TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

A.  Executive Summary.. 1

B.  General Information.. 2

C.  Priority Needs Analysis And Strategies. 5

D.  Recommended Funding Allocation.. 7

E.  Geographic Distribution.. 10

F.  Sources of Funds. 11

G.  Institutional Structure.. 15

H.  Monitoring.. 16

I.  Public Housing.. 18

J.  Fair Housing.. 19

K.  Lead-Based Paint Hazards. 20

L.  Anti-Poverty Strategy.. 21

M.  Underserved Needs. 22

N.  Strategy Implementation.. 23

O.  Performance Measurement.. 25

P.  Certifications. 43

Q.  Appendix.. 46

 

A.  Executive Summary

 

The Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development is a requirement of the 1990 National Affordable Housing Act and the Community Development Plan, for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Such a plan is required of entitlement communities, which receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds under HUD’s housing and service programs related to the needs of low and moderate-income persons.  The development of the third City of Oak Ridge Consolidated Plan took place during the nine-month period of July 2004 through March 2005 and will be utilized for the three-year period of July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2008 (CDBG Program Year 2005 through Program Year 2007).

 

Each Annual Action Plan of the Consolidated Plan must be submitted to HUD at least forty-five days prior to the beginning of the entitlement community’s fiscal year.  A citizen participation plan element requires that interested parties have a 30-day period in which to review and comment upon the funding proposals and that at least one public hearing be held.  Any information received during the public comment period or at the public hearing will be included with the submitted Annual Action Plan.

 

The 30-day comment period for the Program Year (PY) 2006 / Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Annual Action Plan will begin on Monday April 3, 2006 and end on Tuesday May 2, 2006.  No public comments were received during the 30-day comment period.  A public hearing was held on Monday April 17, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. during the Oak Ridge City Council meeting at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building with no comments received.

 

The objectives and outcomes utilizing the HUD Outcome Framework identified in the PY2006/FY2007 Annual Action Plan include the following:

      Objective 1:  Suitable Living Environment  Outcome 3:  Sustainability

      Objective 2:  Decent Housing                              Outcome 3:  Sustainability

      Objective 1:  Suitable Living Environment  Outcome 3:  Sustainability

      Objective 1:  Suitable Living Environment  Outcome 1:  Availability/Accessibility

 

Copies of the City of Oak Ridge Consolidated Plan 2005 – 2007 including the Citizen Participation Plan and the PY2006/FY2007 Annual Action Plan are available upon written request to:

 

City of Oak Ridge

Central Services Complex

Public Works Department

100 Woodbury Lane

Oak Ridge, TN  37830

Susan Fallon, Contracts/Grants Coordinator

sfallon@cortn.org

            or

Online at www.cortn.org, CDBG icon.

 

B.  General Information

 

The City of Oak Ridge is an entitlement jurisdiction, receiving an annual allocation of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  A requirement of CDBG entitlement communities is the preparation and implementation of a Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development and one-year Annual Action Plan updates.

 

The City of Oak Ridge Consolidated Plan for the period of July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2008 (PY2005-PY2007) was approved by Oak Ridge City Council Resolution 5-48-05 on May 10, 2005 and establishes the following priorities to address the community’s needs utilizing CDBG funding during the three-year period:

1.       Assistance for the improvement of public facilities

2.       Code enforcement activities to address property maintenance issues in the CDBG target areas

3.       Housing in the Highland View Redevelopment Area

 

The City of Oak Ridge will utilize CDBG funds each year included in the Consolidated Plan for the following strategies:

 

All programs funded by the City of Oak Ridge with CDBG entitlement funds will be in accordance with HUD regulations and meet the City’s strategies for monitoring, fair housing, lead-based paint hazards and anti-poverty as stated in the three-year Consolidated Plan.

 

The Annual Action Plan is a document that describes the City of Oak Ridge HUD-funded projects and community development related activities that will be conducted within the community in the upcoming fiscal year and implements the strategies and priorities of the city’s three-year Consolidated Plan.

 

In September of 2001, the Oak Ridge City Manager established a staff committee to evaluate the process by which Community Development Block Grant funds are awarded for projects.  As a result of the staff review, an evaluation model was developed that included a new application process and points system for evaluating the applications.  Each year the CDBG Program Model and the proposed allocation of funds are presented to City Council for approval, prior to receiving applications for funding from subrecipients.  This allows the community to present any issue to City Council prior to funding decisions being made.  As a result of the recommendation of the Consolidated Plan committee, the program model was modified beginning with FY2006 to include an increase in the points awarded for subrecipient projects located in the Highland View Redevelopment Area.

 

The CDBG staff committee is comprised of three staff representatives from various departments, appointed by the City Manager, along with the Contracts/Grants Coordinator and the Property Maintenance Inspector.  The committee for PY2005/FY2006 consists of Susie Stooksbury, Operations Manager, Public Library; Tim Ward, Division Manager, Community Development Department and Ron Boucher, Investigations Division, Police Department.  Tim Cochran, Property Maintenance Inspector, Community Development Department, is responsible for property inspections and other housing issues within the CDBG Target Areas.  Susan Fallon, Contracts/Grants Coordinator, Public Works Department is responsible for the coordination and documentation for the CDBG program and the preparation of the Annual Action Plan.

The City of Oak Ridge allocates its CDBG funds annually through a competitive process.  The projects funded must comply with the priorities, strategies and objectives in the City of Oak Ridge PY2005-PY2007 Consolidated Plan.  The FY2007 CDBG Program Model allows for a diversity of projects, and sets the priorities for funding to be focused on housing related issues.  The City of Oak Ridge FY2007 CDBG Program Model was approved by City Council on December 19, 2005 by resolution 12-124-05.  Once the model was approved, the staff committee distributed and received the applications, evaluated projects and prepared the funding recommendation for the City Manager.

 

The PY2006/FY2007 Annual Action Plan is the second installment of the City of Oak Ridge CDBG Consolidated Plan 2005 - 2007.  As a result of the first public hearing on October 20, 2005, a housing rehab working group was formed.  Members of the working group include representatives from Housing Development Corporation of the Clinch Valley (HDC), Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC), Appalachia Service Project (ASP), City of Oak Ridge Highland View Advisory Board (HVAB) and the CDBG staff committee.  Following is an outline of the process utilized to develop the PY2006/FY2007 Annual Action Plan.

 

October 20, 2005

CDBG Public Hearing #1 – Needs Assessment and Proposed Projects

November 7, 2005

City Council Work Session for Presentation of the CDBG Program Model

November 18, 2005

Housing Rehab Working Group Meeting

November 21, 2005

CDBG Public Hearing #2 – CDBG Program Model

December 19, 2005

City Council Approval of the CDBG Program Model

January 18, 2006

Subrecipient Application Deadline

January 26, 2006

Housing Rehab Working Group Meeting

April 3, 2006

30-Day Public Comment Period Begins for the PY2006/FY2007 Annual Action Plan

April 17, 2006

CDBG Public Hearing #3 – PY2006/FY2007 Annual Action Plan

April 18, 2006

Housing Rehab Working Group Meeting

May 2, 2006

30-Day Public Comment Period Ends for the PY2006/FY2007 Annual Action Plan

May 8, 2006

City Council Approval of the PY2006/FY2007 Annual Action Plan

May 11, 2006

PY2006/FY2007 Annual Action Plan Submitted to HUD (45 Day Review Period)

May and June 2006

Subrecipient Agreements Signed and Returned to the City

July 1, 2006

CDBG PY2006/FY2007 Begins

 

The City of Oak Ridge FY2007 CDBG funding allocation represents the 23rd year receiving the entitlement grant funds (see history of funding).  The amount of the PY2006/FY2007 allocation is $266,461, a decrease of $27,462 (9.34%) from the previous year’s allocation.  The City of Oak Ridge has CDBG carryover and unprogrammed funds from previous years totaling $61,739 that is also available for allocation this year.  The grand total of CDBG funds available for FY2007 allocation is $328,200.

 

The CDBG funding allocation for FY2006 was reduced by 6% from the amount allocated during FY2005.  During the first two years of the current three-year Consolidated Plan, with the reductions for both FY2007 and FY2006, the City of Oak Ridge has experienced a 15% reduction in CDBG funding, in the total amount of $46,539.  The reduction for FY2007 is comparable to the reductions experienced by all CDBG entitlement cities in Tennessee (see TN CDBG allocations).

 

CITY OF OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE

CDBG ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM

 HISTORY OF FUNDING

 

Year #

CDBG Program Year

COR Fiscal Year

Grant Amount

1

1984

1985

$   256,000

2

1985

1986

$   253,000

3

1986

1987

$   213,000

4

1987

1988

$   214,000

5

1988

1989

$   199,000

6

1989

1990

$   207,000

7

1990

1991

$   198,000

8

1991

1992

$   222,000

9

1992

1993

$   231,000

10

1993

1994

$   260,000

11

1994

1995

$   283,000

12

1995

1996