HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 05 - HRC Recommended Priorities for 2020-21 CDBG Grands & GIA Programs
Department Name: Community Development
Cost Center: 4007
For Agenda of: November 19, 2019
Placement: Consent
Estimated Time: N/A
FROM: Michael Codron, Community Development Director
Prepared By: Cara Vereschagin, Housing Coordinator
SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF THE HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION’S
RECOMMENDED PRIORITIES FOR THE 2020-21 COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT AND GRANTS-IN-AID PROGRAMS
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the Community Development Block Grant and Grants-in-Aid funding priorities for the
2020-21 funding year, 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 four-step
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 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 2, 2019
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.
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2. Council Priority Setting: Council sets CDBG and GIA funding priorities which is scheduled
for November 19, 2019.
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 4, 2019. The hearing for the GIA program is
scheduled for May 6, 2020.
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 March 3, 2020. Final
funding allocations for the GIA program is tentatively scheduled for City Council review in
July 2020.
HRC Recommended CDBG and GIA Funding Priorities for Program Year 2020-21
After hearing and reviewing public testimony, the Human Relations Commission reviewed the
previously adopted 2019 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
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Diversity and Inclusion General Fund Allocation
Additionally, The HRC also attempted to collect public feedback on how to prioritize and
distribute the $20,000 allocated for diversity and inclusion efforts at the Community Needs
Workshop but was unsuccessful in that no public comment was collected. Since the public
hearing, City staff and the HRC ad-hoc diversity and inclusion subcommittee have been meeting
with community stakeholders to learn about the present community needs, to ultimately develop
next steps to distribute this funding. Once staff and the ad-hoc committee have narrowed the
scope of community needs, it is anticipated that the ad-hoc committee with make a
recommendation to the HRC on how to distribute the funding, whether it be a grant process for
members of the public, or the identification of programs or events to be funded. Upon final
consensus, the HRC will make a recommendation on how to distribute the allocation to the City
Council for consideration.
Next Steps
The next step in the CDBG and GIA program cycles is for the Council to consider th e 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 March 2020 and GIA funding recommendations in July 2020.
Policy Context
Task 15 in the Ongoing Housing Production Programs section in the 2019-21 Housing Major
City Goal states that CDBG and GIA grant funding should be prioritized for housing production
available for lower income households. The City’s Housing Element also indicates several
programs throughout the document to help facilitate affordable housing through various grant
programs.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to the recommended action in this
report, because the action does not constitute a “Project” under CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
Budgeted: Yes Budget Year: 2020-21
Funding Identified: No
Fiscal Analysis:
Funding Sources
Total Budget
Available
Current Funding
Request
Remaining
Balance
Annual
Ongoing Cost
General Fund
State
Federal N/A
Fees
Other:
Total
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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 2020 -21 budget
has an amount of $150,000 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 the 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 timelines for Advisory Body review and
application submittal are fairly structured and the addition of time could delay funding
approval for projects.
Attachments:
a - HRC Draft 10.2.19 Meeting Minutes
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Draft Minutes
Human Relations Commission
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
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 2, 2019 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 Renoda Campbell, Bill Crewe, Abe Lincoln, Vice Chair Michael
Hopkins, and Chair Nancy Welts
Absent: Commissioners Jeannette Richardson and Emily Rosten
Staff: Cara Vereschagin, Housing Coordinator and Brian Leveille, Senior
Planner
PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA
None.
--End of Public Comment--
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. Consideration of Minutes of the Regular Human Relations Commission Meeting of
September 4, 2019.
ACTION: MOTION BY CHAIR WELTS, SECOND BY VICE CHAIR HOPKINS, 5-0-2 to
approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Human Relations Commission of
September 4, 2019.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
2. Community Needs Workshop
Housing Coordinator 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
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City of San Luis Obispo, Title, Subtitle
Draft Minutes
Human Relations Commission Meeting of October 2, 2019
Page 2
public, regarding health and human service needs in order to develop funding priorities for the
2019-20 grant cycle. Additionally, she explained that this fiscal year, the City Council
allocated $20,000 for diversity and inclusion efforts, and that the HRC had been solicited to
collect feedback from the public during this Community Needs Workshop, as to how the
money should be distributed.
Chair Welts then opened the public hearing.
Public Comments:
Steven Orozco, Peoples’ Self-Help Housing
Kelly Cunningham
Grace McIntosh, CAPSLO
Jane Pomeroy, RISE
Jan Maitzen, Transitional Food and Shelter
Anne Wyatt, SmartShare Housing Solutions
Kirsten Rambo, StandStrong
Kevin J Drabinski, Food Bank Coalition
Alexis Okumura, Senior Volunteer Services
Chair Welts closed the public hearing.
No Action was taken on this item.
3. Establish 2020-21 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Grants-
in-Aid (GIA) Funding Priorities
Chair Welts 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 discuss non-fiscal priorities and to further impact and
address the crucial community needs.
ACTION: MOTION BY CHAIR WELTS, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER CREWE, 5-0-2
to approve the recommendation of the funding priorities for the 2020-21 CDBG and GIA grant
cycles to remain unchanged from what was previously adopted described following below, and
to further explore and discuss non-fiscal priorities to address the community needs:
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City of San Luis Obispo, Title, Subtitle
Draft Minutes
Human Relations Commission Meeting of October 2, 2019
Page 3
Grants in Aid (GIA) 2020-21 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) 2020-21 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 & COMMISSION COMMUNICATIONS
4. Staff Updates
No updates from staff were presented.
5. Commissioner Updates
Vice Chair Hopkins reminded the Commission to reach to the 2019-20 GIA grant recipients as
assigned liaisons.
Commissioner Crewe announced that the upcoming veteran’s stand down event in Santa Maria
was providing shuttle services for attendees.
ADJOURNMENT
Chair Welts adjourned the meeting at 5:46 p.m. The next Regular meeting of the Human Relations
Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, November 6, 2019 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/2019
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