Attached is a draft copy of the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for Program Year (PY) 2, Fiscal Year (FY) 2016-17, for the City of Sparks.  Each year, the City of Sparks is required to 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 Partnership program funding. Sparks indirectly receives the latter as a member of the Washoe County HOME Consortium (WCHC).  The City of Reno serves as the lead agency and the City of Sparks and Washoe County are Participating Jurisdictions (PJ) in the WCHC.  The City of Sparks must conduct a 15-day public comment period for the CAPER, hold at least one public hearing and submit this report to HUD by September 30, 2017.

The CAPER provides an overview of how the City of Sparks expended CDBG funding, as well as how the WCHC spent HOME funds, and reviews the jurisdictions’ community development and affordable housing accomplishments during PY 2, FY 2016-17.  More specifically, the document is intended to provide a brief description of Sparks’ and the WCHC’s HUD funded programs, including a listing of the projects undertaken during the prior year, the amount of funding expended, and a summary of the accomplishments achieved using grant and other funds.  The CAPER generally serves as an assessment of progress made toward the jurisdictions’ goals as specified in the Five Year Consolidated Plan approved by HUD for Sparks.  The CAPER is a programmatic review and done in addition to the City’s annual financial audit.

The City of Sparks committed the maximum allowed –15 percent, which equaled $105,293 – of its FY 2016-17 CDBG allocation to provide funding support for the Community Assistance Center (CAC), a homeless shelter located in the City of Reno.  The CAC includes shelters for men, women and families as well as a resource center.

In FY 2016-17, the City allocated $140,000 of new grant funding and $20,000 of program income to support its Housing Rehabilitation Deferred Loan Program. Additionally, $37,784 of reprogrammed funding (i.e., unexpended funds from previous program years) was allocated to the City’s Emergency Repair Grant Program. Through the end of the fiscal year a total of thirteen (13) households were assisted: five (5) were provided deferred housing rehabilitation loans and eight (8) were the recipients of emergency repair grants.  The Deferred Loan program permits loans of up to $20,000 to owner-occupied households with incomes of up to 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI).  The maximum grant allowable under the Emergency Repair Grant program is $2,500; households with an income of 60 percent or less of AMI are eligible. The City utilized additional FY 2016-17 CDBG funding in the amount of $88,164 for housing program administration costs, including personnel and other expenses.

The City of Sparks allocated FY 2016-17 CDBG grant funds in the amount of $179,177, plus an additional $244,104 of reprogrammed funds, for infrastructure and pedestrian improvements totaling $423,281 on G Street from Rock Boulevard to 15^th Street and on 16^th Street from F Street to G Street.  The work performed under this activity consisted primarily of: removing and replacing concrete curb, gutter and sidewalks; installing accessibility ramps and driveway approaches; and, street repairs as necessary.

A total of $112,127 was expended during FY 2016-2017 for Planning and Administrative activities.  This amount includes $12,895 allocated in support of the Reno Area Alliance for the Homeless (RAAH) work for the homeless Continuum of Care planning and funding process.  Also, $25,000 from the City of Sparks and $25,000 from the City of Reno were provided for administrative funding to Silver State Fair Housing Council to further Fair Housing efforts throughout the community.  The total community investment of $50,000 is a HUD minimum requirement.

The City of Sparks, Washoe County and Reno collectively comprise the Washoe County HOME Consortium (WCHC), 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.  A highlight of the Consortium’s activities during FY 2016-17 include investments of HOME and other funds for the new 45 unit senior affordable housing Lincoln Way Apartments at the intersection of 4^th Street and Lincoln Way in Sparks.  The project was successfully completed and the grand opening ceremony was held on September 12, 2016.

HUD’s 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 August 18, 2017 in the Reno Gazette-Journal.  The public comment period began on August 25, 2017 and will close on September 25, 2017.  Any public comment received will be documented and incorporated into the final CAPER submitted to HUD.

1. The City Council may approve the submittal of the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for Program Year 2, FY 2016-17 for the City of Sparks to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
2. The City Council may provide direction to the City Manager on changes to the CAPER.  The CAPER must, however, be submitted to HUD by September 30, 2017 as it is a condition of receiving CDBG funding. 

I move to approve submittal of the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report for Program Year 2, FY 2016-17 for the City of Sparks to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.