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From The Journal Times.com:

Holly Gilvary

RACINE — The city will purchase three new electric transit buses using federal grant money.

The Common Council on Tuesday approved a resolution to replace the manufacturer that the city purchases EV buses from, purchase three replacement buses and implement an affiliated workforce training program for about $4.5 million.

The new buses will replace three that have been in service for more than 12 years, Racine Transit Director Trevor Jung said.

The workforce component involves a technician who will train city mechanics to maintain the new electric vehicles, according to Jung.

The grant, which can only be used for EV vehicles, will cover $3.8 million of the costs, Jung said.

Alders also voted 9-5 to defer to their next meeting an item relating to the city employee health care plan. A new proposal would offer city employees two additional health care plans to choose from.

Alder Olivia Turquoise Davis, who made the motion to defer, said she wanted time to digest the information presented so the council can "make a clear call on what we are deciding for the employees."

"Health insurance is not something (that) you just say, 'OK, we heard it and yes, we're going to agree to this,'" she said.

The council will consider the new health care proposal at its next meeting, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 6.

In other business, the council:

• Approved a resolution declaring official intent by the city to reimburse costs attributed to the 2026 lead service line replacement project. The principal aggregate amount of debt for the project is expected not to exceed $40 million, of which 49% may be allocated as principal forgiveness through the fiscal year 2026 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Safe Drinking Water Loan Program.

• Approved a resolution declaring official intent by the city to reimburse costs attributed to the 2026 water main replacement project. The principal aggregate amount of debt for the project is expected not to exceed $10 million, with the balance reduced by eligible principal forgiveness earned. The project will be funded through the fiscal year 2026 DNR Safe Drinking Water Loan Program.

• Authorized the city administrator to commence collective bargaining with the four public safety employees collective bargaining units for successor agreements.

• Disallowed a $2,652 claim from Kevin Pirelli for medical expenses allegedly arising from a slip and fall in front of a stairwell of the Gaslight Drive parking ramp in January.

• Disallowed a $4,863 claim from Cedric Foster for vehicle damage allegedly caused by a city-owned vehicle in February.

• Granted permission to the assistant fire chief to accept the $275,000 Operations and Safety Acquisition Assistance to Firefighters grant for the diesel exhaust capture system awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the AFG program.

• Granted permission to the human resources department to accept the $354,885 Wisconsin Fast Forward grant for the fire cadet and CDL trainee programs.

• Granted permission to the Financial Empowerment Center to apply for and accept a $2,500 donation from Landmark Credit Union to fund a kid's calendar art contest.

• Granted permission to Mayor Cory Mason to establish a Sister City relationship with Brantford, Ontario, Canada.

• Approved a change order to a contract with A.W. Oakes & Son for reconstruction of West Lawn Avenue, reducing the contract amount by $50,054.

• Approved submission of final payment of $1,512,178 to A.W. Oakes & Son for West Lawn Avenue reconstruction.

• Approved a change order to a contract with Century Fence Company for fence replacement at Greencrest Park, increasing the contract amount by $5,896 for a total of $75,050.

• Approved a change order to a contract with Absolute Construction Enterprises for Island Park shelter staircase removal, increasing the contract amount by $5,813 for a total of $51,753.

• Approved submission of final payment of $72,700 to Top Performance Corp. for the Chavez Center small gym floor replacement.

• Denied a new massage establishment application from Lucky Weiwen Zhu Therapy, 906 State St.

• Approved a new cigarette, tobacco and electronic vaping device retail license application for Fast Link, 1405 Washington Ave.

• Adopted the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Racine: 2050.

• Approved issuance of a Community Development Block Grant loan to the owners of 1520 Lincoln St.

• Approved issuance of a Community Development Block Grant loan to the owners of 1733 Erie St.

• Approved issuance of a Community Development Block Grant loan to the owners of 2022 Saint Clair St.

• Approved issuance of a Community Development Block Grant loan to the owners of 1310 Layard Ave.

From: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/government-politics/article_bb2b2b55-daf8-47d6-b4c7-be74b26bb614.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

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AmeriCorps cuts hit Racine Zoo

From The Journal Times.com:

Holly Gilvary

RACINE — Racine County public school districts will continue to receive free educational programs at the Racine Zoo next school year, but they might look a little different, according to the zoo.

The Racine Zoo AmeriCorps Program is one of the several Serve Wisconsin programs being terminated because of federal spending cuts.

AmeriCorps placed most of its staff members on administrative leave with pay in April as President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency cut the program’s funding, according to reporting from the Associated Press.

On April 25, the Trump administration terminated federal grants for all currently operating AmeriCorps programs within Serve Wisconsin, according to a release from Gov. Tony Evers’ office.

Evers announced April 29 that Wisconsin would join several states in suing the Trump administration over the spending cuts.

The Racine Zoo AmeriCorps Program, established in 2019 through Serve Wisconsin, provides educational programs for kindergarteners, third graders, fourth graders, seventh graders and ninth graders in Racine County public school districts.

RZAP members also held pop-up educational programs for all ages and assisted the zoo’s animal caretakers.

The program contracted four AmeriCorps members per year. Those enrolled in the 2024-25 program, which would have normally ended in August, were effectively laid off April 25 upon the Trump administration’s termination of grants for Serve Wisconsin programs.

Racine Zoo Executive Director Beth Heidorn clarified that, while the RZAP program members are no longer with the Zoo, the RZAP-specific programs will probably still continue alongside the zoo’s other educational programs, but the zoo “will be able to do far less.”

“We’re never going to say (that) we’re never going to do (the kindergarten program), Classification Cadets, because we would never do that to the school district,” Heidorn said. “We’re always going to do these programs, it’s just a question of how many we can do, going forward.”

With the AmeriCorps cuts coming at the end of the 2024-25 school year, most RZAP participants won’t feel the effects until the fall, when the 2025-26 AmeriCorps program would have started.

Heidorn said that while she wasn’t “surprised” by the funding cuts to AmeriCorps, it was “just very abrupt.”

“With all the other things that were being impacted from the federal government, no one’s immune,” she said. “I just feel bad for the (AmeriCorps) members … I couldn’t do anything about it. Federal government said the program is done, and we had to honor that.”

In the meantime, Heidorn said, the zoo will “just keep fighting for money.”

Other AmeriCorps programs cut in Southeast Wisconsin include the statewide Wisconsin Math Corps and Reading Corps, and Public Allies Wisconsin, which serves Racine, Kenosha and Milwaukee counties, according to the Serve Wisconsin website.

For more information about the Racine Zoo and its programs, visit www.racinezoo.org.

From: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/article_d1ee63d4-b4cb-4c0c-bc68-a9f49f96b46e.html#tracking-source=home-top-story