Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the ArPA Termination Tenant Improvements topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
El Cajon council ends ARPA management deal for 405 East Lexington; city to finish tenant improvements in-house
Summary
The El Cajon City Council voted unanimously July 8 to terminate an ARPA subrecipient management agreement with the Chaldean Community Council for tenant improvements at 405 East Lexington and to bring the project in-house, citing federal compliance risks and city liability.
The El Cajon City Council voted unanimously July 8 to terminate an American Rescue Plan Act subrecipient agreement with the Chaldean Community Council and to have city staff manage tenant improvements for the property at 405 East Lexington.
City staff told the council the city purchased the building in late 2023 or early 2024 and entered into two five-year leases with the Chaldean Community Council to operate a business incubator and a social service center. The council budgeted about $609,000 in ARPA funds for tenant improvements. City staff recommended ending the management contract after determining federal procurement and grant rules made outside management ‘‘probably above the capacity’’ of the council to administer without exposing the city to potential repayment obligations.
City staff said the principal concern is federal compliance: "If they make a mistake, the city incurs 100% of the liability," staff said, noting the city would be required to reimburse federal funds if contractors were not procured or paid in accordance with federal requirements. Staff recommended terminating the subrecipient management agreement and having a city team complete the work.
The staff presentation named planned internal participants for the project team as Ryan Villegas and Nate Prescott and said the city would draw on procurement and engineering services for project delivery. The staff recommendation said the change could extend the timeline for other council initiatives while staff concentrates resources to complete the tenant improvements.
Council member Gary Goebel moved to adopt the resolution terminating the agreement. Another council member seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous vote of those present.
The resolution ends the management agreement; staff said the city will take over procurement and construction oversight and then allow the incubator and social service tenants to begin operations once improvements are complete. Questions from council members included whether the previously budgeted management fee could be retained for administrative costs; staff said it believed those funds could be used for city administration but did not provide a final accounting in the meeting.
The council did not set a new timeline for completion during the meeting. Staff said more detailed scheduling and resource commitments will be developed as the city team assumes management of the tenant-improvement work.
