SR-301-005-01 (2)
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C/ED:CNS:BS
Council Meeting 1/12/88
3CJ I/"" P??D-o/
JAN 1 2 1988
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Santa Monica, California
TO:
Mayor and City Council
FROM:
City staff
SUBJECT:
Recommendation to Approve Agreement with the Santa
Monica Neighborhood Support Center and to Approve
Final Organizational criteria for Member Neighborhood
Associations
INTRODUCTION
This report transmits a proposed Agreement between the City and
the Santa Monica Neighborhood Support Center for funding for the
remainder of the 1987-88 fiscal year and presents final
organization
criteria
eligibility
determine
used
to
of
neighborhood associations seeking support from the Neighborhood
Support Center.
The report recommends approval of both
documents.
BACKGROUND
On .June 16, 1987, the City Council approved in concept the
establishment of a new non-profit organization to provide staff
s~pport
other
qualifying
neighborhood
services
and
to
associations in Santa Monica. Further, the council approved the
appropriation of $90,356 from the City I S General Fund for the
Support Center for the 1987-88 fiscal year to be awarded to the
organization when it had incorporated and was legally eligible to
receive City support.
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JAN 1 2 1988
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council approval was based on a report by city staff and the city
Manager1s Working Group on citizen Involvement which recommended
a centralized model of support to neiahborhood associations
providing a range of services to qualifying groups including such
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functions as:
citizen participation, neighborhood planning,
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crime prevention activities, direct services to neighborhood
residents (information and referral, liaison activities and
special
proj ects) ,
leaders~ip _ develop~ent,
neighborhood
communication, and volunteer coordination.
As indicated in the June 16, 1987 report, the creation of a new
non-profit Neighborhood support Center would address a number of
issues including (1) the need for a IIfunding mechanismll that
stressed both accountability to the city and the neighborhoods it
supports, (2) the need for skilled staff that would be sensitive
to both community-wide needs for citizen participation and also
to neighborhood-specific issues, (3) the need for a support
organization that was perceived by the community as an entity
that could effectively and fairly administer funds and assess the
ability
associations
of
member
to
the
approved
meet
organizational criteria, (4) the need to preserve the autonomy of
neighborhood associations through the preservation of their own
Board and leadership structures while providing administrative
support through the new organization, and (5) the need for a
cost-effective
duplication
avoided
structure
that
of
administrative staffing and overhead costs.
Pursuant to Council approval of this model and the appropriation
of funding for the fiscal year, an Interim Board of Directors
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began meeting to take all necessary steps for incorporation,
staffing, and organizational planning. Since June of 1987, the
Board has met on a continual basis and has completed the
following: (1) developed and filed Articles of Incorporation and
By-Laws for the Support Center: (2) filed all necessary documents
for incorporation as a tax-exempt non-profit organization: (3)
recruited and hired
full-time Administrative
Director
a
(contingent upon Council approval of the attached Agreement); (4)
identified donated office space__~he Madison Scjlool site and
initiated lease negotiations with the Santa Monica/Malibu Unified
Sch~_D,t.~trict: (5) developed refined organizational criteria
for neighborhood associations I and (6) solicited input and
comment,
appropriate,
from
interested
neighborhood
as
associations in the community.
DISCUSSION
Proposed Agreement: The attached Agreement with the Neighborhood
Support Center contains standard City Grantee contract language
as well as specific provisions regarding the services to be
provided by the Center.
section A (Program Services to be
Performed by Contractor) and Exhibit A (Scope of services)
outline those services to be provided during the remainder of the
1987-88 fiscal year. Tasks include (1) administrative functions
needed to establish the Support Center office, (2) program
functions including establishing a two-year plan for the Center,
a method of evaluation, an implementation strategy for provision
of
neighborhood associations,
development of
support to
procedures
dissemination
information
to
City
of
for
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to neighborhoods, and a method for reporting activities of the
Center and member neighborhood associations to the communi ty .
Exhibit C (Program Timeline) provides a timeline for each of
these activities for the remainder of the fiscal year.
The program Budget (Exhibit B) provides for $86,759 in city
funding for the remainder of the year under the proposed
Agreement, as well as $3,597 under a professional services
agreement with the city to provide for initial staffing and
expenses during January prior to execution of the contract. The
total amount of $90,356 is consistent with the initial budget
approved by the Council in June of 1987. The budget provides
for four full-time staff
(A~inistrative Director,
Office
Manager, and 2 Community Outreach Staff), for operating expenses
and start-up costs.
proposed
Organizational
Member
Neighborhood
criteria
for
Associations:
InclUded as Attachment II-A are the refined
"Organizational Criteria" to be used by the Neighborhood Support
Center to assess whether a neighborhood association is eligible
to receive staff support and other services from the Support
Center. While Council approved these criteria in concept in June
of 1987, there were several areas that still needed further
refinement.
The attached criteria are those proposed by the
Support Center Board for final Council approval. However, it is
important to note that in sev~ral cases, e.g., the number of
required memberships and the size of the required geographical
area, are difficult measures to determine.
Research into the
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criteria used by cities nationwide indicates extreme difficulty
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in determinins such quantitative measures. The proposed m~asures
will be evaluated by the Support Center Board during the course
of the next year to determine if they are appropriate. Any
changes would be proposed to Council for approval at a later
date. The initial criteria, approved by Council in June of 1987,
are also included in this rpoert (see Attachment II-B) for
council's information.
Next steps: Upon Council approval of the Agreement and criteria,
the Support Center Administrative Director and Board will begin
implementation of the activities agreed upon in the contract.
Hiring of remaining full-time and part-time staff, and the
immediate provision of services to neighborhood associations are
seen as a top priority.
In addition, as directed by council in June of 1987, city staff
will continue their assessment regarding the feasibility of
including the pico Neighborhood Association
(PNA)
as an
organization that would receive staffing, and, services from the
~upport Center. While the Council approved a full-year of direct
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funu~ng for PNA in FY 1987-88, it further requested that, at such
time as services are available through the Support center, an
evaluation be done by staff to determine whether or not PNA
should be integrated into the new model. Given the timeline for
service provision to neighborhoods, staff will provide the
requested recommendation in the context of the FY 1988-89
Community Development Plan and City Budget to be transmitted to
council in May of 1988.
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BUDGETARY/FINANCIAL IMPACT
$90,356 from the City's General Fund was appropriated in the
1987-88 City Budget for the Neighborhood Support Center. $3,597
has been encumbered through a Professional Services Agreement
wi th the Center's Administrative Director to provide for staff
support and initial expenses through January of 198B, the
remainder ($86,759) is included in the attached Agreement. No
additional appropriations or budgetary actions are needed. Any
appropriations recommended for FY 1988-89 will be included in the
City Manager's Proposed Budget.
RECOMMENDAT:::ONS
ci ty staff recommends tha t the City Council:
(1) approve the
attached Agreement between the City and the Santa Monica
Neighborhood support Center; and (2) approve the attached final
organizational criteria for member neighborhood associations.
Prepared by:
Barbara Stinchfield, Community Development Manager
Department of community and Economic Development
I - Agreement with Neighborhood Support Center
Exhibit A - scope of services
Exhibit B - Program Budget
Exhibit C - Grantee project Timeline
Exhibits D,E - Reporting Formats
II-Proposed Organizat~onal Criteria for Member
Neighborhood Associations
Attachments:
nscsr
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