Agenda Item Name:
Title
County Community Redevelopment Grants for the Gainesville Metropolitan Area
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Presenter:
Edgar Campa-Palafox and Sean McLendon
Description:
A draft grant criteria and process for Board consideration that promotes community redevelopment via economic development services and infrastructure projects in the Gainesville Metropolitan Area. This suggested 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.
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Hear presentation and give direction to 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.
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Prior Board Motions:
At the Board’s Regular Meeting on April 9, 2019 the Interlocal Agreement between Alachua County and City of Gainesville Regarding Community Redevelopment was approved on consent.
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:
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 services and infrastructure investments projects in the Gainesville Metropolitan Area.
The resources for these efforts would be funded from a portion of the tax increment committed by the County to the GCRA agreement.
Criteria
Goal: Promote community redevelopment via grants and infrastructure projects for economic development that qualifies as Community Redevelopment under the April 9, 2019 Interlocal between the City of Gainesville and Alachua County and:
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
Uses: Funds will be used for grants for Professional Services and Infrastructure Projects that promote community redevelopment through economic development, benefitting the low-income to moderate income residents and the elderly in the City of Gainesville Metropolitan Area.
Process
General Scope and Methodology
Funds will be for community redevelopment through Professional Services promoting economic development and will fund community redevelopment related Infrastructure Projects. All funded grants and projects will occur within the in the Gainesville Metropolitan Area as defined by the 2019 GCRA <https://alachuacofl.civicclerk.com/Web/GenFile.aspx?ad=20343>.
Location Priority: Funds may be allocated anywhere in the Gainesville Metropolitan Area but a priority will be placed on funding projects that service low to moderate income areas such as but not limited to East Gainesville and SWAG locations.
Source of Funds
The source of funds on an annual basis shall be from the County Contribution column of the 2019 Gainesville Community Revitalization Area Agreement, Section 3 Financial Contributions for Community Redevelopment in the Gainesville Metropolitan Area page 5 of 9.
Professional Service Grants
Government and non-profit organizations may submit for Professional Service Grants. A project match in either in-kind or direct match is desired. Funds may be used for operations and capital investments.
Projects will be managed by the applicant with input from agencies, stakeholders, and community groups.
Key Performance Indicators:
For Professional Service Grants applicants shall show how their proposal qualifies as Community Redevelopment under the April 9, 2019 Interlocal between the City of Gainesville and Alachua County and:
1. Serves or is located in a priority low to moderate income area.
2. Encourages job skills training, education and entrepreneurship
3. Provides expanded opportunities for education, including jobs-related skills training to increase workforce participation and better employment opportunities for populations that are experiencing economic disparities identified in the "Understanding Racial Inequity in Alachua County" Report (2018).
4. Increases economic opportunities in distressed and under-utilized areas that takes into account those area’s per capita income, the percentage of persons living at or below poverty and unemployment rates.
5. Estimates the number of new jobs, and or the creation, retention, expansion of businesses as a result of the grant.
6. Applicants will highlight their project proposal’s applicability to the County’s Economic Element, specifically found in objectives: 1.4 - EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT, 1.5 - EXPAND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND REDUCE POVERTY, 1.6 LIVABLE COMMUNITIES, 1.7 LOCAL FOOD
Review and Award
All applications will be submitted to the County and reviewed and ranked by the County’s Economic Development Advisory Committee. These ranked applications will be forwarded to the County Commission for review and approval by the second regular Board Meeting in February. For FY20 applications will be accepted and awarded by the third quarter of the fiscal year.
All awards will be brought to the joint meeting on or before April 1st of each year and presented as part of the Annual Work Plan pursuant to Section 4 of the GCRA.
Proposals meeting the key-performance indicators, serving priority communities, and best fulfilling the applicable Economic Element objectives will be ranked higher than those projects meeting the criteria to a lesser extent.
Professional Service Grant Funding
All awards and final amounts are at the discretion of the Board of County Commissioners.
Payments to awardees are performance based with invoices submitted for reimbursement on a monthly basis for review and payment by the County.
Maximum available award for professional service grants shall be $50,000 per requestor, per fiscal year.
Total available funding for professional service grants $100,000 per fiscal year.
Infrastructure Projects
Examples of infrastructure investments.
Community Redevelopment Agencies address the issues of slum and blight with capital investments that promote community redevelopment. On an annual basis the Board of County Commissioners will allocate a portion of the GCRA funds a
Capital project types including but not limited to: Sidewalks, trail networks, eco-tourism support infrastructure (signage, way-finding, kiosks etc.) streetscapes, façade improvements, utility connection assistance, pop-up retail pilot projects, high-speed internet connectivity, community gardens, green roofs, edible landscapes, Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ)/Resource Recovery Industrial Park
Infrastructure Projects will be adopted as part of the Board’s annual CIP budget. For FY21, projects will be proposed by County Staff with input from community stakeholders for Board approval.
Key Performance Indicators:
Infrastructure Projects shall show how the project qualifies as Community Redevelopment under the April 9, 2019 Interlocal between the City of Gainesville and Alachua County and:
1. Serves or is located in a priority low to moderate income area.
2. Addresses Slum and Blight conditions.
3. Coordinates with other redevelopment and economic opportunities in the surrounding area.
4. Increases economic opportunities in distressed and under-utilized areas that takes into account those area’s per capita income, the percentage of persons living at or below poverty and unemployment rates.
5. Estimates the number of new jobs, and or the creation, retention, expansion of businesses as a result of the project.
6. Highlight the project’s applicability to the County’s Economic Element, specifically found in objectives: 1.4 - EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT, 1.5 - EXPAND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND REDUCE POVERTY, 1.6 LIVABLE COMMUNITIES, 1.7 LOCAL FOOD
Infrastructure Project Funding
Funding for Infrastructure Projects shall be drawn from the County’s Contribution to the GCRA agreement Section 3 less the $100,000/year allocation for Professional Service Grants.
Infrastructure Eligible Partner Groups/Co-funded Projects: Requests from outside government agencies may be considered. A minimum project match of 50% capital costs is desired by the County. Funds may not be used for operations.
If partnership funds for infrastructure projects are requested from an outside group as part of the application the requestor shall provide an assessment using the Key Performance Indicators above factoring as well as the social equity, contributions toward the elimination of racial or economic disparities, and environmental impacts per Economic Element Policy 1.2.6 (a)
All requests must be submitted for consideration by staff prior to the Board’s annual kickoff CIP budget presentation.
All Infrastructure Projects will be brought to the joint meeting on or before April 1st of each year and presented as part of the Annual Work Plan pursuant to Section 4 of the GCRA.