DATE: September 22, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Paul Nerland, County Administrative Officer
SUBJECT: State Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Amendments to Subrecipient Agreements with: Access Plus Capital, Valley Center for the Blind, Fresno Metropolitan Ministry, and Court Appointed Special Advocates of Fresno/Madera Counties
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive First Amendment to Subrecipient Agreement No. 23-355 with Fresno Community Development Financial Institution DBA Access Plus Capital (Access Plus) for the provision of American Rescue Plan Act - State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARPA-SLFRF), which will revise the expenditure plan, timeline section, grant funding section, and notices section, and reduce the maximum compensation by $21,731, from $200,000 to $178,269.
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive First Amendment to Subrecipient Agreement No. 23-568 with Valley Center for the Blind (VCB), for provision of ARPA-SLFRF which will revise the expenditure plan, timeline section, grant funding section, and reduce the maximum compensation by $6,303 from $50,000 to $43,697.
3. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive Third Amendment to Subrecipient Agreement No. 22-531 with Fresno Metropolitan Ministry (FMM), for provision of ARPA-SLFRF which will revise the expenditure plan, grant funding section, and reduce the maximum compensation by $21,022 from $512,000 to $490,978.
4. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive Second Amendment to Subrecipient Agreement No. 23-197 with Court Appointed Special Advocates of Fresno and Madera Counties (CASA) for provision of ARPA-SLFRF, which will revise the expenditure plan, timeline section, grant funding section, and hold harmless section and reduce the maximum compensation by $20,739, from $250,000 to $229,261.
REPORT
Approval of the first recommended action will authorize the First Amendment to Subrecipient Agreement No. 23-355 with Access Plus, which will revise the expenditure plan, timeline section, grant funding section, notices section, and reduce the maximum compensation by $21,731, from $200,000 to $178,269. Approval of the second recommended action will authorize the First Amendment to Subrecipient Agreement 23-568 with VCB, which will revise the expenditure plan, timeline section, grant funding section, and reduce the maximum compensation by $6,303, from $50,000 to $43,697. Approval of the third recommended action will authorize Third Amendment to Subrecipient Agreement No. 22-531 with FMM, for provision of ARPA-SLFRF which will revise the expenditure plan, grant funding section, and reduce the maximum compensation by $21,022 from $512,000 to $490,978. Approval of the fourth recommended action will authorize the Second Amendment to Subrecipient Agreement No. 23-197 with CASA, which will revise the expenditure plan, timeline section, grant funding section, hold harmless section, and reduce the maximum compensation by $20,739, from $250,000 to $229,261. All items are countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If the recommended actions are not approved, the current subrecipient agreements will remain in their current form, and the identified costs savings in each agreement will go unspent by the Subrecipients and the County by the ARPA-SLFRF’s liquidation deadline of December 31, 2026. Your Board could also opt to approve any one or more of the recommended amendments included in this item.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase to Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The programs are fully funded with ARPA-SLFRF. Sufficient appropriations are included in the FY 2026-27 Approved Budget for the Auditor/Controller-Treasurer/Tax Collector Org. 1033 - Disaster Claiming, Fund 0026, Subclass 91021, Account 7845.
DISCUSSION:
On November 20, 2023, the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) published the Obligation Interim Final Rule (Obligation IFR) which amended the definition of “Obligations” and included additional flexibility with respect to the ARPA-SLFRF program.
After the SLFRF obligation deadline of December 31, 2024, Treasury’s guidance permits recipients to amend existing contracts after the obligation deadline, so long as the amended contract is within substantially the same scope and for substantially the same purpose as the original contract. Per Treasury’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ 17.16), if those requirements are met, SLFRF funds may be used to cover cost increases contained in the amended agreement.
Treasury’s Obligation IFR includes the ability for recipients to reclassify funds when excess funds that were obligated by the deadline but ultimately would not be expended on an eligible activity. For example, recipients may reclassify cost savings from an under-budget project to another eligible project under the SLFRF program rules, including the requirement that the recipient incurred the obligation by December 31, 2024, to expend funds on the activity.
On March 3, 2025, the CAO’s Office provided written notice to the ARPA-SLFRF awarded departments and subrecipients with active programs to remind them of the Treasury’s liquidation deadline of December 31, 2026. To ensure the County can meet the Treasury’s liquidation deadline, the CAO’s Office required all subrecipients to complete their awarded programs and submit their last claims by June 30, 2026.
On June 30, 2026, your Board received the CAO’s Office progress report on the County’s ARPA-SLFRF Program. Your Board then directed the CAO’s Office to initiate the formal amendment process for ARPA programs with unclaimed obligations by the June 30, 2026, expenditure deadline. The following will summarize the recommended amendments to subrecipient agreements with CASA, SHE, and VCB for the provisions of ARPA-SLFRF funding.
Fresno Community Development Financial Institution DBA Access Plus Capital
On July 18, 2023, the County and Access Plus entered into County Agreement No. 23-355, providing a grant funding amount of $200,000, to fund grants that will be made available to disproportionately impacted small businesses based in Fresno County, by funding technical assistance designed to strengthen each business, as well as financial assistance through the provision of start-up and expansion grants.
Since the approval of the Agreement Access Plus represents that it has completed its program. Access Plus represents that all program expenditures have been claimed against the award by the June 30, 2026, deadline. Approval of the first recommended action will revise the language in the Agreement’s timeline section, grant funding section, and reduce the maximum compensation by $21,731.19, from $200,000.00 to $178,268.81, and finalize Access Plus’s Program expenditure plan.
Valley Center for the Blind
On October 24, 2023, the County and VCB entered into County Agreement No. 23-568, for the provision of ARPA-SLFRF funding to help increase the service capacity of the Disability Equity Project (DEP), which would benefit individuals with disabilities, including people who are blind or those with vision impairments, with access to a more effective and reliable means of transportation designed to help them attend medical appointments, social services, promote mental health and wellness, take part in work and job opportunities, and address the specific challenges in transportation faced by the blind and those with low visibility in the County;
Since the approval of the Agreement, VCB represents that it has completed its program, and all program expenditures against the awarded program were submitted to the County by June 30, 2026 deadline. A final Amendment is necessary to revise the program’s budget to reflect invoiced work performed by VCB. Approval of the fourth recommended action will revise language in the Agreement’s timeline section, grant funding section, and hold harmless section, and reduce the maximum compensation by $6,303.41, from $50,000.00 to $43,696.59 and finalize VCB’s expenditure plan.
Fresno Metropolitan Ministry
On November 29, 2022, the County and the FMM entered into County agreement number 22-531, with a compensation amount of $512,000, to help the FMM administer the “Food to Share” (“F2S”) program, which benefits neighborhoods and populations in and near southwest City of Fresno, which primarily consist of Hispanic/Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, and African American individuals and families, in an area with median household incomes ranging from 32% to 39% below the poverty level.
On July 9, 2024, the County and the FMM entered the First Amendment to the Agreement, to solve difficulties with administering and expending the grant due to the specific nature of the budget, adjust the allocation of awarded funds due to changes in cost to the Program, correct internal calculation errors in the Expenditure Plan, and revise language in Section 15 Modification of the Agreement
On December 17, 2024, the County and the FMM entered the Second Amendment to the Agreement, which extended the Program’s implementation timeline due to the Subrecipient encountering unforeseen cost savings which limited their ability to fully expend the award by December 31, 2024.
Now that the Program is complete and all expenditures are known to the Subrecipient, a final revision to Table 1-1 of Exhibit B is necessary to finalize the Program’s budget, with $21,022.46 that will not be expended by the Subrecipient. Approval of the fifth recommended action will authorize Third Amendment to Subrecipient Agreement No. 22-531 with FMM, for provision of ARPA-SLFRF which will revise the expenditure plan, grant funding section, and reduce the maximum compensation by $21,022.46 from $512,000 to $490,977.54.
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Fresno and Madera Counties
On April 25, 2023, the County and CASA entered into County Agreement No. 23-197, with a grant funding amount of $250,000, to address the negative impacts of the pandemic on child welfare, and provide funding assistance for operational expenses for the implementation of CASA’s mission to recruit advocates who represent the best interest of youth while they navigate the foster care system, assist with finding emergency placement of foster youth, and improve employee retention, consisting of expenditures related to program administration, personnel salaries and benefits, training events, social events for foster youth, volunteer appreciation events, emergency materials and supplies for foster children, marketing and advertisement for volunteer recruitments, transportation, and educational resources and services, which were impacted by the pandemic.
On November 5, 2024, the County and CASA entered the First Amendment to the Agreement, which corrected specific limitations unintentionally imposed by the Agreement, and revised the expenditure plan to correct and unforeseen calculation error in CASA’s methodology to ensure that CASA could recoup costs that were otherwise reimbursable to the awarded program.
Since the approval of the First Amendment, CASA represents that it has completed its program. CASA represents that all program expenditures have been claimed against the award by the June 30, 2026, deadline. Approval of the second recommended action will revise language in the Agreement’s timeline section, grant funding section, hold harmless section, and reduce the maximum compensation by $20,739.38, from $250,000.00 to $229,260.62, and finalize CASA’s Program expenditure plan.
Approval of the recommended actions will authorize the Chairman to execute the recommended amendments, which will update the approved budget totals in each agreement, and accurately reflect the final funding allocations approved by your Board in support of the awarded programs. Recommendations for the reallocation of available cost savings will be brought forward in a separate agenda item.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #34, December 17, 2024
BAI #39, November 5, 2024
BAI #24, July 9, 2024
BAI #29, October 24, 2023
BAI #30, July 18, 2023
BAI # 24, April 25, 2023
BAI #31, November 29, 2022
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Amendment No. 1 to Agreement with Access Plus Capital
On file with Clerk - Amendment No. 1 to Agreement with Valley Center for the Blind
On file with Clerk - Amendment No. 3 to Agreement with Fresno Metropolitan Ministries
On file with Clerk - Amendment No. 2 to Agreement with Court Appointed Special Advocates
CAO ANALYST:
John Toepfer