2021 Spring Quarterly Meeting

As we are all well aware, Spring is one of the many benefits of living in Ohio. After the desolation of Winter, nature seems to be reborn, blossoms bloom and Spring begins. In that same spirit we gather, albeit online, with our Community Development colleagues at the Spring Quarterly in order to learn new things, reflect on our programs and reinvigorate our passion for moving our communities forward. Please join us on April 28th and 29th and contribute to the field of Community Development in Ohio at OCCD’s Spring Quarterly of 2021.

April is National Fair Housing Month, so we will be kicking off the quarterly with a moderated panel on Criminal Activity Nuisance Ordinances (CANOs) and Fair Housing. CANOs are somewhat common in Ohio and, depending on how they are designed, enforced and monitored, they could be violating the fair housing rights of some of our most vulnerable residents. Joining us to discuss CANOs and Fair Housing are Tanesha Hunter of the Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research, Dr. Megan Hatch of the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University and Elizabeth Bonham of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.

Our second session on Wednesday, “Let’s Keep This Simple - What You Need To Know About Section 3 Changes,” will be an important session to attend as the final rule goes into effect on July 1, 2021. Presenting on this topic are Tom Leach, Director of the Columbus Field Office, Pam Ashby, Director of the Cleveland Field Office and Roma Yengo, Management Analyst.

For the third session of the day, we will be sharing an exciting update to the OCCD website. Jessica Angelas and Carrie Gough of Spire Advertising, our website developer, will be going over the changes including the brand new member forum!

Rounding out Day 1 of the Spring Quarterly will be the Quarterly OCCD Business Meeting that includes committee updates and other items important to the organization.

On the 2nd day of the Spring Quarterly, we will start off the day with a brainstorming session with ODSA regarding infrastructure investments. Shana Garrett, Deputy Chief and Mary Oakley, Community Investments Manager, will be leading the session. Please make sure you bring plenty of ideas on how your community can benefit by partnering with the State to meet your infrastructure needs.

The second session on Day 2, “Exploring HUD’s Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program as a Source of Community and Economic development Financing” will feature Seema Thomas, Deputy Director of the Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program, Carolyn Buhler, CPD Specialist, and Jorge Morales, CPD Specialist. Section 108 is a program offered by HUD that is usually used to finance large catalytic projects, however, it can be used in a variety of ways.  Seema, Carolyn and Jorge will educate us on who is eligible, how the process works and how it can be used.

Anthony Core of Squire Patton Boggs will close out the Spring Quarterly with the Legislative update. This will be followed by the usual ODSA and HUD breakouts.

I hope you are all able to attend the Spring Quarterly online. Please come ready to listen, engage, ask questions and make comments. The more engaged the membership is at the Quarterly, the more we all learn and gain from the sessions.

All the best,