Pasco CARES/ Community CARES Program – Coronavirus Relief Direct Assistance for Pasco County Residents - Update

1:24:37Aye. Motion passes 5-0. Thank you. R ten, which we're gonna merge, you know, the old R seven to R ten.

1:24:46Thank you, Sarah. Kathy Pearson, Assistant County Administrator Public Services. Before Brian and Mart Brian Hoban and Marcy Esperg come up to do the pre presentation, I just want to say thank you to the board. On May fifth you approved the um four million dollars to be used for the Pasco CARES program. And I do want to tell you that um this has probably been one of the most humbling And um Most of the right-of-way. emotional things that I think this group has ever gone. And I want to

1:25:16tell you the name is correct, Pasco cares, because you have a team that cares. They really do. And I want to say first of all thank you to the IT team. When this whole project came up and we were taking this is the rental assistance and every other bills that we were paying for our citizens. The IT team had five days to create a portal. And they did it. And and not only did they do it, they built this jet going a thousand miles an hour while we were still doing it, we're still building it. So I want to say thank you

1:25:46to them. To the public services team, not only did we pull from human services, community development, we pulled from animal services, we pulled from libraries, all these folks came together, over 40, 50 people to process these. Unbelievable. To the fiscal team, both Christina McGonagall from Public Services and Jessica Blesser from our fiscal team under Eric Internal Services, again, together to push these through to make sure our vendors were getting paid quickly.

1:26:17To the PIO, Tambri, and her group, to the customer service team, Lisa Stanett. to the County Attorney's Office. My goodness, um, Jordan Wolfgram. I'm gonna miss getting her three o'clock in the morning emails. Unbelievable how committed. And last but not least to the clerk's office. They have been pumping these checks every single day for us. And if that's not a team effort to our community, holy moly, I am so proud to be standing here and telling you this. I'm getting all teary-eyed about it. So with

1:26:47that said, I'm gonna let Brian and Marcy give you an update of what's gonna happen for phase two. They're gonna give you an update of Pasco cares, which is hopefully going bye-bye, but what the new phase two is gonna look like. So with that, I think Brian's thoughts.

1:27:01All right, thank you.

1:27:03Good afternoon, Brian Hoban, Community Services Director. You can say it officially. So uh yeah, what we want to do this afternoon is um provide an update to the board on PASCO cares and then talk about uh both an internal and external way forward to make sure we can continue to serve the citizens who've been affected by this pandemic and this financial hardship caused by COVID nineteen. So if if we go through Pasco CARES, it was a program that launched on May 7th, and the services that we

1:27:33provided were rental, mortgage, utilities, car payments, internet, and phone bill assistance. So we offered a plethora of assistance to citizens that suffered direct direct disaster or direct financial hardship, if you will, due to COVID-19 and they pay. Pandemic. I know there's some numbers up here on this slide that reflect the information as of July 7th, but as of this morning we have some updated numbers. We have actually dispersed over $1.9 million to over

1:28:03660 households and families in need here in Pasco County. As pat as Kathy had mentioned, we are in week 10 since the launch of Pasco Cares. We are wrapping up literally with a handful of people that are flowing through the clerk's office in the financial queue right now. So if we go to the next slide, we'll look at the ways forward that we plan on executing. From an internal perspective, the human services team plans to take what we've learned through PASCO CARES and go ahead and simplify that, make our application process and

1:28:34the process for the community and our citizens a lot smoother. And we would like to Focus our areas of assistance in both rental mortgage and utilities. Our plan is to open up a link for the first 150 applicants. We would like to open that link on 721, so July 21st, that's a week from today. Take those 150 applicants and process them as quickly as possible, again, streamlining the processes that we've learned through Pasco Care. The plan then is to replicate that, rinse and repeat that cycle

1:29:04until the end of the year. We're estimating that it's going to take us about three to four weeks to get through those 150 applicants, and we would like to go ahead and repeat that on a three to four week cycle all the way until the end of the year when this CARES funding can no longer be utilized.

1:29:22Yeah, absolutely. Is there any way you can move that number for a higher?

1:29:29Okay.

1:29:40Okay. So uh so uh to follow up with um Kathy's uh original remarks about Pasco cares. Uh so yes, we have a county and we have s um members here that really care and care about our citizens, but the need is still very great out there, and we need to start calling on our community partners to reach more and more of our citizens. So phase two we are calling community care. And

1:30:11we have already begun to reach out to our nonprofit partner agencies to administer this very similar program. However, we are paring it down to the basic needs of rent or mortgage assistance and utility assistance, electric and water. And you approved earlier. in the day the templates and we're looking to roll this program out beginning 8-1. So uh

1:30:41each agency will sign an agreement uh with us uh and you've given uh County Administrator Biles the authority to sign those agreements and they will have a choice of getting either a hundred thousand Or $250,000. Those are the two grant amounts for a monthly disbursement. So for example, if I as an agency chose $100,000, I'd be getting $20,000 a

1:31:11month for the next five months to go and do this assistance with citizens of Pasco County. Same thing if it's $250,000, it's going to be a $50,000. A month. We are also allowing up to 20% as eligible administration expenses because that is always the key comment question when you're working with nonprofits. They're okay, we're happy to do this, but we might have to hire temporary work or expand

1:31:42or something like that. So we're, it's an eligible expense through. the relief fund so we're allowing administration uh Yeah.

1:31:53The key part of the relief fund, really something that the Inspector General is going to be looking very closely at, is to ensure that there's no duplication of benefits. So we're going to have our partner agencies using our homeless management information system to ensure that there's no duplication of benefits so that Marcy could her rent paid at five different agencies. Marcy could only get her rent paid at one agency. And uh this part of the program will

1:32:24be administered by community development. We work with these nonprofit agencies day in and day out. This is the kind of work we do. So so we'll be taking on this Part of the program while human services continues with the direct service of community cares with individual citizens. Next slide. So we're keeping some of the same parameters: 3,500 per household. It has to be US citizen and Pasco residents. and we're still serving eighty percent of

1:32:54the area median income. Uh we Did not see hardly any people of the people that we served currently that didn't income qualify. So we are definitely meeting the needs of the people that are out there. And they will be self-certifying that they've experienced a hardship due to COVID-19. Next slide. So uh this is not requiring any additional funding. Uh as Brian said, we're

1:33:24just under two million that we've put out so far. So we're asking that we use the remainder of the two million dollars, which was the initial four million that the board approved. continuing to um if the need is there uh to allow the county administrator to increase it to eight million which was the original approval from the board of county commissioners And we would continue uh to stay according to the relief guidelines, the fund relief guidelines, to make sure

1:33:54that all the funds are expended by twelve thirty. Next slide.

1:34:00I I don't d uh next slide. I don't, so go for it.

1:34:07Great job to all of you. Um so I know that um you know I had spoken with the congressman's office and got a list of I think six hundred names that of people who were feeling quite desperate, um that they hadn't been able to receive their unemployment uh funds through the state and I think there was a concern that when um When the the order expires. I think it's now August first that they could lose

1:34:37their home. So I'm concerned if we're do are you if you're if you're opening it up, well I you already have that list. D do people there need to reapply. Um if there's six hundred on that list Uh and granted you have to vet vet everyone on that list. And there's still other citizens out in the community that didn't think to call their congressman.

1:35:01I would

1:35:04So again, we when we start Multiplying with community partners, it's not just a hundred and fifty. So all the community partners will have funding to do the exact same thing.

1:35:18Okay, so I thought it was one hundred and fifty total.

1:35:20No, no, no, no. So

1:35:24Microphones on. So really quick, so that email that email you're talking about, Brian Hoban's group is going to send a mass blast out to we have every one of those emails going to send a mass blast out to those folks. And Marcy is going to include some community partners. So they can either go to the portal for the 150 or they can go to some not-for-profits and apply there.

1:35:47Yeah.

1:35:49And Yeah, n not to muddy the waters, but the state also got the same relief funds. And I know that uh we did not receive any ship money this year. So we were zero funded for ship, but they will be sending some of this relief funding down. We don't know how much. So so we're really f front loading. August to December of helping people with the funding that comes in.

1:36:15Um but that ship money the ship money was that the Sadowski Trust Fund money? Yeah, we didn't. So that's for housing. I I guess to to f to make is that f to make new housing stock that ship money?

1:36:28No, the it's the relief fund money. It's not ship money. It's but it's being administered by the same organization. So So the state got it and they're they're gonna be sending it to the

1:36:40entitlement. But let's be clear that um it's two different pots of money. So they they can't You know, we still need the Sadowski Trust Fund money and um and you can't do things with the CARES money that you could do with the SHIP money. That's absolutely right. We're we're t we're putting a band aid on something, but once again we're not finding the solution. for the you know, what I would say uh in my district are all those people that are hanging out at the Wawa and You know, living living I

1:37:10I found a gentleman living in a dumpster behind the Win Dixie on US nineteen. I mean, we're not helping those people.

1:37:19Like

1:37:19we

1:37:19could that that's not this program, but I'll bring you another program that will help get awesome.

1:37:25Mr.

1:37:25Mariano?

1:37:29I'm gonna bring up some of the new title part time like that.

1:37:34We're We're having a conversation.

1:37:38As far as ide ideas to come forward, um the Sun Coast Recovery Center they got I think they've applied for permits. Is there any way you can help them where they can actually get beds so we can get those some of those people off the streets and get some treatments?

1:37:51So I will give you an update on the Sun Coast Recovery. So they did put in an application under our not-for-profit. That's Marcy's handling rental. Um myself and fiscal are handling the not-for-profits. They did put an application in. It is in the middle of the year. of going through a process, the process is it comes to me, it goes to our fiscal, it goes to Jessica Blessers group, um, it goes to Eric Breitenbach, Assistant County Administrator, and then to Dan for final approval. So it's working its way through the process for and

1:38:21I believe they apply for half a million.

1:38:23Wow. Okay. Um next thing, we've got a lot of bars that are shut down. Those people are are getting crushed. I don't know how we can reach out to those specifically to help them, knowing that they're already experienced experienced trouble before, they're experienced it now and we don't know how much longer. uh restauranteurs. I mean we saw Benedetto's restaurant shut down. I mean that's that's a guy who's got a booming business, a trem tremendous business, top quality stuff, and he can't run his business because he can't serve enough people there, he's

1:38:54gonna take a break. So those restaurateurs we get we've got to try to find a way to help out. And I'll give you one other thought if you can r look into it, uh the veterans' organizations. The ones that are operating as bars or whatever, they've got food, whatever, they've been shut down. Recently code was just out there and they thought They're driving by bars that are shut down, but they shut us down. What are we what what's going on? If you could find a way to see if we can help those organizations stay afloat too, that would be awesome. Thank you.

1:39:20But you mean like the um B F Well.

1:39:26Any other questions? Questions Commissioner O Wells, Commissioner Oakley?

1:39:32No I'm good. It's a good job.

1:39:35Commissioner Weightman from you, sir?

1:39:40Okay.

1:39:40Mr. Chairman

1:39:42Mariano.

1:39:43Yes, go ahead.

1:39:44Uh-huh.

1:39:45So um the program putting it out to the non profits to administer the money, the funding for it Um the Department of Treasury has provided that we have to follow CIFA standards. So are they going to be able to provide the documentation when the single audit comes around? And is that going to be overseen by your department?

1:40:07Yes, um it's in our contract and we uh did our preliminary discussion with nonprofits based on uh the board. Board of approval this afternoon. Uh, but we'll be doing monthly monitoring and asking for backup documentation and and it's in the contract that they have to keep um all the backup documentation and we will be training them on exactly what needs to be kept.

1:40:33Perfect. Thank you. You're welcome. Right, great.

1:40:35Thank you. Well without with nothing else, we do need a motion to approve this.

1:40:40Oh, move to approve.

1:40:41Motion motion by second by Commissioner Starkey, second by Commissioner Mariano. Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

1:40:47District One, Commissioner Oakley. All right. District three, Commissioner Starkey. Aye, aye, aye. District four, Commissioner Weightman.

1:40:59District four, Commissioner Weightman.

1:41:01He he's there. I don't know if there's unmuted again.

1:41:04Maybe. All right.

1:41:09I know you're there. Then we can see ya.

1:41:13All right. Uh District five, Commissioner Mariano. Aye. District two, Chairman More.

1:41:19I. Um I was just waiting to see if I'm sorry. If he came back on. Is he muted or

1:41:30Yeah, I'm here. Go ahead.

1:41:32I is that an I? Aye, okay. Motion passes five zero. Okay.

1:41:39Thank you.

1:41:43Wow, look at that.

1:41:46We can get through a lot of items, can't we, guys?