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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 01 FY23 CDBG Action PlanAGENDA ITEM SUMMARY SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL Meeting Date: Meeting Type: Staff Contact/Dept.: Staff Phone No: Estimated Time: Council Goals: 1/24/2022 Work Session Erin Fifield / DPW 541-726-2302 20 Minutes Mandate ITEM TITLE: FISCAL YEAR 2023 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) DRAFT ACTION PLAN ACTION Provide direction on the proposed Fiscal Year 2023 CDBG Draft One Year Action REQUESTED: Plan allocation. ISSUE Each year, the City receives federal Community Development Block Grant STATEMENT: (CDBG) funds from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The City must allocate CDBG funds through a One Year Action Plan to indicate how the City intends to address the strategies identified in the Eugene - Springfield Consolidated Plan. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1: Council Briefing Memo Attachment 2: DRAFT FY23 CDBG OYAP budget Attachment 3: Letter from Cornerstone Community Housing DISCUSSION/ It is estimated the City of Springfield will have $1,232,122 available to allocate in FINANCIAL CDBG funds for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23). This amount is based on an estimated IMPACT: HUD entitlement grant for FY23 of $571,956, as well as estimated unspent funds carried over from previous years, including $641,000 that was previously awarded to Cornerstone Community Housing for acquiring 525 Mill St, but did not progress. Staff propose keeping the $641,000 allocated toward affordable housing and working through a public process to determine a more effective and efficient manner to spend those funds. For the remaining funds, staff recommend following a similar process to previous years for the FY23 CDBG OYAP allocation, including allocating funding for the Home Repair Program, social services through the Lane County Human Services Commission, and City grant administration costs. An estimated $259,998 would be put into a Request for Proposals, allowing community organizations to submit project proposals. Next steps: • January — March o The FY23 CDBG Request for Proposals is open. • March o The DRAFT FY23 CDBG OYAP is published for public comment. • April o The Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) holds a public hearing on the draft One Year Action Plan. o The CDAC evaluates the RFP applications and makes a recommendation to City Council for funding. • May o City Council approves a funding allocation for the FY23 CDBG One Year Action Plan, including RFP awards. o Staff submit the FY23 CDBG One Year Action Plan to HUD • Late Summer o FY23 CDBG funds become available. MEMORANDUM City of Springfield Date: 1/24/2022 To: Nancy Newton, City Manager COUNCIL From: Erin Fifield, Community Development BRIEFING Analyst Tom Boyatt, Community Development Director Subject: FY23 CDBG One Year Action Plan MEMORANDUM ISSUE: Each year, the City receives federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The City must allocate CDBG funds through a One Year Action Plan to indicate how the City intends to address the strategies identified in the Eugene -Springfield Consolidated Plan. COUNCIL GOALS/ MANDATE: Council Goals: Mandate BACKGROUND 2020 Eugene -Springfield Consolidated Plan The 2020 Eugene -Springfield Consolidated Plan is the 5 -year regional strategic plan for housing and community development required by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in order to receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. The Consolidated Plan guides the activities and programs that use the City's CDBG funds. The 2020 Consolidated Plan was developed over many months in FY2020, approved by the Springfield City Council on May 4, 2020, and went into effect July 1, 2020. The Plan relies on the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from the US Census, interviews and surveys with local elected leaders, agencies and non-profit human service providers, and participation and comments from the community to identify housing, homeless, and community development needs and trends. A Consolidated Plan Advisory Committee (including a City Councilor and Council -appointed Springfield representatives) reviewed the analysis and provided input on priority strategies, and made recommendations to Council in Spring 2020. The Plan sets the goals and activities for the use of federal CDBG and HOME funds. One Year Action Plan Each year, the City is entitled to receive an allocation of CDBG funds from HUD. In order to do so, the City must develop a One -Year Action Plan describing how it plans to allocate funds to address local community needs. The proposed uses of funding must align with allowed uses and with the local community needs and strategies identified in the 2020 Eugene -Springfield Consolidated Plan. Staff estimate Springfield will receive a HUD FY23 CDBG entitlement grant of $571,956 (the same amount as FY22). There are additional carryover funds from previous years that can also be made available in FY23, including $631,000 (plus $10,000 for staffing costs) that was previously awarded to Cornerstone Community Housing for acquiring 525 Mill St, but did not progress. Attachment 1, Page 1 of 3 MEMORANDUM ONE YEAR ACTION PLAN PROCESS Proposed timeline • January — March o The FY23 CDBG RFP is open. Page 2 • March o The DRAFT FY23 CDBG OYAP is published for public comment. • April o The Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) holds a public hearing on the draft One Year Action Plan. o The CDAC evaluates the RFP applications and makes a recommendation to City Council for funding. • May o The City Council approves the funding allocation for the FY23 CDBG One Year Action Plan, including RFP awards. o Staff submit the FY23 CDBG One Year Action Plan to HUD for approval. • Late Summer o FY23 CDBG funds become available. Overview of CDBG strategies and activities Below is a summary of Springfield's anticipated efforts toward addressing the Eugene -Springfield Consolidated Plan strategies, as well as the proposed allocation for the DRAFT FY23 One Year Action Plan. ATT2 shows a cleaner version of the proposed allocation which will be published for public comment and made available for the public hearing. Consolidated Plan strategy Proposed Allocation Funds made available through the RFP $ 259,988 1. Increase the spNly of affordable housing $ 641,000 Staff recommend keeping this FY21 allocation, and working through a public process to determine an effective and efficient way to award these funds. Cornerstone Community Housing was unable to acquire 525 Mill St. They and other developers continue to look for land to acquire. 2. Rehab program for Low -Income Homeowners $ 120,000 Springfield's Home Repair program provides urgent home repair services as a grant to very low-income Springfield homeowners. This program costs about $120,000 / year. There may be additional funds from FY22 to add to the total. Attachment 1, Page 2 of 3 MEMORANDUM Page 3 3. Down payment assistance for low-income residents $ 0 With the recent housing crisis, staff have not been able to issue a loan through this program for the past 2 years. Clients have had difficulty finding units that are both affordable, and meet CDBG quality requirements. The City may receive a request for funds toward this strategy through the RFP. 4. Remove barriers to affordable and supportive housing $ 0 Springfield has updated fair housing information on the City's website. Staff refer questions to the Fair Housing Council of Oregon and/or the Oregon Law Center. As part of the 2020 Consolidated Plan, Springfield updated its Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice. 5. Support a Human Services Delivery S,, ste $ 96,743 Springfield can allocate up to 15% of its CDBG funds to support a human services (HSC) delivery system administered by Lane County through the Human Services Commission (HSC). The HSC is an intergovernmental commission comprised of Springfield, Eugene, and Lane County elected officials and budget committee members to address basic needs of low-income residents. Springfield, Eugene, and Lane County pool their state and federal grants and general funds contributions to contract with local non-profit service providers. Under this strategy, the City can also allocate funds toward capital improvements undertaken by non-profit agencies. The City may receive a request for funds toward this strategy through the RFP. 6. Promote economic development and employment opportunities through the TBD creation of jobs and business development The Springfield Economic Development Agency (SEDA) currently funds a loan program for downtown businesses. The City may receive a request for a project toward this strategy through the RFP. 7. Make strategic investments to improve low-income neighborhoods TBD The City may receive a request for a project toward this strategy through the RFP. Grant Administration and Planning $ 114,391 The City of Springfield uses CDBG funds to pay for staff costs to administer the CDBG program. The CDBG program limits reimbursement for program administrative costs to 20% of the City's annual allocation. CDBG funds have traditionally not been sufficient to cover costs of 2.2 FTE. Staff costs not funded with CDBG funds are funded through the General Fund. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Provide direction on the proposed Fiscal Year 2023 CDBG One Year Action Plan allocation process. Attachment 1, Page 3 of 3 FY2022-23 DRAFT CDBG One -Year Action Plan — To Be Published for Public Comment CDBG REVENUES (estimated) Entitlement Other TOTAL Funds Funds FUNDS FY 2022-2023 Entitlement Funds (EN) $ 571,956 - $ 571,956 Other Funds • Unused funds from previous years - $ 19,166 $ 660,166 • Carryover of funds for Affordable Housing $ 641,000 TOTAL $ 571,956 $ 660,166 $ 1,232,122 CDGB EXPENDITURES (estimated) Consolidated Plan Activity Amount (EN) Amount Amount Strategy (other) (TOTAL) To be determined FY23 CDBG Request $ 251,772 $ 8,216 $ 259,988 for Proposals (RFP) 1. Increase the supply Acquisition, - $ 641,000 $ 641,000 of affordable housing improvements, etc 2. Rehabilitate existing housing stock Home Repair $ 120,000 - $ 120,000 affordable to low- Program income persons 3. Provide down Springfield payment assistance Homeownership - - for home ownership Program (SHOP) Support programs 4. Remove barriers to that assure housing affordable and opportunities are - - - supportive housing provided without discrimination 5. Support a human Human Services services delivery Commission (HSC) $ 85,793 $ 10,950 $ 96,743 system to address the (15%) needs of homeless persons and special Non-profit capital needs populations improvements 6. Promote employment Economic opportunities development 7. Make improvements Public to low income improvements in - - - neighborhoods sidewalks, streets Grant Admin (20%) $ 114,391 - $ 114,391 TOTAL $ 571,956 $ 660,166 $ 1,232,122 Attachment 2, Page 1 of 1 I�, CORNERSTONE M� COMMUNITY HOUSING January 18, 2022 Mayor VanGordon and Springfield City Council 225 5th Street Springfield, OR 97477 Dear Mayor and Council members, PO Box 11923 Eugene, OR 97440 Office: 541-683-1751 www.cornerstonecommunityhousing.org In 2020, Council awarded $631,000 in CDBG grant funds to Cornerstone Community Housing for a proposed 50 -unit affordable rental housing development at 525 Mill Street. In September 2021, Cornerstone submitted an offer to purchase the Mill Street property owned by the Springfield School District. However, the District ultimately selected a different buyer. CDBG funding is a vital tool for developing affordable housing. Land acquisition is a growing concern among developers and this funding can be used and leveraged for that purpose. Funding committed by the City is essential to further leverage the dollars available at the State and local levels. We ask that you reserve a portion of the CDBG funds available through the 2022 RFP for the specific purpose of land acquisition. Our goal is to have site control of a property in time to apply for HOME funds this fall and having access to CDBG funding to purchase a site would be invaluable. Cornerstone is steadfastly committed to acquiring a site in Springfield for new construction of affordable housing. Our development team is currently performing due diligence on several potential sites in the City of Springfield. This includes verifying property feasibility for development and competitive financing sources based on factors that include location, size, and environmental conditions. Our objective is to build a development of similar unit count to our Mill Street proposal or larger, with a similar population focus—low-income families with children, seniors, survivors of domestic violence, and people with disabilities. We will keep you and City Staff apprised of our progress. We look forward to developing a Springfield project and are grateful for Council's partnership to accomplish this. Sincerely, TX00 10_%��� Darcy Phillips Executive Director Cornerstone Community Housing is committed to building quality, affordable housing for people living on limited incomes and offering services that promote opportunities for personal growth and economic independence. Attachment 3, Page 1 of 1