City Council Report
915 I Street, 1st Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2021-01431 February 8, 2022 Consent Item 10
Title: Non-Congregate Shelter Response: Continuation of Emergency Response Program and Additional FEMA Reimbursement Budget Authority for Motel Vouchers and Related Contract Extensions (Two-Thirds Vote Required)
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: 1) Pass a Motion by two-thirds vote waiving the 10-day posting requirement for contracts over $1 million under City Code section 4.04.020(C) and Council Rules of Procedure Chapter 7, Section E.2.d; and 2) Adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee to: a) continue the Motel Voucher Program as long as the President’s Executive Order provides 100% Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Reimbursement for non-congregate shelter operations for COVID-19 sensitive populations; b) increase the revenue and expenditure budgets in the Homeless Response Program (G02001700) by $5,000,000 (Disaster Relief Act Fund, Fund 2701; and 3) execute the necessary contract supplements, as attached.
Contact: Danielle Foster, Housing Policy Manager, (916) 808-1869, [email protected]
, Office of Innovation and Economic Development; Bridgette Dean, Director, 916-808-0597, [email protected], Department of Community Response
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
3-Contract Amendment 2020-4309-08
3-Contract Amendment 2020-4352-09
3-Contract Amendment 2021-0344-03
3-Contract Amendment 2021-1128-02
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: The number of unsheltered persons in Sacramento is increasing despite significant investment by the City, Sacramento County, the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA), Sacramento Steps Forward and numerous partners. The humanitarian crisis impacts those who are living outdoors and the entire community including residents, businesses, and visitors and there is an urgent need to act to bring more people indoors. According to the 2019 Point in Time Homeless County released by the Sacramento County Continuum of Care, the County of Sacramento had a homeless population of 5,570 individuals, approximately 2,800 of whom are unsheltered on any given night in the City of Sacramento.
The COVID-19 pandemic started spreading throughout the United States in early 2020, and significantly impacted the nation including the Sacramento community. On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), Public Law 116-136, was approved, which made $5 billion in Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus (CDBG- CV) and $4 billion in Emergency Solutions Grant Coronavirus (ESG-CV) funds available to respond to the growing effects of the historic COVID-19 public health crisis on the community.
HUD allocated funding in April and June 2020. The second round (CV2) included $10,205,871 in ESG funding. Since April 2020, the Sacramento City Council, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and Sacramento Continuum of Care have been implementing the COVID-19 Homeless Response Plan utilizing CARES and other federal, state and local funds. These efforts prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic among individuals and families who are homeless or receiving homeless assistance and support additional homeless assistance and homelessness prevention activities to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
In mid-December 2020, the City utilized $250,000 of existing Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) for the creation of a non-congregate sheltering program in light of the local public emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as limited capacity in other local programs and the need to expand non-congregate services. This successful collaboration with local hospital systems and outreach teams quickly began to reduce impacts on local hospital emergency departments and assist individuals with other health conditions and higher risks, while also serving pregnant women, families, and individuals experiencing homelessness who are at greater risk of contracting COVID-19 due to their situation of being without shelter and very limited ability to shelter in place. With the swearing in of President Biden in late January, his administration acted quickly to expand the FEMA Public Assistance reimbursement amount under the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Executive Order to a 100% reimbursement for non-congregate shelters serving at-risk unsheltered populations. With an interest of best stretching resources for the local COVID-19 response, staff researched what this action could mean locally, particularly in the wake of extreme winter weather on January 26, 2021, on
January 27, 2021, the City Council adopted Resolution 2021-0023 that amended the previously adopted Resolution 2020- 0075 from March 2020, declaring the local emergency related the COVID-19 Pandemic. Resolution 2021-0023 amended the prior resolution to include mention of the additional emergency related to persons experiencing homelessness being exposed to extreme winter weather conditions, in addition to the exposure to the COVID- 19 pandemic due to their unsheltered state. Since January 27, 2021, City staff has stood up warming centers, provided safe parking options, and continued expansion of the Motel Voucher Program. FEMA has continued to extend its full reimbursement for non-congregate shelter settings to April 1, 2022. Staff is requesting additional authority and contract amendments in order to continue programming until April 1, 2022, and to have capacity to extend through June 2022 if FEMA extends the allowance to seek reimbursement.
Under the FEMA reimbursement, households with at least one of the following individuals are fully reimbursable:
• Individuals who have been diagnosed with COVID-19
• Individuals who have been exposed to COVID 19 and/or who are symptomatic, as confirmed by a local health official.
• An individual who is 65 years or older
• An individual who is pregnant
• An individual with pre-existing health conditions, including: cancer, COPD, heart conditions, obesity, type 1 or 2 diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, liver disease, immunocompromised state, pulmonary fibrosis, etc.
With the extension of FEMA reimbursement to April 1, 2022, staff is requesting this continued extension while also consolidating some of the remaining efforts, reducing sites from six to five, and focusing on rehousing efforts, next steps, and working towards likely program transitions once FEMA reimbursement expires.
Policy Considerations: While FEMA reimbursements focus on the most COVID “at-risk” populations within the unsheltered population, the reimbursement also includes resources for all necessary operations (food, motel rooms, referrals, etc.) for the non-congregate shelter program. The City has been successful in pairing FEMA reimbursement opportunities with other local funding in order to serve other special populations within the homeless community that are not prioritized by FEMA, like families with minors.
Staff believes that moving forward with these contracts and program continuation towards an April 1, 2022 end date maintains the momentum of what the City Council initiated the end of January 2021 and speaks to the urgency of these efforts in getting our unsheltered population shelter, connected with services, and housed to the greatest extent and as quickly as we can.
Being fully staffed up with supportive services and rehousing efforts should allow for a high percentage of client households achieving permanent shelter.
Economic Impacts: Provision of the Motel Voucher Program assists our unsheltered community, and it assists our local motels, hotels, and food programs as they partner with the City to provide the necessary program operations and services. This is particularly helpful to the hospitality businesses and restaurants who have also faced many COVID-19 related economic challenges.
Environmental Considerations: This report does not involve activities that constitute a “project” as defined by Sections 15061(b)(3) and 15378(b)(4) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
Sustainability: Not applicable.
Commission/Committee Action: None.
Rationale for Recommendation: In order to decrease exposure of the local unsheltered population to the COVID-19 pandemic and the local extreme weather conditions, the City is working to maintain non-congregate sheltering options, while also pairing those individuals with services and rehousing coordination to the greatest extent possible.
Financial Considerations: Staff is seeking to increase the FEMA reimbursement resources for the continuation of the Motel Voucher Program to April 1, 2022, with capacity to extend if FEMA extends due to pandemic response needs.
The motel voucher contract extensions for the following contracts will cover existing expenses and projected costs for the duration of the program
To ensure continuation of the program, staff recommends increasing the revenue and expenditure budget to in the Homelessness Response Program (G02001700) by $5,000,000 (Disaster Relief Act Fund, Fund 2701).
Contract Amount
Paul & Sons, Inc 2,750,000
Shree Enterprises, LLC 750,000
Sky Riders Motels 750,000
Siyaram Hotels, LLC 750,000
Total Amount 5,000,000$
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): None.
Resolution No. 2021-
Adopted by the Sacramento City Council
Non-Congregate Shelter Response - Continuation of Emergency Response Program and Additional FEMA Reimbursement Budget Authority for Motel Voucher Program and Related Contract Extensions
BACKGROUND:
A. According to the 2019 Point in Time Homeless Count released by the Sacramento County Continuum of Care, the County of Sacramento had a homeless population of 5,570 individuals, approximately 2,800 of whom are unsheltered on any given night in the City of Sacramento.
B. Despite thousands of residents temporarily and permanently housed through local housing developments and programs, large congregate temporary shelters, scattered site housing, and temporary motel vouchers during the past four years, the numbers of homeless individuals and families are increasing. In particular, since 2019, housing affordability has worsened, with rising rents and high demands on housing, with measured construction and inadequate housing cost affordability.
C. On March 13, 2020, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2020-0075 declaring the existence of a local emergency relating to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19).
D. COVID-19, with its devastating impact on public health and the region’s economy, has further exacerbated the issues surrounding homelessness in the City of Sacramento and increased the existing shelter crisis. Despite ongoing local rental assistance and homeless prevention investments and nearly $60 million recently allocated to address homelessness and affordable housing, the numbers of homeless individuals and families are increasing, the weather has been worsening, there is a continuing COVID-19 Local Public Emergency, and therefore the response by the City must also continue.
E. In mid-December 2020, the City utilized $250,000 of existing resources from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) to establish a non-congregate sheltering program in light of the local public emergency and need for assistance, as well as limited capacity in other local programs and the need to expand non-congregate services.
F. On January 12, 2021, the City Council approved the continuation of a local declaration of a shelter crisis and extended the duration of the present shelter crisis through January 12, 2022.
G. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allocated a second round of Emergency Solutions Grant Coronavirus funding (ESG-CV2) to the
City of Sacramento based upon a new formula in the amount of $10,205,871.
Resources were provided to this program from this allocation in March 2021.
H. On January 27, 2021, with ever-pressing COVID-19 threats and the need for expanded non-congregate sheltering options in light of extreme weather conditions, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2021-0023, proclaiming the existence of a Local Public Emergency relating to persons experiencing homelessness in extreme winter weather conditions and amongst the pandemic.
I. On March 2, 2021, the City Council continued the Motel Voucher Program with additional resources and services, utilizing local resources for non-FEMA qualified households and pursuing FEMA Reimbursement where possible.
J. The emergency need for non-congregate shelter continues, particularly in light of the Omicron variant, and shelter is necessary to address due to the Local Public Emergency that threatens the unhoused population.
BASED ON THE FACTS SET FORTH IN THE BACKGROUND, THE CITY COUNCIL RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council recognizes the urgent need to continue to offer the local unhoused population, facing imminent health and safety threats, with non- congregate shelter and authorizes the City Manager to continue to provide motel vouchers and related services for unsheltered households qualified to receive federal funding support as long as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), at the direction of the President, continues to allow for seeking full reimbursement for the most COVID-19 at-risk members of the unsheltered population.
Section 2. The City Manager or the City Manager’s designee is authorized to increase the revenue and expenditure budget in the Homeless Response Program (G02001700) by $5,000,000 (Disaster Relief Act Fund, Fund 2701).
Section 3. The City Manager or the City Manager’s designee is authorized to execute the necessary contract supplements.