REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
February 27, 2020
FROM: WILMA QUAN, City Manager
Office of the Mayor & City Manager
BY: JANE SUMPTER, Assistant City Manager
Office of the Mayor & City Manager
COURTNEY ESPINOZA, Program Implementation Manager
Office of the Mayor & City Manager
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the 2017 Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Grant and Transform Fresno Plan project regarding the Fresno City College: West Fresno Satellite Campus:
1. Approve Sub-Recipient Agreement with the State Center Community College District totaling $16,542,745.66
2. ***RESOLUTION - 34th amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2019-133 appropriating $1,957,600 for the TCC grant (Requires five affirmative votes) (Subject to Mayor’s Veto).
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve a Sub-Recipient Agreement with State Center Community College District for the Fresno City College: West Fresno Satellite Campus project, adopt the 34th amendment to AAR No. 2019-133 appropriating $1,957,600, and authorize the City Manager to execute all related documents to the administration, modification, monitoring and closeout of the Sub-Recipient Agreement for the Fresno City College: West Fresno Satellite Campus.
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 Fresno City College: West Fresno Satellite Campus has met a portion of their necessary readiness thresholds in order to access their pre-construction cost allocation and 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:
Fresno City College: West Fresno Satellite Campus
The project will develop a satellite campus in West Fresno (Church Avenue between Walnut Avenue and MLK Jr. Boulevard) with a park-like setting with large areas of urban greening: new bicycle and pedestrian paths connected to the neighborhood’s active transportation plan (approximately 1 mile each), planting over 450 trees to maximize shading around buildings and pathways, landscaping with drought resistant plants, outdoor study spaces, and green infrastructure for storm water retention and groundwater recharge (bio-swales and permeable paving). The new campus will provide residents with workforce training and educational pathways and will offer technical certificates and degree programs leading to both traditional and “green economy” employment outcomes and increased community health benefits. The new satellite campus will also promote entrepreneurism to transform the region and serve as a Magnet Core to catalyze improvements in the overall environmental health of the region. Fresno City College will provide long-term operations and maintenance of the campus urban greening improvements.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
State Center Community College District prepared an Initial Study, dated February 2018, and determined that the environmental effects of the West Fresno Community College Center Project were fully addressed in the Southwest Fresno Specific Plan EIR and in the Mitigated Negative Declaration for EA No. A-17-007/R-17/010/TPM-2017-06/ANX-17-005. The District further concluded that none of the circumstances calling for a subsequent EIR or MND set forth in CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 have occurred. Accordingly, the District filed a Notice of Determination on March 13, 2018.
City’s approval of a sub-recipient agreement, which provides funding access to the District, is a government fiscal activity and does not constitute a commitment to a project that may have an impact on the environment. Rather, it merely provides the District with access to funding. Therefore, this approval is not a project for the purposes of CEQA Guidelines section 15378 and no further assessment under CEQA is required.
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 will be distributed on a reimbursement basis.
Attachments:
1. Sub-recipient Agreement with State Center Community College District for the Fresno City College: West Fresno Satellite Campus
2. RESOLUTION - 34th Amendment to the AAR No. 2019-133 appropriating $1,957,600
3. Sub-Recipient Agreement Status Summary