REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
September 19, 2019
FROM: JENNIFER CLARK, Director
Planning and Development Department
THROUGH: THOMAS MORGAN, Housing and Community Development Manager
Housing and Community Development Division
BY: ALDI DODDS, Senior Management Analyst
Housing and Community Development Division
SUBJECT:
title
Actions pertaining to the Program Year (PY) 2018 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER):
1. WORKSHOP - pertaining to the PY 2018 CAPER;
2. HEARING to obtain public comments regarding the PY 2018 CAPER; and
3. Adopt PY 2018 CAPER and authorize submission to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends Council conduct a public hearing on the PY 2018 CAPER and thereafter adopt the CAPER and authorize submission to HUD.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The CAPER serves to meet the performance reporting requirements of HUD as set forth with the Consolidated Plan Regulations. On August 16, 2019, a Public Review Draft of the CAPER was made available for a thirty day review period. HUD’s deadline for receipt of the CAPER is September 30, 2019. This year’s CAPER describes the activities undertaken by the City of Fresno (City) with specific federal funds during PY 2018, beginning July 1, 2018 and ending June 30, 2019.
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 Planning and Development, 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. On August 16, 2019, a Public Review Draft of the CAPER was made available. The draft report described activities undertaken by the City during the HUD PY 2019, beginning July 1, 2018 and ending June 30, 2019, using the following federal funds:
− Community Development Block Grant (CDBG),
− HEARTH Emergency Solutions Grant (HESG),
− Home Investment Partnerships (HOME), and
− Housing Opportunities for Persons with 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 draft PY 2018 CAPER was developed based on information provided by project managers, subrecipients, and several additional Departments and reflects that the City funded and administered projects to address the four main goals of the 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan 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 PY 2018 CAPER details the City’s activities over the last year including the list below that highlights a few of the services provided:
– 40 homeowners with home repairs were completed by June 30th and another 83 homes with repairs underway and pending completion;
– 795 homeless persons (unduplicated) received overnight shelter, 68 homeless households obtained rapid re-housing, and another 71 families at risk of homelessness received rental assistance;
– Over 1900 youth received afterschool and educational programming from PARCS (712), Boys and Girls Club (1,031), or Fresno EOC (188);
– Nearly 1,000 seniors received weekday meals and programming from PARCS;
– Over 17,500 citizens benefited from improved neighborhood streets; and
– Capital investments for numerous public and community facilities projects were underway by the end of the program year.
Public Outreach and Citizen Participation: On August 13, 2019, the City published a notice of the public review and comment opportunities in the daily circulation of the Fresno Bee. HUD requires that entitlement jurisdictions advertise notices in a daily newspaper in general circulation. In addition to the required publication, the City also conducted outreach through the publication of Vida en el Valle on August 14, 2019. Additional low and no-cost outreach efforts in multiple languages were also made by the City, as described below:
- Radio broadcast on KBIF AM 900, the Central Valley’s local Punjabi radio on Saturday and Sunday, and Hmong radio Monday through Friday
- Online at www.fresno.gov/housing <http://www.fresno.gov/housing>
- E-mail distribution 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
- City Social Media (Twitter and Facebook)
- Hard Copies Available at
o Fresno City Hall Room 2133 City Clerk’s Office
o Fresno City Hall Room 3065 Housing and Community Development
o Fresno County Public Library Downtown Branch
o Eighteen Neighborhood Community Centers
o City of Fresno elected officials for distribution among their respective networks
Public Comment and Public Review: The required thirty day public comment period began on Friday, August 16, 2019, and ended on Tuesday, September 17, 2019. The City will consider public comments during the September 19, 2019, City Council public hearing. Written comments on the CAPER were to be mailed to: City of Fresno, Attention: Aldi Dodds, 2600 Fresno Street, Room 3065 Fresno California, 93721 or by e-mail to HCDD@fresno.gov. Written comments were to be received no later than September 17, 2019, and will be included in the final CAPER submitted to HUD.
Housing and Community Development Commission (HCDC) Workshop: The CAPER workshop and public hearing scheduled for the HCDC Meeting on September 11, 2019, were continued to a Special Meeting on September 17, 2019, due to lack of quorum. The public comments received at the HCDC Meeting will be summarized for Council during Staff’s presentation.
HUD Deadline: HUD’s deadline for receipt of the CAPER is September 30, 2019, which is ninety days after the close of the City’s program year on June 30, 2019. Once adopted by the City Council, staff will begin the process of uploading the final CAPER into HUD’s Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS). Council adoption of the CAPER will allow sufficient time to incorporate and respond to additional public comments, and authorize staff to submit the CAPER to HUD by Friday, September 27, 2019, meeting the HUD deadline of September 30, 2019. 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
No City of Fresno general funds will be needed. The Housing and Community Development Division’s administrative budget was approved by City Council on May 2, 2019, and it has been approved by HUD as of July 1, 2019.
Attachments:
Exhibit A: Draft PY 2018 CAPER
Exhibit B: Workshop Powerpoint