City Council
MEETING DATE: 5/13/2015
TITLE:
Title
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Action Plan
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FROM:
Vincent Lopez, Community Development Specialist
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council hold a public hearing and approve the FY 2015 Annual Action Plan (AAP) and authorize the City Manager to execute the new SF-424 application.
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BACKGROUND:
On July 1, 2015, Cathedral City will enter its fourth year as an entitlement community for Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. This designation is possible because the 2010 Census confirmed that Cathedral City surpassed a population of 50,000. Under the entitlement communities program, the City will receive an allocation of $526,093 to use for capital improvement projects, public and social services, homelessness, and housing needs assessment.
The funding Cathedral City receives from HUD allows the City to carry out a wide range of community development activities directed toward revitalizing neighborhoods, economic development, and providing improved community facilities and services. Entitlement communities develop their own programs and funding priorities. However, grantees must give maximum feasible priority to activities which benefit low and moderate income persons. A grantee may also carry out activities which aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight. Furthermore, grantees may fund activities when the grantee certifies that the activities meet other community development needs having a particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community where other financial resources are not available to meet such needs. CDBG funds may not be used for activities which do not meet these broad national objectives.
DISCUSSION:
The Fiscal Year 2015 Annual Action Plan will begin on July 1, 2015 and continue through June 30, 2016. The Plan was made available for the HUD required 30-day public review and comment period from April 13, 2015 through May 15, 2015. The Plans were posted on the City website and made available at City Hall and the Cathedral City Branch Library. Once the actual CDBG allocation amounts are released the City Council authorizes the City Manager (or designee) to execute a new SF-424 that acknowledges the new funding amount and resubmit the form to HUD for approval.
FISCAL IMPACT:
For Fiscal Year 2015, the City has been tentatively allocated $526,093 by HUD. Under HUD guidelines, the City has an administrative program cap of twenty percent (20%) and a public services cap of fifteen percent (15%). The remaining sixty-five percent (65%) will be allocated to fund public improvements.
The City has set aside $93,218 for planning and program administration and $12,000 is allocated towards the Inland Fair Housing and Mediation Board (IFHMB) for its administrative cap. The City has also allocated $52,000 to Roy's Desert Resource Center, $20,000 towards the Cathedral (Senior) Center to meet its public services cap. Cathedral City will utilize the remainder of the funding in the amount of $348,875 in combination with a Safe Routes to School Grant for the Ortega Road Street Improvements.
ATTACHMENTS:
FY 2015 Annual Action Plan (AAP)