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| City Manager's Weekly Report for the Week Ending August 3rd, 2012 August 6, 2012 |
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Mayor and Councilmembers: This is the weekly report for the week ending August 3rd, 2012.
The City Council is on its annual August hiatus. The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 11th. Enjoy your free Tuesday evenings!
Employment & Training staff learned this week that the State of California Employment Development Department’s Workforce Services Division has approved a grant in the amount of $825,000. The grant (Project HIRE) will provide training and employment services for up to 150 Richmond residents in career pathways aligned with the anticipated economic development related to Lawrence Berkeley National Lab selecting the City of Richmond as the preferred site for the second campus. The training programs will include project management, estimating, procurement, administrative support, information technology, machining & fabrication, entry-level engineering, and professional, scientific and technical services (PSTS).
The Planning and Building Services Department staff will host a final workshop to inform residents about the City’s update to its General Plan Housing Element on Thursday, August 8th at 6:00 PM in the Multi-Purpose Room (basement floor – 440 Civic Center Plaza).
The Housing Element is an important planning document that is required by State law. The purpose of the Housing Element is to establish key policies, programs, and objectives for achieving a diverse range of housing needs in the community. Housing elements must include an assessment of existing and future housing needs, an inventory of sites available for housing development, an analysis of constraints to local housing production, and a set of programs and quantified objectives designed to help meet identified needs. Please join us at this workshop to learn more about Richmond’s Housing Element Update. We’ll be providing an overview of the work completed to date and will facilitate a roundtable discussion on some of the City’s draft housing policies and programs. Light refreshments and Spanish translation services will be provided. If you have any questions about Richmond’s Housing Element Update or are unable to attend the workshop, but would still like to provide your comments, please email Hector Rojas, Associate Planner at hector_rojas@ci.richmond.ca.us. More information is also available at www.ci.richmond.ca.us/housingelement.
This past Tuesday, several members of the City of Richmond Business Resource Team participated in the East Bay Small Business Symposium, sponsored by the East Bay Economic Development Alliance (EDA) which was held at the Berkeley Shattuck Hotel. The theme of this event, “Learn, Grow and Move Your Business to the Next Level,” was emphasized through breakout sessions that focused on business growth tools, business-to-business networking, and strategic resources.
The symposium included 61 small business organizations and 42 resource organizations, including the City of Richmond. There were four breakout sessions, one of which included Janet Johnson, Senior Business Assistance Officer, participating on the panel for Growth Businesses. The following City of Richmond Resource Team staff provided additional support at the resource tables:
The condition of streets in the City of Richmond is a constant topic of conversation and a continuing source of concern. During the past five years, the City Council has made a concerted effort to allocate funds to renovate and resurface failing pavement throughout the City, and the City’s official pavement condition index (PCI), as measured by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, has shown a marked improvement. Click here for a map that shows streets that have received work from 2007 through 2011, and it does show a substantial number of areas that have been improved. Unfortunately, there is still a great deal of work to do to catch up on streets where pavement has failed. It will also be important to continue a regular allocation of funding for preventive maintenance so that pavement resurfacing can be done in the most cost-effective manner. We will continue to update this map, and look forward to a time when all streets can be highlighted as having received recent improvements.
Baseball The Recreation Department escorted 20 participants and parents of the Jr. Giants program to AT & T Park, Monday, July 30th, 2012, to see the San Francisco Giants play the New York Mets. Although the Giants lost to the Mets in extra innings, for most of the children and parents, it was their first trip to AT&T Park and everyone had a great time out. The Little A’s Program and Bank of America provided 85 free tickets for the Recreation Complex summer camp youth to attend the game on Wednesday, August 1st, 2012 to see the A’s play Tampa Bay. The children were excited to take BART from Richmond to the Oakland Coliseum and for some of the children, see a professional baseball game for the first time. Exploratorium On Friday, August 3rd, the Booker T. Anderson summer camp youth took a trip to the Exploratorium in San Francisco with tickets donated by the Exploratorium to youth in underserved communities. Food Distribution This past Tuesday, the Parchester Community Center, in Collaboration with Muslims for Peace, distributed free food to Parchester residents. Over 35 residents received baked goods, fresh meats, vegetables and fruits, and fresh flower bouquets. The program will continue twice a month on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at 3:00 PM. Food is given on a first come, first served basis.
Facilities Maintenance Division: Carpenters repaired the entrance door to the Finance Department, began the wall repair at Fire Station #63 in the apparatus room, and poured the new sidewalk for the bookmobile to park at the Civic Center Plaza. The Stationary Engineers repaired heating pump and the water tower at the Nevin Community Center. The Utility Workers completed the set up and take down of the auditorium for the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs event. The Electricians repaired the overhead lights at the Kennedy Swim Center, the lighted crosswalk on Macdonald Avenue near the Senior Center, the overhead left turn signal at San Pablo and Barrett Avenues, lights within Fire Station #67, and rebuilt and replaced the traffic signal at 23rd Street and Garvin Avenue.
Parks and Landscaping Division: Parks crews completed vegetation management and preparations for the new landscaping on Barrett Avenue and Marina Way, irrigation repairs at John F. Kennedy, North Richmond Ball Field and Hilltop Parks, weed abated Kern Park, vegetation maintenance at Rain Cloud Park, and completed work on the tennis courts located at the Richmond Plunge.
The Tree Crew trimmed and pruned trees along Dimm Street from Roosevelt to Nevin Avenues for paving work, May Road at Valley View Road, trees around Olinda School, and Fire Trail #12 for fire fuel maintenance. Streets Division: Pavement Maintenance grinded and paved on Dimm Street from Nevin to Roosevelt Avenues.
Street sweeping: Regularly scheduled commercial and residential routes for the fifth Monday and Tuesday, as well as the first Wednesday through Friday are Carriage Hills (North Side), El Sobrante Hills, Greenbriar, Hansford Heights, Via Verda, San Pablo Dam Road, Bristole Cone, May Valley, Vista View and Clinton Hill I Neighborhood Council areas and the Richmond Parkway.
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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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