City Council Committees

SCHENECTADY CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE AGENDA for Monday, June 20, 2023 5:30 p.m. Room 110 The Council President reserves the right to add or delete any agenda item prior to Committee Meeting. Finance 1 HOME-ARP: Authorization to Enter Agreement with CARES of NY, Inc. Kristin Diotte Kristin Diotte / 2 Follow-up: ARPA Contracts Anthony Ferrari/ Chris Wallin Public Safety 1 Discussion – Reducing City Speed Limit to 25 mph Carmel Patrick City Development & Planning Authorize the Mayor to Enter into Supplemental Agreement #3 with New York State Chris Wallin 1 Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) for the Replacement of Kings Road Bridge over CSC/Amtrak, BIN 2203130, PIN 1758.95 ABAC – for the “Hot-in-Place Asphalt Recycling” Pursuant to the County-Wide Bid to Chris Wallin 2 Highway Rehabilitation Corp. 3 Filing of Zoning Administrative Decisions Christopher Marney Maurice Brown, III 4 Sale of 2180 Desmond Avenue, Vacant Lot 5 Discussion – 1040 Wendell Avenue Marion Porterfield Claims 1 Walter G. Fritz vs. City of Schenectady Andrew Koldin 2 William Hopkins vs. City of Schenectady, et al. Andrew Koldin 3 Christopher Huggins vs. City of Schenectady Andrew Koldin Friday, June 16, 2023  SCHENECTADY CITY COUNCIL Legislative Request Form Committee: Finance Committee Date: Tuesday, June 20, 2023 From: Kristin Diotte / Anthony Ferra Subject Follow-up: ARPA Contracts Background Info: This is a follow-up discussion from December 5, 2022. This discussion is to get an update on time-line for letter of commitments, contracts that were fully funded, and those that have contingencies and what the contingencies are, and the release of funds. Evaluation/Analysis Recommendation Thursday, June 15, 2023 2                               !"#$%!&  '(!)"!!$""!(%"$($*+&$,-"   .   / 0 "1$(!23"!$"$ "( 4(-"5!"1  $* %6  .3%74($8*$(-3"!$              !       "# $ "$# !           %        !     & '      (  )  *      *)  (  )   *)  ' )    '   *        +,+-../    & 0   /1      !    !  &*( 23 &                    (  )*    *)       &  +3&3"!$9 3&#)!)  '     ! )    %    %    !                                  &*( 23 & %                         )         &  %$--83"!$   4           *(  23 &    5 5 6     7/+8+,  5     (  )*      9    +/-:-8         5  &     /(*,6/$7,21:,//%(35(3$5('%<BBBBBBB/DZ'HSDUWPHQWBBBBBBBB  3  HOME-ARP Allocation Plan Summary Consortium: Cities of Schenectady and Troy, and Town of Colonie The federal government has allocated $5 billion to assist communities with providing services to reduce homelessness and increase housing stability nationwide. The Cities of Schenectady, Troy, and Town of Colonie (herein referred to as the “Consortium”) have been allocated $3.8 million dollars through 2030 as part of this program. As part of the required planning process for this grant, the Consortium must submit an Allocation Plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that outlines how the Consortium intends to distribute this money. The Allocation Plan must include a consultation process, a public participation process, a needs assessment and gaps analysis, an outline of the HOME-ARP activities, preferences for subpopulations and referral methods. Eligible activities with HOME-ARP funds are: (1) Supportive Services, (2) Acquisition and Development of Non- Congregate Shelters, (3) Tenant Based Rental Assistance, (4) Development of Affordable Rental Housing, (5) Non-Profit Operating and Capacity Building, and (6) Administration and Planning. Qualifying Populations (QPs) who can be served by projects funded through HOME-ARP include: (1) Homeless (2) Persons fleeing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking (3) At-risk of homelessness (4) Other populations at greatest risk of housing instability as defined in the HOME-ARP Notice Over the course of 2022, the Consortium conducted a stakeholder and public feedback process to determine the most effective uses of these funds to serve the above populations. With this feedback, the Consortium completed the Allocation Plan in December 2022, and after a public comment period, will submit to HUD in January 2023. Consultation Background: Before developing the HOME-ARP allocation plan, a project must consult with, at least CoC(s) (Continuum of Care) serving the jurisdiction’s geographic area, homeless service providers, domestic violence service providers, veterans’ groups, public housing agencies (PHAs), public agencies that address the needs of the qualifying populations and public or private organizations that address fair housing, civil rights, and the needs of persons with disabilities. In accordance with the requirements of the HOME-ARP program, CARES of NY, Inc. on behalf of the Consortium (Cities of Schenectady, Troy, and Town of Colonie) consulted with community stakeholders that included: x CoCs serving the geographic areas, x Homeless service providers, x Domestic violence service providers, x Veterans’ groups, x PHAs, x Affordable housing developers, x Public agencies that address the needs of QPs (Qualifying Populations) x Public and private agencies that address the needs of fair housing, civil rights, and the needs of persons with disabilities. HOME-ARP Allocation Plan Summary, December 2022 4 CARES invited 243 individuals from 105 organizations to participate in the consultation process. The consultation process with stakeholders included: x A survey asking about the community's needs and how to use funds to best address homelessness and housing instability in the cities of Schenectady, Troy, and Town of Colonie. x Invitations to two separate stakeholder forums which occurred on August 3rd and 4th, 2022 (of which 16 individuals attended). x Invitations to one-on-one meetings to have further discussions on the community's needs. Public Participation Background: Jurisdictions must provide for and encourage citizen participation in the development of the HOME- ARP allocation plan by providing residents with reasonable notice and opportunities to participate in public surveys, forums, and the opportunity to comment on the proposed HOME-ARP allocation plan. The project must also ensure the following information was publicly available: the amount of HOME-ARP funding the jurisdiction will receive and the range of activities the jurisdiction may undertake. In accordance with the requirements of the HOME-ARP program, CARES of NY, Inc. on behalf of the Consortium completed the public participation process by completing the following tasks: x Created and distributed two public surveys that requested feedback on how HOME-ARP funding should be allocated o Public Survey #1 – August 15th, 2022 through August 29th, 2022 o Public Survey #2 – November 11th, 2022 through November 18th, 2022 x Hosted two public forums o November 15th, 2022 o November 16th, 2022 x Notified the public of the public comment period o Public comment period – December 16th, 2022 through January 6th, 2022 Needs Assessment and Gaps Analysis Background: Jurisdictions must evaluate the size and demographic composition of all four of the Qualifying Populations (QPs) within its boundaries and assess the unmet needs of each of those populations. In addition, the jurisdiction must identify any gaps within its current shelter and housing inventory as well as the service delivery system. A jurisdiction should use current data, including point in time count, housing inventory count, or other data available through CoCs, and consultations with service providers to quantify the individuals and families in the qualifying populations and their need for additional housing, shelter, or services. The following are highlighted data points collected to assess unmet needs of QPs and gaps within current shelter and housing inventory: Affordable Rental Housing Development – There is a substantial need for affordable rental housing development, evidenced by the number of households on waitlists for affordable housing and the number of households who are rent-cost burdened: x 522 homeless households are currently on the CoCs’ Coordinated Entry waitlist (270 households in Schenectady, 52 in Rensselaer, 200 in Albany) HOME-ARP Allocation Plan Summary, December 2022 5  x From 10/1/2020 – 9/30/2021, 714 clients utilized local Domestic Violence Shelters x 7,300 applicants remain on the Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority waitlist due to the unavailability of quality and affordable units to rent. x 28,775 households earn less than 30% of area median income and are severely cost burdened in Schenectady, Rensselaer, and Albany counties Stakeholders reported a prevalence of clients with rental vouchers who are unable to find quality, affordable housing with which to utilize such vouchers. This anecdote is supported by low Housing Choice Voucher utilization: o 88% in Schenectady o 76% Rensselaer County o 77% Albany County Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) – x While affordable housing is a need, as exemplified above, stakeholder and public feedback and data analyzed supporting investment in affordable rental housing development over TBRA, as currently there are clients with vouchers unable to find quality, affordable units. x Although stakeholders and the public agree that funding should be used for Affordable Rental Housing Development, there is a great need for security deposit resources. Supportive Services – x Gaps identified by stakeholders and the public include services for: o Persons experiencing severe mental illness o Ongoing training including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), de-escalation techniques and active-shooter training o A Landlord Navigator position (who would build relationships with landlords to create a centralized list of available affordable rental units and encourage rental relationships with tenants who have subsidies/vouchers). Non-Congregate Shelters (NCS) – NCS needs has been identified as: x To reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other communicable diseases. x To provide emergency housing options for persons currently living in places not meant for human habitation (averaging between 2017 and 2021 on any given night: 20 persons in Schenectady County, 13 persons in Rensselaer County, and 39 persons in Albany County) x NCS dedicated to support youth and/or families that experience homelessness (nearly 450 youth between 10/1/2020-9/30/2021) HOME-ARP Activities As a result of the needs assessment and gaps analysis conducted, the jurisdiction will distribute HOME-ARP funds ($3,832,771, less 15% administrative and planning costs, resulting in $3,257,856 available for programming) as follows: 1) Allocate 44% of funds ($1,700,000) to affordable rental housing development to serve those exiting homelessness and households fleeing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking. HOME-ARP Allocation Plan Summary, December 2022 6  2) Allocate 16% of funds ($620,000) to supportive services. Supportive services may include investment in mental health services in coordination with homeless service providers; service provider trainings (i.e. active-shooter, de-escalation, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI); a housing/landlord navigator; and/or financial support to the Coordinated Entry Program for staff to manage referrals for HOME-ARP activities. 3) Allocate 15% of funds ($577,856) to acquisition and development of non-congregate shelter to create emergency housing options for those most in need, creating a preference for proposals serving families, singles, and/or youth. 4) Allocate 9% of funds ($360,000) to tenant based rental assistance to provide resources for security deposits for households with a rental voucher/stipend. Homeless households and households fleeing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking will be prioritized. Use of HOME-ARP Funding Funding Amount Percent of Statutory the Limit Grant Supportive Services $ 620,000 Acquisition and Development of $ 577,856 Non- Congregate Shelters Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) $ 360,000 Development of Affordable Rental $ 1,700,000 Housing Non-Profit Operating $0 0% 5% Non-Profit Capacity Building $0 0% 5% Administration and Planning $ 574,915 15% 15% Total HOME ARP Allocation $ 3,832,771 Preferences Background: A preference provides a priority for the selection of applicants who fall into a specific Qualifying Population (QP) or category (e.g., elderly or persons with disabilities) within a QP (i.e., subpopulation) to receive assistance. A preference permits an eligible applicant that qualifies for a PJ-adopted preference to be selected for HOME-ARP assistance before another eligible applicant that does not qualify for a preference. Through surveying, stakeholders and the public recommended targeting HOME-ARP funds to the following QPs: x Homeless (selected by 30.8% of public participants and 27.40% of stakeholders) x Fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking (selected by 28.3% of public participants and 27.05% of stakeholders) x At-risk of homelessness (selected by 22.8% of public participants and 26.69% of stakeholders) As such, through the Request for Proposal (RFP) process, preferences will be given to affordable rental housing development and TBRA projects that serve the above populations. 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