February 18, 2022
Thomas Omolo
Management Analyst II
Richmond City Manager’s Office, Economic Development
450 Civic Center Plaza
Richmond, CA 94804
Re: City of Richmond – Proposal for Cannabis-Related Consulting Services
Dear Thomas:
SCIConsultingGroup (“SCI”) is pleased to submit this proposal for cannabis-related services to the City of Richmond (“City”) to assist the City with the implementation of Richmond’s Cannabis Equity Program.
SCI proposes to provide the complete suite of services necessary for a successful local cannabis program implementation, as fully described in our Scope of Work:
I. Cost Recovery Analysis
II. Ordinance Amendments
III. Equity Application and Scoring Criteria
SCI is one of California’s top local cannabis policy consulting firms. We have broad and direct experience working with the City of Richmond and other municipalities providing all the services supporting regulated local cannabis businesses. We are currently providing similar cannabis-related equity services to the Cities of Richmond, Palm Springs, and Stockton and are being considered for these services by several other municipalities.
We believe our expert knowledge of the cannabis industry, coupled with our previous experience and knowledge working with the Cit y of Richmond providing cannabis -related services, will serve the City of Richmond well. We look forward to this opportunity in assisting the City with this important project and stand ready to proceed. If you have any questions or require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached at (707) 430-4300 or via e-mail at [email protected] .
Sincerely,
John Bliss, P.E.
President
_____________________________________________________________________________________________ CITY OF RICHMOND PAGE 2 OF 5
PROPOSAL FOR CANNABIS-RELATED CONSULTING SERVICES
BY SCIConsultingGroup, February 2022
Background and Qualifications
SCI provides cannabis -related advice and broad consulting services to a variety of public agencies in California, including community support analysis, ordinance development, fee studies, taxation, implementation, application process development, applicati on review and scoring, monitoring and compliance, business tax auditing, community outreach and engagement, and social equity consulting.
Our core philosophy and approach towards the implementation of local cannabis policy is more broadly balanced than that of our competitors. Our philosophy comes from our genesis as a solution -based engineering firm that has evolved and developed in-house expertise in public policy, community outreach and social equity. Although our quantitative and regulatory rigor, and attention to detail, are unsurpassed, we balance this with realistic approaches to a real- world challenge, fully understanding and supporting the City’s challenging transition into a regulated and legal cannabis business arena. Hence, SCI balances enforcement of local and State code along with the need to support viable cannabis businesses and to shepherd non-compliant businesses into a safe and regulated environment.
We were perhaps the very first consulting firm to provide a full suite of local c annabis policy implementation services to California municipalities and developed the “6 Key Elements of Cannabis Implementation” approach that is the standard today:
1. Community Research and Outreach (Meetings & Surveys)
2. Health and Safety & Land Use Regulations (Ordinance(s))
3. Full Cost Recovery (Regulatory Fees)
4. Revenue (Taxation Ballot Measures)
5. Local Industry Selections (Application and Selection Process)
6. Monitoring and Compliance (Inspections and Audits)
And more recently, we have added, and become a state leader in:
7. Social Equity (We are currently providing these services to the Cities of Richmond, Palm Springs, and Stockton).
Project Team
Below is a brief description of the proposed team for this project: Kyle Tankard and John Bliss. Kyle will serve as project manager and day-to-day contact.
John Bliss M.Eng., P.E., President John Bliss, a professional engineer and President of SCI, specializes in local cannabis policy, and special revenue consulting. He was instrumental in developing the now -standard implementation process used by most municipalities in California to implement local cannabis policy. Mr. Bliss has had an extensive career developing and implementing equity, diversity and inclusion policy reaching back almost 30 years to the ground -breaking implementation for the City of San Francisco public works construction employment following the Rodney King uprising in 1991. He is a graduate of Brown University with a _____________________________________________________________________________________________ CITY OF RICHMOND PAGE 3 OF 5
PROPOSAL FOR CANNABIS-RELATED CONSULTING SERVICES
BY SCIConsultingGroup, February 2022
Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering. He holds a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from The University of California, Berkeley, where he was a Regent's Scholar. Mr. Bliss is a licensed Professional Civil Engineer in the State of California and is a LEED accredited professional.
Kyle Tankard Senior Consultant – Cannabis Business Leader Kyle Tankard serves as the Cannabis Business Leader at SCI providing local cannabis policy expertise in California since 2016. He plays a diverse role, assisting municipalities with all aspects of local cannabis implementation, including regulatory development, taxation policy and cost recovery, cannabis compliance, application review, and cannabis-related public education, equity, and outreach. Mr. Tankard has successfully developed and implemented multiple local cannabis regulatory programs throughout the State, most notably in the Cities of Alameda, Shasta Lake and Richmond. He currently manages a portfolio of over 15 cannabis clients, providing a variety of ongoing cannabis-related services, including application review, plan checks, compliance inspections, and equity analysis and program development. He is a graduate of University of California, Santa Cruz.
Proposed Scope of Work
(Task 1) – Cost Recovery Analysis
SCI will conduct a cost recovery analysis to review and update the City’s existing cannabis fee structure to ensure full cost recovery for expenses incurred by the City related to each step of the cannabis application, permitting, and regulatory process. The goal is to establish a reliable, robust cannabis fee structure that is supported by the community and the local cannabis industry, is Proposition 26 justifiable, and adheres to all State and local regulations.
Deliverables:
• Develop Cannabis Regulatory Fees
• Prepare Resolution, Staff Report, and Supporting Documentation for Council Adoption (Task 2) – Ordinance Amendments
SCI will develop an ordinance amending the City’s existing municipal code related to commercial cannabis activity to address changes to the City’s regulatory process associated with the establishment of the City’s Cannabis Equity Program. The ordinance wil l address changes associated with the number and types of cannabis businesses, location and setback requirements, and the application review and selection process. We will carefully research our work to be compliant with all local and State laws and regulations, and the final ordinance will be reviewed by the City’s legal counsel prior to implementation. Finally, we will help shepherd the ordinance through the approval process.
Deliverables:
• Develop Ordinance Amendments
• Prepare Resolution, Staff Report, and Supporting Documentation for Council Adoption • Attend Council Meetings
_____________________________________________________________________________________________ CITY OF RICHMOND PAGE 4 OF 5
PROPOSAL FOR CANNABIS-RELATED CONSULTING SERVICES
BY SCIConsultingGroup, February 2022
(Task 3) – Equity Application and Scoring Criteria
SCI will develop and design a transparent and fair application process for the evaluation, ranking, and selection of cannabis equity applicants. Our goal for this task is to provide the City with a fair model of selection that favors equity, community safety, longevity, and sustainability. We want to ensure that as part of the application process, the applicant is completely familiar with the application process, and understands the potential time and financial investment and the regulatory process. SCI will develop application procedures and guidelines, application forms, and all other required documents.
Deliverables:
• Develop Equity Program Eligibility Application Form
• Develop Competitive Application, Review Process, & Selection Criteria Cost Estimate
In consideration for the Tasks as detailed in the Scope of Work, t he estimated compensation is detailed below by task:
Work Plan Fee
Cost Recovery Analysis $ 3,500
Ordinance Amendments $ 5,000
Equity Application and Scoring Criteria $ 15,000
SCI Staff Hourly Rate
President $ 291
Senior Cannabis Consultant $ 291
Cannabis Consultant $ 229
Support Staff $ 73
Incidental costs incurred for the purchase of additional travel and other out -of-pocket expenses will be reimbursed at actual cost, with the total not to exceed $500 per year without prior authorization from the City. The scope of services includes one face -to-face staff planning meeting. Any additional face -to-face meetings, if required, shall be billed at the rate of $550 per person, per meeting. SCI is available to meet via teleconference call on a regular basis at no additional charge.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________ CITY OF RICHMOND PAGE 5 OF 5
PROPOSAL FOR CANNABIS-RELATED CONSULTING SERVICES
BY SCIConsultingGroup, February 2022
References
Some of SCI’s most current and recent similar cannabis-related services provided:
City of Palm Springs
Contact: Veronica Goedhart, Director of Special Program Compliance [email protected]; (760) 322-8370, ext. 8370 Services: Cannabis Social Equity Assessment; Equity Program Development and Implementation
City of Stockton
Contact: Stephanie Ocasio, Assistant Director of Community Development [email protected]; (209) 937-8544
Services: Community Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement; Cannabis Social Equity Assessment; Equity Program Development and Implementation
City of Coalinga
Contact: Sean Brewer, Community Development Director [email protected]; (559) 935-1533, ext. 124
Services: Community Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement; Cannabis Social Equity Assessment; Equity Program Development and Implementation
A full list of our current and past cannabis clients is listed below:
Cities Counties
Alameda El Monte National City Santa Clara Alameda
Avalon Encinitas Nevada City Shasta Lake San Benito
Coalinga Fairfield Oroville Stockton San Luis Obispo
Colfax La Mesa Palm Springs Vallejo Tuolumne
Concord Livingston Richmond West Hollywood
Davis Lompoc San Bernardino Woodlake
Dunsmuir Merced San Carlos Yreka