Title
Approval of the Neighborhood Block Watch Oversight Committee's Recommendations for the 2024 Grant Program Awards
Description
This report requests the Public Safety and Justice Committee recommend City Council approval of the recommendations from the Neighborhood Block Watch Grant Program (NBWGP) Oversight Committee to fund 157 grant applications for the 2024 grant cycle. This report also includes an update on the gated alley and gated wash program support by Neighborhood Block Watch funds.
THIS ITEM IS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
Report
Summary
The NBWGP Oversight Committee was established to solicit, evaluate, and recommend to the Mayor and City Council appropriate proposals to expend funds for the expansion of the Block Watch programs within the limits of the Neighborhood Protection Ordinance. This ordinance, known as Proposition 301, was adopted at a special election on October 5, 1993. The City Council adopted the format and guidelines for this process on April 26, 1994. The NBWGP program is administered by the Police Department.
The 2024 NBWGP grant application process opened on Nov. 1, 2023 and closed on Dec. 7, 2023. The NBWGP Oversight Committee scored the grant applications based on the following criteria: Crime Prevention/Quality of Life Factors for 50 percent, Budget Evaluation for 20 percent, Community Involvement for 20 percent, and Project Viability/Feasibility/Ability to Complete the Project for 10 percent.
A total of 165 grant applications were received. Of those evaluated, 157 applications are recommended for funding by the Oversight Committee totaling $1,897,632. Eight applications are not recommended for funding. All eight applications not recommended to receive funding scored below the minimum requirement of 5.25 out of ten (10) points for various reasons to include lack of neighborhood participation, lack of documentation or requesting items the grant does not cover.
On April 4, 2024, the Oversight Committee voted to fund 157 applicants (8 in favor, 1 opposed, 0 in conflict, 0 abstained). See Attachment A for a full list of the 165 grant applications.
The Oversight Committee also voted (8 in favor, 1 opposed, 0 in conflict, 0 abstained) to recommend to increase funding for the Neighborhood Block Watch Program from $1,750,000 to $2,000,000 annually. The program’s fund balance allows for the recommended increase.
Gated Alley Program and Gated Wash Program Update
In November 2023, the Phoenix City Council approved an appropriation of up to $2.2 million from the Block Watch Fund for the gated alley program, gated wash program, and additional signage. The appropriation has been used to deter criminal activity, enhance public safety and improve quality-of-life within neighborhoods by funding additional alley segment gates, gated washes/culverts and the installation of "No Trespassing" or other relevant signage. The appropriation was allocated based on the following:
- Up to $750,000 for the gated alley program
- Up to $1,250,000 for the gated washes program
- Up to $200,000 for additional signage
Staff from Neighborhood Services, Street Transportation, Police, Public Works, and Fire departments, and from the Office of Homeless Solutions collaborated with Council Offices and reviewed PHX CARES reports to identity washes and potential alley segments with reported issues.
Coordinated teams of the multi-department effort met to prioritize the potential alley segments in each Police Precinct. NSD and Public Works staff then further reviewed the alley segments for eligibility based on alley layout and access requirements, ultimately identifying a total of 59 prioritized and eligible alley segments with 143 total gates due to many segments requiring more than two gates. Of the 59 prioritized alley segments, 20 alley segments were already in some stage of the application process to be gated through GAP’s standard request process. The new funding helped move 18 of these segments forward for gating more quickly, with installation anticipated by the end of April 2024. Two segments required additional community engagement and are anticipated to be gated by the end of June 2024. Attachment B provides an overview of the Block Watch funded Gated Alley Program segments.
For the remaining 39 alley segments, NSD used an expedited process by sending certified letters informing them of the City’s intention to provide gates, and requesting their feedback if they had any concerns. NSD sent a total of 1,163 letters. The majority received no or very few contacts in opposition. However, one segment did raise a significant number of resident concerns, and once the team reviewed the concerns, agreed with the alley would not be an optimal alley for gating. Another segment was identified to replace that segment, and staff is finalizing the expedited process for that segment. The new segment requires one additional gate, bringing the total gates to 144. NSD estimates all gate installation to be completed by June 2024.
In January, Street Transportation staff began working with two contractors for the installation of culvert gates. As of April 2024, work has been successfully completed at seven locations, distributed across the following Council Districts:
- Council District 1: Two locations
- Council District 2: One location
- Council District 3: Four locations
Attachment C provides an overview of the Block Watch funded Gated Wash Program installations.
Contract Term
The award period is July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.
Financial Impact
No matching funds are required.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays and the Neighborhood Services, Street Transportation, and Police departments.