REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: BRYON HORN, Chief Information Officer
Information Services Department]
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the Local Agency Technical Assistance (LATA) grant:
1. Authorize the Chief information Officer to accept $496,874 in grant funding for the LATA grant awarded to the City of Fresno from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
2. ***RESOLUTION - Adopt the 13th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2022-154 appropriating $496,874 for the LATA grant (Requires five affirmative votes) (Subject to Mayor’s veto).
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council authorize the acceptance of $496,874 in grant funding from the CPUC allowing the Chief Information Officer, or designee to enter into and execute the acceptance letter, any agreements, extensions, and all required documents for the grant and adopt the 13th Amendment to AAR No. 2022-154 to appropriate $496,874 funding into the FY 2023 budget. This is a reimbursement grant. The City will need to expend the funds and submit for reimbursement. The City will be utilizing these funds for designing shovel ready projects.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The CPUC LATA grants provide reimbursement for tribes and local agencies for pre-construction expenses that facilitate development of broadband network deployment projects to areas in need. The Information Services Department (ISD) submitted a project proposal to the CPUC requesting $496,874 to hire a firm to conduct detailed design engineering for a last mile broadband deployment to areas of need for the City. On October 7, 2022, the department was notified by the CPUC that it was awarded the requested amount. A City Council approval is required to enable the department to process the grant and submit for reimbursable expenses in the detailed design engineering. This project will result in a complete design and shovel ready projects that can be used to apply for other grants including SB165. ISD has identified such projects as a result of the City’s Broadband Strategic Plan.
BACKGROUND
Fresno is a city of 542,107 residents and has a geographic size of 116 square miles. It is the largest city in Fresno County, which is situated in the San Joaquin Valley, and is the city base for Yosemite National Park. Over half of the county’s residents live in Fresno, and the city-owned fiber backbone is the linchpin in connecting the county to the state middle mile network. The City has taken the lead in the area to address the digital divide.
Unfortunately, last mile connectivity is still lacking in Fresno. There are currently many underserved and unserved areas which lack qualifying broadband. These underserved areas often have high poverty and low income. The median household income in Fresno is $53,161, much lower than the median income of $78,672 in the state of California. 23.5% of Fresno residents live in poverty, far higher than the national average of 13.15%, and 11.5% in California. As of the last census, only 83% of households in the city have a broadband internet subscription. Large portions of Fresno are without reliable connectivity. ISD applied for the LATA grant as a step towards helping the City design ready projects to help bridge the digital divide.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, this item is not a project for the purposes of CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
This is a reimbursable grant. City will expend funds and get reimbursement. Funding has been identified in the Information Services Department Budget.
FISCAL IMPACT
None. Existing City staff working with the design engineering firm have been built into the base budget for fiscal year 2023.
Attachments:
City of Fresno LATA Award Letter
Resolution Adopting 13th Amendment to AAR No. 2022-154