To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Headwaters Fund Board’s Recommended 2020-21 Grant Fund Awards for the Jan. 15, 2021 Grant Round
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve the slate of Grant Fund Competitive Awards recommended for approval by the Headwaters Fund Board (HFB); and
2. Authorize the Chair of the Board to sign the grant agreements when completed, after review and approval by County Counsel and Risk Management.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Headwaters Grant Fund (3848)
Headwaters Liquidity Fund (3847)
DISCUSSION:
Background
On Jul. 15, 2003, your Board approved the Headwaters Grant Fund Manual (revised Nov. 15, 2019) that details the process for awarding Competitive Awards as follows:
• The HFB will recommend a slate of grants to be funded for Board of Supervisor approval. HFB decisions on grants cannot be appealed by applicants [Grant Fund Manual section 11.b.iii].
• Your Board will use a majority vote to approve the entire slate presented by the HFB. Your Board may not add projects to the slate being approved but may recommend additional review of individual projects. Upon majority vote, your Board may pull one or more projects from the slate and approve the remaining slate of projects. Supervisors would refer pulled projects back to the HFB and staff with questions and comments. Staff and HFB would respond to your Board’s comments on any pulled projects. After your Board receives this response, your Board would approve or deny individually pulled projects according to a majority vote. Your Board decision on grants cannot be appealed by applicants.
The HFB and staff conducted a financial analysis of the Grant Fund to determine an allocation for the 2020-21 fiscal year. The HFB determined that $150,000 would be an appropriate amount for the 2020-21 Grant Fund allocation. The HFB set a grant round deadline for the 2020-21 fiscal year for Jan. 15, 2021. On Mar. 2, 2021, the HFB voted to recommend to your Board a slate of awards totaling $150,000.
Recommended Slate
There were six (6) applications received in the Jan. 15, 2021 round and staff recommends your Board approve the HFB’s recommended slate of four projects (Attachments 1-4). The slate totals $150,000 as shown in the following table.
The “Amount Awarded” represents the funding level recommended by the HFB. The “Amount
Requested” represents the amount requested by the applicant. Total project costs are shown in the
attached applications as presented to the HFB.
Review Process
The HFB’s application review process consisted of individual board member review plus 5 hours of group deliberation. The approved minutes from the Feb. 8, 2021 (Attachment 8) and Mar. 2, 2021 (Attachment 9) HFB meetings are attached. The individual HFB member proposal ranking score sheets for selection of recommended awards is attached as Attachment 7- Compiled and Summarized Scores. The process was refined this year resulting in a reduction of time spent by staff and the board.
Applications were reviewed as follows:
Staff assisted each applicant as they prepared their applications. Staff reviewed and prepared all six applications received in a timely manner and distributed as a single packet on Jan. 31, 2021 to the HFB members as instructed.
Board members reviewed the applications in preparation for a Feb. 8, 2021 HFB meeting. All six applicants presented their projects in a short (5 minute) presentation. The HFB voted to approve or deny the applications for final discussion and selection at a Mar. 2, 2021 Special Board Meeting.
At the Mar. 2, 2021 HFB meeting, the HFB approved four applications to be recommended to the Board of Supervisors for approval. The other two applicants (Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District and Humboldt Skatepark Collective) were advised to resubmit in the next grant round.
The four applicants recommended for approval as shown in the table above are:
• Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare Foundation
• Humboldt Senior Resource Center
• Humboldt NeuroHealth Therapeutic Services
• Redwood Region Entertainment and Education Liaisons, Inc., dba Humboldt Del-Norte Film Commission
The HWFB approved recommending to your Board three of the four applications at full funding. The Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare Foundation funding request of $100,000 was reduced to $64,258.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact to the General Fund. Financial costs are borne by the Headwaters
Fund (3848) and included in the current budget of the Headwaters Fund. The current balance of the Headwaters Grand Fund is $160,332. Funds are transferred in sufficient amounts from the Liquidity Fund (3847) to the Headwaters Fund (3848) as needed to distribute funds as they are requested during each fiscal year.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This action supports your Board’s Strategic Framework by supporting business, workforce development and creation of private-sector jobs and providing community appropriate levels of service.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
None
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Your Board could decide not to approve the slate of recommended awards. Your Board may pull one or more projects from the slate and approve the remaining slate of projects or request for further review of one or more projects. These alternatives are not recommended as the HFB diligently reviewed and evaluated each proposal in accordance with the slated Headwaters funding priorities. The slate of recommended awards will support base industries in Humboldt County, providing economic and expanded health services at no cost to the county. These monies are unavailable for other use and would be otherwise unspent.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 - Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare Foundation Application
Attachment 2 - Humboldt Senior Resource Center Application
Attachment 3 - Humboldt NeuroHealth Therapeutic Services Application
Attachment 4 - Redwood Region Entertainment and Education Liaisons, Inc., dba Humboldt Del-Norte Film Commission Application
Attachment 5 - Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation & Conservation District Application
Attachment 6 - Humboldt Skatepark Collective Application
Attachment 7 - HFB Compiled and Summarized Scored for 3-2-2021 Board Meeting
Attachment 8 - HWFB Approved Minutes for February 9, 2021 Regular Board Meeting
Attachment 9 - HWFB Approved Minutes for March 2, 2021 Special Board Meeting
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: N/A
Meeting of: N/A
File No.: N/A