June 18, 2024
Public Works
DATE: June 18, 2024
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Lina Velasco, Director of Community Development
Daniel Chavarria, Director of Public Works
Tawfic Halaby, Deputy Director of Public Works
Greg Hardesty, Superintendent of Parks and
Landscaping
Subject:
Groundwork Richmond Contract Amendment to Support
Urban Forestry
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The contract is funded through the Environmental and Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) entered into
between Chevron and the City of Richmond. The ECIA
allocated $2 million for urban forestry as part of the
investments in community-based greenhouse gas
reduction programs (11733631-400201-2A1GA).
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
July 20, 2021
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Since 2021, the City has been contracting with
Groundwork Richmond to administer its urban forestry
program, including tree plantings and early tree care.
This work was recently expanded with a Transformative
Climate Communities (TCC) implementation grant;
therefore, City staff is requesting approval of a contract amendment No. 1 to align the scope and budget with the
workplan and scope of the TCC grant related to urban
forestry.
AGENDA
REPORT
June 18, 2024
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
APPROVE a contract amendment No. 1 with
Groundwork Richmond to increase the contract amount
by $686,889, for a total not to exceed amount of
$1,031,889, for a term beginning July 1, 2024, through
June 30, 2026, to continue administering the City’s urban forestry program to be funded by the Environmental and
Community Investment Agreement urban forestry funds –
Community Development Department/Public Works
Department (Lina Velasco 510-621-1231/Daniel
Chavarria 510-620-5478).
DISCUSSION:
In July 2021, the City Council approved a 3-year contract with a 1-year option with Groundwork Richmond to administer its urban forestry program utilizing the resources from the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction section of the Environmental and Community Investment Agreement (ECIA). As part of that work, the Parks Maintenance Division established a Tree Coordination Committee (Committee) comprised of City of Richmond staff and local nonprofits invested in greening Richmond. The City of Richmond’s Parks Maintenance Division and several nonprofit organizations have partnered over the past several years in applying for and receiving funding to help build Richmond’s urban forest. In 2021, the Committee recommended strengthening the city-wide tree initiative by using funds from the ECIA and other resources and creating an Urban Forest Project Administrator position. This work was recently expanded with a Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) implementation grant; therefore, Groundwork Richmond was determined best suited to function in that capacity. Per the TCC grant, the City agreed to leverage ECIA funds to enhance urban forestry-related work.
To-date, Groundwork Richmond has applied for and received grant awards of $1.5 million dollars through the California Natural Resources Agency, CalFire, and mostly recently as a co-applicant in the City’s TCC grant to plant more than 500 trees in the TCC project area over 5 years. More information regarding TCC can be located on the City’s website at https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/4609/TCC-Richmond-Rising.
With more than 12 years of collaboration, Groundwork Richmond, Parks Maintenance staff, and other nonprofit partners have ensured sound arboriculture practices are followed, operating under the guidance of City personnel. The collaboration will facilitate the expanded capacity of Parks Maintenance staff and establish a well-staffed urban forestry division. Furthermore, Groundwork Richmond will continue to coordinate and administer the overall program, working with the City to ensure that the tree planting program is consistent with City requirements and is documented within the tree inventory and tracking of greenhouse gas reduction data. Additionally, Groundwork Richmond will be responsible for administrative details, including reporting to funders, monitoring, collecting, and reporting data of all partners to appropriate sources, and
June 18, 2024
continuing to work with partners to develop additional resources for building Richmond’s urban forest.
To move forward with the project, staff recommends that the City Council approve the amendment to the $686,889 contract to function as the Urban Forestry Project Administrator responsible for project management of the Tree Coordination Committee and duties outlined in the attached contract.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Amendment to the Contract
Attachment 2 – Original Contract