To: Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
Staff Name and Phone Number: Amy Ricard, 565-7261; Pamela Swan, 565-7348
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
2024 Community Spaces Matching Grant Program Funding Recommendations
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Accept Staff Recommendations for Projects and Related Funding Amounts for the 2024 Community Spaces Matching Grant Program.
B) Authorize the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District to extend the project implementation deadlines for eight active Matching Grant Projects to December 10, 2026.
end
Executive Summary:
Since 1990, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (Ag + Open Space) has offered a competitive Matching Grant Program (MGP) for urban open space, agriculture, restoration, and recreation projects located in incorporated cities and other residential communities throughout Sonoma County. On March 5, 2024, the Board of Directors approved a significant revision to the MGP and launched the Community Spaces Matching Grant Program (Community Spaces MGP), a two-year pilot program incorporating inclusive grant making best practices with annual funding of $3,000,000.
In 2024, during the first funding cycle of the two-year pilot, seven highly competitive projects submitted full applications requesting $6,844,426 in funding. Staff recommend that the Board of Directors (Board) accept the seven projects into the program with either full or partial funding for a total of $4,000,000. This recommendation proposes to supplement the authorized $3,000,000 for the 2024 funding cycle by borrowing $1,000,000 from the 2025 funding cycle, thereby reducing the pilot’s second and final year of funding to $2,000,000.
Staff’s recommendation to exceed the authorized funding in the first year is based on feedback received from the Ag + Open Space advisory bodies, community input provided during public meetings, and the significant community and environmental benefits of the proposed open space projects.
This item seeks Board approval of staff’s recommendations to accept specified projects into the Program and related funding amounts. However, the Board’s acceptance of projects into the Community Spaces MGP does not in itself guarantee funding. Rather, this step represents a commitment by Ag + Open Space to work with the project applicants to meet all Program requirements for the proposed grant. Project implementation will then occur per the Program Guidelines, including approval of a Matching Grant Agreement (MGA) by the Board.
Additionally, due to unexpected delays in construction and entitlements, staff is also requesting authorization to extend project implementation deadlines for eight active Matching Grant projects to December 10, 2026.
Discussion:
Background:
Through the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District’s Expenditure Plan, Sonoma County voters authorized Ag + Open Space to provide funding to public agencies, nonprofits, and federally recognized tribes for the protection of community open space for local agriculture, recreation and public access, and natural resource restoration through a matching grant program.
Since 1994, Ag + Open Space has accepted 64 projects into the Program in each of the county’s nine incorporated cities and numerous unincorporated areas, awarding over $50,000,000 to community-based organizations, Cities, County departments, and other public agencies. Generally located in areas lacking open space, this funding has enabled the development and implementation of innovative projects that reflect the unique needs of Sonoma County’s diverse communities. To date, the Program has protected over 560 acres of urban open space, created 28 new public parks, and allowed for the restoration and enhancement of over 400 acres of natural habitats including urban creeks, marshes and wetlands. See the Community Spaces Matching Grant Projects Map at www.SonomaOpenSpace.org/MGP <http://www.SonomaOpenSpace.org/MGP> for a list of all projects accepted into the program to date.
As a condition of Community Spaces MGP funding, Ag + Open Space, and thereby Sonoma County residents, achieve permanent protection of lands through a conservation easement, and when applicable a long-term access via a trail easement. As the majority of Community Spaces MGP projects include a public recreation component, Ag + Open Space may also receive a recreation covenant that permanently protects public open space and recreational uses.
Ag + Open Space staff coordinates the Program with support from a Community Spaces Staff Committee and the Community Spaces Project Evaluation Committee comprised of representatives from the Ag + Open Space Advisory Committee and Fiscal Oversight Commission. Each funding cycle, these committees assist staff in developing initial funding recommendations. While staff make funding recommendations informed by input from its advisory bodies, the Board of Directors provides the final determination of projects accepted into the Program, along with associated funding amounts.
2024 Community Spaces Matching Grant Program Funding Cycle
The 2024 Community Spaces MGP funding cycle launched on March 5, 2024, with program eligibility pre-applications due on June 24, 2024, and full applications due on August 16, 2024. Ag + Open Space received 11 pre-applications and 7 full applications for funding consideration. Of the applicants that did not submit full applications, one was deemed ineligible, two decided their projects weren’t ready to apply, and one was guided to a better suited funding source.
Application Review and Evaluation
Projects were considered individually to determine how well they met the Community Spaces MGP goals and evaluation criteria. During the application review process, an inter-disciplinary committee of Ag + Open Space staff reviewed and evaluated applications using the Evaluation Matrix, which utilizes applicant responses to score each project in the following categories: Program Intent, Community Need, County Strategic Priorities, Planning & Design, and Readiness. The staff team conducted site visits, met five times to assess projects, utilized a robust scoring rubric reflecting the revised MGP Guidelines and Evaluation Matrix, and developed preliminary funding recommendations. Find the Evaluation Matrix at www.SonomaOpenSpace.org/MGP <http://www.SonomaOpenSpace.org/MGP>.
Funding Recommendations
In this cycle, Ag + Open Space received a highly competitive and diverse field of applications that embodied the goals and intent of the program and represented unique community-based projects in previously underserved areas. Please see Attachment 1. Map of MGP Projects: Complete, Active and Proposed, for geographic representation.
The 2024 Community Spaces MGP cycle’s seven applicants requested a total of $6,844,426, exceeding the stated budget of $3,000,000 by $3,844,426. The strength of the applicant pool when compared to the amount of funding available made recommending funding especially challenging. Following site tours and a thorough review of the project applications, the Staff Committee scored and developed recommendations based on the projects’ alignment with the Community Spaces program guidelines per the Evaluation Matrix, and the available funding.
Staff presented initial funding recommendations to the Community Spaces Project Evaluation Committee on October 16, 2024, and to a joint meeting of the Advisory Committee and Fiscal Oversight Commission on October 24, 2024. Initially, Staff recommended funding only six of the seven projects; however, based on an extensive internal review process, the input from our advisory bodies, and public comments from the community and applicants during the two public meetings, Staff revised the preliminary funding recommendation to recommend accepting all seven projects into the Program for a total potential funding amount of up to $4,000,000 (Table 1). Further discussion outlining the development of the Staff’s funding recommendations is included in Attachment 2. Project Application Summaries and Funding Recommendations, and Attachment 3. Funding Recommendations and Project Application Budgets for related details. To review 2024 Full Applications, please follow this link: <https://share.sonoma-county.org/link/DrE77NbAkeI/>
TABLE 1. STAFF 2024 COMMUNITY SPACES MGP FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff is recommending a funding amount that exceeds the $3,000,000 budget because the proposed projects were extremely competitive and well-aligned with the Community Spaces program guidelines. Ag + Open Space can borrow the additional $1,000,000 from the 2025 funding cycle to supplement the funding recommendations for the 2024 cycle.
Advisory Committee and Fiscal Oversight Commission Funding Recommendations
In the joint meeting held on October 24, 2024, the Advisory Committee and Fiscal Oversight Commission reviewed Staff‘s initial funding recommendations and heard related public comments. Following these discussions, each advisory body decided to offer their own funding recommendation, which were considered in Staff’s revised funding recommendation reflected in Table 1 above. For detailed information, see Attachment 3. Funding Recommendations and Project Budgets Spreadsheet.
Matching Grant Program Active Projects Extensions
Ag + Open Space is requesting authorization to extend the project implementation deadlines to December 10, 2026, for eight Matching Grant Program projects: (1) Americorps Trail; 2) Badger Park; 3) Denman Reach; 4) Guerneville River Park; 5) Maxwell Park; 6) River Lane; 7) Roseland Creek Phase 1C; 8) Steamer Landing (AKA McNear Peninsula).
These active MGP projects are all nearing completion and will be continuing beyond current completion dates due to unexpected delays. Upon consultation with grantees, it is anticipated these projects will be complete within the requested implementation extension dates. Please see Attachment 4. MGP Active Project Extensions, for related details.
Racial Equity Analysis - Matching Grant Program
Supported by the Office of Equity, staff used the Government Alliance on Race and Equity’s (GARE) Equity Toolkit to craft a racial equity analysis of the Matching Grant Program. Please see Attachment 5, Racial Equity Analysis of Ag + Open Space Matching Grant Program, for more information.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Climate Action and Resiliency
Goal: Goal 5: Maximize opportunities for mitigation of climate change and adaptation through land conservation work and land use policies
Objective: Objective 2: Develop policies to maximize carbon sequestration and minimize loss of natural carbon sinks including old growth forests, the Laguna de Santa Rosa, and rangelands. Encourage agricultural and open space land management to maximize sequestration
Prior Board Actions:
March 5, 2024: District Board of Directors approved revised Matching Grant Materials for the rolling application pilot program. The Board also authorized the launch of the Community Spaces Matching Grant Program two-year pilot program. Lastly, the Board extended the project implementation deadlines for three active Matching Grant Program projects.
October 24, 2023: District Board of Directors approved an update of the Matching Grant Program Guidelines.
August 22, 2023: The Board accepted six projects into the Program for a total funding amount of $7,209,500.
December 13, 2022: The Board accepted two projects in the Program for a total funding amount of $1,950,000. The Board launched a new Matching Grant Cycle, 2022 Rd 2, receiving applications from December applications from December 13, 20022 to March 10, 2023, with an allocated budget of $2,050,000.
March 23, 2021: The Board accepted six projects into the Program for a total funding amount of $5,805,600.
November 12, 2019: District Board of Directors approved an update of the Matching Grant Program Guidelines.
December 6, 2011: Board Action #31 the District Board of Directors approved an update of the Matching Grant Program Guidelines.
August 11, 2009: Resolution 09-0739 the District Board of Directors approved an update of the Matching Grant Program Guidelines.
February 6, 2007: Resolution 07-0110, the District Board of Directors approved an update of the Matching Grant Program.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 24-25 Adopted |
FY 24-25 Projected |
FY 25-26 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
|
|
$1,200,000 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
|
|
$1,200,000 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
$1,200,000 |
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
|
|
$1,200,000 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
A 2024 Community Spaces Matching Grant Program funding recommendation of $4,000,000 is being presented for approval, though no funds are committed through this action and staff do not anticipate that any funds will be expended in FY 24-25. The fiscal impacts of adopting these funding recommendations will not be realized until the Matching Grant Agreement and conservation easement (and potential recreation covenant) for each project is approved by the Board of Directors during the fiscal year when the specific project closes. The funds, at that time, will come from the Open Space Special Tax Account and will be budgeted during the annual budgeting process based on anticipated project closings for the upcoming fiscal year. If a budget adjustment is required, Ag + Open Space will return to the Board to request approval. That said, it is possible that the Mark West Area Community Park and Tom Schopflin Fields Phase 2 projects may close in FY 25-26.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
NA
Attachments:
1. Community Spaces 2024 Projects Map and List of All Accepted Projects
2. Project Application Summaries and Funding Recommendations
3. Funding Recommendations and Project Budgets Spreadsheet
4. Community Spaces MGP Active Project Extensions
5. Matching Grant Program Racial Equity Analysis
6. Presentation
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
1. 2024 Community Spaces MGP Guidelines
2. 2024 Evaluation Matrix
3. Community Spaces MGP Full Applications