Title
a. Approve and authorize the County Administrative Officer or designee to execute Amendment No. 3 to the Standard Agreement between the County of Monterey and the City of Soledad for encampment cleanup services to extend the term by two (2) years for a revised term of April 8, 2024 to June 30, 2027, and to add $542,756 for additional services to develop a street outreach and motel voucher program retroactive to July 1, 2024, for a total Agreement amount not to exceed $582,756; and
b. Approve and authorize the County Administrative Officer or designee, to sign up to three (3) future amendments to this agreement where amendments do not exceed 10% ($58,275) and do not significantly alter the scope of services as determined by the Director of the Homelessness Strategy and Initiatives Division and subject to approval by County Counsel.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Approve and authorize the County Administrative Officer or designee to execute Amendment No. 3 to the Standard Agreement between the County of Monterey and the City of Soledad for encampment cleanup services to extend the term by two (2) years for a revised term of April 8, 2024 to June 30, 2027, and to add $542,756 for additional services to develop a street outreach and motel voucher program retroactive to July 1, 2024, for a total Agreement amount not to exceed $582,756; and
b. Approve and authorize the County Administrative Officer or designee, to sign up to three (3) future amendments to this agreement where amendments do not exceed 10% ($58,275) and do not significantly alter the scope of services as determined by the Director of the Homelessness Strategy and Initiatives Division and subject to approval by County Counsel.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
Since January 2022, the County of Monterey (County) and the local Continuum of Care (CoC) has partnered with the City of Soledad (Soledad) to address the accumulation of trash in an encampment area located along the Salinas River within the jurisdictional boundaries of Soledad and unincorporated areas of the County on public and private lands. Trash abatement efforts to reduce pollution and other unhealthy hazards have been an ongoing issue while the number of encampment occupants has continued to grow over time causing more concerns for the safety and wellness of the unsheltered individuals living along the river.
To address these concerns, the County Administrative Office of Homelessness Strategy and Initiatives Division (CAO-HSI) received the Board of Supervisor’s approval on January 30, 2024, to secure funding from an Encampment Resolution Funding Grant (ERF-3-R) program established by the State of California (State) to resolve the shared encampment issue permanently and humanely in partnership with Soledad. Subsequently, on April 18, 2024, CAO-HSI was awarded ERF-3-R for the implementation of the following three main key initiatives, collectively referred to as the “Project”:
1) Hire a full-time street outreach coordinator to engage with and support encampment occupants.
2) Provide motel vouchers for highly vulnerable clients.
3) Develop 12-units of non-congregate interim sheltering to be operated by an experienced non-profit community provider.
CAO-HSI currently has a Standard Agreement with Soledad, utilizing County General funds for encampment clean-up services to remove the extensive amounts of trash and debris from the encampment area. This Amendment No. 3 of the Standard Agreement will extend the term by two years for an aggregate term of April 8, 2024, to June 30, 2027, and will add encampment services through the development of a street outreach and interim housing motel voucher program in the amount of $542,756, fulfilling the Project’s first two initiatives. The remaining initiative for the development of a 12-unit low barrier navigation center in Soledad will be provided for in separate agreements to be presented to the Board of Supervisors for approval on a future date.
The additional encampment services to be added in Amendment No. 3 are retroactive to July 1, 2024, due to the delay of the ERF-3-R grant agreement, and for this reason, the State has given the County permission to begin expending eligible costs for the Project prior to the receipt of the State grant agreement, per the grant award letter, dated April 18, 2024.
This Agreement also contains the County’s standard 30-day “no cause” provision and contains defunding provisions in the added Exhibit C (Section VII. And 1.07) of Amendment No. 3, which gives the County the ability to terminate the Agreement in the event of a reduction and/or termination of ERF-3-R funding.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The Office of the County Counsel-Risk Management, and the Office of the Auditor-Controller have approved the proposed Amendment No. 3 as to form, insurance and indemnification and fiscal provisions.
FINANCING:
This action does not impact the General Fund. This agreement is funded by an Encampment Resolution Funding Grant (ERF-3-R). Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the County Administrative Office FY Adopted Budget 2024-2025 for the Homelessness Strategy and Initiatives Division (001-1050-CAO004-8598). The ERF-3-R funds for FY 2025-2026 and FY 2026-2027 will be included in the Department’s requested budget for that FY.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
This initiative correlates to the Health & Human Services Strategic Initiative 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, Management Analyst II, ext. 5341
Reviewed by: Roxanne Wilson, County Homeless Services Director, ext. 5445
Approved by: Deborah Paolinelli, Assistant County Administrative Officer, ext. 5309
Attachments:
Amendment No. 3
Amendment No. 2
Amendment No. 1
Standard Agreement
Grant Award Letter
Proposed agreement is on file with Clerk of the Board as an attachment to this Board Report.