title
A resolution approving a non-competitive application in the amount of $10,827,467 for a Community Development Disaster Recovery Grant from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to the Metropolitan Government, acting by and through the Housing Division of the Metro Nashville Planning Department, for the restoration and mitigation of housing resulting from the March 2020 tornado and authorizing the Metropolitan Mayor to execute a grant contract with the State of Tennessee and appropriating grant funds to the Housing Division upon execution of the grant agreement
body
WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that the State of Tennessee would receive $42,740,000 in Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to support long-term recovery efforts in response to disasters occurring in 2020 (FR-6303-N-01); and
WHEREAS, HUD issued another notice (FR-6326-N-01) allocating funds to the State of Tennessee and other jurisdictions for disasters occurring in 2021 and making modifications to the February 3, 2022, Notice (FR-6303-N-01) indicating the 2020 CDBG-DR funds would flow from HUD to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD); and
WHEREAS, TNECD notified Metro Nashville that it will receive $10,827,467 for long-term recovery and mitigation activities in response to the March 2020 tornado with specification that funds cannot be used in response to other disasters and must align with activities described in the State’s CDBG-DR Action Plan; and
WHEREAS, TNECD is the lead agency and responsible entity for administering $42,740,000 in 2020 CDBG-DR funds and prepared a CDBG-DR Action Plan (November 2023) describing the proposed use of funds and methods of distribution for necessary expenses for activities authorized under Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 United States Code [U.S.C.] 5301 et seq.) (HCDA) related to disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of housing and infrastructure, economic revitalization, and mitigation in the “most impacted and distressed” (MID) areas resulting from a qualifying major disaster in 2020 (or 2021); and
WHEREAS, to receive these funds, the Housing Division of the Metropolitan Nashville Planning Department (Metro Housing Division) submitted an initial and revised Action Plan to TNECD, utilizing the template and incorporating feedback provided by TNECD and including public comment opportunities, to describe how Metro Nashville will utilize these funds to address unmet housing needs, particularly in zip codes impacted by the March 2020 tornado; and
WHEREAS, TNECD requires Metro to submit an application for each of the activities to be undertaken with grant funds, which do not require a cash match; and
WHEREAS, it is to the benefit of the citizens of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County that this grant application for each of the activities be approved and submitted.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. That application for Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant funds, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein, is hereby approved, and the Housing Division of the Metropolitan Planning Department is authorized to submit an application for each activity funded by the grant to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) and may incorporate comments from TNECD administratively.
Section 2. That the Metropolitan Mayor is authorized to execute the grant agreement with the State of Tennessee and other required documents.
Section 3. That the grant awarded by TNECD, in an amount not to exceed $10,827,467, to the Metropolitan Government, acting by and through the Housing Division of the Metro Planning Department, for CDBG-DR, be appropriated to the Housing Division of the Metro Planning Department based on the revenue estimated to be received upon execution of the grant agreement.
Section 4. That this resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.
Agenda Analysis
Analysis
This resolution approves a non-competitive application for a Community Development Disaster Recovery Grant from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to the Housing Division of the Metropolitan Planning Department, for the restoration and mitigation of housing resulting from the March 2020 tornado. The resolution also authorizes the Mayor to execute a grant contract with the State of Tennessee and appropriate grant funds to the Housing Division upon execution of the grant agreement.
The grant amount is $10,827,467, with no local cash match required. The grant term is effective on September 1, 2026, and concludes on September 30, 2030.
These funds are tied to a larger block grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to the State of Tennessee to support long-term recovery efforts in response to the 2020 tornados in Tennessee. The proposed grant amount would support the rehabilitation and reconstruction of vacant voluntarily acquired homes and the new construction of housing in the prioritized zip codes most impacted and distressed by the storms. Funding would also assist owner-occupied rehabilitation activities to mitigate future storm effects countywide.
All projects would include income eligibility and affordability requirements. The Metropolitan Government would competitively procure nonprofit organizations to acquire and rehabilitate homes, to undertake new construction, and to rehabilitate owner-occupied homes.
Language in the terms and conditions of this grant agreement purports to require the use of “SAVE, or an equivalent verification system approved by the Federal government, to prevent any Federal public benefit from being provided to an ineligible alien who entered the United States illegally or is otherwise unlawfully present in the United States.” The federal government has been enjoined from enforcing this provision against the Metropolitan Government through King County v. Turner, a federal court case which is now extended to the Metropolitan Government. In a letter sent by the Department of Law, “the Metropolitan Government withholds consent and objects to the inclusion of any terms or conditions pursuant to the Preliminary Injunction, which are legally unenforceable.”