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City recommends CDBG funding for youth shelter case management and two affordable-rental units; public-service requests exceed available funds
Summary
Staff recommended using an estimated $685,000 in 2025 Community Development Block Grant funds to buy two permanently affordable rental units, fully fund youth case management and youth coaching programs, and reserve program administration — leaving several public-service applicants unfunded under HUD caps.
City staff presented the draft 2025 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) annual action plan on April 22 and recommended funding proposals that staff said best matched HUD rules, the city’s consolidated-plan goals and the program’s required low- and moderate-income beneficiary tests.
Staff estimated $685,000 in total 2025 CDBG resources (entitlement plus program income) and explained the statutory caps that limit administrative costs to 20% and public-service spending to 15% of the entitlement. That cap left roughly $95,000 available for public services, staff said.
Staff recommended full funding for: (1) Northland Family Help Center — $55,000 to hire a youth-shelter case manager to serve approximately 50 youth a year; (2) Homeless Youth Connection — $40,000 to fund two youth coaches, serving about 30 youth; and (3) Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona — $280,000 to acquire two permanently affordable rental condos at Ponderosa Parkway. Staff said loan documents and risk assessments are in process for housing acquisitions.
The staff recommendation means two public-service applicants — Community Assistance Teams of Flagstaff (CATS) for the Cats on Wheels bicycle distribution program and Tinkertopia’s Sunnyside Tinkerspace proposal — would not receive CDBG funding under this draft because available public-service funds are limited and other projects ranked higher in the scoring and risk-review process. Staff noted Tinkertopia’s application would need to be available to all area residents, not only youth 14 and older, to meet an area-benefit test.
Housing and grants staff emphasized the city must meet HUD’s timely-expenditure tests and that staff evaluates applicants’ ability to spend funds promptly. Staff told council they will return May 20 (subject to final HUD allocation timing) to ask council to authorize submission of the annual action plan to HUD.
Council members who spoke voiced support for staff’s scoring-based recommendations while noting interest in economic-development pathways and workforce training that might leverage CDBG rules on microenterprise assistance. Staff said such programs are feasible but typically require a different program structure and an administrative sponsor (for example, an economic-development office or a non-profit with microenterprise capacity).
