The Community Sustainability Commission (CSC) will discuss its semi-annual grant reports and provide necessary direction to staff at its Monday meeting.

Six grant reports are on the table for the CSC: those for Arts Benicia, Benicia Community Gardens, Bicycle Benicia, the Economic Development Department’s Business Resource Incentive Program (BRIP), the Parks and Community Services department’s drip irrigation expansion program and the Public Works Department’s turf replacement program.

Arts Benicia received $30,000 in grant money for its two-year “Doing Our pART” project, which was proposed in 2015. The grant promised, among other things, to fund two juried exhibitions, one in 2016 and one in 2017. Both ended up opening in 2017. The first, “The Beauty of Water,” was on display in the City Hall Council Chambers from April to July 2017. The second, “Drop By Drop: A Brief History of Benicia Water Through the Eyes of its Artists,” was done in conjunction with the Benicia Historical Museum where it opened in July and will remain on display through May 27. The project also promised to promote water conservation promotion projects, which it did with the juried exhibitions. Arts Benicia also sought to educate children about sustainability issues, which it did by providing recycled and upcycled materials at its EcoArt Summer Camp in July and through the “Tinker Time” component of Arts Benicia’s visits to Benicia’s elementary schools for the Exploratory STEAM Wheel program. The project is ongoing.

Benicia Community Gardens received $105,680. Through the Benicia Sustainable Backyard program, the project funded the “Walk in a Food Forest” educational series which has had 82 participants in the last six months, two sustainable landscaping classes held at the Benicia Community Center in early 2017, and volunteers putting in approximately 1,180 volunteer hours. The project is ongoing.

The BRIP was granted $865,159 in two separate installments, which completed 12 projects and assisted 57 businesses from July 2016 to June 2017. In that same period, the BRIP estimates to have eliminated 65.34 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, saved $2.37 million in water use per year, generated $25,613 in Pacific Gas & Electric rebated and leveraged $149,782 in private funds. With no money left in funds, this project is considered complete.

The Parks Department was given $46,000 for its drip irrigation expansion program. In the first phase, staff had conducted a site survey and project design for a new system on the East 2nd Street median. However, the cost estimates showed that the city was unable to implement a portion of the East 2nd project with the initial remaining funds. Therefore, the funds were allocated to additional design work in the second phase to extend water conservation plans through the balance of the East 2nd Street median as well as the area of Rose Drive between East 2nd Street and McCallister Drive. The leftover funds were used to design and partially finance the installation of a low water landscape to replace existing underutilized patches of turf near the main entrance to the Benicia Public Library, according to a staff report. This project is considered complete.

The Public Works Department was given $60,000 for a turf replacement project. Overall, about 98,684 square feet of lawn was replaced for more than $33,000, according to a staff report.
Only one grant is listed as inactive. In 2014, the City Council voted to award a $20,000 grant to the CSC’s Benicia Bicycle project. However, city staff had not received any reports since and the only invoice was submitted on 2015. A one-year extension was granted in 2016, but since a grant report has not been submitted the grant is considered inactive. Staff recommends the remaining funds of $19,943.63 be allocated to future projects in the Valero Good Neighbor Steering Committee Settlement Agreement Account.

In other business, the CSC will discuss the Marin Clean Energy program before Community Development Manager J.R. Killigrew presents at the July 17 City Council meeting.

The CSC will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, May 21 in the Commission Room of City Hall, located at 250 East L St.

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