DATE: May 26, 2020
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Application for Community Development Block Grant Funding and Substantial Amendments to 2015-19 Consolidated Plan and 2019-20 Annual Action Plan
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Conduct public hearing to receive testimony on proposed additions to County community development programs; and
2. Approve substantial amendments to the 2015-19 Consolidated Plan and 2019-20 Annual Action Plan to include Community Development Block Grant funding under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act; and
3. Authorize Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning to execute Standard Form 424, Certifications, and Entitlement Grant Agreement for additional funding.
REPORT
The County has been notified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that it will receive an award of $1,635,038 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds under the recent Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This allocation, known as CDBG-CV, provides funds for CDBG-eligible projects to address needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Approval of the recommended actions will authorize the County to receive its allocation of CDBG-CV funds, and the Departments of Public Works and Planning and Social Services staff to submit the required planning document and applications for entitlement funds to HUD. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may approve the amendments to the Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan (Plans) as proposed, or make any changes as appropriate, consistent with the Federal regulations governing each of these grant programs. The County also has the option of not applying for its entitlement of CDBG-CV funds, offering them back to HUD for reallocation elsewhere across the nation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The CDBG-CV funding ($1,635,038) includes an allowance (20% or $327,008) that pays for the Department of Public Works and Planning costs to administer the grant. The funds will be administered by Department of Public Works and Planning staff already administering the County’s regular CDBG program.
The County’s urban county area for the CDBG-CV funds is based on the Joint Powers Agreement for PY 2020-21 and consists of the eligible unincorporated areas and six participating cities (Fowler, Kerman, Kingsburg, Mendota, Reedley, and Selma). Participating cities will receive allocations of CDBG-CV funds from the County’s allocation based on the same HUD formula by which the urban county program received its funding.
Below is the program funding for the CDBG-CV funds, including the total allocation for the six participating cities. A significant change from standard requirements is that the CDBG-CV funds are not restricted in the percentage that may be used for public service activities.
Program CDBG-CV Funding
Participating Cities Public Services $533,073
Fresno County & Unincorporated Area Projects $774,957
A portion of the County’s allocation will be utilized for the proposed Emergency Homeless Shelter Project, estimated at $400,000. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department of Public Works and Planning - Community Development Block Grant Org 7205 FY 2019-20 Adopted Budget and will be included in future budgets for the term’s duration.
DISCUSSION:
Fresno County’s Urban County community development entitlement area will receive $1,635,038 in CDBG-CV funds from HUD through the CARES Act. The funds are intended to prevent and respond to the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
The Consolidated Plan for Program Year 2015-19 is a five-year planning document required by HUD that describes the housing, community development and homeless needs for the cities and communities in Fresno County's Urban County Entitlement Program, and how those needs will be addressed utilizing the County's anticipated HUD grants. The Action Plan is submitted annually and serves as the County's application for its allocation of entitlement funds. As the CDBG-CV funds were not anticipated at the time the Plans were prepared, a substantial amendment to each is necessary to identify how these new funds will be used.
The County has worked with the six participating cities to determine the types of projects being considered for funding, using the cities’ allocation of CDBG-CV funds. The substantial amendments include new projects being added to the Plans, as listed in Attachment A, which serve as an outline of categories of activities expected to be funded by the CDBG-CV grant. With the exception of the proposed Emergency Homeless Shelter project, the specific activities are still being developed. As additional activities are identified, a subsequent substantial amendment will be brought to your Board to amend the Plans with that information. This process is being used to ensure that the Emergency Homeless Shelter Project (Project), which is ready to proceed, is able to be funded as quickly as possible. The funding for County projects, included as Attachment B, is an estimate, and may be adjusted when subsequent substantial amendments identifying additional activities are brought to your Board.
The Project will provide temporary shelter to homeless persons in the City of Selma and the surrounding unincorporated areas, with the potential to serve homeless persons from other cities, including Fowler, Kingsburg, and Reedley. The County's Department of Social Services will contract with a hotel in Selma to provide rooms to homeless persons for a period of up to six months. This action will enable persons experiencing homelessness to shelter in place within their communities and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Project will also include temporary travel trailers placed in the parking lot of the hotel for the isolation of persons experiencing homelessness that have tested positive for COVID-19, and wrap-around services to be provided by a non-profit agency. Additional detail regarding the Project can be found in Attachment C.
The County will also receive $846,921 from HUD for its Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program through the CARES Act. The planned uses of ESG-CV funds are still being developed, and will be brought to your Board as part of a further substantial amendment to the Plans. Potential categories of uses for ESG-CV funds are overnight shelter, rapid rehousing activities, rental assistance services, financial assistance, transitional housing, and conversion and rehab for transitional housing.
Approval of the Plan amendments by your Board will enable Department of Public Works and Planning staff to submit the required documents to HUD, and allow work on the Project to begin while specific activities to be funded with ESG-CV funds and the balance of the CDBG-CV funds are developed.
OTHER REVIEWING AGENCIES:
On May 20, 2020, the Board-appointed Housing and Community Development Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) met to review the substantial amendments. The CAC recommends approval of the substantial amendments.
The six participating cities were consulted to determine the types of projects being considered for funding, using the cities’ allocation of CDBG-CV funds. The specific projects identified, and their funding amounts, will be included in a planned future substantial amendment.
The substantial amendments have also been made available for review and comment to the general public on the County’s website at www.fresncountyca.gov/grants.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #14, June 4, 2019
BAI #23, May 5, 2015
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Attachments A - C
On file with Clerk - Substantial Amendment to 2015-19 Consolidated Plan
On file with Clerk - Substantial Amendment to 2019-20 Annual Action Plan
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa