Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Jim Eggemeyer, Director, Office of Sustainability
Peggy Jensen, Deputy County Manager
Subject: Use of Measure K Funds: Home for All Community Engagement Program
RECOMMENDATION:
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Measure K: Adopt a resolution approving Measure K funding to amend the agreement with Common Knowledge Plus to extend the term through June 30, 2020 and to increase the total amount by $106,623 for a new not-to-exceed amount of $597,048.
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BACKGROUND:
In 2017, San Mateo County launched the Home for All Initiative to implement the Closing the Jobs/Housing Gap Task Force action plan. The action plan supports development and preservation of all types of housing and focuses on land, funding, and community engagement.
To help Home for All address community engagement around housing, on March 2, 2017, the County Manager executed a nine-month contract for $99,860 with Common Knowledge Plus (CKP), a consulting firm known for its community engagement and cultural competency expertise. The contract scope of work included assessing city interest in a new approach to community engagement around housing.
CKP learned that many cities in San Mateo County were interested, so in collaboration with CKP, Home for All launched a community engagement pilot project. Burlingame, Half Moon Bay, Portola Valley, and Redwood City were selected to pilot the concept in late 2017. To assist with this work, and support the countywide community engagement Learning Network, the CKP contract was increased to $299,425 and extended through December 31, 2019 by your Board. The amended agreement also included a sole source waiver.
The 2018 community conversations were very well received and laid the groundwork for city council action on housing policies. The outside project evaluator, Municipal Resources Group, found that the pilot project goals were met and that overall the new engagement approach helped cities develop a greater level of trust among elected officials, city staff, and residents. In addition, the four pilot cities have continued to use the Home for All community conversation model to engage their residents around housing and other issues.
Given the positive results in the 2018 pilot cities, five new cities joined the community engagement program in 2019. Home for All and CKP supported community meetings in Brisbane, Pacifica, and San Mateo earlier this year. Meetings in Foster City and Hillsborough will be held this fall. In addition to the new cities, Home for All continues to work with all seven cities that have held meetings on projects that have grown out of their engagement work.
DISCUSSION:
Earlier this year, the Home for All Steering Council, which is chaired by Supervisors Horsley and Slocum and includes 11 other community stakeholders, supported continuation of the community engagement initiative.
To continue the work with the current nine cities, the CKP contract needs to be extended through January 31, 2020 and increased by $106,623 for a new not-to-exceed amount of $597,048. The work plan for the contract extension includes extensive consulting time to support the two cities with community meetings in the fall and provide ongoing consulting support to the seven other cities. The scope of work also includes participation in three additional Learning Network meetings, assistance with communications and meeting materials, and collaboration on presentations about the engagement concept and results.
The resolution has been approved by County Counsel as to form.
The Home for All community engagement program supports the County vision of a collaborative community by increasing community participation in housing decisions.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES:
|
Performance Measure |
FY 17/18 |
FY 18/19 |
|
Learning Network evaluations on a scale of 1 to 5 |
4.9 |
4.7 |
|
Positive feedback from community engagement pilot cities |
100% |
100% |
FISCAL IMPACT:
The FY 2018-19 and FY 2019-20 Recommended Measure K budget for Home for All includes $600,000 which is sufficient to cover the CKP contract extension and the other Home for All projects including two convenings, workshops, ongoing promotion of second units, and staff to support this work.