A hundred trees will be planted Nov. 9 in Richmond as part of the city’s partnership with the Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute.
The planting plan was presented Sept. 3 to Richmond Common Council members by Thomas Hill, the city’s GIS coordinator, and Laura Karnes, the landscape and naturalist leader for Richmond Parks and Recreation Department. They said that although a contractor will handle the planting, they hoped the event would be fun for residents.
Richmond was selected for the 2024 Resilience Urban Green Infrastructure Cohort, which is designed to help Indiana city, town, and county governments to measure and reduce local greenhouse gas emissions and implement climate resilience strategies.
The Institute provided a $150,000 grant and the summer services of McKinney fellow Rania Jamal, an IU graduate student. Jamal assessed Richmond’s tree canopy that led to selection of priority planting sites. A tree planting map has been drawn for the area of Hibberd school on South L Street and the surrounding neighborhood.
Karnes said that 10 species have been selected and the appropriately sized trees will be planted within the rights-of-way tree lines.
The presentation also credited Hibberd, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Wayne County, Girls Inc. and Richmond Family YMCA for their partnership. All are located within high priority planting areas.
Richmond now has also received a Community and Urban Forestry grant of $159,789. That grant will provide 50 trees, TreeKeeper inventory software to track tree planting and removal, high-risk tree removal and professional development.
Block party
The city will celebrate completion of East Main Street construction with a Sept. 13 block party, Mayor Ron Oler announced.
The party that’s open to the public will be 5 to 8 p.m. on East Main between Ninth and 10th streets. It will feature free food, door prizes and other activities.
The Loop Phase 2 construction has forced closure of East Main Street blocks from Seventh to 10th streets throughout the summer. The roadway was straightened and bicycle paths added to the south side of the street.
Other business
- Two ordinances requesting tax abatements for Richmond Beverage Solutions were referred to council’s tax abatement committee for scoring. The requests are for a real property abatement and a personal property abatement. The company plans to create 65 new jobs with its investments.
- Council unanimously defeated an ordinance that would create a merit commission for Richmond Fire Department beginning in 2025. RFD union representation previously asked council to delay implementation of a merit commission to allow additional time developing policies and procedures before reconsidering the issue next year. Council will now also have to pass a resolution and RFD’s union will need to vote on the issue.
- Drug Free Wayne County Partnership awarded Richmond Police Department a $4,130 grant for its K-9 division. Council voted 7-0 to accept the grant that will provide K-9 equipment, training, K-9 medical expenses and educational materials to distribute during presentations. A 50% match will come from RPD’s 2024 budget.
A version of this article appeared in the September 11 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.