Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Jim Eggemeyer, Director, Office of Sustainability
Subject: Agreement with Ecology and Environment, Inc. for Climate Collaboration, Climate Vulnerability, and Adaptation Guidance Project
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing an agreement with Ecology and Environment, Inc. for consulting services to establish and facilitate a Countywide Climate Collaborative, provide community engagement on climate adaptation, conduct a climate vulnerability assessment, prepare sea level rise and climate change preparedness and adaptation guidance resources, and assist with resiliency planning for the term of October 2, 2018, to June 30, 2020, in an amount not to exceed $904,322.
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BACKGROUND:
Extreme heat, greater risk of wildfires, sea level rise, changing precipitation patterns, severe storm events, and degraded air quality are some of the climate change concerns for Bay Area communities, including San Mateo County. Climate change is expected to affect the people, property, economy, infrastructure, and ecosystems of San Mateo County in a variety of ways. The County launched Sea Change SMC <http://seachangesmc.com/> in 2015 to bring together and provide resources to local governments and agencies in San Mateo County on the issue of sea level rise. The first two Sea Change SMC tasks included developing a Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment (Assessment) for the entire Bayshore and the North Coast (Half Moon Bay north) and initiating a stakeholder and community engagement process to build support for cross jurisdictional collaboration on preparations for climate change impacts. The final Assessment <http://seachangesmc.com/vulnerability-assessment/> was released in March 2018.
With the completion of the Assessment, Sea Change SMC is moving toward implementation of the Climate Change Preparedness Action Plan <http://seachangesmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SMC_CCPAP_Visual_FINAL.pdf> (CCPAP), or “Phase Two.” Phase Two involves continued partnerships with cities and community stakeholders to (1) better understand additional climate-related vulnerabilities for San Mateo County, (2) advance and coordinate on sea level rise and climate change adaptation planning, and (3) mainstream adaptation measures into local plans, policies, operations, and projects.
DISCUSSION:
The County has already taken a leadership role in climate change adaptation, working with a broad coalition of governments across jurisdictional boundaries to assess and evaluate the impact of sea level rise. Staff released an RFP for the “Climate Collaboration, Vulnerability, and Climate Adaptation Guidance Project” (Project) on June 28, 2018, and closed the solicitation process on July 24, 2018. The County received six applications in response to the RFP, which were reviewed by a committee of individuals from County departments and the City and County Association of Governments with program and topic-area expertise. Based on that review, four applicants were invited to conduct in-person presentations and interviews. An interview committee of eight individuals from the County and partner agencies ranked Ecology and Environment, Inc. as the best overall proposal due to its qualifications, experience, vision, and approach for the overall Project, attention to and approach to integrating equity, and its competitive price. A Notice of Intent was released and contract negotiations began on September 5, 2018.
The Project includes five key components that the Contractor will be responsible for implementing through Phase Two: (1) Establish and facilitate a Countywide Climate Collaborative, (2) Provide community engagement on climate adaptation, (3) Develop a sea level rise adaptation planning toolkit, and as part of the SB1 Caltrans Adaptation Planning Grant funding received by the Office of Sustainability, (4) Conduct a climate vulnerability assessment for heat, wildfire, and precipitation in San Mateo County, and (5) Assist with community and transportation resiliency planning.
The Project will help the County and cities in San Mateo County better understand climate-related vulnerabilities, advance climate change adaptation planning, and mainstream adaptation measures for local plans, policies, operations, and projects. This Project will enable the County to continue sea level rise adaptation planning and coordination efforts through the Sea Change SMC Initiative and expand the County’s adaptation planning efforts to address, evaluate, and prepare for other climate change impacts, such as heat, wildfire, and precipitation. The Project also includes a Community Adaptation Planning Pilot Project component to help build the capacity of disadvantaged communities to participate in community planning work and develop neighborhood or community specific adaptation plans for increasing community resilience in three local communities in San Mateo County. These Pilot communities will be selected through a solicitation of interest and application process.
County Counsel has reviewed and approved the Agreement and Resolution as to form.
SHARED VISION:
Approval of this resolution contributes to the County's Shared Vision 2025 of being a Collaborative Community by convening countywide stakeholders to identify climate change impacts and develop regional solutions to reduce these community-level risks.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES:
|
Measure |
FY 2018-19 Targets |
FY 2019-20 Targets |
|
Number of stakeholders engaged through the Countywide Climate Collaborative |
30 |
50 |
|
Number of community members reached through outreach events |
500 |
500 |
|
Number of disadvantaged community members engaged |
25 |
50 |
FISCAL IMPACT:
The term of the Agreement is October 2, 2018 to June 30, 2020 and the not-to-exceed amount of $904,087. The budgeted amounts are included in the FY 2018-19 Recommended Budget and will also be included in the FY 2019-21 Recommended Budgets.
|
Funding Sources |
|
74% |
$649,500 |
Caltrans SB1 Adaptation Planning Grant |
|
26% |
$254,822 |
General Fund |