2016 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) Community Development Block Grant Program City of Meridian, Idaho

Transcription

1 2016 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) Community Development Block Grant Program City of Meridian, Idaho Prepared by Christopher Pope, CDBG Administrator City of Meridian (208)

2 TABE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction 3 II. Executive Summary..5 a. Summary of PY2016 Accomplishments..6 b. Summary of Prior Year Resources and Distribution of Funds....7 III. Five Year Plan Assessment of Progress.9 a. Five Year Goals and Objectives..10 b. essons earned.13 IV. Assessment of Annual Progress..14 a. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing/ AI Summary and Overcoming Impediments.. 15 b. Affordable Housing.16 c. Addressing Worst-Case Needs.17 d. Addressing Accessibility Needs..17 e. Continuum of Care..17 f. Other Actions..18 V. Program Narratives..24 APPENDICES Appendix A: Tables Joint Table 1C, 2C, and 3A Summary of Specific/Annual Objectives.28 Table 2A Priority Housing Needs/Investment Plan Table.31 Table 2B Priority Community Development Needs 32 Table 3B Annual Affordable Housing Completion Goals 33 Appendix B: Reports Summary of Activities (PR03) Summary of Consolidated Plan Projects for Report Year 2016 (PR06).49 Summary of Accomplishments Report (PR23).51 Financial Summary Report (PR26).53 Expenditure Report (PR50).55 Timeliness Report (PR56) 55 Performance Measures Report (PR83)..58 Strategy Area, CDFI, and ocal Target Area (PR84) 60 Appendix C: egal Notices..61 Appendix D: Public Comments.64 City of Meridian, Idaho 2

3 SECTION I Introduction City of Meridian, Idaho 3

4 Section I Introduction The City of Meridian is a recipient of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides these funds to the City on a formula basis. As a recipient of these funds, the City is required to prepare a Consolidated Plan, also known as a five-year strategic plan. The plan identifies the housing and community needs of the City, organizes these needs based on priority, identifies resources that address the community s needs, and establishes annual goals and objectives to meet those needs. The Consolidated Plan is further broken down into annual action plans, which the City prepares and submits to HUD each year. The annual action plan spells out specifically how the City will address the goals and objectives in the Consolidated Plan during that program year. At the end of each program year, the City provides a summary of expenditures and related accomplishments to the public and HUD. This annual assessment is called the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER). While this report addresses goals achieved by expending funds for the CDBG program, it is important to note that the success of the program is largely dependent on the efforts and resources of other private and public agencies and organizations as well as HUD. CAPER requirements are outlined in 24 CFR The report provides a review and evaluation of the City s performance during the 2016 Program Year (PY2016) and the five-year timeframe of the Consolidated Plan. The subject program year began October 1, 2016 and ended September 30, This document includes reports generated by HUD s Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS). These IDIS reports summarize the City s accomplishments for PY2016. HUDrecommended tables complement the narrative section and IDIS reports to provide an update on the City s progress in achieving the goals and objectives identified in the Consolidated Plan. City of Meridian, Idaho 4

5 SECTION II Executive Summary City of Meridian, Idaho 5

6 Section II Executive Summary The performance measurement system outlined in the City s Consolidated Plan is based on the following HUD initiatives: Create a Suitable iving Environment (SE) Provide Decent Housing (DH) Create Economic Opportunities (EO) These initiatives are carried out by the City of Meridian and various partner agencies and entities. They are consistent with the guidelines set-forth by HUD in accordance with regulations governing the use of CDBG funds and are based on the needs that the City has identified through its own assessment and on-going input from the citizens of Meridian. During PY2016 the City focused on decent housing initiatives and providing a suitable living environment for low-moderate income persons. Consistent with the survey results conducted during the preparation for the Consolidated Plan, the City attempted to focus on public facility improvements to serve MI residents and public services. Table 1 provides a summary of PY2016 Action Plan activities, along with an update of activity status. Table 1: Program Year 2016 Goals and Allocation PY2016 ($329,895) Goal Allocated Expended Remaining Administration - ~$50, $16, $33, Streetlight Installation SE ~$125, $0.00 $125, Meridian Food Bank SE $36, $36, $0.00 Boys & Girls Club Scholarship Program SE $10, $2, $7, Jesse Tree Emergency Rental Assist. DH $7, $3, $3, Housing Authority (Homebuyer Assist) DH $35, $35, $0.00 NeighborWorks (Homebuyer Assist) DH $30, $0.00 $30, VCD Sidewalk Design** SE *$0.00 $0.00 $0.00 TOTA MDC Sidewalk Design SE $60, $32, $27, $125, $227, * This project was substantially amended to move funds to a project that could expend. ** This project was cancelled. ~ This project was amended (without triggering a substantial amendment) to decrease funding to be used by other projects. This project received funds from an amended project. City of Meridian, Idaho 6

7 A. Summary of PY2016 Accomplishments The following is a summary of the City s accomplishments in PY2016, including projects that were carried-over from previous program years: Assisted 22 low-to-moderate income children gain access to Boys & Girls Club s programs through CDBG sponsored scholarships (funds from PY2016). Completed Slum & Blight Plan aimed to help redefine and focus efforts on the eradication of slum and blight in Meridian (funds from PY2014). Completed a Senior Resource Guide which provides over 900 seniors with information on services, events, and opportunities available to them in the community (funds from PY2015). Completed Storey Park ADA Restroom Facility Improvements (funds from PY2014). Helped prevent homelessness for five (5) families by Jesse Tree providing emergency rental assistance for those facing eviction (funds from PY2016). Assisted six (6) families with obtaining an affordable home in Meridian through homebuyers assistance programs (Funds from PY2015 and PY2016). Provided assistance to the Meridian Food Bank for the purchase of food. In combination with other monetary donations and support, the Meridian Food Bank assisted over 52,000 individuals and families during the past year. Completed Meridian s Five-year Consolidated Plan (funds from PY2015). B. Summary of Prior Year Resources and Distribution of Funds During PY2016 the City expended funds on projects that were scheduled or began in previous years. These projects will continue to move forward until complete, unless otherwise annotated. While additional private sector partnerships, match and other funding sources were discussed, CDBG funding was the only monetary resource used. Soft resources, like coordination with developers, social service agencies, businesses, and other units of local government were expended in PY2016. These resources are in line with the current (PY ) Consolidated Plan and the action plans the projects themselves pertain to. The action plans for the identified years is where the City houses the resources pursued when creating the plans. Table 2: Expenditures during Program Year 2016 from previous program years (see PR03) Goal/Activity Funded Prior Year Remaining Expended in PY2016 Remaining Suitable iving Environment MI Streetlights (PY2015) $181, $181, $40, $141, Meridian Elem. Picnic Shelter (PY2015) $80, $80, $13, $66, Senior Resource Guide (PY2015) $5, $5, $5, $ Consolidated Plan (PY2015) $35, $35, $35, $0.00 Storey Park Restroom Facility (PY2014) $70, $65, $65, $0.00 Slum & Blight Plan (PY2014) $19, $19, $19, $0.00 Meridian Elem. Fitness Path Restitution (PY2014) $48, $1, $1, $0.00 City of Meridian, Idaho 7

8 Idaho Ave Sidewalk Construction (PY2013) $93, $2, $2, $0.00 Decent Housing ACHA Homebuyer Assistance (PY2015) $40, $30, $30, $0.00 Neighborhood Housing Services (PY2015) $80, $30, $30, $0.00 Total PY2016 Expenditures (non-2016 funds) $243, $243, C. Distribution of Funds The projects worked on during PY2016 were largely confined to the MI area. However, due to the nature of the homebuyer assistance and emergency rental assistance programs, the homes occupied were spread throughout the city based on price and fair housing choice. Except for homebuyer assistance and emergency rental assistance, the physical location of projects worked on during PY2016 are represented below. Geographic Distribution of Funds PY2016 City of Meridian, Idaho 8

9 SECTION III Five Year Plan Assessment of Progress City of Meridian, Idaho 9

10 Section III Five Year Plan Assessment of Progress A. Five Year Goals and Objectives The PY Consolidated Plan lists three key strategies and five associated objectives to address the identified needs of the community. During PY2016, the City selected and carried out activities that addressed two of these identified strategies Suitable iving Environment (S-1) and Decent Housing strategies (DH-2). As much as the City would like to accomplish goals with the Economic Opportunity (EO-1) strategy, it remains difficult to do so until the Slum & Blight assessment and designation is finalized through local and federal review and approval, which should occur by early Spring The city continues to opt to work on suitable living environment enhancements and decent housing initiatives. The thought process behind this continues to be that if the city was unable to move forward with one strategy or goal for the time being, it would bolster the other strategies and goals during this time. The City maintains that this is the best avenue forward, and made considerable strides on the Decent Housing front this past year (and committed to doing so again in the most recent action plan for 2017). Meridian has chosen a three year period of 2015, 2016, and 2017 to meet its Certification of Overall Benefit. As identified in the attached report (PR26), the City s certification percentage for the second of this three year period is benefit to low/moderate income persons. The City made progress on the following objectives through PY2016 activities as described below: Ada County Housing Authority (ACHA) (Decent Housing Consolidated Plans): In PY2015, in order to increase the affordability of decent housing as outlined in the Consolidated Plan (DH-2), the City allocated $40,000 for ACHA homeownership assistance through the housing choice voucher program, among other programs the Housing Authority oversees. ACHA has expended all of these 2015 funds, assisting three (3) MI families during that project. Additionally, the city also provided ACHA with an additional $35,000 for PY2016. ACHA has spent all of those funds on two (2) MI families. This program is working extremely well, and hopes to continue to support low-moderate income families in their endeavors to secure decent, safe and affordable housing. This project will contribute to addressing the City s decent housing strategy (DH-2). NeighborWorks Boise (Decent Housing Consolidated Plans): During the PY2016 year NeighborWorks Boise completed their project PY2015 by expending the remaining activity budget of $30,000 providing an additional two (2) low-moderate income families with homebuyers assistance. NeighborWorks Boise also received $30,000 to complete their PY2016 project, but have yet to utilize any of those funds. Though, the organization has at least four MI families in the pipeline to use these funds. This program allows applicants to enter into a self-sufficiency program and home-ownership counseling prior to the receipt of funds, which can delay eligible funding allocation for home purchases. However, each of the families using City of Meridian, Idaho 10

11 funds from PY2015 were able to secure decent, safe and affordable housing in the City of Meridian, contributing to the consolidated plan s strategy DH-2. Meridian Food Bank (Suitable iving Environment, Consolidated Plan): In PY2016, the City allocated $36,448 for use by the Meridian Food bank to purchase food for area residents in need to be distributed through their location in downtown Meridian. The Meridian Food Bank expended its entire allocation during the program year. The Meridian Food Bank has been instrumental in filling a critical need within the community. The food bank doesn t receive enough food donations for all of its patrons, and some of those donations are unusable. The funds supplement by filling that gap. The Food Bank provided food to over 52,000 individuals and families during this past year utilizing all available resource pools (an average of over 4,300 patrons per month. Over ninety-eight percent (98) of those individuals served were low to moderate income persons. This contributed to the availability/accessibility of a suitable living environment (S-1) as outlined in the Consolidated Plan. Boys & Girls Club Scholarship Program (Suitable iving Environment, Consolidated Plan): The Meridian Boys & Girls Club was allocated $10,000 in PY2016 funds. The use of these funds is targeted to provide low income children and families with scholarships to enable their children to participate in the organization s summer and after-school programs. During PY2016, $2,060 of their funding was utilized (though, the remainder of the funds has been drawn down in early PY2017). As a result of these funds, twenty-two (22) MI children have benefitted from this project. This work really helps to improve the availability of crucial child care and educational programs to MI residents living in the community (S-1). Jesse Tree Emergency Rental Assistance (Suitable iving Environment, Consolidated Plan): In PY2016, Jesse Tree was awarded $7,000to provide emergency rental assistance to MI residents facing eviction and homelessness. Jesse Tree works region-wide as one of the only homelessness prevention organizations and they have (S-1, DH), and, during PY2016, made a meaningful impact in the lives of five (5) MI families/households through the distribution of $3,238 of their allocated funding. Meridian Elementary School Picnic Shelter (Suitable iving Environment, Consolidated Plan): Meridian Elementary School, via West Ada School District, was initially allocated $65,000 to re-seed a portion of the school s field area and build a picnic shelter for multi-purpose use with electric power available (S-3). Upon reception of bids for the project, another $15,000 was required to complete the project increasing the total allocation for this project to $80,000. During PY2016, $13, has been drawn down with the project scheduled to be completed in early PY2017 (due to shipping delays with the picnic shelter equipment). This school is located in a predominately MI area of the community with the majority of students who attend being classified as MI. As such, these facilities will provide valuable opportunities for the school and its MI students. MI Streetlights (Suitable iving Environment, Consolidated Plan): The City of Meridian allocated $150,000 of PY2015 funds to design and construct streetlights in an MI City of Meridian, Idaho 11

12 area of the community (S-3). During PY2016, $40, was utilized to pay for the design and equipment costs. In early PY2017, a contract was entered into to complete this project by the end of winter Due to an immensely busy and competitive construction market in Meridian, the bid accepted by the City necessitated an additional $31,520 bringing the activity s total allocation to $181,520 (this addition does not trigger a substantial amendment). In addition to this PY2015 project, the City also allocated $125,000 of PY2016 funds to design and construct additional streetlights in an MI area of the community separate from the area where the PY2015 streetlights project is focusing on. None of these funds have been used and the project is scheduled to get off the ground during the early calendar-year Slum & Blight Assessment and Plan (General, Consolidated Plan): $19,500 from PY2014 s Administration allocation has been allocated to this project to compensate a consultant for the design and completion of the City s Slum & Blight Plan. All of the allocated funding for this project was utilized and the Slum & Blight Plan project was completed. This document/study will be used for any future Slum & Blight related projects for the next 10 years, as per HUD guidance. This plan will undergo the required public review before being submitted to HUD for approval in early calendar-year Storey Park ADA Upgrade (Suitable iving Environment, Consolidated Plan): $80,000 was allocated to this project through the PY2014 substantial amendment. Storey Park is Meridian s oldest municipal park. Its current state is wholly inadequate for accessibility standards and is in significant need of ADA compliance alignment. The project is seeking to meet these deficiencies, and began design during the summer of calendar year (S-3) During PY2016, this project was completed and came in under budget by expending $70, The impacts and benefits of the improved ADA compliance of the park s facilities will impact thousands of MI residents who regularly frequent the park. VCD Sidewalk Design (Suitable iving Environment, Consolidated Plan): This project was scheduled to begin in PY2016 with $50,000 in funding allocated to design sidewalks for a new affordable housing complex in Meridian. However, due to scheduling problems and a loss of confidence in the timely expenditure of funds, the City determined to substantially amend this project to reallocate all of its funding to other projects. Due to the reallocation of funds and the indefinite timeline that this project has, City staff have decided to cancel this project altogether. MDC Sidewalk Design (Suitable iving Environment, Consolidated Plan): This project was initially listed as an alternate project for the PY2016 year. However, after the removal of funds from the VCD sidewalk design project, the City consulted with Meridian Development Corporation (MDC), the City s Urban Renewal Agency, to explore the opportunity to design and later construct necessary sidewalks in an MI area of the community where sidewalks are currently missing (S-3). This project was granted an allocation of $60,000 of PY2016 funds in late-spring of calendar-year 2017, and has drawn down $32, by the end of PY2016. It should be noted that the remainder of the funds is expected be drawn the end of City of Meridian, Idaho 12

13 January 2018, though this project will remain Open until the subsequent construction of the sidewalks is completed. Administration (General): Administrative funds during the PY2016 paid for staff time, fair housing activities, required notices, and other miscellaneous expenses. The City initially funded Administration as $65,500. This funding was reduced to $50, in order to fund other projects. In addition, due to the utilization of prior year admin funds to hire consultants to complete the five-year consolidated plan (using $35, from PY2015 Admin Funds) and the Slum & Blight Plan (using $19,500 from PY2014 Admin Funds), both of which were completed and fully drawn down, the City was limited by the Administration Cap of 20 on the use of funds for administrative and planning purposes in a given program year. Accordingly, the City expended $16, of its allocation of administrative funds. The City is exploring opportunities to reallocate the remaining $33, from this activity s fund. Senior Resource Guide: The City obligated $5,000 in PY2015 funds to support this project. The City contracted with a consultant and used all of the allocated funding to complete the project. The product was given to group homes with low-income seniors and distributed to locations that can reasonably be expected to benefit low-moderate income seniors. Over 900 copies of the guide were distributed to seniors in the community. B. essons earned This year provided ample learning opportunities for the City and the CDBG Administrator. Due to changes in staff mid-way through the program year, there was a slow learning curve for the program to get things working smoothly. Procedures in place to manage funds and organize tasks have changed to ensure timeliness and efficiency. However, due to agreement amendments and competitive construction markets, there has been more time than would be ideally spent on administrative processes that were not initially planned. In addition, particularly in relation to procurement processes for construction-related projects, pricing of bids has been much higher than expected or budgeted. As such, our program is trying to find ways to better predict and allocate funding where it will be needed for high-cost, constructionrelated projects. In addition, we have discussed trying to reduce the number of constructionrelated projects at one time in order to better meet the needs of those projects in terms of funding and scheduling without limiting or hindering our programs timeliness. Of the many projects in the PY2016 year, only one (VCD Sidewalk Design Project) was unable to move forward due to unforeseen hurdles. This was something we were able to overcome through the use of viable alternative projects, but we hope to institute better grant application and risk assessment procedures BEFORE the development of our annual action plans in order to avoid projects that may show early signs of difficulty, risk, or lack of timeliness. Future years will also come with more stringent plans and more specific subrecipient agreements to help each subrecipient carry out their projects effectively and on-schedule. City of Meridian, Idaho 13

14 In addition, the City has continued to plan and develop procedures to meet the requirements of the PY2015 timeliness and labor audits. During PY2016, the City met HUD s timeliness ratio requirements through appropriate planning and mitigation of issues that could have contributed to a second subsequent program year being untimely. The City has also actively worked to develop clear and consistent procedures to ensure program and project compliance with labor regulations. City of Meridian, Idaho 14

15 SECTION IV Assessment of Annual Progress City of Meridian, Idaho 15

16 Section IV Assessment of Annual Progress A. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing/Analysis of Impediments Summary and Overcoming Impediments The City of Meridian s Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing (AI) identifies three primary impediments to Fair Housing Choice and one barrier/observation that relates to Fair Housing. Consistent with the City s adopted Fair Housing Action Plan (FHAP), the City included activities in the PY2016 Annual Action Plan to address those impediments. The table below identifies the impediment, the associated activities, and the goals and accomplishments for PY2016. FHAP Identified Impediment Activity Goal/Plan Accomplishment Potential resident opposition to affordable housing development Coordinate regional fair housing awareness campaigns and educational efforts $3,000 CDBG Administrative funds CDBG Administrator assisted in the development of the regional fair housing awareness campaign. See below for activities. Community Outreach The Fair Housing Working Group participated in the Fair Housing Forum and helped plan and implement free, state-wide Fair Housing trainings occurring between March 2017 through June 2017 w ith over 2,000 attendees. Provided $1, to the City of Nampa to sponsor their landlord training event designed to engage and train property managers in the region on fair housing law s and best practices. Over 150 property managers participated. imited Public Transportation Opportunities Research grant opportunities to support public transit City staff time committed to this activity. The City has instituted a restricted transportation service for seniors in the community called Harvest Transport. This service is the first publicly-supported transportation service in Meridian and will be used as a litmus test for the usefulness and genuine need for expanded services in the community. City of Meridian, Idaho 16

17 Meet monthly with the various identified local and regional transportation commissions, committees, and task force. City staff time committed to this activity. City staff attended all applicable meetings. ack of understanding by developers and landlords about housing accessibility requirements. As part of the regional fair housing awareness campaign, address needs of persons with disabilities, addressing information about reasonable accommodations and service animals. Participate in the regional fair housing awareness campaign The City sponsored the regional awareness campaign and regional landlord training as identified above. Conduct a fair housing training in Meridian specific to landlords. Sponsor Nampa City s regional landlord training and ensure that Meridian property managers participate. The City of Meridian CDBG Administrator was nominated and elected to serve for another year as the Fair Housing Working Group Chair within the Continuum of Care. In the coming years, the CDBG Administrator will be facilitating many of the above tasks acros s several levels of government and non-government partners. In addition to the activities identified above, the Mayor had previously made a declaration in 2012 that April was Fair Housing Month in Meridian. Each year during the month of April, posters addressing various issues related to Fair Housing were displayed throughout City Hall. Fair Housing information is available on the City s website, and the City participates in the Idaho Fair Housing Forum which is a community of stakeholders dedicated to open and respectful discussion of issues impacting housing consumers, providers and advocates. The group meets throughout the year to discuss issues affecting not only the Treasure Valley, but the State as a whole. The website ( provides links to news, events, and other fair housing information. B. Affordable Housing Housing Units: In PY2016 the City partnered with Ada County Housing Authority (ACHA) and NeighborWorks Boise (NWB) to address affordable housing issues. The City allocated a total of $35,000 to ACHA and another $30,000 to NWB for homeownership assistance. ACHA and NeighborWorks provided down payment, closing cost, and principle buy down assistance to low income buyers identified through multiple programs. Through these programs, a total of seven (7) households were assisted during the program year; the Consolidated Plan goal was to assist one household during this year. Because of the emphasis put on affordable housing and homebuyer programs by the City during this Action Plan, the City was able to provide a higher benefit to the community than was originally planned. Please see Table 3B for information regarding Home Owner and Rental Goals and the number of households served in Section 215. City of Meridian, Idaho 17

18 C. Addressing Worst-Case Needs The City continues to partner with El-Ada Community Action Partnership to provide utility bill assistance through the Meridian Cares Program. Funded with City enterprise revenues (not CDBG), Meridian Cares allows residents living at or below the poverty limit to receive up to $ per year to pay City utility bills (water, sewer, and trash). The program does not differentiate between owners and renters; low-income renters are absolutely (although not exclusively) eligible. The program avoids service interruptions that would otherwise make a housing unit substandard (no water, for example). Also, throughout the next five program years, the City plans to explore and expand home rehabilitation and other public services opportunities, potentially to be funded in future program years, that will help address weatherization, ADA compliance, and other needs of MI residents in the community. D. Addressing Accessibility Needs The City of Meridian s Community Development Department, which includes the Building and Planning Divisions, ensures that ADA requirements are met with all new construction and development projects occurring within the City. The CDBG Administrator will look for additional ADA training opportunities to better understand the needs and applications of the CDBG program to ADA compliance. The City also continues to pursue projects like the Centennial Park ADA Restroom Facility and the completed Storey Park ADA upgrade to continue to reach accessibility goals. In addition, the current MDC Sidewalk Design project is aimed to help improve accessibility in areas of the community that are currently inaccessible due to a lack of sidewalks. E. Continuum of Care The City of Boise has taken the lead on outlining an inclusive process to establish and implement a continuum of care strategy for Ada County. The City of Meridian has been actively involved in this process with the CDBG Administrator chairing the Fair Housing Working Group and being very involved in the Performance Management Working Group. As part of this cooperation, City staff was involved in the development of a recent Continuum of Care action plan. In the meantime, Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) administers HUD Emergency Shelter and Supportive Housing Grant funds that benefit local homeless individuals and providers. Meridian does not currently have any housing facilities to administer services to this population. The City of Meridian maintains contact with El-Ada Community Action Partnership, NeighborWorks Boise (NWB), Boise City/Ada County Housing Authority (ACHA), Idaho Housing and Finance Association, and others interested in homeless and special needs populations and contributes to the dialogue as opportunities arise. Meridian does not administer any programs for individuals with HIV/AIDS. The Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) contracts with Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/AIDS (HOPWA) service providers throughout the State to facilitate affordable housing for persons with HIV/AIDS and their families. ACHA is the HOPWA provider serving Meridian. ACHA s administration of HOPWA funds is undertaken in accordance with IHFA s HOPWA policies, City of Meridian, Idaho 18

19 which are designed to provide resources and incentives to devise long-term comprehensive strategies for meeting the housing needs of persons with HIV/AIDS. The total Continuum of Care Funding for Ada County was $904,489 for fiscal year There were six projects, four of which were renewed from the previous year. They are as follows: Coordinated Housing Opportunities & Individualized Services (CHOIS) - $572,327 (PSH) Shelter Plus Care Region IV - $194,446 (PSH) ID-500 HMIS Expansion FY $30,046 Charitable Assistance to Community s Homeless, Inc. - $89,670 (RRH) Coordinated Entry - $18,000 The total Continuum of Care Funding for Ada County was $874,443 for fiscal year There were six projects, four of which were renewed from the previous year. They are as follows: Coordinated Housing Opportunities & Individualized Services (CHOIS) - $572,327 (PSH) Shelter Plus Care Region IV - $194,446 (PSH) Charitable Assistance to Community s Homeless, Inc. - $89,670 (RRH) Coordinated Entry - $18,000 (PSH) Denotes Permanent Supportive Housing (RRH) Denotes Rapid Rehousing F. Other Actions in Strategic Plan/Action Plan: 1. Address obstacles to meeting underserved needs The primary obstacle in Meridian to meeting underserved needs continues to be lack of funding to address all of the identified needs. The City continues to work with its local non-profit partners as well as the other government and quasi-government entities to comprehensively and efficiently address the needs of our community. 2. Foster and maintain affordable housing Please see Affordable Housing on page 17 above. The City is working to understand the needs and obstacles for affordable housing developers and how the City might be able to assist in the development of affordable housing units. The completion of the new Five-Year Consolidated Plan has shed new light on the current barriers to affordable housing that will be addressed in coming program years. While it will be addressed, the City does not anticipate utilizing CDBG funding for this purpose due to the limited amount of CDBG funding the City receives. City of Meridian, Idaho 19

20 3. Eliminate barriers to affordable housing As identified in the City s adopted 2012 Analysis of Impediments Report (AI), Meridian s renter households slightly exceed HUD s affordability standard of paying no more than 30 percent of its annual income in housing. According to the 2010 ACS data, Meridian renter households were paying approximately 33 percent of their annual income in housing costs. The AI Report also states that there is a rental gap of just over 1,000 units for renters earning less than $25,000. During the PY2016 Annual Action Plan public hearing process, discontent was voiced over the potential of a low-income project being built. This provided an opportunity to provide education on the ow Income Housing Tax Credit (IHTC) development at an elementary level. This also provided the City with a view of NIMBYism in the general area. With NIMBYism being one of the barriers identified in the Analysis of Impediments (in 2012 and 2017), the City of Meridian took the opportunity to turn to the Continuum of Care s Fair Housing Working Group, Idaho Fair Housing Forum, the City of Boise, and other groups to help foster and enable trainings, presentations, and other advocacy the groups can do to combat NIMBYism. The Fair Housing Working Group is currently working on ways to educate and inform throughout Ada County. Further, the City anticipates continuing the relationship with the IHTC developer on future projects. 4. Overcome gaps in institutional structure and enhance coordination The City continuously seeks to enhance coordination and overcome gaps in institutional structure. Participation in the Continuum of Care, attendance at IHFA (and other stakeholder related events), and participation in regional coalitions and associations to forward program objectives all work toward the end-goal of enhancing coordination. Plans are also being developed to enhance educational and advocacy opportunities for service providers in the area in regards to the public and political cultures and systems in place in the region. City Staff continues to establish standard operating procedures and guiding documents to monitor the program, track financials, ensure compliance, and address program requirements in a timely manner. 5. Improve public housing and resident initiatives The City does not directly provide these services, but it continues to support Ada County Housing Authority and other providers in improving public housing. 6. Evaluate and reduce lead based paint hazards In September 2014, the City mailed a letter and information brochure about the hazards of lead based paint to all Meridian residents (2,604 households) whose homes were built prior to The brochure also identified ways for residents and homeowners to reduce the risks of lead based paint exposure. In PY2016 the City continued to provide informational resources on its website about the hazards of lead based paint exposure and ways to mitigate those hazards. The CDBG Administrator will revisit the PY2013 City of Meridian, Idaho 20

21 mailer program in the coming PY2017 program year to make sure residents stay informed. No other actions were taken during PY Ensure compliance with program and comprehensive planning requirements Staff continues to establish standard operating procedures and documents to guide the program, track financials, ensure compliance, and address program requirements in a timely manner. Program monitoring takes place as a desk-side process with each draw. The activities must comply with the stated requirements of the subrecipient agreements, providing requisite data (e.g. demographic data; payroll) for inspection prior to reimbursement. The CDBG administrator communicates regularly with Community Planning and Development staff to stay on top of requirements related to the CDBG program and is unaware of any major missteps throughout PY2016. The City also understands that this is a very large and multifaceted program, and will continue working to understand its many nuances and address the related requirements that it entails. The CDBG Administrator will also seek out training opportunities in sub-recipient monitoring to grow this portion of the program. 8. Reduce the number of persons living below the poverty level The City focuses primarily on job creation and availability of educational opportunity to reduce the number of persons living below the poverty level. For example, the City, through its Economic Development Administrator, works to recruit new employers and encourage business expansion within Meridian. 9. everaging Resources During Program Year 2016, the City was able to leverage additional resources for several different activities. As in previous years, the Meridian Food Bank combined their CDBG funding with the wide variety of other funding sources they have to meet some of the needs within our community. The food bank has developed fantastic partnerships with donors and food stores that allow them to capitalize on ever donor dollar received in support of their operation. The City of Meridian CDBG Administrator has continued to network and integrate into regional coalitions (Fair Housing Forum; Continuum of Care, etc.) and neighboring city counterparts (Boise; Nampa) to benefit from peripheral institutional knowledge. These integrations assist the CDBG Administrator in problem-solving and understanding the nuances of the programs throughout the valley. These knowledge resources enhance the day-to-day operations of the City s CDBG program. The city has no HOME or ESG funding and therefore listing resources leveraged for those programs is not applicable. City of Meridian, Idaho 21

22 10. Citizen Comments In addition to the requirements of the Citizen Participation Plan (which is included in the Consolidated Plan), the City took steps to broaden public participation in PY2016. The City expanded its public noticing beyond the required print newspaper notices and utilized social media (e.g.; Facebook, Twitter, NextDoor) and to reach out to citizens who might not otherwise know about the program. In addition, as part of the new five-year consolidated planning process, the City re-engaged key stakeholders and community members to understand the current goals and priorities of the City in regard to this program. Aside from those comments and findings included in the Consolidated Plan and PY2017 Annual Action Plan (both which are relevant to the new and pending plans), there have been no formal or informal comments received in regard to the program in PY Self-Evaluation During the fifth year under the most recent Consolidated Plan ( ), the City has succeeded in addressing two of the three identified strategies in that plan directly. The Homebuyer Assistance programs carried out by the Housing Authority and NeighborWorks Boise were especially successful, making homes affordable in the City of Meridian for four (4) families in PY2016. NeighborWorks Boise still has their PY2016 funding to further assist members of the community to meet this goal. This, in conjunction with prior program years work from these organizations, contributes to the completion of Objective 1.1. This year s work with the Boys & Girls Club s Scholarship Program and Meridian Food Bank s Hunger Relief work satisfies the goals noted in Objective 2.1. The five-year outcome listed in the consolidated plan was to serve 10,000 residents with public services funded by the CDBG program. Alone, the Meridian Food Bank served 8,137 MI residents during PY2016. Boys & Girls Club also helped another 22 MI children with their CDBG-funded services. These numbers, in addition to the prior four program years worth of CDBG-funded public service activities, accomplish the five-year outcome goal. During PY2016, the Storey Park restroom facilities ADA improvements project was completed. The construction work concluded in early-summer and has many large potential impacts for nearby MI residents, particularly for those who are disabled. In addition, the work on the Meridian Elementary School s Picnic Shelter and Play Field, while not yet completed, has seen substantial progress during PY2016. These projects, again with the help of previous program years projects, helped the City to complete the Objective 2.2 outcome of 3 public facilities improved during the five-year planning cycle. For the outcome goals of Objectives 3.1 and 3.2, the City was not able to find service organizations to help address these areas of focus. As mentioned previously, economic development, particularly in the Downtown area of Meridian, has not been a strong focus of the work and efforts of the local CDBG program. Attempts and projects have been proposed and accepted to help meet the public facility (3.2) and employment City of Meridian, Idaho 22

23 training (3.1) outcomes in the consolidated plans, but none of those projects have gone through. During PY2016, the VCD Sidewalk Design project would have contributed to the completion of one sidewalk facility in the downtown area, but that project, as mentioned previously, was defunded and cancelled due to developer scheduling problems. In addition, the subsequent MDC Sidewalk Design project has begun to utilize PY2016 funds to design and later construct key sidewalks in Downtown Meridian, ultimately contributing to Outcome for Objective 3.2. However, despite not addressing specific downtown public facilities, the completion of the Slum & Blight Plan encompassing the downtown area has helped us take a new look at where there are changes needed. This plan will help inform activities and funding priorities in the downtown area in the coming program years, pending the accepted and official designation of the slum and blight area by HUD. In regard to Objective 3.1, much of the work along these lines has not been an opportunity for the Meridian CDBG program due to a lack of service providers in the area. However, staff members have held meetings with local library officials and other service providers in nearby communities to explore expanding job training and creation programs in Meridian that could potentially require CDBG funding. With that said, the economic development context has been blossoming throughout the community due to the efforts of the Mayor s office and others in the Community Development Department. And, while no economic development activities have been funded by CDBG monies, Meridian continues to see rampant population, job, and business growth throughout PY2016. All other projects for the year are progressing accordingly. Only the 2015 and 2016 Streetlight projects, Jesse Tree s Emergency Rental Assistance, and the aforementioned MDC Sidewalk Design, Meridian Picnic Shelter project, and NeighborWorks Boise s Housing Assistance projects have outstanding funds as of the submission of this document, all of which are being monitored and managed closely by the CDBG Administrator. Each of these projects is expected to help contribute to the five-year strategic outcomes and objectives and be completed by the end of PY2017, according to specific timelines agreed upon by the subrecipients and the City. All of the previously-mentioned projects, and all others open during PY2016, have been monitored according to statutes, regulations, and signed agreements. As noted in each subrecipient s or contractor s signed agreements, all projects are subject to certain regulations, reporting requirements, and monitoring. Each project has been closely monitoring by CDBG staff with each submission of a draw down request and monthly progress report. In addition, where required, CDBG staff have been closely involved in the labor monitoring of construction activities for the Storey Park and Meridian Elementary School projects during PY2016. City of Meridian, Idaho 23

24 Currently, there is no standard monitoring procedure, handbook, or checklist in use by the CDBG project. This is going to be changed in early PY2017 in order to create a clearer and more efficient monitoring procedure. Though, all activities are monitored monthly with the submission of progress reports and drawdown requests. Moving forward, risk assessment may be used to understand which organizations require more intensive and on-site monitoring. These processes will also be reworked to assess the compliance of projects with all relevant regulations and statutes. These processes and procedures will be in place and in practice for all open projects during PY2017. The City continues to work to build better relationships across the Treasure Valley, as well as throughout Idaho and the greater Northwest/Region X. City of Meridian, Idaho 24

25 SECTION V Program Narratives City of Meridian, Idaho 25

26 Section V Program Narratives A. Assessment of Relationship of CDBG Funds to Goals and Objectives An assessment of the relationship of CDBG funds to goals and objectives is presented under Five Year Goals and Objectives on pages 10-13, and Self Evaluation on page 21. B. Monitoring and Program Progress abor monitoring by HUD, of the City s labor programs, occurred during PY2015. During this labor monitoring the City became aware of deficiencies and learned a great deal to enhance its monitoring program. These shortcomings led to additional monitoring of individual projects and contractors, including interviews and corrections to documentation and internal procedures. The monitoring and corrective response process took a considerable amount of time during the program year, and continued as the City and HUD wrap up the final portions of the monitoring s corrective actions. Desk-side monitoring takes place with each activity draw. Boys& Girls Club s Scholarship Program and Meridian Elementary School s Picnic Shelter Project were both monitored on-site in PY2016 due to project-specific complexities necessitating further monitoring. All other PY2016 projects were monitored desk-side. As mentioned previously, the City is planning to revamp and clarify its monitoring processes during the first two quarters of PY2017. This will include a clearer and standardized checklist, risk assessment, and legal agreement processes that will improve the consistency and efficiency of the City s program and activity monitoring. The CDBG program is currently progressing at a sustainable pace. After PY2015 s failure to reach an adequate timeliness ratio by August 2, 2016, the program has since corrected course to have an acceptable timeliness ratio in August, The program is preparing and working to ensure that, during the future program years, timely expenditure of funds and completion of projects will not be an issue. Procedures, some already in place, that are designed to help reduce the presence of timeliness issues include drafting timeliness requirements, deadlines, and measures in subrecipient agreements; drafting and establishing subrecipient agreements earlier in the program year; and filtering projects during the application process to prioritize projects and organizations with a track record of timely expenditure of funds. Grant disbursements remain timely, and actual expenditures do not differ from the line of credit. The City will work diligently to maintain a steady and sustainable pace and will react with policy changes where needed to make the program more efficient in any area identified as deficient. Information regarding program progress in the area of affordable housing can been found in previous sections B. Affordable Housing on page 16 and 11. Self-Evaluation on pages City of Meridian, Idaho 26

27 C. Changes in Program Objectives The City is not proposing any changes to program objectives at this time. D. Assessment of Efforts in Carrying Out Planned Actions As noted throughout this report, the City pursued the resources indicated in the Consolidated Plan to the greatest extent possible. Specifically, the City s coordination with the Boise City/Ada County Continuum of Care and the Fair Housing Forum with U.S. HUD Boise allowed multiple opportunities to discuss and coordinate information from municipalities (Boise, Nampa), state agencies (Idaho Food Bank; Ada County Housing Authority; Ada County Sherriff s Department; Idaho Housing and Finance, etc.), federal agencies (U.S. HUD Boise; Boise Veterans Affairs) and non-profits (Salvation Army; Charitable Assistance to the Communities Homeless; El-Ada Community Action Partnership; etc). These organizations directly or indirectly provide input to the Action Plan process as sister-agencies, responsible authorities or partners in both the creation of the PY2016 Action Plan and the carrying out of activities. Additional partnerships and resources were pursued with the Ada County Highway District, as well as other private developers and business (see Summary of Prior Year Resources and Distribution of Funds in Section II.) The activities carried out during PY2016 were consistent with the strategies identified in the Consolidated Plan. E. Use of CDBG Funds for National Objectives As outlined in Tables 1 and 2 and in pursuit of the goals set with the Specific CDBG Certification on Overall Benefit for the years 2015, 2016, and 2017, all non-administrative and planning funds expended in PY2016 (81 of total expenditures) met the MI national objectives. All administrative and planning funds used in PY2016 (19 of total expenditures) also contributed to the functioning of the program to aid only MI individuals. F. Anti-displacement and Relocation for activities that involve acquisition, rehabilitation or demolition of occupied real property No activities in PY2016 involved acquisition, rehabilitation, or demolition of occupied real property. G. ow/mod Job Activities No activities were undertaken in PY2016 related to low/mod job creation. H. Program Income Received No activities in PY2016 generated program income. N/A N/A I. Prior Period Adjustments J. oans and Other Receivables K. ump Sum Agreements City of Meridian, Idaho 27

28 N/A N/A. Neighborhood Revitalization Strategies M. Certification of Consistency The City of Meridian did sign and provide a certification of consistency for the City of Boise, as the lead agency for Boise City/Ada County Continuum of Care (CoC) funds. The City of Meridian is actively involved with the CoC and has determined that the proposed plans using HUD funds are consistent with Meridian s strategic plan. N. Did Not Hinder by Action or Inaction The City did not hinder Consolidated Plan implementation by action or willful inaction. City of Meridian, Idaho 28

29 Appendices City of Meridian, Idaho 29

30 Appendix A: Tables Joint Table 1C, 2C, and 3A Summary of Specific Annual Objectives Grantee Name: City of Meridian, Idaho Note: Activities that are not proposed for advancement in PY2016 are included in gray font. DH 1.1 DH 2.1 DH 3.1 S 2.1 S 2.2 S 3.1 Decent Housing with Purpose of New or Improved Availability/Accessibility (DH-1) Specific Objective Source of Funds Program Year Performance Indicators Expected Number Actual Number Percent Completed N/A MUTI-YEAR GOA Decent Housing with Purpose of New or Improved Affordability (DH-2) Address the need for CDBG 2012 Households affordable housing by >100 supporting a homebuyer assistance program for >100 qualifying households >100 MUTI-YEAR GOA 7 16 >100 Decent Housing with Purpose of New or Improved Sustainability (DH-3) N/A MUTI-YEAR GOA Suitable iving Environment with Purpose of New or Improved Availability/Accessibility (S-1) Support public service 2012 People/Residents 2,000 65,000 >100 activities that serve the ,000 59,000 >100 city s MI residents ,000 55,000 > ,000 52,000 > ,000 7,782 >100 MUTI-YEAR GOA 10, ,782 >100 Suitable iving Environment with Purpose of New or Improved Affordability (S-2) N/A MUTI-YEAR GOA Suitable iving Environment with Purpose of New or Improved Sustainability (S-3) Invest in public facility improvements that serve person with special needs and low income residents or are located in MI areas. CDBG Public Facilities >100 > MUTI-YEAR GOA 3 5 >100 City of Meridian, Idaho 30

31 EO 1.1 EO 1.2 EO 3.1 NR 1.1 O 1.1 O 2.1 Economic Opportunity with Purpose of New or Improved Availability/Accessibility (EO-1) Specific Objective Source of Funds Year Performance Indicators Expected Number Actual Number Percent Completed Support public service CDBG 2012 People/Residents activities that provide employment training or job creation/retention for the city s MI residents MUTI-YEAR GOA Economic Opportunity with Purpose of New or Improved Availability/Accessibility (EO-1) Invest in public facility 2012 Businesses or 0 improvements or activities 2013 public facilities 1 in the downtown area that address one or more the conditions which contributed to the MUTI-YEAR GOA 2 deterioration of the area. Economic Opportunity with Purpose of New or Improved Sustainability (EO-3) N/A (Prior CONPAN Residual) >100 MUTI-YEAR GOA 0 2 >100 Neighborhood Revitalization (NR-1) N/A MUTI-YEAR GOA Other (O-1) N/A MUTI-YEAR GOA N/A Other (O-2) MUTI-YEAR GOA City of Meridian, Idaho 31

32 City of Meridian, Idaho 32

33 City of Meridian, Idaho 33