REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
October 27, 2020
FROM
LEONARD X. HERNANDEZ, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
SUBJECT
Title v
Fiscal Year 2020 Community Power Resiliency Allocation from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve the Notification of Subrecipient Allocation agreement for acceptance of the Fiscal Year 2020 Community Power Resiliency Allocation in the amount of $457,760 from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to support preparedness measures that bolster community resiliency against power shut-off events, with a performance period of July 1, 2020 through October 31, 2021.
2. Authorize the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Chief Executive Officer, Deputy Executive Officer, Fire Chief/Fire Warden, and/or Emergency Services Manager for the San Bernardino County Office of Emergency Services to act as signatories for grant reimbursement claims, performance/progress reports, and other grant administration documents required to administer the grant from Cal OES.
(Presenter: Daniel Muñoz, Assistant Emergency Services Manager, 356-3998)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The $457,760 from Cal OES will be used to support various activities under the Fiscal Year 2020 Community Power Resiliency Allocation program. This program provides funding from the state for additional preparedness measures in response to power outage events.
At least 50 percent, or $228,880, of this award must be utilized to support one or more of the following resiliency areas as listed in the Notification of Subrecipient Allocation (Exhibit A): schools, election offices, food storage reserves, and/or COVID-19 testing sites.
Revenue and appropriation related to this funding from Cal OES were not included in the 2020-21 budget but will be submitted in a future quarterly budget report or separate agenda item for approval from the Board of Supervisors (Board). No matching funds are required for acceptance of this funding.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In California, Investor-owned utilities (IOUs) have significantly increased the use of Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) on their energized power lines to prevent wildfires during high wind or other severe weather events. As a consequence, communities throughout the state risk losing ready access to electricity for days at a time. Power that is needed to sustain critical public services.
To mitigate the impact of utility use of PSPS on public health, safety, and commerce in affected communities, the Governor of California and the State Legislature included a $75 million one-time appropriation in the 2019-20 Budget Act to support state and local government efforts. The Fiscal Year 2019 Public Safety Power Shutoff Resiliency Allocation was intended to protect public safety, vulnerable populations and individuals, and to improve resiliency in response to utility-led PSPS actions. This funding is available to support equipment purchases and to improve local preparedness/response to PSPS events.
On December 10, 2019, (Item No. 12), the Board took action to accept the County’s portion of the Fiscal Year 2019 Public Safety Power Shutoff Resiliency Allocation from Cal OES in the amount of $915,520. The San Bernardino County Office of Emergency Services has since been working with the County Operational Area to coordinate projects for use of this funding.
As part of the State’s 2020-21 budget deliberations, Cal OES requested additional one-time appropriation to further support preparedness measures that bolster community resiliency and build on the 2019-20 power-resiliency investments in response to the IOUs expanded use of power shutoff events. As a result, the State’s 2020-21 Budget Act includes $50 million for the Fiscal Year 2020 Community Power Resiliency Allocation.
On October 5, 2020, the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District (SBCFPD) received a Notification of Subrecipient Allocation agreement (Exhibit A) from Cal OES, which specified that the County of San Bernardino would be receiving $457,760 from the $50 million Fiscal Year 2020 Community Power Resiliency Allocation. Board approval of this item is needed for acceptance of these funds.
Eligible uses of the Community Power Resiliency funding include the following:
• Costs to secure equipment, such as generators and/or generator connections, generator fuel and fuel storage, and other backup energy sources for essential facilities, such as fire stations, community centers, health facilities, and other facilities that are critical to communities’ function during one of these interruptions.
• Backup emergency communications equipment, such as battery-powered radios.
• Portable vehicle-mounted charging stations; portable battery-powered and rechargeable radio repeater and transmission equipment.
• Development/update of contingency plans for electrical disruptions that include considerations such as protecting individuals with access and functional needs, medical baseline and socially vulnerable populations, transportation, emergency public information, and preservation of essential functions.
• Risk assessments for critical infrastructure and lifelines.
• Post-event reports that identify lessons learned to inform continual improvements.
• Public education materials or supplies focused on individual/family preparedness for electric disruptions.
• One-time costs associated with identifying and equipping resource centers for the public to access during electrical disruptions.
The San Bernardino County Office of Emergency Services is preparing a plan for specific use of the County’s Community Power Resiliency allocation. When completed, the spending plan will be submitted for Board approval.
Approval of this item will allow the County to build upon the 2019 PSPS funding received to assist communities/individuals in preparing and responding to power outage events and to support critical infrastructure and resiliency county-wide with a particular focus on public safety, vulnerable communities, and individuals with access and functional needs. Although the performance period of the 2020 Community Power resiliency Allocation is effective July 1, 2020, none of these funds have been/or will be spent until the spending plan is approved by the Board
While the Notification of Subrecipient Allocation agreement states that this document be signed and returned to Cal OES within 20 calendar days of receipt, Cal OES staff has extended the County’s due date to October 30, 2020.
This item also recommends that the Board delegate its authority to approve and sign grant administration documents to specific County officers and staff to ensure compliance with Cal OES due dates and provide cost efficiency in carrying out the grant requirements.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Scott Runyan, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on October 19, 2020; Finance (Tom Forster, Administrative Analyst, 387-4635) on October 14, 2020; and County Finance and Administration (Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423) on October 14, 2020.