Item E - Revata Consulting - Grant Opportunities Proposal

(USDA – RD) Rural Community Development Initiative Grants (Community Amphitheater project) Program description in agency listing: “RCDI grants are awarded to help non-profit housing and community development organizations, low-income rural communities and federally recognized tribes support housing, community facilities and community and economic development projects in rural areas.” Given the eligible entities listed a critical component of this project will be the partnership Tiffin enters into to complete the work and how the financing of the project will be handled. Revata will lead any necessary coordination with the agency to ensure the eligibility and appropriateness of an application. Despite the language above the NOFO specifies three specific entities that may apply: (1) public bodies, (2) non-profit organizations, and (3) qualified private (for-profit) organizations. Eligible areas are described as: “Rural and rural area--Any area other than (i) a city or town that has a population of greater than 50,000 inhabitants; and (ii) the urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to such city or town.” Given the population of Iowa City (74,528), we will need to confirm that the “buffer zone” created by virtue of Coralville (22,318) and North Liberty (20,479) existing between Tiffin and Iowa City. Summary The staff at Revata are passionate about the work we do. We operate under the premise that a job well done will lead to more opportunities. We approach each working relationship with careful thought to how it may grow and flourish in the future. To that end, Revata proposes the relationship with Tiffin begins with two projects: building the new recreation center where the soccer fields are currently located and developing the round-about infrastructure at the four- corners point discussed in our initial conversation. This provides Revata with time to identify the specific grant opportunities for the fire station and all-access playground projects and firm up specifics around opportunities that might work well for the community amphitheater project. There are numerous grants available for the playground project, from both public and private sources. How the project is designed, and which partnerships are put into place will have a significant impact on which opportunities should be targeted. The next steps would be to generate and formalize memorandums of understanding, document the scope of work for each component, generate any necessary invoices, and put in place any necessary legal agreements. Before doing any of this, however, Revata needs to spend more time learning and better understanding each project and the relevant partners and stakeholders. We recommend putting in place a binding Non-Disclosure Agreement to allow Revata access to sensitive information around these projects and begin the work of putting together a robust and comprehensive grant opportunity strategy that takes into consideration any pre-existing financing plans. Revata also recommends moving forward with any necessary requests of other city officials (City Council, legal advisors, project managers, etc.) to engage with Revata on the first two projects with identifiable grant sources now (rec center and round-about). A request to approve Revata as a vendor with the below-noted pricing structure to consult and assist on grant applications for those two projects may open the door from a bureaucratic point of view to allow more work and planning to occur.