Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for Section 514 Farm Labor Housing Loans and Section 516 Farm Labor Housing Grants for Off-Farm Housing for Fiscal Year 2002

AGENCY:

Rural Housing Service (RHS), USDA.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This NOFA announces the timeframe to submit applications for section 514 Farm Labor Housing loan funds and section 516 Farm Labor Housing grant funds for new construction and acquisition and rehabilitation of off-farm units for farmworker households. Applications may also include requests for section 521 rental assistance (RA) and operating assistance for migrant units. This document describes the method used to distribute funds, the application process, and submission requirements.

DATES:

The closing deadline for receipt of all applications in response to this NOFA is 5 p.m., local time for each Rural Development State office on May 28, 2002. The application closing deadline is firm as to date and hour. RHS will not consider any application that is received after the closing deadline. Applicants intending to mail applications must provide sufficient time to permit delivery on or before the closing deadline date and time. Acceptance by the United States Postal Service or private mailer does not constitute delivery. Facsimile (FAX) and postage due applications will not be accepted.

ADDRESSES:

Applicants wishing to apply for assistance must contact the Rural Development State office serving the place in which they desire to locate off-farm labor housing to receive further information and copies of the application package. Rural Development will date and time stamp incoming applications to evidence timely receipt, and, upon request, will provide the applicant with a written acknowledgment of receipt. A listing of Rural Development State offices, their addresses, telephone numbers, and person to contact follows:

Note:

Telephone numbers listed are not toll-free.

Alabama State Office, Suite 601, Sterling Center, 4121 Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 36106-3683, (334) 279-3455, TDD (334) 279-3495, James B. Harris

Alaska State Office, 800 West Evergreen, Suite 201, Palmer, AK 99645, (907) 761-7740, TDD (1-907-786-7786, Deborah Davis

Arizona State Office, Phoenix Corporate Center, 3003 N. Central Ave., Suite 900, Phoenix, AZ 85012-2906, (602) 280-8706, TDD (602) 280-8770, Johnna Vargas

Arkansas State Office, 700 W. Capitol Ave., Rm. 3416, Little Rock, AR 72201-3225, (501) 301-3250, TDD (501) 301-3279, Clinton King

California State Office, 430 G Street, Agency 4169, Davis, CA 95616-4169, (530) 792-5819, TDD (530) 792-5848, Jeff Deis

Colorado State Office, 655 Parfet Street, Room E100, Lakewood, CO 80215, (303) 236-2801 (ext. 124), TDD (303) 236-1590, Mary Summerfield

Connecticut

Served by Massachusetts State Office

Delaware & Maryland State Office, 5201 South Dupont Highway, PO Box 400, Camden, DE 19934-9998, (302) 697-4353, TDD (302) 697-4303, Pat Baker

Florida & Virgin Islands State Office, 4440 N.W. 25th Place, PO Box 147010, Gainesville, FL 32614-7010, (352) 338-3465, TDD (352) 338-3499, Joseph P. Fritz

Georgia State Office, Stephens Federal Building, 355 E. Hancock Avenue, Athens, GA 30601-2768, (706) 546-2164, TDD (706) 546-2034, Wayne Rogers

Guam

Served by Hawaii State Office

Hawaii, Guam, & Western Pacific Territories State Office, Room 311, Federal Building, 154 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, HI 96720, (808) 933-8309, TDD (808) 933-8321, Thao Khamoui

Idaho State Office, Suite A1, 9173 West Barnes Dr., Boise, ID 83709, (208) 378-5628, TDD (208) 378-5644, LaDonn McElligott

Illinois State Office, 2118 W. Park Ct. Suite A, Champaign, IL 6821-2986, (217) 403-6222, TDD (217) 403-6240, Barry L. Ramsey

Indiana State Office, 5975 Lakeside Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46278, (317) 290-3100 (ext. 423), TDD (317) 290-3343, John Young

Iowa State Office, 873 Federal Building, 210, Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309, (515) 284-4666, TDD (515) 284-4858, Julie Sleeper

Kansas State Office, 1303 SW First American Place, Suite 100, Topeka, KS 66604-4040, (785) 271-2721, TDD (785) 271-2767, Virginia M. Hammersmith

Kentucky State Office, 771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200, Lexington, KY 40503, (606) 224-7300, TDD (606) 224-7422, Paul Higgins

Louisiana State Office, 3727 Government Street, Alexandria, LA 71302, (318) 473-7962, TDD (318) 473-7655, Yvonne R. Emerson

Maine State Office, 444 Stillwater Ave., Suite 2, PO Box 405, Bangor, ME 04402-0405, (207) 990-9110, TDD (207) 942-7331, Michael Grondin

Maryland

Served by Delaware State Office

Massachusetts, Connecticut, & Rhode Island State Office, 451 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002, (413) 253-4333, TDD (413) 253-4590, Donald Colburn

Michigan State Office, 3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200, East Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324-5192, TDD (517) 337-6795, Philip Wolak

Minnesota State Office, 410 AgriBank Building, 375 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55101-1853, (651) 602-7804, TDD (651) 602-7830, Joyce Vondal

Mississippi State Office, Federal Building, Suite 831, 100 W. Capitol Street, Jackson, MS 39269, (601) 965-4325, TDD (601) 965-5850, Darnella Smith-Murray

Missouri State Office, 1201 Business Loop 70 West, Parkade Center, Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 876-0990, TDD (573) 876-9480, Charles H. Marcks

Montana State Office, Unit 1, Suite B, 900 Technology Blvd., Bozeman, MT 59715, (406) 585-2518, TDD (406) 585-2562, Craig Hildreth

Nebraska State Office, Federal Building, room 152, 100 Centennial Mall N, Lincoln, NE 68508, (402) 437-5567, TDD (402) 437-5093, Phil Willnerd

Nevada State Office, 1390 South Curry Street, Carson City, NV 89703-9910, (775) 887-1222 (ext. 13), TDD (775) 885-0633, William L. Brewer

New Hampshire State Office, Concord Center, Suite 218, Box 317, 10 Ferry Street, Concord, NH 03301-5004, (603) 223-6046, TDD (603) 229-0536, Jim Fowler

New Jersey State Office, Tarnsfield Plaza, Suite 22, 790 Woodland Road, Mt. Holly, NJ 08060, (609) 265-3636, TDD (609) 265-3687, George Hyatt, Jr.

New Mexico State Office, 6200 Jefferson St., NE, Room 255, Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 761-4944, TDD (505) 761-4938, Carmen N. Lopez

New York State Office, The Galleries of Syracuse, 441 S. Salina Street, Suite 357, Syracuse, NY 13202, (315) 477-6419, TDD (315) 477-6447, George N. Von Pless

North Carolina State Office, 4405 Bland Road, Suite 2120, Raleigh, NC 271209, (919) 873-2066, TDD (919) 873-2003, Terry Strole

North Dakota State Office, Federal Building, Room 208, 220 East Rosser, PO Box 1737, Bismarck, ND 58502, (701) 530-2049, TDD (701) 530-2113, Kathy Lake

Ohio State Office, Federal Building, Room 507, 200 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215-2477, (614) 255-2418, TDD (614) 255-2554, Melodie Taylor

Oklahoma State Office, 100 USDA, Suite 108, Stillwater, OK 74074-2654, (405) 742-1070, TDD (405) 742-1007, Phil Reimers

Oregon State Office, 101 SW Main, Suite 1410, Portland, OR 97204-3222, (503) 414-3325, TDD (503) 414-3387, Margo Donelin

Pennsylvania State Office, One Credit Union Place, Suite 330, Harrisburg, PA 17110-2996, (717) 237-2281, TDD (717) 237-2261, Gary Rothrock

Puerto Rico State Office, New San Juan Office Bldg., Room 501, 159 Carlos E. Chardon Street, Hato Rey, PR 00918-5481, (787) 766-5095 (ext. 254), TDD 1-800-274-1572, Lourdes Colon

Rhode Island

Served by Massachusetts State Office

South Carolina State Office, Strom Thurmond Federal Building, 1835 Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, SC 29201, (803) 253-3432, TDD (803) 765-5697, Larry D. Floyd

South Dakota State Office, Federal Building, Room 210, 200 Fourth Street, SW, Huron, SD 57350, (605) 352-1132, TDD (605) 352-1147, Dwight Wullweber

Tennessee State Office, Suite 300, 3322 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203-1084, (615) 783-1300, TDD (615) 783-1397, G. Benson Lasater

Texas State Office, Federal Building, Suite 102, 101 South Main, Temple, TX 76501, (254) 742-9755, TDD (254) 742-9712, Eugene G. Pavlat

Utah State Office, Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, 125 S. State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake City, UT 84147-0350, (801) 524-4324, TDD (801) 524-3309, Robert L. Milianta

Vermont State Office, City Center, 3rd Floor 89 Main Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828-6028, TDD (802) 223-6365, Sandra Mercier

Virgin Islands

Served by Florida State Office

Virginia State Office, Culpeper Building, Suite 238, 1606 Santa Rosa Road, Richmond, VA 23229, (804) 287-1547, TDD (804) 287-1753, Eileen Nowlin

Washington State Office, 1011 East Main St., Suite 306, Puyallup, WA 98372-6771, (253) 845-9272 X114, TDD (360) 704-7760, Robert Lund

Western Pacific Territories

Served by Hawaii State Office

West Virginia State Office, Federal Building, 75 High Street, Room 320, Morgantown, WV 26505-7500, (304) 284-4889, TDD (304) 284-4836, Craig St. Clair

Wisconsin State Office, 4949 Kirschiling Court, Stevens Point, WI 54481, (715) 345-7620 (ext. 7145), TDD (715) 345-7614, Sherry Engel

Wyoming State Office, 100 East B, Federal Building, Room 1005, PO Box 820, Casper, WY 82602, (307) 261-6315, TDD (307) 261-6333, Charles Huff

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For general information, applicants may contact Mary Fox, Senior Loan Specialist or David Layfield, Senior Loan Specialist, of the Multi-Family Housing Processing Division, Rural Housing Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Stop 0781, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, 20250, telephone (202) 720-1624 or (202) 690-0759 (voice) (this is not a toll free number) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD-Federal Information Relay Service).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Programs Affected

The Farm Labor Housing Program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance under Number 10.405, Farm Labor Housing Loans and Grants. Rental Assistance is listed in the Catalog under Number 10.427, Rural Rental Assistance Payments.

Definitions

Farm Labor. Farm labor includes services in connection with cultivating the soil, raising or harvesting any agriculture or aquaculture commodity; or in catching, netting, handling, planting, drying, packing, grading, storing, or preserving in its unmanufactured state any agriculture or aquaculture commodity; or delivering to storage, market, or a carrier for transportation to market or to process any agricultural or aquacultural commodity.

Migrant Agricultural Laborers. Agricultural laborers and family dependents who establish a temporary residence while performing agriculture work at one or more locations away from the place they call home or home base. (This does not include day-haul agricultural workers whose travels are limited to work areas within one day of their work locations.)

Off-Farm Labor Housing. Housing for farm laborers regardless of the farm where they work.

Discussion of Notice

I. Authority and Distribution Methodology

A. Authority

The Farm Labor Housing program is authorized by the Housing Act of 1949: Section 514 (42 U.S.C. 1484) for loans and section 516 (42 U.S.C. 1486) for grants. Tenant subsidies (rental assistance (RA)) are available through section 521 (42 U.S.C. 1490a). Sections 514 and 516 provide RHS the authority to make loans and grants for financing off-farm housing to broad-based nonprofit organizations, nonprofit organizations of farmworkers, federally recognized Indian tribes, agencies or political subdivisions of State or local government, public agencies (such as local housing authorities) and with section 514 loans to nonprofit limited partnerships in which the general partner is a nonprofit entity.

B. Distribution Methodology

Because RHS has the ability to adjust loan and grant levels, final loan and grant levels will fluctuate. The estimated funds available for fiscal year (FY) 2002 for off-farm housing are: Section 514 loans, $22,459,099; Section 516 grants, $13,967,000.

C. Section 514 and Section 516 Funds

Section 514 loan funds and section 516 grant funds will be distributed to States based on a national competition, as follows:

1. States will accept, review, and score requests in accordance with 7 CFR part 1944, subpart D. The scoring factors are:

(a) The presence and extent of leveraged assistance, including donated land, for the units that will serve program-eligible tenants, calculated as a percentage of the RHS total development cost (TDC). RHS TDC excludes non-RHS eligible costs such as a developer's fee. Leveraged assistance includes, but is not limited to, funds for hard construction costs, section 8 or other non-RHS tenant subsidies, and state or federal funds. A minimum of ten percent leveraged assistance is required to earn points; however, if the total percentage of leveraged assistance is less than ten percent and the proposal includes donated land, two points will be awarded for the donated land. Points will be awarded in accordance with the following table. (0 to 20 points)

(b) Seasonal, temporary, migrant housing. (5 points for up to and including 50 percent of the units; 10 points for 51 percent or more.)

(c) The selection criteria contained in 7 CFR 1944, Subpart D includes one optional criteria set by the National Office. This fiscal year, the National office initiative will be used in the selection criteria as follows:

Up to 10 points will be awarded based on the presence of and extent to which a tenant services plan exists that clearly outlines services that will be provided to the residents of the proposed project. These services may include but are not limited to: transportation related services, on-site English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, move-in funds, emergency assistance funds, homeownership counseling, food pantries, after school tutoring, and computer learning centers. Two points will be awarded for each resident service included in the tenant services plan up to a maximum of 10 points. Plans must detail how the services are to be administered, who will administer them, and where they will be administered. All tenant service plans must include letters of intent that clearly state the service that will be provided at the project for the benefit of the residents from any party administering each service, including the applicant. (0 to 10 points)

2. States will conduct preliminary eligibility review, score applications, and forward to the National Office.

3. The National office will rank all requests nationwide and distribute funds to States in rank order, within funding and RA limits. If insufficient funds or RA remain for the next ranked proposal, the Agency will select the next ranked proposal that falls within the remaining levels. In case of point-score ties in the National ranking, first preference will be given to a preapplication to develop units in a state that does not have existing RHS-financed off-farm LH units; second preference to a preapplication will be from a State that has not yet been selected in the current funding cycle. In the event there are multiple preapplications in either category, one preapplication from each State (the highest State-ranked) will compete by computer-based random lottery. If necessary, the process will be completed until all same-pointed preapplications are selected or funds are exhausted.

II. Funding Limits

A. Individual requests may not exceed $3 million (total loan and grant).

B. No State may receive more than 30 percent of the total available funds unless an exception is granted from the Administrator.

C. Rental Assistance and Operating Assistance will be held in the National Office for use with section 514 loans and section 516 grants and will be awarded based on each project's financial structure and need.

III. Application Process

All applications for sections 514 and 516 funds must be filed with the appropriate Rural Development State office and must meet the requirements of 7 CFR part 1944, subpart D, and section IV of this NOFA. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed and will be returned to the applicant. No application will be accepted after 5 pm, local time, on May 28, 2002, unless date and time is extended by another Notice published in the Federal Register.

IV. Application Submission Requirements

A. Each application shall include all of the information, materials, forms and exhibits required by 7 CFR part 1944, subpart D, as well as comply with the provisions of this NOFA. Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to include a checklist and to have their applications indexed and tabbed to facilitate the review process. The Rural Development State office will base its determination of completeness of the application and the eligibility of each applicant on the information provided in the application.

B. Applicants are advised to contact the Rural Development State office serving the place in which they desire to submit an application for application information.