Mayor and Councilmembers:

 

This is the weekly report for the week ending December 29^th, 2006, and the last weekly report for 2006.

 

1.         Meeting Notes

 

The next regular City Council meeting is the swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, January 9^th at 6:30 PM, convening in the City Council Chamber and followed by a reception at the Richmond Auditorium.  There will be no other City Council business conducted at that meeting.  The first regular business meeting of the City Council for the new year is scheduled for Tuesday, January 16^th.

 

2.         City Hall Schedule

 

Please be advised that the City offices will be closed on January 1^st but will be open for business as usual on Tuesday, January 2^nd (federal offices will be closed that day in honor of President Gerald Ford).

 

3.         Point Molate Update

 

Pursuant to the terms of the Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) dated November 9, 2004, Upstream Point Molate LLC has notified the City of Richmond that it is electing to extend the Closing Date for purchase of the Point Molate property from January 15, 2007 to January 15, 2008.   Pursuant to the LDA, Upstream has acknowledged its obligation to pay to the City a non-refundable $3,000,000 extension fee on January 15, 2007, to be applied against the Purchase Price.

 

4.         Sludge Pond Closure and Related Biosolids Handling Options

 

This past week, City staff had several meetings concerning the project to close the City of Richmond’s wastewater treatment sludge pond that is located adjacent to the Richmond Parkway.  As you know, the West County Wastewater District (WCWD) is extremely anxious for the City to close its sludge pond, which is situated on their property, requiring the City to develop an alternative means for handling its biosolids residue from the wastewater treatment plant.  The first meeting included Janet Schneider and me, together with staff from WCWD, East Bay MUD, and Republic Services, which owns and operates the adjacent landfill, and whose leachate is treated by the City’s wastewater treatment system.  All four of these represented organizations are, in different ways, parties to agreements that are affected by this project.  The second meeting included the same staff from the City and WCWD, plus Councilmembers Bates and Griffin, Vice-Mayor Viramontes, and WCWD Boardmember Len Battaglia.  The bottom line is that City staff will meet with WCWD staff over the next several weeks to develop a specific performance schedule for the City to abandon the sludge pond.  We expect this schedule, along with a status report on this project, to be on the City Council agenda on January 23, 2007.

 

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments about these or any other items of interest to you.

Have a great week and a Happy New Year!