This is the weekly report for the two weeks ending March 22nd, 2013.

• Meeting Notes

The next meeting of the Richmond City Council is scheduled for Tuesday, March 26th.  The City Council meeting will convene at 5:30 PM, followed by a Housing Authority Board of Commissioners meeting scheduled for 6:00 PM.  There is a joint meeting of the Richmond City Council and the West Contra Costa County Unified School District Board of Trustees scheduled to begin at 6:30 PM, which focuses on various collaborative efforts between the City and WCCUSD.  All of the meetings will be convened in the City Council Chambers.

• Contra Costa County Will Begin Hiring for Health Exchange Call Center Jobs

As you know, Contra Costa County was awarded a contract to operate one of the three Covered California Service Call Centers throughout the state to facilitate enrollment for the more than 1.4 million Californians seeking affordable, high quality health care coverage. 

As you also know, despite a strong showing by the Richmond community, and persuasive testimony by Mayor McLaughlin, and Councilmembers Myrick, Beckles, and Rogers, the County Board of Supervisors voted last week to finalize the negotiations with the State to locate the health exchange call center in Concord, rather than in Richmond.  The Richmond community made a strong case that the Richmond site is the better and lower cost location, but that point of view did not sway the majority of the Board.  Supervisor Gioia was a strong voice on the Board in favor of Richmond.

Despite this setback, the Richmond Employment and Training Department’s RichmondWORKS program has already started a process to assist Richmond residents to apply for jobs at the health exchange call center, which will employ over 200 people in a variety of positions at the planned Concord facility.

Starting Monday, March 25th, the Contra Costa County Human Resources Department will be recruiting for 180 Exchange Customer Agent I/II positions.  These Contra Costa County employment opportunities are for dedicated individuals who are interested in being a part of the new Affordable Care Act initiative to expand health care coverage in California through a partnership with the California Health Benefit Exchange (HBEX).  The minimum qualifications for the Exchange Customer Service Agent I/II positions are:

• Driver’s License;
• Possession of a high school diploma, or GED equivalency or a high school proficiency certificate;
• Either one (1) year of full time (or equivalent of full time) office support experience which has included substantial public contact, or 2) one (1) year of full time experience with responsibility of processing documents relating to: loans, financial assistance, unemployment, veterans benefits, health benefits and/or social services programs, or 3) one (1) year of full time call center experience.

Interest individuals may apply by:

• Visiting www.cccounty.us/hr and clicking on “Job Opportunities link; or
• Stopping by the RichmondWORKS One Stop Center (330 25th Street) for on-line application assistance and access to computers or to pick up a paper application.  On-Line applications are strongly encouraged

• Call for Nominations – Richmond’s Distinguished Volunteers

The Offices of Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and City Manager Bill Lindsay, Richmond ESC – Excellence Serving our Community, in partnership with the Richmond Community Foundation, invite you to celebrate Richmond volunteers during the annual city-wide Volunteer Recognition and Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 25th from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM, at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium lobby.

You are invited to nominate your volunteer(s) for a Richmond ESC – Excellence Serving our Community Distinguished Volunteer Service Award that will recognize outstanding service in our community in the following areas of:

• Public Safety
• Beautification
• Education
• Health and Wellness
• Youth Service
• Arts
• Excellence in Community Service

To nominate your volunteer(s), please visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/59QCK5Y to complete the short nomination form.  The deadline for nominations is Thursday, March 28 by 5:00 PM.

For further information, please contact Richmond ESC at (510) 237-SERV (7378) or (510) 620-6511.

• Visit Richmond Volunteers’ Webpage

Richmond ESC – Excellence Serving our Community, our impact volunteering program, invites organizations and volunteers to visit our new website, www.richmondvolunteers.org.   The web portal is an added resource for local agencies and volunteers to connect with one another.  Richmond organizations and volunteers can create free accounts to highlight volunteer opportunities, or connect with meaningful service projects here in Richmond.   For additional information regarding the website or Richmond ESC, please contact (510) 237-SERV (7378) or (510) 620-6511.

• AB109 Collaborative Planning Process Richmond Volunteers’ Webpage

In 2011, the California Legislature passed the Public Safety Realignment Act (AB 109), which transferred responsibility for supervising specific low-level inmates and parolees from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to counties. This Act mandated counties to develop a new approach to reducing recidivism among certain low-level felony criminal offenders. This historic legislation is intended to enable California to close the revolving door of low-level inmates cycling in and out of state prisons, and is the cornerstone of California’s solution for reducing the number of inmates in the state’s 33 prisons.

For Contra Costa County, AB 109 tasked the local Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) with recommending to the County Board of Supervisors a plan for implementing public safety Realignment. The Board of Supervisors adopted the Contra Costa County Realignment Plan on October 4, 2011, as recommended by the Executive Committee of the CCP.
On November 9, 2012, the CCP Executive Committee adopted a finalized Operational Plan and, on December 4, 2012, adopted a FY 2012/13 Public Safety Realignment Budget for recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.  The approved FY 2012/13 AB 109 Public Safety Realignment Budget included $4,035,000 for Community Programs as follows:

• $2,000,000 for employment support and placement services
• $1,320,000 for planning and implementation of (3) one-stop centers
• $500,000 for short and long-term housing access
• $200,000 for peer and mentoring services
• $15,000 for development of a “Reentry Resource Guide”

The County determined to solicit service proposals for these AB 109-funded activities in the housing, employment, and peer/mentoring categories.
In response to this solicitation of proposals, the City, in collaboration with County Supervisor John Gioia and the Richmond Community Foundation, have initiated a partnership/design/coordination process to support the development of coordinated proposals for West County services. To undertake this work, the City contracted with Further The Work, with the assistance of the Glen Price Group, to design and facilitate the development of coordinated AB 109 service proposals.
The first meeting for this partnership/coordination process was held today, with approximately 75 people in attendance from the West County service community.  This process is just now underway, and we will keep you informed as it moves forward.

• Richmond Bay Campus Long Range Development Plan Community Workshop

A community workshop concerning the Long Range Development Plan for the Richmond Bay Campus (University of California and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory second campus) will take place on Wednesday, April 10th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM in the Richmond Council Chambers.

The University of California is currently preparing a Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) for the Richmond Bay Campus that will guide campus development through 2050.  Workshop attendees will have the opportunity to hear a presentation concerning the status of the project, and provide feedback on the draft LRDP.  Doors open at 6:30 PM. Spanish translation will be provided.

In order for us to plan accordingly for the estimated number of attendees, we request that you please RSVP at http://lrdp.eventbrite.com/.  This greatly assists us in preparing for the meeting logistics.

For more information, please visit: www.ci.richmond.ca.us/lbnl.  You can access existing environmental documents at http://richmondbaycampus.lbl.gov/environmental_documents.html.

• Planting and Garden Work Party in the Iron Triangle

On Saturday, March 16th, Iron Triangle neighborhood residents, National Parks Service youth crew, and the nonprofit organization Common Vision collaborated to host a community garden work party at 6th and Enterprise. By noon, attendees had worked together to plant 15 fruit trees, weed and sow seeds in six garden beds, and install a drip irrigation system. The City of Richmond has supported the 6th and Enterprise community garden site as an implementing action of the Community Health and Wellness Element, within the focus areas of the Iron Triangle neighborhood and urban agriculture initiatives.  

• Beyond Violence Program Expands Into West County Community

The Beyond Violence program was launched and piloted in the City of Richmond in 2010 with the collaboration of the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS), John Muir Health’s Trauma Department, and Contra Costa County Health Services.  The current Richmond Beyond Violence effort is an intervention program that identifies and works with trauma patients between the ages of 15-25 who are victims of firearm assault and reside in the City of Richmond.  The primary goal of Beyond Violence is to reduce recidivism and retaliation in Richmond.  Over the period of three years, the ONS served 63 patients from Richmond that met the program criteria.

As part of the Office of Neighborhood Safety’s role to identify best practice based violence intervention programs, and to advance community capacity to facilitate such vital programs, the ONS supports, together with Youth Alive, the identification of community based organizations to further expand the Richmond Beyond Violence program to include other intentional injuries (e.g. knife assaults, physical assaults, and gunshot assaults etc.) and to increase the programs coverage to include additional West County areas such as North Richmond and the cities of San Pablo and El Cerrito. 

In this spirit, the Youth Alive organization developed, circulated and managed a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process to identify a Richmond community-based organization to begin to facilitate the expanded Beyond Violence work.  Following this RFQ process, the RYSE Center was selected as the organization to further advance and institutionalize the Beyond Violence work and its expansion within Richmond and other West County jurisdictions.  The RYSE Center will begin its new role in this endeavor on April 1st.

For more information about Hospital-Linked Violence Intervention Programs please go to: www.youthalive.org/nnhvip-technical-assistance.

For more information about Richmond Beyond Violence Program activity for 2012, please go to: www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/26434 to view the ONS 2012 Annual Report.

• Charitable Giving Award

On Thursday, March 21st, Finance Department Executive Secretary Theresa Austin was recognized at a reception hosted by the Community Health Charities of California, for her accomplishments in coordinating the City of Richmond’s Annual Charitable Giving Campaign for the past seven years.  As the coordinator for the City’s Annual Charitable Giving Campaign, Ms. Austin is responsible for organizing a reception where employees can meet representatives of several charitable organizations and learn about the services they provide.  Ms. Austin also receives all of the completed donor forms, calculates the total amount donated by employees, and interfaces with the charitable organizations to give them any one-time donations received during the campaign.

As a result of Theresa’s efforts, the total donation pledges received during the 2012 campaign totaled over $45,000 for the various charities involved.  This is hard work, and Theresa’s personal involvement in the project undoubtedly contributes to its success in the Richmond organization.

• Carlson Boulevard Landscape Project

The Carlson Boulevard Landscape project is progressing on schedule.  All of the irrigation piping is installed and approximately one-third of the median planting is complete.  The project is scheduled to wrap up by in the middle of April.

• Recreation Highlights

Outstanding Commissioner

The California Association of Park and Recreation Commissioners and Board Members (CAPRCBM) presented the award for Outstanding Commissioner to Eli Williams, Chair of the Commission on Aging, at the CAPRCBM Annual Installation, Awards, and Scholarship Banquet on March 7th. 

The CAPRCBM is a not-for-profit organization of appointed and elected officials who serve their communities in the sphere of parks and recreation throughout California. Each year, at the annual banquet, exceptional projects and leaders are recognized with awards, and scholarships are given to students and young professionals aspiring to work in parks and recreation.   

Mayor McLaughlin attended the banquet to commend Eli for this special recognition.  This is the first time a Commission on Aging member has been honored with this statewide award.  To further recognize his outstanding achievement, the Mayor and Councilmember Bates will ask the City Council to acknowledge Eli’s efforts at their meeting of March 26th.

May Valley

Last week, the May Valley after-school program participants celebrated their March birthdays with a cake and ice-cream party, culminating in an afternoon of their favorite game capture the flag. This week, the after-school program held its annual St. Patrick Family Potluck.  Fifty parents and children attended the event with the main course being Corned Beef and Cabbage. Many dishes were brought by the parents. A slide show, showcasing the center activities, was shown during the event.

Basketball

The 2013 Citywide Jr. NBA Basketball League ended this week in exciting fashion.  The Panthers of North Richmond won the 10 and under age group division, while the Recreation Department-sponsored Richmond Recreation Complex Rockets came in second place. Team Crossover of Richmond won the 12 and under division, and the Richmond Recreation Complex team received second place.  Finally, in the 14 and under division, Team Crossover outscored the Richmond Recreation Complex team to win the championship and give the Recreation Complex second place.  Other teams that advanced to the semi-finals were: Richmond Police Activities League, the Recreation Department-sponsored Nevin Center team, City of San Pablo Recreation Department, and Recreation Department-sponsored Booker T. Anderson Community Center team.

Kickball

Kickball is back!  Every Wednesday beginning March 20th at 6:00 PM, teams will be having a blast playing games at the MLK Turf Field while getting a low impact cardio workout.  A team representing The Up and Under Pub will be playing and the owner invites all Kickball players for special meal deals after the games.  The Richmond Sharks will also be representing a team this season.  The Recreation Department is still looking for players to join in the fun.

Disabled People’s Recreation Center

The Disabled People’s Recreation Center (DPRC) and the Maya’s Music Therapy Fund held the 24th Annual Music Festival at the Richmond Recreation Complex Social Hall on Sunday, March 10th. The festival enables participants with developmental and physical disabilities, from a variety of agencies, to showcase their musical talents taught to them by Titia Martin-Nagel a Certified Music Therapist.  As an added feature, the DPRC Adult Morning Program participants shared the responsibility of introducing all the performances to over 240 attendees. The performances were spectacular, the food was good, the decorations were wonderful, and the event was a joyous success.

The Disabled People’s Recreation Center Adult Morning Program participants exceeded their goals in circuit training this week.  They did laps around the gym, went on community walks, trained on exercise equipment and with videos, did Wii dancing, and even worked out cleaning the center.  The Therapeutic Interactive Recreation Program participants are finishing craft projects to showcase at the Recreation Department Information Day being held on Saturday, March 23rd in Civic Center Plaza.

Spring Egg Hunt & Recreation Information Day

The annual Spring Egg Hunt & Recreation Information Day will be held on Saturday, March 23rd from 9:00 AM to noon in the Civic Center Plaza.  All ages are welcome.  The first egg hunt will begin at 10:00 AM.  Families and the community can learn about upcoming programs, activities, trips, special events, summer camps, and more. 

Richmond Memorial Auditorium

This week, the Auditorium had the pleasure of hosting three events which ranged from 50 to 2500 participants.  Our very own Commission on Aging and Office of Neighborhood Safety both held programs, while the Rakkasah held its 33rd annual, 3-day Middle Eastern Dance & Music Festival.
  

• Public Works Updates

Facilities Maintenance:  Carpenters repaired the apparatus room ceiling at Fire Station #64, restored the employee break room tables at the Main Library, installed 20 additional vents in the parapet walls of 440 Civic Center Plaza, installed a protective concrete pad around the light controls of the Richmond Parkway, repaired the approach to the front entrance of the Employment and Training building and installed the new storefront entrance, repaired the ramp to the classroom at the Fire Training Center, and installed the concrete security pad around control boxes on Giant Road near the Richmond Parkway

Concrete Pad for Light Controls

Painters have been prepping Fire Station #64 for Painting

Stationary Engineers completed preventative maintenance on the apparatus room doors of Fire Station #61, installed new shower exhaust ventilation at Fire Station #61, serviced boilers at the Richmond Swim Center and the Richmond Plunge, repaired the north entrance to 450 Civic Center Plaza, and repaired the electronic portion of the entrance of the Engineering Department.

Electricians re-lamped 20 lights on Atlas Road, re-lamped Anchor Cove Development, removed the Civic Center holiday lighting, repaired the Bayview library alarm, completed work at the intersection of Valley View and Morningside Drive to have working signal lights at De Anza High School, and continued to work on the lighting on the Richmond Parkway.

Richmond Parkway Lighting Installation

Parks and Landscaping Division:  Last week crews completed the concrete pathway repair at Marina Green Park, turf maintenance at the North Richmond Ballfield, weed abatement at Hilltop Lake, landscape maintenance on Research Drive, clean-up along the Richmond Parkway from Parr Boulevard to Goodrick Avenue, installation of bollards at Nicholl Park, mulching around the tennis courts at Nicholl Park, and landscape maintenance in the medians/right of ways along Central Avenue and Ryden Avenue.

New Pathway in Marina Green Park

The Tree Crew cut or trimmed trees on: Stege Avenue, Cutting Boulevard, McBryde Avenue, Solano Avenue and Wilson Avenue.

This week, crews completed the weed abatement on the Richmond Parkway shoulder from Parr Boulevard to Goodrick Avenue, started weed abatement on Richmond Parkway from Interstate 80 to San Pablo Avenue, repaired the backstop and dugout at Belding Garcia Park, performed weed abatement at Hilltop Lake, and began landscape maintenance on Research and Lakeside Drives.

Weed Abatement on the Richmond Parkway

Streets Division:  Last week, crews completed the resurfacing of Wilson Avenue and 38th Street as well as Virginia Avenue from South 23rd to South 29th Streets. This week, crews completed the resurfacing of 40th Street from Roosevelt to Clinton Avenue, and worked from the outstanding pothole list.

Last week the street sweepers performed street sweeping services for the second Monday through Thursday and the third Friday in May Valley, Vista View, Clinton Hill I – IV, East Richmond, Santa Fe, Coronado, Marina Bay and Point Richmond neighborhood council areas. This week street sweepers performed street sweeping services for the third Monday through Thursday and the fourth Friday in North Richmond, Iron Triangle, North Belding Woods, Atchison Village, South Belding Woods, Richmond Annex, Parkview, Panhandle Annex, and Eastshore 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

Tom Butt
Richmond City Councilman
117 Park Place
Richmond, CA  94801
Phone:  510.236.7435
Fax:  510.232.5325
Cell: 510/220-1577
E-mail:  tom.butt@intres.com
Tom Butt Political Website: http://www.tombutt.com/
Board member and past chair, Local Government Commission
Alternate member, BCDC
Alternate member, Contra Costa LAFCO
Member, League of California Cities, Environmental Quality Policy Committee
Member, West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee (WCCTAC)
Commissioner, Contra Costa Transportation Authority
Board Member, Richmond Representative, Marin Energy Authority

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Tom Butt