Memorandum
Date: August 9, 2022
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors (sitting as the Board of Directors Lake County Watershed Protection District)
From: Marina Deligiannis, Deputy Water Resources Director
Subject: Adopt Resolution Authorizing the Lake County Watershed Protection District (District) to sign and enter into Amendment No. 1 of Agreement with CivicWell for independent contractor services through the AmeriCorps CivicSpark Fellowship in the amount of $29,000 for one (1) CivicSpark Fellow to develop an Aquatic Invasive Species Outreach Assessment and Improvement Plan
Executive Summary:
The Lake County Watershed Protection District (District) applied for and was accepted as a partner organization with CivicWell (Formerly known as the Local Government Commissions) CivicSpark Fellowship for the 2022-2023 service year. The District will receive one (1) CivicSpark Fellow to conduct an Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Outreach Assessment and Improvement Plan.
The Fellow will work closely with Lake County Water Resources staff to learn about AIS programs being conducted throughout the county, with a focus on the Invasive Mussel Prevention Program. Through these efforts, the Fellow will strengthen the effectiveness of the District’s Lakebed Management and several of the aquatic invasive species programs such as the Quagga Mussel Prevention Program and the Clear Lake Integrated Aquatic Plant Management Program. The Fellow will conduct assessments and surveys to determine how the programs can be improved through development of outreach, education, informative materials and products.
CivicSpark is a Governor’s Initiative AmeriCorps program dedicated to building capacity for public agencies throughout California in order to address community resilience issues. CivicSpark provides local agencies with Fellows who serve full time for an 11 month service year with each Fellow providing at least 1,700 hours of service dedicated to a capacity building project. Lake County has hosted AmeriCorps CivicSpark Fellows since 2017, and the District has hosted CivicSpark Fellows since 2020.
All CivicSpark Fellows are selected through a highly competitive national application process, which requires Fellows to pass an in-depth state and federal background check, and at minimum to have a college degree in a relevant field. The Fellows are employed through CivicWell and serve at a placement site for the service year. Fellow’s salary, insurance, and workers compensation are all structured through CivicWell.
This year, the District’s CivicSpark Fellowship will mostly be funded by a US Fish & Wildlife grant received by the District in 2021 and previously approved by the BOS. The grant provides $26,000 towards the position with an additional $3,000 provided by the District.
If not budgeted, fill in the blanks below only:
Estimated Cost: $29,000___ Amount Budgeted: $29,000_ Additional Requested: ________ Future Annual Cost: ________
Consistency with Vision 2028 (check all that apply): ☐ Not applicable
☒ Well-being of Residents ☐ Public Safety ☒ Disaster Prevention, Preparedness, Recovery
☐ Economic Development ☒ Infrastructure ☐ County Workforce
☒ Community Collaboration ☐ Business Process Efficiency ☒ Clear Lake
Recommended Action:
Adopt Resolution Authorizing the Lake County Watershed Protection District (District) to sign and enter into Amendment No. 1 of Agreement with CivicWell for independent contractor services through the AmeriCorps CivicSpark Fellowship in the amount of $29,000 for one (1) CivicSpark Fellow to develop an Aquatic Invasive Species Outreach Assessment and Improvement Plan.