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| City Manager's Weekly Report for the Week Ending August 10th, 2012 August 14, 2012 |
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Mayor and Councilmembers: This is the weekly report for the week ending August 10th, 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!
As you undoubtedly know, on Monday, August 6, 2012, a fire took place at the Chevron Richmond Refinery at approximately 6:15 PM. Thankfully, there was no loss of life of refinery workers or community residents. Contra Costa County issued a shelter in place warning for surrounding areas, notifying residents through the Contra Costa County Community Warning System. The fire was contained and the shelter in place notice was lifted late Monday night. Chevron is currently working with government agencies to determine the cause of the fire. There are several ways in which interested persons may get information about the fire and ongoing activities in its aftermath. The most comprehensive single location is on the City’s website, accessed through the following link. www.ci.richmond.ca.us/chevronrefineryfire2012 Information at this site will be updated on a regular basis. Some of the highlights of this site are as follows: On Thursday, August 9, 2012, Chevron released a 72-hour cover letter and report. A claims process has been set up by Chevron to compensate community members for medical and property expenses incurred as a result of the fire. To file a claim, please call: (866) 260-7881. View the City’s website for contact phone numbers and additional information including the County Health Department’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and links to available air sample analyses.
On September 13, 2011, the Richmond City Council adopted a resolution supporting collaboration with the RecycleMore and member agency cities on a regional approach to develop a single use bag ordinance and to conduct environmental review. RecycleMore has prepared an Initial Study (IS) to evaluate the environmental impacts of the Single-Use Carryout Bag Reduction Ordinance described below, as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). As mandated by State Law, the review period for this document is 30 (thirty) days, beginning on August 6, 2012 and closes on September 5, 2012. Based upon the conclusions set forth in the IS, Recycle More proposes to adopt a Negative Declaration. You can view the full initial study at www.recyclemore.com. RecycleMore will host a public hearing to respond to questions about the Initial Study and CEQA on August 28, 2012, from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM at the Richmond Council Chambers.
The Richmond Library’s LEAP (Literacy for Every Adult Person) program is one success story after another, as I have frequently featured in the weekly report. Here is another. By the 7th grade, Charles Gaines found school boring and left. During the elementary school years, Charles had a teacher/mentor who taught him how to solve math problems in his head and keep his mind sharp. But in the 7th grade, Charles left school and got caught up with the streets. After selling drugs and doing a variety of criminal activity, Charles ended up in Juvenile Hall. The staff encouraged him to take advantage of the free programs, so Charles enrolled in the Write to Read program, a library literacy program for Alameda County. His teacher encouraged him to take the GED. This was ten years ago. Charles took the GED and didn’t pass. He eventually ended up at Santa Rita for drug possession and then for a series of “failure to appears.” When Charles turned 22, he had his first son and his life changed.
Now 28, Charles is ready to prepare for the GED, again. Charles told LEAP, “I need a GED; I could have done it a long time ago, but I didn’t.” Now, a father of two children, ages 4 and 6, he works at a variety of jobs to maintain his home and family. His dream is to be a contractor and to own his business. Although Charles spent time in “the streets”, Charles also had a grandfather and uncle that taught him skills that left an indelible mark on his dreams. From the age of 12, Charles learned many skills in construction and found that he loved roofing. Now, Charles would like to formalize his construction skills. After he completes his tutoring at LEAP and gets a GED, he sees several possibilities, including enrolling in Richmond Builds.
Tennis From July 26th through July 29th, several Recreation Department tennis participants attended a competitive, all girls tennis camp offered by the Northern California US Tennis Association at San Jose State University. The camp provided players with a great opportunity for improving their tennis skills. The girls enjoyed daily instruction, fitness and nutrition information, individual play analysis, a tour of the campus, and fun evening activities. Youth Swimming The aquatics program is enjoying its 4th annual summer session of successful youth group swim lessons with classes at maximum capacity. In September, lessons will continue for the fall, with swim programs for both youth and adults. Kids-N-Motion Summer Camp On Wednesday August 8th, 2012, 75 participants and staff from the Richmond Recreation Complex Summer Camp walked to Richmond PAL for an anti-bullying presentation. Participants then walked to the Nevin Community Center to join the participants of the Nevin Summer Camp for a friendly game of dodge ball, basketball and to share lunch. The Recreation Complex Summer Camp has been encouraging the participants to stay fit and learn about their City by walking to all local field trips, including, the Richmond Swim Center and the Downtown Farmers Market. Lights, Camera, Action! Richmond Recreation Complex Summer Camp participants enjoyed the Lights, Camera, Action theme of the week, where they learned about various special effects techniques via video and computer. The participants have recently been experimenting with Chroma Key, a visual effect usually used by news weather people, basic animation and time lapse videography, creating illusions such as a Lego structure building itself. During the final week and a half of camp, participants will resume the theme by producing costumes or props for a simple short video. The premier of the video project will be August 17th, the crescendo to the last day of Summer Camp 2012.
Facilities Maintenance Division: Carpenters repaired the entrance door to the Booker T. Anderson Community Center, repaired the “Self-Help” counter at 450 Civic Center Plaza, and completed the wall repairs at Fire Station #63. The Stationary Engineers replaced four contactors and fan belts within the air conditioning unit in the basement of 450 Civic Center Plaza, repaired the furnace in the Starlight Building located on 27th Street and Macdonald Avenue, serviced the water feature at Civic Center Plaza, replaced two exhaust fans at the Disabled Peoples Recreation Center (DPRC), and repaired the water fountain at Martin Luther King Jr. Park next to the restrooms. Painters began power washing the exterior of the Main Library.
The Electricians repaired the controller located at South 49th Street and Cutting Boulevard, the broken street light conduit on Leona Avenue, installed traffic loops on South 37th Street between Cutting and Carlson Boulevards, and installed a traffic head damaged by an accident at Cutting Boulevard and Harbour Way.
Parks and Landscaping Division: Parks crew has begun cleaning the parks and play lots after the Chevron Fire.
Crew also completed the final preparations for the Solano Play Lot for the Grand Opening this Saturday, August 11th at 11:00am, completed the final preparations for the Grand Opening of the tennis courts at the Plunge, prepared sights for National Night Out, vegetation management on the Richmond Parkway, landscape maintenance at Country Club and Bay Vista Parks, and San Pablo Avenue and Hilltop Drive, and completed irrigation repairs at Fairmede Park.
The Tree crew trimmed and pruned trees along Parkside Drive and Club Lane for paving work, trees on Duboce Avenue for Code Enforcement, on Cypress Avenue, and around Lovonya DeJean Middle School. Streets Division: Pavement Maintenance grinded and paved South 37th Street from Cutting to Carlson Boulevard. Street Cleaning: Regularly scheduled commercial and residential routes for the first Monday and Tuesday, as well as the second Wednesday through Friday are: Parchester Village, Hilltop Bayview, Hilltop Green, Fairmede/Hilltop, Clinton Hill II - IV, and East Richmond Neighborhood Council areas.
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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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