The City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Resilience requests City Council approval of an ordinance approving and authorizing a grant application to and acceptance of an award from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the Urban Prairie Project (the “Grant”) on behalf of the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Resilience; declaring the City’s eligibility for such grant; authorizing the Mayor’s Chief Resilience Officer (the “Chief”) to act as the City’s Representative in the application process authorizing the Chief to accept the grant and expend the grant funds as awarded, and to apply for, accept and expend all subsequent awards, if any, pertaining to the Grant.
The budget and project period are from December 1, 2020 through December 31, 2022. The grant award amount is $400,000. The Mayor’s Office of Resilience requests approval of the use of proposed in-kind contribution match in the pledged amounts totaling $400,575 from various organizations and certain City departments for this Project.
The Mayor’s Office of Resilience also requests City Council to authorize the Mayor to execute all related contracts, agreements, and documents with the approval as to form of the City Attorney in connection with the grant award. Further, the Chief Resilience Officer or his/her designee requests to act as the City’s representative with the authority to apply for, accept and expend the grant funds if and as awarded, and to apply for, accept and expend all subsequent supplemental awards, if any, and to extend the term and/or budget and project period not to exceed five years, if extended by the NFWF during the project period.
The grant will support the Urban Prairie Project - National Fish and Wildlife Foundation – Resilient Communities Category 3: Green Infrastructure for Affordable Housing Grants (“Project”), which will integrate principles of resilience within New Hope Housing’s Reed Campus affordable housing development and consists of two components: (1) restoration of a prairie ecosystem, that demonstrates their importance for climate adaptation throughout the 48 acre complex and (2) developing a green corridor within existing gas line easement for community growth and integration. The Project will serve as a demonstration for how best to integrate green stormwater infrastructure and incorporate an urban prairie ecosystem that prepares the community to be more resilient. It will demonstrate the restoration of natural habitat in developed areas and highlight the benefits to communities in terms of flood mitigation, reduction of urban heat island effect, ecosystem restoration, water capture, and improved quality of life. It will also serve as a model for education for children, families, and workforce development and integrating additional amenities to improve quality of life.
The funds are needed to advance the goals outlined in Resilient Houston, Sunnyside Complete Communities Action Plan – currently in development - and the work at New Hope Housing and Star of Hope. The Project can address poor air quality, environmental degradation, flooding, climate change, drought, inequity, and urban heat island effect through tallgrass prairie ecosystem restoration. At the same time, it will create opportunities to grow nature-based infrastructure jobs through the alignment of these projects with education, training and work-force development opportunities geared toward local residents. The proposed Project will take less than 24 months to complete, and include design, outreach, construction and training and education components. Houston has an opportunity to work with partners to transform and lift the most vulnerable while encouraging multi-functional design that result in prepared and thriving Houstonians.
No Fiscal Note is required on grant items.
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Marissa Aho, AICP
Chief Resilience Officer