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Work Session_Federal and State Grant Update Work SessionCity of Dubuque City Council Meeting Work Session - Top # 01. Copyrighted January 17, 2023 ITEM TITLE: 5:30 PM - Federal and State Grant Update Work Session SUMMARY: Director of Strategic Partnerships Teri Goodmann; Technical Grant Analyst/Assistant Justin Thiltgen; ICMA Local Government Management FellowAbhishek Rai; and Andrew Seth, President and Grant Writing Services Consultant of Sustainable Strategies DC, will present on the status of the City of Dubuque's efforts to secure grants. SUGGESTED DISPOSITION: ATTACHMENTS: Description MVM Memo Staff Memo Federal Infrastructure Resources for Local Priorities Presentation Type City Manager Memo Staff Memo Supporting Documentation THE C DUjIBQTE Masterpiece on the Mississippi TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager SUBJECT: Work Session - Federal and State Grants Update DATE: January 12, 2023 Dubuque WAWca 914 ii 2007-2012.2013 2017*2019 Director of Strategic Partnerships Teri Goodmann is providing information for the Work Session on the status of the City of Dubuque's efforts to secure federal grants in partnership with grant writing services consultant Andy Seth of Sustainable Strategies DC. v Mic ael C. Van Milligen MCVM:sv Attachment CC' Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager Teri Goodmann, Director of Strategic Partnerships THE CITY OF Dubuque DUB TEE All -America City Masterpiece on the Mississippi � pp zoo�.*o 13 2017202019 TO: Michael Van Milligen, City Manager FROM: Teri Goodmann, Director of Strategic Partnerships SUBJECT: Federal and State Grant Update Work Session DATE: January 11, 2023 INTRODUCTION This memo transmits a packet of information and the PowerPoint presentation for the upcoming January 17t" City Council Work Session on the status of the City of Dubuque's efforts to secure federal grants in partnership with grant writing services consultant Andy Seth of Sustainable Strategies DC. The work session is intended to update the City Council on the ongoing coordinated staff efforts to achieve federal, state, and private grants to advance the City Council Goals and Priorities and to achieve incremental success with the Imagine Dubuque Comprehensive Plan, the Arts and Culture Master Plan, the Equitable Poverty Prevention and Reduction Plan and the Climate Action Plan. 7_T91:(r]:1911101lr� In an effort to keep the City Council fully informed of efforts to secure grants for the City and greater Dubuque community, staff committed to present work session updates to the Mayor and Council members every six months. Presentations made at the March 11, 2022, City Council work session and the August 15t" City Council work session described the content and purpose of two pieces of landmark federal legislation — the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) which passed on March 10, 2021, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (BIL) which was signed into law on November 21, 2021. These two pieces of legislation provide over one trillion dollars in pandemic relief funding and infrastructure funds for states, local governments, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Staff also reported on the four community meetings that were held over the past year to share information and details about grant opportunities with city staff, community leaders and partners at the County and in the nonprofit space. These grant opportunities are not only for the City of Dubuque but for the entire community as we build back from the pandemic and build Dubuque of the future. The two prior City Council work sessions also highlighted the City's effort at transparency of processes and activities through the creation of the ARPA and BIL Grants page on the city website. This page is accessible to the pubic and provides regular updated information on grant applications, successful grants and amounts of grants received in the community, names of free-lance grant writers in the area available to nonprofit organizations and other partners, and useful information from national organizations like the National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, and Sustainable Strategies DC. A GIS "story map" of grants received by the City of Dubuque, and its private and nonprofit partners has also been created by ICMA Local Government Management Fellow Abhishek Rai and Technical Grant Analyst/Assistant Justin Thiltgen. This "story map" provides city residents, state and federal partners an opportunity to view progress made toward measurable results in economic recovery and infrastructure improvements through the prism of the five city plans and council priorities. An ARPA SharePoint site and a BIL SharePoint site have been created and are accessible to the public on this website. Following the August 15t" work session presentation to City Council, the President signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law on August 1611, 2022. IRA aims to curb inflation, provides reductions of prescription drug prices and funds grants for cities and states that encourage domestic renewable energy production and promote clean energy. ARPA, BIL, and IRA are multiyear programs. The city staff along with partner consultants at Sustainable Strategies DC plan to pursue grants for the next decade because of programs that result from these legislative acts. City staff with support of Sustainable Strategies DC are creating an annual timeline of grant opportunities and deadlines to support this decade long effort. DISCUSSION Sustainable Strategies DC, the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors regularly share announcements of grant opportunities for local governments. Additionally, city staff monitor announcements of grant opportunities emanating from the Governor's office and state agencies and departments. These new or "plussed up" grants are created from the State's allotment of ARPA funding and the Iowa DDT's allotment of BIL funding. Federal Grants and the Role of Sustainable Strategies DC Sustainable Strategies DC is a government affairs and strategic consulting firm helping communities obtain resources for revitalization and key priorities. Sustainable Strategies and Andy Seth, specifically, write federal grants on behalf of the City of Dubuque. The city has partnered with Sustainable Strategies DC since 2008 with significant success. Andy Seth has authored significant grants in collaboration with city staff beginning with the successful $5.6 million TIGER grant in 2010 for Complete Streets and additional infrastructure in the Historic Millwork district. These improvements continue to leverage private investment even today. Andy successfully delivered the State of Good Repair grant which paid for planning and construction of the intermodal facility. He authored the first round of the HUD Natural Disaster Resiliency Competition grant application, and the City's EPA brownfield grants including the $800,000 Brownfield Multi -Purpose grant. He wrote the first EDA Disaster grant for the Bee Branch and the second EDA grant for the gates and pumps at 16t" Street detention basin. At the recommendation of the City, the County retained Andy to write the federal BUILD grant for the John Deere Road improvements. He also assisted the Arts & Cultural Affairs Manager on the successful National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) $500,000 grant which is currently being regranted to nonprofit arts organizations in Dubuque to assist them in recovery from the negative impacts of COVID-19. These are a few of examples of the success Andy and Sustainable Strategies DC have delivered to the Dubuque community. Andy has visited Dubuque several times and has attended the Growing Sustainable Communities Conference. In the past years fifteen years, Sustainable Strategies has written an average of three to five grants annually. Today, Andy meets with staff several times a week to prepare for multiple grant deadlines that can occur monthly. Sustainable Strategies also monitors other national foundations and communicates grant opportunities to staff. City staff and partners are currently working on a potential application to Bloomberg Philanthropies. State Grants Significant portions of the federal ARPA and BIL funds flow through the states. The State of Iowa has received exponentially more dollars from EPA in the form of State Revolving Loan Funds for Clean Water and Drinking Water. Most of the federal National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Department of Commerce broadband funds from ARPA and BIL flow through the state government. USDOT has also increased the amount of transportation funding allocated to states and funneled into traditional transportation funding accounts. Notification of state grant opportunities are generally gathered through press releases from the Governor's office and state agencies and departments. The process of identifying potentially successful state grant opportunities for the city follows the same path as federal grant opportunities. There is identification of corresponding topic team, convening to discuss feasibility of the opportunity, identifying data, and determining whether city staff or partner organizations like East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA) will write the grant application. Currently the City of Dubuque has three Destination Iowa grant applications pending from the City of Dubuque/Dubuque Racing Association (DRA), the Dubuque Museum of Art, and the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. City engineers have also placed several water infrastructure projects on the intended use plan in readiness for State Revolving Fund (SRF) forgivable loans. This month staff anticipate applying for a state grant through the Department of Workforce Development. 3 Process City staff and partners meet monthly and are divided into two large groups — a Built Infrastructure Team and a Human Infrastructure Team. At these Teams meetings members share updates on grant applications, discuss future grant opportunities and explore partnerships that leverage talent and funding. Andy Seth of Sustainable Strategies DC participates in these meetings and other Teams meetings to provide guidance on technical aspects of specific federal grant opportunities and to assist staff and partners in thinking strategically about multiyear strategy for federal grant applications. State grant opportunities are also highlighted. Both the Built Infrastructure Teams group and the Human Infrastructure Teams group are then divided into smaller more specific focus Team Channels to work on specific grants. These staff teams review City Council priorities, review the infrastructure list which examines priorities for eligibility and readiness, and then determine the best fit for a successful federal or state grant opportunity. Private grants follow the same process. Because the federal grants will recur annually for several years and some of the state grants will also be available annually, staff are working with Andy Seth to establish a calendar which will include grant announcement dates, application deadlines, and timelines for decision making by respective authorities. This tool will assist staff with annual planning and budgeting. CONCLUSION Over the past year, the city has laid a strong foundation in preparation for unprecedented grant opportunities. Through planning and key department staff participation, with the assistance of Andy Seth and Sustainable Strategies DC, and our partners, the city is capably managing and applying for federal, state, and private grant opportunities. Additionally, the city web page provides information, resources and transparency for residents and partner organizations. This page will continue to be updated indefinitely. City staff will continue to provide semiannual work sessions for Mayor and Council. No further action is required at this time. CC' Justin Thiltgen, Technical Grant Analyst/Assistant Abhishek Rai, ICMA Local Government Management Fellow Jenni Petersen -Brant, Arts & Cultural Affairs Manager 12 FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE RESOURCES FOR LOCAL PRIORITIES CITY OF DUBUQUE PRESENTATION JANUARY 17,2023 AGENDA • Background on Sustainable Strategies DC • Funding Activities in Dubuque • Grant Successes to Date • Funding Opportunities in 2023 and Beyond • Appropriations • Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act • Inflation Reduction Act • Next Steps BACKGROUND ON SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES DC • Government affairs, grant writing, and strategic consulting firm • Work with local governments nationwide to identify, pursue, and secure funding • 25 + years of experience and $5+ billion of results • Expertise with infrastructure, economic development, environmental, public safety, health, arts/cultural, and other resources Sustainable trategiesDC FUNDING ACTIVIT " IN DUBUQUE • Working with Dubuque since 2008 • Participate on weekly conference calls with Teri Goodmann and Justin Thiltgen • Ongoing engagement with key City staff (e.g., infrastructure team) • Prepare grant applications • Support Washington, DC trips • Help to showcase Dubuque through coalition activities and other outreach GRANT SUCCESSES TO DATE • Approximately $55 million in grant wins, including resources for: 'IF to=r r Intermodal Transportation Center DUBU! UE Dubuque Police Department Historic Millwork District Bee Branch Creek The Jule South Port Comiskey Park Washington Neighborhood FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES IN 2023 AND BEYOND Appropriations • FY 2023 appropriations includes $772.5 billion in non -defense discretionary funding • Significant opportunities through existing federal funding programs • New round of earmarks I.- r yam' •� k �I•iu4'• �1 � � �� 111 .fr' JL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES IN 2023 AND BEYOND Infrastructure Sill • Historic, bipartisan legislation • Invests $1.2 trillion in infrastructure improvements over 5 years • Investment in existing &new programs • Funding available through state & federal governments • Sustainability &equity will be recurring themes • Many grant opportunities rolling out this year The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES IN 2023 AND BEYOND Infrastructure Bill • Dubuque already won a $2.28 million DOT RAISE grant for planning of a 141h Street railroad overpass, roundabouts along 161h Street and Elm Street, and shared -use path to Kerper Boulevard Industrial Park • Awaiting funding decisions on: • DOT Reconnecting Communities — pedestrian/bike overpass at Hawthorne Street • DOT SAFE Streets and Roads for All — crash reduction planning • DOT Thriving Communities — infrastructure technical assistance FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES IN 2023 AND BEYOND Infrastructure Bill • Plan to seek funding from: • EPA Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (winter 2023) — to purchase recycling carts and trucks • DOT Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (winter 2023) — to construct electric vehicle charging stations • DOT Bridge Investment Program (summer 2023) — to repair failing local bridges • DOT Railroad Crossing Elimination Program (summer 2023) — to eliminate dangerous at -grade crossings • DOT SMART (fall 2023) — to • DOT RAISE (winter 2024) — and shared -use path build on Dubuque's innovative STREETS program to construct 14th Street railroad overpass, roundabouts, FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES IN 2023 AND BEYOND Inflation Reduction Act • Includes $369 billion in clean energy and climate investments • Major opportunity for local governments to invest in carbon reduction efforts • Strong focus on projects that benefit low- income and minority residents • Programs will begin to roll out in winter/spring 2023 FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES IN 2023 AND BEYOND Inflation Reduction Act • Key programs include: • $28 billion for EPA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund — for deployment of zero -emission technologies that benefit low-income and disadvantaged communities • $2.8 billion for EPA Environmental & Climate Justice Block Grants — for projects involving pollution monitoring, prevention, and remediation • $1.9 billion for DOT Neighborhood Access & Equity Grants — for efforts to reduce transportation -related pollution through Complete Streets, technologies, etc. • Incentives (direct payment in lieu of tax credits) for the purchase of green vehicles and investments in renewable energy NEXT STEPS • Identify specific projects for upcoming grant opportunities • Advance design and engineering efforts to be shovel ready • Be prepared with local matching funds • Build community and political support QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Contact Information Andrew Seth andrew seth(a�strategiesdcxom (202) 261-9881