Title:
Title
Downtown Streets Contract and External Funds Receipt Authority (Two-Thirds Vote Required)
End
FileID
File ID: 2018-01130
Location
Location: Citywide
Recommendation:
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager or City Manager’s designee to; 1) suspend competitive bidding in the best interest of the City; 2) execute an agreement with Downtown Streets, Inc., attached as Exhibit A to the Resolution, through February 5, 2021, for a total not to exceed amount of $702,158; 3) establish the Sanitation Grant (G02000900) Multi-Year Operating program (MYOP); and 4) establish revenue and expenditure budget in the amount of $100,000 for Sanitation Grant (G02000900) in Operating Grants (Fund 2702) to partly support the Downtown Streets contract.
Contact: Emily Halcon, Homeless Services Coordinator, (916) 808-7896; Angela Marin, Administrative Analyst (916) 808-7949, Office of the City Manager.
Body
Presenter: None
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
3-Exhibit A (Contract with Downtown Streets, Inc.)
4-Exhibit B (Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District grant award letter)
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: In June of 2018, the Governor signed SB 850, which allocated over $553 million in one-time State funding for two new programs: the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) and the California Emergency Solutions Program (CESH). The HEAP program awarded $5.65 million to the City of Sacramento and $12.7 million to the Sacramento Continuum of Care (CoC), and the CESH program awarded $1.62 million to the CoC. The City, Sacramento County and Sacramento Steps Forward (SSF) developed an investment strategy for the almost $20 million coming to Sacramento in collaboration with community stakeholders. In sum, investments are recommended in three primary areas: 1) expansion of emergency shelter services; 2) creation of a flexible re-housing program; and 3) homeless services system improvements. HEAP funding requires a minimum of five percent of funding for youth specific activities which are incorporated into the proposal. HEAP funds also require that any housing or shelter related activities must be aligned with the core components of Housing First.
On October 16, 2018 Council approved a motion to: 1) endorse the HEAP and CESH collaborative investment plan described above, and 2) authorize the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee to take all necessary actions to apply for, administer and receive the HEAP funding. On December 3, 2018 the City of Sacramento submitted an application to the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH) for funding available through HEAP, and subsequently received the $5.65 million City allocation on January 11, 2019.
The investment plan endorsed by Council included funding for a Downtown Streets Team (DST) contract. DST is a non-profit organization that works to end homelessness through work readiness, case management and employment services. Men and women experiencing homelessness volunteer to be a part of a DST work crew, picking-up litter, needles and debris from encampments and outreaching to the community. In return, Team Members receive a non-cash stipend to help cover their basic needs, while taking advantage of case management and employment services to find housing and a job. Through this volunteer work, team members give back to the community and rebuild effective work habits, take on leadership opportunities, further their education, and ready themselves for permanent employment. The City currently has a contract with DST associated with the Railroad Triage Shelter, which has helped to mitigate the impacts of unsheltered homelessness in the immediate surrounding community.
In addition to public funds, such as HEAP and CESH, the City has received strong community support of its efforts to reduce and end homelessness in Sacramento and mitigate the impacts of unsheltered homelessness in the City. In recognition of these efforts, the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional San) awarded, on November 15, 2018, a reimbursable grant for costs incurred by the City for sanitation activities in the River District. These funds will augment the broader efforts of the City to reduce homelessness.
Policy Considerations: Most of the City’s HEAP grant is planned to support the addition of adult and youth sheltering activities. Recognizing that, while we work to add shelter capacity, there are real impacts to the community of unsheltered homelessness, the Council allocated a portion of HEAP funds to create DST teams that address blight and debris but also help connect unsheltered populations to services and supports. These new DST teams will complement the City’s current outreach investments, such as the Police IMPACT Team and the Pathways to Health + Home (Whole Person Care) program.
The City’s HEAP investment plan requires extensive coordination with the homeless CoC and participation in the community’s coordinated entry and assessment program. In addition, this contract will require ongoing coordination among Downtowns Streets, the City’s Department of Public Works, City Park Rangers, and the Homeless Services Division to plan collection routes and bagged debris pick-ups. Partnering with other agencies to leverage resources and improve livability is consistent with the City Council’s past actions and current direction and is consistent with Council’s adopted Budget Guidelines to pursue new and enhanced revenue sources.
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations: None.
Sustainability: None.
Commission/Committee Action: None.
Rationale for Recommendation: Homelessness continues to be a compelling and pivotal issue for the City, and the City Council has made significant investments over the past years to increase services, shelter capacity and housing supports for people experiencing homelessness. Despite these efforts, homelessness is on the rise across our State, and is affecting communities throughout the City and the County of Sacramento. The HEAP and CESH programs offer a unique opportunity to make investments to creatively address local needs related to homelessness and to collaborate with Sacramento County, SSF, and other cities in the county to develop a true county-wide response to homelessness.
A Downtown Street Team has been operating in the Railroad Triage Shelter area since January 2018 to help mitigate the impacts related to unsheltered of homelessness in that neighborhood. DST works with shelter guests to recruit volunteers to join the Team. This team of up to 25 members pick-up trash, needles and encampment debris in the shelter area while outreaching to the current shelter residents and the surrounding community. Since the DST Shelter team has been in operation, members have worked for 12,474 hours to remove 154,980 gallons of debris and 1,369 needles.
Staff recommends suspending competitive bidding in the best interests of the City and execute a two-year contract with Downtown Streets, Inc. DST is already the chosen contractor for providing these services as part of the Railroad Triage Shelter mitigation program and has shown success in picking up debris and engaging and outreaching to people experiencing homelessness.
Financial Considerations: The annual cost for this two-year DST program are detailed below. This contract will be supported by $602,158 from HEAP (G02000820) in Operating Grants (Fund 2702) and a $100,000 grant from Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional San), awarded on November 15, 2018, attached as Exhibit B to the Resolution. There will be sufficient funds after establishing revenue and expenditure budgets for the Sanitation Grant (G02000900) project in the amount of $100,000.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.