TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Jason Martin, Deputy Fire Chief
REPORT BY: Stacie McCambridge, Staff Services Manager
SUBJECT: Grant Support Services for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
RECOMMENDATION
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Deputy Fire Chief requests approval of and authorization for the Chair to sign Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 220351B with WRA, Inc. increasing the amount by $55,000 for a new maximum of $100,000 per fiscal year for the terms amending the scope of work to include support services to the County of Napa in responding to state and federal Request for Information (RFIs)/Benefit Cost Analysis (BCAs) for four recent FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) applications.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In April 2022, County Fire submitted a wildfire grant sub-application to Cal OES. The request to amend the current Agreement will provide additional support services from WRA who will finalize Cal OES RFI response for the sub-application and perform Questions and Answers and Questions and Comments (QA/QC) review of uploaded materials, response documents, and the RFI/BCA comments and sub-application content in the online portal.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
Yes |
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Where is it budgeted? |
Fire Budget |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
With aid from WRA, County Fire is making every effort to streamline and avoid duplication in the FEMA RFI/BCA sub-application process. The intent of using WRA and the Cal OES RFI/BCA process is to reduce the possibility of extensive FEMA RFIs/BCAs. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Future fiscal impact: |
Grant money will aid in funding County Prevention Projects |
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Consequences if not approved: |
Loss of grant writing support could result in projects being funded solely by County funds. |
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County Strategic Plan pillar addressed: |
Healthy, Safe, and Welcoming Place to Live, Work, and Visit |
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Additional Information |
N/A |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The grant writing services to be performed by WRA is not a project as defined by 14 California Code Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
On June 1, 2022, Agreement 220351 was signed to provide immediate support services to the County of Napa in responding to state and federal Requests for Information (RFIs/Benefit Cost Analysis (BCAs) for four recent FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) applications. WRA has assisted County Fire with preparing four (4) distinct HMGP sub-applications, which includes developing separate benefit cost analysis for each project.
WRA has aided the County on projects AP-00935, AP-00937, and AP-00938 allowing these wildfire grant sub-applications to be submitted to Cal OES on April 8, 2022. This has involved WRA coordinating with Fire to review RFIs/BCAs and verify a response approach (which includes draft response materials for review by County) while establishing the schedule to complete work on deadlines and finalize the response materials in upload-ready format.
The requested amendment will provide additional support services to the County of Napa to respond to the RFIs/BCAs for the four recent FEMA HMGP applications submitted in April. At the level of support requested by the County, WRA will finalize Cal OES RFI response for the sub-applications and perform QA/QC review of uploaded materials, response documents, and the RFI/BCA comments and sub-application content in the online portal.
With aid from WRA, County Fire is making every effort to streamline and avoid duplication in FEMA RFI/BCA sub-application process. With the number, complexity, and timing of RFI’s/BCAs it is difficult to predict. The intent of using WRA and the Cal OES RFI/BCA process is to reduce the possibility of extensive FEMA RFIs/BCAs.
The effective date reflects dates of services provided prior to the Amendment being in place. Administrative delays have caused the Agreement to be brought to the Board late.