Wayne County committee approves resilience-hub contracts, requires two-year hub commitment

The Wayne County Economic Committee voted to approve amendments and agreements that fund a countywide Resilience Hub Network, approving a professional services amendment with Elevate Energy and subrecipient agreements with 11 community organizations. Committee members moved and carried the measure after staff described contract revisions that reflect the committee’s prior instructions.

The committee’s action formalizes terms requiring each organization that receives funds to serve as a resilience hub for a minimum of two years and to retain ownership of any facility that receives physical improvements for a third year. Kelly, director of sustainability and innovation, told the committee the changes were made at the body’s request and that a more detailed intergovernmental agreement (IGA) will follow once organizations complete the training and scope needed building improvements.

The program pairs capacity-building training with modest facility upgrades to prepare community-based organizations to act as neighborhood hubs during weather- or emergency-related disruptions. Staff said the work is funded primarily by a FEMA grant awarded to the county in 2022, with additional facility-improvement support coming from ARPA funds. Counsel explained the two-year hub term and the added ownership requirement were determined in consultation with legal staff and are proportional to the typical scale of facility investments (staff cited smaller awards in this cohort and longer commitments tied to larger investments in prior projects).

Commissioners questioned whether contractors and subcontractors for the repairs would be local and whether the committee should review subcontractor lists. Commission counsel and staff said organizations will not be able to identify specific subcontractors until each facility’s improvements are scoped; the committee may request a follow-up report listing subcontractors and vendors once those scopes are complete, and counsel offered to add language to the resolution to that effect if the committee so directs.

The motion to approve the resilience-hub items passed; the transcript records the motion as carried but does not include a roll-call tally. The approved packet lists partner organizations including Warren Conner Development Coalition/ East Side Community Network, Detroit Blightbusters, Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, Live6 Alliance, Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, Sound Mind Sound Body, Walking in One Accord, the City of Dearborn Fire Department, Jefferson East, Solidarity and others as subrecipients to receive training and facility upgrades.

Next steps: staff will proceed with the Elevate Energy amendment and subrecipient agreements, finalize IGAs after training and (if directed by the committee) return with subcontractor/vendor lists once work scopes are known.