Agenda Item Name:
Title
Finalized County Community Redevelopment Grants for the Gainesville Metropolitan Area
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Presenter:
Edgar Campa-Palafox and Sean McLendon
Description:
A finalized grant criteria and process for Board consideration that promotes community redevelopment via economic development services in the Gainesville Metropolitan Area. This framework compliments the County's commitment to the Gainesville Community Revitalization Area agreement (GCRA) with a focus on serving low income to moderate income citizens through the terms and objectives of the County’s April 2019 community redevelopment agreement with the City of Gainesville.
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Approve the finalized grant criteria and application. Direct staff to solicit and bring back ranked applications to the earliest possible County Commission meeting for review and award. Authorize the County Manager to sign agreements with non-profits after the Board’s award.
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Prior Board Motions:
At the Board’s February 11, regular meeting Commissioner Cornell moved to direct staff to return with finalized criteria for community redevelopment grants within the Gainesville Metropolitan Area and create a final application process for professional services grants for FY20 and develop a list of infrastructure projects for FY21. The motion carried 4-0 with Commissioner Chestnut absent. 2nd Wheeler
Fiscal Consideration:
Fiscal Consideration
Account 001.17.1770.552.46.00 budget $100,000
The resources for these efforts would be funded from a portion of financial contributions committed by the County to the Gainesville Community Revitalization Area agreement (GCRA). In 2020 the first year, the increment available for economic development projects will be $100,000 growing by $100,000 per year over ten years per Section 3 of the GCRA agreement. Alachua County's total commitment to the GCRA starting in 2020 is $4,191,460 with an increment draw down of $100,000 annually for 10 years to reach equity between the City and County's commitment. At year ten of the agreement, the City and County will contribute an equal amount of $3,325,657 per year.
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Background:
Staff are still developing infrastructure projects for Board consideration in the FY21 budget year. These efforts will be informed through an emerging collaborative process with the City of Gainesville, Airport Authority, and Chamber of Commerce.
The action by the Board today, approves the professional services criteria and application process.
For FY20, a special category has been included on the application requesting a response from applicants on how their proposal will address COVID-19 impacts in the community.
Also, as part of this funding cycle, applications will be ranked by staff rather than the Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC). All subsequent funding years will go through EDAC.
Overview
Qualified Applicants: Government and non-profit organizations with 501c3 status may apply.
Total Funding Available for Award: $100,000 per funding cycle. Of this total, up to $50,000 may be awarded to a qualified grantee in any funding cycle. If successful, a grantee may only receive one grant per funding cycle. In the case of multiple qualifying applications, the Board may elect to partially fund grant requests. Applications will be taken in two rounds through an expedited process to address economic recovery opportunities related to the Covid-19 outbreak.
All dates for review and award are subject to change due to the ongoing crisis with Covid-19.
Process: Points shall be awarded based on the applicant’s responses to the key performance indicators referenced below. High scoring applications may be fully funded depending upon the number of successful applications. Poorly scoring or applications that fail to meet key performance indicators or grant criteria will not be awarded. Final award and amount are at the discretion of the Board of County Commissioners.
Background
As part of the Board’s Special Budget Meeting on June 4, 2019, Manager Lieberman proposed the creation of an Economic Development Grant Fund. The purpose of the fund would be to capture those programs that do not fall within traditional Community Agency Partnership Program (CAPP) services and spur economic development in areas of need.
This effort aligns to the County Commission’s desire to “promote the economic prosperity of all citizens, address economic equity, and diversify the tax base”, per Goal 1 of the Economic Element in the Comprehensive Plan. The Economic Element further elaborates on the Board’s policies relating to achieving greater prosperity for all including but not limited to the promotion of job training, local food, business incubation, nature-based tourism and recycling businesses while addressing historic equity issues. Concurrent with this goal, the City of Gainesville and Alachua County in 2019 ratified the Gainesville Community Revitalization Area agreement (GCRA) <https://alachuacofl.civicclerk.com/Web/GenFile.aspx?ad=20342> which seeks to catalyze redevelopment and remove the effects of slum and blight for low and moderate income residents including the elderly.
Based on both commitments, staff have drafted a grant criteria and process that promotes community redevelopment via economic development service projects in the Gainesville Metropolitan Area.
The resources for these efforts would be funded from a portion of the funds committed by the County to the GCRA agreement.
Criteria
Goal: Promote community redevelopment via grants for economic redevelopment that:
1. Reduces the effects of slum and blight in the Gainesville Metropolitan Area
2. Targets residents of low to moderate income including the elderly
3. Impacts the surrounding urban infrastructure rehabilitation, revitalization or conservation or any combination of benefits
4. Impacts Gainesville Metropolitan areas with low-income residents.
5. Addresses negative physical and economic conditions of slums related to disease, poverty and crime.
6. Improve the surrounding infrastructure in support of economic development goals for the reduction of slum and blight
7. Achieves Board policies related to economic development: increases economic prosperity, economic equity and diverse tax base in these areas needing redevelopment
8. Special criteria for 2020: How the grant funds address Covid-19 impacts in the community.
Uses: Funds will be used for grants for Professional Services Grants that promote community redevelopment through economic services, benefitting the low-income to moderate income residents and the elderly in the City of Gainesville Metropolitan Area.