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  Consent-General Government   # 13.       
Board of Supervisors County Administrator  
Meeting Date: 01/14/2020  
Brief Title:    Sustainability Plan Contract
From: Mindi Nunes, Assistant County Administrator, County Administrator's Office
Staff Contact: Connie Robledo, Associate Management Analyst, County Administrator's Office, x5776
Supervisorial District Impact:

Subject
Authorize the Assistant County Administrator to sign a contract with Ascent Environmental in the amount of $74,680 for a one-year term to develop and implement a County Sustainability Plan that will identify goals and strategies both for the unincorporated communities within Yolo County and the County as an organization. (No general fund impact) (Nunes/Robledo)
Recommended Action
Authorize the Assistant County Administrator to sign with Ascent Environmental in the amount of $74,680 for a one-year term to develop and implement the County Sustainability Plan.
Strategic Plan Goal(s)
Sustainable Environment
Reason for Recommended Action/Background
The County released a Request for Proposals (Attachment A) in October 2019 for the development of a County Sustainability Plan. The County received three proposals by the November 15, 2019 deadline including a proposal from Ascent Environmental, Impact Sciences, and Rincon Consultants. The proposals were scored by staff from the County Administrator’s Office, Community Services Department and the General Services Department with the high scoring proposal belonging to Ascent Environmental. The contract is in process with County Counsel and is not yet finalized.  Staff recommends authorizing the Assistant County Administrator to sign the contract once finalized.  The costs associated with this contract shall be paid for out of the County Administrator professional services budget.
 
County Sustainability Plan
On December 14, 2019, staff provided the Board with an update on Yolo County sustainability efforts including climate change adaptation and resiliency strategies. In this update, staff discussed the many strategies the County has utilized to enhance sustainability, including the development of a Climate Action Plan in 2011 and greenhouse gas inventory update in 2018. The development and implementation of a County Sustainability Plan would implement the Board’s 2020 Priorities under Sustainable Environment including:
 
  • Conduct a critical review of the existing Climate Action Plan, to determine adequacy and feasibility of implementation; and
  • Develop a sustainability plan, based off of the critical review of the Climate Action Plan, CivicSpark studies on weather events and a public engagement effort, to identify additional strategies. 
The development of this plan would also work in conjunction with the establishment of a Climate Action Plan workgroup. This workgroup is expected to be established by June 2020.
 
Sustainability Plan Tasks
A Sustainability Plan offers an opportunity to assess and highlight existing sustainability programs and processes; identify gaps, inconsistencies, and opportunities for Yolo to become more a sustainable community; and to serve as a tool for decision makers and community members in charting a path to the future. Specifically, this plan will supplement existing efforts by focusing on the following key elements: ecological health, water, air quality, buildings, waste, local food and agriculture, and education.
 
Staff has requested the following tasks be developed as part of the Sustainability Plan:
 
Task 1 – Develop a Community Engagement Plan
The Consultant shall develop a community engagement plan utilizing public feedback and interviews with key stakeholders to inform an existing conditions assessment and implementation plan. This plan should include a timeline supporting the Sustainability Plan from development to adoption. This task should include the following:
 
  • Develop a list of key stakeholders (including Yolo County department heads, local business and service leaders, citizens, county, state, and federal representatives, UC Davis Agriculture Extension and Yolo Resource Conservation District) and interview stakeholders to ascertain current conditions and needs;
  • Conduct public input events and plan presentations in a manner that engages and empowers County residents and businesses in the development of this plan; and
  • Consult with and seek direction from the County Climate Action Working Group on a regular basis.
 
Task 2 – Develop an Existing Conditions Assessment
The Consultant shall develop an existing conditions assessment of the County’s existing environmental sustainability goals and commitments. This task should include the following:
 
  • A review of the County’s General Plan, CAP and GHG inventory, and other pertinent regulatory and planning documents to identify established key environmental elements for direction and integration into the Sustainability Plan;
  • A basic diagnostic of status and existing initiatives, at the federal, state, and local level for each foundational element and as identified through the community engagement process;
  • A matrix identifying environmental priorities and list goals and objectives of each specific subject area. The matrix will identify sustainable program support resources from local, county, state, federal, and private sector across each area;
  • An analysis of existing county, state or federal sustainability initiatives and their feasibility in being leveraged by the County in the future.
 
Task 3 – Develop an Implementation Plan
The Consultant shall develop an implementation plan informed by public engagement and the existing conditions assessment. This task should include the following:
 
  • An implementation plan that includes recommendations that address the needs identified through the community engagement process and existing conditions assessment. This plan should provide a 7-year overall timeframe for the County’s sustainability strategy with a 0-3 year focus on specific action items and implementation that include performance timelines and cost estimates by activity;
  • Recommendations that reflect short, mid-term, and long-term goals, policies, actions, metrics, timelines, staffing resource requirements, and budgets to reach the County’s Sustainability Plan goals and vision.
  • Recommendations that are divided into several categories, including policies and actions that the County can: undertake on its own; require of or encourage from residents and businesses; or pursue in collaboration with other jurisdictions, regional partners, or private/public partnerships; and
  • A rating/ranking system for prioritizing and evaluating potential projects in terms of cost, feasibility, needs assessment, demand, etc.
The above work will be integrated with work currently being done by Ascent within the Cities in order to have a regional opportunity to track impacts of collective actions.  A key participant will be the Yolo Resiliency Collaborative, an ad-hoc staff level organization of Yolo jurisdictions working collaboratively to increase the resiliency of the community.

Staff is currently working on an analysis of the requests from community members to consider the recommendations of the Green New Deal resolution.  This analysis will be presented to the Board at the January 28, 2020 Board meeting and will include elements of the work this sustainability plan is intended to accomplish that align with those recommendations.  Strategies from the Board's discussion will be incorporated into the development of the County's sustainability plan.
Collaborations (including Board advisory groups and external partner agencies)
Departments of Community Service and General Services.
Competitive Bid Process
Request for Proposals (RFP) Service Requested: County Sustainability Plan

Evaluation Criteria Included in RFP
  • Responsiveness(20 points)
  • Qualifications and Experience Developing Environmental Policy and Regulatory Documents (25 points)
  • Capacity to Execute Project(20 points)
  • Project Methodology and Approach (in alignment with RFP) (20 points)
  • Project Timeline (15 points)
  • Proposal Budget Narrative (20 points)
  • Quality and Completeness of Proposal (15 points)
Bids Received
 
Bidder Bid
Ascent Environmental $74,680
Rincon Consultants $175,420
Impact Sciences $280,835

Fiscal Impact
Fiscal impact (see budgetary detail below)
Fiscal Impact (Expenditure)
Total cost of recommended action:    $   74,680
Amount budgeted for expenditure:    $   74,680
Additional expenditure authority needed:    $   0
One-time commitment     Yes
Source of Funds for this Expenditure
$74,680
Attachments
Att. A Sustainability Plan RFP
Att. B. Ascent Environmental Bid Tabulation Document

Form Review
Inbox Reviewed By Date
Financial Services mqader 01/07/2020 08:55 AM
County Counsel Phil Pogledich 01/07/2020 09:11 AM
Elisa Sabatini Elisa Sabatini 01/07/2020 09:27 AM
Form Started By: Constance Robledo Started On: 01/03/2020 03:01 PM
Final Approval Date: 01/07/2020

    

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