[0:02] now. And, uh Good evening,
[0:05] Rockville. We are beginning our
[0:07] meeting on AUGUST 3rd, 2026,
[0:09] and all virtual, and we thank
[0:11] you for joining us here today.
[0:12] I
[0:13] m gonna start with the pledge
[0:22] of Allegiance. I pledge
[0:23] allegiance to the flag of the
[0:26] United States of America. Into
[0:28] the Republic for which it
[0:30] stands, one nation under GOD,
[0:32] indivisible, with liberty and
[0:38] justice for all. Thank you,
[0:39] MISS Sarah Taylor Farrell, uh,
[0:41] have there been any changes to
[0:46] the agenda. MADAM Mayor and
[0:48] council members, there are no
[0:49] changes to this evening
[0:49] s
[0:52] agenda. Thank you. Excellent.
[0:53] Thank you. We
[0:54] ll now have the
[0:54] city manager
[0:55] s report, MR. Jeff
[0:59] Mahalik. Mayor Ash and members
[1:00] of city council, ladies and
[1:01] gentlemen, good evening. I only
[1:03] have 1 item tonight, and that
[1:03] s
[1:05] just to invite people to
[1:07] participate with our economic
[1:08] development strategic plan.
[1:08] We
[1:09] re just starting that
[1:11] process right now. We
[1:11] ve loaded
[1:13] that project up onto engage
[1:14] Rockville and we have the new
[1:15] survey also show you a hard
[1:18] copy of it. There it is. The
[1:20] surveys available for people to
[1:21] go online or to hit the qr code,
[1:24] they pick it up live and please
[1:25] provide their comments. They
[1:27] can track the progress of the
[1:28] of the economic development
[1:30] plan, strategic plan
[1:31] development and provide other
[1:32] comments, we would appreciate
[1:34] it. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you
[1:36] very much, and I just wanted to
[1:37] flag 1 thing between the city
[1:37] manager
[1:38] s office and the city
[1:38] clerk
[1:40] s office, we did have
[1:43] several agenda items added on
[1:44] Thursday for consent, uh, they
[1:45] were trying to get busy and
[1:47] make sure that we get a lot
[1:48] done before the recess. I just
[1:49] wanted to flag that if you
[1:50] downloaded your agenda earlier
[1:51] in the week to please feel free
[1:54] to check that out. Excellent.
[1:55] Thank you, MR. City Manager.
[1:59] Thank you, uh, city clerk.
[1:59] We
[2:02] re now moving on to boards
[2:03] and commissions appointments
[2:05] and reappointments, we do have
[2:07] a few, and I wanted to make
[2:09] sure that, um, uh, it
[2:10] s at
[2:11] least for the human rights
[2:12] commission that we can move
[2:14] forward. Would anyone like to
[2:15] make the motion, Council member
[2:20] Valeri. Sorry, MADAM Mayor, I
[2:21] just had, uh, I was raising my
[2:24] hand, um, for the previous, um
[2:26] Section, I just wanted to, no,
[2:26] it
[2:28] s ok. I just wanted to, I
[2:30] just wanted to remind folks
[2:32] that tomorrow night is National
[2:33] Night Out. So that if they
[2:33] don
[2:35] t know of a gathering, um,
[2:37] you know, you can, you can, uh,
[2:40] check it out. Um, apologies, I
[2:40] don
[2:41] t know what
[2:41] s going on here.
[2:45] Um, we do have, I, I will just
[2:46] note that we are gonna have a
[2:47] proclamation for that and we
[2:47] ll
[2:48] speak to that a little bit more,
[2:49] but please feel free to go
[2:51] ahead if you have any, no, that,
[2:51] that
[2:52] s totally fine. I, I
[2:54] forgot we had a proclamation.
[2:54] That
[2:55] s great. Thank you. No
[2:58] problem. Thank you. Teamwork.
[3:01] Does anyone want to make the
[3:03] motion for our human rights
[3:09] commission appointees. MADAM
[3:09] Mayor, I
[3:11] m happy to do that as
[3:12] well if that
[3:12] s helpful. Please
[3:16] do thank you. Not a problem.
[3:18] Let me just pull it up real
[3:22] quick. I apologize. I
[3:23] m having
[3:28] some slow connectivity issues.
[3:29] And I can as as you
[3:29] re doing
[3:31] that, ok, perfect. Thank you.
[3:34] Yup, not a problem. Um, MADAM
[3:38] Mayor, I would like to Uh, Why
[3:40] I moved the appointment of Anna
[3:44] De Leon. To serve an expiring
[3:45] in 3-year term, a new
[3:47] appointment to serve an
[3:49] expiring 3-year term until
[3:52] APRIL 1st, 2027. And Richard
[3:54] Kaufman, a new appointment to
[3:56] serve an expiring 3-year term
[4:01] until JULY 1st, 2028. Excellent.
[4:04] Do we have a second? Second,
[4:05] Thank you. All those in favor,
[4:06] please raise your hand and say
[4:09] aye. Hi. Alright, thank you.
[4:10] Thank you all very much. Ok,
[4:10] we
[4:13] ll now move back to our
[4:15] proclamations, and we have 2
[4:17] for this evening, uh, 1 is for
[4:19] National Night Out, and the
[4:21] other one is for SEPTEMBER 11th
[4:23] as National Day of Service and
[4:27] remembrance. Um, I will get
[4:29] started with the first, uh,
[4:30] National Night Out, and I see
[4:33] Chief West is on here. I want
[4:35] to just echo and say thank you
[4:36] to all the previous thanks that
[4:36] we
[4:37] ve given to the Rockwell
[4:38] City Police Department. Here is
[4:42] another one, there are. Over 20
[4:44] events across the city that are
[4:46] happening, uh, on every corner
[4:48] of the city, uh, some are large
[4:49] events, some are block parties,
[4:51] and I want to encourage
[4:52] everyone to get out and meet
[4:55] your neighbors. Uh, this is an
[4:57] event that is designed to have
[4:58] neighbors meet each other, talk
[4:59] about what, what we
[4:59] re doing
[5:01] for safety, but also our police
[5:02] department is going to be
[5:04] getting out to all of these
[5:07] events, uh, to meet folks and
[5:08] just to create more
[5:09] opportunities for uh community
[5:12] trust. Trust, partnership and
[5:12] relationship building, uh,
[5:14] there, like, as I said, more
[5:16] than 20 events across the city
[5:18] tomorrow. It will be starting
[5:19] somewhere around 5 o
[5:20] clock
[5:21] until 9, so feel free to get
[5:22] your running shoes on with all
[5:24] of us as we try to crisscross
[5:27] the city. I do want to say the
[5:29] following, we try to get out to
[5:32] as many as we can, uh, but
[5:32] because we have to get all
[5:34] across the city, we are not
[5:36] able to get to all of them, so
[5:37] please know that every single
[5:38] community is in our hearts and
[5:40] our minds, and we appreciate.
[5:41] Every community member that
[5:41] s
[5:43] helping to plan this event. Uh,
[5:43] with that, I
[5:44] m going to, uh,
[5:50] read the proclamation. Whereas
[5:51] the National Association of
[5:53] Town Watch is sponsoring a
[5:55] unique nationwide crime and
[5:56] drug prevention program on
[5:58] AUGUST 4th, 2026 called
[6:01] National Night Out, and whereas
[6:02] the 43rd annual Nationalite
[6:04] provides an opportunity for
[6:05] Rockville residents to join
[6:07] with thousands of other
[6:09] communities across the country
[6:10] to promote cooperative police
[6:11] community crime and drug
[6:14] prevention efforts. The city of
[6:16] Rockville will be celebrating
[6:17] National Night Out 2026, and
[6:18] all residents of Rockville must
[6:20] be aware of the importance of
[6:21] crime prevention programs and
[6:23] the impact that their
[6:24] participation has on reducing
[6:25] crime and drug abuse in the
[6:27] community. Now, therefore, the
[6:29] mayor and council of Rockville,
[6:31] Maryland, do hereby proclaim
[6:34] AUGUST 4th, 2026 as National
[6:36] Night Out and encouraged the
[6:36] entire Rockville community to
[6:38] be a part of this special event
[6:40] and participate in the fight
[6:43] against crime and drugs. And
[6:44] someone moved the proclamation,
[6:44] COUNCILMAN Valeri moves the
[6:45] proclamation, do we have a
[6:47] second? Councilor Van Grak
[6:48] seconds. All those in favor,
[6:51] please raise your hand and say
[6:53] aye. All right. Excellent. And
[6:55] we have a recipient here with
[6:55] Chief West. Chief West, please
[7:01] proceed. Uh, MADAM Mayor, thank
[7:02] you very much, uh, our
[7:05] department. Um, plans for this
[7:07] all year long, uh, the entire
[7:08] department will be out tomorrow
[7:10] night. Uh, we look forward to
[7:11] connecting with all the
[7:13] residents of the city, and we
[7:14] will hit just as many of those
[7:15] parties, the, the police
[7:17] department will be at every one
[7:18] of them, so it
[7:18] s a great
[7:20] opportunity for us to get out,
[7:22] uh, let our residents, uh, meet
[7:23] our police officers and and
[7:25] know us on a personal level, so
[7:26] thank you for all your support
[7:28] and we look forward to it.
[7:29] Excellent. Thank you so much
[7:30] and thank you to the entire
[7:31] team. I know there
[7:32] s a lot of
[7:33] coordination that goes around
[7:34] with reaching out to residents
[7:35] and helping them to plan for a
[7:37] great national night out. And
[7:38] thank you to our community
[7:40] partners. This would not be
[7:41] possible without you. Please
[7:46] join us tomorrow. Ok, we have
[7:48] our next proclamation, which is
[7:49] to recognize SEPTEMBER 11th,
[7:51] and that will be by Council
[7:52] member Jackson. Thank you, uh,
[7:55] mayor. Uh, so this is, uh,
[7:56] proclamation that needs no
[7:57] really introduction. So let me
[8:00] jump right into it. Whereas
[8:02] people of all ages and walks of
[8:04] life across America and around
[8:05] the world collectively
[8:08] witnessed an immense tragedy on
[8:09] SEPTEMBER 11th, 2001, and the
[8:13] events of that day instantly
[8:14] transformed nearly everyone
[8:14] s
[8:15] lives through some through
[8:17] personal loss and many through
[8:19] an unfamiliar sense of
[8:21] individual and national
[8:23] vulnerability and whereas an
[8:24] unprecedented historic bonding
[8:26] of Americans arose from the
[8:27] collective shock, unifying the
[8:28] country in an outpouring of
[8:33] natural. Spirit, fried,
[8:33] selflessness, generosity,
[8:36] courage, and service, and now,
[8:37] therefore, the mayor and
[8:38] council of the city of
[8:41] Rockville, Maryland, do herero
[8:45] proclaim SEPTEMBER 11th, 2026
[8:47] As 9/11, day of service and
[8:49] remembrance in Sherbert to the
[8:51] victims of the 9/11 terrorist
[8:53] attacks, and to the many who
[8:54] rose in service in response to
[8:56] the attacks, and we urge the
[8:59] Rockville community to reserve
[9:01] SEPTEMBER 11th, 2026, as a
[9:03] voluntary day of service and
[9:04] remember, Madamir, I moved the
[9:07] proclamation. Thank you. Do we
[9:10] have a second? I
[9:11] ll second.
[9:12] Thank you. All those in favor,
[9:13] please raise your hand and say
[9:17] aye. Hi, bye, thank you. Uh,
[9:20] just to note, uh, we do still
[9:21] not only do a proclamation but
[9:23] have an event, so please join
[9:25] us on SEPTEMBER 11th from 9 to
[9:26] 10 at Courthouse Square Park,
[9:28] and if you didn
[9:29] t know we have
[9:31] a bench for each person, uh,
[9:34] that is from the Rockville area,
[9:36] uh, who has, uh, passed away as
[9:37] a result of that event and in
[9:39] remembrance of them, so please
[9:43] join us on that day. Ok. MADAM
[9:44] City Clerk, I think that we
[9:45] didn
[9:46] t have anyone signed up
[9:47] for community forum, can you
[9:51] just please confirm? At a mayor
[9:52] and council members, that is
[9:54] correct. There is no signups
[9:56] for community forum so we can
[9:58] move forward. Excellent. Thank
[9:58] you. We
[10:01] re now moving on to our
[10:03] consent agenda item 9, we have
[10:05] several on the list for today.
[10:09] I will read the titles. 9a is a
[10:11] award and authorize the city
[10:13] manager to execute a contract
[10:14] with Ferguson Enterprises of
[10:14] Tyson
[10:17] s, Virginia for request
[10:19] for proposal 30-25. This is, uh,
[10:22] in relation to the advanced
[10:23] metering infrastructure project
[10:25] associated with our water
[10:26] system, and everything is safe.
[10:26] It
[10:28] s just a system upgrade and
[10:29] that is what we
[10:30] re talking
[10:33] about in that item. B. A proven
[10:34] authorize the city manager to
[10:36] execute a change order for
[10:38] contract with Boulevard
[10:40] Contractors Corp of Owings Mill,
[10:41] Maryland for the Lincoln Park
[10:42] Community Center renovation
[10:45] project in the amount not to
[10:47] exceed 316,000 on, on or about,
[10:48] uh, just to note there we will
[10:50] be opening up that Lincoln Park
[10:51] Community Center very soon and
[10:53] that supports that project.
[10:55] Item c, approval of an
[10:57] authorization for the city
[10:59] manager to execute a moderately
[11:00] priced dwelling unit rental
[11:01] program agreements and approval
[11:04] and authorization of the city
[11:06] manager to execute the
[11:07] declaration of restrictive
[11:08] covenants for Twinbrook Place
[11:09] between the mayor and council
[11:11] of Rockville and Twinard
[11:12] Limited Partnership, subject to
[11:14] approval as to legal form by
[11:16] the acting city attorney. This
[11:17] is new housing that is being
[11:19] developed in Rockville and with
[11:21] projects of this size, there
[11:22] are new, uh, Molly Price
[11:24] dwelling units. That are for
[11:27] rents coming online. D.
[11:28] Authorization for the city
[11:30] manager to execute a grants
[11:31] agreement with the us
[11:33] Department of Transportation,
[11:35] Federal Highway Administration
[11:38] for fr 2023, active
[11:39] transportation infrastructure
[11:40] Investment Program for the
[11:43] Maryvale Park to Red Gate Park
[11:44] shared youth Path study. This
[11:46] is in alignment with our Vision
[11:48] Zero plan and we have been
[11:49] working to create this
[11:50] connectivity and this study
[11:52] will help us advance those
[11:54] efforts. E is an award at the
[11:55] Metropolitan Washington Council
[11:58] of Government s, Montgomery
[11:59] County, Maryland cooperative
[12:01] led in invitation, lead
[12:04] invitation forbid, uh, for road
[12:06] deicing to more in salt of
[12:07] Chicago, Illinois, and the
[12:08] amount not to exceed 1 million
[12:10] each year with no arrogate, not
[12:13] to exceed 5 million.
[12:15] Authorization for the city
[12:17] manager to execute a settlement
[12:18] agreement with Engineering
[12:21] Corporation. This is related to
[12:22] water infrastructure as well.
[12:24] Colleagues, does anyone have
[12:25] any questions about these
[12:26] consent agenda items, or shall
[12:31] we move to your proof? Ok. Who
[12:33] can make the motion? Councilor
[12:38] Van Gra. MADAM Mayor, I move to
[12:40] approve consent agenda items a,
[12:44] b, c, d, e, and f. Excellent.
[12:46] Thank you. Do we have a second?
[12:48] Seconds. Councilor Jackson
[12:49] seconds, all those in favor,
[12:51] please raise your hand and say
[12:56] aye. Aye. Aye. Ok. Thank you
[13:04] very much. That Uh. We will now
[13:07] move on to our work session, a
[13:08] work session for grants to
[13:11] nonprofits. I would like to
[13:14] welcome Nick Shushka. She is a
[13:15] collective impact manager in
[13:16] the Department of Housing and
[13:18] Community Development, as well
[13:19] as Sarah Maisel, Program and
[13:21] grant specialist from the
[13:22] Housing Community Development
[13:24] Department and we also have a
[13:26] panelist, Ryan Trout, who will
[13:28] be supporting. He is the
[13:30] director of housing Community
[13:31] Development. Welcome. We look
[13:34] forward to your presentation.
[13:36] Good evening, everyone. Thank
[13:39] you for having Sarah and myself,
[13:41] Nick Suka, tonight we are
[13:44] looking forward to our grants
[13:46] work session about our city
[13:46] s
[13:47] grants nonprofits. As you said,
[13:49] my name is Nick Sushka. I am
[13:50] our collective impact manager
[13:52] here in the city of Rockville.
[13:54] I work in the Department of
[13:55] Housing and Community
[13:56] Development, where I support
[13:57] the city
[13:58] s grants to nonprofits
[14:00] as well as partnership work
[14:02] such as our Bank on Rockville
[14:03] Coalition and our Rockville
[14:05] goes. Efforts. I
[14:05] m joined this
[14:07] evening by my colleague Sarah
[14:08] Mizell, who will introduce
[14:13] herself. Good evening. My name
[14:14] is Sarah Meisel. I
[14:15] m the
[14:17] programs and grant specialists
[14:19] under the Department of Housing
[14:21] and Community Development, um,
[14:21] and I
[14:22] m very excited to share
[14:24] what Nick and I have been
[14:30] working on today. So 4 our
[14:36] presentation this evening. We
[14:37] will be requesting feedback on
[14:39] a few items, we
[14:40] ll provide
[14:42] background and a little bit of
[14:43] overview of the grants programs
[14:45] in question, as well as program
[14:47] design changes, review next
[14:49] steps if those design changes
[14:51] are adopted and then have time
[14:52] to hear the requested feedback
[14:54] from mayor and council this
[14:56] evening. We have 3 questions
[14:58] this evening that we
[14:58] re
[15:00] requesting feedback on should
[15:02] the city adopt 5 proposed
[15:03] impact focus areas to guide
[15:06] future grant funding. Decisions
[15:08] should 1 or 2 of these impact
[15:10] focus areas be prioritized in
[15:12] fiscal year 28, and should the
[15:14] city provide a streamlined
[15:15] renewal pathway for
[15:18] high-performing programs. So
[15:20] some background about our
[15:21] grants programs to nonprofit
[15:22] organizations, we
[15:23] ve provided
[15:24] grants through 2 primary
[15:26] programs are Human Services
[15:27] grants and community
[15:29] organization grants. These are
[15:31] reorganized into a single
[15:32] community services and
[15:34] enrichment grants managed by
[15:37] dhcd in fiscal year 25, and the
[15:37] city
[15:38] s community empowerment
[15:41] matching grants were also moved
[15:43] under dhcd and fy26. There have
[15:45] been several benefits of this
[15:48] reorganization, including
[15:48] stronger nonprofit partnerships
[15:51] as we have worked to not only
[15:53] connect nonprofits that receive
[15:55] grants more to city departments
[15:56] and provide greater support
[15:57] from a single grant management
[15:59] team, but also to one another
[16:01] through efforts like our
[16:03] community partner cafes and our
[16:04] nonprofit symposium, that
[16:04] s
[16:07] also allowed us to connect
[16:08] nonprofits to more resources
[16:09] across the region, like
[16:11] nonprofit Montgomery and the
[16:11] Maryland nonprofit Navigator.
[16:12] We
[16:14] ve worked To improve
[16:16] outcomes tracking and
[16:18] accountability through this
[16:18] streamlined single grants
[16:21] program, and through that we
[16:21] ve
[16:23] identified opportunities to
[16:24] standardize and improve
[16:25] administrative processes. Most
[16:25] recently, we
[16:27] ve been able to
[16:29] make some changes about right
[16:31] sizing requirements for smaller,
[16:34] lower complexity grants up to
[16:35] $10,000 and Sarah will share
[16:38] more about the benefits of
[16:39] those new requirements on the
[16:43] following slides. Thank you so
[16:45] much. Right, so, like Nick was
[16:46] saying, um, we have already
[16:49] begun a little bit of this
[16:50] process transitioning, um, into
[16:52] this model for the lower,
[16:53] smaller, lower compre
[16:56] complexity grants that are
[16:58] $10,000 or under, um, so we
[16:59] already have a model like this
[17:01] in place with the community
[17:02] empowerment Matching grant,
[17:05] which will now be the Community
[17:07] Empowerment mini grants. Um,
[17:09] this model includes one-time
[17:10] upfront payments, one-time
[17:13] post-project reports. For the
[17:14] quality assurance, um, and the
[17:16] reason why this model is in
[17:19] place, um, many of these
[17:21] organizations are smaller
[17:22] volunteer ran, and they
[17:22] re
[17:25] operating on very tight budgets
[17:27] to put on events, maybe 1 to,
[17:30] maybe 2 events a year. Um, so
[17:32] they really rely on this
[17:33] funding within their budgets
[17:36] that are already constrained,
[17:39] um, and 2 right size this model,
[17:40] we do require a quality
[17:42] assurance, but it would be a a
[17:45] post-project report on the
[17:47] metrics that they would submit
[17:49] in the grants process in the
[17:51] application process. Um, so for
[17:54] fy 27. The Community
[17:55] Empowerment Matching grant
[17:57] would be administered by JUNE
[18:01] 2027, um, but for the current
[18:04] fy27 Community Services and
[18:05] Enrichment grant for awards
[18:07] that are $10,000 or less. We
[18:07] ve
[18:09] already shifted this model a
[18:11] little bit, um, in the next
[18:12] slide, you
[18:15] ll see, um, we have
[18:17] these organizations that fall
[18:19] within the $10,000 threshold,
[18:21] um, so for example, we have f.
[18:24] Scott Fitzgerald, literacy.
[18:26] Literacy, um, festival, um, as
[18:28] well as the village Support
[18:30] Network, um, next slide, please.
[18:36] And so for the fy28 proposed
[18:38] budget, we would include this
[18:39] smaller shift from the
[18:40] community services and
[18:42] enrichment grant program to the
[18:44] Mini Grant Program. So the mini
[18:47] grant program for fy28 would
[18:49] accept $10,000 request, that
[18:52] would be the cap, and we
[18:54] anticipate about 15 to 10
[18:56] applicants, um, for that grant
[18:58] program. The application would
[19:01] open in MARCH of 2027 and close
[19:04] in APRIL, and in that time, we
[19:06] would also convene the panel to
[19:09] review those applications. So
[19:11] then by MAY, um, we would have
[19:12] a selection and recommendations
[19:14] to the city manager
[19:15] s office,
[19:18] um, and then by JUNE 2027, we
[19:20] would have the approval via
[19:22] consent agenda item. So, with
[19:23] that, I will pass it back over
[19:26] to Nick. Um, thank you, Sarah.
[19:28] Uh, this is, uh, as Sarah and I
[19:30] noted, and process that we
[19:30] ve
[19:32] been able to begin to implement
[19:34] in the current grant you
[19:35] benefiting some of those
[19:36] grantees who
[19:37] ve already
[19:38] received awards, as we
[19:39] ve been
[19:39] preparing their grant
[19:40] agreements. We
[19:41] ve been
[19:42] notifying them about this shift,
[19:43] letting them know that they
[19:44] ll
[19:46] be able to request that full
[19:48] grant award upfront, um, that
[19:50] has, as Sarah said, been
[19:52] welcome news for some of these
[19:53] organizations, particularly
[19:56] those volunteer-run Stations,
[19:58] and this shift to the fiscal
[20:00] year deadline also allows us to
[20:02] now have both grant programs on
[20:04] the same timeline, and further
[20:06] improve transparency, as Sarah
[20:07] noted by including those
[20:08] approved grants on the consent
[20:10] agenda for mayor and council so
[20:12] that you can see which grants
[20:13] the community panel has
[20:17] selected for these many grants.
[20:19] So as we move into the rest of
[20:19] tonight
[20:20] s work session, we
[20:20] ll
[20:22] be talking about 2 further
[20:24] program design changes that
[20:24] we
[20:26] re proposing, those are
[20:28] primarily about the community
[20:29] services and enrichment grants
[20:31] program, so a little bit of
[20:32] overview about this program,
[20:35] last fiscal year, which we have
[20:37] just finished closing out, we
[20:40] supported 40 programs run by 34
[20:45] nonprofits with their total
[20:45] funding of $1,781,110 as we
[20:47] move into this. This fiscal
[20:49] year, Sarah and I are in the
[20:52] process of setting up our grant
[20:54] agreements and preparing to
[20:55] support 48 programs that will
[20:57] be managed by 40 nonprofits for
[21:03] a total of $184,500,790. These
[21:05] grants are run by nonprofits
[21:06] that meet community needs and
[21:07] enrich the lives of Rockville
[21:10] residents through a number of
[21:11] different service approaches,
[21:13] providing programs, events that
[21:15] connect residents to one
[21:15] another and help improve things
[21:18] like access To needed community
[21:20] services. For this particular
[21:22] grant program, we require
[21:24] quarterly reports, and we also
[21:26] conduct an annual site visit.
[21:28] This helps us to measure how
[21:29] each grant is achieving its
[21:31] outcomes, which are identified
[21:32] by the grantees in their
[21:35] application. It also has the
[21:37] benefit of our staff being able
[21:39] to support nonprofits if they
[21:40] are encountering challenges, if
[21:41] they need further support from
[21:42] the city or from other
[21:45] resources, and we can identify
[21:46] opportunities from
[21:48] collaboration between nonprofit
[21:50] as I noted last year we were
[21:53] able to resume the opportunity
[21:54] to regularly convene nonprofit
[21:55] partners, both that have grants
[21:57] and that partner with the city
[21:59] in other ways through our
[22:01] community partner cafes and our
[22:02] annual nonprofit symposium, and
[22:04] Sarah and I provide ongoing
[22:06] staff support throughout the
[22:07] year, providing those
[22:10] connections for nonprofits to
[22:11] resources and helping to raise
[22:12] more awareness for Rockville
[22:14] residents of the opportunity to
[22:15] benefit from these services,
[22:17] attend nonprofit events. And
[22:18] participate in the programs
[22:21] that they lead. We have
[22:23] continued to identify further
[22:24] opportunities to strengthen
[22:26] this program, as I mentioned,
[22:26] we
[22:27] ve seen benefits of the
[22:29] reorganization so far, but we
[22:31] believe there are still
[22:32] opportunities to streamline
[22:34] requirements, improve the
[22:36] evaluation process, increase
[22:38] alignment with the hoped for
[22:40] outcomes of this grant program,
[22:42] and importantly invest in more
[22:43] long-term outcomes, even though
[22:45] this grant program is a single
[22:47] year of funding, we know that
[22:48] many of our nonprofit
[22:49] organizations apply for funds
[22:51] year to year. And they
[22:52] re doing
[22:53] that with the understanding
[22:56] that many of our community
[22:57] goals and community needs are
[22:58] going to take more than a year
[22:59] to support or implement if
[23:00] you
[23:01] re running a youth
[23:02] development program, you
[23:03] re
[23:04] working with elementary school
[23:05] students through high school,
[23:07] you have multi-year goals, of
[23:09] course, and so we
[23:09] ve identified
[23:11] some opportunities for the city
[23:13] to further support long-term
[23:14] outcomes that we know that many
[23:15] of our partners are also aiming
[23:18] for. The program design changes
[23:19] that we
[23:20] ll discuss this evening
[23:22] have been formed by many
[23:23] different sources. The primary
[23:26] of them being the city of
[23:26] Rockville
[23:27] s 5 guiding
[23:28] principles. In addition, we
[23:30] looked at the recently
[23:31] completed Rockville Human
[23:33] Services needs assessment,
[23:34] which provided opportunities
[23:37] for community members,
[23:38] nonprofit organizations and
[23:40] members of our Human Services
[23:42] Advisory commission to help us
[23:44] understand the evolving needs
[23:45] of Rockville residents, we
[23:46] ve
[23:46] received feedback from multiple
[23:49] grantees. Who have continued to
[23:51] provide feedback to us both
[23:53] directly as city staff and to
[23:54] mayor and council as we noted,
[23:56] we complete annual site visits
[23:57] with our grantees, and we
[23:57] ve
[23:58] had many other opportunities to
[24:01] look beyond the city as well as
[24:03] we consider grantmaking best
[24:04] practices and the
[24:05] evidence-based practices that
[24:08] are outlined in frameworks like
[24:09] the upward mobility framework
[24:09] and the economic mobility
[24:13] catalog. Our first
[24:15] recommendation for this evening
[24:17] is to adopt impact focus areas.
[24:19] This is arising from a few
[24:21] different needs. One need that
[24:23] we see is for well-defined
[24:26] criteria to help our community
[24:27] panel evaluate them the many
[24:29] worthy projects that we receive
[24:31] requests for. As I noted in the
[24:33] year that we are headed into
[24:37] will be funding about $1.8
[24:38] million in grants for 48
[24:40] projects, but our community
[24:40] panel received requests for 2.8.
[24:45] Million dollars in projects, so
[24:46] we expect those applications to
[24:48] continue to greatly exceed
[24:49] available funding, we think
[24:54] that we will be best able to
[24:55] support organizations and
[24:56] prioritizing applications when
[24:57] they know what those grants are
[24:59] going to be evaluated against,
[25:01] and we want to make sure that
[25:02] our community panel has clear
[25:06] criteria that they can use to
[25:08] help them recommend among many
[25:10] worthy projects. Under this
[25:10] framework, proposals that are
[25:13] most Aligned with the impact
[25:15] focus areas would be
[25:16] competitive for the highest
[25:18] ratings, but importantly, we
[25:20] wanted to maintain flexibility
[25:22] for proposals beyond the focus
[25:26] areas as well. And so we
[25:26] ve
[25:28] proposed to continue to
[25:29] prioritize our service areas,
[25:31] as you can see on the bottom of
[25:34] this slide, the city has going
[25:37] into this grant year, 9 service
[25:38] areas, including adult
[25:40] education, arts and culture,
[25:42] housing services, senior
[25:43] services, and we
[25:44] re proposing
[25:47] in the next grant cycle to
[25:49] continue to ask organizations
[25:51] to identify one or more service
[25:53] areas, as well as describe the
[25:54] program and program output.
[25:55] Outcomes. This is something
[25:55] that
[25:57] s been standard in our
[25:58] application for the last couple
[26:01] of years. What we would like to
[26:03] add our 5 recommended impact
[26:06] focus areas that are more
[26:07] outcomes-focused and will help
[26:09] us to establish clear criteria
[26:11] for the community panel to
[26:13] evaluate how well a proposed
[26:16] project aligns with a hoped for
[26:19] outcome. These 5 impact focus
[26:21] areas are housing stability,
[26:24] economic mobility, Youth and
[26:26] family success, service access
[26:28] and navigation and community
[26:33] enrichment and belonging. These
[26:35] 5 impact focus areas if adopted,
[26:37] would allow us to incorporate
[26:40] them into the application and
[26:42] evaluation, and would allow
[26:44] organizations to identify how
[26:45] their services would align with
[26:48] one or more of those impact
[26:50] focus areas. So for example, if
[26:52] we look at the impact focus
[26:54] area community enrichment and
[26:55] belonging, Preferred strategies
[26:58] that we can solicit in fy28
[26:59] applications could include
[27:00] programs that help reduce
[27:04] social isolation. Or proposals
[27:07] for arts, culture, or community
[27:08] building activities that
[27:10] increase belonging or civic
[27:12] connection and an organization
[27:12] that
[27:14] s proposing a program
[27:14] could identify that they
[27:14] ll
[27:18] provide an arts and cultural
[27:20] program that supports community
[27:21] enrichment, and they could
[27:23] include how they would measure
[27:25] how well their programs are
[27:28] increasing belonging. Or, for
[27:30] example, an organization that
[27:31] s
[27:34] providing food distribution
[27:35] services might select youth and
[27:37] family success if the primary
[27:39] outcome of their program is
[27:41] meant to support youth in
[27:43] schools, and reduce hunger in
[27:45] families. So it will really be
[27:47] up to the organizations to, um,
[27:49] identify how they measure the
[27:50] outcomes of their programs and
[27:51] how those would align with one
[27:53] or more of our 5 impact focus
[27:55] areas. And then I want to
[27:55] emphasize that we would
[27:59] continue. To ask organizations
[28:01] to identify a service area that
[28:03] aligns with our current service
[28:05] areas. We will also continue as
[28:08] we currently do, to ask and
[28:09] assess how proposals support
[28:10] our city
[28:11] s Jedi priorities.
[28:11] We
[28:12] ve just recently adopted a
[28:13] strategic plan for Jedi at the
[28:15] seti, and this is a great
[28:18] opportunity for us to align
[28:20] those applications with the
[28:22] Jedi priorities, and we would
[28:25] continue to ask how applicants
[28:25] would improve access
[28:27] opportunity, and outcome. For
[28:28] Rockville residents, that would
[28:30] be across any of these 5 impact
[28:32] focus areas, but what would be
[28:34] different is that we would be
[28:35] able to integrate the impact
[28:38] focus areas into the
[28:39] application and provide a way
[28:41] for our community panel to
[28:42] evaluate how well a proposal
[28:47] would achieve those outcomes.
[28:48] Our second recommendation for a
[28:50] program design change this
[28:51] evening, it
[28:52] s to streamline
[28:53] renewal for high-performing
[28:56] programs. As we mentioned, many
[28:59] of our applications come from
[29:01] organizations that are trying
[29:02] to achieve outcomes that
[29:03] necessitate more than 1 year of
[29:05] funding. We know that many of
[29:07] the needs that our residents
[29:08] have or the community goals
[29:09] that we
[29:09] re trying to support
[29:11] need more than 1 year of
[29:14] funding. We also are aiming to
[29:16] reduce the application burden
[29:17] for high-performing programs
[29:18] that are requesting renewal
[29:21] funding. What we mean by
[29:22] renewal funding are the
[29:23] applications we receive each
[29:25] year, for existing programs
[29:28] that are asking for the same
[29:29] amount of funding. We do
[29:30] receive a significant number of
[29:33] those applications each year.
[29:34] So the second recommendation
[29:34] that we
[29:35] re seeking your
[29:36] feedback on this evening would
[29:40] be to allow a streamlined
[29:41] renewal for high-performing
[29:42] programs that are seeking
[29:43] funding to maintain that
[29:45] program. We would recommend
[29:46] that we allow those
[29:49] high-performing programs up to
[29:51] 2 years of renewals. We could
[29:53] include a modest cost of
[29:54] service adjustment, subject to
[29:57] available funding in the city
[29:59] budget, and after 2 renewal
[30:00] years, those programs would
[30:01] need to resubmit a full
[30:02] application and part
[30:03] participate in the review
[30:06] process again. Importantly,
[30:07] this doesn
[30:07] t mean that
[30:08] organizations are never
[30:10] reviewed, you would always
[30:11] begin with a full application
[30:13] that is reviewed by the
[30:14] community panel, recommended
[30:17] for funding, and then we would
[30:19] use the site visits and the
[30:21] quarterly reports to help us
[30:22] identify high performing
[30:24] programs that are meeting their
[30:26] performance metrics and are
[30:27] achieving their program
[30:28] outcomes. We would begin that
[30:30] process in the year ahead,
[30:33] which would allow us to then
[30:33] identify high-performing
[30:34] programs that could seek a
[30:38] renewal. For next year. If we
[30:40] adopt this approach, we can
[30:42] focus our annual competitive
[30:44] review process on other
[30:47] applications, such as
[30:48] applications from new
[30:51] organizations, proposals for
[30:52] new programs or organizations
[30:54] that are undergoing significant
[30:58] changes, and we can provide
[30:59] more consistent support to
[31:01] organizations that are seeking
[31:02] to continue a program with
[31:03] largely the same amount of
[31:04] funding who have already shown
[31:06] that They are achieving the
[31:09] outcomes of that program. If
[31:11] these changes are adopted,
[31:12] staff will finalize program
[31:14] changes based on mayor and
[31:16] council feedback this evening.
[31:16] We
[31:18] ll communicate to current
[31:19] and prospective grantees
[31:21] through the application
[31:22] materials are technical
[31:23] sessions, and our next
[31:25] community partner cafe, that
[31:27] would take place in SEPTEMBER
[31:30] next month, when we launched
[31:31] the fa28 Community Services and
[31:33] enrichment application, we
[31:34] would incorporate those 5
[31:36] impact focus areas, again, that
[31:37] application will launch next
[31:39] month, and when our community
[31:41] Panel convened it would review
[31:43] the applications with impact
[31:44] focus areas incorporated into
[31:46] the evaluation criteria. This
[31:48] would allow us over the coming
[31:50] year to then measure those
[31:51] high-performing programs that
[31:52] are achieving their outcomes,
[31:55] and we could offer streamlined
[31:58] renewals next AUGUST before the
[31:58] launch of the fy29 application
[32:02] cycle. So we look forward to
[32:03] hearing your feedback this
[32:04] evening again on those 3
[32:07] questions, should the city
[32:09] adopt 5 proposed impact focus
[32:11] areas to guide future grant
[32:13] funding decisions, household
[32:15] stability, economic mobility,
[32:16] youth and family success,
[32:18] service access and navigation,
[32:18] and community enrichment and
[32:21] belonging. And should we
[32:23] prioritize 1 or 2 of these
[32:24] impact focus areas in the next
[32:26] grant cycle, fy 28, and lastly,
[32:28] should the city provide a
[32:30] streamlined renewal pathway for
[32:31] high-performing programs. We
[32:32] look forward to hearing your
[32:36] feedback. I want to say thank
[32:38] you very much for thinking so
[32:39] critically about the programs
[32:41] and the grants so that we can
[32:43] continue to evolve as a city. I
[32:45] know that this has been a
[32:46] progression and things have
[32:48] changed to make things more
[32:50] effective, uh, and, uh,
[32:51] targeted over time. I also want
[32:53] to just thank the nonprofit
[32:55] community members who are doing
[32:57] such incredible work that
[32:57] s
[32:58] really an extension where
[32:58] government can
[33:00] t do, but we can
[33:03] support and lift up, uh, and to
[33:03] really respect and recognize
[33:05] them as third party. In Mary
[33:06] s
[33:08] intermediaries that are doing
[33:10] really good social safety
[33:11] network programming on behalf
[33:12] of the city, uh, and I know I
[33:13] speak on behalf of my
[33:14] colleagues that were just so
[33:17] thankful that we have
[33:19] incredible nonprofits. Uh, I
[33:20] also acknowledge that times
[33:22] have been really hard with a
[33:23] lot of changes that are
[33:25] happening in the federal space
[33:27] that are impacting, uh, grants
[33:28] and payment schedules, etc. And
[33:28] there
[33:29] s been more uncertainty,
[33:31] so thank you for having the
[33:32] nonprofit roundtable so we can
[33:33] wrap our arms around what is
[33:35] happening, what is the
[33:36] Realistic, uh, life cycle of
[33:38] some of the products that
[33:39] nonprofits are working on and
[33:40] what are their challenges and
[33:41] what are the opportunities that
[33:42] we can be better and more
[33:44] responsive to our community, so
[33:44] i
[33:45] ll just say thank you on
[33:45] behalf of all of us. I
[33:46] m going
[33:49] to, I have several questions,
[33:50] uh, but more about just fine
[33:51] tuning and figuring out, um,
[33:53] how do we adjust some of these
[33:55] items, but I really just say I
[33:57] agree with, with the concept
[33:58] and love what you have done
[33:59] here. I wanna, I
[34:00] m gonna call
[34:01] on as if we were starting from
[34:03] the right of me on the dais, uh,
[34:03] and then we
[34:06] ll move. To the
[34:08] left of where we normally sit.
[34:08] So with that, I
[34:09] m gonna turn it
[34:12] over to Councilor Van Grack.
[34:14] Thank you, Mayor, and, uh,
[34:15] thank you guys for putting this
[34:17] together. I know a lot of us
[34:19] have talked, um, significantly
[34:21] over the past number of years
[34:23] about trying to make this
[34:25] entire process more smooth,
[34:28] more smooth for the nonprofits
[34:29] to understand more streamlined
[34:30] and better understanding and
[34:33] focused. So this is exactly
[34:33] what I think we want to see,
[34:35] and I think with the nonprofits
[34:38] in the community want to see,
[34:39] um, with regard to the feedback
[34:42] first, and I think your number
[34:45] 3 is really critical. A
[34:46] streamlined renewal path path
[34:47] path pathway path for
[34:49] high-performing programs, we
[34:49] ve
[34:52] heard it continually from the
[34:53] nonprofits that sometimes going
[34:55] through the process, I mean,
[34:55] I
[34:56] ve heard from nonprofits
[34:58] where the person who was in
[35:00] charge of it missed the packet,
[35:02] you know, and all of a sudden,
[35:02] they
[35:03] re behind the eight ball
[35:06] and things get off track. So
[35:07] providing a streamlined renewal
[35:09] pathway, I think is critical
[35:10] and exactly the right way of
[35:12] thinking about this. Um, with
[35:14] regard to kind of your 1st 2
[35:16] questions, um, I, I, I wanna
[35:18] understand a little bit about
[35:18] essentially what we
[35:19] re doing
[35:21] here, because I know we
[35:23] ve got
[35:23] some significant nonprofit
[35:25] partners that we work with, are
[35:28] we just talking about those who
[35:30] are regularly have been under
[35:31] $10,000 because we
[35:32] ve got some
[35:33] significant partners I know who
[35:38] have been a Above $10,000 who
[35:40] are significant partners that
[35:42] do amazing things. I know
[35:42] there
[35:42] s community reach. I know
[35:43] there
[35:44] s a Rockville Volunteer
[35:45] Fire Department. I know there
[35:45] s,
[35:47] you know, sister cities, are we
[35:49] talking about some of these
[35:50] large partners as well, or we
[35:52] solely talking about some of
[35:54] these larger grants, or a
[35:58] combination of both. Yeah,
[36:00] thank you for that question. Uh,
[36:03] just to make sure that I
[36:05] understand you referenced the
[36:07] grants above 10,000 and below
[36:10] 10,000, um, are you asking if
[36:13] the program design changes for
[36:15] the impact focus areas would
[36:17] affect the $10,000 above grants,
[36:21] or are you asking if the
[36:22] streamlined one-time payment
[36:24] upfront and one-time project
[36:25] report at the end would only
[36:26] affect those grants under
[36:28] 10,000. I, I
[36:28] m actually asking
[36:29] about both. I
[36:30] m trying to
[36:31] understand this process that
[36:31] we
[36:33] re trying to get at, and are
[36:34] we reforming a certain section
[36:36] of them? Are we looking to
[36:38] reform all of them? How is some
[36:40] of the decisions and the focus
[36:40] that we
[36:41] re doing here, going to
[36:43] apply to all of our nonprofit
[36:46] partners, both the ones before
[36:47] under 10,000 and the ones above
[36:49] or below and above. Thank you
[36:51] for that. I understand the
[36:53] questions. So the changes that
[36:56] are underway are to the
[36:57] community empowerment Matching
[36:58] grant program that was
[37:00] previously a very small
[37:02] neighborhood focused, uh,
[37:03] program that some nonprofits
[37:05] participated in, awards were
[37:08] typically 500 to $1000 we are
[37:11] shifting that to a community
[37:12] empowerment mini grant program
[37:15] that will accept proposals up
[37:17] to $10,000 now, and that aligns
[37:18] with the city
[37:21] s other fiscal Go,
[37:22] uh, thresholds where we can do
[37:24] gx payments, for instance,
[37:27] through procurement up to
[37:28] $10,000 so we
[37:29] ve aligned those
[37:31] smaller, lower complexity
[37:34] grants and have taken the
[37:35] opportunity there to streamline
[37:36] so that we can do a single
[37:38] upfront payment up to 10,000
[37:40] and just require that one end
[37:41] of project report, but you
[37:41] re
[37:43] correct, that would be limited
[37:45] to proposals that are $10,000
[37:47] or less for the new community
[37:49] apartment mini grants. Exactly
[37:50] my understanding, I just want
[37:52] to make sure because I know
[37:53] there have been some questions
[37:53] that I
[37:54] ve gotten from folks
[37:56] with regard to uh the
[37:57] understanding. Um, here
[37:57] s
[37:59] another question I had. You,
[38:00] you might have recall, we
[38:00] ve
[38:02] had a number of conversations
[38:06] from the dais with regard to
[38:07] grants and proposals with
[38:09] regard to projects that either
[38:10] the city might be able to
[38:11] provide it, or there
[38:12] s other
[38:13] avenues. I know one of the
[38:14] examples I know MADAM Mayors
[38:15] talked about it, I
[38:16] ve talked
[38:17] about it, deals with some of
[38:20] the um Legal Services, um, that
[38:23] I know that there are other
[38:24] avenues out there with regard
[38:27] to, um, with regard to In
[38:28] absence of our funding, has
[38:32] there been some Discussion with
[38:34] regard to guiding our future
[38:36] grant funding decisions with
[38:38] regard to what other
[38:39] opportunities are out there
[38:40] when choosing which grants
[38:40] we
[38:42] re gonna go forward with the
[38:47] limited funds that we have. So,
[38:49] thank you for the question
[38:52] about have there been
[38:53] discussion of guiding those
[38:54] applications when there are
[38:56] other services that are being
[38:57] provided, that
[38:58] s not something
[39:01] that was discussed per se in
[39:04] these program design changes,
[39:05] although the evaluation
[39:07] criteria do currently ask if
[39:09] there is a community need or a
[39:10] gap that
[39:12] s being met, and I
[39:12] would anticipate that
[39:14] continuing to be a part of the
[39:16] evaluation, but to your
[39:16] question, that specific
[39:21] conversa has not taken place.
[39:24] Um, and so I guess, uh, one
[39:25] more question, um, I know that
[39:27] a number of the nonprofits that
[39:33] have come to us from the city.
[39:34] Are uh squarely within helpful
[39:36] issues, but might not be
[39:39] squarely within one of these
[39:41] impact focus areas. Are we
[39:43] treating these impact focus
[39:47] areas broadly to ensure that
[39:47] we
[39:47] re covering what
[39:47] s needed,
[39:49] and I guess my worry here is,
[39:50] first of all, I love the idea
[39:52] of the impact focus areas. I
[39:53] think that
[39:53] s absolutely our
[39:54] right to make sure they
[39:55] re in
[40:01] some focus areas. My one worry.
[40:02] I accidentally hit my mute
[40:05] button. Um, my one worry is
[40:05] that we
[40:06] re necessarily, I don
[40:06] t
[40:09] want these to be prohibitive
[40:11] with regard to a program, and
[40:12] just one example that I
[40:13] m, I
[40:14] would be thinking of, and I
[40:14] know that they
[40:16] ve been a little
[40:17] bit outside of $10,000 but I
[40:17] m
[40:19] using it as an example because
[40:20] it works. The Rockville,
[40:22] Science Center. Rockville
[40:24] Science Center, I would believe
[40:24] there
[40:25] s youth and family
[40:26] success, and there
[40:27] s community
[40:29] enrichment and belonging, but
[40:29] one could have it as a separate.
[40:33] Whole category for what they
[40:34] provide to the city, and I just
[40:37] wanna make sure that These
[40:39] ideas of these impact focus
[40:39] areas aren
[40:40] t necessarily going
[40:45] to be a hurdle if one does an
[40:45] organization doesn
[40:46] t fall 100%
[40:49] behind 1 or 2 of the proposed
[40:59] funding areas. Nick, you want
[41:01] me to take that one? Uh, sure,
[41:03] go ahead, Jeff. Ok, thanks. Um,
[41:04] COUNCILMAN Van Grak, I wanna
[41:05] want to move back. I
[41:06] m gonna
[41:07] break a rule that I always say
[41:09] to the team about going back to
[41:09] a question that
[41:10] s been asked
[41:12] and answered, but, um, you and
[41:13] a couple other members of
[41:15] council had talked to me about
[41:17] services that people have
[41:18] requested for grants such as
[41:20] legal services that can be
[41:22] provided through other means.
[41:23] We have talked about that a
[41:24] little bit, um, we are going to
[41:26] make sure that when people are
[41:27] applying for grants this year,
[41:28] we
[41:29] re gonna make sure that one,
[41:29] they
[41:30] re trying to hit these 5
[41:32] impact areas, but secondarily,
[41:34] If we know there
[41:35] s another
[41:36] entity that provides funding
[41:37] like for legal services, we
[41:37] re
[41:39] gonna try to steer them there,
[41:39] because what that
[41:40] s gonna do is
[41:40] it
[41:41] s gonna provide funding for
[41:42] some other programs, so I heard
[41:43] that loud and clear from
[41:44] counsel, and I
[41:45] ll talk to the
[41:46] team about that. Um, the other
[41:47] thing I
[41:48] ll mention is just to
[41:49] answer your more recent
[41:51] question is, yes, the goal is
[41:54] to really try to make sure that
[41:56] grantees are looking very
[41:57] diligently at those 5, impact
[41:59] areas that are on your screen,
[42:01] but yes, there are going to be
[42:02] broad enough that people People
[42:04] can make an argument to us, and
[42:04] I can
[42:05] t stress that enough, of
[42:07] where they think their grant
[42:08] falls into one of those
[42:10] categories. And then the
[42:11] evaluation committee is really
[42:12] gonna kind of slice it and dice
[42:14] it and say, yeah, we agree, or
[42:15] it falls a little bit short,
[42:15] and if it
[42:17] s a little short,
[42:17] it
[42:18] ll be ranked lower relative
[42:19] to the ones that we know are
[42:20] right on point, so hopefully
[42:23] that answers the question. No,
[42:23] that
[42:25] s perfect. Uh, you guys
[42:26] have both answered the
[42:27] questions. So that, that helps
[42:29] me with my feedback. So, with
[42:30] those answered, number 1,
[42:33] should the city adopt the 5
[42:36] proposed impact focus areas?
[42:38] Yes, focusing answers, and
[42:39] there are nonprofit partners to
[42:41] those areas are good, however,
[42:43] that leads me to the number 2,
[42:44] where I actually am not in
[42:48] favor of that. Um, I think that
[42:50] we should be allowing folks and
[42:51] allowing nonprofits to be
[42:54] within those, the impact. Focus
[42:54] areas because we don
[42:55] t know
[42:55] what
[42:56] s out there and what
[42:57] programs are going to be
[42:58] proposed, and I would hate to
[42:59] say that we
[43:00] re going to
[43:02] prioritize 2 out of the 5, only
[43:05] to find out that because we
[43:05] didn
[43:06] t prioritize one of those
[43:07] other areas we
[43:08] ve lost out on
[43:09] supporting a fantastic program.
[43:11] So I think you guys are
[43:12] absolutely right to be focusing
[43:14] and ensuring that our nonprofit
[43:16] partners are focusing in areas,
[43:17] but I don
[43:18] t want to necessarily
[43:19] just limit it to 1 or 2 per
[43:21] year, I want to give them the
[43:23] opportunity to say, hey, We
[43:23] re
[43:24] gonna support our community in
[43:26] one of these 5 ways. But
[43:28] fantastic, I love your, the
[43:30] thinking, I love the direction,
[43:32] and I love the focused energy,
[43:33] so fantastic job. I really
[43:34] appreciate what you guys have
[43:37] done. Thank you, council member.
[43:51] We now move on to coman Shaw.
[43:54] Can you hear me? We can hear
[43:58] you. Thank you. I also wanna
[43:59] Echo my There
[44:03] s a Echo. Mhm.
[44:06] Can you, uh, come back to me. I
[44:06] think there
[44:08] s some tech issues.
[44:08] No problem. I
[44:09] ll come back to
[44:09] you after Council member
[44:13] Jackson. All right, thank you,
[44:14] uh, mayor. So first of all, let
[44:16] me say, excellent presentation
[44:18] and excellent work, um, I
[44:18] ve
[44:20] been, uh, uh, talking about
[44:22] this with city manager and with
[44:23] my colleagues for a long time
[44:26] and, you know, the subject of
[44:28] nonprofits and, um, working
[44:29] with the city is something
[44:29] that
[44:30] s near and dear to, I
[44:32] think, all of our hearts, and
[44:32] we
[44:35] ve really done, or you guys,
[44:37] sorry, not we, you have really
[44:40] done a stellar job and doing
[44:40] outreach to nonprofits, um,
[44:43] holding. Um, uh, seminars and
[44:46] the, the, the, uh, the recent,
[44:47] uh, meeting that was held at
[44:50] the second sem uh um Oh, summit,
[44:52] or whatever it was, uh, I
[44:52] ll
[44:53] call it a summit, but the
[44:55] second one was, it was great,
[44:57] and then the nonprofit cafes
[44:58] con continue in that mold, and
[45:00] I know that I
[45:01] ve been talking
[45:03] about, um, having a priorities,
[45:06] uh, for, uh, the grants that we
[45:08] give, sorry, uh, the cat and
[45:09] dog are fighting, so ignore
[45:12] that background noise, um, but
[45:12] I
[45:13] ve been talking about, uh,
[45:15] having these, uh, uh,
[45:17] priorities, and I think this is
[45:18] right in the right direction,
[45:21] um. I, I, so number one, I say
[45:24] yes. Um, number 2, I
[45:24] m a little
[45:26] bit with uh council member Van
[45:29] Grack on, on the answer there,
[45:31] um, not really for any other
[45:34] reason other than, I think it
[45:34] s
[45:38] probably too soon, uh, to, um,
[45:39] uh, drill down into these areas
[45:41] and, and which one should be
[45:42] funded. I think we need some
[45:46] more data, um, uh, to look at,
[45:48] uh, that, and then prioritize
[45:49] the areas. So I think when you
[45:51] another year or 2 years to
[45:52] actually, um, you know, uh,
[45:54] prioritize, uh, the, the focus
[45:59] areas. Um. I also had a little
[46:01] question and, and, uh, this is
[46:03] for, for, uh, um, neck or, uh,
[46:05] maybe, uh, the city manager,
[46:10] but Are we taking care that we
[46:12] in an attempt to put parameters
[46:15] in place and make it, um, uh,
[46:19] easier for, uh, grantees to, uh,
[46:20] understand what we
[46:20] re asking
[46:22] for, um, are we in fact making
[46:25] it harder and will there be
[46:28] assistance for, for them, uh,
[46:32] to navigate this new process. I
[46:32] appreciate that question very
[46:35] much, thank you, yes, we
[46:37] definitely want to make sure
[46:39] that not only do we provide
[46:41] that assistance through the
[46:42] application instructions and
[46:44] our technical sessions, which
[46:47] will provide over a number of
[46:48] different options and days as
[46:50] well as recorded so they can be
[46:52] accessed after the technical
[46:54] sessions, but we want to
[46:55] provide that support,
[46:57] especially to anyone who might
[46:59] be, um, returning and
[47:00] encountering a different
[47:02] process, uh, also The materials
[47:04] that Sarah has prepared, I
[47:07] think do a really good job of
[47:09] showing how the application as
[47:11] it is currently designed where
[47:13] the nonprofits are identifying
[47:15] a service area really connects
[47:17] to the impact focus areas, so
[47:17] we
[47:18] re trained to do our due
[47:20] diligence to show that this
[47:20] isn
[47:23] t, um, a completely new, um,
[47:24] requirement, it
[47:25] s asking them
[47:26] to make that connection between
[47:28] their current program, their
[47:29] current services, and the
[47:30] outcomes that they
[47:30] re proposing.
[47:33] So that we can see how it maps
[47:34] to one of these 5 impact areas,
[47:38] so we hope that it will be both
[47:39] a very straightforward change
[47:39] and we
[47:41] re planning for how to
[47:43] support the organizations as
[47:43] they navigate the new
[47:45] application. All right. No,
[47:46] that, that
[47:47] s perfect. Thank you.
[47:49] So, the, the question on number
[47:53] 3, you know, what, and I, I,
[47:54] maybe you addressed it in your
[47:55] presentation. I just wanna, uh,
[47:57] go back to it for a second.
[47:57] It
[47:59] s what is a high performing
[48:01] grant or program. Yeah, thank
[48:04] you for that question. So we
[48:06] currently have our quarterly
[48:08] reports that are nonprofits
[48:10] provide, um, they show us in
[48:11] those quarterly reports, if
[48:12] they
[48:14] re on track to reach their
[48:15] program metrics, these are
[48:18] metrics that they propose in
[48:19] their application when the city
[48:20] awards them a grant if it
[48:21] s,
[48:23] for instance, less than the
[48:24] amount requested, they have an
[48:26] opportunity to adjust those
[48:27] metrics, but they tell us what
[48:29] they will be tracking this year,
[48:30] and each quarter they tell us
[48:32] if there are On track to reach
[48:35] those metrics. We also have
[48:36] some qualitative questions
[48:37] where they can provide a
[48:39] narrative of, you know, what
[48:39] s
[48:40] going well, what are some
[48:41] challenges they
[48:41] ve encountered,
[48:43] and if they need any assistance
[48:44] or support, so we do that
[48:46] through each of the quarterly
[48:47] reports, and during the site
[48:49] visits, we actually have a
[48:51] virtual or in-person site visit
[48:53] where we dive deeper into those
[48:55] program outcomes and if they
[48:55] re
[48:56] on track or if they
[48:57] re not, and
[48:57] what they
[48:58] re doing to adjust so
[48:59] that they can meet the goals of
[49:01] their grant and they can Serve
[49:02] Rockville residents in the way
[49:05] that they said they would, um,
[49:05] so we
[49:06] ve currently already been
[49:07] doing that. What we haven
[49:08] t
[49:10] done in the past is, um,
[49:14] assigned, um, a, a way of
[49:16] telling the organizations if
[49:16] they
[49:18] re meeting those metrics
[49:19] and then letting them know
[49:20] overall how they
[49:20] ve done. It
[49:20] s
[49:22] been more of a, yes, thank you
[49:23] for your support, it meets the
[49:25] goals. Thank you for the site
[49:26] visit. It meets the
[49:28] requirements, uh, what we would
[49:29] do in the year ahead is create
[49:33] a threshold. So that we could
[49:34] tell nonprofit organizations,
[49:36] for example, if you
[49:36] re reaching
[49:39] 80% or more of your metrics and
[49:39] you
[49:41] re in compliance with the
[49:42] grant requirements, then you
[49:44] can qualify as a high
[49:46] performing program, so we look
[49:47] to use the current process
[49:47] that
[49:49] s in place just to
[49:51] establish more of a feedback to
[49:51] the nonprofit throughout the
[49:53] year so they know where they
[49:53] re
[49:55] at, and then have that actually
[49:57] be a concrete way to provide a
[49:59] streamlined renewal. No, well,
[50:01] thank you, and honestly, i
[50:03] think that this uh high
[50:05] performing programs that this,
[50:06] that streamline renewable power
[50:08] pathway is a really great thing.
[50:10] And so I thank you for actually
[50:11] thinking, uh, about how to
[50:13] improve the, the, the, the
[50:14] grant process, which I think
[50:14] it
[50:15] s gonna do a lot of good for
[50:18] the city as well as for, uh,
[50:19] obviously the nonprofits who
[50:19] don
[50:20] t have to take their time
[50:22] and, and energy, uh, applying
[50:24] year after year after year when
[50:24] they
[50:25] re actually doing
[50:26] everything right. Um, and I
[50:27] thank you too. I, I
[50:27] ve heard
[50:30] from various nonprofit Profits,
[50:31] um, who you
[50:33] ve already kind of
[50:34] streamlined it or taking away
[50:36] some of the requirements, uh,
[50:39] for reporting that were just
[50:41] extraneous and, um, I think
[50:41] that that
[50:43] s really helpful to
[50:44] just boil it down to the meat
[50:45] of what they
[50:46] re trying to do,
[50:49] rather than, uh, mentoring, um,
[50:50] statistics or other things that
[50:52] really were kind of on the
[50:53] periphery, so I know that
[50:53] there
[50:54] s some progress already,
[50:56] so thank you for that, but
[50:57] thank you for these, uh, as
[50:59] well. And then just to a couple
[51:03] of other questions. Um The
[51:04] community in empowering
[51:06] matching program, um, under
[51:08] $10,000. And I, I
[51:08] m not, and I
[51:09] know I talked to the city
[51:11] manager about it, so maybe, uh,
[51:12] Jeff, this is a question for
[51:14] you. Does that take the place
[51:18] of what is in your, uh, office,
[51:22] uh, for,, small, uh, grants, um,
[51:24] uh, for like the neighborhood
[51:27] associations or moon bounces or
[51:28] little things like that, uh,
[51:30] would those go through the
[51:32] community empowerment, uh, the
[51:33] mini grant program that we
[51:33] re
[51:35] setting up now, uh, or is that
[51:37] still in your shop, uh, for, uh
[51:39] Uh, those little, little grants.
[51:40] Yeah, there
[51:42] s still 2 different,
[51:43] um, grants, uh, mini grants
[51:43] that we
[51:44] re talking about are
[51:46] the ones less than $10,000 but
[51:47] the small neighborhood grants
[51:47] that we
[51:49] re talking about, less
[51:50] than $1000. Yeah, those are
[51:52] still be a separate process,
[51:53] very streamlined, quick
[51:54] ,
[51:56] they get the money upfront,
[51:57] simple reporting process. Thank
[51:58] you. Oh, perfect. Thank you so
[52:01] much for, for just clarifying
[52:03] that. Um, I think this, this,
[52:05] uh, under $10,000 is great. And
[52:06] so one final, final question,
[52:07] and I know I
[52:08] ve talked about it
[52:10] with the, the city manager and
[52:12] just, but I, I wanna just bring
[52:13] it up again because I just
[52:16] noticed it, uh, as I was
[52:17] looking through the
[52:19] presentation, so the f. Scott
[52:23] Fisred Literary Festival. So
[52:27] what is it that we, um, uh, uh
[52:31] Have an mou or, uh, that, that,
[52:33] that we do with the uh f. Scott
[52:34] Fitzgerald, and I
[52:35] m not picking
[52:36] on them. It could be a number
[52:38] of things, but I just wanna, uh,
[52:40] uh Just bear with me for a
[52:42] second and, and, and let me
[52:44] know what is it that we
[52:46] actually contract for the f
[52:47] Scott Fitzgerald Literary
[52:49] Festival for. Nick, I think you
[52:51] have a complete answer. Go
[52:54] ahead. Yeah, sure. Uh, so, yeah,
[52:56] constable Jackson that f. Scott
[52:58] Literary Festival or some of
[53:00] these other similar grants that
[53:04] provide like a one-time event,
[53:07] um, we currently have a grant
[53:09] agreement, and it contracts
[53:10] with them according to what
[53:11] they put in their application.
[53:13] So for instance, with the f.
[53:15] Scott Literary Festival, they
[53:16] proposed that they
[53:16] ll host
[53:17] their, um, weekend festival
[53:18] that they
[53:20] ll Provide a certain
[53:22] number of workshops and
[53:24] scholarships as part of their
[53:26] short story contest, and that
[53:29] is still all encompassed in one
[53:31] single grant agreement, uh, the
[53:34] major chef in pulling them into
[53:36] the $10,000 and less grant
[53:38] threshold is that we are not
[53:40] going to ask them to do a
[53:41] quarterly report, they will not
[53:43] have to do an annual site visit
[53:44] once the grant agreement is
[53:46] signed, notarized, and returned
[53:47] once we
[53:47] ve got it on our end
[53:50] completed. We can provide them
[53:52] with their full grant upfront,
[53:54] and then very similar to those
[53:55] former neighborhood projects
[53:56] that you were talking about,
[53:57] the Community empowerment
[53:58] matching grants, they
[53:58] ll just
[54:00] be 1 single end of project
[54:02] report. So just when
[54:04] streamlines it for f. Scott
[54:05] Fitzgerald as an example. No,
[54:05] and that
[54:05] s, that
[54:06] s perfect, and
[54:07] what I was really getting at,
[54:09] and thank you for the, the
[54:10] answer and for clarifying what
[54:12] it is and what it isn
[54:12] t is I
[54:14] just wanted to make sure that
[54:17] as Scott Fitzgerald, um any
[54:17] others that really are like, uh,
[54:20] events or Sponsorships should
[54:22] not go through the grant
[54:25] process, but are separate. So,
[54:25] um, and I think I
[54:26] ve talked to
[54:27] the city manager about that as
[54:28] well, and that that we
[54:28] re
[54:31] setting up a separate, uh, Uh,
[54:32] programming process, and I
[54:32] won
[54:33] t go into that, but, but no,
[54:35] thank you so much for all your
[54:36] work and I, uh, that
[54:37] s it for
[54:39] my questions and, uh, uh, I
[54:41] turned back over to you, mayor.
[54:42] Thank you very much, I
[54:43] appreciate all the comments and
[54:45] questions of my colleagues. I
[54:46] wanted to turn back to
[54:51] COUNCILMAN Bra Shaw. Thank you.
[54:58] Ah Uh, I wanted to echo my
[54:59] There
[55:00] s still a very strong
[55:01] echo. Could you just circle
[55:06] back again? Sounds ok now. The
[55:08] last part of what you said. If
[55:09] you wanna proceed echo is
[55:12] really loud in the rooms, so I
[55:12] can
[55:14] t. Ok. All right, sounds
[55:17] good. Well, then that would be,
[55:20] uh, my turn then I will go, um,
[55:22] so I just wanted to, uh, thank
[55:24] staff again, uh, where I began
[55:25] and, and echo the comments of
[55:27] my colleagues. I have a few
[55:30] questions and I did get some
[55:31] feedback from grantees, and I
[55:32] want to honor the feedback that
[55:32] I
[55:33] ve heard as well. I
[55:33] ll start
[55:35] with some of my questions
[55:38] though. Um, one is, uh Just
[55:39] trying to unders on your first
[55:41] question, adopt the 5 proposed
[55:42] impact focus areas. I think
[55:44] this is spot on to try to help
[55:45] people understand what the
[55:46] strategic areas that we as a
[55:48] mayor and council and the city
[55:50] is trying to advance, you know,
[55:50] there
[55:50] s, there
[55:51] s a lot to be
[55:52] done in the world and we
[55:52] re
[55:53] trying to make sure that we
[55:53] re
[55:54] providing support where it
[55:54] s
[55:56] needed most, but also that
[55:56] we
[55:57] re advancing the strategic
[56:00] priorities of, of, of our city,
[56:02] uh, so the, I do have a few
[56:03] questions about these
[56:04] categories if that
[56:05] s ok. Um,
[56:05] one is I
[56:06] m trying to figure out,
[56:09] uh. As we look at housing
[56:10] stability, economic mobility,
[56:12] youth and family success,
[56:13] service access and navigation,
[56:15] and community enrichment and
[56:16] belonging. I appreciate, uh,
[56:17] Mashika, what you said is that
[56:18] sometimes people can fit into
[56:19] one or the other. I do feel
[56:21] like we did nicely call out
[56:23] housing, but there are 2 other
[56:24] important areas that have been
[56:26] a strategic part of our grant
[56:28] program, which are, uh, the
[56:30] food services because there has
[56:31] been food insecurity, uh,
[56:32] through covid, there was food
[56:33] insecurity as a result of some
[56:34] of the federal changes. So we,
[56:36] this is a, that is a big area.
[56:36] Uh, we
[56:39] ve also been very strong
[56:40] on supporting health, uh,
[56:42] services. So, what they, what,
[56:44] are you thinking that would
[56:46] fall under household stability,
[56:48] uh, should that be called
[56:50] community stability or, uh,
[56:51] would that go under the commu
[56:52] the Service and Access
[56:53] navigation. I think that
[56:53] s
[56:55] interesting that we, you know,
[56:56] include 1 sort of social
[56:58] determinant of health name and
[56:59] not the others too, which I
[56:59] understand you
[57:00] re trying to
[57:01] streamline, but I just want to
[57:02] be sensitive to that cause
[57:04] sometimes people, if they don
[57:04] t
[57:05] see themselves and where they
[57:06] squarely fit, it
[57:07] s a challenge.
[57:09] Appreciate that question. Thank
[57:10] you. I have just flipped over
[57:12] to one of the previous slides
[57:15] to, uh, I think hopefully
[57:17] illustrate where food services
[57:19] or health services might fit
[57:20] and where those would, um, it
[57:22] would be possible to evaluate
[57:23] them in more than one way. So
[57:25] to your point about household
[57:27] stability, um, we have, for
[57:29] instance, one of the preferred
[57:31] strategies could be basic needs
[57:33] access. So looking at food or
[57:36] health care or even utilities,
[57:37] um, under household stability.
[57:39] And some of our grantees that
[57:41] provide food, For for instance,
[57:43] where they look at, um, and
[57:44] measure the number of
[57:44] households that they
[57:46] re serving,
[57:46] they
[57:47] re looking at particular
[57:49] zip codes, um, targeting
[57:51] disparity zones, so they
[57:52] re
[57:53] looking at really more of the
[57:55] basic needs access as an
[57:58] example, um, whereas some of
[58:00] our healthcare grantees have
[58:03] really focused more on case
[58:04] management and helping, uh, the
[58:06] clients as they might get
[58:06] access to one kind of
[58:10] healthcare. To connect with a
[58:12] case manager who helps them to
[58:15] navigate, uh, kind of a more
[58:16] holistic approach to healthcare,
[58:18] um, both of those, I think, can
[58:20] have, um, you know, a lot of
[58:23] connection to our human
[58:24] services needs assessments to
[58:26] the, um, as you mentioned, the
[58:28] rising need that we see in the
[58:32] community, and, um, our hope is
[58:34] that the valuation criteria and
[58:35] the application would allow
[58:36] organizations to really tell us
[58:37] how are they measuring. Success.
[58:40] So are they measuring it
[58:41] because they
[58:41] re looking at
[58:43] household stability and they
[58:43] re
[58:45] really measuring each
[58:46] individual customer, how that
[58:48] household is, you know,
[58:49] benefiting from getting access
[58:51] to food, or maybe they
[58:51] re
[58:53] measuring more, um, the effect
[58:55] of like a healthcare fair and
[58:55] how they
[58:57] re helping connect
[58:59] clients to more services, um,
[58:59] as they
[58:59] re continuing to engage
[59:01] with the same client, and I, I
[59:03] hope that maybe that example
[59:04] would illustrate where we, we
[59:06] see them still fitting into
[59:07] this framework. Yeah, because I
[59:10] did hear Shorthand from
[59:11] household stability to housing
[59:13] stability, and I could see that
[59:14] happening, but if you look
[59:15] under here, cause I, as I was
[59:17] reading it, I thought
[59:18] healthcare was included in that,
[59:19] but then I heard housing
[59:20] stability. So I
[59:20] m wondering,
[59:22] should the name be Community
[59:23] Stability, or are we really,
[59:25] you know, calling out one area
[59:26] of the social determinants of
[59:26] health that you
[59:27] re trying to
[59:28] support for stability, so that,
[59:30] that did give me pause because
[59:33] I did hear that shorthand used
[59:35] and maybe it is broader so that
[59:37] that food and healthcare does
[59:37] stand out a bit more, that
[59:37] s
[59:39] just One of the, one of the
[59:41] areas that I wanted to flag
[59:43] because I did, I did hear um
[59:45] that focus, um, narrowed down a
[59:47] little bit and, and some of the
[59:50] commentary. Um, the other thing
[59:53] I wanted to ask about is, um,
[59:55] are these areas used for
[59:57] criteria, so for example, I
[59:59] heard from a grantee, uh, that
[1:00:02] said, well, if I, do I have to
[1:00:04] hit x number of these focus
[1:00:05] areas to be able to make my
[1:00:06] application stronger. I don
[1:00:06] t
[1:00:06] think that
[1:00:07] s what
[1:00:07] s intended,
[1:00:07] you
[1:00:08] re allowing people to pick
[1:00:11] one. They MAY have an overlap,
[1:00:11] but that
[1:00:13] s not like going to,
[1:00:14] um, be a challenge for them,
[1:00:16] for example, if the Science
[1:00:18] Center, uh, is really focusing
[1:00:19] on community enrichment and
[1:00:19] belonging. They
[1:00:21] re not going to
[1:00:23] be dinged necessarily because
[1:00:23] they
[1:00:25] re not doing, um, economic
[1:00:26] mobility, for example, which
[1:00:27] they, it might, but I just, I
[1:00:29] just wanted to to get that
[1:00:30] clarity for nonprofits who MAY
[1:00:33] be watching. Yes, that
[1:00:33] s
[1:00:35] correct, in the evaluation
[1:00:39] criteria, it would not Give
[1:00:40] more points for achieving more
[1:00:42] impact focus areas, it would
[1:00:43] measure how well it aligns with
[1:00:46] one or more. Ok, thank you. And
[1:00:47] what is your thought on the
[1:00:49] naming, um, for household
[1:00:51] stability, I, I think what you
[1:00:54] mean is the whole family, food
[1:00:56] secure, housing secure, should
[1:00:58] that be community stability? Or
[1:01:00] do you really mean to say
[1:01:01] housing stability, cause I
[1:01:01] think there
[1:01:03] s, there
[1:01:03] s housing
[1:01:04] stability in community
[1:01:05] stability, but I just wanna
[1:01:06] make sure that we
[1:01:07] re not
[1:01:08] inadvertently turning people
[1:01:08] away from that category cause
[1:01:09] they don
[1:01:09] t see themselves
[1:01:16] fitting in that. I mean, it
[1:01:16] s
[1:01:17] really up to the body if you
[1:01:19] guys wanna change it, that
[1:01:19] s
[1:01:20] the recommendation that we came
[1:01:21] up with. We think it
[1:01:22] s holistic
[1:01:22] enough from here, but it
[1:01:22] s up
[1:01:24] to the body if you guys want us
[1:01:26] to change the, the focus areas,
[1:01:26] that
[1:01:26] s, that
[1:01:27] s certainly your
[1:01:29] pride of, thank you. Thank you.
[1:01:31] Yeah, I, I did hear it narrowed
[1:01:32] down, so I just, I, I think
[1:01:34] either we have to be very clear
[1:01:35] in our description or make it
[1:01:38] more about comm cause I do want
[1:01:39] the the food support that we
[1:01:40] ve
[1:01:42] been providing is huge, uh, as
[1:01:43] well as the healthcare in
[1:01:44] addition to the housing, so, um,
[1:01:47] I Do like economic mobility, I
[1:01:49] like, I like the categories. I
[1:01:49] just, that
[1:01:50] s the only one that
[1:01:53] was, um Maybe I didn
[1:01:53] t see as
[1:01:55] inclusive as some of the, the
[1:01:56] stability and safety areas we
[1:02:00] previously funded. Um, in terms
[1:02:01] of prioritizing one of the
[1:02:03] impact focus areas. Uh, so, One
[1:02:05] of the things that has come to
[1:02:06] that I was thinking about is in
[1:02:10] the past, we did separate out
[1:02:11] caregiver from non caregiver
[1:02:13] grants, I do think that we
[1:02:13] ve
[1:02:15] seen social service needs grow
[1:02:17] and we have a, uh, you know, we
[1:02:19] have increased funding to
[1:02:20] nonprofits to try to be
[1:02:22] responsive to the needs of our
[1:02:25] community and the caregiver
[1:02:26] without trying to, um, say we
[1:02:26] don
[1:02:27] t support arts and culture,
[1:02:28] you know, so I think we
[1:02:29] ve,
[1:02:29] we
[1:02:30] ve been balancing and say
[1:02:30] we
[1:02:31] re going to continue to
[1:02:32] support these important
[1:02:34] programmatic areas that are you
[1:02:35] know, are vital for our
[1:02:38] community, uh, and, and to
[1:02:40] thrive, we have sometimes
[1:02:42] expanded pots and the caregiver
[1:02:43] area because of social safety
[1:02:45] needs that we have seen have
[1:02:47] needed to be increased. So, um,
[1:02:47] that
[1:02:49] s the one that gives me
[1:02:51] pause because we, we have
[1:02:52] responded to issues that are
[1:02:54] happening in our society, and I
[1:02:54] wouldn
[1:02:55] t want to hurt one or
[1:02:58] the other, but at times we have
[1:02:59] said, my gosh, there
[1:02:59] s
[1:03:01] something going on here in the
[1:03:02] universe to help our community,
[1:03:06] you know. We, we have at times
[1:03:07] put some more funding in
[1:03:09] caregiver, so I, I, I do, I do
[1:03:11] like the way we had it
[1:03:12] separated in a way so that we
[1:03:14] had some pots, uh, to be able
[1:03:17] to work with, uh, without
[1:03:18] hurting the ongoing needs we
[1:03:20] need for programs in arts and
[1:03:22] culture. So I
[1:03:23] m not necessarily,
[1:03:24] uh, to the comments of my
[1:03:25] colleagues saying that we
[1:03:27] should, um, go in this
[1:03:28] direction because I wouldn
[1:03:29] t
[1:03:29] want those ongoing programs
[1:03:32] that we do need to support to
[1:03:32] get impacted, but we MAY want
[1:03:35] to say uh, as we increase
[1:03:35] funding, we
[1:03:37] re gonna put some
[1:03:39] additional caregiver, so I,
[1:03:39] that
[1:03:39] s, it
[1:03:40] s not saying that
[1:03:41] we
[1:03:41] re prioritizing, but we, I
[1:03:44] think we have a prerogative to
[1:03:45] say caregiver MAY need
[1:03:46] additional support at times
[1:03:46] given what
[1:03:47] s going on in
[1:03:50] society. Um, and I really
[1:03:51] appreciate the streamlined
[1:03:51] renewal pathway that you
[1:03:51] ve
[1:03:53] been talking about for the
[1:03:54] high-performing programs. Some
[1:03:56] of those high-performance
[1:03:57] programs are really, um,
[1:03:59] hitting core areas, uh, and,
[1:04:00] you know, as you said, it takes
[1:04:02] more than 1 year to see the
[1:04:04] results, uh, so I think that
[1:04:06] would really help, uh, with the
[1:04:07] burden of the application
[1:04:09] process, but still having the
[1:04:10] accountability and still having
[1:04:12] site staff go in and do the
[1:04:14] site visits to make sure that
[1:04:14] we
[1:04:17] re, um, having high outcome
[1:04:20] programs um. I had a couple
[1:04:22] other, uh, questions, so we
[1:04:24] have youth and Family Services.
[1:04:24] One thing I
[1:04:24] m, I
[1:04:26] m hoping that
[1:04:27] we can convey just because
[1:04:28] there is a special need and I
[1:04:28] know we
[1:04:29] re gonna have a work
[1:04:31] session on this in the future
[1:04:34] is, um, services for at-risk
[1:04:35] youth, we haven
[1:04:36] t seen as many
[1:04:37] grants coming forward to
[1:04:40] support risk who are at, uh,
[1:04:41] who are underrepresented or at
[1:04:42] risk or experiencing
[1:04:44] disparities in an area, so I
[1:04:44] m
[1:04:45] hopeful that as you look at the
[1:04:46] program descriptions, we can
[1:04:48] specifically call that out. So
[1:04:49] that we can make sure that
[1:04:51] people are seeing this is an
[1:04:52] area that we are trying to, to
[1:04:56] elevate. As they already a plan
[1:04:57] to do that, or is that
[1:04:58] something you need direction
[1:05:02] from us on? I think, I think I
[1:05:03] hear what you
[1:05:03] re saying, and I
[1:05:05] think of all the categories,
[1:05:05] that
[1:05:05] s absolutely where we
[1:05:07] would put it, Nick, if you
[1:05:08] disagree, let me know, but
[1:05:10] Mayor, I think you, um,
[1:05:12] foreshadowed something, we
[1:05:12] re
[1:05:14] gonna start working on doing an
[1:05:14] assessment of at-risk youth
[1:05:16] programs in the region and just
[1:05:18] see where those gaps are. And
[1:05:19] once you identify those gaps,
[1:05:20] then, then in future grant
[1:05:21] cycles, that
[1:05:21] s absolutely an
[1:05:23] area that we could highlight
[1:05:24] more, but as of right now, I
[1:05:25] think where you
[1:05:25] ve identified
[1:05:27] it is where we went to. Thank
[1:05:29] you, Nick, do you have anything
[1:05:31] to add? No, thank you. Thank
[1:05:31] you, ma
[1:05:33] am. Thank you. So I
[1:05:35] believe looking at the brief
[1:05:37] book that arts and culture
[1:05:38] would go under community
[1:05:38] enrichment belonging, is that
[1:05:43] right? Yeah, I think
[1:05:45] importantly, this allows the
[1:05:49] organization to make that, um,
[1:05:50] connection to where they see
[1:05:52] the impact of their program, we
[1:05:55] do anticipate many of our arts
[1:05:57] and cultural programs would see
[1:05:58] themselves in community
[1:05:59] enrichment and belonging, um,
[1:06:01] so I, I will note, uh, you know,
[1:06:03] for example, on this chart, um,
[1:06:05] we think that, um, given what
[1:06:08] we have seen many of those
[1:06:09] programs measure and where
[1:06:09] we
[1:06:10] ve seen needs assessments
[1:06:13] identified If I need, you know,
[1:06:15] having arts and cultural
[1:06:16] programs that increase
[1:06:18] belonging that reduce social
[1:06:20] isolation, um, that improve
[1:06:22] access for Rockville residents,
[1:06:24] those are likely to align with
[1:06:24] community richment and
[1:06:26] belonging, but I do want to
[1:06:28] note that some of our arts and
[1:06:30] culture grantees, um, for
[1:06:32] instance, they are really
[1:06:34] thoughtful about tying resource
[1:06:36] fairs into their, um, events or
[1:06:38] programs, so they MAY also
[1:06:39] highlight that they have an
[1:06:40] impact on service access and
[1:06:42] navigation Crucially, it
[1:06:43] ll be
[1:06:44] up to them to say whether or
[1:06:44] not that
[1:06:45] s something they
[1:06:46] re
[1:06:47] gonna measure as an outcome for
[1:06:50] their program, but yes, we do
[1:06:51] anticipate that arts and
[1:06:53] culture programs should see
[1:06:54] themselves at minimum in the
[1:06:55] community enrichment and
[1:06:57] belonging category. Thank you
[1:06:59] for that background. Uh, you
[1:07:00] reminded me another, another
[1:07:01] question about the categories
[1:07:03] that we have. So as an
[1:07:04] applicant, and I
[1:07:05] ve known this,
[1:07:05] I know that I
[1:07:06] ve worked on a
[1:07:07] couple of federal programs,
[1:07:08] people are trying to say, where
[1:07:10] am I most likely to have
[1:07:11] success. You
[1:07:12] re not dividing
[1:07:13] the funding by these categories,
[1:07:14] correct? So they
[1:07:15] re like, if
[1:07:15] there
[1:07:16] s a lot of applications
[1:07:17] in this area, I
[1:07:17] m gonna try to
[1:07:19] make my, my application in the
[1:07:20] other area, that
[1:07:20] s not the
[1:07:22] focus, is that correct? You are
[1:07:23] correct, that is not the focus.
[1:07:25] Ok, so I want to make sure that
[1:07:25] nonprofit, because I have
[1:07:27] actually heard that question.
[1:07:29] And, um, and as people were
[1:07:31] looking at our, uh, brief
[1:07:33] material. So thank you for
[1:07:34] clarifying that. In terms of
[1:07:35] arts and culture, I, I would
[1:07:38] say arts, history and culture,
[1:07:40] uh, I, I do, um, have some
[1:07:42] feedback that in terms of the
[1:07:45] application process on that one.
[1:07:47] So some of our arts and culture
[1:07:48] events, arts, history and
[1:07:49] cultural events. I
[1:07:50] m thinking
[1:07:51] about, for instance, the
[1:07:53] restscoes, um, I
[1:07:53] m thinking
[1:07:55] about, uh, Rockville Sister
[1:07:55] City. Part of the goal of some
[1:07:58] of the Those programs is to be
[1:08:00] a draw for our Rockville
[1:08:02] residents, but also they bring
[1:08:05] in people, uh, from the outside
[1:08:07] into Rockville and supports our
[1:08:10] tourism, our, um, you know, Our
[1:08:11] community, uh, for instance,
[1:08:14] the Taiwan bubble tea Festival
[1:08:16] brings in 12,000 people, uh,
[1:08:17] into our town center, which is,
[1:08:22] is, which is fantastic, um, but
[1:08:24] the application process itself
[1:08:25] really focuses on how many,
[1:08:26] because because it
[1:08:28] s focused in
[1:08:30] the caregiver lens on how many
[1:08:31] Rockville residents do you
[1:08:33] serve versus how many are you
[1:08:33] bringing into our community to
[1:08:35] support other arts and culture
[1:08:37] and tourism needs. So I was
[1:08:38] just curious about if you
[1:08:38] re
[1:08:40] thinking also about The
[1:08:41] application and how you collect
[1:08:43] data because I do want to know,
[1:08:45] and I think my colleagues would
[1:08:46] be interested in how many
[1:08:48] Rockville residents you are
[1:08:51] serving for sure, but also that
[1:08:52] bigger number is important for
[1:08:53] some of those events that are
[1:08:55] designed to be draws, the f.
[1:08:56] Scott Fitzgerald Literary
[1:08:56] Festival is another one of
[1:09:00] those. Yeah, I really
[1:09:01] appreciate this question. It
[1:09:02] s
[1:09:04] one of the things that Sarah
[1:09:05] and I have done a lot of
[1:09:07] thinking about in terms of how
[1:09:09] to really measure the community
[1:09:11] enrichment impact of those
[1:09:14] programs, uh, so our hope is in
[1:09:16] some of the application
[1:09:17] materials we
[1:09:18] ve provided some
[1:09:20] examples of logic models that
[1:09:22] show the impact of these kinds
[1:09:24] of festivals, these kinds of
[1:09:27] events, and, um, our hope would
[1:09:27] be that organizations that are
[1:09:30] seeking funding. Where they MAY
[1:09:32] already be telling us in the
[1:09:33] application that they
[1:09:33] re
[1:09:35] reaching this many people at
[1:09:37] the festival that they would
[1:09:38] also identify an outcome, for
[1:09:41] instance, as one of their major
[1:09:43] impacts might be tourism or it
[1:09:45] might be connecting with
[1:09:47] businesses in the vicinity of
[1:09:49] the event, um, or it might be
[1:09:51] welcoming organizations to come
[1:09:52] to that festival, and those are
[1:09:54] things importantly that can be
[1:09:55] in the application, and they
[1:09:57] can measure those, they can
[1:10:00] submit that as a, as Sign of
[1:10:03] program success that can be
[1:10:04] evaluated by the community
[1:10:06] panels. So, um, our hope is
[1:10:09] that there will be more
[1:10:11] opportunities for them to
[1:10:13] identify what the impact is of
[1:10:14] those kind of programs and to
[1:10:15] include in the application. I
[1:10:17] saw Sarah is going to chime in,
[1:10:19] the only thing I wanted to say
[1:10:21] too is that our current
[1:10:23] application and our reporting,
[1:10:25] um, has a space for nonpro
[1:10:27] profits that receive grants to
[1:10:27] tell us how many people overall.
[1:10:31] Reaching as well so it is true
[1:10:33] that we, we ask them to tell us
[1:10:33] how many Rockville residents
[1:10:34] they
[1:10:35] re reaching, but it
[1:10:35] s
[1:10:36] another metric that they
[1:10:37] provide of how many people
[1:10:38] they
[1:10:39] re reaching overall. Sarah,
[1:10:43] please, yeah. Thank you, Nick.
[1:10:45] Yeah, I just wanted to
[1:10:46] reiterate an echo what Nick was
[1:10:48] saying, but I think throughout
[1:10:50] all of the work that Nick and I
[1:10:54] were like thinking about In
[1:10:57] this grant restructuring, um,
[1:10:57] something that we
[1:10:58] ve really
[1:11:00] pride ourselves in with working
[1:11:01] with all the nonprofits that
[1:11:03] are incoming, especially with
[1:11:05] the matrix piece is the
[1:11:07] importance of just like data
[1:11:09] telling stories, not just for
[1:11:11] the city of Rockville, but to
[1:11:14] in an effort to help these
[1:11:17] organizations, um, seek funding
[1:11:19] outside of the city as well, um,
[1:11:21] and how important it is for an
[1:11:24] organization to Have metrics
[1:11:26] for their organization, period,
[1:11:28] to have logic models for their
[1:11:30] programs and how that can
[1:11:36] really be a, um trajectory into
[1:11:38] a whole other opportunity of
[1:11:39] funding opportunities. So I
[1:11:43] just wanted to echo that piece.
[1:11:47] Thank you, and the total number
[1:11:48] of participants would be both
[1:11:49] in the application, or
[1:11:50] anticipated, both in the
[1:11:52] application and both in and and
[1:11:54] reporting, correct? That
[1:11:54] s
[1:11:56] correct. Excellent. Thank you
[1:11:58] for clarifying that. Um, I, the
[1:12:00] other thing I was looking at
[1:12:02] our current grants on about, I
[1:12:03] was looking at some of the
[1:12:05] services we were funding and
[1:12:06] disability service has been a
[1:12:08] part of that. Uh, I know they
[1:12:11] would be able to, um Pick the
[1:12:13] category, I just wanted to note
[1:12:14] that, um, as we
[1:12:16] re looking at
[1:12:18] at-risk youth and immigrant
[1:12:19] communities that somewhere on
[1:12:20] our page, they can see that
[1:12:20] we
[1:12:22] re continuing to support
[1:12:23] disability services as one of
[1:12:25] the, you know, sub areas of
[1:12:27] support. I know that Rockville
[1:12:28] has continued to grow to be
[1:12:30] seen as a place where people
[1:12:32] with differing abilities can
[1:12:33] grow and thrive here, and I, I
[1:12:34] just wanted to, didn
[1:12:34] t want to
[1:12:35] signal that we
[1:12:35] re backing away
[1:12:36] from that, we
[1:12:37] re actually
[1:12:38] leaning in and doing more, and
[1:12:39] I also want to thank you for
[1:12:41] raising the importance of
[1:12:42] helping people understand that
[1:12:44] we do have a Jedi strategic
[1:12:45] plan and we
[1:12:48] re asking people to
[1:12:49] help align services with that
[1:12:52] just to meet those needs. Um, I
[1:12:55] had a couple other comments,
[1:12:57] now shifting to the, uh Uh,
[1:12:59] from, from, from people I
[1:12:59] ve
[1:13:02] gotten feedback from the fire
[1:13:03] safety, the public safety work
[1:13:03] that we
[1:13:04] ve been doing with the
[1:13:06] fire department, do you see
[1:13:07] that that would fit in one of
[1:13:09] these categories, would that be
[1:13:10] er it, I just wanna make sure
[1:13:11] that we
[1:13:11] re not losing anybody
[1:13:13] in, in what we
[1:13:14] ve put together
[1:13:16] here. Yeah, thank you for that
[1:13:18] question. I want to answer
[1:13:21] about that question and also,
[1:13:22] um, echo is something that, um,
[1:13:24] was said earlier. So one is
[1:13:25] that even if we do adopt these
[1:13:29] 5 proposed impact Focus areas
[1:13:30] that evaluation criteria will
[1:13:33] continue to measure more than
[1:13:35] just alignment with these 5. So
[1:13:37] part of the hope with these
[1:13:39] impactfo focus areas is that it
[1:13:41] will help those applications to
[1:13:43] be most competitive, but it
[1:13:44] would not exclude any
[1:13:46] application that did not align
[1:13:48] as long as the application is
[1:13:50] eligible to be reviewed, there
[1:13:52] will be other criteria that we
[1:13:53] um have included in our
[1:13:55] evaluation, and we do believe
[1:13:58] that it will be possible for
[1:14:01] Other applications to, um, to
[1:14:04] qualify for funding and for the
[1:14:06] community panel to identify, um,
[1:14:07] grants that might not align
[1:14:08] with one of these 5. So we
[1:14:09] wanted to make sure there was
[1:14:10] still room in the evaluation
[1:14:12] for it to be flexible enough to
[1:14:15] go beyond these 5, specifically
[1:14:17] to the question of public
[1:14:20] safety, of fire safety, we
[1:14:21] definitely see service access
[1:14:24] as being one of the ways that
[1:14:25] they could identify, um, you
[1:14:26] know, and demonstrate a, a need
[1:14:29] there. Um, also, um, many of
[1:14:30] our public safety applicants, I
[1:14:33] think, do look at, um, family
[1:14:35] success and household stability,
[1:14:36] but we think service access
[1:14:37] would still encompass those
[1:14:40] most clearly. Ok. And how would
[1:14:41] the, how would the grant
[1:14:43] committee, these are one of the
[1:14:44] ones that I think the mayor and
[1:14:45] council have said we
[1:14:45] re trying
[1:14:49] to stay within this range, uh,
[1:14:50] so that we don
[1:14:50] t necessarily
[1:14:53] drop. Support to some, so I,
[1:14:55] there are some that are, you
[1:14:56] know, standard grants, and they
[1:14:57] there are, there are other ones
[1:15:00] that are sort of ongoing.
[1:15:01] Programmatic areas that we
[1:15:01] re
[1:15:02] trying to support as a city,
[1:15:04] for example, we give the fire
[1:15:06] department a donation for water.
[1:15:06] We
[1:15:07] re not going to backtrack on
[1:15:09] that, but the committee MAY not
[1:15:11] know that, so how, how is that
[1:15:12] being communicated to the
[1:15:19] review committee? I can answer
[1:15:24] that, yeah, so, um, we have, uh,
[1:15:26] in the years past, our grantees
[1:15:30] have asked for, um, either
[1:15:31] reimbursements of city services,
[1:15:32] or sometimes there
[1:15:33] s an intra
[1:15:35] fund transfer of a city service,
[1:15:37] um, these have been included in
[1:15:39] applications, we actually
[1:15:41] proposed earlier this year to
[1:15:42] cmo and finance and made sure
[1:15:45] that it would be ok for us to,
[1:15:46] uh, move forward in this way,
[1:15:49] um, we want to take those
[1:15:51] requests for city service
[1:15:52] funding and have actually a
[1:15:53] specific community panel that
[1:15:55] understands a little bit more,
[1:15:58] um, what those needs are, what
[1:16:00] those processes are to evaluate
[1:16:02] those, so we would actually
[1:16:03] pull those specific requests
[1:16:05] out of this evaluation
[1:16:06] framework and look at them more
[1:16:08] from sort of a, are they
[1:16:09] eligible or not criteria, so
[1:16:11] they would still have to apply
[1:16:12] through the application process
[1:16:13] and we would still have
[1:16:16] community, uh, a panel to
[1:16:16] review those applications, but
[1:16:19] to your point, um. Because they
[1:16:22] are a bit of outliers and we do
[1:16:23] need to have a different kind
[1:16:25] of criteria to evaluate them.
[1:16:25] Um, we
[1:16:26] ve specifically pulled
[1:16:28] them out and are planning to
[1:16:31] have a more tailored panel
[1:16:31] evaluate those requests.
[1:16:33] Excellent, thank you. So I know
[1:16:34] we do water and we
[1:16:35] ve also
[1:16:36] helped support, um, new safety
[1:16:37] trucks because it is a
[1:16:38] volunteer department. They
[1:16:39] ve
[1:16:40] been relying on donations and
[1:16:42] collaborations with the city on
[1:16:43] that, so I appreciate that
[1:16:43] you
[1:16:45] re looking at that somewhat
[1:16:48] differently. Um, ok, and then
[1:16:50] the other thing related to the,
[1:16:54] um The, I think the returning
[1:16:55] grants that you, the high
[1:16:57] impact grants would, would
[1:16:59] cover some of the feedback that
[1:16:59] I
[1:17:00] ve shared via the city
[1:17:02] manager on the application
[1:17:03] process, uh, because that would
[1:17:05] streamline it and it would help
[1:17:08] them on, on, um Being able to
[1:17:10] to move forward, but also
[1:17:11] making sure there
[1:17:11] s
[1:17:13] accountability on the reporting
[1:17:16] side, um, I was hearing that
[1:17:16] there
[1:17:18] s quarterly reports plus
[1:17:19] 6-month reports, and those are
[1:17:20] just some of the feedback we
[1:17:20] re
[1:17:22] getting, I know that I, I trust
[1:17:24] that the team is going to make
[1:17:25] sure that city dolls are being
[1:17:27] used wisely, but is there any
[1:17:28] other feedback like that or
[1:17:30] things that you might be
[1:17:31] streamlining, um, to, to
[1:17:32] address some of the feedback
[1:17:32] we
[1:17:37] ve received. Yeah, we do
[1:17:39] definitely cont plan to
[1:17:40] continue to listen to
[1:17:42] organizations as they give us
[1:17:43] suggestions and feedback on how
[1:17:45] we can streamline, importantly,
[1:17:45] we
[1:17:47] re also looking at the
[1:17:47] city
[1:17:49] s other processes we
[1:17:50] collaborate with finance and
[1:17:52] procurement on payments, so
[1:17:54] some of the processes are from
[1:17:55] outside of our department that
[1:17:58] we align with, um, in In
[1:17:59] particular with reporting, um,
[1:18:01] that one might be worth us
[1:18:02] following up with any
[1:18:03] organization that you
[1:18:03] ve heard
[1:18:04] that from, um, we would wanna
[1:18:08] just Clarify for them that the
[1:18:10] 6-month report is the quarter 2
[1:18:11] report, so there
[1:18:11] s, there
[1:18:13] s 4,
[1:18:15] just 4 quarterly reports that
[1:18:17] they participate in, um, but I
[1:18:18] hope that that answers the
[1:18:19] question. It does. Thank you.
[1:18:21] And then it notes that the, uh,
[1:18:24] another piece of feedback, the
[1:18:25] grant agreements require, um,
[1:18:28] that they submit the final
[1:18:29] quarter report on JUNE 30th,
[1:18:30] but they have to expand the
[1:18:31] grant through JUNE 30th, so
[1:18:33] they feel like the deadline is
[1:18:35] challenging since On the end of
[1:18:37] a quarter. And they don
[1:18:38] t have
[1:18:39] all the expenses and receipts
[1:18:40] talent yet. I
[1:18:40] m so, I
[1:18:40] m
[1:18:41] assuming that there
[1:18:41] s a way
[1:18:42] that you
[1:18:42] ve addressed this with
[1:18:44] other grantees, but just wanted
[1:18:51] to share that as well. Sorry,
[1:18:52] um, was there a question there
[1:18:53] that you, right, so if we
[1:18:53] re
[1:18:54] telling them they have to
[1:18:56] submit the final quarter report
[1:18:59] on JUNE 30th, which is the end
[1:19:00] of that cycle and they don
[1:19:00] t
[1:19:02] have receipts yet, is there a
[1:19:04] way that they can comply, uh,
[1:19:05] they feel like that that
[1:19:06] deadline can be challenging. I,
[1:19:06] I don
[1:19:07] t know if we
[1:19:07] re making
[1:19:09] any changes to that process as
[1:19:09] you
[1:19:11] re streamlining. Yeah,
[1:19:13] thank you for that question. Uh,
[1:19:15] so the end of your financial
[1:19:16] deadlines actually come to us
[1:19:18] from the this city, um, this
[1:19:20] year, for instance, the
[1:19:22] deadline to reimburse
[1:19:24] organizations is AUGUST 5th, um,
[1:19:26] the end of your reports were
[1:19:27] actually due JULY 7th. We, we
[1:19:29] make sure that we don
[1:19:29] t have
[1:19:31] the report due at the very end
[1:19:34] of the grant period, um, and
[1:19:36] then we ask organizations, I
[1:19:37] think this year it was probably
[1:19:39] early JUNE, Sarah might correct
[1:19:40] me, um, to give us a heads up
[1:19:43] if they need an extension. So
[1:19:44] several of our organizations
[1:19:45] did let us know in advance they
[1:19:47] would be submitting their
[1:19:49] materials JULY 15th, um, but we
[1:19:51] are a bit constrained by just
[1:19:51] the city
[1:19:52] s kind of
[1:19:54] reimbursement deadlines, um,
[1:19:55] but hopefully that, that
[1:19:56] organization that might have,
[1:19:58] um, thought that they had to
[1:19:59] have everything turned in by
[1:20:01] JUNE 30th. Hopefully they, they
[1:20:03] worked with us to, um, you know,
[1:20:06] have it in by, by JULY 15th.
[1:20:06] Excellent, and I think you
[1:20:07] re
[1:20:08] gonna be doing some education
[1:20:09] as you roll all of this out, uh,
[1:20:10] because some of these These
[1:20:14] groups are of Fairly large and
[1:20:15] long-standing organizations,
[1:20:17] but they still having some, um,
[1:20:18] you know, challenges with
[1:20:19] understanding how to, how to,
[1:20:20] they want to comply, make sure
[1:20:20] they
[1:20:22] re doing everything right.
[1:20:23] So so, uh, I appreciate that
[1:20:23] you
[1:20:25] re gonna be having, uh,
[1:20:26] sessions and webinars to help
[1:20:26] people understand what
[1:20:27] s this
[1:20:27] new approach and how we
[1:20:27] re
[1:20:29] going to make this work, uh,
[1:20:30] and I, I will also say I won
[1:20:30] t
[1:20:32] belabor this, but I, I have
[1:20:35] heard that the payment process
[1:20:36] change in the past few years,
[1:20:38] um, which I know did not come
[1:20:39] out of dhcd, but I
[1:20:39] ve, I
[1:20:39] ve
[1:20:41] been hearing that some feedback
[1:20:43] on that, especially given Some
[1:20:46] of the nonprofits who have not
[1:20:48] received timely timely funding
[1:20:49] related to food insecurity,
[1:20:51] health services, and housing,
[1:20:53] in particular have been
[1:20:55] challenging for them, uh, and I
[1:20:55] know you
[1:20:55] ve worked with
[1:20:56] organizations, so I
[1:20:56] ll just say
[1:20:57] if you are a nonprofit
[1:20:58] listening, please feel free to
[1:21:00] reach out to your, uh, you know,
[1:21:02] your program manager for help
[1:21:07] if needed. Ok. Thank you so
[1:21:10] much for this. I think we have,
[1:21:10] I
[1:21:11] ve answered these questions,
[1:21:13] but if, uh, once we
[1:21:13] re done
[1:21:15] going through the line, if you
[1:21:15] have any additional questions
[1:21:16] for me in terms of the feedback
[1:21:17] I provided, I
[1:21:18] d be open to it.
[1:21:18] I
[1:21:19] m going to now move to
[1:21:23] COUNCILMAN Valerie. He council
[1:21:29] member shop. I think she MAY
[1:21:31] need more time, uh. Are you
[1:21:34] ready, Councilor Shaw? Ok,
[1:21:37] perfect. Oh, thank you to it
[1:21:40] for doing that. Um, and also I
[1:21:42] just, uh, wanna echo my
[1:21:44] colleagues and, um, thank you
[1:21:47] for this presentation. Um, this
[1:21:49] is a very thoughtful, uh,
[1:21:50] redesign, and I appreciate all
[1:21:51] the work that has gone into
[1:21:57] this. Um, So I do have a few
[1:22:00] questions when, when you shared,
[1:22:02] uh, about the community panel
[1:22:04] that does the evaluation, um,
[1:22:06] and makes the selection. Can
[1:22:09] you share more about Uh, who is
[1:22:13] that? How many people are these
[1:22:14] real community fo folks like,
[1:22:15] can you share some more details
[1:22:19] on that? Yeah, thank you for
[1:22:22] this question. So yes, the
[1:22:23] community panel is, um, a
[1:22:25] really important part of the
[1:22:26] evaluation for both of these
[1:22:29] grant programs, the mini grant
[1:22:30] program and the Community
[1:22:32] Services and Enrichment Grant
[1:22:35] Program, we put out a call each
[1:22:38] year to, um, both city
[1:22:40] employees be commissions and
[1:22:42] boards and then to the
[1:22:45] community at large, um, asking
[1:22:46] for interested people to serve
[1:22:49] as panel reviewers. This past
[1:22:50] year, I believe, and I can
[1:22:52] follow up to make sure that
[1:22:54] this number is correct. I
[1:22:57] believe we had 28 panel members
[1:23:00] that reviewed, um, something
[1:23:01] like 51 applications, and as I
[1:23:03] mentioned, 48 of the
[1:23:04] applications were selected for
[1:23:06] funding, um, those community
[1:23:10] members. Um, they typically are
[1:23:12] a mix of city staff from across
[1:23:14] different departments, um,
[1:23:15] about half of the 28 from
[1:23:18] across, uh, departments, and
[1:23:19] then the rest are Rockville
[1:23:21] residents, some who serve on
[1:23:22] boards and commissions and some
[1:23:23] who are just serving as
[1:23:26] volunteers from the community,
[1:23:28] um, we do ask them to, um, make
[1:23:29] sure that we don
[1:23:30] t have any
[1:23:31] conflicts of interest. They
[1:23:31] re
[1:23:33] not, for instance, board
[1:23:34] members of a nonprofit that
[1:23:35] s
[1:23:36] asking for funding, uh, we
[1:23:39] provided training for them. And
[1:23:41] then they lead this process,
[1:23:43] they each do an individual
[1:23:45] review of every application
[1:23:47] they come together in panels to
[1:23:49] discuss those reviews and reach
[1:23:52] consensus, and then they make
[1:23:53] recommendations on which grants
[1:23:54] should be funded, and we make
[1:23:57] an effort to recruit people who
[1:23:58] have lived experience in some
[1:24:00] of these services and
[1:24:02] backgrounds as well as people
[1:24:03] with maybe professional
[1:24:05] expertise or um direct
[1:24:06] expertise in the services as
[1:24:09] well. Can you share a bit more
[1:24:13] on how you are insuring, um,
[1:24:14] that the residents that are
[1:24:16] making the decisions on, on
[1:24:18] these grants, um, have the
[1:24:20] lived experience. Yeah, we can
[1:24:22] share a copy of the interest
[1:24:25] form, it actually asks them to
[1:24:26] identify and why do they want
[1:24:29] to be a volunteer on the panel?
[1:24:30] Do they have lived experience
[1:24:32] in one or more of the areas, do
[1:24:35] they have a background, um,
[1:24:36] with professional expertise, um,
[1:24:38] so we can certainly share the
[1:24:39] interest form that ask those
[1:24:40] questions, and then it
[1:24:41] s really
[1:24:43] just a screening, we let people
[1:24:44] as they are interested, we want
[1:24:46] them to volunteer, we let them
[1:24:47] volunteer, but we just want to
[1:24:48] make sure that we
[1:24:48] re screening
[1:24:50] for, um, like I had those
[1:24:52] conflicts of interest to make
[1:24:54] sure that, um, the panel
[1:24:55] members are participating in
[1:24:59] that way. Um, I, I appreciate
[1:25:02] that process, um, I think.
[1:25:05] There are some barriers to
[1:25:07] engagement that, uh, MAY
[1:25:10] prevent some folks that have a
[1:25:11] lot of lived experience to even
[1:25:14] be able to know about this type
[1:25:16] of opportunity, especially if
[1:25:18] they are self-selecting, um,
[1:25:20] and, uh, so I think it
[1:25:21] s
[1:25:23] important to just think about.
[1:25:25] Equity in, in that sense, um,
[1:25:30] and. That would be one area
[1:25:32] where, um. It
[1:25:33] s, I would like
[1:25:35] to just learn a lot more. I
[1:25:35] won
[1:25:35] t, I won
[1:25:36] t take up the
[1:25:38] meeting to do that, um, but I,
[1:25:41] I think, uh, being able to just
[1:25:44] make sure that, uh, this
[1:25:45] opportunity is, is shared with
[1:25:49] a broad, um, diverse amount of
[1:25:51] people, um, and it
[1:25:52] s usually
[1:25:54] our, um, boards and commissions,
[1:25:55] the volunteers, they
[1:25:57] re very,
[1:25:59] very engaged and will usually,
[1:26:00] uh, be the first to respond,
[1:26:03] and, um, Just making sure that
[1:26:07] we can also, um. Uh, make sure
[1:26:09] that there is diversity among
[1:26:11] the lived experience that is
[1:26:13] shared or provide opportunity.
[1:26:20] Um, The third question I had,
[1:26:23] um, so I see youth and family
[1:26:25] success, um, and I also know
[1:26:30] that. Um, and I saw senior
[1:26:32] services, um, lower down, I
[1:26:32] m
[1:26:34] one of the continued areas that
[1:26:34] we
[1:26:37] re focusing on. And I
[1:26:38] m, I
[1:26:38] m
[1:26:40] just wondering if we could look
[1:26:43] at adding seniors to the youth
[1:26:46] and youth, seniors, and family
[1:26:47] success, and why I would say
[1:26:49] this is because I know that
[1:26:52] seniors are among, uh, one of
[1:26:53] the growing like homeless
[1:26:56] populations, uh, food
[1:26:58] insecurity, um, also, it
[1:26:59] s a
[1:27:01] growing renter population as
[1:27:03] well, um, that, uh, you know,
[1:27:03] there
[1:27:04] s a lot of growing needs
[1:27:07] among seniors. Um, and when we
[1:27:08] say family, I
[1:27:11] m not sure if Um,
[1:27:13] You know, that that would cover,
[1:27:15] but, uh, I would say since we
[1:27:17] are calling out youth for a lot
[1:27:19] of the same reasons, um, I
[1:27:22] would also just suggest also,
[1:27:23] um, also calling out seniors so
[1:27:28] youth, seniors, and family. Um.
[1:27:32] And And I know that, uh, that,
[1:27:34] you know, that is an area we
[1:27:35] have certainly continuing to
[1:27:39] work on, but, uh, just
[1:27:40] Projecting the needs of seniors,
[1:27:40] it
[1:27:41] s just, it
[1:27:42] s just a really
[1:27:45] growing, um, issue that I think
[1:27:46] that we should further invest
[1:27:47] in or at least call out and
[1:27:54] identify here. Uh, my fourth
[1:27:57] question, uh, is. Um, I, I know
[1:28:00] in the briefing book, we talked
[1:28:05] about, um. The Urban Institute.
[1:28:06] The framework that the Urban
[1:28:08] Institute uses. Can you share
[1:28:09] some more details on that in
[1:28:12] terms of mobility. And the
[1:28:15] approach using that? Yes, so
[1:28:18] this is the Urban Institute
[1:28:18] s
[1:28:18] Economic Mobility, or I
[1:28:20] m sorry,
[1:28:25] upward mobility framework. Is
[1:28:26] that what you
[1:28:27] re referring to?
[1:28:28] Sure, yeah, I can share a
[1:28:30] little bit more about that in
[1:28:31] the staff report too, there
[1:28:32] s,
[1:28:34] um, a little bit more
[1:28:36] information about the upward
[1:28:37] mobility framework, um, but
[1:28:39] this is, as you noted,
[1:28:41] something that was developed
[1:28:43] through research with the Urban
[1:28:45] Institute. It
[1:28:45] s an
[1:28:46] evidence-based foundation
[1:28:46] that
[1:28:48] s, um, identifying
[1:28:50] strategies that have been shown
[1:28:52] to support upward mobility and
[1:28:56] racial equality, um, The city
[1:28:59] has been participating in a few
[1:29:00] different regional efforts that
[1:29:04] are aiming to align us with the
[1:29:06] upward mobility framework,
[1:29:07] including, um, there
[1:29:08] s been, um,
[1:29:10] work through the, um, I
[1:29:11] m sorry,
[1:29:11] I
[1:29:12] m thinking in acronyms right
[1:29:13] now, and I usually try to spell
[1:29:16] those out, but cog and gear and
[1:29:17] maybe someone could jump in and
[1:29:21] provide them the more inclusive,
[1:29:22] longer definitions of those two,
[1:29:23] but the upward mobility
[1:29:27] framework. Is that, um,
[1:29:29] evidence-based, uh, framework
[1:29:30] that
[1:29:31] s trying to identify
[1:29:32] specific strategies and
[1:29:33] predictors that are showing
[1:29:38] upward mobility. Ok. Um, yeah,
[1:29:41] I would, I would, uh, maybe at
[1:29:43] a later point would just like
[1:29:44] to understand how that
[1:29:45] s being
[1:29:48] applied, um, to the decision
[1:29:49] making. Um, I understand
[1:29:51] generally what it is and the
[1:29:52] concept, but I would just like
[1:29:54] to learn how is it actually
[1:29:55] being implemented and applied.
[1:29:56] What are the results that
[1:29:56] you
[1:30:00] re getting? How is it, um.
[1:30:01] Influencing the decisions that
[1:30:02] you
[1:30:03] re making, um, just some
[1:30:04] more detail on the
[1:30:10] implementation. Um, and then.
[1:30:13] Uh, I, I, I noticed that, um,
[1:30:15] just like, uh, one of my
[1:30:16] colleagues had stated that I
[1:30:19] noticed that, uh, household
[1:30:20] stability was being used and
[1:30:22] then housing stability was
[1:30:23] being used. Um, and so I
[1:30:25] wondered a, a little bit about
[1:30:27] the terminology, and I, I saw
[1:30:30] that household. Um, I know that
[1:30:32] housing stability, the way that
[1:30:35] we have defined it, um, in
[1:30:37] previous work sessions was one
[1:30:39] way, and then I noticed housing,
[1:30:41] household stability was used
[1:30:45] here, which, um, which includes
[1:30:47] utilities and includes, um,
[1:30:49] food, um, some of the examples
[1:30:51] that were provided, and so I
[1:30:53] got the sense that household
[1:30:57] stability was, um Like
[1:30:59] financial stability for our,
[1:31:01] our households, um, and I do, I
[1:31:03] do think that community
[1:31:06] stability is a great term, uh,
[1:31:09] I would, um, seeing here that
[1:31:12] we use community enrichment and
[1:31:14] Community belonging, um, as
[1:31:16] well, so I, I just wonder if
[1:31:19] there would be. I, I think
[1:31:21] household stability is a very
[1:31:23] clear word in terms of
[1:31:24] household finances. Um, I would
[1:31:26] just wonder if there would be
[1:31:27] some confusion between
[1:31:29] community stability and
[1:31:29] community enrichment and
[1:31:30] belonging, and I think, you
[1:31:35] know, from Community members
[1:31:35] oftentimes seeing community
[1:31:37] belonging, connecting to their
[1:31:39] housing stability, um, like if
[1:31:39] you can
[1:31:40] t afford to live here,
[1:31:41] if you
[1:31:42] re being priced out, um,
[1:31:45] in a lot of ways, um, it
[1:31:45] s,
[1:31:45] it
[1:31:46] s making folks feel like
[1:31:46] they don
[1:31:47] t belong and being
[1:31:49] pushed out here in a, in a
[1:31:51] broader sense. So I know there
[1:31:53] is some confusion around that,
[1:31:55] um, but, um, I would, I would
[1:31:57] like to, you know, hear more
[1:32:00] about that, the terminology
[1:32:01] around household stability, but
[1:32:03] I did notice it was used
[1:32:03] interchangeably with housing
[1:32:10] stability. Um, You MAY wanna,
[1:32:13] uh, well, could you give more
[1:32:13] details on housing stability or.
[1:32:16] Why you decided to originally
[1:32:19] use that term. Yeah, Nick, Nick,
[1:32:20] maybe you could put up the
[1:32:22] chart that kind of shows the
[1:32:22] modifiers underneath it, and I
[1:32:23] think that
[1:32:23] ll be the best way
[1:32:24] to walk through it if you don
[1:32:24] t
[1:32:29] mind me suggesting that. Yeah,
[1:32:30] uh, definitely. Um, so thank
[1:32:32] you for this question,
[1:32:35] COUNCILMAN Bashaw. Uh, you are
[1:32:36] correct that housing stability
[1:32:38] and household stability. We we
[1:32:40] are trying to differentiate the
[1:32:44] two here, um, for us housing
[1:32:47] stability is one of the
[1:32:48] strategies that could support
[1:32:50] household stability, um, as we
[1:32:53] look at this chart though, um,
[1:32:55] not just housing policies or
[1:32:57] housing services, so not just
[1:32:58] Pre-eviction or foreclosure
[1:33:00] support or rapid rehousing, but
[1:33:02] also financial assistance, for
[1:33:04] example, our basic needs access,
[1:33:07] so, um, when we look for
[1:33:09] example at what the city is
[1:33:11] doing around housing programs
[1:33:13] and housing services, we have
[1:33:15] some goals around housing
[1:33:17] stability that are very
[1:33:19] specific to, um, affordable
[1:33:21] housing, housing access,
[1:33:22] housing development, um, and
[1:33:24] then when we would think about
[1:33:25] the impact focus area and we
[1:33:28] think about how Household
[1:33:30] stability, um, I believe when
[1:33:32] we, um, selected this term, we
[1:33:34] were trained to look at what
[1:33:36] our nonprofit organizations are
[1:33:38] frequently already measuring,
[1:33:40] and what are they connecting to
[1:33:41] other regional efforts to
[1:33:44] measure, and so they often
[1:33:45] measure these financial
[1:33:46] assistance or basic needs
[1:33:48] assistance, they often measure
[1:33:50] it in households, and then have
[1:33:52] some of their own performance
[1:33:53] measures around household
[1:33:55] stability, so our hope with
[1:33:56] this was to align it with What
[1:33:58] some of our current providers
[1:34:00] and nonprofit partners are kind
[1:34:01] of already measuring and
[1:34:03] reporting on across the region,
[1:34:03] I
[1:34:06] m hoping that that would be
[1:34:07] more recognizable to them, um,
[1:34:09] and then, as you know, housing
[1:34:11] stability itself is kind of a
[1:34:13] more specific, um, strategy
[1:34:15] that is, um, encompassed in
[1:34:17] this. I hope that answers that
[1:34:20] question. Yes, that, that is
[1:34:22] very helpful. So the household
[1:34:25] stability is more of like an
[1:34:27] industry term used within the
[1:34:30] nonprofit sector. Yeah, and I
[1:34:31] wonder if Sarah could comment
[1:34:34] on this at all. Um, she works a
[1:34:36] lot with our organizations on
[1:34:37] identifying those metrics and
[1:34:39] as she noted, we
[1:34:40] re trying to,
[1:34:42] um, help ensure that what we
[1:34:43] measure in our grants at the
[1:34:45] city wherever possible, it
[1:34:45] s
[1:34:47] connecting to things across the
[1:34:49] region, um, so for instance,
[1:34:51] with food, I know that like the
[1:34:53] Montgomery County Office of
[1:34:55] Food Resilience and the
[1:34:56] Montgomery County Food Systems,
[1:34:57] um, that
[1:34:58] s kind of a coalition
[1:35:00] of food providers. Um, they
[1:35:00] re
[1:35:02] measuring a lot in terms of
[1:35:04] household served, household
[1:35:05] stability, household access.
[1:35:07] Sarah, did you want to speak to
[1:35:13] that any further? Um, no, not
[1:35:14] really. I think like you
[1:35:16] covered it, but, um, yeah, I
[1:35:19] think Household stability is
[1:35:25] Like. Just a word like we use
[1:35:25] that I think encompasses a lot
[1:35:27] of These things we
[1:35:28] ve talked
[1:35:33] about, but, uh I think there is
[1:35:34] flexibility to maybe be a
[1:35:35] little bit more encompassing. I
[1:35:35] don
[1:35:37] t know. Whereas we
[1:35:37] re
[1:35:39] hearing, perhaps making sure we,
[1:35:41] we definitely define these in
[1:35:43] our application and help
[1:35:45] materials, um, I think that has
[1:35:46] actually really helpful in this
[1:35:51] new design to think about. Um,
[1:35:52] Our partners and the
[1:35:53] terminology that they
[1:35:54] re using
[1:35:55] and we
[1:35:56] re reflecting that in
[1:35:59] our process. I think that helps
[1:36:01] to streamline it, um, so I, I
[1:36:02] m,
[1:36:02] I
[1:36:04] m really happy that you, uh.
[1:36:06] Are taking some of the terms
[1:36:08] that the our partners are using,
[1:36:09] um, and it
[1:36:13] s reflected here. Um,
[1:36:15] the The last point that I would
[1:36:16] say is just going back to
[1:36:22] evaluation. Um. It would be
[1:36:26] helpful. Um, for us to get just
[1:36:28] some of the broader data, like,
[1:36:29] for example, economic stability
[1:36:33] or Household stability, and I
[1:36:35] know pre-eviction services was
[1:36:37] one of the items, but also for
[1:36:39] us to think about this in terms
[1:36:42] of, um, just the general data
[1:36:43] in in Brockville, like, for
[1:36:47] example, I know that evictions
[1:36:48] have increased for Rockville,
[1:36:50] or, um, and to get some of the
[1:36:52] background informa just like
[1:36:54] the general data for that er
[1:36:56] for that particular topic area,
[1:36:58] i think is helpful for us to
[1:37:02] make, um. Decisions around, uh,
[1:37:04] the nonpro profits that were
[1:37:06] giving grants to, and, um, just
[1:37:07] to evaluate the work and the
[1:37:09] services in general. And I
[1:37:09] m
[1:37:10] not saying nonprofits should.
[1:37:13] Be able to fix all of our
[1:37:15] problems because, um, that,
[1:37:15] that won
[1:37:16] t happen, but just to
[1:37:18] have some of that broader
[1:37:20] context, um, uh, just for us to
[1:37:24] make decisions. But this is
[1:37:28] fantastic, and thank you. Thank
[1:37:31] you. Uh, Councilor Burke, I, I,
[1:37:32] uh, just wanted to flag, I know
[1:37:34] MR. Mihali asked us to speak to
[1:37:36] these 3 areas. I assume that
[1:37:38] you are. Based on your feedback,
[1:37:41] good with 1, but you want
[1:37:44] people to look at the titles,
[1:37:45] um, thank, thank you, MADAM
[1:37:46] Mayor, and if it
[1:37:47] s ok, I would,
[1:37:49] I would like to also hear from
[1:37:50] my colleagues because I know
[1:37:51] that they MAY have some
[1:37:53] questions and I can be a a bit
[1:37:54] more informed if it
[1:37:54] s ok to
[1:37:58] circle back. Sure, yes, I think
[1:37:58] he
[1:38:00] s also looking for answers,
[1:38:02] yes or no to 2 or 3, just, uh,
[1:38:06] when we circle back. Thank you.
[1:38:14] Ok, COUNCILMAN Valerie. Um Uh,
[1:38:17] a massive thank you to, um, MS.
[1:38:20] Shushka MISS Maisel, um I know
[1:38:23] as a, somebody working in the
[1:38:24] nonprofit sector and has only
[1:38:26] ever worked in the nonprofit
[1:38:28] sector, um, exactly how
[1:38:31] challenging it is. Um, and also
[1:38:33] as liaison to the Human
[1:38:37] Services Advisory. Commission.
[1:38:39] I hear firsthand from so many
[1:38:42] of our, uh, community, uh,
[1:38:43] service providers. I hear about
[1:38:44] their challenges and their
[1:38:46] struggles, and I really
[1:38:47] appreciate all the work that
[1:38:50] the two of you, um do on a
[1:38:52] daily basis, not only, um, on
[1:38:52] what you
[1:38:53] re looking at, what
[1:38:53] What we
[1:38:55] re looking at here, but,
[1:39:00] um As a whole, I think that um
[1:39:01] our nonprofits and, uh,
[1:39:02] yourselves are some of our
[1:39:05] unsung, uh, heroes. So I wanna
[1:39:07] say thank you sincerely, um
[1:39:10] Yeah, I have a whole lot. To,
[1:39:14] to ask, to say, to comments, I
[1:39:16] will hopefully get to these 3,
[1:39:17] but if not, I
[1:39:18] m sure MADAM
[1:39:19] Mayor will do like another,
[1:39:21] like, hey, if you haven
[1:39:21] t
[1:39:22] answered the 3, you know, go
[1:39:27] around the horn. Um, I wanna
[1:39:30] first note that I think that
[1:39:31] this is a significant enough
[1:39:33] topic that I don
[1:39:33] t want to
[1:39:37] preclude Mm Forward progress,
[1:39:39] but I think that it does
[1:39:41] deserve a second work session.
[1:39:41] We don
[1:39:43] t have all of our
[1:39:46] colleagues here. And one of our
[1:39:49] colleagues, um, joined a little
[1:39:50] bit into the discussion. I
[1:39:52] think that, um, whether we have
[1:39:56] it as part of our, uh,
[1:39:57] strategic planning session, um,
[1:39:58] as your city manager, I think
[1:39:59] that this is significant enough.
[1:40:03] That we should consider, uh, uh,
[1:40:07] a second work session. Um, I do
[1:40:10] wanna just to, uh, help the
[1:40:10] member Shaw
[1:40:11] s point, yes,
[1:40:14] household is a term that the
[1:40:16] nonprofit sector uses an
[1:40:17] all-encompassing term when
[1:40:17] you
[1:40:19] re looking at, um,
[1:40:22] different levels of, of service,
[1:40:22] um, you haven
[1:40:23] t community needs,
[1:40:24] but you have household needs as
[1:40:25] well. So it
[1:40:28] s a very, uh,
[1:40:29] easily identifiable by the
[1:40:31] nonprofit or ngo,
[1:40:33] non-governmental organization.
[1:40:36] Immunity. Well, on that point,
[1:40:40] I, I throw out a, an idea. And
[1:40:42] this also goes to something
[1:40:45] that, um, that actually, uh,
[1:40:47] you said MISS Shushka when you
[1:40:49] very kindly answered the
[1:40:51] question again, um, maybe we
[1:40:53] call it community resiliency.
[1:40:55] Because making sure that people
[1:40:57] have, you know, safe and stable
[1:41:00] housing. Access to health
[1:41:02] services, access to food, these
[1:41:06] are things that are kind of
[1:41:08] essential to resiliency, um,
[1:41:10] and resiliency is, is also part
[1:41:11] of stability, so I
[1:41:11] m just gonna
[1:41:13] throw that out there as a As an
[1:41:17] idea. Um, you can, you can run
[1:41:18] with it, or you can ignore me.
[1:41:19] Either way, I
[1:41:19] m all, I
[1:41:20] m all
[1:41:23] good, but I, I do like the idea
[1:41:24] of resiliency and making sure
[1:41:26] that our, all of our
[1:41:29] communities can. Mhm. And not
[1:41:30] only survive but can thrive. As
[1:41:33] well. Um. I
[1:41:34] m gonna, I
[1:41:35] m gonna
[1:41:37] take it a step back and not
[1:41:40] only for, for all of us. Not
[1:41:42] here, but for our folks
[1:41:44] watching from home either now
[1:41:46] or later, um, can you share a
[1:41:49] little bit how is
[1:41:49] prioritization determined as of
[1:41:53] right now? So, you know, when
[1:41:57] we go into this time period of
[1:41:58] people applying, how do, how,
[1:42:00] you know, how do we do
[1:42:01] prioritization? How does the,
[1:42:06] um Community panel review and
[1:42:08] selection committee. How, how
[1:42:10] do they define, you know, um,
[1:42:12] the priorities of, of this,
[1:42:15] this program right now. Yeah,
[1:42:18] thank you for that question. Uh,
[1:42:20] the primary driver of us
[1:42:22] proposing this program design
[1:42:24] change is because we do not
[1:42:27] currently have a way of
[1:42:30] evaluating prioritization among,
[1:42:32] um, applications, we do have
[1:42:34] standard evaluation criteria,
[1:42:37] um, and as we noted, we are
[1:42:38] receiving far more requests
[1:42:39] than we
[1:42:42] re able to fund, and it
[1:42:43] has been a challenge for our
[1:42:46] community panels to use the
[1:42:48] Current evaluation criteria to
[1:42:50] prioritize, so we are hoping
[1:42:52] that by adopting impact focus
[1:42:54] areas and incorporating those
[1:42:56] into the evaluation criteria of
[1:42:57] will provide a tool for our
[1:43:00] community panel to be able to,
[1:43:02] to look more at applications
[1:43:03] that align with, um, outcome
[1:43:06] goals. Yeah. No, that, thank
[1:43:08] you. I think that was very
[1:43:09] helpful and I think that
[1:43:10] hopefully that
[1:43:11] s helpful to my
[1:43:14] colleagues, um, as well. I, I
[1:43:17] wanna make sure that You know,
[1:43:20] obviously, we need focus. We
[1:43:21] need focus, and we need focus
[1:43:23] areas, right, when we
[1:43:23] re
[1:43:27] identifying the, the best
[1:43:28] criteria to evaluate
[1:43:30] applications and, uh, program
[1:43:32] effectiveness, but I also think
[1:43:34] that, um, there is a, a part of
[1:43:38] it. That should also be
[1:43:41] reflective of the mayor and
[1:43:42] council priorities. So that,
[1:43:46] you know, um You have kind of
[1:43:49] set in criteria. But let
[1:43:49] s say,
[1:43:51] you know, um, actually, this is
[1:43:54] a great example of it. This
[1:43:56] mayor and council. Really
[1:44:01] wanted to Step in, provide,
[1:44:03] protect the community from the
[1:44:03] decisions of the federal
[1:44:07] government. Maybe not all, you
[1:44:09] know, mayoral councils might,
[1:44:12] might, you know, wanna do that.
[1:44:15] Or see it differently, but we
[1:44:17] obviously want You know, to
[1:44:21] support. Applicants that are
[1:44:23] filling a gap because of what
[1:44:24] the federal government has done
[1:44:28] right now. Um, so I, I, I hope
[1:44:29] that, you know, um, maybe as
[1:44:31] part of the community panel
[1:44:35] review. Just in some way,
[1:44:36] taking the, the discussions
[1:44:38] that we have, like our
[1:44:40] strategic priorities. We have
[1:44:42] those sessions and, and maybe
[1:44:44] in working with, um, MR. City
[1:44:46] Manager working with that. To
[1:44:53] help inform. Mm, uh, the, the,
[1:44:54] the community panel review,
[1:44:56] that this is something that the
[1:44:58] mayor and council also find
[1:45:00] these are also, um, priorities
[1:45:02] as well. I think sometimes
[1:45:02] that
[1:45:03] s been the disconnect. I
[1:45:05] know at least for me in that
[1:45:05] I
[1:45:07] m like, well, I thought we
[1:45:08] were prioritizing this, and
[1:45:10] then this kind of comes out of
[1:45:11] nowhere, you know, I, I
[1:45:11] m, I
[1:45:12] m
[1:45:13] trying to kinda, you know,
[1:45:16] thread the needle between Here
[1:45:17] are our values, these will
[1:45:20] always be our values, and then,
[1:45:23] you know, the focus of a
[1:45:25] particular elected body. Um,
[1:45:28] and being able to kinda, um,
[1:45:30] nimble in that way. I
[1:45:30] appreciate that you
[1:45:30] re really
[1:45:34] built in a lot of flexibility.
[1:45:35] Into the, the process because I
[1:45:38] think That is, uh, that is, um,
[1:45:42] uh a good, um, indicator of a
[1:45:43] very well-designed program is
[1:45:45] that you do have that
[1:45:48] flexibility. Um, I love a lot
[1:45:52] of stuff that you proposed in
[1:45:53] This, uh, a lot of things that
[1:45:54] you
[1:45:56] ve, uh, proposed, including,
[1:45:58] and, you know, Maybe it
[1:45:59] s just
[1:46:02] me, um, but I, I really love
[1:46:05] the, um I
[1:46:06] m looking for it,
[1:46:09] sorry, that there was a, a
[1:46:13] section in here that Um, would
[1:46:16] allow for, um The modest cost
[1:46:18] of service adjustments subject
[1:46:19] to available funding. I think
[1:46:20] that that
[1:46:23] s Fantastic. Um,
[1:46:25] speak again, speaking as
[1:46:26] somebody who works at a
[1:46:29] nonprofit, um, who has
[1:46:30] submitted so many grant
[1:46:32] applications and had to explain
[1:46:35] ok, so this is why this year
[1:46:35] I
[1:46:36] m asking for a little bit
[1:46:37] more, and it
[1:46:38] s because x, y,
[1:46:39] and z, there definitely has to
[1:46:42] be that kind of, uh, cost of
[1:46:44] living adjustment in, in terms
[1:46:47] of, of grants, so I really
[1:46:49] appreciate that. Mhm. Also want
[1:46:51] to note, we talked to a lot of
[1:46:54] folks, a lot of my colleagues.
[1:46:55] Talked about the economic
[1:47:00] mobility. Um, Portion of the,
[1:47:01] the impact priorities. I will
[1:47:05] say, um, just as an fyi, um I
[1:47:08] think myself and I believe
[1:47:12] MADAM Mayor, also met, um,
[1:47:14] representatives from the new,
[1:47:15] uh, Maryland Department of
[1:47:17] Social and Economic Mobility. I
[1:47:18] think there
[1:47:18] s, they
[1:47:19] re really
[1:47:19] trying, yeah, they
[1:47:20] re, there
[1:47:20] s
[1:47:22] some great folks. And I think
[1:47:23] that, you know, they
[1:47:25] re,
[1:47:25] they
[1:47:28] re even closer to, um, the
[1:47:30] community as well as than a
[1:47:31] national entity, I think the
[1:47:32] Urban Institute is, is
[1:47:33] fantastic, but I would, I would
[1:47:35] love to kind of see more, you
[1:47:40] know, um leaning on our state
[1:47:43] partners, um, for Their
[1:47:44] perspectives and resources. I
[1:47:45] know it
[1:47:46] s a brand new, uh,
[1:47:48] cabinet position, so like, no
[1:47:50] pressure, but, um, I think
[1:47:51] there
[1:47:52] s an opportunity there to
[1:47:53] really, um, get some good
[1:47:58] information. Um, I, I
[1:47:59] absolutely love the Impact
[1:48:03] focus areas. I. At first I was
[1:48:04] like, oh, this is in my mind.
[1:48:04] I
[1:48:06] m like, oh, this is missing,
[1:48:08] this is missing, this is
[1:48:11] missing. Um I, I don
[1:48:11] t
[1:48:15] necessarily Think that we need
[1:48:20] to Discreetly outline Everybody
[1:48:23] who makes up a family, right?
[1:48:25] Everybody that makes up, you
[1:48:27] know, you, I think that that
[1:48:29] the, the devil is gonna be in
[1:48:32] the details of how You know,
[1:48:35] you define each of these
[1:48:36] proposed impact focus areas,
[1:48:39] and then That those kind of
[1:48:41] shared definitions will also
[1:48:43] help us to understand, I think,
[1:48:47] as well, um, sort of having
[1:48:49] very distinct, um, definitions
[1:48:50] and I totally appreciate the
[1:48:51] context of the chart. That was
[1:48:55] really helpful. I think level
[1:48:57] setting that we see economic
[1:48:59] mobility as our desire to x, y,
[1:49:02] and z. Um, that
[1:49:03] ll help, I
[1:49:05] think, maybe, um, uh, make
[1:49:07] things a little bit more clear,
[1:49:08] not only for us but for the
[1:49:10] community. And for, um
[1:49:16] potential Grantees. Um, I, I, I
[1:49:17] think I
[1:49:20] ve said this before,
[1:49:21] but under community service and
[1:49:24] empowerment grants. If we call
[1:49:25] it senior services, can you
[1:49:27] please call it Youth Services.
[1:49:30] Um, you know, some of, some of
[1:49:31] the youth that we really want
[1:49:32] to work with, they
[1:49:33] re already a
[1:49:35] pretty developed. They
[1:49:36] re
[1:49:36] probably more empathetic than a
[1:49:39] lot of, uh, adults that I know.
[1:49:43] Um, and I think that youth
[1:49:44] services is uh a more expansive
[1:49:47] way of, of looking at their
[1:49:50] needs. I wanna co-sign with my
[1:49:51] With MADAM Mayor said that in
[1:49:55] particular And to what MR. City
[1:49:55] Manager talked about, I think
[1:49:57] that We
[1:50:01] ll have a lot more, um
[1:50:03] Uh, information. Here
[1:50:03] s another
[1:50:05] great example of the
[1:50:07] cross-pollination of Mar and
[1:50:09] council priorities with, um,
[1:50:10] our grant program is that we
[1:50:11] re
[1:50:12] gonna have work sessions
[1:50:14] specifically on, on youth
[1:50:15] programming in particular for
[1:50:17] at-risk youth, and I
[1:50:17] m hoping
[1:50:18] that it
[1:50:20] ll help to inform. Um,
[1:50:22] our, our grant process as well
[1:50:26] because we keep kinda Getting,
[1:50:28] um, I think we can definitely
[1:50:31] get some maybe, um Be not
[1:50:35] better, um, more grantees or
[1:50:36] potential grantees that would
[1:50:39] be in those areas if We, you
[1:50:40] know, kinda share that that
[1:50:40] s
[1:50:41] also a priority of marriage
[1:50:45] council. Um, None of these are
[1:50:48] questions, by the way, so you
[1:50:48] haven
[1:50:49] t missed anything. This
[1:50:50] is more of off the top of my
[1:50:52] head, like Been thinking
[1:50:55] through a lot of this. Mhm. I,
[1:50:59] I, I also want to know that, um
[1:50:59] You know, and if we
[1:51:00] re, if
[1:51:00] we
[1:51:01] re looking at at-risk youth
[1:51:05] programming. I will continue to,
[1:51:09] to hope that we, as part of
[1:51:10] community resiliency, um, could
[1:51:12] look at, um, you know, uh,
[1:51:16] encouraging Applications from
[1:51:18] folks that work with in the
[1:51:19] substance use or recovery
[1:51:22] community space. As well as in
[1:51:26] the veteran space. Um, in
[1:51:27] particular, and I know that
[1:51:30] sometimes a lot of people tend
[1:51:33] to, um, assume, and I am also
[1:51:34] defer to my colleague council
[1:51:36] member DR. Miles. A lot of
[1:51:38] people seem to think, oh, well,
[1:51:41] the veterans go to va. Well,
[1:51:43] the va has cut back on a lot of
[1:51:45] programs right now too, so I
[1:51:45] think if they
[1:51:46] re, again, if
[1:51:46] there
[1:51:48] s a way that we can
[1:51:51] Provide help. In any way to our
[1:51:52] veteran community here in the
[1:51:54] city. I, I really hope that we
[1:51:58] do. Um, Let
[1:52:00] s see. Do do do. I
[1:52:03] already mentioned that. About
[1:52:07] community resiliency. Uh, so I
[1:52:13] will say, um I think that I
[1:52:20] think generally. We are We are,
[1:52:23] we as a city and, uh, your,
[1:52:25] your team, uh, in particular,
[1:52:27] MS. Shishka and MISS Mazel are
[1:52:29] really good about kind of
[1:52:31] applying the equity lens, um,
[1:52:33] because you, you all work so
[1:52:40] closely. Um, With, uh, uh Risks
[1:52:41] and marginalized communities,
[1:52:43] but, you know, Maybe it
[1:52:45] s a, a
[1:52:50] good approach for the Community
[1:52:52] panel review if we had, you
[1:52:55] know, um, our own internal city
[1:52:58] equity focus areas. I tend to
[1:53:00] always look to see, you know, I,
[1:53:01] you want programs that serve
[1:53:02] the city as a whole, absolutely.
[1:53:07] We have sometimes seen, um,
[1:53:08] programs that were, um,
[1:53:13] centered in Areas that are, are,
[1:53:16] are not in need. If I can, uh,
[1:53:18] be kind about it, and so I
[1:53:19] would love, and I
[1:53:20] d love to
[1:53:24] hear, hear your thought, um, on
[1:53:25] developing equity of focus
[1:53:28] areas that would then encourage,
[1:53:30] um, you know, both the, the
[1:53:33] community panel review. Folks
[1:53:37] as well as applicants. From,
[1:53:38] you know, uh, organizations
[1:53:40] that would work in particular
[1:53:41] in the communities that are
[1:53:42] most in need. I would love to
[1:53:45] hear your thoughts on that.
[1:53:47] Yeah, thank you for the that
[1:53:48] question. I think there
[1:53:49] s a
[1:53:51] real opportunity for it, the
[1:53:52] grants application and
[1:53:54] evaluation, and you mentioned
[1:53:56] the community panel to align
[1:53:57] with the Jedi strategic
[1:53:58] priorities. I
[1:53:59] m really looking
[1:54:00] forward to working with the
[1:54:02] Jedi team on that that recently
[1:54:05] with, um, Jean Booth, of course,
[1:54:07] um, looking at what was just
[1:54:08] adopted and our year 1 work
[1:54:10] ahead of us, and I think
[1:54:10] there
[1:54:13] s going to be so many
[1:54:14] opportunities for us to, um,
[1:54:17] extend That work that we
[1:54:17] re
[1:54:20] gonna do to adopt the 7
[1:54:22] strategic priorities, um, into
[1:54:23] our departments, into our
[1:54:26] program, and then into the work
[1:54:27] that we do through nonprofit
[1:54:28] partnerships. So, I think that
[1:54:32] that is a real opportunity.
[1:54:32] Absolutely, and, and I
[1:54:33] m, thank
[1:54:33] you. I
[1:54:34] m really looking forward
[1:54:36] to it cause there
[1:54:36] s so much
[1:54:39] overlap, um So, so yeah, I
[1:54:41] absolutely to go to the, the
[1:54:43] questions, um, absolutely, we
[1:54:46] need to adopt. Um, impact focus
[1:54:50] areas. We don
[1:54:51] t have focus
[1:54:52] areas right now. We need to
[1:54:55] make it, um, easier for our, uh,
[1:55:01] community panel. Reviewers, um,
[1:55:03] to be able to effectively, um
[1:55:06] Select From pools of applicants,
[1:55:07] I don
[1:55:08] t know how else we would
[1:55:09] do that if we don
[1:55:10] t have a way
[1:55:13] for prioritization. So for my
[1:55:15] colleagues that are not, um,
[1:55:17] who have shared already that
[1:55:18] they, they kinda wanna defer on
[1:55:21] this. I understand cause at
[1:55:23] first I was the same way, but
[1:55:23] now I
[1:55:27] m realizing that we have
[1:55:28] no distinct prioritization
[1:55:29] matrix, then, then this is what
[1:55:32] this would be. So, um,
[1:55:34] absolutely, I support number 1.
[1:55:39] Mhm. I think You know, I, I,
[1:55:42] for num, for question number 2,
[1:55:45] Should 1 or 2 be prioritized? I,
[1:55:46] I don
[1:55:47] t know why we wouldn
[1:55:47] t
[1:55:51] prioritize all of them, but I
[1:55:52] guess my answer is 1 or 2 is it
[1:55:57] works, but If these are gonna
[1:55:59] help with prioritization, um, I,
[1:56:01] it would be really hard for me
[1:56:05] to, to determine Which would be
[1:56:06] prioritized over others. I
[1:56:06] don
[1:56:09] t think that we necessarily
[1:56:10] need more data on this because
[1:56:14] we already have. Decades of, of
[1:56:15] data that fall into these,
[1:56:20] these, uh, categories. Um, I, I
[1:56:24] do agree, uh. We have high
[1:56:27] performing programs. We have
[1:56:29] some of our grantees who have
[1:56:30] Received grants from the city
[1:56:32] for over a decade, if not more.
[1:56:36] And You know, it does beg the
[1:56:39] question for me. Twofold.
[1:56:41] Absolutely, if, if the proven
[1:56:42] program in the city, they
[1:56:43] should absolutely have a
[1:56:45] streamlined renewal pathway.
[1:56:47] Checks and balances, guardrails,
[1:56:51] of course. Um, you know, change
[1:56:53] in nonprofit leadership,
[1:56:55] ongoing site visits, I kinda, I,
[1:56:55] I
[1:56:56] ve definitely, I
[1:56:56] ve
[1:56:58] experienced all of that, so I
[1:56:58] don
[1:56:59] t think any nonprofits
[1:57:02] would, would be upset with that,
[1:57:04] but, you know, I also sit back
[1:57:07] and I, I say, I think sometimes
[1:57:10] at what point We as a city look
[1:57:12] deeper at the services the city
[1:57:14] has funded for 20 plus years,
[1:57:15] right? Like, like we
[1:57:17] re, we
[1:57:18] have this ongoing relationship.
[1:57:21] And are, are we just kind of
[1:57:23] there, um, an extension of the
[1:57:25] city at that point? Are they
[1:57:26] serving more, less, I don
[1:57:26] t
[1:57:29] know, but, you know, we do have
[1:57:31] long-standing, um, nonprofit
[1:57:33] partners who are is providing
[1:57:36] um Uh, amazing services. So I
[1:57:40] do absolutely. Support a
[1:57:41] streamlined renewal pathway
[1:57:44] again with guardrails, um, and,
[1:57:46] and site visits and all that.
[1:57:54] Before I ok, um. 3 last points
[1:57:55] and then I will pass it along.
[1:58:00] Um, 122 other things I
[1:58:00] ve been
[1:58:01] challenged with when I
[1:58:01] ve
[1:58:03] looked at the community grants.
[1:58:05] The first one is the funding of
[1:58:07] programs. That are run by the
[1:58:11] Montgomery County. And I
[1:58:13] m
[1:58:14] challenged by this because the
[1:58:15] county has a much bigger budget
[1:58:19] than we do. Yeah, absolutely
[1:58:21] supportive of, of counting
[1:58:21] programs. Don
[1:58:23] t get me wrong.
[1:58:25] But, um, it, it, to me, always
[1:58:30] seems Little odd. At the county
[1:58:32] with, with a lot more money
[1:58:35] than we do is coming to us
[1:58:38] asking for a grant to help a
[1:58:40] program that they run,
[1:58:41] obviously, Rockville residents
[1:58:44] can get the benefits of the
[1:58:47] program. But it, it
[1:58:48] s a weird
[1:58:50] imbalance in my brain, you know,
[1:58:51] um, I
[1:58:52] ll just, um, I
[1:58:52] ll take
[1:58:53] the case of like, you know, I
[1:58:55] used to work for a local
[1:58:57] chapter of a nonprofit. And it
[1:59:00] would be like the national
[1:59:02] headquarters saying to the
[1:59:04] state chapter, um, yeah, you
[1:59:05] gotta pony up some money so
[1:59:07] that we can do this across the
[1:59:08] United States and it
[1:59:08] s like,
[1:59:11] why are you coming to me? Like
[1:59:14] I have no budget. So I, I, I am
[1:59:15] definitely challenged by that.
[1:59:19] Mm. The other thing, and I, one
[1:59:20] of my colleagues mentioned, um,
[1:59:22] this as well, and actually, MS.
[1:59:24] Shosa, you mentioned this too.
[1:59:29] Um In order to, um Really
[1:59:31] connect of funding. An event
[1:59:34] Opportunity I
[1:59:34] m really, I
[1:59:37] really got to see it connect
[1:59:39] easily to, to Rockville
[1:59:39] businesses. I think it
[1:59:41] s great.
[1:59:44] If, um, people come, you know,
[1:59:45] to the city for something like,
[1:59:49] um The f. Scott Fitzgerald
[1:59:51] Literary Festival. But where is
[1:59:52] the direct connection to a
[1:59:57] Rockville business. I, I want,
[1:59:59] I obviously want people to, to
[2:00:02] come here and Spend their
[2:00:04] economic dollars and, you know,
[2:00:05] their businesses. I think we
[2:00:07] all do. But it
[2:00:08] s tough if the
[2:00:12] programs are being held in
[2:00:14] locations are not easily, um, a
[2:00:15] few businesses are not easily
[2:00:18] accessible. And I think can be,
[2:00:20] um, um Kind of ignored, you
[2:00:22] could kind of dip dip into an
[2:00:24] event and dip out. So I just
[2:00:25] wanted to share that that
[2:00:26] s one
[2:00:26] of the things that I
[2:00:26] m
[2:00:29] challenged with. Final thing is
[2:00:32] a question and a comment. I
[2:00:33] think probably more than
[2:00:35] anything in the grant process,
[2:00:35] I
[2:00:43] ve really been Cha I, um The
[2:00:44] lack of um clarity, at least to
[2:00:50] me. Around, um, Grant recipient,
[2:00:52] grant recipients. And the
[2:00:57] lobbying of The city on, on
[2:00:58] policy decisions or potential
[2:01:01] decisions. I think that in no
[2:01:03] way, shape or form does anybody
[2:01:08] want to eliminate free speech.
[2:01:09] I, I, that is not what I
[2:01:09] m
[2:01:12] saying. I also know that as a
[2:01:14] Somebody who has been at the
[2:01:18] grantee. I know that I had
[2:01:19] guardrails and there were
[2:01:20] bright lines between what I
[2:01:23] could and could not do. In
[2:01:24] terms of engagement with, with
[2:01:28] the grant tour. Mm I, I think
[2:01:33] that It is distressing to me.
[2:01:34] We give essentially a general
[2:01:38] grant. Do, you know, ensure
[2:01:41] That a program continues or an
[2:01:42] organization continues, and
[2:01:43] that money then I turned around.
[2:01:47] 22 lobbyists on a particular
[2:01:50] policy. I would really, and I
[2:01:52] appreciate that we have a
[2:01:54] conflict of interest, um, in
[2:01:56] terms of the, uh Election
[2:01:59] committee. I would really like
[2:02:02] to see some, some ethical
[2:02:04] language, maybe from the city
[2:02:07] attorney office. Something
[2:02:08] around that idea that everybody
[2:02:11] can do anything they want as a
[2:02:12] resident of of Rockville as a
[2:02:15] resident of Montgomery County.
[2:02:16] Think that the challenges when
[2:02:20] you Are the the head or an
[2:02:24] employee of a grantee. There
[2:02:25] are different conditions, um,
[2:02:28] that, that do apply. And, um, I,
[2:02:30] I would really wanna see some
[2:02:31] bright lines, um, some
[2:02:34] guardrails. So that we know
[2:02:36] that the money that we are
[2:02:39] investing in the nonprofit. Is
[2:02:41] not being invested in lobbying
[2:02:44] us. And that, um, that
[2:02:44] s really
[2:02:48] my point. So, um, I, I will end,
[2:02:49] I will end there. I would love
[2:02:51] to hear my, my colleague
[2:02:51] s
[2:02:53] thoughts on that as well. Um,
[2:02:54] and really wanna, wanna thank
[2:02:55] you all. I know how tough this
[2:02:57] is, so. Appreciate it. Thank
[2:03:02] you. Thank you very much,
[2:03:05] Doctor Miles. Thank you, MADAM
[2:03:08] Mayor, I want to echo my thanks
[2:03:11] to the presenters on this. I
[2:03:11] ll
[2:03:14] keep it brief. After hearing my
[2:03:14] colleague
[2:03:16] s comments and Thank
[2:03:20] you for those. In terms of
[2:03:23] answering your questions.
[2:03:25] Question 1, yes, uh, I think
[2:03:28] that the 5 proposed impact
[2:03:30] focus areas should be adopted.
[2:03:32] There were 2, whether not any
[2:03:33] should be prioritized, I
[2:03:34] m not,
[2:03:36] I think as was mentioned by a
[2:03:37] couple of colleagues earlier, I
[2:03:38] don
[2:03:38] t think it
[2:03:41] s necessary.
[2:03:42] Prioritize 1 or 2, I think
[2:03:42] they
[2:03:45] re, they are all important,
[2:03:47] um, if, however, there was
[2:03:48] Movement among my colleagues,
[2:03:50] like the majority said they
[2:03:52] want to prioritize, uh, a bias
[2:03:54] toward the youth family
[2:03:55] services and household
[2:03:56] stability, um, among others,
[2:03:59] but again, I think all of them
[2:04:02] are important, and then third.
[2:04:03] The streamlined renewal process,
[2:04:05] yes, I think, you know, I
[2:04:06] d
[2:04:06] like the caveats that I
[2:04:06] ll put
[2:04:08] in there that they must reapply
[2:04:12] for 2 cycles. I think larger
[2:04:12] organizations that are more
[2:04:15] seasoned and polished. Have
[2:04:20] oftentimes. Can, can. Be
[2:04:22] somewhat advantaged in, uh, in
[2:04:24] applying for these programs.
[2:04:26] Relative to those who smaller
[2:04:27] perhaps with less experience,
[2:04:29] but I think the guardrails that
[2:04:30] you all have outlined makes
[2:04:31] sense to me and I can support
[2:04:32] that. That
[2:04:33] s all I have. Thank
[2:04:39] you. Thank you very much. I am
[2:04:40] just looking for additional
[2:04:42] hands, Mississ City Manager, I
[2:04:42] think we
[2:04:43] ve answered all of
[2:04:46] your key, you know, majority of
[2:04:48] an your key questions. Uh, do
[2:04:49] you have any followup questions
[2:04:51] for us. I do not, I just want
[2:04:54] to clarify, so I did hear a
[2:04:55] majority support for the 5
[2:04:58] Impact focus areas. I heard
[2:04:58] some interest and
[2:05:00] prioritization, maybe an
[2:05:02] ongoing discussion, but not
[2:05:03] necessarily picking 2 for next
[2:05:06] year, and I absolutely heard
[2:05:08] unanimous support for, um, the
[2:05:09] streamlining of high-performing
[2:05:09] programs. So I did get the
[2:05:10] direction we needed. Thank you,
[2:05:12] Mayor. Thank you, and I see
[2:05:13] Councilor Shaw
[2:05:18] s hand. Thank
[2:05:19] you, MADAM Mayor. I did just
[2:05:20] want to circle back. I can
[2:05:20] t
[2:05:21] hear you, can you please come
[2:05:25] off mute? Can you hear me now?
[2:05:26] Yes, thank you, yeah, I did
[2:05:28] just want to circle back, um,
[2:05:31] just as a member of the body to
[2:05:32] share my feedback, um, and I
[2:05:34] want to thank my colleagues for,
[2:05:35] um, the really great questions
[2:05:37] that they asked. Um, so should
[2:05:40] the city adopt, uh, 5 proposed
[2:05:44] impact focus areas, yes, um. Uh,
[2:05:47] number 2, which I think, uh,
[2:05:48] was slightly touched on by one
[2:05:50] of my colleagues surrounding
[2:05:53] data, um. Should 1 or 2 of
[2:05:55] these impact focus areas be
[2:05:57] prioritized. I still think that
[2:05:59] we should have data and that
[2:06:01] goes back to, um, like if we
[2:06:02] wanna talk about equity, that
[2:06:06] goes back to the equity process
[2:06:06] where we
[2:06:07] re sharing data to
[2:06:09] figure out where the gaps are
[2:06:11] in certain populations for to
[2:06:12] inform our decisions, and that
[2:06:14] data is not just for us, but
[2:06:14] it
[2:06:16] s also for the public to
[2:06:18] make sure that when we say that
[2:06:22] we are, um. Uh, advancing
[2:06:23] equity that that aligns with
[2:06:24] the metrics and the data. So I
[2:06:25] would just need to see more
[2:06:29] data, and then number 3, should
[2:06:31] the city provide a streamlined
[2:06:33] renewal pathway for
[2:06:34] high-performing programs, yes,
[2:06:37] and I also think we need to be
[2:06:39] careful, um, to make sure that
[2:06:42] we are also providing
[2:06:44] opportunities to support, um,
[2:06:46] some of the smaller nonprofits,
[2:06:50] um. As they grow, uh, so that
[2:06:52] they can also become one of our
[2:06:53] high performing programs
[2:06:55] because a lot of, a lot of, uh,
[2:06:56] our high performing programs
[2:06:58] are from some of the larger
[2:07:02] nonprofits, so thank you. Thank
[2:07:05] you very much. I appreciate the
[2:07:06] diversity of comments from my
[2:07:08] colleagues. Uh, thank you for
[2:07:08] answering the specific
[2:07:09] questions. I think we
[2:07:09] ve given
[2:07:12] staff a lot to think about, um,
[2:07:14] I will wrap with just, uh, in
[2:07:15] terms of next steps, if you
[2:07:17] could go back to that so that
[2:07:19] we can take another look. I do
[2:07:22] know that, um, the timing for
[2:07:25] grants is coming up very soon.
[2:07:26] Uh, so I believe that you
[2:07:26] re
[2:07:28] gonna have some of those, take
[2:07:31] our feedback and then move to
[2:07:31] open the application soon. Is
[2:07:33] that correct? That is correct,
[2:07:37] yes. So you typically do
[2:07:38] information sessions in
[2:07:41] SEPTEMBER. Uh, SEPTEMBER and
[2:07:43] OCTOBER, yes. Ok. And the
[2:07:46] deadline will be? OCTOBER 6,
[2:07:49] yes, I believe OCTOBER 16th,
[2:07:49] yeah, the only thing I
[2:07:50] ll say
[2:07:51] about that is given that we
[2:07:51] re
[2:07:52] making some changes, you MAY
[2:07:54] want to look up that a little
[2:07:55] bit just because people are
[2:07:57] gonna have to revise their
[2:07:58] application significantly,
[2:08:00] wanna Maybe participate in 1 or
[2:08:03] 2 of the sessions that you have,
[2:08:06] uh, we are moving from 9
[2:08:08] categories to about 5, so I
[2:08:11] just wanted to note that, um,
[2:08:11] and I
[2:08:13] ll just also say, um, I,
[2:08:14] I think that one of the things
[2:08:17] we saw with the last Grant
[2:08:17] piece of it
[2:08:19] s we, we were
[2:08:20] trying to, um, spread a little
[2:08:22] thin, so I just, I, to the
[2:08:23] comments of my colleagues
[2:08:25] looking at data, looking at
[2:08:26] impact, and meeting the needs
[2:08:28] of the community is very
[2:08:29] important, so, um, thank you
[2:08:31] for that. And then the last
[2:08:34] thing is related to the um
[2:08:36] microgrants, uh, the schedule
[2:08:37] is slightly different for that.
[2:08:37] We
[2:08:38] ll just make sure that we
[2:08:38] don
[2:08:40] t inadvertently. Have an
[2:08:41] issue with some of the
[2:08:42] programming, right, because I
[2:08:44] know the timing is gonna shift
[2:08:46] to make sure that we, the ones
[2:08:47] we have supported, will still
[2:08:49] get their fr 27, and then we
[2:08:49] ll
[2:08:51] work to make sure that it
[2:08:51] s in
[2:08:54] time, given that That
[2:08:54] s
[2:08:55] shifting until MAY for the next
[2:08:56] year, I just, I just want to
[2:08:57] take a look at that and make
[2:08:57] sure that we don
[2:08:59] t cause any
[2:09:00] issues there. Yes, absolutely.
[2:09:01] We can definitely make sure
[2:09:04] that those dates are lining up
[2:09:06] and we support that continuity
[2:09:08] of programming. Thank you, and
[2:09:10] I wanted to just also chime on
[2:09:12] other the, the comments on
[2:09:13] community resiliency or that
[2:09:14] word resiliency, I do love that
[2:09:15] and I appreciate the, the
[2:09:18] feedback. Of all of my
[2:09:21] colleagues. Ok. Anything else
[2:09:29] from your end? Ok. Thank you
[2:09:30] very much, we appreciate it,
[2:09:30] we
[2:09:31] ll look forward to that, and
[2:09:33] I know, um, information will be
[2:09:36] going out to our grantees, uh,
[2:09:37] end of AUGUST and SEPTEMBER so
[2:09:38] that you can advertise those
[2:09:41] information sessions. Thank you.
[2:09:53] Ok. Pulling up my agenda here.
[2:09:57] Oh jeez. Ok, so we had an lpt
[2:09:59] meeting this morning to review
[2:10:01] the mock agenda, uh, so we did
[2:10:02] have a nice discussion on that,
[2:10:03] just wanna want to pause and
[2:10:04] see if anyone has anything else
[2:10:12] to add on mock agenda. Ok, uh,
[2:10:13] next, wanted to open up for all
[2:10:17] new business. Ok. I just wanna
[2:10:18] note that this is our virtual
[2:10:19] meeting, Mayor and council is
[2:10:20] on recess during the month of
[2:10:22] AUGUST, there are still things
[2:10:24] that the city is still running,
[2:10:24] and we
[2:10:26] re still supporting and,
[2:10:28] and accessible, but please feel
[2:10:29] free to reach out to us as you
[2:10:31] need, we will not be having
[2:10:32] meetings during the month of
[2:10:35] AUGUST, uh, and thank all of
[2:10:36] our team and our staff, I hope,
[2:10:37] hopefully some of them get to
[2:10:39] get a little bit of a break in
[2:10:41] between, uh, we were back in
[2:10:42] SEPTEMBER, uh, and continuing
[2:10:43] to move forward to the business.
[2:10:47] Do we have a motion to adjourn?
[2:10:49] Motion to adjourn. Thank you,
[2:10:52] do we have a second? Second.
[2:10:54] Excellent, uh, COUNCILMAN Brett
[2:10:55] Jackson made the motion.
[2:10:56] COUNCILMAN Van Grag seconded.
[2:10:56] All those in favor, please
[2:11:00] raise your hand and say aye.
[2:11:00] Excellent. Have a wonderful
[2:11:03] summer, everyone. Take care.