AG 2003 03 17 - Laserfiche WebLink

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competitiveness of the grant: This proposal suggests that we break down the area into sub-areas and make applications in sectionS over a period of years. It also raises the possibility that the Princeton Park area may not qualify IJnder HUD's income guidelines, making them ineligible for this type of project. However, income surveys would have to be completed in the area to verify eligibility. Hobbs, Upchurch & Associates, P.A. This proposal includes no :fee for writing the grant(s). The administration costs for a CDBG Infrastructure grant would be a fee not to exceed $65,000. This is a turnkey proposal for the project. They believe that Cabarrus County will be required to supply a 5 to 10% match for a competitive CDBG Infrastructure application. They recommend 10% ($75,000) for the CDBG grant. There is some possibility of using one grant to offset the costs of another, however, they recommend that Cabarrus County begin with a CDBG Infrastructure grant. From the information gathered, the County has several options. The first option is that we apply for CDBG Infrastructure grants: and Supplemental Grants. If funded under both, we could receive $750,000 (CDBG) and $400,000 (Supplemental). The project is estimated to cost $1.85 million. There will be a match cost for the County that would be somewhere between $65,000 and $187,500. The exact amount would be determined by the grant application that the County proposes. Additionally, the grant administration would c4st $65,000 to $75,000. Up to 10% of the grant can be used to cover the administrative portion of the I~rant. Any additional administration fees would be local money. The local cost will range from $1,076, .000 to $1,183,500 to complete the project and pay administrative cost on the remainder of the project ~ the County attempts to do the project in one phase. Another option is that the consultants reduce ~e area served to reduce costs. Projections on the costs of this proposal depend on how much is cut and how much it would cost to serve particular sub-areas. Another option is to divide the area into sub,teas and pursue grants over a period of years to serve the area. Again, qualification of all sub-areas ia the project area would need to be determined by income surveys. All of the proposals come fror~ qualified agencies. All of the agencies have administered many types of infrastructure grants. If the Board should decide to proceed, I would recommend hiring Hobbs, Upchurch, and Associates based on the scoring of the proposals. Price considerations as well as the experience of the agency gave them an edge over the other proposals. Hobbs, Upchurch, and Associates can provide engirleering as well as administration of the grant. Please keep in mind that if Cabarrus County is funded far a grant or loan, we will once again be required to put out requests for proposals for the administraiion of the grant. We can make the selection criteria for administration weighted to emphasize kno~edge of the project as an important selection factor. This may give an edge to the agency that wrot~i the grant. We would like some direction on how the Board would like staff to proceed. We can select a consultant and have the selected consu~ant provide more information on the application, as well as, required local costs for the grant. The s ,e,lected consultant can provide detailed cost estimates before the formal application process to allow ~e Board to make a final application decision later. However, in any event if we decide to proceed, it aPl)_'ears from the proposals that the County will need to make applications at the very least for CDBG Infrastructure grants and Supplemental grants this year to begin the project. However, financial commitments for local match will need to be determined before the application is submitted to the state. Mat~ commitments for CDBG Infrastructure grants do have a minimum limit, and applications are more co.t'n, petitive if a high percentage of local money is used. Local commitment is heavily considered in the f~nding decision process by DCA. Cabarrus County's ability to pay in the funding formula is considerecl very good, therefore, we may be required to match even more in order to create a more competitive aplNication than other jurisdictions. The selected consultant can recommend an appropriate local match amount once the project area and application possibilities have been analyzed. Please advise on how to proceed. · Page 2