City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: SEPTEMBER 5, 2023
FROM: COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC D EVELOPMENT WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT SUBRECIPIENT AGREEMENT WITH INLAND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 211+, dba COMMUNITY CONNECT, FOR
$779,948.05 OF AMERICAN RESCUE PL AN ACT FUNDS TO ADMINISTER A
CITY OF RIVERSIDE SMALL AND MICRO-BUSIN ESS COVID RECOVERY GRANT PROGRAM.
ISSUE:
Approve the proposed American Rescue Plan Act Subrecipient Agreement with Inland Southern California 211+, dba Community Connect (Comm unity Connect) for $779,948.05 of American Rescue Plan Act Funds to administer a City of Riverside small and micro-business COVID recovery grant program.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council:
1. Approve the proposed Amer ican Rescue Plan Act Subrecipient Professional Consultant Services Agreement with Community Connec t for $779,948.05 of American Rescue Plan Act Funds to administer a City of Riverside small and micro-business COVID recovery grant program; and
2. Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute the American Rescue Plan Act Subrecipient Professional C onsultant Services Agreement with Community Connect, including making minor and non-substantive changes to complete the transaction.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION:
On July 20, 2023, the Economic Development Placemaking, Branding & Marketing Committee recommended that the City Counc il 1) Approve the proposed American Rescue Plan Act Subrecipient Professi onal Consultant Services Agreem ent with Community Connect, for $779,948.05 of American Rescue Plan Act Funds to administer a City of Riverside small and micro-business COVID recovery grant program; and 2) Authorize the City Manager or his designee to execute the Agr eement including making minor and non-substantive changes to complete the transaction.
Community Connect ARPA Rescue Plan Agreement -Page 2
BACKGROUND:
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act to facilitate the recovery from the devastating economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) established the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund and Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, which pr ovides a combined $350 billion in assistance to eligible state, local, territ orial, and Tribal governments to assi st in the economic and health recovery by providing resources to address impacts resulting from the crisis.
ARPA established the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to provide resources to support communities struggling with the im pacts of COVID-19. Originally, these funds were approved to be used for pandemic response needs, including mitigation and prevention, support to communities and populations most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, and to fill revenue shortfalls.
The US Department of t he Treasury issued a Final Rule to fu rther clarify elig ible programs for these funds and became effective on April 1, 2022.
Many Riverside retail, restaurants, hospitality , travel, personal, and professional services, including home-based businesses, were greatly affected by the pandemic. On November 9, 2021, the City Council approv ed the first allocation of the AR PA funding Expenditure Category Plan in the amount of $36,7 67,594, which included an allo cation of $6,000,000 for the development and administration of a local small and micro-business grant.
DISCUSSION:
One of the City of Riverside’s great economic strengths is its diverse small business community.
Pre-pandemic data indicates that small and micr o-enterprises comprise nearly 70% of Riverside’s business community and account for ov er 32% of local employment. In addition, Riverside is also the biggest city in Inland Southern California, a region with the largest number of family-owned businesses in the country.
The goal of the Riverside Sm all and Micro-Business Grant is to infuse resiliency capital into the local, small business sectors, targeting disadvantaged and underserved businesses. This funding is intended to ensure equitable opportunities for local businesses to face any present and future economic challenges and provide safety, stability, education, and growth to our local economy.
While some businesses may have lingering debt from the pandemic, ARPA allows funds for a variety of uses that revita lize our local communities and create greater long term business resilience. The Riverside Small and Micro-Enterprise Grant will be available to qualified applicants for expenses, including new hiring and employee training, façade impr ovements, business equipment, security systems, computer and software upgr ades, marketing and branding campaigns, and other items focused on attracting new customers.
In order to create, administer, and manage this process, the City on October 3, 2022, requested the help of qualified consultants that specialize in providing this service. Request for Proposal No. 2193 was posted on the City’s Online Bid System and closed on October 27, 2022. The scope of services included:
Finalizing the program in comp liance with all ARPA requirements; Managing an outreach and marketing effort to ensure equity and awareness of the program in coordination with the City and local partners;
Community Connect ARPA Rescue Plan Agreement -Page 3
Program coordination and management;
Preparing the application/ documentation process;
Reviewing and qualif ying applications; and
Providing all r equired reporting.
An internal evaluation committee comprised of va rious facets of the City reviewed the proposals received and after careful review and scoring, the RFP concluded Community Connect is the most qualified option. The following summarizes what the evaluation committee found:
Firm Experience and Capacity: The proposal included positive references and detailed testimonials from satisfied cust omers with similar projects. It demonstrated a variety of relevant local partnerships and over 30 years of local and regional experience. Additionally, the proposal included multi-li ngual communication and a co mmitment to be physically available to applicants. Finally, the firm o ffered an extensive, multi-faceted, and multi- lingual marketing plan, includi ng digital, print, radio, news paper, social media, website, attendance at small business events, and doo r-to-door outreach as needed, as well as a focus on connecting with underserved communities.
Understanding, Approach and Methodology: The proposal demonstrated a clear understanding of the Riverside business community and the time and resources required to meet the scope of services. It detailed a hands-on, personalized approach to customer service with multiple touch-point options th roughout the process, in cluding in-person and virtual options as well as the ability to leverage the support of multiple community partners.
The proposal approach included a detailed plan for equitable and accessible participation utilizing neighborhood demographic data to identify underserved communities and strategic design of the targeted marketing and outreach plan with a variety of methods for reaching the business community. Comm unity Connect demonstrated a clear understanding of staff’s expectations for fi nalizing the business qualifications and appropriate supporting documentation according to ARPA requirements.
Cost: Although not the lowest bid, the costs in this proposal are well explained and clearly aligned to specific tasks, st affing needs, reporting requirement s, and time allocations to demonstrate a reasonable expectation of the work required for the project. Following staff negotiations, a 10% ($95,000) price reduction was achieved.
Schedule: The work schedule is well organized, allowing adequate time and clear deadlines for each aspect of the project, in cluding reporting for ARPA requirements and timely distribution of funds to qualified applicants.
The professional consultant services agreem ent in the amount of $779,948.05 retains $5,220,051.95 available for distribution through this grant program.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This item contributes to Strategic Priority 3 — Economic Opportunity , and Goal – 3.4 Collaborate with key partners to implement policies and programs that promote local business growth and ensure equitable opportuniti es for all. This item aligns with each of the five Cross- Cutting Threads as follows:
1. Community Trust – The local business community will be engaged through an extensive Community Connect ARPA Rescue Plan Agreement -Page 4
multi-lingual and multi-faceted marketing campaign and have access to in-person and virtual program support to ensure consistent and accessible communication.
2. Equity –The Small and Micro-Enterprise Grant infuses needed recovery and long-term resiliency capital into the mo st impacted business sector s, targeting disadvantaged and underserved communities with funding and support services to ensure equitable economic opportunity.
3. Fiscal Responsibility – Use of ARPA funds to prom ote local business growth and resiliency generates long-term economic benefits through increased tax revenue to provide City services. Competitive procurement was used to equitably secure the best quality and cost for the City.
4. Innovation – The City of Riverside Small and Micro- Enterprise Grant Program leverages local and regional partnerships to improve success and offers mu lti-lingual virtual, online, and in person options for application processi ng. This includes the Community Connect Application Management Portal which allows 24/7 access to view application status and communicate with the program management team, creating convenience and accessibility for local businesses.
5. Sustainability & Resiliency –Providing Small and Micro-business grant funding to local businesses supports equitable economic opportunity, recovery and overall greater business resiliency in the face of future economic downturns.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total fiscal impact of the action is $779,948.05. Sufficient funds are budgeted and available in the Grants & Restricted Programs Fund, Riverside Small/Micro Business grant account 8810500-440110.
Prepared by: Jennifer A. Lilley, Community & Economic Development Director Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Finance Officer Approved by: Rafael Guzman, Assistant City Manager Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Concurs with:
___________________________
Ronaldo Fierro
Economic Development, Placemaking, Branding & Marketing Committee
Attachments:
1. Professional Services Agreement
2. Presentation