Item #08
Date: July 2, 2024
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Vincenzo S. Corazza, Public Works Director
Dan Flores, Community Development Director
Jim Schaad, City Manager
Subject: Engage Empower and Implement Grant Application – Historic Chinatown Recommendation:
Pass a motion authorizing staff to 1) partner with the Marysville Chinese Community, Inc and 2) submit an application for a Engage Empower and Implement Grant through the Sacramento Area Council of Government and 3) accept the grant funding in the event the grant is awarded.
Rationale for Recommendation:
The grant funds would allow the Marysville Chinese Community, Inc, a 501(c) non-profit Community Based Organization (CBO) to conduct a multi-year community needs assessment with various stakeholders of the historic Marysville Chinatown.
Background:
The Engage Empower and Implement (EEI) program was developed in collaboration with community organizations and input from local jurisdictions. One of the keystone findings were that community engagement is only truly meaningful when it is done with the intention of listening and then acting on what the community shares.
The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) worked with a consultant team to engage with and understand the needs of CBOs and the challenges they experience when working with government entities. In November 2023, the SACOG Board of Directors adopted the framework of the EEI Program.
This $3.8 million program will fund partnerships between local government entities and community based organizations (CBOs) for community-based planning and pre-construction project development activities in the six-county greater Sacramento region, with a specific focus on meaningful community engagement in disinvested communities.
Discussion & Analysis:
Unlike the traditional grantmaking process where the local government agency is the lead in executing the grant, the EEI grant is tailored towards the Community Based Organizations taking the lead and the government entity is set up as a minor financial or administrative partner. The intent is to empower the CBOs who oftentimes are more in tune with the stakeholders with financial and technical resources, to Item #08
engage the non-traditional stakeholders (e.g. speaking their native language) and implement their plan. A grassroots approach versus a top-down approach.
The Marysville Chinese Community, Inc was identified as an eligible CBO for this grant application. The City Manager has engaged with several other stakeholders to arrive at a general scope concept for the grant. This includes:
• Identify stakeholders that represent the community and are key to project success. • Define the physical borders and area of Chinatown.
• Determine the Chinese stakeholder’s wants/needs (cultural preservation, economic prosperity/growth, architectural guidelines, safety, etc.) • Perform robust community input to validate community desires. • Identify barriers preventing realization of wants/needs. • Develop land use model and design guidelines that support community. • Identify public and private investment partners/funding opportunities. • Develop an executable plan for redevelopment and successful implementable grant applications. • Estimate implementation costs if possible.
• Identify some initial pilot projects that can be implemented at relatively low cost and longer term larger projects.
Although large CBOs can apply for the grant by themselves., the Marysville Chinese Community, Inc, is small that it would need the City to partner to administer the grant. The minimum amount for the grant is $150,000 and the maximum is $500,000 with a 30/70 split favoring the CBO highly encouraged by SACOG.
The timeline for the grant application and execution is as follows:
Should the application be awarded, Staff will return to the City Council for Contract Execution, sometime in late Fall/Winter 2024.
Fiscal Impact:
The fiscal impact of this grant, if awarded, will provide a 30% split to the City of Marysville while the Marysville Chinese Community, Inc would retain 70% to execute the EEI Grant. No local matching funds are required.
Attachment:
1) SACOG EEI Grant Application Guidelines