To: Board of Supervisors
From: Public Works
Agenda Section: Consent
Vote Requirement: Majority
SUBJECT:
title
Resolution Authorizing the Humboldt County Department of Public Works to Accept and Administer $362,049 in Grant Funding Made Available Through the California Coastal Conservancy for the “Supporting Rural Wildfire Resiliency with Lidar Derivatives Project”
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Adopt the attached resolution authorizing the Humboldt County Department of Public Works Director, or a designee thereof, to accept and administer, on behalf of the North Coast Resource Partnership, grant funding made available through the California Coastal Conservancy for the “Supporting Rural Wildfire Resiliency with Lidar Derivatives Project” following review and approval from County Counsel, County Administrative Office, and Risk Management.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
California Coastal Conservancy Grant Funds
DISCUSSION:
The North Coast Resource Partnership (“NCRP”) was initiated in 2004 as a water management collaborative between the counties of Humboldt, Sonoma, Modoc, Mendocino, Trinity, Del Norte and Siskiyou. The NCRP is now a successful coalition of north coast counties and tribes that have successfully worked together to leverage over $190 million in grants and matching contributions to support water and wastewater infrastructure, water resource, climate change adaptation, and wildfire resilience projects throughout the North Coast Region. The NCRP is governed by a Leadership Council (“LC”) comprised of appointees selected by and from over 30 Tribes in the region as well as county boards of supervisors. In 2005, the NCRP LC designated the County of Humboldt as the Regional Contract Administrator on behalf of the NCRP. Humboldt County is currently represented on the NCRP LC by Supervisors Steve Madrone and Rex Bohn with Supervisor Natalie Arroyo serving as an alternate member. As members of the NCRP LC, these Supervisors will provide oversight and guidance as the project described below is completed. Visit the NCRP Homepage, at northcoastresourcepartnership.org, for more information about this collaborative.
On Mar. 4, 2024, the County Administrative Office authorized Natural Resources Planning staff to apply, on behalf of the NCRP, to the Coastal Conservancy, for grant funds for the “Supporting Rural Wildfire Resiliency with Lidar Derivatives Project”. A grant to support the proposed project was authorized by the Coastal Conservancy Board during their meeting of Apr. 18, 2024 (award letter provided in Attachment 1). The central objective of this project is to leverage previously and recently collected north coast lidar data to create a unified point cloud and consistent derivative datasets for the 16.4 million acres of the region. Lidar point clouds are detailed 3-dimensional measurements of topography and land cover such as buildings and vegetation. However, lidar point clouds alone are not readily usable, especially if the point clouds are derived from disparate data sets, as is the case on the north coast. This proposal seeks to leverage existing and the recent $7 million lidar point cloud collection (funded by the United States Geological Survey, California Resources Agency, and local county partners on the north coast) by harmonizing the data sets and creating 1-meter raster derivatives across nine counties to provide land managers and the public with unhindered access to ‘best available’ datasets for vegetation structure (e.g., vegetation height, vegetation density, ladder fuels) and topography (e.g. slope, aspect, elevation). The proposal includes the development of easy-to-use data access tools, education and outreach programs, as well as workshops to instruct county, Tribal, NGO, state, and federal users on incorporating the data sets into their wildfire planning and management activities.
In its role as the Regional Contract Administrator for the NCRP, the administration of funds, such as those offered through this program, is the responsibility of the County of Humboldt, Public Works Natural Resources Planning division. Staff is now requesting that the Board adopt the attached resolution (Attachment 2) authorizing the Humboldt County Public Works Director, or a designee thereof, to accept and administer this funding for the “Supporting Rural Wildfire Resiliency with Lidar Derivatives Project”.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
|
Expenditures (1720289) |
FY23-24 |
FY24-25 Projected* |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$5,000.00 |
$357,049.00 |
|
Total Expenditures |
$5,000.00 |
$357,049.00 |
*Projected amounts are estimates and are subject to change.
|
Funding Sources (1720289 4510) |
FY23-24 |
FY24-25 Projected* |
|
State Funds |
$5,000.00 |
$357,049.00 |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$5,000.00 |
$357,049.00 |
*Projected amounts are estimates and are subject to change.
Narrative Explanation of Financial Impact:
Acceptance of this grant award will bring $362,049 of state funding into the North Coast Region for analysis that will support rural wildfire resiliency planning. There are sufficient appropriations in the current Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Natural Resources Planning budget unit 1720-289 to support project activities through the end of the Fiscal Year. A future agenda item will transmit a Fiscal Year 2024-2025 supplemental budget request to increase appropriations as appropriate in the Natural Resources Planning budget unit 1720-289. The expense of preparing this agenda item and other associated administrative tasks is covered by other NCRP planning grant sources already budgeted for in the Natural Resources Planning budget unit 1720-289.
STAFFING IMPACT:
Securing this new multiyear grant revenue will help maintain current Department of Public Works - Natural Resources Planning staffing levels. Activities planned through this funding will complement and expand upon existing programs currently funded through other grants, some of which will be expiring during the term of this new grant. The workload will be adjusted as needed among current staff and monitored on an ongoing basis. The need for additional personnel is not projected.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This action supports the following areas of your Board’s Strategic Framework.
Core Roles: Create opportunities for improved safety and health
New Initiatives: Build interjurisdictional and regional cooperation
Strategic Plan: N/A
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The member Counties and Tribal Nations of the North Coast Resource Partnership
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board may choose not to take the recommended action. However, this alternative is not recommended because of the local, regional, and tribal benefits that could be gained with the development of these lidar derivatives to support wildfire response, recovery, and prevention planning, among other applications.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Award Letter Coastal Conservancy LIDAR Grant.
2. Resolution Re Coastal Conservancy LIDAR Grant.
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: N/A
Meeting of: N/A
File No.: N/A