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Committee Reviews $800,000 USDA Grant to Expand PowerCorps Urban Forestry Training
Summary
The committee heard from the Office of Workforce Development and PowerCorps staff about an $800,000 USDA urban and community forestry grant (Docket 0395) to fund a 10‑month training program for young adults and boost city tree canopy; staff warned the award may be at risk pending federal funding decisions.
Councilor Gabriela Colette Zapata convened discussion of Docket 0395 on April 7, a message and order authorizing the City of Boston to accept and expend $800,000 in a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture passed through the CORE Network to the Office of Workforce Development.
Joseph Lee (chief of staff — as introduced to the committee) and program staff described how the funds would support PowerCorps, a 10‑month "learn-and-earn" green-industry workforce development program for young adults ages 18–30. The program provides a stipend, career-readiness instruction, and industry-specific training tracks including urban forestry. "The first four months ... are skills readiness workshops," the presenter said, describing modules on resume building, interviewing and workplace expectations; later months focus on technical work such as planting, pruning and invasive-species removal.
Jody Sugarman-Bridal, identified in the hearing as deputy chief in the Office of Labor Compliance and Worker Protections, summarized recent PowerCorps results: a cohort of 22 graduates joined 105 previously graduated participants; that cohort planted 43 trees, pruned 58 trees, removed 248 bags of invasive material and had 77 percent of graduates with family-sustaining jobs lined up. Staff said the 10‑month format is new (previous cohorts were six months) and recruitment for the next cohort will begin in May.
Committee members pressed staff on geographic priorities and program stability. Staff said work has focused in southern neighborhoods including Franklin Park, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, guided by the city’s urban forest plan, but citywide coverage is the goal. Members asked whether the grant covers stipends and materials; staff said it covers both and that PowerCorps has other funding to supplement program costs.
Staff also reported a potential federal funding risk: on Friday the CORE Network notified partners of a possible rescission effective April 2 for some federal program funding. Staff said they were conducting due diligence with CORE Network partners and other funders, and were seeking authorization to accept and expend the award now so the city can be reimbursed for work already completed should the federal decision change. The original grant prospectus tracked roughly 40 participants over three years; staff said exact budget breakdowns were still being assessed.
Chair Zapata and committee members voiced support and asked staff to keep the committee updated; no committee vote was recorded at the hearing.
