TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Jonathan R. Lewis, ICMA-CM, City Manager
TITLE: Amendment No. 1 to an Interlocal Agreement with Sarasota County to undertake community development and housing activities utilizing Community Development Block Grants within the municipality, adding that Sarasota County and the City of North Port will affirmatively further fair housing.
Recommended Action
Approve Amendment No. 1 to an Interlocal Agreement with Sarasota County to undertake community development and housing activities utilizing Community Development Block Grants within the municipality, adding that Sarasota County and the City of North Port will affirmatively further fair housing.
Background Information
Sarasota County has been eligible to receive a direct allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) since 1990. The funds were awarded on behalf of the Sarasota Urban County, which is the unincorporated portion of the County. When the funds were awarded to Sarasota County, the incorporated municipalities within the County, who were not receiving a direct allocation of CDBG funds, were given the option of either joining the Sarasota Urban County or to remain a “small city” and competitively apply for funding through the State of Florida program. At this time, Sarasota County and the Cities of Venice and North Port are part of the Sarasota Urban County through an interlocal agreement. The City of Sarasota is a direct recipient and the Town of Longboat Key is part of the Manatee Urban County program.
In 2013, HUD revised the requirements for the Interlocal Agreements to more clearly delineate the fair housing and civil rights obligations to which urban counties and participating jurisdictions are subject to follow. HUD required all Urban Counties to review and revise their Interlocal Agreements, as necessary, to include the revised fair housing and civil rights language. Local governments were given until June 17, 2016, to adopt the required language.
The Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) and the Office of the County Attorney revised the existing Interlocal Agreements to ensure that they contain all of the HUD required language. A copy was sent to HUD in March 2016, for their review. Sarasota County did not receive a response and, due to time constraints, brought the revised agreement to the County Commission (Board) for adoption on May 24, 2016. The agreement was approved by the North Port City Commission on April 26, 2016.
In August 2016, HUD responded to the staff’s request to review the agreement and requested that one section be changed to state that Sarasota County and each of the municipalities would take steps to affirmatively further fair housing. Given that this language was elsewhere in the agreement, staff and the Office of the County Attorney attempted to work with HUD to get them to accept the current language. In October 2016, HUD informed Sarasota County the agreements would need to be revised to include additional language related to affirmatively furthering fair housing.
The OHCD has notified North Port that the Interlocal Agreement will need to be revised and has to schedule the agreement amendment on the City Commission’s agenda to consider adoption. The agreement was approved by the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners on December 13, 2016.
The City Attorney has reviewed this document.
Strategic Plan
Financially Responsible City Providing Quality Municipal Service
Financial Impact
No budget needs are required in order to execute the Interlocal Agreement.
.
Procurement
N/A
Attachments:
1. Amendment No. 1, City of North Port
2. Contract No. 2016-284, City of North Port
Prepared by: Daniel Schult
Department Director: Jonathan Lewis