Referred to:  The American Rescue Plan Act Special Committee (Chairman Criswell and Legislators Corcoran, Levine, Lopez, and Sperry), The Health, Human Services and Housing Committee (Chair Walter and Legislators Corcoran, Erner, Lopez, Nolan, Petit, and Uchitelle), and The Ways and Means Committee (Chairman Gavaris and Legislators Cahill, Fabiano, Ronk, and Walter)

Chairman of the ARPA Special Committee, Peter J. Criswell, and Deputy Chair Thomas Corcoran, Jr. offer the following:

WHEREAS, this resolution has been submitted at the request of the CountyExecutiveonbehalfoftheDepartment of Finance, Division of Recovery and Resilience;and

WHEREAS, pursuant to Resolution No. 547 theUlsterCountyLegislature adopted the 2022-2027 Capital Improvement Program which recommended funding for Capital Project No. 600 including a Food Security and Access initiative to support and strengthen the local food system and foster sustainability; and

WHEREAS, according to Pattern for Progress's May 2020 report, entitled, “Vulnerability Revealed, Covid-19 and the Hudson Valley Food System”, food insecurity impacts 10% of the County’s population or 17,940 individuals. Of those individuals, 66% are eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or other food assistance benefit programs while 34% are not eligible and must rely solely on the emergency feeding network; and

WHEREAS, Ulster County has faced events such as the March 2022 ice storm and power outages and the COVID19 shutdown starting in March of 2020 that have stressed the emergency feeding network in novel and unanticipated ways; and

WHEREAS, Ulster County is reliant upon the emergency feeding network to meet the ongoing needs of some of our most vulnerable citizens as well as to respond and provide community resilience during emergency events; and

WHEREAS, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County provides programming, education and outreach around nutrition and emergency preparedness, as well as builds and maintains relationships with agricultural businesses and suppliers; and

WHEREAS, UlsterCorps is a 501c3 organization that provides support to food pantries as well as coordinating the distribution of local agricultural products to food pantries and coordinating the Farm to Food Pantry Initiative; and

WHEREAS, Ulster County has identified a need to convene an Emergency Food Working Group as well as to complete a Food System Resilience Report update the UC Emergency Feeding Plan which would help to ensure adequate healthy food supply to those residents in need of assistance on a day-to-day basis as well as in emergency situations; and

WHEREAS, the County has identified UlsterCorps Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County as the partner to convene this effort by engaging the emergency food network, local agricultural producers, suppliers and others in a meaningful planning and coordination process; and

WHEREAS, community food assistance is an enumerated eligible uses of the AmericanRescuePlanAct (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) (See Final Rule, 31 CFR Part 35, RIN 1505-AC77, pages 80 and 81); and

WHEREAS, it is the intent to use Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000) of ARPA SLFRF funds for this food system planning work through a subrecipient contract with UlsterCorps; and

            WHEREAS, it is the intent to use Two Hundred and Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($275,000) of ARPA SLFRF funds for a grant program that will benefit Ulster County’s emergency feeding providers and those they serve; and

WHEREAS, planning studies have been determined to be a the project consists of policy, planning, and rulemaking actions and funding to implement a program that does not involve environmental considerations whereby these activities have been identified as Type II actions by Ulster County pursuant to Resolution No. 118 of April 2010, and as such under 6 NYCRR Part 617 of the Regulations of Article 8 of the Environmental Conservation Law of New York and no further environmental review is required; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that Capital Project No. 600 is hereby amended as follows:

     DELETE

Capital Project No. 600                        Food Security                            $350,000.00  

 and be it further,

RESOLVED, the 2022 Ulster County GeneralFund is hereby amended as follows:

                                             INCREASE                                  AMOUNT

AA.1310.1079-4300.4505              Professional Services                    $350,000.00  

(App. #)                                                                                            

AA.1310.1079-3400.4095              Federal Aid, ARPA                        $350,000.00

(Rev. #),

and move its adoption.

ADOPTED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:

AYES:                        NOES:    

No Action Taken in Committee: American Rescue Plan Act on June 29, 2022

Postponed in Committee: Health, Human Services and Housing on July 6, 2022

No Action Taken in Committee: Public Works, Capital Projects and Transportation on July 11, 2022

No Action Taken in Committee: American Rescue Plan Act on July 13, 2022

Amended in Committee: American Rescue Plan Act on July 27, 2022 to remove all references to the Capital Program and fund the initiative in the operating budget

No Action Taken in Committee: American Rescue Plan Act on Resolution as amended on July 27, 2022

Postponed in Committee: Health, Human Services and Housing on August 3, 2022

No Action Taken in Committee: American Rescue Plan Act on August 10, 2022

Passed Committee: American Rescue Plan Act as amended on August 31, 2022

Passed Committee: Health, Human Services and Housing on _______________.

Passed Committee: Ways and Means on _______________.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

$350,000.00 – COUNTY GENERAL FUND APPROPRIATIONS

$350,000.00 – FEDERAL GENERAL FUND REVENUES