Hon. Mayor and Members of the City Council:

This is the report for the weeks ending February 5, 2021.

• Meeting Notes

The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 16th, 2021. Enjoy the next week off!

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates

The following information is an ongoing list of resources and significant updates regarding COVID-19.

Outdoor Dining Update :January 2021

Once the current Stay-At-Home Order is rescinded, we will gladly accept new requests for businesses that wish to apply to use public right-of-way such as sidewalks adjacent to their business, to temporarily expand capacity outdoors by applying for a Temporary Outdoor Dining and Retail permit through the Community Services Department.

The City of Richmond is providing opportunities for businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to utilize public and privately-owned outdoor areas, including parking lots, for outdoor dining and retail use. Applications can be requested by contacting us at CSDregistration@ci.richmond.ca.us.

Visit our website for the application and more information: https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/4038/Outdoor-Dining-and-Curbside-Retail

Contra Costa Health Services COVID-19 Vaccine Update

• Upcoming Events

Chat With Chief French: Coffee With A Cop Virtual Edition

On Monday February 8, 2021 at 5:00 P.M. we hope you'll join us for a virtual Zoom conversation over a cup of coffee with Chief French to discuss changes to the RPD in 2021. Please see the Zoom link and call in numbers below:

Topic: Chat with the Chief: Changes to RPD
Time: Feb 8, 2021 05:00 P.M. Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5083381060
Meeting ID: 508 338 1060
One tap mobile: +16699006833,,5083381060# US (San Jose)
Dial by your location: +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

Virtual Cooking Class

Join us on Thursdays, starting on February 11, 2021 through March 4, 2021 for our first ever virtual family cooking class series! Hone your cooking skills from the comfort of your home! For more information and registration details, visit tinyurl.com/richmondrecreation

Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano: Drive-Thru Food Giveaway: Feb 24th

• Acknowledgements

GENEROSITY:Employment & Training Department Partners with The Garry & Maryn Hurlbut Community Nutrition Program

The impact of COVID-19 on workers in Richmond has left many with challenges to pay their rent, their utilities bills and even to put food on the table for their families. The Employment and Training Department has received a total of three different grants to help those who lost their jobs due to the impact of COVID-19. These grants help Richmond residents with their job search, occupational skills training, supportive services and reemployment. But there is so much more that is needed to help our Richmond residents during this pandemic time. In steps - community members, Maryn and Garry Hurlbut to the rescue!

Maryn and Garry Hurlbut were aware of the impact that COVID-19 was having on families, specifically single parents who lost their jobs trying to provide for their families and put food on the table. The Garry & Maryn Hurlbut Community Nutrition Program donated $20,000 worth of grocery gift cards to Employment & Training’s participants. 106 families were able to buy groceries for their families during the holiday season also meaning that 686 children were able to have meals during the holiday season.

“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”  John Bunyan

Generosity goes along way and we thank Garry and Maryn for their kind and wonderful donation to help those most in need.

• City Manager’s Office, Economic Development

511 Contra Costa Winter Walk Challenge

Sign up for 511 Contra Costa’s Winter Walk Challenge and receive fun weekly walking challenges. Complete the challenge to be entered in weekly drawings for $35 Amazon gift cards. You’ll be entered in the iPad Grand Prize Drawing just for signing up.

It’s free, fun, and open to all ages. Keep your body moving this winter and sign up today!

How to Participate

• Register to participate
• Walk to local destinations January through March
• Send us selfies showing us how you met weekly challenges
• Five weekly $35 Amazon gift card winners
• iPad Grand Prize Drawing
• Kids can enter with hand-drawn art titled “The Best Ever Walk to School”

• Information Technology

Transparent Richmond

Check out Transparent Richmond (www.transparentrichmond.org), the City of Richmond’s citywide open data and performance reporting system. The open data platform currently spans 11 city departments and contains over 300 datasets, visualizations, and performance measures, many of which feature monthly, weekly or daily updates.

Transparent Richmond aims to accomplish the following:

• Improve the collective understanding of all city services.
• Automate performance data to help track and meet budget and service goals.
• Leverage evidence-based analysis to develop innovative solutions that improve the quality of city services.

The city plans to add more datasets and visualizations over time and invites the community to propose additional information for the site. To nominate new data and visualizations, visit https://www.transparentrichmond.org/nominate.

Social Media Statistics for this Week

KCRT DATANET FOR THE WEEK

KCRT TV Channel 28 - New Episodes of Current Programming

Current recent specials are Michelle Obama Virtual Grand Opening (video courtesy of WCCUSD), “RPD Virtual Halloween ,” “Virtual National Night Out,” “National Electric Drive Week”; “Chat with Chief French,” ”NAACP Policing Forum,” the GRID Alternatives’ and City of Richmond’s “No-Cost Solar Workshop,” and the City’s Mask Videos.

All-new episodes of “Colour in Your Life,” “Creature Features,” “The Jet Set” and “Sidewalks Entertainment.” New promo for Food Bank.
     
You may find the full schedule at http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/3176/Schedule

• Internal Services

Finance

Open Requests For Bids/Request For Proposals:

• Library and Community Services

Community Services Newsletter

We have exciting news to share with everyone! To be able to stay connected with our community we have created a Newsletter with updates about the happenings within the City of Richmond’s Community Services Department – Recreation Division. A sneak preview of the Newsletter can be seen by clicking on the below link.

If you are interested in signing up for our Newsletter, you can subscribe by clicking on the following link: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/OEiBb9M

We hope you will subscribe and enjoy receiving updates from our division as much as we enjoy creating them for you.

Senior Yoga Classes

We are starting a new 8-week session of yoga class, free of charge on the Senior Launchpad.

This course will be an introduction to Mindfulness and its role in helping us to navigate the ups and downs of everyday life.  For many of us, meditation is not easy.  Our bodies are active, which makes it difficult to sit still and focus inwards.  Therefore, a good complement to a meditation practice is yoga asanas. Yoga asanas are exercises designed to increase circulation throughout the body, lengthen, and strengthen the muscles resulting in flexibility and calming the nervous system. This enables the body to relax in a meditative practice and allows for a mindful state of awareness in everyday life.

This course is offered for FREE on Zoom and each class will consist of 15-20 minutes of lecture and 60 minutes of gentle yoga asanas. This class is ideal for beginners, anyone new to yoga, and anyone just interested. Please visit https://tinyurl.com/SeniorsDPRCLaunchPad to register and get the link to Zoom class.

Participants must complete a COR Activity Registration Form. For more information contact the Richmond Annex Senior Center at 510 620-6812

Classes start Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Class times: Wednesdays, 9:00 A.M. - 10:30 A.M.

Victoria (RYT 200) is a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance and was trained by The International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre.

Virtual Zumba at Community Services Department (Recreation)

Starting December 8, the Community Services Department will begin a mid-morning virtual Zumba class. All Tuesdays and Thursdays virtual evening classes will still be maintained. 

Program Schedule
Saturdays:                             9:00 A.M. to 10:00 A.M.
Tuesdays and Thursdays:     10:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. (Mid-Morning)
Tuesdays and Thursdays:     6:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. (Evening)
Cost: $5 per person per class*
Online prepaid participants ONLY

Register and pay online at: https://apm.activecommunities.com/richmond 
Please see below a link to our first Zumba class: https://youtu.be/1LkMozN1_nA

Virtual Sports Programs

Join us for our continued series in our virtual sports programs! Find a spot at home or in your yard, and you’ll be able to master all the skills you need in soccer, tennis, or basketball! For more information, contact the Recreation staff listed in the flyer.

Virtual After-School Camps - ACHIEVE and ELEVATE

After-school camps are happening in now! We’ll have lots of fun and games with your favorite recreation staff and fellow campers. Register online at tinyurl.com/richmondrecreation.

New Adopt-a-Senior Program to Serve Residents Over 55

After all of the interest and support we received from residents, Richmond Love Your Block is excited to present: Adopt-A-Senior! We are connecting community volunteers and seniors in Richmond and North Richmond.

If you are over 55 and would like to receive FREE maintenance services for your property, go to tinyurl.com/SeniorAdoptionRequest to be adopted! Services may include: cleaning up debris and litter; removing weeds and tall grass; trimming and pruning plant; painting; and more. Eligibility requirements apply.

If you would like to BE a volunteer and adopt a senior to help them maintain their property go to tinyurl.com/AdoptaSeniorVolunteer. (The Adopt-A-Senior program does not provide any home repairs or other services that take place inside of the home.)

Help us spread the word so we can connect as many seniors and volunteers as possible!

Senior Programs

Please visit https://tinyurl.com/SeniorsDPRCLaunchPad to register and get the link to Zoom programs.

The Literacy for Every Adult Program (LEAP) recognizes student Sharloyn Reed-Thompson and volunteer Susan Nishizaka

Sharloyn Reed-Thompson has been a LEAP student for a few years and truly excelled in the program after being paired with her tutor Susan. Susan recalls the transition tutoring from in-person to over-the-phone. Since April of 2020, they have been meeting regularly (three times a week for 60 minutes) and with such a difficult year and no diversions, it was helpful to have consistent tutoring sessions to provide some structure to their days. They found plenty of time to focus on lessons and since, Sharloyn has moved up three workbooks in both reading and writing!

They decided to meet over the phone since LEAP provided them with pdf versions of the workbooks to read online. When they meet, they read and discuss the completed workbook exercises. They work on vocabulary if there are any unfamiliar words and review spelling rules. They also work on either the related writing assignment or sometimes they choose topics that are more uplifting to put them in a better frame of mind (favorite vacation spots, favorite childhood memory, Amanda Gorman's inauguration speech).

This has been a good arrangement for them, since it's currently safer to tutor from home and saves time by not having to drive to downtown Richmond and back. Susan enjoys working with LEAP and is very pleased to see the great progress being made by her student!  To illustrate what great work the pair has done, enjoy an essay written by Sharloyn Reed-Thompson and edited by Susan Nishizaka.

My Remarks on Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb

On the Inauguration Day of our 46th President Joseph Biden, I had an opportunity to hear Amanda Gorman, a young African-American woman unknown to me, recite a poem she wrote entitled, “The Hill We Climb.” She looked to be no more than 16 years old as she stood behind the lectern. Her words were truly profound and she spoke so eloquently and every movement was filled with grace as she stood poised before the world. My heart was filled with emotions while I listened to this young black woman as she spoke on how we had braved the beast, that to me meant our past in history and how we need to find a way to repair it. She made it clear that as we climb this hill together, we have learned that being quiet is not a sign of peace, but the calm before the storm. As Ms. Gorman painted a picture of hope throughout her recital without any mistakes you would have never known that as a child, she had to overcome any type of speech impediment.

Library Updates

Activity Kits for Kids - Ask for one!

The Children’s Department has a new craft kit for kids for February with materials for a woven heart basket to hold small cards or treats, and also for a nice Valentine’s card. Ask for a kit for kids when you call the Children’s Department for book suggestions, or ask the Circulation staff when you schedule a pick up.  You can reach the Children’s Department at 510-620-6557 or the Circulation staff at 510-620-6559.

STEAM (Science & Art) Thursdays

Check the RPLChildrens Facebook page every day for story times and flannel board stories.  On Thursdays, we post a short science activity or craft.

Need help finding a book?

Librarians love to help you find books to read (or listen to)!  You can ask for a book bundle, based on your families’ ages and interests.  For families, call the Children’s Department at 510-620-6557, or call 510-620-6561 for Adult Reference, 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Monday through Friday.

Another way to help you find a book is using the My Next Read form.  Tell us your likes and dislikes, books you read recently, etc.  Staff can create a list of books for you and will place them on hold for you to pick up.  Visit the Library’s web page at https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/forms.aspx?fid=239 for the form, or email staff at rpl_reference@ci.richmond.ca.us.

Sample February book bundle for a community organization’s read-aloud

Tableside Service Update

The Richmond Public Library began its Tableside Service on June 15, 2020, in an effort to make library materials available to the community while our buildings themselves remain closed.  Since this service has been available, the Richmond Public Library has had 2,652 successful appointments, getting tens of thousands of books, magazines, DVDs, craft kits, and more into the hands of our community.

Remember: our Tableside Service is available by appointment 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Monday through Friday, at the Main Library and 1:00 P.M. to 4:30 P.M., Tuesdays and Thursdays, at the Bayview and West Side branches.  Call us at 510-620-6561 for more information or visit us online at http://richmondlibrary.org.

Below are representations of our running total of appointments and the weekly totals for the first 33 weeks with a 4-week running average.

Tableside Service Statistics

• Public Works

Facilities Maintenance
Stationary Engineers performed daily pool maintenance and daily Civic Center Plaza boiler inspections, replaced exhaust fan belts at City Hall, repaired return air actuator on one of the air conditioning units at City Hall, fixed the sink in the Streets division break room, installed ergonomic office furniture in the Finance Department, cleared a sewer drain at the Police Department, assembled shelves in the basement storeroom of the Auditorium and fixed a boiler gas valve in 440 Civic Center.

Boiler Repair

Utility workers removed a piano and a file cabinet from the Recreation Complex, replaced lights on the 3rd floor of City Hall and at the Main Library, removed furniture from Plunge, performed daily disinfecting protocols of buildings and maintenaned of 29 city owned facilities.

Bulb Replacement

Parks and Landscaping

General fund crews removed debris from parks in the central area of Richmond, Carlos Boulevard, and right of ways, removed dead trees around Baxter Creek, removed trash from the Greenway, cleared illegal dumping at Cypress Pathway, repaired a bench at Wendell Park, performed irrigation repair at Nicholl Park and assisted the tree crew with downed trees.

       Fence Repair                                                  Debris Removal

Marina District crews continued maintenance of all parks and parking lots, removed storm debris throughout, string trimmed Lucretia Edwards Park, cut shrubs along the Bay Trail, weed abated Barbara J. Vincent Park, performed irrigation repairs on Spinnaker Way, hand pulled weeds in planters on Sand Beach, removed pine needles from Rosie the Riveter Memorial, refilled dog waste bags and emptied all refuse containers throughout the district.

Weed Abatement

Hilltop District crewscontinued general maintenance around the business area, litter removal at all parks, weed abatement at Hilltop Park, maintenance on the Giant Road off ramp, employees attended training and performed emergency tree removal on Lakeside Road.

Emergency Tree Removal                                    Giant Road Maintenance

Pavement Maintenance
Streets crews performed storm patrols, hotmix patching and potholing as weather permitted.

Hotmix Patching

Street Sweeping crews swept the first Monday through Friday in the following neighborhood council areas: Parchester Village, Hilltop Bayview, Hilltop Green, Fairmede/Hilltop, Carriage Hills North, El Sobrante Hills, Greenbriar, Hansford Heights, Via Verde, San Pablo Dam Road, Bristole Cone, May Valley, Vista View and Clinton Hill I as weather permitted.

Signs and Lines crews reinstalled knocked down signs, installed new signs, painted red curbs, installed white pavement markings and messages in various locations as weather permitted.

Sign Knock Down

Water Resource Recovery Division

Wastewater Treatment Plant – Fats, Oils, & Grease (FOG)

PLEASE! DO NOT PUT GREASE DOWN THE DRAIN! Heavy grease has been reported at Richmond's sewer treatment plant. Grease clogs pipes and can be detrimental to the function of the plant.

For more information about Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG), please call 510-620-6594.

Planta de Tratamiento de Aguas Residuales – Aceites y Grasas (FOG)

¡POR FAVOR! ¡NO PONGA GRASA POR EL DRENAJE! Se ha reportado grasa pesada en la planta de tratamiento de alcantarillado de Richmond. La grasa obstruye las tuberías y puede ser perjudicial para la función de la planta.

Para obtener más información sobre aceites y grasas (FOG), llame al 510-620-6594.

Sewer Lateral Grant Program

The City of Richmond’s Water Resource Recovery Department administers the Sewer Lateral Grant Program. The program reimburses eligible homeowners in the Richmond Municipal Sewer District (RMSD No. 1) for some of the cost to replace their sewer lateral.

The program is open and accepting applications for the 2020-2021 Fiscal Year for sewer lateral work completed between 7/1/2020-6/30/2021.

For more information about the Sewer Lateral Grant Program, please visit www.ci.richmond.ca.us/2130/Sewer-Lateral-Grant-Program or call 510-620-6594.

Macdonald & Virginia Wet Weather Improvement Projects

Local contractor is continuing work on this project. See picture and description below.

Local contractor is doing a leak test on the manhole at 27th and Grant Avenue.

Trash Capture Project

CalTrans and the City of Richmond are collaboratively implementing a Water Capture Facility, also referred to as a Trash Capture Project. The Contech Engineered Solutions CDS system is a below-ground, flow-through treatment device that uses multiple treatment processes including swirl concentration and continuous deflective separation to screen, separate and trap trash, debris, sediment and other pollutants from stormwater runoff. Veolia Water, in conjunction with the City of Richmond, successfully installed three such devices in 2017, 2018, and 2019; another device was being planned at Bayview Avenue.

The Bayview site proved to be infeasible, so Veolia and the designer are working to secure another site. See project photos below for a project site walk.

Subcontractor is drilling for soil samples on Cutting Avenue at 3rd Street as part of a potential new site for the Trash Capture Project.

Cogen Project, Phase 1

In 2018, the Richmond Water Resources Recovery Division received a letter of intent from Chevron Corporation stating that Chevron intends to donate $2M to the City to offset carbon emissions generated by Chevron. The Chevron donation requires the City fund projects which meet EPA emission reduction targets to qualify for receipt of the funds. The City decided to implement a cogeneration project at the Richmond Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) in accordance with the 2010 Facility Master Plan. The project will provide additional flexibility for the Richmond WWTP to develop a Fat-Oil-Grease (FOG) receiving program in the future but still be able to capitalize on the plant's currently available digester gas.  The cogen unit installed during this project will beneficially use digester gas instead of flaring off the gas, which will result in a reduction of plant use of energy. The Design-Build team is continuing work on this project. See picture and description below.

Design-Build team is on-site at the Richmond WWTP investigating the pipe chase piping related to heat capture pipe routing for Cogen.

• Richmond Art Center

Announcing Art of the African Diaspora 2021!

Featuring Over 110 Artists of African Descent

Online Exhibition: February 11 – May 16, 2021
Online Reception: Saturday, March 20, 3:00 P.M.

For twenty-five years Art of the African Diaspora, in partnership with Richmond Art Center, supports artists of African descent in the Bay Area through representation, professional development, and building a creative community.

In 2021 Art of the African Diaspora will be a hybrid online/in-person event presented at aotad.org, richmondartcenter.org, and at venues throughout the Bay Area.* Over 110 artists will be featured in an online exhibition highlighting their work, bios and artist statements. The online exhibition will run February 11 through to May 16, 2021.

For more info visit: richmondartcenter.org/exhibitions/aotad2021

In conjunction with the online exhibition, artists will host open studios, artists talks and satellite exhibitions throughout February, March, April and May 2021. These artist-curated events will be both virtual and in-person happenings (COVID-permitting), and audiences can find out about them via www.aotad.org . Satellite exhibition partners include Macy’s, San Francisco; Rhythmix Cultural Works, Alameda; and Creative Framing & Gallery, Oakland. An special online artist Reception and Guest Speaker Evening are also planned. More information about these events to be released soon.

* No in person events will be held at Richmond Art Center. Individual artist events are subject to City and County health orders and compliance with the social distancing requirements.

Top images (l-r): Artworks by Fan Lee Warren, Val kai, and Tiffany Conway

For more information contact:
Stephen Bruce, Steering Committee Chair, Art of the African Diaspora
stephenbstudios@yahoo.com, 916-446-3271

Amy Spencer, Exhibitions Director, Richmond Art Center
amy@richmondartcenter.org

 
Thank you for keeping up with the activities in the City of Richmond.  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments about these or any other items of interest to you.

Thank You!

Laura Snideman
City Manager
City of Richmond
450 Civic Center Plaza
Richmond, California 94804
(510) 620-6512

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

See below for options to connect with the City of Richmond.

Connecting with the City of Richmond

Using the City of Richmond Mobile Application:
The City of Richmond mobile app provides Richmond’s community members with one-stop access to City services and information via mobile devices. The app allows quick and real-time reporting of neighborhood-related issues; viewing the City’s events calendar; finding addresses and phone numbers of local businesses, city departments and council members.  The City of Richmond’s mobile phone app is available on the Apple App store and Google Play store.

We welcome your comments at webservices@ci.richmond.ca.us

To contact us by phone:

The City’s website (http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/) provides a department and staff directory at http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/Directory.aspx.

If you’re not sure which department you need to contact, we encourage you to phone the City Manager’s office at (510) 620-6512.

Using the CORConnect Application on the City’s Website:
You can use the CORConnect button on the City’s website (http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/) to report any comments, questions or concerns regarding the work being done by City staff.  The CORConnect issues go directly to the responsible department, and the city manager reviews reported issues on a regular basis to determine if City staff members are responding appropriately.  If you do not feel that you have received a satisfactory response, please contact the City Manager’s Office at (510) 620-6512.

To access CORConnect select the CORConnect button on the homepage of the City website.


Alternatively, you can select the COR Connect button on any other webpage on the left hand side of the page.


On the next screen under Report an Issue select Report Issue/Concern to create a report or Search Issue/Concerns to look up a previously reported issue.  You can also look up previously submitted issues to check on the current status if you provided you name, phone number or email when you submitted it. 


On the page, you can also look up information on a parcel, see permits issued and look up business license information.  If you have a current business license you can pay to renew it online with a credit card.

The recommended browsers are: Microsoft Edge, or Microsoft Internet Explorer version 11 using the compatibility mode. It can be found in the upper right corner of Internet Explorer: click on the "gear" icon and select Compatibility View Settings, then add the site to the list and click "Close".

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

Irene Perdomo
Executive Assistant to the City Manager
City Manager’s Office
450 Civic Center Plaza
Richmond, CA  94804
Email: Irene_Perdomo@ci.richmond.ca.us
Direct: 510-621-1264
Main: 510-620-6512