REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JENNIFER CLARK, Director
Planning and Development Department
PHIL SKEI, Assistant Director
Planning and Development Department
BY: BRANDON SISK, Senior Management Analyst
Community Development Division
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan:
1. HEARING to obtain public comments regarding the Draft 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan; and
2. ***RESOLUTION - Adopting the 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan; approving submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for application of $7,013,935 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), $2,924,820 HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), $606,188 Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), and $1,033,153 Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS/HIV (HOPWA) program funds; providing for subrecipient agreements; and Authorizing the City Manager to sign all implementing documents required by HUD as approved to form by the City Attorney (Subject to Mayor’s Veto)
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends the City Council conduct a public hearing and thereafter adopt the 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan in application to the HUD CPD entitlement grant programs including CDBG, HOME, ESG, and HOPWA; and authorize the City Manager to sign all reasonably required implementing documents, instruments, and funding agreements required by HUD as approved to form by the City Attorney.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City staff implemented a citizen engagement, planning, and application process beginning in November 2023 to develop the 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan. The plan will be deemed approved 45 days after HUD receives the submission, unless HUD notifies the City before that date that the plans are disapproved. The City will submit the plans as early as feasible following City Council adoption to allow for timely approval at the start of Fiscal Year 2025.
BACKGROUND
2024-2025 Annual Action Plan Process
In order to qualify for and receive federal grant funding through HUD, the City is required to prepare an Annual Action Plan detailing the projects proposed for funding through CDBG, HOME, ESG, and HOPWA programs, and the benefits to low- and moderate-income persons. The 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan covers the period from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, and is the final year of the five-year Consolidated Plan. HUD requires that the Annual Action Plan be consistent with the City’s five-year Consolidated Plan and incorporate input from the community needs assessment conducted annually in support of each year’s plan.
To support these requirements, the City conducted four virtual and four in-person community needs workshops to introduce residents to the goals of the Consolidated Plan and the Annual Action Plan, and to request specific input on projects and activities to be considered for funding. A community needs public hearing was conducted at the December 7, 2023, meeting of the City Council. Additionally, a community needs questionnaire was distributed to all organizations who had participated in the development of the Consolidated Plan or Annual Action Plan over the past four years. Spanish, Punjabi, Hmong, and American Sign Language interpreters were available on request at all meetings.
Following the community needs assessment, staff prepared a Consolidated Notice of Funding Available (NOFA) to request applications from qualifying non-profit organizations, units of local government, and City departments. The activities requested in the NOFA were selected to meet the goals of the five-year Consolidated Plan, and additional consideration was given to applications that addressed specific needs identified during the community needs workshops. Four technical assistance workshops were held to aid non-profits in applying for the NOFA. Staff evaluated the applications to ensure eligibility with the federal funding sources and scored the applications according to the evaluation criteria published with the NOFA. The results were reviewed by staff, and the draft funding allocation was presented in the draft Annual Action Plan for a 30-day public review from March 4, 2024, through April 4, 2024. Public comments can be found in the 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan Appendix B: Citizen Input and Public Comment. A summary of comments received by the City during the June 6, 2024, public hearing will be considered and included in the final 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan submitted to HUD.
Citizen Participation
A list of meeting, public review, and key notice dates is provided below. An exhaustive list of promotional and outreach activities is provided in the appendices of the 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan.
• October 30, 2023 - Notice of upcoming meetings and planning process published in the Fresno Bee, City Clerk website, Housing and Community Development Division (HCDD) website, emailed to a list of 800+ people who have requested to receive updates from HCDD, and posted to social media
• November 7, 2023, through November 29, 2023 - Workshops and public hearings promoted on social media; through digital flyers distributed to Fresno, Central, and Sanger Unified School District students and parents; on community calendars maintained by KMPH, KFSN, and YourCentralValley; through email to a list of 800+ people who have requested to received updates from HCDD; and door-to-door through flyers in English, Spanish, and Hmong
• November 7, 2023, through November 29, 2023 - Four in-person community needs workshops were conducted at Chinatown Fresno Foundation, West Fresno Family Foundation, Live Again Fresno, and Teague Community Center. Four virtual community needs workshops conducted on Zoom
• December 7, 2023 - Community needs public hearing conducted at City Council meeting
• January 2, 2024 - NOFA posted to request applications for Homeless & Homelessness Prevention, Community Services, Owner-Occupied Home Repair, Fair Housing Services, and Public Infrastructure & Facility Improvement activities
• January 22, 2024, through January 23, 2024 - NOFA technical assistance webinars held; recordings published to HCDD website
• March 4, 2024 - Draft 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan published for public review and comment to the website of the City Clerk and HCDD; availability was promoted on social media, by email, and it was distributed to community centers and public libraries
• April 4, 2024 - End of written public comment period
• June 6, 2024 - City Council Annual Action Plan public hearing & consideration
• July 5, 2024 - Annual Action Plan due to HUD
2024-2025 Entitlement Program Allocation
On May 7, 2024, HUD announced its annual entitlement award amounts for the City. Below is a comparison to the amounts received for the previous year.
|
Program |
2023-2024 |
2024-2025 |
Difference |
|
CDBG |
$6,897,161 |
$7,013,935 |
$116,774 |
|
HOME |
$3,578,083 |
$2,924,820 |
($653,263) |
|
ESG |
$601,082 |
$606,188 |
$5,106 |
|
HOPWA |
$990,192 |
$1,033,153 |
$42,961 |
|
Totals |
$12,066,518 $11,578,096($488,422) |
|
|
Entitlement funds primarily address housing and community development needs of low-and moderate-income households, and as such the limited resources are prioritized to meet the greatest need. Activities that are multi-year in nature such as planning activities, infrastructure improvements, and rehabilitation programs that take more than one year to complete may be carried over into the next fiscal year. It is important to note that for timeliness reasons, it is essential that projects utilizing entitlement funds be implemented efficiently and projects that can expend the grant funds within the Program Year are prioritized for funding.
The City received 31 applications for funding (a 63% increase over 2023-2024). Staff reviewed the applications according to the evaluation criteria published with the NOFA. The activities recommended for funding in the 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan include investments in park structure improvement projects as well as investments in public services administered by the City and by local non-profit agencies. A summary of the activities to be funded can be found in the attached Annual Action Plan under AP-35, Project Summary.
The City received 13 applications under the Public and Community Services NOFA. All 13 were from non-profits for various projects. The total of eligible requests received was more than the amount available under the Public and Community Services NOFA. The City is proposing to fully fund the Boys & Girls Club of Fresno and Madera Counties’ Educate and Inspire Fresno Youth program; Highway City Development Corporation’s Health and Wellness Access to Care program; and Poverello House’s Rehabilitation-Aftercare program. It is proposing to partially fund the Marjaree Mason Center’s Critical Services for Domestic Violence Survivors’ program; Central Valley Justice Coalition’s Youth Advocacy and Mentorship program; and Southwest Fresno Development Corporation’s Family Financial Literacy Nights program.
The City received seven applications under the Homeless Services and Homelessness Prevention NOFA. Four applications were received for ESG Emergency Shelter and Street Outreach which has a statutory cap of 60% of the City’s total ESG grant. The City is recommending allocating 38% of its ESG entitlement to Emergency Shelter and Street Outreach. Central Unified School District’s Student Services Rapid Outreach Projects program is recommended to be funded using Emergency Shelter and Street Outreach funds in addition to Homelessness Prevention funds. Poverello House’s HOPE Team program is recommended to be funded using Emergency Shelter and Street Outreach funds.
The City received a proposal from the Fresno Housing Authority to operate the Housing Management Information System, an online software application which records and stores client-level information on the characteristics and service needs of people experiencing homelessness throughout the Fresno-Madera Continuum of Care jurisdiction. The software is used by homeless assistance providers to coordinate service provision, manage operations, and better serve clients. The City proposes to fund this activity.
Finally, the City received two proposals for ESG Rapid Rehousing: one from Poverello House and one from WestCare California, Inc. WestCare California is recommended to receive a partial grant award for its Project UNITE program which will provide homelessness prevention services, rapid rehousing assistance, and case management services. Poverello House is also recommended to be partially awarded for its Rapid Rehousing program to provide direct case management and rental support for people experiencing homelessness.
One application for HOPWA funding was received from WestCare California, Inc. for its Living Room program which provides housing assistance and related supportive services for people throughout Fresno County who are living with HIV/AIDS. WestCare California is recommended to receive the full HOPWA amount available.
The sole applicant to the Fair Housing NOFA was Fresno Interdenominational Ministries (FIRM) which is recommended for funding. FIRM will provide Fair Housing outreach and education through workshops, media, and targeted canvassing in low-income Southeast Asian, Spanish, and Arabic-speaking communities.
Self-Help Enterprises was the sole applicant under owner-occupied rehabilitation programs and is recommended for funding for its Housing Rehabilitation Program to address pressing health and safety issues, maintenance concerns, and code violations within existing units. Self-Help Enterprises will collaborate with low-income homeowners and local contractors to address issues with roofing, windows, flooring, basic plumbing, electrical, cooling, and security.
The City received two applications under Public Infrastructure and Public Facility Improvements from the Department of Parks and Recreation (PARCS). The City is recommending funding two of the six projects from the PARCS Play Structure Project application. The projects at Bigby Villa Park and Lafayette Park will fund the installation of shade structures and rubberized soft-fall safety surfacing and will improve accessibility.
Upon adoption of the resolution, the City will use the Standard Subrecipient Agreements as approved to form by the City Attorney to enter into agreements with subrecipients for activities approved for funding by this resolution.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This is not a project for purposes of CEQA pursuant to CEQA guidelines Section 15378. These plans, strategies and studies are an exempt activity under HUD NEPA Requirements (24 CFR 58.34 (1)).
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable because of the use of federal funding.
FISCAL IMPACT
Adoption of the 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan is required to allow the City to receive $11,578,096 of new entitlement funding.
Attachments:
1. Resolution
2. 2024-2025 Annual Action Plan for HUD CPD Entitlement Grant Funding
3. Proposed Funding Allocation Summary
4. Applications for Funding
5. Standard Subrecipient Agreements