MANSFIELD — Mansfield City Council is expected to vote Tuesday evening on an agreement for implementation of a plan to spend $1 million in federal money to assist homeless and low-income residents.
The legislation calls for the city to spend no more than $100,000 with Harmany & Associates for the work.
Funds will come from a one-time award of $1,061,958 that was allocated to the city in September 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act through the Housing and Urban Development’s Home Investment Partnerships Program.
Adrian Ackerman, the city’s director of permitting and development, introduced James Harsany to council during a meeting in December.
The plan introduced that evening included $650,000 to build 12 units of permanent, affordable housing.
The HOME-ARPA is in addition to the $21 million the city received in ARPA funding during the COVD-19 pandemic.
The award led to the selection of Harsany & Associates to help navigate the federal rules and guidelines set up to regulate how the money is spent, Ackerman said in December.
“We hired Harsany & Associates to come on board to create the plan,” Ackerman said. “Regulations were very, very stringent in how that had to be done and the specific consultations that had to be completed.”
Harsany told council the purpose of the plan is to ensure the money is used to best serve community needs and to ensure HUD requirements are met.
The plan, which council will vote on before it’s submitted to HUD, calls for:
— $650,000 to develop 12 units of affordable rental housing units tied to services needed by tenants, funds that can be leveraged with other funds to increase the number of rental houses built.
— $150,000 in supportive services to assist 120 people to meet the needs of the homeless and victims of domestic violence, including assistance with housing search and placement. It will also be used to assist residents in the housing units to be constructed in areas such as job placement, transportation and case management.
— $52,665 to help develop the capacity of a local non-profit service provider to do case management and assist individuals and households with needs related stabilization and housing.
— $50,000 to provide operating support for one or more non-profits to provide staffing at “coordinated entry points.”
— $159,293 to the City of Mansfield to administer the program.
Also on Tuesday, City Council is scheduled to:
— vote to spend $343,750 to purchase of two parcels at the end of South Brookwood Way. City engineer Bob Bianchi told Richland Source the purchase would be cheaper than building — and maintaining — a new bridge that connects the two properties to the city.
A steel-frame bridge with wooden planking was built in the city right of way, most likely in the 1950s, crossing Touby Run south of Alpine Drive. It was not built by the city, nor has the city maintained it, according to Bianchi.
— discuss during caucus spending $51,237.50 from the fire department capital equipment fund for a 2023 Ford Expedition-SSV for the fire department. The purchase under state contract pricing would be made from Montrose Ford in Fairlawn, Ohio.
— discuss during caucus the renewal of a contract with Medicount Management, Inc., without competitive bidding, to be the third-party billing agent for the city for EMS services performed by the Mansfield Fire Department.
There are three committee meetings scheduled Tuesday: public affairs at 6:35 p.m., finance at 6:40 p.m. and claims at 6:55 p.m. Caucus is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., followed immediately by the legislative session.
