DATE: August 18, 2020
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Supervisor Pacheco
SUBJECT: Review, Discuss, and Provide Direction Regarding Proposals and Possible Contracts for CARES Act Initiatives
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Review, discuss, and provide direction to staff regarding a proposal and possible contract with Centro La Familia for a housing retention program with an emphasis on essential agriculture workers, total not to exceed $250,000.
2. Review, discuss, and provide direction to staff regarding a proposal and possible contract with the Fresno-Area Hispanic Foundation for grants for small businesses with an emphasis on minority and women owned small businesses, total not to exceed $250,000.
REPORT
At the August 4, 2020 Board meeting Supervisor Pacheco proposed the Board review two proposals at the August 18, 2020 meeting. One of the proposals is for a housing retention program with an emphasis on essential agriculture workers. The second proposal is for grants for small businesses with an emphasis on minority and women owned small businesses. The item before the Board today requests the Board review, discuss, and provide direction to staff on next steps for these proposals. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
The Board of Supervisors could choose not to move forward with one or both of these actions and instead utilize the funds for other programs eligible under the Federal CARES Act legislation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. All funding for these programs would be paid with the County of Fresno’s approximately $82 million in Federal CARES Act funding and/or approximately $16 million in State CARES Act funding.
DISCUSSION:
On April 22, 2020 Fresno County received approximately $82,000,000 from the Federal CARES Act and the Governor’s FY 2020-21 Adopted State Budget includes approximately $16 million in CARES Act funding for Fresno County. These funds are authorized to reimburse expenses related to the COVID-19, Public Health Emergency (COVID-19) response including expenditures related to provisions for housing retention and grants to small businesses.
At the August 4, 2020 Board meeting Supervisor Pacheco informed the Board that he met with members of Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Centro La Familia (CLF) and the Fresno-Area Hispanic Foundation to discuss relief programs for individuals and small businesses impacted by COVID-19. CLF currently provides housing retention services to individuals impacted by COVID-19 through an agreement with the City of Fresno. CLF proposes to expand the housing assistance program to areas outside of the City of Fresno emphasizing support to agricultural workers. The Fresno-Area Hispanic Foundation currently works with small businesses impacted by COVID-19 and would like to provide grants, a maximum of $5,000 each, to small businesses with ten or less full time employees to reimburse the costs of business interruption caused by required closures. In addition, as part of its proposal the Fresno-Area Hispanic Foundation would provide ongoing support to these small businesses and training and education in compliance with State COVID-19 guidelines for operating a business. Both of these CBOs have the administrative infrastructure to implement the services listed in the proposals immediately. The proposal maximum is tentatively set at $250,000 each.
The purpose of the item before the Board today is to review and discuss the proposals and provide staff direction on next steps.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
CLF’s Housing Retention Program Proposal
Fresno-Area Hispanic Foundation’s Small Business Grant Program Proposal
CAO ANALYST:
Samantha Buck