Mayor and Members of the City Council:

1.    Meeting Notes

The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 14th beginning with Closed Session at 5:00 PM followed by the Special Budget Study and Action Session at 5:30 PM. The agenda may be found by clicking this link: Richmond City Council Agenda Packet.

2.    City of Richmond Receives Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant from  Caltrans

The Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program was created to support the California Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans) current mission to provide a safe, sustainable, integrated and efficient transportation system to enhance California’s economy and livability.  Late last year, the City of Richmond received technical assistance from the Local Government Commission to submit a grant proposal under this program, and, earlier this week, we were notified that we received a $300,000 grant from Caltrans to develop an Integrated and Equitable Multimodal Mobility Plan.

The project will assess transportation needs, evaluate mobility improvement opportunities, and identify implementation strategies to create a safe, convenient, affordable, equitable and fully connected multi-modal transportation network serving Richmond’s 110,000 residents and 34,327 employees.  The City plans to leverage funding under this program with funds allocated by the City Council from the Environmental and Community Investment Agreement with Chevron to develop a truly comprehensive first mile/last mile mobility strategy for the Richmond community.

3.    West Contra Costa Unified School District Seamless Summer Food Program

Free summer meals are being offered at a location near you from June 9th - August 17th to all children 18 years or younger.  This service will be provided by the WCCUSD Seamless Summer Food Program (SSFP).  SSFP is making sure no child in West Contra Costa County goes hungry when schools are closed this summer. Check out when and where you or someone you know can get free meals by following the link below. More information including menus can also be found on the site. If you have further questions regarding the program, please call (510) 307-4580.

WCCUSD Food Service Department:  http://www.wccusd.net/page/256

Please use the following link to find all WCCUSD Summer Meal sites with dates, times, locations, and meals: http://goo.gl/KysTkr

4.    Richmond Urban Garden Contest and Showcase

Mayor Tom Butt has announced the launch of his first Urban Garden Contest and Showcase. The Urban Garden Contest and Showcase is a city-wide home garden event in which Richmond and North Richmond residents have an opportunity to show off their edible gardens for a chance to win gardening prizes and the title of “Best Edible Garden in Richmond 2016.”

The contest includes a garden showcase day on July 2nd to allow community members to tour participating gardens and receive gardening tips from the city’s top amateur gardeners. The submission deadline for the Urban Garden Contest participants is Saturday, June 25th. Community members interested in touring or participating in the showcase day must register for attendance by June 25th. Full details are available at: www.RichmondCaMayor.org.

The winner of the Urban Garden Contest will receive a prize package of gifts from Annie’s Annuals and Perennials, Acapulco Rock and Soil, The Urban Farmer Store, and The Watershed Nursery. All contest participants will also receive compost provided by Republic Services and mulch provided by the City of Richmond.

Interested residents should visit www.RichmondCaMayor.org for complete contest details and a timeline, and follow the Urban Garden Contest on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #RichmondCAUrbanGarden.”

5.    Clean-Up Day at Garrity Creek

The City of Richmond Water Resource Recovery Department, in collaboration with stormwater maintenance contractor Veolia, coordinated a trash clean-up day at Garrity Creek. This creek receives stormwater and urban runoff from the commercial businesses and residential areas, and discharges its water to the Hilltop Lake.  The litter in this runoff, including fast food wraps, Styrofoam, plastic bags, bottles, and cans, can adversely impact the lake’s water quality.

In 2013, the City installed a full-trash capture device at Garrity Creek to combat the litter issue.  Thereafter, staff from the City and from Veolia continually assess and maintain the full-trash capture device to ensure its functionality and to keep litter out of both Garrity Creek and Hilltop Lake.

This past week, approximately 400 pounds of trash were removed from the full-trash capture device, the creek bank, and the creek. The clean-up effort improves the water quality of the creek and lake, complies with the State mandate to keep trash out of the waterway, and improves the quality of life of many residents in the area who enjoy their daily walks along the trail surrounding the lake.

6.    RichmondBUILD Academy’s 30th Cohort Graduation and New Cohort Applications Now Available

The RichmondBUILD Academy began its 30th cohort on April 18th. Over twelve weeks, students receive intensive job training in construction and valuable certifications in CPR/First Aide, OSHA 10, HAZ Whopper 40, Confined Spaces, and Traffic. Their graduation is scheduled for June 30th from 10:00 AM – 12:00 noon.  As a result of their training, RichmondBUILD graduates are eligible for direct entry in the respective unions for Carpenters, Laborers, Dry Wall/Lathers, and Iron Workers.

Cohort 30 at the Laborers Training Facility in San Ramon, CA.
The RichmondBUILD Academy is now accepting applicants for its August 2016 cohort!

For more information, please visit: http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/1243/RichmondBUILD or call (510) 621-1780.

7.    YouthWORKS: 12th Annual Orientation for the Summer Youth Employment Program

YouthWORKS hosted its 12th Annual Parent and Participant Orientation on June 3rd and June 4th. The event was attended by over 200 Richmond parents and participants. Approximately 150 Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) participants were given their worksite placements for the summer and most will start work by mid-June. The online application was launched on March 1st, and, as of today, there are 189 applicants on the SYEP waitlist.

All summer youth employment program participants completed mandatory workshops which included Money Management, facilitated by Sparkpoint Centers of the Bay Area, and Workplace Etiquette facilitated by Candra Muhammad (Employment Program Specialist II), Dr. Mary Lespier, and Dr. Pedro Lespier. 

YouthWORKS would like to extend a special “thank you” to the 38 Richmond Employers who have agreed to be summer youth employment worksites.

For more information, please visit: http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/1139/Summer-Youth-Employment-Program or call: (510) 412-2044.

8.    Fiscal Year 2016-17 Operating and Capital Improvement Budget

This past week, staff presented to the City Council the updated draft budget for fiscal year 2016-17 with recommended reductions totaling $1.9 million, reducing the projected deficit to $2.9 million in the General Fund.  Department staff representing Risk Management, Transportation, and the Chevron Environmental and Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) provided an overview of programs and services, and proposed budgets for FY 2016-17. Staff will continue working to reduce the projected budget deficit with the goal of finalizing a structurally balanced budget for adoption.

9.    12th Street and Macdonald Avenue RFP/RFQ Informational Meeting

On Thursday, June 9th, staff from the City Manager’s Office hosted an informational meeting for developers interested in submitting a proposal in response to the City’s Request for Proposal/Request for Qualifications for the 12th Street and Macdonald Avenue site. Staff worked with Employment and Training and Planning staff to answer questions and present the City’s vision for the future of Downtown Richmond. More information on the City’s current RFP/RFQ’s can be found at www.ci.richmond.ca.us/OpportunitySites.

10. Information Technology

Website
Top 10 Webpage views for the week ending 06/10/2016

Twitter Statistics

KCRT DATANET OF THE WEEK:

City of Richmond Mobile APP UPDATE

An upgraded version of the City of Richmond’s mobile phone app is now available on the Apple App store and Google Play store. 


The City of Richmond is looking forward to feedback from the community on this upgraded Mobile App. We welcome your comments at webservices@ci.richmond.ca.us

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments about these or any other items of interest to you.

Bill Lindsay
City Manager
City of Richmond
450 Civic Center Plaza
Richmond, California 94804
(510) 620-6512
Bill_lindsay@ci.richmond.ca.us

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