Board considers reallocation of forfeited ARPA funds to winter sheltering; joint RFP with City of Kalamazoo discussed

Kalamazoo County administrators asked the board on Sept. 2 to consider reallocating approximately $396,750 in forfeited ARPA funds (originally assigned to Young Kings and Queens) to emergency winter sheltering and centering operations.

What was proposed: Dr. Catlin and staff recommended using the funds for winter emergency hoteling/day/overnight sheltering, code‑blue response and shelter access coordination. The county could collaborate with the City of Kalamazoo, which is considering a roughly $300,000 allocation, and the two jurisdictions could run a joint RFP to speed contracting so services are in place by Nov. 1. Catlin and several commissioners favored the Continuum of Care (COC), which is housed at United Way, to administer a joint RFP because it could move faster and is already structured to review and allocate homelessness response funding.

Nonprofit overhead and federal rules: Commissioners inquired about nonprofit administrative fees; the administrator said the federal de minimis (indirect cost) rate recently changed and is now treated as 15%, so negotiation on that fee is limited by federal regulation (CFR). Board members asked staff to confirm the rate and to clarify what portion of awards would go to program services versus administrative overhead.

Next steps: Staff will prepare RFP language and recommend whether the COC or the county should administer the process. The board expressed interest in flexible RFP language that would allow responses for extreme weather events as well as other centering and shelter supports. The item will be advanced through procurement once final administration decisions are made.

Ending: Commissioners emphasized the one‑time nature of ARPA funds and the need to use them in ways that build capacity for future years, while recognizing an urgent need to have shelters and centering capacity in place for winter.