There are currently eight participants including Tim Klont, Jennie Fronczak, Joy Aruguete, and Terri Haymaker. The link to the zoom meeting is not public and the meeting is password-protected.

Terri Haymaker is asking Joy Aruguete about being on a panel on affordable housing. Calvin Holmes is also present.

Here is the current list of participants. Ciere Boatright and I are documenting. https://t.co/O19i7lRVXl

They are discussing a packet which includes last meeting’s minutes. Documenters were not provided with the packet, only the meeting agenda which is very limited.

They just reviewed the participant list and last meeting’s minutes. Aruguete moved to approve last meeting’s minutes and Castañeda seconded it. This is the https://t.co/P4qwWImjDC

They’re pulling up a slideshow of the financials. In the third quarter they were in the black. They’re looking for Q4 financials. https://t.co/JXKbAFQN49

Calvin Holmes is discussing developing a donation policy and putting a diversity, equity and inclusion clause in their corporate mission. He specifically refers to the trust as a “quasi-governmental agency” and a “corporation”

They are now discussing the Q4 financials. They made around $3M, mostly from a grant from the City of Chicago. They will need to keep documentation about how they spend the city grant. https://t.co/VsvOukOgLW

The summary of the financial situation is that they ended the year in the black.
Here are some other screenshots of the Q4 financials: https://t.co/Wo2NyqnqYH

Nyamapfene moved to approve the financial report and Holmes seconded

Before they approved the minute, Haymaker discussed getting signatures for financial matters.

Tholin is discussing resources and marketing. They had a website developed by students, so the trust may have a “public face” soon.

Holmes asked about the “on-the-ground” partners for marketing the “opt-in” component of the trust, which was a large focus of a previous CCLT meeting.

Edmonds mentioned that Fronczak has been reaching out to contacts in Woodlawn and others, including aldermen and other entities. Fronczak is expanding on Edmonds’s comments and, in particular, mentioned Alderman Taylor.

Apologies, in a previous Tweet I mistook Haymaker for Fronczak because neither has a zoom photo.

Kimberly Rudd and Kaye Champion from Rudd Resources are in the meeting. Rudd is discussing the public image of the organization and how they can market themselves less confusingly.

Rudd is discussing methods of developing a marketing strategy. The first method is gathering data from the board, including subjective data about how the board members feel about the aims of the organization.

Champion is discussing her process for designing a visual branding identity. Her process is very in-depth, she will work closely with the board members to ensure that the brand’s visual identity matches the organization’s mission.

Holmes asked Rudd about brand confusion and Rudd expanded on the fact that the CCLT acronym is commonly confused with other, more recognizable entities. People are not making the connection between the name of the organization and the aim of the organization.

Tholin adds that the phrases “land trust” and “community” have been brought up as potentially confusing. Champion has added that there should be a distinction between the backend and front-facing marketing for the organization.

Aruguete agrees that the organization has been very “inward-facing” and recognizes that the organization has had PR as a top concern for a while.

Towns has mentioned the phrase “affordable housing” specifically. He adds that the word “trust” in their name might be confusing, as a trust is commonly associated with finance and not “affordable housing”.

Nyamapfene is asking a question about how to narrow down messaging to a target audience. Rudd says they can identify particular “mindsets” they can refine their messaging to suit.

The conversation is now focused on PR and marketing. Aruguete mentions an “industry” that they are a part of in the context of “many people ‘in the industry’” who don’t know about CCLT.

Rudd and Champion are both from
https://ruddresources.net
@RuddResources

Aruguete is turning the conversation over to Dr. Towns for the Policies and Projects report.

Towns is discussing conversations with Chicago Association of Realtors (CAR) about trying to convince CAR about how CCLT “will not destroy equity in the market”

Dr. Towns is discussing how a demolitions surcharge for properties around the 606 is being channeled to the CCLT to fund future affordable housing. He mentions the racial equity lens of the executive summary.

The executive summary includes concerns about how gentrification is affecting particular communities. He is soliciting feedback from people about how other land trusts have used funds creatively. He sees the CCLT as a realistic alternative to unlikely reparations

Dr. Towns is talking about, and Tholin expands on, the “diligence” of methods for assessing properties. Tholin specifically adds that the diligence is apparent in the “number of properties the committee has looked at and rejected”

Fronczak is now discussing properties. She has mentioned Lucha in Logan Square and a Logan Square-based land trust as community partners that can help match families with properties. https://lucha.org https://t.co/meTDQtEmA1

Dr. Towns is adding that some properties will definitely get torn down without intervention from the land trust. The land trust can help match a local family to housing instead of displacing them with condos.

Aruguete mentions that the city has put pressure on the organization to spend money. Klont adds that it has taken time to assess properties but that the organization is happy to now be presenting property acquisition.

Aruguete mentioned that it is unusual for a certain committee to have so much authority. Tholin responded that the speed of the industry requires it.

Holmes seconds Tholin’s (and Froczak’s in chat) “emphasis on QUICKLY”. He says “speed in this industry is everything.”

Aruguete is fine with the nature of the industry as long as the board is kept informed. Holmes moves to approve the report and Aruguete (I think) seconded. They voted to approve the report.

Fronczak is summarizing the Policy Dashboard. In particular, she mentioned the tweaks to the demolition surcharge. She is referring to specific metrics for determining need (preference policy) depending on harms to communities. https://t.co/UeKKfhNFnL

There is apparently an “itty-bitty lawsuit” that legal is handling. It might generate funds in CCLT’s favor.

The launch for the properties will be on May 1st. https://t.co/LW5MCgZPEn

The thread broke. Here is the unconnected tweet: https://twitter.com/stephdoesmath/status/1377642840143110147

https://t.co/aLPLYyzIbb

Here is a summary of the neighborhoods the properties are in. Fronczak has a Google map. Klont points out that this is one of the only affordable housing summary with the majority of properties in the Loop https://t.co/ZuLWRuNGl2

This is a demographic summary. Someone mentioned the coloring of the graph is confusing (white and Asian are similar colors). Someone asked and Fronczak acknowledged that there should be an analysis of unit size with respect to demographics. https://t.co/85VH3XNzla

1/2: Fronczak is explaining the issues she has experienced with the Department of Housing (DOH) in imposing unit-size restrictions to affordable housing. Klont adds that passing on an ARO project means that the project still happens

2/2: Fronczak responded that the projects for which the CCLT passes on, e.g. condos with units too small to be livable, get turned into rental units.

The tweet thread broke. Here is the disconnected tweet: https://twitter.com/stephdoesmath/status/1377642840143110147

They’re now discussing setting a hard deadline for submitting bios and photos for the CCLT’s upcoming website.

The Holmes moves to adjourn, Haymaker seconds. The meeting ends at 10:46AM

This concludes the CCLT’s regular board meeting. For more meeting coverage, check out http://documenters.org.