Attached is a draft copy of the Program Year (PY) 2012-13 Consolidated Plan Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for the City of Sparks. Each year, the City of Sparks must prepare and submit a CAPER to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Submission of the CAPER is a condition of receiving federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME program funding (Sparks receives the latter as a member of the Washoe County HOME Consortium). The City of Sparks must conduct a 15-day public comment period, hold at least one public hearing and submit this report to HUD by September 30.

The CAPER provides an overview of how Sparks, Reno, and Washoe County expended HUD funding (CDBG, HOME) and of the jurisdictions’ community development and affordable housing accomplishments during the 2012-13 program year. More specifically, the document is intended to provide a brief description of the jurisdictions’ HUD funded programs, including a listing of the projects undertaken during the last year, the amount of funding expended, a review of the accomplishments achieved using grant and other funds, and serve generally as an assessment of progress made toward the jurisdictions’ goals as specified in the Consolidated Plan. The CAPER is a programmatic review and done in addition to the City’s annual financial audit.

The City of Sparks committed the maximum of 15%, or $86,081 of its PY 2012-13 CDBG allocation to fund the provision of services for the homeless at the Community Assistance Center located in Reno. The CAC includes shelters for men, women and families as well as a resource center. Total annual funding for the CAC provided by Reno, Sparks and Washoe County is approximately $1.5 million.

In PY 2012-13, the City allocated $99,000.00 of CDBG funding for its Single Familiy, Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Home Loan and Emergency Grant programs. A total of $72,426.79 was expended during PY 2012 for program administration and to provide loans and grants to a total of twenty-one (21) households assisted through these programs: six (6) with Single Family Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation loans and fifteen (15) with Emergency Grants.

The local housing market was in the initial stages of recovery in PY 2012-13 however values remained significantly below the “peak” at which many homes were purchased and/or refinanced. This has made it difficult for many households interested in the City’s loan program to qualify as they lack sufficient equity in their homes to meet the program’s loan-to-value standard, which the City has had to raise to protect against negative loans.

There is, however, strong interest in the City’s Emergency Repair Grant Program. The maximum grant allowable under this program is $2,500 per household. The applicant must meet the income guideline requirement of 60% or less of area median income. These grants may only be obtained when conditions in the home affect health and safety.

The City allocated CDBG funds in the amount of $373,195 for FY 2012-13 plus an additional $49,097 of reprogramed funds toward pedestrian improvements. The project undertaken during PY 2012 was a continuation on 5th Street between Wright Street and Victorian Avenue and on the directly adjacent side street blocks to the east and west. The work performed under this activity primarily consisted of removing and replacing concrete curb, gutter and sidewalks, installing accessibility ramps, driveway approaches, and street repairs as necessary.

CDBG planning and administration funds in the amount of $84,976 were allocated in support of the Reno Area Alliance for the Homeless (RAAH) work for the homeless Continuum of Care planning and funding process. Also, $15,000 in administrative funding was provided to Silver State Fair Housing Council to further Fair Housing efforts throughout the community, which is a HUD requirement. The City of Sparks, Washoe County and Reno collectively comprise the Washoe County HOME Consortium, which uses HOME funds from HUD as well as other affordable housing funding sources to foster the development of affordable rental and for-sale housing.

Highlights of the Consortium’s activities during PY 2012 include the following:

Construction began on the Virginia Lake Senior Apartments in Reno. It is anticipated that construction will be complete in April 2013. This 66 unit project will serve households at or below 45% AMI, includes 11 HOME units and was allocated $1,200,000 in HOME funding.

Bristlecone Transitional Housing, allocated $589,694 in LIHTF, is an acquisition/rehabilitation project with eight (8) HOME-assisted transitional units. This project began May 2012 and was completed in 2013. The property is located at 712 and 704 Mill Street and 120 and 196 S. Wells Avenue in Reno.

NNCHRB, in collaboration with Ridge House, a program which provides transitional housing and services to men coming out of prison has purchased and will rehabilitate a 16 unit property at 2555 D Street in the City of Sparks. This property will provide affordable housing for individuals whose income is at or below 40% AMI. Ridge House clients who are ready to move forward from transitional housing to more permanent housing will receive priority for this property, along with continued services through Ridge House. The WCHC will provide $1,200,000 of state HOME funding for this project.

CDBG regulations require a minimum 15 day public comment period for the CAPER, and the City’s HUD-approved Citizen Participation Plan requires a public hearing. A notice announcing the availability of the CAPER was published on September 6th in the Reno Gazette-Journal. The public comment period began on September 6 and will close on September 20; any public comment received at this hearing and during that time frame will be taken into consideration in the final CAPER.