Mayor and Councilmembers:

This is the weekly report for the week ending June 1^st, 2007.

1.         Meeting Notes

The next City Council meeting will be on Tuesday, June 5^th.  It will begin with a Closed Session at 8:30 AM, to be followed by two Study Sessions regarding the Port and the Community Survey, respectively, at 5:00 PM, with the regular City Council meeting at 7:00 PM.

Note for planning purposes that we expect that the City Council will need to meet all four Tuesdays during the month of June.  At this point, June 12^th is planned for a comprehensive update on the General Plan process, with Tuesday, June 19^th as a regular business meeting and Tuesday, June 26^th to be scheduled for adoption of the final budget.  We will also need to schedule with the Council a comprehensive budget Study Session.

Finally, please note that there will be no meeting on Tuesday, July 3^rd to be able to enjoy the City’s fireworks, with the regular meeting of the City Council moved to Tuesday, July 10^th.

2.         Chevron Energy and Hydrogen Renewal Project

As you may know, the draft Environmental Impact Report for the Chevron Energy and Hydrogen Renewal Project has been released.  The EIR can be reviewed on-line; or, discs and hard copies of the two volume document are available at the Planning Department. On June 7^th, the Planning Commission will hold a meeting to receive public comments on the document.

3.         Toll Brothers – Point Richmond Shores (Terminal #1)

Representatives of the City, Toll Brothers, and the Coalition of Considered Citizens of Point Richmond (CCCPR) have had a number of meetings over the past several weeks concerning the revised site layout and building elevations for the proposed Point Richmond Shores project at Terminal #1.  The meetings are in the context of settlement discussions relating to litigation associated with the project.  The revised plan submitted by Toll reflects the outcome of the community process that took place several months ago.  While there are still several details to be worked out, especially the specific language for Conditions of Approval related to project phasing and other key issues, there is substantive agreement over how these conditions need to be written, and consideration of project approval is now scheduled to be before the City Council on June 19.

4.         Small Electrical Fire in City Hall

This past week, there was a small electrical fire in the Finance Department of City Hall.  Information concerning this fire is as follows:

·         The preliminary cause appears to be a short in an electrical plug located at the base of the cubicle wall in the General Ledger area.  Fire inspectors are still investigating why the plug failed.

·         The fire was contained to the initial area of origin (the plug and a small area of the wall).

·         No one was injured.

·         The fire was extinguished simultaneously by Fire Inspector Robin Poindexter with a dry chemical extinguisher and Randall Narron (IT) shutting down the electrical panel.

·         The fire crew from Station #67 responded along with Electrical Supervisor Ralph Lloyd and two of his electricians, as well as Stationary Engineer Al Shanklin and two maintenance personnel.

·         The smell of smoke dissipated quickly through natural ventilation.

·         Work is already taking place to restore the cubicle for use by employees Yolanda Skelton and Nena Gapasin.

·         Fire Chief Banks has asked Ralph Lloyd to provide him with more information about an exact cause; when he does so, we will take any necessary remedial action.

Please contact Fire Chief Michael Banks if you have any further questions about this incident.

5.         FY2007-08 Budget Adoption Schedule

We are working to finalize the FY2007-08 Proposed Operating and Capital Improvement Budgets for presentation to the City Council and will send a revised review schedule to the City Council as soon as possible.  As part of this process, the Finance Standing Budget Sub-Committee completed their community budget presentation meetings, which included meetings at: Southside (4/16), North & East (4/19), May Valley (4/26) and Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council (5/14) and Fairmede-Hilltop (5/24). 

6.         City Council Administrative Interns

The job announcement for the City Council’s Administrative Student Interns has been posted.  The positions will be advertised until Thursday, June 21^st.

Announcements were sent to the following colleges and universities:

Questions can be referred to Leslie Knight at (510) 620-6600.

7.         Rehabilitation of Bayview and West Side Branch Libraries

After some unexpected delays, the rehabilitation of the Bayview and West Side Branch Libraries is back on track.  Best Roofing began repairs to the roof last week and should be finished next week.  A meeting, attended by Library, Public Works and Finance, was held to determine the resources available and the requisite collaboration to begin construction activity at both branch libraries no later than this next week.  In so doing, the libraries should be able to open on or near the original June 15^th target date with “newly renovated” buildings fully furnished and inviting to the public.   

8.         Nystrom Elementary School/MLK Community Center Site Coordination Meeting

Meetings have taken place on several fronts recently regarding the West Contra Costa Unified School District’s (WCCUSD’s) proposed improvements to the Nystrom Elementary School campus located at the corner of Harbour Way South and Florida Avenue, just north of the MLK Community Center.  The major points of discussion are regarding:

·         The site work required to accommodate the Richmond College Prep Charter school;

·         The site work required to temporarily house (possibly for two school years) the Leadership Public School (450 high school students);

·         The renovation work scheduled for the Nystrom Elementary School;

·         The renovation work scheduled for the Maritime Center and surrounding area;

·         Coordination of improvements and possible daytime school use of the MLK Center and park.

The District’s current development proposal includes traffic calming and pedestrian safety improvements along Harbour Way South, the closing off of 11^th Street south of Florida Avenue, the use of a portion of the MLK Community Center play field for a temporary parking lot during construction, and a request to use a portion of the MLK Center, the gymnasium and the play field area for the Leadership Public School students during their temporary stay on the campus.  This is a complex project with a number of moving parts, and it is quite possible that components and phasing may yet change before a final design is concluded.

All of this work will need to go through City reviews and will possibly require a CEQA study.  This coordinated effort will include City staff from Engineering, Housing, Redevelopment and Parks.  We will keep you informed regarding the progress on this important project.

9.         Update on 2005 Pension Obligation Bonds

When the City issued its 2005 Pension Obligation Bonds, the bond structure required the conversion of a portion of the bonds to variable rate mode in 2013 and another portion of the bonds to variable rate mode in 2023.  This structure resulted in the City saving approximately $17 million in PERS costs at the time the bonds were issued; the City has since improved these savings by an additional $4 million by receiving an interest rate reduction in FY 2005-06 when the City’s credit improved and the 2004 and 2005 audits were completed.

Finance Director Jim Goins has been monitoring the capital markets for opportunities to reduce the interest rate risk of the bonds when they convert to variable rate mode in the future.   As a result of these efforts, the City received two separate proposals for changing the structure of the 2005 Pension Obligation Bonds; one proposal was from Bear Stearns, and the second proposal was from Lehman Brothers, which is the original underwriting firm for the bonds.  After reviewing the proposals with the City’s Financial and Swap Advisors, the finance team has determined that the Lehman Brothers proposal is more cost-effective.  The finance team will now move forward to amend the original bond documents to reflect a change from the current variable rate to a less risky and more stable fixed rate mode.  Due to the City’s recent improvements in its credit rating and historically low interest rates in the market, we have received an attractive quote of 5.997% for the 2013 conversion and 6.08% for the 2023 conversion, although the final rates will be determined at the time the amended documents are executed. 

10.       New Auditing Statement: Auditor’s Communication with Those Charged with Governance

SAS No.114 (Statement on Auditing Standards) supersedes SAS No. 61, Communication with Audit Committees.  This new SAS establishes standards and provides guidance to an auditor on matters to be communicated with those charged with governance.  As a result, the City Council may expect additional direct contact with the City’s independent financial auditor.

As a result of well-publicized audit failures and emerging best practices in corporate governance, expectations have increased for auditors to communicate openly and candidly with those charged with governance regarding significant findings and issues related to the audit.  SAS No. 61 established communication requirements applicable to entities that either have an audit committee or a group equivalent to an audit committee.  SAS No. 114 broadens the applicability of the SAS to audits of the financial statements of all non-issuers and establishes a requirement for the auditor to communicate with those charged with governance certain significant matters related to the audit.

“Those Charged with Governance” is a term used by the SAS to refer to those with responsibility for overseeing the strategic direction of an entity and related accountability.

SAS No. 114 identifies specific matters to be communicated.  In particular:

·         Recognizing the diversity in governance structures among entities and encouraging the use of professional judgment in deciding with whom to communicate particular matters; i.e. the hiring of an advisor.

·         Requiring the auditor to determine the appropriate person(s) in an entity’s governance structure with whom to communicate particular matters.

·         Adds requirements to communicate:

o An overview of the planned scope and timing of the audit.

o Representations that the auditor is requesting from management.

SAS 114 begins on or after December 15, 2006 or effective with the 2007-08 fiscal year-end audit.

11.       Employee Health and Wellness Fair

The Human Resources Management Department hosted the 1^st Annual Employee Health and Wellness Fair at the Richmond Auditorium on Wednesday, May 23^rd, 2007. 200 employees and citizens attended the health fair, gathered useful information and sampled the wares of 27 vendors.  CalPERS, Hartford, AFLAC, Standard Insurance, Concentra, Kaiser, Delta Dental, VSP, American Red Cross, American Heart Association, Tahitian Noni Juice, 24-Hour Fitness and Managed Health Network were among the vendors that participated in the event. The Kaiser Healthy Beats Drum Circle encouraged attendees to join the drum circle to play therapeutic rhythms, and The Ki Institute held mini-stress reduction workshops. Attendees were pampered with mini-massages from Ginger Springs Day Spa, and received chiropractic assessments by Dr. Abel Flores.  Kaiser and Concentra conducted diabetes, blood pressure and body fat analyses.  The event also kicked-off COR Steppers, a new four-week City-wide employee walking program that will encourage fitness and healthy living.  Eighty (80) employees joined the program that day.  Special thanks go to Sharrone Taylor who coordinated the fair.

12.       Design Guidelines for Richmond’s Heritage Neighborhoods

Last week, staff met with Opticos Design, the firm that has been retained by the City to assist in developing design guidelines, to review schemes and options for homes in Richmond’s heritage neighborhoods. The consultant is making excellent progress in identifying and characterizing the architectural elements of Richmond’s unique neighborhoods. This effort will emphasize photographs, drawings and diagrams to guide homeowners, contractors, designers and architects who are seeking to modify existing houses or construct new houses in existing neighborhoods.

13.       Health Element-Healthy Foods

As you recall, the City received a grant to include a Health Element of its General Plan, which is a very unusual addition to the scope of work.  As part of this effort, staff has been working with the Economic Development Administrator to create a list of all grocery vendors operating in the City. Once the list has been developed, guidelines can be created to inform Richmond’s small vendors about the health and nutritional value of their offerings.  Eventually, incentives might be developed to help vendors carry organic and/or locally grown produce.  It might also be possible to assist them in identifying alternatives to unhealthy store items such as sugar charged drinks, candy and baked goods.  The Council will hear and review more about such policies as it receives a comprehensive update to the General Plan effort, which is scheduled for Tuesday, June 12^th.

14.       Rental Inspection Program

All departments that are involved in setting up the rental inspection program are meeting on a weekly basis to identify and solve anticipated challenges.  A number of these meetings have also included representatives from the West County Realtors Association and the Contra Costa Apartment Association.  The program is scheduled to “go live” on July 1^st.

15.       California Department of Health Services Wants to Connect

Representatives of the California Department of Health Services facility located on Marina Bay Parkway contacted the Planning Department to express their interest in working with the City to improve their connection with the sidewalk, the Bay trail and with the shopping center located on Marina Bay Parkway and Meeker.   They intend to submit their ideas to City staff for review.  A member of DHS sits on the Technical Advisory Committee for the Health Element of the General Plan.

16.       Surveillance Camera Project Update

This past week, staff members involved in the surveillance camera project (the CCTV Committee) met with ADT, which is the vendor that will be recommended to the City Council for implementation of this project.  GIS staff developed data sets of all potential locations for positioning of cameras.  Potential sites include City facilities, other City-owned properties, schools, parks, and light poles.  Data will be developed in a Google Earth compatible format.  Continued conversations are being held with the School District to build a collaborative relationship between the City and the WCCUSD as it relates to shared technology infrastructure. Site visits are being planned for the CCTV committee to see first hand successful forensic analytics software for viewing surveillance images.

17.       ERP (Enterprise) System Replacement Project

This past week, the City completed “Elevation 4” of its ERP selection process.  As you may recall the ERP selection process began with the City deciding to contract with the Government Finance Officers Association for ERP selection consulting services back in January of 2006.

The City's first step in the process was to complete a needs assessment of its ERP requirements, during which City staff from all City departments met in dozens of separate meetings over six days.  In the meetings, they discussed with GFOA's consultants their experiences - both good and bad - with the existing ERP system.  Based on these meetings, GFOA prepared a "Needs Assessment Final Report" in August, 2006.

The City's next step was to define the functional and technical requirements for its proposed system.  Again, staff from all City departments met over six days to review and discuss the City's ERP requirements.  The City issued its Request for Proposal (RFP) on December 1, 2006.  ERP vendors submitted to the City nine different proposals on January 8, 2007.

Elevation 1 verified that each vendor conformed to the RFP requirements and eight vendors advanced.  The City then created an ERP Evaluation Team consisting of 10 staff representing the City's various departments.  Each member of the ERP Evaluation Team reviewed the hundreds of pages of each proposal.

In early February, the ERP Evaluation Team members met and selected the three vendors to promote for Elevation 2, Scripted Demonstrations.  Each of the three selected vendors visited the City to demonstrate their software based on scripts prepared by GFOA.  All the members of the ERP Evaluation Team and the City's many "subject matters experts" attended the scripted demonstrations.  Each vendor's scripted demonstrations continued for four days, for a total of 13 intense days of scripted demonstrations.  After all the scripted demonstrations were completed, the ERP Evaluation Team met and elevated two ERP vendors for Elevation 3, Discovery Sessions.

The City completed the Discovery Sessions this past week, and, on Friday morning, the ERP Evaluation Team met and recommended that the City begin negotiations with one of the two finalist ERP vendors.  The City, working with GFOA will now begin what is expected to be a six to eight week contract negotiation process.  The first step in this process will be to obtain final clarifications from the finalist as to the components of their proposal.  Subsequent to that, GFOA will obtain a “Best and Final Offer” from the finalist and begin preparing a statement of work for the City. GFOA will leverage its vast membership and vendor knowledge to negotiate the most competitive solution for the City.

This has been a long and comprehensive process to select a business system that, we believe, will substantively and beneficially, impact the productivity of the entire organization.

18.       Managers and Supervisors Training

Throughout this year, the Human Resources Management Department has been offering a series of trainings for City staff.  Many of the trainings have been geared toward managers and supervisors.  On May 17, 2007, a training entitled “How to Motive, Manage and Lead a Team” was conducted.  City staff reported that the training was “phenomenal” and right on track with the needs of Richmond.  This particular training was so well received, and provided such an excellent array of ideas and practices for managers and supervisors, that it will be offered again in September.

19.       Web Site Fun Facts

The Civic Center Revitalization project is now represented on the City’s website.  The pages went live on May 23^rd and for the 4 remaining days of the week from May 20^th through May 26^th, the Civic Center main page was visited 43 times and was number 181 in the overall ranking.  With partial numbers in so far for the current week, for Sunday 5/27 – Thursday 5/31 there have been 34 visits with an overall ranking of 85.

 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!

 Bill Lindsay

City Manager

City of Richmond

1401 Marina Way South

Richmond, CA 94804

Phone:  510-620-6512

Fax:      510-620-6542

e-mail:   bill_lindsay@ci.richmond.ca.us