Consideration and Approval of Agreement:  Approve an Agreement with Flagstaff Shelter Services in the amount of $100,000.00 distributed from the American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

1. Approve an Agreement with Flagstaff Shelter Services for the Hotel to Housing Program utilizing $100,000.00 of the American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute the necessary documents.

Staff seeks approval of an Agreement between the City of Flagstaff and Flagstaff Shelter Services, utilizing a portion of the City’s American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (Local Recovery Funds) to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency and its negative economic impacts. Local Recovery Funds in the amount of $100,000.00 will be used to provide crisis stabilization, emergency shelter, housing case management, and financial support for long-term housing security for individuals experiencing homelessness.

On October 12, 2021, City Council provided direction on the use of Local Recovery Funds. City Council allocated $1,900,000.00 (024-09-402-6321-1-4290) to housing assistance within the Negative Economic Impacts funding category.

On November 7, 2022, the City of Flagstaff released a Notice of Funding Available ("NOFA") for Housing Assistance Projects that address community needs identified as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to improve community resilience, address disparities of disproportionately impacted communities and create and preserve stable, affordable housing and prevent eviction. The City received eight (8) eligible applications by the December 19, 2023 deadline. 

Housing staff conducted a risk assessment of all eight (8) applying agencies and their proposed Projects. Additionally, a Ranking Committee comprised of three (3) community representatives and three (3) City Staff met to review the proposals and rank them by consensus. Rankings primarily serve as a risk and benefit assessment and are the guiding input for Staff recommendations of ARPA Local Recovery Funds allocations. Staff presented the recommended allocations to the Housing Commission at the March meeting and the Housing Commission voted unanimously to forward them to Council with a recommendation for approval. 

With $1,900,000 in ARPA Local Recovery Funds available for Housing Assistance, Staff recommended fully funding the Flagstaff Shelter Services Hotel to Housing Program.

The City of Flagstaff 10-Year Housing Plan provides policy initiatives and strategies that the City will implement to address the City's Housing Emergency including reducing homelessness. The funding will provide 100 unique individuals experiencing homelessness with shelter and housing services.

Priority Based Budget Key Community Priorities and Objectives

•  Safe & Healthy Community
  • Support social services, community partners & housing opportunities
  • Provide alternative responses, resources & programs, inclusive of mental health & other services
     
•  Inclusive & Engaged Community
  • Foster community pride & civic engagement by increasing opportunities for public involvement, in line with best practices & legal requirements
  • Advance social equity & social justice in Flagstaff by supporting social services
  • Facilitate & foster diversity & inclusivity, including support of anti-racist policies & practices
  • Enhance community involvement, education & regional partnerships to strengthen the level of public trust
  • Ensure city facilities, services, & programs are accessible for all residents & representative of Flagstaff’s diverse community
     
•  Sustainable, Innovative Infrastructure
  • Support the community’s social infrastructure needs; assist those partner organizations that provide services the City does not
     
•  Robust Resilient Economy
  • Support & strengthen a more robust, diverse, & sustainable economy in ways that reflect community values & provides for affordable housing opportunities
  • Enhance understanding between the development community, the City & Flagstaff residents
  • Enhance the community’s workforce development programs & improve partnerships with higher education institutions & the private & public sectors
     
•  Livable Community
  • Support regional partners which provide equitable & inclusive educational opportunities for Flagstaff residents of all ages
  • Actively support attainable & affordable housing through City projects & opportunities with developers
     
•  Environmental Stewardship
  • Implement, maintain & further the Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP) with awareness of social inequities

Regional Plan

• Goal NH.1. Foster and maintain healthy and diverse urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods in the Flagstaff region.
  • Policy NH.1.1. Preserve and enhance existing neighborhoods.
     
• Goal NH.3. Make available a variety of housing types at different price points, to provide housing opportunities for all economic sectors.
  • Policy NH.3.1. Provide a variety of housing types throughout the City and region, including purchase and rental options, to expand the choices available to meet the financial and lifestyle needs of our diverse population.
  • Policy NH.3.3. Increase the availability of affordable housing for very low-income persons, through innovative and effective funding mechanisms
     
• Goal NH.4. All housing is safe and sanitary.
  • Policy NH.4.1. Expand the availability of affordable housing throughout the region by preserving existing housing, including housing for very low-income persons. Policy NH.4.2. Reduce substandard housing units by conserving and rehabilitating existing housing stock to minimize impacts on existing residents.
  • Policy NH.4.3. Address accessibility issues and other housing barriers to persons with disabilities or special needs.
  • Policy NH.4.4. Encourage green practices in housing construction and rehabilitation that support durable, healthy, and energy efficient homes.
  • Policy NH.4.5. Renovate the existing housing stock to conserve energy and reduce utility and maintenance costs for owners and occupants.
  • Policy NH.4.6. Consider and integrate public transportation, when possible, in planning housing developments, to help reduce a household’s transportation costs and minimize impact on the community’s roads and transportation system.
  • Policy NH.4.7. Enforce compliance with fair housing laws.
     
• Goal NH.5. Eliminate homelessness.
  • Policy NH.5.1. Provide adequate resources for families with children experiencing homelessness.
  • Policy NH.5.2. Provide adequate resources for individuals experiencing homelessness.
  • Policy NH.5.3. Support and expand programs that prevent homelessness.
  • Policy NH.5.4. Make transitional housing resources available to populations experiencing homelessness

Carbon Neutrality Plan

• Community resilience
  • CR-1: Ensure all mitigation actions improve Flagstaff’s ability to adapt to the future.
  • CR-2: Strengthen existing community systems to create resilience to both short-term shocks and long-term change.
     
• Equitable systems
  • ES-2: Proactively engage community members on an ongoing basis
  • ES-4: Actively seek to recognize past harms, repair trust, and build deeper relationships with community members.

10 Year Housing Plan

• Connect people to equitable housing solutions.
  • Connect 1: Reduce homelessness in the Flagstaff community and seek creative solutions to foster housing permanency for all.
    • Connect 1.3 Continue to support and develop Coordinated Entry as a meaningful process that provides linkages to healthcare, behavioral health, and housing
  • Connect 2: Implement a framework for centering equity in proposed and existing housing practices, policies, and programs.
    • Connect 2.1 Evaluate housing policies and strategies in City of Flagstaff planning documents through an equity lens.
    • Connect 2.2 Encourage community organizations such as local Continuum of Care to continue to integrate equity into programs and policies.
  • Connect 3: Integrate healthcare into housing programs, and housing into healthcare programs, as appropriate.
    • Connect 3.3 Work in partnership with the community to develop and promote community health measurement data collection into housing services when viable
    • Connect 3.2 Encourage neighborhoods, housing types and building practices that increase health.
    • Connect 3.1 Raise awareness of housing security as a social determinate of health
       
• Preserve affordable housing
  • Preserve 1: Encourage the adaptive reuse of buildings.
    • Preserve 2.2 Acquire and rehabilitate already built properties for affordable housing projects when financially feasible.
       
• Protect people from housing discrimination and remove housing barriers.
  • Protect 1: Continue Flagstaff's commitment to further Federal and Arizona Fair Housing laws in all housing-related services and programs, valuing the efforts of those who seek to reduce barriers to equitable housing opportunities, and providing Fair Housing education and resources to the community.

On October 12, 2021, City Council provided direction on the use of Local Recovery Funds. City Council allocated $1,900,000.00 to housing assistance within the Negative Economic Impacts funding category.

On April 11, 2023, Housing Staff presented to City Council the Ranking Committee recommendations, forwarded by the Housing Commission, for allocation of Local Recovery Funds for Housing Assistance.

1. Approve an Agreement between the City of Flagstaff and Flagstaff Shelter Services in the amount of $100,000.00 for the Hotel to Housing Program; or
2. Do not approve the Agreement and direct staff to conduct an additional solicitation.

The City is a recipient of certain funds through the American Rescue Plan Act, Pub. L. No. 117-2 (March 11, 2021), which authorizes the U.S. Department of the Treasury to make payments from the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. On October 12, 2021, City Council allocated $1,900,000.00 to Housing Assistance within the Negative Economic Impact funding category. 

On November 7, 2022, the City of Flagstaff released a Notice of Funding Available ("NOFA") for Housing Assistance Projects that address community needs identified as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to improve community resilience, address disparities of disproportionately impacted communities and create and preserve stable, affordable housing and prevent eviction. The City received eight (8) eligible applications by the December 19, 2023 deadline. 

Housing staff conducted a risk assessment of all eight (8) applying agencies and their proposed Projects. Additionally, a Ranking Committee comprised of three (3) community representatives and three (3) City Staff met to review the proposals and rank them by consensus. Rankings primarily serve as a risk and benefit assessment and are the guiding input for Staff recommendations of ARPA Local Recovery Funds allocations. Staff presented the recommended allocations to the Housing Commission at the March meeting and the Housing Commission voted unanimously to forward them to Council with a recommendation for approval. 

With $1,900,000 in ARPA Local Recovery Funds available for Housing Assistance, Staff recommended fully funding the Flagstaff Shelter Services Hotel to Housing Program.

The Flagstaff Shelter Services Hotel to Housing Program will provide crisis stabilization, emergency shelter, housing case management, and financial support for long-term housing security to one hundred unique individuals experiencing homelessness.

The Agency will utilize ARPA Local Recovery Fund dollars to support the salaries of the Program Director and multiple Housing Case Managers, and for client financial support such as rental application fees and security deposits.

Flagstaff Shelter Services provides individuals and families experiencing homelessness with crisis stabilization (via emergency shelter) and the tools needed to achieve housing stability; regardless of faith, mental health, or sobriety. Flagstaff Shelter Services has a long history of responding to identified community needs by successfully developing, implementing, and administering projects that directly address those needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted households experiencing housing instability and has highlighted the fact that housing truly is healthcare. In response, Flagstaff Shelter Services’ provides a critical community response by safely sheltering diverse, vulnerable Flagstaff residents, helping them secure affordable, permanent housing, and coordinating high-quality, culturally appropriate medical and behavioral health services. This program represents an important investment in the physical health, mental health, and economic stability of the Flagstaff community as it promotes long-term housing stability and helps disproportionately impacted households recover from the negative health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

City Council discussed Local Recovery Funds allocation amounts and categories for funding at the City Council work session on September 7, 2021, and provided direction on use of the Local Recovery Funds on October 12, 2021. These meetings were held in accordance with Open Meeting Law and include a public participation process allowing for public comments. There was an open and competitive application process for Local Recovery Fund for Housing Assistance.