HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/01/1991, 5 - REQUEST BY ECOSLO FOR A CITY CONTRIBUTION TO FUND NEW AND EXPANDED SERVICES AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER. l�Ih���,II�IIIIIIIIII�IIIII`I "! (� MEETING DATE
�� ul C� �I" $d11 LI.�IS OBISpO j
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT ITEM NUMBER:
FROM: Ken Hampian, Assistant City Administrative Office
Prepared By: Deb Hossli, Administrative Analyst. -
SUBJECT: Request by ECOSLO for a City contribution to fund new and
expanded services at the Environmental Center.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
1) Approve in concept a contribution of $40, 600 to ECOSLO over
a two year period ($20, 000 in 1991-92 and $20, 600 in 1992-
93) to fund new and expanded services at the Environmental
Center.
2) Authorize the CAO to enter into a two year agreement for
$40, 600 with ECOSLO for Environmental Center services as
described in this report.
DISCUSSION:
Backciround
During the 1991-93 Budget Hearings, ECOSLO requested $60, 000 for
1991-92 to fund new and expanded services at the Environmental
Center. After discussing the proposal, the Council indicated that
they were interested in providing some level of funding to ECOSLO,
but not necessarily the full $60, 000 requested. Council
subsequently directed staff to evaluate ECOSLO's proposal more
closely and return at a later date with a funding level
recommendation. Since Budget Hearings, however, ECOSLO has scaled
back the Environmental Center proposal and reduced their request
for funding from the City to $50, 000. This was done to make the
program less costly given the financial constraints facing the
City, the County, and other potential funding sources for ECOSLO.
Staff has had an opportunity to review ECOSLO' s revised proposal
for $50, 000. This staff report provides an overview of the revised
proposal, along with staff's recommendation for funding the
Environmental Center.
ECOSLO'S Proposal
The Environmental Center has been in existence since 1971. Its
primary emphasis has been to foster public involvement in solving
environmental issues that face the County of San Luis Obispo. The
Environmental Center has accomplished this through a combination
of providing public education and serving as a resource to local
environmental groups.
Currently, one-half of ECOSLO's management staff (a director and
business manager) along with volunteer time, is devoted to this
effort. With this level of staffing, ECOSLO is able to keep the
�— I
������ib►►►�IIIIIIIIIIu ��8111 city of San tins OBlspo
WiS COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Environmental Center open during normal business hours Monday
through Friday of each week in downtown San Luis Obispo. The
balance of staff time is devoted to overseeing the Recycling Center
operation.
The Environmental Center currently serves as an information
clearinghouse for environmental issues in the county; provides
referral services for over twenty-five environmental groups
throughout the county; distributes free educational materials to
the public on environmental issues; maintains a lending library of
books, video tapes and slides on a variety of environmental topics;
provides free meeting rooms for environmental groups; coordinates
volunteer efforts; and maintains a speakers bureau for
presentations to schools and local groups on environmental issues.
ECOSLO is now requesting $50, 000 in 1991-92 to fund new and
expanded services at the Environmental Center (see Attachment 111"
for ECOSLO proposal) . Specifically, the group is interested in
enhancing services currently provided at the Center and becoming
more involved in developing solutions to sensitive environmental
issues such as protecting the Morros, the County's coast line, and
watershed areas. ECOSLO intends to request funding from the City
on an ongoing, annual basis to support their enhanced activities.
With respect to expanding services provided at the Center, the
group would like to improve on all services currently offered,
increase volunteer recruitment and participation levels and I
heighten the community's awareness of the Environmental Center
through increased outreach activities. Expanding and improving
Environmental Center activities represents ECOSLO' s highest
priority for use of the requested funding.
With respect to becoming more involved in issues of special public
interest, ECOSLO proposes to take a leading role in identifying and
defining sensitive environmental issues in the County, developing
information to educate the public on the issues, and coordinating
volunteer efforts to develop and initiate solutions to
environmental problems. Specifically, the ECOSLO intends to get
involved in protecting the Morros, the coast line, and watershed
areas.
Program Costs
ECOSLO has estimated that it will cost a total of approximately
$99, 000 annually to provide the expanded level of service
identified in their proposal. It currently costs ECOSLO
approximately $50, 000 annually to operate the Environmental Center.
The additional $49, 000 is necessary to create two staff analyst
positions (valued at approximately $30, 000) and establish a
promotional and educational materials budget to support the j
5�-
city of san l-I.-.s oBispo
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
expanded programs (valued at approximately $19, 000) . The efforts
of the two staff analysts would be equally divided between
Environmental Center expansion activities and advocating for the
issues of special environmental interest.
The City is being requested to fund $50, 000, or slightly over half
of the proposed total program costs. The balance of the program,
$49, 000 will be funded with profits from ECOSLO's Recycling Center
operation ($20, 000) , the County ($15, 000 - this is not yet
confirmed) , and donations, fundraisers, and membership dues
($14,000) . Of the $50, 000 being requested from the City, ECOSLO
proposes to use $34, 000 to fund salaries and $16,000 to fund
services and supplies to support the program.
Staff Recommendation
Staff has used the last several weeks to work with ECOSLO to refine
and clarify their request for funding. It is important to note
that staff has based its review on two key assumptions:
* the Council wants to provide ECOSLO with some level of funding
to support enhanced environmental information services (though
not necessarily the full amount requested) .
* the Council wants to provide their support at least through
the two year Financial Plan as the provision of information
services represents an "operating cost" (in directing staff
to develop a funding recommendation, the concept of providing
monies to ECOSLO was compared to the City's ongoing
operational support of the Chamber of Commerce Visitors
Center) .
As a result, it is recommended that the City contribute $40, 600 to
the Environmental Center during the 1991-93 Financial Plan period
and staff be authorized to negotiate a contract with ECOSLO that
is set up as follows:
* the contract will be negotiated for a two-year period, provide
$20, 000 in 1991-92 and $20, 600 in 1992-93, and subject to
evaluation during the 1992-93 mid cycle budget review (this
approach provides ECOSLO with a 3% increase in the second year
of the contract - this is consistent with planned increases
for most City General Fund budgets) .
* the City's contribution of $40, 600 will be used solely to fund
staffing and supplies needed to enhance services at the
Environmental Center (as opposed to funding expenses
associated with advocating for issues of special interest) and
be tied to providing specific services to the City.
������►b►►��IIIIIIIIIUu ��UUI city of San Luis OBlspo
Cou1VCIL AGENDA REPORT
* standards will be included for measuring ECOSLO's performance
during 1991-92 to help the City with evaluating future year
requests for funding.
Staff is recommending this approach for several reasons. Most
importantly, from the standpoint of equity, it is unreasonable to
assume that the City should fund such a disproportionately large
share of the projected program costs ($50, 000 annually) given the
countywide benefits of the Environmental Center's activities. By
providing $20, 000 or 20% of the program's budget during 1991-92,
the City will still be the largest single contributor, ECOSLO will
receive sufficient funding for its highest priority, and
approximately $19, 000 will be available to hire staffing and
purchase supplies to enhance services at the Environmental Center.
I
Secondly, it is staff's opinion that the City will derive the
greatest value from our contribution if ECOSLO is required to use
City monies to expand information services at the Environmental
Center (as opposed to funding expenses associated with advocating
for issues of special interest) . Given the Environmental Center's
downtown location, expanded services as described in their proposal
will directly benefit the residents of San Luis Obispo. To insure
that the City receives full value for our contribution, staff would
recommend that ECOSLO's contract be set up to provide specific
services to the City, such as preparing an environmental guide;
developing educational materials for school programs; organizing
a designated number of volunteer creek clean-up days in the City;
distributing City water conservation, energy conservation and
recycling information; etc. It is important to note that due to
their lease agreement, ECOSLO is committed to staying in the
downtown for at least two more years. j
Finally, staff does not feel it is appropriate for the City to
provide funding to support the Environmental Center's advocacy
activities for the following reasons:
* Over time, community-wide tax receipts would inevitably be
used to support advocacy efforts for highly political issues -
issues which could involve divergent community and
Councilmember views.
i
* At times, City resources would be used to "lobby" the City and
perhaps, oppose City positions. While such advocacy is a
necessary and healthy aspect of the democratic process, it is
staff's opinion that, as a practical matter, direct City !
funding of such activities would complicate the City-ECOSLO
relationship for both parties, to the detriment of our shared
overall goals.
i
5-�
��� ►tNifVIIIII�II� ���ll city of San lk_.S OBISpo
nia_ ; COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
* From an equity perspective, it is not justifiable for the City
to shoulder such a large share of the advocacy expenses when
the benefits would clearly be felt countywide (e.g. ,
protecting the coast line) .
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of this recommendation will result in a total cost of
$40,600 to the City. Staff is recommending that General Fund
Balance be used to finance the $40, 600. During the finalization
of the 1991-93 Financial Plan, staff anticipated that some level
of funding would be provided to ECOSLO and therefore this action
will not lower the projected General Fund Balance to below the
Council adopted target of 20%.
CONCURRENCES:
ECOSLO concurs with the technical information contained in this
report. The organization does not, however, concur with staff's
recommendation for funding. ECOSLO feels that full funding should
be provided.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Provide full funding to ECOSLO
i
Under this alternative, the City would provide ECOSLO with
their full request for funding of $50, 000. While this is
feasible alternative, it is not recommended. As previously
mentioned, from an equity standpoint, it is inappropriate for
the City to take on such a large share of the financial
responsibility for programs that provide countywide benefit.
2. Provide no funding to ECOSLO
Given the tight financial times facing the City, it is
feasible that the City could opt to forego funding for the
Environmental Center. Staff review of the Environmental Center
operations has demonstrated that they provide valuable
services to the community and there is merit to the City
Council 's desire to contribute some level of support for its
continued operation. In addition, without City funding, it
would be very difficult for ECOSLO to continue providing
quality services at the Environmental Center.
ATTACHMENTS:
111" - ECOSLO Proposal
dh\ecoslo
5-S
N 8051544-2777
Recycling
Ser%ices
A 8051543-4296
45` In Road
P. c 1014
Sa. �s Obispo
;aliformin
X3406 / r
Emironmental Center
of San Wis Obispo County
August 23, 1991
Dear Mayor Dunin and Council Members,
We greatly appreciate the City. Council's commitment to the
environment and believe that we are all working toward the same
common goals. We are all aware that "starting a new program" in hard
times is very difficult. We appreciate your confidence and are committed
to serving the community to the best of our ability.
We have prioritized our proposed program based on the criticality of
the issue and on the reality of making real progress on our goals within the
city's two year budget cycle. As you might imagine, these are hard
decisions.
In addition to prioritizing our areas of focus, we have modified our
projected budget . To accomplish this, we have seriously slashed our
overhead projections, choosing to live in cramped quarters with restricted
promotional and printing funds in order to preserve the critical staffing
which is necessary to accomplish priorities I and II. Priority III can not
be funded at this time at the budget level of $99,000. We believe this to
be a realistic adjustment within which the Environmental Center can
continue to serve the community.
Sincerel ,
/ urt Ku ,
Direct
1
i�ur
SUMMARY DISCUSSION
Over the past few years, City and County Government leaders have
been discussing a number of issues regarding:
...Economic and environmental sustainability
...Watershed protection and enhancement
...Ocean resource protection and enhancement
...Community involvement with government.
The Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo is proposing a series of
programs to address these concerns. The scope of ECOSLO's program
includes facilitating discussion and evolving procedures to achieve:
...Economic and environmental sustainability
...Enhancement of San Luis Creek
...Enhancement of Salinas River
...Organize a protective organization for the Morros
...Orchestrate public awareness of OCS issues and promote
establishment of the proposed Central Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
These tasks will be accomplished by paid staff and through a series of
outreach and volunteer programs.
The City of San Luis Obispo, at this time, does not have specific
programs or staff to fully implement these or associated programs. In
fact, the City has chosen to maintain it's current Ievel of services rather
than address these critical priorities. For example, the Planning
Department, which will be an integral part of the governmental process
associated with these programs, is overworked and under-staffed abiding
with state laws, and as such can not, in and of itself, adequately address
the suggested program topics.
ECOSLO has the potential of becoming a new and vital resource for
the City by providing a series of important programs that would greatly
complement the City's efforts. The Outreach and Volunteer portions of the
program will enhance the governmental process by expanding community
involvement while building consensus towards implementation of the
solutions. The successful solution for the many problems facing the City, at
this time, is nourishing the vast and untapped human potential within the
community it serves.
i
2
5-7
ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY
PURPOSE OF THE CENTER: ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND
ADVOCACY
The purpose of the Center is to be accomplished by the integration
of three areas of concentration, listed in priority order, namely
1) The office "as a facility",
2) Community involvement/outreach/volunteer coordination
3) Issues of Special Interest
These areas of concentration are broken out for managerial purposes
only. In fact, they are mutually supportive and interdependent. Through
the vehicle of a comprehensive environmental office, it is ECOSLO's hope
that issues which have resulted in polarity -and divisiveness in the past can
evolve to a common resolution as we move toward an economically and
environmentally sustainable community. ECOSLO plans to make a positive
contribution toward common understanding.
Priority I
A. GENERAI. OFFICE SFRVICES-
PURPOSE: Provide a centrally located office to serve the public's interest
in and concern for the environment.
1) A staffed office at 967 Osos Street;
2) A referral center and switchboard for over 25 different
environmental organizations;
3) A distributor of free environmental information, educational
brochures and handouts;
4) A lending library of books, video tapes, and slides on a variety of
environmental topics, public source for EIRs and offshore
documents;
5) A calendar of quality of life events;
6) Issue papers which focus on local environmental concerns;
7) A Speaker's Bureau to make presentations to schools and local
groups on environmental issues;
8) A sponsor of community forum nights at the City/County library in
San Luis Obispo to educate the public on current environmental
issues;
9) A display of environmentally friendly products;
3
5- 8
10) "Greenline", a telephone information service that answers questions
on environmental issues and recycling; and
11) Coordinate volunteer programs/ outreach as stated below
A. VOLUNTEERS "TIE PERSONAL COMMITMENT"
PURPOSE: Facilitate the leap of consciousness from concern to action and
to help organize and sustain the coordinated efforts required to bring the
community projects to completion.
1) Develop and implement a questionnaire to create and maintain a
volunteer pool available to the environmental community;
2) Provide a match maker service between interested citizens and
environmental activities; and
3) Develop a pamphlet on the "value of the volunteer".
B. OUIREACH:
PURPOSE: Environmental education and advocacy by going to the people
1) Expand individual commitment and community participation.
2) Create educational projects to be made available to schools and
childrens' summer programs.
3) Continue to create and participate in special environmental events
and work days.
4) Maintain an information booth at Farmer's Market in San Luis
Obispo.
5) Develop an environmental guide to the City ofSan Luis Obispo.
4
5�
Priority II (Itemc One thro ]gthree)
IL ISSUES OF P .('iAi, ?UBLIf TNTEuF'cT.
PURPOSE:
Help to articulate environmental issues of concern to the community, and
to define and organize programs that will lead to solutions.
L PROTECTION OF THE MORROS
Help to form a broad based organization to equitably protect the
Morros from San Luis Obispo to Morro Bay, between Los Osos Valley Road
and Highway. Protection of the Morros depends upon an informed and
broad based, active community program of conservation and enhancement
of one of the most significant landforms in the county.
1) Identify problems.
2) Map the Morros with identified strengths and problems.
3) Assist in the formation of a committee to recommend solutions to
the problems of protection and enhancement.
4) Issue discussion papers for public information.
5) Hold community meetings to discuss and initiate solutions.
2 PROTECTION AND ENHANCEMENT OF THE OCEAN AND COASTAL
EYVIRONMENTS
Inform the general public of the environmental and economic
consequences of local offshore oil and gas development, and promote the
establishment of a national marine sanctuary.
Significant environmental and economic resources are currently at
risk due to the proposed offshore development of gas and oil by the
federal government. The pristine ocean and ocean dependent ecological
communities and settings attract millions of visitors to the county each
year which in turn contribute significant revenues to the City's economy.
1) Create a broad based organization to support the proposed Central
Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
2) Issue a series of discussion papers to inform and educate the public
on the environmental and economic issues confronting the city and
county regarding offshore oil and gas development.
3) Monitor, track and respond to various federal OCS issues such as
the 5 Year Plan EIR and the MMS Environmental Studies Program.
4) Development of a citizens network of individuals and groups to
oppose the federal offshore development program.
5
5-10
WATERSHED PROTECTION AND ENHANCEMENT
SLO Creek and Salinas River Rejuvenation Project (Creeks "Beyond
Flood Control") : Work to organize community awareness of and
involvement in a healthy watershed and wetlands system.
1) Identify problems.
2) Map the watershed with identified strengths and problems.
3) Assist in the formation of a committee to recommend solutions to
the problems of protection and enhancement.
4) Issue discussion papers for public information.
5) Hold community meetings to discuss and initiate solutions.
6) Assist efforts in implementing watershed improvements.
Priority III
!�U SUSTAINABILITY•
Help facilitate discussion and procedures to achieve environmental
and economic sustainability in San Luis Obispo. ECOSLO would help
develop educational workshops to inform the public of the concept. If
there is significant public interest, the City could form a broad based
committee to recommend City policies and programs that would
accomplish the goals of environmental and economic sustainability.
A. Environmental Sustainability: Identify, define, map and discuss the
issues of environmental sustainability as they relate to the city.
1) Substantial research by staff prior to community dialogue in order
to facilitate meaningful discussion in the City with various interest
groups, individuals and governmental agencies .
a) Identify strengths and weaknesses within the environment.
b) Identify the economic strengths and weaknesses within the
City following the guidelines provided by the Rocky Mountain
Institute and the Global Cities Project.
c) Define the issues such as economic leakage, compatible
economic development, etc.
d) Create maps and other visual aids for research and
educational purposes.
e) Develop issue papers.
6
S— I
2) Assist in the formation of a broad based committee to generate
policy recommendations for the City.
3) Assist in the organization of a series of community meetings
throughout the City to discuss the issues with the public.
SUMMARY OF BUDGET
Total. for Center City of San Luis Obispo
Request
Salaries 65,000 34,000
Advertising 10,000 5,000
Rent/Utilities 13,000 6,000
Printing 8,000 3,500
General Exp. 3,000 1,500
Total 99,000 50,000
7
s-�a
PROPOSED DETAILED BUDGET
Income: First Proposal Current Proposal
County of San Luis Obispo 60,000 15,000
Tity of San Luis Obispo 60,000 50,000
Other Cities 10,000 0
Private Grants 30,000 0
Membership Dues 12,500 4,000
Donations/Fundraisers 10,000 10,000
Recycling Income 0 20,000
Total Income: 182,500 99,000
Expenses:
Salaries 72,730 59,500
Payroll Taxes and WCI 7,273 5,500
Advertising:
TV 6,200
Radio 6,300 3,000
Newspaper 7.000 7,000
Direct Mail 10,000
Yellow Pages 500
Total Advertising 30,000 10,000
Utilities:
Rent 25,728 10,000
Phone 3,600 1,500
Electric/Water 1,956 1,100
Insurance 4,800 400
Re airs/Maint 1,200 0
Total Utilities 37,284 13,000
Printing
Design 10,000
Printing 15,000 8,000
Purchases 5,000
8
5-13
First Proposal Current Proposal
Total Printing 30,000 8,000
General Expenses
Dues/Subs 600 300
Office Supplies 2,400 1,400
Postage 1,000 500
Travel 500 500
Other 500 300
Total General Expenses- 5,000 3,000
Grand Total Expenses 182,287 99,000
Salaries based on the following Positions:
Director, Business Manager, Secreatary/Receptionist, and 2 full time
Analyst
9
5-1'�