City Manager’s Office 215 E. McKinney St., Denton, TX 76201 (940) 349-8307 MEMORANDUM DATE: February 12, 2021 TO: The Honorable Mayor Hudspeth and Council Members FROM: Todd Hileman, City Manager SUBJECT: Staff Report I. Council Schedule A. Meetings 1. Community Development Advisory Committee on Monday, February 15, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. 2. Parks, Recreation and Beautification Board on Monday, February 15, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. 3. Work Session of the City Council on Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. in the City Council Work Session Room followed by a Regular Meeting at 6:30 p.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. 4. Mobility Committee Meeting on Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. 5. Animal Shelter Advisory Committee on Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. 6. Cancelled - Agenda Committee Meeting Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 2:30 p.m. in the City Manager’s Conference Room. 7. Work Session of the Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. followed by a Regular Meeting at 6:30 p.m. via video/teleconference – City Council Work Session Room. II. General Information & Status Update A. Potential Impacts to Electric Grid – The ERCOT electric grid will be stressed as never before on Sunday and Monday as there is the potential for emergency conditions across the state. Record winter electric demand coupled with generation outages, and very low wind generation and solar output on Sunday and Monday are likely to lead to calls for energy conservation measures that, if not effective, could result in ERCOT OUR CORE VALUES Integrity Fiscal Responsibility Transparency Outstanding Customer Service deploying emergency procedures across the entire ERCOT grid. Denton Municipal Electric (DME) has requested customers to take measures to conserve energy especially in the early morning and evenings on Sunday and Monday. DME has taken all appropriate measures to meet the requirements of its membership in ERCOT. Further information can be found here. Staff contact: Tony Puente, Utilities B. Solid Waste Service Day Changes – On Wednesday, February 17, Solid Waste services delivered to the approximate 1700 residents of the of the Ryan Ranch, Oaks of Montecito, River Oaks, and Chaucer Estates neighborhoods will move from a Tuesday service delivery day to Wednesday. Residents of these neighborhoods received a letter outlining the change, neighborhood association were contacted, social media posts were made on the City’s channels, and signs outlining the change were placed in the neighborhood. Customer services stands ready to respond to questions that may arise during the transition. Staff Contact – Brian Boerner, Solid Waste C. Eviction and Foreclosure Moratoriums & Financial Assistance Resources – Eviction Moratorium A federal eviction moratorium issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is in effect until March 31. Under this Order, a landlord cannot evict for nonpayment of rent any covered person from any residential property in any U.S. state or U.S. territory where the Order applies. Evictions may still occur for other reasons. To utilize the CDC eviction moratorium protection, a renter must provide a completed and signed copy of Residential Declaration Form to their landlord, owner of the residential property where they live, or other person who has a right to have them evicted or removed from where they live. For more information about the CDC Eviction Moratorium and how to utilize this protection, visit the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) website (https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/covid_19_resources). Foreclosure Moratoriums A foreclosure moratorium on USDA Single Family Housing Direct and Guaranteed loans (SFHDLP and SFHGLP) is in effect through March 31. Additionally, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) extended the moratoriums on single-family foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) evictions until March 31. The foreclosure moratorium applies to Enterprise-backed, single-family mortgages only. The REO eviction moratorium 2 applies to properties that have been acquired by an Enterprise through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure transactions. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has HUD-approved Housing Counselors available to discuss options with homeowners having trouble paying their mortgage. https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/housing/sfh/hcc Financial Assistance Resources Locally, the below nonprofit agencies have resources available to assist Denton households at-risk of losing their housing. Eligibility criteria for available funding have been outlined in previous Friday Report updates. Giving Hope, Inc. – Emergency Solutions Grant CARES Act (ESG-CV) funding Grace Like Rain – ESG-CV funding Salvation Army Denton (linked) – ESG-CV funding United Way of Denton County, Inc. – Texas Emergency Rental Assistance Program (TERAP); Texas Eviction Diversion Program (TEDP) Denton County Commissioners Court continues to finalize program details with the United Way of Denton County (UWDC) for the $20.3 million of rental and utility assistance made available to Denton County through the Consolidated Appropriations Act. UWDC expects to begin the program the week of February 22. Staff will share more information once received. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) created the Texas Rent Relief Program (with funding from the Consolidated Appropriations Act) to help renters with the following costs starting as far back as March 13, 2020 (this means renters could potentially request assistance for up to 11 months of past due bills): Past due, current and up to 3 months of expected rent costs Past due, current or up to 3 months of expected utility and home energy expenses After the initial 3 months of forward assistance, you can apply for 3 additional months of assistance if funds are still available To qualify for the Texas Rent Relief Program, households must: Have an income at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), as defined by TDHCA. AND One or more of the tenant household members have: o Qualified for unemployment benefits; OR o Attest in writing that due to or during the pandemic, they: . Experienced a reduction in household income, . Incurred significant costs, or . Experienced financial hardship AND Households must also demonstrate they: o Are at risk of homelessness or housing instability by providing an eviction notice or past-due utility or rent notice; OR o Live in unsafe or unhealthy housing conditions 3 The unit they are renting must be their primary residence and be located within the State of Texas. Any unpaid rent or utility bills they apply for can go no further back than March 13, 2020. More information about the Texas Rent Relief Program is available online (https://texasrentrelief.com/) or by phone (1-833-989-7368) between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. CST. Staff Contact: Courtney Cross, Community Services D. Southeast Denton Community Meeting on Infrastructure Improvements – A significant amount of roadway reconstruction in the Southeast Denton Neighborhood will occur as part of the 2019 Bond Residential Street Reconstruction Program. Staff is currently coordinating with the project’s design firm, Freese and Nichols, to finalize the scope and design of Southeast Denton street segments included in the Residential Street Reconstruction Program. Staff plans to take a holistic approach to making improvements to the Southeast Denton Neighborhood and has identified additional potential improvements that could be made in conjunction with the planned roadway construction, such as the addition of sidewalks and streetlights. To obtain feedback from the community, staff has scheduled a virtual community input session for Thursday, February 25 at 6:00 p.m. The attached letter was mailed on Thursday, February 11 to 1,215 residents and property owners. Information about the meeting is also posted online at www.cityofdenton.com/virtualcommunitymeeting and to the neighborhood’s NextDoor account. In preparation for the February 25 meeting, staff developed an online Community Improvement Assessment Survey for residents to provide feedback on infrastructure priorities. A link to the survey is included in the attached letter and can be found online at: www.bit.ly/southeastdenton. Additionally, staff will meet with leadership from the Southeast Denton Neighborhood Association on February 17 to discuss plans and obtain feedback on how best to structure the February 25 Community meeting. Residents that are interested in attending the virtual meeting need to submit an email request with their name, contact number and email address to [email protected] to receive a meeting link. Staff contact: Stephanie Yates, Public Affairs/Rachel Wood, Capital Projects E. Improvement to North Lakes Recycle Center – Improvements to the North Lakes Park were recently completed. Automatic Drop-arm gates were installed at the park entrance in an attempt to limit site access afterhours and, hopefully, curb the illegal dumping occurring at the site. Additionally, high definition video cameras with night vision technology were placed at the North Lakes Recycle Center to monitor site operations