MOTION TO AUTHORIZE County Administrator to execute grant funding agreements with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) for the Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Community Development Block Grant (“CDBG”) Program, HOME Investment Partnerships (“HOME”) Program, and the Emergency Solutions Grants (“ESG”) Program, collectively "Programs," in the forms attached as (Exhibit 2), relating to implementation of Broward County’s Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Annual Action Plan ("AAP") (October 1, 2017, through September 30, 2018) approved by HUD (Exhibit 1); to revise funding allocations and/or project service deliverables under the HUD approved AAP for the various grant Programs in accordance with the County's approved HUD Five Year Consolidated Plan; and to take all necessary administrative and budgetary actions for implementation and adjustment of current and previous such AAP's for the various grant Programs, including, but not limited to, executing amendments to the HUD grant funding agreements, and agreements, amendments, reinstatements, and interlocal agreements with subrecipients of funding for the respective grant Programs; and providing for severability and an effective date.
ACTION: (T-10:26 AM) Approved with the Yellow-Sheeted Additional Material, dated Tuesday, January 23, 2018, submitted at the request of the Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department.
VOTE: 8-0. Vice-Mayor Bogen was not present.
|
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT AND THE HOUSING FINANCE AND COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT DIVISION RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
This item supports the Board's value: "Offering sustainable, compatible, innovative housing options for all income-levels, including integrated, permanent supportive housing: and the corresponding goal of "Increase the availability of affordable housing of all types, countywide in every community using effective, uniform criteria, policies and strategies.
During the Broward County Board of County Commissioners' ("Board") 2017 summer recess, the County Administrator, pursuant to authority under Section 20.31 of the Broward County Administrative Code, approved and submitted to HUD the Broward County Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Annual Action Plan (AAP) application for funding in order to meet HUD's submittal deadline. The AAP includes the proposed activities for Fiscal Year 2017-2018 (October 1, 2017 - September 30, 2018) for the Community Development Block Grant (“CDBG”), HOME Investment Partnerships (“HOME”), and Emergency Solutions Grants (“ESG”) Programs. Exhibit 1 reflects the HUD approved Broward County Fiscal Year 2017-2018 AAP, and Exhibit 2 reflects the HUD grant funding agreements for the various Programs received by the County on December 18, 2017.
CDBG Program: Broward County will receive CDBG funding in the amount of $2,415,551 on behalf of the unincorporated areas and the 15 participating cities with populations under 50,000, which include Cooper City, Dania Beach, Hallandale Beach, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Lauderdale Lakes, Lazy Lake, Lighthouse Point, North Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Parkland, Pembroke Park, Sea Ranch Lakes, Southwest Ranches, West Park, and Wilton Manors. Grant funds received by the County are reallocated and distributed back to the participating cities to address their respective priorities. Additionally, the County receives approximately $100,000 in program income derived from the CDBG Program for reallocation to other eligible activities under the CDBG Program grant. The total CDBG funding including the estimated program income is $2,515,551. The entitlement cities with populations in excess of 50,000 receive their own direct funding allocations from HUD.
HOME Program: Broward County will receive HOME funding in the amount of $2,577,632. plus approximately $300,000 in program income on behalf of the HOME Consortium, which includes the unincorporated areas within Broward County, the cities with populations under 50,000 listed above, and the 11 entitlement cities, which include Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Davie, Deerfield Beach, Lauderhill, Margate, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, Sunrise, and Tamarac. The creation of a HOME Consortium is required by HUD for the County and the cities to receive HOME funding. The County, through interlocal agreements administers the HOME Consortium. The County will also be administering and implementing, through interlocal agreements, the City of Margate's CDBG and HOME allocation for Fiscal Year's 2016 and 2017, the Town of Davie's and City of Plantation's HOME allocation, and the City of Weston's Fiscal Year 2017 CDBG and HOME allocations. The total HOME funding including the estimated program income is $2,877,632. The HOME Program grant requires that 15% of the HOME funding allocation be set aside for Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs). The cities of Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, and Hollywood receive their own HOME funding allocations directly from HUD.
ESG Program: Broward County will receive ESG funding in the amount of $209,052 on behalf of the entire County to address homeless issues, and a Request for Proposals process is used to distribute the grant funding.
The Housing Finance and Community Redevelopment Division (HF&CRD) held the Pre-Development public hearing for the AAP on November 2, 2016. HF&CRD held the public hearings for the AAP on July 25, 2017 and August 10, 2017, with a public comment period from July 25, 2017 through August 8, 2017. No public comments were received. HF&CRD had placed an item on the Board's August 15, 2017 agenda; however, the meeting was subsequently cancelled, and pursuant to authority noted above, the County Administrator, approved and submitted the AAP application to HUD by the August 16, 2017 submittal deadline.
The Request for Proposals (RFP) cycle for CDBG, HOME, and ESG funds was initiated through an advertisement published in the Sun Sentinel on October 22, 2016. The public was advised that applications were available and could be obtained from the HF&CRD and that a Proposal Information and Fair Housing Workshop, along with the Public Hearing, would be held on November 2, 2016. Technical assistance was available throughout the application cycle. The cities were advised of their allocations of CDBG and HOME funds; and those cities, in turn, selected projects to be funded for Fiscal Year 2017-2018. The public had the opportunity to comment during the pre-development phase and again at the AAP Public Hearing.
The organizations recommended for funding under the CDBG, HOME, and ESG Programs were part of the RFP process. Their applications were evaluated by committees consisting of HF&CRD staff and municipal staff who are practitioners in the planning, housing, and the community development field. Individual projects, with the exception of Public Service projects, were recommended for full funding based on their evaluation scores, until the available funds were exhausted. CDBG funding for Public Service projects cannot exceed 15% of the County’s total CDBG funding allocation; therefore, only the two highest rated competitive nonprofit Public Service projects were recommended for funding. Funding recommendations under the ESG Program are done according to HUD eligibility category requirements. ESG funding for the emergency shelter and street outreach categories is limited to a maximum of 60% of the grant, and the remaining funds must be allocated to Rapid Rehousing category. HF&CRD received no applications for the Rapid Rehousing category; therefore, the remaining funds are allocated to the County's Family Success Division. Funding priorities set by the Continuum of Care Advisory Committee are also taken into consideration when funding recommendations are made.
The projects in the AAP provide for construction of 200 new affordable housing units; rehabilitation of a minimum of 37 single family homes; provision of purchase assistance to a minimum of 45 first time homebuyers, renovation of four units for homeless youths, and assistance to eight homeless residents with rapid re-housing services; provision of public services including, but not limited to, housing counseling, elderly transportation, youth leadership, computer training, and providing homeless emergency shelter to approximately 1,646 low/moderate income clients; construction of various infrastructure improvements to benefit approximately 2,004 residents including, but not limited to, improved parking areas, security measures, and drainage in low or moderate income neighborhoods.
The HUD grant funding agreements have been reviewed and approved as to form by the Office of County Attorney. The grant funding agreements are in a HUD format and HUD prohibits any editing or alterations to such agreements; therefore, no additional signatures have been included.
|