Dept. of Parks and Recreation to prioritize $5,487,140 of Prop. 68 grants

In June 2018, the state's voters passed Proposition 68, which allocated $4 billion for state and local parks, environmental protection and restoration projects, water infrastructure projects, and flood protection projects. Proposition 68 included $185 million in per capita grant funding to local governments for park projects, and the County of San Diego's share of that is $5,487,140. The county's Department of Parks and Recreation will determine how that funding is allocated.

A 5-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote Nov. 18 adopted a resolution authorizing the application for the funds and authorized the director of the Department of Parks and Recreation or his designee to conduct all negotiations and submit all necessary documents.

The Department of Parks and Recreation director also has the authority to make non-substantial amendments to the grant agreements. Although the Department of Parks and Recreation will prioritize the projects to be funded by the Proposition 68 grants, the Board of Supervisors will approve the appropriation of the grant funding into the county's budget.

The local per capita grants are awarded on a non-competitive basis. They may be used to support the creation, improvement, and rehabilitation of local parks and to address deficiencies in neighborhoods without access to outdoor recreation facilities. The county will use the grant funding for land acquisition or for development projects related to park construction, expansion, or renovation.

The grant application resolution must include one or more park projects whose total cost equals up to the amount of the local government's allocation. The County of San Diego's Department of Parks and Recreation is considering multiple park projects and will identify which ones are the most competitive.

If the park project does not serve a severely disadvantaged community, which is defined as a community where the median household income is less than 60%t of the statewide average, the local government must provide a 20% match. The match may be in the form of staff time, and the County of San Diego plans to fund its $1.1 million match with staff time. The match amount funding will thus use Department of Parks and Recreation general purpose revenue.

If Proposition 68 grant funding is provided for a project for which county-provided funding has already been allocated and that county-provided funding is no longer necessary for that specific project, that county funding will be reallocated to another capital park and recreation project.