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Home My WebLink About11-13-2018 Item 5 Consideration of the HRC priorities for the 2019-20 Community Development Block Grant CDBG and Grants in Aid GIA programs Meeting Date: 11/13/2018 FROM: Michael Codron, Community Development Director Prepared By: Cara Vereschagin, Assistant Planner SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF THE HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION’S RECOMMENDED PRIORITIES FOR THE 2019-2020 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) AND GRANTS-IN-AID (GIA) PROGRAMS RECOMMENDATION Approve Community Development Block Grant and Grants-in-Aid funding priorities for 2019- 2020, as recommended by the Human Relations Commission. DISCUSSION The City’s annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Grants-in-Aid (GIA) review method provides the City Council and the public with opportunities to provide early input in the grant award process. Establishing funding priorities is the second step in the procedure, which helps to ensure an open, inclusive, and fair grant application process. The Human Relations Commission (HRC) is the advisory body to the City Council on funding priorities and recommendations for both grant programs. CDBG and GIA Program Overview The CDBG program is a federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The County of San Luis Obispo manages this grant and the final funding decisions must be approved by the Board of Supervisors in the County’s annual Action Plan. The funding is non-competitive, however all projects that are recommended for funding must directly or indirectly benefit low-income persons. The City’s GIA program serves to provide financial support to non-profit organizations that promote the economic and social well- being of the citizens of San Luis Obispo. Programs requesting funding must be tied explicitly to at least one funding priority and must be compliant with the HRC’s Statement of Purpose and Bylaws. CDBG and GIA Project Decision Process The four steps in the review process for both grant programs are as follows: 1. HRC “Community Needs Workshop”: The HRC hosted a public hearing on October 3, 2018 to inform the public about the upcoming CDBG and GIA funding cycles, how to apply for grants, to hear community views on grant funding needs, and to develop funding priorities. In addition, an Open City Hall online forum was available to those not able to attend the workshop. Responses were incorporated into the development of funding priorities for both grant programs. Minutes from this meeting can be found in Attachment A. 2. Council Priority Setting: Council sets CDBG and GIA funding priorities which is scheduled for November 13, 2018. Packet Pg. 87 Item 5 3. HRC Funding Recommendations Hearings: HRC will hold two separate public hearings to finalize funding recommendations for both CDBG and GIA programs. The hearing for the CDBG program is scheduled for December 5, 2018. The hearing for the GIA program is scheduled for May 1, 2019. 4. Council Approval of Final Recommendations: City Council will review and approve final funding recommendations for both CDBG and GIA programs. The Council will hold a public hearing for CDBG funding decisions, which is tentatively scheduled for February 19, 2019. Final funding allocations for the GIA program is tentatively scheduled for City Council review in July 2019. HRC Recommended CDBG and GIA Funding Priorities for Program Year 2019-2020 After hearing and reviewing public testimony, the Human Relations Commission reviewed the previously adopted 2018 CDBG and GIA funding priorities and decided to uphold those priorities for this grant cycle. The HRC’s recommended funding priorities for CDBG are ranked; whereas the recommendation for GIA include one main area of importance with other remaining, non-ranked objectives, indicated as follows: Community Development Block Grant (ranked): 1. Provide emergency and transitional shelter, homelessness prevention and services. 2. Develop and enhance affordable housing for low and very-low income persons. 3. Promote accessibility and/or removal of architectural barriers for the disabled and elderly. 4. Enhance economic development (to include seismic retrofit, economic stability, low and moderate income jobs). Grants-in-Aid: Main Priority: Homeless prevention, including affordable and alternative housing, supportive services and transitional housing Other Priorities: • Hunger and malnutrition prevention • Supportive physical and mental health services for those in need • Services for seniors and/or people with disabilities in need • Supportive and developmental services for children and youth in need Next Steps The next step in the CDBG and GIA program cycles is for the Council to consider the HRC’s recommendations and to affirm or revise the City’s funding priorities. This step is important because these priorities will guide the HRC’s actions during grant application review. These priorities will also guide Council’s final funding decisions, when they consider CDBG funding recommendations in February 2019, and GIA funding recommendations in July 2019. Packet Pg. 88 Item 5 ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The project is exempt from environmental review per Section 15061 (b)(3) and Section 15306 (Information Collection) of the CEQA Guidelines. The project is an action to develop priorities to guide future decisions regarding the allocation of CDBG and GIA funding. Each grant request approved for funding will be subject to CEQA at the time the project is filed. It can be seen with certainty that the proposed action to develop priorities for funding will have no significant effect on the environment and is exempt from environmental review. FISCAL IMPACT Decisions made regarding priorities will affect how CDBG and GIA applications are evaluated and chosen for support. The City receives CDBG funds through the County allotment and, while this does not directly impact the General Fund, to the extent that projects can be funded through CDBG, they are not otherwise requesting money from the City’s General Fund. The City has historically designated a portion of General Fund monies for the GIA program and the priorities expressed by the Council will influence how those grants will be awarded. The 2018-19 budget has an amount of $139,885 dedicated to the program. Establishing priorities has no immediate fiscal impact but is helpful in allocating the CDBG and GIA funding regardless of the amount. ALTERNATIVES 1. The Council may modify the proposed funding priorities. 2. The Council may continue consideration of funding priorities. Direction should be given to staff regarding additional information needed to make a decision on priorities. This alternative is not recommended because the deadline to submit a request for 2019-2020 CDBG Funds is October 19, 2018, and applicants to the program benefit from knowing the City’s funding priorities in advance. Attachments: A - HRC DRAFT Minutes from October 3, 2018 Packet Pg. 89 Item 5 Draft Minutes Human Relations Commission Wednesday, October 3, 2018 Regular Meeting of the Human Relations Commission CALL TO ORDER A Regular Meeting of the San Luis Obispo Human Relations Commission was called to order on Wednesday, October 3 at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber, located at 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California, by Chair Welts. ROLL CALL Present: Commissioners Robert Clayton, Bill Crewe, Michael Hopkins, Emily Rosten, Vice-Chair Carol Sexton (arrived at 5:12 p.m.), and Chair Nancy Welts Absent: Commissioner Barrie DuBois Staff: Cara Vereschagin, Assistant Planner; Xzandrea Fowler, Deputy Director PUBLIC COMMENT None CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES 1. ACTION: MOTION BY CHAIR WELTS, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER HOPKINS CARRIED 5-0-2 (COMMISSIONER DUBOIS AND SEXTON ABSENT) to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Human Relations Commission of September 5, 2018. ----Chair Welts modified the meeting agenda to begin with Commissioner Updates---- COMMISSIONER UPDATES Commissioner Clayton announced his resignation from the Human Relations Commission. He expressed his gratitude for the Commission and acknowledged the extraordinary work that the HRC has been doing in the past few years. He then excused himself from the rest of the meeting and left the Council Chamber room. Chair Welts announced that Election Day is November 6, 2018. PUBLIC HEARINGS Packet Pg. 90 Item 5 City of San Luis Obispo, Title, Subtitle Draft Minutes Human Relations Commission Meeting of October 3, 2018 Page 2 2. Community Needs Workshop Assistant Planner Vereschagin presented an overview of the Community Development Block Grant and Grants-in-Aid processes and timelines, which highlighted key dates for the applicants. She also explained that the Workshop is intended to gather information from the public, regarding health and human service needs in order to develop funding priorities for the 2019-20 grant cycle. Chair Welts then opened the public hearing. Public Comments: Karen Borges, Stand Strong Michael Kaplan, Transitions Mental Health Association Rigo Guzman, People’s Self Help Housing Anne Wyatt, HomeShareSLO Chair Welts closed the public hearing. Chair Welts also acknowledged the two responses from the Open City Hall Forum from Leslie Orradre representing Jack’s Helping Hand and Juliane McAdam representing Senior Nutrition Program/Meals That Connect; as well as the written correspondence from Emma Wedell from Queer Community Action, Research, Education, & Support (QCARES) regarding their online research survey to better understand the specific mental health needs, experiences, and barriers to accessing affirming care facing the LGBTQ+ community. No action was taken on this item. 3. Establish 2019 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and 2019-2020 Grants-in-Aid (GIA) Funding Priorities Chair Welts then opened the public hearing. Public Comments: None. Chair Welts closed the public hearing. After hearing the public testimony, the Commission agreed that they loved the creative spark of the community and that their mission to address all the needs was far from completion. The public testimony also solidified that their work has been heading in a positive direction. The Commission also expressed a desire to provide input on City policies related to housing and provided direction to staff to include the HRC in those discussions. Assistant Planner Packet Pg. 91 Item 5 City of San Luis Obispo, Title, Subtitle Draft Minutes Human Relations Commission Meeting of October 3, 2018 Page 3 Vereschagin announced that the HRC’s input on policies would probably be best coupled with the upcoming update of the City’s Housing Element of the General Plan. ACTION: MOTION BY CHAIR WELTS, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CREWE CARRIED 6-0-1 (COMMISSIONER DUBOIS ABSENT) to approve the recommendation of the funding priorities for the 2019 CDBG and 2019-20 GIA grant cycles to remain unchanged from what was previously adopted, described as the following: Grants in Aid (GIA) 2019-20 Funding Priorities Main Priority: • Homeless prevention including affordable and alternative housing, supportive services, and transitional housing Other Priorities: • Hunger and malnutrition support • Supportive physical and mental health services for those in need • Services for seniors and/ or people with disabilities in need • Supportive and developmental services for children and youth in need Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) 2019 Funding Priorities 1. Provide emergency and transitional shelter, homelessness prevention and services. 2. Develop and enhance affordable housing for low and very-low income persons. 3. Promote accessibility and/or removal of architectural barriers for the disabled and elderly. 4. Enhance economic development (including seismic retrofit, economic stability, low and moderate income jobs). STAFF COMMUNICATIONS 4. Agenda Forecast a. 2017-19 Major City Goals Assistant Planner Vereschagin explained that the HRC will discuss and set goals pursuant to the new 2019-21 Financial Plan at the next meeting. She encouraged the Commission to review the current 2017-19 Major City Goals and Objectives, provided in the Agenda Packet. ADJOURNMENT Chair Welts adjourned the meeting at 5:45 p.m. The next Regular meeting of the Human Relations Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, November 7, at 5:00 p.m., in the Council Hearing Room, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California APPROVED BY THE HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION: XX/XX/2018 Packet Pg. 92 Item 5