GETTING A HEAD START ON ARC GRANTS

Transcription

1 GETTING A HEAD START ON ARC GRANTS June 2016 CENTER FOR CREATIVE LAND RECYCLING Workshops Technical Assistance: EPA TAB grantee Policy & Research Consulting Online at Sarah Sieloff sarah.sieloff@cclr.org Ignacio Dayrit ignacio.dayrit@cclr.org 1

2 POLLING QUESTIONS What type(s) of ARC grant(s) did you apply for this year? Who prepared your ARC application? PRESENTERS & AGENDA The low down what happened? ARC findings, guidelines & tips redux Three recent grantees stories Amberdawn La France & Julia Jacobs Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Jenn Bildersee City of Portland, OR Sean Farrelly City of Tigard, OR What s next? Q&A 2

3 POLLING QUESTIONS Prior to this year, have you ever received an ARC grant? Not including this year, how many times have you applied for ARC funds? ASSESSMENT, RLF & CLEANUP ARC Targeted Brownfields Assessments 7-brownfields-area-wideplanning-grant Job Training Grants Area-Wide Planning AWP Webinar June 16 12:30 2:00 EDT Revolving Loan Fund Grants Cleanup Grants Assessment Grants com/fy17bf_awp/ Phone Code # 3

4 LESSONS FROM 2016 # Communities Year # Grants** $M Awarded Applied % (no RLF) Some communities submit multiple applications ** Cleanup applications considered separately ** Many community-wide grants considered as two $10M less available for assessment and cleanup from 2015 LESSONS FROM 2016 Every point counts Most points unrealized on: Not answering all questions, succinctly Leveraging Not having a good story Impacts Project Outcomes/Benefits Project description Programmatic capability Outputs 4

5 Telling the Story ENVIRONMENTAL Poor Air Quality Dirty Surface water Toxic Groundwater Contaminated Soil Traffic IMPACTS Direct/Indirect Measured by Indicators ECONOMIC Unrealized revenues Depressed tax revenue Response costs HEALTH & WELFARE Poor Pedestrian Safety High Asthma High Diabetes Poor Heart Health Crime Telling the Story ENVIRONMENTAL Improved Air Quality Clean Surface water Safe Groundwater Healthy Soil Less Congestion OUTCOMES Direct/Indirect ECONOMIC New revenues Tax increment Less response costs HEALTH & WELAFRE Pedestrian Friendly Lower Asthma Lower Diabetes Good Heart Health Public safety 5

6 PROPOSAL GUIDELINES OVERVIEW Late Summer/Early Fall guidelines released Webinars and workshops 15 page proposals + attachments Submit on grants.gov Threshold criteria: pass/fail Ranking criteria May 2017 announcement GET STARTED EARLY Read last years Guidelines Many tips in the FAQs Address Threshold Criteria ASAP for template & proposals Efforts + Leveraging Team + Partners + Champion Contact EPA/CCLR/State partners 60 days is not enough for all the above 6

7 WRITING & DATA TIPS Write for a national audience Steinbeck with stats Fess up don t beat around the bush Wandering takes up precious space Minimize negatives and unnecessary adjectives and adverbs DATA SOURCES Your COG, EDD, MPO, health & environmental agency datawarehouse.hrsa.gov/ statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov/ minorityhealth.hhs.gov/

8 BENEFITS & OUTCOME TIPS Talk to agencies who may benefit from the program/project Police, fire, public works, health, economic development, parks, housing If space is available, do both economic and non- economic benefits Back up your projections with data and policy/practice PARTNER & SUSTAINABILITY TIPS Best to have a champion that is not staff Identify the sustainable and livability aspects of your policies, plans, and practices Is your project is consistent with these goals? Build on existing work; i.e. Affordable housing, Transit oriented development, Commercial revitalization, Open space 8

9 ST. REGIS MOHAWK TRIBE A Story of Grant Success Presented by Julia Jacobs and Amberdawn Lafrance AKWESASNE: COMMUNITY-WIDE PETROLEUM ASSESSMENT 9

10 GRANT OBJECTIVES Not regulated by NYS Tanks and piping not removed when stations closed Community plagued with abandoned stations The overall objectives for this grant is to identify all of our abandoned gas stations and marina s, rank them based on criteria developed by our own community, and conduct Environmental Assessments on as many sites as possible. BROWNFIELDS EXPERIENCE Past Brownfields Grant Applications 128(a) Tribal Response Program since 2010 Unsuccessful Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grant in 2013 Unsuccessful Community Wide Petroleum Assessment Proposal in 2015 RLF along with 128(a) that was declined in (a) Developed and trained our staff of 8 people Extensive grant writing and program development training Collected significant community input Identified our vital natural resources Identified potential Brownfields sites and their influences on these resources Developed a process for prioritization based on community input 10

11 WHO WORKED ON THE PROPOSAL? Strategic Grant Development Writing Workshop by Edward Wollman in 2011 Technical Assistance to Brownfields EZ by KSU SRMT Staff Brownfields Team 7 Staff involved in writing and reviewing Tribal Grant Development Specialist Review Consultant Maine & New Hampshire PG Write and Review CCLR Review ***Debriefing with our EPA Project Manager COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS Akwesasne Boys & Girls Club Akwesasne Chamber of Commerce Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment Akwesasne Cultural Center 11

12 CONNECTING THE DOTS WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THIS PROCESS Impacts: SRMT suffers emotionally, physically, and economically from Brownfields contributing blight, poverty, devaluation of property, discouragement of investment, unemployment, health issues, and attraction to vandalism. Project: Identify, rank, and investigate potential environmental hazards from abandoned gas stations and marinas. Benefits: One main goal of the SRMT Brownfields Program is to protect the natural resources in our area that carry a significance to our culture. The reduction or elimination of these natural resources through impacts from Brownfields negatively affects SRMT s historical culture, livelihood, and overall lifestyle. TIPS / COMMENTS What worked: 1. Tribal staff working together and knowing our community 2. Working with a consultant to help with understanding grant guidelines and proposal format 3. Training & Review What didn t: Ran out of time Partnership letters Not enough details Not enough input 12

13 WORKING WITH CCLR Reactions to CCLR s recommendations Easy and quick Very helpful Responded to almost all recommendations What you would do differently? Submit proposal earlier Attend more CCLR Trainings/Workshop/Webinars CITY OF PORTLAND BROWNFIELD PROGRAM Jenn Bildersee jenn.bildersee@portlandoregon.gov 13

14 COMMUNITY BACKGROUND Target area: East Portland OREGON East Portland Portland Population 147, ,456 Unemployment, Oct 2014 N/A 6.1 % % below poverty level 19.1 % 17.8 % % Nonwhite 33.0 % 23.9 % Median Household Income $42,500 $52,657 % 18 or younger 27.4 % 19.1 % % 5 or younger 6.8 % 6.0 % % 65 or older 15.2 % 10.4 % TARGET: COMMERCIAL CORRIDORS East Portland has 118 sites -306 acres - with an existing DEQ record East Portland s development pattern for the car: low-density commercial corridors with numerous vacant and underutilized sites (former gas stations, automotive service, dry cleaners, manufacturing) 14

15 ARC EXPERIENCE Portland Brownfield Program since EPA Brownfield Showcase grant in 1998 Past EPA Brownfield Assessment Grant funding in 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2011 Recipient of two EPA Cleanup Grants and a 2011 Revolving Loan Fund Unsuccessful grant application in 2015 Full-time brownfield program coordinator funded by City of Portland writes grant applications OUR GENERAL TIMELINE (1) Developed goals internally, and discussed plans with potential partners (2) Started with previous grant template but if you don t have that, start with last year s guidelines (3) Filled in all the easily accessible information (4) Provided draft letters of support to partners (5) Identified gaps; slowly filled with research (6) Sent drafts to CCLR and internal reviewers (7) Revised and submitted 3 days ahead 15

16 TIPS Start building community and agency relationships early long before you are working on your grant. Get a working draft started before the grant is announced by EPA (now is good). Extra time will help you identify and gather missing data like hard-to-track-down demographics, health statistics. Make use of available resources like EPA webinars and CCLR review. If you procrastinate, it will annoy people. And then you will have to work with those same people for the next three years. If you aren t successful, get a debrief. Then try again. IT S WORTHIT More than 65 properties totaling over 74 acres assessed and/or cleaned up since the program began in parks, public spaces, school and community gardens planted or planned on former brownfields with our assistance 17 nonprofits serving Portland communities aided by brownfield grants 21 small business owners provided with PBP assessment grants for necessary environmental work on their properties 16

17 CITY CENTER DEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF TIGARD CLEANUP GRANT FOR MAIN STREET/FANNO CREEK PROPERTY Sean Farrelly, Redevelopment Project Manager City Center Development Agency of the City of Tigard CITY OF TIGARD Population: 50,787 Median Household Income: $62,576 Incorporated: 1961 First ring suburb of Portland (about 10 miles southwest of Portland city center) 17

18 CITY CENTER DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (CCDA) Urban renewal district approved by voters in CCDA implements plan $22 million in projects over 20 years Funds raised in district (tax increment financing) are spent in district on urban renewal projects BROWNFIELDS IN TIGARD City awarded $400,000 EPA Assessment Grant in 2014 (petroleum and hazardous substances) Inventory identified 200 potential sites of interest citywide Assessment work on Main Street/ Fanno Creek site utilized grant 18

19 MAIN STREET/ FANNO CREEK PROPERTY Agency interested in redeveloping the site due to its prominent location on Main Street and (partially over) Fanno Creek Historic uses included auto repair, saw mill. Adjacent uses: dry cleaner Due diligence in 2013 discovered contamination- PCE, TCE, cis-1,2-dce, and vinyl chloride (VC) Transaction put on hold until obtained a Prospective Purchaser Agreement with DEQ (limits city s liability) Property acquired with PPA in

20 Main Street /Fanno Creek properties A Tigard Mixed Use / Public Space Design 20

21 EPA CLEAN-UP GRANT Early on identified EPA as a potential source to facilitate the site s redevelopment Draft ABCA and public meeting Grant narrative written by city staff, with consultant assistance with technical aspects (contamination description, clean-up task descriptions Made a lot of connections to planning and leveraging of projects CCLR review extremely valuable STARTING EARLY EPA, state & partners Before guidelines released Debrief, if applicable Threshold Work on your story CCLR assistance Two reviews most beneficial Now until First one month 21

22 POLLING QUESTIONS On a scale of 1 (unlikely) to 5 (definitely), how likely is it that you will apply for ARC? Survey Questions to follow in popup window/ we appreciate your responses! THANK YOU FOR LISTENING QUESTIONS? AWP brownfields-area-wide-planning-grant Webinar - June 16 12:30 2:00 EDT p/ Phone Code # Contact your: EPA region State environmental agency CCLR.org, or enter info in chat box sarah.sieloff@cclr.org ignacio.dayrit@cclr.org 22

23 SPEAKER CONTACT INFO Sarah Sieloff, CCLR Phone: x110 Ignacio Dayrit, CCLR Phone: x107 Amberdawn Lafrance, St Regis Mohawk Tribe Phone: x134 SPEAKER CONTACT INFO (CONT.) Julia Jacobs, St Regis Mohawk Tribe Phone: x126 Jenn Bildersee, City of Portland, OR Phone: Sean Farrelly, City of Tigard, WA Phone: