Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael P. Callagy, County Manager
Subject: Use of District-Discretionary Measure K Funds - Supervisorial Districts 1 and 3
RECOMMENDATION:
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Measure K: Approve an Appropriation Transfer Request (ATR) of one-time district-discretionary Measure K funds, not to exceed $250,500, to the Office of Sustainability for the Fire Chiefs Association’s Standardized Evacuation Zone Polygons and the San Mateo Resource Conservation District Forest Health/Fire Safe Program.
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BACKGROUND:
Measure K is the half-cent general sales tax initially approved by San Mateo County voters in November 2012 and extended in November 2016 for a total of thirty years. The Board of Supervisors (“Board”) and County staff have conducted study sessions and community outreach efforts to inform priorities for Measure K spending for FY 2017-19.
On May 16, 2017, the Board approved the FY 2017-19 Measure K allocation plan in which the County anticipates Measure K receipts of approximately $81.6 million annually. The plan included $7 million in one-time loans or grants each year during FY 2017-19, divided equally among the five supervisorial districts, for district-specific needs and projects. Districts 1 and 3 have submitted a request to use its district-discretionary Measure K funds as shown below and described in the Project Summary section of this memorandum:
District/Project |
Amount |
District 1 (Supervisor Pine) - Office of Sustainability: projects related to wildland fire risk strategy |
$140,000 |
District 3 (Supervisor Horsley) - Office of Sustainability: projects related to wildland fire risk strategy |
$110,500 |
This item is consistent with the criteria for district-discretionary Measure K funds approved by the Board in December 2018.
PROJECT SUMMARY:
This is a request to authorize an ATR in the amount of $250,500 in Measure K district-discretionary funds to the Office of Sustainability to fund projects related to the County’s strategy to reduce wildland fire risk. The Office of Sustainability will use the Measure K funds for the following efforts to reduce risks from wildland fires:
I. San Mateo County Fire Chiefs Association - $75,000:
• Collaborate with local fire and police chiefs and evacuation specialists to develop standardized evacuation zone polygons, utilizing the County’s LiDAR data, evacuation route capacity, population density, and additional data.
• Validate evacuation zones, develop a digital GIS map layer, and create standardized pre-plan worksheets and supporting evacuation zone materials for the Office of Public Safety Communications, the Office of Emergency Services, and first responders throughout the county.
II. Fire Safe Council/San Mateo Resource Conservation District Forest Health/Fire Safe Program - $175,500:
• Coordinated and facilitate Fire Safe Council (FSC) work on local initiatives and priorities identified by FSC stakeholders, the CAL FIRE Unit Plan, and the Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
• Expand the FSC chipping program, which includes outreach to residents on topics including defensible space, home hardening, evacuation routes, and neighborhood fuel/vegetation risk reduction efforts.
• Support project development and efforts to secure grants to further fuel reduction and forest health projects, including watershed health/sediment load reduction, to improve critical trails, fire roads, emergency access/evacuation roads, and related bridges and culverts.
• Research and begin the process of developing programmatic permitting tools and environmental documentation for projects including: fuel reduction, removal of large trees like eucalyptus, defensible space, large scale forest health projects, strategic fuel breaks, and sediment load reduction improvements for emergency access/evacuation routes and other fire risk reduction projects.
Total Measure K Request: Not to Exceed $250,500
County Counsel has reviewed and approved the ATR as to form.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There are sufficient Measure K funds for this specific FY 2018-2019 Measure K request. These funds are budgeted in the Non-Departmental Services FY 2018-19 Adopted Budget.