Item Coversheet

CITY OF OAKLAND PARK, FLORIDA
CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM REPORT

AGENDA ITEM NO. 1

MEETING DATE: 3/16/2022
PREPARED BY: 

Sierra Marrero, Assistant Director of Engineering & Building Services

 

Brynt Johnson, Director of Engineering & Building Services

DEPARTMENT HEAD APPROVAL:  ECD Engineering and Building Services
SUBJECT: Resolution of Support for a Grant Application to Broward County for the 48th Year CDBG Program.
1.BACKGROUND/HISTORY
    
 

Issue Statement:The City received notification on February 16, 2022 from the Broward County Housing Finance & Community Development Division for the 48th Program Year (October 2022 – September 2023) allocation of an estimated $190,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for capital improvements in addition to $30,000 in funding for non-profits. The CDBG funding process involves an application for the following fiscal year, which begins October 1, 2022.

           

Recommended Action:  The City Commission to conduct a public hearing and then select the two non-profits organizations for funding and adopt a resolution authorizing the proper City Officials to execute appropriate documents to submit the 48th Year Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application to Broward County and subsequently to accept HUD's final appropriated grant funding on behalf of the City.

 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awards grant funding through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. Cities qualify for CDBG based on their low/moderate income population. The funds for non-entitlement cities (cities under 50,000 population) are given to the county to be granted to the cities. To qualify for CDBG funding, the City is required to advertise for proposals and hold two public hearings prior to submitting a funding application to Broward County by their deadline of March 25, 2022.

2.CURRENT ACTIVITY
    
 

With City Commission approval, the City will be submitting a CDBG funding application for a public infrastructure project for improvements to Dr. Carter G. Woodson Park. In addition, the City has the option to submit projects for public service. The funding for public service projects can be used to fund projects for non-profit organizations, but it is not a requirement that these projects be funded. The City published a Notice of Public Hearing on February 20, 2022 for a public meeting on the proposed City infrastructure project and soliciting proposals from non-profit organizations serving the residents of Oakland Park seeking to be funded through the CDBG Program. The City Commission meeting is the 2nd public hearing.

Staff held a public hearing/workshop on February 24, 2022, to discuss the 48th Year CDBG Program funding cycle and allocation of funding for both municipal and non-profit organization projects. Nonprofits were given the opportunity to discuss the application process, eligibility requirements and proposed projects. Citizens were given opportunity for input. At the meeting, staff presented their plans to apply for improvements to Dr. Carter G. Woodson Park for the 48th Year funding.

The minimum CDBG allocation for each public service project is $15,000 per Broward County and no more than 15% of the total funding allocation, or $30,000 is available for the Public Service category.  The City engaged a consultant, Complex Systems Innovations, LLC, the same firm that evaluated the applications for the last CDBG cycle, to evaluate the applications based on the quality of proposals. The rankings are as follows:

  1. Light of the World (19.75)
  2. Women in Distress (18.83)

 

The detailed scoring and ranking criteria are attached for reference.  

 

Upon notification of such award by the City, the City’s application for the infrastructure project, together with the two (2) non-profit organization applications, will be submitted to Broward County for review and approval. Thereafter, the responsibility of reporting to the County lies with those organizations awarded grants.

3.FINANCIAL IMPACT
    
 

The total funding available to the City from HUD through the 48th Year of the CDBG program is approximately $230,000 for capital improvements to Dr. Carter G. Woodson Park and non-profit organization funding approved by the City Commission ($30,000 total, $15,000 per organization).  

All 48th Year CDBG funding will be available after October 1, 2022, meaning the capital project funding will be reflected in Oakland Park's FY 2023 CIP.  The non-profit funding is provided directly by the County to the non-profits and will also be available after October 1, 2022.

4.RECOMMENDATION
    
 The City Commission to conduct a public hearing and then select the two non-profits organizations for funding and adopt a resolution authorizing the proper City Officials to execute appropriate documents to submit the 48th Year Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application to Broward County and subsequently to accept HUD's final appropriated grant funding on behalf of the City.
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Resolution
CDBG Ranking and Scoring
Funding History
CDBG Advertising Affidavit