Special Notice / Hearing: None
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael P. Callagy, County Executive
Subject: Use of District-Discretionary Measure K Funds - Supervisorial District 3
RECOMMENDATION:
title
Measure K: Adopt a resolution authorizing a one-time grant of district-discretionary Measure K funds, not to exceed $20,000, to the City of Half Moon Bay, to provide Half Moon Bay-centered news and resources through the Coastside News Group, Inc. to residents and authorizing the County Executive, or 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) held study sessions on Measure K expenditures and approved funds for the fiscal year (FY) 2023-24 budget cycle, divided equally among the five supervisorial districts, for one-time district-discretionary needs and projects. District 3 has submitted a request to use their district-discretionary Measure K funds as shown below and described in the Project Summary section of this memorandum:
|
District/Project |
Amount |
|
District 3 (Supervisor Mueller) - City of Half Moon Bay: support for Coastside News Group, Inc. to provide local news and resources to residents |
$20,000 |
This item is consistent with the criteria for district-discretionary Measure K funds approved by the Board in December 2018. District 3 indicates that this organization is either a public agency operating within the County or a nonprofit organization registered and in good standing with the California Attorney General. District 3 indicates that the sponsoring Board member, member’s family, and member’s supervisorial staff do not serve as an officer, director, or play a policy role for the grantee organization.
PROJECT SUMMARY:
This is a request to authorize a grant to the City of Half Moon Bay, and resulting grant agreement, in an amount not to exceed $20,000, to provide news related to Half Moon Bay and the Coastside region, and resources, through the Coastside News Group, Inc. to County residents. The County Executive’s Office will administer and manage the proposed agreement.
District-Discretionary funding for this organization has previously been provided as listed below:
• On March 8, 2022, the Board of Supervisors approved a district-discretionary grant of $75,000 to the City of Half Moon Bay to match funding for the Crisis Assistance Response and Evaluation Services (CARES) pilot program implementation.
This district-discretionary grant will be used to fund the following project or services:
Coastside News Group, Inc. (CNGI) is the primary source of local news about the San Mateo County coast and serves the approximately 60,000 County residents from Pacifica to Pescadero. Based in Half Moon Bay, the organization publishes the weekly Half Moon Bay Review and Pacifica Tribune newspapers (both in print and online), as well as the monthly Coastside magazine. For many on the coast, the destructive storm season and tragic mass shooting, in addition to the CZU fire and pandemic response in recent years, has highlighted the importance of maintaining a strong journalistic presence and various means of public information for the area and its residents.
CNGI offers unique and area-specific content such as breaking news alerts on road closures, power outages, and weather events; coverage of local public meetings of the city councils, school boards and special districts; front-line reporting on climate change issues such as sea level rise and wildfires; and regular news stories on rural, agricultural and farmworker issues.
However, the aftermath of the pandemic and the ongoing decline of traditional newspaper advertising revenue, have led to the need to look for additional sources of funding to sustain the essential work of unbiased, local news coverage to keep residents informed.
The County of San Mateo and the City of Half Moon Bay have relied heavily on the resources provided by local news outlets such as CNGI to promote civic engagement, provide emergency and crisis response resources, and general community building.
This district-discretionary grant will enable the organization to meet the following currently unmet need or service gap within the County:
This one-time grant of $20,000 would allow the City of Half Moon Bay to support CNGI’s operational expenses, to allow for uninterrupted newsgathering and strengthen a critical local media institution. This grant will serve as a foundation to encourage philanthropic pledges so that CNGI may build a diverse and sustainable funding stream and invest in the County’s broader information ecosystem.
District 3 has informed the grantee organization that this grant is one-time only, and that the grantee organization will need to find other sources of funding going forward.
The project or services funded by this district-discretionary grant will be implemented or provided during October 3, 2023 through June 30, 2024.
District 3 has recommended two grants of $20,000 each, to the City of Half Moon Bay and the City of Pacifica, to support CNGI’s operational expenses.
Total Measure K Request: Not to Exceed $20,000
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:
City of Half Moon Bay
Matthew Chidester, City Manager
501 Main Street, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
650-726-8272 <tel:6507268272>
mchidester@hmbcity.com
PERFORMANCE MEASURES:
|
Description |
Target |
|
Support Coastside News Group, Inc.’s operational expenses, to provide for uninterrupted local news coverage regarding Half Moon Bay and the south coast region in the 2023-24 fiscal year |
Complete |
The County Attorney’s Office has reviewed and approved the agreement and resolution as to form.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There are sufficient Measure K funds for this specific FY 2023-24 Measure K request. These funds are budgeted in the Non-Departmental Services FY 2023-24 Adopted Budget.