The City of Sparks is an Entitlement Community under the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.  As an Entitlement Community, the City of Sparks receives a direct allocation of CDBG funding each program year.  In addition to the CDBG Program, the City of Sparks partners with the City of Reno and Washoe County as part of the Washoe County HOME Consortium (WCHC), with the City of Reno serving as the lead agency.  Through the Washoe County HOME Consortium (WCHC), the three jurisdictions also receive an annual allocation of HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) funding.

The Annual Action Plan (AAP) acts as the application process for CDBG Entitlement Communities, such as the City of Sparks.  The Annual Action Plan is an annual representation of how the City intends to implement the next grant year's funding in conjunction with what has been submitted on the Consolidated Plan.  The attached draft Consolidated Plan covers the period of 2015 through 2019 and address projects, such as physical improvements in the City's CDBG eligible areas.

The Consolidated Plan (Con Plan) is a collaborative process, required by HUD, whereby a community establishes a unified vision for community development actions for a period of three to five years.  It offers local jurisdictions the opportunity to coordinate its various housing and community development programs into effective, cohesive neighborhood and community development strategies.  In addition to the annual application process, an Annual Action Plan (AAP) is prepared by the City of Sparks, with input from the City of Reno and Washoe County, describing the proposed activities to be funded with CDBG and HOME Consortium dollars.  The Annual Action Plan also identifies the process by which the jurisdictions will allocate and distribute other funding resources.

The 2015 Annual Action Plan outlines the activities the City of Sparks will undertake in Year 1 of the new Consolidated Plan, leveraging Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding and HOME Partnership Consortium allocations to address housing needs, public services and homelessness prevention initiatives under the objectives of a suitable living environment and decent housing.  The Program Year 2015 (City Fiscal Year 2015-2016) Annual Action Plan provides for allocations totaling $883,965 in CDBG funding as follows:

• Up to $15,000 for Fair Housing activities;
• Up to $10,020 for Continuum of Care activities;
• Up to $91,800 for Planning and Administrative activities;
• Up to $99,143.55 for Community Assistance Center activities (homeless shelter);
• Up to $57,001 for Housing Rehabilitation Administration activities;
• Up to $424,632 for Pedestrian Improvements in a project whose specific boundaries are Rock Boulevard on the west, G Street to the north, 15^th Street to the east and F Street on the south.  Of the $424,632 amount, $201,624 is new funding and $223,008 is carried-over/reprogramed from previous years.
• Up to $155,000 carried over from previous years and approximately $75,000 Program Income for Housing Rehabilitation Deferred Loans activities;
• Up to $55,000 carried over from previous years for Emergency Repair Grant activities;

The WCHC will invest HOME and leveraged funds up to $350,000 for development of a new construction 45-unit affordable senior citizen rental apartment development project (Lincoln Way Apartments).

Attached are draft copies of the PY 2015-1019 Consolidated Plan and PY 2015 Annual Action Plan.  These documents were made available to the public for comment begining April 7, 2015.  The last day for public comment is during the City Council Meeting of May 11, 2015, at which time all comments will be reviewed and incorporated into the final plans.  Additionally, a presentation and public meeting was held on Tuesday, April 14, 2015.  Both, the Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan will be submitted to HUD for review and approval on May 15, 2015.

Alternatives to all or part of this recommendation includes:

1. Reducing or increasing the allocations for one or more of the physical improvement projects (Housing Rehabilitation or Pedestrian Improvements funding);
2. Elimination of one or more of the physical improvement projects (Housing Rehabilitation or Pedestrian Improvements funding).

I move to approve the Program Year 2015 - 2019 Consolidated Plan and Program Year 2015 Annual Action Plan for submission to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as prepared and presented.