REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: GEORGEANNE A. WHITE, City Manager
Office of the Mayor & City Manager
BY: JENNIFER RUIZ, Deputy City Manager
Office of the Mayor & City Manager
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the Second Amendment with Make Green Go LLC, for Cannabis Social Equity Business Technical Assistance extending the term to April 28, 2023 and increasing the contract value to $150,000.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the approval of the second amendment to the agreement with Make Green Go LLC (MGG) to extend the term of their contract.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff recommends approval of the Second Amendment with MGG and authorization for the City Manager or designee to enter into such amendment. The contract amendment will allow the City to continue to provide technical assistance support during the application process for cannabis social equity applicants pursuant to FMC 9-3316(b)(6)(vi) and will authorize technical assistance to be provided during the next (third) application round.
BACKGROUND
Fresno Municipal Code (FMC) Section 9-3316(b)(6)(vi) states, “If qualified as an equity applicant, the equity applicant's fees shall be waived and commercial cannabis business permit application assistance and compliance assistance shall be given. An equity applicant shall also be provided any other assistance as required by state law, as may be amended.” The cannabis social equity applicants from the first and second application rounds are still working on the conditional use permits and other final requirements in pursuit of the final commercial cannabis business permit. The City is also anticipating a third round of applications to fill available permits to commence towards the end of calendar year 2022 or early 2023.
On August 1, 2021, the City entered into a contract with MGG after conducting an RFP process. As part of their technical assistance contract, MGG has provided live webinars with social equity applicants and industry experts on: Business Plans, Capitalization and Location, Interviews, Safety and Security Plans, Marketing, Compliance, and other topics. They have provided direct one-on-one support to applicants on topics such as: business plans, finding compliant locations, grant opportunities, review of partnership agreements, lease documents, clarifying application requirements, finding and working with consultants, and developing company bylaws. The City has received positive feedback from applicants regarding MGG’s services.
In April 2021, the City of Fresno was awarded the State of California Cannabis Equity Act grant. This grant authorizes up to $120,000 for technical support services, which covers the costs of the MGG contract. The City anticipates that the maximum grant amount for technical assistance will be expended by the end of October 2022.
The original contract amount was $100,000.00 and expired on July 28, 2022. On August 18, 2022 the City Council approved a non-cost extension of the contract to October 31,2022 to expend the remaining grant funds on allowable grant activities. The purpose of this contract amendment is to ensure the assistance can continue to be provided to qualified cannabis social equity applicants throughout the duration of the application process.
As of October 7, 2022, two cannabis retail businesses are operating in the City of Fresno. Seventeen additional cannabis retail businesses have preliminary approval and are working on their land use and building approvals. Of those, four are social equity businesses. Two retail permits remain to be filled in the City and those permits are eligible to be filled by a social equity applicant. In addition, seven cannabis businesses have preliminary approval of a microbusiness permit. Of those, two are social equity applicants. Nine additional non-retail permits (microbusiness, cultivation, manufacturing or distribution) remain to be filled in the City and two of those permits are eligible to be filled by a social equity applicant. The City anticipates a third application process to fill the remaining available permits to commence towards the end of calendar year 2022 or early 2023.
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
Local preference was not considered because this is an amendment to an existing agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding is appropriated in the Fiscal Year 23-24 budget.
Attachments:
1. MGG Original Contract
2. MGG First Amendment
3. MGG Second Amendment