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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRFP 1590 Affordable and Supportive Housing Funds - FINALPage 1 of 8 Funding for Affordable And Supportive Housing In Accordance With House Bill 1590 and RCW 82. 14. 530. Request for Proposals (“1590 RFP”) Page 2 of 8 BACKGROUND Permissible Uses of Funding Funding must be distributed in accordance with RCW 82.14.530. 1. A minimum of sixty percent of the proceeds must be used for the following purposes: A. Constructing affordable housing, which may include new units of affordable housing within an existing structure, and facilities providing housing-related services, solely for eligible households (as defined below); or B. Constructing mental and behavioral health-related facilities; or C. Funding the operations and maintenance costs of new units of affordable housing and facilities where housing-related programs are provided, or newly constructed evaluation and treatment centers. 2. The remaining proceeds shall be used for the operation, delivery and evaluation of mental and behavioral health treatment programs and services or housing- related services. 3. No more than ten percent of the proceeds may be used to supplant existing local funds. 4. For purposes of this provision, “eligible households” means persons within any of the following population groups whose income is at or below sixty percent of median income: o Persons with mental illness o Veterans o Senior citizens o Homeless (or at-risk of being homeless) families with children o Unaccompanied homeless youth or young adults o Persons with disabilities o Domestic violence survivors This is a threshold requirement. Any project not meeting these requirements will not be evaluated. The funding priorities of this 1590 RFP in priority order are: 1. New Housing Units, then Permanent Supportive Housing, then Transitional Supportive Housing, then Shelter 2. Operations and maintenance costs of new units of affordable housing 3. Operations and maintenance costs of facilities where housing-related programs are provided, or newly constructed evaluation and treatment centers. 4. Facilities providing housing related services solely for eligible households, 5. Constructing mental and behavioral health-related facilities Page 3 of 8 Selection Criteria We will rank responses according to the criteria described below. All responsive proposals received by the time and date specified in this 1590 RFP shall be evaluated by the 1590 RFP Evaluation Panel based on the following criteria and weights: Evaluation Criteria Max. Points A. Capacity - Experience Providing Similar Program Services or Developing Similar Projects 15 B. Alignment - Meets Priorities and Aligns with Housing First 15 C. Approach – Completeness of Proposal and Readiness 20 D. Impact – Leverage of Funding 25 E. Budget – Feasible Financial Plan 25 TOTAL 100 Submission Requirements All proposals must include the following elements. We reserve the right to disqualify any incomplete proposals. (a) Capacity - Experience Providing Similar Services (15 Points) – If a Responder has previously received funding through RFPs for Fund 148 or Fund 149 they should provide a brief update on their experience in providing similar program services or development initiatives. Please identify staff that will be assigned to this program or project and their qualifications to undertake the proposed scope of work. If a Responder has not previously received funding it should provide a more detailed description of capacity Financial Capacity – Please include the prior year’s tax returns or audited financial statements and the Annual report for the previous year (b) Alignment - Meets Housing Fund Board Priorities and aligns with principles of Housing First (15 Points) The proposal should describe how the project meets the priorities stated above and aligns with the principles of Housing First. Housing First is a policy that offers permanent housing as quickly as possible to homeless people, and other supportive services afterward. Housing First is an alternative to a system of emergency shelter/transitional housing progressions. Rather than moving homeless individuals through different "levels" of housing, whereby each level moves them closer to "independent housing" (for example: from the streets to a public shelter, and from a public shelter to a transitional housing program, and from there to their own Page 4 of 8 apartment in the community), Housing First moves the homeless individual or household immediately from the streets or homeless shelters into their own accommodation. Housing First approaches are based on the concept that a homeless individual or household's first and primary need is to obtain stable housing, and that other issues that may affect the household can and should be addressed once housing is obtained. In contrast, many other programs operate from a model of "housing readiness" — that is, that an individual or household must address other issues that may have led to the episode of homelessness prior to entering housing. The proposal should describe outreach efforts and the level of community support. (c) Approach – Completeness of Proposal and Readiness (20 Points) Please provide a well-developed and thoughtful plan describing how you will approach this assignment and complete the purpose of the proposal. The proposal will be evaluated based on the clarity of proposal, completeness of the submission including required certifications and documentation and readiness to begin the Program or Project if funding is awarded. The proposal should describe • the timeline for the project and immediacy of the need for the 1590 funds • the components remaining to be secured before the project is shovel ready. • the plan for any unfunded components • If 1590 funds are awarded, the construction start date • Whether the Project could be scaled (include the per unit cost of the Project) (d) Impact – Leverage of Funding (30 Points) 1. What other funds, donors, or community support are involved with the project? Will these funds leverage other funds? Identify other sources of funds that would be leveraged with the requested funds and/or how these funds will be used to leverage other funds. 2. How many new units will be brought online. What services will be funded and how is sustainability achieved? (e) Budget – A Feasible Financial Plan (25 Points) Identify whether you are a 501(c) (3), for-profit, PHA or government agency. Please provide the following if applicable: Page 5 of 8 • Program or Project Budget which includes a complete breakdown of all funding sources already received or committed for this Program or Project • Current operating budget for the organization requesting the funding • Operating Pro Forma for ten years. PROPOSAL EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS General The following procedure will be used to evaluate the proposals and select finalists. All complete eligible proposals received within the established deadline will be evaluated by the 1590 RFP Screening Panel. 1590 RFP Screening Panel The Housing Fund Board will be the 1590 RFP Screening Panel. Proposal Evaluation Applicants whose proposal is being considered for an award may be invited to make an oral presentation of their proposal to the HFB. The HFB reserves the right to recommend funding for multiple contracts under this 1590 RFP or recommend funding for a portion of the requested amount at their discretion. FUNDING PERIOD Jefferson County Homelessness Program Funding Instructions The HFB is requesting proposals for Affordable and Supportive Housing Funds for the period August 1, 2022 through July 31, 2023. Funding must be requested and used within each funding cycle. There is no carryover of unused funds into the next funding year. Each proposal requires the annual budget for the Project. Grantees will be required to submit Project progress and evaluation reports on a quarterly basis (every 3 months). Proposal Deadline: July 18, 2022 by 4pm Sealed proposals must be clearly marked on the outside of the envelope, “PROPOSAL – Affordable and Supportive Housing 1590 Funds.” Mailing address for proposal is, Board of Jefferson County Commissioners: PO BOX 1220 Port Townsend, WA 98368. Page 6 of 8 Hand-delivered packets can be delivered to the Board of Jefferson County Commissioners at the Jefferson County Courthouse office located at 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend, WA 98368. Proposals MUST be received by 4pm on (July 18, 2022) if hand delivered. Mailed proposals must be postmarked no later than July 16, 2022 . Late proposals will not be accepted. Submittals made in an incorrect format will not be considered. All responses to this Request for Proposal should be submitted on the provided application form. One (1) completed hard copy application is required to be submitted and an electronic PDF version of the proposal should be e-mailed to Carolyn Gallaway at carolyn@co.jefferson.wa.us The following should be in the subject line: “Proposal –Affordable and Supportive Housing 1590 Funds.” It is very important that your application is complete, signed, is for an eligible activity, and conforms to all program requirements. Applications not meeting all the requirements will not receive consideration for funding. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (1590 RFP) TIMELINE FOR 1590 FUNDS Date Activity July 1 2022 1590 RFP to be posted on the County website July 8 2022 3pm Call-in for questions July 18, 2022 Proposals must be submitted by 4:00 pm July 19, 2022 Proposals opened and distributed to HFB July 21, 2022 Technical questions for applicants will be sent once with a return date of 2 weekdays. July 27 2022 Presentation of 1590 RFP to HFB July 27, 2022 HFB Recommendation to BOCC August 1, 2022 BOCC regular meeting/ BOCC acts on recommendations September 1, 2022 Contracts to County Prosecutor and Risk Manager for approval Contracts to Providers and returned to BOCC for signatures Note – All dates are subject to change Page 7 of 8 Definitions Definition of Area Median Income for Jefferson County: Affordable housing program eligibility is always determined by one's income. Each household's income is compared to the income of all other households in the area. This is accomplished through a statistic established by the government called the Area Median Income, most often referred to as AMI. The AMI is calculated and published each year by HUD. In Jefferson County, HUD calculates the Sixty Percent (60%) Area Median Income (“AMI”) for a family of four as $42,780. Sixty Percent (60%) AMI for an individual is $30,000. Any other definitions? Period of Performance: Funding under this grant program is allocated for a 12-month period. The period of performance for services solicited under this 1590 RFP begins August 1, 2022 and ends July 31, 2022. Carryover of unspent funds into the next program year permissible upon request with HFB approval. In addition, initial funding is not an assurance or guarantee of ongoing operational funding after the contract period. Proposers are cautioned not to assume a commitment of future funding based on the receipt of funds in prior years. Guiding Principles for all Applicants: • Be as specific as possible in stating goals, objectives, expected results, deliverables, etc. It is expected that there will be considerably more requests for funds than there are funds available. Therefore, conciseness and clarity of description are essential. • The program must provide services only within Jefferson County boundaries. • Applicants that have received prior Affordable Housing and/or Homeless Housing and Assistance Funds must be current on all required reporting to be eligible to receive funds. • Grantees will be required to submit quantitative progress data reports on a quarterly basis (every 3 months) and a closeout report at the end of the funding period will be required no later than September 30th, 2023. Failure to submit timely reports/progress data will result in holding or non-payment of funds. These reports should include a comparison of outcomes to date with those initially proposed, and the total number of individuals served in the contract period. A fiscal and programmatic monitoring visit may be conducted by the County during any project year. Provider will make all documents and required files available for review. • Funding in previous years does not assure additional awards in this funding cycle. Page 8 of 8 Insurance Requirement: Awardees will be required to meet all the County’s insurance requirements. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS Complete all parts of the application form and answer all questions on the application. Incomplete applications will not be accepted and will not receive funding consideration. Application submittals are limited to the number of pages allowed. Applicants shall use Times New Roman 12-point font. Smaller font applications will not receive consideration for funding. All responses to this Request for Proposal should be submitted on the provided application form. One (1) completed hard copy applications are required to be submitted and an electronic PDF version of the proposal should be e-mailed to Carolyn Gallaway at carolyn@co.jefferson.wa.us. Sealed proposals must be clearly marked on the outside of the envelope, “PROPOSAL – Affordable and Supportive Housing 1590 Funds.” Mailing address for proposal is: Board of Jefferson County Commissioners PO BOX 1220 Port Townsend, WA 98368 It is very important that your application is complete, signed, is for an eligible activity, and conforms to all program requirements. Applications not meeting all the requirements will not receive consideration for funding. Proposal Deadline: July 18, 2022 by 4pm Hand-delivered packets can be delivered to the Commissioners’ Office at the Jefferson County Courthouse; 1820 Jefferson St. Port Townsend, WA 98368. Proposals MUST be received by 4pm on July 18, 2022 if hand-delivered and post marked July 16, 2022 if mailed. Late proposals will not be accepted. Submittals made in an incorrect format will not be considered.