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| City Manager's Weekly Report for the Two Weeks Ending January 13th, 2012 January 14, 2012 |
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Mayor and Councilmembers: This is the weekly report for the two weeks ending January 13th, 2012.
The next City Council meeting will be Tuesday, January 17th, beginning with a Closed Session at 5:00 PM, followed by the regular agenda at 6:30 PM. Please note that the discussion of the General Plan, originally scheduled for this meeting, will not be on the agenda. City staff has issued a press release and contacted constituent groups advising of this change to the scheduled General Plan review.
Point Pinole Regional Shoreline Clean-up – 9:30 AM– 1:00 PM Engineering Services is participating in, and inviting volunteers, to the Point Pinole shoreline clean-up on Monday, January 16th from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM. Participants will meet at the bus stop next to the parking lot at Point Pinole Regional Park. The Watershed Project will provide tools and gloves and will provide free refreshments as we work hard to help clean up our coastal environment. If you have your own pair of gloves and a bucket, please bring them so that everyone can have a chance to pitch in. Also, please bring your own reusable water bottle if you have it, wear comfortable clothing, and sturdy closed-toe shoes. Children must be accompanied by an adult. This event qualifies as Community Service hours. Please see the Stormwater’s webpage under Engineering Services Department of the city’s website for more information http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/index.aspx?nid=1735. 6th Street and Ohio on the Richmond Greenway, 9:00 AM-3:00 PM Join a group of local organizations led by the City of Richmond, Urban Tilth, and Friends of the Richmond Greenway for “Make It a Day On in Richmond” on Monday, January 16, 2012. Residents and friends will honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King by working together to enhance Richmond’s public green space, cultivate urban farms and school gardens, and strengthen the community. In the City’s Fifth Annual Day of Service, community residents will work together on ten project sites along the Richmond Greenway. Activities will include a kids zone, veggie plant start and seed giveaway, planting of over 50 fruit trees in the New Richmond Edible Forest, garden fresh lunch for volunteers, spoken word and live performances by the East Bay Center for Performing Arts, the Richmond College Preparatory School Choir and youth from Making Waves. Visit www.mlkdayrichmond.org for project sites and more information. Iron Triangle 6th Street and Enterprise, 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM For MLK National Day of Service, the East Bay Lions Club is sponsoring a day of service in the Iron Triangle neighborhood on 6th Street and Enterprise. The project will be targeting 6 homes for home repairs and beautification projects around the block. Materials, donations, and volunteers are needed. Please contact Michael McDowell at (510) 703-1101.
On January 10th, the City was notified that the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) approved the Safe Routes to Transit (SR2T) Advisory Committee's award recommendations. The cities of Richmond and El Cerrito submitted a joint application for the “Overcoming Physical Barriers to Safe Transit Access” project that will complete the improvements needed to close the gap between the Richmond and Ohlone Greenways. The $501,829 grant will be used to construct transit-related improvements. Two additional grant applications have been submitted that would pay for the completion of the other project improvements, including restoring a segment of Baxter Creek. The design and construction documents for the project were prepared with funding from BART and the cities of Richmond and El Cerrito. The grant was prepared by the City of Richmond’s Planning Division (special acknowledgement to Lina Velasco) with assistance from Engineering Services and the Richmond Community Redevelopment Agency.
The perimeter lighting project is near completion at Shields-Reid Park. The new lighting is in place and will have the final touches added within the next few weeks.
On Saturday, February 11, 2012, from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, the Planning Division will be hosting the Livable Corridors Project Community Kick-off at Lovonya DeJean Middle School’s Multipurpose Room located at 3400 Macdonald Avenue. The Livable Corridors Project will create a form-based code for three of Richmond’s major commercial corridors: Macdonald Avenue, San Pablo, Avenue and 23rd Street. The new code will be an implementation tool that guides revitalization of these corridors into safe, walkable, and economically thriving neighborhoods. The project is funded largely through a Sustainable Communities Planning grant awarded by the California Strategic Growth Council. For more information regarding the kick-off and other project events, please visit www.ci.richmond.ca.us/livablecorridors.
Richmond residents may now place whole Christmas trees on the curb for collection by Richmond Sanitary Service (RSS) at no additional charge. RSS prefers that residents cut trees and put them into the green cart. However, if residents are unable to cut their trees, whole trees will be collected from the curb. Please remove all tree decorations. Trees will be collected by RSS by the next regular scheduled green waste cart service day at the latest. Trees will be picked up at no charge until February 10, 2012. Please call RSS customer service with questions: (510) 262-7100.
The City of Richmond previously authorized the West Contra Costa Integrated Waste Management Authority, also known as RecycleMore, to lead development of a regional single-use bag ban ordinance for individual adoption by the cities of El Cerrito, Hercules, Pinole, Richmond, and San Pablo. This past Thursday, January 12th, the RecycleMore Board approved a contract with David J. Powers and Associates to provide consulting services for the single-use bag ban ordinance environmental review process. You can access the RecycleMore Board January 2012 agenda report detailing this item here. You can also access the current draft ordinance in the September 2011 RecycleMore Board agenda report. A draft ordinance will be presented to the RecycleMore Board and then presented to City Councils for individual review.
Service agreements that the West Contra Costa Cities have with Richmond Sanitary Service (RSS) for post collection services – recycling, composting, transfer, transport, disposal, and hazardous waste - are set to expire at the end of 2013. RecycleMore member agencies had the option to 1) enter into sole source negotiations with RSS for services or enter into an open procurement process, and 2) individually contract out for services or seek joint procurement with the other West Contra Costa agencies. El Cerrito, Hercules, Pinole, Richmond, and San Pablo City Councils have passed resolutions supporting joint procurement for an open procurement process. At the RecycleMore Board meeting this past Thursday, January 12th, the Board also approved an open joint procurement process. You can access the RecycleMore Board January 2012 agenda report detailing the item here.
During the last week of December, the City was notified by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) that they had reviewed the credit rating on the Richmond Joint Powers Finance Authority Refunding Revenue Bonds, Series 1995A. After this review, S&P upgraded the rating to “A+” from “A,” while affirming the stable outlook. This upgraded rating reflects S&P’s view of the city’s sustained very strong debt service coverage from gas tax revenues. The bonds were initially issued to fund the 23rd Street Grade Undercrossing, and will mature in Fiscal Year 2012/13.
Abatix is partnering with EHS International, Inc. to provide new equipment and supplies, valued over $20,000, to support the City of Richmond’s award-winning green jobs training program. Abatix is a full-service distributor of quality products to safety, construction, environmental, marine, remediation, health care, and energy industries. EHS has been a provider of OSHA compliance training and consulting services since 1998. The new equipment and supplies will be used in RichmondBUILD’s Construction Skills and Environmental Remediation classes. The Environmental Remediation classes are primarily funded by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program. Students in the Environmental Remediation class will practice responding to different hazardous scenarios utilizing the new equipment including respirators, harnesses, fall protection equipment, a gas detection device, hard hats, personal protective equipment and more. We appreciate the valuable contributions of Abatix and EHS to this important program.
Via Verdi Roadway and Culvert Repair (Via Verdi “sinkhole” project: The plans and specifications for the project are complete. The project went out to bid on January 9th with the bid opening scheduled for February 6th. Annual Sewer Pipeline Repair and Rehabilitation Project: The Engineering Services Department and Veolia continued work on the 2011/2012 annual sewer pipeline repair and rehabilitation project. Please note that there were no mainlines installed last week. A summary of work in progress is listed below:
Any questions related to the ongoing 2011/2012 annual sewer pipeline repair and rehabilitation project may be directed to Mr. Fadi Alabbas at (925) 323-8937. Those interested may also follow our daily Twitter updates at www.twitter.com/CoR_Engineering.
The Richmond Paratransit program has received a two year $201,548 Federal Transit Administration New Freedom grant. The grant will fund a same-day, 24-hour, seven-days-a-week local transportation service for persons with disabilities and senior citizens age 65 and older. The local match is 50% of the total amount, or $100,774. The cost per trip for a client will be $5. Also, Sam Casas, Paratransit Coordinator, was elected the 2012 Bay Area Partnership Accessibility Committee (BAPAC) Vice-Chair. BAPAC advises the Metropolitan Transportation Commission on the Regional Transit Connection, Paratransit, eligibility concerns, accessible bus issues, and specialized transit program grants.
Parks and Landscaping Division: Crews completed renovation of the Booker T. Anderson baseball field; planted 54 trees for the North and East neighborhood’s Adopt-A-Tree program; pruned sycamore trees on Blume Drive; prepared for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Day on the Greenway; pruned and mulched shrubs on the 23rd Street Grade Separation; and performed landscape maintenance in the medians of San Pablo Avenue and at Civic Center Plaza.
The tree crew cut or trimmed trees on Merced Street, South 56th Street, as well as the 2800 block of Carlson Boulevard in the center median. Next week, crews will perform drainage improvements along the Bay Trail on Sea Cliff Drive; irrigation maintenance at Shields-Reid and Lucas Parks; and complete the turf maintenance at Valley View School and Marina Green Park. The tree crew will complete maintenance on trees at Booker T. Anderson Park, Raincloud Park, and on Burlingame Avenue. Facilities Maintenance Division: The carpenters completed the safety repairs at the Corporation Yard; diverted the roof run-off at the Richmond Recreation Complex near the Childcare Center; replaced doors to the equipment room at the Richmond Plunge; and pressure washed areas of the Civic Center Plaza walkways. The stationary engineers performed repairs in the restrooms of the Police Department and in the Childcare Center at the Richmond Recreation Complex. The painters concluded painting of the interior of the Point Richmond Community Center. Streets Division: This week, crews completed the resurfacing of Lincoln Avenue from 6th Street to 10th Street. Next week, crews will work on the resurfacing of Roosevelt Avenue from Harbour Way to the east end of the street. As a reminder, there will be no street sweeping on Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday; the North Richmond and North Belding Woods neighborhoods will not be swept.
* * * * * 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!
You can sign up to receive the City Manager’s weekly report and other information from the City of Richmond by visiting: www.ci.richmond.ca.us/list.aspx
Bill Lindsay
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