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HomeMy WebLinkAbout#07 - CDBG Cooperative Agreement STAFF REPORT DATE: 7/16/2024 CONSENT TO: City Council FROM: Jason Stopa, Community Development Director AGENDA ITEM: Approve CDBG Cooperative Agreement with Washington County REVIEWED BY: Julie Johnson, City Clerk Ashley Monterusso, City Planner BACKGROUND: Lake Elmo has previously participated in the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and the Home Investment Partnerships Program but has not utilized funding in the past several years. Residents have access to the County Wide Home Improvement Loan program which is a deferred interest free loan up to $24,500 and funded by CDBG. CDBG also funds the County’s Crisis Fund Assistance for Homelessness Prevention. ANALYSIS: The purpose of this Agreement is to authorize the County to participate with the City in undertaking or to assist in undertaking essential community development and housing assistance activities pursuant to the CDBG Entitlement Program and the HOME Investment Partnership Program. The table below illustrates what the city has done in the past with funding: Plan Year Activity Name Funded Amount 2001 LAKE ELMO - CITY ZONING CODE REVISION $25,000.00 2001 LAKE ELMO-COMM FAC./PUBLIC SERVICES PLNG $30,000.00 2001 LAKE ELMO - CIMARRON NEIGHBORHOOD STUDY $10,000.00 2001 LAKE ELMO - RESIDENTIAL DESIGN STUDY $24,365.91 2004 CITY OF LAKE ELMO CIMARRON GAS SERVICE $48,200.00 2008 LAKE ELMO--CIMARRON GAS LINE REPLACEMENT $28,720.25 ISSUE BEFORE COUNCIL: Should the city approve the Community Development Block Grant Cooperation Program Agreement? FISCAL IMPACT: None OPTIONS: • Approve the CDBG Cooperation Agreement • Deny the CDBG Cooperation Agreement • Table for future discussion RECOMMENDATION: If removed from the Consent Agenda, staff recommends the following motion: “Motion to approve the 2024 Community Development Block Grant Cooperation between City of Lake Elmo and Washington County.” ATTACHMENTS: • Washington County Community Development Block Grant Cooperation Agreement WASHINGTON COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) COOPERATION AGREEMENT THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into under the auspices of MINN. STAT. §471.59 and in furtherance of the requirements of the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and HOME Investment Partnerships Program by and between the County of Washington, State of Minnesota (County) and the City of Lake Elmo, hereinafter referred to as “Cooperating Community”, both parties being governmental units of the State of Minnesota. WITNESSETH: WHEREAS, Title I of the federal Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 as amended provides for a program of community block grants to urban counties as that term is defined in the Act; and WHEREAS, Washington County, Minnesota meets the criteria of urban county and is eligible to receive CDBG funds; and WHEREAS, 24 C.F.R. §570.105 establishes the program qualification of an urban county as a county having a certain threshold population which is the combination of the population of unincorporated areas, plus the population of participating incorporated areas; and WHEREAS, in order to be considered a participating incorporated area under the above definition, the County must enter into cooperative agreements to undertake or to assist in the undertaking of essential activities pursuant to the CDBG Program and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program; and WHEREAS, it is in the interest of the Cooperating Community to have its population counted together with other municipalities of Washington County in order to be able to participate in these federal programs; and WHEREAS, the Mayor of the Cooperating Community is authorized to execute this Agreement on the Cooperating Community’s behalf; and WHEREAS, the Chair of the Washington County Board of Commissioners and County Administrator are authorized to execute this Agreement on the County’s behalf. NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and promises contained herein, the parties mutually agree to the following terms and conditions: I.DEFINITIONS For purposes of this Agreement, the terms defined in this section have the following meaning: A.“The Act” means the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Title I, of Public Law 93- 383, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5301, et seq.).B.“Regulation” means the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the Acts, including but notlimited to 24 C.F.R. Part 570. C.“HUD” means the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.D.“Cooperating Community” means any city or township in Washington County which has enteredinto this Agreement or one which is identical.E.“CDBG Program” means federal program instituted under 42 U.S.C. §5301, et seq. as amended.F.“HOME Investment Partnership Program” means the federal program instituted under Title II of theCranston-Gonzales National Affordable Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §12701 et seq. as amended. The definitions herein contained in 42 U.S.C. §5302 and 24 C.F.R. 5703, as amended are incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof. II. PURPOSE The Cooperating Community and the County have determined that it is desirable and in the interests of the citizens that the County qualify as an urban county within the provisions of the Act. This Agreement contemplates that identical agreements will be executed between the County and other cities and township within the County, thus enabling the County to qualify under the Act. The purpose of this Agreement is to authorize the County to participate with the Cooperating Community in undertaking or to assist in undertaking essential community development and housing assistance activities pursuant to the CDBG Entitlement Program and the HOME Investment Partnership Program. III. TERM OF AGREEMENT This Agreement shall remain in effect for the three-year program period of Federal Fiscal Years 2025 through 2027 (October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2027) and until funds granted and program income received during the three-year program period are expended and the funded activities completed. Neither the County nor the Cooperating Community may terminate, withdraw, or be removed from the program during the three-year program period. This Agreement will renew automatically for participation in successive three-year Urban County qualification periods, unless the Cooperating Community or the County provide written notice to the other party that it elects not to participate in a new qualification period. The terminating party shall send a copy of the notice of termination to the HUD field office by the date specified in HUD’s Urban County Qualification Notice. The County will notify the Cooperating Community in writing of the Cooperating Community’s right to make this election. A copy of the County's notification must be sent to the HUD field office by the date specified in the Urban County Qualification Notice. The Parties agree to adopt amendment(s) to this Agreement as may be required by HUD to meet any new Urban County Qualification requirement(s) for subsequent qualification cycles, when applicable. Failure by either Party to adopt any such amendment, and to submit such amendment to HUD, will void the automatic renewal of such qualification period. IV. MODIFICATIONS Any material alteration, modification, variations, or additional tasks to this Agreement shall be reduced to writing as an amendment and signed by the parties. V. METHOD The Cooperating Community expressly agrees that it will undertake or assist in undertaking community renewal and lower income housing assistance activities, specifically urban renewal and publicly assisted housing. The County shall prepare and submit to HUD and appropriate reviewing agencies, all necessary applications for a basic grant amount under the CDBG and HOME requirements. In making the application, the County shall address the goals and needs of County as developed in meetings between the Community, its citizens, and the County, and also addressing the Act and other relevant Minnesota and/or federal statutes and regulations. The parties agree to cooperate fully in establishing priorities and in preparation of the application for a basic grant amount. The Cooperating Community and the County agree that the County shall establish a reasonable time schedule for the development of the grant application. It is anticipated by the parties that the party ultimately implementing a project funded by monies received from the grant may be either the Cooperating Community, or the County. The determination of which party will implement the project will be made by the parties after consideration of the nature and scope of the project, and the ability of each party to undertake the project, though it is understood by the Cooperating Community that the County shall have final responsibility for selecting projects and filing annual grant requests. The County is hereby authorized to distribute to the Cooperating Community such funds as are determined appropriate for the Community to use in implementing a project and the County is hereby authorized to undertake projects within the Cooperating Community as are determined appropriate for the County to undertake. Contracts awarded and purchased made pursuant to a project under this Agreement shall conform to Minnesota statute and to the requirements of the entity undertaking the project. VI. SPECIAL PROVISIONS A. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to prevent or otherwise modify or abrogate the right of the Cooperating Community or the County to submit individual applications for discretionary funds in the event County does not receive designation as an urban county entity under the Act. B. In the event that there is a revision of the Act and/or Regulation which would make this Agreement out of compliance with the Act or Regulation, both parties will review this Agreement and renegotiate those items necessary to bring the Agreement into compliance. C. Both parties understand and agree that the refusal to renegotiate this Agreement in order to bring it into compliance will void any renewal of the Agreement for subsequent qualification periods. D. All funds received by the county under the Act shall be deposited in the County treasury. E. The Cooperating Community and the County shall maintain financial and other records and accounts in accordance with requirements of the Act and Regulation. Such records and accounts will be in such form as to permit reports required of the County to be prepared therefrom and to permit the tracing of grant funds and program income to final expenditure. F. The Cooperating Community and the County agree to make available all records and accounts with respect to matter covered by this Agreement at all reasonable times to their respective personnel and duly authorized federal officials. Such records shall be retained as provided by law, but in no event for a period of less than three years from the date of completion of any activity funded under the Act or less than three years from the last receipt of program income resulting from activity implementation. The County shall perform all audits of the basic grant amounts and resulting program income as required under the Act and Regulation. The participating municipalities and the County shall maintain and share between themselves all the necessary and sufficient records for review and audit that pertain to the implementation of the activities described herein, and as required by HUD. G. Pursuant to 24 CFR 570.501(b), the parties mutually agree that the Cooperating Community is subject to the same requirements appliable to the subrecipients, including the requirement of a written agreement described in 24 CFR 570.503 and 2 CFR part 200 H. Both the County and Cooperating Community must take all actions necessary to assure compliance with the County’s certification under Section 104(b) of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, that the grant will be conducted and administered in conformity with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the implementing regulations at 24 CFR Part 1, and the Fair Housing Act, and the implementing regulations at 24 CFR Part 100, and will comply with the obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. The Parties shall comply with Section 109 of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, and the implementing regulations at 24 CFR Part 6, which incorporates Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the implementing regulations at 24 CFR Part 8, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1974, and the implementing regulations at 28 CFR Part 35, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and the implementing regulations at 24 CFR Part 146, and Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, and all other applicable laws and regulations. The Parties agree that Urban County funding in no event will be used for activities in, or in support of, any cooperating unit of general local government that impedes the County's actions to comply with the County's fair housing certification and duty to affirmatively further fair housing. This provision is required because noncompliance by a Cooperating Community may constitute noncompliance by County that can, in turn, provide cause for funding sanctions or other remedial actions by the Department. I.The County and the Cooperating Community have adopted and are enforcing: 1.A policy prohibiting the use of excessive force by law enforcement agencies within itsjurisdiction against any individuals engaged in nonviolent civil rights demonstrations.2. 2. A policy of enforcing applicable State and local laws against physically barring entrance to orexit from a facility or location that is the subject of non-violent civil rights demonstrationswithin its jurisdiction. J.42 U.S.C. §12701. The Cooperating Community acknowledges that by executing this Agreement itmay not apply for grants from appropriations under the Small Cities or State CommunityDevelopment Block Grant Programs for FFY 2025-2027 of the current qualifying period, and any successive qualifying period covered by this Agreement. The Cooperating Community furtheracknowledges that for FFY 2025-2027 of the current qualifying period and any successive qualifyingperiod covered by this Agreement, it may receive a formula allocation under the HOME Program (42 U.S.C. §12701 et seq. and regulations promulgated thereto) only through the County and isprecluded from forming a HOME Consortium for participation in the HOME Program, exceptthrough the County. K.Parties to this Agreement understand and agree that they may not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer allor any portion of CDBG funds to a Metropolitan City, Urban County, unit of general localgovernment, or insular area that directly or indirectly receives CDBG funds in exchange for anyfunds, credits, or non Federal considerations, but must use such funds for activities eligible underTitle I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended. L.The Cooperating Community shall comply with all applicable Federal law, State statutes, Federal and State regulations, and local ordinances now in effect or adopted during the performance of theservices herein until completion of said services. M.All data collected, created, received, maintained, or disseminated for any purpose by the activities ofthe Cooperating Community, because of this Agreement shall be governed by the MinnesotaGovernment Data Practices Act, Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13 (Act), as amended and the Rules implementing the Act now in force or as amended. The Cooperating Community is subject to therequirements of the Act and Rules and must comply with those requirements as if it is agovernmental entity. The remedies contained in section 13.08 of the Act shall apply to theCooperating Community. N.Audits: Pursuant to Minn. Stat. section 16C.05 subd. 5, the Cooperating Community will: •Maintain all books, records, documents, and accounting procedures and practices that arerelated to and/or relevant to this Agreement or transaction. •Agree that the County, the State Auditor, or legislative authority, or any of their dulyauthorized representatives at any time during normal business hours, and as often as they may deem reasonably necessary, shall have access to and the right to examine, audit,excerpt, and transcribe any books, records, documents, and accounting procedures andpractices that are related to and/or relevant to this Agreement or transaction. The Cooperating Community agrees to maintain these records for a period of six (6) years fromthe date of the termination of this Agreement. O.The Cooperating Community agrees it will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the County, itsofficers and employees against any and all liability, loss, costs, damages, and expenses which theCounty, its officers, or employees may hereafter sustain, incur, or be required to pay arising out ofthe negligent or willful acts or omissions of the Cooperating Community in the performance of thisAgreement. P.The Cooperating Community agrees that in order to protect itself, as well as the County, under theindemnity provisions set forth above, it will at all times during the term of this Agreement, keep inforce the following insurance protection in the limits specified: •Commercial General Liability with Contractual liability coverage in the amount of $1,500,000per occurrence with a $3,000,000 aggregate. An excess or umbrella liability policy may be usedin conjunction with primary coverage limits to meet the minimum limit requirements. •Professional Liability coverage in the amount of $2,000,000 per wrongful act or occurrence with a $4,000,000 annual aggregate. •Cyber Liability coverage in the amount of $2,000,000 per wrongful act or occurrence with a$4,000,000 annual aggregate. •Automobile coverage in the amount of $1,500,000 on a combined single limit basis and includehired and non-owned. •Worker’s Compensation in statutory amount (if applicable) of bodily injury by accident in theamount of $500,000 each accident, bodily injury by disease in the amount of $500,000 eachemployee, and bodily injury by disease in the amount of $500,000 policy limit. Washington County shall be listed as additional insured as it relates to Commercial General Liability and Automobile Liability. Prior to the effective date of this Agreement, the Cooperating Community will furnish the County with a current and valid proof of insurance certificate indicating insurance coverage in the amounts required by this Agreement. This certificate of insurance shall be on file with the County throughout the term of the Agreement. As a condition subsequent to this Agreement, Cooperating Community shall ensure that the certificate of insurance provided to the County will at all times be current. The parties agree that failure by the Cooperating Community to maintain a current certificate of insurance with the County shall be a substantial breach of the Agreement and payments on the Agreement shall be withheld by the County until a certificate of insurance showing current insurance coverage in amounts required by the Agreement is provided to the County. Any policy obtained and maintained under this clause shall provide that it shall not be cancelled, materially changed, or not renewed without thirty days’ notice thereof to the County. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be duly executed. THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE INTENTIALLY LEFT BLANK. WASHINGTON COUNTY, MINNESOTA By: Stan Karwoski, Chair Board of Washington County Commissioners Date: By: Kevin Corbid Washington County Administrator Date: Approved as to form: By: _____________________ Susan TiceAssistant County AttorneyDate: ___________________ City of Lake Elmo By: Its: Date: And: Its: Date: