PREPARED BY: GREG DWYER DATE OF MEETING: 06/16/2025
SUBJECT:
TITLE
CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTIONS APPROVING FY2025/26 FINAL GRANT AWARDS FOR THE ANNUAL SAN PABLO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GRANT PROGRAM AND ACCEPTING THE APPROPRIATION OF $45,000 IN EXTERNAL FUNDING FROM THREE SOURCES AND FY 2024/25 GFDR FUND 110 FUND BALANCE TO THE FY 2025/26 CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY EVENTS BUDGET TO FULLY FUND THE FY 2025/26 PROGRAM FOR A TOTAL PROGRAM APPROPRIATION OF $100,000 IN ONE-TIME GRANT DISBURSEMENTS
CEQA: This proposed action is not a project as defined by CEQA.
Label
CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Adopt Resolutions
Body
WORKPLAN Compliance statement
The San Pablo Community Foundation Grant Program 501(c)(3) - falls under the category of Build A Healthy Community - Improve Connection to Healthy Eating and Active Living With All Applicable City Programs and Services, an adopted policy item under the FY 2025-27 Council Priority Workplan, effective April 7, 2025.
BACKGROUND
The City Council historically appropriated discretionary funding as part of the General Fund Operating Budget, under the City Council Departmental Account (100-1110-44050) to provide financial assistance to non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations to establish an Annual San Pablo Community Foundation Grant Program. An additional $45,000 in funding has been received from three outside sources to support the grant program as follows: The Lytton Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians - $25,000; Republic Services, Inc., dba Richmond Sanitary Services - $15,000; and a donation from the San Pablo Senior Advisory Board - $5,000. With this combined funding from all sources and $55,000 from the FY 2024/25 GFDR Fund 110 Fund Balance, there is a total program funding of $100,000 for the Annual San Pablo Community Foundation Grant Program for FY 2025/26.
San Pablo Community Foundation Grant Review Committee
On May 15, 2025, the San Pablo Community Foundation (SPCF) Grant Review Committee reviewed all 23 eligible applications totaling $218,926 in grant funding requests received by the City for the FY 2025/26 SPCF Annual Grant Program following the grant application deadline of April 11, 2025.
SPCF Grant Review Committee - Grant Award Recommendations
Following its review, the SPCF Grant Review Committee recommended that the City Council award 18 applicants for FY 2025/26 SPCF grant funding awards totaling $100,000, the full amount of available program funding, as outlined in detail below.
Conflict of Interest Issues for City Council or City Staff
Under State conflict of interest laws, including Government Code section 1090 prohibiting conflicts with contracts including grant agreements, generally public officials are not able to participate in governmental decisions related to a nonprofit for which the official is an officer or from which the official receives gifts, income, stipend or travel expenses and must publicly announce the nature of the conflict.
A non-salaried or non-compensated member only of a nonprofit may participate in the governmental decision related to the nonprofit but must announce the fact of membership in the nonprofit. With all governmental decisions, it is the responsibility of the public official to be unbiased and come to the decision with an open mind willing to hear all facts and positions.
With recusals or disqualifications for conflicts of interest, the Councilmembers are not counted towards the quorum. There may be occasions when a City Councilmember or City staff member are members of a potential grant recipient organization but is not an officer, serving on the board of directors, or otherwise receiving gifts, income, stipend, or travel expenses. In those instances, if the Councilmembers and staff members indicate that they can be impartial in determining the grant awards, they do not have to recuse themselves from the vote or process.
As has been the prior practice, it is anticipated that City Councilmembers or San Pablo Community Foundation Grant Committee Members who sit on the Boards for any non-profit that has applied for these grants recuse (or disqualify) themselves from any discussions, recommendations, or votes for those non-profits to avoid any conflicts of interests or even the appearance of a conflict. For this reason,, the Council action will be segmented into 2 Parts, Part 1 and Part 2, to allow these recusals to occur. This is a process specifically allowed under the regulations for the Political Reform Act (2 California Code of Regulations section 18706), which the City has also used for Section 1090 contract conflicts. As such, the nonprofit with the conflicted official is addressed first without that official’s participation and once that action is taken (e.g., decision on whether to fund that nonprofit), then the conflicted official may rejoin the Council to make the decision about the other nonprofits.
This year, Part 1 includes a recommended grant award to nonprofit Weigh of Life. Current San Pablo Community Foundation Grant Committee Member, Genoveva Garcia Calloway, serves on the Weigh of Life Board of Directors and recused from participating in the San Pablo Community Foundation Committee’s recommendation to award Weigh of Life a grant. Additionally, Vice-Mayor Pabon-Alvarado has a conflict of interest due to a current contract/client relationship with Weigh of Life and will recuse herself from participating in the City Council’s decision about whether to approve the grant to Weigh of Life.
Recommended Grant Awards
Below are the grant award recommendations for FY 2025/26 from the SPCF Grant Committee submitted for City Council’s consideration:
Ø Part 1 - (BY SEPARATE RESOLUTION DUE TO CONFLICT OF INTEREST)
Organization: (General Fund Category) Amount:
1. Weigh of Life $ 7,100
Ø PART 2 (BY RESOLUTION)
Organization: (General Fund Category) Amount:
1. Bay Area Community Resources (BACR) $ 5,000
2. Bike East Bay $ 5,000
3. California Symphony $ 5,000
4. Fresh Approach $ 5,000
5. Growing Together - Bay Area $ 5,000
6. Headwater Science Institute $ 5,000
7. House of Loving Hands $ 5,000
8. King's Accountability Group, Inc. $ 5,000
9. Lake Elementary (fiscal agent BACR) $ 5,000
10. San Pablo Baseball Association (fiscal agent New Life Movement) $ 3,300
11. San Pablo Cowboys Youth Association (fiscal agent New Life Movement) $ 5,000
12. San Pablo Library (fiscal agent Library Foundation of Contra Costa) $ 5,000
13. Touch of New Life $ 5,000
14. United Business Organization (fiscal agent Latina Center) $ 7,100
15. West Contra Costa Salesian Youth Club $ 7,500
Organization: (AB 939/Environmental Category) Amount:
16. Earth Team $ 7,500
17. The Watershed Project $ 7,500
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Total: $100,000
Separate Resolutions for Part 1 and Part 2 grant awards are included for City Council review and consideration (See Attachments), as follows:
• Part 1 will be considered and voted on by the City Council. Vice Mayor Pabon Alvarado will recuse herself due to a Conflict of Interest.
• Part 2 will be considered and voted on by the entire City Council as there are no conflicts of interest.
FISCAL IMPACT
For this action, a total of $55,000 will be appropriated from the FY 2024-25 GFDR Fund 110 Fund Balance to the FY 2024-25 City Council Departmental Budget (100-1110-44050) for all grant award allocations. Additional external funding of $45,000 from three (3) external sources: (1) Casino San Pablo/Lytton Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians ($25,000); (2) Republic Services ($15,000); and (3) San Pablo Senior Advisory Board ($5,000) provides for an annual total combined grant funding allocation of $100,000 for FY 2024-25 grant award disbursements awarded by the City Council. All proposed grant awards once approved City Council will be allocated into the FY 2024-25 General Fund Budget (100-0000-33403), and then appropriated to the City Council Department Budget - Special Events line-item expenditure (100-1110-44050). The City will process all checks for the SPCF grant award recipients following City Council approval prior to June 30, 2025, with checks being mailed by the first week of July 2025.
The total $55,000 from FY 2024/25 GFDR Fund 110 Fund Balance appropriation request was not permitted to be presented to the Budget, Finance, and Legislative Standing Committee (BFLSC) on May 28, 2025 due to a conflict of interest for Vice Mayor Pabon-Alvarado who sits as a member of the BFLSC. Therefore, the City of San Pablo City Council is required to approve this action and bypass the City of San Pablo’s Fiscal Resiliency Reserve Policy (FRRP) Amendment #3 requirement for the FY 2024/25 GFDR Fund 110 allocations to be appropriated by direct City Council action via majority vote to the City Council Department Budget Fund 100-1110-44050 via adopted Resolution(s).
ATTACHMENTS:
Att A - Part 1 Resolution for FY 2025/26 SPCF Grant Awards
Att B - Part 2 Resolution for FY 2025/26 SPCF Grant Awards