WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative John Garamendi (D-CA08) voted to finalize $13,502,031 in community project funding that he previously secured for local affordable housing, transportation infrastructure, and social services projects across California’s 8th Congressional District in the first 2024 government funding bill in the House of Representatives.
This community project funding, now included in the bill expected to be passed by the Senate later this week and signed into law by President Biden, responds directly to some of the most pressing needs in California’s 8th District.
“Each year in Congress, I work to secure much-needed federal funding for local projects that deliver affordable housing, access to healthy food, better public transit, reliable childcare, and more walkable neighborhoods. These 13 projects will make our community an even better place to live for working families and all residents,” said Garamendi.
Garamendi secured federal funding for 13 projects that will directly benefit residents of California’s 8th Congressional District. These include:
Affordable Housing, Food Deserts & Social Services
- $1,666,279 for the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation’s Giant Road Apartment Rehabilitation Project in San Pablo. This federal funding will allow this local nonprofit to rehabilitate 86 units of affordable, multi-family permanent rental housing for extremely low and low-income families and individuals.
- $963,000 for Contra Costa’s Underserved Survivors Support and Safety Program. This federal funding will be used to hire additional staff for the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office to provide more support services to victims and protect the public from violent offenders. This additional staff will help to serve victims of violent crimes better and prosecute more cases for violent or repeat offenders across Contra Costa County.
- $500,000 for the Community Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond’s proposed Heritage Point Grocery Store. This federal funding will help construct a new community grocery store in north Richmond, which is widely considered a food desert in the East Bay where residents lack easy access to fresh, affordable food.
Public Transit, Road Improvements & Infrastructure
- $3 million for the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority’s (WETA) Ferry Terminal Reconfiguration Project in Vallejo, CA. This federal funding and project will relocate the gangway and float for the Vallejo Ferry Terminal further out into the Mare Island Strait at the mouth of the Napa River. This will allow direct ferry service from Vallejo to San Francisco for approximately 1.2 million passengers annually without interruption during low tide or dredging of the Mare Island Strait Channel, saving taxpayers an estimated $21 million over the next 20 years.
- $1 million for Contra Costa County’s San Francisco Bay Trail Gap Closure between Rodeo and Crockett. This federal funding will close a 3.2-mile gap along the regional San Francisco Bay Trail by converting one of the four lanes on San Pablo Avenue into a “complete street” with a protected path for bicyclists and pedestrians between Rodeo and Crockett.
- $900,000 for the East Bay Regional Park District’s Martinez-San Francisco Bay Trail Gap Closure Project. This federal funding will help to complete a half-mile gap in a separated bicycle and pedestrian path between the existing George Miller Regional Trail and the Amtrak Station in downtown Martinez. When completed, this project will construct a continuously paved, regional trail route connecting the Cities of Vallejo, Benicia, Crockett, and Martinez within the San Francisco Bay Trail network.
- $850,000 for the City of Hercules’ Hub Multi-Modal Transportation Station. This federal funding will help to complete the final design phases for the Hercules Hub Project, a proposed multi-modal transportation station for busing, ferries, passenger rail, and drivers alike. The Hercules Hub will provide efficient, regionally connected transit services, alleviating road congestion along some of the busiest corridors in the Bay Area.
- $850,000 for Solano Transportation Authority’s State Route 37-Fairgrounds Drive Interchange Improvement Project. This federal funding will help improve safety and ease congestion by reconstructing the highway interchange, including off and on ramps of State Route 37 and Fairground Drive, a major roadway connection between Solano and Napa Counties.
- $850,000 for San Pablo Avenue Bridge Replacement/Complete Streets Project. This federal funding will realign the skewed, five-legged intersection on top of the San Pablo Avenue Bridge, which was built in 1926 and must be replaced. This will complete the non-bridge aspects needed for this bridge replacement project, reducing congestion and improving safety.
- $500,000 for the City of Fairfield’s Transit and Municipal Fleet Electrification Project. This federal funding will help to install maintenance and charging infrastructure for Fairfield’s transit vehicle fleet and purchase two additional battery-electric vehicles for a new micro-transit service providing point-to-point service for areas currently underserved by existing services. This will reduce pollution from the City’s vehicles and better serve local residents using public transit.
- $963,000 for Benicia Boatyard Remediation Debris Removal Project. This federal funding will be used to clean up the City of Benicia’s public marina by removing debris from the Carquinez Straight, including derelict vessels and potentially hazardous materials. The project will also help restore Benicia’s shoreline for both aquatic wildlife and outdoor recreation and is the cornerstone of the city’s revitalization of this historic waterfront.
- $959,752 for Pittsburg Water Treatment Plant Fuel Cell Project. This federal funding will be used to add a fuel cell, allowing the City of Pittsburg’s water treatment plant to generate renewable electricity from biogas to meet its baseload needs. Adding a fuel cell to provide onsite, renewable electricity is estimated to save the 76,000 residents and ratepayers of Pittsburg approximately $1 million from their sewer bills for the more than 10,000 megawatt hours of electricity used by the Pittsburg Water Treatment Plant each year, which is currently purchased from an investor-owned utility at substantial.
Early Childhood Education
- $500,000 for Solano County’s Vallejo Early Learning Center. This federal funding will help to create a new Early Learning Center in Vallejo, offering a variety of high-quality early education for young children and safe, reliable childcare for working families.
This legislation prevents a partial shutdown of the federal government and is expected to be signed into law by President Biden later this week. A detailed summary of the bill is available here.
Like all members of Congress, Garamendi publishes all community project funding requests on his website, which is available here. Garamendi is working to secure additional funding for local projects in California’s 8th District in the coming months.
Editors Note – other recent Garamendi stories:
- Feb 3 – DeSaulnier, Garamendi Vote Against Bill to Deport Illegal Immigrants Who Commit DUI’s
- Oct 13, 2023 – Garamendi Honors 53 Women at Annual Women of the Year Awards
