RESOLUTION NO. (XX)
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF COTATI CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE RECEIPT OF $8,226 IN GRANT FUNDING AWARDED UNDER A SUB-AWARD
AGREEMENT WITH SONOMA WATER, THE RECIPIENT OF THE US BUREAU OF RECLAMATION WATERSMART FY2023 WATER AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
GRANTS PROGRAM FUNDING FOR THE SONOMA-MARIN DROUGHT
RESILIENCY PROGRAM AND APPROVING THE SUB-AWARD AGREEMENT AND AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR AN ADDITIONAL $12,481 IN
CONSERVATION REIMBURSEMENT EXPENSES UNDER THE WATER
OPERATIONS FUND
WHEREAS, Sonoma Water, acting on behalf of the Sonoma Marin Saving Water Partnership (Partnership), will be administering a $2,000,000 grant from the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) WaterSMART FY 2023 Water and Energy Efficiency Grants (WEEG) program; and
WHEREAS, as part of the total grant package for the region, Cotati is eligible to receive funding in the amount of $8,487, with a required match of $10,055, for total expenses not to exceed $18,281, and
WHEREAS under a sub-award agreement, and the proposed grants will reimburse the City for rebates provided to its retail water customers who participate in the City’s Turf Replacement and High Efficiency Washer Rebate programs; and WHEREAS, in July 2022, Sonoma Water, on behalf of the Partnership, applied for $2,000,000 in grant funds for the Sonoma-Marin Drought Resiliency Program (Program) that will offer consumer rebates for water saving measures for 11 of the 13 water utilities in the Partnership collectively addressing regional water efficiency solutions; and WHEREAS, the grant funds and matching City funds will fund consumer rebates for 10,287 square feet of turf replacement at up to $1.50/sq ft and 38 rebates up to $75 each for High Efficiency Clothes Washers for residents within the City’s water service area; and WHEREAS, the funding from the US Bureau of Reclamation requires a 55 percent additional funding match by Cotati in the amount of $10,055, and the funding match would come from the water enterprise operating budget which requires an additional expense encumbrance of $12,481 adjusting the total conservation expense for both the Turf Replacement/Cash4Grass and Washer Rebate Programs to be $18281, or $15,431 and $2,850 respectively; and WHEREAS, this effort required Staff time and legal review which are accounted for within already budgeted staff resources within the water enterprise; and WHEREAS, this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonable foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Cotati hereby,
1. Finds the above recitals to be true and correct, and
2. Approves the Sub-Award Agreement for Sonoma-Marin Drought Resiliency Program with Sonoma Water, and authorizes the City Manager to execute said agreement, and
3. Authorizes the budget adjustment to the Water Enterprise Fund to include increased grant revenues for $8,487 and increased expense of $12,481 as required per the grant sub-award agreement.
IT IS HEREBY CERTIFIED that the foregoing resolution was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Cotati held on September 10, 2024, by the following vote, to wit:
Approved:___________________________
Mayor
Attest:______________________________
Kevin Patterson, Deputy City Clerk
Approved as to form:______________________________
City Attorney