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City Manager's Weekly Report for the Week Ending July 18th, 2008
July 19, 2008

Mayor and Councilmembers:

This is the weekly report for the week ending July 18^th, 2008.

1. Meeting Notes

The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 22nd, beginning with a Closed Session at 6:00 PM, followed by the City Council meeting at 7:00 PM. The final City Council meeting before the summer break will be Tuesday, July 29^th.

2. Target Store to Open Next Week

Target Store has invited Richmond City Council Members and staff involved with the Macdonald 80 Shopping Center Project to a special reception at 5:00 PM on Tuesday July 22^nd, the day before the new Richmond store is scheduled to open for business. The reception will be followed by a special store preview at 6:00 PM. Unfortunately, Target was not able to accommodate staff’s request to have the event on a day other than Tuesday, and, as a reminder, the Council meeting is scheduled to commence at 6:00 PM.

3. Bio-Rad Fills Up Richmond’s Point Pinole Business Park

Bio-Rad has rented 116,000 square feet of industrial warehouse and distribution space in Richmond’s Pinole Point Business Park, which brings occupancy at the 500,000 Square foot light industrial business park to 100%. The life sciences equipment company is moving to the business park in northern Richmond from a site near Marina Bay. Bio-Rad expects to occupy its new site located at the intersection of Atlas Road and Giant Highway by February 2009. Hercules-based Bio-Rad will move about 60 employees to the building. The new location represents an expansion for Bio-Rad, which will exit a smaller building that the company has been renting from the University of California. The University wants Bio-Rad's current building for its own uses.

The deal represents a coup for Sares Regis Group, the realty company that bought the Pinole Point complex in May for about $50 million. Now, Sares Regis intends to begin construction within nine months on an additional 600,000 square feet of industrial space in the project, adding three or four buildings to the business park.

4. State Budget News

The state budget news from the League of California Cities is not good. The League reports that, “Refusing to compromise on budget cuts, taxes and budget reform, state leaders may be headed toward Prop. 1A property tax and/or transportation sales tax ‘loans’ from local government unless city officials call it what it is: fiscally irresponsible, dishonest and a clear violation of the voters’ mandate on the 2004 and 2006 revenue protection measures.” As you know, both Proposition 1A in 2004 (property tax protection) and Proposition 1A in 2006 (transportation funding protection) contain provisions for “loans” from local government and transportation if the Governor declares a “severe state fiscal hardship.”

The League is encouraging City officials to continue to actively communicate a message to legislators that:

· Borrowing local and transportation funds is fiscally irresponsible and simply deepens the structural deficit.

· The voters made it clear in both 2004 (84 percent mandate) and 2006 (77 percent mandate) that they oppose taking local and transportation funds again.

· The current situation is not a “severe state fiscal hardship”—state leaders already have two balanced budgets to consider that do not raid local or transportation funds.

· The state should balance its budget with state funds – not local dollars that are critical to local services.

We will continue to keep you informed. In addition, the League of California Cities’ website (www.cacities.org) is an excellent way to monitor state budget impacts on cities.

5. Surveillance Camera Project Update

As of 10:00 AM today, the City’s contractor for the surveillance camera project, ADT, is now "substantially complete” with the construction phase of the project. The system now has 34 cameras recording in dispatch, and all camera shots, angles and focus have been approved by the multi-department city team. The project is now moving into the programming and testing phase, with operational analytics scheduled for completion by August 6th.

6. Boards and Commissions Policy Manual and Administrative Clean-Up

The City Clerk’s office distributed a first draft of the Boards and Commissions Policy Manual to the City Council for review and comment on June 30^th. The final version of the Manual is scheduled to be completed by September 1, 2008.

In addition, the City Attorney’s Office completed the first draft of an ordinance to address term limits and absences for all commissions. Following a review by the Clerk and the Attorney’s offices, the first reading of this ordinance is scheduled to be placed on the September 2^nd City Council meeting agenda.

7. November Election Update

The filing period to obtain and file nomination documents for potential candidates for the City’s Municipal Election in November opened at 8:30 AM on Monday, July 14^th. Seven nomination packets have been issued. In addition to the election for Councilmembers, there will be a ballot measure to propose “The Business License Act”, which is the result of a resident petition drive. The filing period closes on Friday, August 8^th, but will extend to Wednesday, August 13^th if an incumbent does not file by August 8^th. The County Elections Department will assign letters to local measures on August 11^th, and the Secretary of State will conduct a random draw at 11:00 AM on August 14^th to determine candidates’ positions on the ballot.

As you may recall, in 2003 the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 18-03 N.S. for matching funds for candidates, but the provisions were not funded due to budget constraints. These matching fund provisions are now included in the City’s FY 2008-09 City Clerk Department operating budget. A procedure for administration of matching funds was developed in conjunction with the City Clerk’s office and the Finance Department, and is included in the nomination packets. The procedure outlines the amount of funds that a candidate must receive to qualify for matching funds. The maximum allocation per candidate per election is $25,000.

8. “AGENDA PLUS” Agenda Management System Upgraded

Although not necessarily visible to Councilmembers or members of the public, the “Agenda Plus” agenda management system has been updated, and will soon be used for Standing Committees as well as Council meetings. The system continues to function very well and has reduced the annual cost of agenda packet preparation by $25,000. It also makes public access to agenda reports through the City’s website far more convenient.

9. Update on U.S. Youth Games

The U.S. Youth Games commenced in Oakland on Wednesday, July 16^th. The Opening Ceremony was a special event where the youth were inspired by speeches from two previous Olympians, Marilyn King and Eddie Hart. In his opening, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums made special note of the attendance by representatives of the City of Richmond. As of today (Friday, July 18^th), the Richmond soccer players have beaten teams from Oakland, California and Newark, New Jersey, and are a strong contender for the gold medal. The chess team won the silver medal, and we are eagerly awaiting the results of the remaining competitions.

10. Firefighter Trainee Written Exam

On Thursday, July 17^th and Friday, July 18^th, the Human Resources Department administered the firefighter trainee written exam to approximately 600 individuals at the Point Richmond Days Inn. There were originally 719 applicants signed up for the exam. Following the results of the written exam, successful candidates will be invited to an oral board interview in late August or early September. The Fire Department currently has seven firefighter vacancies.

11. Web Statistics

As indicated by the following statistics, use of the City’s website continues to expand, although the number of repeat visitors has begun to level off, and the average web site visits per visitor has also declined. To be candid, I have no idea how to interpret these statistics, but I’m sure that an experienced web manager can.