Consideration and Approval of Agreement:  Approve an Agreement with Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona in the amount of $500,000 distributed from the American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

1. Approve an Agreement with Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona for the JoJo's Place Transitional Housing Project utilizing $500,000.00 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 Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona, 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 $500,000.00 will be used to rehabilitate 44 rooms at the former Travelodge Motel, located at 2919 E. Route 66, Flagstaff, AZ to be used as transitional housing units for sixty-six (66) 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 Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona JoJo's Place Transitional Housing Project.

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 encouraging the adaptive reuse of buildings and reducing homelessness. The funding provided will support the conversion of a motel into 44 units of transitional housing for households experiencing homelessness.

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 3.1 Raise awareness of housing security as a social determinate of health
    • Connect 3.2 Encourage neighborhoods, housing types and building practices that increase health.
    • Connect 3.3 Work in partnership with the community to develop and promote community health measurement data collection into housing services when viable
       
• 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 the Agreement between the City of Flagstaff and Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona in the amount of $500,000.00 for the JoJo's Place Transtional Housing Project; 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 Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona JoJo's Place Transitional Housing Project.

The Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona JoJo’s Place Transitional Housing Project will support the rehabilitation of 44 rooms at the former Travelodge Motel, located at 2918 E. Route 66, Flagstaff, AZ 86004, into transitional housing units for individuals experiencing homelessness.

Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona will use Local Recovery Fund dollars for constructions costs and change-order construction costs incurred during the rehabilitation and reconstruction. Rehabilitation of the former motel includes the addition of kitchens to each of the studio apartments (44 units), ADA accessibility for three units, addition of a sprinkler system to the facility in compliance with City Fire Codes, the addition of on-site laundry amenities and remodeling of an onsite office building to provide on-site resources to residents including housing case management, food support and mental health resources.

The Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona JoJo’s Place Transitional Housing Project will help the City to meet the overarching goals of the City’s 10-year Housing Plan by creating 44 new units of affordable rental housing. Units will provide transitional housing to households experiencing homelessness for 5 years and then the units will provide a mixture of permanent and transitional housing resources to low- and moderate-income households for the remaining 15 years of the 20-year compliance period required by the City of Flagstaff. This project works to achieve (in part) the City’s overarching goal to “create or preserve 7,976 housing units by 2031 with a minimum of 10% of them being affordable."

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.