4ad) Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing the Chief Executive Officer or Designee to Submit a Grant Application and Agreement to the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development for the Cannabis Equity Grants Program for Local Jurisdictions Fiscal Year 2020-2021 for an Amount up to $5 Million Dollars for Purposes of Funding the Mendocino County Local Equity Program for an Additional Year, and Approving the Reallocation of $5,000 from the Cannabis Program Budget as a Grant Match Investment to Mendocino County's Cannabis Local Equity Program
We support cannabis social equity grants & we support the CCAG memo on this item.
Equity seems to have been restructured in Mendocino County: How did we move from “people who were affected by the drug war” to “people who are below the poverty line.” These are very different calculators & the 2nd is not what the state approved for our county equity program, or at least it was not in the original application for the equity grant that was created by Humboldt State University. Even though small farms are struggling & most don’t not have access to the outside investment that the manufacturers & distributors do, there are very few (maybe none) small farms operating that are under the poverty line.
No one seems to know about this shift program eligibility. In fact, a number of times various board members & commenters mentioned equity yesterday as a way to help the small farms through the newly outlined phase 3 ordinance plan that it’s clear now most will have to re-apply for, but how can it help if the cultivators don’t financially qualify.
After passing Phase 3 to include acres & acres of cannabis grown by vertically integrated companies (who have mostly made their money & reputation from selling products from small farms, but now don't want to pay a premium to small farms so they are now going to be the phase 3 cultivators & grow their own… does that summarize the multitude of public comments re: expansion on the upcoming new phase 3 ordinance), it seems like a reasonable request for the BOS to make sure the equity program is again restructured & the grant money goes toward helping the phase 1 farms get through this new transition. Otherwise, as noted by the board & many commenters in that 1/25/21 BOS special meeting, most small farms won’t survive the action you took yesterday.
We have so many follow up questions, although what we wrote above is the main crux of our concern!!!
Is the 2020 Equity program up & running yet? Is there more information about what the county Equity program entails? What is the application process? Who can apply? Can coops apply as an entity? Does the County get to keep the money from the 2020 grant even if the program is not up & running yet? Does the county qualify for more $ in 2021 if it has not spent the 1st round of funds yet?
Last but not least, we are literally begging you to bring back a conversation about phase 1 ASAP. You know we are in the phase 1 cohort. You know that many phase 1 cultivators have jumped through all these hoops the county required, now maybe to no avail. You know phase 1 contributed millions of dollars to the local economy last year alone, even during the pandemic. You know without assistance like exceptions, exemptions, tax relief, grant allowances, etc. you may be turning those very small farms & their families, who showed up early & did the work, out into the cold with no path forward. Thank you again for doing the hard work of regulating a nascent industry, we really believe there is enough room for everyone who want to participate.
1/26/2021
Dear Honorable Supervisors,
We support cannabis social equity grants & we support the CCAG memo on this item.
Equity seems to have been restructured in Mendocino County: How did we move from “people who were affected by the drug war” to “people who are below the poverty line.” These are very different calculators & the 2nd is not what the state approved for our county equity program, or at least it was not in the original application for the equity grant that was created by Humboldt State University. Even though small farms are struggling & most don’t not have access to the outside investment that the manufacturers & distributors do, there are very few (maybe none) small farms operating that are under the poverty line.
No one seems to know about this shift program eligibility. In fact, a number of times various board members & commenters mentioned equity yesterday as a way to help the small farms through the newly outlined phase 3 ordinance plan that it’s clear now most will have to re-apply for, but how can it help if the cultivators don’t financially qualify.
After passing Phase 3 to include acres & acres of cannabis grown by vertically integrated companies (who have mostly made their money & reputation from selling products from small farms, but now don't want to pay a premium to small farms so they are now going to be the phase 3 cultivators & grow their own… does that summarize the multitude of public comments re: expansion on the upcoming new phase 3 ordinance), it seems like a reasonable request for the BOS to make sure the equity program is again restructured & the grant money goes toward helping the phase 1 farms get through this new transition. Otherwise, as noted by the board & many commenters in that 1/25/21 BOS special meeting, most small farms won’t survive the action you took yesterday.
We have so many follow up questions, although what we wrote above is the main crux of our concern!!!
Is the 2020 Equity program up & running yet? Is there more information about what the county Equity program entails? What is the application process? Who can apply? Can coops apply as an entity? Does the County get to keep the money from the 2020 grant even if the program is not up & running yet? Does the county qualify for more $ in 2021 if it has not spent the 1st round of funds yet?
Last but not least, we are literally begging you to bring back a conversation about phase 1 ASAP. You know we are in the phase 1 cohort. You know that many phase 1 cultivators have jumped through all these hoops the county required, now maybe to no avail. You know phase 1 contributed millions of dollars to the local economy last year alone, even during the pandemic. You know without assistance like exceptions, exemptions, tax relief, grant allowances, etc. you may be turning those very small farms & their families, who showed up early & did the work, out into the cold with no path forward. Thank you again for doing the hard work of regulating a nascent industry, we really believe there is enough room for everyone who want to participate.
Sincerely, Laura & Marty Clein