To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Board of Supervisors
Staff Name and Phone Number: Supervisor Lynda Hopkins 707-565-2241
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Fifth
Title:
Title
Fee Waiver - Bodega Bay Grange
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Approve a fee waiver in the amount of $6,257.32 for permit for the Bodega Bay Grange’s County-approved commercial kitchen to be utilized during disaster and emergency situations. (Fifth District)
end
Executive Summary:
The Bodega Bay Grange is a volunteer community service organization that has been a center of activity and emergency response along the Sonoma County coast for 60 years.
During the 2017 Tubbs fire response Bodega Bay Grange hosted evacuees from inland Sonoma County for several days and served as the major disaster response location for several weeks afterward. Bodega Bay Grange initially cooked meals for evacuees, but on the second day of response their ability to do so was halted by County Health Services because the Grange’s kitchen was not a County-approved commercial kitchen.
Bodega Bay Grange embarked on developing this project: creating a County-approved commercial kitchen. We estimate a total project cost of at least $300,000 and has raised approximately $200,000 from a wide variety of sources including private donors, foundations, the California State Grange, Bodega Bay Fisherman's Festival, and County Tourism Impact fees.
After more than two years of interaction with Permit Sonoma Bodega Bay Grange received notice on January 23, 2023 that the permit would be approved pending payment of permit fees totaling $6,257.32.
Bodega Bay Grange is requesting a permit fee waiver due to the central and essential role that the Bodega Bay Grange will play in future disaster (fire, earthquake, storm, tsunami) responses that occur along the coast, impacting both area residents and visitors. Also, as an important community-building resource the commercial kitchen will benefit other local non-profits with fundraising events and function as a business incubator for area residents hoping to pursue entrepreneurial culinary start-ups in a low-cost certified commercial kitchen.
Discussion:
The Bodega Bay Grange is a Red Cross-affiliated disaster response facility, a Sonoma County approved Tsunami Evacuation site, and are a member of Sonoma County Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD). Members of the organization are active in Bodega Bay CERT.
The Bodega Bay Grange makes itself available for local meetings and events such as public meetings, wedding receptions, and community events. They charge nominal rental fees for some of these events, but none of those funds are available for the commercial kitchen project; they cover annual building expenses such as insurance, property taxes, propane and electricity, and maintenance of a 60+ year-old building.
Prior Board Actions:
None
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
None
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
Fee Waiver Application
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None