City Council assigned $1.5 million of the City’s ARPA funds for the development of affordable housing while leveraging other grants and resources with the City’s Housing Impact Fee funds and regional partnerships to provide housing opportunities for low-income households throughout our community.

Staff identified an opportunity to utilize ARPA and Affordable Housing funds through the State’s Homekey grant program. Homekey grant funds would be used with the City’s funding to purchase the 125-room Towne Place Suites extended stay hotel on Cedar Boulevard and convert the hotel rooms to apartment units. The units would be available for homeless households and households that are at risk of becoming homeless.

The City would establish an agreement with Allied Housing & Abode Services, experienced and respected affordable housing developers and service providers, to purchase the hotel, perform the residential conversion, and manage the apartment building’s day-to-day operation. Extensive residential support services would be provided on-site. The affordability and on-site services would be consistent with the requirements of the Homekey grant program.

Status:  On January 13, 2022, City Council took two actions to participate in the Homekey program. 1.) authorized staff to apply for the Homekey grant, and 2.) assigned $1.5 million in ARPA funds and $4.5 million from the Affordable Housing Fund for a total of $6 million for activities related to development of affordable housing at the existing Town Place Suites hotel.

On January 28, 2022, city staff submitted the Homekey Grant application to the State of California’s Housing and Community Development (HCD) Department. A decision from HCD is expected by mid- to late March.

A Broadband Master Plan is needed for the City to ensure sufficient infrastructure is in place to provide robust broadband services to all residents and businesses.  The master plan scope of work would include development of an inventory, to the extent possible, of existing fiber optic infrastructure, identification of unserved and underserved areas, identification of gaps in infrastructure assets, and development of phased improvements to address short-term and long-term needs.  The master plan would create the strategies necessary to position the City with a strong broadband presence in order to attract, retain and serve residents and businesses.  A focus of the plan will be to develop solutions for improved broadband services to unserved and underserved areas. 

Status: The development of a Citywide Broadband Master Plan was awarded to Government Technology Group and approved at the March 23, 2023 City Council meeting.  We anticipate the delivery of a Citywide Broadband Master Plan by the end of December 2023.

This project would complete the first potential phase of investment in the City’s broadband infrastructure based on the findings, recommendations and strategies of the Broadband Master Plan.  The scope of work for the first phase should be focused on the priorities developed through the master plan process to improve the existing network in the most efficient manner possible. 

Status: This project scope would be formulated following completion of the Broadband Master Plan.

City Council assigned $280,000 over four years to re-establish the Newark Chamber of Commerce as an effective organization focused on the needs of the business community. The funding serves two purposes.  The first is building the capacity of the Chamber of Commerce itself as a strong and capable business-serving non-profit organization; the second is utilizing the Chamber’s capacity to provide marketing and organizational services on behalf of small businesses.

The funds will be coupled with other resources to achieve funding for a full four years, beginning with an organizational period led by a consultant, and a stabilization period largely managed by Chamber staff.

Status:  City staff and Chamber of Commerce board members and have reviewed a draft scope of services prepared by a consultant intended to achieve the Chamber’s organizational goals. A Chamber of Commerce re-establishment plan with a City-Chamber four-year funding agreement and the consultant’s contract will be provided for Council consideration in late February or early March 2022.

The City of Newark Recreation & Community Services Department offers scholarships to encourage Newark resident youth to access recreational and fitness opportunities that don't have the means to participate. The City has allocated $210,000 to increase youth access to affordable recreation opportunities. With the additional allocation of funds, the Recreation & Community Services Youth Scholarship Program can provide:

• Increasing current per child limit from $250 to $350 per FY.
• Remove FY family cap to allow larger families to utilize programs.
  • Allow for a max of six children per family.
• Allow participants to purchase a youth season pass during the summer.
• Increase program's marketing to the Newark Community.

Status:  New program released at the start of Spring 2022 programming.

The City has allocated the total sum of $250,000 to pay for two software programs, one that would provide greater accessibility for community development projects and one that would allow Newark residents to connect with City staff.

As to the first project, that involves implementing a community development module on the City’s website.  This would result in a streamlined permitting process, tracking of permit applications, and updates on code enforcement activities.

The second project would result in increased communication between the City staff and the public in that residents can use their phones to communicate with the City by either submitting texts or using an application to raise a number of concerns, such as trash on City property, garbage complaints, or code enforcement complaints. 

Status:  City staff is currently reviewing evaluating various software programs and will launch these applications hopefully later this year.

The City of Newark has allocated $10,000 to provide gift cards as a way to incentivize individuals to receive their COVID-19 vaccine at various community-hosted events. The City of Newark has partnered with Washington Hospital and Bay Area Community Health providers in hosting vaccination events at City-sponsored events. To date, the program has issued $9,115.48 in incentives which have provided  364 individuals with $25 gift cards.

Ash Street Head Start Building Conversion This project would provide for the renovation and conversion of an existing building near Ash Street Park for use as a Family Resource Center and home for the Promotores program.  This center would provide an initial point of access to any residents in need of social services.  Some services could be accessed directly at the center through third party social service providers or referrals could be made to other agencies, depending on the nature of the need.  The scope of work would include renovations to the existing restrooms and private office, new flooring for the entire building, ADA access improvements, new playground equipment, and other improvements. 

Status:  This project is currently under design with a target for completion in 2022.

 Programming Costs for Bilingual Preschool / Promotores Training and Teen Program

The bilingual preschool program serves approximately 20 students, ages 3-5. The program aims to provide an English language development curriculum in a supportive and nurturing preschool classroom. The bilingual program currently has 20 students registered with a growing waitlist. The program is hosted at the Silliman Activity Center.

The teen program involves trained Promotores staff conducting a teen leadership program at the Silliman Activity Center on Friday evenings. Teens gain confidence and develop leadership skills through group activities, art projects, field trips to cultural centers and recreational venues. Participants are primarily from disproportionately impacted areas within our community and those with limited access to resources. The teen program is currently recruiting program staff.

Promotores Leadership Training Program has and will continue to be a volunteer leadership program for Spanish-speaking community members. The program is led by qualified consultants who guide participants through an extensive training program designed to empower and equip parents with the skills, contacts, and confidence to engage positively with other community members. Promotores volunteers are now providing services and resources to community members who have limited access to social services and child development services.

• Status:  Staff is currently preparing to offer another Leadership Training Program for 2022.

The City of Newark has allocated $300,000 to be distributed to various Newark non-profit agencies within the next three years. The City acknowledges that many non-profit agencies have been unable to raise funds as a result of the pandemic and that the pandemic has caused disproportionate impacts on certain segments of our community. The City of Newark is preparing a Service Organization Needs Assessment Survey to help evaluate community partners' needs and seek information on how individual organizations would use these funds.

 Status:

• Survey Circulated:  Completed in Spring of 2022
• Review Survey Responses:  Ongoing
• Grant Program Application:  Issued in Fall of 2022
• Grant Award Announcement:  Late Fall of 2022

City Council assigned $100,000 to initiate a pilot façade improvement program for property and business owners in the Old Town neighborhood. The pilot program is Intended to address concerns of buildings and storefronts in the Old Town area that are outdated or poorly maintained. As envisioned, funds would be used to improve appearance and functionality, attract customers, increase revenues. The pilot program would reimburse 50% of project costs up to $15,000, once construction is complete.

Status:  The pilot program is under consideration. Once the draft program has been prepared, city staff will request that City Council review the program parameters and allocate specific funding. This could occur in mid-2022.

City Council assigned $150,000 over three years to develop and promote small businesses in the Old Town neighborhood and nearby areas. The funding would provide businesses with technical assistance and training on financial resiliency and planning, as well as marketing, networking, and other business resources. The City’s small business consultant, the Alameda County Small Business Development Center, and other resources would provide this assistance.

City Council recently approved the Old Town Specific plan that envisions significant infrastructure and streetscape improvements in the Old Town area including new sidewalks, landscaping, and pedestrian amenities. The assigned ARPA funds would help provide stability and business promotion during specific plan implementation and streetscape construction period.

Status:  On November 18, 2022, City Council adopted a funding resolution for small business consulting services in the Old Town area and budget allocations for business and marketing services that would begin before July 2022.

Implementation of the various projects identified in the City of Newark ARPA Recovery Plan will involve significant staff time.  In addition, the City will also incur costs from third-party consultants, particularly the evaluation and scoring of applications associated with the $1.5 million that has been allocated for small business grants.  In order to ensure the City’s General Fund is not impacted by implementation of these ARPA projects, the City Council allocated the sum of $100,000 to recover the City’s administrative costs.