To: Board of Supervisors
From: Planning and Building Department
SUBJECT:
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Second Amendment to Professional Service Agreement with LACO
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RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors authorize the Director of Planning and Building to sign the second amendment to increase the agreement with LACO by $400,000.
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SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Cannabis application fees.
DISCUSSION:
Before you today is a request to increase the existing professional service agreement with LACO. Ongoing efforts to move cannabis applications forward has required more time than anticipated, although significant process improvements have been made. LACO works in-house playing a pivotal role in facilitating application progress, including project evaluation and staff report writing. The current agreement is for $600,000 and over the past 14 months LACO has been paid $560,000. By the end of September, LACO is likely to exceed the original contract amount.
This second amendment increases the agreement amount from $600,000 to a total of $1,000,000, which does not commit the county to expending that amount of money, but allows the department to spend up to that amount.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no cost to the General Fund, because applicant fees pay for the cost of consultants. Sufficient funds have been budgeted in 1100 268 Cannabis Planning.
This supports the Board’s Strategic Framework by proactively evaluating the environmental effects of cannabis projects to ensure that they meet the applicable laws and regulations.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
There are no other agencies involved in the contract work.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
This amendment gives the Department the flexibility to devote resources to processing applications in the most expeditious manner. Any reduction in consultant capacity would reduce the Department’s ability to complete applications. The Board could choose not to amend the contract with LACO in which case the workload would then fall to staff who are also currently working at maximum capacity.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A - Draft Amendment
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: C-17, C-10
Meeting of: June 6, 2017 and March 6, 2018