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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. Item 5 Packet Page 11 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 Item 5 Packet Page 12 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 Item 5 Packet Page 13 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 Item 5 Packet Page 14 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 Item 5 Packet Page 15 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: Item 5 Packet Page 16 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 Item 5 Packet Page 17 Page intentionally left blank. Item 5Item 6 Packet Page 18