EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: October 18, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Patrick Heisinger, Interim City Manager
BY: Azalea Renfield, Assistant to the City Manager
SUBJECT: Renewal of Peninsula Volunteers Agreement for City’s Senior Congregate Nutrition Program
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into a one-year agreement, in a form approved by the City Attorney, with Peninsula Volunteers Inc. (PVI) for provision of hot catered meals and supplies for the City’s Senior Congregate Nutrition Program for a not to exceed amount of $75,000.00.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Priority No. 3: Increase Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency Priority No. 5: Improve Communication and Enhance Community Engagement Priority No. 6: Create a Healthy and Safe Community
Background
Peninsula Volunteers, Inc. (PVI), a California nonprofit public benefit corporation, has been providing hot, nutritious, catered meals to aging adults since 2002. For PVI to continue to offer healthy hot catered meals and related supplies for the Senior Congregate Nutrition Program, the City must enter into a renewed agreement for the fiscal year 2022-23.
PVI initially charged the city $6.25 per meal until FY 2019-20, when the rate was increased to $8.00 per meal due to a steep decline in senior participation and sanctions placed on the City’s administration for failure to pay outstanding invoices. However, due to the City’s long history of contracting with PVI, increased communication, payment compliance, and the increase in service demand during the COVID-19 pandemic (from 17 to 41 participants per day), PVI had reduced the cost per meal to $7.75. The City was on track to another reduction this fiscal year until January 2022, when inflation posted its most considerable 12-month increase of 7.5%, and now since August 2022, 8.3%.
Analysis
In response to inflation, PVI has increased the cost per meal to $10.50 for fiscal year 2022-23.
The City expects to serve an average of 6,500 meals annually. Unfortunately, the Congregate Nutrition Program participation has declined from 10,400 meals annually since the Senior Center re-opened to the public in June 2022 and the wrap-up of the Home Delivery Meals (HDM) program.
While PVI has determined the contract amount of $75,000 for the fiscal year 2022-23, the City’s contribution is only $30,750 (at most). The City was awarded a grant in July 2022 from San Mateo County’s Office of Aging and Adult Services (OAAS) in the amount of $197,004 for the fiscal year(s) 2022-2026, which offsets the city’s total contribution. The County divides the total award amount over four fiscal years. Below is a breakdown of this year’s budget allocation.
Table 1: Senior Services Projected Budget (Nutrition)
Contract Services FY 2022-23
City's General Fund Allocation $ 30,750.00
OAAS Additional Grant $ 7,000.00
OAAS Grant Funding $ 37,250.00
Total Budget $ 75,000.00
Discretionary/Safety Net $ 6,750.00
Units of Service @ $10.50 per $ *68,250.00
Total Expense (Balanced) Budget $ 75,000.00
* 25 meals per day/6500meals annually
The program is currently serving approximately 541 meals per month, which equates to 25 meals per day. More seniors are likely to participate in the Congregate Nutrition Program in the coming months as seniors get fully vaccinated and become more comfortable in public. To prepare for that, the contract has a safety net of $6,750 to allow room to accommodate additional senior participation. If the program numbers stay the same or decrease, the remaining funds on the contract will remain with the City, saving the City money.
Staff recommends that the City enter into a new agreement with PVI for a one-year term for an annual amount not exceeding $75,000 for catered meal service throughout the Fiscal Year 2022-23.
November Update on the Partnership Between the City and the Senior Center Inc.
The Mayor, Vice Mayor, and staff have been in active discussions with the Senior Center Inc. on ways in which the City and Senior Center can better partner to improve and expand services for members of East Palo Alto’s senior community. It is staff’s goal to bring a comprehensive update to the City Council in November 2022 to inform the Council and community on some potential next steps regarding the partnership between the City and Senior Center.
Fiscal Impact
The total program cost, not including staff time for Fiscal Year 2022-23, is $75,000, with an estimated General Fund contribution of $30,750 which was contemplated in the City’s FY 2022-2023 budget.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice of this agenda item by posting the City Council agenda on the City’s official bulletin board outside City Hall and making the agenda and report available at the City’s website and at the San Mateo Co. Library located at 2415 University.
Environmental
The action being considered by the City Council is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a “project” pursuant to 15378(b)(4) because it is a fiscal activity which does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant impact on the environment.
The action being considered does not constitute a “Project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378 (b)(5), in that it is a government administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
Awarding this contract is not a project under The California Environmental Quality Act (Section 21000, et. seq. of the California Public Resources Code, hereafter CEQA) because the action has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
Attachments
A. PVI 2022-2023 Resolution