Tuesday, March 30, 2010

April 7, 2010 Meeting Agenda

Winnebagoland Housing Coalition
Wednesday, April 7, 2010 @ 9:00AM
Hooper Community Center (Lower Level Conference Room)
36 Broad Street, Oshkosh Wisconsin

MEETING AGENDA
Welcome & Introductions
Approval of Minutes: March 3, 2010
New Business:
2010 Action Planning Preliminary Discussion-Catherine Neiswender
Unfinished Business:
Emergency Shelter Grant Application Update-Tom Eckvall
Agency Sharing & Announcements

Next Meetings:
Special Action Planning Meeting April 27, 2010 at 10:00AM JP Coughlin Center
Regular Meeting May 5, 2010 at 9:00AM, Hooper Community Center

Adjourn

Monday, March 29, 2010

Emergency Shelter Newsletter

The Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley is now providing its quarterly newsletter online.

The newsletter can be accessed here

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Housing Law Seminar Offered May 11th in Oshkosh

The Tenant Resource Center (TRC) is offering a Housing Law Seminar in Oshkosh on
May 11th, 2010 at the JP Coughlin Center. This is a great opportunity to "gain a deeper understanding of the laws and issues that can arise in rental housing. Seminar participants will receive a set of TRC brochures, a packet of training handouts, and a Housing Counselor Training Guide." Click here for a printable registration form.

The Tenant Resource Center is a non-profit membership agency dedicated to promoting positive relations between rental housing consumers and providers throughout Wisconsin. The Tenant Resource Center has a ton of useful resources on their website. Access TRC at http://www.tenantresourcecenter.org/

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Hands On Oshkosh - April 24th, 2010

Kristi Clover of the Fair Housing Center of NE Wisconsin shared information on Hands On Oshkosh that may be of interest to the Winnebagland Housing Coalition membership.

Hands On Oshkosh is a University of Wisconsin Oshkosh day of service event. This event is designed to bring university students, faculty, and staff together to volunteer in the Oshkosh community.

Agencies interested in participating as a project site should fill out the participation form and return it to by Friday April 2, 2010. Forms should be e-mailed to handsonoshkosh@uwosh.edu
or faxed to 920-424-2122. Questions can be directed to Bridget Koeppel at (608-235-8915).

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Oshkosh Rooming Houses

During our March meeting, a concern was raised concerning the quality of the housing inventory of local rooming houses. It was agreed that more information should be secured on where these houses are located in the community, who regulates/inspects them, and what municipal codes that they are required to follow.

Justin Mitchell obtained the following information from Andrew Prickette, City of Oshkosh Building Maintenance Inspector.

Essentially, there are 15 licensed rooming houses in the City. Click here to access the current rooming house list http://tinyurl.com/oshkoshroominghouses. On this list you will notice that several rows are shaded, this is to indicate that these particular rooming houses are used primarily for UWO student housing.

Prickette reports that "rooming house licenses are good for one year and annual inspections are required to be made by the Fire Department and Inspection Services. " Inspections are made to determine compliance with sections of the Minimum Housing Code (where there are also requirements for rooming houses). You can access information on these requirements by visiting http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/Municipal_Codes/Chapter_16.pdf Sections 16-39 and 16-46 have rooming house requirements.

Concerns with the conditions of any rooming house can be reported to Prickette. Although generally, he advises for minor issues to first be communicated directly to the landlord. He suggests communication to the landlord should be in writing and the concern described in detail. Additionally he suggests requesting a written response from the landlord including what action will be taken to resolve the issue as well as their timetable for doing so.

Prickette reports that he will respond to complaints made. Typically he is able "to get over to look at a property by the day following the complaint." If it is a "life-safety concern (electrical problem, gas leak, no heat, etc.) it is considered a priority and the property is inspected a.s.a.p." Prickette is required, by policy, to notify the landlord of the inspection request and offer for them to accompany the inspector. According to Prickette "this policy tends to help resolve any problems quickly as the owner can see exactly what may be a problem."

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

March 2010 Minutes

Please click on the following link to access the Winnebagoland Housing Coalitions March 3, 2010 meeting minutes as recorded by Kay Hetzel.

http://tinyurl.com/marchminutes

Free Financial Aid Workshop Offered~ April 9th, 2010

Please share this valuable opportunity with clients that may be interested in finding out if they qualify for financial aid to help them either "go back" or "go on" to school.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Need help applying for financial aid?

Attend the Financial Aid Workshop on April 9th, 2010 and get the help you need!

Get free, on-site professional assistance completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Talk to financial aid professionals about aid resources and how to apply.

Students and parents are encouraged to attend.

Pre-registration is required. Call 236-6101 to register!

Provided through the collaborative efforts of the Oshkosh Area United Way, Winnebago County UW Extension, Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, Fox Valley Technical College, UW Oshkosh, UW Fox Valley, and Marian College.


Monday, March 8, 2010

Answers to Energy Questions-Free Event April 8th

Russ Klug of Contemporary Designs encourages Winnebagoland Housing Coalition members to check out the "Answers to Energy Questions" event on April 8th at the Oshkosh Convention Center. The event is free and open to the public and features a number of free seminars. Find out more by visiting http://answerstoenergy.webs.com/ Interested persons can also obtain additional information by contacting Bill Schultz at 920-230-0801.

Friday, March 5, 2010

2010 Action Planning Meeting Confirmed

Please plan on attending the 2010 Action Planning “special meeting” for the Winnebagoland Housing Coalition on Tuesday April 27, 2010 from 10:00AM-12:00PM (noon) at the
JP Coughlin Center located at 625 E. County Rd. Y, Oshkosh WI (meeting room A). Catherine Neiswender, Community Development Educator will be facilitating this meeting for the coalition. Please direct questions about this special meeting to Kristi Cutts at kcutts@co.winnebago.wi.us or 920-232-1973.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Wisconsin Energy Fair

Russ Klug of Contemporary Designs encourages Winnebagoland Housing Coalition members to consider attending the Wisconsin Energy Fair held June 18-20th 2010.

The Wisconsin Energy Fair is the nation's longest running energy education event of its kind.

The Energy Fair features:
Over 275 exhibitors - sustainable living and energy products
Over 200 workshops - from introductory level to hands-on education
Clean Energy Car Show - demonstration vehicles and workshops
Green Home Pavilion – focused on building and remodeling in a sustainable way
Sustainable Tables – workshops, chef demos, and a farmers market bringing sustainability to your dinner table
Inspirational keynotes, lively entertainment, great food, and local beer.

The Energy Fair is held in Custer, WI just seven miles east of Stevens Point. For more information about the Fair, visit the website at http://www.the-mrea.org/energy_fair.php or contact Kirsten Olson, Events Coordinator - kirsten@the-mrea.org or by phone at 715 - 592 - 6595.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Federal Plan to Prevent & End Homelessness

Sue Panek, Executive Director of the Oshkosh Area United Way shared the message below about an opportunity for the Winnebagoland Housing Coalition to share online feedback to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness on a Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.

The President and Congress charged the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) via the HEARTH Act to develop and submit the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness to Congress by May 20, 2010. This plan will serve as a roadmap for joint action by Council agencies to guide the development of programs and budget proposals towards a set of measurable targets. The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness will reflect interagency agreement on a set of priorities and strategies the agencies will pursue over a five-year period.

The process to create this Plan was designed to be transparent and provide multiple opportunities for input, feedback and collaboration. To that end, the USICH wants to provide the opportunity for everyone who is interested in this very important matter to have their opinion heard. They have launched a new interactive website -- USICH Preventing and Ending Homelessness http://fsp.uservoice.com/forums/41991-how-can-the-local-community-contribute-to-the-visi] -- to serve as a repository for ideas and to collect feedback and comments on the ideas posted. The website content will be revised by USICH staff and the ideas that receive the most positive feedback will be assessed for possible inclusion in the FSP. The site will be open during a two week window starting Monday, March 1 through Monday, March 15.