REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
September 21, 2017
FROM: JENNIFER CLARK, Director
Development and Resource Management
THROUGH: KELLI FURTADO, Assistant Director
Development and Resource Management
BY: THOMAS MORGAN, Housing Manager
Housing and Community Development Division
SUBJECT:
Title
Actions pertaining to the Program Year 2016 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER):
1. HEARING to obtain public comments regarding the CAPER; and
2. Approve the CAPER and authorize submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends the Fresno City Council:
1. Obtain the views and comments from interested persons regarding the CAPER; and
2. Approve the CAPER and authorize submission to HUD by the September 29, 2017, deadline.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The CAPER serves to meet the performance reporting requirements of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as set forth with the Consolidated Plan Regulations. On September 1, 2017, a Public Review Draft of the CAPER was made available for a fifteen day review period. HUD’s deadline for receipt of the CAPER is September 29, which is ninety days after the close of the City’s program year on June 30. This year’s CAPER describes the activities undertaken by the City of Fresno (City) with specific federal funds during Program Year (PY) 2016, beginning July 1, 2016, and ending June 30, 2017.
BACKGROUND
The City is an entitlement jurisdiction receiving annual federal funding from HUD. In accordance with federal regulations, each year, the City’s Department of Development and Resource Management’s Housing and Community Development Division produces a CAPER. The CAPER serves to meet the performance reporting requirements of HUD as set forth in the Consolidated Plan Regulations.
HUD’s deadline for receipt of the CAPER is September 29, which is ninety days after the close of the City’s program year on June 30. The CAPER requires a fifteen day public review process. On September 1, 2017, a Public Review Draft of the CAPER was made available. The draft report describes activities undertaken by the City during the HUD PY 2016, beginning July 1, 2016 and ending June 30, 2017, using the following federal funds:
− Community Development Block Grant (CDBG),
− Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG),
− Home Investment Partnership (HOME), and
− Housing Opportunities for Persons With HIV/AIDS (HOPWA).
These grants fund community development efforts to improve housing, economic, and social conditions and opportunities for low-income and moderate-income residents of the City. The City funded and administered projects to address the four main goals of the 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan. Housing staff developed the draft CAPER based on information provided by project managers, subrecipients, and several additional Departments. The four main goals of the Consolidated Plan are summarized as follows:
Goal 1: Safe and Affordable Housing
The City continues to fund affordable housing projects to improve the quality of housing stock throughout the city, including rehabilitation, new development and paint programs.
Goal 2: Homeless Services
The City, in close coordination with the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care and its members, provided available Emergency Solutions Grant funding to local homeless service providers for street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing, and Homeless Management Information System management.
Goal 3: Community Services
The City administered Community Development Block Grant funds to support youth and senior programs offered through the PARCS Department. In addition, the City supported local non-profits.
Goal 4: Public Facilities and Public Improvements
The City administered funds to make necessary improvements to neighborhood streets and parks that serve predominantly low and moderate income areas.
The Draft CAPER provides a more detailed list of activities undertaken in each of the above-mentioned categories.
Public Outreach: In an effort to continue to enhance the awareness of the citizen participation process, and in addition to the required posting of this information in the Fresno Bee, staff has taken several low and no-cost measures to reach out to the community. Housing staff coordinated electronic messages to over 500 stakeholders, including residents, community based organizations, and both public and private agencies who were asked to consider sharing with their respective networks. Staff also worked with the Communications Department to utilize other no-cost outreach methods such as posting information on social media. In addition to these efforts, staff mailed hard copies of the publication to individuals that have provided a physical address to the Housing Division staff as their preferred method of contact.
Public Comment and Public Review: The required fifteen day public comment period began on September 1, 2017, and ended on September 18, 2017. The City will continue to consider public comments during the September 21, 2017, public hearing.
The Public Review Draft of the PY 2016 CAPER was made available at Fresno City Hall, 2600 Fresno Street, Room 2133 (City Clerk’s Office) and Room 3065 (Development and Resource Management Department); as well as at the Downtown Branch of the Fresno County Public Library and online at www.fresno.gov/housing <http://www.fresno.gov/housing>.
Written comments on the CAPER were to be mailed to: City of Fresno, DARM, Attention: Tom Morgan, 2600 Fresno Street, Room 3065 Fresno California, 93721 or by e-mail to Thomas.Morgan@fresno.gov <mailto:to%20Thomas.Morgan@fresno.gov>. Written comments were to be received no later than September 18, 2017.
HCDC Workshop: The HCDC held a noticed workshop to receive a CAPER briefing on September 13, 2017. All CAPER related public comments received at the public meeting will be summarized and read into the record at Council for consideration and approval.
City Council Public Hearing and Consideration: Approval of this agenda item by the City Council is included in the City’s Citizen Participation Plan.
HUD Deadline: Once approved by the City Council, staff will begin the process of uploading the final CAPER into HUD’s Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS) by no later than September 29, 2017. This is a time sensitive item as staff has experienced significant IDIS technology delays in the past due to the system becoming overloaded as cities across the country are also uploading their CAPERs.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This is not a project for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA guidelines Section 15378.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable to the CAPER.
FISCAL IMPACT
This agenda item does not request the use of funds. However, it is important the City continue to be responsive to HUD deadlines in order to not jeopardize the future use of CDBG, HOME, HOPWA, and ESG funding.
Attachment:
Draft PY 2016 CAPER