For City Council Meeting June 24, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Tanya Williams, City Manager
AUTHOR: Cynthia Alvarado, Director of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services
Title
Request City Council to Set a Public Hearing for July 22, 2025, to Solicit Public Comments from Interested Citizens, for the Adoption of Substantial Amendment No. 7 Regarding the Reprogramming of CDBG-CV funds.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council set a Public Hearing for July 22, 2025, to solicit public comments from interested citizens, for the Adoption of Substantial Amendment No. 7 regarding the reprogramming of CDBG-CV funds.
BACKGROUND
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), which appropriates nearly $2 trillion nationwide for COVID-19 pandemic relief funding. $5 billion of these CARES Act funds, referred to in this report as CDBG-CV funds, were appropriated to the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) to assist state and local governments in their COVID-19 response.
CDBG CARES Funding Background
The CDBG program is a federally funded program of HUD that provides funding for housing, community facilities, and public services. On April 2, 2020, HUD announced the allocation of the first $2 billion in CARES Act funding for current CDBG grantees. The CARES Act builds on features of the existing CDBG program as well as the precedent set by CDBG Disaster Response (CDBG-DR) supplemental appropriations. The act directs HUD to administer these funds, pursuant to Section 106 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306). This provision calls for HUD to allocate the supplemental funds to CDBG grantees - including eligible local governments, states, and insular areas - proportional to their conventional Fiscal Year 2020 CDBG allocation, as published by HUD in April 2020.
CDBG-CV funding is intended to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus based on public health needs, risk of transmission of coronavirus, number of coronavirus cases compared to the national average, and economic and housing market disruptions. The remaining funds will be distributed to states and units of local government on a rolling basis, at the discretion of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, with formula factors to be defined by HUD.
The City received $1,339,584 in Supplemental Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funding to help prepare, prevent, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The City amended its 2020-2021 Annual Action Plan to allocate funds to programs and activities throughout the City to help struggling residents in the community.
Initial City Allocation of Funds
Over the course of two years, several substantial amendments were approved to meet the changing needs of the community. On May 9, 2023, the City Council approved Substantial Amendment No. 6 appropriating $1,339,584 of CDBG-CV funds to the following programs.
Amendment No. 6 City Allocation of Funds
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
The City has until February 2027 to spend the remaining balance of CDBG-CV funds. To date, the City has expended a total of $899,136.60 of CDBG-CV funds. Thus, leaving a remaining balance of $440,447.40 in CDBG-CV funds available for reprogramming.
An overview of the current allocation of CDBG-CV funding includes a summary of each program’s allocation and expenditures to date as follows:
Current Allocation of CDBG-CV Funds
The City’s CDBG Ad-Hoc Committee held a public meeting on May 29, 2025. The Ad-Hoc Committee, comprised of Mayor Baca and Council Member Perez, was presented with a status update on the current CDBG-CV programs, available CDBG-CV funds, and examples of eligible and ineligible uses of CDBG-CV funds. Per the Ad-Hoc Committee’s request, a cost analysis of eligible CDBG-CV uses was presented.
Ad-Hoc Committee Recommendations
The Ad-Hoc Committee discussed the City’s priorities and recommended that the remaining balance of $440,447.40 be reprogrammed to create an inclusive playground at the Rialto City Park, located at 130 E. San Bernardino, Rialto, CA 92376.
Substantial Amendment
Reprogramming of CDBG-CV funds requires an amendment to the City’s 2020-2021 Annual Action Plan. In accordance with the City’s Citizen Participation Plan, when a substantial change (i.e., adding an activity, canceling an activity, redirecting funds, or receiving additional funding) is proposed to an adopted city Annual Action Plan, HUD requires that the public be notified, and a public hearing be held to allow the public an opportunity to comment on the proposed substantial changes.
In compliance with the City’s approved Citizen Participation Plan and implementing regulation 24 CFR 92-105, a Public Notice was published to solicit public comments from interested citizens and to consider and approve the proposed Substantial Amendment No. 7 to the 2020-2021 Annual Action Plan. The public hearing will be noticed on June 27, 2025 (Attached). The 15-day public review and written comment period will begin on June 27, 2025, and run through July 12, 2025. This item was presented to the Ad-Hoc Committee on May 29, 2025.
Proposed Annual Action Plan Amendment
Based on feedback received during the May 29th Ad-Hoc Committee Meeting, staff is presenting the following recommendations to the community and City Council for consideration. City Council direction and approval are required to reprogram previously allocated CDBG-CV funds as part of Substantial Amendment No. 7.
Proposed Allocation of CDBG-CV Funds
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The request is not a Project as defined by Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to Section 15378(a), a “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. According to Section 15378(b), a Project does not include: (5) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
Guiding principle: “Our City government will lead by example, and will operate in an open, transparent, and responsive manner that meets the needs of the citizens and is a good place to do business.”
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney's Office has reviewed the staff report.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Operating Budget Impact
There is no impact to the Operating Budget.
Capital Improvement Budget Impact
There is no impact to the Capital Improvement Budget.
Licensing
Approval of this action does not require a Business License application and payment of a Business License tax.