RESOURCES

The City of Bristol Tennessee has received a total Community Development Block Grant allocation of $264,000 for FY97. Additionally, it is projected that approximately $30,000 will be received in Program Income primarily from monthly payments on rehab loans and the possible payoff of a rehab loan. The objectives of the CDBG Program are to concentrate on activities that benefit low and moderate-income (LMI) families, eliminate conditions that cause slums and blight, eliminate barriers for disabled persons and address other community development areas which demonstrate a particular urgent need because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community and where other financial resources are not available to meet such needs.

OTHER RESOURCES

An Emergency Shelter Grant from the State of Tennessee was approved for the 1995-96 fiscal year in the amount of $53,950, and the City has applied for another ESG in 1996-97 for $37,600. These funds were divided equally between Abuse Alternatives and The Salvation Army of Bristol. There is no CDBG contribution to this program, but the funds are matched on a one-to-one basis by the two agencies. No other private or public funds are available.

ACTIVITIES

1. Residential rehabilitation activities in targeted areas continue to improve the appearance of the neighborhoods while improving the City's housing stock by upgrading existing housing to Code standards. Seventy-three homes have been rehabilitated since the program was implemented in 1982. The proposed allocation of $40,000 for this program is sufficient to complete three or four small focused rehab projects for LMI families during 1996-97. Certified Building Inspectors are utilized to ensure that the rehab work conducted on targeted properties meets Code standards.
2. It is proposed that $98,000 be applied to the 4th/5th Street Neighborhood Improvement project. The area has been determined to contain a majority of substandard housing with the possibility that some properties pose a serious threat to the health and welfare of the community because of a lack of sanitary sewage disposal systems, storm drainage, inadequate water supply systems or other public facilities necessary to support a stable neighborhood. Included under previous activities are voluntary acquisition and relocation of residents living in substandard housing who desire to move into replacement housing. It is anticipated that the current allocation will supplement previous funding in order to make improvements to the public facilities based on Fifth Street. This includes widening Fifth Street to permit control over on-street parking, installing a new sewer line along Fifth Street, installation of curbs and gutters, a new sidewalk on the east side of Fifth Street and construction of a storm drain system to control runoff from Fifth Street. The City has agreed to conduct the engineering and provide the labor for this work with CDBG paying for the cost of materials. It is anticipated that the preliminary engineering work will begin in the spring of 1997.
3. Since legislation empowering the Affordable Homeownership Program has been made a permanent part of the law, the City has allocated $19,000 to be added to any remaining carryover funds in this line item. This funding would allow the City to assist 4-5 families into homeownership. Additionally, 1995-96 Program Income will also be reprogrammed into this line item with a budget amendment at a later date. These funds (approximately $30,000) would assist another 5-6 families into homeownership.
4. The City-administered Fair Housing program provides a TV-based public-education program designed to inform citizens of their right to equal opportunities in the purchase or rental of housing and to inform sellers and landlords of their responsibilities under the law. As in previous years, it is anticipated that the $3,000 proposed for this project will be matched by Bristol, Virginia, CDBG as well as some free air time as a public service of WCYB-TV. In this manner, the program may be aired for approximately forty weeks during the coming year.
5. Many of the residents on the south side of McDowell Street (236 McDowell to 320 McDowell--12 families) have had their retaining walls fronting the street cave in. It is proposed that CDBG act in partnership with the City to assist the families in this target neighborhood. As such, CDBG would pay for construction of the retaining walls and pay for materials only for replacement of the adjacent sidewalk. The $58,000 proposed for this project is based upon engineering estimates and is deemed adequate to complete the work.
6. It is proposed that Administration of the program be funded in the amount of $46,000 to cover the salary of the Community Development Manager, partial salary for an assistant and costs of CD office supplies, computer equipment and maintenance.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

1. Housing Rehabilitation. This target area bounded by Pennsylvania Avenue, Taylor Street, King College Road, Booher Road and State Street has been selected because of the high proportion of substandard housing within a contiguous geographic area that contains concentrations of low and moderate income residents.
2. Fourth/Fifth Street Neighborhood. This area lies between Fifth Street, Ash Street, Chestnut Street and Fourth Street/Norfolk-Southern Railroad tracks. It contains a high proportion of substandard housing and limited or nonexistent infrastructure.
3. Affordable Homeownership Program. In the past, the majority of families assisted into homeownership have moved into the Kings Meadow development; however, since only one vacant lot remains in that area, it is anticipated that additional locations will be citywide.
4. Fair Housing. This project is designed to reach residents citywide who feel they have been discriminated against with regard to housing.
5. McDowell Street Sidewalk/Retaining Walls. The street addresses covered by this project are 236 to 320 McDowell Street.

HOMELESS AND OTHER SPECIAL NEEDS ACTIVITIES

Strategies for Serving Homeless Persons

Homeless persons are to be served from the existing shelters in Bristol. Funding from State and local sources, as well as an Emergency Shelter Grant, will assist these agencies to meet their needs.

Bristol's homeless population is principally served through private agencies. Over the past several years, an average of 32 individuals were provided emergency shelter assistance nightly. Some facilities have been expanded to handle emergency shelter. However, Abuse Alternatives, a domestic violence shelter, has difficulty meeting demand shelter. All local homeless shelter providers report that the demand for their services generally meet the demands with periodic times when demand exceeds supply. Those shelters include Haven Home, Haven of Rest, Salvation Army and Abuse Alternatives. Examples of these times are periods of extremely cold weather and the Christmas holidays. Local service providers estimate that there are 120 chronically homeless persons in Bristol.

The proposed strategy to address this priority need is to provide more beds to house the homeless and provide support services such as alcohol/drug treatment, job training and money management (many of the local homeless persons receive a government check and spend this money for alcohol).

Actions taken to meet this priority need include:

1. Use of United Way funds to most of the service providers to meet daily expenses;
2. Use of FEMA funds to the Salvation Army to meet demand;
3. Use of private donations/local funds to most of the service providers to meet daily expenses and at times fund special projects;
4. Use of a State VOCA grant to Abuse Alternatives to meet daily expenses; and
5. Use of State ESG funds in FY96-97 to assist the Salvation Army and Abuse Alternatives.

Obstacles to meet the need of service providers for this priority are few. This is based upon the success of these agencies in acquiring funds from other sources. Generally, homelessness in Bristol is addressed adequately through existing services. Therefore, it is deemed as a low priority for use of CDBG funds.

As discussed earlier in Other Resources, an Emergency Shelter Grant from the State of Tennessee was received in 1995-96, and a 1996-97 application for the continuation of these efforts has been submitted.

The City of Bristol Tennessee, the Bristol Tennessee Housing Authority, Twin City Federal Bank and Realtor Tony Boyd recently signed National Partners in Homeownership Partnership Agreements with the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This show of support on behalf of the Bristol community is a united effort to assist all households, including moderate- and low-income families, racial and ethnic minorities, families with children, young adults and other underserved populations into affordable homeownership. The strategy calls for the National Partners in Homeownership to implement 100 actions on a variety of topics related to three broad themes:

1. Cutting the Costs of Homeownership
2. Opening Markets for Homeownership
3. Expanding Opportunities for Homeownership

The City of Bristol Tennessee and the Bristol Tennessee Housing Authority have an ongoing discussion concerning the need for affordable housing in Bristol, Tennessee.

The City of Bristol Tennessee, in conjunction with Johnson City and Kingsport are working on the formation of a regional Continuum of Care Plan.

Priorities identified in the Consolidated Plan were Moderate Rehabilitation, New Construction and Related Infrastructure, Homebuyer Assistance and Support Facilities. All of these priorities have once again been targeted in this year's Action Plan (see Section C. Activities). The Rental Assistance priority is met by the Housing Authority.

OTHER ACTIONS

1. Barriers to Affordable Housing. The goal of the Fair Housing Program in Bristol is to assure that every citizen has equal access to housing opportunities. In 1990, City Council adopted a Fair Housing Ordinance to reflect changes in the law that included protection of additional classes of individuals. During the past three years, the City has conducted a media project designed to enhance public awareness of Fair Housing laws. The log of calls from citizens in response to the TV spot indicates that the information is reaching the targeted households.
2. Lead-Based Paint Hazards. No plans exist to fund lead-based paint activities as there have been no reports of lead poisoning in the past three years.
3. The City of Bristol's Anti-Poverty Strategy goal is to reduce the number of families living in poverty. The objectives used to meet this goal involve the use of CDBG funds for down-payment assistance, rehabilitation of housing, infrastructure improvements, paying utility tap fees and public addresses to educate the general public about fair housing choice. It is our policy to first provide decent housing for the citizens of Bristol. We will coordinate our programs with the Bristol Tennessee Housing Authority Comprehensive Grant Program to provide rental units for the handicapped. Additionally, we will coordinate with local agencies, using State ESG funds, to increase the amount and quality of emergency shelter accommodations for the homeless.
4. Institutional Structure. The Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) is composed of representatives of the community and serves to review possible use of CDBG funds, including amounts available for reprogramming at the end of a budget year. In addition to CDAC involvement, please see the following section, "Coordination." By involving as many community members from a variety of backgrounds, Bristol Community Development hopes to overcome institutional gaps.
5. Coordination. The Bristol Interagency Council (BIC) includes representatives from a majority of Bristol, Tennessee, and Bristol, Virginia, service agencies which includes those that provide shelter and related services to homeless persons and persons with special needs. This organization has done much to improve the coordination of activities throughout both cities. Some members of BIC assisted with a comprehensive needs assessment survey sponsored by the United Way of Bristol. The survey was designed to identify the needs that the public deems most crucial in which Affordable Housing was identified as one of the top needs not adequately being met in Bristol. Since this survey, efforts have begun to address some issues that were considered to be unmet needs in the community. This may prove to be a catalyst for development of services designed to meet those unmet needs. This group will continue to work to coordinate efforts in Bristol.
6. Initiative Programs. The Bristol Tennessee Housing Authority initiated a resident participation program that includes resident councils that can provide input into the administration of the local Public Housing Authority (PHA). However, given the scattered site nature of the family units, participation among residents for initiative programs is limited to organizing activities for children with such local agencies as the Boys & Girls Club.

PUBLIC HOUSING

The Bristol Tennessee Housing Authority is not designated as troubled nor is it rated as performing poorly. The Bristol Tennessee Housing Authority participates in the Comprehensive Grant Program and has annual revisions of this application/plan.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

The approved Citizen Participation Plan encourages and provides avenues for public input in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the CDBG Program. The principles of the Citizen Participation Plan include:

1. Citizen access to all available information pertaining to the Community Development Block Grant Program so that they may effectively join in the citizen participation process.
2. Public hearings are conducted to solicit input from citizens, particularly LMI persons residing in proposed project areas.
3. The development of all programs and plans will reflect the suggestions and views of concerned citizens and the Community Development Advisory Committee.

This year, Public Hearings were conducted at the Community Development Advisory Committee meeting on March 12, 1996, and at the City Council meeting on April 2, 1996. A Public Notice was published in the Bristol Herald Courier on April 12, 1996, advertising a thirty-day comment period for interested citizens concerning the proposed projects. A copy of the Proposed Plan was available for public review at the Bristol Public Library as well as at the Community Development Office of the City. Citizens were asked to respond by May 13, 1996; however, no comments were received.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

The proposed objectives set forth by Bristol, Tennessee's Office of Community Development focus on the cost-effective utilization of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. With the prescribed goals and objectives of the Community Development Act of 1974 serving as the framework, Bristol, Tennessee, will use Community Development funds to target specific neighborhoods and problem areas in pursuit of long-term goals. The emphasis of this approach is a comprehensive strategy designed to encourage employment and housing opportunities for low and moderate-income families, the elderly, and disadvantaged persons. The basic strategies for achieving these goals in FY97 are principally through neighborhood revitalization efforts. The projected amount of program income estimated to be available for reprogramming from FY96 is approximately $30,000. The exact amount will be identified when our annual audit is conducted after June 30, 1996. Following the receipt of the audit, the Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) will review possible use of funds to be reprogrammed, and two Public Hearings will be held prior to submission for Council approval in the fall or winter of 1996-97.

The City administers a Codes Enforcement Program to ensure the long-term goal of improving the living environment for all citizens of Bristol. Solutions are sought to problems that contribute to the deterioration of housing and result in slums and blight with an emphasis on preservation of existing housing stock whenever possible. However, houses that are so severely deteriorated that rehab is not practical are referred to the Better Housing Board; and, if no ameliorating solutions are found, demolition may be authorized. In addition, owners of rehabilitated property are counseled regarding proper maintenance procedures to further stabilize the neighborhood and preserve existing housing stock. A Certified Building Inspector writes all rehab specifications and reviews all housing units undergoing rehabilitation with CDBG funds. Inasmuch as the program addresses the visual image of the neighborhood, the psychological well-being is also improved whenever measures are taken to eliminate slum and blight conditions.

The short-term objectives for nonhousing community development activities include facilitating economic development and improving the infrastructure in low and moderate-income neighborhoods.

VISION FOR BRISTOL

In a perfect world, all citizens would enjoy decent, affordable housing. There would be no discrimination and no unfairness. However, reality quickly sets in, and we must deal with life as it is.

Since assistance for homeownership has become a permanent part of current legislation, the City of Bristol intends to continue its efforts through down-payment assistance for qualified families. We envision being able to assist an increasing number of citizens into affordable homeownership.

Efforts will continue through Fair Housing activities to eliminate discrimination and educate the public regarding their rights. While homelessness is not a major problem in the Bristol area, we hope to ensure that it does not increase substantially by providing support services at local shelters. Additionally, ongoing cooperative efforts are in place with the local Housing Authority.

Bristol hopes to grow in the future and desires the best possible living conditions for all of its citizens.


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