The City of Sparks is an Entitlement Community under the HUD CDBG Program.  As an Entitlement Community, the City receives a direct allocation of CDBG funding each Program Year (PY) of the approved Five-Year Consolidated Plan for 2015 – 2019. This application represents PY Five of the Five Year Consolidated Plan. The new Five-Year Consolidated Plan is scheduled to be submitted by May 15, 2020 for a period from 2020 to 2024. In addition to the CDBG program, the City of Sparks partners with the City of Reno and Washoe County in the Washoe County HOME Consortium (WCHC).  Via the WCHC, the three jurisdictions also receive an annual allocation of HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) funding, which is used to assist in the development of affordable housing.  The guidelines for these formula grant programs outline three basic goals:

1. Decent housing,
2. Suitable living environment and
3. Expanded economic opportunities. 

The City of Sparks prepares an Annual Action Plan (AAP) as part of the annual federal application process for CDBG funds. This AAP for FY 2019-2020 includes information provided by the City of Reno for use of HOME Partnership dollars (the City of Reno serves as lead agency of the WCHC and the City of Sparks is a participating jurisdiction).  The AAP also identifies the process through which the jurisdictions allocate and distribute funding, along with information regarding other funding resources available for those programs.

Attached is the “Final Draft” of PY 5, FY 2019-2020 Annual Action Plan (AAP)” (Exhibit – 01).  This submission is referred to as the “Final Draft” until such time that HUD approves the submission.

HUD has advised the City of Sparks that its CDBG allocation for FY 2019-2020 will be $691,196.

Additionally, in accordance with the CDBG Application process, HUD requires consultation with and a public comment period for the community. The 30-day public comment period began April 9, 2019 with advertisement of the AAP in the Reno Gazette Journal and concludes on May 13, 2019 at the commencement of the City Council meeting, at which time all public comments will be accumulated and incorporated into the “Final Draft” of the AAP.  A community meeting soliciting public comment was held at Legislative Building on April 23, 2019.

The AAP serves as the application for CDBG Entitlement Communities such as the City of Sparks.  The CDBG 2019-2020 AAP outlines the activities the City of Sparks plans to commence in PY Five (FY 2019/2020) of the City’s 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan. The AAP leverages CDBG funding to address housing needs, public services and homelessness prevention under the objectives of a suitable living environment and decent housing. The 2019/2020 AAP allocates $851,196, which is comprised of $691,196 in new CDBG entitlement funding, approximately $75,000 of rollover unspent funds from prior years, and $85,000 of Program Income from the City’s CDBG-funded housing rehabilitation loan program. The funding is proposed to be used the following previously approved activities.

Activities to be funded from New CDBG Allocation for FY 2019/2020:

Each project presented within the proposed AAP meets the community’s needs as presented and approved in the Five-Year Consolidated Plan previously approved by the City Council and HUD.

1. Approve the proposed funding allocations and submittal of the AAP to HUD.
2. Modify the proposed allocations for one or more of the activities and approve the submittal of the AAP to HUD.

I move to approve the Program Year 5, Fiscal Year 2019-2020, Community Development Block Grant and HOME Consortium Annual Action Plan for submittal to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.