Item 3F: Reprogramming of Community Development Block Grant Funds

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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Reprogramming of Community Development Block Grant Funds Meeting Date: April 8, 2013 Agenda Item Number: 3F Department: Planning & Development Staff Contact: Michael Wisth www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5540 ISSUE STATEMENT The City Council is asked to approve the reprogramming of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from White Bird’s Chrysalis Outpatient Center expansion project and the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund to the City of Eugene Public Works Department’s Blair Streetscape Improvement Project and the Business Development Fund, respectively. BACKGROUND The City of Eugene established current goals and programs benefitting low-income people through the adopted 2010 HUD Consolidated Plan. The Consolidated Plan guides the use of CDBG and HOME funds over a five-year period. Each year, the City Council approves the allocation of federal funds through a One-Year Action Plan. The funding allocations and uses of funds are described and submitted to HUD each year in a document called the One-Year Action Plan and must align with the . goals and programs in the adopted Consolidated PlanFrom time to time, the City Council also approves the reprogramming of federal funds among projects and programs to address unavoidable changes in approved projects or to facilitate timely use of CDBG funds as required by HUD. Reprogramming funds for the Blair Streetscape Improvement Project In the FY 2012/2013 allocation process, the council approved a CDBG nonprofit capital improvement grant of $189,716 for White Bird to expand and relocate its Chrysalis Outpatient Center. Subsequently, White Bird secured alternative financing for this project and declined its CDBG grant. Public Works requested CDBG funding for the Blair Streetscape Improvement Project in FY 2012/2013, but the City’s annual CDBG entitlement was insufficient to fund this project in addition to those recommended to the council for approval. Following White Bird’s return of the funding, the CDBG Advisory Committee recommends that these funds be reprogrammed for the Blair Streetscape Improvement Project. The reprogramming of White Bird’s award funds to the Blair Streetscape Improvement Project enables Public Works to complete the proposed improvements for greater pedestrian and bicycle accessibility in conjunction with other related improvements this summer. The construction schedule allows the federal funds to be spent down without delay to meet HUD’s timeliness requirements. Reprogramming funds to capitalize the Business Development Fund The City’s Business Development Fund (BDF) is a tool to advance the goals of the regional prosperity plan. The BDF meets federal CDBG goals for the creation of jobs and the elimination of conditions of S:\CMO\2013 Council Agendas\M130408\S1304083F.doc