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County Administrator's Report 19. 12.
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| BCC Regular Meeting |
Budget & Finance Consent |
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| RECOMMENDATION: |
Recommendation Concerning Approval of the Escambia Consortium 2013 Annual Action Plan - Keith Wilkins, Community & Environment Department Director
That the Board take the following action concerning approval of the Escambia Consortium 2013 Annual Action Plan:
A. Approve the Escambia Consortium 2013 Annual Action Plan for Housing and Community Development, including the Escambia County 2013 Annual Plan, detailing use of 2013 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, in the amount of $1,678,503; 2013 HOME Investment Partnerships Act (HOME) funds, in the amount of $960,936; and 2013 Emergency Solutions Grant Program (ESG) funds, in the amount of $122,946; and
B. Authorize the Interim County Administrator to execute all 2013 Annual Action Plan Forms, Certifications, and related documents, as required to submit the Plans to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and authorize the Interim County Administrator or Chairman, as appropriate, to execute documents required to receive and implement the 2013 CDBG, 2013 HOME, and 2013 ESG Programs.
[Funding: Fund 129, CDBG; Fund 147, HOME; and Fund 110, ESG - Cost Centers to be assigned]
A complete copy of the entire Annual Action Plan is available for review in the County Administrator's Office or on the County's website at: http://www.myescambia.com (Community/Neighborhood Enterprise Foundation Program Plans and Reports). |
| BACKGROUND: |
With Congressional approval of the National Affordable Housing Act, local government grantees are required to prepare and submit for HUD approval a a local housing specific planning document encompassing a five year period, known as the Consolidated Plan (for Housing and Community Development). Neighborhood Enterprise Foundation, Inc. (NEFI), in conjunction with representatives of other members of the Escambia Consortium (City of Pensacola, Santa Rosa County, and City of Milton) prepared the 2010-2014 Escambia Consortium Consolidated Plan, as approved by the Board on August 4, 2011(see Exhibit I for Board resume) and by the U.S. Department of HUD in October 2011, enabling the local jurisdictions to continue to receive HUD funds under the CDBG, HOME, and ESG programs.
Additionally, each year the Consortium must prepare and submit an Annual Action Plan, which incorporates the specific funding applications of all member jurisdictions for the CDBG, HOME, and ESG Programs for that fiscal year. This funding will encompass the HUD Program Year extending from October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014. A detailed breakdown of the projects and activities to be financed with 2013 CDBG, HOME, and ESG resources is provided in Exhibit II (NOTE: Exhibit II summarizes the Plan; due to the large size of the document, a complete copy of the entire Annual Action Plan is available for review in the County Administrator's Office or on the County's website at: http://www.myescambia.com community/neighborhood enterprise foundation program plans and reports
Activities included in the Plan are also in direct support of the Escambia County Comprehensive Plan Housing Element and the County’s Community Redevelopment Agency areas and Enterprise Zone initiatives.
A public notice regarding preparation of the 2013 Annual Plan was published in the Pensacola News Journal on March 24, 2013 to initiate the public participation process in order to receive public input, comments and agency proposals or recommendations concerning housing and community development needs and priorities within the area. A public hearing was held in Escambia County on April 16 and one public hearing was held in Santa Rosa County on April 17. Following the input phase of the process, the Plan was drafted and made available for public review and comment. During this period, various County Departments typically submit project proposals for CDBG eligible activities targeting lower income neighborhoods. The CDBG, HOME and ESG activities proposed for funding through the 2013 Annual Action Plan were prominently advertised in the Pensacola News Journal on May 18, 2013 for a minimum 30 day comment period, and two additional public hearings were held on June 11 in Escambia County and June 12 in Santa Rosa County, to receive public review, comments and specific input concerning the draft Plan. Finally, as denoted in the public notice, written comments were received by the Consortium through June 20, 2013. Copies of the draft Annual Action Plan were available in numerous accessible locations in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties during the review period.
The final step in the process is to obtain approval of the Plans by all governmental bodies within the Consortium. The City of Pensacola, Santa Rosa County, and the City of Milton will approve the Plans during their respective July Council (or Board) meetings, with Escambia County’s approval currently targeted for July 11, 2013. Escambia County serves as the lead participating jurisdiction for the Consortium. The Plan is due to HUD on or before August 15, 2013, and HUD approval is anticipated in late October 2013. |
| BUDGETARY IMPACT: |
The Annual Action Plan does not commit any County General Fund revenue. The County will receive the below listed amounts for uses specified in the Annual Action Plan and summarized in Exhibit I of this recommendation:
Funding
CDBG/Fund 129
HOME/Fund 147
ESG/Fund 110
TOTALS: |
Amount
$1,678,503
$960,936
$122,946
$2,762,385 |
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| LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS/SIGN-OFF: |
| N/A |
| PERSONNEL: |
| There will be no impact upon County personnel or positions as a result of the Board's approval of the Escambia Consortium Annual Action Plan. Preparation of the Plan and implementation of the CDBG, HOME, and ESG activities financed hereunder are administered by existing NEFI staff, and/or staff of the Consortium's member jurisdictions. |
| POLICY/REQUIREMENT FOR BOARD ACTION: |
| The Annual Action Plan requires formal approval by the Board prior to submission to HUD by the August 15 deadline in order to receive CDBG, HOME, and ESG funding. |
| IMPLEMENTATION/COORDINATION: |
| Completion of the Annual Plan process necessitated extensive coordination with many sectors of the local community, such as public and private affordable housing interests; County Departments with respect to CDBG project activities; non profit public service agencies; agencies of the State of Florida; local public housing authorities; organizations providing services to the homeless; Escambia County, City of Pensacola and Santa Rosa County administrative and program staff; interested citizens; and low/moderate income families. This Plan would have been an impossibility without the extensive level of input provided by governmental and community agencies, and direction provided by HUD staff. The Annual Action Plan was jointly prepared through the efforts of NEFI, Escambia County's Community & Environment Department, the Pensacola Housing Department and Santa Rosa County's Community Planning, Zoning, and Development Division. |
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