CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approve the 2020-24 Consolidated Plan and Program Year 2020 Annual Action Plan allocating a total of $567,835 of Community Development Block Grant funds (Item 2 of 2)
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DEPARTMENT: City Clerk’s Office
SUBMITTED BY: Ruth Broder, Community Planner/Community Grants Coordinator
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that the City develop a Consolidated Plan every five years and an Annual Action Plan at the beginning of each program year to propose how Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds will be spent. Program Year 2020 will start April 1, 2020 and end March 31, 2021.
DISCUSSION:
The Consolidated Plan summarizes Naperville’s housing and non-housing community development needs, and provides a strategic plan for how CDBG funds will be spent over the next five years to meet these needs. All CDBG expenditures must meet one of three following national objectives:
1. Benefit low and moderate-income persons;
2. Aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight; and
3. Meet an urgent need (Example: a natural disaster, such as a flood or tornado)
The funds granted to the City are used to assist low and moderate-income persons because Naperville has few or no instances that would meet the criteria of items 2 and 3.
Based on the U.S. Census, other quantitative data, and extensive consultation with public and private agencies, the Consolidated Plan describes the following as priority needs:
1. Housing and non-housing community development needs (public infrastructure, facilities and services) of low and moderate-income residents;
2. Areas with higher than average numbers of low and moderate-income residents;
3. Strategic plan that describes priority needs and goals for assisting these residents, including an anti-poverty strategy;
4. Affordable renter and owner housing, special needs housing, and homelessness prevention as priority needs; and
5. Infrastructure improvements in low and moderate-income concentration areas, public facilities and public services designed to assist low and moderate-income residents.
To distribute the CDBG funding, the City issued a Call for Projects in August, 2019, and received ten capital improvement project applications totaling $874,053.00. Two social service project applications, totaling $110,000, were submitted that were also eligible for CDBG funding.
All applications were evaluated and scored by a multi-departmental team of staff from the City Clerk’s Office, TED Business Group and Police Department, as well as representatives of the Advisory Commission on Disabilities, Housing Advisory Commission, and Senior Task Force.
The Annual Action Plan (AAP) outlines how grant funds will be spent in 2020 and how these projects meet the objectives and identified priority needs. When the draft plan was published on February 17, 2020, the City had not received its annual allocation amount from HUD, so it was based on an estimated allocation of $535,000 and prior year unexpended funds in the amount of $30,691 for a total of $565,691.
Based on the estimate, the following projects are recommended for funding:
Affordable Renter and Owner-Occupied Housing - $177,441
• $102,276 awarded to Illinois Independent Living Center (Katharine Manor Apartments) to upgrade and modernize the security system and doors at an affordable rental and owner-occupied apartment complex for persons with severe physical disabilities.
• $75,165 to reconstruct the exterior common spaces of Naperville Elderly Homes (Martin Avenue Apartments) that were demolished to allow the construction of a new 62-unit wing and rehabilitation of the existing 121-unit building.
Homeless Housing and Supportive Services - $115,000
• $100,000 awarded to Bridge Communities, Inc. to install energy-efficient windows and patio doors at a six-building complex providing transitional housing to 35 homeless families with children.
• $15,000 awarded to ChildServ to replace the roof and gutters at a group residence for abused/neglected adolescent girls.
Special Needs Housing and Supportive Services - $87,000
• $87,000 awarded to Ray Graham Association to rehabilitate kitchens and bathrooms at a two group homes for severely disabled adults.
Non-Housing Community Development Needs: Public Facilities - $50,000
• $50,000 awarded to Northern Illinois Food Bank to upgrade existing lighting fixtures to energy-efficient LED fixtures.
Non-Housing Community Development Needs: Homelessness Prevention - $65,000
• $65,000 to Loaves & Fishes CARES Program to provide rent, mortgage and utility assistance to households at risk of homelessness.
Non-Housing Community Development Needs - Public Services - $15,250
• $15,250 to provide social service assistance to residents of a supportive housing apartment building. Residents were formerly homeless.
Program Administration - $56,000
• Awarded for salary/benefits/program administration.
Since the final allocation amount was not known at the time the draft was published, a number of contingency provisions were included, in the event the final allocation amount was higher or lower than the estimated $535,000.
On February 20, 2020, HUD notified staff that Naperville received $537,144 or $2,144 more than the estimated amount. Per the contingency provisions, the following funding changes are proposed:
1. Loaves & Fishes CARES Program increased by $322 for a total of $65,322;
2. Illinois Independent Living Center increased by $1,822 for a total of $104,098, since it was the only Capital Improvement applicant that was not fully funded.
Upon approval, the final plan submitted to HUD will reflect the final allocations.
Public Comment Period
The Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan were made available for public comment starting Monday, February 17, 2020 and will conclude at the Council meeting on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Copies of the plans are available at the City Clerk’s Office, Naperville Public Library branches and on the City’s website. To date, no comments have been received.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Allocation of $567,835 in Community Development Block Grant funds.