Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 06-26-12 regular — reading text

Health Services Brid ewa , United Way X HomeHoices less Okaloosa /Walton Continuum X of Care, FRESH Start 91. 100( a)( 2) Chronically Homeless Continuum of Care X 91. 100( a)( 3) Lead -based Paint X* 91. 100( a)( 4) Adjacent Govenuuenl Copies are provided upon X State request. Upon acceptance X County from HUD, the Plan will be X laced on www. fwb.org. 91. io ( a)( 5) Metro Planning Agencies Copies are provided upon X request. Upon acceptance from HUD, Plan will be laced on www.fwb. org. The City tests proposed rehabilitation projects for lead -based paint, provides the required remedial action, and provides information to homeowner. Institutional Structure, Resources ( 91. 220el & c2), and Coordination The City provides funding to extremely low, low -, and moderate-income families through services provided by non -profit organizations. Funding may be sought by these organizations through an application process during the formation of the CDBG annual program. Funding for public service programs is highly competitive due to limited funds and an abundance of need. Therefore, the City has not solicited projects which target specific needs. The City relies on the CDBG program funds yearly to implement important community development and housing objectives. Additional cash resources are scarce for the program, but the following list describes the pooling of in -kind resources from many different agencies in order to accomplish the goals of the program. in addition, the list Packet Pg. 49  F1_0 . a below outlines the institutional structure for the program and the coordination among agencies ( 91. 215 I): 1. The Okaloosa/ Walton Homeless Continuum of Care Opportunity, Inc - health clinics, provision of bicycles, and other essential needs beyond the capacity of individual members. 2. Waterfront Rescue Mission —The target population is men with substance abuse and other disorders. 3. Bridgeway Center, Inc. — Assists men and women requiring crisis stabilization and detoxification. 4. Salvation Army —The target population is men. 5. FRESH Start — Targets working parents and single women, primarily transitional housing for persons with jobs. 6. Shelter House — Women and children in imminent danger of harm from domestic violence. 7. Family Life Center— Provides assistance to pregnant and unwed mothers. 8. Lutheran Services — Provides assistance to runaway teens. 9. JADA — Provides services to men and women with substance abuse disorders; must agree to enroll in Christian recovery program. 10. Catholic Charities — Transients, emergencies. There is not a shelter but there are limited funds for hotel stays. 11. Red Cross — Provides services to persons rendered homeless by fire or other natural disasters. No shelter, but has limited funds for hotel stays. 12. Harbor House —Men with substance abuse disorders; transitional housing only. 13. Habitat for Humanity in Okaloosa County — Build affordable homes for low - income families. 14. White Sands Manor — Provides HUD subsidized housing for very low -income disabled senior citizens. 15. Okaloosa County Development Corporation ( OCDC) — Administers the S. H. IP. and HOME programs for the City of Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa County through an interloeal agreement between both jurisdictions. 16. Striving for Perfection Ministries — Provides emergency benevolence, food, and utilities for low- income people. 17. Okaloosa County Head Start — Provides child care services for low -income families. 18. Okaloosa County Council on Aging — Coordinating agency for support services for the elderly, including housing and transportation. 5 Packet Pg. 50  10. 1. a 19. Fort Walton Beach Housing Authority ( FWBHA) — An independently operating agency chartered by the City in 1968; provides housing units for low- and moderate- income families and individuals. The City is confident in the institutional structure and coordination among agencies to carry out the program and is not aware of any gaps that would impact the priority needs established in the program. The City continually strives to extend and strengthen partnerships among all levels of government and the private sector, including non -profit and for-profit organizations, for the provision of public services, affordable housing, and economic opportunities. 111. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PROCESS (91. 200b) The City of Fort Walton Beach has many processes for involving citizens in its decision making including neighborhood meetings, numerous board and committee meetings, and City Council meetings; all designed to solicit public comments both informally or by utilizing formal public hearings. Citizens' comments on the use of CDBG funds are specifically solicited by a way of a cep citizen advisory group. The Citizen' s Advisory Committee ( CAC) advises staff on the n use of the City of Fort Walton Beach' s annual CDBG fund allocation. Each year, the Citizen' s Advisory Committee ( CAC) comes together to plan for the CDBG budget for R the coming fiscal year. The CAC reviews all applications submitted for the City' s annual allocation of grant funds. At (cast three advertised public hearings or meetings are held o A each year to address housing and community development needs, development of proposed activities, and review of performance for the Community Development Block Grant ( CDBG). m This year, the Citizen Advisory Committee met on April 26, 2012 to review the Annual Action Plan and discuss funding priorities for next year. The CAC also met on May 10, 2012 to discuss the applications for funding that were submitted to City Staff. Then, at the May 22, 2012 meeting, the Committee reviewed and approved four ( 4) applications for funding and approved the remainder of the funding going to an economic development program in the targeted areas. To ensure broad -based participation, extensive communication efforts are used during the implementation of the City' s Consolidated Plan citizen participation plan. Public notices for public hearings are published in the local newspaper and announced in local churches. The various printed notices notify where copies of the Consolidated Plan are available and invite persons to either speak at the public hearings and/ or submit written comments. Public hearings are handicap accessible and sign language interpretation is available at public hearings. The Citizen' s Advisory Committee continues to be at the core of the public participation process. The City' s Community Development Block Grant staff promotes public 6 Packet Pg. 51  1o. 1. a awareness and opportunities for participation by making available documents such as the annual action plan, five -year consolidated plan, consolidated annual performance evaluation report, analysis of impediments to fair housing, etc., and by advertising their availability in the local news media and on the City website. The City continually strives to organize and present data in a manner that is easily understood and evaluated by our citizens and welcomes comments on the Annual Action Plan and how future reports might be improved. IV. TARGETED AREAS (91. 200 d & At the onset of the CDBG program in the mid- 1970' s, federal regulations required that certain activities be geographically targeted. Although this requirement has since been removed, the City has continued its targeting strategy. The primary consideration for target area selection is neighborhood economic need ( low- and moderate -income levels) followed by the degree of housing deterioration. As outlined in the City' s Five -Year Consolidated Report ( 2010- 2015), the City' s CDBG Target Area represents the Block Groups with the greatest concentration of low- to moderate -income households. All five projects this year are located within one of the targeted areas. The Targeted Areas Map is located in the back of this document The geographic boundary of the two target areas are Hughes Street ( north), Eglin Parkway ( east), Robinwood Drive ( west), and First Street ( south) for Target Area 1, and the area between Bay Street and Bumette Avenue in the northwest portion of the City for Target Area 2 Sec attached map). These two areas are the areas within the City of low income and minority concentration. Target Area 1 is located within the Community Redevelopment Area ( CRA), which is an area identified as blighted and corresponds with the Beal Parkway Neighborhood. CRA prepared a plan for the Beal Parkway Neighborhood. The Plan identifies specific projects needed within this area such as affordable childcare, job training and housing rehabilitation. Both the CDBG and the Community Redevelopment Agency allocates funds each year towards these projects. Target Area 1 is incorporated in Census Tracts 225 and 226. See attached map. Target Area 2, north of Lovejoy Road, is adjacent to Okaloosa County' s Front Porch Community and is known as Sylvania Heights. This entire neighborhood is primarily low- income and minority concentrated. It is a relatively isolated neighborhood north of the City' s Commerce and Technology Park. The City has allocated substantial resources to this area for housing rehabilitation and World Changers projects through CDBG funds and SHIP funds, sidewalk improvements, storm water improvements, code enforcement, and police protection. Target Area 2 is located in Census Tract 229. See attached map. The following census data pertains to the census block groups in which the two target areas are located: Packet Pg. 52