Northwest Notes

Office of Public Housing

Region X - Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington
FY2010 Quarter II - April 13, 2010

The Director's Corner
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) - Public Housing Capital Fund Recovery Formula Grants PHAs in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington have obligated 100% of available capital fund recovery formula grants to benefit their communities. Public Housing Capital Fund Recovery Grant (CFRG) is for capital and management activities of PHA public housing programs. As provided by ARRA, PHAs shall obligate 100 percent of the funds within one year (by March 17, 2010) of the date on which funds become available to the agency for obligation, shall expend at least 60 percent of funds within two years of the date on which funds become available to the agency for obligation, and shall expend 100 percent of the funds within three years of such date. Funds to PHAs failing to obligate/expend CFRG in accordance with Recovery Act deadlines are subject to recapture and redistribution. The 57 PHAs in Region X have obligated available funds totaling $59,110,458. As of late March 2010, Region X PHA expenditures are 47.48% ($28,071,552).

FFY 2010 HUD Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-117) enacted December 16, 2009, includes a number of PHA program funding opportunities. Be prepared for these and other opportunities for which your PHA may qualify.

On behalf of Office of Public Housing team members in the Seattle, Portland & Anchorage offices, we hope this newsletter is helpful to you. Let me know if there are items you would like to see in future newsletters.

Harlan Stewart
Director, Office of Public Housing
Region X, Northwest/Alaska Office

HUD Secretary Donovan Announces New Office Focused on Sustainable Development
In early February during a speech at a sustainability forum at Portland State University, and again at the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Seattle, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the creation of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities (OSHC). The office is a key component of President Obama's Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an unprecedented joint venture with the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency. OSHC's efforts, Donovan says, "will help us streamline our efforts to create stronger, more sustainable communities by connecting housing to jobs, fostering local innovation and building a clean energy economy."

The new office will focus its efforts into studying "smart growth", such as putting money toward expanding mass transit lines to low-income neighborhoods and affordable housing. This is an idea that cities like Portland and Seattle have undertaken for years. With the majority of household income being spent on housing and transportation expenses, improving access to affordable housing, while also offering transportation options, will allow families to save money and give them more time at home and less time traveling. The office also plans to invest in energy efficient homes, renewable energy, and modern infrastructure to pave the way for a clean energy economy needed to compete and create jobs in a 21st century economy.

In the 2010 Budget, Congress provided a total of $150 million to HUD for a Sustainable Communities Initiative to improve regional planning efforts that integrate housing and transportation decisions, and increase the capacity to improve land use and zoning. Of that total, approximately $100 million will be available for regional integrated planning initiatives through HUD's Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program.

For more information on OSHC visit online.

Using the eLogic Model® Grant Reporting - Fiscal Year 2009
The Office of Departmental Grants Management and Oversight has made several modifications to the fiscal year 2009 HUD eLogic Model as a way to increase consistency in reporting among grantees and improve searching capabilities.

For a full overview of these changes please access the archived February 17, 2009 training webcast online.

When using the HUD eLogic Model to report actual service and outcome data, remember these few simple tips to help reduce reporting errors and eliminate confusion. Should any technical difficulties arise, such as locked data fields, or have questions regarding reporting requirements, contact the Public Housing Revitalization Specialist at the local HUD field office right away. Do not wait until the reporting deadline.

No Recycling!
Under no circumstance should a grant recipient "recycle" a HUD eLogic Model template or attempt to copy and paste information from any previous fiscal year into a new eLogic Model. The formatting and contents of the HUD eLogic Model change on an annual basis. To satisfy the reporting requirements for a specific grant always use the template for the fiscal year the grant was awarded.

Review the expiration information in the template to verify a current OMB approved document is used for reporting.

File Naming Convention
ROSS Grants - Once a ROSS grant has been awarded, grantees should name their files using the official grant number when sending a HUD eLogic Model to the field office for review i.e. WA002RFS200A09.
HCV Grants - For all HCV grants the following naming convention should be used HCVPHACodeFiscal Year of Award (for example, HCVWA001FY2009).

Modifications to the FY 2009 eLogic Model
1) Always use the legal name of the agency as entered in box 8a of the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance.

2) The Project Location fields (City and State) should be populated with the city and state information where the project is located, not necessarily the location of the PHA/grantee.

3) Use the drop down menu to select the reporting period for the current submission (see the applicable NOFA for required reporting frequency).

4) Enter the start and end date of the current reporting period.

5) The "Fiscal Year" 2009 will be pre-populated. This is the NOFA fiscal year.

6) Mandatory DUNS Number - Enter the DUNS number that corresponds to the grantees legal name. The DUNS number must be consistent with what was entered in box 8a of the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance. This field must be completed in order to save information.

7) Reporting Tab - The Reporting and Evaluation Tabs have been combined into a single Reporting Tab. Grantees will complete the Management Questions and provide an explanation of any deviations from the approved eLogic Model. The information collected by HUD from its grantees is used for national program evaluation.

Reporting
Grantees must complete the Post and YTD columns. The YTD column reflects the year to date information of each year; it is not a cumulative figure for the entire length of the grant. The cumulative YTD information should be entered on the Total Tab during the second and third years of reporting, if applicable

EPA's Repair, Renovate, and Paint (RRP) rule effective April 22, 2010
The rule will affect paid renovators who work in pre-1978 HUD-assisted housing and child-occupied facilities, including:

• Renovation contractors
• Maintenance workers in multi-family and public housing
• Painters and other specialty trades.

Under the rule, child-occupied facilities are defined as residential, public or commercial buildings where children under age six are present on a regular basis. The requirements apply to renovation, repair or painting activities. The rule does not apply to minor maintenance or repair activities where less than six square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed in a room or where less than 20 square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed on the exterior. However, when the EPA's RRP rule is less stringent than HUD's Lead Safe Housing Rule (LSHR), the strictest requirements will apply. A good example of this would be that HUD's LSHR triggers lead work activities when only more than 2 square feet of paint is disturbed in a room as compared to 6 square feet in RRP. Window replacement is not a minor maintenance or repair. To see a comparison chart between the LSHR and RRP please visit HUD's website.

Another important change with the RRP rule is training. When this rule is effective, renovation firms must be certified. At least one certified renovator must be at the job or available when work is being done. (The certified renovator may be a certified LBP abatement supervisor who has completed the 4-hour RRP refresher course or attended the 8-hour EPA/HUD Model Renovator Course Lead Safety for Renovation, Repair, and Painting (http://cfpub.epa.gov/flpp/searchrrp_training.htm) from a certified training provider.

For more information regarding these important changes please go to the HUD Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control (OHHLHC) Renovation, Repair, and Painting website.

Training Opportunities and Webcasts
Required EIV Training

The Refinement of Income & Rent Rule and Effective Use of the Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) System training session aired on January 28, 2010.

This training is not a repeat of PIH's September 24, 2009, RHIIP/EIV training session and is required of all PIH EIV system users, including those individuals who will not access the PIH EIV system, but will view printed or electronic EIV information.

PIH EIV users must complete this training by October 30, 2010, as a condition of initial or continued EIV access. If you were unable to view the training on January 28, 2010, you may view it once it is archived in the Webcast Archives.

If you would like to receive a Certificate of Completion for this training, complete and submit the Certificate Request form to PIH.RHIIP.TA@HUD.GOV, by the close of business October 31, 2010.

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Recently Published Guidance

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Important Dates
Please Note: All dates subject to change.  Refer to program websites for complete list of forms due!!!

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