Title
Resolution to Approve a Grant Agreement with Peace Neighborhood Center in the Amount of $250,000.00 to Support Its Transition to a Resilience Hub ($250,000.00)
Memorandum
In August 2024, the City was awarded a $1,000,000.00 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to create a regional resilience network and invest in three brick and mortar resilience hubs in Ann Arbor (one match funded) and one additional to-be-determined hub in Washtenaw County.
This grant had three main objectives:
1. Launch a model regional resilience network that brings together municipalities, community-based organizations, and other critical care service providers to create facilitated communication channels to assist network partners in enhancing the resilience of local and regional stakeholders.
2. Establish four additional brick and mortar resilience hubs throughout Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County (one of which is match funded).
3. Launch a resilience grant program for community-based organizations working to build the resilience of local stakeholders.
Over the last several months, major work has been underway on these tasks, with the greatest progress being made in advancing two of the resilience hubs - one at Peace Neighborhood Center and one at Green Baxter Community Center. Designs for solar and storage have been completed for both sites and energy audits completed to identify energy efficiency, lighting, and building shell improvements that will help save money while also improving occupant comfort.
Unfortunately, in April 2025, the City received notice that its award from the EPA was being terminated. The City submitted paperwork challenging this termination and is currently awaiting notice of a final ruling from the EPA.
Regardless of what is decided by the EPA, the Office of Sustainability and Innovations (“OSI”) remains committed to moving the work forward at the Green Baxter Court Community Center and Peace Neighborhood Center. As such, OSI is seeking City Council’s approval of the enclosed Grant Agreement, which grants $250,000.00 to Peace Neighborhood Center to make improvements that will help transition it to a resilience hub.
Funding for the portion of work proposed at Peace Neighborhood Center was the City’s “match” to the EPA grant so OSI already built this portion into its budget. As such, funding in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget exists to support this work.
Budget/Fiscal Impact: Funding for this Grant Agreement will come from the Office of Sustainability and Innovations Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
Staff
Prepared by: Missy Stults, Sustainability and Innovations Director
Reviewed by: Kim Hoenerhoff, Financial Analyst
Reviewed by: Valerie Jackson, Assistant City Attorney
Reviewed by: Milton Dohoney Jr., City Administrator
Body
Whereas, Through the A2ZERO Carbon Neutrality Plan, the City has set an aggressive goal of achieving community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030;
Whereas, One of the key strategies of the A2ZERO Plan is investing in the resilience of our people and our places;
Whereas, The Office of Sustainability and Innovations submitted a grant application to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to advance resilience-focused work, which included $250,000.00 in matching City funding allocated to supporting the transition of Peace Neighborhood Center to a resilience hub;
Whereas, In August 2024, the Office of Sustainability and Innovations’ grant application was selected for a $1,000,000.00 award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;
Whereas, Work has been underway on project tasks included in the grant application, with notable progress being made to advance Peace Neighborhood Center’s transition to a resilience hub;
Whereas, In April 2025, the City received notice that its award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was being terminated;
Whereas, The City timely submitted a dispute of this termination and is currently awaiting notice of a final ruling from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;
Whereas, The Office of Sustainability and Innovations is committed to seeing this work advance, regardless of what happens with its federal funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and has dedicated $250,000.00 to this work in its fiscal year 2026 budget; and
Whereas, City staff recommend approving the attached Grant Agreement to support Peace Neighborhood Center’s transition to a resilience hub;
RESOLVED, That City Council approve a Grant Agreement with Peace Neighborhood Center to support its transition to a resilience hub;
RESOLVED, That City Council authorize a grant, pursuant to the Grant Agreement, to Peace Neighborhood Center in the amount of $250,000.00 for projects related to transitioning Peace Neighborhood Center to a resilience hub;
RESOLVED, That any remaining funding in the FY 2026 expenditure budget related to the Grant Agreement with Peace Neighborhood Center be carried forward without regard to fiscal year;
RESOLVED, That the Mayor and City Clerk are authorized to sign the Grant Agreement after approval by the City Administrator and the City Attorney; and
RESOLVED, That the City Administrator is authorized to take all appropriate actions to implement this resolution.