Second Program Year CAPER6/1/11-5/31/12
GRANTEE: City of Muncie IN
CON PLAN PERIOD: 2010 to 2014
GENERAL
Executive Summary
The Executive Summary is not required. Provide a brief overview that includes major initiatives and highlights how activities undertaken during this program year addressed strategic plan objectives and areas of high priority identified in the consolidated plan.
PY 2011CAPER Executive Summary:
Introduction: This report describes activities undertaken during the program year period June 1, 2011, through May 31, 2012, utilizing Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As required by HUD regulations, most of the activities benefited low- and moderate-income (low/mod) residents of the city, some via direct assistance to low/mod persons and some via projects in areas with high concentrations of low/mod persons. Other activities removed slum and blight.
This report also includes discussion of other grants being administered by Community Development staff, such as HUD’s Community Development Block Grant – Recovery Act, Neighborhood Stabilization Program entitlement funds, and Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds from the State of Indiana as administered by Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, as well as special grants from other sources.
It should be noted that 2010 Census data by Census Tract was not available for Muncie until August 2011, so all information herein continues to use 2000 Census.
Summary of Resources and Distribution of Funds
1)Summary of Resources and Distribution of Funds:
a. Provide a description of the resources made available
PY 2011 CAPER #1a response:
PY 2011Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)$ 1,283,811.00
Unexpended CDBG funds from prior years as of 5/31/10$ 801,957.82
Total CDBG funds $ 2,085,768.82
PY 2011 HOME $ 592,220.00
Unexpended HOME funds from prior years as of 5/31/10 1,269,992.40
Total HOME funds $ 1,862,212.40
b. Provide the investment of available resources
PY 2011 CAPER #1b response:
PR26 – CDBG Financial Summary Report, is generated from the HUD tracking system and can be found in Appendix F. Following is a summary of expenditures, butamounts reflect only those funds spent during the reporting period and do not necessarily reflect the anticipated total cost of the project.
FY2011 CDBG Disbursements / Jun '11 to May '12Project / Activity / Prior PY $ / FY2011 $ / Total
1 / Planning / Admin
Human Rights Commission
2265 / Planning / Admin / 50,723.36 / 178,496.58 / 229,219.94
2 / Housing Rehab
2175 / PathStone, Inc. / 3,847.00 / 3,847.00
2210 / EcoRehab / 13,532.92 / 13,532.92
2228 / Roof Repair / 101,236.03 / 101,236.03
2256 / Habitat paint program / 15,000.00 / 15,000.00
2268 / Rebuilding Together / 50,375.53 / 33,609.77 / 83,985.30
2266 / West Main Street Curb Appeal / -
2267 / Payroll / -
4 / Public Services
2280 / A Better Way / 11,773.70 / 11,773.70
2261 / A Better Way SART / 10,000.00 / 10,000.00
2269 / Alpha Center / 833.70 / 12,463.00 / 13,296.70
2270 / Bridges Community Services / 964.90 / 37,110.23 / 38,075.13
2281 / Christian Ministries Sleeping Room / 50,000.00 / 50,000.00
2273 / Gateway Health Clinic / 1,000.00 / 15,579.99 / 16,579.99
2282 / PathStone Housing Counseling / 11,007.01 / 11,007.01
2272 / Delaware County Senior Citizen Center / 1,923.20 / 30,830.40 / 32,753.60
2279 / TEAMwork for Quality Living / 2,514.76 / 18,206.67 / 20,721.43
2271 / Victim Advocate / 3,750.00 / 11,475.00 / 15,225.00
5 / Slum & Blight
2274 / Clearance / 51,377.44 / 78,712.18 / 130,089.62
2275 / Façade Restoration Bond / 187,464.24 / 187,464.24
7 / Infrastructure
2276 / Infrastructure / 399.54 / 399.54
8 / Park Improvement
2242 / Heekin Park / 7,936.00 / 7,936.00
2243 / Cooley park / 1,835.00 / 1,835.00
2250 / Park Improvement delivery costs / 1,726.79 / 1,726.79
2258 / Urban Park Tree Removal & Planting / 22,705.99 / 22,705.99
2259 / McCulloch Park Playground Access / 2,828.00 / 2,828.00
2260 / Thomas Park Playground Access / 1,055.50 / 1,055.50
2278 / Tuhey Park Improvements / 201,500.83 / 201,500.83
9 / Public Facilities
2226 / YWCA Windows / 32,451.00 / 32,451.00
2245 / Christian Ministries HVAC / 54,629.94 / 54,629.94
2257 / McCulloch Fire Station Emergency Repair / 25,084.18 / 25,084.18
2283 / YWCA Electrical / 12,374.60 / 12,374.60
507,730.78 / 840,604.20 / 1,348,334.98
c. Provide the geographic distribution and location of investments
You are encouraged to include maps in this description. Specifying Census Tracts where expenditures were concentrated and the percentage of funds expended in NRSAs or local target areas may satisfy this requirement.
PY 2011 CAPER #1c response:
The PY 2011 Annual Action Plan identified primary target areas as Census Tracts (CT) 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, near and surrounding the downtown, and CT 12 northeast of the central city. Please see maps in Appendix A for location of activities.Below are disbursements by Census Tract.(UPDATED FIGURES ARE STILL PENDING)
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d. Provide the number of families and persons assisted (including the racial and ethnic status of persons assisted). PY 2011 CAPER #1d response:(ON SILVER FLASH DRIVE-2011 CAPER INFO – USE TAB 4)
Amer / Asian / Am Ind
Alask / Native
Haw/PI / Am Ind
& White / Asian &
White / Afr Am
& White / Other
Multi / Hisp / Total
A Better Way / 113 / 24 / 1 / 1 / 3 / 142
Alpha Center / 16 / 4 / 20
Bridges / 482 / 84 / 4 / 24 / 3 / 597
Senior Center / 5338 / 605 / 22 / 15 / 10 / 15 / 85 / 24 / 6114
Gateway / 2132 / 513 / 3 / 1 / 1 / 9 / 8 / 5 / 2672
PathStone / 23 / 10 / 33
Rebuilding Together / 16 / 9 / 25
TEAMwork / 21 / 7 / 2 / 3 / 33
Victim Advocate / 921 / 161 / 1 / 1 / 52 / 1136
Total Persons / 9062 / 1417 / 27 / 2 / 3 / 20 / 11 / 50 / 151 / 29 / 10772
% of Total / 84.13% / 13.15% / 0.25% / 0.02% / 0.03% / 0.19% / 0.10% / 0.46% / 1.40% / 0.27%
e. Provide actions taken to affirmatively further fair housing
PY 2011 CAPER #1e response:
CD staff review beneficiary demographics for all program activities to ensure that persons served closely mirror the population of the city.
CDBG and HOME subrecipient PathStone, Inc. provided monthly homebuyer orientations and homeownership education courses. Orientations helped to further fair housing by providing information on educational and financial resources to prospective homebuyers, most of whom are low/moderate income and considered hard-to-reach home buying populations. PathStone’s homebuyer courses include education on how to select a home, mortgages, fair housing, improving credit, budgeting, closing, life as a homeowner and predatory lending.PathStone worked to coordinate financial assistance and mortgage loan approval for low/moderate income first-time homebuyers, and provided money management education and savings incentive programs, such as Individual Development Accounts and Educational Development Accounts. Additionally, PathStone has participated in the Muncie Black Expo Fair and other similar events to provide access to homebuyer resource information to minority populations.
HOME subrecipient Muncie Home Ownership and Development Center (MHODC)utilizes the Fannie Mae Home Counselor online program to document contact with all housing counseling individuals. As part of the MHODC curriculum, applicants are provided brochures and written information that address discriminatory practices and how to effectively deal with Fair Housing issues. Videos are available which provide clients with audio and video instruction, as well. As clients are receiving their initial intake into the program, information is provided in written form which is titled “Client Rights”. This document addresses the client’s rights within the program and in the community.
During group and individual counseling settings, the MHODC client is educated on where to turn if they believe they have been discriminated against, including contact information for the HUD Office of Inspector General. All information listed is available in other languages. During client orientation or intake session, a list of lenders, landlords, and apartment complexes and client rights forms are provided to the client. MHODC believes it is imperative that the client be aware of their right to choice when it comes to their lender or housing situation. Although MHODC does not currently provide materials in Braille, other than the Fannie Mae Guide to Homeownership,if the need should arise, MHODC will contact Ball State University for their assistance in providing these materials.
CD has partnered with Muncie Human Rights Commission (MHRC) to promote fair housing in Muncie. In October 2011, CDBG funds paid for mailing the MHRC newsletter and Indiana Civil Rights Commission fair housing brochures to realtors, banks, lenders, and apartment owners/managers. On April 1, 2011, MHRC hosted a fair housingworkshop, featuring HUD Attorney Advisor Merilyn D. Brown as guest speaker. The workshop was well attended and included participation by Indiana Civil Rights Commission Director Jamal Smith, CD staff, Muncie Housing Authority staff, Delaware County Housing Authority staff, local realtors, apartment owners, and many others.CDBG funds assisted with mailing invitations and with facility fees. Also in April 2011, MHRC Director spoke at the Buley Center to sharefair housing information with the Brown Bag group, and attended the Indiana Civil Rights Housing Conference for People with Disabilities.
MHRCreported the following housing-relatedactivity:in thePY 2011 period, 14 inquiries and/or complaints about tenant rights and eviction process, 12 about obtaining heating assistance or electric bill, 1 about mold on the walls, 1 about refund of apartment application fee, 1 owner called about how to be involved in Section 8. The MHRC’s two staff persons were able toresolve all of the inquiries by phone, except 1 who needed help with heating, food, and warm clothing.
f. Provide other actions indicated in the strategic plan and the action plan
PY 2011 CAPER #1f response:
Muncie Action Plan
The City of Muncie (using EDIT and CDBG funds) partnered with Ivy Tech Community College (with a grant from Ball Brothers Foundation) to hire consultants ACP Visioning + Planning to guide the development of the Muncie Action Plan (MAP), completed in July 2011. (To review the final MAP, visit the City of Muncie website at
Following are excerpts and summaries of information from the MAP website describing its current status: “The Muncie Action Plan is a strategic guide that expresses the values and aspirations of our community, while creating a compelling action agenda for the future…Recommendations from the community, accompanied by extensive factual analysis of trends and conditions, form the basis of the Plan. The Plan is divided into five initiative areas each with specific action steps designed to realize the vision of a stronger, better Muncie. The Plan will be used by the community as public and private decisions are made concerning development, redevelopment, capital improvements, and other matters affecting the well being of the community.
“To our knowledge it is the first city-wide strategic plan and has had unprecedented success in involving the whole community. The Plan strongly recommends an integrated approach to land use and reuse so that decisions are not made in isolation; rather, each decision should consider its impact on other areas (neighborhoods, pedestrian movement, educating the public) and be examined through the lens of the Plan’s goals, principles, and action steps.”
The 5 Initiatives are:
Initiative 1: Linking Learning, Health and Prosperity : Education from birth to kindergarten is now seen as the most critical component of an individual’s ability to succeed academically in school, and later economically in the job market. That link extends to the economic development and improvement of a community and the involvement of MAP.The goal of Task Force 1 is to use “patient capital,” or investment of resources in the near term for returns that may not be realized for one or more decades to facilitate a basic change in our approach to making sure every child of every economic environment has the basic opportunity to succeed.
Initiative 2: Fostering Collaboration: In an effort to develop a Council of Neighborhoods to Build and Support the Capacity of Neighborhood Organizations (2.2 in the MAP final report under Fostering Collaboration), there will beeight Zone Facilitators, who will receive specific training, with approximately 40 Neighborhood Organizers. The committee is in the process of developing a ‘workbook.’Neighborhood organizations will work with and for their neighborhoods, and will collaborate with others on shared issues and communication.
Initiative 3: Strengthening Pride and Image: On April 25, 2011, the Chamber of Commerce, supported by MAP’s Task Force 3, unveiled the Muncie Gives/Muncie Lives image campaign, which is intended to create community pride and is built around the strong spirit of volunteerism in this community — supported by the presence of over 1,000 non-profit organizations. The Chamber of Commerce Image Committee team emphasized that this is a campaign to instill pride in our community by highlighting the people of Muncie and their unique reasons and actions that demonstrate their loyalty to their community. For more information, please go to the campaign website
Initiative 4: Creating Attractive and Desirable Places: Task Force 4 is working on “Creating Attractive and Desirable Places” andfocusing on four Actions from the MAP final report:
4.1 Create and implement a Downtown Plan.Prior to convening a meeting of potential partners, MAP has met with municipal leaders to review existing documents and to identify agencies and organizations that are likely contributors to an updated Downtown Plan project.MAP also has assembled a substantial library of recent and historical plans and studies.
4.2 Develop and Implement a Sidewalk and Recreational Paths Plan and4.9 Promote and expand community based neighborhood enhancement programs.In this effort, the Task Force is including the creation of the Muncie Cultural Trail as a project that advances both Actions 4.2 and 4.9. Over a dozen community organizations are participating in this process.
4.8 Strengthen code enforcement. MAP is compiling a matrix of government offices that receive citizen requests for code enforcement.MAP plans to convene a meeting of decision-makers to discuss improving complaint intake and response practices.
Unsafe Buildings
The PY 2011 Annual Action Plan proposed demolition of 15 unsafe buildings using CDBG funds, but 14 buildings with 37 housingunitswere demolished by CD during the program year.NSP funds has allowed Muncie to demolish114 unsafe houses with 136 housing units.(See maps and pictures in Appendix A.)
Also,___ property owners demolished buildings at their own expense, as a result of action by the Unsafe Building Hearing Authority (UBHA). Furthermore, CD coordinated with volunteers to demolish___ house and assisted ___ owners with demolition by paying dumpster and landfill costs.
UBHA staff recorded ____ demolition orders in the office of the County Recorder. Hearings have been conducted on ___ properties (prior to dismissal, a property generally has a minimum of three hearings). Civil penalties have been filed in the County Auditor’s office and placed on the taxes of ____ properties. In addition, civil penalties have been levied against ____ property owners, which will be collected by a collection agency.The total amount of civil penalties assessed during the program year is ______.(AWAITING UPDATED FIGURES)
General CAPER Narratives:
2)Assessment of Three to Five Year Goals and Objectives
a)Describe the accomplishments in attaining the goals and objectives for the reporting period.
b)Provide a breakdown of the CPD formula grant funds spent on grant activities for each goal and objective.
*If using the CPMP Tool: Use Needs Tables, Annual Housing Completion Goals, Summary of Specific Annual Objectives. (Use of these tables is sufficient, additional narrative is not required.)
PY 2011 CAPER General Questions #2a & b response: See tables in Appendix D.
c)If applicable, explain why progress was not made towards meeting the goals and objectives.
PY 2011 CAPER General Questions #2c response:
Narratives at 9f describe projects that are falling behind schedule. Differences between “Goals” and “Actual” in most cases are a reflection of dwindling resources in the community. Many non-profit subrecipients have experienced reductions in donations from citizens, and grants from foundations and United Way due to the depressed local economy. For that reason, some agencies are unable to provide services at the projected levels.
3)Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
a)Provide a summary of impediments to fair housing choice.
PY 2011 CAPER General Questions # 3a response:
The Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice in Muncie, Indiana completed by Indiana Coalition on Housing and Homeless Issues (ICHHI) in May, 2006. CD has completeda new analysis submitted to HUD on August 30, 2010; however, this CAPER addresses impediments from the 2006 report that were addressedduring PY 2011.
The following “potential impediments” to fair housing choice were identified in 2006:
(1.)Patterns of segregation and spatial isolation: Minority and low-income populations in Muncie remain concentrated in the Whitely, Old West End, East Central, and South Central neighborhoods. Below are Census Tracts with the highest minority concentrations according to 2000 Census.
Neighborhoods / Census Tract / % Minority / % Low/ModEast Central, McKinley / 2 / 20.4% / 69%
Industry / 3 / 84.6% / 75%
South Central / 4 / 20.2% / 78%
Old West End / 6 / 13.3% / 73%
Whitely / 12 / 72.9% / 62%
(2.)Community opposition to the location of affordable rental housing
(3.)Minorities’ access to credit: Home mortgage lending data show that applicants in areas with moderate and high percentages of minorities had lower loan acceptance and higher denial rates than areas with few minorities, primarily with conventional and home improvement lending; most common reason for denial for minorities was due to credit history. The Muncie Human Rights Commission has provided
(4.)Lack of awareness about fair housing/reporting violations: Survey participants (172) indicated lack of knowledge regarding where or how to file a fair housing violation, feared retaliation or eviction, lacked confidence in government bureaucracy, believed they would have to hire an attorney (which would be too expensive).
(5.)Lack of adequate funding for fair housing education and outreach: Muncie Human Rights Commission stated the Human Rights Commission office needed more funding for fair housing education and outreach programs.
(6.)Land use and zoning practices: The zoning ordinance of Muncie does not pose significant problems with respect to fair housing choice. However, a lack of code enforcement may lead to unsanitary and unsafe housing environments. The City has partnered with Ball State University’s Building Better Communities program to research and update code enforcement language and protocol.
b)Identify actions taken to overcome effects of impediments identified in the jurisdiction’s Analysis of Impediments.
PY 2011 CAPER General Questions # 3b response:
Following are ICHHI’s recommendations (in italics) followed by a description of local efforts:
(1.) Housing organizations…should make it a priority to construct new affordable housing units in minority and low-income communities. Community Development Department should continue to focus on public improvement projects in areas of the city with concentrations of minority and low-income residents.
The Muncie Housing Authority (MHA) razed its old Parkview multi-family public housing units, and is nearing completion of a mixture of single-family, duplex, triplex and quad units in partnership with the City, drastically improving the character of Whitely neighborhood.The project is usingNSP1 funds from IHCDA and other funds.See photos in Appendix A.