DATE: June 17, 2025
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Library Services, Jayanti Addleman
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resol ution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the Hayward Promise Neighborhoods (HPN) One (1) Year Contract; Accept and Appropriate Up to $1 50,000 in Congressionally Funded Community Project Funding for South Hayward Promise Neighborhoods Partners for Calendar Year 2025; and Execute an Agreement with Ross McDonald Co., Inc.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) authorizing the City Manager to:
1.) Execute the Hayward Promise Neighborhoods (HPN) one (1) year contract totaling up to $150,000 for Calendar Year 2025. No match funding required; and to
2.) Accept and appropriate up to $150,000 in funding from HPN for Calendar Year 2025.
3.) Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a single source agreement with Ross McDonald Co., Inc. to provide customized library furniture and shelving in the amount not to exceed $150,000.
SUMMARY
The Promise Neighborhoods Initiative was established under the federal legislative authority of the Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) program. Started during the Obama administration, the vision of the initiative is to make it possible for all children, youth, and young adults growing up and being educated in “Promise Neighborhoods” to have access to high quality schools and strong systems of family and community support.
In January of 2023, Council was made aware that the U.S. Department of Education awarded the Hayward Promise Neighborhoods (HPN) consortium a new $30 million (5) five-year grant ($6 Million per year for five calendar years 2023 through 2027) to expand their decade-long South Hayward focused initiative to serve Downtown Hayward and the surrounding
communities along the A St. and Mission Blvd. corridors. HPN works through an extensive partnership of community organizations to serve the community. Starting in 2025, the South Hayward HPN partners had the opportunity to request Congressional funding up to $150,000.
These funds have been approved to be used towards the Weekes renovation project.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Starting from January 1, 2025, the South Hayward Promise Neighborhoods (SHPN) partners that were originally mentioned in the grant proposal had the opportunity to request congressional funding of up to $150,000. This funding is intended to sustain or expand their existing South HPN solutions. Each partner of SHPN was able to submit a budget proposal and outline the scope of work, demonstrating how they plan to spend the $150,000 by December 31, 2025, to continue improving outcomes for students and families. It's important to note that there is no requirement for matching funding for this grant. The proposed budget and scope of work are in line with the priorities listed in the original grant scope of work. These priorities were initially submitted to the U.S.
Department of Education as part of the no-cost extension proposal.
The City of Hayward’s Library Department has been granted $150,000 to be used towards the purchase of additional furniture for Weekes Branch to support the reactivation of the space for South Hayward community members and provide space for diverse resources in response to community need and 21st century technological needs. The Weekes Branch renovation project will increase community use/access to Library resources and provide a safe welcoming space for all. By creating a safe and welcoming space, the City anticipates the growth of programming, due to attracting community members to use the facility, and the improvement of the Community Meeting Room for free public access to a space for meetings and special events.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research1, and based on data obtained over the past four decades, studies show that there is a strong correlation between economic development and the delivery of quality education. The study states in part that at the national level, the low end of the economic improvement range equates to an increase of $32 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2095 by simply bringing the lowest-performing students in each state up to “Basic” level as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). At the high end, the U.S. economy could realize as much as $76 trillion if every state brought student performance up to the current performance level of the best state.
The National Promise Neighborhood School Reform Initiative is designed to improve the education and development of students—cradle to career. It operates on the premise that a student’s ability to learn is impacted not only by the schools that they attend but also by several quality-of-life factors that exist beyond the walls of educational institutions. Poverty, housing and food security, safety, health and public health, and other social factors also impact a student’s ability to learn. Consequently, the Hayward Promise Neighborhood collaboration of public and private service organizations works to not only improve the quality of services
1 Source: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Paper No. 21770- http://www.nber.org/papers/w21770
provided by local child development and educational institutions, but it also strives to optimize the health, mental health, and safety of individual students, their families, their neighborhoods, and the greater Hayward community in which these students live. Hayward Public Library plays a key role in this collaboration of organizations.
Staff also seeks authorization for the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Ross McDonald Co., Inc., to provide customized library furniture and shelving in the amount not to exceed $150,000. Since 1969, Ross McDonald Co., Inc., has furnished library equipment in thousands of public, academic, school, and private libraries in Northern California. The vendor specializes in collaborating with libraries to compassionately re- envision public spaces, making them more welcoming and accessible to diverse communities.
Services include generated drawings to facility specifications/dimension, in-house services such as removal of existing furniture, and installation of new furnishings and shelving. Ross McDonald Co., Inc., is one of the only full-service providers in Northern California that offers all desired furniture specifications at competitive pricing that match the dimension and finish needs necessary for the Weekes Branch renovation, within necessary timelines. In addition, this vendor provides in-house installation services in the timeframe necessary. On August 20, 2024, Council authorized the City Manager to negotiate a sole source with Ross McDonald Co., Inc., for the Weekes Branch renovation, in the amount not to exceed $458,000, using Community Development Block Grant funds, as well as special revenue funding from the Friends of the Hayward Library and California State University (Resolution No. 24-167) for the Weekes Branch renovation. The execution of another sole source is necessary to purchase matching furniture with the additional $150,000 in congressional funding from Hayward Promise Neighborhoods.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This consent item supports the following items in Hayward’s current Strategic Roadmap:
Enhance Community Safety and Quality of Life, Grow the Economy, and Invest in Infrastructure.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City of Hayward will receive a total of $150,000 in funding from HPN over Calendar Year 2025. There is no match commitment. There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund.
NEXT STEPS
Upon the Council’s approval, staff will execute the agreement between HPN and the City of Hayward and appropriate the HPN funding to purchase furniture for the Children’s Area and Meeting Room for the Weekes Branch Library over the term of the agreement.
Prepared by: Lindsey Vien, Deputy Director of Library Services
Recommended by: Jayanti Addleman, Director of Library Services
Approved by:
_____________________________________________
Michael Lawson, J.D.
Acting City Manager