Committee approves multiple board appointments and forwards $25,000 IRC grant to full council

The Education and Human Services Standing Committee approved a block of advisory‑board appointments and voted to forward an ordinance authorizing a $25,000 grant contract with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to the full Richmond City Council with a recommendation to approve.

Committee staff presented a vacancies and appointment report and identified openings across multiple advisory boards, including the Advisory Board of Recreation and Parks, the Aging and Disabilities Advisory Board, the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority and others. Pamela Nichols, council management analyst, described the vacancies and noted ordinance 2024‑265 changed the Parks and Rec board composition and created two resident‑at‑large positions.

A motion to approve the listed appointments in block passed on a voice vote. The clerk recorded the committee’s roll call for the vote as: Miss Jones — Aye; Vice Chair Bretson — Aye; Chair Lynch — Aye. The motion was announced as approved by the clerk.

The committee also considered Ordinance 2025‑089, described by Eva Colón, senior policy advisor in the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, as a city contract with the International Rescue Committee to expand youth development programming for newcomer high‑school students. Colón said the funding source is the Reserve for Children’s Fund — a budget line the city uses for emergent priorities when unspent funds from prior years are available — and that the $25,000 would allow IRC to serve newcomer students who otherwise lack documentation tied to federal refugee funding.

Colón described the grant as supporting wraparound services and incentives to increase newcomer participation in Richmond Public Schools’ ESL summer offerings and related enrichment programs; she noted IRC staff help families with registration and paperwork so youth can access other city‑supported programs. No members of the public spoke in support or opposition during the public hearing.

A motion to forward Ordinance 2025‑089 to the full council with a recommendation to approve passed on a voice vote. The clerk recorded the roll call as: Miss Jones — Aye; Vice Chair Bretson — Aye; Chair Lynch — Aye. The motion was announced as approved.

The committee approved the Education and Human Services Standing Committee minutes for March 13, 2025, as presented.

No other formal actions were taken at the meeting. Committee members asked staff to send a brief note to the mayor’s office about several vacant mayoral appointee slots and requested follow‑up on whether direct‑mail funding had been allocated for senior outreach (a separate agenda item).