Title
a. Approve Amendment No. 1 to the Memorandum of Understanding by and between the County of Monterey and the City of Salinas regarding the mutual planning and implementation of a multi-agency campus style government center located in Downtown Salinas to extend the term of the Memorandum of Understanding through October 31, 2015; and
b. Authorize the Chair of the Board to sign Amendment No. 1 to the Memorandum of Understanding.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Approve Amendment No. 1 to the Memorandum of Understanding by and between the County of Monterey and the City of Salinas regarding the mutual planning and implementation of a multi-agency campus style government center located in Downtown Salinas to extend the term of the Memorandum of Understanding through October 31, 2015; and
b. Authorize the Chair of the Board to sign Amendment No. 1 to the Memorandum of Understanding.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
On May 8, 2012, the Board of Supervisors approved and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU Agreement A-12212) with the City of Salinas wherein the two agencies agreed to collaborate on planning for a multi-agency campus style government center located in downtown Salinas (Attachment B). Each agency owns and/or occupies a significant share of downtown properties, and the County and City each recognized that the concentration of government offices in the downtown is beneficial for the efficient and effective provision of many government services and functions. In addition, it is agreed that a well-planned government center could be beneficial to the economic health and well-being of downtown Salinas. With this in mind, the City and County drafted the MOU to work together to provide resources necessary to develop a comprehensive planning and implementation program for a Government Center.
Since the implementation of the MOU, the City and County have made considerable progress on a number of items including entering into a license agreement to provide juror parking at the Intermodal Transportation Center (train station) parking lot; development of a City of Salinas Downtown Vibrancy Plan; evaluation of potential rehabilitation and use of the East and West Wings of the County Courthouse; creation of a downtown Community Benefits District; and the due diligence for the potential acquisition/disposition of the County former Public Works yard (312 E. Alisal Street) and the City's police station.
The current MOU is set to expire on May 8, 2015 but allows for extension by mutual consent. A number of items listed in the existing MOU were completed or have changed. Staff from both agencies met and determined that there are items that warrant amending/extending the MOU (e.g. Vibrancy Plan, Community Benefit District, shared parking, etc). The recommended action will extend the term through October 31, 2015 to allow staff time to draft an amendment to the MOU to remove completed items and to realign the agreement with current and future plans and needs.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The Resource Management Agency (RMA) and the City of Salinas Community and Economic Development Department worked together to draft Amendment No. 1. The amendment has been reviewed by legal counsels for both the County and the City.
FINANCING:
There is no additional impact to the General Fund as a result of the recommended action. Both parties have agreed to provide staff and financial resources as necessary to develop and implement the government center planning programs detailed in the MOU. The scope of work was developed to be implemented using existing staff resources. Sufficient funding is included in the FY 2014-15 Adopted Budget and the FY 2015-16 Recommended Budget.
Prepared by: John Guertin, Acting RMA Deputy Director
Approved by: Carl P. Holm, AICP, Acting RMA Director
Attachments: Attachment A-Amendment No. 1 to the MOU; Attachment B-Memorandum of Understanding (Agreement A-12212) (Attachments on file with the Clerk of the Board)
cc: City of Salinas