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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
PROPOSED RESOLUTION FOR AN INFRASTRUCTURE BENEFICIARY GRANT FROM COOK COUNTY TO THE FOREST PRESERVE DISTRICT OF COOK COUNTY, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, AND BROOKFIELD ZOO TO BE PAID FROM ARPA REVENUE LOSS ALLOCATION
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2021, the federal government authorized the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”), which includes $1.9 trillion in federal stimulus funds to hasten the United States’ recovery from the economic and health effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, specifically, the federal government has authorized and allocated a federal award of approximately $1,000,372,385 of ARPA funding to Cook County (“County”) to assist the County in its recovery from the economic and health effects of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, on June 24, 2021, the County’s American Rescue Plan Act Framework (the “ARPA Framework”) was presented to the Cook County Board of Commissioners; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board of Commissioners via Resolution 21-3654 accepted the ARPA federal award to assist the County in its recovery from the economic and health effects of COVID-19 in the amount of approximately $1,000,372,385.00; and
WHEREAS, the County to date has allocated up to $300,000,000 from its ARPA federal award for revenue loss; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to its home rule powers and in accordance with U.S. Department of Treasury ARPA guidance, the County desires to allocate $25M of its ARPA revenue loss allocation to the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (“FPDCC”), the Chicago Horticultural Society (“Garden”), and the Chicago Zoological Society (“Zoo”) to fund various capital projects in furtherance of Cook County’s Policy Roadmap Goals and the County’s commitment to improved health and wellness, government services, and public infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, Resolution 22-0637 provided that any grants issued regarding ARPA programs in an amount over $1M shall require the approval of the Cook County Board of Commissioners; and
WHEREAS, the County is expected to seek approval to issue the above-referenced grants from the Cook County Board of Commissioners on April 27, 2023 (Cook County Board Item No. 23-2282); and
WHEREAS, the County desires to award $10M to the FPDCC, $10M to the Zoo, and $5M to the Garden in the form of a Beneficiary Grant Agreement for capital projects for each entity; and
WHEREAS, the nature of the capital projects will vary based on the site, but the capital projects will improve the experience and public health of surrounding community members and visitors; and
WHEREAS, the FPDCC will institute general maintenance and upgrades to public facilities (including HVAC replacements), and build new comfort stations and rehabilitate up to 40 existing comfort stations throughout the forest preserve system; the Garden will facilitate roof replacement(s) at the Garden; and the Zoo will institute HVAC upgrades, roof repairs, and animal exhibit upgrades at the Zoo; and/or, in the case of each of the FPDCC, Garden and Zoo, such other projects as approved by the County through the County’s Bureau of Finance; and
WHEREAS, the Garden and the Zoo are not governmental entities; the property and buildings that host their programming are assets of the FPDCC, and due to the nature of these sites offering green space to the public as well as the community programming offered by these entities (governmental or otherwise), the rehabilitation of these sites falls within the scope of traditional government services and the County’s home rule powers; and
WHEREAS, the capital projects identified will be completed by year end 2026 and the completion of such projects will be monitored by the County through the Bureau of Finance and the FPDCC.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that President, Toni Preckwinkle and the Forest Preserves of Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes the FPDCC to accept as a sub-recipient the proposed $10M grant designated for the FPDCC and to enter the three (3) Beneficiary Agreements described below, subject to approval of the same by the Cook County Board of Commissioners:
1. Enter into a Beneficiary Agreement with the Zoo and the County under which the County will grant $10M to the Zoo to fund HVAC, roof, and animal exhibit upgrades, and/or such other project(s) at the Zoo as approved by the County through the Bureau of Finance and FPDCC. The FPDCC will monitor the use of the grant award by the Zoo and report on the completion of the identified capital projects in accordance with the Beneficiary Agreement.
2. Enter into a Beneficiary Agreement with the Garden and the County under which the County will grant $5M to the Garden to facilitate roof replacement(s), and/or such other project(s) at the Garden as approved by the County through the Bureau of Finance and FPDCC. The FPDCC will monitor the use of the grant award by the Garden and report on the completion of the identified capital projects in accordance with the Beneficiary Agreement.
3. Enter into a Beneficiary Agreement with the County under which the County will grant $10M to FPDCC to institute general maintenance and upgrades to public facilities (including HVAC replacements), build new comfort stations and rehabilitate up to 40 existing comfort stations, and/or such other project(s) as approved by the County through the Bureau of Finance. The Bureau of Finance will monitor the use of the grant award by the FPDCC and report on the completion of the identified capital projects in accordance with the Beneficiary Agreement.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the capital projects included in the above-referenced Beneficiary Agreements shall be completed by year-end 2026.
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