CITY OF SIMI VALLEY
MEMORANDUM
April 15, 2024
TO: City Council
FROM: Department of Environmental Services
SUBJECT: APPOINTMENTS TO THE COMMUNITY PROJECTS GRANT REVIEW
COMMITTEE
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council approve, and the Mayor appoint, the seven nominees to the Community Projects Grant Review Committee with terms commencing upon appointment and concluding when the City Council awards the FY 2024- 25 Community Projects Grant funding.
BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW
The City Council created the Community Projects Grant (CPG) Review Committee (Review Committee) in February 2017. The Review Committee is comprised of seven representatives including one from each of the four Neighborhood Councils, the Youth Council, the Council On Aging, and the Community at-Large. The Review Committee makes recommendations to the City Council on Waste Management’s annual allocation of $150,000 to the City’s Community Projects Grant Program, which provides funding to local non-profit organizations serving Simi Valley. The application window to submit project grant applications closed on February 1 5, 2024, which allowed for all potential Review Committee members to self -identify possible conflicts of interest prior to appointment to ensure that the Committee perform its duties objectively.
FINDINGS AND ALTERNATIVES
Each of the City’s above noted advisory boards nominated representatives to serve on the Review Committee at its regular meetings in March 2024.
The recruitment for the Community at-Large representative commenced on February 16, 2024, and concluded on March 1, 2024. There were a t otal of 10 applications received.
Ten applicants were invited to interview for the position and six elected to participate.
Mayor Thomas and Council Member Judge conducted interviews on March 19, 2024, and nominated one Community at-Large representative.
The following nominees are recommended for appointment to the Review Committee with terms commencing on April 15, 2024, and concluding when the City Council awards the FY 2024-25 CPG funding.
AGENDA ITEM NO.
3(A)1
Representative Position Nominating Entity Nominee
Neighborhood Council #1 Neighborhood Council #1 David Mosso Neighborhood Council #2 Neighborhood Council #2 Sam Cohen Neighborhood Council #3 Neighborhood Council #3 Tony Hudacs Neighborhood Council #4 Neighborhood Council #4 David Hechter Council On Aging Council On Aging Jeanie Mortensen
Youth Council Youth Council Ethan Bhat
Community At-Large City Council Interview
Subcommittee
Spencer Ross
T
he Review Committee will hold public meetings on April 24 and May 8, 2024, to review applications, hear presentations from applicants, and develop funding recommendations for the City Council’s consideration. Staff anticipates that the Review Committee’s funding recommendations will be presented to the City Council in June 2024.
T
he following alternatives are available to the City Council:
1. A
pprove and the Mayor appoint the seven nominees to the Review Committee with terms commencing upon appointment and concluding when the City Council awards the FY 2024-25 CPG funding;
2. P
rovide staff with other direction.
SUGGESTED CITY COUNCIL MOTION
I
move to approve, and the Mayor appoint, the seven nominees to the Community Projects Grant Review Committee with terms commencing upon appointment and concluding when the City Council awards the FY 2024-25 CPG funding.
SUMMARY
T
he City Council created the Community Projects Grant Review Committee in February 2017. The Review Committee is comprised of seven representatives from each of the four Neighborhood Councils, the Youth Council, the Council On Aging, and the Community at-Large. The Review Committee holds public meetings and makes funding recommendations to the City Council on the allocation of $150,000 annually to local non-profit organizations serving Simi Valley. It is recommended that the City Council approve, and the Mayor appoint the nominees to the Review Committee with term s commencing upon appointment and concluding when the City Council awards the FY 2024-25 Community Projects Grant funding.
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_________________________________
Stratis Perros
Environmental Services Director
Prepared by: Cynthia McCullough, Senior Management Analyst INDEX Page
Attachment A ...................................................................................... 3 2 Submission # 3039304
IP Address 209.107.186.154
Submission Recorded On 03/01/2024 8:20 a.m.
Time to Take Survey 12 minutes, 52 seconds
CPG Review Committee - At-Large Member Application (Page 1) Applications are now being accepted for the at-large community representative to serve on the CPG Review Committee. Applications must be submitted by Friday, March 1, 2024. Applicants will be interviewed by a committee of two City Council Members and one applicant will be recommended to serve on the committee. Interviews are anticipated to take place in March of 2024.
The CPG Review Committee reviews funding requests from local 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations for projects and programs serving the community and makes recommendations to the City Council for funding awards. The CPG Review Committee consists of one representative from each of the four Neighborhood Councils, one representative from the Council On Aging, one representative from the Youth Council, and one representative from the community. Representatives are nominated by their representing committee and are appointed by the City Council. Terms for the representatives end when the City Council awards the annual funding.
All of the CPG Review Committee representatives will be recommended for appointment at the April 15, 2024 City Council meeting. Tentative meeting dates for the CPG Review Committee have been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on April 24, 2024 and May 8, 2024. * 1. Name
Spencer Ross
* 2. Address
Simi Valley CA 93065
* 3. Phone
(805)
*
@gmail.com
* 5. Are you a resident of Simi Valley?
Yes
* 6. Are you familiar with the Community Projects Grant Program? Yes
I have never served on the committee but I have heard of them before CPG Review Committee - At-Large Member Application (Page 2) * 7a. Do you currently have or have you previously had involvement with any of the non-profit organizations listed below? Yes
Please note that involvement does not automatically preclude an individual's eligibility to serve on the Review Committee. However, it is necessary to identify involvement with grant applicants up front to ensure that no conflicts of interests exist prior to Review Committee members being appointed.
List of organizations that applied and are being considered for funding are as follows:
Adventist Health Simi Valley Foundation
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County
Body Brain Train
Cancer Support Community Valley
Caregivers- Volunteers Serving the Elderly
Community Pregnancy Clinic
Eagle Vision Outreach
Free Clinic of Simi Valley
Friends of the Simi Valley Police Explorers 2910
GiGi's Playhouse
Many Mansions
New West Symphony Association
PathPoint
Sarah's House
SciArtRUs
Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church
Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center Foundation
Simi Valley Girls Softball
Southeast Ventura County YMCA
The Arc of Ventura County
The Samaritan Center
I have donated food to the Samaritan Center food bank. I don't know the dates * 8. Have you previously served on any non-profit organization boards or committees? No
4. Email
6a. If you answered yes to the previous question, please explain your experience with the program. 7b. If you answered yes to question no. 7a, please describe your involvement. Indicate the dates and organization. Please provide a description for all applicable organizations.
ATTACHMENT A
3 **SKIPPED**
*
I've heard about the grants and I think what Simi Valley is good. Asking for people to apply for grants, carefully reviewing the applications, and seeing how to best and maximize the grant money. It's a small amount of time to help the community and organizations that serve our neighbors The review and recommendation process will require two to three public meetings during the months of April and May. The first meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 24, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. and the second meeting tentatively on May 8, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. Meetings will be held at either the Simi Valley Public Library Community Room, located at 2969 Tapo Canyon Road or the Simi Valley Senior Center, located at 3900 Avenida Simi. Both meetings will range approximately a few hours. * 10. Do you have any concerns with being able to attend the above referenced meetings? No
CPG Review Committee - At-Large Member Application (Page 3) I think it's cool that you have people go through this process and don't just appoint people. Helps people get involved. I have live in Simi Valley all my life except 9th grade I lived in Oregon. Went to Moorpark and Oxnard college and then Cal State LA. Worked at Grace Brethren School for 23 yrs doing maintenance and now I work for LA County Courts doing maintenance. Joined the Navy Reserve in 2005 and am now in the Cal Army National Guard as an artillery officer. I appreciate your time and even if I don't make it I know there are other great candidates and they will do a great job. *
Spencer Ross
Thank you for your interest in serving on the Community Projects Grant Review Committee. 8a. If you answered yes, please list the boards and/or committees you previously served on and the dates served.
9. Why are you interested in serving as a member of the Community Projects Grant Review Committee?
11. Please add any additional information you would like considered.
12. Applicant's Digital Signature: By entering my name in the box provided, I am submitting my application to serve as a Community Projects Grant Review Committee Member at Large.
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