TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THRU: Tom Kisela, City Manager
FROM: Russell Bunim, Community Development Director
1. Subject
title
First Amendment to Agreement with MNS Engineering, Inc. for Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, and general housing support services.
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2. Summary
First Amendment with MNS Engineering, Inc. to provide continued support services for the Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, and general housing support services.
3. Recommended Action
recommendation
Approve First Amendment to the agreement with MNS Engineering, Inc. for $77,000, for a total not to exceed compensation of $107,000, for Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, and general housing support services; and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute on behalf of the City.
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4. Fiscal Impact
The expense for this amendment is $77,000 and will be funded through Community Development Block Grant (Fund 310), HOME (Fund 317), and “Low & Moderate Income Housing Asset Fund” (Fund 921) respectively:
310.9640.51670.11110 Other Professional & Consulting Services $30,000
317.9660.51670.11110 Other Professional & Consulting Services $7,000
317.9660.51670.30228 Other Professional & Consulting Services $15,000
921.6041.51670.00000 Other Professional & Consulting Services $25,000
5. Strategic Plan Goals
Goal 2: Be a fiscally healthy community
a: Expend fiscal resources responsibly.
Goal 4: Provide outstanding public service
b: Provide facilities and services to meet customer expectations.
6. Discussion and Background
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides grants to states, cities, and counties on an annual basis to provide housing support and uplift communities, including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). CDBG funds are used to provide suitable environments through economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income persons. In addition, the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) is used to implement housing strategies designed to increase homeownership and affordable housing.
Consolidated Plan and First Year Action Plan
In addition to the ongoing reporting and compliance monitoring required for the CDBG and HOME funded activities, the City is in the process of preparing the five-year 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan (Plan). The Plan outlines the priorities for the funding and the specific activities that the City will undertake, subject to the funding caps and in compliance with national objectives and federal rules and regulations.
As part of the submission to HUD, the City will also submit the First Year Annual Action Plan (AAP) corresponding to the activities, priorities, and goals as identified in the Consolidated Plan. The AAP is an annual document required by HUD that sets out the activities and programs that will be funded with that respective year’s funding. Both the AAP and Plan will be brought before Council, with the recommendations of the CDBG Committee, in May 2025.
Consultant Support
Due to the stringent requirements for the use of CDBG and HOME funds, Michael Baker International, Inc. (MBI) was retained in 2021 to assist in the reporting, monitoring, and compliance of HUD rules. Though staff has been assuming many of the functions that MBI assisted with in past fiscal years, MBI’s support has functioned as staff augmentation in order to:
1. ensure that any updates to HUD rules continue to be followed,
2. inform staff of changes in program regulations and funding opportunities,
3. meet deadlines during peak times of the year when workload is higher,
4. support during City audits that occur 2-3 times a year,
5. provide compliance monitoring support of Public Works funded projects,
6. develop specialized documents such as the CDBG eligibility maps, and
7. develop National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) clearance documents that are required with every federally funded activity and require specialized technical knowledge.
Additionally, with the addition of the Tenant Based Rental Assistance Program (TBRA), a program under HOME, staff is requesting $15,000 in restricted funds for TBRA eligible technical support from consultants knowledgeable of the new City program to assist with the continued development and administration of the program while staff becomes trained in the new program and regulations.
In June 2024, staff was advised that the housing team at MBI, including the team assigned to compliance monitoring and GIS map support, had transitioned to MNS Engineers, Inc. (MNS). This amendment will provide $30,000 in CDBG and $7,000 in HOME general support that are restricted to specific types of support activities such as those being provided. Critical milestones could be jeopardized if the institutional knowledge of the existing team is not available. Both the CDBG and HOME funding is budgeted under the administrative allowance cap set by HUD and is part of the planned budgeted activities for this fiscal year. The project team is well qualified to provide the services and combined have 80+ years of housing and community development experience.
Furthermore, the MNS team has experienced staff familiar with Successor Agency procedures and activities related to housing. As such, MNS is providing consulting and assistance with compliance during the affordability period of developments funded with former Redevelopment Agency and will assist with getting the records digitized. This year, MNS will also assist the City in the development of a housing quality standards document that will be brought to City Council to review at a future date. The $25,000 requested for Housing set-aside activities is part of the currently budgeted administrative activities for the year from the Low and Moderate Asset fund (LMIAH) planned in 2025 and is restricted to activities that support projects supported with LMIAH funds.
7. ATTACHMENTS
• First Amendment to Agreement with MNS Engineering, Inc.