To: Board of Supervisors for Sonoma County
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, County Administrator
Staff Name and Phone Number: Kim Batchelder, 565-7355, Christel Querijero, 565-7071
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
2022 Vegetation Management Grant Program Recommendations and Summary of 2021 Project Status
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Accept recommendations for projects and funding amounts for the 2022 Vegetation Management Grant Program Cycle and authorize the County Administrator to execute grant agreements with each approved applicant.
B) Approve a resolution authorizing a budget adjustment to the FY 2021-2022 Revised Budget for $2,000,000 to fund the Vegetation Management Grant Program and the Conditionally Approved 2021 Grant Agreements.
C) Approve a resolution authorizing a budget adjustment to the FY 2021-2022 Revised Budget for $3,300,000 for Vegetation Management Grant Program - 2022 Grant Agreements and $500,000 for Technical Assistance and Planning.
(4/5th Vote Required)
end
Executive Summary:
On October 19, 2021, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (Ag + Open Space) presented an outline of the work required to establish and enhance the Vegetation Management Grant Program (VMGP) to best meet the needs of the county by funding sustainable vegetation treatments that would reduce the risk of wildfire, protect homes and community assets, and improve evacuation routes. A Request for Proposals was issued on December 16, 2021 with a deadline of January 23, 2022. Forty applications were submitted and evaluated by a multi-agency Selection Committee. The Committee and Vegetation Management Coordinator recommend full or partial funding to 18 projects for a total of approximately $3,300,000. We request that the Board of Supervisors authorize the Vegetation Management Coordinator to complete final negotiations and the County Administrator to execute Grant Agreements with each of these 18 grant applicants to ensure the most successful projects possible. In addition, Ag + Open Space recommends $500,000 to be used in small grants ($5,000 to $50,000) to support unsuccessful applicants or nascent projects in need of direct technical assistance and project planning. These funds will be targeted on priority projects that need support in environmental compliance, to develop appropriate prescriptions, or enhance public education for local projects.
Through a carefully designed monitoring and reporting process, staff has tracked the work of the 19 grantees from the 2021 cycle to ensure the funds have been invested well and that all projects have met their objectives or are on schedule to do so by December 31, 2022.
Finally, Ag + Open Space is preparing grant agreements for the seven Conditionally Approved projects highlighted in the July 13, 2021 Board report. Working together with Permit Sonoma and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CALFIRE), grant agreements will foster vegetation treatments in the community of Hacienda and an area along the Bohemian Highway, creating a fuel buffer between the built infrastructure and wildland vegetation. In addition, a series of shaded fuel breaks has been designed to help reduce the threat of wildfire for five communities along a heavily populated area along the Russian River.
Discussion:
2022 Cycle Summary and Funding Recommendations
On October 19, 2021, Ag + Open Space presented an outline of the work required to enhance the Vegetation Management Grant Program (VMGP) and outreach to community organizations, fire service agencies, non-profit organizations, and resource managers seeking funding to support vegetation treatments that would reduce the risk of wildfire, protect their homes and community assets, and improve evacuation routes. Staff also sought to improve the selection criteria to incorporate enhanced ecological functionality, as well as wildfire mitigation. In addition, staff proposed a series of workshops to provide potential applicants with more clarity on selection criteria, provide solid examples of successful projects, and offer training in environmental compliance.
A request for proposals was issued on December 16, 2021 with a deadline of January 23, 2022. Ag + Open Space, CALFIRE, and Permit Sonoma staff hosted two virtual workshops. These workshops highlighted the difference between the 2021 and 2022 grant guidelines and emphasized key characteristics of successful projects funded during the initial grant cycle. Also, the team introduced the use of the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) tool called the Project Ranking Tool. Applicants were instructed on how to enter information into the Tool and how it would be used to help select the best projects.
Ag + Open Space received 38 complete applications prior to the deadline on January 23, 2022. These proposals were then organized into eight groups and evaluated according to their proposed treatments (ex. prescribed burning group, shaded fuel breaks group, education/research group, multiple treatment group, etc.). The Vegetation Management Coordinator assembled an eight-person, multi-agency Selection Committee to review the proposals and complete a scorecard for each applicant. The Selection Committee consisted of representatives from Permit Sonoma, CALFIRE, Sonoma Water, Ag + Open Space, as well as subject matter experts in fields of prescribed fire, grazing, and resource conservation. The Selection Committee used the scorecard to evaluate the quality of each proposal, technical and organizational capacity, and costs and skills needed to execute the proposed project. After scoring the proposals and analyzing the collective performance of all applicants, the Selection Committee completed its process by assessing the amount of funding proposed by the best proposals and reached an agreement on the projects with the greatest potential for success and compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and grant objectives.
The Selection Committee recommends funding to 18 projects for a total of $3,300,000 and asks the Board of Supervisors to authorize the Vegetation Management Coordinator to complete final negotiations to enter into a Grant Agreements to be executed by the County Administrator with each of these 18 grant applicants to hone the projects to ensure success. These projects aim to treat more than 800 acres of vegetation plus 1,200 acres of conservation grazing to be completed on the Pepperwood Preserve.
2021 Cycle Progress Summary
The 19 grantees from the 2021 cycle have successfully submitted their 6-month monitoring reports highlighting their progress and, in some cases, completion of their vegetation management treatments. Site visits were conducted to 42% of the grant projects by the Vegetation Management Coordinator to measure progress and discuss challenges. Of the six projects requesting equipment like chippers or masticators, five were delayed until January and are just beginning their treatments or chipper programs. Projects that relied on contractors or local crews were able to complete 75-100% of their proposed objectives. As of the end of February, 232 acres of a proposed 725 acres have been treated and 41% of the grant funding expended and 58% of the grantees have completed more than 50% of their project objectives. It is also important to point out that the 19 approved grant projects were able to bring in $451,507 in matching funds or in-kind support. $146,000 of these matching funds have been expended.
Ag + Open Space staff is preparing Grant Agreements with the seven Conditionally Approved projects highlighted in the July 13, 2021 Board report. In two cases, the Vegetation Management Coordinator, working with Permit Sonoma and CALFIRE, helped each applicant to redesign their treatments so they would be compliant with a CEQA Notice of Exemption. The community of Hacienda will treat roadside vegetation along the key evacuation routes through their community. Similarly, the Three Camps applicants adjusted their treatment areas in order to protect the built infrastructure along the Bohemian Highway and wildland vegetation. The technical support on CEQA compliance from Permit Sonoma staff has been critical to the success of these projects applying some of the funds authorized by the Board.
Applicants from the communities of Odd Fellows Recreation Club, Summer Home Park and Canyon Road have worked together with Ag + Open Space, Permit Sonoma and CALFIRE to design a 3.5-mile shaded fuel break across the ridgeline above these communities. The community of Guernewood has designed a shaded fuel break project on communal lands that will help protect Guernewood, Monte Rio and Guerneville from wildfire events. The community of Rio Nido is working with landowners on the ridgeline above their community to create a shaded fuel break. All three of these shaded fuel break projects will create a calming area, allow better emergency access by fire crews, and expand fuel treatments options for mitigating a future wildfire event. The projects will require a higher level of CEQA analysis and require the preparation of a California Vegetation Treatment Program Environmental Impact Report (CAL-VTP). This document should be completed by late summer 2022 so that implementation of fuel treatments can begin in the fall and winter of 2022. Permit Sonoma staff will oversee the quality control of the CAL-VTP programmatic Environmental Impact Report since the County is the lead agency.
The Board set aside $3,000,000 during the July 13, 2021 board action for these Conditionally Approved projects. However, the estimated cost to fund these seven Conditionally Approved Grant Agreements is $2,000,000. The exact cost for the three shaded fuel break projects is still being calculated to complete the biological and cultural surveys, prepare the CAL-VTP document, and implement the initial vegetation treatment across each ridgeline. The biological and cultural resource studies are to begin in April and the document will be ready for review by Permit Sonoma and Ag + Open Space staff by July or August 2022. It is estimated that the seven projects will result in approximately 400 acres of vegetation treatments when completed.
Next Steps to Support Community-Driven Vegetation Management Projects
Instrumental to the success of this Vegetation Management Grant Program has been the input from the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) formed in October 2021. The TAC has provided input on the criteria for selecting grant projects, helped to apply tools for parcel and landscape-level wildfire mitigation, and has assessed opportunities that could enhance the level of support offered to communities that need guidance in designing and implementing projects.
The TAC has discussed the gap of technical and organizational capacity of the applicants to this grant program. As a local grant, there is flexibility and insight to how well-intentioned projects could be modified to best meet the needs of the communities while ensuring environmental compliance and demonstrate greater potential for success. Ag + Open Space staff would like the Board to consider a complementary planning grant program track that could offer targeted communities with technical and organizational support prior to the next grant cycle. Rather than resubmitting unsuccessful grant applications, this planning grant program could provide direct technical assistance to projects to better meet CEQA compliance, be consistent with local and state fire mitigation strategies, and achieve the support from local conservation organizations and fire services so that more communities are working together towards long-term success.
Ag + Open Space staff proposes a program that provides between $5,000 and $50,000 grants for technical assistance and planning so that community organizations are more successful in their project design, environmental compliance, educational efforts and technical capacity for future grant opportunities. Staff recommends the allocation of $500,000 of the remaining PG&E Settlement funds available for this grant cycle to support development of projects across the county in high priority areas and to help reach regions currently not benefitting from the Vegetation Management Grant Program. Initially, this program will reevaluate the unsuccessful applicants and seek input from partners, the TAC, and coordinate with other county programs that aim to support fire mitigation such as the Chipper Program, roadside clearing, and future targeted areas for Federal grants. This program will also focus on complementing the efforts of previous grantees to continue to treat larger consolidated efforts and support collaboration and partnerships such as the Sonoma Coast Collaborative, Sonoma Valley Collaborative and Upper Mark.
Vegetation Management Funding Overview
On October 6, 2020, the Board of Supervisors allocated $25,000,000 of the 2017 PG&E settlement award toward Vegetation Management. The table below provides an update on how these funds have been designated since that time, and serves to illustrate that approximately $14,000,000 of the original $25,000,000 has yet to be allocated.
|
Project |
Board Date |
Amount |
|
Allocate $25M to Vegetation Management |
10/6/20 |
$25,000,000 |
|
2021 Community grants for Vegetation Management |
3/23/2021 |
-$3,725,494 |
|
Santa Rosa Junior College Funding |
3/23/2021 |
-$500,000 |
|
Vegetation Management Coordinator Salary & Benefits (3 years) |
3/23/2021 |
-$660,000 |
|
Permit Sonoma staffing for CEQA support |
7/13/2021 |
-$300,000 |
|
Set aside for community projects once CEQA issues are resolved ($3,000,000 was set aside only $2,000,000 was needed) |
7/13/2021; updated 4/19/22 |
-$2,000,000 |
|
Community grants for Vegetation Management - 2022 |
4/19/2022 |
-$3,300,000 |
|
Technical Assistance for community grants |
4/19/2022 |
-$500,000 |
|
Vegetation Management Allocations Made/Proposed To date: |
|
-$10,985,494 |
|
Remaining Balance: |
|
$14,014,506 |
Permit Sonoma was awarded $50 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program funds. The BRIC project consists of a multi-variate, landscape approach to fire mitigation that will help move residents towards generational change in how homes and wildlands adapt to future wildfire. The grant has a 25%, or $12.5 million local match. Appropriations for the local match will be requested through the third quarter consolidated budget adjustment (CBA) process.
Prior Board Actions:
October 6, 2020 - Allocation of $25M from the PG&E settlement for vegetation management
December 15, 2020 - Received County and community feedback on vegetation management priorities; allocated $70,000 for CLEE groups and $1.6M for expansion of fuel mapper decision support tool and outreach to parcel-scale decision support tool countywide.
March 23, 2021 - Approved up to $4M for community grants for vegetation management projects and $660,000 allocated to Ag + Open Space hire Vegetation Management Coordinator.
July 13, 2021 - Approved $300,000 to Permit Sonoma for Extra Help to lead Cal VTP and $3M to support seven vegetation management projects and future projects.
October 19, 2021 - PGE Settlement Funded Vegetation Management Grant Program informational update.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 21-22 Adopted |
FY 22-23 Projected |
FY 23-24 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
|
|
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$5,800,000 |
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$5,800,000 |
|
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance - PGE Settlement |
$5,800,000 |
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$5,800,000 |
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The funds for these grant activities are derived from the PGE Settlement funds. Up to $3,000,0000 was allocated for the Conditionally Approved Grants from the 2021 Vegetation Management Grant Cycle on July 13, 2021. Based on updated information, only up to $2,000,000 will be needed to complete these projects. $3,300,000 will be appropriated for the 2022 Grant Recommendations and $500,000 will be appropriated for technical assistance and planning.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
This work will be completed by Vegetation Management Coordinator and Ag + Open Space administrative staff to prepare the Grant Agreements for each approved project.
Attachments:
1. Budget Resolution - 2021 Conditionally Approved Grants
2. Budget Resolution - 2022 Grant Recommendations and Technical Assistance
3. Grant Applications Map 2022
4. Project Recommendations List 2022
5. Technical Advisory Committee List
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None