Primary Department: Purchasing
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Kimberly J. Williams, JD
Secondary Department: Economic Equity and Opportunity
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official: Tiko Hausman
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Contract - Amendment
Project ID (if applicable): 220392
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Geocko, Inc. DBA FORWARD
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the Office of the Purchasing Agent that the County Judge execute an amendment to an agreement with Geocko, Inc. DBA FORWARD to decrease funds by $175,000 to update the scope of services, reduce the amount of grant funds appropriated, update the budget in Exhibit B, and replace Exhibit E (the Federal Award Identification Table) for small business technical assistance and administer accelerator grants for the Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity for the extended period of June 6, 2026 - October 31, 2026 (220392).
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Background and Discussion:
The ARPA Steering Committee allocated up to $9 million in ARPA federal funding for the Harris Hub program. Harris Hub focuses on funding community-based organizations with experience and expertise in providing hands-on, tailored technical assistance to small businesses with an emphasis on supporting businesses and entrepreneurs that face multiple barriers.
The DEEO seeks to fund two Technical Assistance providers, BakerRipley and Roads Consulting Group, to provide customized and business-specific support to small businesses, and one Grant Administrator, FORWARD, to disburse grants awards to eligible businesses. FORWARD will work in partnership with BakerRipley and Roads Consulting Group to develop systems and protocols to disburse the accelerator grants to eligible businesses receiving technical assistance within the Harris Hub program.
Expected Impact:
The amendment extends the term to October 31, 2026, updates the administrative fee, and revises the Scope of Work.
Alternative Options:
Not funding the Harris Hub Small Business program may result in the County not being able to use available ARPA funds to support the survival and growth of small and micro businesses in Harris County.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 3. Make our economy more inclusive.
County Strategic Plan Objective: M: Ensure that Harris County remains the best place in the region to start and grow a business, with a focus on equitable economic growth.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): Choose an item.
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): Choose an item.
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): Choose an item.
Health Initiative (Goal 4): Choose an item.
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): Choose an item.
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): Choose an item.
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
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11/15/2022 |
270 |
Approval to Advertise |
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06/06/2023 |
250 |
Award |
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11/14/2023 |
16 |
Amendment to replace and update dollar amounts on a certain Exhibit for Harris Hub program at no additional cost to the county. |
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6/25/24 |
16 |
Amendment No. 2 Approved |
Location:
Address (if applicable): N/A
Precinct(s): Choose an item.
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Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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CAO Reviewer Name and Title |
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Anticipated Court Date: 5/28/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 6/6/2026
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Jie Wu, Director of Program Planning and Innovation, DEEO; Dr. Paula Pineda, Assistant Director of ARPA Initiatives, DEEO; Gisselle Zapata, Sr. Contract Manager, Purchasing
Attachments (if applicable): Letter, Amendment