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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHCDC 02.15.18 Packet Agenda Housing & Community Development Commission (HCDC) Thursday, February 15, 2018 6:30 P.M. Senior Center, Room 202 28 S. Linn Street, Iowa City Use the Washington Street entrance or 2nd floor skywalk via Tower Place parking garage 1. Call meeting to order 2. Approval of the January 18, 2018 minutes 3. Public comment for topics not on the agenda 4. Question/Answer Session regarding FY19 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) Funding - applications available online at http://www.icgov.org/actionplan 5. Overview of housing pro forma template 6. Staff/commission comment 7. Adjournment If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate in this program/event, please contact Kirk Lehmann at kirk-lehmann@iowa-city.org or 319.356.5230. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. Date: February 9, 2017 To: Housing and Community Development Commission From: Community Development Staff Re: February 15, 2017 meeting The following is a short description of the agenda items. If you have any questions about the agenda, or if you are unable to attend the meeting, please contact Kirk Lehmann at 356-5247 or Kirk-Lehmann@Iowa-City.org. Item 4: Question/Answer Session regarding FY19 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) Funding - applications available online at http://www.icgov.org/actionplan Please be prepared to discuss applications for FY19 CDBG and HOME funds (see attached Staff Memo). Applicants are not required to attend, but are encouraged to send a representative to answer any questions that you may have. The applicants have been instructed that this session is not for them to provide an agency presentation, but be available for questions if HCDC members have them concerning their application. The applicants are also instructed not to submit additional documents at this meeting. If HCDC requests additional information, the applicant will submit the requested item and staff will put it in your next packet to ensure all members have the same information. Item 6: Overview of housing pro forma template Staff will provide a brief overview and answer questions about the housing pro forma. Date: February 8, 2018 To: Housing and Community Development Commission From: Community Development Staff Re: FY19 CDBG/HOME Applicants For FY19, the City of Iowa City estimates having $570,000 available to allocate to housing and public facilities projects. Of this, $496,000 must be used for HOME-eligible housing activities, which focus on affordable housing activities: rehabilitation or new construction of rental housing, tenant based rent assistance, and homeownership opportunities. However, the actual amount available depends upon the final adopted budgets of the federal government and City Council. The City received ten applications totaling $1.1 million dollars for these funds. This memo provides the Housing and Community Development Commission with staff notes for the ten applications, including applicable regulations and staff concerns. If you have any questions about these items, please contact Kirk Lehmann at 356-5247 or Kirk-Lehmann@Iowa-City.org. PUBLIC FACILITIES Arthur Street Healthy Life Center Requesting: $100,000 Percent of Project Funded by CDBG/HOME: 19% Staff Concerns/Notes: 1) As a new applicant, the Arthur Street Healthy Life Center must comply with federal accounting, grant management and income verification requirements (51% of beneficiaries must be under 80% median income). 2) All work will be subject to federal labor provisions (Davis Bacon – prevailing wages) and must comply with federal procurement standards. 3) Project is ineligible for HOME funds, and there is only an estimated $74,000 of CDBG funds available. Can the project proceed without full funding? 4) The funds must be repaid if the clinic stops operations at this facility within the first five years (CDBG Reversion of Assets requirement). 5) Is there a possibility to co-locate or partner with a federally qualified health care center? Neighborhood Centers of JC - Broadway Siding Replacement Project Requesting: $51,467 Percent of Project Funded by CDBG/HOME: 92% Staff Concerns/Notes: 1) Project is ineligible for HOME funds, and there is only an estimated $74,000 of CDBG funds available. Can the project proceed without full funding? 2) Are there any partnerships or sponsorships that could be leveraged to reduce the cost of improvements or repair or replacement reserves? 3) All work will be subject to federal labor provisions (Davis Bacon – prevailing wages) and must comply with federal procurement standards (competitive bids). 4) The funds must be repaid if the center stops operations or relocates within the first five years (CDBG Reversion of Assets requirement). February 8, 2018 Page 2 HOUSING City of Iowa City - South District Home Investment Partnership (4 units) Requesting: $100,000 Percent of Project Funded by CDBG/HOME: 22% Staff Concerns/Notes: 1) All work must comply with federal procurement standards (competitive bids). 2) If the homes are not sold in the first six months after rehabilitation, they must be rented to eligible households under 60% of median income per HOME rules. Will there be a sufficient market to sell the homes within six months, given the 30-year deed restriction and it being a duplex (condominium) unit? MYEP Home Acquisition (1 unit, 3 SRO units) Requesting: $75,000 Percent of Project Funded by CDBG/HOME: 36% Staff Concerns/Notes: 1) Project needs to determine a project timeline 2) The project does not include management fees. Are these expenses absorbed by other revenue streams? 3) Utilities should be budgeted in the misc. operating expenses as the owner pays all utilities (water, sewer, gas, electric and refuse/recycling) for SRO units. It should be closer to $3,000. In addition, property taxes are paid the first year before tax exemption is filed. If applicant raises rent to full FMR, the project is viable throughout the compliance period. Applicant subsidizes housing expenses due to the permanent supporting housing funds received. Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity – Homeownership (2 units) Requesting: $80,000 Percent of Project Funded by CDBG/HOME: 24% Staff Concerns/Notes: 1) Applicant must comply with Affordable Housing Design Guidelines for new construction. 2) Federal procurement standards apply for any construction work (competitive bids). Successful Living - Rental (4 units) Requesting: $310,000 Percent of Project Funded by CDBG/HOME: 25% Staff Concerns/Notes: 1) Depending on source of funds used (HOME or CDBG), conflict of interest issues may be present if a Board Member (realtor) is the realtor used for the acquisition. 2) Management fees are 19% of gross rental income while no misc. expenses are shown. Utilities should be budgeted in the misc. operating expenses as the owner pays all utilities (water, sewer, gas, electric and refuse/recycling) for SRO units. In addition, property taxes are paid the first year before tax exemption is filed. 3) Staff has a concern with expanding by four homes regarding staffing levels, capacity and past issues with compliance (procurement of contractors, per diem charges and length of lease). Applicant has FY18 funds to acquire two properties, which have not yet been identified. 4) Funds are requested to purchase homes over two years, which is a concern for the City to meet HOME commitment deadlines. Typically, the City does not forward fund. Staff encourages applicants to identify properties within 12 months of initial award. 5) If a client has no income, then how is rent paid? Tenant must enter a lease and a minimum rent is required under the HOME program. Under HOME, the units cannot be operated as a shelter. February 8, 2018 Page 3 The Housing Fellowship – Rental (1 unit) Requesting: $100,000 Percent of Project Funded by CDBG/HOME: 98% (18% City and 80% State) Staff Concerns/Notes: 1) The applicant has already successful acquired two properties within the budget for the State grant. Will project proceed if funded at a lower amount? 2) When do State funds expire? 3) HOME rules require that 15% of the annual HOME entitlement must be allocated to an eligible CHDO. The Housing Fellowship is the only eligible applicant to apply for FY19 funds. The Housing Fellowship - CHDO Operating Grant Requesting: $25,000 Percent of Project Funded by CDBG/HOME: 12% Staff Concerns/Notes: 1) No questions at this time. Eligible amount limited to 5% of HOME entitlement award. Prelude Behavioral Services - Transitional Housing Upgrades Requesting: $82,010 Percent of Project Funded by CDBG/HOME: 100% Staff Concerns/Notes: 1) Repair and improvements are often built into budgets. Are there other funding sources to supplement City dollars or to fully fund the improvements? Could potential partnerships or sponsorships help? 2) Applicant is tax exempt for their treatment facility, but records show property tax paid on the residential building. Can applicant file for tax exemption to save funds to use for repairs/replacement in future years? 3) Applicant is currently in a HOME monitoring period. As a result, it is only eligible to receive CDBG funds. Unlimited Abilities Requesting: $200,000 Percent of Project Funded by CDBG/HOME: 100% Staff Concerns/Notes: 1) Some of proposed expenditures of funds may be ineligible expenses (marketing campaigns, general working capital, professional fees and licensures, etc). Furniture is also not an eligible expense. Can applicant secure a source of financing (owner equity, line of credit, etc.) for those items not covered by CDBG/HOME funds? 2) Currently, no match is supplied. Can applicant proceed without full funding? Can applicant get a commercial loan for a portion of the total expense? 3) Proforma contains errors and consolidated categories which makes it difficult to evaluate currently. A revised full proforma would be needed with distinct categories for operating expenses before a full evaluation could be given. 4) Staff has concerns that as a new applicant, Unlimited Abilities may not be able to comply with federal regulations, including accounting and grant management requirements. MINUTES PRELIMINARY HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION JANUARY 18, 2018 – 6:30 PM SENIOR CENTER, ROOM 202 MEMBERS PRESENT: Syndy Conger, Charlie Eastham, Vanessa Fixmer-Oraiz, Christine Harms, Bob Lamkins, John McKinstry, Harry Olmstead, Maria Padron, Paula Vaughan MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Marcia Bollinger, Tracy Hightshoe OTHERS PRESENT: Mary Issah, Becci Reedus, Jill Kromminga, Delaney Dixon, Rosemary Schwartz, Sofia Mehaffey, Christi Regan, Tracey Achenbach, Barbara Vinograde, Carley Voltz, John Boller, Brian Loring, Ron Berg, Susan Junis, Mark Sertterh, Genevieve Anglin RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: By a vote of 9-0 the Commission recommends the following FY19 Aid to Agencies Budget Recommendation to Council: Agency FY19 HCDC Recommendation FY19 Main Priority 4 C's Community Coord. Child Care $15,000 High - Child Care Arc of Southeast Iowa $0 High - Child Care Services, Medium - Youth and Disability Services Best Buddies International, Inc. $0 Medium - Disability Services Big Brothers / Big Sisters $15,000 High - Mental Health Services, Medium - Youth Services Crisis Center of Johnson County $40,000 High - Homeless and Mental Health Services and Food Banks Domestic Violence Intervention Program $40,000 High - Homeless, Mental Health and Domestic Violence Services, Medium -Youth Services Elder Services Inc. $20,000 High - transportation & Mental Health Services, Medium - Health & Senior Services Four Oaks Family and Children's Services Iowa City $0 High - Transportation, Child Care and Mental Health Services Free Lunch Program $15,000 High - Homeless Services Goodwill of the Heartland $0 High -Domestic Violence, Medium - Employment Training HACAP $15,000 High - Childcare Services Handicare $0 High-Childcare Services Housing Trust Fund of JC $24,000 High - Homeless Services IC Compassion $0 High - Food Banks IC Free Medical/Dental Clinic $15,000 High - Homeless & Mental Health, Medium - Health Service, Senior Services, Substance Abuse Services, Youth Services Housing and Community Development Commission January 18, 2018 Page 2 of 15 Inside Out Reentry Community $15,000 High - Homeless, Transportation and Mental Health Services Medium - Employment Training, Health, Substance Abuse and Youth Services and Subsistence Payments Iowa Jobs for American's Graduates (IJAG) $0 Medium - Employment Training and Youth Services Iowa Valley RC&D (Grow: Johnson County) $0 High - Food Banks, Medium - Youth Services National Alliance on Mental Illness of Johnson County $0 High - Mental Health Services Neighborhood Centers of JC $35,000 High - Child Care Services, Medium - Employment Training & Youth Services Pathways Adult Day Health Center $15,000 High - Mental Health, Medium - Disability Services, Health Services, Senior Services Prelude Behavioral Services $0 High - Mental Health Services, Medium - Substance Abuse Services Rape Victim Advocacy Program $20,000 High - Homeless and Mental Health Services , Medium - Health, Domestic Violence and Youth Services Shelter House $50,000 High - Homeless Services, Mental Health Services Systems Unlimited $0 High - Transportation Services Table to Table $15,000 High - Food Banks United Action for Youth $27,400 High - Homeless & Mental Health Services, Medium - Youth Services Total Request: $376,400 By a vote of 9-0 the Commission decided that if the actual allocations are within 20% of the proposed budget, increases and decreases will be prorated amongst all awarded applicants. If more than 20% change, HCDC will reconsider recommendations. CALL MEETING TO ORDER: Olmstead called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 16, 2017 MINUTES: Eastham moved to approve the minutes of November 16, 2017. Conger seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 9-0. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR TOPICS NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. DISCUSS THE FY2019 AID TO AGENCIES FUNDING REQUESTS AND CONSIDER BUDGET RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL (www.icgov.org/actionplan): Olmstead noted that there was twice as much money requested as the Commission is able to distribute and the decisions are very difficult. Starting at the top of the list, 4C's Community Coordinated Child Care requested $20,000 and the average allocation was $14, 267. Housing and Community Development Commission January 18, 2018 Page 3 of 15 Eastham noted that he recommended $0 for 4C’s. In making his allocations he looked at demographics of each applicant as they reported in their application and noted the applications that had a percentage of the people in their service group that was less than the city-wide percentage he tended to allocate less money to those groups. Olmstead decided it would be best to start looking at the applications that the Commission seemed to all agree upon. Hightshoe noted that typically the Commission looks at the high-priority applications first, decide funding on those, then next to the medium priority applications. Hightshoe added that Aid to Agency funding used to be stable funding for agencies, where they could rely on funding each year, the Commission has also discussed funding new initiatives each year, so historically both have happened. Olmstead added that the minimum funding request must be at least $15,000 for the Commission to consider the request. Lampkins suggested the Commission either start with the requests that have wide-spread support or those that have little support and go from there. Hightshoe alerted the applicants that while the Commission is recommending allocations to Council for the money, the City has not yet received their congressional budget for the year so these allocations are based on funds received last year and could be adjusted slightly once the new year’s budget is known. Olmstead moved onto Best Buddies International Inc., they requested $15,000 but no one on the Commission suggested an allocation to that organization. The category was a medium priority in disability services. Next discussed was NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness of Johnson County) who requested $10,000 and as earlier indicated no requests less than $15,000 could be considered. The NAMI request does fall in the high priority category for mental health services. Mary Issah left the meeting prior to the discussion. Olmstead moved onto Iowa Jobs for American's Graduates (IJAG), a medium priority in employment training and youth services. Eastham realized this is a medium priority applicant and agrees it probably doesn’t quality for this specific round of funding, however he found the application very interesting, very high percentage of students of color in this applicants programming. Eastham supports a zero dollar allocation but asks the Commission at least consider noting to the Council that this seems to be a strong program, seems to have good success in the schools, and ask the Council to consider finding funds from some other source. Harms agreed and suggested revisiting having youth services and employment training listed as a medium priority. Hightshoe began updating the spreadsheet showing allocations of $0 where the Commission suggests so they can see the amount of dollars left to allocate. Hightshoe also added that she received an email from the Crisis Center and distributed it to the Commission, the email stated as part of the joint funding the Crisis Center requests $48,268 of operation support and emergency assistance and $22,500 for mobile crisis outreach and Becci Reedus stated in the email the Crisis Center wished to withdraw the request of $22,500 for mobile crisis outreach because they will receive that funding from other sources. Therefore the total request for the Crisis Center is now just the $48, 268. Becci Reedus (The Crisis Center) spoke with regards to their application. The $48,268 is for support for the emergency assistance program which offers housing and utilities assistance to individuals in Johnson County. Reedus noted that about 70% of those assistance dollars go to Iowa City residents, the majority of support is to help to keep utilities going. As many know having one’s utilities shut off is often the first step to homelessness, and once someone loses their housing it is very expensive to get them back in. Housing and Community Development Commission January 18, 2018 Page 4 of 15 Between visits individuals retain their housing by keeping their utilities on and the success rate is about 90%. In addition, what the Commission would be supporting is the operational support. Reedus stated they do fundraise for the direct assistance dollars, they receive donations from the Common Fund through the Council for Religious Consultation, as well as designations from fundraising to provide dollars as direct assistance. The Crisis Center provided about 1500 individuals last year through the emergency assistance program. Olmstead noted that the request from the Crisis Center is $48,268 and the average allocation from the Commission is $38,000. Olmstead said he was willing to change the allocation to $40,000, Harms and Vaughn agreed. Eastham noted he also recommended $40,000 and followed the idea this year of not allocating more money for all applicants than they were allocated last year because the amount of money this year will be about the same as last year. Reedus noted that last year they were originally allocated $40,000 but once the budget was complete there was a reduction and they received less. 4 C's Community Coordinated Child Care requested $20,000 and the average allotment is $14,267, it is a high priority for child care. No one from 4C’s is at the meeting, but Vaughn noted it is a similar application to what they applied for the year prior. Lampkins suggested they allocated $15,000 since the average was close to that amount. All agreed with exception of Eastham who as stated before he based is allocations on demographics. Arc of Southeast Iowa is requesting $15,000 high priority for childcare services and medium priority for youth and disability services. Two commissioners allocated $15,000 the rest allocated $0. McKinstry doesn’t feel it meets the threshold for a $15,000 grant and recommends a $0 allocation. All agreed. Harms noted her original allocation was based on the diversity and range of individuals that Arc serves and the services provided. Big Brothers / Big Sisters has a request for $25,000 a high priority for mental health services and a medium priority for youth services. Jill Kromminga (Big Brothers / Big Sisters) stated their mission is to provide mentoring for children ages 6- 18 in the community, they serve 40% minority youth and take the safety of the children in the program very seriously. The relationships between the mentors and the children last an average of 18-24 months which is a minimum of 6 hours of one-to-one time for each child matched in the program. Olmstead noted the average allocation from the Commission was $15,000. Harms suggested keeping the allocation at $15,000 and all agreed. Lampkins noted that what will likely happen is once other applicants are eliminated from funding it will free up money that can be redistributed. Domestic Violence Intervention Program is requesting $50,000, the average Commission allotment is $36,111, and it is a high priority for homelessness, mental health and domestic violence services and medium for youth services. Delaney Dixon (Assistant Executive Director, DVIP) stated they serve victims of domestic violence, whether they are man, woman or child, often come from the 24 hour crisis line and give them emergency shelter and outreach services. They served a little over 18,600 people last year and their application is for general operations so that they may maintain their crisis line and emergency shelter. Harms asked about DVIP funding cuts that have been sustained. Dixon stated that victim services in the last State Legislature session received a 26% cut and they are looking at another cut in the upcoming session which at that point puts DVIP in jeopardy of losing their federal match funds. That would be about $137,000 loss of funding. Harms noted that the Commission has talked about domestic violence in pass sessions and that is why it was moved to a high priority this year so she suggests the allocation be brought up to at least $40,000. All agreed. Housing and Community Development Commission January 18, 2018 Page 5 of 15 Elder Services Inc. requests $50,000 and the average Commission allocation is $19,556. It is a high priority in transportation and mental health services and medium priority in health and senior services. Rosemary Schwartz (RSVP Director) stated that transportation is one of the biggest items she deals with as she handles the medical transportation program. They use volunteer drivers to provide the services for those who need assistance getting to and from their medical appointments. This program is important as giving elderly the ability to get to and from their medical appointments helps with the overall healthcare costs as illness and treatments can be attended to at an earlier stage. This also allows for individuals to stay in their homes longer. In addition Elder Services provides the Meals on Wheels program, which also allows for elders to age and stay in their homes. Elder Services also provides counseling and caregiver services, they have a program at the University of Iowa where a person goes over and speaks to employees who have family members with healthcare issues to get them tapped into the resources that are available. They also do a lot of work with family members that live outside the city or in different states to provide services to their loved ones in Johnson County. The RSVP program is a volunteer program for seniors who would like to still have the ability to give back and become vital citizens by continuing to help with other seniors. The Iowa City volunteers specifically are of an unbelievable quality, there are doctors, lawyers, professors that assist and it is very important to keep those links of people to assisting the seniors. Eastham noted the application shows the clients served were just under 11% clients of color and the city- wide residents of color is about twice that (20.5%). Schwartz stated that one of the things they have an issue with is some people do not know the services that they offer and they do work to continue to try to get to all the people they need to and for ways to increase the minority population in their services, and increase their marketing/publicity plan. Eastham asked what the publicity plan for the upcoming year will be. Schwartz said they have had some staff changes at Elder Services and they will take that opportunity to look at what they have been doing and look for areas of improvement. Sofia Mehaffey (Interim Executive Director) wanted to speak on the issue of getting services to all, she has been the Director of Community Health & Nutrition Programs at Horizons in Cedar Rapids for about two years and this is an issue that was brought to her early on in her tenure is why are they seeing the lower rates of people of color at Elder Services. After a year of work on this issue and consulting with Iowa State Extension is although the general population distribution may look like 20% when you consider the age range involved the senior population does not match that in terms of people of color. Specifically for Linn County it is significantly different. Eastham suggested they note that on their application in upcoming years. Conger noted that the application does not ask for that information so perhaps they will need to change add that to the application. Olmstead acknowledged that in terms of transparency he asked that his suggested allocation be removed from the list as he does receive services through this agency, medical transportation specifically, because SEATS and other transportation won’t go out to West Branch where his medical doctor is located. Pardon asked about the number of volunteers listed in the application are all active, there are 450 volunteers listed. Schwartz said they are not all active, but that is the list of volunteers that are registered with them that they can reach out and use if needed. Schwartz stated that in the last six months there have been around 225 volunteers actively involved, used not only for medical transportation but also the Meals on Wheels program. Olmstead reiterated the request is for $50,000, Conger said the recommendation should be maintained at $20,000 even with the average dipping due to Olmstead’s allocation removed from the equation. All agreed, Olmstead abstained. Four Oaks Family and Children's Services Iowa City has a request for $15,000 and the average allocation is $10,000. This is a high priority for transportation, child care and mental health services. No one from Four Oaks is present to promote their application. Housing and Community Development Commission January 18, 2018 Page 6 of 15 Vaughn does have a question on this application, even though no one from the organization is present to answer, she is concerned about their balance, their carryover balance is negative $93,000 which seems large and leads her to wonder about the viability of the program. Harms agreed with the same concerns. Eastham recalled that the program budget in the application was just for this requested program, the PAL program, whereas the overall agency budget appears to be more. Vaughn said the total budget listed is $160,725 and if they are already $93,000 in the red that is significant, even if it is just one segment of the overall large Four Oaks budget. Vaughn is still concerned as it in the past this program has struggled. It was agreed to come back to this application after all others were reviewed. Free Lunch Program is requesting $16,000 the average allocation is $15,111 and it is a high priority for homeless services. Eastham suggest an allocation of $15,000 since that is what almost everyone on the Commission allocated. Everyone agreed. Goodwill of the Heartland requested $15,000 and the average allocation was $3,333. This is a high priority for domestic violence and medium priority for employment training. Harms noted this application was tough, and she appreciated the range of services they offer and the diversity of population they serve. Olmstead shared his concern about their employment services and that they are still paying below minimum wage for some jobs for some people and doesn’t feel that is acceptable, e veryone has a right to a fair wage. Pardon pointed out that the application shows two employees making over six figure salaries. Lampkins suggested a $0 allocation and all agreed. HACAP is requesting $20,000. Christi Regan (Early Childhood Development Programs Manger) is representing the Head Start Program which is an early childhood program that serves children ages 3-5. Their goal and philosophy is they are preparing children and their families and the community for our children to be ready to enter into the public schools. It is a comprehensive whole look at each child, focusing not only on the educational aspect of the children but also the health, the nutrition, education, parent involvement, social services, and disability and mental health needs as all these play into a child being successful and ready to go to school. Parent involvement is highly integrated into their program, they are working with parents on a day-to-day basis on how to help their children to be ready to go to school. There are two parent/teacher conferences per year and two home visits per year where they are able to where they are able to individualize with the parent on how their child is growing and proceeding with getting ready to go to school. Regan said they offer a variety of screenings to make they can assess and determine if there are any factors in the child’s health that would be detrimental to their involvement in being prepared to go to school. They complete assessments three times per year to assess where each child is at developmentally. With the funds HACAP is requesting from Iowa City is to be able to extend their services from 20 hours per week to 40 hours per week that a child would be eligible to attend Head Start. This is for the Iowa City Bloomington Site which is downtown on Bloomington Street and it is to offer full- day, full-year services for children. The premise is for families to also be self-sufficient, to use the opportunity to go to work or school full-time, affordable quality childcare is an issue for a lot of families. At Head Start services are provided at no cost to families, there are no fees and they provide all the supplies for the child so families can focus on what they need to be self-sufficient. They serve families that are at or below 100% the federal income guidelines. Vaughn asked about their funding, HACAP receives a grant of about $2.5 million and what the restrictions of that grant are. Regan said that is the Head Start grant and because Head Start is a federally funded Housing and Community Development Commission January 18, 2018 Page 7 of 15 program and services are a part-day/part-year services which is for 20 hours/week and nine months of service. HACAP is then dependent on other grants to be able to provide full-day/full-year services. Olmstead asked if all the teachers at HACAP are certified. Regan confirmed that all lead teachers are certified and are licensed teachers. For assistant teachers the minimum qualifications are they must have a Child Development Associates (CDA) credential and the target is for all to have an Associate’s D egree (AA) in Early Childhood. Staff members have one year to meet the CDA requirement and HACAP assists staff members to help them reach that credential. Olmstead asked if HACAP serves children with disabilities and Regan confirmed they do. With the Head Start grant they have to provide a minimum of 10% of their children served to have a diagnosed disability. Regan added that 10% can be across all six counties they serve and they do have a close collaboration with Grantwood AEA who will refer families to the Head Start program knowing they have the staff with the qualifications and the ability to work with families and children with those disabilities. Eastham asked about employee salaries, and if all were above the $10.10 threshold. Regan confirmed they were, teachers that have the license are between $20 and $21 per hour, the assistant teachers that have an AA degree are paid $14.50 per hour and other non-teacher positions (i.e. onsite cooks) are around $13 per hour. Fixmer-Oraiz commented on the agency demographic overall and there are thousands served throughout all the HACAP programs and there are no transgender individuals listed. Regan said the when individuals apply for services within HACAP they select how they want to be identified on the application and transgender is an option. Vaughn suggested coming back to this application as there were four Commissioners that allocated zero dollars and five that allocated $15,000 so quite divided. Harms suggested that the large grant dollars made some feel HACAP was sufficiently funded, however after hearing from the representative it is all better understood why they need additional funding. At this point they will put an allocation of $15,000 and see how the numbers end up. Handicare is requesting $41,201 and the average allocation is $5,556, it is a high priority for childcare services. Eastham stated the request was to help only two children per year which is why he was not keen on this application. Vaughn agreed as did others and noted it is important for the monies to reach more people. McKinstry noted that Handicare provides high quality care for disable children so whether the $40,000 is aggregated over all the children or used to support two children shouldn’t matter. Olmstead asked Staff about incomplete applications and feels the Commission should not even consider incomplete applications in the future. Lampkins suggested a zero dollar allocation and all agreed. Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County is requesting $24,000 and the average allocation is $17,889 and the priority is high for homeless services. Tracey Achenbach (Executive Director) noted they are the only certified housing trust fund in Johnson County and because of that have an opportunity to apply for State dollars each year but those State dollars require them to have a local match. Due to the generosity of the City Council of Iowa City and the Johnson County Board of Supervisors the Housing Trust Fund has been given the funds to be able to administer quite a bit of funding for affordable housing. None of the funding they receive from the County or the City can be spend on operations at all, it all goes out to the organizations. Therefore four times per year the Housing Trust Fund Operations Committee sits down to re view what they haven’t awarded to organizations and gets those funds distributed. They generally award what organizations request. Achenbach addressed the issue of race, she does not like to put down racial information on the application, she doesn’t even like to ask it on applications to the organizations because they are already Housing and Community Development Commission January 18, 2018 Page 8 of 15 reporting that to the City or whoever their funder is and if the Housing Trust Fund reports the same numbers it is duplication. For example, in the case of The Housing Fellowship which receives a lot of the Housing Trust Fund money, 60% of their tenants are persons of color. Achenbach also mentioned that historically they were the only financial supporter of the Affordable Housing Coalition and helped that organization get started. They were also part of The Shelter House Fuse program initiative. Eastham noted the City (under the Council’s direction) has begun doing a racial equity analysis of a number of City department programs and services and is in part why he thinks it is important for this Commission to obtain as much data as they can regarding racial composition of the programs they request supporting. Olmstead reiterated that the application is requesting $24,000 and the Commission allocation is $17,000. Eastham stated he would like to change his allocation recommendation to $15,000. Lampkins stated he would like the allocation to be $24,000 as it is for affordable housing, they do a lot of good work for other agencies, and it leverages a lot of other organizations. All agreed. IC Compassion has requested $20,000 and the Commission allocation averages $3,333, it is a high priority – food banks. Eastham recommended $15,000 as IC Compassion is a relatively new service for food distribution, they have a high participation from communities of color, and he feels important to support organizations that are doing housing and food security work. Harms also recommended $15,000 but questions if all that money is to purchase food and finds that limiting because they do many services (transportation, ESL). Conger agrees they do various services but IC Compassion doesn’t seem very easy to get ahold of and have very limited hours. Lampkins suggest allocating zero dollars at this time since there appears to be little support. Pardon changed her recommendation to $15,000 but only three Commissioners agreed to that support so the allocation is zero. IC Free Medical/Dental Clinic is requesting $15,000 and the Commission averaged an allocation of $13,333. It is a high priority for homeless & mental health and medium for health service, senior services, substance abuse services and youth services. Barbara Vinograde (Executive Director) stated they offer a comprehensive range of outpatient medical and dental care for uninsured individuals in the community. They see a very diverse population and are seeing more non-English speaking people and are using many more interpreters that are working with them. They are also seeing more and more persons who are presenting with more complex medical conditions and they have a case management program that focuses on the population dealing with diabetes and heart disease. There is a great need for their services, they are in the process of hiring a 10 hour/week dental director) paid through an anonymous gift) which will be incredibly helpful as they have over 100 people at all times on their waiting list for the dental clinic. The Commission agreed to an allocation of $15,000. Inside Out Reentry Community is requesting $20,000 the average Commission allocation is $13,333. It is a high priority for homeless, transportation and mental health services, medium priority for employment training, health, substance abuse and youth services and subsistence. Lampkins again suggested an allocation of $15,000 since everyone on the Commission but one supported such an allocation. Everyone agreed. Iowa Jobs for American's Graduates (IJAG) was already discussed and an allocation of zero was decided but Carley Voltz (Director of Strategic Advancement) was present and spoke to the Commission. Housing and Community Development Commission January 18, 2018 Page 9 of 15 Voltz explained that IJAG was a state-wide organization and here in Iowa City they have four programs. They are unique in that they are a non-profit operating an elective course in middle and high schools around the State. In Iowa City they have a 9/10 grade program and an 11/12 grade program both at City and West High Schools. IJAG works with students that are struggling in many ways. IJAG builds relationships with the students, knowing that many of them have experienced trauma and work through trauma care. They have 49 programs throughout the State of Iowa and a few into Illinois, they have been around for 18 years and have a great track record. They have three sources of revenue, a small state allocation, 20% of IJAG income, and 30% from the school districts that they are in, and about 45% is the fundraising piece. Lampkins asked if IJAG has applied to the City before. Voltz said they did apply last year and she keeps working with Iowa City officials on how to get their students more involved and keep this program robust in the Iowa City area. Olmstead asked if they are service youth with disabilities, Voltz replied they are, on average in each classroom that makes up about 14%. Eastham asked about the instructors in the IJAG classes, if they are Iowa City Community School District teachers or provided by IJAG. Voltz said they are provided through IJAG and about 50% of them are Board certified teachers, the other 50% are qualified though an IJAG program. Those 50% are usually individuals trained in other professions that want to teach and are able to bring unique perspectives to the classroom. Olmstead asked about the precreation for the workforce and if there are certain areas they concentrate on. Voltz replied that it is based on student interest, they do look at labor market rates across the state and within the areas, but it really is student driven. Eastham asked how many students were participating in this program at City and West Highs. Voltz said there is about 200 students in their classrooms and about an additional 30 or 40 in follow-up, touching base with instructors at least once a month. Pardon requested to change her allocation request to $15,000 for IJAG. Everyone else asked to wait to see where the allocations are at the end and perhaps revisit this one. Iowa Valley RC&D (Grow: Johnson County) has a $20,000 request for a high priority for food banks and medium priority for youth services. John Boller (Program Director) said Grow: Johnson County is an educational farm initiative of Iowa Valley RC&D that is a hunger relief farm designed to provide healthy food access for those most vulnerable. They utilize 3 ½ acres of land located at the historic Johnson County Poor Farm in Iowa City to produce fruits and vegetables, a variety of each, and exclusively donated to a number of food assistance programs in the County. They just finished their second growing season and they produced 20,500 pounds fresh fruits and vegetables that they donated to agencies. They partner with Table to Table, Grow: Johnson County harvests the food, Table to Table loads it on their trucks and distributes to the agencies. They are requesting funding to bolster their educational program, because that is the other strong tenant of what they are trying to do, it is more than just producing food but also to empower community members to grow food on their own. Scott Koepke is the Education Director and goes around to schools to teach soil science and aspects of growing. They conduct field trips to the farm as well. They would like to have summer internships for college students and perhaps even high school juniors and seniors and provide them with a stipend for the internships. Pardon asked about the ethnicities. Boller said those numbers are hard to obtain as they are producing product and delivering it to 13 different agencies who then distribute the product. Fixmer-Oraiz noted that she abstained from this allocation because she works for Iowa Valley RC&D. The Commission agreed to remain at a zero dollar allocation at this time. Housing and Community Development Commission January 18, 2018 Page 10 of 15 Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County is requesting $65,000 and the average Commission allocation was $35,537, it is a high priority for child care services and medium priority for disability services, health services, and senior services. Brian Loring (Executive Director) stated they are a community, neighborhood based organization that provides childcare and before and after-school programs in five different schools. Three of the programs are in southeast Iowa City, and also serving children in Hills, Lone Tree and North Liberty. There is also a parent support component to their programming where they do home visits for children’s welfare, they also provide parent support and educational classes. In addition, Loring said they also have a community development aspect, looking not just at issues that impact individual families but also the community neighborhood. Fixmer-Oraiz questioned the FTEs listed on the application, 90.3 are listed and 57 are “others” and is curious what the “other” might be. Loring was not aware they were presenting it that way on the application and would have to look into that question. Fixmer-Oraiz also noted that the application shows a negative balance of almost $47,000. Loring explained they had three years where they ran deficits and then in FY16 they did much better and this year is looking better as well so they are in the process of making up that three years of deficits. Eastham asked how many children are in the 3-5 year old preschool program. Loring said the total of children (ages 0-5) in early childhood programs is about 150 at the Broadway location and the two at Grantwood Elementary. Eastham asked what the charge was to parents to have children in the preschool program. Loring stated they receive grant funding through the Iowa Department of Education for most of the 3-5 year old programs so there is no fee for parents. They also accept childcare assistance vouchers for their birth to 3 year old daycare. Eastham asked if all the neighborhood daycare employees are paid a minimum of $10.10 per hour. Loring said the lowest paid staff members are paid $10.30 per hour. Olmstead stated that most of the Commissioners are in agreement of allocating around $30,000 - $40,000 to Neighborhood Centers with the average around $35,000. Lampkins suggested $40,000 because five of the Commissioners allocated between $40,000 - $45,000. All agreed. Pathways Adult Day Health Center is requesting $25,000, the Commission average allocation is $10,000, it is a high priority for mental health and medium priority for disability services, health services, and senior services. No one from Pathways was present to discuss the application. Lampkins recommended an allocation of $15,000 and majority agreed. Prelude Behavioral Services requested $20,000, the Commission average allocation was $8,889, and it is a high priority for mental health services and medium priority for substance abuse. Ron Berg (CEO) explained that Prelude was formally known as MECCA, they changed their name a few years ago. They offer substance abuse and addiction treatment services in Iowa City and also in the Des Moines area. Their services cover the full range of substance abuse needs, from outpatient to early intervention, they also offer prevention services, and half-way house services. Prelude also has a 12-unit apartment building and the funding they are requesting is to support that. It is a project that was built in 2002 with CDBG funding and support and they work closely with the Iowa City Housing Services to get families connected with Section VIII housing vouchers. The support they are requesting is to cover the rent that Prelude doesn’t charge the patients when they enter the transitional housing while they wait to get their Section VIII housing voucher approved. They put the patients on a 30% payment plan based on income. Olmstead asked if the main facility was over by Shelter House. Berg confirmed it was and that they also contract with Shelter House for their hot meals. Housing and Community Development Commission January 18, 2018 Page 11 of 15 Vaughn noted that she felt Prelude has a very healthy balance sheet compared to other organizations with a budget of $8.3 million and collect fees of over $3 million. There is also a large grant of over $4.5 million with a healthy financial reserve. Eastham agreed. The Commission agreed to revisit this application after other funding was allocated. Rape Victim Advocacy Program (RVAP) is requesting $22,000, the average Commission allocation is $16,667, and it is a high priority for homeless and mental health services and a medium priority for health, domestic violence and youth services. Susan Junis (Assistant Director) stated the RVAP is an organization in Iowa City that serves an eight county service area, they work with victims and survivors of sexual abuse and harassment as well as their friends, family and loved ones. All the services at RVAP are free and confidential and work under a trauma-informed model of care. That model is intended to lower as many barriers as they can so that people may seek services with their agency. RVAP is requesting funding for both their primary and direct services they provide in the Iowa City area. While they serve an eight county area, Johnson County accounts for over a third of their client base. Junis said they have prevention services that they operate in the schools, they go into junior and senior highs and provide evidence-based healthy relationship curriculums. They are also requesting money for direct services to help provide 24-hour crisis response to folks that have experienced sexual violence. In the State of Iowa a survivor of sexual violence is able to go to the emergency room and receive free medical care so part of the request is to fund part-time advocates to assist with the crisis response. Last year the State of Iowa cut the victim services budget by 26% which led to RVAP losing almost one-third of their budget and as a result the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline was entirely defunded so they need to be able to fill that gap. Olmstead asked if RVAP also serves men. Junis replied that they serve people of all genders. One in four women, one in six men, and one of every two transgender folks will experience sexual violence in their lifetime. Olmstead asked about children. Junis said they do serve children, they have one advocate who is specialized in working with children and the RVAP executive director is a former child therapist. Harms noted that the Commission allocation is close to $17,000 so suggests that be the allocation. Conger feels there is significant support across the Commission so could they just raise the allocation to $20,000. All agreed. Shelter House has a request of $50,000, the average Commission allocation is $40,922 and it is a high priority for homeless services and mental health services. Mark Sertterh (Associate Executive Director) stated they are a homeless assistance provider that provides a wide-array of services to people experiencing homelessness. The request is for Shelter operations, this is one of the few pots of funds that directly fund Shelter operations. Sertterh stated in the past year they served 874 individuals with 150 of those children and families. They serve men and women and families, they also serve approximately 20,000 meals to people that are in Shelter which includes breakfast and dinner. 60% of the people they served last year were people of color, there were three transgender identified last year. Sertterh added that HUD has finally stated that all people in need must be served regardless of gender identification, that has not been how HUD operated in the past, however Shelter House has always served all regardless of gender identification. Olmstead asked if Shelter House takes in people who are intoxicated by alcohol or drugs. Sertterh confirmed they do not with the exception of the winter shelter, however these requested funds will not be used for the winter shelter, and the City gives separate funding for the winter shelter. Pardon stated she would like to recommend $50,000 and the majority agreed. Systems Unlimited requested $27,500, the average Commission allocation was $1,833 and it is a high priority for transportation services. No one was present from Systems Unlimited to discuss the application. Housing and Community Development Commission January 18, 2018 Page 12 of 15 Lampkins stated all Commissioners but one allocated zero dollars so the allocation should be zero and all agreed. Table to Table requested $23,000, the average Commission allocation was $9,444 and it is a high priority for food banks. No one was present from Table to Table to discuss the application. There were five Commissioners that allocated $15,000 so it was agreed upon. United Action for Youth requested $48,246, the Commission average allocation was $28,780 and it is a high priority for homeless & mental health services and medium priority for youth services. Genevieve Anglin (Business Director & Grant Administrator) stated they work primarily with young people in junior high and high school with three major programs. There is a counseling program that is both billable (insurance funded) and grant funded that serves youth in Johnson County and several surrounding counties. There is a teen parent program and a homeless youth program which has been relying on GAP funding and the Federal Government had indicated they will no longer provide that GAP funding but after further discussion relented. Therefore the request is actually $10,000 less now that the GAP funding is once again secured. The third program is the youth development program, there is a youth center in downtown Iowa City, and there is also programs at a dozen different schools in the area. The request specifically from the City is for a match for the federal funding they receive. Additionally this summer they will be starting a new program and be assisting with transportation for sixth graders to come to the youth center. Eastham asked if they will provide transportation for sixth graders located in North Liberty. Anglin replied they are working on that, they wish they could but it is impossible because the transportation they provide is bus passes. Pardon noted there is $22,400 left as all allocations stand now but there are also a couple of agencies they noted they would revisit at the end. Lampkins suggested the $22,400 should be allocated to United Action for Youth. The majority agreed. Next the Commission looked at the overall allocations and discussed possible changes and agreed to keep the allocations for Prelude and Four Oaks at zero. Additionally they reduced the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County allocation by $5,000 and increased the United Action for Youth allocation by $5,000. Eastham moved to recommend the following FY19 Aid to Agencies Budget Recommendation to Council, Fixmer-Oraiz seconded the motion and the motion passed 9-0. Agency FY19 HCDC Recommendation FY19 Main Priority 4 C's Community Coord. Child Care $15,000 High - Child Care Arc of Southeast Iowa $0 High - Child Care Services, Medium - Youth and Disability Services Best Buddies International, Inc. $0 Medium - Disability Services Big Brothers / Big Sisters $15,000 High - Mental Health Services, Medium - Youth Services Crisis Center of Johnson County $40,000 High - Homeless and Mental Health Services and Food Banks Domestic Violence Intervention Program $40,000 High - Homeless, Mental Health and Domestic Violence Services, Medium -Youth Services Elder Services Inc. $20,000 High - transportation & Mental Health Services, Medium - Health & Senior Services Housing and Community Development Commission January 18, 2018 Page 13 of 15 Four Oaks Family and Children's Services Iowa City $0 High - Transportation, Child Care and Mental Health Services Free Lunch Program $15,000 High - Homeless Services Goodwill of the Heartland $0 High -Domestic Violence, Medium - Employment Training HACAP $15,000 High - Childcare Services Handicare $0 High-Childcare Services Housing Trust Fund of JC $24,000 High - Homeless Services IC Compassion $0 High - Food Banks IC Free Medical/Dental Clinic $15,000 High - Homeless & Mental Health, Medium - Health Service, Senior Services, Substance Abuse Services, Youth Services Inside Out Reentry Community $15,000 High - Homeless, Transportation and Mental Health Services Medium - Employment Training, Health, Substance Abuse and Youth Services and Subsistence Payments Iowa Jobs for American's Graduates (IJAG) $0 Medium - Employment Training and Youth Services Iowa Valley RC&D (Grow: Johnson County) $0 High - Food Banks, Medium - Youth Services National Alliance on Mental Illness of Johnson County $0 High - Mental Health Services Neighborhood Centers of JC $35,000 High - Child Care Services, Medium - Employment Training & Youth Services Pathways Adult Day Health Center $15,000 High - Mental Health, Medium - Disability Services, Health Services, Senior Services Prelude Behavioral Services $0 High - Mental Health Services, Medium - Substance Abuse Services Rape Victim Advocacy Program $20,000 High - Homeless and Mental Health Services , Medium - Health, Domestic Violence and Youth Services Shelter House $50,000 High - Homeless Services, Mental Health Services Systems Unlimited $0 High - Transportation Services Table to Table $15,000 High - Food Banks United Action for Youth $27,400 High - Homeless & Mental Health Services, Medium - Youth Services Total Request: $376,400 Lampkins moved that if the actual allocations are within 20% of the proposed budget, increases and decreases will be prorated amongst all awarded applicants. If more than 20% change, HCDC will reconsider recommendations. Fixmer-Oraiz seconded the motion and the motion passed 9-0. CONSIDER THE HOUSING FELLOWSHIP’S REQUEST FOR CHANGE OF USE OF THE FY18 HOME ALLOCATION: Hightshoe noted that the Housing Fellowship withdrew their request so the Commission does not need to decide on this item at this time, the $100,000 will go into the FY19 pot of money to be allocated. STAFF/COMMISSION COMMENT: Housing and Community Development Commission January 18, 2018 Page 14 of 15 Hightshoe noted that the language the Commission voted for in the rental agreement disclosure form will need to be changed due to some zoning code changes. The CDBG HOME applications are due January 19, 2018 at noon so as soon as they are all received Hightshoe will distribute them to the Commission. Hightshoe gave a Best Health update, the City has about $14,000 left in the planning dollars that needs to be spent by June so they are will hold weekly activities in the Broadway neighborhood due to its proximity to Whetherby Park and Pepperwood Plaza. Harms suggested they talk about the Location Model in more detail and devote some time to it. Hightshoe said that topic is typically on the agenda in May after the allocation cycle is complete. ADJOURNMENT: Harms moved to adjourned. Eastham seconded, a vote was taken and the motion passed. Housing and Community Development Commission Attendance Record 2017 - 2018 Key: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused --- = Vacant or prior commissioner Name Terms Exp. 12/15 1/19 2/9 2/16 3/7 4/20 6/15 8/17 9/21 10/30 11/16 1/18 Conger, Syndy 7/1/2018 X X O/E X X X X X X X O/E X Eastham, Charlie 7/1/2020 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- X X X X X Fixmer-Oraiz, Vanessa 7/1/2020 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- X X X X X Harms, Christine 7/1/2019 X X X X X X X X X X X X Lamkins, Bob 7/1/2019 O/E X O/E X X O/E X X O/E X O/E X McKinstry, John 7/1/2020 X X X X X O/E X X X X X X Olmstead, Harry 7/1/2018 X X X X X X X X X O/E X X Padron, Maria 7/1/2018 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- O/E X X X X Vaughan, Paula 7/1/2019 X X X X X X X X X X O/E X