Mayor Dwight C. Jones and the City’s Minority Business Development held a graduation ceremony today at Main Street Station for minority and emerging small businesses that completed the Money Smart for Small Business program. The Money Smart program is a nationally acclaimed, comprehensive financial education curriculum developed jointly by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Mayor Jones stated, “The Money Smart program is an invaluable tool for small businesses seeking to improve their financial capability and literacy. I applaud all of the individuals who completed the program and I hope they use this new found knowledge to open more minority and emerging small businesses in the city of Richmond.” The 10-module training curriculum provides introductory training for small businesses in the basics of organizing and managing a business and prepares entrepreneurs for more advanced training and technical assistance. The modules ar...

~Three-week project focuses on Neighborhood revitalization~ A six-member consulting team commissioned by the worldwide technology services company IBM has concluded a three-week research project in the city of Richmond and is now finalizing an action plan to help Mayor Dwight Jones’ efforts associated with poverty mitigation. The work comes as part of the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge, a worldwide initiative to distribute a total of $50 million worth of services and technical assistance to a total of 100 cities through 2013. The Richmond project carries an approximate value of $400,000 at no cost to taxpayers. The City asked IBM to specifically look at ways to enable businesses, citizens, and community leaders to identify, champion and produce economic opportunity in targeted neighborhoods. In sharing the findings, IBM executives acknowledged that the city of Richmond is on track to become a Tier One City through targeted economic, community, and workforce development effo...

The City of Richmond has been awarded an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Community-Wide Brownfields Assessment Grants for Petroleum and Hazard Substance Sites. The total award of $400,000 consists of $200,000 designated for Petroleum Sites and $200,000 for Hazardous Substance Sites. The City’s Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) will administer the grant funding. ECD aggressively pursued and obtained this highly competitive grant funding, and is one of 240 grant awardees nationwide. Only 106 of the 240 grant awardees support communities with populations greater than 100,000. This community-wide grant covers costs associated with the completion of Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments for eligible property owners or prospective purchasers of previously used commercial and industrial properties. The grant period begins October 1, 2013 and concludes September 30, 2016.  “This EPA grant will allow the City to continue to promote and encourage ...

~IBM executives wrap up community engagement project~   In November of 2012, it was announced that IBM selected the city of Richmond as one of 32 cities from around the world to receive an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant https://smartercitieschallenge.org/ .   The prestigious award, valued at $400,000 in human capital, aligns top global talent from IBM as a resource to the City to study a key issue as identified by the city’s leadership. The City of Richmond requested that IBM focus on the creation of an economic development tool that will improve the city through the strengthening of our neighborhoods; an instrument that focuses on the community level to support the attraction and retention of neighborhood businesses. Over the last several weeks, a team of six top IBM experts have been based in Richmond and have been at work studying this issue. “We are always interested in ways to effectively improve our neighborhoods and communities,” said Mayor Dwight C. Jone...

Mayor says report is balanced and consistent in identifying problems Mayor Dwight C. Jones today shared the results of a review his administration requested from the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS). The VDSS review is one of three reviews the Jones Administration requested of the Richmond Department of Social Services (RDSS) following a number of allegations the City received about Child Protective Services (CPS) policies, procedures and management failures. “The State, through the requested Quality Management Review, has provided us with a balanced review that further underscores the concerns that we have been responding to,” said Mayor Jones. “While the interim leadership we have put in place has already begun taking steps to address many concerns, a complete corrective action plan needs to be in place by July 31, 2013.” The VDSS review, which looked at CPS, Foster Care and Adoptions and Resource Family Services, offered 25 findings and recommendations, in...

Parking meter fees will increase from 50 cents per hour to 75 cents per hour beginning July 1.  Richmond City Council approved the increase on May 28.  Results from two parking studies conducted in 2002 and in 2010 indicated the City’s parking meter fee was not commensurate with cities of comparable size.  To bring the fees to industry standards City Council adopted Ordinance #2013-99-99.  The expressed purpose for the installation of parking meters is not to collect fees, but to create turnover parking.  The use of parking meters resulted in the reduction of long-term parkers from occupying on-street parking spaces that are intended to support retail use.   In the 2002 Desman Study, “A Comprehensive Strategic Parking Plan for the City of Richmond,” it was determined 50 cents per hour was not sufficient to achieve the goal of the parking meter, which is to preserve short term on-street parking spaces.  The study suggested an increase to $...

~ Time reduced from four hours to two hours in Central Business District~ Beginning immediately, parking for vehicles with disabled parking placards will be limited to two hours in the Central Business District. The change from the previous four hour time limit was approved by City Council in late May.   A recent survey revealed downtown parking spaces are often occupied for an extended time by vehicles displaying disabled parking placards, limiting access for other placard holders, as well as other motorists needing parking spaces.    Due to an increase in the demand for parking spaces and the limited turnover of parking in the Central Business District, Council adopted Ordinance No. 2013-108-74 to provide for two hours of  parking time.  The Central Business District is defined as Interstate 95 to the North and East, the Downtown Expressway to the South and Belvidere Street to the West; which includes the neighborhoods of Jackson Ward, Monroe W...