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 District Five
RECOMMENDATION:
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Measure K: Adopt a resolution authorizing a one-time grant of district-discretionary Measure K funds, not to exceed $100,000, to Peninsula Family Service for subsidized taxi rides for Daly City seniors, and authorizing the County Manager, or his designee, to execute the grant agreement.
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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. District Five has submitted a request to use its district-discretionary Measure K funds as shown below and described in the Project Summary section of this memorandum:
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District/Project |
Amount |
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District Five (Supervisor David J. Canepa) -Peninsula Family Service to pilot “Got Wheels”, a program that would offer 6 one-way on demand rides or 3 round trips per month to Daly City seniors, 70 years and older. For these 6 rides the rider would pay only $5.00 per ride. |
$100,000 |
This item is consistent with the criteria for district-discretionary Measure K funds approved by the Board in December 2018, with the following exception: the proposed grant, if approved, would be the second grant of district discretionary funding to the same organization within the current FY2017-19 budget cycle. The Board may approve this exception to the criteria by adopting the resolution.
PROJECT SUMMARY:
This is a request to authorize a grant to Peninsula Family Service (PFS) and resulting grant agreement in an amount not to exceed $100,000 to provide funding for taxi rides for Daly City seniors in Daly City, funding for a part-time (.9 FTE) staff person to handle membership registration, coordination with the taxi vendor and program marketing. The County Manager’s Office will administer and manage the proposed agreement.
District-discretionary Measure K funding for this organization has previously been provided as listed below:
• Age Friendly Seminar: $1,500, November 2017 from District 5
Peninsula Family Service’s mission is to strengthen the community by providing children, families and older adults with the support and tools to realize their full potential and lead healthy stable lives. PFS is quite involved with the northern county region, serving 1,445 individuals last year.
There are a number of barriers to using public transportation in the community, particularly for older adults. Public transportation stops may be difficult to access, particularly for those with limited physical mobility and those who use wheelchairs or walkers and may have infrequent schedules. The Coordinated Public Transit - Human Services Transportation Plan reports that current systems are failing to meet the growing needs of seniors in the community, including “senior-oriented mobility services that do not have the capacity to handle the increase in people over 65 years of age.” (Metropolitan Transportation Commission, 2018.)
Peninsula Family Service proposes that an effective means of transportation for older adults is “on demand” taxi rides. Through its history and knowledge of providing transportation for older adults, the organization has identified several concerns and issues among this population that on-demand rides would address:
• Taxi rides are more accessible than public transportation options and can reach locations that are far from the transportation corridor.
• PFS plans to use Serra Yellow Cab to provide these services, who provides wheelchair accessible vehicles and has experience with “arm in arm” support to riders. In addition, Serra Yellow Cab does not require seniors to deal with the “tech” component of downloading and managing the mobile application, such as would be necessary with a provider like Lyft or Uber.
• At a social level, older adults tend to be more trusting of taxi rides as a traditional mode of transport.
The City of San Mateo has its own successful taxi ride service, providing on demand rides to more than 350 San Mateo residents,60 and older, with Serra Yellow Cab. Their program has been in operation for more than a year.
Peninsula Family Service proposes to provide effective, affordable, on demand taxi services to residents, 70 years and older, who live in Daly City.
During the 12-month program the funds would be used to enroll 100 Daly City residents 70 years and older and provide each participant 6 rides per month for 12 months within the Daly City area. The rider would pay only $5.00 per ride; the program would subsidize the remainder of each ride.
Participants would complete an application in person, online or by mail. A preloaded membership card would subsequently be sent to the participant. The card would then be reloaded every month for the year. The participant then schedules needed rides on demand on a 24-hour-per-day, seven days-per-week basis. Taxi rides will be provided by Serra Yellow Cab, which has wheelchair accessible vehicles when needed. Peninsula Family Service has contracted with Serra Yellow Cab for more than six years for other projects within the organization and thus anticipates a short start up time for this project.
PFS will prepare promotional material and conduct outreach within the Daly City area.
PFS’ proposed budget for the “Got Wheels” program is as follows:
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GOT WHEELS Budget |
Cost |
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Staff costs: |
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Program Coordinator |
36 hours/week |
$44,928 |
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VP of Older Adults |
3% |
$3,500 |
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$48,428 |
Total Wages |
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35% of total wages |
Benefits |
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$65,378 |
Total Staff Wages and Benefits |
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Direct Costs: |
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Rides |
$25/ride x 6 rides/person x 100 people |
$12,000 |
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Mileage |
1,835 miles |
$1,000 |
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Office Supplies |
Computer, paper, etc. |
$1,500 |
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Marketing |
Flyers/promo material |
$2,157 |
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Common Costs |
Office space, Insurance, Audit, Payroll, etc. |
$4,922 |
6% of PFS operating budget |
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$86,957 |
Total Direct Costs |
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Indirect Costs: |
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Administrative Overhead |
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$13,044 |
15% of total direct cost |
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$100,000 |
Total Budget |
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Total Measure K Request: Not to Exceed $100,000
The release of funds will be contingent on the execution of an agreement providing for the County’s confirmation of the expenditure of funds for the purposes stated herein. The County will disburse the funds to the following organization for the purposes described above:
Peninsula Family Service
24 Second Avenue
San Mateo, Ca 94401
Attn: Susan Houston, VP of Older Adult Services
susan@peninsulafamilyservice.org <mailto:susan@peninsulafamilyservice.org>
650-403-4300 ext. 4369
PERFORMANCE MEASURES:
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Description |
Target |
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Enroll participants in Got Wheels |
100 |
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Provide rides to participants |
6 one-way rides |
County Counsel has reviewed and approved the agreement and resolution as to form.
Funding for the “Got Wheels” Program contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 outcomes of both Healthy and Safe Communities and Livable Communities. Lack of transportation contributes to a decline in health. One of the main reasons older adults do not keep their medical appointments is when they lack accessible transportation. As a result, they are less likely to attend regular checkups and other medical appointments that are preventative in nature, thus leading to increased emergency room visits and medical care expenses. There is also a direct link between lack of transportation and feelings of isolation in older adults. Many older adults become more isolated when they do not have transportation. Studies have shown that being isolated and lonely directly affects one’s emotional and physical health. This service would connect people to opportunities for supportive social services and opportunities for cultural and personal enrichment.
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.