REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 10/06/2021
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: City Manager’s Office
SUBJECT:
Title
Fiscal Year 2022 Homeless Services Contract Amendments for City Net and Path of Life.
End
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
First Amendment to the Path of Life Partner Agency Agreement to increase shelter bed capacity and approval of a First Amendment to the City Net Fiscal Year 2022 Collaborative Homeless Services Agreement to add afterhours motel shelter services for Corona Police Department referrals.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Approve the First Amendment to the City Net Fiscal Year 2022 Collaborative Homeless Services Agreement and increase the Corona scope of services by $76,651 for an increased compensation total of $936,039 for the Corona scope of services and a new maximum contract obligation of $1,428,299 for the period of October 6, 2021, through June 30, 2022.
b. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the First Amendment to the City Net Fiscal Year 2022 Collaborative Homeless Services Agreement.
c. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to approve non-substantive amendments, including term of agreement and line-item adjustments within the approved program budget for the First Amendment to the City Net Fiscal Year 2022 Collaborative Homeless Services Agreement.
d. Approve the First Amended Partner Agency Agreement with the Path of Life Ministries and increase Purchase Order P21379 by $120,950 for a new maximum contract obligation of $260,300 for the period of October 6, 2021, through June 30, 2022.
e. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the First Amended Partner Agency Agreement with the Path of Life Ministries.
f. Authorize the City Manager or, his designee, to approve non-substantive amendments, including term of agreement and line-item adjustments within the approved program budget for the First Amended Partner Agency Agreement with the Path of Life Ministries.
Body
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
On June 17, 2020, City Council adopted the Homeless Strategic Plan (the Plan) with the following vision:
• Comprehensive, five-year roadmap that will be implemented in phases over time;
• Document that supports a flexible and scalable system of services that can respond to changing needs, issues, and opportunities;
• Requires a Homeless Solutions Annual Action Plan (HSAAP) that is tied to the annual budget process;
• The HSAAP includes goals, implementing strategies, and specific milestones that guide each phase of Plan implementation.
On August 4, 2021, the City Council approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 HSAAP which guides Phase II of the Homeless Strategic Plan.
The FY 2022 HSSAP includes goals and milestones related to development of low-barrier emergency shelter. Specifically, Goal 2 of the HSSAP directs staff to “Develop a Low-Barrier Emergency Shelter/Navigation Center System”.
ANALYSIS:
Currently, the Path of Life Shelter and the City of Corona Motel Voucher Emergency Shelter Program provide low-barrier emergency shelter to support the needs of unsheltered homeless in the City of Corona. Additionally, the City of Corona is in the process of developing the Harrison Emergency Shelter/Navigation Center.
Since the Phase II construction renovation of the Harrison Emergency Shelter/Navigation Center will not be completed until the Spring of 2022, staff recommends amendment of the Path of Life Shelter and City Net agreements to increase shelter bed capacity. Increased shelter bed capacity will fill a gap in unmet shelter needs and support compliance with Martin v Boise by providing increased shelter resources so the Corona Police Department can enforce illegal camping laws.
Path of Life Ministries Agreement:
The Path of Life Ministries Partner Agency Agreement provides five dedicated emergency shelter beds to the City of Corona at a cost of $30 per bed and a daily rate of $150 per day. The proposed First Amendment to the Partner Agency Agreement will increase Corona’s dedicated beds from five to ten dedicated beds per day at a cost of $50 per bed and a daily rate of $500 per day during the period of October 6, 2021, through June 20, 2022. The Path of Life is requesting a cost adjustment to support increased operating costs.
City Net Agreement:
The City Net Collaborative Homeless Services Agreement has two scopes of services. One for the City of Corona and one for the City of Norco. The City of Corona scope of services includes homeless street outreach, engagement, case management, motel voucher emergency shelter and Make It Cozy program services. The existing City of Corona Motel Voucher Emergency Shelter Program provides emergency shelter to Corona homeless with documentable ties to the City in 20 rooms per night.
During the month of September 2021, the Path of Life experienced a COVID-9 outbreak. As a result, Corona’s dedicated shelter beds were not available for six days for new client referrals. Although the City of Corona was not billed for the shelter beds that were not accessible, the Corona Police Department had to suspend enforcement of illegal camping to ensure compliance with Martin v Boise.
Due to the fact that COVID-19 and other outbreaks are unpredictable in congregate shelter, staff recommends amending the City Net agreement to activate Corona’s motel program for Corona Police Department referrals if the Path of Life beds are not accessible due to health and safety issues or when shelter bed utilization is high. In anticipation of the opening of the Harrison Shelter, which is also a congregate homeless shelter, these activation protocols will remain in place so that the Corona Police Department has back-up shelter support during anti-camping enforcement. The motel activation process has been structured to be available during the hours of 7 am to 12 midnight, Monday through Sunday, as requested by the Corona Police Department.
Although Corona’s motel program currently requires homeless clients to have documentable ties to the City, the proposed amendment to the City Net agreement will allow Corona PD to refer any unsheltered homeless person identified in the City of Corona for one night at a time. Once these clients are exited from their one night motel stay, City Net will subsequently evaluate their eligibility for appropriate shelter and housing programs. If Corona Police Department referral clients have documentable ties to the City, they will be enrolled in the regular Corona Motel Voucher Emergency Shelter Program.
The amendment to the City Net agreement will increase the Corona scope of services by $76,651 to pay for after-hours staffing and increased motel shelter capacity for approximately 250 Corona PD referrals during the period of October 6, 2021, through June 30, 2022. Of the $76,651, City Net budgeted $40,847 to pay for afterhours staffing. Because the majority of referrals will likely happen during the day, this program could potentially accommodate additional Corona Police Department referrals since unused funds budgeted for afterhours staffing costs could be shifted to support additional motel placements.
The City of Corona will only be charged for the time that City Net coordinates with the Path of Life for bed utilization updates and activation of the motel program for Police Department referrals. Since this is a new component of the motel program, staff will evaluate referral trends with City Net and the Corona Police Department to ensure that the program accommodates as many referrals as possible.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended actions will not result in any additional fiscal impacts to the City. Funding for emergency shelter programs was included in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget, which was adopted by City Council on June 16, 2021. Further, since the Harrison Emergency Shelter is anticipated to begin operation in the Spring of 2022, there is sufficient funding in the Homeless Programs Budget to fund the expanded services for the Path of Life and City Net Amended Agreements.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action involves the amendment of two nonprofit agreements to provide expanded emergency shelter services. Emergency shelter services will not have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: KAREN ROPER, HOMELESS SOLUTIONS MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: ROGER BRADLEY, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - City Net FY 2022 Collaborative Homeless Services Agreement
2. Exhibit 2 - City Net 1st Amendment to FY 2022 Collaborative Homeless Services Agreement
3. Exhibit 3 - Path of Life Partner Agency Agreement
4. Exhibit 4 - Path of Life First Amended Partner Agency Agreement