RICHMOND — Looming over Richmond is a large and expensive list of capital improvement projects. A new council-approved ranking system aims to help prioritize which should be completed first.
Street and sidewalk improvements, building renovations, internal system upgrades, sewer line maintenance and other infrastructure needs make up the roughly $428 million worth of projects that need to be addressed.
Under the leadership of Public Works Director Daniel Chavarria, the city has begun shifting to a programmatic approach that combines smaller related projects into larger project packages that could be completed in a more efficient and cost effective manner.
Developing a fair system for determining which projects should be pursued is the next step to moving that programmatic approach forward, Chavarria said during a special council meeting Tuesday.
“We want to create some type of clarity and order to the many different directions that we have received,” said Chavarria. “We want to have a system all of us can agree on and then we can move on and really do the work that we all need.”
Staff put forward a 100-point ranking system that would grade projects based on whether the work is legally required, equitably benefits underserved areas of the city, aligns with a short list of council priorities, has already received funding, is ready to pursue without delays, aligns with an existing planning document, and involves community collaboration.
Councilmembers were largely supportive of the framework staff proposed but added a reference to community building in the collaboration category at the request of Councilmember Soheila Bana, who noted gathering spaces are greatly needed in her district.
Two additional categories were added, one put forward by Vice Mayor Cesar Zepeda that is meant to grade whether a project addresses internal system improvements and another proposed by Councilmember Doria Robinson that takes into account whether a project has been long deferred.
“Our city is over 100 years old and lots of parts are newer than others and some parts have not had any love for many, many years,” Zepeda said in agreement with Robinson’s concerns about deferred projects.
Similarly, Mayor Eduardo Martinez urged councilmembers to recognize some segments of the population have been systematically neglected more than others and urged them to make decisions that would be best for the community as a whole rather than just their specific districts.
To measure for equity, the council agreed to use three resources for guidance: Senate Bill 535, the Disadvantages Communities Act, which identifies the state’s most underserved communities; Government Alliance on Race and Equity, an organization providing equity support to government agencies; and the city’s Environmental Justice Element, which identifies disparities specific to Richmond communities.
“We cannot lie to ourselves or our constituents and say we’re all on equal footing. There are those amongst us that have been historically left behind, ignored and treated as if they didn’t matter, not only in this city but in this nation,” Martinez said. “To right these wrongs, we need leaders that serve the previously underserved and marginalized communities that we all represent.”
While staff will use the system to make funding recommendations to the council, Deputy Public Works Director Robert Armijo noted the council retains its discretionary authority. The final decision on which projects to pursue will be up to them to make.
Councilmembers can also continue to put forward new projects during the budgeting process in June, City Manager Shasa Curl said. The new rubric will be used to develop a prioritized list of capital improvements for the council to consider at that time.