State of Confederate Memorials Group: Examine what other communities and institutions are doing around the country to address Confederate memorials and monuments. Monday, July 31 1:30 p.m. Department of Historic Resources 2801 Kensington Ave. Historians Review Group: Provide additional historical background on existing monuments and information on community-proposed additions to Monument Avenue. Tuesday, August 1 10:30 a.m. Library of Virginia 800 E. Broad St. New Monuments and Interpretation Group: If monuments are added, where can they best be erected and interpreted? What are our interpretive options? Wednesday, August 2 1 p.m. Department of Historic Resources 2801 Kensington Ave. Community Engagement Group: Establish rules for community engagement and how the public sessions should be structured. Wednesday, August 2 3 p.m. Black History Museum 122 W. Leigh St. The Monument Avenue Commission has set the following dates for public meetings: Wednesday, August 9 6:30 p.m. Virginia Hist...

Following the successful joint City Council-School Board meeting on June 26, a resolution expressing support for the launch of the RVA Education Compact was introduced by City Council on Monday, July 17 for potential adoption on July 24. A parallel resolution will be introduced by the School Board at its meeting on August 7. The introduced City Council resolution can be found here . The most recent version of the draft School Board resolution can be found here . An accompanying letter from Mayor Stoney to members of City Council and the School Board can be found here . The RVA Education Compact is a collaborative and coordinated plan based on the fact our government, schools and community must work together to meet our challenges and ensure a brighter future for our children. Mayor Stoney is looking forward to working closely with School Board and City Council to meet the needs of children in the City of Richmond, both inside and outside the classroom.

To watch the full video of the event, click here . This morning Mayor Levar M. Stoney and the Department of Planning and Development Review (PDR) hosted a launch event for Richmond 300 overlooking the entire city from the Observation Deck of City Hall. Richmond 300: A Guide for Growth is the city’s Master Plan. Richmond 300 will establish a 20-year vision for the city’s growth and be developed with extensive community input. In 2037, Richmond will celebrate its 300th anniversary. What do Richmonders want the city to look like when it turns 300? "Richmond is growing, and we all share in the responsibility of managing how we grow,” said Mayor Stoney. "This is a massive undertaking that involves aligning the myriad of City Hall efforts – overcoming the segmented approach and breaking down silos – and having one road map for the growth of our city." Richmond 300 will be developed with extensive community engagement. As such, there will be numerous ways to participate...

The Monument Avenue Commission has set the following dates for public meetings: Wednesday, Aug. 9 6:30 p.m.    Location:                    Virginia Historical Society                    428 N. Boulevard Wednesday, Sept. 13 6:30 p.m.    Location:                    Virginia Historical Society                    428 N. Boulevard For contact information and more about the Monument Avenue Commission, please click here ; for more about the Virginia Historical Society, please click here .

Mayor Levar M. Stoney today announced Richmond and project:HOMES have been awarded a $2,710,314 Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to protect low-income children and families from lead and other home hazards. Mayor Stoney extended his appreciation and congratulations to the city¹s Department of Economic and Community Development and their housing and neighborhood division project development manager, Dan Mouer, the Richmond City Health District staff and their program manager for the Lead-Safe and Healthy Homes Initiative, Dona Huang, the city's grant coordinator, Christopher Johnston and all those who worked with them on this grant application to secure funds to make low-income housing safer and healthier. The over $2.7 million coming to the city is part of more than $127 million awarded by HUD to 48 state and local government agencies to keep families and their children safe from lead-based paint and other ho...

The Office of Community Wealth Building (OCWB) recently received news it will be awarded a grant of $1.9 million from the Virginia Department of Social Services. The purpose of the grant is to support the efforts of the City of Richmond to expand workforce development efforts and the capacity of the Center for Workforce Innovation. “This grant recognizes the hard work and dedication of our city’s Office of Community Wealth Building,” said Mayor Levar M. Stoney. “It will help further our efforts and advance our goals of bringing about change and building One Richmond." The Commonwealth of Virginia’s FY 2018 budget established a new initiative intended to support efforts of localities engaged in community wealth building and related approaches to moving citizens and families from poverty to economic self-sufficiency. “Receiving this grant from the Commonwealth is a major milestone. We are grateful for the acknowledgement of our work and excited about the tremendous impact this gr...

Mayor Levar M. Stoney today announced Richmond has taken advantage of historic low interest rates and the city’s strong credit ratings to refund $142 million in existing debt service tied to four outstanding bond issues, which will result in the city reducing its existing debt service by approximately $16 million over the next 15 years.

 This incredible savings was achieved as part of the successful sale of $229 million in tax-exempt and taxable General Obligation Public Improvement and Refunding Bonds, of which $87 million was for new money projects with a cost of approximately 2.77%, near the lowest cost of funds in several decades.

 The bonds were highly rated by all three national credit rating agencies - Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch (Aa2, AA+, AA+ respectively). Wells Fargo was the winning bidder for the tax-exempt bonds and Raymond James was the winning bidder for the taxable bonds. 

“This is how we do more,” said Mayor Stoney. “It is part ...