By james art 
More than $ 3.5 million, administered by the city of Santa Fe, are available to organizations working to help fight the city’s housing crisis, but candidates have just over two weeks to make and submit their money proposals.
City authorities announced last week that they are looking for requests for project proposals designed to reduce housing costs at affordable prices or to help residents become homeowners.
The city’s home office at affordable prices has about $ 3 million to award from the housing fund, along with $ 600,000 from the Federal Development Community Grant Program. Applicants have until 3 pm February 14 to submit proposals.
Johanna Nelson, temporarily acting director of the city office for accessible housing, said there was no restriction except the amount of funding available, the monetary amount of the proposal. The city uses the request for a proposal process to discard the money in both programs, so each application must comply with specific instructions and state laws related to orders. This means that the details are important, she said.
“There are many steps,” Nelson said. “But going through the RFP process adds another level of protection to make sure everyone gets a honest game.”
After the city authorities conducted and reviewed proposals and subsequent interviews with the candidates, the Community Development Commission will evaluate the results of the projects and make recommendations to the municipal council, to which organizations should receive the money.
Nelson said the process usually takes several months to unfold, which means that candidates can know until early spring whether their proposals are successful.
“We expect to have a healthy set of candidates,” she said, noting that Santa Fe is fortunate to have so many organizations that are trying to solve the problem of homes at affordable prices. “This is always a healthy competition.”
Applicants should follow the city’s offer to the letter, Nelson stressed, as incomplete proposals will not be taken into account.
Two virtual training sessions were scheduled on Monday to help candidates navigate the offer, she added. The events are recorded and are available for viewing, the city said in a news message. Each session was expected to last approximately 90 minutes.
In addition, members of the public procurement team in the city will be available to answer questions and help candidates fill out their proposals, Nelson said.
She expects proposals to include some creative potential solutions to the housing crisis.
“We are really optimistic,” she said.