DATE: August 23, 2016
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Laurel C. Prysiazny, County Librarian
SUBJECT: Retroactive Community Stories Grant Award
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Retroactively authorize the County Librarian’s previous submittal of a grant application to Cal Humanities for the Community Stories grant funds ($10,000);
2. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a retroactive grant agreement with Cal Humanities effective July 1, 2016 through May 31, 2017 ($10,000) and authorize the County Librarian, or their designee, to sign expenditure forms and activity reports for this grant agreement; and
3. Adopt Budget Resolution increasing FY 2016-17 appropriations and estimated revenues in the Library Grants Organization 7517 in the amount of $10,000 (4/5 vote).
REPORT
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Cal Humanities has awarded the Fresno County Public Library a $10,000 grant effective July 1, 2016 through May 31, 2017. The grant will fund a program which will allow the Library to create an online virtual exhibit highlighting the story of the flumes as presented through a series of public programs to Fresno County residents.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may choose to decline the award from Cal Humanities which will result in the Library not creating an online virtual exhibit to increase awareness, knowledge, and appreciation for the role of logging and railroad industries in the historical development of California’s Central Valley for Fresno County residents.
RETROACTIVE AGREEMENT:
The request to approve and accept the grant award is retroactive because the Library received notice to apply for the grant on January 15, 2016 with a submission deadline of February 1, 2016. The Library was later notified of the grant award on June 21, 2016. In order to meet the filing deadline, the application was previously submitted contingent upon your Board’s approval and is being brought to your Board at the first available Board date. Grant funds will not be expended prior to Board acceptance of the grant.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The $10,000 Cal Humanities grant will be used for supplies ($1,700), professional and specialized services ($7,500), and library materials ($800) associated with the series of public programs. The grant will be supplemented by staff costs ($15,349) and food costs ($200), which will be utilized to provide refreshments for the public for ten programs. Staff and food costs will be funded with Measure B revenue. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Library - Measure B Organization 7511 FY 2016-17 Adopted Budget for the staff and food costs. The Budget Resolution in the third recommended action will increase appropriations and estimated revenues in the Library Grants Organization 7517 for FY 2016-17 in the amount of $10,000.
DISCUSSION:
California Humanities is a non-profit that promotes the humanities and an open state of mind for residents of California. The non-profit organization aims to initiate important conversations among diverse populations. The mission of the organization is to connect Californians to ideas and one another in order to understand our shared heritage and diverse cultures, inspire civic participation, and shape our future.
The Library has received a Community Stories Grant from California Humanities to conduct a series of programs that trace the routes of the logging trade and explore the innovative engineering of the flumes and railroads that carried lumber down from the High Sierras and helped shape life in the Central Valley over 125 years ago.
The Library will utilize the Cal Humanities grant funding to create a series of programs called “Follow the Flume: Stories of the Lumber Trade that Shaped California’s Central Valley”. The Follow the Flume project will consist of a series of historic programs, exhibits, presentations, and performances to reach beyond library walls and offer programs in diverse communities describing the story behind over 100 miles of the Kings River, Sanger, and Pine Ridge Flumes and the San Joaquin and Edison Railroad. Programs will target all ages of audiences to include historic storytelling, a steam train excursion, a hike to historic landmarks, an interactive driving tour, and collaborative exhibits. The project will bridge disciplines within the humanities via partnerships between Library and local museums, historical societies, performing and fine artists, Native American tribes, naturalists, and park rangers. Follow the Flume will present interactive, hands-on programs in the fall and winter of 2016. Programs will occur in the diverse urban, agricultural, and mountain communities within Fresno County. The project will culminate in an online virtual exhibit on the Library’s YouTube channel highlighting the story of the flumes as presented through a series of public programs. Attendees of the project will experience an increase in awareness, knowledge, and appreciation for the role of the logging and railroad industries in the historical development of California’s Central Valley.
Outcome data will be collected by the Library through paper surveys following each event to measure the impact and reach of the program. Library staff will be on-site at each program to offer information on additional programs and services.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Cal Humanities
On file with Clerk - Resolution (Org. 7517)
CAO ANALYST:
Samantha Buck