Mayor and Councilmembers:

This is the weekly report for the week ending October 5th, 2012.

1. Meeting Notes

 

The next meeting of the Richmond City Council is Tuesday, October 16th.  Enjoy the week off.

1. Richmond Arts in Motion and Richmond Main Street Spirit & Soul Festival

 

This past Saturday, September 29th, downtown Richmond was transformed into a street festival filled with performers, vendors, and community members who enjoyed a day full of phenomenal music, delicious food, artisan shopping, performing arts, and interactive window art ...all in the heart of downtown.  Richmond Main Street Initiative, Inc. presented their 4th Annual Spirit & Soul Festival in collaboration with the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts – Arts in Motion Celebration.

Part of the celebration was the debut of the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts’ (EBCPA’s) new interactive window art.  As you may recall, the City of Richmond successfully partnered with the EBCPA to receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for the Iron Triangle Interactive Art/Downtown Rejuvenation Project.  The window art is an exciting on-the-street interactive digital art experience which is designed to strengthen community engagement, civic pride, and economic development efforts in the downtown. 

The art itself is a collaboration between the local community, EBCPA, and internationally acclaimed digital artist Scott Snibbe, whose installations have been experienced by 20 million people at sites that include: Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry; San Francisco’s Exploratorium; the London Science Museum; Cité de Science in Paris; and the Los Angeles International Airport.

If you missed the dedication ceremony, you can always check out the interactive art in the window of the East Bay Center located on the corner of 11th Street and Macdonald Avenue. It’s a permanent art installation, soon to be a noted “place to be” in downtown Richmond.

 

 

1. Richmond Bay Campus Long Range Development Meeting

On Thursday, October 4th, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and UC Berkeley (UCB) hosted a community workshop to discuss the Long Range Development Plan for the new Richmond Bay Campus of LBNL.  Approximately 100 community members attended the meeting to learn about site planning and development objectives for the new campus.  The keynote for the meeting was a presentation by BMS Design Group outlining the concept plan for the Richmond Bay Campus.  You can view the slides from the presentation from BMS Design Group here. 

Following the presentation, those in attendance had the opportunity to join in a discussion with staff from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC Berkeley, and the City of Richmond at “breakout” tables on topics including education and community wellness, jobs and business opportunities, planning and community input, remediation and restoration, science, site character, specific plan and connectivity, and sustainability.  More information on the planning process for the Richmond Bay Campus is available at www.ci.richmond.ca.us/lbnl.

1. Richmond Youth on Course Golf Program

 

The Richmond Country Club hosted a fundraiser for the Northern California Golf Association (NCGA) Foundation - Youth on Course this past Friday, September 28th. The event was an open golf day for anyone who wanted to play on this historic private golf course, while simultaneously supporting a very worthwhile cause. On that day, 85% of the $100 per person playing fee was donated to the Richmond Youth on Course golf program.

The Richmond Youth on Course golf program is a unique partnership with the NCGA Foundation, the Richmond Country Club, the City of Richmond, Richmond Police Activities League, West Contra Costa Salesian Boys & Girls Club, and the Richmond YMCA.  Youth on Course provides life skills and values to deserving youth through golf. The mission of this NCGA Foundation is to provide affordable and accessible golf and clinics, along with high school internships and college scholarships. The Richmond Youth on Course 2011 fall clinic concluded with 26 participants and resulted in one youth employed at the Richmond Country Club under the NCGA Foundation internship program. 

This fall, Richmond Country Club will reprise their 2011 program to host more than 30 youth from Richmond and provide them with 20 weeks of golf instruction from PGA professionals, along with Youth on Course’s life skills, character development and healthy lifestyles curriculum.

A special emphasis will again be placed on early college awareness, with players from the University of California, Berkeley men’s golf team making weekly visits to mentor participants, under the direction of Coach Steve Desimone, who infuses community service into his coaching philosophy. UC Berkeley’s golf team was just ranked 3rd overall in the United States last year by Golf World.

1. Costa Avenue Sanitary Sewer

Ghilotti Brothers Construction, under contract to Veolia, began preliminary work this week on the Costa Avenue sewer line replacement, between 13th Street and 23rd Street.  Excavation of the pipeline is expected to begin on October 8th and should last for about 3 weeks. This will include sewer laterals and manholes.  The work will begin near 13th Street and proceed toward 23rd Street. Veolia currently anticipates completion in early November 2012.

Depending on the weather, road improvements will either immediately follow the pipeline work this fall or will be completed as soon as possible next spring.

1. Storm-Flo Full Trash Capture Device Installation at Hilltop Lake

 

In order to comply with the City’s stormwater permit, full trash capture devices are being installed to treat stormwater from many commercial areas.  The first large trash capture device will be installed in the stormwater pipe draining Hilltop Mall in October.  The trail on the south side of Hilltop Lake (also known as Garrity Creek retention basin) will be closed from October 8th to November 1st for the installation of the device.  In addition, the entire lake trail will be closed for two days during the week of October 15th for large trucks delivering the device and surrounding vault.  More information is on the City’s News Flash page and stormwater webpage under the Engineering Department. 

You can register on Twitter to follow this and other Engineering projects at http://twitter.com/CoR_Engineering.  Click the follow button to register. If you are interested in this project only, simply follow Lynne Scarpa, project manager, for the placement of the full trash capture devices.

Trash capture device.

The above trailed noted in red will be closed from October 8th to November 1st for the installation of the trash capture device.

1. The Rewards of Volunteering at LEAP

Six months ago, Zahra, a military veteran recently returned from Iraq, came to a Literacy for Every Adult Program (LEAP) volunteer meeting.  Young and enthusiastic about teaching, LEAP staff members asked her to help another wonderful writing volunteer, Sharon May.  She quickly fit into the regularly scheduled group on Tuesday from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM where students were learning a range of writing skills, from the basics of grammar to essay writing.  Zahra recently found employment and sent us a letter, an excerpt of which is as follows:

 

"The biggest thing I learned in my few months at LEAP was how to walk through brainstorming and writing in an interactive way. In the beginning, I started out holding the pencil and talking a lot on my first day. However, by the end of my time helping with the class, I am happy that each essay review became more and more like a conversation led by the student. So, I genuinely felt growth in my coaching. It was a great experience and believe it or not, looking forward to the Tuesday morning class was the biggest highlight of my week, so my change of schedule is certainly bittersweet!"

If you have a friend or relative that wants to help in the community and expand their skill set in the field of education, please have them contact LEAP at (510) 307-8084.

1. Recreation Highlights

 

Halloween Party

Reminder:  Tickets are now on sale for the 9th Annual Richmond Senior Center Halloween Party.  Entertainment, refreshments and a costume contest are included.  This ghoulishly fun event will be held on Saturday, October 27th from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM.  Purchase your $7 ticket at the Senior Center today!

May Valley

The after school program participants at the May Valley Community Center enjoyed an afternoon at Kennedy Grove Park where they played volleyball, other games and took nature hikes.  The beautiful location is a favorite for the kids and staff.

DPRC-Holiday Craft Fair

On November 3rd, the Disabled Peoples Recreation Center (DPRC) and Friends of Disabled Children Inc. will be hosting their first Holiday Craft Fair at DPRC from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Participants have taken old donated pieces of jewelry, recycled them, and added new findings to create amazing pieces. Earrings, bracelets, crystal sun catchers, stepping stones and other handmade crafts will be sold at the fair. Proceeds will go to Friends of Disabled Children who help DPRC participants and other children with special needs.

• Temporary Detours at Richmond Intermodal Transit Station

As part of the BART parking structure project, the bus circulation area will be repaved and a new concrete crosswalk at 16th and Macdonald will be installed.  This work will necessitate the closure of the intermodal area to vehicular traffic from September 22nd through October 8th.  During this time, the following functions will be relocated as follows, and as shown on the graphic below:

• AC Transit and Golden Gate Transit bus stops will be relocated to Macdonald Avenue and Marina Way. 
• Shuttle bus stops will be relocated to the Nevin Avenue “kiss and ride” area east of Marina Way.
• Accessible parking, accessible passenger drop-off and paratransit stops will be relocated to the parking lot at the northeast corner of Marina Way and Macdonald Avenue, enter from Marina Way.
• Passenger drop-off will be relocated to the east station entrance, enter from 18th or 19th.
• Taxi drop off/pick up will be relocated to 16th Street south of Macdonald.
• Pedestrian access from Macdonald Avenue at 16th Street to the station entrance will be maintained during construction.



If you have any questions or concerns, please contact project manager Chadrick Smalley at 412-2067.

1. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Open House

 

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will host an Open House on Saturday, October 13th from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM.  Families, community members, and science enthusiasts are invited to tour facilities, hear from scientists about their research, and have fun with hands-on activities in the Family Adventure Zone.  Registration required: www.lbl.gov/openhouse