The City of Napa has published its 2019-20 Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER). One of the highlights of the CAPER is that the City’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds benefited approximately 2,000 Napa residents and funded the rehabilitation of dozens of rental units in Fiscal Year 2019-2020.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) distributes CDBG grants to states, cities and counties to help develop viable urban communities by providing suitable housing and expanding economic opportunities, primarily for low- and moderate-income residents. There are three major funding categories for the CDBG program: Public Service, Planning and Administration, and Community Development Improvements.
Napa's 2015-2020 Consolidated Plan identifies housing needs and challenges in the Napa community, sets priorities and strategies, allocates resources under the HUD-funded programs, and provides an annual plan to track how resources will be spent and goals will be accomplished. To properly track this progress, Napa has to prepare a CAPER each fiscal year. During FY 2019-20, the City received $589,203 in CDBG entitlement funds and $77,938 from loan repayments to funnel into addressing homelessness and providing affordable housing.
“One of Napa’s highest priorities is addressing residents’ needs and ensuring they have access to necessary resources such as utilities, shelter, food and counseling, especially during this tumultuous year,” said Napa City Manager Steve Potter. “I am proud and grateful for the many amazing programs, services and organizations that we can invest CDBG funding into to help so many Napa residents in need.”
The City used its CDBG funds to complete a number of projects and fund important services for Napa residents, including:
- $663,589 to Adobe Services to continue operation of the homeless shelter system, which helped more than 270 people during the program year. Those funds included $52,535 from the CDBG fund to operate the South Napa Shelter and $611,054 from the City’s General Fund for the South Napa Shelter and other homeless shelters and programs.
- $24,546 to NEWS, a nonprofit that offers counseling, shelter and resources to domestic violence and sexual assault victims, for bilingual counseling services. This funding was able to provide help for 125 residents.
- Over $7,000 to the Catholic Charities of the Archdioceses of Santa Rosa to sustain operation of the Rainbow House Family Shelter, which funded assistance for 68 community members.
- In addition to the $25,000 from the Housing Authority and $100,000 from the City’s General Fund, the City provided Fair Housing Napa Valley $12,624 for fair housing assistance, mediation, education and preservation of affordable mobile home space rent. These services helped 1,340 individuals during the last fiscal year.
- Napa’s Housing Rehabilitation program used the CDBG Loan Program to complete four rehabilitation projects and begin an additional project. The CDBG Emergency Repair Grant program also allowed the City to complete 12 rehabilitation projects. The City invested a combined total of $366,085 in these programs.
- Finally, remaining funds allowed Mayacamas Village to complete its insulation replacement project in 2019 to finalize rehabilitation of 51 rental units. And Stoddard West completed construction and moved residents into 50 new rental units.
Furthermore, the Senior Center accessibility improvements were substantially complete in Fall 2019 but received additional CDBG funding for FY 2020-21 to continue making upgrades. The Rainbow House is also undergoing improvements that are expected to be completed by spring 2021.
To learn about the CDBG and to read the City’s 2019-20 CAPER in full, visit https://www.cityofnapa.org/181/Community-Development-Block-Grant.