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County Administrator's Report 15. 12.
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| BCC Regular Meeting |
Budget & Finance Consent |
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| RECOMMENDATION: |
Recommendation Concerning Approval of the Escambia Consortium 2014 Annual Action Plan - Keith Wilkins, Community & Environment Department Director
That the Board take the following action concerning approval of the Escambia Consortium 2014 Annual Action Plan:
A. Approve the Escambia Consortium 2014 Annual Action Plan for Housing and Community Development, including the Escambia County 2014 Annual Plan, detailing use of 2014 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, in the amount of $1,653,390; 2014 HOME Investment Partnerships Act (HOME) funds, in the amount of $975,346; and 2014 Emergency Solutions Grant Program (ESG) funds, in the amount of $136,359; and
B. Authorize the County Administrator to execute all 2014 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 County Administrator or Chairman, as appropriate, to execute documents required to receive and implement the 2014 CDBG, 2014 HOME, and 2014 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 |
| BACKGROUND: |
With Congressional approval of the National Affordable Housing Act, local government grantees are required to prepare and submit for HUD approval a local housing specific planning document encompassing a five year period, known as the Consolidated Plan (for Housing and Community Development). Staff of the Neighborhood Enterprise Division of the Community and Environment Department, 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, 2014 through September 30, 2015. A detailed breakdown of the projects and activities to be financed with 2014 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). Activities included in the Plan are also supportive of the Escambia County Community Redevelopment Agency and Enterprise Zone initiatives.
A public notice regarding preparation of the 2014 Annual Plan was published in the Pensacola News Journal on February 23, 2014 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 March 18 and one public hearing was held in Santa Rosa County on March 19. 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 2014 Annual Action Plan were prominently advertised in the Pensacola News Journal on April 22, 2014 for a minimum 30 day comment period, and two additional public hearings were held on May 6 in Escambia County and May 14 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 May 26, 2014. 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 Plan by participating governmental bodies within the Consortium. The City of Pensacola, Santa Rosa County, and the City of Milton will approve the Plans during their respective June or July Council (or Board) meetings, with Escambia County’s approval currently targeted for July 24, 2014. Escambia County serves as the lead participating jurisdiction for the Consortium. The Plan is due to HUD on or before August 15, 2014, and HUD approval is anticipated in late October 2014. |
| 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 II of this recommendation:
Funding
CDBG/Fund 129
HOME/Fund 147
ESG/Fund 110
TOTALS: |
Amount
$1,653,390
$975,346
$136,359
$2,765,095 |
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| LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS/SIGN-OFF: |
Forms requiring execution have been reviewed by the County Legal Department, specifically Kristin Hual, Assistant County Attorney. |
| PERSONNEL: |
| Preparation of the Plan and implementation of the CDBG, HOME, and ESG activities financed hereunder are administered by the Neighborhood Enterprise Division of the Escambia Community & Environment Department and/or staff of the Consortium's member jurisdictions. |
| POLICY/REQUIREMENT FOR BOARD ACTION: |
| In order to receive 2014 CDBG, HOME, and ESG funding, the Annual Action Plan must be approved by the Board prior to the August 15, 2014 submission deadline. |
| 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 the Neighborhood Enterprise Division of the County's Community & Environment Department, the Pensacola Housing Department and Santa Rosa County's Community Planning, Zoning, and Development Division. |
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