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A resolution appropriating $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from Fund #30216 to Our Place Nashville for the provision of affordable housing for adults with developmental disabilities.
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WHEREAS, on June 15, 2021, the Metropolitan Council passed Resolution RS2021-966, a resolution which accepted grant funds for local government support from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP Funds”) from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson Count, which was subsequently signed into law by Mayor John Cooper on June 16, 2021; and,
WHEREAS, Resolution RS2021-966 established a COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee ("the Committee") whose role is to collect, consider, and recommend appropriate uses of the ARP Funds as designated by the Metropolitan Council disbursement plan. The Committee will submit its reports and recommendations to the Mayor, the Director of Finance, and the Metropolitan Council not later than June 30, 2025; and,
WHEREAS, there are federal requirements for use of ARP Funds that require that these funds be expended or obligated on or before December 31, 2024; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee recognizes the importance of providing affordable shared living housing to Davidson County residents, especially to vulnerable residents such as adults with developmental disabilities; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee recognizes that Our Place Nashville is one of the only local providers of affordable housing for adults with special needs as well as the only local private pay provider of such housing, and that this nonprofit entity has a successful record of shared housing between adults with special needs and neurotypical companion housemates who can voluntarily assist these adults; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee recognizes that Our Place Nashville’s shared living housing initiatives were negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic by legitimate concerns with shared spaces, which forced vulnerable residents and their companion housemates to leave; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee recognizes that Our Place Nashville plans to open 15 new shared living houses within the next two years and will need to stabilize and expand its capacity to accommodate these new residents, as further described in Exhibit A; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee recognizes that Our Place Nashville’s work is especially vital to Nashville’s vulnerable adults with special needs and so the request should be expanded to include two annual installments of $250,000, for a grand total of $500,000 in funding; and,
WHEREAS, it is to the benefit of the citizens of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County that this resolution be approved.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. The Metropolitan Council accepts this resolution as a recommendation of the COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee.
Section 2. That $500,000 from the Covid-19 American Rescue Plan Fund #30216 is hereby appropriated to Our Place Nashville to be used to administer the program described in Exhibit A.
Section 3. This resolution shall take effect from and after its final passage, the welfare of the public requiring it.
Agenda Analysis
Analysis
This resolution appropriates $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (“ARP”) funds from Fund #30216 to Our Place Nashville.
Our Place Nashville is a local provider of affordable housing for adults with special needs and is a local private pay provider for this housing. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted Our Place Nashville’s shared living housing initiatives. Our Place Nashville proposes to open 15 new shared living houses within the next two years and requests two annual installments of $250,000 to assist with this proposal. This funding will be used to ensure stability of Our Place Nashville through the expansion of shared living houses, recruit adults with physical disabilities who have trouble accessing affordable housing, sustain critical social/recreational activities and vocational support, and hire social workers.
Fiscal Note: This $500,000 appropriation, along with the appropriations per Resolution No. RS2022-1865, RS2022-1863, RS2022-1860, RS2022-1861, RS2022-1862, and Resolution No. RS2022-1856 would be the 35th, 36th, 37th, 38th, 39th and 40th resolutions appropriating from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARP) Fund for a cumulative total of $221,497,030. The total grant award is $259,810,600. The first half of this amount was received in July 2021 and the second half was received in July 2022. The grant award must be obligated by December 31, 2024 and expend by December 31, 2026.