifamily housing revenue bonds (woodway square apartments) series 2003; and containing other provisions relating to the subject; -- did a lawyer draft this?
>> absolutely. The execution and delivery -- b. Resolution authorizing the execution and delivery of first supplement to trust indenture and first amendment to loan agreement in connection with multifamily housing revenue bonds (town vista apartments project) series 2002; and containing other provisions relating to the subject.
>> cliff blunt with thompson co. This is similar to the request that we had a few weeks ago for westchester woods, a bond holder on both of these project is is the same bond holder. He's requesting one serious of bonds, capital appreciation bonsdz will be terminated -- bonds, the type of bonds that we are more familiar with be reissued in their place. It will not change the -- the payment structure for the borrower in all of the parties -- all of the parties are in agreement, either in agreement or have consented to this change that is requested by the bond holder. So this also is being -- approved by the attorney general's office. The closing is expected to be on October 24th, both of these restructurings. I don't know if you all --
>> but -- what is the cost to the corporation.
>> zero.
>> any reason why we should not do this.
>> no, sir.
>> that's why I move approval.
>> I want to add that town vista has paid their annual fee and that woodway their fee is due this February.
>> this February?
>> yes.
>> okay.
>> it closed last February, so it will be due on the anniversary date of the closing.
>> all right.
>> was there a second to that motion?
>> yes.
>> any more discussion? All in favor? That passes by unanimous vote. All in favor. That passes unanimously also.
Last Modified: Tuesday, October 15, 2003 12:52 PM