Title
a. Approve and authorize the County Administrative Officer or designee to execute a non-standard agreement with the Coalition of Homeless Services Providers to identify and subcontract with a local non-profit to operate a 34-unit low-barrier housing navigation center in the City of Watsonville, for $2,571,460, with a term of April 23, 2024, through March 31, 2027, as recommended by the County Administrative Officer and,
b. Authorize and direct the Auditor-Controller to issue a one-time payment to the Coalition of Homeless Services Providers for the full contract amount of $2,571,460 upon execution of this agreement with an invoice to meet the grant term expenditure requirements by June 30, 2024; and,
c. Authorize the County Administrative Officer or designee to sign up to (3) amendments for this agreement that do not significantly change the scope of work as determined by the Director of Homeless Services and subject to approval by County Counsel.
Report
RECOMMENDATION
a. Approve and authorize the County Administrative Officer or designee to execute a non-standard agreement with the Coalition of Homeless Services Providers to identify and subcontract with a local non-profit to operate a 34-unit low-barrier housing navigation center in the City of Watsonville, for $2,571,460, with a term of April 23, 2024, through March 31, 2027, as recommended by the County Administrative Officer and,
b. Authorize and direct the Auditor-Controller to issue a one-time payment to the Coalition of Homeless Services Providers for the full contract amount of $2,571,460 upon execution of this agreement with an invoice to meet the grant term expenditure requirements by June 30, 2024; and,
c. Authorize the County Administrative Officer or designee to sign up to (3) amendments for this agreement that do not significantly change the scope of work as determined by the Director of Homeless Services and subject to approval by County Counsel.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION
The County Administrative Office Homeless Services Program (CAOHS) staff recommends the Board of Supervisors (BOS) approve a non-standard agreement between the County and the Coalition of Homeless Services Providers (CHSP), for a total amount not to exceed $2,571,460, with a term effective upon April 23, 2024 through March 31, 2027 to administer the services contracts of a 34 unit low-barrier navigation center, hereinafter referred to as Recurso de Fuerza Village (RdF Village), funded by an Encampment Resolution Funding (ERF) grant, located at Westview Presbyterian in Watsonville, California (Site) for the public purpose of providing interim housing to individuals experiencing homelessness in the Pajaro River area within the jurisdictional boundaries of both the County of Monterey (County), the County of Santa Cruz (COSC), and the City of Watsonville.
In 2022, the State of California (State) created the ERF grant program under the authority of Chapter 7 of Part 1 of Division 31 of the California Health and Safety Code (sections 50250 et seq.), to increase collaboration between the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH), local jurisdictions, and continuums of care (CoC’s) to assist local jurisdictions in ensuring the wellness and safety of people experiencing homelessness in encampments. In June 2023, Cal ICH selected the CAOHS’s application proposal and awarded $7,986,354 of ERF-2-R to develop and operate RdF Village for two years. Subsequently, the County executed an agreement with the State with strict fiscal deadlines to expend 50% and obligate 100% the funding by June 30, 2024 (Attachment A).
On February 27, 2024, the Board of Supervisors approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the County and COSC to establish the roles and responsibilities in a multijurisdictional partnership for the implementation and management oversight of the RdF Village program.
In March 2024, CAOHS staff learned the Site is in a FEMA floodplain zone and there are no other nearby areas zoned for emergency shelter, which resulted in an unexpected requirement of raising the Site by 3 feet and increasing the capital project costs up to $1 million. Due to the flexibility of the ERF-2-R grant, the best path forward is to re-allocate ERF-2-R services funding to capital expenses, and staff from CAOHS and COSC will work to identify additional service funding resources no later than fiscal year 2025-2026. Unfortunately, these unexpected issues have resulted in a lengthier procurement process and could put the County at risk of failing to meet some of the ERF grant expenditure/obligation timelines per the State Agreement.
In consideration of the ERF-2-R fiscal deadlines, CAOHS recommends the BOS consider approving a contract with CHSP to administer the services contract(s) for the RdF Village program. As the local CoC lead agency, CHSP has extensive experience working with the County to provide a multitude of homeless services and expertise in handling and administering specialized grant funding to outsource vital services in our communities and is also a fiscal agent of Cal ICH grants. CHSP shall use the ERF-2-R funding to subcontract the services and operations of the RdF Village program to begin no later than June 30, 2024, in the amount of $2,442,887 and will receive $128,573 (5%) in administrative fees, for a total of $2,571,460 per the terms of their proposed agreement. To meet the ERF-2-R fiscal deadlines, CAOHS staff requests the Board of Supervisors to authorize and direct the Auditor-Controller to provide a one-time payment with an invoice in the amount of $2,571,460 upon execution of the agreement with CHSP.
The County Homeless Services Director, Roxanne Wilson has an extended family member employed by CHSP, accordingly Assistant CAO Deborah Paolinelli has been charged with recommending this contract to the Board and will oversee its implementation, if approved.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The Office of the County Counsel-Risk Management have approved the proposed agreement as to form and non-standard insurance and indemnification provisions. The Auditor Controller’s Office has reviewed the proposed agreement but does not agree to the non-standard payment provisions. The CAO Budget and Analyst Division concurs with the Auditor-Controller and does not agree to the non-standard payment provision.
FINANCING:
This action does not impact the General Fund. The proposed agreement will be funded by an Encampment Resolution Funding grant program (ERF-2-R) allocation in the amount of $2,571,460. Upon conclusion of the Encampment Resolution Funding grant period ending June 30, 2026, per the MOU, the County of Santa Cruz will work with the service provider to identify ongoing sustainable funds to support the RdF Village program.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
This agreement correlates to the Health & Human Services Strategic Initiatives adopted by the
Board of Supervisors by working collaboratively to address and develop a plan for ending homelessness.
Mark a check to the related Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives
__Economic Development
__Administration
_X_Health & Human Services
__Infrastructure
__Public Safety
Prepared by: Sarah Federico, County Homeless Services MAII, ext 5341
Approved by: Deborah Paolinelli, Assistant County Administrative Officer, ext 5309
The following attachments are on file with the Clerk of the Board:
Attachment A -State Agreement Grant Terms
Attachment B - Proposed Agreement
Attachment C - ERF Award Budget