City Re-Allocates $5.4 Million in Unspent Federal Funds, Spreads Across a Number of Improvement Projects

With $547,000 left unspent in the City’s Annual Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant funds submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the City Council Monday unanimously approved the reprogramming of the Community Development funds, as well as re-allocating $40,129 in Emergency Solutions Grant funds.

According to a report from the City’s Housing and Career Services Department, the Annual Action Plan as submitted to HUD, outlined the projected uses of federal entitlement funds, including Community Development Block Grant (“CDBG”) and Emergency Solutions Grant (“ESG”) program funds for the coming program year.

The Plan addresses the efforts made toward accomplishing goals and objectives in the City’s Five-Year Consolidated Plan, which runs from 2015-2019.

The Pasadena City Council convened a public hearing on May 2, 2016, which originally approved the submission of the 2016-2017 Annual Action Plan as an application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The new “Substantial Amendment” was issued for public review from October 13, 2016 to November 14, 2016, and no public comments were received regarding the Substantial Amendment.

City Housing staff recommended the reprogramming of the unspent $547,000 to the following projects:

$115,000 to the Jackie Robinson Community Center to upgrade the kitchen and multi -purpose room by replacing countertops, cabinets, carpet, sinks, and installing energy-efficient appliances, room dividers and a new video projector; $250,000 for sidewalk replacement in Northwest Pasadena; $100,000 for Sidewalk improvement and repair on Raymond Avenue; $52,000 for a new Closed Captioning Encoder at City Hall for hearing-impaired viewers of the City’s online meeting broadcasts; and finally, to use $30,000 to make payments on a $6 million loan for improvements to the Jackie Robinson Recreation Center.

In addition, Door of Hope, a non-profit, faith based organization which assists homeless families, was allocated $72,015 for Fiscal Year 2015-16 to provide Rapid Re-housing services, but expended only $40,129. The remaining $31, 886 will be reallocated to the 2016-17 budget. Additional staffing will allow the agency to serve additional homeless families and expend the reallocated funding, according to a staff report.