Department: County Library
Department Head/Elected Official: Edward Melton, Library Director
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request by the County Library for approval to use the county credit card for non-personnel expenses up to $80,000 each fiscal year associated with the approved ARPA-funded project (Fund 2651) with an end date of December 2026, in accordance with the approved budget.
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Background and Discussion: The grant end date is December 2026. Harris County Public Library received ARPA Local Recovery funding in the amount of $2.06M to create six full-time positions effective September 23, 2023 to staff two Local Network Organizations (LNO) supporting Early Learning Quality Networks (ELQN). To meet the goals of the three-year project, the County Library is required to host community convenings in the form of townhalls, feedback and listening sessions, community events, workshops and advisory committee meetings to create and implement initiatives in 77033 (Precinct 1) and 77379 (Precinct 3).
Expected Impact: Because the project is dependent upon community participation, the ARPA QUALNET grant allowed for incentives in the form of gift cards and food/beverage to encourage and reward community participation. Community participation informs the creation of the initiatives and helps evaluate the project's impact on these communities. In the approved budget, the food/beverage line allows $250 per event with the anticipation that each precinct will host two events per month.
Alternative Options: N/A
Alignment with Goal(s):
_ Justice and Safety
_ Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
_ Transportatio...
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