Mayor Levar M. Stoney today announced the hiring of a new Director of Housing and Community Development as well as the appointment of a Homeless Services Liaison for the City of Richmond.

Longtime affordable housing and community development professional Sherrill Hampton will serve as Director of Housing and Community Development. 

Dianne Wilmore, the Community Service Manager at the North Avenue Branch of the Richmond Public Library, will assume the role of Homeless Services Liaison.

“Affordable housing and homelessness are two of the most critical issues facing American cities, and the City of Richmond is no exception,” said Mayor Stoney. “The need for experienced and caring individuals to address these issues has only been heightened by the pandemic, and that’s why I’m grateful to have two highly qualified public servants joining our team in this effort.”

Ms. Hampton has more than 25 years of experience in the affordable housing and community development arenas, and has worked in senior management roles in non-profit, governmental, and educational sectors. 

She holds a BS in Social Science from Claflin University and a JD from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

“As we come out of the COVID-19 pandemic facing an affordable housing crisis not seen before in the city, I am confident that Ms. Hampton’s experience in financing and real estate development along with community outreach and engagement is the right mix of knowledge and skill sets to lead us forward with the implementation of One Richmond: An Equitable Affordable Housing Plan,” said Sharon Ebert, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Economic Development.

In her role as Homeless Services Liaison, Ms. Wilmore will to streamline communication and manage the flow of information with the city administration and City Council with regard to homeless services in the region.

Ms. Wilmore is a former Case Manager for the Salvation Army Women’s Shelter in Cleveland and served as a Community Services and Outreach Manager in the East Cleveland Public Library system for 12 years. She is a graduate of the University of Akron.

In addition to her role as liaison, Ms. Wilmore will continue to serve as community service manager at the North Avenue branch, where she has served for seven years. She will report to Reggie Gordon, the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services.

“In Diane, we have selected a talented city employee who will take on the additional responsibility of being the primary point person for questions and coordination regarding homeless services,” said Gordon. “Her passion for those in our community who are in a housing crisis will form the basis of a strong partnership with all stakeholders in the homeless services system.”

Council leadership was encouraged by the mayor’s moves to further solidify and coordinate the city’s response to the housing issue.

“These are two steps that our city needed to ensure that the work currently underway in affordable housing and homelessness services is an ongoing priority with the right leaders at the helm,” said Council President Cynthia Newbille. “I look forward to working with Ms. Hampton and Ms. Wilmore to secure support for Richmonders along the entire pipeline of need, from homeless services to transitional housing to permanent residence.”

“We need to be engaged and proactive as a city in our approach to helping our most vulnerable residents secure housing that is both affordable and sustainable,” said City Council Vice President Ellen Robertson. “Finding the right candidate to assume the Housing and Community Development Director role and dedicating a point person in our city to coordinate homelessness services and outreach with our local partners and regional caregivers will significantly improve our ability to make a difference in the community.”

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The City of Richmond has scheduled the next virtual community meetings to report on the public comments received since March 2021 on resort casinos and proposed resort casino projects and locations. The meetings will take place on Thursday, April 8, at 6:00pm, and Friday, April 9, at 12:00pm. The meetings will be held via MS Teams and will feature the same presentation.

Thursday, April 8 at 6:00pm

MS Teams Link: http://bit.ly/APR82021

Join via Phone: 1 804-316-9457

Conference ID: 478 604 710#

Friday, April 9 at 12:00pm

MS Teams Link: http://bit.ly/APR92021

Join via Phone: 1 804-316-9457

Conference ID: 175 675 932#

Videos of the two virtual meetings, the digital community engagement, and more information about the Resort Casino RFQ/P process can be found at www.rva.gov/economic-development/resort-casino.

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Pilot program uses public space to facilitate safe support for local businesses

In June of 2020, Venture Richmond and the City of Richmond announced “Picnic in a Parklet,” a program designed to assist Richmond restaurants and other businesses with safe reopening and social distancing requirements. Through this partnership, business owners were offered design and permitting assistance for their requests for more outdoor space, particularly parklets.

This week, construction will begin on five prefabricated parklets at locations adjacent to businesses who participated in the Picnic in a Parklet program. The first two pilot locations include N 29th Street in Church Hill, adjacent to the Nile Ethiopian Café, and N Shields Avenue in the Fan, adjacent to Joe’s Inn. Three additional locations are currently in the works with interested business owners. 

“The Picnic in a Parklet program has been an exciting new frontier for the city and its partners,” said Mayor Stoney. “Public space is a valuable community asset that we have the responsibility to use intentionally and equitably. These five new parklets outside small businesses certainly meet that mission.” 

Parklets are outdoor patio spaces constructed in the on-street parking lane of the street in front of a business that can function as an area for customers to gather and/or take to-go orders and eat outside safely-distanced. Parklets are by definition public space, not a single restaurant’s outdoor dining area. However, restaurants can offer lightly packaged to-go orders for people who simply want to dine in the parklet in front of the restaurant. The parklets were fabricated by Archatrack and purchased by the City of Richmond Department of Public Works. 

“Picnic in a Parklet is a testament to what can happen when city departments, placemaking experts and businesses work together,” said Jason Alley, Provisional Policy Advisor for Restaurants and Small Businesses. “This commonsense collaboration makes it possible for countless residents to safely enjoy public space while supporting our treasured local business community.”

In addition to the five prefabricated parklets purchased and installed by the City of Richmond, two business-led, custom-designed parklets are making their way through the city’s permitting process and will be considered by the Urban Design Committee and Planning Commission this spring. The parklets will be located in Brookland Park and Jackson Ward and are designed by HKS Architects and Walter Parks Architects, respectively. 

“We are so excited to see Richmond join the dozens of other American cities who have decided to try parklets on for size, particularly as a way to provide more urban public space during the pandemic,” said Max Hepp-Buchanan, Director of Riverfront and Downtown Placemaking for Venture Richmond. “I think the mix of city-owned prefabricated parklets and custom-designed parklets awaiting permitting will help make future parklet projects that much easier for businesses and organizations interested in transforming public space. We look forward to assisting them in this process as well.” 

General information about parklets can be found here: https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/interim-design-strategies/parklets/

More information about the City of Richmond’s Parklet Program can be found here: https://www.rva.gov/planning-development-review/parklet-program 

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Group will engage teacher voices to advance career preparation and year-round school goals 

The application for Richmond Public Schools educators to join the city’s Educator Task Force (ETF) is open and available here. 

The mission of the ETF is to engage and elevate educators’ voices to support and advance Mayor Stoney’s children, youth and education priorities for his second term while responding to emerging priorities as needed. Teachers, counselors and other support staff will comprise the task force.

“In any conversation on supporting Richmond’s children and families, educator voices are irreplaceable,” said Mayor Stoney. “I’m hopeful the recommendations of this group of experienced professionals will support the success of Richmond’s children inside and outside the classroom.”

The task force’s recommendations will inform the work of the Office of Children and Families (OCF). Planned for FY22, OCF will also convene a Youth Advisory Council to guide its work. 

The ETF will support and work toward three of the six core priorities of OCF: adequate income and wealth, access to high-quality, affordable early experiences, and enriching whole-community learning experiences. 

Specific goals for the 2021 ETF include recommendations for college and career preparation for students grades 6-12 and guidance for planning for a year-round academic calendar.

The following criteria will be considered in application review:

• Current employment in Richmond Public Schools;
• Connections to Richmond’s more vulnerable communities, including but not limited to Latinx populations, Black populations, economically disadvantaged populations and public housing communities;
• Recommendation letter from school-level administration; and
• Representation from all geographic quadrants of Richmond.

The application will close April 16. View the application under the “Educator Task Force” tab on the Mayor’s Working Groups webpage.

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