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Health committee forwards Measure A1 program-income expenditure plan to full board
Summary
The committee approved a staff plan to spend program income from Alameda County's Measure A1 bond on rental development, a CareFirst/JailsLast revolving loan fund, ADU loans and a small-scale infill pilot; staff said about $48.24 million in program income has been collected to date and recommended targeted investments and further procurement work.
The Alameda County Health Committee voted to approve a program-income expenditure plan for Measure A1 and forward the plan and related procurement contracts to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration.
Michelle Stared, housing director at the county's Community Development Agency, introduced Dylan Sweeney, programs and policy manager, who summarized staff recommendations for spending secondary funds generated by the county's voter-approved Measure A1 housing bond. Staff reported that “to date, there has been $48,000,000 and $240,000 in program income collected,” and that most of that—about $43,000,000—came from interest on invested bond proceeds, with the remainder available for new housing investment.
The expenditure plan presented four investment areas: (1) affordable rental development, (2) two small-development and innovation programs (including the SHIFT small-scale infill pilot), (3) an ADU loan program targeted to low-income seniors and homeowners who cannot access commercial loans, and (4) a revolving loan fund tied to the CareFirst/JailsLast initiative intended to support reentry-focused supportive housing. Staff recommended $24,000,000 toward rental development (earmarked for two Broadway projects previously authorized by the board) and proposed allocating $8,500,000 to the CareFirst/JailsLast revolving fund.
During the committee’s questioning, staff said the Measure A1 funds were distributed roughly in proportion to city populations and need and pointed supervisors to the Measure A1 website for a full city-by-city chart. Staff and speakers noted that rental development costs vary by city and that Oakland received the majority of rental-development dollars (staff stated it received more than 50% of that pool). Sweeney said the SHIFT pilot and smaller loan pools are intended to help emerging and faith-based developers who cannot access tax credits and to catalyze smaller-scale, lower-cost production.
Several housing advocates and providers urged the board to approve the plan. Chris Tipton of the East Bay Rental Housing Association and representatives of community groups said SHIFT would unlock underused units and parcels, while other callers and advocates urged approval of CareFirst/JailsLast funding to expand supportive housing for justice-involved residents.
A supervisor moved to approve the program-income expenditure plan and forward procurement and contracts to the full board; the committee recorded affirmative votes and forwarded the item for Board consideration. Committee members indicated staff should return with procurement documents and that the full Board would review final contracts.
What’s next: The committee-approved plan will go to the full Board of Supervisors for action; staff will continue to develop requests for proposals and procurement processes for the programs described.
Sources: presentation and staff report to the Health Committee (item introduced at SEG 033; committee action concluded at SEG 719).
