HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 10/13/2020 - Memorandum From Seonah Kendall And Blaine Dunn Re: Update On Cares Coronavirus Relief Fund
1 Deputy City Manager Kelly DiMartino; City Attorney Carrie Daggett; Chief Sustainability Officer Jacqueline Kozak Thiel;
PDT Director Caryn Champine; Communications Director Amanda King
Emergency Preparedness and Safety
300 Laporte Avenue
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6505
970.224.6107 - fax
fcgov.com
MEMORANDUM
DATE: October 5, 2020
TO: Mayor and City Councilmembers
THRU: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Jim Byrne, Emergency Preparedness and Safety Director
Travis Storin, Interim Chief Financial Officer
Recovery Executive Team1
FROM: SeonAh Kendall, City Recovery Manager
Blaine Dunn, Interim Accounting Director
RE: Update on CARES Coronavirus Relief Fund
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide Mayor Troxell and City Council on the status of the City’s $9M
Coronavirus Relief Fund (CVRF) allocation.
BACKGROUND
On July 28, 2020 City Council approved Emergency Ordinance No. 094, 2020, appropriating unanticipated
revenues in the General Fund from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CVRF), CARES Act, Title V. As a subrecipient of
the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), the City’s funds will be reimbursements that follow the U.S.
Treasury and DOLA Guidance.
CVRF reimbursements must meet the following criteria:
1. Are necessary expenditures incurred due to the COVID-19 emergency;
2. Are not accounted for in the local government’s budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020
(the date of the enactment of the CARES Act)*; and
3. Were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020 and ends on December 30, 2020
*The one exception is payroll expense for staff such as public safety, human services and similar
employees whose server were substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public
health emergency.
UPDATE
To date, the City has sought reimbursement from March 1, 2020 – June 30, 2020 from DOLA of $371,784.54 for
such costs as diverted personnel, personal protective equipment, disinfectant supplies and other items related to
the public health measure. We anticipate another submittal for reimbursement within a week after the first
submittal is approved for the period of July 1, 2020 – September 30, 2020.
Some notable CARES CVRF supported projects in progress:
Shelters: As of September 29, 2020, the non-congregate shelter program has 31 residents being
supported. Social Sustainability and Real Estate are working to finalize the congregate shelters for men
(1301 Blue Spruce) and women (460 Linden).
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Human Service Nonprofit Competitive Process: Social Sustainability supported the COVID-19 response
work of local human services nonprofits through a competitive bid application process. Following internal
review and meeting with the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Commission, 16 projects have
been approved for approximately $900,000 in funding. Project examples include rental assistance, remote
learning center support for children/youth, expanded childcare services, online services for isolated
seniors, food and hygiene support for residents with a disability, COVID testing services for domestic
violence victims and many others.
Legal Defense Fund: Two service providers have been selected to support Fort Collins residents with
COVID-related eviction prevention and protection through legal representation and education. One
service provider is a local organization that acts as a cultural broker for vulnerable residents and has
significant connections with the community. Activities that will take place include direct representation
of clients by attorneys, legal advice and clinics to assist with landlord negotiations and evocation
avoidance and “Know Your Rights” training videos. The videos will be available for use by the City
immediately upon execution of the contract, with all other services expected to begin before November
1, 2020. City staff is working with the City Attorney’s Office to finalize the scope of work within the next
few weeks.
Utilities Late Payment Assistance Program: The City will be launching the Utilities Late Payment
Assistance Program on Monday, October 12 for residents and businesses. Residential and commercial
customers may request financial assistance for past due Utility bills for electric, water, stormwater and
wastewater services for us to $600 (residents) and $1,200 (businesses). Applications will be on a first -
come, first-served basis and must have experienced economic hardship due to COVID-19.
VirtuVisit: The goal is to virtually connect isolated seniors with their family, medical personnel and
volunteers who wish to serve them through Adopt a Neighbor. This program provides local seniors with
digital tablets that is user-friendly. Volunteers will configure the devices, visit with their partner regularly
to ensure technological success and comfortable engagement. Beta Test Group training has been
completed and will be advertised shortly.
De-escalation Training: Economic Health worked collaboratively with business owners to provide a free
de-escalation training on September 16, 2020 (35 attended). This training was videotaped for future use
to support business owners and front-line staff to learn and share best practices on how to appropriately
and effectively manage customer interactions that might escalate over the face covering mandate and
other parameters put into place due to COVID-19 restrictions. The training and all marketing materials
were translated in Spanish.
Small Business Assistance Program (SBAP): The City, through the Economic Health Office, launched the
SBAP on September 8, 2020 and has opened a second round to expand the eligibility of small businesses
and single-employee companies. As of October 6, 2020, 322 (313 English and 9 Spanish) businesses have
begun the application process for the City’s $1.8M Small Business Assistance Program.
NEXT STEPS
City staff will continue to monitor changes to the US Treasury and DOLA guidance and anticipate the bulk of our
CARES CVRF reimbursement submittals in future months. Staff will continue to update Council on these projects
and more on a monthly basis.
cc: Erin Zimmermann, Grants Administrator
Beth Sowder, Social Sustainability Director
Josh Birks, Economic Sustainability Director
Gretchen Stanford, Interim Utilities Customer Connections Deputy Director
Sue Schafer, Volunteer Program Manager
JC Ward, Senior Planner, Neighborhood Services
DocuSign Envelope ID: 4AD24478-5459-48F1-922A-4D7E4AEA3DB8