To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): County Administrator’s Office, Department of Emergency Management, Permit Sonoma
Staff Name and Phone Number: Nour Maxwell 707-565-1743, Chris Godley 707-565-2052, Tennis Wick 707-565-1925
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Delegation of Authority For Obtaining and Managing Grant Assistance Provided by the State of California's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Mitigation Resilient Planning and Public Services program
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a resolution authorizing the County Administrator and Assistant County Administrator, the Director and Deputy Director of the Department of Emergency Management (DEM), and the Director and Deputy Director of Permit Sonoma to: apply for funding; accept allocations of funding; execute grant agreement(s), and any amendments thereto; and execute for and on behalf of the County of Sonoma, any actions necessary for obtaining funding provided by the State of California’s Housing and Community Development Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Mitigation Resilient Planning and Public Services program (MIT-PPS).
end
Executive Summary:
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) appropriated $212 million in CDBG funds to the state of California to address the impacts of disasters that occurred in 2017. $162 million has been allocated to address unmet recovery needs (CDBG-DR) and $88 million for preparedness and mitigation needs (CDBG-MIT). The CDBG-MIT funds include $61 million for resilient Infrastructure Program (MIT-RIP), and $22.4 million for resilience Planning and Public Services (MIT-PPS).
The Mitigation Planning and Public Services Program (MIT-PPS) was developed to support projects and activities that reduce risk to communities impacted by the 2017 disasters. The goal of the program is to have projects and activities that address risks to community lifelines that support health and safety and mitigate future disasters. Community lifelines, as defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), are services that enable the continuous operation of critical government and business functions and are essential to human health and safety or economic security, build capacity for eligible jurisdictions, assist local entities with planning, and support public services. While the funding available will not address all hazards, the Planning and Public Services program is designed to support eligible applicants to reduce and mitigate future risks.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) manages the state MIT-PPS program and disbursement of the related CDBG funding. On January 8, 2021, HCD issued a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the approximately $22.4 million in Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funding for the Resilient Planning and Public Services Program (MIT PPS). Following the NOFA, the County submitted notices of intent for the projects described hereafter.
On August 5, 2021, the County received notifications that it was eligible for $1,577,600 in MIT-PPS funds for the following projects: Disaster recovery plan, Sonoma County Ready Preparedness Education & Marketing Plan, Community Resilience Centers Needs Assessment, and General Plan Public Safety Element Update. On October 1st, 2021, the County also received notification that it was eligible for $500,000 in MIT-PPS funds for the Community Emergency Response Team Training (CERT) Programs project. No local match is required to receive these funds. As a next step, HCD requires the County of Sonoma to adopt a resolution approving the allocation of funding, the application for funding, and the execution of a grant agreement (and any amendments).
Discussion:
CDBG Mitigation funding is allocated by Congress in conjunction with FEMA Presidentially-declared disasters. Sonoma County was impacted by two Presidentially-declared disasters in 2017: disaster DR 4344 (October 2017), and disaster DR 4353 (December 2017). The CDBG Mitigation funding must be spent in the counties impacted by the two FEMA declared disasters. Within the FEMA impacted jurisdictions, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) determined Most Impacted and Distressed Areas (MID). These Most Impacted and Distressed Areas were determined by HUD as the hardest hit by the two involved disasters. For the 2017 disasters, Sonoma County was declared a Most Impacted and Distressed Area.
HUD requires that 50 percent of CDBG Mitigation funding be spent within the Most Impacted and Distressed Areas, and the remaining 50% must benefit the MID. Fifty percent (50%) of funding must benefit Low- and Moderate-Income (LMI) Households. This can be derived through a LMI Service Area. Furthermore, for its Mitigation Planning Program, any planning activity must be connected to HUD’s definition of resilience.
Eligible Activities under Planning: Several types of activities are eligible under the Planning activity, including the creation of new plans that examine hazards and establish actions for increasing resilience and preparedness, or the update of current plans to better align with mitigation principles. Other eligible activities include: capacity building for sub-recipients intending to submit a project to Round Two of the Resilient Infrastructure Program.
Eligible activities under Public Services: The eligible activities for Public Services include: performing additional services to inform the public on resilient-minded activities, capacity building through job training programs for LMI individuals to work on community mitigation projects, code enforcement activities, including training and staffing, outreach and educational campaigns regarding proper disaster evacuation, disaster preparedness, and risk reduction initiatives, as well as additional public services that serve to enhance critical lifelines of health and safety.
Considering the goals, requirements, and eligibility criteria of the Mitigation Planning and Public Services (MIT-PPS) Program, the County of Sonoma applied for the projects described below, and received notifications of eligibility for a total amount of $2,077,600 in MIT-PPS funds.
County of Sonoma MIT-PPS projects:
- Disaster Recovery Plan, $374,000: This project consists of conducting a gap analysis of Sonoma County’s disaster response capabilities. The project will identify and convene a task force of stakeholders in the Operations Area (Op Area). The gap analysis will review existing emergency operations plans, operating procedures, and other pertinent documents from Op Area partners. The results of the gap analysis will allow Sonoma County to improve response, continuity of efforts, and availability of recovery resources. The anticipated completion date for this project is August 2024.
- Sonoma County Ready Preparedness Education & Marketing Plan, $500,000: the Sonoma Ready, Sonoma Listos! Preparedness Education and Marketing Plan for a Resilient Community 2021-2023, consists of an outreach and educational campaign as a public services project to inform Sonoma County residents of the results and recommendations from the July 2021-June 2023 Community Preparedness Outreach Plan. The Sonoma Ready project will align messaging across the Operation Area and will target those populations who are underserved, including through the creation of Spanish Language messaging, outreach to homeless communities, and targeted messaging for those with access and functional needs. The anticipated completion date for this project is August 2024.
- Community Resilience Centers Needs Assessment, $500,000: This project consists of developing a community needs assessment and feasibility study for the development of community resilience centers in Sonoma County communities that are the most vulnerable and often the most significantly impacted by disaster events. The project will engage community and operational stakeholder advisory committees to ensure representation across the county. The results of the community needs assessment will be used to prioritize needs and identify criteria for determining best location, configuration, and scope of services to be provided. The anticipated completion date for this project is August 2024.
- CERT Programs, $500,000: Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) programs are developed in localities to upskill local neighborhoods to help and assist each other in a variety of ways. Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management (DEM) Community Preparedness Program (CPP) will develop a network of volunteer leadership and partner with a Community Based Organization within Sonoma County Operational Area to create a program to train CERT Teams, maintain a roster of CERT volunteers countywide, and coordinate deployment of CERTS in response to disasters. Additionally, the CERT coordinator will focus on developing leadership within the CERT Teams so that the countywide effort can move toward self-organization. The anticipated completion date for this project is August 2024.
- General Plan Public Safety Element Update, $203, 600: This project consists of developing an update to the Sonoma County General Plan Public Safety Element to align with the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan five-year implementation strategy, and to create new programs and policies in response to the recent 2017, 2019 and 2020 wildfires, the 2019 Russian River flood event, and new vulnerabilities created by climate change and sea level rise. The anticipated completion date for the Sonoma County General Plan Public Safety Element Update is June 2023.
Projects received notices of MIT-PPS eligibility for the following amounts totaling $2,077,600 on August 9, 2021 and October 1st, 2021:
|
Department |
Project |
Project amount |
|
DEM |
Disaster Recovery Plan |
$374,000 |
|
DEM |
Sonoma County Ready Preparedness Education & Marketing Plan |
$500,000 |
|
DEM |
Community Resilience Centers Needs Assessment |
$500,000 |
|
DEM |
CERT Programs |
$500,000 |
|
Permit Sonoma |
General Plan Public Safety Element Update |
$203,600 |
Next steps:
Required documentation will be submitted through HCD’s grant portal and will be evaluated for completeness by HCD. Any gaps in required documentation or eventual special conditions will be included in the Master Standard Agreements (MSA) that the County must agree to as a condition of receiving funding. HCD will provide a draft MSA after the Resolution proposed herein has been authorized.
Once the MSA has been signed, the full applications can be submitted. Now that the County has received notice of its allocation, there is an opportunity to revisit project scopes as needed. The County Administrator’s Office will coordinate with County departments to reassess proposals and will come back to the Board of Supervisors to accept the award and program the funds.
Resolution
In the interim, HCD requires formal authorization for the County, though its departments and agencies that are lead for the various projects and programs, to apply for and receive CDBG MIT-PPS funding as part of the full application.
As part of the HCD-required resolution (Attachment 1), the County acknowledges compliance with all state and federal public participation requirements in the development of its application(s). The CDBG MIT-PPS program policies and procedures manual, are available at: <https://www.hcd.ca.gov/community-development/disaster-recovery-programs/cdbg-dr/cdbg-mit-2017/docs/mit%20pps%20policy%20and%20procedures_508compliant_9nov20.pdf>
Staff have reviewed the State’s CDBG MIT-PPS Policies and Procedures Manual, and other related materials, and are prepared to implement all program requirements should funding be awarded and grant agreements be finalized. Additionally, the resolution references a Standard Agreement that is required as a condition of funding. The terms of the Standard Agreement are contingent on the notice to proceed, at which point the County will decide whether to move forward with any portions of the grant. It is anticipated that HCD will require a master agreement for all of the contemplated projects (or groups thereof). As permitted by HCD and in accordance with County general requirements, County Counsel approval as to form, legality, and other agreement-specifics, will be required in conjunction with finalization of the actual agreement(s) to be executed with HCD. HCD also requires authorization for delegated signature authority for CDBG MIT-PPS funding, which would include modifying and claiming reimbursements, and amending and closing out grant documentation. The resolution will authorize the following position-specific titles to act on behalf of the County by executing any actions necessary for each application and sub-award:
- County Administrator and/or Assistant County Administrator
- Director and/or Deputy Director of Department of Emergency Management (DEM)
- Director and/or Deputy Director of Permit Sonoma
Departments will sign grant documentation relevant to their departments only.
Prior Board Actions:
5/11/2021 Board item on Delegation of Authority For Obtaining and Managing Grant Assistance Provided by the State of California’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery and Mitigation programs.
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Staff will return to the Board with needed budget adjustments.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
A. CDBG MIT-PPS Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A