Title
Dept/ Agency: Economic and Housing Development
Action: ( ) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Grant Agreement
Purpose: To grant financial assistance for the purchase of fixtures, furnishings, and equipment for the charitable and educational operations of GlassRoots, Inc. for the property located at 292-306 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, Newark, New Jersey 07102, identified on the Official Tax Map of the City of Newark as Block 42, Lot 44.01 or such other property as may be determined pursuant to Section 4.4 of the Grant Agreement as defined herein.
Entity Name: GlassRoots, Inc.
Entity Address: 10 Bleeker Street, Newark, New Jersey 07102
Grant Amount: $500,000.00
Total Project Cost: $2,292,521.00
City Contribution: $500,000.00
Other Funding Source/Amount:
$1,000,000.00 Nicholson Foundation;
$75,000.00 Victoria Foundation;
$50,000.00 Prudential Foundation;
$35,000.00 Hyde & Watson Foundation;
$25,000.00 MCJ Foundation; $49,995.00; and
$479,150.00 Pledged Individual Gifts
Grant Period: Commencing upon execution of an agreement and expires no later than December 31, 2020
Contract Basis: ( ) Bid ( ) State Vendor ( ) Prof. Ser. ( ) EUS
( ) Fair & Open ( ) No Reportable Contributions ( ) RFP ( ) RFQ
( ) Private Sale (X ) Grant ( ) Sub-recipient ( ) n/a
List of Property: (if applicable)
(Address/Block/Lot/Ward)
292-306 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard/Block 42/Lot 44.01/Central Ward
Additional Information:
body
WHEREAS, the Municipal Council (“Municipal Council”) of the City of Newark (the “City”), encourages and supports the development of spaces for charitable and educational use for the benefit of the City’s residents; and
WHEREAS, GlassRoots, Inc., 10 Bleeker Street, Newark, New Jersey 07102 (“GlassRoots”) is a New Jersey non-profit corporation that provides, among other things, glass-art classes and entrepreneurship programs to City youth of all ages; and
WHEREAS, GlassRoots has leased approximately 23,000 square feet of space on the first floor and basement of the real property located at 292-306 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, (Block 42/Lot 44.01) Newark, New Jersey, or such other property as may be determined pursuant to Section 4.4 of the Grant Agreement as defined herein (the “Property”), and is in the process of developing that portion of the Property to host its educational programming for the benefit of the City’s youth and the community at large (the “Project”); and
WHEREAS, GlassRoots has also requested that it be permitted pursuant to Section 4.4 of the Grant Agreement, prior to the commencement of the Project, to relocate the Project site to an alternate location within the City if GlassRoots determines it is in GlassRoots’ best interests to do so; and
WHEREAS, the site construction phase of the Project is underway, having an anticipated completion date of December 31, 2020; and
WHEREAS, GlassRoots applied for a $500,000.00 grant from the City’s Community Development Block Grant (“CDBG”) in order to support the purchase of fixtures, furnishings, and equipment necessary for completion of the Project; and
WHEREAS, the City may allocate funds to support activities intended to reinvigorate the City through the Community and Economic Redevelopment Dedicated Trust Fund (the “Fund”); and
WHEREAS, the City, through the Department of Economic and Housing Development, determined that the grant should be drawn from the Fund, rather than CDBG funds, as the Project is better aligned with the purpose for which the Fund was created; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to make a capital grant from the Fund in an amount not to exceed Five Hundred Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($500,000.00) to GlassRoots to be used solely for the purchase of fixtures, furnishings, and equipment necessary for completion of the Project as detailed in the Grant Agreement, with the understanding that the grant funds shall only be disbursed upon Grassroots’ presentation to the City of costs and/or invoices in accordance with the Project’s budget detail and with the City having, at all times, the sole and absolute discretion to disapprove any invoice or proposed cost that is not consistent with statutory guidelines and/or the Project; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to enter into a Grant Agreement with GlassRoots to memorialize the terms and conditions of its grant in the amount of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($500,000.00).
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
1. The Municipal Council of the City of Newark hereby authorizes the issuance of a capital grant from the amounts deposited in the Fund in the amount of $500,000.00 to GlassRoots, Incorporated, 10 Bleeker Street, Newark, New Jersey 07102 to be used solely to finance the purchase of fixtures, furnishings, and equipment required for the completion of the Project as set forth in the Project Proposal and Grant Agreement and to only be disbursed upon Grassroots’ presentation to the City of costs and/or invoices in accordance with the Project’s budget detail with the City having, at all times, the sole and absolute discretion to disapprove any invoice or proposed cost that is not consistent with statutory guidelines and/or the Project.
2. The Mayor and/or his designee, the Acting Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development, are hereby authorized to enter into and execute, on the City’s behalf, a Grant Agreement with GlassRoots, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A (“Grant Agreement”).
3. Attached hereto is a Certification of Funds, which shall be filed in the Office of the City Clerk, from the Director of Finance of the City of Newark, which states that: (1) there are sufficient funds in the amount of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($500,000.00) and; (2) that the line appropriation of Official Budget, which shall be charged, is as follows:
|
Business Unit |
Dept. |
Division/ Project |
Activity |
Account# |
Budget Ref. |
|
NW026 |
BS |
|
|
32100 |
B2019 |
4. A copy of the fully executed Grant Agreement must be placed on file in the Office of the City Clerk by the Acting Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development.
STATEMENT
This Resolution authorizes the Mayor and/or his designee, and the Acting Deputy Mayor/Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development to enter into a Grant Agreement with GlassRoots Inc., located at 10 Bleeker Street, Newark, New Jersey 07102, for the issuance of a grant from the City’s Community and Economic Development Dedicated Trust Fund in the amount of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($500,000.00), to finance the purchase of fixtures, furnishings, and equipment required for the completion of the project to develop 292-306 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard (Block 42, Lot 44.01), Newark, New Jersey 07102 (Central Ward), or other property as may be determined under the Grant Agreement, into a site for GlassRoots Inc.’s charitable and educational programming for the benefit of the City’s residents.