TITLE
Adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with California State University Long Beach Research Foundation, of Long Beach, CA, for an Economic Recovery Analysis Report to identify which sectors of the economy have been hardest hit by the pandemic, in a total amount not to exceed $200,000, for a period of two years and six months, consistent with City Council approval of the LB Recovery Act; and
Authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract No. 36103 with the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab, of Cambridge, MA, on behalf of What Works Cities, to provide technical assistance to improve the City of Long Beach’s procurement processes and achieve better contracting outcomes for historically marginalized populations, to increase the contract amount by $200,000, for a revised contract amount not to exceed $350,000, and extend the term of the contract to July 31, 2023. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On March 16, 2021, the City Council adopted the LB Recovery Act, becoming one of the first major cities to approve COVID-19 recovery programs made possible through the Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and other federal and State funding sources. Additional funding and program detail adjustments to the LB Recovery Act were made as part of the Adopted Fiscal Year 2022 (FY 22) Budget and periodic adjustments have been brought to the City Council as needed. The Citywide LB Recovery implementation team (Staff) has continued to develop over 84 programs with collective impact and equity in mind, focused on the three main funding categories: Healthy and Safe Communities, Economic Recovery, and Securing Our City’s Future. Staff has communicated updates to the LB Recovery Act programs through reports to the City Council and Biannual Reports as posted on the LB Recovery Act website at <www.longbeach.gov/recovery>. As part of the LB Recovery Act, under the Economic Recovery category, approximately $889,351 has been allocated for the Creative Economy Grant Program, $1,111,689 for the Visitor Attraction and Hospitality Program, $247,042 for the WorkLB Program, $247,042 for the Economic Recovery Study Program, and $250,000 for the Inclusive Procurement Program to address financial hardship that has been created by COVID-19.
LB Recovery Act Program Contracts
The following programs require the City Council to adopt Resolutions and/or authorize the City Manager, or designee, to execute contracts with selected vendors to continue implementation of the over 84 LB Recovery Act programs:
1. LB Recovery Act Program: Creative Economy Grant Program (Economic Recovery)
Selected Vendor: Public Corporation for the Arts, dba Arts Council for Long Beach
Contract Duration: Two years with a one-year optional renewal
Contract Amount: $681,000
City Council approval is requested to adopt a Resolution authorizing a contract with the Arts Council for Long Beach (Arts LB) to administer the Creative Economy Grants Program that includes the following four grant opportunities:
• Organizational Recovery Grants: Grants will be available to support the operational recovery of large arts, culture and historical non-profit organizations in the City of Long Beach (City).
• Public Mural Program: The Creative Economy Grants Program includes funds to support a public mural program, for which the City has created sites at public facilities citywide that will be made available to artists for mural artwork.
• Community Project Grants: These grants will support one-time projects by arts, cultural and historical organizations in Long Beach, through Arts LB’s existing Community Project guidelines. Operating Grantee Organizations are also encouraged to apply.
• Artist Fellowships: Professional artists who live, work or actively create in Long Beach and demonstrate an active exhibition and/or production record will be eligible to apply for Artist Fellowships through Arts LB’s existing Professional Artist Fellowship selection guidelines.
Arts LB was selected as they are the only organization with the necessary experience, qualifications, and institutional knowledge to successfully administer the City’s arts support programming in Long Beach. Arts LB acts as a clearinghouse for all arts, culture, and historical organizations within Long Beach, and has had a long-standing contractual relationship with the City to manage City-funded arts programs, including programming for public art and grant programs.
City Charter Section 1801 requires that contracts for City purchases be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after a competitive bid process but allows for awards without a competitive bid process when authorized by a Resolution adopted by the City Council.
2. LB Recovery Act Program: Visitor Attraction and Hospitality Program (Economic Recovery)
Selected Vendor: Long Beach Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Inc.
Contract Expiration: September 30, 2022
Contract Amount: Additional contract authority of $900,000
City Council approval is requested to amend Contract No. 28164 with the Long Beach Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Inc. (CVB) to support visitor attraction activities. The agreement is amended annually to extend the term and to reflect the level of funding appropriated by the City Council. This amendment will support activities for the Visitor Attraction and Hospitality Sector Recovery program (program).
The program will stimulate the leisure and hospitality sector in Long Beach. This sector provides employment to over 21,000 workers in hotels, restaurants, and other venues that cater to business and leisure travelers and was among the hardest hit by COVID-19 health orders. This Program will provide the CVB with funding to coordinate marketing, promotion, and visitor generation in the hotel, hospitality, entertainment, and visitor-serving sectors needed to reopen businesses and recover lost jobs. The CVB will receive funds to coordinate marketing campaigns in conjunction with the State’s "Visit California" campaign to reach business and leisure visitors from both the region as well as abroad; and, to restore hotel occupancy, boost room nights, and bring workers back to jobs in a range of hospitality-related occupations.
3. LB Recovery Act Program: WorkLB Program (Economic Recovery)
Selected Vendor: Modern Markets for All (MM4A)
Contract Duration: Two years with up to three additional one-year renewal periods
Contract Amount: $126,000
City Council approval is requested to adopt a Resolution authorizing a contract with Modern Markets for All (MM4A) for the enhancement and expansion of an innovative app-based program that connects untraditional, unemployed and underemployed people with jobs.
MM4A is the only organization with a public sector technology platform and the expertise to train organizations effectively to utilize the platform. They have vast experience engaging employers in registering job vacancies to provide a pool of employment opportunities for job seekers excluded from traditional labor markets. The UK-based nonprofit MM4A emerged from UK government programs that sought to provide a “Work Your Way” solution for the labor market fringes. The organization developed and launched a sophisticated platform used by the British government to focus on non-career positions and target workers who are excluded from traditional labor markets using an algorithm to match transferable skills between employers and job seekers, not confined to a single sector or job.
The Long Beach WorkLB pilot program was launched in 2020 by Pacific Gateway Workforce Partnership, a Long Beach nonprofit, in partnership with MM4A. The WorkLB program has won the US Conference of Mayors’ prize for “Best Economic Development Initiative” in America and is a “Bloomberg Global Mayors’ Challenge” finalist. WorkLB is an innovative app-based program connecting untraditional, unemployed and underemployed people with jobs. Developed with a racial equity framework, WorkLB matches many of the diverse populations, including Black, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, and other people of color, and justice-involved workers, who typically experience the highest rates of unemployment in Long Beach, with employment sectors that have the highest demand for workers. The contract with MM4A will expand and refine WorkLB by enhancing user experience and streamlining the platform.
City Charter Section 1801 requires that contracts for City purchases be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after a competitive bid process but allows for awards without a competitive bid process when authorized by a Resolution adopted by the City Council.
4. LB Recovery Act Program: Economic Recovery Study (Economic Recovery)
Selected Vendor: California State University Long Beach Research Foundation
Contract Duration: Two years, six months
Contract Amount: $200,000
City Council approval is requested to adopt a Resolution authorizing a contract with California State University Long Beach Research Foundation for an Economic Recovery Analysis Report to identify which sectors of the economy have been hardest hit by the pandemic. The Economic Recovery Analysis Study (Study) will evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 recession and the economic recovery status. The Study will be conducted by the Office of Economic Research (OER) at the California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). This documented analysis will provide an annual update on the economy and workforce. The report will identify which sectors of the economy have been hardest hit by the pandemic and recommend areas of greatest impact for promoting equitable economic opportunities for workers of various industry sectors and demographic groups.
CSULB is uniquely suited to develop and conduct the Study on behalf of the Long Beach community. The development of the Study requires the use of confidential data from the State Employment Development Department (EDD). EDD restricts the collection of sensitive information and requires adherence to data security protocols to maintain employer/employee confidentiality and prevent misuse of such data. Only organizations contracted with EDD are allowed access to the confidential Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data files within the boundaries of Long Beach. Through an existing agreement with the City’s Economic Development Department and EDD, CSULB is authorized to access to this data. No other organizations have access to this information. Additionally, as the city’s largest academic institution, CSULB has a specific understanding of the Long Beach economy. CSULB has the established research protocols and resources to produce the analysis quickly and building upon prior relevant work.
City Charter Section 1801 requires that contracts for City purchases be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after a competitive bid process but allows for awards without a competitive bid process when authorized by a Resolution adopted by the City Council.
5. LB Recovery Act Program: Inclusive Procurement (Economic Recovery)
Selected Vendor: Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab
Contract Expiration: July 31, 2023
Contract Amount: additional contract authority of $200,000
City Council approval is requested to amend Contract No. 36103 with the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab (GPL) to continue providing technical assistance to improve the City’s procurement processes and achieve better contracting outcomes for historically marginalized populations.
The City is revisioning procurement systems in Long Beach to work better for vendors by removing key barriers to doing business with the City, expanding outreach to vendor communities about contracting opportunities, and working with partner organizations to build the capacity of organizations to be City contractors. GPL has provided technical assistance to improve the City’s procurement processes and achieve better contracting outcomes for historically marginalized populations, under the What Works Cities Initiatives (WWC). GPL hires and trains full-time fellows, embedding them in government agencies to lead 12 to 36-month intensive reform projects, and has identified the City for the potential placement of one full-time and one part-time GPL fellow for the coming period of August 2022 to July 2023. On June 23, 2020, the City Council approved entering into an agreement for the placement of one GPL fellow, who has focused on diagnosing challenges and making the procurement process more efficient. On July 20, 2021, the City Council approved entering into a one-year extension of this agreement to begin improving accessibility to procurement opportunities for diverse businesses, improving vendor outreach and engagement, building the capacity of local diverse and small businesses, and managing contracts with a lens toward reducing inequities. This third and last year will conclude the GPL’s engagement with the City and will focus on scaling best practices that have been identified to improve accessibility to procurement opportunities for diverse businesses, vendor outreach and engagement, and capacity of local diverse and small businesses. It will also focus on building capacity of the Purchasing Division to operate as a proactive, strategic function within the City. This effort is also supported by a $150,000 grant from the Knight Foundation to engage vendors that have historically been left out of government purchasing by making it more accessible to do business with the City, improving the City's engagement with focus communities, and building capacity for local businesses to better compete for City business.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Lauren Misajon on June 28, 2022, City Purchasing Agent Michelle Wilson on June 21, 2022, and by Recovery Budget Officer Dee Okam on June 27, 2022.
EQUITY LENS
The City has incorporated the Equity Toolkit in this recommendation, as requested by the City Council on April 21, 2020. Providing this action will allow for a streamlined process to efficiently implement Long Beach Recovery Act programming intended for community recovery from the effects of the pandemic. Long Beach residents, workers, and business owners are faced with economic and social impacts that require action and assistance from the City, especially for the communities of color that were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
Program data will be tracked by the Program Managers/Administrators and be reported as a part of the LB Recovery Act throughout the program's implementation.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on July 12, 2022, to proceed with contracts to support recovery in Long Beach.
FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation requests that the City Council grant authority to the City Manager, or designee, to amend or enter into contract agreements and any subsequent amendments with the listed vendors related to LB Recovery Act programs. The contract costs will not exceed the following:
1. Public Corporation for the Arts dba Arts Council for Long Beach: Total amount not to exceed $681,000 for a period of two years. Sufficient funding for the contract is currently budgeted in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department.
2. Long Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau: Increase contract by $900,000 for Fiscal Year 2022, specifically for LB Recovery Act programs, for a revised not to exceed total amount of $5,508,676. Sufficient funding for the additional contract authority is currently budgeted in the General Fund Group in the Economic Development Department.
3. Modern Markets for All: Total amount not to exceed $126,000 for a period of two years. Sufficient funding for the contract is currently budgeted in the General Fund Group in the Economic Development Department.
4. California State University Long Beach, Office of Economic Research: Total amount not to exceed $200,000 for a period of two years, six months. Sufficient funding for the contract is currently budgeted in the General Fund Group in the Economic Development Department.
5. Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab: Increase contract by $200,000, for a revised contract total not to exceed of $350,000 and extend for a period of one year. Sufficient funding for the additional contract authority is currently budgeted in the General Fund Group in the Financial Management Department.
The funding for all the LB Recovery Act programs has been secured from a variety of State, federal and other funding sources, and implementing this recommendation has no additional fiscal impact on City’s funds. No appropriation increase is necessary at this time. For administrative efficiency and for reporting and auditing purposes, the funding source for these LB Recovery Act contracts is the General Fund based on funds made available as a result of the City's approach to using the majority of federal APRA funds to maintain existing City services in compliance with the U.S Department of Treasury's Final Rule, thereby freeing up General Fund monies for the LB Recovery Act programs. This recommendation has no staffing impact beyond the normal budgeted scope of duties for the Long Beach Recovery Office and Recovery-related staff and is consistent with existing City Council priorities identified in the Long Beach Recovery Act as adopted in March 2021. The local job impact associated with this recommendation is undetermined at this time.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
BODY
[Enter Body Here]
Respectfully Submitted,
THOMAS B. MODICA
CITY MANAGER