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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020 Annual Community Assessment ReportPZIAIIJE��IN T°� tiG II�IIN ae4ry oev�v°� OFFICE OF COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT 9CD-21413 The Honorable Mitch Roth Mayor of the County of Hawaii 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, HI 96720 Dear Mayor Roth: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Honolulu Field Office — Region IX 1132 Bishop Street, Suite 1400 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813-4918 www.hud.gov espanol.hud.gov November 4, 2021 SUBJECT: Annual Community Assessment (ACA) Report Program Year 2020 This letter is being sent to convey HUD's assessment of the County of Hawaii's (County's) performance for its 2020 Community Planning and Development (CPD) Program Year. The report reflects the County's efforts to ensure HUD program compliance. As part of HUD's annual review, the Department wants to take this opportunity to address the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program timeliness requirements, and the importance it plays in ensuring that the intent of the CDBG program is achieved. HUD CDBG regulations require recipients to carry out their CDBG activities in a timely manner thus ensuring low- and moderate -income persons are assisted. The standard requires grantees to be at a 1.50 CDBG timeliness ratio 60 days prior to the end of their program year. On the test date of May 2, 2021, the County had a CDBG timeliness ratio of 1.43. HUD is pleased that the County is in compliance with the timeliness regulations and congratulates the County on the successful implementation of the CDBG Program. The enclosed Annual Community Assessment Report reflects HUD's assessment of the County's implementation of its CPD programs. The County will have 30 days from the date of this letter to comment on the report. Should the County not wish to comment on the report, or fail to comment within the above time period, please consider the report final and make it available to the public using your standard notification process. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Brian Johnson, Senior CPD Representative, at 808-457-4681 or Brian.R.Johnsonghud.gov. If responding in writing to this letter please provide your response as a PDF document to CPDHonolulughud.gov. Sincerely, 144A%21-0' , /A� Digitally signed by - MARK CHANDLER Mark A. Chandler, Director Office of Community Planning and Development Enclosure cc: Hawaii County, OHCD, Housing Administrator (w/enclosure) 9CE: Madaraka (w/enclosure) File: 9CD Official Files, HC PY 2020 ANNUAL COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT REPORT County of Hawaii 2020 Program Year: July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 HUD Point of Contact: Brian Johnson Senior Community Planning and Development Representative HUD Honolulu Field Office 1132 Bishop Street, Suite 1400 Honolulu, HI 96813 (808) 457-4679 Introduction County Point of Contact: Ms. Susan Kunz Housing Administrator County of Hawaii Office of Housing and Community Development 1990 Kinoole Street, Suite 102 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 (808) 961-8379 The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, and the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, require federal grant recipients receiving federal assistance under the Act to submit an annual performance report disclosing the status of grant activities. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is required by 24 CFR 91.525 to determine whether the grant recipient is in compliance with the statutes and has the continuing capacity to implement and administer the programs for which assistance is received. In accordance with 24 CFR 91.525, our comments below incorporate our assessment of the County of Hawaii's (County's) Program Year 2020 (PY20) performance. In assessing the County's performance, HUD relied primarily upon the County's PY20 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER), technical assistance, remote monitoring, and communications with the County's federal programs staff. During this period, HUD has determined that the County generally met the intent of the Community Planning and Development (CPD) programs. Based on the County's accomplishments through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), and the Housing Trust Fund (HTF), the County has demonstrated its ability to carry out various housing and community development programs. HUD congratulates the County on its many accomplishments and its achievement of CPD program objectives. Significant Performance Conclusions In general, the County effectively administers the CDBG, HOME, and HTF grant funds. In accordance with the CDBG regulations, the timeliness ratio benchmark should be 1.50 sixty days prior to the end of the County's program year. The County's CDBG timeliness ratio was 1.43 as of May 2, 2021. HUD congratulates the County on its accomplishments and encourages the County to continue seeking ways for timely project implementation. As a reminder, HUD has advised all CDBG grantees that failure to meet the timeliness ratio of 1.50 may result in the loss of future grant funds. The County is a recipient of the State of Hawaii's (State's) HOME and HTF program funds. While the primary source of HOME and HTF information is the State's CAPER, HUD notes that the County's CAPER did include substantial data to inform the citizens about HOME - and HTF-funded projects within the County. Overall, the County has been successful in implementing activities in its Consolidated Plan by utilizing CDBG, HOME, and HTF funding. CPD Programs CDBG CDBG projects selected by the County for the PY20, when complete, will primarily benefit low- and moderate -income persons. During this period, HUD noted that the County completed several CDBG-funded projects, including the following: the County through HOPE Services Hawaii completed the design and awarded construction contracts for a certified kitchen renovation at the Kiheipua Shelter and accessibility improvements at the Hale Maluhia Shelter; completed the roof, fencing and interior renovations at the Hilo Hale Ohana Domestic Abuse Shelter for Child and Family Services, as well as its fencing, interior renovations and security enhancements at its West Hawaii Domestic Abuse Shelter; completed construction to the Boys and Girls Club's gym roofing and paving project. The County also completed their Americans with Disabilities (ADA) accessibility improvements for its gym facility, parking, and pathways. The County reported continuation for the following projects: OHCD-Development Division continued work on phase 2 of its Kulaimano Elderly Housing project as there were extensive shipping delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Phase 3 of the Kulaimano Elderly Housing renovations was completed and included interior ADA improvements within the Community center and improvements to the ADA parking stalls. • The OHCD-Development Division is also using CDBG-CV funds for improvements to the Ulu Wini low income housing project for design, expansion and installation of solar hot water heaters in their community laundry facility and renovations for a certified kitchen at the Ulu Wini Community Center. • Hawaii Economic Opportunity Council (HCEOC) utilized CDBG-CV funds for its Meals and Preparation Program which purchased food, equipment and supplies not limited to ovens, food wrapping machine, plates and utensils and food service equipment necessary to prepare meals for vulnerable seniors and disabled persons in the County of Hawaii who were impacted and/or isolating due to Covid. • Boys and Girls Club of the Big Island (BGCBI) utilized CDBG-CV funds to purchase food supplies and equipment necessary to prepare food for meals at certified kitchens to serve the vulnerable populations (homeless and poverty level household families, elderly and children living in poverty). BGCBI delivered the prepared meals to persons and households residing in rural communities in low and moderate census tracts who were impacted and/or isolating due to Covid. • The Food Basket utilized CDBG-CV funds to purchase food and ready-made meals and lease and purchase refrigerated vehicles and equipment necessary to carry out its new and expanded food distribution and delivery services to low- and moderate income communities and food service providers impacted by the Covid pandemic within the County. This assisted Food Basket in its ability to acquire food from local farmers, ranchers and local distributors to be either prepared or packaged into meals and to be distributed through its community food partners who deliver and serve food to low and moderate income persons and households. The County's Consolidated Plan describes the following four priority concerns that will be addressed: housing and special needs housing, homelessness, community development, and fair housing. HUD notes that during PY20, the County accomplished the following program obj ectives: • Completed the design and awarded construction contracts for a certified kitchen renovation at the Kiheipua Shelter and accessibility improvements at the Hale Maluhia Shelter; • completed the roof, fencing and interior renovations at the Hilo Hale Ohana Domestic Abuse Shelter for Child and Family Services, as well as its fencing, interior renovations and security enhancements at its West Hawaii Domestic Abuse Shelter; • completed construction to the Boys and Girls Club's gym roofing and paving project. The County also completed their Americans with Disabilities (ADA) accessibility improvements for its gym facility, parking, and pathways. • Project Vision to hire outreach workers, mobile manager, equipment purchase, vehicle maintenance and necessary supplies to operate its mobile hygiene unit that provides hot private showers at various County locations and connects homeless people with services and resources such as vision and health screenings, referrals for various forms of assistance and basic necessities such as dental supplies, hair care products, water bottles and first aid supplies. OHCD conducted a total of 7 Fair Housing training/seminar sessions for property managers, homeless programs and for the general public. The OHCD's website has continued to be successful in increasing awareness of housing rights and resources. In PY2020, there were 2,464 hits to the website for people seeking information. The County's Fair Housing officer participated in 5 meetings with other Fair Housing officers. HOME and HTF The State has the primary reporting responsibility for the HOME and HTF programs. HUD will review the State's CAPER as the official report but commends the County for including data in its CAPER to inform its citizens about HOME- and HTF-funded projects. HUD encourages the County to seek leveraging of other federal, state, and private resources to supplement its HOME allocations to further develop affordable rental housing in the county of Hawaii. Continuum of Care During PY20, the County has partnered with non-profit organizations and other government agencies to help individuals and families from becoming homeless. It participates in various community events where it provides information about homeless services and resources available to the community. In PY20, a total of 342 households were served during the 2020 — 2021 fiscal period. Of those, 103 exited to permanent housing. The Family Assessment Centers in Kea au (Hale Iki and Ulu Wini) provided for a place in which families with minor children can connect with a housing navigator to assist them navigating the various community resources. In some cases, when sheltering is needed, Hale Iki has 10 micro units that can provide for such. At Ulu Wini, the 23 transitional units are filled by using the Coordinate Entry System developed and implemented by the County. HUD wishes the County continued success in its planning and implementing actions to end homelessness and encourages the coordination of CoC, CDBG, HOME, and ESG funds to support the County's plan to assist individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Community Empowerment The County provided opportunities for citizen participation during the development of the CAPER through local newspaper publications and availability of the document at various public facilities and libraries. Despite the opportunities available for public participation in the reporting process, no public comments were received for the CAPER submission. HUD encourages the County to continue to provide opportunities for citizen input to the planning and reporting process. Management of Funds In accordance with the CDBG regulations, the timeliness ratio benchmark should be 1.50 or below sixty days prior to the end of the County's program year. On the test date of May 2, 2021, the County's timeliness ratio was 1.43. The staff responsible for the CPD programs works diligently to ensure HUD funding is spent in accordance with program requirements. As timely project implementation and expenditure of funds have become a priority with HUD, the Department is pleased that the County has made it a priority to maintain a timeliness ratio of 1.50 or less. HUD anticipates the County will continue to achieve the timeliness goals and that these efforts will ensure future CDBG funding will not be compromised. Areas for Improvement and Recommendations The County needs to continue to monitor its ongoing CDBG, HOME, and HTF projects to ensure timely implementation. HUD recommends that the County identify project obstacles and develop plans to address these obstacles to strengthen its programs. Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity The County continues to promote awareness and education of fair housing issues and takes actions which help minimize and eliminate the unfair treatment of individuals in housing. In PY2020, the OHCD conducted a total of 7 Fair Housing training/seminar sessions for property managers, homeless programs and for the general public. The OHCD's website has continued to be successful in increasing awareness of housing rights and resources. In PY2020, there were 2,464 hits to the website for people seeking information. The County's Fair Housing officer participated in 5 meetings with other Fair Housing officers. The Analysis of Impediments (AI) was completed in 2019. This identified a general lack of awareness of fair housing rights on the part of people with disabilities, members of the general public, landlords and property managers. The OHCD and partner agencies across the state have explored new ways to provide virtual training and education to the community, which was often limited to virtual interactions. The annual Fair Housing Seminar was conducted on a virtual platform and made accessible to state-wide attendance. This allowed the presenting agencies to expand the seminar beyond a one -day presentation. The seminar hosted various specialized panels who conducted 5 training sessions—one for each week of Fair Housing month (April). The audience consisted of an average of 731 people per session, of which 50% were first-time attendees, a substantial increase from previous years. A total of 149 attendees registered from the Big Island. The County's Fair Housing webpage posted the recorded trainings. There were 2,464 visits to the webpage. The virtual traffic increased as well as the phone and email inquiries. The Fair Housing coordinator provided assistance in response to 94 inquiries via phone or email. HUD encourages the County to continue its efforts to further fair housing. The CAPER was made available to Mr. Jelani Madaraka, Lead Civil Rights Analyst, HUD Honolulu Field Office, for compliance with Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) requirements. He will forward any comments or questions he may have under separate cover. Conclusion Overall, the County of Hawaii is meeting its community needs by planning and executing a Consolidated Plan with a vision for the future, and by implementing this Plan through its Annual Action Plan. As a result, the County has assisted many communities and especially low- to moderate -income persons. HUD encourages the County to continue its support of various housing and community development programs, and especially wish to recognize the hard work of the County staff working on the CPD programs for their dedication. The program staff is a credit to the County and its CPD programs.