From: Bill Lindsay [mailto:bill_lindsay@ci.richmond.ca.us]
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2013 7:14 PM
To: Booze, Corky; Corky Boozé; elirapty@aim.com; Gayle McLaughlin; Ritterman, Jeff; Jeffery Shoji; Beckles, Jovanka; Bates, Nat; Nicole Valentino; Butt, Tom; Alan Wolken; Lindsay, Bill; Goodmiller, Bruce; Chris Magnus; Devone Boggan; Holmes, Diane; Goins, James; Jim Matzorkis; Katy Curl; Keith Jabari; LaShonda White; Leslie Knight; Michael Banks; Patrick Lynch; Richard Mitchell; Vaca, Sal; Shasa Curl; Perez, Soco; Hartman, Sue; Kadlec, Sue; Tim Jones; Yader Bermudez
Subject: Weekly Report for the Two Weeks Ending February 1st, 2013
Mayor and Councilmembers:
This is the weekly report for the two weeks ending February 1st, 2013.
- Meeting Notes
The next meeting of the Richmond City Council is a special meeting on Monday, February 4th beginning at 6:30 PM with the single agenda item to interview candidates and to consider an appointment to the current vacancy on the City Council. The next regular meeting of the City Council is on Tuesday, February 5th, beginning with a Closed Session at 5:30 PM, followed by the regular agenda at 6:30 PM.
- Environmental & Health Initiatives at Martin Luther King Day of Service on the Greenway
The City of Richmond’s Environmental & Health Initiatives staff had a booth at the Martin Luther King Day of Service on the Greenway to distribute over 250 free useable bags and over 2000 garden seed packets. The City, partnering with Self Sustaining Communities, received a variety of seed donations to encourage community members to develop their own gardens. They shared the booth with Richmond’s Seed Lending Library, which gave out tips on growing and how to harvest seeds from the plants as they grew. Staff also provided residents with information on the Catalog Choice junk mail program and enrolled people for the Environmental & Health email list. It was just one of the many activities along the Greenway that made the Day of Service and tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a great success.
- City Receives Excellence in Procurement Award
At the recent Annual Conference of the California Association of Public Procurement Officials (CAPPO), the Finance Director and Purchasing Staff were presented with a trophy representing the National Procurement Institute’s Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award. This award recognizes organizational excellence in procurement by public and non-profit organizations. The judging criteria are designed to measure innovation, professionalism, e-procurement, productivity, and leadership attributes of the procurement function.
The City of Richmond is one of only 40 government agencies in California and one of 54 cities in the United States to receive the award. This is the third consecutive year that the City of Richmond has received the award.
- AC5 Award Recipients 2012 – Two Richmond Awardees: Michele Seville and Hershell West
The Arts and Culture Commission of Contra Costa County (AC5) celebrates arts leaders in our communities through the Arts Recognition Awards, honoring individuals, businesses, or charitable organizations that have made significant artistic or philanthropic contributions to Contra Costa’s arts and culture over a sustained period of time.
On January 15th, two Richmond honorees, Michele Seville and Hershell West, were recognized at the 16th Annual Arts Recognition Awards program by the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County. A third honoree was Carrie Brewster, Director of the Museum of Art at St. Mary’s College in Moraga. The presentation was a brief ceremony in the Board’s Chambers at the County Administration Building on 651 Pine Street in Martinez.
Michele Seville, Richmond’s Arts and Culture Manager for eight years, was honored in recognition for her far-ranging vision and tireless advocacy for the arts in Richmond, Contra Costa County, and beyond. She also served as interim Executive Director of the Richmond Art Center (RAC) for seven months in 2012, was the key coordinator of the Neighborhood Public Art Program - Art on the Greenway, and oversaw the public art component of the Richmond Civic Center restoration, the City’s largest-ever public art project.
Hershell West, painter/muralist, activist and teacher, was honored with the AC5 Award for his many significant achievements in support of art and culture in Contra Costa County. A past chair of the Richmond Arts and Culture Commission, and former board president of the RAC and Pro Arts in Oakland, he is currently board president of Media Artworks in El Cerrito. Hershell played a key role in the incorporation of “The Art of Living Black.” He also served as project manager for three gateway murals with John Wehrle and coordinated other youth mural projects.
Michele and Hershell were also recognized by the Richmond City Council at their meeting of January 29th.
Hershell West and Michele Seville, AC5 award recipients
left to right, back row: Eve Ma, AC5 Commissioner; Hershell West, award recipient;
Michele Seville; Darwin Marable, District 11 Commissioner
front row: Carrie Brewser, Director of St. Mary’s College, Museum of Art;
Dyana Bhandari, District 1 Commissioner
- Healthy Richmond Celebration
On January 30th, the Healthy Richmond Celebration honored the accomplishments of the over thirty Healthy Richmond grantees working to make Richmond a healthy, safe and thriving community. The celebration was presented by the Healthy Richmond Steering Committee and honorary hosts Mayor McLaughlin, Vice Mayor Corky Boozé, Councilmembers Nat Bates, Jovanka Beckles, Tom Butt, and Jim Rogers, Congressmen George Miller, Senator Loni Hancock, Assemblymember Nancy Skinner and County Supervisor John Gioia.
The celebration highlighted grantee efforts and accomplishments over the past year. These accomplishments include adoption of General Plan 2030, implementation of a Restorative Justice program, which resulted in a 53 percent reduction in suspension rates at Richmond High School, community efforts to Invest in People, Not Prisons, which, in September 2012, stopped a $6 million county jail expansion in Richmond and reoriented State funds toward programs that assist the re-entry population in not going back to jail, and the Safe Return Project, which builds the capacity of formerly incarcerated residents to take action on the challenges facing Richmond residents coming home after incarceration.
We would like to extend a special thanks to the Richmond City Council for their leadership and commitment to making these projects possible in Richmond. We would also like to thank the Steering Committee for organizing this event and all the Healthy Richmond grantees for their numerous, significant accomplishments over the past year. We look forward to more collaboration and productivity in building a healthy Richmond.
For more information on the Healthy Richmond, the Healthy Richmond Celebration and the City’s participation, please visit www.richmondhealth.org.
- Youth Engaged to Serve!
After a long day at school, high school youth eagerly gathered in the Richmond City Council Chamber on Wednesday, January 30th to hear how they could get involved in serving the Richmond community by creating or joining youth led service projects. The session entitled, Get Your Serve On!, was led by Richmond ESC (Excellence Serving our Community), Richmond’s high impact volunteer program. The session was the first of many to educate and inspire youth to serve during Global Youh Service Day (GYSD), April 26th – 28th. By participating in youth led service projects, youth gain skills in collaboration, communication, leadership, critical thinking, and creativity.
Mayor Gayle McLaughlin welcomed and encouraged the Richmond youth representing six high schools to create service projects to address the issues they care about the most.
Adult facilitators were on hand to support the youth as they thoughtfully worked in groups to brainstorm service projects in the areas of school beautification/litter, wreckless driving, environmental issues, obesity, school absenteeism, and violence. In addition to the youth attending the January 30th session, students from Community Day School at Richmond Police Activities League (PAL) have led the way by being the first group to develop a service project to help decrease violence in Richmond.
In the coming weeks, the youth will reconvene in their groups to continue planning service day projects. Additional sessions will be held to engage and inspire more youth to serve. To learn more about the youth service initiative, to volunteer, or to be an adult facilitator, please contact Bertha Romo at (510) 620-5535. To find out how you can get involved in Richmond’s high impact volunteering program, ESC, contact (510) 237-SERV (7378).
- Single-Use Bag Ordinance Draft EIR
RecycleMore (the West County Integrated Waste Management joint powers authority of the West County cities) has released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for a Single Use Bag Ordinance for a 45-day comment period. The public review period for interested individuals and public agencies to submit written comments on the document will end on March 4th.
Copies of the Draft EIR are available for review at the RecycleMore offices, the Contra Costa County Planning Department, and at the planning departments of the cities of El Cerrito, Hercules, Pinole, Richmond, and San Pablo. View the draft EIR by using this link.
- New Richmond Program to Reduce Junk Mail
Richmond has a new program to stop unwanted mail at the source. The City is partnering with Catalog Choice to offer residents and businesses a free service to reduce unwanted mail and phone books. Any resident or business in Richmond can create a free account at https://richmond.catalogchoice.org to stop unwanted catalogs, phone books, credit card offers, coupons, and other marketing material received at home and in the workplace. By using the Catalog Choice service, residents help Richmond reduce waste at the source and save money spent on waste collection and disposal.
Visit our www.richmondenvironment.org for more information on the program.
- Recreation Highlights
Adult Tennis
The Adult Men's 3.5 tennis team, the Richmonders, competed in their first match on Sunday, January 20th, beating the Laney College B team 2 to 1. Go team!
Disabled Peoples Recreation Center
With help from family, friends, and staff, one of the Adult Morning program participants has been studying diligently for the California driving permit test. On January 16th, he attained his goal and passed with a near perfect score.
Adult Morning participants made mini cheese and pepperoni pizzas for the afternoon program participants in the Therapeutic Interactive Recreation program. They loved the snacks and are now looking forward to returning the favor by making snacks for the adults. In addition to cooking, the afternoon program participants also take part in a technical learning activity which helps participants navigate and express themselves through music, games, and doing homework; some things which have been difficult in the past.
Volunteer Opportunity
Contra Costa County provides a “Rides for Seniors” program and is in need of volunteers to provide rides. The program helps homebound seniors maintain their independence. For more information or to volunteer call (925) 284-6161.
Black History Celebration
The City-Wide Black History Celebration will be held on February 8th, from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM, at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium. All ages can come and enjoy an evening of African dance performances, Senior and Youth Honoree presentations, live music, and dinner. Tickets are available for $15 per person at the Richmond Senior Center. Call 510-307-8085 or 510-307-8087 for further event and ticket information. We’ll see you there!
Chinese New Year
The Chinese New Year event is almost sold out! Purchase your tickets at the Richmond Senior Center. Celebrate the year of the snake with dinner, Lion and Dragon dancers, and martial art and cultural performances. This highly anticipated event will be held on Saturday, February 16th, from 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM.
Casino Trip
The Richmond Senior Center is hosting its monthly Feathers Falls Casino trip on Thursday, February 7th. There are just a few seats left! Call (510) 307-8087 for more information.
Annex Senior Center
The Richmond Annex Senior Center is in the final stages of upgrades. The site is expected to re-open on February 4th.
Booker T. Anderson
A huge “Thank You” to Public Works Staff, in particular the Stationary Engineers, for their hard work in fixing the heaters in the weight room, lobby, and kids room of the Booker T. Anderson Community Center. The patrons and staff are very appreciative.
Nicholl Park Ball Field
On Sunday, January 27th, the Recreation Department’s Youth Sports staff collaborated with Parks and Landscaping staff, Little League Baseball staff, and community volunteers to restore Nichol Park Ball Field #1. With guidance from Leo Valle, field crew from the Oakland A’s, everyone worked together in the spirit of community to bring the field up to Little League standards. A new pitcher’s mound was built, home plate and the batter boxes were restored, new bases and base pegs were installed, and the infield grass was cut back 3 feet, making the base paths meet National Little League standards. The completion of this major project shows good things are possible when several City departments come together to support organized community efforts in our parks for the betterment of our youth.
- Public Works Updates
Facilities Maintenance Division: The painters completed painting the multi-use room at the Nevin Community Center, and completed painting at the Senior Annex Community Center. The carpenters repaired the main door to the Finance Department and poured protective concrete pads around electrical boxes on Cutting Boulevard.
Stationary Engineers repaired the heater at the Richmond Swim Center, the showers at Fire Stations 64 and 66, the emergency generator at 450 Civic Center Plaza, and the circulation pumps at 440 Civic Center Plaza and the Nevin Community Center.
The carpets are being cleaned in the Auditorium and the windows of City Hall were cleaned this week by the Utility Workers.
Electricians repaired the lights along the lower portion of Cutting Boulevard, three traffic lights that were out at Hilltop Drive and Hillview Drive, and a red traffic lamp at 22nd Street and Macdonald Avenue.
West Cutting Boulevard
Parks and Landscaping Division: Crews assisted in the Martin Luther King Day of Service events happening throughout the City of Richmond, performed ball field maintenance at various locations, prepared the pathway in Marina Green Park for new concrete, completed landscape planting on Klose Way medians, repaired the chain link fence on Richmond Parkway at Castro and Hensley Streets, performed vegetation maintenance at the Humphrey Play Lot, and pruned the shrubs on the 23rd Street grade separation.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service
Concrete Pathway at Marina Green Park
Crews worked on various baseball fields throughout the City to prepare them for the upcoming baseball/softball season, completed landscaping, clean-up and improvements at the Humphrey Play Lot and the Nunn sound wall, performed landscape maintenance on Richmond Parkway in the Hilltop area, completed a landscaping project on the center median of Klose Way, started trenches for conduits on the Richmond Parkway, and continued the irrigation rehabilitation project at the Marina Green Park.
Baseball Field Preparation
Trenching Off of Richmond Parkway
The Tree Crew trimmed and pruned trees on Robert Miller Drive, Hilltop Drive, Rheem Avenue, Tunnel Avenue, Marina Green Park, Roosevelt Avenue, 38th Street, Macdonald Avenue, 21st Street, and Barrett Avenue.
Parks and Facilities electricians worked together to complete the restoration of the street lights along lower Cutting Boulevard from I-580 to Canal Boulevard.
Streets Division: The Pavement Maintenance Crew grinded and paved 30th Street from Roosevelt to Grant Avenues and paved Marine Street from Tewksbury Avenue to Ocean Avenue.
Paving on Marine Street
Street Sweeping continued with the commercial and residential routes for the fourth Monday and the fifth Tuesday through Friday of the month in the Santa Fe, Point Richmond, Marina Bay and Coronado 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
City Manager
City of Richmond
450 Civic Center Plaza
Richmond, California 94804
(510) 620-6512
Bill_lindsay@ci.richmond.ca.us
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