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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-15-2025 Housing & Community Development CommissionHOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (HCDC) September 15, 2025 Regular Meeting — 5:30 PM Emma J. Harvat Hall 410 E Washington Street (City Hall) AGENDA: 1. Call to Order 2. Consideration of Meeting Minutes: August 18, 2025 3. Public Comment of Items not on the Agenda Commentators shall address the Commission for no more than five minutes. Commissioners shall not engage in discussion with the public concerning said items. 4. Discuss FY26 Community Development Block Grant Funding Request and Consider Budget Recommendation The Commission will discuss the application and consider a recommendation for FY26 Community Development Block Grant funds. Information related to this grant is available online at www.icgov.orq/grants. 5. FY25 Consolidated Annual Performance & Evaluation Report (CAPER) Overview and Update on City Programs The CAPER is a required document that is submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) within 90 days of the fiscal year end which concludes June 30. The FY25 CAPER draft is online at www.icgov.org/actionplan for review and comment. The public comment period began September 4, 2025, and will conclude September 21, 2025. Staff will provide an overview of the CAPER as well as an update on City projects and programs. At this meeting, the Commission will consider approving the document for submission to HUD. 6. Staff & Commission Updates This item includes an opportunity for brief updates from staff and Commissioners. Commissioners shall not engage in discussion on updates. 7. Adjournment If you will need disability -related accommodations to participate in this program or event, please contact Brianna Thul at bthul(cDiowa-city.org or 319-356-5240. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. Next Meeting: October 20, 2025 � r CITY OF IOWA CITY 410 East Washington Street Iowa City. Iowa 52240-1826 (319) 356-5000 (319) 356-5009 FAX www.icgov.org Housing and Community Development Commission Meeting Packet Contents September 15, 2025 Agenda Item #2 a) Draft HCDC Meeting Minutes — August 18, 2025 Agenda Item #4 a) The submission from the Iowa City Housing Authority is available online at: www.icqov.org/grants b) Staff Application Summary and Risk Assessment c) Staff Memo — FY26 Staff Funding Recommendation Agenda Item #5 a) The draft FY25 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report is available online at: www.icgov.org/actionplan. b) City Steps 2025 Highlights Agenda Item #2 MINUTES HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION AUGUST 18, 2025 — 6:30 PM FORMAL MEETING E M M A J. HARVAT HALL, CITY HALL DRAFT MEMBERS PRESENT: Maryann Dennis, Amos Kiche, Sarah Murray, Thomas Rocklin, Kyle Vogel MEMBERS ABSENT: Karol Krotz STAFF PRESENT: Brianna Thul, Sam Turnbull OTHERS PRESENT: Beth Anne Pigge (Iowa City Sober Living), Laura Semprini (NAMI JC), Simona Galea (IWNJC), Jenny Britton (Agape Cafe) RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: By a vote of 5-0 the Commission recommends the following funding recommendations for FY26 Non - Legacy Aid to Agencies: FY26 Staff HCDC Applicant Request Recommendation Recommendation Access 2 Independence $5,000 $0.00 $0.00 Agape Cafe $7,500 $7,500.00 $7,500.00 Community Inclusion Club* $7,000 $0.00 $6,250.00 Community Transportation Committee $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Escucha Mi Voz $15,000 $0.00 $6,250.00 Field to Family $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Free Mental Health Clinic $5,000 $0.00 $5,000.00 Healthy Kids Clinic $10,000 $0.00 $0.00 Immigrant Welcome Network of Johnson County $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Iowa City Hospice $10,000 $0.00 $0.00 Iowa City Sober Living $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Iowa Legal Aid $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development $5,000 $0.00 $0.00 Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Kids First Law Center $15,000 $7,500.00 $5,000.00 NAMI JC $15,000 $15,000.00 $0.00 Housing and Community Development Commission August 18, 2025 Page 2 of 9 Open Heartland $10,000 $0.00 $0.00 St. Andrew Presbyterian Church $7,000 $0.00 $0.00 Successful Living $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Visiting Nurse Association $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Wright House $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Total $246,500 $30,000.00 $30,000.00 CALL MEETING TO ORDER: Vogel called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: JULY 21, 2025: Kiche moved to approve the minutes of July 21, 2025. Dennis seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the minutes were approved 5-0. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR TOPICS NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. DISCUSS FY26 NON -LEGACY AID TO AGENCIES (FORMERLY "EMERGING") FUNDING REQUESTS AND CONSIDER BUDGET RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL: Thul shared a spreadsheet showing the requests that were received for FY26. One column of the spreadsheet shows the staff recommendations and details on those recommendations were included in the memo in the agenda packet. The blank column is what the Commission will need to complete tonight. Vogel first wanted to acknowledge to all the applicants that there was an incredible amount of very qualified applications for projects and programs. What he hopes is that no one goes away from here feeling unappreciated, however, the fact is the Commission has a very limited budget and simply could not award money to everyone. Dennis stated she really appreciated the staff memo and noted the Commissioners certainly don't have to stick to any of those, but it's interesting. In general, staff don't recommend funding an application for more than two years. She would personally agree with that, if they're Non -Legacy, which used to be Emerging, and an applicant has received funding within the last two years, that they are not considered anymore. Rocklin would support that approach. Murray stated how she looked at this was really about what could be completed with the greatest reach for the funding period. She acknowledged that there's pluses and minuses to both views, but she viewed it as what could accomplish a full goal. Her biggest recommendations were the Community Inclusion Club to provide those events for the totality of the year and looking at the events that could start and finish during the funding time. She also noted the Community Transportation Committee. Transportation is consistently one of the top needs through Iowa City and Johnson County and the connected areas. Also the Agape Cafe, she particularly liked that they don't require a threshold requirement. That is harder and harder to find, especially for people who are hovering just over a threshold. Dennis agrees about the Agape Cafe and noted staff also recommended it. Housing and Community Development Commission August 18, 2025 Page 3 of 9 Vogel stated he would like to spread out the love as much as possible and agrees Agape Cafe has a general consensus that they all like that application and agree with that program. Rocklin agreed with Murray and looked at projects that would finish in the funding period. He also looked at some that looked like they would have effect beyond the period. St. Andrew Presbyterian Church would be the perfect example of that as they'll be putting in the outlets and refrigerating food for the indefinite future. Dennis felt that St. Andrew Presbyterian Church foot the bill for that Rocklin noted it was hard to tell for a lot of the organizations whether they are fit to grow or not and whether they have the capacity. They received requests from organizations that have a couple million dollars in reserve, but he don't know what that's programmed for or it is unrestricted reserves. Kiche did not agree with St. Andrew. Vogel supports St. Andrew Presbyterian Church for primarily the exact same reason, which is that it's an ongoing solution project. They can leave St. Andew for now. Vogel noted one that staff recommended, which was interesting was Kids First Law Center. He hasn't seen anything like that before, at least in his time here. This is a project proposal addressing a need that he feels the community has not seen before. He likes this organization because when looking at the applications, he was trying to address things that were outside of other ongoing agency stuff. He acknowledged housing is always big, and food assistance is big, but they haven't really ever addressed this subset before. Dennis stated most of the funding comes from corporate or individuals. She stated they're all good programs, all of them. She questions why they don't receive funding from the courts. It almost seems like it's an unfunded mandate, which she has never been a fan of. Rocklin noted they're actually a good example of what they were just talking about. They have about a million and a half of unrestricted assets and a million dollars of annual expenditures. They're a big organization and he wasn't sure if $15,000 is going to help that much. Murray noted in their application they stated with a $15,000 grant that will provide children with services worth more than $84,000. Dennis explained what they are asking for is money to help leverage an additional $84,000 into Iowa City partners. Thul stated the applicant shared some information in the Q & A about their fee structure and what a normal fee would be per hour versus what they're charging. Dennis is not in favor of funding Kids First. Kiche is in favor given the nature of all the populations that are poor and what they will be dealing with in terms of child cases, adoptions, and situations where maybe the children want to have a say about the conflict in their families and have an independent attorney that is not representing the father or the mother. These cases that are becoming common in cases of adoption — he has had some experiences with that. He also noted from the information in the annual report, he was convinced that lives have been changed by this. He wants to give them $5,000 because he wanted to be fair to others too. Housing and Community Development Commission August 18, 2025 Page 4 of 9 Vogel reiterated it is such a unique niche that he's never seen and honestly never thought about but it is a real problem. Dennis is not convinced. Rocklin is willing to keep it open and continued that at the end of the day all of this is comparative and would be interested in hearing thoughts about more applicants. Dennis liked Open Heartland. Vogel stated his problem was that they answered no on the question of whether they received any assistance in the last five years, and they have received a lot of funding. He found it weird that they answered that they had not. Rocklin noted that it's essentially support to buy more food, and they didn't show evidence that they were running out. Dennis liked that they provided food to many places in the community. Kiche asked if they the ones who don't have permanent staff and it is 100% volunteer basis. Thul confirmed that was correct. Vogel stated them answering no to the funding question when they had received pervious funding just makes it a no for him. Rocklin is sympathetic that it is all volunteer and maybe they don't know whether they got money last year, but that speaks to their functioning capabilities of the organization. Vogel stated the City supported the NAMI JC, but they were not on his list to support because they got money in 2021 so he did not consider this one closely. Rocklin noted they resubmitted the budget because the first one showed a $15,000 surplus, and in the resubmit they added a line of $15,000 for healthcare, but he doesn't understand what that is or how it relates to the project. He also noticed that in their agency budget, Our Place, which is where the peer support is headquartered, shows $64,000 in revenue and $49,000 in expenses for a net of nearly $15,000 so he couldn't quite align the budget with the request. It also would have helped a lot, not that it was required, to see a letter of support from the Free Lunch Program and Shelter House, where they proposed to do this work. Dennis stated NAMI is certainly a well -established agency in this area and they do a lot of fundraising. Kiche was worried about the location of 15,000 marks and when looking at the questions that the Commission sends, and then the answers, he was troubled by the negative balance that they've been having and was trying to reconcile looking at the tax return, and noted the director is getting something well over 60 something, but looking at this expenditure on salaries and benefits, it is $338,000 making him wonder if this is the salary, and why are they not showing that in the tax form. He acknowledged sometimes when you earn a certain amount, you don't need to file a return or report that on 1099, but that there's something missing. Vogel agreed it is interesting because the payroll and health care and retirement is $439,000 of their $571,000 revenue and then program expenses much less so yes there is a weird disconnect. Rocklin did notice two years of deficit spending, which is not a good sign for an organization. On the other hand, their current budget is considerably higher. He is not an expert, but he believes the salaries that 4 Housing and Community Development Commission August 18, 2025 Page 5 of 9 have to be listed on the 990 are the highest paid staff. On the program expenses, a lot of the salaries are allocated to program expenses so they're spending 69% on programs. Kiche was wondering about NAMI JC because they are the ones getting the highest allocation from the City so he is open to listening but the best he wants to do is $5,000 unless there is other persuasion from the rest of the Commission. Murray appreciates that they have been budgeting to pay peer support specialists as that has become more of the standard, but it's not a universal standard. She also thinks budget scrutiny is always good, but staff are expensive, especially the benefits. Vogel asked to hear top favorites from Commissioners that they have not discussed yet. Kiche stated when reviewing the applications, apart from looking at the areas like food, safety, housing and disability, he was looking at special populations too. He especially wants to support Escucha Mi Voz because of the population of the people they are supporting. Vogel agrees and liked their application as it was a very specific population. His issue was they have received a lot of recent funding from City sources so he did not have them on his list, but the $15,000 does make a difference with this population. Dennis would consider $5,000 for Escucha Mi Voz. In the past they've done a lot of research and it takes a lot of planning to get anything started. Additionally, community -wide, they're very well respected but since they have received that money from the City in the past she would consider $5,000 for them. Kiche agreed and was also thinking $5,000 would be the amount to give them. They are very good in long term, not only in terms of providing services to their clients, but they are helping the city with a lot of information that the city needs for planned health care, housing, and other things. Escucha Mi Voz was able to go out there and get a lot of survey responses and information and that is an organization that they probably need to support. Vogel stated the other thing he liked about it is this is a time when legal services for immigrants could potentially be the hottest topic in needs right now. Rocklin liked the work they proposed. It didn't quite float to the top, but he is not opposed. Rocklin liked The Free Medical Clinic project - psycho -educational workshops for paroled individuals during their reentry period. Staffed by volunteer medical students, supervised by social worker and faculty member. Again, he was looking for things that might have a longer lasting effect and this one is a development of modules and presumably those modules will be developed and used again. Actually providing the psycho -educational workshops that will actually be funded again somehow in future. Dennis agreed it is a very vulnerable population. Murray stated her only hesitation for this is that they partner with the University Hospitals and Clinics so she is curious about the deficit and how that could have been made by the University. Murray noted it says it will be conducted by volunteer students with clinical experience made through the partner college. Vogel thinks it is more of a student organization outreach program more so than an official UIHC program. Dennis asked about Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development, it seems like that one wasn't well received because it is statewide and they're working with other entities and maybe the resources will be spread out and not used in Iowa City. Housing and Community Development Commission August 18, 2025 Page 6 of 9 Kiche stated they aren't sure that the funding would be touching anyone in Iowa City. Rocklin noted they estimate that 50% of their beneficiaries are IC residents but they don't have a good way to estimate beneficiaries. Vogel stated there was a direct 40,000 pounds of fresh produce in Iowa City. Rocklin added that seven of their food service partners are located in Iowa City. Kiche indicated that they work with organizations like Table to Table and some of those are funded already in the Legacy projects. Dennis stated her favorite was Agape Cafe and others seem to agree. She proposes funding them more than $5,000. The Commission discussed allocations for Agape Cafe, Escucha Mi Voz, Free Mental Health Clinic and Community Inclusion. Murray stated the Community Inclusion Club was probably the first one that hooked her with it's goal to provide tailored events to persons with intellectual disabilities. The funding will be used this year and maybe if it's planned, executed, and completed within a funding year - it would hopefully be leveraged to get additional funding afterwards. Dennis noted with the allocations so far they are hitting food assistance, mental health, folks with intellectual disabilities, and immigrants so do they still want to allocate to the Kids First Law Center. Vogel would make an argument for the remaining $7,500 to go to the Kids First Law Center, it's something new and was also a staff recommendation. Murray moved to recommend the following funding recommendations for FY26 Non -Legacy Aid to Agencies. Kiche seconded A vote was taken and the motion passed 5-0. FY26 Staff HCDC Applicant Request Recommendation Recommendation Access 2 Independence $5,000 $0.00 $0.00 Agape Cafe $7,500 $7,500.00 $7,500.00 Community Inclusion Club $7,000 $0.00 $6,250.00 Community Transportation Committee $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Escucha Mi Voz $15,000 $0.00 $6,250.00 Field to Family $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Free Mental Health Clinic $5,000 $0.00 $5,000.00 Healthy Kids Clinic $10,000 $0.00 $0.00 Housing and Community Development Commission August 18, 2025 Page 7 of 9 Immigrant Welcome Network of Johnson County $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Iowa City Hospice $10,000 $0.00 $0.00 Iowa City Sober Living $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Iowa Legal Aid $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development $5,000 $0.00 $0.00 Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Kids First Law Center $15,000 $7,500.00 $5,000.00 NAMI JC $15,000 $15,000.00 $0.00 Open Heartland $10,000 $0.00 $0.00 St. Andrew Presbyterian Church $7,000 $0.00 $0.00 Successful Living $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Visiting Nurse Association $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Wright House $15,000 $0.00 $0.00 Total $246,500 $30,000.00 $30,000.00 STAFF & COMMISSION UPDATES: Thul thanked everyone for the thoughtful discussion and for reading all of the material. This was a difficult decision with so many applicants. Thul continued that the CDBG round will be next. As noted in the staff memo, they only received one application for the CDBG round which is not ideal, but might be a good introduction to the process for new Commissioners. The next HCDC meeting will be September 15 and the packet for that meeting will go out about a week before. Thul asked if Commissioners will have questions for the applicant to address through a Q&A and the Commissioners did not think so. Vogel noted for the new commissioners this CDBG round will be a great opportunity for them to get familiar with the whole scoring mechanism. The scoring for CDBG make sense and gives you a good idea of how organizations fall. There are strengths and weaknesses. They see a lot of the same solid organizations being awarded funding year after year because they continue to put out projects on time. Kiche asked for an excel version of the scoresheet. Thul confirmed she will send out that version and continued that staff are piloting software for scoring this year to see if it is something the Commission might be interested in down the road. Dennis asked if any of the applicants that they receive for Non -Legacy could also apply for CDBG in the future. She noted that none of them applied for facility improvements. Thul said its possible, staff do outreach during these funding rounds and if they think that there's somebody that might have a project, staff will reach out. Housing and Community Development Commission August 18, 2025 Page 8 of 9 Dennis wondered if it would make sense in the future when staff has the training session, to invite some of the Non -Legacy applicants who might want to learn about this. Thul stated they certainly can, they usually blast the press release out to everybody, but maybe some more targeted outreach to new applicants would be helpful. The biggest thing that usually trips up new applicants with federal funding is financial management and compliance with 2 CFR 200. Rocklin asked about next steps for Non -Legacy funding. Thul noted the next step for the Non -Legacy process is that the Commission's recommendations will be submitted to City Council, and then City Council makes the final budget decisions. She anticipates that will be at one of the September meetings and will follow up with the exact date. Rocklin stated that after the recent Legacy process, he wondered if it would be beneficial for a member of the Commission to talk a bit about the process to inform others about the work they do. Dennis noted that for new people, this process was baptism by fire. Vogel agreed that there were so many applications. Rocklin agreed that this was a lot of work and it is good for Council to know. Dennis continued that everyone read every application and that is good for others to understand. ADJOURNMENT: Dennis moved to adjourn, Rocklin seconded the motion and a vote was taken and the motion passed 5-0. Housing and Community Development Commission August 18, 2025 Page 9 of 9 Housing and Community Development Commission Attendance Record 2024-2025 Name Terms Exp. 5/16 6/13 8/19 9/16 10/21 3/24 4/21 5/19 6/16 7/21 8/18 -- -- A A P A A D D D D Balde, Daouda 6/30/27 P P P A A P P A P Borgen, Horacio 6/30/25 (Zoom) P P P P P P P P P P P Dennis, Maryann 6/30/25 -- -- -- P P P P P P Kiche, Amos 6/30/25 -- -- P P A P P P P P Kivarkis, George 6/30/27 (zoom) (zoom) P P A P P A A P P A A Krotz, Karol 6/30/27 Murray, Sarah 6/30/27 P P P P P Patel, Kiran 6/30/26 P P A P A Pierce, James 6/30/26 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- P P Rocklin, Thomas 6/30/28 P A P A p Szecsei, Denise 6/30/25 A A P P P P P P P P P Vogel, Kyle 6/30/26 Key: P = Present A = Absent * = Resigned -- = Vacant D = Discharged FY26 CDBG/HOME Application Summary Agenda Item #4 Applicant Agency City of Iowa City - Iowa City Housing Authority Eligible Activity Rental Acquisition 1. Budget and Resources Estimated Project Cost $327,132 Funds Requested $212,132 Funds Leveraged $115,000 -1 Primary Target Primary percent of beneficiaries targeted are between 31-50% AMI. /o (100 between 31-50 /o AMI ) Other. Applicant notes their target populations are household Special Populations experiencing or at risk of homelessness, extremely low-income families, people with disabilities, elderly individuals, and recipients of federal assistance programs. Encouraging Housing Distribution Applicant notes goal to acquire unit in a high opportunity area that historically has not had many affordable housing options. Timeline Project anticipated to be completed within the fiscal year. Affordability/Compliance Period 20 years. Pro forma submitted indicates the project would have no debt and would cash flow through compliance period. ... Applicant has successfully completed numerous projects in the past Past Projects of similar size and scale. Applicant currently owns and manages 116 rental units. Applicant has staff experienced in managing affordable units. Has Capacity maintained a "High Performer" status with HUD. Financial statements submitted with no findings noted. Applicant is experienced with cross cutting federal regulations such Experience and Quality as procurement and has successfully completed projects of equal to and larger scale without issues. Disclosure: Staff preparing the summary sheets work in the same department as ICHA. Part of HCDC's role is to help bring an outside perspective to review of the submissions. • Requested funds are below the current subsidy limits. Current 3-bedroom maximum per unit subsidy = $327,292.80. 4-bedroom per unit subsidy = $359,263.20. • CDBG and ICHA funds would cover the full purchase at the proposed budget. • Due to the mission of ICHA, units would remain affordable post compliance period and any funds generated from the project would be reinvested in activities and services to support affordable housing. Staff Calculations Percentage of funds leveraged. 35% - 10 points 1.3 Primary percentage of median Majority between 31-50% - 15 points income persons targeted. 11.6 Experience with applicable federal 20 points requirements. 111.12 Bonus Points (IV) None Application summaries are intended to be a high-level overview of key information and not a substitute for the full submission. Please consider all materials submitted by the applicant. Staff Risk Assessment Risk Factor Staff Response Points Staff Comments Has the applicant been subject to ElYes (3 pts.) recapure of funds in the last five 0No (0 pts.) 0 years? Applicant has one active Does the applicant have more than ❑x Yes (1 pts.) CDBG/HOME project underway one other federally funded project ❑ No ) ( p 0 pts.) 1 through an annual set aside of currently underway? HOME funds to provide Tenant Based Rental Assistance. Has the applicant triggered the City's Unsuccessful and Delayed ❑ Yes (2 pts.) Projects Policy in the last five No (0 pts.) 0 years (for reasons beyond factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic)? In the last five years, had the applicant demonstrated reporting issues for other City projects (e.g., ❑ Yes (1 pts.) 0 late reports, incomplete reports, or ❑x No (0 pts.) failing to submit required reports)? Has the applicant experienced ❑ Yes (1 pts.) turnover in key staff in the last 12 ❑x No (0 pts.) 0 months? Does the applicant have a lack of experience undertaking projects of ❑ Yes (3 pts.) 0 similar size and scale ❑x No (0 pts.) successfully? Are factors present that indicate a ❑ Yes (3 pts.) concern for financial capacity No (0 pts.) 0 such as audit findings? Has the applicant demonstrated issues with long term compliance ❑ Yes (3 pts.) for projects during the period of ❑x No (0 pts.) 0 affordability or compliance period in the last five ears? Are other factors present that ❑ Yes (1-3 pts.) 0 indicate risk? Is yes, explain. ❑x No (0 pts.) Total Points 1 — Low Risk Note: Risk assessments are intended to be general guidance. Staff cannot determine definitively how an applicant may perform in the future. Risk is assessed based on the information available at the time of the submission. Staff Risk Assessment Key Points Risk Level 0-3 Low 4-10 Moderate >10 High Application summaries are intended to be a high-level overview of key information and not a substitute for the full submission. Please consider all materials submitted by the applicant. I t 1 CITY OF IOwA CITY UNESCO CITY OF LITERATURE CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM Date: August 20, 2025 To: Housing and Community Development Commission From: Brianna Thul, Senior Community Development Planner Sam Turnbull, Grants Specialist Re: FY26 Staff Funding Recommendations Summary of Staff Scores & Funding Recommendations for CDBG: Agenda Item #4 Applicant and Project Score 340 Points Total Request Staff Recommendation Iowa City Housing Authority 304 $212,132 $212,132 Rental Acquisition ggo�o Total $212,132 $212,132 Staff Comments on Funding Recommendations for CDBG: As you know, the City received one application by the August 4, 2025 deadline. The proposal submitted by the Iowa City Housing Authority is consistent with the City's priority to expand and preserve affordable housing. Increasing the number of affordable rental housing units through acquisitions is a high priority need in the City's consolidated plan, City Steps 2030. Staff recommend fully funding the proposal based on the consistency with City Steps 2030, score, and the information reviewed through the risk assessment. Next Steps Commissioners will discuss the proposal at the September 15, 2025 Housing and Community Development Commission Meeting and consider a budget recommendation. City Steps 2025 Highlights Iowa City is an entitlement community that receives federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The five-year consolidated plan, known as City Steps, establishes community -identified housing and community development priorities to help to guide investment decisions for federal funds. CDBG and HOME funds are targeted to serve Iowa City residents that meet income eligibility guidelines. The following are examples of investments made during the five-year planning period of City Steps 2025: • Over $650,000 invested in down payment assistance to support 33 homebuyers through partnerships with other organizations such as Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity, GreenState Credit Union, and Hills Bank. • Over $1.4 million invested in 82 homeowner and 3 renter rehab projects to preserve the city's housing stock. • Over $1 million invested in public facility projects including shelters and neighborhood centers. • Over $650,000 invested in the acquisition of affordable housing that provided 16 rental units. • Over $260,000 invested in neighborhood improvement projects such as accessible curb ramps, trail connections, and playground improvements for income eligible areas of Iowa City. • Over $600,000 invested in public services including childcare and shelter. City of Iowa City DVIP/RVAP - CDBG Public Facilities DVIP/RVAP has been providing emergency shelter and services to victims/survivors of domestic violence since 1980. The City of Iowa City allocated CDBG funds to DVIP/RVAP to assist with the construction of a new non - congregate shelter that doubled DVIP/RVAP's capacity from 35 beds to 70 beds. With the opening of the new shelter in November 2024, DVIP/RVAP has sheltered 656 adults and youth during FY25, which is 288 more people than the previous year. - Kristie Doser, Executive Director of DVIP/RVAP The Housing Fellowship - HOME Rental Acquisition A family with 9 children, including a newborn, was in an untenable position in their housing and needed to find a new home immediately. Without this funding and the flexibility of City staff, this purchase would have been out of reach financially, and these children would not have had a home, affecting their lives permanently. - Simon Andrew, Executive Director of The Housing Fellowship Free Medical Clinic - CDBG Public Facilities CDBG funds helped us to create a new, ADA compliant double door egress with lighting for safety in our lower level. Our building does not have an elevator and the addition of this entryway allows us to utilize our lower level for more patient services. Budget restrictions would not have allowed us to complete this project, and we are so very thankful for the support. The addition of this doorway allows us to increase our capacity and better utilize our space. - Jennie Schmidt, Executive Director of Free Medical Clinic City of Iowa City Shelter House - CDBG Public Facilities The City's investment in Shelter House's public facilities has ensured the health and safety of hundreds of the most vulnerable people in our community. The funds have helped to convert our existing geothermal heat pump system into a geothermal variable refrigerant flow system, increasing reliability and efficiency to ensure a safe and habitable shelter environment year- round for adults, children, and families experiencing the crisis of homelessness. City investment supported critical facility improvements that increased the safety, security, and accessibility of our Emergency Shelter facility. - Christine Hayes, Director of Development and Communication at Shelter House Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity - H O ME Down Payment Assistance Too often the high cost of housing forces low-income households to endure inadequate housing; the market simply prices them out of safe, decent, and affordable options. Yet for those families that manage to secure housing by using HOME funds, the opportunity provided by affordable homeownership is transformational. For example, one family secured HOME funds to use as down payment assistance on an Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity home. The family of six left behind a two -bedroom apartment that was so cramped the oldest child slept under the kitchen table. Upon moving into their home, the children had their own space to study, a yard to host play dates, and stability to make life-long connections to their friends and neighbors. This opportunity afforded by HOME funds is the foundation that healthy and productive lives are built on. -Scott Hawes, Executive Director of Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity City of Iowa City