TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager
TITLE: Approve the Endorsement of Projects to Receive Fiscal Year 2023 Community Development Block Grant Funding
Recommended Action
Approve the endorsement of projects for Fiscal Year 2023 Sarasota County Community Development Block Grant Funds.
Background Information
The City of North Port is an entitlement community for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program but relinquishes funds to Sarasota County’s Office of Housing of Community Development allowing the County and municipalities to pool funds for larger projects. Also, the County has the administrative capabilities to oversee the grant program’s complicated requirements. North Port has an interlocal agreement with Sarasota County to administer CDBG funds.
The City of North Port participates in a countywide Staff Steering Committee Coordination Team made up of one voting member from North Port, one voting member from the City of Venice and two voting members from Sarasota County. The City of Sarasota also participates; however, they are their own entitlement community and do not vote.
The CDBG program requires that each funded activity must principally benefit low- and moderate-income (LMI) persons, aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight or meet a community development need having a particular urgency. Most activities funded by the CDBG program are designed to benefit LMI persons. Activities may qualify for CDBG assistance if the activity benefits all the residents of a primarily residential area where at least 51 percent of the residents are LMI persons. Sarasota County has an exemption that allows us to use funds in areas where at least 47.34 percent are LMI.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) provides estimates of the number of persons that can be considered Low, Low to Moderate, and Low, Moderate, and Medium income persons based on special tabulations of data from the 2011-2015 ACS 5-Year Estimates. The Low- and Moderate-Income Summary Data is mapped for CDBG grantees to determine whether a CDBG-funded activity qualifies as an eligible activity. The LMI percentages are calculated at various principal geographies provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. The census data is provided by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In Fiscal Year 2023, Sarasota County expects to receive $1,794,382. The funding is divided between the following projects:
1. Housing Rehabilitation - $350,000 (Continued funding for the Sarasota County Housing Rehabilitation Program);
2. Venice Gardens Park - $325,000;
3. Locklear Park - $ 327,506;
4. Laurel Civic Social Service Attendants - $55,000;
5. Administration (County Staffing) - $356,876;
6. North Port Social Services Attendants - $55,000;
7. North Port Garden of Five Senses Storywalk - $20,000;
8. North Port Sidewalks - $305,000.
The City expects to receive contracts in winter 2022. Contracts will be brought to Commission for approval after they are reviewed by legal.
Strategic Plan
Infrastructure
Financial Impact
The City will receive $380,000 from Sarasota County’s Community Development Block Grant program.
Procurement
Not applicable.
Attachments:
Prepared by: Valerie Malingowski, Grant Writer
Department Director: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager