Sponsor: Housing Stability
Title
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Amendment to the Joint Powers Agreement with the City of Saint Paul for the Emergency Solutions Grant
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Recommendation
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1. Approve the amended and restated Joint Powers Agreement with the city of Saint Paul for the Emergency Solutions Grant.
2. Authorize the County Manager to execute the amended and restated Joint Powers Agreement.
3. Authorize the County Manager to approve and execute amendments and change orders to agreements and contracts in accordance with the county’s procurement policies and procedures, provided the amounts are within the limits of available funding.
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Background and Rationale
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The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) distributes the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), a formula grant program, to local governmental units for emergency shelter, street outreach, homelessness prevention, and rapid re-housing. Beginning in 2019, the city of Saint Paul began transferring the full grant amount to Ramsey County as the subrecipient, Ramsey County is responsible for selecting service providers, complying with federal requirements, managing agreements and performance of subrecipients, and aligning ESG with Heading Home Ramsey.
The city of Saint Paul and Ramsey County now desire to amend the scope of the JPA to allow for new HUD-required language to be incorporated into the ESG Program Manual and all ESG contract agreements. Changes include the requirement of a Unique Entity Identifier, which replaced the Data Universal Number System, and the addition of the Violence Against Women Act VAWA Reauthorization of 2022 into all subrecipient agreements, including but not limited to the Right to Report Crime and Emergencies from one’s home provision.
The other change occurring is the conversion to a rolling solicitation format. The solicitation process will be open for a two-year time frame, after which a new two-year time frame will begin every two years (for as long as this Agreement is in force). All ESG applicants will be required to complete a full solicitation response in Year One of each two-year time frame. In Year Two, applicants who were funded in Year One and seek Year Two funding will be required to complete a Letter of Interest in place of a full solicitation response. All new applicants in Year Two of each two-year time frame will be required to complete a full solicitation response.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☒ Prosperity ☐ Opportunity ☐ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
In Ramsey County, individuals identifying as American Indian or African American are 14 and 8 times, respectively, more likely to experience homelessness than their white counterparts. Recent data from the single adult shelters indicates that 42% of shelter users are Black/African American, 37% White, 9% American Indian, 8% LatinX, and 4% Asian with 5% unknown and 4% multiple races.
Community Participation Level and Impact
Heading Home Ramsey is a community-wide partnership committed to the goal of ending homelessness in the cities and neighborhoods of Ramsey County. This is a coalition comprised of residents, social service providers, housing providers, philanthropic partners, business, community, and government working together. The Joint Powers Agreement aligns ESG funding with Heading Home Ramsey’s community-driven priorities and bring greater community review of the subrecipient application and selection process.
☒ Inform ☒ Consult ☐ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact associated with this request.
Last Previous Action
On June 28, 2022, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved an Amendment to the Joint Powers Agreement for the Transference for Emergency Solution Grant Funds (Resolution B2022-150).
Attachments
1. Amended and Restated Joint Powers Agreement