TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
George Gabriel, Assistant to the City Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Update on Homelessness Initiatives and Consideration of the Following Initiatives:
a) A Resolution Approving a Memorandum of Understanding in the Amount of $216,000 with the South Bay Cities Council of Governments for Measure H Grant Funding to Provide Homelessness Case Management Services to the Cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo and Redondo Beach;
b) A Resolution Approving Amendment No. 2 to the Professional Services Agreement with Harbor Interfaith Services for Measure H Grant Funded Homeless Case Management and Housing Navigation Services at a Cost Not-to-Exceed $70,000 (City Manager Moe).
A) ADOPT RESOLUTION NOS. 21-0118 AND 21-0119
B) AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE TERMS AND EXECUTE AGREEMENTS
C) APPROPRIATE FUNDS
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
a) Adopt Resolution Nos. 21-0118 approving a Memorandum of Understanding in the amount of $216,000 with the South Bay Cities Council of Governments for Measure H grant funding to provide homelessness case management services to the cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo and Redondo Beach;
b) Adopt Resolution Nos. 21-0119 approving Amendment No. 2 to the Professional Services Agreement with Harbor Interfaith Services for Measure H grant funded homeless case management and housing navigation services at a cost not-to-exceed $70,000;
c) Authorize the City Manager to negotiate terms and execute both agreements; and
d) Appropriate $216,000 from unreserved General Fund balance and approve a budget adjustment for grant reimbursement funds.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There is no net fiscal impact associated with the recommended actions. The $216,000 expenditure appropriation will be offset by Measure H grant funding through the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG). In order to spend grant funds, a City Council action to appropriate funds from the unreserved General Fund balance is necessary.
BACKGROUND:
The City has taken an active role in addressing homelessness both strategically and regionally. In doing so, the City is doing everything possible to assist homeless individuals in obtaining the services needed while respecting their rights. Over the past three years the City of Manhattan Beach has taken the following actions thus far:
• Approved the “Five-Year Plan to Address Homelessness in our Community” that created goals that align with the County of Los Angeles’s objectives;
• Appointed a Homelessness Liaison responsible for homelessness initiatives and concerns;
• Participated in the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Counts to assist with understanding the size and scope of homelessness. Fifteen individuals were counted in Manhattan Beach in 2020 (down from 41 individuals in 2018 and 21 in 2019);
• Created a Homelessness Task Force of 11 residents and stakeholders to assist in: 1) developing a proposal to obtain County Measure H funds, and 2) conducting community outreach/education on homelessness;
• Increased the number of mental health clinicians provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health available to the Manhattan Beach Police Department to address mentally ill homeless individuals;
• Created a “Homeless Outreach” unit in the Police Department, across daytime and graveyard shifts, to specifically address homeless calls for service;
• Created and distributed a Homeless Resource Guide and card that summarizes a variety of resources and phone numbers to refer to for residents and those experiencing homelessness;
• Received a $330,666 grant from the County of Los Angeles to offer case management and coordination services to homeless individuals in the cities of Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Manhattan Beach.
• Executed a City Homelessness Plan Implementation Grant (i.e. South Bay Beach Cities Homelessness Project) contract with the County of Los Angeles that provides homeless coordination, case management and trainings in the beach cities of Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo.
• In conjunction with the above grant, developed specifications in order to obtain proposals from qualified service providers to assist in moving people off the streets into interim and permanent housing. As a result, awarded a subcontract to a qualified homeless services firm, Harbor Interfaith Services (HIS), to provide:
• A full-time Homeless Coordinator/City Liaison to leverage the cities’ fiscal and administrative resources to systematize, coordinate and help oversee multi-sectoral homeless efforts to enhance and expand regional access to services.
• The development of internal city-level homelessness response protocols and beach city regional response;
• Tailored training material and instructors to lead training sessions with staff;
• An annual homelessness stakeholder roundtable/community meeting;
• Two full-time Homeless Outreach Housing Navigator to assist homeless individuals and families by getting individual “document ready;” and make successful referrals to interim housing, treatment centers, and permanent housing.
• Approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Manhattan Beach, the City of Redondo Beach and the City of Hermosa Beach to implement the South Bay Beach Cities Homelessness Project for homeless coordination, housing navigation and training services;
• Developed a regional response document that focuses on the South Bay Beach Cities outreach response by creating a singular outreach process, identifying the role of key city departments/leads, establishing outreach protocol for persons experiencing homelessness, and providing a contact list of homeless services providers;
• Promoted the Los Angeles Homeless Outreach Portal (LA-HOP) web-based portal to make it easier to request coordinated county services for homeless individuals and ensure constituents can easily submit requests for homeless outreach;
• Conducted community and staff trainings to learn about the local response and partnerships forming to support people experiencing homelessness;
• Explored the use of homeless court services with the City of Redondo Beach and the Los Angeles County District Attorney;
• Approved an agreement with Harbor Interfaith Services for dedicated homeless case management and housing navigation services to Manhattan Beach in the amount of $66,390; and
• Approved an agreement with Emotional Health Association (doing business as SHARE! Self Help and Recovery Exchange) for housing placement services in the amount of $19,320.
DISCUSSION:
Since November 1, 2019, the City has utilized Measure H grant funding to provide homeless coordination, case management (i.e. street outreach) and training services for our regional homeless population in Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach. This first round of Measure H grant funding was scheduled to end on December 31, 2021.
To continue these services in the future, the City of Manhattan Beach applied for the second round of Measure H grant funding with the South Bay Cities Council of Government (SBCCOG) who has been tasked with distributing County grant funding totaling $1,905,000 to SBCCOG cities.
To further strengthen the regional partnership to address homelessness, the City of Manhattan Beach added the City of El Segundo and applied for two projects on behalf of the cities of Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and El Segundo. The two projects and respective funding requests were as follows:
1. South Bay Outreach and Housing Services - $404,741
2. South Bay Housing Initiative Court - $474,429
On October 4, 2021, the SBCCOG recommended the award of $216,000 in grant funding for two out of the four requested dedicated outreach workers. However, the South Bay Housing Initiative Court was not recommended at this time as jurisdictional issues with the District Attorney need to be addressed beforehand.
To ensure the City can accept the grant funding, the City of Manhattan Beach must sign on to the Memorandum of Understanding with the SBCCOG along with the cities of Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and El Segundo. Most notably, the MOU stipulates:
• The City of Manhattan Beach will serve as the lead city in this multi-jurisdictional program to provide homeless case management services for the cities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach;
• The grant funds will be divided into two Tranches. Tranche 1 will be for $70,000 for the first 6 months of the MOU. Tranche 2 will be for the remaining $146,000 for the last 12 months of this MOU. However, Tranche 2 will only be available once the SBCCOG and County of Los Angeles contract is extended, and agree to the last 12-month deliverables as an addendum to this MOU; and
• Notable metrics and outcomes required for the beach cities to reach include:
o 50 unduplicated clients serviced in outreach;
o 30 unduplicated clients added to Coordinated Entry System;
o 30 unduplicated clients receive case management services;
o 20 unduplicated clients housed in interim housing; and
o 8 unduplicated clients permanently.
To provide these services, staff has prepared an amendment to the agreement with the City’s homeless services provider, Harbor Interfaith Services, extending the term from December 31, 2021 to June 30, 2022 and adding the scope of services contained in the SBCCOG’s MOU.
Original Grant Funding
Council will recall that the City was awarded a $330,666 grant from the County of Los Angeles to offer case management and coordination services to homeless individuals in the cities of Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Manhattan Beach. Of the $330,666 in grant funds, $324,053 were awarded to HIS to provide the services required in the grant. HIS currently projects that $272,546 will be expended by the end of December 2021. This amounts to $51,506 available in unutilized grant funding. However, pursuant to the County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors motion on December 7, 2021, cities, such as the City of Manhattan Beach, with underspending in their agreement have an opportunity to request a no cost extension for an extended term through December 31, 2022. Therefore, staff will be applying for a no-cost extension to ensure the remaining $51,506 in grant funding is available to the beach cities.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
a) Adopt Resolution Nos. 21-0118 approving a Memorandum of Understanding in the amount of $216,000 with the South Bay Cities Council of Governments for Measure H grant funding to provide homelessness case management services to the cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo and Redondo Beach;
b) Adopt Resolution Nos. 21-0119 approving Amendment No. 2 to the Professional Services Agreement with Harbor Interfaith Services for Measure H grant funded homeless case management and housing navigation services at a cost not-to-exceed $70,000;
c) Authorize the City Manager to negotiate terms and execute agreements; and
d) Appropriate $216,000 from unreserved General Fund balance and approve a budget adjustment for grant reimbursement funds.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 21-0018
2. Memorandum of Understanding - SBCCOG
3. Resolution No. 21-0019
4. Amendment No. 2 - Harbor Interfaith Services
5. County Board of Supervisors Motion on December 7, 2021