Winter Virtual Meeting

Warm Up this Winter with OCCD

As winter settles in across Ohio, OCCD is looking ahead to an opportunity to connect, learn, and share insights with our members from across the state. On behalf of the Board and Executive Director, we invite you to join us for the OCCD Winter Meeting, taking place virtually over the mornings of January 28^th and January 29^th. While we may not be gathering in person, the agenda is designed to deliver timely updates, practical information, and meaningful discussion around issues impacting community development work across Ohio, all in the comfort and warmth of your own office or home.

The Winter Meeting will open with a focus on development finance tools that can help communities strengthen local investment and housing outcomes. Wednesday morning begins with learning about New Market Tax Credits, featuring Patrick Conley from the Ohio Department of Development, who will provide an overview of the program. This session will help to better understand how New Market Tax Credits work and whether pursuing NMTCs could be a good fit for your community.

The morning will continue with the Ohio Builds Initiative, presented by Krissy Wahlers of the Ohio Department of Development. This session will review the various programs within the initiative, outline their goals, and discuss how communities across Ohio can benefit from participating. This session will highlight how these programs fit into broader housing and community development efforts.

The morning will conclude with Doing Radon Right, a session focused on best practices for addressing radon in residential properties. While many of us implement home repair and rehabilitation programs, we may be uncertain about how to properly assess and address radon risks. This session will walk through how radon levels are determined in a home and discuss proper approaches for mitigation, helping communities ensure health and safety requirements are met as part of their housing programs.

Thursday will focus on housing stability, compliance, and the policy environment shaping community development work across Ohio and the country. The morning will begin with The Plight of Permanent Supportive Housing and On the Ground: PSH Challenges. These sessions take a close look at permanent supportive housing in light of the recently withdrawn CoC NOFO and the uncertainty it has created for communities and providers nationwide.

The first session will feature Leah Werner, Director of the Ohio program for the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), who will provide a national and state perspective. The second session will include Erica Mulyran of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO) and we’ll hear from permanent supportive housing providers offering their on-the-ground perspective. Together, the panel will explore how recent federal policy shifts and funding changes are affecting PSH, including reduced funding availability, changes in program priorities, and potential impacts on long-term housing stability. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of what these changes mean at the local level and how communities can prepare, respond, and engage moving forward.

No OCCD quarterly meeting would be complete without a session on HUD compliance, and this meeting is no exception! Strengthening Financial Management will feature Michelle Bush of Corporate FACTS and cover recent 2 CFR Part 200 changes and their practical implications for grantees and subrecipients. Michelle will also review common financial management findings and share practical strategies to prevent them, along with risk-based compliance and monitoring approaches that support strong oversight while reducing administrative burden.

The Winter Meeting will conclude with OCCD’s Legislative Update, presented by Tony Core of Kutak Rock. This session will provide members with timely insight into legislative developments in the Ohio General Assembly that impact housing, community, and economic development.

We look forward to connecting with OCCD members this winter and continuing the conversations that strengthen communities across Ohio. Join us online in January for two mornings of learning, collaboration, and shared expertise.

Donna D. Everson 
OCCD Vice President