Community Action Board - Oct. 6, 2025

Minutes

FACILITATOR: Adam Khosroabadi

NOTE TAKER: Sean Wells

Present:

• Paul Edgar
• Adam Khosroabadi
• Candice Laxton
• Greer Ryan

Absent:

• Sonia Agnew
• Richard Sheldon
• John Parker

Staff:

• Mary Rumbaugh
• Jennifer Much Grund
• R.E. Szego
• Tracy Garell
• Joey Johns
• Kaitlyn Almonds
• Aryn Zanca
• Sean Wells
• Jeanie Butler

Guests:

• Sonya Norton
• Shawnee Johnson

Meeting Called to Order

Quorum is 50% +1

Adam called the meeting to order at 4:04 pm. A quorum was not present. 

Adoption of Meeting Minutes 

September minutes tabled due to lack of quorum. 

Health, Housing, and Human Services Overview

Mary Rumbaugh provided an overview of the divisions that make up the department of Health, Housing, & Human Services (H3S). This included their funding, impact on the community, and plans for the future. She took questions from the board members and guests. There was a question about how the government shut down will effect on funding provided by the Older Americans Act. Jeanie said that the funding seems stable for now, but that the ADRC is keeping an eye on what could happen if the shutdown continues. Meals on Wheels was brought up as an important service during the shutdown. Mary then talked about long-term goals of H3S. There is a recovery house that the County is working to

develop, though it is having funding problems. She also talked about a 23-hour care facility that H3S is developing with a groundbreaking planned for November 3rd. This project has been funded through the design phase. The board asked if

the County had any plans to ameliorate the potential impact of people losing their healthcare. Mary said that there is no room in the County budget to address this shortfall.

Community Needs Assessment Planning

Jennifer asked if there was any feedback from her presentation at the last CAB meeting. Greer brought up the importance of reaching out to the legislature, but also to nonprofits that work on policy. Jennifer agreed and encouraged CAB members to reach out to nonprofits as CAB members or to direct them to her. Adam suggested an outreach subcommittee and Jennifer said that she believed the presentation would be more effective if presented by a County staff member and CAB member together.

Candice raised concerns about affordable housing for older adults, specifically regarding the growth of rent versus the stagnation of Social Security. Sonya added that a number of older adults are property rich and money poor. They might be better off selling their property but that runs the risk of falling into the rent growth problem that Candice pointed out.

Jennifer explained that the needs assessment gives SSD an opportunity to understand what the community needs and how best to address those needs. She gave an overview of the information gathering process including focus groups, interviews, and listening sessions. Lynne noted that during a recent visit to a DHS office the staff there didn’t know about the ALICE poverty assessment was, which the SSD staff noted was an issue they had run into previously. Adam suggested asking about short-term concerns for constituents, i.e. asking about immediate needs then expanding to six months, a year, two years, etc. Greer said that talking to immigrant focused groups should be a high priority given current political climate. Jennifer added that Federal data might not be as reliable as it has been in the past and there would be a greater focus on smaller community organizations.

Paul brought up using school districts as a source of information and suggested developing a questionnaire to distribute to school districts. Reaching out to local municipalities and utilities was also suggested. Candice asked about a survey that could be taken to older adult and disability housing complexes as many of their residents have trouble leaving their buildings. Tracy also mentioned that SSD would be working with H3S partners to collect information. For example, leaving a survey at a health center for the receptionist to distribute to patients. Jennifer will present again at the

November CAB meeting.

Candidate & Guest Questions

Brian and Lynne both complimented Mary’s presentation and expressed appreciation for the level of detail it provided. Shawnee noted that there weren’t many private partnerships and asked if that was something that SSD had interest in expanding. Candice asked about gathering information regarding the impact of regulations. Joey said that most housing

regulations are federal, but that an assessment could find some under enforced regulations within the County.

Director/Member Updates 

Tracy let the CAB know that information regarding the impact of SNAP funding will be sent to members. 

Meeting Adjourned 

The meeting was adjourned at 5:32. 

Next Meeting: 

November 3, 2025