City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: AUGUST 15, 2023
FROM: HOUSING AUTHORITY WARD: 2
SUBJECT: TRANSFORMATIVE CLIMATE COMMUNITIES IMPLEMENTATION GRANT SUBRECIPIENT AGREEMENT WITH RIVERSIDE COMMUNITY HEALTH FOUNDATION FOR A $70,387.75 TO DEVELOP AND REVISE AN INDICATOR TRACKING PLAN FOR THE PROJECTS RELATED TO THE GRANT ISSUES:
Approval of a Transformative Climate Communities Grant Subrecipient Agreement with Riverside Community Health Foundation for a $70,387.75 to develop and revise an Indicator Tracking Plan for the projects related to the grant.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
Approve a Transformative Climate Communities Grant Subrecipient Agreement with Riverside Community Health Foundation for a $70,387.75 to develop and revise an Indicator Tracking Plan for projects related to the grant; and Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to sign and execute a Subrecipient Agreement with Riverside Community Health Foundation (Attachment A) to develop and revise a Grant Indicator Tracking Plan, including making minor and non-substantive changes as necessary.
BACKGROUND:
On February 25, 2020, the City Council approved Resolution No. 23550, authorizing the submission of an application to the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Program administered through the State Strategic Growth Council (SGC) for an amount not to exceed $28.2 million for the “Eastside Climate Collaborative” Initiative. The City Council’s action also authorized the acceptance of the TCC Grant upon award as well as approved the Partnership Agreement for the Collaborative Stakeholder Structure for the Eastside Climate Collaborative Initiative.
On February 27, 2020, the City applied for a $28.2 million TCC Implementation Grant to fund housing, smart transit, and urban greening in the Downtown and Eastside Neighborhoods of Riverside. The grant proposal envisioned a diverse set of projects by the City of Riverside and partner agencies with the goal of producing public health and environmental benefits through the reduction of emissions from sources of air pollution within a Project Area that extends in the Eastside from University of California Riverside (UCR) to the Downtown Metrolink station, with the Entrada housing project being the center of the project area. The goals of the proposal included achieving health equity and improving public health by connecting and investing in Project Area residents and ensuring healthy and active living by improving and increasing access to healthy environments.
In July of 2020, the City and its project partners received notification by from the State Strategic Growth Council of an award of $9,080,894 for the TCC Implementation Grant and an additional $22,121,206 under the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC) to fund completion of the Entrada Housing Project at 7th and Chicago Streets, as well as smart transit projects, expansion of the Vine Street Mobility Hub, park improvements, urban greening, and workforce development projects and programs within the TCC Implementation Grant Project Area. The awarded Grant package was valued at $31,202,100 and exceeded the original application request. The AHSC component of the grant was to go directly to the City’s application partner, Wakeland Housing and Development to fund the Entrada affordable housing project and to the City and Riverside Transit Agency to fund associated transit projects. Additional authorizations and separate funding documents required for the AHSC program award will be brought to the City Council and Housing Authority Boards this year for their review and approval.
On February 16, 2021, the City Council approved Subrecipient Agreements with Grid Alternatives, Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority, TreePeople, University of California Riverside Center for Environmental Research and Technology, Riverside Community Health Foundation, Community Settlement Association, and County of Riverside Department of Housing, Homelessness Prevention and Workforce Solutions to implement the TCC Implementation Grant projects. The City Council also approved a First Amendment to the Partnership Agreement to add the Riverside Unified School District as a Project Partner and authorized the execution of an Implementation Grant Agreement with the State of California.
On May 7, 2021, the City and SGC executed Grant Number SGC20106 - TCC Program Implementation Grant - Round 3. All Subrecipient Agreements with the project partners were executed shortly thereafter.
DISCUSSION:
The Indicator Tracking Plan component of the TCC Program Implementation Grant is led by UC Riverside – College of Engineering, Center for Environmental Research & Technology (CE-CERT) as the Evaluation Technical Assistance Provider. The Indicator Tracking Plan supports the Eastside Climate Collaborative TCC project fulfill Data and Indicator Tracking and Reporting requirements by providing a program evaluation framework for the entire TCC Project.
Riverside Community Health Foundation (RCHF) plays a collaborative role in evaluating the activities of the Eastside Climate Collaborate for the TCC Grant. In this role, RCHF will develop and revise the Indicator Tracking Pan for the project; coordinate the collection and aggregation of data, usually through community and partner surveys; complete two TCC partner profiles (case studies) each year; and conduct the annual process evaluation of the collaborative, culminating in a process memorandum. RCHF also assists CE-CERT with reporting and presenting annual findings.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
The project supports Strategic Priority 2 - Community Well Being and Goal, specifically Goals 2.1 – 2.5 from the Envision Riverside 2025 Strategic Plan.
Community Trust – Community was informed of the project through social media, community meetings, and the Housing Authority website. The project was discussed and approved in a public forum at prior City Council meetings.
Equity – Activities funded under the TCC grant are accessible and made available to all Eastside residents.
Fiscal Responsibility – Riverside is a prudent steward of public funds and ensures responsible management of the City’s financial resources while providing quality public services to all.
Innovation – Riverside is inventive and timely in meeting the community’s changing needs and prepares for the future through collaborative partnerships and adaptive processes.
Sustainability & Resiliency – Riverside is committed to meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future and ensuring the City’s capacity to persevere, adapt and grow during good and difficult times alike.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total fiscal impact of the action is $70,387.75. The funds are budgeted and available in the Grants & Restricted Programs Fund, TCC Community Engagement Project account number 9409340-440210.
Prepared by: Michelle Davis, Housing Authority Manager
Certified as to
availability of funds: Edward Enriquez, Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Mike Futrell, City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra Norton, City Attorney
Attachment: A - TCC Subrecipient Subrecipient Agreement – Indicator Tracking Plan TCC Implementation Grant RCHF Subrecipient Agreement – Indicator Tracking Plan ● Page 2