To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Departmental
SUBJECT:
title
Resolution Amending Resolution 19-45 Establishing the Humboldt County Cannabis Micro--Grant & Loan Advisory Committee
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Adopt the attached Resolution amending Resolution 19-45 establishing the Humboldt County Cannabis Micro-Grant & Loan Advisory Committee.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
General Fund
DISCUSSION:
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 28th, 2019, your Board adopted Resolution 19-45 forming the Humboldt County Cannabis Micro-Grant & Loan Advisory Committee (hereinafter referred to as Committee).
As per Resolution 19-45, the purpose of this Committee was defined as “to announce, review, rank, and select applications for micro-grant & loan monies, which shall be subject to Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approval, and as defined under Project Trellis: The County of Humboldt Cannabis Micro-grant, Marketing, and Local Equity Program”.
Following the adoption of Resolution 19-45, staff worked with the Clerk of the Board to establish the Committee wherein members to the Committee were appointed by your Board, a Board Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary were selected, and by-laws for the Committee were adopted.
Subsequent to the formation of the Committee and adoption of its by-laws, an initial Committee framework meeting took place wherein a NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability) was released announcing the acceptance of applications beginning October 14, 2019 and a submittal deadline of December 16, 2019.
Once applications were received, staff compiled and distributed micro-grant requests to the Committee for review, and several public meetings were held (to advance the ranking and reviewing) of applications. The most recent of these meetings occurred on March 10th wherein Trellis micro-grant applicants were invited to make oral presentations to the Committee. Following this meeting, and the round of oral presentations, Committee members submitted their final ranking and scoring recommendations which were received and compiled by staff.
Since that time, a series of critical and urgent events as related to the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted Committee operations. On March 11th 2020 the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services was activated to address the COVID 19 crisis. Later, on March 20th at 12:00am, a Public Health order was issued providing guidance for non-essential businesses to close and for residents to shelter in place. Later, on March 30th, 2020 the Humboldt County Sherriff issued an emergency declaration.
Up until the point that the local emergency was announced, the bulk of the Committee work had been completed. However, due to restrictions on public meetings and travel, technological complications, self-quarantine measures, and reallocation of county staff resources to serve as Disaster Service Workers, the Committee has not held any further meetings for the purposes of making additional recommendations for, nor engaging in additional deliberation concerning, micro-grant application requests.
Therefore, because there is a means by which Project Trellis funds can be distributed more efficiently to applicants, staff brings this recommendation before your Board to adopt the Resolution amending Resolution 19-45 establishing the Humboldt County Cannabis Micro--Grant & Loan Advisory Committee, which shall modify the Committees purpose to “rank, review, and score” applications, and directs staff to provide recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for its final approval based on the Committee’s ranking and review of the applications.
Adopting this Resolution will expedite funding recommendations to the Board of Supervisors and will allow Project Trellis funding to be distributed to cannabis applicants more quickly who, because of regulations regarding cannabis, are not entitled to relief funding under the CARES act; and will provide a more rapid stimulus response to the cannabis industry which represents a significant portion of the tax revenue collected by the County of Humboldt through cannabis excise tax, and for applicants who may be experiencing financial hardship due to the pandemic and are not being entitled to Federal assistance.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
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. There is no anticipated significant financial impact to the program by adopting this Resolution.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This action supports your Board’s Strategic Framework by supporting business, workforce development and creation of private-sector jobs .
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
N/A
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Board Discretion
ATTACHMENTS:
Resolution of the board of the county of Humboldt amending resolution 19-45 establishing the Humboldt county cannabis micro grant & loan advisory committee.
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: Resolution 19-45
Meeting of: May 28th, 2019
File No.: N/A