COVID-19 RESOURCES FOR COMMUNITIES

The Division of Community and Regional Affairs is available to provide advice and assistance to municipalities and communities attempting to deal with the current COVID-19 emergency. Below you will find several resources and documents which might help, as well as a list of Frequently Asked Questions. If you would like to contact your Local Government Specialist for further assistance, please click the DCRA ARCGIS website.

DCRA-ARPA Local Government Lost Revenue (LGLR) Relief Program

The Alaska legislature appropriated $50 million from the State’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) COVID State and Local Fiscal Recovery funds toward a local government relief grant program to promote economic recovery and continuity of government services to local governments that experienced revenue loss due to COVID-19, to be administered by the State of Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, Division of Community and Regional Affairs.

DCRA-ARPA Local Government Lost Revenue (LGLR) Relief Program

2nd Cycle Community Development Block Grant – Coronavirus (CDBG-CV)

Currently DCRA is preparing to distribute funds from the Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant - Coronavirus (CDBG-CV). This allocation was authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). These funds are to be used for community development projects including building and improvements of public facilities. CDBG-CV projects must prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus and benefit low and moderate income persons.

Any Alaskan municipal government is eligible to apply for CDBG-CV grants. Non-profits may apply as co-applicants for these pass-through funds. CDBG-CV grants are single-purpose project grants with a maximum of $850,000 per community. Approximately $4 million is available for competitive grants for the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 20 Grant Cycle. Awards are expected to be made in Summer 2022.

2nd Cycle of Federal Fiscal Year 2020 application materials are available below:

Note: the following documents must be viewed and printed with Adobe Acrobat. If this application is not already on your system, you can download a copy of this application free at: Adobe Acrobat READER.

ATTENTION: You MUST download the PDF to your computer BEFORE you begin filling it in to save your information. Application documents are provided as fillable PDF forms. Some sections are limited by the number of characters and additional pages will be necessary.

• 2nd Cycle CDBG-CV FFY20 Letter of Introduction
• 2nd Cycle CDBG-CV FFY 2020 – Application Instructions
• 2nd Cycle CDBG-CV FFY 2020 – Application
• 2nd Cycle CDBG-CV FFY 2020 – Appendix Materials
• 2nd Cycle CDBG-CV FFY 2020 – Appendix Material Fillable Forms
• 2nd Cycle CDBG-CV FFY 2020 – Notice of Intent to Submit CDBG-CV Application
• 2nd Cycle CDBG-CV FFY 2020 – Application Training Flier

CDBG-CV Application Useful links

• CDBG-CV Notice, Federal Register Publication (Docket No. FR-6218-N-01)
• Davis-Bacon Wage Labor Requirements
• Environmental Review Procedures, 24 CFR Part 58
• Section 3 Reporting, Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968
• U.S System for Award Management - Sam.gov
• Dun & Bradstreet Request Service

For more information about CDBG-CV Grants contact:

Division of Community and Regional Affairs
Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development
Location: Anchorage
Phone: (907) 269-7906
e-mail:CAA@alaska.gov

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)

DCRA will be administering several pots of ARPA funds. Please stay tuned for more details.

Currently DCRA is preparing to distribute Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to local governments per the U.S. Treasury guidance for smaller cities, typically those with a population less than 50,000, that will receive ARPA funds through the state. These cities are referred to as non-entitlement units of local government (NEUs) in the guidance found here: US Treasury Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund for NEU

With the passage of HB69, the state requested a 30-day extension anticipating distribution of funds to NEUs beginning in late July.

To facilitate timely distribution, DCRA is posting the following documents for NEUs to complete and return as soon as possible to DCRA.ARPA@alaska.gov:

• NEU Resolution Accepting ARPA Funds
• NEU Resolution Declining ARPA Funds
• Appendix A: Award Terms and Conditions Agreement
• Appendix B: NEU Financial Institution Information
• Appendix C: Agreed Terms
• Appendix D: Assurances of Compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Appendix E: Total NEU Budget Certificate

Each NEU will receive their individual Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recover Fund Agreement from DCRA

For additional information, check these links:

• ARPA Funds to Non-Entitlement Units (NEUs) of Local Government Fact Sheet
• Alaska ARPA information

CARES Funding Tracker

COVID-19 Relief Fund

Allowable expenses for these federal funds have been extended to December 31, 2021. If you have already been awarded these funds and have any questions, please contact resourcedesk@alaska.gov. If you have not yet accessed your allocated funds, please email resourcedesk@alaska.gov urgently to get started.

FEMA has recently expanded eligible reimbursable activities, and expenses may be covered retroactively beginning January 2020. If you have CARES expenses which qualify for the FEMA funding, you may reallocate expenses from CARES to FEMA (though you may not double-claim your expenses). More information is available online, or you can contact your Local Government Specialist; or email 2020_covid-19@ak-prepared.com.

• COVID-19 Community Funding for Testing & Vaccination Projects
  
• Extension Amendment - CARES Act Fund to Communities
• CARES Act Fund to Communities: How to Get Your Money
• DCRA Grant Guidance For Local Governments 09-01-2020
• COVID-19 Relief Fund Information
• US Treasury Coronavirus Relief Fund FAQ 10-19-2020
• US Treasury-Coronavirus-Relief-Fund-Guidance 09-02-2020
• COVID-19 Community Grant Agreement
• Coronavirus Relief Fund Monthly Expenditures Reporting Form – 8-28-2020
• Coronavirus Relief Fund Online Monthly Expense Reporting Form
• Coronavirus Relief Funds Resolution for non-Tribal Entities
• Coronavirus Relief Funds Resolution for Tribal Entities
• Tracking CARES Act funding in QuickBooks

More information can be found at the The State of Alaska’s main Covid-19 website. .

For updates on State of Alaska COVID-19 News and Resources visit the Governor’s COVID-19 News Page and the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services COVID-19 Information Page

Additional Community Resources and Contacts

• 2021-09-27 Memo Open Meetings Act and COVID-19
• Department of Health and Social Services Safe Travels App
  
• COVID-19 AND MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
• A printable guide to useful COVID-19 resources and links for communities is available.
• The State of Alaska Department of Transportation Critical Infrastructure Worker Mitigation Plan.
• The Alaska Municipal League (AML) is collecting municipal emergency declarations, policies, actions, and other resources to see what they’ve collected and find samples to create your own.
• If your municipal has declared an emergency or a disaster, please send your documentation to the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHS&EM) at: 2020_covid-19@ak-prepared.com
• Sample emergency declaration.
• Please visit the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for more information on disaster declarations.

Economic Resources:

• For economic recovery resources for business visit the Alaska Department of Commerce site.
• Rural Tribal COVID-19 Response Program Grant Opportunity, expiring May 6, 2020:
• USDA COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide
• COVID Economic Relief Resources (compiled by DCRA Staff)

Revised 05/06/2023