Fort Walton Beach Resolution — 2008-25-CDBG Annual Action Plan — reading text

Partnership ( program Investment Partnership Program. f.t.c) Foster and Maintain Affordable Housing. The City' s allocation will provide assistance to homeowners for emergency home repairs, maintain property maintenance maintenance code enforcement, demolish or restore efforts through property vacant/deteriorated properties, and provide neighborhood organizational support and education services to community organizations. The city will maintain the stock of affordable housing by way of the Residential Rehabilitation program including the Wodd rehabilitation Changer program. Applicants for this program are also advised of the services of the Okaloosa Community Development Corporation, which also provides o 9  housing and rehabilitation services through the State Housing Initiative Partnership 0 SHIP) Program and the Hom~ Investment Partnership Program. f.t.d) Fair Housing. The City will provide fair housing educational and investigative services to limit housing discrimination, as well as other activities to remove barriers to affordable housing. The steps to be taken by the City are outlined in the City' s Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing. f.t.e) Lead- based Paint Hazards. The City' s rehabilitation program continues to include lead-based paint hazard education within the initial phase of the application are given a copy of the process. During the preconstruction conference, homeowners booklet " Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home". In addition, as part of the of the receipt process, homeowners must complete and sign a written acknowledgement of this booklet. Each unit to undergo rehabilitation will be evaluated for the presence of lead based- paint. If such hazards are determined to exist, the City will hire a certified consultant to remove the paint to the extent possible and repair the surface. To continue the city' s lead- based paint compliance activities, a number of actions are planned for the coming year. ACTION GOAL Distribution of Lead Safe Painting Prep Kits to homeowners 25 Coordination of homeowner awareness events 5 o Distribution of additional lead hazard literature to homeowners where children aged 6 or younger spend a significant amount of time in the home 25 and encourage rehab applications to have children tested for " elevated blood" condition. f.t.f.) Barriers to Affordable Housing. As per the requirements of the adopted SHIP Affordable Housing Incentive Plan, the City will undertake the following actions to remove barriers to affordable housing ( these actions will not be funded through the CDBG program); 1. Expedite processing of permits for affordable housing projects and 2. The modification of street requirements. The Community Redevelopment Agency and the City Council updated the Community Redevelopment Plan which directs mixed use development and strategies for affordable housing. As a result the Land Development Code, which is being updated to streamline procedures and to provide for accessory units in single fainily districts" will also be revised next year to include the new mixed use zoning districts. These districts are intended to provide for affordable housing. f.t.g) Lead-based Paint Hazards. As part of the City' s Residential Rehabilitation hazards. If lead based program, all units to be assisted are inspected for lead based paint 0 10  paint is identified, the City will contact a professional consultant that is qualified to 0 remove lead based paint. C. I.h) Anti-poverty Strategy. The City does not plan to undertake activities which will reduce the number of poverty level families, develop institutional structure, and enhance coordination between public and private housing and social services agencies. f.l.i) Institutional Structure. The City funds services to extremely low, low and moderate income families through non- profit organizations who provide services to these families. Funding sought by these organizations through an application process during the formation of the annual program. Funding for Public Service programs is highly competitive due to limited funds and an abundance of need. The City has therefore not solicited projects which target specific needs. i.2) The City chartered the Fort Walton Beach Housing Authority (FWBHA) in 1968. The FWBHA is administered by seven Commissioners, appointed by the Mayor and City Council. The executive director, who manages the daily functions, is hired by the FWBHA Commissioners. Other than the appointment of the Commissioners, the FWBHA is an independent agency from the City. The city is not involved in any hiring, contracting or procurement activities of the FWBHA. Various Public Service activities of the FWBHA have been funded through CDBG program to benefit the residents of public housing. The City will review o development sites proposed by FWBHA in the same manner as other applications for development proposed by a private developer. i.3) The City is not aware of any gaps in the institutional structure that will impact the priority needs which will be addressed by the City within the planning period. f.l.j) Coordination. The city does not coordinate activities between public and assisted housing providers and private and governmental health and governmental health and mental health and service agencies. C. 2)Public Housing. The FWBHA does not operate under the Comprehensive Grant Program. The AuthoritY receives assistance through the Comprehensive Improvement Assistance Program ( ClAP). The FWBHA has not been designated as " troubled" by HUD. The City works closely with the Housing Authority and continues to encourage homeownership. The is a City majorcoordinator and sponsor of the Housing Expo each and free credit checks and year which provides " o~ e- stop shopping" to homeownership counseling"to individuals seeking home ownership. The Expo is advertised County- wide, with the Housing Authority participating each year. The Expo has grown each year with 1 - 5 families purchasing a home because of the Expo. g) Program Specific Requirements o ( g. l) CDBG 11 0 i) Adescription of the activities planned with respect to the CDBG funds IS provided in the attached Listing of Proposed Activities chart. ii)(A) The City will not receive any program income. ii)( B) The City will not receive any surplus for urban renewal settlement. ii)(C) The City does not intend to return any grant funds to the line of credit for which the use has not been included in a prior statement of plan. planned ii)(D) The City will not receive income from any float funded activities. ii)(E) The City has not undertaken any " urgent needs" activities. g.2) HOME Not Applicable. h. Monitoring Standards and Procedures. Program evaluation and monitoring is the means by which the City of Fort Walton Beach provides administrative oversight and under this performance testing of activities undertaken through HUD assisfance Consolidated Plan. Evaluation and monitoring applies to both activities directly undertaken by the of Fort Walton Beach well as subrecipient and other work or City as services performed on a contractual basis. It is the intent of monitoring activities that they be conducted in a positive and pro- active manner, identifying and resolving problems early during an activity, providing technical assistance when feasible and necessary, maintaining communication and feedback on o performance, any required reporting, and ongoing compliance with terms of the assistance and contract. Education, particularly in the case of subrecipient types of activities, is an important element of the monitoring process. Prior to execution of a subrecipient or other agreement, requirements are further reviewed with an explaination to the parties, including the compliance and performance measures, and additional materials or information is provided as appropriate. Ongoing evaluation is the primary mechanism for tracking performance and compliance. In the case of individual activities and subrecipient agreements, disbursement of funds is tied to maintenance of compliance through each disbursement, including proper documentation of cost through that disbursement. Ongoing compliance is measured of any against the specifics of the particular agreement. Satisfactory resolution is compliance or performance difficulties at the time of a planned disbursement required prior to disbursement. From time to time, subrecipients who are not progressing on their project are requested to submit a written to the s Community Development Block Grant Division City' report indicating why the project has been delayed, and what plans have been prepared to assure that th~ project has been delayed, and what plans have been prepared to assure that the project will be completed in a timely fashion. The goal of the City' s monitoring process is to identify deficiencies and to see that these are addressed in order to improve the Subrecipient' s performance before it becomes a concern. o 12  Progress Measures. In the case of subrecipient and other forms or agreements or h.t iO contacts for individual activities,