Resolution 471-2003
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RESOLUTION NO. 471 - 2003
A RESOLUTION OF THE MONROE COUNTY BOARD OF
COMMISSIONERS COMMITTING FUNDS TO ASSIST LOW
AND VERY LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS IN THE PAYMENT
OF WASTEWATER CONNECTION FEES AND IN MAKING
NECESSARY AND RELATED ON-SITE IMPROVEMENTS FOR
PROJECT AREAS LOCATED IN THE STOCK ISLAND,
BA YPOINT, CONCH KEY, AND KEY LARGO (KEY LARGO
TRAILER VILLAGE, KEY LARGO PARK AND SUNSET
WATERWAYS) WASTEWATER PROJECT AREAS, BASED ON
SPECIFIC FUNDING PROJECTIONS PROVIDED BY THE
MONROE COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY AND ADOPTING
AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR UTILIZATION OF COUNTY
FUNDS TO BE ADMINISTERED THROUGH THE MONROE
COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY FOR ELIGIBLE
HOUSEHOLDS SEEKING ASSISTANCE UNDER THE
PROGRAM.
WHEREAS, the County currently has oversight for the following :fuJrr-"
wastewater projects either under construction or nearing the poin~a~Iih ~
construction will begin: ~r2~ ~ 0
fTl~-< "'T!
("). r- ..." C?
0(")' · -- ::0
c:=-:::J;
%:'3 (:) -0 :::0
o Baypoint ~~~ :x ~
o Conch Key and ;:'] W, ~ g
o Key Largo (Key Largo Trailer Village, Key Largo Park, arid Sun~)
Waterways); and
o Stock Island
WHEREAS, Resolution 306-2002 commits the County to assist
"economically disadvantaged households" in the low and very low income
categories as defmed by HUD; and
WHEREAS, the FEMA, which is providing funding for three of the projects
noted above, requires that the County mitigate fmancial impacts to economically
disadvantage households as part of its Environmental Justice standards; and
WHEREAS, the attached table (Attachment 1 - Funding Estimates)
documents the estimated number of affected households from 2000 U.S. Census
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records, a projected number of applicants for each area (at a 50% participation
level), and the necessary funding commitment (with a $2,700 connection fee
assumed); and
WHEREAS, the County wishes to establish and implementation plan for the
provision of funds to assist low and very low income qualified households in
making payments toward wastewater connection fees and wastewater related on-
site expenses; and
WHEREAS, a Interlocal Agreement between the County and the Monroe
County Housing Authority (MCHA) exists, which allows the MCHA to implement
this program on behalf of the County, now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS,
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA THAT:
Section 1. The Board shall reserve sufficient funds from available funding
sources, including an existing Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
to meet the estimated financial assistance needs of low and very income
households as itemized for each of the following four project service areas:
1. Stock Island
Connection Costs
Abandonment / Lateral Costs
$ 852,390
$ 947,100
2. Baypoint
Connection Costs
Abandonment / Lateral Costs
$ 86,098
$ 95,664
3. Conch Key
Connection Costs
Abandonment / Lateral Costs
$ 39,492
$ 43,880
4. Key Largo
Connection Costs
Abandonment / Lateral Costs
$ 207,751
$ 230,834
Total
Connection Costs
Abandonment / Lateral Costs
$1,185,730
$1,317,478
Grand Total
$2,503,209
Section 2. The estimated funds required are considered approximate based on
available census data and 50 percent program participation. These numbers
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will be adjusted as needed based on the actual number of applicants from low
and very low income households participating and on actual capital
construction costs.
Section 3. Such funds and their use for the purposes set out herein shall be
administered through the Monroe County Housing Authority as provided for in
the attached Implementation Plan (Attachment 2).
Section 4. The Board adopts the attached Implementation Plan (Attachment 2) as
the criteria by which qualification for assistance will be determined and the
means by which the amount of funding assistance to be provided each applicant
will be established. This implementation shall be utilized for all wastewater
funding assistance projects unless otherwise specifically identified or modified.
Background for the Implementation Plan is provided in Attachment 3, provided
for information purposes.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners,
Monroe County, Florida at a regular meeting of said Board held on the 15th day
of October , A.D., 2003.
Mayor Dixie Spehar yes
Mayor Pro Tern Murray Nelson yes
Commissioner George Neugent yes
Commissioner Charles "Sonny" McCoy yes
Commissioner David Rice yes
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
MONRO}J)!%L~
BY:
MAYOR/CHAIR PERSON
ATTEST: DANNY 1. KOLHAGE, CLERK
BY: IhcJdc. ~~M
DEPUTY CLERK
T '" ,~IOll':j;.
ROB n. -Iv,,; -
DCtHI~ !!J'52~~~~1J ~f~
a I ',-..---.--
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Attachment 1
Funding Estimates
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Estimated Funding Commitment Necessary to Meet
Needs of Financially Disadvantaged Households
Project Area Est. No. of Eligible Projected No. of Projected Funding
Households Applicants* Commitment* *
Stock Island 763 382 $1,799,490
Baypoint 82 41 $181,762
Conch Key 36 18 $83,372
Key Largo 193 97 $438,585
* - Estimated maximum program participation - 50 %
* * 70 % grant for low income households
90% grant for very low income households
Assumed $2,700 Connection Fee
Assumed $3,000 maximum on-site improvement cost
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Attachment 2
Implementation Plan for
Wastewater Assistance for Low and Very-Low Income Households
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All funds awarded will be in the form of grants to the homeowners and loans to
property owners providing rentals to qualified beneficiaries.
The process for selecting, accepting, reviewing and approving requests for
assistance will be by advertisement in local newspapers of general circulation on at
least four occasions. This process will provide a minimum sixty (60) day
application period. Additional outreach activities shall include, press releases,
announcements at public meetings and notification to the following: non-profit
organizations, social service providers, local churches, daycare providers and
organizations serving the elderly. Any subsequent application periods necessary
shall meet the criteria outlined above.
Properties to be addressed shall meet all of the following criteria:
Priority # 1
. Single family unit
. Owner occupied
. Primary residence
. Contain Housing Quality Standards or Health/Safety Violations or sewer
connection requirements
Priority #2
. Property owners
. Single family unit or multifamily rental properties
. Occupied by qualified beneficiaries has sewer connection requirements.
Applications received within the application period( s) which meet the primary
criteria above shall be prioritized based on the schedule outlined herein. Those
household/projects receiving the greatest priority score shall be addressed until all
available funding has been expended.
Priorities
Elderly (one owner greater than 62 yrs.)
Disabled household member
Documented Multiple Housing Quality Standard violations
Very low income
Children in household (greater than 2)
Length of Ownership (greater than 15 yrs.)
(0-5yrs = 0; 6-10yrs = 2; 11-15yrs = 3; 16yrs+ = 5)
Single head of household (2 or more persons)
10
10
10
05
05
05
05
Note: In the event of tie scores, very low-income households will receive priority.
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Conflicts of interest will be addressed pursuant to 24 C.F .R. Section 570.489
and Chapter 112.311-112.3143, F. S. by immediate identification of potential
conflicts.
Additionally, beneficiaries will be identified in minutes of the Monroe Board
of County Commissioners (BOCC) and the CDBG Citizens Advisory Task Force
meeting( s) so that any previously unknown conflicts may be surfaced. The
conflicts will be acknowledged publicly along with the fmal selection of
beneficiaries.
It is the intent of the Monroe County Commission and the CDBG Citizens
Advisory Task Force to deal with these conflicts if such conflicts occur on a local
level and request waiver for acknowledgement of the conflicts when appropriate.
Monroe County will also provide funding for sewer connections for property
owners of single-family rental properties, occupied by eligible households. These
will fall under the priority #2 category listed above. In the event of funds
availability and completion of all applicants under priority # 1, the County will
provide funds for the sewer connection and on-site improvements for Priority #2
under the following process.
Assistance will be provided as a loan. Applicants will execute a note secured by a
mortgage on the subject property. The term of the note will be for five (5) years at
zero (0) percent interest and requires no regular payments. The principal balance
shall be forgiven by 1/5th annually on the anniversary date. The mortgage shall
contain affordability covenants that require that during the term of the loan, the
property shall be rented on an annual lease to very low- and low-income
households subject to annual income certification.
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Attachment 3
Background for Implementation Plan
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The County is usmg FEMA funding to assist in build wastewater systems
throughout the county. FEMA has addressed assistance to Low- and Very Low-
Income eligible residents through Executive Order (EO) 12898:
Executive Order (EO) 12898 (Environmental Justice), entitled "Federal Action to
Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations," directs Federal agencies
"to make achieving environmental justice part of its mission by identifying and
addressing, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or
environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority
populations and low-income populations in the United States..." To reduce costs to
low-income and very low-income service recipients in compliance with EO 12898,
financial assistance guidelines have been developed.
Under this EO, FEMA has provided a minimum requirement to be met:
Low-income property owners would receive assistance with at least 70% of
their system capital cost; and 70% of their existing system abandonment and lateral
costs, up to $3,000.
Very low-income property owners would receive assistance with at least
90% of their system capital cost, and 90% of their existing system abandonment
and lateral costs, up to $3,000.
The assistance guidelines presented above represent a minimum goal and will be
required during project implementation in order for the Monroe County/FKAA to
receive FEMA grant funding. Costs to low-income service recipients may be
further offset at the County's discretion. Further assistance could come from State
grant funding made available from Community Development Block Grants, the
State Housing Initiative Partnership Program, and/or a project contingency made
available from existing State and Federal grant funding. Monroe County has
identified recently awarded CDBG funds that are available to help low-income
wastewater service recipients throughout the county.
The 90% / 70% assistance program set forth is designed to address the needs of
low-income and very low-income property owners. FEMA does not have specific
requirements under EO 12898 to assist low-income renters. The County will
provide such assistance to homeowners that rent to income eligible tenants. The
County intends to provide the same level of service to this renting population.
With the implementation of the FEMA assistance program and the use of FEMA
grant funding and Monroe County funding, no highly disproportionate or adverse
affects would be felt by low-income or very-low income
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The Monroe County Housing Authority currently uses the first two tiers of the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) MFI-based income
levels to administer its low-income assistance programs. To administer their
programs fairly, HUD makes annual projections of MFI by county and adjusts for
family size. The first two tiers of low- and very low-income levels are set as
percentages of the county MFI. In 2003, the income limits for a family of three in
Monroe County were $40,700 for the low-income level and $25,450 for the very
low-income level.
Table below shows HUD's FY 2003 poverty, very low-and low-income levels for
various family sizes in Monroe County.
Number of People In Household
1 2
Low-Income $31,650 $36,150
3
$40,700
4
45,200
5
$48,800
Very Low-
Income
$19,800
$22,600
$25,450
$28,250
$30,500
Poverty
$11,850
$13,550
$15,250
$16,950
$18,300
The Community Development Program Administrator, Special Programs Office
(SPO), Monroe County Housing Authority (MCHA) will be administrator of this
program and implement the program.
The Implementation Plan is administered according to the County's Housing
Assistance Plan (HAP)(Amended), See pertinent information from the HAP at
Attachment A. Whether funds are provided through the State / Federal CDBG
grant process or provided by the County through other funding mechanisms and
sources, the Implementation Plan will be administered as identified below, as a
CDBG program with the same stipulations and application forms.
The application process is based on the County HAP. An application with a cover
letter explaining this CDBG program is mailed out and available at the SPO office.
The application period is for 60-days. The SPO staff is available to assist in
answering any questions regarding eligibility and completing the application.
When the applications are received, they are reviewed for completeness. If
additional information is needed, this is requested of the applicant. The application
consists of: a cover letter; application instructions; application form for
information on address, household composition, income level, and, status - owner-
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occupied, primary residence or owner renting to eligible tenant; release form;
resident income certification form; social security consent for release of
information form; statement of no tax return form. A letter from the SPO staff to
the applicant is provided to inform them that they have a complete application and
that the have or have not met the CDBG application requirements. If they have not
met the requirements, the reasons are stated in the letter, e.g., over the income limit
or the property is not their primary residence. If they did meet the requirement,
their letter will inform them to expect another letter as to the amount to be awarded
and additional instructions.
When the application period is closed, all outstanding information is requested of
applicants, i.e., 1040 tax return for the previous year, applied for Homestead
Exemption, and any other exigent circumstances. If required, the Citizens
Advisory Task Force (CATF) will approve an extension of this application
completion process to close out outstanding issues. Once all applicant issues are
resolved, an order-of-merit listing is prepared for approval by the CA TF and
forwarded to the BOCC for conflict of interest resolution and approval. Based on
the funding allocated, and the number of applicants on the list, a household dollar
amount can be allotted to each applicant.
When the funding for each household is known, the SPO staff sends a letter of
commitment to the household and instructions on contracting a plumber to connect
their home to the sewer system and their septic/cesspit abandonment. At this point
the SPO staff works directly with the applicant to ensure timely payments are made
to the plumbers and the contract requirements are being met, i.e., permits obtained,
county inspections made, etc.
Funding requests to DCA are made from a combination of the individual funding
amount and the plumbing contractor costs. The owners, primary-residence
receives the money as a grant. The owner renting to income eligible tenants,
receive their funding in the form of a promissory note. Attachment A provides the
promissory note process. The SPO staff will coordinate all of the payments
through the County. Once all payments have been completed and the CDBG funds
have been expended, the SPO staff can begin closing out this CDBG grant. Close
out with DCA will take three (3) months.
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