Title
a. Receive a report on the City of Salinas 855 East Laurel shelter and status of the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) City/County application.
b. Approve a Resolution to submit an application from the County of Monterey for HEAP funding for the construction of a permanent shelter located at 855 East Laurel Drive. The application will be submitted to the Salinas/Monterey and San Benito County Continuum of Care CA-506 (CoC). (ADDED VIA ADDENDA)
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Receive a report on the City of Salinas 855 East Laurel shelter and status of the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) City/County application.
b. Approve a Resolution to submit an application from the County of Monterey for HEAP funding for the construction of a permanent shelter located at 855 East Laurel Drive. The application will be submitted to the Salinas/Monterey and San Benito County Continuum of Care CA-506 (CoC).
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
HEAP Update:
The Leadership Council, which serves as the Continuum of Care (CoC) Board for the Salinas/Monterey and San Benito County CoC, CA-506, will accept applications for the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) grant funding on April 1, 2019 by 5:00 p.m. HEAP is a State of California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency block grant program authorized by Senate Bill (SB) 850, signed into law by Governor Brown in June 2017. HEAP is designed to provide immediate and direct assistance to those impacted by the homeless crisis in Monterey and San Benito Counties. The HEAP statute mandates that 50 percent of the awarded funds must be contractually obligated by January 1, 2020. Additionally, 100 percent of the funds must be expended by June 30, 2021.
Eligible activities include, but are not limited to: expansion of homeless bed inventory through new emergency shelters, warming shelters, transitional or other housing; operating and/or supportive services for new homeless beds; rental assistance, rapid rehousing, eviction prevention and/or move-in assistance; street outreach programs, health and safety education services and criminal justice diversion programs; housing navigation, landlord mitigation programs, targeted case management and other related activities.
The County of Monterey and the following jurisdictions have declared a Shelter Crisis for the purposes of the HEAP program: Marina, Monterey, Salinas, Hollister, King City, Monterey County, San Juan Bautista, Sand City, San Benito County, and Seaside. The shelter crisis declaration pursuant to Chapter 7.8 (commencing with Section 8698) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code is required for all cities and counties that wish to have HEAP capital projects (construction, rehab, acquisition projects funded in their jurisdiction or unincorporated area.
Total available HEAP funds for Monterey County are $10,008,889. The breakdown on how HEAP funds can be spent is detailed in the table below:
HEAP Funds Available to Monterey County
Program Funding Amount Allocated Percentage allocation of funds
Service-Related Projects $1,000,889 10%
Assistance/Subsidies/Rapid $1,000,889 10%
Capital Projects $6,505,777 65%
Unaccompanied Homeless $1,000,889 10%
Youth
Category 3 Homeless Youth $500,445 5%
Total Funding Available to $10,008,889 100%
Monterey County
The County of Monterey is working with the City of Salinas to prepare the HEAP application for the construction of at 855 East Laurel Drive, Salinas.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The City of Salinas and the County of Monterey first entered into an original Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the fall of 2017 to agree to work toward a permanent shelter location on County property, originally identified at the site at 1220 Natividad. The County later identified another parcel at 855 East Laurel Drive. The City terminated the prior MOU on May 31, 2018 as both parties agreed on a shelter location and the future of operating the existing warming shelter located at 111 West Alisal St. A new MOU dated September 25, 2018 was executed by both the City and County to continue to operate the existing shelter and work toward a permanent shelter at 855 East Laurel. This shelter would be operated year-round with wrap-around services and a rapid rehousing focus.
The application is being prepared as a joint effort between the County Departments of Social Services, Resource Management Agency, and Economic Development and Housing to construct a permanent, year-round shelter located at 855 East Laurel Drive. Should the shelter project at 855 East Laurel be awarded HEAP funding, the City and County will conduct public outreach efforts to continue to determine the roles and responsibilities for the development and operation of a new homeless shelter at 855 East Laurel Drive. The County and City will conduct community outreach and engagement with those experiencing homelessness, the public and service providers to create an Request for Proposals (RFP) for shelter operator. As this will be the largest shelter in Monterey County that will serve chronically homeless, single men and women and families, understanding the needs of those experiencing homelessness is key to creating a strong RFP to ensure a service provider is selected to focus on community priorities.
The MOU between the City and County also plans on the development of permanent supportive housing at 1220 Natividad Road. This project will be under conceptual development in the coming year.
FINANCING:
The County is relying on a full allocation in its final request for HEAP funding. Should the funding not be awarded to the County for the emergency shelter at 855 East Laurel, the project will have to find another funding source and will be postponed until another funding source is identified.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
This proposed program correlates to the Health & Human Services Strategic Initiatives adopted by the Board of Supervisors by working towards the goals of improving health and quality of life outcomes to individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Mark a check to the related Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives
__Economic Development
__Administration
X Health & Human Services
__Infrastructure
__Public Safety
Prepared by: _____________________________________________________________
Anastacia Wyatt, Housing Program Manager, Ext. 5387
Approved by: _____________________________________________________________
Nicholas E. Chiulos, Assistant County Administrative Officer, Ext. 5145
Attachments:
Board Report
Resolution