On October 12, 2021, Council directed that $1,900,000 in American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (“Local Recovery Funds”) be distributed to support Housing Assistance under the Negative Economic Impact funding category. Under ARPA, the purpose of the programs, services, or capital expenditures (“Projects”) must be to respond to the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, by supporting the health of communities, and helping households recover from economic impacts, particularly disproportionately impacted low-income workers and people of color.
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.
Staff will work with selected agencies to draft grant agreements in alignment with these recommendations and request Council approval in the coming months. |
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 recommends fully funding the five (5) highest ranking applications and allocating partial funding to the remaining three (3) applications. After accounting for fully funding the top ranking applications, the remaining three (3) are recommended to receive approximately 80% of the funding requested based on available funds and their similar scores. All of the Projects are still able to proceed with partial funding. Habitat for Humanity and The Salvation Army will adjust their Project outcomes accordingly if alternative funding is not identified.
The below table provides a list of the applying agency's, the proposed Projects and requested funding as well as each applications average ranking score and staff recommended funding.
| City of Flagstaff ARPA Local Recovery Funds Housing Assistance Requests |
| Agency and Project |
Individuals/ Households Served |
Requested Funding |
Recommended Funding |
Ranking |
|
Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona
JoJo's Place Transitional Housing
|
44 Transitional Housing Units |
$500,000.00 |
$500,000.00 |
193 |
DNA People's Legal Services
Outreach/Legal Aid for Eviction Prevention |
Outreach to 10,000 Households
Legal Aid for 85 Households |
$200,000.00 |
$200,000.00 |
189 |
Flagstaff Shelter Services
Hotel Shelter Operations |
500 Unique Individuals |
$100,000.00 |
$100,000.00 |
188 |
Homeless Youth Connection
Transitional Housing Operations |
Support services for 50 youth
and 7 Transitional Housing Beds |
$46,250.00 |
$46,250.00 |
178 |
Catholic Charities
Homeless Outreach and Support Services |
675 Unique Individuals |
$199,999.00 |
$199,999.00 |
178 |
Villas on Lake Mary
LIHTC Development |
76 LIHTC Units |
$500,000.00 |
$397,000.00 (20yr Loan) |
165 |
Habitat for Humanity
Starter Homes at Timber Sky |
Predevelopment of 24 sites |
$500,000.00 |
$397,000.00 |
164 |
The Salvation Army
Rental Assistance |
50 Households |
$75,000.000 |
$59,550.00 |
164 |
| |
|
$2,121,249.00 |
$1,899,799.00 |
|
If funded as detailed in the chart above, these recommendations would support the creation of 76 permanently affordable rental units, 44 units of transitional housing and seven (7) transitional housing beds exclusively for youth experiencing homelessness, as well as, the development of 24 sites of future Starter Homes for affordable homeownership. ARPA funds would also provide operational support for shelter and outreach services to over 1,000 individuals experiencing homelessness and prevent eviction for over 135 households. |