REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
July 25, 2019
FROM: WILMA QUAN, City Manager
Office of the Mayor & City Manager
BY: LAURA MERRILL, Deputy City Manager
Office of the Mayor & City Manager
COURTNEY ESPINOZA, Program Implementation Manager
Office of the Mayor & City Manager
SUBJECT
Title
Approve a Sub-Recipient Agreement with United States Green Building Council Central California for the Community Engagement Plan (CEP) - Southwest Green Trails Project totaling $138,540 pertaining to the 2017 Transformative Climate Communities grant and Transform Fresno plan.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve a Sub-Recipient Agreement with United States Green Building Council Central California regarding the Southwest Green Trails Project and authorize the City Manager to execute all related documents to the administration, modification, monitoring and closeout of the Sub-Recipient Agreement.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On February 28, 2019, the City Council unanimously voted to approve a Master Grant Agreement (MGA) with the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) for the TCC grant award with the understanding that the Sub-Recipient Agreements between the City and Partners who will be receiving funds to implement components of the Transform Fresno Plan would be brought forward for subsequent Council consideration as they meet the required SGC readiness thresholds and receive a notice to proceed from SGC. The Southwest Green Trails Project has met the necessary thresholds and is ready to begin implementation.
BACKGROUND
The Transform Fresno Plan was created by a participatory steering committee comprised of community stakeholders from the Chinatown, Downtown and Southwest Fresno neighborhoods. On February 28, 2019, the City Council unanimously approved the MGA which binds the City and SGC with the understanding that Sub-Recipient Agreements between the City and Partners who will be receiving funds to implement components of the Transform Fresno Plan would be brought forward for subsequent Council consideration as they meet the required SGC readiness thresholds and receive a notice to proceed from SGC. The project referenced below has met those thresholds and is ready to begin implementation:
Community Engagement Plan (CEP) - Southwest Green Trails
A component of the CEP in the amount of $138,540 will be led by the US Green Building Council of Central California (USGBC-CC) and includes a bicycle trail design outreach process and a bicycle education program. An outreach process will engage residents and stakeholders in the planning of the Southwest Fresno Trail project (Project #5) to provide input and valuable feedback. USGBC-CC and Urban Diversity Design will collaborate with appropriate city and planning and engineering consultants and stakeholders to ensure resident and stakeholder input in the planning process. The outreach process aims to build engagement around the new bike trail that will increase connectivity in Southwest Fresno and between Transform Fresno projects, the Yosemite Village Permaculture Garden (Project #12) and the Southwest Fresno Community Food Hub ( Projects #15, 16, 17). A bicycle education program will prepare the transition to more active transportation usage in Southwest Fresno by educating and engaging active transportation users, and raising bicycle safety awareness among the general population. The program aims to increase rider safety and usage of existing bicycle facilities by promoting safe driving practices, encouraging bicycle usage, sharing information about current and future infrastructure, and providing opportunities to promote current and future connectivity in Southwest Fresno. This project has not incurred any changes in budget or scope as originally shown in the MGA.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
CEP - Southwest Green Trails Project is statutorily exempt from CEQA because it is not a project pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21080.35(a) as this project proposes community engagement activities.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not considered based upon conditions of state funding.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no impact to the General Fund. Funding for Transform Fresno Plan projects lead by Partners will be a direct pass-through of TCC grant funds and will be distributed on a reimbursement basis.
Attachments:
1. Sub-recipient Agreement with US Green Building Council for the CEP-Southwest Green Trails Project
2. Sub-Recipient Agreement Status Summary