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| | This meeting has been properly noticed and posted online at https://clarkcountynv.gov/agendas and Nevada Public Notice at https://notice.nv.gov/ and in the following locations: | |
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| | CC Government Center 500 S. Grand Central Pkwy. Las Vegas, NV (Principal Office) | |
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| | If you wish to speak on an item marked “For Possible Action” appearing on this agenda, please fill out a Public Comment Interest Card which is located in front of the Commission Chambers and submit the comment card to staff sitting in the Commission Chambers. If you wish to speak to the Board about items within its jurisdiction but not appearing as an “Action” item on this agenda, you must wait until the "Comments by the General Public" period listed at the end of this agenda. Comments will be limited to three minutes. Please step up to the speaker's podium, clearly state your name and address and please spell your last name for the record. If any member of the Board wishes to extend the length of a presentation, this will be done by the Chair, or the Board by majority vote.
• Items on the agenda may be taken out of order.
• The Board of County Commissioners, Board of Trustees, and Licensing Board may combine two or more agenda items for consideration.
• The Board of County Commissioners, Board of Trustees, and Licensing Board may remove an item from the agenda or delay discussion relating to an item at any time.
Contracts, zoning matters, or ordinances that do not comply with the County's disclosure requirement as outlined in Section 10(2) of the County Ethics Policy are subject to being voided.
The main agenda is available on Clark County's website, ClarkCountyNV.gov. For copies of agenda items and supporting backup materials, please contact Cyndi Baroni, Agenda Coordinator, at (702) 455-3530, Clark County Manager’s Office, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, 6th Floor, Las Vegas, Nevada 89106. This meeting will be broadcast live in the Las Vegas area. Clark County Television is available in the Las Vegas area on Channel 4/1004 on Cox cable and on CenturyLink on Channels 4 and 1004 as well as in Laughlin on Channel 14 via Suddenlink. Live streaming of CCTV programming is available at www.ClarkCountyNV.gov and https://www.youtube.com/ClarkCountyNV. CCTV is also available in Boulder City on Channel 4 and in Moapa Valley on Digital Channel 50.3. For more information about the program schedule, please refer to https://clarkcountynv.gov/CCTV4/ or contact CCTV Channel 4 at (702) 455-6890. | |
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| | NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Special Meeting of the Board of County Commissioners is hereby called and will be held at the time and location indicated above, to consider the following matters: | |
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| | CALL TO ORDER
Agenda note: The Board of County Commissioners of Clark County, Nevada met in special session in full conformity with law and bylaws of said Board at the regular place of meeting in the Commission Chambers, Government Center, Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada on Tuesday, the 13th day of July, 2021. The meeting was called to order at 6:08 p.m. by Chair Kirkpatrick and, on roll call, the following members were presenting, constituting a quorum of all the members thereof: | |
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21-988
| 1. | Public Comment
Agenda note: Before opening Public Comments, Chair Kirkpatrick advised that the speaking time for comments would be reduced to two minutes; four minutes would be allowed for the presentations; spoke of criteria that should be included in the presentations; and further advised that a link for a grant for the County Fiscal Recovery Funds would be posted on the County website.
At this time, Chair Kirkpatrick asked if there were any persons present wishing to be heard on any items listed on the agenda as posted.
DOCUMENT(S): Submitted
1. Nevadans for the Common Good (1 page) Submitted by Michelle Larime
2. Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Memo (3 pages) Submitted by Kelvin Watson
3. Las Vegas Realtors Letter (2 pages) Submitted by Aldo Martinez
SPEAKER(S): Present
Michelle Larime, representing Nevadans for the Common Good, spoke regarding the need of social and economic assistance for residents due to the pandemic; advocated for an investment of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to be used for a community navigation system that would assist the public in accessing available resources; and further advised that the navigation system would employ case managers trained in understanding the available resources within the valley.
Michael Gittings, President of United Food and Commercial Workers Union 711, advised that union members, food processing, and grocery workers deserved to be compensated for the extreme risk that they faced every day; ARPA outlined premium pay up to $13.00 per hour to essential workers with the first $600 in benefits exempt from taxes, and requested a portion of the funds be used for premium pay for workers; recently released U.S. Department of Treasury guidance allowed grants to be distributed to workers impacted by the pandemic; and requested consideration that ARPA funds be used to establish a program that would reward grocery workers with one-time bonuses.
Danielle Milan, spoke on behalf of the Clark County-Las Vegas Library District, advised that the Library District served 1.6 million residents in Clark County, and the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Foundation was a non-profit branch of the Library District; both the District and the Foundation had provided full services throughout the pandemic; spoke of various challenges for residents that arose from the pandemic; and further advised of initiatives that could be launched immediately should additional funding become available.
Rudy Zamora, Program Director for Chispa Nevada, requested ARPA funds to be used for programs to reduce smog pollution in Clark County; spoke regarding Assembly Bill 349, recently signed into law, which closed loopholes in classic cars programs that allowed classic cars to avoid smog checks, and the implementation of supplemental fees from smog checks to fund air quality programs in under-served communities; and further advised that the Clark County Department of Environment and Sustainability expressed interest in implementing a program to assist customers in replacing or repairing polluting vehicles.
Anwar Green, an organizer with Battle Born Progress, thanked the Board for holding these workshops.
Astrid Silva, Executive Director of Dream Big Nevada, advised that one of the biggest impacts towards immigrant families during the pandemic was literacy; if family members could not read, access to available information or direct services was limited.
Tiffani May spoke regarding landlords and the hardships endured due to funds being denied; advised that certain programs had qualifications that some tenants could not meet for various reasons; and suggested the Board review the variables to assist landlords.
Robert Stahl spoke regarding property owners who also served as landlords and had to bear a financial burden during the pandemic due to the eviction moratorium; advised that the rent received from tenants assisted property owners in the payment of mortgages and property taxes; property foreclosures could increase due to the lack of rental income; and advised that Nevada realtors would assist the County in the implementation of Assembly Bill 486, recently signed into law by the Governor.
There being no other persons present wishing to be heard on any items on the agenda as posted, Chair Kirkpatrick closed the public comments. | |
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21-992
| 2. | Approval of Agenda (For possible action) | Approved |
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| 3. | Receive information from community stakeholders regarding the immediate and long-term needs of the community as a result of the pandemic and its negative economic impacts and, in particular, the needs of households that were disproportionately and negatively impacted by the public health emergency and direct staff accordingly. (For possible action)
Agenda note: DOCUMENT(S): Submitted
1. Clark County American Rescue Plan Act Workshop (24 pages) Submitted by Management Partners
2. Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada Recovery Act Funding Priorities (5 pages) submitted by Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada
3. Vegas PBS Family Engagement (2 pages) Submitted by Vegas PBS
4. UNLV Rebel Rebound Program (2 pages) Submitted by UNLV
SPEAKER(S): Present
DISCUSSION: Following introduction of the item, the Board was addressed by Andrew Belknap, Senior Vice President of Management Partners, who advised that Clark County had been very active with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) funding, allocating over $275 million dollars in federal funding; discussed key outcomes of the previous uses of the CARES funds including food assistance, rent and/or utility assistance, and medical services; and together with University Medical Center and the Southern Nevada Health District, assisted residents with urgent medical issues and COVID testing.
Commissioner Gibson commented on rental assistance; advised that funds were delivered to landlords to cover tenants’ rent; and commented that the Board was aware there were several landlords and tenants waiting for rental relief.
Mr. Belknap continued with the presentation by providing a brief overview of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA),which focused on recovery; Clark County would receive $440 million dollars over the next two years; detailed approved uses of the funding; advised that the Qualified Census Tracts (QCT) expanded the ways in which the County could utilize funding; commented on the impact of COVID-19 in Clark County, from an economic and a medical perspective; unemployment had been declining but not yet to pre-pandemic levels; the plan had to comply with federal laws; the County was both a municipal service provider and a regional service provider, and was not considered an affluent county as median income reflected that many residents worked paycheck to paycheck; and provided overviews of housing, poverty, population growth, and new hotel construction in the County.
Byron Marshall, consultant with the National Forum of Black Public Administrators, provided details on where the public could obtain the latest information on ARPA; advised of upcoming workshops, town hall meetings with the Commissioners, and Community and Stakeholder surveys; pre-applications for funding would be available on July 14, 2021 and due for submission on July 26, 2021; outlined the process the County would use to evaluate and process the pre-applications; recommended criteria for prioritizing funds would be submitted to the Board in August for review; innovative programs that indicated sufficient change using a few dollars over time would be sub-scored; and further advised that all funds needed to be obligated by December 31, 2024 and spent by December 31, 2026.
Barbara Buckley, Executive Director of Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, advised of assisting families and partnering with the County since the beginning of the pandemic; identified four operational areas as being critical for investment of ARPA funds: (1) Consumer Protection, (2) Eviction Prevention, (3) Education Advocacy, and (4) the needs of domestic violence victims.
Assemblywoman Venicia Considine, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, continued the presentation by identifying two capital areas that were chosen for ARPA funds: (1) a permanent home for the Children’s Attorneys Project and (2) a permanent home for Nevada’s first Victim’s Rights Center.
Kipp Ortenburger, Vegas PBS, spoke regarding pre-kindergarten children and the closures of childcare centers; and the non-availability of structured learning; advised of the need for supplemental learning for low- and moderate-income families; and further advised that Vegas PBS provided free, over-the-air programming on the PBS Kids channel, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Jessica Russell, Vegas PBS, proposed five family workshops to any new, expanded or enhanced early learning programs; the workshops would provide support for children’s social, emotional, and educational learning; advised of working with national evaluators to determine outcomes; and further advised that the cost would depend on the number of programs provided to the community through the funding.
Sunny Gittens, Executive Director for Student Engagement at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) spoke regarding a request for funding to expand the UNLV Rebel Rebound Program, which provided access to higher education, financial aid assistance and support, and career development for formerly incarcerated individuals and those who had been previously arrested or had criminal convictions; and further advised of the availability of housing that could be accessed by parole officers to schedule required visits with parolees.
Kevin Wong, a collegiate policy debater at UNLV and an Associate Justice on the school’s judicial counsel, advised of being previously incarcerated; spoke regarding the collateral consequences of convictions, arrests, and indictments; nearly 70 million Americans, mostly from racial minority and LGBTQ groups, possessed a criminal record, and further spoke of the necessity of the Rebel Rebound Program.
Ms. Gittens concluded the presentation and advised that the funds requested would allow UNLV to launch more comprehensive programs; and provided the annual estimated cost of the program.
Commissioner Kirkpatrick outlined the procedures for the questioning phase of the workshop.
Assemblywoman Venicia Considine, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, returned to address the Board and spoke regarding the two capital program requests to be submitted for ARPA funding; provided a brief background of the first program, Children’s Attorneys Project; advised that the project represented approximately 6,000 children a year; offices were being rented across from Family Court, and there was the option of purchasing the property using the ARPA funds; the second capital program request covered the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center (Center); advised that the Legal Aid Center acquired management of the Center in 2019; services were currently being provided to survivors, families, and first responders; the Legal Aid Center owned a building on 8th Street and Gass Avenue and wanted to convert the structure into the State’s first victim’s rights center which would house the domestic violence program, the immigration advocacy program, and the Center under one roof to provide victims of crimes easy access to services and therapy.
Responding to questions from the Board, Ms. Buckley advised that the Center was a multi-agency collaboration, and if funded, all agencies would be housed in one location; statistics were gathered from the partners and provided, along with outcomes, to the Federal Government in the grant report, and the procedure would be followed for any program that received County funding; included in the report would be the number of people served, the services performed for the person, and the outcome; and further advised that Congresswoman Dina Titus was working to obtain an earmark for the Center.
In response to questions from the Board, Jessica Russell, Vegas PBS, spoke of the difficulty of determining how many workshops and programs might result from ARPA funding, and provided the calculations used in the determination; advised that throughout the year, families received books which supported classroom curriculum; classes were being held in Clark County School District classrooms, either in person or virtually; spoke of the current funding of programs by Zoom, Nevada Ready Pre-K Program, and Clark County; and outlined the Family Engagement Day process held at schools.
Responding to questions from the Board, Sunny Gittens, UNLV, advised that the admissions application did not require applicants to disclose criminal convictions, but estimated that there were several hundred students who were justice-impacted; spoke of program-participant concerns including navigating the Internet, peer-mentor support, and affordable housing; spoke regarding the budget needed for program implementation, and the sustainability of programs should funding cease.
Commissioner Kirkpatrick suggested conducting a record-sealing event or other social service events to assist residents.
Dr. Mark Scott, Culinary Academy of Las Vegas (Culinary Academy), spoke regarding the Culinary Academy’s plan to improve food insecurity infrastructure; advised that over 16 million pounds of food had been delivered within Southern Nevada during the pandemic; many students who attended the Culinary Academy came from food insecure households/zip codes; addressed food insecurities from the communities currently being served and branching out to other areas; advised that 18 months of data had been collected, covering areas such as the number of people who resided in a household that received food baskets; and would like to establish food infrastructure on the current campus and at a possible second campus.
Derrick Gyamfi, Culinary Academy, built the computer systems that collected macro-level data; that data included, but was not limited to, applicants who need childcare assistance, public assistance, transportation assistance, and those who did not have a high school diploma; advised that 90% of the applicants to the Culinary Academy had a household income under $35,000; if a plan was not assembled from a digital resiliency and occupational mobility standpoint, residents would continue to struggle; spoke regarding digital literacy; requested the County’s support in an investment of $17.9 million dollars to apply digital and transferable skills training to allow workers to seek, find, and retain employment, and would fund programs that provide workers with knowledge, software, and hardware training.
Responding to questions from the Board, Dr. Scott advised of the placement of recipes in the boxes of donated groceries to assist in food preparation and portion control; smaller boxes were prepared and donated to senior citizens, free lunches and prepared meals were provided to students; further advised of serving approximately 3,000 students annually at the current campus and could serve a minimum of 5,000 students annually should a second campus become available; would be requesting support from the State, and would be applying for Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants; advised of workforce training for people to learn multiple skills; and spoke of the expansion of indoor urban agriculture.
Responding to questions from the Board, Mr. Gyamfi, spoke regarding the core fundamental issues and certifications of the digital literacy program; advised of various programs under the wireless initiative to support broadband and internet access; a mobile classroom would be positioned in underserved communities with an access point to reach communities, and an instructor would be present to assist with the completion of job applications.
Responding to a question from Commissioner Jones, Jessica Colvin, Clark County Chief Financial Officer, explained the application approval process; advised there were no limits or thresholds placed on the dollar amount requested; following additional town hall meetings and Board meetings, criteria would be established to score the applications; and was awaiting direction from the Board as to what the priorities would be.
Mr. Belknap advised of preparing a outline of the prioritization process to be reviewed by the Board on August 3, 2021.
Yolanda King, County Manager, advised of the necessity of understanding the priority use of the funds; once the priorities were announced by the Board, a recommendation would be presented to the Board outlining priorities and criteria, and staff would score the applications; advised of the importance that Management Partners be included in the various meetings and would gather and collate any feedback from said meetings to summarize the requests for funds; based on the success of programs funded by ARPA, the County could review and put County funds in place to continue the programs.
Mr. Belknap advised that the County had to notify the U.S. Department of the Treasury by the end of August, 2021 on how the funds would be allocated; and the notifications could be changed if needed, after that date.
Kevin Schiller, Assistant County Manager, spoke regarding consultant interactions and projections in conjunction with various programs.
Commissioner Kirkpatrick provided the dates and times for the upcoming Local Recovery Plan meetings; discussed with the Board regarding the presentation and question allotment time for presenters at subsequent meetings; and suggested that tonight’s presenters could submit additional documentation or PowerPoint presentations to the individual Commissioners for review; advised that Zach Conine, Nevada State Treasurer, would be in attendance at the August 3, 2021 Board of County Commissioners meeting to discuss the State’s plan for public engagement. | |
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| | PUBLIC COMMENTS
Comments by the General Public | |
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| | A period devoted to comments by the general public about matters relevant to the Board's/Trustees' jurisdiction will be held. No vote may be taken on a matter not listed on the posted agenda. Comments will be limited to three minutes. Please step up to the speaker's podium, clearly state your name and address and please SPELL your last name for the record. If any member of the Board/Trustees wishes to extend the length of a presentation, this will be done by the Chair, or the Board/Trustees by majority vote. | |
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| | All comments by speakers should be relevant to Board/Trustees action and jurisdiction. | |
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| | APPROVED:
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JAMES B. GIBSON, VICE CHAIR | |
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