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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
ARPA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES COOK COUNTY SUN AND SAVE PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
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 $1,000,372,385B of ARPA funding to Cook County to assist the County in its recovery from the economic and health effects of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, on June 24, 2021, the Cook County American Rescue Plan Act Framework (the “ARPA Framework”) was presented to the Cook County Board of Commissioners; and
WHEREAS, to effectuate the approach outlined in the ARPA Framework, the Cook County Board of Commissioners authorized the Chief Financial Officer and the Budget Director to expend a limited amount of ARPA funding via Resolution 21-3657 for the purpose of continuing and expanding existing County programs and initiatives, including any created under CRF, as well as for the purpose of building operational support capacity within County departments and offices to assist with managing the ARPA funded initiatives; and
WHEREAS, Resolution 22-0637 authorized the Chief Financial Officer, Budget Director, Chief Procurement Officer and applicable using agencies to issue grants, contracts and agreements for up to $25M in FY22 ARPA funding for Sustainable Community programs approved via Resolution 22-0637; and
WHEREAS, to further the Policy Roadmap Goal, the Department of Environment & Sustainability (DES) supports healthy, resilient communities that thrive economically, socially, and environmentally; and
WHEREAS, in keeping with the Roadmap’s focus on equity, Sustainable Communities highlight the need to ensure environmental justice and a healthy environment for all people and places by offering programs that decrease financial and informational barriers to environmental benefits; and
WHEREAS, DES aims to reduce climate change and provide ways to minimize its effects by prioritizing renewable energy; and
WHEREAS, DES has developed a menu of Sustainable Communities programs and initiatives which have undergone review and approval through the Project Management Office process to utilize ARPA funding for such programs and initiatives pursuant to the issuance of grants, contracts and agreements.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners hereby approves the issuance of the following agreement by DES to utilize ARPA funding to enter into a Subrecipient Agreement with 360 Energy Group in an amount up to $3,085,155 to implement the Residential Renewable Energy Subsidy program or Cook County Sun and Save. This program aims to make solar installations more affordable for Cook County residents and will cover the cost of solar installations for residents who are over 80 percent and at/or below 120 percent of Area Median Income through the suburbs and the city of Chicago; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners recognizes that time is of the essence and authorizes the Director of the Department of Environment & Sustainability to negotiate and enter into the various agreements that outlines the specific metric and impact data, and compliance with all ARPA reporting and monitoring requirements with the agencies listed above to implement the above programs..end