To: Board of Supervisors
From: Public Works
Agenda Section: Consent
Vote Requirement: Majority
SUBJECT:
title
Authorization for the Humboldt County Department of Public Works to Accept and Administer Funding Made Available through the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research Regional Resilience Grant Program, on Behalf of the North Coast Resource Partnership.
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RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Authorize the Humboldt County Public Works Director, or a designee thereof, to be the authorized Grantee representative and signatory, authorized to, with approval, where applicable, from County Counsel, County Administrative Office and Risk Management, execute a grant agreement and any subsequent amendments with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and any other documents, including, without limitation, professional services and partnership agreements, necessary to accept and administer funding made available through the Regional Resilience Grant Program.
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SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Governor’s Office of Planning and Research Regional Resilience Grant Program
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 $190,000,000.00 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. In addition, 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 regional planning project described below is completed. Visit the NCRP Homepage, at northcoastresourcepartnership.org, for more information on this collaborative.
The NCRP has been selected as a Round 1 Grantee for a Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (“OPR”) Regional Resilience Grant Program (RRGP) award of $650,000 for the North Coast Regional Climate Resilience Plan. RRGP provides funding to address local, regional, and tribal climate resilience needs by supporting climate resilient planning and implementation projects at the regional scale. With support from this grant, the NCRP will develop the North Coast Regional Climate Resilience Plan (“Regional Climate Plan”), an integrated, multi-benefit, actionable plan that addresses long-term climate resilience of North Coast communities and ecosystems. Expected short-term outcomes for regional climate resilience and capacity enhancement include the development of the shared actionable Regional Climate Plan for North Coast; regional climate resilience reflecting priorities of the entire community; increased capacity for North Coast Tribes, counties, and other entities to lead local climate resilience planning and implementation; enhanced integration of local Tribal, county and agency climate plans, resulting in greater impact at the regional scale; and a framework for developing improved insurance tools to protect the region’s public entities and residents from climate driven economic risk. In the long term, the project will enhance ecosystem and community resilience to extreme events and climate change, with benefits accruing specifically to economically disadvantaged and historically underrepresented communities.
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 authorize the Humboldt County Public Works Director, or a designee thereof, to accept and administer this funding to support implementation of the RRGP.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Narrative Explanation of Financial Impact:
If this award is accepted and a grant agreement is successfully negotiated, the estimated $650,000 budget will provide much-needed revenue to support the project goals and support Humboldt County staff in their regional administrative role. Once the project budget is confirmed, a supplemental budget will be brought to the Board for approval or, depending on the timing, the funds will be incorporated into the fiscal year budget process for 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:
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impact:
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: Strengthen climate change resiliency
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 climate resilience benefits that could be gained with the support of the offered planning funds.
ATTACHMENTS:
None
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: N/A
Meeting of: N/A
File No.: N/A