Project Description
Ventura County used their grant funds to support the struggling Habitat
for Humanity ReStore, Ventura County's only reuse option for C&D discards.
The majority of the funds were used to collect donations of reusable
building materials from homes and construction sites for two years. This was
key to the project's success as no pick-up service was available. The
remaining funds were used to create on-screen ads in two theatres; Spanish
language radio ads; and quarterly, targeted bulk-mailings intended to
generate high-quality donations, increased awareness of the ReStore, and its
tax donation benefits. Funds were also used to expand the ReStore's customer
base in the English and Spanish speaking communities of the County.
The steps required to accomplish their project are as follows:
Task 1: Secure Contract with the California Conservation Corps for
ReStore Workers. (Matching Services—100 percent complete)
Efforts to finalize a contract with the California Conservation Corps (CCC)
to employ two corps members for the Habitat for Humanity's ReStore were
terminated on February 23, 2004. For over two months the Environmental and
Energy Resources Department (EERD) staff attempted to work with the CCC's
work-team manager to draft a contract for two corps members to work at the
ReStore. Work could not proceed as calls were not returned, forms and
information not provided, and meetings missed. During the County's last
phone conversation, their CCC contact stated that if the State's budget were
not approved, the Camarillo CCC facility would be closed. The EERD
determined that given these facts, with CIWMB approval, they would hire two
County of Ventura "Extra Help" employees to work at the ReStore for the
duration of the grant.
Task 2: Prepare to Hire Two County of Ventura "Extra-Help" Employees
to Work at ReStore. (Matching Services—100 percent complete)
As part of this effort, EERD staff was required to work with the County’s
Human Resources Department to: craft a complete job description, assist with
decisions regarding cost-effective advertising strategies, screen
applications and participate in the selection of five final candidates for
the interview, set up interview dates, craft appropriate questions, conduct
the interviews and offer the positions to the selected candidates. EERD
staff hosted an Orientation Meeting attended by the Habitat for Humanity's
ReStore manager, Stephanie Varella, at which time they finalized the new
employee's work schedules, explained the County's time reporting
requirements, and clarified the ReStore's responsibility to ensure their new
employees work their designated 32 hours per week.
Task 3: Non-Refundable Charges from the County's Accounting Department
to Set up the Contract with the California Conservation Corps. (Matching
Services—100 percent complete)
The County's Accounting Department (Public Works Agency—CSD Fiscal
Services) bills every Public Works Department for CSD staff time to set up
and monitor contracts and payments between outside vendors and/or service
providers and departments such as the EERD. The Procurement Services Fee
Schedule breaks-out processing fees based upon Purchase Order
(PO) dollar amounts ranging from an $11.36 fee for $1 to $4,000 POs and a
$789.52 fee for POs over $25,001. These charges are non-refundable and are
billed at the front-end of a grant. Although the EERD argued that they should
not be charged since the CCC contract effort was terminated in its early
stages, CSD stated that the fee charged reflected the work of several
employees to set up the contract and payment schedules, and were
non-negotiable pursuant to the County's cost recovery policies.
Task 4: Employ Two County "Extra-Help" Employees to Work at the
ReStore from April 21, 2004 to April 30, 2005. (Reimbursable Services—40
percent complete)
The County's two Extra Help employees began work at the ReStore on their
scheduled start dates (Robert Collins: April 21, 2004 and Jeff Leeson: April
26, 2004) and have been paid for 328 and 304 hours respectively. To date,
one absence was reported (death in family), and their work deemed
"excellent" by Ms. Varella, ReStore manager. Time sheets are prepared
by an EERD manager based on time cards received from the ReStore's manager
once a week.
Task 5: Prepare and process Purchase Orders for American Cinema
advertising at Century 16 and Century 10 Theatres. (Matching Services—100
percent complete)
Separate Purchase Orders (POs) were prepared for these two Grant activities.
The first PO was prepared for the Century 16 Theatre ads scheduled to run
from November 28, 2003 to February 26, 2004. The second PO was prepared for
Century 10 Theatre ads scheduled to run from February 27, 2004 to May 27,
2004. Ads at both theatres were scheduled to run three times before every movie
screened at the multiplex from 11 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., seven days a week.
Task 6: Run Theatre Ads at "Century 16" Theatre in the City of
Ventura. (Reimbursable Services—100 percent complete)
The "3 Easy Ways to Reuse Your Discards" on-screen ads began running on
November 28, 2003, right before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. This
afforded the County a much bigger than usual audience since several
blockbuster films (e.g., Lord of the Rings and Finding Nemo)
premiered that weekend. These on-screen ads ran until February 28, 2004.
EERD staff spoke weekly with American Cinema's advertising representative to
ensure everything was running smoothly. In two instances Pandee Leachman
called to report that the ad only ran twice before a film, and once reported
that Ms. Leachman had attended a film to conduct a survey and no ads ran.
Ms. Leachman was informed the slide machine was broken, and they ran the
County's ads an extra day at this theatre to compensate the County.
Task 7: Run Theatre Ads at "Century 10" Theatre in the City of
Ventura. (Reimbursable Services—100 percent complete)
The "3 Easy Ways to Use Your Discards" ads began running at this multiplex
on February 27, 2004 and were shown three times before every movie screened
at the multiplex from 11:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. until May 27, 2004. EERD
staff communicated regularly with their advertising representative while the
County ads ran at this multiplex as the Century group had changed its policy
(see Task 8) and the County was not allowed to survey guests inside the
theatre. The American Cinema representative called Ms. Leachman after all of
her QA/QC visits to advise that everything was running smoothly.
Task 8: Survey at Century 10 & Century 16 Theatres to gauge
effectiveness of on-screen ads. (Matching Services—100 percent
complete)
Problems arose when the Century Theatre's policy changed and on-site surveys
were determined to "negatively impact their patron's movie experience." At
the Century 16 theatre, staff was only allowed to survey people attending a
movie they had purchased a ticket for. As a result, all of the on-site
surveys were conducted by one staff–person (Ms. Leachman). Ms. Leachman's
survey protocol was casual: Wearing her County ID badge, she approached
seated patrons, introduced herself as the County's Reuse Assistance Grant
manager, and offered them her business card. She asked: 1) Had they heard
about the Habitat for Humanity's ReStore in Oxnard, and 2) Were they
familiar with the County's VCMAX reuse program? ReStore brochures and VCMAX
catalogs were offered. Surveys were conducted on five occasions; 23 people
were surveyed—13 before the film and ten people after the film at the
exit. Comments were helpful (run the ads longer, people are talking and
don't watch the ads, and the phone numbers should be larger). The majority
had not heard of the ReStore or VCMAX, but were interested in learning more
about both, supported the idea of reuse, were in favor of recycling, and
accepted the handouts. This information correlates with input from the
ReStore's manager, Ms. Varella. EERD had requested that ReStore staff
query, when possible, customers as they checked out asking, "How did you
hear about the ReStore." Most responded "Word of mouth," but
Ms. Varella noted
that after the theatre ads began running, about one-third of their customers
said "At the movies." Ms. Varella stated, "I think they worked pretty well!"
By the time the on-screen ads were scheduled to run at the Century 10 in
downtown Ventura the Century Theatre chains policy had changed again. Staff
was not allowed to survey patrons but could stand outside. On Friday, April
16, 2004 Ms. Leachman surveyed 12 people at this theatre, six of which had
heard of the ReStore, ten of which were familiar with VCMAX. Seven people
had donated or shopped at the ReStore and supported the idea of a "Thrift
Store for Building Materials" in the County. "Everyone likes a good deal"
seems to be the theme of these City of Ventura shoppers! Due to staff cuts,
no more surveys were conducted at this theatre.
Century Theatre's Policy Change: Century Theatres terminated their
working arrangement with our vendor, American Cinema Advertising, in March
2004. The chain has contracted with a company that places on screen ads for
network TV shows and automobiles. Overall, Ms. Leachman rates "on screen"
theatre advertising as a very effective public outreach tool. These ads are
extremely cost–effective and provided us with months of advertising for 3
important County of Ventura reuse programs. If the Century Theatre chain
changes its policy, Ms. Leachman would definitely pursue this type of
advertising again. Theatres are doing a booming business, and this provides
us with a great opportunity to reach a very diverse audience of Ventura
County residents.
Task 9: Create Database for Habitat for Humanity Advertising and
Flyers. (Matching Services—100 percent complete)
A Senior Analyst in the Information and Technology Division (ITD) was
assigned to work with the Habitat for Humanity on this project. In January
2004, using Dun and Bradstreet and County of Ventura Business License data,
a final list of 3,341 businesses, representing numerous construction and
building trade categories, was created. This data will provide the Habitat
for Humanity with a viable list of current businesses and self-employed
contractors to mail their flyers and outreach materials too. The EERD will
provide the ReStore with a database containing 1,000 business names and
addresses at the beginning of every quarter for the duration of the grant.
The Habitat's advertising and outreach varies (first quarter brochures in
envelopes, second quarter folders were sent out) and Bruce will sort the
available data to craft a "targeted" mailing list for them. The Habitat
prints the labels, affixes them to the outreach materials, and uses Grant
Funds ($270 per quarter) to pay for the postage.
*Task 10: Create Flyer for Habitat for Humanity's ReStore Advertising.
(Matching Services—not yet started)
The Habitat for Humanity is fortunate to have received the "donated" time of
several gifted graphic artists in the County, who have crafted all of their
flyers and outreach materials. To date, they have chosen to use their
existing flyers and brochures (first and second quarter 2004) and are
working on a "Mail Packet" (third quarter 2004) to advertise their "Grand
Reopening" now scheduled for July 21, 2004. These packets will contain a
number of different pieces of information and outreach materials; some
packets to large contractors will include County of Ventura Building Code
Handbooks (paid for with Grant funds).
*Task 11: Pay for Postage to Mail ReStore's Advertising and Flyers.
(Reimbursable Services—40 percent complete)
With the CIWMB's permission, the Habitat for Humanity has been reimbursed
$270 per quarter to offset the cost of purchasing US Postage (either
non-profit bulk rate postage for flyers or stamps for brochures and/or
packets of materials) to mail their advertising materials to a targeted
database of potential or current customers. To date $540 has been expended,
$270 for both the first and second quarters of 2004. This has worked out
great, and given the Habitat for Humanity real flexibility in their
advertising strategies.
*Task 12: Prepare and Process Purchase Order for Six Weeks of Radio
Lazer Advertising. (Matching Services—25 percent complete)
Hispanic outreach via Radio Lazer advertising is scheduled to run July 26
through August 8, 2004 and September 27 through October 10, 2004. The radio
ads will run twice per hour, during "a.m./p.m.drive time," prime advertising
hours, on four number one-rated Lazer stations. In the intervening weeks,
the same ads will be run as PSAs, on the same schedule, at no charge. A
Purchase Order for $5,000 has been prepared and approved. Once again, they await the vendor. Despite repeated calls and promises, Radio Lazer's
advertising manager has yet to provide EERD with an Advertising Agreement,
outlining their charges, a timeframe noting when the ads will be run, etc.
Without this, and their signature on the Reliable Vendors agreement, they
cannot process the Purchase Order. The script for the radio ad is complete
and has been translated into Spanish. Once EERD management approves the
Advertising Agreement and reviews the advertising text, they will send the
Purchase Order to CSD for processing.
EERD will gauge the effectiveness of the radio and theatre advertising
campaigns by comparing their impact on sales at the ReStore. These 30-second
Spanish language radio ads target the county's large Hispanic population in
hopes of drawing more Hispanic contractors and customers to the ReStore.
*Tasks 13: Run Hispanic Radio Ads for Two Weeks on Four Radio Lazer
Stations. (Reimbursable Services—not yet started)
Radio ads have been rescheduled and will run August 23, 2004 to September 5,
2004. Free PSAs are scheduled to run until September 25, 2004.
*Task 14: Run Hispanic Radio Ads for Two Weeks on Four Radio Lazer
Stations. (Reimbursable Services —not yet started)
Radio ads rescheduled to run October 11, 2004 to October 24, 2004.
Task 15: Prepare and Process Purchase Order for Three Nesting Platform
Carts for ReStore. (Matching Services—100 percent complete)
Task 16: Purchase Three Nesting Platform Carts. (Reimbursable
Services—100 percent complete)
Materials picked up by ReStore.
Task 17: Prepare and Process Purchase Order for Large Door Cart for
ReStore. (Matching Services—100 percent complete)
Task 18: Purchase Large Door Cart. (Reimbursable Services—100
percent complete)
Materials picked up by ReStore.
Task 19: Order Building Code Books for Habitat, prepare and process
Purchase Order and Journal Voucher. (Matching Services—100
percent complete)
With CIWMB approval, EERD ordered ten Building Code books from the County's
Building & Safety Department. A Purchase Order was prepared and EERD
administrative staff worked with Building and Safety to process a $50
Journal Voucher payment to pay for ten Building Code handbooks at $5 each.
The Habitat for Humanity requested these handbooks and will use them to
clarify building specifications and requirements and encourage contractors
to use and reuse building materials.
Task 20: Purchase Building Code Books and Deliver to Habitat for
Humanity. (Reimbursable Charges—100 percent complete)
Ten County of Ventura Building Codebooks were purchased and delivered to the
ReStore for use in their advertising and outreach to general contractors.
Task 21: Prepare for Purchase of Small Door Cart. (Matching
Services—100 percent complete)
Task 22: Purchase Small Door Cart. (Reimbursable Services—100
percent complete)
Materials picked up by ReStore.
Task 23: Prepare for Purchase of Three Lightweight Pieces of Equipment
for Senior Citizen Volunteers (Matching Services—100 percent
complete)
Task 24: Purchase Three Pieces of Light Equipment for Use by ReStore's
Senior Volunteers. (Reimbursable Services—100 percent complete)
Materials picked up by Restore.
Task 25: Prepare for Purchase of Three More Pieces of Light Equipment
for Senior Volunteers. (Matching Services—100 percent complete)
Task 26: Purchase Three Pieces of Lightweight Equipment.
(Reimbursable Services—100 percent complete)
Materials picked up by ReStore.
*Task 27: Prepare VCMAX Catalogs (Spring and Summer 2004) and Include
Print Ad for the RAIN Project and the Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore.
(Matching Services—100 percent complete)
Task 28: Prepare Purchase Order for Two 12-month Vista "Go Ventura"
Bus Passes to Transport CCC Workers from Camarillo Facility to the Oxnard
ReStore. (Matching Services—100 percent complete)
This task was very daunting and required hours of work with the CCC and the
Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC). It required special
permission from the VCTC's Executive Director for issuance of bus passes in
the name of a facility and organization (CCC) instead of in the name of a
person who could be matched with a photo ID. There was concern at VCTC that
the bus passes would be abused, but negotiations were successful and EERD
was poised to buy "passes issued in the name of the CCC. Protocols were
written and provided to the CCC to ensure that a CCC manager gave the bus
passes to the CCC workers every morning and collected them every night. They
were not to be used on days CCC staff was not working at the ReStore. EERD
had prepared a Purchase Order and the County cut a check to VCTC for $960.
When contractual arrangements with CCC were terminated and there was no need
for the bus passes, EERD returned the check and, with the CIWMB's approval,
used the money to purchase more equipment for the ReStore. Although they did
not purchase the bus passes, many hours were spent on this task.
*Task 29: Arrange for RAIN Project Volunteer to Work 100 Hours at the
ReStore. (Matching Services—not yet started)
The EERD is scheduled to begin working with the RAIN Project's Director in
August 2004 to finalize this task. With the County budget crisis looming,
and possible cuts to the RAIN Project, it was put it on hold until the FY
2004/2005 budget was approved. The plan to train a RAIN Project volunteer to
work at the ReStore has not been changed. One person will work a total of
100 hours, ten hours per week, for ten weeks. Transportation to and from the
ReStore will be provided by the RAIN Project. Ms. Varella, the
ReStore's manager, will train the RAIN Project volunteer at one of the
regularly scheduled ReStore Volunteer Training sessions.
*Task 30: Prepare Quarterly and Final Reports for the CIWMB.
(Matching Services—50 percent complete)
This is the County's third Progress Report and their first Matching Funds
Contributions submission.
*Task 31: Staff Visits to the ReStore on an Intermittent Basis for
Duration of the Grant. (Matching Services—25 percent complete)
Now that the two County Extra Help employees have been trained and work
regularly at the ReStore, EERD staff plans to make regular biweekly visits
to the Habitat for Humanity offices and the ReStore. In previous months,
EERD staff has maintained weekly phone contact with Ms. Varella and Daryl Yankee, assistant to the Executive Director of
the Habitat for Humanity
Task 32: Five Percent Department Overhead. (28 percent complete)
The County requested $680.70 in Department Overhead in their last
submission.
*Anticipated Accomplishments for January 2005 Reporting Period
The task descriptions in the previous narrative identify the County's
goals for the coming five months:
Task 4: Two County of Ventura Extra-Help employees will continue to work
at the ReStore until April 30, 2005.
Task 10: EERD staff will create at least one original flyer or
advertisement for the ReStore.
Task 11: EERD will reimburse the Habitat for Humanity $540 in postage
expenses for two quarters.
Tasks 12-14: Spanish language radio advertisements and PSAs will be run
on four Radio Lazer stations over three months.
Task 27: Prepare Fall and Winter 2004 VCMAX publication, which include
RAIN and ReStore ads.
Task 29: Arrangements will be made for one RAIN Project volunteer to be
trained and begin work at the Restore.
Task 31: EERD staff hopes to spend at least four hours per month for the
duration of this grant.
Prepared and submitted by Pandee Leachman, Reuse Assistance Grant Manager
September 15, 2004
*Permission was obtained from grant recipient to publish project profile.
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