City of Corona
Staff Report
400 S. Vicentia Ave.
Corona, CA 92882
File #: 22-0317
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AND
CORONA UTILITY AUTHORITY ACTION
DATE: 04/20/2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Honorable President and Board Members
FROM: Utilities Department
SUBJECT:
Resolution amending Resolution No. 2017-108 for the 2017 Sustainable Groundwater Planning Grant Program to update the department name and the authorized signatory title.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
During the City reorganization in August 2021, the Department of Water and Power’s name was changed to the Utilities Department. This reorganization also resulted in title changes for management positions. Resolution 2017-108 designated the General Manager for the Department of Water and Power as the authorized signatory for the 2017 Sustainable Groundwater Planning Grant; however, the title of this position changed to the Director of Utilities during the reorganization. The California Department of Water Resources administers this grant for the State and has requested a Resolution that reflects the updated department name and the new title of the authorized signatory.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the:
a. City Council adopt Resolution No. 2022-034, designating the Director of Utilities as the signatory for the 2017 Sustainable Groundwater Planning Grant Program on behalf of the Temescal Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
b. Corona Utility Authority review, ratify, and to the extent necessary, direct that the City Council take the above action.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
On March 15, 2017, the City of Corona became part of the Temescal Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA), along with the City of Norco and Home Gardens County Water District, in order to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to ensure sustainable City of Corona Page 1 of 3 Printed on 4/13/2022
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File #: 22-0317
in order to comply with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to ensure sustainable management of the Temescal Subbasin. As part of the SGMA, GSAs are required to create Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) which outline the current groundwater conditions, future plans, and methodologies to ensure sustainability. Proposition 1 was approved by the voters on November 4, 2014 and provided funding for the Sustainable Groundwater Planning Grant Program (SGWP) to assist agencies with the preparation of GSPs. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) is administering the funds for this program.
On November 1, 2017, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2017-108 authorizing the submittal of an application for the SGWP grant on behalf of the Temescal Subbasin GSA. This resolution also designated the General Manager of the Department of Water and Power to execute all grant-related documents and authorized the General Manager as the signatory of grant invoice forms for reimbursement requests. The SGWP grant was ultimately awarded to the City on behalf of the Temescal Subbasin GSA and the agreement with DWR was fully executed on November 9, 2018.
On August 2, 2021, several services were realigned across the City’s departments. This reorganization was intended to level the workload across the organization, create better alignment with strategic priorities, and foster new synergy among teams. As a part of the reorganization, the Maintenance Services Department, which was previously overseen by the General Manager of the Department of Water and Power, was reassigned to various departments. The only Maintenance Services division that remained with the Department of Water and Power was Refuse and Recycling.
With this change, the department was renamed from the Department of Water and Power to the Utilities Department. In addition, the General Manager’s title was changed to the Director of Utilities.
DWR has requested a resolution to update the department name and designate the Director of Utilities of the Utilities Department, or his or her designee, to execute all grant-related documents and to be the signatory of grant invoice forms for reimbursement requests.
ANALYSIS:
Resolution No. 2022-034 proposes to amend resolution 2017-108 for the SGWP grant to authorize the Director of Utilities to sign for all grant-related documents and reimbursement requests on behalf of the Temescal Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
In addition, the Utilities Department will also be requesting an amendment to the agreement with DWR to extend the term of the grant and grant categories to allow the inclusion of the Temescal Basin GSP First Annual Report as an eligible expense of the grant. Because the cost of the GSP came in under budget, enough grant funding will be available to cover this cost in addition to the development of the GSP.
The updated resolution with the appropriate signing authority and department name is required by DWR in order to amend the grant agreement to include the Temescal Basin GSP First Annual Report as an eligible expense of the grant. Staff recommends the adoption of Resolution No. 2022-034 to complete the close out of this grant and to take advantage of potential grant funding to cover the cost of the Temescal Basin GSP First Annual Report.
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File #: 22-0317
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Funds for the Groundwater Sustainability Plan for the Temescal Subbasin GSA are currently available in the Fiscal Year 2022 Capital Improvement Project Budget under Project No. 7393. Adoption of this resolution has no additional financial impact.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action is to update the department name and title for the purposes of SGWP grant, and there is no possibility that adoption of Resolution No. 2022-034 will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: ERIN KUNKLE, BUSINESS SUPERVISOR
REVIEWED BY: TOM MOODY, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES
Attachment:
1. Exhibit 1 - Resolution No. 2022-034
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