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| City Manager's Weekly Report for the Week Ending April 27th, 2012 April 28, 2012 |
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Mayor and Councilmembers: This is the weekly report for the week ending April 27th, 2012 (17 items! – lot’s of attention- grabbing activities).
The next meeting of the Richmond City Council is scheduled for Tuesday, May 1st. It will begin at 4:30 PM with a very special acknowledgement of visiting ambassadors from Richmond’s Sister City of Shimada, Japan, commemorating the 50th anniversary of this continuing friendship. After convening the meeting in the City Council Chambers at 4:30 PM, a special reception will follow in the Richmond Auditorium. The regular City Council meeting will begin at 6:30 PM.
The RichmondBUILD program was established in 2007 as a violence reduction strategy for the City of Richmond, and has since become a nationally-recognized construction skills and green building training program. In the last five years, RichmondBUILD has expanded the training programs to include pre-apprenticeship construction skills, energy efficiency, electrical, haz mat certification, and solar installation. Over 600 Richmond residents, including 107 YouthBUILD students, have been trained for careers and employment in construction, green building industry, solar installation, and environmental remediation. RichmondBUILD has achieved a job placement rate of nearly 80% of graduates with an average starting wage of $17 an hour. The City of Richmond’s Local Employment Ordinance has been an important tool for creating job opportunities on city-funded projects for RichmondBUILD graduates.
RichmondBUILD’s network of partners include various City of Richmond departments, Contra Costa College, Rising Sun Energy Center, Solar Richmond, Net Electric, The English Center, GRID Alternatives, and partnership agreements with the cities of San Pablo, Berkeley, and Emeryville, which involves their purchase of training slots for their residents in the RichmondBUILD Academy. To date, RichmondBUILD has secured 28 grants and contributions totaling over $8.5 million. Awards & recognitions include:
Special thanks and a happy anniversary go out to Employment & Training Director Sal Vaca, Employment Specialist Fred Lucero, and all of the many staff members and partners that have contributed to the success of this outstanding program.
I don’t often comment on City Council actions in my weekly report (it’s too hard news for my purpose in writing this), but a recent event at last Tuesday’s City Council meeting should not go unacknowledged. This past Tuesday, the Richmond City Council adopted a new General Plan 2030 to guide the City’s sustainable growth and development. The General Plan provides a comprehensive framework for developing a healthy city and healthy neighborhoods. While General Plans are required by the State of California to contain seven elements, the City of Richmond’s General Plan contains 15 elements addressing land use, economic development, housing, transportation, climate change, public safety, arts and culture, and open space conservation strategies. Additionally, the City of Richmond is one of the first cities in the country to include a comprehensive element dedicated to community health and wellness. The General Plan accommodates open space and increased access to public parks as well as growth in mixed-use, high-density infill development around the City’s intermodal transit center and along its key commercial and transit corridors – Priority Development Areas. The General Plan also articulates a vision for revitalizing Richmond’s Southern Gateway area anchored by the Richmond Field Station site, which is the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s preferred site for their second campus. Congratulations to all those who helped get this done, including the City Council for its policies (and patience), the Planning Department staff, with special recognition to Planning Director Richard Mitchell and staff members Hector Rojas and Lina Velasco, and the many community members that provided such valuable direction on this six-year project.
(Editor’s note: I am once again breaking my unwritten rule about not including “hard news” in the weekly report; however, this is a significant policy consideration by the City Council, and we are encouraging residents to learn about this possible program for the City.) The Marin Energy Authority is a non-profit that operates the Marin Clean Energy Community Choice Aggregation program. Community Choice Aggregation allows local governments to procure electric energy for residents and businesses. It is an opt-out program that provides electric customers a choice of continuing to buy electricity from PG&E or choosing to purchase electricity from Marin Clean Energy, which purchases energy through more renewable resources. Marin Clean Energy provides two electricity products: 1) Light Green - 50% renewable energy or 2) Deep Green - 100% renewable energy. Past presentations, staff reports and studies related to Community Choice Aggregation are available on the City Clerk’s website and at the City’s Environmental Initiatives website: www.richmondenvironment.org.
The Recreation Department has been awarded Imagination Playground in a Cart through the Let’s Play Improvement Grant program! The Let’s Play Improvement Grants are made possible by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) as part of its Let’s Play initiative to get kids and families active nationwide. The grant includes 2 Playgrounds in a Cart. One playground cart will be assigned to the Shields-Reid Community Center and one playground cart will be assigned to the Disabled Persons Recreation Center (DPRC). The Imagination Playground in a Cart will provide children from both community centers a fun and safe innovative way of playing all while using their imaginations.
As you may recall, the Imagination Playground caught the eye of Richmond’s Recreation Department staff at the Health Forum held last June at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium. Alicia Nightengale, Project Manager in the City Manager’s office, was successful in working with the California Endowment to find funding for this unique “unstructured play structure” and the Marin Community fully funded the Imagination Playground at a cost of $5,000. The Imagination Playground made its Richmond debut at the Nevin Community Center last year and has “toured” several community centers to rave reviews. Alicia was successful once again in securing this Let’s Play grant to further expand recreational opportunities.
Every year, the City of Richmond recognizes a number of individuals, organizations, businesses, and agencies whose contributions demonstrate outstanding commitment to excellence in historic preservation, local history, or promotion of the heritage of the City. The Historic Preservation Commission is pleased to announce this year's award recipients: Steve Gilford for his book “Build ‘Em by the Mile, Cut ‘Em off by the Yard”; East Bay Center for the Performing Arts for the Rehabilitation of the Winters Building; Rosie the Riveter Trust for the Rehabilitation of the Maritime Child Development Center; and Richmond Museum of History for Collecting and Preserving Richmond's History. The Richmond Historic Preservation Commission and the National Park Service is inviting interested persons to attend the Historic Preservation Awards Ceremony honoring this year's award recipients. The awards ceremony will take place on Monday, May 7th, at 5:00 PM in the Richmond City Council Chambers. The ceremony will be followed by a reception across the plaza at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium lobby. The reception will be catered by the Contra Costa College Culinary Department and there will be a no-host bar. Please contact Hector Rojas, Associate Planner at (510) 620-6662 or hector_rojas@ci.richmond.ca.us with any questions about the awards ceremony.
On Saturday, April 21st, Richmond residents picked up free buckets of compost and fruit trees from Civic Center at the City’s Environmental and Health Initiatives’ third annual compost giveaway event. Compost is made in Richmond from food scraps generated from the residential composting program. Fruit trees – apple, cherry, pomegranate, nectarine, apricot, and plum – were in such popular demand that two additional tree giveaways were hosted this past Tuesday and Friday. Altogether more than 1,000 trees were given away at the two events. Thank you to Self-Sustaining Communities for the generous fruit tree donation, and to Richmond YouthWORKS, Urban Tilth, the Rising Sun Energy Center, Solar Richmond, City of Richmond Stormwater Program and Parks Division, Republic Services, and all the volunteers who came out to help.
The Richmond Library will host the Richmond Tales Fest 2012 on Sunday, April 29th, from 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM at the Richmond Civic Center. Many community agencies and organizations including Kaiser, West County Reads, East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, and the West Contra Costa School District came together to make this special event possible. Local families are invited to enjoy a range of educational and fun family activities designed to reinforce the importance of literacy and to provide parents with information to help them succeed in their role as their child's first reading teacher. The festival will offer entertainment, workshops, games, prizes and fun for the whole family. Admission is free. As part of the festival, the Library is bringing back Vamos de Leer (Let’s Read) the bilingual family literacy program targeting children in grades K-5 that encourages parents to participate in their children’s education by reading with them. The event will include bilingual reading sessions with radio station personality Jose Luis “El Zorro”. During the Richmond Tales Fest, the Richmond Public Library will have special Sunday hours from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM in support of the event.
The El Portal Drive temporary road closure is scheduled to begin on May 1st, in anticipation of the Via Verdi Culvert Replacement project. A courtesy notice was sent to Caltrans, AC Transit, Highway Patrol, three residential neighborhoods, and local City and County Fire, Police/Sheriff, and Public Works Departments that will be affected by the upcoming road closure. The City issued a press release for a Ground “Filling” Ceremony at 3:00 PM on Friday May 4th. As part of the ceremony, the City will honor Randy Iwasaki, Executive Director of Contra Costa Transportation Authority, and Tom Maruyama, Retired Director of the California Emergency Management Agency, both of whom helped the City obtain funding for this project. Invitees include County Supervisor John Gioia, Mayor McLaughlin and City Councilmembers, City officials, community groups, first responders, Sobrante Glen residents, and several agencies that have been working on the Via Verdi project for the last two years. More information on the Ground “Filling” Ceremony can be found at: http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=8562
The Sell Big; Business and Procurement Fair will be held at the Craneway Conference Center in the Ford Building on Thursday, May 10th 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM. This event will feature State, County, City, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Procurement workshops, best practices from government and business procurement experts, and more. Those interested in attending need to purchase tickets and register for workshops at: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3214826633/eorg.
Bike to Work Day 2012 is quickly approaching. The City of Richmond’s Environmental and Health Initiatives team is partnering with the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, 511 Contra Costa, SunPower, Building Blocks for Kids, the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and Richmond Spokes to promote bicycling as a safe, healthy, and fun mode of transportation. On Thursday, May 10th, Richmond groups will host four Energizer Stations along key bicycle routes in Richmond, handing out Bike to Work Day bags, refreshments, and other resources and prizes to bicyclists. May is also Bike to Work month, and the City is encouraging everyone to be a part of the Team Bike Challenge. You can sign up at http://www.youcanbikethere.com/tbc. Teams of 2-5 people will track their bike rides online and earn points for each ride and total daily mileage. Prizes are available for the top teams. For more information on Bike to Work Day, contact Mike Uberti (AmeriCorps volunteer in the City Manager’s office) at (510) 620-5502. Stop by a Bike to Work Day Energizer Station on Thursday, May 10th from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM for a Bike to Work Day bag and refreshments:
Benefits of biking to work:
free parking
improves physical and mental health
The Street Light Circuit Replacement at May Valley and Park View Neighborhoods Projects were advertised for bid (as two separate projects) on April 24th, with the bid opening scheduled for May 8th. These projects will replace about 79 old high voltage series street lights and poles with 99 new high efficiency LED light poles, including 13 pedestrian scale architectural fixtures at pathways. LED Street Light Replacement at Richmond Parkway, Castro Street, Cutting Boulevard., 23rd Street and San Pablo Avenue will be advertised on May 1st. The bid opening is scheduled for May 15th. This project will replace over 600 old yellowish high pressure sodium with high efficiency white LED lighting.
The following sidewalk locations were repaired under the miscellaneous concrete repairs program this week: 30th Street & Cutting Boulevard; 2509 Cutting Boulevard; 22nd Street and Florida Avenue; and 222 5th Street. These sidewalk locations had sustained damage due to City tree roots and were repaired to provide accessible paths-of-travel within the City of Richmond public right-of-way.
This past Wednesday, April 25th, Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) hosted the second convening of the Richmond Health Equity Partnership (RHEP) at the North Richmond Center for Health. The RHEP consists of the City of Richmond, CCHS, West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD), and UC Berkeley. The RHEP aims to support the long-term goals of Healthy Richmond by ensuring that these local government partners continue to build the necessary knowledge, capacity and institutional change that will improve health outcomes. The second convening led by Dr. Brunner of CCHS had a particular focus on understanding data and indicators to track the progress of health equity in Richmond at the neighborhood level. This two-year effort is being funded by The California Endowment, building on their previously successful investments in Richmond. To be kept informed as this project moves forward, visit the Health Initiatives webpage at www.richmondhealth.org.
On Tuesday, April 24th, 4CL and PEHAB hosted a workshop on climate change and public health. Councilmember Ritterman presented on the health impacts of climate change. Shasa Curl from the City Manager’s Office provided a presentation on how the City of Richmond is integrating health in City policies and the co-health benefits of various environmental initiatives currently underway in Richmond. Representatives from PEHAB, California Department of Public Health, and Meyers Nave also presented to the group. 4CL hosts quarterly meetings for Contra Costa County and City staff to promote sustainable communities and greenhouse gas emissions reduction.
Computer Classes: The Booker T. Anderson Community Center will be hosting beginning computer classes, starting May 7th. The classes are sponsored by the Richmond Public Library Literacy for Every Adult Program (LEAP) program and are free to adults. Swimming: In collaboration with the First Five program, the Plunge will begin a 6-week parent/tot swimming program on April 27th. The program will serve parents and children 0-3 years of age. The class is designed to get children comfortable with the water as well as teach parents how to safely engage with their children in the water. Quilting: Beginning April 25th, the Shields Reid Community Center, in collaboration with the Richmond Art Center, will be offering a six week quilting class. The class will teach participants to manipulate fabric into a beautiful work of art using modern sewing technology. Students will learn these skills from nationally recognized artist, Marion Coleman. Upon completion, students will have created a “one-of-a-kind” quilt for display or use at home. Classes are held on Wednesday afternoons from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Registration is open to children ages 8 to 14.
Facilities Maintenance Division: The carpenters built an interview room in the DiCon Building for Richmond Police Department and replaced two (2) doors along with the hardware in the gym of the Recreation Complex. The painters completed painting of the new interview room in the Police Department; and the men and women restrooms in the Auditorium. The stationary engineers repaired and replaced the waste line in Fire Stations 67; repaired the heating ventilation air conditioning (HVAC) in 440 and 450 Civic Center facilities; replaced the faucets in the men’s restroom in Booker T. Anderson Community Center; and repaired the floor drains in Nevin Community Center. The electricians installed electrical power in the new interview room for the Police Department; repaired street lights on Marina Way from Wiswall to Colette; replaced the knock down pole on 23rd Street and Ohio Avenue; and repaired fixtures on 7th Street in front of Fire Station 62. Parks and Landscaping Division: Parks and Landscaping received a significant rock donation from local vendor Chris Hammond of Hammond Construction. The rock is being used to secure the city’s lighting infrastructure.
Parks’ staff continued routine maintenance of parks and the right-of-ways; conducted weed abatement along Richmond Parkway, Country Club Vista Park, Hilltop Drive, May Road, 37th Street, and Mighty Mike Pathway; performed seasonal flail mowing in fire fuel management areas and Phase I of the Greenway; conducted turf maintenance in Nevin, Country Club Vista, and Bay Vista Parks; removed the sand from Rain Cloud Park area; moved irrigation box, backfilled dirt, and spread wildflower seeds in the Burg median; repaired the irrigation on Bowling Green; and changed the roses by the marquee. The tree crew performed tree maintenance at 4824 Sky Hawk Drive, 504 McLaughlin Street, 5009 and 5030 Barrett Avenue, and on Valley View Road and Fleetwood Drive. Streets Division: The pavement maintenance crew prepped and paved the street in front of 992 Hensley Street, 1700 Regatta Boulevard, the intersection of 2nd Street and Chanslor Avenue, and Ripley Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets; and continued Class A patching potholes in various locations.
The street sweepers regularly scheduled commercial and residential routes for the fourth week of April are in the Santa Fe, Point Richmond, Marina Bay, Coronado, Metro Richmond Village, Pullman, Cortez/Stege, Park Plaza, Laurel Park, City Center, Richmond Annex, Parkview, Panhandle Annex, and Eastshore areas. ****************************************************** 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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