December 17, 2024
City Council
DATE: December 17, 2024
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Council Member Cesar Zepeda
Subject:
Railroad Crossings Grant Writer -a multi district effort that prioritizes neighborhoods with limited emergency access FINANCIAL IMPACT: All departments that utilize on -call grant support services will be responsible for appropriating funding for these services from their approved fiscal year operating budgets (Object Code 400201).
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
On-call List for Qualified Consultants for Grant Writing, Grant Seeking, and Other Grant Related Service
- October 1, 2024
Adopted Resolution No. 106-24- October 1, 2024
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
For many years multiple Richmond communities have
been impacted by trains blocking the ingress and egress, and the various neighborhoods emergency access. A
grant writer is needed to pursue the billions of federal grant funding available to help build underpasses/ overpasses to create better connectivity of communities without trains dividing our community.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
DIRECT staff to utilize a grant writer from the 18 pre - approved vendor list to provide on-call grant writing, grant seeking, or other grant-related services to pursue railroad crossing elimination program funding, federal funding,
state funding, and funding from the Federal Railroad
Administration, on an as needed basis, for a thr ee-year term expiring September 30, 2027, with two one -year
options to extend, and a not to exceed total expenditure of AGENDA
REPORT
December 17, 2024
$100,000 per firm annually and to come back to City
Council with a selected grant writer by February 2025.
Direct the City Manager to designate a Project Manager to help manage the grant writer and manage funding for the projects at the various identified locations and to have grant writer identified and applied for grant by June 2025.
Council Member Cesar Zepeda (510-620-6593).
DISCUSSION:
For many years multiple Richmond communities have been impacted by trains blocking the ingress and egress, and the various neighborhoods emergency access. Billions of federal funding are available for our City to pursue grants to help build underpasses/ overpasses to create better connectivity of communities without trains dividing our community.
To support City departments in successfully pursuing and receiving grant funding, the City Manager’s Office released a Request for Qualifications in March 2024, to create a prequalified eligibility list of individuals, consulting firms, or teams to seek, evaluate, and/or prepare grant proposals for individual or a collaboration of City department(s).
On October 1, 2024 City Council adopted Resolution No. 106-24 approving eighteen (18) firms to provide on-call grant writing, grant seeking, or other grant-related services to City departments, on an as needed basis, for a three-year term expiring September 30, 2027, with two one-year options to extend, and a not to exceed total expenditure of $100,000 per firm annually.
The following firms on the preapproved vendor list for utilization:
December 17, 2024
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Resolution No. 106-24
Attachment 2 – City Council Meeting Minutes- October 1, 2024 Item N.2.a