Resolution 09-0320R3 established the Hennepin Youth Sports Program and Minnesota Law 2006 Chapter 257 authorized Hennepin County to make grants for youth activities and youth and amateur sports within Hennepin County. The board reserved $35,000 for a swimming pilot project as part of the $2,225,000 maximum sum for the Hennepin Youth Sports Program's 2016 grant cycle. Resolution 15-0376R1 directed county administration to develop a pilot project in 2016 to increase access to swimming lessons for youth and/or communities who are underserved in Hennepin County. 

The board adopted resolution 16-0240 on July 12, 2016 that directed the county administrator to negotiate a contract with the USA Swimming Foundation to develop and administer a process of directing funds to qualified lesson providers to improve access to swim lessons for underserved communities in Hennepin County and authorized the expenditure of the $35,000 that had been reserved for the swimming lesson pilot project. 

The current request is to continue the pilot project through 2018 by extending the current agreement through December 31, 2018 and increasing the contract amount by $35,000. Funding for the swimming lesson pilot project was included in the adopted 2017 budget and no additional appropriation is required. The USA Swimming Foundation gathers information from swimming programs that are grant recipients and will finish compiling that data near the end of the year. County staff will provide the board the information from the USA Swimming Foundation when it has been received.