Human Relations Commission reviews FY24–25 CDBG accomplishments, opens CAPER public hearing

The Palo Alto Human Relations Commission reviewed the city’s fiscal year 2024–25 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) accomplishments and opened a public hearing on the draft Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) at its Sept. 11 meeting.

Consultant Austin Knutson of Michael Baker International and Coleman Frick, the city’s long-range planning manager, summarized the year’s activity and eligibility for HUD’s reporting requirements. Knutson said the city made available $1,107,757 for the 2024–25 program year, including $513,653 in entitlement funds, $464,154 in prior-year allocations and $129,950 in program income. Knutson listed subrecipient outcomes for the year: Alta Housing provided counseling and case management to 516 residents; Catholic Charities delivered advocacy and complaint investigation services to 37 residents; LifeMoves provided case management to 47 residents; SDI LC assisted 24 adults with disabilities; Project Sentinel provided fair-housing services to seven residents; Moved Mountain View assisted six people through a safe-parking program; WeCare assisted 15 microenterprises with training; Rebuilding Together Peninsula assisted two households with single-family rehabilitation; and the city completed 43 ADA curb ramps as part of a 2023–24 curb-ramp project that the presentation said benefited an estimated 6,681 people with disabilities. The Alma Garden rehabilitation project’s exterior work is complete and interior work is underway, the presentation said.

Commissioners asked follow-up questions about subrecipient eligibility and outcomes. Commissioner Barr asked whether Downtown Streets Team received recent CDBG support; Knutson said he was not aware of Downtown Streets Team receiving CDBG in the past several years but offered to research further. Assistant to the city manager Melissa McDonough told the commission that Downtown Streets Team stopped applying for CDBG funding roughly three years ago and that there were program-eligibility complications. McDonough added that Downtown Streets Team had previously received other federal CARES-era (ESSA/CARES) funds.

Commissioners and staff also discussed reasons some subrecipients significantly exceeded their stated goals and why others underperformed. Knutson and Frick said that reported beneficiary estimates can reflect census-tract-derived estimates for populations (for example, estimated disabled populations), and that some providers (for example, LifeMoves) reported improved case-management numbers year over year after staffing and pandemic-related disruptions. Move Mountain View’s safe-parking case-management numbers remained low, staff said, because the organization has had difficulty filling case-management positions. Rebuilding Together Peninsula reported difficulty identifying qualified low-income homeowners for rehabilitation and therefore served fewer households than planned.

The commission asked about unspent funds and contract periods. Frick explained that the city’s contract terms generally align with the CDBG program year and federal guidance; HUD allows multi-year activities but has deadlines for expending funds. He said the city was not at immediate risk of HUD recapture for standard CDBG funds and that CARES Act (CV/ESSA) funds have specific expiration timelines that the city is tracking. Commissioners requested more detailed expenditure charts for awardees; staff said they would provide additional breakdowns.

Knutson recommended that the commission open a public hearing to review and accept public comment on the 2024–25 draft CAPER. The commission opened the public hearing; no members of the public submitted comments before the hearing closed. Staff said written comments would be accepted through Sept. 24 and that the city must submit the CAPER to HUD by Sept. 30. Knutson provided an email contact for comments: Austin.Knutson@mbaker.intl.com.

The meeting also recorded a formal motion to approve the meeting minutes (moved by Vice Chair Krause; seconded by Commissioner Kazi); the commission voted unanimously as recorded to approve the minutes.