To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Project Trellis Committee Recommendations for the Grant Fund Awards in the Fiscal Year 2020-21 Grant Round
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve the slate of Cannabis Business Micro-Grant Awards recommended for approval by the Project Trellis Committee and staff (Attachment 1 - Attachment 16); and
2. Authorize the County Administrative Officer, or designee, to sign the grant agreements when completed, after review and approval by County Counsel and Risk Management.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Fund 1120, Budget Unit 275 Economic Development, Trellis Micro-Grant Fund 421
DISCUSSION:
Background
On March 12, 2019, your Board adopted a framework for Project Trellis, the County of Humboldt’s Cannabis Micro-grant, Marketing, and Local Equity Program. Your Board further directed staff to return with a suggested framework for reviewing, ranking and scoring micro-grant applications. Staff returned with a recommendation for establishing a grant committee and, on May 28, 2019, your Board adopted Resolution 19-45 forming the Humboldt County Cannabis Micro-Grant & Loan Advisory Committee (hereinafter referred to as Committee).
On Jan. 12, 2021, your Board adopted Resolution 21-06 which amended Resolution 19-45, as amended by Resolution 20-33, establishing the Project Trellis Committee, previously known as the Humboldt County Cannabis Micro-Grant & Loan Advisory Committee, which modified the Committee’s purpose to “review and score” applications, and directs staff to provide recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for final approval based on the Committee’s ranking and review of the applications.
Your Board previously approved a budget allocating no less than 10 percent of all local cannabis excise tax revenue to be used for Project Trellis. The amount allocated to Project Trellis for the competitive grant round totaled $516,492. The Committee set a grant application deadline of Dec. 18, 2020 for the 2020-21 fiscal year.
Recommended Slate
There were 58 applications received during the fiscal year 2020-21 grant round, 1 was deemed ineligible, 57 were moved on to the Project Trellis Committee for review and scoring. Staff recommends your Board approve the slate of 16 projects (Attachments 1-16). The slate totals $519,640 as shown in the following table, to be paid with $516,492 in funds allocated from Measure S excise tax and $3,148 in funds received from track-and-trace stamp program revenue allocated to Economic Development to utilize for cannabis programs.
The “Funding recommended” column represents the funding level recommended by the Project Trellis Committee and staff. The “Amount requested” column represents the amount requested by the applicants. Total project costs are shown in the attached applications as presented to the Committee.
Attached to this report are redacted copies of the 57 grant applications which were moved to the Project Trellis Committee for review. This also includes those applications which have been recommended for funding. Out of an abundance of caution, and the essence of timing, staff overly redacted personal information above and beyond what may be legally required. Some of the personal information redacted might already exist in the public sphere and additional information concerning these redactions or applications may be available upon request in accord with the California Public Records Act.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Project Trellis is funded by 10% of Measure S (cannabis excise tax) funds, through the Humboldt County General Fund. For the 2020-21 fiscal year, the General Fund contributions to Project Trellis totaled $1,190,000, with 10% of the total allocation dedicated to administrative costs. Once administrative costs were deducted, 15%, or $160,650, was allocated to the Project Trellis Equity Program, 20%, or $214,000, was allocated to the Project Trellis Marketing Program, and the remaining 65%, or $696,150, was allocated for Project Trellis Cannabis Business Micro-Grants. Through the first round of grant allocations, $179,658 has been dedicated for Micro-Grants, leaving the remaining $516,492 for the second Project Trellis Micro-Grant round in the 2020-2021 fiscal year. An additional $3,148 in revenue received from the track-and-trace stamp program allocated to Economic Development to utilize for cannabis programs. Funding of $519,640 is recommended, leaving no carry over for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This action supports your Board’s Strategic Framework by encouraging new local enterprise supporting business, workforce development and creation of private-sector jobs.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
None
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Board Discretion
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: 2021-Trellis-40 Sunrise Mountain Farms Application Summary
Attachment 2: 2021- Trellis-01 Conscious Gardeners Application Summary
Attachment 3: 2021-Trellis-58 Seely Creek Road Association Application Summary
Attachment 4: 2021-Trellis-50 Redwood Alternative Agriculture Fund Application Summary
Attachment 5: 2021-Trellis-13 Bridges Academy Application Summary
Attachment 6: 2021-Trellis-53 County Line Creek Road Maintenance Association Application Summary
Attachment 7: 2021-Trellis-11 Uplift Cooperative Application Summary
Attachment 8: 2021-Trellis-49 Lost Coast Farmers Guild Application Summary
Attachment 9: 2021-Trellis-22 Humboldt Natives Application Summary
Attachment 10: 2021-Trellis-51 Willow Creek Cannabis Alliance Application Summary
Attachment 11: 2021-Trellis-55 Garden Lane Road Maintenance Association Application Summary
Attachment 12: 2021-Trellis-52 Burr Valley Road Department Application Summary
Attachment 13: 2021-Trellis-43 Whitethorn Valley Farm LLC Application Summary
Attachment 14: 2021-Trellis-54 Cobb Road Association Application Summary
Attachment 15: 2021-Trellis-12 Aloha Humboldt Application Summary
Attachment 16: 2021-Trellis-33 River Day Farms Application Summary
Attachment 17: March 3, 2021 Draft Meeting Minutes
Attachment 18: Micro-grant Ranks and Funding Slate
Attachment 19: 2021-Trellis-01 Conscious Gardeners Application REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 20: 2021-Trellis-02 Dark Staffing Solutions REDACTED
Attachment 21: 2021-Trellis-03 Humboldt Trim Company REDACTED
Attachment 22: 2021-Trellis-04 James Adam Taylor REDACTED
Attachment 23: 2021-Trellis-05 North Coast Journal REDACTED
Attachment 24: 2021-Trellis-06 Professional Lettuce REDACTED
Attachment 25: 2021-Trellis-07 The Stuudiio REDACTED
Attachment 26: 2021-Trellis-08 Benbow Valley Farms REDACTED
Attachment 27: 2021-Trellis-09 Benbow Valley Farms 2 REDACTED
Attachment 28: 2021-Trellis-10 The Humboldt Cure REDACTED
Attachment 29: 2021-Trellis-11 Uplift Cooperative REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 30: 2021-Trellis-12 Aloha Humboldt REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 31: 2021-Trellis-13 Bridges Academy REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 32: 2021-Trellis-14 Doane Road Improvement REDACTED
Attachment 33: 2021-Trellis-15 DSCD holdings REDACTED
Attachment 34: 2021-Trellis-16 Eight Mad Farmers REDACTED
Attachment 35: 2021-Trellis-17 Empress Farms REDACTED
Attachment 36: 2021-Trellis-18 Freshwater Farmacy REDACTED
Attachment 37: 2021-Trellis-19 Goat Rock Rach REDACTED
Attachment 38: 2021-Trellis-20 Grass Valley Patient Resource Group REDACTED
Attachment 39: 2021-Trellis-21 Humboldt Heirlooms REDACTED
Attachment 40: 2021-Trellis-22 Humboldt Natives REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 41: 2021-Trellis-24 HummingBud Farms REDACTED
Attachment 42: 2021-Trellis-25 Jennifer Markman Farms REDACTED
Attachment 43: 2021-Trellis-26 Western Humboldt Foundation for Farmer Advocacy REDACTED
Attachment 44: 2021-Trellis-27 Lucy Gulch LLC REDACTED
Attachment 45: 2021-Trellis-28 Mantis Nursery (Blue Rock Gardens) REDACTED
Attachment 46: 2021-Trellis-29 Mary Janes Way REDACTED
Attachment 47: 2021-Trellis-30 OG Cannabis Company LLC REDACTED
Attachment 48: 2021-Trellis-31 PJC Wellness LLC REDACTED
Attachment 49: 2021-Trellis-32 Redwood Creek Resources REDACTED
Attachment 50: 2021-Trellis-33 River Day Farms REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 51: 2021-Trellis-34 Sacred Solutions Inc REDACTED
Attachment 52: 2021-Trellis-35 Selena Rowan REDACTED
Attachment 53: 2021-Trellis-36 Silk Ranch REDACTED
Attachment 54: 2021-Trellis-37 So Hum Royal Farm REDACTED
Attachment 55: 2021-Trellis-38 Sunnabis REDACTED
Attachment 56: 2021-Trellis-39 Sunnyside Farms REDACTED
Attachment 57: 2021-Trellis-40 Sunrise Mountain Farms REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 58: 2021-Trellis-41 Treestone Farms LLC REDACTED
Attachment 59: 2021-Trellis-42 Today’s Humboldt County REDACTED
Attachment 60: 2021-Trellis-43 Whitethorn Valley Farm LLC REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 61: 2021-Trellis-44 Sensi Valley Farms LLC REDACTED
Attachment 62: 2021-Trellis-45 Kiskanu REDACTED
Attachment 63: 2021-Trellis-46 MannaWell LLC REDACTED
Attachment 64: 2021-Trellis-47 Royal Compound REDACTED
Attachment 65: 2021-Trellis-48 Seventh Wave REDACTED
Attachment 66: 2021-Trellis-49 Lost Coast Farmers Guild REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 67: 2021-Trellis-50 Redwood Alternative Agriculture REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 68: 2021-Trellis-51 Willow Creek Cannabis Alliance REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 69: 2021-Trellis-52 Burr Valley Road Department REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 70: 2021-Trellis-53 County Line Creek Road Maintenance Association REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 71: 2021-Trellis-54 Cobb Road Association REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 72: 2021-Trellis-55 Garden Lane Road Association REDACTED Funding Recommended
Attachment 73: 2021-Trellis-56 Larabee Creek Road Maintenance Association REDACTED
Attachment 74: 2021-Trellis-57 Ranch Sequoia Road Association REDACTED
Attachment 75: 2021-Trellis-58 Seely Creek Road Association REDACTED Funding Recommended
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: N/A
Meeting of: N/A
File No.: N/A