The purpose of the North Richmond Mitigation Fee (NRMF) is to mitigate designated impacts resulting from the County and City approved land use permits for the expanded Bulk Material Processing Center (BMPC) located in North Richmond. New Expenditure Plans and/or modifications to existing Expenditure Plans (Amended Expenditure Plans) must be approved by both the County Board of Supervisors and Richmond City Council to authorize use of NRMF funding.  
  
The 2017/2018 North Richmond Mitigation Fee Expenditure Plan was approved by the County Board of Supervisors in June 2017 and by the Richmond City Council in July 2017.  
  
In late August of 2017, Supervisor Gioia’s Office informed Department of Conservation & Development (DCD) staff that the person hired to fill the NRMF funded Community Services Coordinator position (Expenditure Plan Strategy 8) in late July had still not been paid by her employer, Neighborhood House of North Richmond (NHNR), the implementing nonprofit organization named in the Expenditure Plan. The Community Services Coordinator has since been paid for the work performed in July. As of September 14, 2017, the Community Services Coordinator has not been paid for work completed for the month of August. NHNR has indicated that it does not have adequate funds available to administer this position on a reimbursement basis, meaning paychecks can only be issued for work performed after NHNR receives payment from the City. Requesting payment in advance of incurring the actual expense is inconsistent with NRMF funding practices and contracting requirements and is therefore not an acceptable arrangement moving forward. NHNR is also named in the Expenditure Plan as the entity responsible for implementing the two companion North Richmond Green strategies, which the Community Services Coordinator is responsible for implementing (Strategy 10 - North Richmond Green Community Service Programs and Strategy 11 - North Richmond Green Campaign) on a cost reimbursement basis.   
  
To ensure that the Community Services Coordinator is paid for work performed on a timely and routine basis, and the related Mitigation Funded activities associated with the position operate uninterrupted, another implementing entity needs to be named. A nonprofit organization with a long standing history of working with both the City and County on NRMF funded activities, the Community Housing Development Corporation (CHDC) of North Richmond, has agreed to implement all three NRMF funded strategies on a cost reimbursement basis. CHDC has acted as the implementing entity for these strategies in the past and is already knowledgeable about the purpose of the strategies as well as the strategy-specific requirements. Additionally, CHDC currently administers another NRMF funded position, Prevention Services Coordinator, under Strategy 4, and assists with the implementation of Strategy 1 (Bulky Item Pick-ups & Disposal Vouchers). CHDC is also responsible for administering nonprofit contracts for both Strategy 9 (Community-Based Projects) and Strategy 12 (Neighborhood Community Garden Projects). The 2017/2018 Expenditure Plan must be amended in order to facilitate the transfer of implementation responsibilities for these strategies and the associated funding allocations from NHNR to CHDC.  
  
SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO THE 2017/2018 NRMF EXPENDITURE PLAN  
  
The recommended 2017/2018 Expenditure Plan Amendment changes the implementing entity listed for Expenditure Plan Strategies 8, 10, and 11 from NHNR to CHDC.  
  
The proposed amendment also includes a correction related to the non-profit entity named as the fiscal sponsor for one of the Community Garden Projects funded under Strategy 12. Specifically, the fiscal sponsor for the Contra Costa Service Integration Team (SIT) Community Garden Project is recommended to be changed from CHDC to Greater Richmond Interfaith Program (GRIP) in Attachments 4 and 5 to the Expenditure Plan (Exhibit A).  
  
Due to the time-sensitive nature of the current need to amend the Expenditure Plan, the changes proposed in the attached Amended 2017-2018 Expenditure Plan could not be presented for consideration by the North Richmond Mitigation Fee Joint Expenditure Planning Committee (NRMFC). The NRMFC members will be advised of any changes approved by the City and County and the Amended Expenditure Plan will be presented to the full Committee at their next regularly scheduled meeting on February 16, 2018.

Any amended Expenditure Plan must receive final approval from the County Board of Supervisors and Richmond City Council. Expenditure Plans only take effect if/when approved by the Board of Supervisors and the Richmond City Council. If the Amended 2017/2018 Expenditure Plan is not approved by the Board, the nonprofit currently implementing Strategies 8, 10, 11, and 12 of the Expenditure Plan would not implement strategies on a cost reimbursement basis as is required. Furthermore, there would continue to be a substantial risk that the implementation of the NRMF funded activities/services associated with these three strategies will be interrupted and/or compromised. CHDC would also continue to be inappropriately listed as the fiscal sponsor for the SIT Program's Community Garden Project funded under Strategy 12.