WHEREAS, Rebuilding Community Infrastructure (Rebuild) is a $500 million investment in neighborhood parks, recreation centers and libraries that seeks to build stronger communities by improving civic spaces, engaging and empowering community members and promoting diversity and inclusion in the design and construction industry; and
WHEREAS, Rebuild projects should make parks, recreation centers and libraries not only functional and safe, but also welcoming and beautiful, resulting in increased usership and community pride; and
WHEREAS, Community members should drive Rebuild improvement processes at their site, shaping design and programming, and staying involved over time. Rebuild will support community engagement and empowerment throughout the life of the program by investing in community groups and ensuring that improvements reflect community priorities; and
WHEREAS, Rebuild worksites must look more like Philadelphia, with diverse businesses holding contracts and a diverse workforce carrying out the construction work. Rebuild hopes to serve as a model for diversity and inclusion in the design and construction industry, providing opportunities for local businesses, especially minority- and women-owned businesses, to grow, and for more minorities and women to enter the building trades; and
WHEREAS, Rebuild must help realize a more equitable Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Under Bill No. 170206, City Council must approve, by resolution, the Rebuild Project Statement and annual budgets in order to authorize the expenditure of proceeds of the sale of Rebuild bonds, and must approve a list of City properties to be included in the program and a master Economic Opportunity Plan; and
WHEREAS, Council wishes to provide those approvals; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the Rebuild Project Statement for Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019 and a master Economic Opportunity Plan, attached hereto as “Exhibit A,” are hereby approved; and
FURTHER RESOLVED, That the annual budgets for Project expenditures for Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019, and a list of City properties to be included in the program, attached hereto as “Exhibit B,” are hereby approved.
End