Resolution No. 97-07 (Word Version)

CITY OF GRAND JUNCTION

RESOLUTION NO. 97-07

A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE 2007 PROGRAM YEAR ACTION PLAN AS A PART OF THE CITY OF GRAND JUNCTION’S 2006 FIVE-YEAR CONSOLIDATED PLAN FOR THE GRAND JUNCTION COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) PROGRAM

Recitals:

The City of Grand Junction was designated as an Entitlement Community by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1996 when Mesa County’s population reached 100,000. This designation entitles Grand Junction to an annual grant of funds under the Community Development Block Grant CDBG Program.

To be eligible for funding, the City of Grand Junction must submit an annual Program Year Action Plan to be adopted as part of the City’s Five-Year Consolidated Plan which serves as a federally required planning document that guides community development efforts in Grand Junction.

The primary objective of the City’s Consolidated Plan and CDBG Program is the development of viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment and expanding economic opportunities, for persons of low and moderate income. The planning process in developing the 2007 Program Year Action Plan included an emphasis on Citizen Participation and interagency involvement.

The 2006 Five-Year Consolidated Plan developed a set of local priority needs and objectives through a coordinated effort with non-profit and government agencies in the community serving the low income and special needs populations. The Plan established the priority needs, goals and strategies the Grand Junction community will undertake between 2006 and 2010, the life of the Plan. The 2007 Program Year Action Plan is consistent with the Consolidated Plan.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO that the CDBG 2007 Program Year Action Plan, as a part of the 2006 Five-Year Consolidated Plan (attached as Exhibit A), is hereby adopted.

PASSED on this 20^th day of June, 2007.

ATTEST:

/s/: Stephanie Tuin /s/: James J. Doody

City Clerk President of Council

2nd Program Year (Exhibit A)

Action Plan

The CPMP Second Annual Action Plan includes the SF 424 and Narrative Responses to Action Plan questions that CDBG, HOME, HOPWA, and ESG grantees must respond to each year in order to be compliant with the Consolidated Planning Regulations.

Narrative Responses

GENERAL

Executive Summary

PROGRAM YEAR 2 (2007)

Introduction

In 1996 the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) established Grand Junction as an Entitlement Community to receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds. Every five years the City prepares and adopts a new Five-Year Consolidated Plan to establish priorities and needs relevant to the CDBG program. In 2006 a new Consolidated Plan was adopted by City Council. The City Council also prepares and adopts a new Action Plan every year, which becomes a part of the Consolidated Plan.

Applications for CDBG funding are made available to all interested parties in March with an April deadline for each Program Year. Projects that are selected for funding become a part of the respective Program Year Action Plan. Several projects have been approved for CDBG funding by the City Council and are included in the new 2007 Program Year Action Plan. The 2007 Program Year will begin on September 1, 2007.

Community Profile

Grand Junction, the largest city in Western Colorado, is located 250 miles west of Denver. It is the seat of Mesa County, home of Mesa State College, and the economic and service center for more than 300,000 people living in Western Colorado and Eastern Utah. The Colorado State Demography Office estimates Grand Junction and Mesa County 2006 populations to be 52,000 and 133,000.

While the area’s economy has demonstrated strong growth, housing market appreciation continues to exceed wage increases. This trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, making the increased need for affordable housing one of many issues facing local government in Grand Junction.

Citizen Participation

The City adopted a Citizen Participation Plan in 1996 to facilitate citizen involvement in the Five-Year Consolidated Plan (Plan) and annual Program Year Action Plan process. The Neighborhood Services Division of the City of Grand Junction, as lead agency for the development of the Program Year Action Plan, has invited human service agencies and citizen involvement in Plan creation. The findings and needs identified by those who serve and work with low to moderate income populations are the basis of the Plan’s development. The City meets the requirements of the Citizens Participation Plan by publishing public notices and holding public meetings. The City solicited applications for the 2007 Program Year and received 15. The total amount of funding requested was $1,014,412.

Institutional Structure

Grand Junction will carry out its Consolidated Plan through a mixture of public, private, and nonprofit organizations that specialize in serving the needs identified in this plan and other needs of the low and moderate income residents of Grand Junction. A highly effective network of nonprofit organizations delivers a wide array of services to Grand Junction citizens. The City depends upon these organizations to meet the needs of the low and moderate income population.

Housing Needs

Population growth in Grand Junction continues to rapidly exceed availability of affordable housing units. Long waiting lists exist for the limited number of units. A Housing Market Analysis of the Grand Junction Metro Area published by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority on January 12, 2007 states that the average home price has increased to over $190,000, and the rental unit vacancy rate is 3%. The Grand Junction Housing Authority currently has 35 low income families with vouchers who cannot find affordable rentals, and 1,058 families on the waiting list to obtain vouchers. According to the Mesa County Assessors Office, the cost of a single family home within the county has increased 27% from 2005 to 2007, to an estimated average sales price of $222,810.

Homeless Needs

Homelessness is rapidly increasing in the Grand Junction community due to a combination of low wages, rising housing costs, and lack of affordable health insurance.

Prior to 2000, local data collection about the homeless was anecdotal and informal due to the absence of a coordinated community effort to build local demographic statistics. Point-in-time surveys were conducted by the Grand Valley Coalition for the Homeless on August 28 - 29, 2006 and January 28 - 29, 2007 as part of a statewide effort to determine the number of homeless. These counts indicate that the number is approximately 450 – 500. When the definition of homelessness is expanded to cover those considered homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act (families living in weekly motels, doubled up with friends or relatives, or moving from place to place) this number expands to approximately 1500.

A Continuum of Care Plan was completed in the summer of 2001 by a coalition of community homeless service providers. The Plan identified emergency shelter, transitional housing, case management, and housing placement for individuals and families as the highest priority needs to prevent/reverse homelessness. While several programs addressing these needs are currently in place, the need for additional emergency and transitional housing is still significant.

Special Needs Housing

Grand Junction is the largest community available to serve the needs of residents living on the Western Slope of Colorado and in Eastern Utah. Medical and other special needs services are provided here that are not available in smaller communities. As a result, Grand Junction’s special needs population (approximately 27%) is higher than that of surrounding communities. The ability of persons with chronic mental illness, physical and developmental disabilities, and HIV/AIDS to compete in the housing market is limited in many cases by lack of income and the need for special housing accommodations.

Antipoverty Strategy

The City has developed an Anti-Poverty Strategy to reduce the number of people earning low to moderate income wages. This Strategy, described in the 2001 and 2006 Five-Year Consolidated Plans, includes community activities to:

▪ Collect data regarding poverty levels and local demographics to better identify poverty issues and monitor current needs

▪ Focus on a continuum of prevention and intervention strategies/activities by age group to prevent/deter persons from living in poverty

▪ Encourage efforts to raise earned income levels

▪ Maintain a strong diversified economic base

▪ Increase the employability of recipients of public benefits

▪ Attract higher paying employers to Grand Junction

▪ Increase access to employment through expansion of the public transportation system and the availability of quality affordable childcare

▪ Foster increased household stability through educational programs, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, and services to persons with special needs

▪ Reduce the possibility of catastrophic expense by increasing the availability of affordable healthcare and effective public transportation

▪ Create affordable housing developments near employment centers

▪ Form an anti-poverty coalition

Consolidated Plan

The 2006 Five-Year Consolidated Plan integrates economic, physical, environmental, community and human development activities in Grand Junction in a comprehensive and coordinated manner so local agencies, groups, and citizens can work together to improve quality of life issues. Consolidated Plan Objectives as mandated by HUD and specific community needs have been identified along with actions that define how the community will respond over the life of the Plan.

The first Objective, to create a Suitable Living Environment, addresses the following needs:

1) Non-housing community development infrastructure, 2) Neighborhood Programs and 3) Services for Special Needs populations and other human service needs.

The second Objective, to provide Decent Affordable Housing, addresses the following needs:

1) Increased inventory of affordable housing units, 2) Elimination of lead-based paint hazards and 3) Prevention of homelessness

The third Objective, to Create Economic Opportunities, addresses the following needs:

1) Availability of affordable reliable childcare and 2) Economic development

All Consolidated Plan Objectives will be monitored and reported to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by outcome and performance based measurements defined as one of the following:

1) Availability/Accessibility 2) Affordability 3) Sustainability.

2007 PROGRAM YEAR ACTION PLAN

The purpose of the Program Year Action Plan is to identify one-year strategies for each of the objectives set in the 2006 Five-Year Consolidated Plan. Although the competition for CDBG funds continues to increase and CDBG funding continues to decrease, the City will continue to make an effort to balance disbursement of these funds between the various needs of the community over the course of the Five-Year Consolidated Plan.

The Grand Junction City Council is committed to continuing the use of CDBG funds for the following 5 priorities, established by the Council in 2001:

1) Need for Non-Housing Community Development Infrastructure

The City of Grand Junction provides basic citizen services such as public works and utilities, police and fire protection, parks and recreation, general planning, code enforcement and local economic development. The City has defined numerous non-housing community development needs, including improvements to streets, public facilities and infrastructure, and maintenance and development of city parks. Recognizing that the cost of meeting these objectives exceeds the amount of CDBG funds allocated, several of these needs are budgeted in the City’s Capital Improvement Plan.

CDBG funds will be expended to improve infrastructure in low to moderate income residential areas within the City. Streets, curb, gutter and sidewalk maintenance and installation, drainage, water and flood protection system enhancements, and improvements in accessibility for the disabled are among the appropriate uses of these funds. It is in the provision of these services that the City feels it can most effectively meet the needs of its citizens.

2) Need for Affordable Housing

The gap between availability of affordable housing and low wages continues to increase in our area. The Grand Junction Housing Authority was formed to provide safe, well-maintained, affordable housing in Grand Junction. To achieve the objectives within this priority, the City has and will continue to support specific programs proposed by the Housing Authority and other appropriate housing development agencies.

3) Needs of the Homeless

The City realizes that homelessness presents an increasing challenge in Grand Junction. The City works with and supports appropriate agencies efforts to minimize the occurrence of homelessness, provide essential services to people living on the streets, and support the efforts of the homeless to resolve their issues and promote a successful transition to independent living.

4) Special Needs Populations and Other Human Service Needs

There are numerous private organizations, government agencies, and private nonprofit organizations in Grand Junction which address the special needs population.

Services available include treatment for alcohol/drug addiction, mental illness assessment and treatment, health care for the uninsured and case management support for persons suffering from HIV/AIDS. Additional services include food provision, day care, help for the elderly, programs meeting the needs of public housing residents, the youth and the disabled. This service delivery network has very effectively and efficiently delivered essential services to this segment of the population.

The most efficient method of continuing to meet these needs is for existing organizations to continue to provide these services while collaborating with others to fill gaps in the service continuum.

5) City of Grand Junction Neighborhood Program

CDBG funds are utilized in low and moderate income (LMI) qualified neighborhoods. The neighborhood program will use CDBG funding for eligible activities identified by residents of these neighborhoods.

RECOMMENDED FUNDING

The Plan strategies and priorities are implemented through a variety of resources including the annual allocation of CDBG funds. For each Program Year a new Action Plan is completed and adopted as part of the Five-Year Consolidated Plan. On May 16, 2007 the Grand Junction City Council approved $412,043 in funding for the 2007 CDBG Program Year for the following 10 projects. These projects will become part of the 2007 Action Plan:

1) City of Grand Junction CDBG Administration - $24,575 for administration, planning and implementation

2) Radio Reading Services of the Rockies - $4,500 for audio information services for Grand Junction’s blind, visually impaired, and print handicapped citizens