HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 5i. Authorization to apply for Local Agency Technical Assistance Grant for preparation of a Broadband Master Plan Item 5i
Department: Information Technology
Cost Center: 1101
For Agenda of: 9/6/2022
Placement: Consent
Estimated Time: N/A
FROM: Greg Hermann, Deputy City Manager
Prepared By: Josh Erquiaga, Network Services Supervisor
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZATION TO APPLY FOR LOCAL AGENCY TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE GRANT FOR PREPARATION OF A BROADBAND
MASTER PLAN
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize City staff to apply for the Local Agency Technical Assistance grant to fund
preparation of a Broadband Master Plan for the City of San Luis Obispo.
POLICY CONTEXT
Council directed City staff at the June 7, 2022, City Council meeting to conduct a
broadband study using State and Local Recovery Funds (SLFRF). Council also directed
staff to pursue other grant opportunities as they became available. The recommended
action is consistent with the City of San Luis Obispo’s Financial Management Manual,
Section 740 - Grant Management Policy. The policy states that Council must approve all
grant applications in excess of $5,000 and delegates receipt and contract execu tion to
the City Manager.
DISCUSSION
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic showed that access to broadband services is a necessity for
people to work, attend school, shop, and conduct government business. All levels of
government (Federal, State and Local) have recognized the importance of broadband
access and are in the process of updating the standards for what constitutes broadband
access. The City heard from the community about the difficulty they were having
accessing electronic resources. With the pending changes to broadband standards, City
IT staff did an exercise to look at broadband accessibility based on publicly available
information and presented to an ad-hoc committee of the Council that was looking at ways
to utilize State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) through the American Rescue
Plan Act. Based on IT staff findings, the Council ad-hoc committee decided to
recommend to the City Council that $100,000 be allocated to a study of broadband access
in the community, and an additional $500,000 be set aside to implement
recommendations that might come from the study.
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Item 5i
Council also directed staff to pursue additional grant opportunities as they became
available. Staff recently became aware of the Local Agency Technical Assistance (LATA)
grant, which is funded by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The CPUC
established the LATA grant program for eligible pre -construction work facilitating
broadband network projects to areas in need. The program has a $50 million budget for
eligible local agencies and tribal entities in California, including a $5 million set aside for
tribes. One area the LATA grant is focused on is consultant or staf f time for conducting
needs assessments, environmental and engineering studies, network design, and
broadband strategic plans. This aligns with the work staff is currently pursuing. The City
is planning to released a Request for Proposals for the project in August with a goal of
selecting a firm in September. The LATA grant can only be used for new work so in order
to be able to use the LATA grant funding the grant would need to be awarded prior to the
City signing a contract with a consultant.
Staff consulted with Adrienne Harris Consulting, the City’s on -call grant consulting firm,
about the feasibility of applying for the LATA grant. Due to the tight timeline of the
Broadband project, the ease of application for the LATA grant, and the CPUC’s goal of
turning around grant applications quickly, the consultant’s recommendation was to submit
the grant application before August 31, 2022 as she believes that the funding agency may
only conduct review of applications monthly. Based on the consultant’s recommendation,
staff applied for the LATA grant. As this action was taken prior to the next available City
Council meeting on September 6, 2022, staff is recommending that the Council authorize
in arrears staff’s application for the LATA grant.
Previous Council or Advisory Body Action
An ad-hoc committee of the City Council recommended $600,000 in State and Local
Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) funding be allocated toward a broadband study and
subsequent implementation of recommended actions. The recommendation was
formalized at the June 7, 2022, City Council Meeting, with Resolution No. 11333 (2022
Series).
Public Engagement
This item is on the agenda for the September 6, 2022, City Council meeting and will follow
all the required posting and notification. Public comment on the item can be provided to
the City Council through written correspondence prior to the meeting and through public
testimony at the meeting.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) does not apply to the recommended
action in this report, because the action does not constitute a “Project” under State CEQA
Guidelines Section 15378.
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Item 5i
FISCAL IMPACT
Budgeted: Yes Budget Year: 2022-23
Funding Identified: Yes
Fiscal Analysis:
Funding
Sources
Total Budget
Available
Current
Funding
Request
Remaining
Balance
Annual
Ongoing
Cost
General Fund $ $ $ $
State
Federal
Fees
Other:
Total $ $ $ $
There will be no negative fiscal impact to the City. The City’s grant application is proposing
a project budget of $100,000 in reimbursable expenses. Grant recipients are reimbursed
for eligible pre-construction expenses such as consultant or staff time for conducting
needs assessments, environmental and engineering studies, network design and
broadband strategic plans.
Funding for the preparation of the Broadband Master Plan was allocated from SLFRF,
however this grant opportunity would allow the designated funding to be reallocated to
subsequent implementation efforts of the project or as recommended by the City Council.
There is a deadline of December 31, 2024, to commit the SLFRF and appropriate action
would follow to retain the funding.
ALTERNATIVES
Do not authorize the application for the Local Agency Technical Assistance grant.
Staff does not recommend this alternative, but if Council chose not to authorize staff to
apply for the LATA grant, staff would immediately withdraw the City’s grant application
from the CPUC. Staff would then use the previously allocated State and Local Fiscal
Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to continue this project.
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