Title
a. Approve and authorize the County Administrative Officer, or designee, to sign a Renewal and Amendment No. 1 to an Agreement with Ecology Action of Santa Cruz to continue to participate in the Central Coast Community Action Campaign to May 26, 2023, extending the term by 3 years, for a new term retroactive to May 26, 2023, through December 31, 2026;
b. Approve and authorize the County Administrative Officer, or designee, to sign a Renewal and Amendment No. 1 increasing the total contract amount not to exceed $41,500; and
c. Authorize the County Administrative Officer, or designee, to sign up to three (3) future amendments to this amended agreement where the amendments do not significantly change the responsibilities of the parties, do not cause an increase of more than 10% ($4,150) of the contract amount and do not increase the total contract amount above $45,650.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Approve and authorize the County Administrative Officer, or designee, to sign a Renewal and Amendment No. 1 to an Agreement with Ecology Action of Santa Cruz to continue to participate in the Central Coast Community Action Campaign to May 26, 2023, extending the term by 3 years, for a new term retroactive to May 26, 2023, through December 31, 2026;
b. Approve and authorize the County Administrative Officer, or designee, to sign a Renewal and Amendment No. 1 increasing the total contract amount not to exceed $41,500; and
c. Authorize the County Administrative Officer, or designee, to sign up to three (3) future amendments to this amended agreement where the amendments do not significantly change the responsibilities of the parties, do not cause an increase of more than 10% ($4,150) of the contract amount and do not increase the total contract amount above $45,650.
SUMMARY:
Staff recommends that the Board of Supervisors renews this agreement with Ecology Action to continue to participate in the online Central Coast Community Action Campaign. This online campaign directly engages residents within Monterey County to reduce their greenhouse gas impact, resource consumption, and provide resources for resiliency. This supports the goals of the upcoming Community Climate Action and Adaptation Plan by providing a foundation for direct communication with residents as programs are rolled out. Additionally, the platform is one of the few methods the County has to track the measures adopted by residents for reporting purposes. This agreement was not renewed in time due to staffing constraints in the Sustainability Program with the absence of the Sustainability Program Manager. Ecology Action has continued to provide services to the County under the original agreement.
DISCUSSION:
The Central Coast Community Action Campaign is a high-tech, high-touch campaign that achieves measurable progress towards reducing the 40% of US emissions coming from five activities people do in their homes every day, (home heating/cooling and energy use, transportation, food choices and what is put in the landfill). The Campaign aims to increase resiliency and equity by activating micro-community leaders and driving broader public engagement on priority actions. The Campaign encourages public engagement by community building, training, and BrightAction, a central online organizing platform. The campaign will be delivered locally in up to six central coast counties from Ventura to Santa Cruz, with central online tools, training resources, and marketing.
The concept was sparked by the City of Santa Cruz and Ecology Action in 2019. These groups recognized that interested city residents were lacking both clear direction and comprehensive resources to respond to the climate emergency. The Community Action Campaign seeks to solve this problem regionally and comprehensively, maximizing outreach efforts, creating traction through cohesive branding, and minimizing staff time. It benefits local agencies by providing a central accessible, bilingual online resource with all the information residents need to act on climate change, prepare for disasters, and reduce their carbon emissions. As such, it meets agency goals for climate adaptation and climate action plan community outreach, while tracking measurable outcomes such as actions taken and their resulting GHG reductions using a UC Berkeley approved carbon calculator based on EPA metrics.
The Campaign will be rolled out in two phases:
• Phase 1 of the campaign (2021/2022), completed, launched the central online organizing tools including a regional campaign landing page with engagement resources with one BrightAction online platform (BrightAction.com) for each participating county. Phase 1 \ contained emissions reductions and resiliency action sets. This supported public agencies currently conducting climate action outreach and community members who want to self-organize and act now, individually or as teams. Phase 1 included light branding to tie in the county platforms and modest central online social media support.
• Phase 2 (2022 onward) includes expanding sponsors and funders so the campaign can pay community organizers to enroll volunteer micro community leaders as well as compensate equity focused organizations to activate their communities and encourage participation with the online platform. The program has been branded with more robust centralized marketing support provided for program partners.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
This program was developed with support of the Department of Emergency Management and Environmental Health.
FINANCING:
The recommendations have no impact on the Adopted Budget for FY2023-24. The amendment is financed using existing appropriations in Sustainability’s Adopted Budget in FY 2023-24 and included in the Recommended Budget for FY 2024-25.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
This item supports the County’s climate action goals.
_X_ Economic Development
__ Administration
_X_ Health & Human Services
_X_ Infrastructure
_X_Public Safety
Prepared by: Cora Panturad, Sustainability Program Manager, ext. 5338
Approved by: Deborah Paolinelli, Assistant County Administrative Officer, ext. 5309
Attachments:
Ecology Action Amendment No. 1
Ecology Action Fully Executed Standard Agreement