HomeMy WebLinkAboutPR 24119: TRANSFORMATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDS FOR MEMBERS OF UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS (TEAM UP) GRANT PROGRAM Q �
www.PortArthurTx.gov
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
Date: January 15, 2025
To: The Honorable Mayor and City Council
Through: Ron Burton, CPM, City Manager
From: Chandra Alpough, CPM, CPRP, Director of Parks and Recreation OA--
RE: P.R. 24119—Transformative Environmental Awards for Members of
Underserved Populations (TEAM UP) Grant Program
Introduction:
The intent of this Agenda Item is to request the City Council's approval of P.R. No. 24119
authorizing the City Manager to apply for the Transformative Environmental Awards for
Members of Underserved Populations(TEAM UP) Grant Program for park improvements and
enhancements.
Background:
The City of Port Arthur has made "quality of life" for citizens a priority. The Transformative
Environmental Awards for Members of Underserved Populations (TEAM UP) Grants Program of
the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University in
Partnership with Achieving Community Tasks Successfully(ACTS)as the Region 6 Grantmaker for
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grant
Program, is accepting grant applications in response to a Notice of Funding Availability. The goal
of the TEAM UP grant program is to assist communities disproportionately affected by
environmental, climate and public health impacts on projects involving assessment, planning,
development and implementation. Projects must serve communities within Texas, New Mexico,
Louisiana,Arkansas and Oklahoma.The grant ranges from $75,000.00 to$350,000.00 over a 3-year
period. There is no cost share for this grant and funds will be dispersed on a reimbursable basis.
Applying for this grant program will help with improving the quality of life as well as enhancing and
improving the park system. The deadline for submitting the application is January 31, 2025.
Budget Impact:
None
Recommendation:
It is recommended that the City Council approve P.R.No. 24119 authorizing the City Manager
to apply for the Transformative Environmental Awards for Members of Underserved
Populations (TEAM UP) Grant Program for park improvements and enhancements.
"Remember,we are here to serve the Citizens of Port Arthur"
P.O.Box 1089 X Port Arthur.Texas 77641-1089 X 409.983.8182 X FAX 409.983.8294
P. R. # 24119
01/15/2025 ca
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO APPLY FOR
THE TRANSFORMATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDS FOR MEMBERS
OF UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS (TEAM UP) GRANT PROGRAM FOR
PARK IMPROVEMENTS AND ENHANCEMENTS
WHEREAS, the City Council has made "quality of life" for citizens a priority; and,
WHEREAS, the Transformative Environmental Awards for Members of Underserved
Populations (TEAM UP) Grants Program is a grant program to assist communities
disproportionality affected by environmental, climate and public health impacts on projects
involving assessment, planning, development and implementation, with an application deadline
of January 31, 2025; and,
WHEREAS,the grant range is from$75,000.00 to $350,000.00 over a 3 year period; and,
WHEREAS, there is no cost share for this grant and funds will be dispersed on a
reimbursable basis; and,
WHEREAS, the City of Port Arthur wishes to apply for the Transformative
Environmental Awards for Members of Underserved Populations (TEAM UP) Grant Program;
and,
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS:
Section 1. That the facts and opinions in the preamble are true and correct.
Section 2. That the City Council hereby authorizes the City Manager to apply for the
Transformative Environmental Awards for Members of Underserved Populations (TEAM UP)
Grant Program, as detailed in Exhibit"A", by January 31, 2025.
Section 3. That a copy of the caption of this Resolution be spread upon the Minutes
of the City Council.
P. R. #24119
01/15/2025 ca
Section 3. That a copy of the caption of this Resolution be spread upon the Minutes
of the City Council.
READ, ADOPTED AND APPROVED THIS day of , A.D., 2025, at a
Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Port Arthur, by the following vote:
AYES: (Mayor)
Councilmembers:
NOES:
Thurman"Bill"Bartie
Mayor
ATTEST:
Sherri Bellard
City Secretary
APPROVED AS_T_OJAgM.
Roxann Pais Cotroneo
City Attorney
APPROV AS TADMINISTRATION:
Ron B , C M
C. anager
P. R. #24119
01/15/2025 ca
0114014/1&104UW
Chandra Alpough, CPM
Director of Parks and Recreation
APPROVED AS TO AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS:
/4—'p i,
Lynda Boswell
Director of Finance
/ GA:--
ti
Clifton ' illiams, CPPB
Purchasing Manager
Exhibit "A"
A q,NVIRONIIMekT /
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/14 TEAM UP
Transformative Environmental Awards
for Members of Underserved Populations
Notice of Funding
Availability
Transformative Environmental Awards for Members of Underserved Populations
(TEAM UP)Grant Program
Publish Date:December 18, 2024
Notice:Information in this document was last updated on December XX,2024.Publishing entities reserve
the right to make changes,updates and corrections to this document as necessary.
ISSUED BY
Bullard Center for Environmental&Climate Justice and Achieving Community Tasks Successfully(ACTS)
Region 6 Grantmaker U.S.EPA Thriving Communities Grant Program
https://www.bullardcenter.org/teamun
info@bullardcenter.ore
713-313-5098
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Introduction & Background
The Transformative Environmental Awards for Members of Underserved Populations
(TEAM UP) Grants Program of the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice
at Texas Southern University in Partnership with Achieving Community Tasks
Successfully(ACTS) as the Region 6 Grantmaker for the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grant Program ( U.S. EPA TCGP) ,
is accepting grant applications in response to this Notice of Funding Availability(NOFA).A
total of$40 Million will be granted over three years (2025-2027) in the region 6
geography of focus:Texas, New Mexico,Oklahoma,Arkansas, Louisiana.A minimum of
80%of awarded projects will serve underserved and disadvantaged communities.A
planned total of 244 grant awards will be made: 97 in year one, 97 in year two,and 50 in
year three.Applications for the first application cycle will be open from December 18,
2024-January 31,2025 at 11:59 pm. Submitted applications will be reviewed following
the close of the open application cycle,with decisions and funding issued as soon as
possible following the cycle and within 6 months from the time of proposal submission.
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Scope and Focus
The goal of the TEAM UP grant program is to assist communities disproportionately
affected by environmental,climate and public health impacts on projects involving
assessment,planning,development and implementation.
To be in scope, potential projects must focus on assessment,planning,development or
implementation to assist communities disproportionately affected by environmental,
climate and public health impacts. Projects must serve communities within Texas, New
Mexico, Louisiana,Arkansas and Oklahoma.We define assessment,planning,
development and implementation as follows:
• Assessment may involve:
o Identifying overburdened communities and vulnerable populations,
o Analyzing the disproportionate environmental burdens and or health
impacts experienced by vulnerable, marginalised,and overburdened
communities or populations,
o Analyzing the environmental benefits and harms caused by specific public or
private action,
o Engaging with community stakeholders to identify priorities and concerns,
o Identify based on analysis,options to mitigate, reduce,or eliminate
environmental harms and to equitably distribute benefits associated with
public or private actions.
•
• Planning may involve:
o Identifying opportunities,challenges, risks,and paths to change,
o Identifying,prioritizing and or developing change processes and strategies
to make a case for change with relevant stakeholders,
o Developing and synthesizing an action plan,and resource planning for the
action plan:
• Establishing clear goals,objectives, metrics and timelines for
addressing environmental justice issues,
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• Creating a vision for a healthy and sustainable environment for all
community members,
• Developing specific action plans with measurable indicators of
success.
• Development and Implementation may involve:
o Implementing environmental justice plans with clear roles and
responsibilities for stakeholders/participants,
o Making and using strategies to track progress and identify areas for
improvement,
o Regularly engaging with the community to address concerns and adapt
plans as needed,
o Identifying next steps for for after a plan or or parts of a plan are finished ,
such as:
• Developing a community,cohort or group of practice and action for
the long term,
• Addressing resistance to change,
• Continuing to identify different ways to resource change/the work,
and
• Developing organizational capacity and aligning practices,such as
governance and decision making.
All Assessment,planning,development and implementation should incorporate:
o Taking a systematic approach to identify and address environmental
concerns within a community,
o Prioritizing affected community leadership,participation and input
throughout,
o Prioritizing the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people,
regardless of race,income,or ethnicity
o Fostering community participation in decision-making processes through
public hearings,advisory committees,and consensus building.
o Ensuring transparency and accountability in decision-making processes.
Projects for all grant types may be topically focused on any of the following:
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1. Air quality&asthma
2. Water quality sampling
3. Lead and asbestos exposure/remediation
4. Pesticides and other toxic substances
5. Illegal dumping
6. Education,outreach and community engagement
7. Workforce development/
job training
8. Food security
9. Stormwater infrastructure,green or nature based solutions
10. Healthy homes
11. Disaster preparedness and resiliency
12. Intergenerational/Youth Training
13. And other environmental,climate and public health impacts disproportionately
affecting communities.
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Grant Types and Award Amounts :
There are four types of grant awards available:
• Noncompetitive-for severely capacity constrained organizations($75,000)
• Tier I (Competitive)-assessment projects ($150,000)
• Tier II (Competitive)- planning projects($250,000),and
• Tier III (Competitive)-development and implementation projects ($350,000).
(Please reference our definitions for assessment,planning,and development and
implementation definitions in the Scope and Focus Section.)
Noncompetitive grants are meant for severely capacity constrained organizations,i.e.
organizations with limited administrative,governance,or staffing infrastructure,or
limited familiarity/credibility with communities such that success could not be met for
Type I, II,or III grants.
Grant duration by type of grant is as follows:
• Noncompetitive grants- 1 year
• Tier I - 1 year
• Tier II- 1 year,or 2 years
• Tier I I I-2 years
An overview of all grant types is provided below, including the number of planned awards.
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Noncompetitive Tier I Tier II Tier III
Assessment Planning Development
Projects Projects Projects
Award Amount $75,000 each $150,000 each $250,000 each $350,000 each
Number of Grants to be 60 total 60 total 50 total 24 total
awarded
20 in Cycle 1 40 in Cycle 1 25 in Cycle 1 12 in Cycle 1
20 in Cycle 2 40 in Cycle 2 25 in Cycle 2 12 in Cycle 2
20 in Cycle 3 30 in Cycle 3
Award Type *Fixed amount *Fixed amount
subaward; subaward
Grant Duration 1 year 1 year 1 year or 2 years
2 years
Target applicant type -*Severely capacity
constrained
organizations
*Fixed amount subawards have payments are based on meeting specific requirements of the award(e.g.,
performance and results),rather than actual costs incurred.
**Severely capacity constrained organizations are those that[orgs with limited administrative,governance, or
staffing infrastructure, or limited familiarity/credibility with communities such that success could not be met for
Type I, II, or III grants.]
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Scoring Criteria
The following table expresses scoring criteria.
Merit Criteria Rating
Significance of the Project 15 points
Goals,Objectives,and 15 points
Outcomes
Project Plan 25 points
Organizational Capacity 20 points
Evaluation Plan 15 points
Dissemination Plan 10 points
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Eligibility Requirements
The following eligibility requirements and submission guidelines apply to applications for
this funding opportunity.
EligibilityRequirements
a. Organizations must be located in or primarily serving underserved communities'
in Texas, New Mexico,Oklahoma,Arkansas,or Louisiana and 70-80%of the
proposed work must be dedicated to underserved and disadvantaged communities
(organizations will be asked to submit a map using the EPA IRA Disadvantaged
Communities within the application.)
b. All organizations must be able to prove they are not for profit' organizations and have a
SAM.gov UEI number. Organizations can apply under their own non profit status, apply
under a fiscal sponsor's nonprofit status,or with their Sam.gov UEI number if the latter
two are not available.
c. Organizations eligible to apply include:
i. Nonprofit organizations
ii. Community-based and grassroots nonprofit organizations
1 Underserved and disadvantaged communities are defined by Executive Order 13985. Please Consider
the following definition while answering the questions in this section.
"Populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have
been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and
civic life...". This includes communities such as Black, Latino, Indigenous, and Native American
persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; children, the elderly,
members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer(LGBTQ+)
persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise
adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality. For purposes of this RFA, "underserved
communities" also include "environmentally overburdened communities" (that is, communities
adversely and disproportionately affected by environmental, climate, and human health harms
and risks including remote, rural, and urban communities), and disadvantaged communities.
2 Having 501(c)(3)tax exempt status is one means of documenting that an entity is a Nonprofit
organization under 2 CFR 200.1 for the purposes of eligibility. Incorporation as a nonprofit organization
under state laws or having 501(c)(6)tax exempt status as a trade association is also an acceptable
means for an entity to document that it is a nonprofit organization.). Organizations may also apply under
the fiscal sponsorship of another non profit organization if they do not have any of the above. If using
fiscal sponsorship from another organization, please upload the fiscal sponsor's proof of nonprofit status
in the Type of Eligibility section within the application.
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iii. Philanthropic and civic organizations with nonprofit status
iv. Tribal governments (both federally recognized and state-recognized)
and intertribal consortia
v. Native American Organizations (includes Indian groups,
cooperatives, nonprofit corporations, partnerships,and associations
that have the authority to enter into legally binding agreements)
vi. Local governments (as defined by 2 CFR 200.1 - includes cities,
towns, municipalities,and counties, public housing authorities and
councils of government)
b. Organizations not eligible to apply:
i. Individuals
ii. For profit entities
iii. State Governments
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Reporting Requirements
Reporting requirements will include at minimum:
• Quarterly Narrative Milestone Reporting
• Monthly Financial Reports
• Final Reports/Performance Measure Reporting
A quality assurance plan may be required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
for some projects. If so,grant awardees will be provided with technical assistance to help
develop and meet this requirement.
Payment Disbursements
Following notification of successful grant funding,grant awardees will be contacted to
begin the contracting process.
For Competitive Grants,all awardees will be disbursed funding on a reimbursement basis.
For Noncompetitive Grants,all awards will be fixed amount subawards and dispersed
funding on a reimbursement basis. Payments will also be based on meeting specific
requirements of the award (e.g., performance and results)..
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Submission Guidelines
Submission Guidelines
1. Below is a list of application components for each type of application.
a. Noncompetitive applications:
i. Pre application Questions
ii. Project Narrative
iii. Cover Page, Budget Summary Funding Request
iv. Letter of Interest,
v. and other pertinent applicant/project details.
b. Competitive applications (Tier I,Tier II,Tier III):
i. Project Description
ii. Program Goals and Objectives
iii. Environmental Results
iv. Outputs
v. Outcomes
vi. Performance Measures
vii. Link to EPA Strategic Plan
viii. Project Location
ix. Timeline and Milestones
x. Environmental Justice and Disadvantaged Communities
xi. Programmatic Capability
xii. Past Performance
xiii. Project Sustainability
xiv. Budget and Budget Narrative
xv. and other pertinent applicant/project details.
The TEAM UP staff will follow up with applicants if any other requirements are
deemed necessary.
2. Applications must be submitted by a representative that is authorized to submit for
the applying organization.
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3. Applications will remain valid only for the duration of the application cycle for
which they are submitted.
4. The TEAM UP Grant Program team may reach out to applicants for additional
information or clarifications, but cannot provide grant writing assistance.
5. Grant applications may be submitted via our grant portal, by mail or email,or a
virtual or in-person grant submission meeting.
• The application portal is available in English and downloadable applications will be
available on our landing page in English,Spanish and Vietnamese. If the application
is needed in another language,please email infoObullardcenter.orgwith this
request.
• Applicants may download the application and complete it in the portal or
email/mail it to:
jnfoObullardcenter.org
Ms.Alba Sereno
Texas Southern University
3100 Cleburne Street
PAB 205, Houston,TX 77004
• Hard copy applications will be made available at in person outreach events(please
check Bullard Center social media and landing page for our latest information on in
person events).Applicants should fill these out and mail them to:
Ms.Alba Sereno
Texas Southern University
3100 Cleburne Street, PAB 205
Houston,TX 77004
• In the case that applicants cannot submit their application online or by mail,please
make an appointment with a program staff person for a grant submission meeting
at(713)313-5098 or infoPbullardcenter.org or during one of our in person events.
• Applications may be submitted in English,Spanish or Vietnamese. For other
languages, please contact info@bullardcenter.org.
• No pitch meetings will be accepted for this opportunity. For all questions, please
reference this FAQs document,call (713)313-5098 or email
infoPbullardcenter.org.
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6. The TEAM UP Grant Program staff cannot provide grant writing assistance;
however,technical assistance for grant writing is available from Deep South Center
for Environmental Justice and New Mexico State University.We will publish
information on how to connect with these organizations for technical assistance as
soon as it is available.
7. Applications for Cycle One will open Wednesday December 18,2024 and remain
open through January 31,2024 at 11:59 pm. (Future application cycle details will
be announced at later dates.)
8. Submitted applications will be reviewed quarterly,with decisions and funding
issued as soon as possible following the closing of the cycle and within 6 months
from time of proposal submission.
9. Please see our Frequently Asked Questions content on our landing page for the
latest answers to frequently asked questions and useful information regarding this
opportunity.
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