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Agenda Report
March 23, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Finance Committee
FROM: Department of Housing
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A GRANT
AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $432,959 FOR THE
CALIFORNIA CLEANUP AND EMPLOYMENT PATHWAY GRANT AND
AMEND THE DEPARTMENT'S FISCAL YEAR 2026 OPERATING
BUDGET BY RECOGNIZING REVENUE AND APPROPRIATING
$432,959 IN THE GENERAL FUND
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Find that the recommended actions are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines per Section 15061 (b) (3), the "common sense" provision that CEQA only applies to projects that may have an effect on the environment;
2. Authorize the City Manager to enter into a grant agreement with the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for the acceptance of the California Cleanup and Employment Pathway (CCEP) grant in the amount of $432,959 to improve public spaces and expand workforce opportunities in the MAShl Division;
3. Authorize the City Manager to execute, and the City Clerk to attest, all related documents, agreements, and amendments; and
4. Amend the Housing Department's Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Operating Budget by recognizing revenue and appropriating $432,959 in the General Fund (101) for the CCEP grant.
MEETING OF.03/23/2026AGENDA ITEM NO..5
Recognize and Appropriate Grant with Caltrans and Amend FY 2026 Operating Budget March 23, 2026
BACKGROUND:
The Municipal Assistance, Solutions, and Hiring (MASH) program was established in 1978 to provide essential services to the community while offering employment and job training opportunities to individuals from high-need areas. Since 1978, MASH has provided meaningful employment, paid skills training, and career pathways for individuals who have traditionally faced systemic barriers to work. Currently, MASH crews address hundreds ofabandoned-item service requests and maintenance projects. Last year, MASH completed 420 abandoned-item requests and throughout its existence have placed hundreds of trainees into permanent roles, demonstrating community need and program effectiveness. Community blight creates public-safety concerns, reduces walkability, and erodes neighborhood pride.
This CCEP funding will support the proposed Pasadena Clean and Green Pathways Project and will address the persistent environmental decline and barriers to stable employment for underserved, underrepresented, and communities with limited education and work experience. Through this CCEP funded project, MASH-supervised cleanup crews, composed of unhoused and underrepresented communities, will remove litter, graffiti, and bulky abandoned items from public rights-of-way, transit stops, and benches, and create paid work opportunities. Participants will be paid $18.94/hour, receive soft and technical skills training from MASH Work Experience Supervisors, and career development support to address employment barriers.
The Pasadena Clean and Green Pathways Project will provide community improvements that create sustainable workforce outcomes, reducing recidivism, increasing household stability, and fostering long-term community revitalization. MASH aims to address both the visible symptoms (litter, dumping, graffiti) and root causes (unemployment and lack of pathways) that diminish quality of life in underserved Pasadena neighborhoods.
In doing so, the project supports community revitalization and workforce development; Cleaner streets and transit stops lead to safer, more inviting neighborhoods boosting resident morale, encouraging investment, and reducing environmental health risks.
Additionally, creating stable employment pathways leads to greater household stability, higher incomes, and reduced reliance on public assistance systems.
The CCEP grant term is April 1, 2026, through October 31, 2027. It is anticipated that approximately $69,000 will be expended in FY 2026 and the remainder of $363,959 will be carried forward to FY 2027 via the quarterly operating budget amendment process in the first quarter of FY 2027. The grant budget is shown in the table below.
Budget CategoryAmount
Administrative Costs$34,636
Programmatic Costs
Total
$398,323
$432,959
2 Recognize and Appropriate Grant with Caltrans and Amend FY 2026 Operating Budget March 23, 2026
COUNCIL POLICY CONSIDERATION:
Approval of the subject recommendations has the potential to expand workforce development and employment opportunities for individuals participating in the Municipal Assistance, Solutions and Hiring (MASH) program through the State's Community Cleanup and Employment Pathways (CCEP) Program.
The proposed recommendations support the City's ongoing efforts to provide pathways to employment and skills development, and are consistent with the goals outlined in the City's adopted workforce development initiatives.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
The actions proposed herein is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 (b)(3), the "common sense" provision of CEQA which applies to projects which may 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 activities in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activities are not subject to CEQA. Authorizing an amendment to the Department's FY 2026 Operating Budget and entering into a contract with the state for grant funding will not have a significant effect on the environment and, hence, are not subject to CEQA.
Recognize and Appropriate Grant with Caltrans and Amend FY 2026 Operating Budget March 23, 2026
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended actions will amend the Department of Housing's FY 2026 Operating Budget in the General Fund by recognizing revenue and appropriating $432,959 in the General Fund (101) for the CCEP grant from Caltrans for improving public spaces and expanding workforce opportunities in the MASH Division.
Respectfully submitted,
JAMES WONG
Director of Housing
Prepared by:
Sherreeta VVhite
Program Coordinator
Approved by:
^•^^-
^MARQUEZ
City Manager
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