RL revision 09.26.2023
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN
THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
ON BEHALF OF ITS
UC Cooperative Extension Contra Costa County
Master Gardener Program,
West Contra Costa Fire Safe Council,
AND
City of Richmond
This Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) is entered into by and between West Contra Costa Fire Safe Council, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, (“WCCFSC”), the City of Richmond (“Richmond”), and The Regents of the University of California (“University”), on behalf of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and its UC Cooperative Extension Contra Costa County (“UCCE”) for its Master Gardener Program (collectively, “MGP”).
WCCFSC, Richmond, and MGP shall hereby be known collectively as the “Parties.” I. PURPOSE
The purpose of this MOU is to collaboratively develop, support, and maintain a demonstration garden, The Firewise Demonstration Garden (“Garden”), to be used to educate in evidence-based best practices in landscaping and sustainability for gardening of wildfire areas and hand-on demonstrations (“Project”), as further described in Exhibit A, Project Description, which is hereby attached and incorporated by reference. The Project will be conducted at the following location: Richmond Fire Station #63 (“Fire Station”), 5201 Valley View Road, Richmond, CA 94803 (“Premises”), which is a property of Richmond, as further depicted in Exhibit B, Map of Premises, which is hereby attached and incorporated by reference.
II. TERM
This MOU is to be in effect from the date of last signature below and extend for an initial period of three (3) years. At the end of the period, this MOU may be reissued for another three (3) year period upon written consent of all parties.
III. NOTICES
Any notice required or permitted to be given under this MOU shall be in writing and shall be conclusively delivered to the other party at the following respective addresses:
For WCCFSC:
Marilyn Saarni, Vice Chair
West Contra Costa Fire Safe Council
C/O Soheila Bana
727 Devils Drop Court
Richmond CA 94803
Email: [email protected]
Docusign Envelope ID: B4D0D3D4-1B63-4015-9ECF-9DC15334768B Docusign Envelope ID: 113A6E11-8E24-4C07-AB33-20004493BFD7 Memorandum of Understanding
between University and Cooperator (continued)
For Richmond:
Shasa Curl, Richmond City Manager
City of Richmond
450 Civic Center Plaza
Richmond, CA 94804
Email: [email protected] _
For University:
Andrew Miller, UCCE County Director
UC Cooperative Extension Contra Costa County
2380 Bisso Lane, suite B
Concord, California 94520
Email: [email protected]
IV. INDEPENDENCE OF PARTIES
Each party shall perform its responsibilities and activities described herein as an independent contractor and not as an officer, agent, employee, or volunteer of the other parties hereto. Each party shall be solely responsible for the acts and omissions of its officers, agents, and employees. Nothing herein shall be considered as creating a partnership or joint venture between the parties.
V. INSURANCE
UCCE certified Master Gardeners who have completed formal training, and who periodically are re-trained, are considered formal volunteers or agents of the University, and therefore, are covered for their negligent acts or omissions by the University’s general liability self-insurance program while acting in the course and scope of their volunteerism for the University.
All parties agree to provide and maintain, at their own expense, a program of insurance, or self-insurance, covering the activities and operations of their respective officers, agents and employees for the term of this MOU. Insurance shall include, but is not limited to, comprehensive general liability, professional liability, and personal injury. The various policies of insurance shall have a minimum coverage of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate. Upon request, the parties will provide each other evidence of such coverage naming the other party(ies) as an additional insured including an additional insured endorsement issued by the insurance issuer or program of self-insurance.
Docusign Envelope ID: B4D0D3D4-1B63-4015-9ECF-9DC15334768B Docusign Envelope ID: 113A6E11-8E24-4C07-AB33-20004493BFD7 Memorandum of Understanding
between University and Cooperator (continued)
VI. INDEMNIFICATION
The parties agree to defend, indemnify and hold one another harmless from and against any and all liability, loss, expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), or claims for injury or damages arising from the performance of this MOU, but only in proportion to and to the extent such liability, loss, expense, attorneys’ fees, or claims for injury or damages are caused by or result from the negligent or intentional acts or omissions of the indemnifying party, its officers, agents, or employees.
VII. RIGHT OF ACCESS AND STEWARDSHIP
Richmond grants the right of access to the Garden located at the Premises to MGP and WCCFSC for the purposes of its development and maintenance.
VIII. OTHER TERMS
1. Copyright: Each party shall retain sole and exclusive ownership of the copyright, including all associated rights, to any written or otherwise copyrightable material that it develops for its respective program.
2. Logos: Where the Parties’ logos are used on any signage or documentation arising from this MOU, the logos of each party will be of equal size.
3. Information Privacy: All parties shall endeavor to hold any personal information received in the course of this project confidential, to the greatest extent permitted by University policy and applicable federal and state statutes.
4. ADA Compliance: The Parties represent and warrant that each has knowledge of the requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Government Code and the Health and Safety Code of the State of California, relating to access to public buildings and accommodations for disabled persons, and relating to facilities for disabled persons. Richmond, being the property owner, will, at its sole cost, comply with such provisions to the fullest extent of the law with respect to this MOU, the Project, and all related matters.
5. Non-Discrimination: The University prohibits discrimination against or harassment of any person in any of its programs or activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, age, disability, income derived from a public assistance program, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. UC Policy is intended to be consistent with the provisions of applicable State and Federal laws.
6. Modification: This MOU may be modified or amended with the written approval of all parties, provided that the party proposing a modification or amendment submits the same in writing to the other parties at least sixty (60) days in advance to allow for negotiation of said proposal.
Docusign Envelope ID: B4D0D3D4-1B63-4015-9ECF-9DC15334768B Docusign Envelope ID: 113A6E11-8E24-4C07-AB33-20004493BFD7 Memorandum of Understanding
between University and Cooperator (continued)
7. Dispute Resolution: Should any conflict arise as the result of this MOU, UCCE Director and authorized representatives of WCCFSC and Richmond shall meet to resolve the conflict.
8. Termination: Either party may terminate this MOU upon giving sixty (60) days’ written notice to the other parties.
9. Electronic Signatures: This MOU may be executed by electronic signature(s) and transmitted either by facsimile or in a portable document format (“pdf”) version by email and such electronic signature(s) shall be deemed as original for purposes of this MOU and shall have the same force and effect as a manually executed original.
10. Execution in Counterparts: This MOU may be executed in two or more counterpart copies, each of which shall be deemed as an original and all of which, when taken together, shall constitute one and the same instrument.
Docusign Envelope ID: B4D0D3D4-1B63-4015-9ECF-9DC15334768B Docusign Envelope ID: 113A6E11-8E24-4C07-AB33-20004493BFD7 Memorandum of Understanding
between University and Cooperator (continued)
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this MOU on the latest date of execution set forth below.
CITY OF RICHMOND
_________________________________________________________________ Shasa Curl, City Manager Date
City of Richmond
WEST CONTRA COSTA FIRE SAFE COUNCIL
_________________________________________________________________ Marilyn Saarni, Vice Chair Date
West Contra Costa Fire Safe Council
THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
__________________________________________________
Robin Sanchez, Director Date
Policies, Compliance and Programmatic Agreements
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
Docusign Envelope ID: B4D0D3D4-1B63-4015-9ECF-9DC15334768B 4/22/2025
Docusign Envelope ID: 113A6E11-8E24-4C07-AB33-20004493BFD7 4/23/2025
Memorandum of Understanding
between University and Cooperator (continued)
Exhibit A: Project Description
I. BACKGROUND
West Contra Costa Fire Safe Council, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was formed in April 2022 to provide education, exchange information, and foster wildfire prevention and fire safety within the County of Contra Costa. Its focus is to serve residents of West Contra Costa’s areas subject to very high and high wildfire risk to promote wildfire preparedness and preserving life and property through education. It also works to enable residents to access resources to better protect themselves and their communities, and to build and support strong collaborative ties between the various jurisdictions with fire protection functions, agencies dealing with disaster planning, and other fire safe councils and firewise communities, both locally and statewide.
City of Richmond, California, incorporated 1905, runs from the east shore of San Francisco Bay into the El Sobrante Valley and the northern reach of the Berkeley Hills, where the Hayward Fault and Wildcat Canyon meet. Its eastern portion, east of Interstate Highway 80, has very high and high wildfire risk areas, in great part due to its Wildland-Urban Interface with East Bay Regional Parks, East Bay MUD, Pinole City Park (an unmanaged forest), and private agricultural lands (primarily ranch) and wildlands. Roughly 12,000 Richmond residents live in these high-risk areas.
The University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program is an educational program designed to teach and extend information to address gardening needs in communities throughout the State of California. The purpose of the UCCE MGP is to identify, train, and develop community volunteers who, through the dissemination and application of horticultural and botanical information and knowledge, will enhance learning and therefore the quality of life for the people of the state of California.
II. RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Richmond agrees to:
a. Provide water and electricity to the Garden at Richmond’s sole cost. b. Remove green waste debris and related debris removal of green waste. Debris removal requests shall be made to Richmond with at least three (3) days advance notice.
c. Provide and deliver mulch to the Garden. Request for mulch requests shall be made to Richmond with at least three (3) days advance notice. d. Remove identified trees located on the Premises that are either dying or in violation of the “CalFire Defensible Zone Principles,” within the first twelve (12) months of execution of this MOU. Upon mutual agreement, any resulting large wood chips may be retained on the Premises for garden or public use.
e. Ensure that the site has public access during daylight hours.
Docusign Envelope ID: B4D0D3D4-1B63-4015-9ECF-9DC15334768B Docusign Envelope ID: 113A6E11-8E24-4C07-AB33-20004493BFD7 Memorandum of Understanding
between University and Cooperator (continued)
f. Provide secure space at the Premises to store garden tools, supplies, and educational workshop materials. The secure space will be mutually agreed upon, and any additional costs associated with the space will be the responsibility of MGP and/or WCCFSC with prior approval.
g. Provide support in the event of damage, vandalism or theft to the Garden.
h. Promote the Garden and collaboration of the Parties on Richmond’s website, newsletters, and public marquee. The IT Director shall approve any information that is published, with consultation and approval of each party.
i. Permit appropriate informational signage at the Garden, including recognition of the Parties. Other signage may include MGP’s educational outreach programs and WCCFSC’s outreach and resources programs.
j. Ensure consistent and timely communication between the Parties and other appropriate Richmond delegates (e.g., the Richmond Fire Department and Richmond Public Works).
k. Provide Garden participants with access to the restrooms located in the Fire Station but only when the Fire Station personnel are present.
2. WCCFSC agrees to:
a. Support MGP’s design and Garden development with timely consultation.
b. Provide public outreach for community-wide workshops, such as recruiting community volunteers to clear on-site flammable vegetation or wood chipping events coordinated by the Parties.
c. Plan, design and construct, as resources are available, an outdoor classroom that all Parties shall have access to for educational or emergency preparedness-related events at the Garden.
d. Develop and maintain a calendar for space reservations for the outdoor classroom once constructed. MGP, WCCFSC and Richmond, including the Fire Station staff, shall have priority access to the reservations.
e. Maintain the outdoor classroom for appropriate cleanliness and safety conditions for the Garden participants.
f. Offer at least five (5) wildfire preparedness and home hardening educational events per calendar year. The events may either be on- site, including garden tours, or virtual webinars.
g. Support the maintenance of the Garden for appropriate cleanliness and safety conditions for the Garden participants.
Docusign Envelope ID: B4D0D3D4-1B63-4015-9ECF-9DC15334768B Docusign Envelope ID: 113A6E11-8E24-4C07-AB33-20004493BFD7 Memorandum of Understanding
between University and Cooperator (continued)
h. Promote the Garden and collaboration of the Parties on WCCFSC’s website and other outreach media.
i. Ensure consistent and timely communications between the Parties and other appropriate Richmond delegates.
3. MGP agrees to:
a. Design and develop the overall landscape plan to demonstrate firewise best practices, including use of nonflammable materials, hydrozones, irrigation, and garden bed layout. Design features will reflect principles of “CalFire Defensible Space Zones.” MGP shall be the lead on all Garden design.
b. Provide materials for educational and outreach activities, including garden-related supplies such as mulch, tools, and irrigation supplies as funding allows.
c. Maintain the Garden with evidence-based practices to demonstrate best firewise and sustainable landscape practices, with the support of WCCFSC.
d. Maintain the Garden for appropriate cleanliness and safety conditions for the Garden participants
e. Maintain the outdoor classroom, in support of WCCFSC, for appropriate cleanliness and safety conditions for the Garden participants.
f. Schedule regular workdays to establish and maintain the Garden to a high standard of care and for educational effectiveness. g. Offer at least five (5) firewise gardening educational events per calendar year. The events may either be on-site, including garden tours, or virtual webinars.
h. Promote the Garden and collaboration of the Parties on MGP’s website and other outreach media.
i. Ensure consistent and timely communications between the Parties and other appropriate Richmond delegates.
The parties to this MOU shall mutually discuss and agree upon any outside-party activities to be conducted at the Garden.
All parties understand that the Premises is an operating firehouse with firefighter personnel present at all times. Any issues regarding the operations at the Premises will be discussed and agreed upon, in a timely manner, by the MGP Coordinator, an authorized representative of WCCFSC, and the Richmond Fire Department’s delegate.
UCCE is the entity responsible for the MGP in its entirety within its respective county. Program decisions are the responsibility of the UCCE County Director, in consultation with the Master Gardener Program Coordinator.
Docusign Envelope ID: B4D0D3D4-1B63-4015-9ECF-9DC15334768B Docusign Envelope ID: 113A6E11-8E24-4C07-AB33-20004493BFD7 Memorandum of Understanding
between University and Cooperator (continued)
Decisions regarding the development of the Project are to be made by the MGP Coordinator and authorized representatives from WCCFSC and Richmond.
With respect to fundraising activities conducted for the benefit of the Project, the party conducting the activity shall bear sole responsibility for any expenses incurred and shall retain sole ownership of any revenue generated.
It is understood that any and all improvements and/or installations made to the Premises shall become the property of the Party to whom each improvement and/or installation pertains. Should this MOU be terminated in accordance with the above Item No. VIII.8, the Party will remove all such improvements and/or installations from the Premises.
Docusign Envelope ID: B4D0D3D4-1B63-4015-9ECF-9DC15334768B Docusign Envelope ID: 113A6E11-8E24-4C07-AB33-20004493BFD7 Certificate Of Completion
Envelope Id: 113A6E11-8E24-4C07-AB33-20004493BFD7
Status: Sent
Subject: Complete with Docusign: UCCE Contra Costa - City of Richmond - West Contra Costa Fire Safe Coun...
Source Envelope:
Document Pages: 9
Signatures: 1
Envelope Originator:
Certificate Pages: 5
Initials: 0
Robin Sanchez
AutoNav: Enabled
EnvelopeId Stamping: Enabled
Time Zone: (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
2801 2nd Street
169A
Davis, CA 95618
[email protected]
IP Address: 68.228.204.91
Record Tracking
Status: Original
4/23/2025 12:50:09 PM
Holder: Robin Sanchez
[email protected]
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Marilyn Saarni
[email protected]
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Accepted: 4/23/2025 12:59:26 PM
ID: ad4e6d60-5580-4e33-ba96-75f9288107a2
Shasa Curl
[email protected]
City Manager
City of Richmond
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Jenna H. Kwan
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Rachel Lloyd
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