To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Headwaters Fund Board’s Recommended 2021-22 Grant Fund Awards for the July 16 - August 20, 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 July 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].
• The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors will use a majority vote to approve the entire slate presented by the HFB. The Board may not add projects to the slate being approved but may recommend additional review of individual projects. Upon majority vote, the Board may pull one or more projects from the slate and approve the remaining slate of projects. The process for reviewing and bringing back pulled projects is defined further in the Grant Fund Manual.
• The HFB and staff conducted a financial analysis of the Grant Fund to determine an allocation for the 2021-22 fiscal year. The HFB determined that $150,000 would be an appropriate amount for the 2021- 22 Grant Fund allocation. The HFB set a grant round deadline for the 2021-22 fiscal year for August 2021. On Sept. 28, 2021, the HFB voted to recommend to your Board a slate of awards totaling $150,000.
Review Process
The HFB’s application review process consisted of individual HFB board member review plus approximately five hours of group presentations, questions/answers and deliberation. The HFB held meetings Sept. 3, 10, 14 and 28 of this year, which included discussions on this grant round and the docket. The individual HFB member proposal ranking score sheets for selection of recommended awards is attached as Attachment 12- Compiled and Summarized Scores. The process was refined earlier 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 eleven (11) applications received in a timely manner and distributed as a single packet on Sept. 3, 2021, to the HFB members as instructed.
• Board members reviewed the applications in preparation for a Sept. 14, 2021, HFB meeting.
• All 11 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 the Sept. 28, 2021, Special Board Meeting.
Recommended Slate
Eleven qualified applicants were presented to the HFB on Sept. 14, 2021, for this July -August 2021 grant round. The HFB moved nine applicants forwarded for further review and grant scoring, of which four have been recommended for an award.
Original eleven (11) qualified applicants
|
Organizations Name |
Program /Project Title |
**Amount Requested |
*Amount Awarded |
|
Abbey of the Redwoods |
Abbey of the Redwoods ‐ Sea Goat Farmstand |
$36,800 |
$ 0 |
|
Building Lives by Building Structures |
“BLBS Workforce Training Program at the Bracut Industrial Park |
$75,000 |
$ 0 |
|
City of Fortuna |
Mill District Specific Plan |
$75,000 |
$ 75,000 |
|
City of Fortuna |
Fortuna Riverwalk Park Master Plan |
$14,000 |
$ 0 |
|
Cooperation Humboldt/Wiyot Tribe |
Disgamu Innovation Center Cooperative Business Equity Program |
$64,800 |
$ 32,500 |
|
Fortuna Chamber of Commerce |
Retail Recruitment |
$24,659 |
$ 0 |
|
Fortuna Senior Center |
Fortuna Senior Center |
$75,000 |
$ 0 |
|
Mattole Restoration Council |
Mattole Field Research and Education Center Planning Project |
$30,225 |
$ 17,500 |
|
Humboldt Skate Collective |
McKinleyville Community Skatepark |
$50,000 |
$ 25,000 |
|
HSU Sponsored Programs Foundation (HSU‐SPF), Northern California Procurement Technical Assistance Center (Norcal PTAC) |
Win Contracts Humboldt! |
$58,892 |
$ 0 |
|
Redwood Region Economic Development Commission |
ACV Passenger Survey |
$25,000 |
$ 0 |
*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.
Funding Recommendations
At the Sept. 28, 2021, HFB meeting, the HFB approved four applications to be recommended to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
The other seven applicants (1. Abbey of the Redwoods, 2. Building Lives by Building Structures, 3. City of Fortuna - Riverwalk Park, 4. Fortuna Chamber of Commerce, 5. Fortuna Senior Center, 6. HSU Sponsored Programs Foundation (HSU‐SPF) - Northern California Procurement Technical Assistance Center - NorCal PTAC & 7. Redwood Region Economic Development Commission) were advised to resubmit in the next grant round.
The four applicants recommended for approval as shown in the table above are:
• City of Fortuna, Mill District Specific Plan
• Cooperation Humboldt/Wiyot Tribe, Disgamu Innovation Center Cooperative Business Equity Program
• Mattole Restoration Council, Mattole Field Research and Education Center Planning Project
• Humboldt Skate Collective, McKinleyville Community Skatepark
The HFB approved recommendation for the City of Fortuna is recommended to receive $75,000 at full funding.
Three applicants are recommended to receive partial funding:
• Cooperation Humboldt/Wiyot Tribe, Disgamu Innovation Center Cooperative Business Equity Program requested $64,800 but the HFB reduced the request to $32,500.
• Mattole Restoration Council requested $30,225 but the HFB reduced the request to $17,500
• Humboldt Skate Collective requested $50,000 and the HFB reduced the request to $25,000.
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 Headwaters Division fiscal year 2021-22 budget, 1120286.
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.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Attachment 1 - City of Fortuna, Mill District Specific Plan Application.
• Attachment 2 - Cooperation Humboldt/Wiyot Tribe, Disgamu Innovation Center Cooperative Business Equity Program Application.
• Attachment 3 - Mattole Restoration Council, Mattole Field Research and Education Center Planning Project Application.
• Attachment 4 - Humboldt Skate Collective, McKinleyville Community Skatepark Application.
• Attachment 5 - Not Funding - Abbey of the Redwoods Application for you file.
• Attachment 6 - Not Funding - Building Lives by Building Structures Application for you file.
• Attachment 7 - Not Funding - City of Fortuna - Riverwalk Park Application for you file.
• Attachment 8 - Not Funding - Fortuna Chamber of Commerce Application for you file.
• Attachment 9 - Not Funding - Fortuna Senior Center Application for you file.
• Attachment 10 - Not Funding - HSU Sponsored Programs Foundation (HSU‐SPF) - Northern California Procurement Technical Assistance Center - NorCal PTAC Application for you file.
• Attachment 11 Not Funding - Redwood Region Economic Development Commission Application for you file.
• Attachment 12- HFB Compiled and Summarized Scored for September 28, 2021 Board Meeting
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: N/A
Meeting of: N/A
File No.: N/A