TO: Napa County Wildlife Conservation Commission
FROM: Dana Morrison, Secretary to the WCC
REPORT BY: Pam Arifian, Planner III
SUBJECT: Draft Process and Decision-Making Improvements
RECOMMENDATION
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Review draft grant application and draft selection criteria and rubric; provide direction on edits for final draft for discussion and potential adoption consideration at a future meeting yet to be determined.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The WCC Grant Application was revised and draft selection criteria and rubric were developed according to direction from the Commission at the May 18, 2026 Special Meeting. Commission can discuss the draft grant application, draft scoring criteria and rubric and provide direction on edits for a final draft of these documents for discussion and potential adoption consideration at a future meeting yet to be determined.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: Not a “project” pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) State CEQA Guidelines Section 15378.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
This item is a continuation of the ongoing discussion over the last year or more, and a specific follow up to the May 18th meeting, at which the Commission reached consensus on direction to Staff regarding proposed updates to the grant award process. This item presents an administrative draft proposal for application and process improvements for the WCC to consider and provide direction on regarding edits for incorporation into a final draft proposal.
The final draft proposal would be considered and potentially acted upon at subsequent meetings yet to be determined. Procedurally, the Commission would vote on a final draft proposal in two meetings. If the WCC wanted to move forward with these changes for the 2027-28 Grant Cycle, it is recommended that the final vote take place in early spring 2027 so that the new process can be appropriately publicized in advance of the start of the application window (June 15 - July 15, pending approval of 2027-28 calendar).
The revised proposal includes the following main elements: a two-meeting decision-making process, and adoption of scoring criteria and rubric to address the expressed need for clear priorities and more objective, structured decision-making. Commission members may download the minutes and staff reports for the previous meetings at the County website for Agendas and Minutes.
1. Application and Decision Process: Two-meeting decision schedule.
Shift from one meeting with presentations, questions and answers followed by deliberations and motion(s) for funding recommendations to a two-meeting decision model.
In the first meeting, Commissioners review applications and ask questions of applicants, who are invited (but not required) to provide information and optional brief presentations. This meeting would be held as soon as possible after the grant cycle closes, with the second meeting soon after.
In the second meeting, Commissioners would come prepared to share their specific ideas and rationale of how to allocate funding. Once everyone has had their chance to speak, then a member would make a motion on funding allocations, amendments, etc. Applicants would be allowed to attend as members of public but would not be available for questions at this meeting.
For 2027-28, pending calendar adoption, the first meeting would be held on Monday, August 16th at 2pm and the second meeting would be held the following week on Monday, August 23rd at 2pm.
2. Decision Process: Selection Criteria and Rubric
The proposed draft Selection Criteria and Rubric are based on Mendocino County Fish and Game Commission criteria and rubric as revised per direction of the WCC.
Commission members may review and provide direction to Staff regarding edits for a final draft version, which would be considered at a future meeting yet to be determined.