County, CHR exploring CDBG-DR funding for project
The Lee County Board of County Commissioners recently directed staff to work with Community Housing & Resources (CHR) to determine the viability of a proposed project for federal funds.
At its Nov. 5 meeting, the county board voted 4-0 to authorize staff to engage with CHR to explore the viability of awarding up to $5 million in Community Development Block Grant — Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds for CHR’s proposed Spoonbill Preserve on Sanibel and to make a recommendation.
The action was part of the commission’s consideration to approve 10 multi-family housing projects recommended by the CDBG-DR Affordable Housing Evaluation Committee to receive $170,750,877.
County Manager Jeannie Sutton opened the agenda item by explaining that the county has allocated $150 million in CDBG-DR funding to support the new construction of affordable multi-family housing. In September, the board awarded just over $39 million to three of the projects that applied.
When the evaluation committee met on Oct. 28, it heard presentations from the remaining eligible applicants. It considered factors such as mix of housing types, number of awards per developer, geographic distribution, project readiness and technical review scores, then voted on the rankings.
Sutton noted that if approved, the 10 projects would undergo a detailed underwriting process. If all requirements are filled, all recommended projects will be brought back before the commission.
When the evaluation committee met, it also voted to recommend that the board consider letting staff engage with CHR to determine the viability of funding the proposed 20-unit Spoonbill Preserve. While the project was not eligible to be funded under the process, it recommended exploring options for the project given its location on a barrier island impacted by Hurricane Ian.
Sutton reported that if approved, staff would work with CHR and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) representatives to determination how the project can move forward.
Asked by the commission about covering the difference between the $150 million allocated and the recommended $170 million for 10 projects, she explained that there is more funding available.
“The CDBG-DR Action Plan actually budgets a total of $300 million for affordable housing, so there is a remaining balance even after the rehab projects that we have that we can use to fund these,” she said.
During public comment, CHR Executive Director Nicole Decker-McHale spoke.
“It’s a very difficult time for our community. We are ground zero of the disaster, Hurricane Ian,” she said. “It’s a critical time in our community. We have had 137 inquiries for housing and 45 of those inquiries have been working homeless individuals. They are living out of their cars, they are living on the floors of the businesses that they work at.”
She noted the CHR has been around for 45 years, developing and building affordable housing.
“We were the first affordable housing program in the state,” Decker-McHale said.
She reported that the 6.7 acres of land that CHR can build on is close to resources for residents, including the supermarket, jobs and school. In addition, CHR partners with FISH of Sanibel-Captiva — the island’s sole social service organization — to provide programs and services to its residents.
“Why build on Sanibel? Thirty-five percent of our residents do not own a vehicle,” Decker-McHale said. “They are biking and they are walking to work and to the resources. That’s why it’s most important to be able to have this project and be able to build on Sanibel.”
Sanibel Mayor Richard Johnson spoke as a representative for the city and CHR.
“I recognize that our application for the Spoonbill project for CHR doesn’t exactly fit the mold, doesn’t exactly check all the boxes,” he said. “However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not important.”
He touched on the community aspect of the project.
“A healthy community is made up of a diverse population,” Johnson said. “One of the ways that we do that on Sanibel is we welcome others into our community. We want them to be part of our community, not drive from somewhere else to work there, but actually live there amongst us.”
He finished by pointing out the CDBG-DR funds were awarded to the county as a result of Ian.
“It’s unfortunate that the city of Fort Myers Beach did not put forth a project,” Johnson said. “There’s no two communities that didn’t suffer more from this disaster than the communities of Fort Myers Beach and the city of Sanibel.”
During discussion, the commission voiced support for staff working with CHR.
“When you look at the DR (Disaster Recovery) component of this, they certainly have the greatest impact,” Vice Chairman Kevin Ruane said of Sanibel, the 2022 storm and intent of the funds.
“CHR has been around for 40-plus years. Whether or not they meet the criteria, that’ll be something during underwriting,” he added. “I think most of these items are going to have to go through underwriting and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the items don’t necessarily get to the point where they can move forward.”
Commissioner Brian Hamman echoed his support.
“I am definitely ready to have that conversation and talk about that $5 million for the simple fact that Sanibel was devastated by this storm,” Hamman said of CHR and its funding ask for Spoonbill. “I believe that if we’re going to call this Community Development Block Grant — Disaster Recovery, then some of the dollars have to go to the disaster areas.”
Also during their discussion, the commissioners voiced concern with the lack of geographic distribution for the recommended list of 10 projects, as the majority were in Fort Myers.
Staff explained that Fort Myers was predominately where the applications came from. It noted that it received one from Sanibel from CHR, but no applications came from Fort Myers Beach or Pine Island.
The commission voted 4-0 to approve the ranking of the projects as suggested by the evaluation committee and to authorize staff to perform due diligence for the projects and recommend awards for those that satisfy all underwriting criteria, up to a maximum of $170,750,877 in funding awards.
It also directed staff to communicate with the city of Cape Coral on any feasible projects.
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