TO: TARA SCHULTZ, CITY MANAGER
FROM: JEREMY SWAN, INTERIM COMMUNITY SERVICES DIRECTOR
DATE: JUNE 25, 2019
Reviewed by:
City Manager: TS
Finance Director: AP
SUBJECT:
Title
2019-2020 AGREEMENT WITH SUSTAINABLE CLAREMONT FOR SUSTAINABILITY OUTREACH SERVICES
Body
SUMMARY
The City contracts with Sustainable Claremont for outreach services to the Claremont community regarding sustainability. The agreement provides funding to assist the local non-profit in organizing community events, providing education programs and materials to the public, and performing a variety of additional outreach services on issues related to resource conservation and environmental stewardship. The proposed agreement is for a one-year period consistent with the City’s current budget.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute a one-year agreement with Sustainable Claremont in an amount not to exceed $25,000 for the performance of sustainability outreach services.
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ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to the recommendation, there is the following alternative:
• Request additional information from staff.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
This agreement is a professional service that does not require bidding and complies with all City and State purchasing guidelines. Funding for the agreement, in the amount of $25,000, is included in the budget of the Community Services Department. The source of the funding is the City’s General Fund.
The staff cost to prepare this report is estimated at $490 and is included in the operating budget of the Community Services Department.
ANALYSIS
The Sustainable City Plan (SCP) was originally adopted by the City Council in October 2008. The SCP is intended to increase levels of sustainability in a variety of goal areas for both the municipal government and the wider community of Claremont. The document recognizes that city government can have a great deal of influence over its own activities but recommended that the City partner with a non-governmental organization. This organization would outreach to the broader community on issues dealing with personal choice on matters that are not within the City’s traditional areas of responsibility.
The SCP envisioned the creation of a local non-profit organization and assigned the proposed group more than fifty tasks. Sustainable Claremont was formed in 2009 to take on this role, and the City provided $5,000 per year to help fund the activities of the organization. In 2013, the City Council adopted an update to the SCP that raised the bar in many of the goal areas and called for increased efforts from the community, including Sustainable Claremont. As a result, in 2014 the City Council approved an increase in annual funding to Sustainable Claremont to $25,000 per year.
Sustainable Claremont is tasked with developing local programs designed to attain community-wide goals and numeric targets established in the Sustainable City Plan. Furthermore, they work with regional, state, and national level agencies to promote sustainability-related programs on a local level. Sustainable Claremont is responsible to manage the Sustainability Resource Center to respond to inquiries from the general public by providing information on a variety of subjects. The City works closely with Sustainable Claremont on grant applications, where there is a public outreach element. Sustainable Claremont would coordinate the public outreach element of any grant received.
Sustainable Claremont’s Green Crew assists the City with education and outreach services for the City’s urban forest activities. Green Crew is responsible for volunteer recruitment and Walk-the-Town events for the City’s tree planting events. Walk-the-Town events consist of Green Crew staff making door-to-door contacts with residents for tree planting, tree watering, and advertising of community meetings. Green Crew successfully coordinates approximately 100 volunteers at each tree planting event. They provide follow-up support to residents with newly planted trees, watering reminders, and other outreach activities related to newly planted trees. Green Crew also assists with coordination and presentations at Urban Forest Management Plan community meetings. Sustainable Claremont also advertises Green Crew activities and educational resources via social media.
Staff recommends approval of a one-year contract with Sustainable Claremont based on the approved one-year 2019-20 budget for the same contract amount.
RELATIONSHIP TO CITY PLANNING DOCUMENTS
Council Priorities - This item is related to the current Council Priorities, which calls for the on-going implementation of the Sustainable City Plan.
Sustainability Plan - This item helps to implement a wide variety of goals of the updated SCP by helping to implement the 58 actions assigned to Sustainable Claremont as described above. Specific goals include, but not limited to:
Goal 7.1: Foster a community where all citizens understand the basic principles of sustainability and use them to guide their decisions and actions - both personally and collectively. Increasing the level of community involvement by all citizens, especially as it relates to sustainability issues.
Goal 7.2: Coordinate with local non-profit and community groups to collaborate on and promote sustainability related activities . . . and . . . work to involve the school district and community groups in the implementation of this plan because many of the goals and recommended actions are beyond the typical mission of the City.
Economic Sustainability Plan - This item implements policy recommendation (1.f) of the Economic Sustainability Plan, which calls for establishing and enhancing partnerships that would result in expense reductions, in that it leverages a largely volunteer community-based non-profit to perform tasks that would otherwise fall to City staff.
General Plan - This item addresses numerous General Plan goals related to sustainability by taking action related to the following General Plan implementation measures:
Measure V-1, which calls for expanding the City’s public education campaign on Sustainability; and
Measure V-2, which calls for providing information and raising public awareness of the benefits of sustainable design and construction.
2018-19 Budget - This item meets the Community Services Department Work Plan Goal CP-2: Implement applicable sustainability actions as listed in the Sustainable City Plan.
Youth and Family Master Plan - This item does not relate to the objectives in the Youth and Family Master Plan.
CEQA REVIEW
This item (entering an agreement and appropriating funding for sustainability outreach services) is not subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and section 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a “project” as defined in Section 15378). CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2), (4), and (5) excludes “[c]ontinuing administrative ... activities,” “government fiscal activities which do not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment,” and “[o]rganizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment” from its definition of “project.”
Even if this item were subject to CEQA, it is categorically exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15308. The proposed Agreement for sustainability outreach services support community participation in a competition to lower its energy use. Section 15308 of the CEQA Guidelines exempts actions taken by regulatory agencies, as authorized by State law, to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment.
Approval of this Agreement would help fund implementation of the SCP through public outreach and education that encourages resource conservation and environmental stewardship in the community. The Agreement is designed to reduce environmental, social and economic impacts of existing structures and activities and will not result in negative impacts to the environment. It is therefore exempt from the provisions of CEQA and no further environmental review is necessary.
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
This item has been noticed through the regular agenda notification process. Copies are available at the City Hall public counter, the Youth Activity Center, the Alexander Hughes Community Center, and on the City website.
Submitted by: Prepared by:
Jeremy Swan David J. Roger
Interim Community Services Director Community Services Deputy Director
Attachment:
Sustainable Claremont Contract