To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Department of Health Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Jennifer Solito; 707-565-4774
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
City of Rohnert Park and City of Healdsburg Project Homekey Funding Agreements
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize the Director of the Department of Health Services, or designee, to execute a funding agreement with the City of Rohnert Park to operate and provide supportive services at Labath Landing in the amount of $1,910,950 for a term ending June 30, 2025.
B) Authorize the Director of the Department of Health Services, or designee, to execute the third amendment to an existing funding agreement with the City of Healdsburg to operate and provide supportive services at L&M Village, adding $619,410, for a new total not to exceed amount of $1,263,570, with no change to the term, through June 30, 2025, subject to review and approval by County Counsel.
C) Adopt a Resolution authorizing budgetary adjustments to the Department of Health Services Fiscal Year 2024-2025 adopted budget, increasing appropriations in the amount of $2,530,360 to program available federal, state, and local funds to finance agreements with the cities of Rohnert Park and Healdsburg.
(4/5ths vote required)
end
Executive Summary:
The Sonoma County Department of Health Services (DHS) is requesting Board approval to authorize the Director of Health Services, or designee, to execute a funding agreement to support operations for Labath Landing, a Project Homekey site, located at 6050 Labath Avenue in Rohnert Park, providing up to seventy (70) individual’s interim housing and supportive services, at a cost not to exceed $1,910,950 for term July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.
Additionally, DHS is requesting Board approval to execute an Amendment to the existing funding agreement with the City of Healdsburg as requested by the City, to cover additional costs for operations and services at L&M Village. The City of Healdsburg funding agreement financially supports L&M Village, a Project Homekey site located at 70 Healdsburg Ave, providing up to twenty-two (22) individuals’ interim housing and supportive services. The original agreement of $644,160 was determined by the City as insufficient to cover operational costs, and the City of Healdsburg has requested to add the additional amount of $619,410, for a new total not to exceed of $1,263,570, with no change to the term date of June 30, 2025.
Funding for these obligations will be sourced from $52,905 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), $1,358,045 Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP), and $1,119,410 of Measure O fund balance.
Discussion:
Background:
Sonoma County as a region (encompassing the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, DHS, Sonoma County Community Development Commission, Sonoma County Homeless Coalition, and Sonoma County cities) cooperated to develop a Funding Framework which was approved and adopted by your Board and the Homeless Coalition Board in October 2021. The Funding Framework’s collaboration led to successful applications for multiple different Homekey Round #2 projects. Both Labath Landing and L&M Village were awarded funds on December 21, 2021 as follows:
• Labath Landing: $14,678,400 (commitments of supportive services funds)
• L&M Village: $7,048,800 (commitments of supportive services funds as well as early capital match)
The Funding Framework was intended to buttress the Homekey Round #2 applications by drawing from a pool of approximately $2.7 million in State and local revenue and $2.52 million in value from the federal Housing and Urban Development’s housing vouchers to provide approximately $5.22 million in supportive services expenses annually. Additionally, the Funding Framework suggested awarding $1.3 million from County-assigned HHAP Round #1 funds to local projects to serve as a part of the required local capital match. The Funding Framework further authorized the County Executive to modify aspects of the Framework and Early Capital Match program as needed within the general parameters of offering operational support of up to $80 per person per day for Project Homekey sites and up to $1.3 million in early capital match incentives.
The approved base rate of $80 per bed per day did not take into consideration costs incurred by the city to maintain facilities whether rooms were occupied or not, nor did it take into consideration rooms where there was more than one bed, and the additional costs associated with multi-bed situations. As a result, these early funding framework calculations have left both cities with a shortfall in funding to their programs and operational costs. Both cities have requested the funding calculation be adjusted to a base of $105 per client/per day, which includes operational costs and cleaning of vacated spaces, and is an acceptable adjustment to the Department.
It is anticipated that interim housing sites will continue to need support from the Funding Framework in the years to come.
Recent Metrics
• At Labath Landing, 139 individuals have been served since opening in October 2022, with approximately 97 (70%) of these clients experiencing chronic homelessness. Of those served, 71 (51.08%) have exited the program. Of those exiting, 32 exited to permanent housing. This represents a 45% successful exit rate.
• At L&M Village, over 63 individuals have been provided services and programs. Among those clients, 24 participants (63%) have successfully transitioned into permanent housing or have become housing-ready. Additionally, the L&M Village serves as a key asset for Northern Sonoma County, with over 50% of its clients coming from unincorporated areas or neighboring jurisdictions.
The Board-adopted Framework uses the Housing Authority’s Project-Based Vouchers (PBV) to support Permanent Supportive Housing operations (as interim housing funding does not qualify for PBVs) and relies on both Measure O and Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP), from both the portion of HHAP assigned to the Homeless Coalition and the portion assigned to the County of Sonoma, to support the remaining interim housing programs. As a result, the only projects eligible for funding consideration under the Funding Framework in FY 2023-2024 were the Healdsburg and Rohnert Park projects. Both the City of Healdsburg and the City of Rohnert Park submitted letters of interest for the Framework’s funding within the DHS/Homelessness Services Division’s FY 2023-2024 Local Homelessness Services NOFA, within the carve-out category of support for Project Homekey supportive services.
Additionally, the Continuum of Care (CoC) issued Letters of Support for Operating Subsidy Request to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) noting that, “the CoC has some operating subsidies available, but not for the entire project” and referencing that the Funding Framework existed and was in place for both the Healdsburg and Rohnert Park projects.
Lastly, both cities have submitted letters requesting the change in the Funding Framework calculation from $80 per client per bed, to $105 per client per day, and corresponding adjusted amounts to cover costs this Fiscal Year.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Healthy and Safe Communities
Goal: Goal 4: Reduce the County’s overall homeless population by 10% each year by enhancing services through improved coordination and collaboration.
Objective: Objective 2: Identify and leverage grant funding sources for permanent supportive and affordable housing development.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Staff note that all required performance data from these two interim housing sites is currently broken down by race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, age, and other factors to allow the County to be better informed about the projects’ outcomes relating to equity. The Homelessness Division’s Homeless Management Information System team is currently working on building several data dashboards to allow the County a better analytical view into homelessness disparity. The first dashboard is a system wide performance dashboard currently in review with Homelessness Leadership. The first dashboard is estimated to be released sometime in December 2024, with the remaining dashboards following in the next several months into CY 2025. Collecting this data is an important first step in providing the baseline for project improvement or adjustment using the County’s Anti-Racist Results-Based Accountability (AR-RBA) framework.
Prior Board Actions:
April 30, 2024: Project Homekey agreements with the City of Rohnert Park and City of Healdsburg for interim housing sites (Item 2024-0457) authorizing the execution of a services agreement with the City of RP to operate and provide services at Labath Landing.
November 7, 2023: Award of Encampment Resolution Funding Grant Agreements (Item 2023-1158) authorizing the acceptance of revenue from the State of California’s Interagency Council on Homelessness Encampment Resolution Funding Program.
October 26, 2021: Project Homekey-2 (Item 2021-1178) approving the Supportive Services Framework.
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY24-25 Adopted |
FY25-26 Projected |
FY26-27 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
$2,530,360 |
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Total Expenditures |
$2,530,360 |
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Funding Sources |
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General Fund/WA GF |
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State/Federal |
$1,358,045 |
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Fees/Other - ARPA |
$52,905 |
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|
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Use of Fund Balance |
$1,119,410 |
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General Fund Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
$2,530,360 |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The adoption of this resolution will increase the FY 2024-2025 adopted budget revenues and expenditures by $2,530,360 and will be composed of ARPA, HHAP, and Measure O funds as detailed in attached Budget Resolution. This increase will cover the funding shortfalls agreements with City of Rohnert Park and City of Healdsburg through the terms of their contracts, ending June 30, 2025.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Budget Resolution
Attachment 2 - Draft Agreement with City of Rohnert Park
Attachment 3 - Draft Agreement with City of Healdsburg
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None