Report Prepared by: Kimberly Nutt, Housing Program Specialist, Development Services Department/Housing Division
Title
SUBJECT: Approval of First Technical Amendment to the 2019 Annual Action Plan; and Professional Services Agreement with TDA Consulting, Inc. in the of Amount of $75,735 to prepare the HUD Consolidated Plan, First Year Action Plan, and Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
REPORT IN BRIEF
Considers reallocation of CDBG Administrative funds to accommodate consulting fees; and, approving the terms and scope of services for a Professional Services Agreement with TDA Consulting, Inc., in the amount of $75,735 to prepare the 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan, First Year Action Plan, and Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing, as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for five-year strategic planning and implementation of the City’s CDBG and HOME Programs.
RECOMMENDATION
City Council - Adopt a motion:
A. Approving a technical amendment to the 2019 HUD Annual Plan in the amount of $75,735, appropriating the use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Administrative funds from Housing Administrative to Professional Services for purposes of hiring a consultant.
B. Approving the Professional Services Agreement with TDA Consulting, Inc., to prepare the 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan, First Year Action Plan, and Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing, as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for strategic planning and implementation of the City’s CDBG and HOME Programs.
C. Authorizing the City Manager or the Assistant City Manager to execute, and if necessary, make minor modifications to the agreement and all associated documents.
D. Authorizing the Finance Officer to make any necessary budget adjustments.
Body
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve, as recommended by staff; or,
2. Approve, subject to conditions as specified by the City Council; or,
3. Deny the request; or,
4. Refer back to staff for reconsideration of specific items as requested by the Council; or,
5. Defer action to a future meeting (date and time to be specified in the motion).
AUTHORITY
Charter of the City of Merced, Section 200.
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
As approved by City Council June 17, 2019. Work on the 2020-24 Consolidated Plan will address Council’s 2019-20 goals and priorities in the general topic areas of Future Planning, Downtown, Homelessness, and Agency Partnerships.
DISCUSSION
As an entitlement grantee under HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, and as a participating jurisdiction under the Federal HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) Program, the City of Merced is required to submit a Five-year Consolidated Plan, together with a first-year Annual Action Plan, and Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) report.
The Consolidated Plan is designed to meet the public input and community planning and development requirements that are necessary in order to receive funding as an entitlement community through HUD.
The Consolidated Plan, first-year Action Plan, and AI report must be submitted to HUD no later than May 15, 2020. Public input is required both before the plan is written and after a draft has been produced in order to include citizen and community agency ideas and comments. The Plans also require consultation with other agencies such as the Merced County Housing Authority, Merced Community Action Agency, and Merced City/County Continuum of Care, among others, in order to ensure that there is appropriate interaction and communication between entities responsible for delivering complementary services and programs.
With current Housing Division staff levels, the amount of time, research, and expertise necessary to coordinate and put together these documents warrants the need for a qualified consultant to assist the City. After sending out a Request for Proposal (RFP) in late July 2019, Housing staff received one response.
TDA Consulting, Inc. has agreed to prepare the necessary reports on an expedited schedule at a cost of $75,735 (Attachment 2). TDA Consulting, Inc. is experienced and knowledgeable in exactly this process and the reports needing to be produced. Staff is confident in the quality and competence of the services being offered, as well as their ability to meet HUD’s submittal deadline.
About TDA Consulting
Founded in 1998, TDA Consulting, Inc., is a minority- and woman-owned national consulting firm experienced in providing technical assistance, training, and organizational development to government and private organizations. Currently managing consulting contracts in 39 states, they have managed hundreds of complex contracts and established a reputation for completing activities within the defined budget and timeframes.
TDA has developed Consolidated Plans for cities and counties nationwide, including Birmingham, AL; Greenville, NC; San Antonio, TX; and Lake County, IL. In addition to those and current contracts for Consolidated Plans, TDA has also completed Fair Housing studies for state and local jurisdictions, particularly Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing (AI). Most recently, TDA has assisted the State of South Carolina, the State of Michigan, Contra Costa County, CA, and Charleston, SC. with their AI’s.
TDA also provides training and technical assistance on a variety of housing and community development programs, including the full range of HUD Community Planning and Development (CPD) programs and the Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.
Scope of Work
For the City of Merced, TDA Consulting, Inc. proposes the following outlined scope of work, detailed further in the attached Technical Proposal (Attachment 1):
A. Consolidated Plan:
1. Consultation/Coordination
2. Citizen Participation Process (update Citizen Participation Plan)
3. Housing Market Analysis
4. Homeless Needs, Priorities, and Strategies
5. Housing Needs, Priorities, and Strategies
6. Public Housing Needs/Strategy
7. Non-Housing Community Development Needs and Strategies
8. Development of a Five-Year Plan addressing the required components of: affordable housing, homelessness, special needs housing, non-housing community development, barriers to affordable housing, anti-poverty strategy, coordination of the Consolidated Plan with other organizations, and public housing initiatives.
B. The 2020-21 (First-Year) Annual Action Plan supporting the objectives and strategies developed with the above.
C. Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing
1. A three-phase, step-by-step process with specific related tasks to include: orientation, assessment (research, data analysis, review and access current City laws that affect fair housing, and outreach), and fair housing planning (findings and recommendations, and final analysis).
2. Preparation of and incorporation into an Action Plan that assists the City in implementing goals and priorities set in the AI.
3. Delivery of an AI that is fully compliant with HUD’s recent guidance on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH), and that can form the basis for the City’s ongoing fair housing obligations over the next several years.
IMPACT ON CITY RESOURCES
The Agreement for $75,735 will be funded from the CDBG Professional Services account 018-1301-552.17-00, after a motion for the Technical Amendment is approved. This amount was not specifically considered in the FY2019-20 Adopted Budget for this purpose, but due to HUD’s 2019 CDBG Allocation, funding is available in the general CDBG Administrative account if re-appropriated to the Professional Services account line.
Staff expects the anticipated progress of at least two large HUD-funded projects and other subrecipient contracts to gradually reimburse the Housing Administrative fund as the fiscal year moves forward.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Technical Proposal of Services from TDA Consulting, Inc.
2. Cost Proposal by TDA Consulting, Inc.
3. Professional Services Agreement with TDA Consulting, Inc. for FY19-20