In a letter dated July 15, 2021, Metrocrest Services made a request of the Town to support their Building Our Future capital campaign (Campaign). The letter was discussed by Council during the August 24, 2021 Council meeting. At that meeting, Council asked staff to provide a legal opinion on providing financial support to non-profit organizations, the actions taken by Carrollton, Coppell, and Farmers Branch in response to the Campaign request, and the return on investment of supporting non-profit organizations in the community. Staff will provide the requested information to Council for discussion.
Legal Opinion
The City Attorney's legal opinion is that Chapter 380 of the Texas Local Government Code allows the City Council to establish and provide for the administration of one or more programs, including programs for making loans and grants of public money to promote state or local economic development and stimulate business development within the local community. The City Council has established a local grant funding program pursuant to Section 380.001 of the Texas Local Government Code for making grants of public money to 503(c) nonprofit organizations, including Metrocrest Services, that provide support services for the local community that promote local economic development and stimulates business activity within the City.
The attached draft grant funding agreement provides for a reimbursement grant in connection with Metrocrest's Building Our Future capital campaign pursuant to the City's adopted 380 grant funding program requirements. If Council directs staff to do so, an agreement will be brought before Council for consideration at a future meeting.
Carrollton, Coppell, and Farmers Branch Council Actions
The actions taken by the City Councils of the three other cities asked to support the Campaign are as follows:
- The Carrollton City Council had not taken action when this agenda item was developed. Staff has been told the item is tentatively scheduled for a January 2022 meeting. If staff has additional information, it will be presented during the Council meeting.
- The Coppell City Council approved a Resolution supporting Metrocrest Services through a contribution of $80,000 toward the Campaign.
- The Farmers Branch City Council approved a Resolution supporting Metrocrest Services through a Community Support Facility Grant in an amount $560,000 to be used for the construction of a Community Support Facility (Metrocrest's new building).
Return on Investment of Supporting Metrocrest Services
For over 50 years, Metrocrest Services (Metrocrest) has provided a variety of programs for Addison residents such as a food pantry, job skills training, senior programs, and rent assistance. Addison sees direct and indirect returns on the investment made to support Metrocrest in fulfilling their mission.
Metrocrest Services has grown to serve more clients annually for the past decade with rapid growth due to the pandemic. The budgeted expenditures for Fiscal Year 2019, the last full pre-pandemic year, were $5,820,305 compared to $12,458,368 for Fiscal Year 2022 (a 114% increase). The number of Addison residents served by Metrocrest Services has increased from 990 in Fiscal Year 2019 to a projected 1,246 in Fiscal Year 2022 (a 26% increase). The $66,120 in annual support provided by the Town of Addison represents .5% of Metrocrest's Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Budget, and will cover approximately 14.6% (down from 25% - 30% pre-pandemic) of the costs to serve Addison residents. The cost for Metrocrest to serve Addison residents is in Fiscal Year 2022 will be approximately $450,000. Metrocrest leverages the Town's annual contribution by a multiple of almost 7. While Town staff did not attempt to calculate the estimated cost for the Town to replicate the services provided by Metrocrest, it is evident that it would be significantly more costly to provide these services in-house.
The $120,000 request for the Building Our Future Capital Campaign represents .7% of the total campaign budget and 1.1% of the construction only cost. The new facility will allow Metrocrest to eliminate the rent paid for their current location and further enhance their services to the community.
Metrocrest directly and indirectly benefits Addison families through their food pantry:
- When people have food to eat, they are better able to be active and engaged members of the community.
- Children and teenagers can grow properly when obtaining proper nutrition and are more likely to attend school.
- Adults have the nutrition needed to go to work and pay bills, afford necessities, and support their families.
- Seniors get the nutrition they need to stay healthy as they get older.
- Chronically ill and disabled people can get the additional nutrients they require and have dietary restrictions met without sacrificing their overall well-being.
- When low-income families are provided food, they have additional money to meet other basic needs.
Metrocrest directly and indirectly benefits Addison families through job skills training:
- Participants can obtain higher paying jobs and better support their families.
- Employers can hire better trained and more productive employees.
- The local economy improves as a result of the items above increased employment at higher wages.
Metrocrest directly and indirectly benefits Addison families through rent assistance to avoid evictions:
- Homelessness is reduced.
- Overcrowding caused by shared housing is decreased.
- Landlords are better able to maintain their properties when vacancies are avoided.
Metrocrest directly and indirectly benefits Addison families through senior programs:
- Seniors receive nutritious and healthy meals.
- Seniors receive regular contact from caring volunteers who look out for their well-being.
- Seniors are more connected and involved in the larger community.
In addition to these visible benefits, Metrocrest Services:
- Directly provides jobs in the community.
- Provides volunteer and networking opportunities.
- Contributes to a sense of community.
- Reduces the demand on public safety and other governmental resources.
- Prevents local governments from having to provide these services directly.
Metrocrest Services' planned Community Support Facility ($15.8M project) is slated to open in the spring of 2023 and is expected to see a significant increase in the number of Metrocrest residents served.
- Total Residents served is projected to increase from 12,806 in Fiscal Year 2019 (pre-pandemic) to a 40,331 in Fiscal Year 2023 (a 214% increase). Much of this increase will come from expanded food programs as well as more robust employment related programs.
- Total Nutritious Meal are projected to increase from 664,045 meals served in Fiscal Year 2019 to a projected 5,492,741 in Fiscal Year 2023 (a 727% increase). This increase is partly due to the new location's proximity to the communities with the greatest need as well as the launch of a mobile food pantry to serve pockets of poverty, especially in Carrollton and Farmers Branch.
- The new facility will allow for an expansion of employment programs, educational/training opportunities, and regular access to other on site services such as domestic violence counseling
Due to the pandemic and the expansion of existing services such as Workforce/Employment/Training, Metrocrest expects the number of Addison residents served in Fiscal Year 2023 to grow to 1,500+ annually. |