Attached (as Exhibit 1) is a draft of the Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for Program Year (PY) 4, Fiscal Year (FY) 2018-19 for the City of Sparks.  The City of Sparks prepares and submits a CAPER each year to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Submittal of the CAPER to HUD is a condition of receiving federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Partnership Program (HOME) funding. The City of Sparks directly receives CDBG funds. The City indirectly receives HOME funding through its involvement as a Participating Jurisdiction in the Washoe County HOME Consortium (WCHC). The City of Reno serves as the WCHC’s lead agency while Washoe County is the other Participating Jurisdiction. 

The City of Sparks must comply with three requirements for submittal of the CAPER to HUD:

1. Conduct a fifteen-day public comment period for the CAPER.

• The City advertised availability of the draft CAPER in the Reno Gazette Journal on August 21, 2019.

2. Conduct at least one public hearing,

• City staff hosted a hearing at Sparks City Hall on August 28, 2019. A second public hearing before the Sparks City Council is scheduled for September 23, 2019.

3. Submit their CAPER to HUD by September 30, 2019.

The CAPER provides an overview of how the City of Sparks expended CDBG funding, as well as how the WCHC used HOME funds, and reviews City of Sparks and WCHC community development and affordable housing accomplishments during Fiscal Year 2018-19.  The document provides brief descriptions of the City’s and WCHC’s HUD funded programs, including a listing of the projects undertaken during the prior year, the amount of funding expended, a review of the accomplishments achieved using grant and other funds, and generally assesses the progress made toward goals specified in the Five Year Consolidated Plans of the City and WCHC.  The Five-Year Consolidated Plan is a planning tool for implementation of community wide initiatives, goals and priorities.  The CAPER is a programmatic review and done in addition to the City’s annual financial audit.

The City of Sparks received $717,415 in new CDBG funding for FY 2018-2019.   The City committed 15 percent of this amount ($107,373), the maximum allowed by CDBG regulations, to support operation of the Community Assistance Center (CAC), a homeless services complex located on Record Street in Reno.  The CAC provides temporary shelters for men, women and families as well as a resource center. The City supplemented the CDBG funds it provided to support the CAC with $176,526 from its general fund.

In FY 2018-19, the City allocated $83,000 of Program Income (from repayment of previous loans) to support its Single Familiy, Homeowner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Deferred Loan Program. The maximum loan amount is $20,000, The City also allocated $20,000 of new grant funding for the Emergency Repair Grant Program.  The maximum grant allowable through this program is $2,500 per household.  These grants may only be obtained when conditions of the home affect the quality of life, health and safety of the household occupants (e.g., roof repair, electrical improvements, plumbing repairs). Applicants for both the deferred loan and emergency grant programs must meet the HUD household income requirement of 60% or less of Area Median Income (AMI). 

The City of Sparks allocated FY 2018-19 CDBG grant funds in the amount of $279,615 plus an additional $49,242 in rollover funds from a previous year for a total community investment of $328,857 for pedestrian improvements.  The specific boundaries of the pedestrian improvement project were I Street between Rock Boulevard and 15^th Street.  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.

During FY 2018-19 the City expended $80,000 of CDBG funding for Planning and Administrative activities, including the third-party costs discussed below, and $90,000 to administer the Housing Rehabilitation loan and grant programs.

CDBG funds in the amount of $17,648 were allocated in support of the Reno Area Alliance for the Homeless (RAAH) work for the homeless Continuum of Care planning and funding process.  The City of Sparks and the City of Reno each provided $25,000 of CDBG funds to the Silver State Fair Housing Council to further Fair Housing efforts throughout the community.  This $50,000 investment complies with a HUD requirement to support fair housing activities.

1. As discussed in the Background section above, the City of Sparks, Washoe County and Reno collectively comprise the WCHC, which utilizes HOME funds from HUD and other funding sources to assist development of affordable rental and for-sale housing. While developers did not seek HOME funds for an affordable housing project in Sparks in 2018-19, the WCHC did invest approximately $4,480,000 in various affordable housing projects in Reno and unincorporated Washoe County.

HUD’s CDBG regulations require a minimum fifteen-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 21, 2019 in the Reno Gazette-Journal. The public comment period began on August 21, 2019 and closed on September 4, 2019.  Staff hosted a public comment meeting on August 28, 2019 in the City of Sparks Council Chambers. A public hearing before Sparks City Council is also required and is fulfilled by this September 23, 2019 agenda item. Any public comment received at this hearing will be documented and incorporated into the final CAPER.

1.  City Council may approve submittal of the FY 2018-2019 CAPER as presented to HUD.

2.  City Council may direct staff to make changes to and submit the 2018-19 CAPER to HUD.

I move to approve submittal of the City of Sparks Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for Program Year 4, Fiscal Year 2018-19, to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.