Each party is, and will remain, the owner and/or licensor of all works of authorship, patents, trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property owned or licensed by such party (“Intellectual Property”), and nothing in this Agreement or any SOW shall be deemed to convey or grant any ownership rights or goodwill in one party’s Intellectual Property to the other party.
ARBITRATION
Except for undisputed collections actions to recover fees due to us (“Collections”), any dispute, claim or controversy arising from or related to this Agreement, including the determination of the scope or applicability of this agreement to arbitrate, shall be settled by arbitration before one arbitrator who is mutually agreed upon by the parties. The arbitration shall be administered and conducted by the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”) or if there is no AAA arbitrator available within a twenty (20) mile radius of our office, then by any arbitration venue as determined by us, pursuant to that venue’s arbitration rules for commercial disputes (the “Rules”) . In the event of any inconsistency between the Rules and the procedures set forth in this paragraph , the procedures set forth in this paragraph will contro l. The arbitrator will be experienced in contract, intellectual property and information technology transactions. If the parties cannot agree on an arbitrator within fifteen (15) days after a demand for arbitration is filed, the arbitration venue shall select the arbitrator. The arbitration shall take place in our office. The arbitrator will determine the scope of discovery in the matter; however, it is the intent of the parties that any discovery proceedings be limited to the specific issues in the applicable matter, and that discovery be tailored to fulfill that intent. Initially, the cost of the arbitration shall be split evenly between the parties; however, the party prevailing in the arbitration shall be entitled to an award of its reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
MISCELLANEOUS
a) Compliance. Unless otherwise expressly stated in a SOW, the Services are not intended, and will not be used, to bring Client into full regulatory compliance with any rule, regulation, or requirement that may be applicable to Client’s business or operations. Depending on the Services provided, the Services may aid Client’s efforts to fulfill regulatory compliance; however, the Services are not (and should not be used as) a compliance solution. b) Disclosure. You warrant and represent that you know of no law or regulation governing your business that would impede or restrict our provision of the Services, or that would require us to register with, or report our provision of the Services (or the results thereof), to any government or regulatory authority. You agree to promptly notify us if you become subject to any of the foregoing which, in our discretion, may require a modification to the scope or pricing of the Services. c) Security. You understand and agree that no security solution is one hundred percent effective, and any security paradigm may be circumvented and/or rendered ineffective by certain malware, such as certain ransomware or rootkits that were unknown to the malware preve ntion industry at the time of infection, and/or which are purposely or intentionally downloaded or installed into the Environment. We do not warrant or guarantee that all malware or malicious activity will be capable of being detected, avoided, quarantined or removed, or that any data deleted, corrupted, or encrypted by such malware (“Impacted Data”) will be recoverable. Unless otherwise expressly stated in a SOW, the recovery of Impacted Data is not included in the scope of a SOW. You are strongly advised to (i) educate your employees to properly identify and react to “phishing” activity (i.e., fraudulent attempts to obtain sensitive information or encourage behavior by disguising oneself as a trustworthy entity or person through email), and (ii) obtain i nsurance against cyberattacks, data loss, malware -related matters, and privacy-related breaches, as such incidents can occur even under a “best practice” scenario. Unless a malware -related incident is caused by our intentionally malicious behavior or our gross negligence, we are held harmless from any costs, expenses, or damages arising from or related to such incidents.
d) Non-Solicitation. Each party (a “Restricted Party”) acknowledges and agrees that during the term of this Agreement and for a period of one (1) year following the termination of this Agreement, the Restricted Party will not, individually or in conjunction with others, directly or indirectly solicit, induce or influence any of the other party’s employees with whom the Restricted Party worked to discontinue or reduce the scope of their business relationship with the other party, or recruit, solicit or otherwise influence any em ployee of the other party with whom the Restricted Party worked to discontinue his/her employment or agency relationship with the other party. In the event of a violation of the terms of the restrictive covenants in this section, the parties acknowledge an d agree that the damages to the other party would be difficult or impracticable to determine, and in such event, the Restricted Party will pay the other party as liquidated damages and not as a penalty an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) percent of that employee first year of base salary with the Restricted Party (including any signing bonus). In addition to and without limitation of the foregoing, any solicitation or attempted solicitation for employment directed to a party’s employees by the Restricted Party will be deemed to be a material breach of this Agreement, in which event the affected party shall have the right, but not the obligation, to terminate this Agreement or any then-current SOW immediately For Cause.
e) Collections. If we are required t o send your account to Collections or to start any Collections -related action to recover undisputed fees, we will be entitled to recover all costs and fees we incur in the Collections process including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
f) Assignment. Neither this Agreement nor any SOW may be assigned or transferred by a party without the prior written consent of the other party. This Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto, their legal representatives, and permitted successors and assigns. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we may assign our rights and obligations hereunder to a successor in ownership in connection with any merger, consolidation, or sale of substantially all of the assets of our business, or any other transaction in which ownership of more than fifty percent (50%) of our voting securities are transferred; provided, however, that such assignee expressly assumes our obligations hereunder. g) Amendment. Unless otherwise expressly permitted under this Agreement, no amendment or modification of this Agreement or any SOW will be valid or binding upon the parties unless such amendment or modification is originated in writing by SNI, specifically refers to this Agreement or the SOW being amended , and is accepted in writing (email or electronic signature is acceptable) by you.
e) Time Limitations. The parties mutually agree that, unless otherwise prohibited by law, any action for any matter arising out of this Agreement or any SOW (except for issues of nonpayment by Client) must be commenced within six (6) months after the cause of action accrues or the action is forever barred. f) Severability. If any provision hereof or any SOW is declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such provision will be ineffective only to the extent of such invalidity, illegi bility or unenforceability so that the remainder of that provision and all remaining provisions of this Agreement or any SOW will be valid and enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
g) Other Terms. We will not be bound by any terms or conditions printed on any purchase order, invoice, memorandum, or other written communication supplied by you unless such terms or conditions are incorporated into a duly executed SOW, or unless we have expressly acknowledged the other terms and, thereafter, expressly and specifically accepted such other terms in writing.
h) No Waiver. The failure of either party to enforce or insist upon compliance with any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the temporary or recurring waiver of any term or condition of this Agreement, or the granting of an extension of the time for performance, will not constitute an Agreement to waive such terms with respect to any other occurrences. i) Merger. This Agreement, together with any and all Quotes and SOWs, sets forth the entire understanding of the parties and supersedes any and all prior agreements, arrangements or understandings related to the Service s; however, any payment obligations that you have or may have incurred under any pr ior superseded agreement are not nullified by this Agreement and remain in full force and effect. No representation, promise, inducement or statement of intention has been made by either party which is not embodied herein. We will not be bound by any of our agents’ or employees’ representations, promises or inducements if they are not explicitly set forth in this Agreement or any Quote or SOW. Any document that is not expressly and specifically incorporated into this Agreement or SOW will act only to provide illustrations or descriptions of Services to be provided and will not modify this Agreement or provide binding contractual language between the parties. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to any business associate agreement required under HIPAA, which the parties may (if required) enter into after the Effective Date of this Agreement. j) Force Majeure. Neither party will be liable to the other party for delays or failures to perform its obligations under this Agreement or any SOW because of circumstances beyond such party’s reasonable control. Such circumstances include, but will not be limited to, any intentional or negligent act committed by the other party, or any acts or omissions of any governmental authority, natural disaster, act of a public enemy, acts of terrorism, riot, sabotage, disputes or differences with workmen, power failure, communications delays/outages, delays in transportation or deliveries of supplies or materials, cyberwarfare, cyberterrorism, or hacking, malware or virus-related incidents that circumvent then-current anti- virus or anti-malware software, and acts of God.
k) Survival. The provisions contained in this Agreement that by their context are intended to survive termination or expiration of this Agreement will survive. If any provision in this Agreement is deemed unenforceable by operation of law, then that provision shall be excised from this Agreement and the balance of this Agreement shall be enforced in full. l) Insurance. SNI and you will each maintain, at each party’s own expense, all insurance reasonably required in connection with this Agreement or any SOW, including but not limited to, workers compensation and general liability. We agree to maintain a general liability policy with a limit not less than $ 1,000,000 per occurrence . All of the insurance policies described herein will not be canceled, materially changed or renewal refused until at least thirty (30) calendar days written notice has been given to the other party by certified mail. m) Governing Law; Venue. This Agreement and any SOW will be governed by, and construed according to, the laws of the state of California. You hereby irrevocably consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of Stanislaus County, California, for any and all claims and causes of action arising from or related to this Agreement. n) No Third Party Beneficiaries. The Parties have entered into this Agreement solely for their own benefit. They intend no third party to be able to rely upon or enforce this Agreement or any part of this Agreement. o) Usage in Trade. It is understood and agreed that no usage of trade or other regular practice or method of dealing between the Parties to this Agreement will be used to modify, interpret, supplement, or SNI in any manner the terms of this Agreement.
p) Business Day. If a time period set forth in this Agreement expires on a day other than a business day in Stanislaus County, California, such period will be extended to and through the next succeeding business day in Stanislaus County, California. q) Notices; Writing Requirement. Where notice is required to be provided to a party under this Agreement, such notice may be sent by U.S. mail, overnight courier, or email as follows: notice will be deemed delivered three (3) business days after being deposited in the United States Mail, first class mail, certified or return receipt requested, postage prepaid, or one (1) day following delivery when sent by FedEx or other overnight courier, or one (1) day after notice is delivered by email.
Notice sent by email will be sufficient only if (i) the sender emails the notice to the last known email address of the recipient, and (ii) the sender includes itself in the “cc” portion of the email and preserves the email until such time that it is acknowledged by the recipient. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any notice from you to SNI regarding (a) any alleged breach of this Agreement by SNI, or (b) any request for indemnification, or (c) any notice of termination of this Agreement or any SOW, must be delivered to SNI by U.S. mail or courier, unless such requirement is expressly and specifically waived by SNI. All electronic documents and communications between the parties , including email, will satisfy any “writing” requirement under this Agreement.
r) Independent Contractor. SNI is an independent contractor, and is not your employer, employee, partner, or affiliate. s) Subcontractors. Generally, we do not utilize subcontractors to perform onsite services ; however, should we elect to subcontract a portion of those services, we will guarantee the work as if we performed the subcontracted work ourselves. t) Data & Service Access. Some of the Services may be provided by persons outside of the United States and/or your data may occasionally be accessed, viewed, or stored on secure servers located outside of the United States. You agree to notify us if your company requires us to modi fy these standard service provisions, in which case additional (and potentially significant) costs will apply.
u) Counterparts. The parties intend to sign, accept and/or deliver any Quote, this Agreement, SOW or any amendment in any number of counterparts, and each of which will be deemed an original and all of which, when taken together, will be deemed to be one agreement. Each party may sign, accept, and/or deliver any Quote, this Agreement, any SOW or any amendment electronically ( e.g., by digital signature and/or electronic reproduction of a handwritten signature) or by reference (as applicable).
ADDENDUM TO
CITY OF TURLOCK
AGREEMENT FOR SERVICES
Contractor: Solid Networks LLC Date: 11/18/2025
City Contract No. 2026-0090 Scope of Work: Co-Managed Support and Professional Services
10/2025
1. INSURANCE:
Professional shall not commence work under this Agreement until Professional has obtained City’s approval regarding all insurance requirements, forms, endorsements, amounts, and carrier ratings, nor shall Contractor allow any subcontractor to commence work on a subcontract until all similar insurance required of the subcontractor shall have been so obtained and approved.
Professional shall procure and maintain for the duration of this Agreement insurance against claims for injuries to persons or damages to property which may arise from or in connection with the performance of the work hereunder by Professional, its agents, representatives, employees or subcontractors. Failure to maintain or renew coverage or to provide evidence of renewal may constitute a material breach of contract. Any available insurance proceeds in excess of the specified minimum limits and coverage shall be available to City.
(a) Commercial General Liability Insurance: Professional shall maintain commercial general liability insurance with coverage at least as broad as Insurance Services Office (ISO) form CG 00 01, in an amount not less than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) per occurrence, Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000) general aggregate, and Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000) products and completed operations for bodily injury, personal injury, and property damage. The general aggregate limit shall apply separately to this Project or the general aggregate shall be doubled.
(b) Workers’ Compensation Insurance: Professional shall maintain Workers’ Compensation Insurance (Statutory Limits) and Employer’s Liability Insurance with limits of at least One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) each accident or disease. Professional shall submit to City, along with the certificate of insurance, a Waiver of Subrogation endorsement in favor of City, its officers, agents, employees, and volunteers.
(c) Commercial Automobile Liability Insurance: Professional shall maintain commercial automobile liability insurance using ISO Business Auto Coverage form CA 00 01, or the equivalent, in the amount of no less than Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000) each accident for owned, leased, hired, non-owned, and borrowed automobiles. The policy shall provide and be endorsed that the City, its officials, officers, agents, employees, and volunteers are included or named as additional insureds. If Professional owns no vehicles, this requirement may be met through a non-owned auto coverage or an endorsement to the CGL policy.
(d) Cyber Liability Insurance: Professional must carry Cyber Liability Insurance with limits not less than Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) per occurrence or claim.
Coverage shall be sufficiently broad to respond to the duties and obligations as is undertaken by Professional in this Agreement and shall include, but not be limited to, claims involving
ADDENDUM TO
CITY OF TURLOCK
AGREEMENT FOR SERVICES
Contractor: Solid Networks LLC Date: 11/18/2025
City Contract No. 2026-0090 Scope of Work: Co-Managed Support and Professional Services
10/2025
infringement of intellectual property, including but not limited to infringement of copyright, trademark, trade dress, invasion of privacy violations, information theft, damage to or destruction of electronic information, release of private information, alteration of electronic information, extortion and network security. The policy shall provide coverage for breach response costs as well as regulatory fines and penalties as well as credit monitoring expenses with limits sufficient to respond to these obligations.
(e) [Intentionally Omitted]
(f) [Intentionally Omitted]
(g) Professional Liability Insurance: Professional shall maintain professional liability insurance that insures against professional errors and omissions that may be made in performing the Services to be rendered in connection with this Agreement, in the minimum amount of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) per claim and in the aggregate. Any policy inception date, continuity date, or retroactive date must be before the effective date of this Agreement.
(h) Umbrella or Excess Policy: Professional may use Umbrella or Excess Policies to provide the liability limits as required in this agreement. This form of insurance will be acceptable provided that all of the Primary and Umbrella or Excess Policies shall provide all of the insurance coverages herein required. The Umbrella or Excess policies shall be provided on a true “following form” or broader coverage basis, with coverage at least as broad as provided on the underlying policies of insurance. No coverage or policies maintained by the City (“Additional Insureds”), whether primary or excess, and which also apply to a loss covered hereunder, shall be called upon to contribute to a loss until the Professional’s primary and excess liability policies are exhausted.
(i) Deductibles and Self-Insured Retentions: Upon request of City, any deductibles or self-insured retentions must be declared to and approved by City. At the option of City, either: (1) the insurer shall reduce or eliminate such deductibles or self-insured retentions as respects City, its elective and appointive boards, officers, agents, employees, and volunteers; or (2) Professional shall provide a financial guarantee satisfactory to City guaranteeing payment of losses and related investigations, claim administration and defense expenses.
(j) Other Insurance Provisions: The commercial general liability policy shall contain, or be endorsed to contain, the following provisions:
(1) City, its elective and appointive boards, officers, agents, employees, and volunteers are to be covered as additional insureds with respect to liability arising out of work or operations performed by or on behalf of Professional, including materials, parts or equipment
ADDENDUM TO
CITY OF TURLOCK
AGREEMENT FOR SERVICES
Contractor: Solid Networks LLC Date: 11/18/2025
City Contract No. 2026-0090 Scope of Work: Co-Managed Support and Professional Services
10/2025
furnished in connection with such work or operations. The coverage shall be provided in the form of an endorsement to Professional’s insurance (at least as broad as ISO CG 20 10 for ongoing operations and CG 20 37 for products/completed operations for construction services).
(2) For any claims related to this project, Professional’s insurance coverage shall allow and be endorsed primary insurance as respects City and any insurance or self- insurance maintained by City shall be excess of Professional’s insurance and shall not contribute with it.
(3) In the event of cancellation, non-renewal, or material change that reduces or restricts the insurance coverage afforded to City under this Agreement, the insurer, broker/producer, or Professional shall provide City with thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of such cancellation, non-renewal, or material change.
(4) Coverage shall not extend to any indemnity coverage for the sole negligence of the additional insured in any case where an agreement to indemnify the additional insured would be invalid under Subdivision (b) of Section 2782 of the Civil Code.
(k) Acceptability of Insurers: Insurance is to be placed with insurers admitted in California with a current A.M. Best’s rating of no less than A-:VII or with an insurer to which the City has provided prior approval.
(l) Additional Insurance Requirements: Within five (5) days of the Effective Date, Professional shall provide City with certificates of insurance and amendatory endorsements for all of the policies required under this Agreement (“Certificates and Endorsements”). Such Certificates and Endorsements shall be kept current for the Term of the Agreement and Professional shall be responsible for providing updated copies. With the exception of the workers’ compensation insurance, all of the insurance policies required in this Agreement shall: (a) provide that the policy will not be cancelled, allowed to expire, or materially reduced in coverage without at least thirty (30) days’ prior written notice to City of such cancellation, expiration, or reduction and each policy shall be endorsed to state such. If a carrier will not provide the required notice of cancellation, the Professional shall provide written notice to the City no later than ten (10) business days before cancellation; (b) name City, and City’s Agents as additional insureds with respect to liability arising out of Services, work or operations performed by or on behalf of Professional and shall be endorsed to state such; (c) name City of Turlock as a certificate holder; (d) cover products and completed operations of Professional, premises owned, occupied, or used by the Professional, or automobiles owned, leased, or hired or borrowed by the Professional; contain no special limitations on the scope of protection afforded to City; (e) allow and be endorsed primary with respect to any insurance or self-insurance programs covering City or City’s Agents and any insurance or self-insurance maintained by City or City’s Agents shall be in excess of Professional’s
ADDENDUM TO
CITY OF TURLOCK
AGREEMENT FOR SERVICES
Contractor: Solid Networks LLC Date: 11/18/2025
City Contract No. 2026-0090 Scope of Work: Co-Managed Support and Professional Services
10/2025
insurance and shall not contribute to it; (f) contain standard separation of insured provisions; and (g) state that any failure to comply with reporting or other provisions of the policy including breaches of warranties shall not affect the coverage provided to City.
(m) Waiver of Subrogation: With the exception of professional liability, Professional hereby agrees to waive subrogation which any insurer of Professional may acquire from Professional by virtue of the payment of any loss. The commercial general liability policy, automobile liability policy, and workers’ compensation policy shall be endorsed to contain a waiver of subrogation in favor of City for all work performed by Professional, its agents, employees, independent contractors and subcontractors. Professional shall provide written proof of waiver of subrogation in the Certificate of Insurance. Additionally, Professional agrees to obtain any available endorsements that may be necessary to effectuate this waiver of subrogation.
(n) Subcontractors: Professional shall ensure all subcontractors furnish separate certificates and endorsements for each subcontractor. All coverages for subcontractors shall be subject to all of the requirements stated herein.
(o) [Intentionally Omitted]
2. INDEMNIFICATION:
Indemnity for Professional Liability: When the law establishes a professional standard of care for Professional’s Services, to the fullest extent permitted by law, Professional shall indemnify, protect, defend, and hold harmless City and any and all of its elective and appointive boards, officers, officials, agents, employees or volunteers from and against any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses, including legal counsel’s fees and costs but only to the extent the Professional (and its Subcontractors) are responsible for such damages, liabilities and costs on a comparative basis of fault between the Professional (and its Subcontractors) and the City in the performance of professional services under this Agreement. Professional shall not be obligated to defend or indemnify City for the City’s own negligence or for the negligence of others.
Indemnity for other than Professional Liability: Other than in the performance of professional services and to the full extent permitted by law, Professional shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless City and any and all of its elective and appointive boards, officers, officials, agents, employees or volunteers from and against any liability (including liability for claims, suits, actions, arbitration proceedings, administrative proceedings, regulatory proceedings, losses, expenses or costs of any kind, whether actual, alleged or threatened, including legal counsel’s fees and costs, court costs, interest, defense costs, and expert witness fees), where the same arise out of, are a consequence of, or are in any way attributable to, in whole or in part, the performance of
ADDENDUM TO
CITY OF TURLOCK
AGREEMENT FOR SERVICES
Contractor: Solid Networks LLC Date: 11/18/2025
City Contract No. 2026-0090 Scope of Work: Co-Managed Support and Professional Services
10/2025
this Agreement by Professional or by any individual or agency for which Professional is legally liable, including, but not limited to, officers, agents, employees, or subcontractors of Professional.
3. BUSINESS LICENSE: Professional shall obtain a business license from City before they commence performance of the Services.
4. TERM: The term of this Agreement shall be an initial three (3) year(s), effective on November 18th, 2025, and terminate on November 17 th, 2028, subject to City’s availability of funds.
5. VOLUNTARY TERMINATION: Either party may terminate this Agreement without cause or legal excuse by providing thirty (30) days’ written notice to the other party.
6. CONFLICT: Should any conflict exist between the terms and conditions of the Agreement and this Addendum, the terms and conditions of this Addendum shall prevail.
7. EXTENSION OF AGREEMENT: City may elect to extend this Agreement for two (2) additional one (1) year term(s), on the same terms and conditions, upon issuing an “Election to Extend Agreement” letter executed by the City Manager to Professional thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of this Agreement. On each anniversary date, Professional will be allowed to increase prices. Increases may not exceed increases in the San Francisco-Oakland Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers or percentage increases in Professional’s published prices, whichever is lower. In all cases, City may cancel the contract if a requested price increase is not acceptable.
8. CONFIDENTIALITY AND CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RECORDS ACT
COMPLIANCE: Professional understands and agrees that City must comply with the California Public Records Act, California Government Code section 7920 et seq.
9. EXECUTION AND COUNTERPARTS. This Addendum may be executed simultaneously, and in several counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. The Parties agree that this Addendum and any other documents to be delivered in connection herewith may be electronically signed utilizing services such as DocuSign and Nitro Sign, or by transmitting signatures in pdf or similar format, and that any electronic signatures appearing on this Addendum or such other documents are the same as handwritten signatures for the purposes of validity, enforceability, and admissibility.
10. GOVERNING LAW: This Addendum shall be interpreted, construed, and governed according to the laws of the State of California, and venue for all actions arising from or related to this Agreement shall be in the County of Stanislaus, State of California.
ADDENDUM TO
CITY OF TURLOCK
AGREEMENT FOR SERVICES
Contractor: Solid Networks LLC Date: 11/18/2025
City Contract No. 2026-0090 Scope of Work: Co-Managed Support and Professional Services
10/2025
11. CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR: The City’s contract administrator and contact person for this Agreement is:
Nick Showalter
City of Turlock
Information Technology Department
156 S. Broadway,
Turlock, California 95380
Telephone Number: (209) 668-5540
E-mail Address: [email protected]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Addendum to be executed by and through their respective officer’s thereunto duly authorized.
CITY OF TURLOCK, a California municipal SOLID NETWORKS, LLC, a Limited corporation Liability Company
By: _______________________________ By: ______________________________ Susan E. Borrego, Interim City Manager
Title: _____________________________
Date: _____________________________
Print name: ________________________
By: _______________________________ Date: _____________________________ Nick Showalter, Information Technology
Director
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
By: _______________________________
George A. Petrulakis, City Attorney
ADDENDUM TO
CITY OF TURLOCK
AGREEMENT FOR SERVICES
Contractor: Solid Networks LLC Date: 11/18/2025
City Contract No. 2026-0090 Scope of Work: Co-Managed Support and Professional Services
10/2025
ATTEST:
By: _______________________________
Nichole Fiez, City Clerk
City Council Staff Report
November 18, 2025
From: Anthony Sims, Economic Development/Communications Director Prepared by: Anthony Sims, Economic Development/Communications Director Agendized by: Susan E. Borrego, Interim City Manager
1. ACTION RECOMMENDED:
Motion: Increase Turlock Partnership Incentive Program grant from $1,000 to $3,500 to better support new businesses.
2. NARRATIVE:
The Turlock Partnership Incentive Program, established in the 2011-2012 fiscal year, provides qualifying businesses that open in vacant spaces within the City of Turlock with a $1,000 grant (issued as a check). The program is designed to revitalize vacant storefronts, stimulate new business growth, and generate additional jobs within the Turlock community.
Eligibility:
• Must occupy an existing vacant building in an appropriately zoned commercial location within the City of Turlock. Provide a business plan (no-cost assistance available through the Valley Sierra Small Business Development Center [SBDC]). • Participate in a Pre-Development Meeting (no-cost service provided by the City of Turlock).
• Agree to participate in minor record-keeping and provide quarterly feedback for at least one year to help improve the program.
• Not be part of a franchise, non-profit, or corporate chain.
Program Performance by Fiscal Year:
• 2011 - 2012 Year: $10,000 awarded (10 businesses)
• 2012 - 2013 Year: $21,000 awarded (21 businesses)
• 2013 - 2014 Year: $3,000 awarded (3 businesses)
• 2014 - 2015 Year: $8,000 awarded (8 businesses)
• 2015 - 2016 Year: $3,000 awarded (3 businesses)
• 2016 - 2017 Year: $3,000 awarded (3 businesses)
• 2017 - 2018 Year: No grants awarded, no businesses applied • 2018 - 2019: $1,000 awarded (1 business)
• 2019 - 2020 Year: No grants awarded, no businesses applied • 2020 - 2021: No grants awarded, no businesses applied • 2021 - 2022: No grants awarded, no businesses applied • 2022 - 2023 Year: $3,000 awarded (3 businesses)
• 2023 - 2024 Year: $1,000 awarded (1 business)
Agenda Staff Report
11/18/2025
• 2024 - 2025: No grants awarded, no businesses applied • 2025 - 2026 Year: $4,000 awarded (4 businesses)
Historically, $30,000 in funding has been allocated from the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) to Account No. 110-10-112.47248, designated for the "Turlock Partnership Incentive Program.
The program is advertised on the City of Turlock website:
https://www.cityofturlock.org/doingbusinessinturlock/businessincentiveprogram/
Additional Outreach Strategies Include:
• Direct outreach to new businesses: Economic Development staff contact newly licensed or incoming businesses in Turlock to share program details. • Event and workshop promotion: Flyers highlighting the program are distributed at business workshops and community events.
• In-person counter outreach: Development Services staff promote the program to businesses visiting the Development Services Department counter.
Participation in the program has historically been limited, while business costs have risen significantly since its inception in the 2011-2012 fiscal year. To increase interest and participation, staff recommends City Council approval to raise the grant amount from $1,000 to $3,500.
The grant is intended to help with launching the new business, marketing, and providing a strong start for the business.
Program Process:
1. Fill out Turlock Partnership Incentive Program Application
2. Submit a Business Plan to the Economic Development Department
3. Participate in a pre-development meeting
4. Complete the permitting and business license process
5. Open business
6. Attend a City Council meeting to be presented the grant check. * The applying business must apply for the program prior to starting the permitting and business license process.
3. FISCAL IMPACT / BUDGET AMENDMENT:
There is no additional fiscal impact. Staff recommends maintaining the current annual appropriation of $30,000 while increasing the individual grant amount from $1,000 to $3,500 to encourage greater participation. Staff will continue to monitor program activity and report back to City Council if participation increases significantly or if allocated funds approach depletion.
4. ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This action is not subject to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in
Agenda Staff Report
11/18/2025
accordance with Section 15378(b)(5) of the CEQA guidelines. This action consists of “organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment” and therefore is not considered a project.
5. ATTACHMENTS:
None