Richmond Rising partners report $35M grant progress: wellness trail, streets, garden construction and youth fellow appointments

City and partner leads at the Richmond Rising Collaborative Stakeholder Committee reported progress across multiple Transformative Climate Communities projects funded by a $35 million grant, described near‑term tasks and provided budget snapshots for each workstream.

Beatriz Guerrero, the city’s grant administrator, said the grantee team has convened 28 stakeholder meetings and submitted Invoice/Progress Report #17 to the Strategic Growth Council. She reported total expenditures of $493,000 with a remaining grantee budget of $200,000 and said staff submitted additional funding requests (including CNRA urban greening proposals) and coordinated insurance and invoicing matters for partner organizations.

Trust for Public Land’s Terrence described Phase 2 of the Richmond Wellness Trail, a roughly 1‑mile bike and pedestrian corridor on Marina Way South. He said the project secured just over $1 million in additional funds to expand scope, reported $500,000 in expenditures and said the revised 90% design set would be delivered for partner review.

City staff updated on Neighborhood Complete Streets: the Harbor Way South segment reached the 90% design milestone, with internal city review planned before returning to the CSC for community feedback. Reported spending for that project was $114,000 with a remaining budget of about $5.5 million.

Urban Tilth’s Chito Floriano summarized construction progress for the universally accessible community garden (groundbreaking June 9). He reported initial site grading, storm line work and weekly owner‑architect‑contractor meetings; the tentative completion date is August 28, subject to weather and change orders.

Groundwork Richmond’s executive director, Lorena Castillo, said the organization planted 15 trees in the past month and hired an urban forestry supervisor; Groundwork reported roughly $373,000 spent and $719,000 remaining. Other partners reported activities such as graywater installations, climate health promoter cohorts, distribution of produce and orchard services.

The committee reviewed engagement plans and recruitment: three youth fellow nominees (Maribel Rios, Stephanie and Brian) introduced themselves and the CSC voted to appoint all three; Terrence abstained because he said he did not have the applicants’ materials. The motion passed with members present voting in favor.

Partners discussed reporting templates and indicator tracking to show both monthly updates and five‑year goals. Staff said the template will present both monthly and total targets to allow committee review of progress versus grant goals.

Ending: Staff requested partners submit annual reports and any amendment requests on schedule; the meeting closed after brief community announcements about upcoming events and park reopenings.