Conduct a Public Hearing and Approve City's 2012-2013 Action Plan for the Use of Federal Grant Funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Amount of $9,278,851.00 for Program Year 2012-2013 from the Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Emergency Solutions Grant and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Grant Programs, Authorize Collection and Use of Program Income, Authorize Application of Indirect Cost Rates, Authorize Execution of Related Contracts and Interdepartmental Letters of Agreement and Adopt Appropriation Ordinance (ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS)

It is recommended that the City Council:

1. Conduct a public hearing to allow citizen input and consideration of the City's 2012-2013 Action Plan for use of federal grant funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in the amount of $9,278,851.00 for Program Year 2012-2013 from the Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Emergency Solutions Grant and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS grant programs and for the use of program income from activities using prior years' federal grant funds;

2. Approve the City's 2012-2013 Action Plan for submission to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development including allocations of grant funds to particular programs and activities as detailed below;

3. Authorize the collection and use of an estimated $50,000.00 of program income resulting from activities using prior years' Community Development Block Grant funds for the programs and activities detailed below;

4. Authorize the collection and use of any program income resulting from activities using prior years' HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds for the City's Homebuyer Assistance Program;

5. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute contracts and interdepartmental Letters of Agreement for a one year term with the agencies listed below in Tables 1, 2, and 3 for Program Year 2012-2013 for Community Development Block Grant, Emergency Solutions Grant and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS grant funds, contingent upon receipt of funding;

6. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to extend the contracts and interdepartmental Letters of Agreement for up to one year if an agency or department requests an extension and such extension is necessary for completion of the program;

7. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to amend the contracts and interdepartmental Letters of Agreement if necessary, to achieve program goals, provided any amendment is within the scope of the program and in compliance with City policies and all applicable laws and regulations governing the use of federal grant funds;

8. Apply indirect cost rates as applicable for the Grants Fund in accordance with the City's Administrative Regulations; and

9. Adopt the attached appropriation ordinance increasing the estimated receipts and appropriations to the Grants Fund in the total amount of $9,278,851.00 ($5,830,119.00 in Community Development Block Grant funds, $1,973,169.00 in HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds, $532,857.00 in Emergency Solutions Grant funds and $942,706.00 in Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS funds) plus any program income, all subject to receipt of such funds.

The City's Action Plan is a comprehensive summary of the major housing and community development activities programs and proposed expenditures for the use of federal grant funds in the amount of $9,278,851.00 from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the program year beginning October 1, 2012 and ending September 30, 2013 from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) grant programs. This year's Action Plan also summarizes the use of program income resulting from activities using prior years' CDBG and HOME funds. The purpose of these grant funds is to primarily benefit low and moderate income City residents, with ESG funds primarily benefiting homeless persons and HOPWA funds primarily benefiting persons with HIV/AIDS.  

A 30-day public comment period on the City's proposed Action Plan was held from June 25, 2012 to July 25, 2012. Any comments will be maintained by the Housing and Economic Development Department in accordance with federal regulations. This public hearing on the City's Action Plan will be the first public hearing for the HUD-required citizen participation process. A second public hearing is proposed for August 7, 2012 at which time the City Council is scheduled to approve the Action Plan. The City's Action Plan must be submitted to HUD by August 16, 2012.

In addition, two public hearings were held on July 16, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. for citizens to provide comment on the proposed lists of neighborhood streets eligible for reconstruction using CDBG funds. The Transportation and Public Works Department prepared a list of priority streets in CDBG-eligible areas. The streets selected for reconstruction were based on the comments provided at the public hearings. A complete list of the streets is attached and will be included in the Action Plan.

The allocations in the draft Action Plan available during the public comment period were based on funding estimates available at that time. The amounts set out below reflect the allocations from HUD at the time of this Mayor and Council Communication (M&C). The allocations are not yet final and if the amounts increase, Staff will bring forward another M&C to commit the additional funds. Staff developed recommendations for the allocation of the estimated funding from HUD and presented them to the Community Development Council (CDC) on June 4, 2012. A summary of the CDC's funding recommendations is provided below in Tables 1, 2, and 3 and a spreadsheet of all specific funding recommendations is attached.

For Program Year 2012-2013, the $5,830,119.00 in CDBG funds and $50,000.00 of CDBG program income is recommended to be allocated as follows:

Housing Programs and Services - $2,124,038.00
This item includes funding for the City's Priority Repair Program, Cowtown Brush-Up, homebuyer and housing services, and  accessibility modifications to the homes of senior and/or disabled individuals and related project delivery costs for these programs.

Public Services - $874,517.85
This item includes social services for low to moderate income, disabled, and disadvantaged populations.

Community Facilities and Infrastructure - $930,596.05
This item includes funding for neighborhood streets reconstruction and streetlight installation for the Terrell Heights neighborhood.

CDBG Economic Development - $734,943.30
This item is this year's payment of the City's Section 108 loan from HUD.

CDBG General Administration - $1,166,023.80
This item includes costs for administering the CDBG grant including allocations for Financial Management Services, Internal Audit, and Planning and Development.

CDBG Estimated Program Income - $50,000.00
Staff recommends allocating any CDBG program received to the following items:

For Program Year 2012−2013, the $1,973,169.00 in HOME funds is recommended to be allocated as follows:

HOME General Administration - $197,316.90
This item includes costs for administering the HOME grant.

Community Development Housing Organizations (CHDO) Set Aside - $0.00
This HUD-required minimum allocation has been met with previous years' awards to CHDOs for nonprofit affordable housing projects and CHDO administrative operating costs.

Homebuyer Assistance Program - $1,775,852.10
This item includes funding to provide down payment and/or closing cost assistance to low and moderate income homebuyers.

Staff anticipates the receipt of program income in the 2012-2013 Program Year from activities using HOME funds. Any future program income will be used for the City's Homebuyer Assistance Program (HAP) after the 10 percent allocation, excluding recapture, for HOME General Administration.

For Program Year 2012-2013, the $532,857.00 in ESG grant funds is recommended to be allocated as follows:

Allocation to non-profit service providers - $492,892.72
Allocation to ESG program administration - $39,964.28

For Program Year 2012-2013, the $942,706.00 in HOPWA grant funds is recommended to be allocated as follows:

Allocation to non-profit service providers - $914,424.82
Allocation to HOPWA program administration - $28,281.18

The CDC and Staff recommend that contracts be executed with the agencies listed below in the amounts shown in the following tables:

Community Development Block Grant:  

Table 1 - CDBG Agencies
Organization	Program	Amount
Camp Fire USA First Texas Council	Diamond Hill and Northside Station	$   75,900.00
CASA of Tarrant County, Inc.	Volunteer Advocate Training	$   30,000.00
Cenikor Foundation	Substance Abuse Treatment	$   75,000.00
Clayton Child Care. Inc. d/b/a Clayton YES!	School Age Child Care	$   75,000.00
Cornerstone Assistance Network	New Life Center/Promise House	$   75,000.00
Cultural Arts Center	GED in Spanish	$   30,000.00
Day Resource Center for the Homeless	Counseling Services and Case Management	$   31,808.50
The Ladder Alliance	Employment Training	$   75,000.00
Mental Health Association of Tarrant County	Long Term Care Ombudsman	$   75,000.85
Northside Inter-Church Agency, Inc.	Good Works/Buenas Obras	$   75,000.00
Senior Citizen Services of Greater Tarrant County	Transportation for Seniors	$   75,000.00
Tarrant Area Food Bank	Community Kitchen/Meals	$   75,000.00
YWCA Fort Worth & Tarrant County	Child Development Program	$   75,000.00
YWCA Fort Worth & Tarrant County	Power of Self	$   31,808.50
CDBG Public Service Subtotal		$ 874,517.85
REACH Resource Center on Independent Living	Project Ramp	$   50,000.00
TOTAL CDBG Contracts		$ 924,517.85

Emergency Solutions Grant:

Housing Opportunities For Persons With AIDS:

These programs are available in ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS.