2011 2:00:00 PM

Monday, October 10, 2011 2:00 PM
Legislative Building, 745 4th Street, Sparks, NV 89431

General Business: 6.4

Title: Consideration and possible approval of Amendment #5 to the Cooperative Agreement between the City of Reno, Washoe County and the City of Sparks for services related to the operation of the Community Assistance Center

Petitioner/Presenter: CAC Transitional Governing Board/Armando Ornelas, City Planner

Recommendation: The CAC Transitional Governing Board, on which Sparks is represented by Mayor Martini, reviewed Amendment #5 on September 29, 2011 and has recommended approval to the Sparks and Reno City Councils and the Washoe County Commission.

Financial Impact: $84,976 in CDBG funding for the current fiscal year (more specifically, the prorated balance for February to June) plus a future appropriation for FY 12-13 to be determined during the City’s budget process

Business Impact (Per NRS 237):
A Business Impact Statement is not required because this is not a rule.

Agenda Item Brief: This is the proposed fifth amendment to the Cooperative Agreement between the City of Reno, Washoe County and the City of Sparks for operation of the Community Assistance Center (CAC). Amendment #5 would extend the current Agreement through the remainder of the current fiscal year (i.e., from February 1 to June 30, 2012) and also cover fiscal year 2012-13. Amendment #5 provides for the City of Reno to continue as the lead agency for CAC operations during this period. This amendment also calls for Reno, as the lead agency, to proceed with issuing a new Request-for-Proposal (RFP) for shelter operations. The RFP will be based on specific performance metrics as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, with input on desired outcomes by the Washoe County Continuum of Care and the three jurisdictions.

Background: In late 2003, the Reno City Council identified Record Street for the co-location and expansion of homeless services. The Men’s Drop-in-Center, Reno Sparks Gospel Mission and St. Vincent’s Dining Facility were relocated and a new woman’s shelter, family shelter, triage center and community resource center have been built. In July 2008, the mayors of the two cities and the chair of the County Commission held a Homeless Summit. At that time the community urged the jurisdictions to identify a lead entity, open the facilities as soon as possible and develop an entity with dedicated funding to assume long-term management of the facilities. In response, the three jurisdictions developed and adopted the original Cooperative Agreement in September 2008, with the City of Reno as lead entity to manage CAC operations, including the execution of four operating contracts with non-profit providers and four leases. The agreement was most recently amended (Amendment #4) to provide for an extension through January 31, 2012 and for Reno, Washoe County and Sparks to each appoint an elected official to a “Transitional Governing Board” to set policy for the CAC, identify performance-based goals for CAC operations, oversee selection of an operator for the CAC (through a new selection process) and prepare a new Cooperative Agreement for the balance of FY 11-12. Amendment #5 is the proposed new Cooperative Agreement. As discussed in the staff report for the previous amendment (#4) to this agreement, a shift in federal policy will necessitate changes to the CAC’s operations. The HEARTH Act, an amendment to the McKinney-Vento Act in 2009 – the legislation which authorizes funding for homeless services and housing through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – is anticipated to take effect in January 2012. HUD will be re-focusing homeless service delivery away from emergency shelters and toward a “housing first” model. Although the new regulations are not available yet, it is anticipated they will be released this fall. Based on HUD’s presentations to date, it appears that the regulations will mandate specific outcomes as follows: • Maximum length of time that individuals and families can remain homeless (ultimate goal of <21 days); • Reduction in recidivism of homelessness after discharge from a housing program; • Improvement in effectiveness of emergency shelter in obtaining housing for individuals and families (length of time in shelter, location client discharged to); • Improvement in ability of providers to effectively reach and engage homeless individuals and families in housing; and • Reduction in the number of people who become homeless (utilizing central intake to immediately house people). Apart from the mandated outcomes, the HEARTH Act will have significant implications for HUD funding. Failure to comply with HEARTH Act regulations will potentially result in the loss of HUD funding through the Continuum of Care and other programs used for the provision of services to the homeless (e.g., CDBG and Emergency Solutions Grant funds). Although these formula allocations to Reno, Sparks and the State of Nevada vary from year to year, historically they have amounted annually to $4 to $5 million community-wide in Washoe County. Because of the risk to this funding, jurisdiction staff recommend using performance-based contracting with the CAC operator to achieve not only the HUD outcomes required to maintain federal funding, but to also meet the community’s goals for the CAC. This will entail a new Request for Proposal (RFP) for a shelter operator. The following are proposed performance measures for inclusion in the RFP for a shelter operator. These measures will be evaluated through data entered into the mandatory Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), with semi-annual reports to the proposed Transitional Governing Board, described in greater detail below. • Length of stay: at least 80% of shelter clients should be transitioned into appropriate housing within 60 days (2012 metric) • Fund raising: the contractor will be expected to raise the equivalent of 10% of the operating costs to either cover budget shortfalls or to support the expansion of services needed to facilitate recovery from homelessness. • Average cost per client: the contractor will develop a budget to meet requirements of shelter operations and reduce the cost of care per client; this will be achieved primarily through reduced length of stay and discharge planning. Additional reductions could be achieved through operational efficiencies and/or partnerships. • Recidivism: reduction in number of clients being re-entered into HMIS, per the mandates of the HEARTH Act. • Community impacts: the contractor will be expected to coordinate regular meetings at least quarterly with neighboring businesses, non-profits, and residential stakeholders to effectively manage impacts on the neighborhood.

Analysis: The previous amendment (#4) extended the Cooperative Agreement through January 31, 2012. Amendment #5 would extend the Agreement for an additional seventeen months: the remainder of the current fiscal year (i.e., from February 1 – June 30, 2012) and through all of fiscal year 2012-2013. Amendment #5 also extends Reno’s role as lead entity through the term of the agreement. If Amendment #5 is approved by all three jurisdictions, the City of Reno, as lead entity, will proceed with issuing the new Request-for-Proposal (RFP) for shelter operations. The RFP will be based on specific performance metrics as discussed in the BACKGROUND section above. Per Amendment #5, the City of Sparks would continue to contribute funds from the $84,976 (15%) of the CDBG funding it has budgeted for CAC operations during the 2011-12 fiscal year. Amendment #5 is also for fiscal year 2012-13. However, funding for the CAC’s FY 12-13 operations is contingent on the appropriation of funds by each jurisdiction through their respective budget processes. If appropriations for FY 12-13 are collectively insufficient to maintain CAC operations the facility may have to close. The Transitional Governing Board, on which Sparks is represented by Mayor Martini, reviewed Amendment #5 on September 29, 2011 and has recommended approval to the Sparks and Reno City Councils and the Washoe County Commission.

Alternatives: The City Council’s options include not approving Amendment #5 to the Cooperative Agreement or modifying its terms, subject to concurrence by the City of Reno and Washoe County.

Recommended Motion: I move to approve Amendment #5 to the Cooperative Agreement and authorize the Mayor to sign the agreement.

Attached Files:

5th Amendment CAC Cooperative Agreement Oct 2011.pdf

Previous Item

Next Item

Return To Meeting