Breakthrough points to unified application for Kern economic development grants
Agreement was reached this week on a plan to file a single Kern County application instead of two competing bids for tens of millions of dollars in state money to fund local economic development work.
Important details remained to be worked out, but the accord between coalitions led by Kern Community College District and B3K Prosperity ends what had been contentious negotiations over who will lead what many expect will be a turning point in local job creation as the county transitions away from its dependence on oil and ag.
“There’s white smoke,” county Chief Administrative Officer Ryan Alsop said Thursday afternoon, referring to the traditional signal given when cardinals reach agreement on the selection of a new pope.
The breakthrough paved the way Wednesday for the filing of a unified “notice of intent” telling state officials which local parties will lead an application, due July 25, for a $5 million planning grant. That money would be used to put together a separate application that would compete against bids by 12 other regions in California for a share of $600 million in state Community Economic Resilience Fund money.
Wednesday’s notice names KCCD as the planning grant’s fiscal agent, as well as “co-convener” along with B3K, Community Action Partnership of Kern and the Kern, Inyo & Mono Counties Central Labor Council. It is expected that same coalition would carry through the two grant applications ahead.
Now comes the potentially harder work of hammering out the framework of the newly formed partnership. Still to come are formal memoranda of understanding with all parties, as well as a governance structure all can agree on.
Groups led by KCCD and B3K had been at odds for weeks over how they might be able to work together on the CERF application, and ultimately, what role different organizations will have in charting the economic future of Kern County.
For about two years, KCCD has been doing economic development planning with UC Merced, the Center on Race, Poverty & The Environment and two national laboratories. Meanwhile, B3K has been engaged in a parallel effort in alliance with the county of Kern, the city of Bakersfield, the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce and others.
This week’s unified notice of intent suggests all of those groups might be brought together for a coordinated approach to job creation.
KCCD’s vice chancellor of economic and workforce development, Trudy Gerald, said in a statement the district was able to bring various parties to the table and forge consensus on submitting a single application on the county’s behalf. She wrote that KCCD will provide the effort’s “administrative backbone support.”
“We will continue our work on outreach and engagement over the next four weeks as we finalize the structure and partnerships for this work,” Gerald stated.
B3K Executive Director J.P. Lake said in a statement that participating in the CERF grant application is a priority for the organization as it looks to promote local investment in traded sectors, talent, innovation, infrastructure and governance, which he called the five drivers of economic development.
“We welcome the intent to collaborate on a single application and believe it represents the best path forward available,” Lake stated.
CAPK CEO Jeremy Tobias said in a statement the organization is proud to be part of Kern’s collaborative CERF application.
“As Kern County’s official anti-poverty agency,” he stated, “we are committed to making sure that the people we serve and the most disadvantaged neighborhoods and communities in Kern are able to participate in this process. Kern County gets stronger when we grow and innovate together.”
President Imelda Ceja-Butkiewicz of the labor council said in a statement that workers powering the economy deserve a strong voice at the table as local leaders map out the region’s future.
She noted a recent UC Merced study found median wages in Kern County dropped 13 percent in 40 years, a trend she said “must be reversed.”
“We are proud to represent not only our members but all workers in this team effort to build a stronger economic future and look forward to working with all community partners and Kern CCD providing the backbone support as fiscal agent,” Ceja-Butkiewicz stated.