Olympia seeks public comment on unspent development funds reallocation and project evaluation

The Olympia City Council wants to hear public opinion on the proposed reallocation of $93,000 in the unspent Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for the Project Year 2021 (PY 21).

At the council meeting on Tuesday, November 2, Olympia's CDBG program specialist Anastasia Everett said the CDBG is a flexible grant that can support community development through various activities, ranging from housing rehabilitation, public services, microenterprise assistance, and economic development.

A project year starts in September of the year and until the end of August the following year.

Olympia is a grantee of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) CDBG. The city receives annual allocations through this grant program.

Everett said the city staff proposed to award the unallocated funding to two eligible activities for Project Year (PY) 2022 CDBG annual action plan:

• For the pilot Heat Pump Group Purchase campaign, $75,000 of unspent PY 20221 funds is proposed to South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity. This funding is anticipated to provide weatherization and heat pump installation for 10 to 15 homes in Olympia.
• Funds were awarded to the Downtown Ambassadors in PY 2022 for $35,000. The city proposes to award additional unallocated PY 2021 funds of $18,000. The Downtown Ambassadors' total award for PY 2022 would be $53,000.

According to Everett, the proposed changes to the annual action plan must go through the CDBG Citizen Participation Plan, which involves a 30-day public comment period and a public hearing before the approval can be considered.

Mayor Pro Tem Clark Gilman opened the public hearing for proposed CDBG amendments. No one signed up.

Everett announced that the 30-day public comment period runs from October 14, 2022, to November 14, 2022. Written comments can be sent to Olympia City Council, 601 4th Ave E, Olympia, WA 98501, or cdbg@ci.olympia.wa.us.

CDBG program evaluation

The city council also opened the public hearing for the Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER) for CDBG PY 2021.

"The CDBG regulations require grantees to submit an annual performance report to HUD within 90 days of the close of the program year," Everett explained.

Olympia identified five goals to pursue with CDBG funding during the five-year consolidated plan period from PY 2018 to PY 2022:

• Housing rehabilitation
• Public services
• Economic development
• Land acquisition
• Public facilities improvements

For the PY 2021, Everett enumerated the city's projects under the CDBG consolidated plan:

• 62 units rehabilitated, such as Drexel House Permanent Supportive Housing and Quixote Village
• Three single-family homes rehabilitated by Rebuilding Together Thurston County
• 1853 individuals in the Downtown core received assistance from the Downtown Ambassadors
• Four small businesses received technical assistance and are expected to transition into a cooperative business model by 2023

Everett said the 30-day public comment period for the CAPER is running concurrently with the proposed amendment to the CDBG PY 2022 annual action plan.

The comment period runs from October 12 to November 14.

The CAPER submission to HUD is on or before November 30, 2022.