Mayor and Members of the City Council:
This is the report for the week ending September 29th, 2017.
Meeting Notes
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 3rd, beginning with Closed Session at 5:00 PM, followed by a meeting of the Richmond Housing Authority at 6:25 PM, and then by the City Council meeting at 6:30 PM. The agenda may be found by clicking this link: Richmond City Council Agenda Packet.
Cheers for the Promise & Scholarship Opens October 2nd!
Cheers for the Promise a Success!
Thank you to all who attended the first annual Cheers for the Promise this past Wednesday at East Brother Beer Company! Richmond Promise Executive Director described the turnout as “an awesome cross section of the community that came out to have a good time and shared experience.” The guest bartender line-up for the invent included Mayor Tom Butt, West Contra Costa Unified School District Superintendent Matthew Duffy, Councilmember Jael Myrick, Contra Costa College President Mojdeh Mehdizadeh, and the city manager, all of whom served up discounted drinks to appreciate and celebrate our community’s educators.
In addition to the camaraderie, the cost of an annual scholarship was raised for the Richmond Promise Scholarship Fund with a total of $1,700 in tips!
Richmond Promise Scholarship Opens Monday
The 2017-18 Richmond Promise Scholarship application will open this Monday, October 2nd.
To be eligible for the Richmond Promise Scholarship, a student must: · Be a resident of Richmond or North Richmond (i.e. have a Richmond home address); · Have graduated from an eligible high school within the West Contra Costa Unified School District boundary area or received your GED/high school equivalency last or this academic year; · Have attended an eligible high school at least 9th-12th grade consecutively; · Completed the FAFSA/Dream Act by the March 2nd Cal Grant deadline. The application can be found by visiting: www.richmondpromise.org. Please share this opportunity with eligible students in your life. If you have questions, please check Info@richmondpromise.org or call 510-761-7231.
City Manager Chronicles
I have listed below some of the topics for meetings that I attended during the past week in the hope that it provides an idea of the varied issues with which our organization deals routinely.
Meetings and events of note this past week included:
Met with representatives from the Bay Area Council and several cities to discuss responses to the Request for Proposals by Amazon for a site for their second headquarters; Met, together with Human Resources Director Lisa Stephenson and Finance Director Belinda Warner, with Police Officer Association representatives to discuss OPEB (retiree medical benefits) funding; Participated in a conference call with Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) staff, along with Mayor Butt, Deputy City Attorney Carlos Privat, the City’s legal team, and housing consultant Tia Ingram, to discuss various regulatory issues; Attended the monthly budget review meeting with Finance Director Belinda Warner and her staff; Attended a meeting with union leadership, along with Human Resources Director Lisa Stephenson and her staff, and Transportation Project Manager Lori Reese-Brown, to discuss the status of the paratransit program; Met with a regional group of labor representatives to discuss development of alternative medical benefit plans; Attended the “Cheers for the Promise” event; Attended the monthly West County Mayors and Supervisors meeting; Attended the Annual Richmond Shoreline Tour, hosted by the West County Council of Industries; Attended the community workshop for the First Mile/Last Mile Strategic Plan, along with Transportation Program staff members Lori Reese-Brown and Denee Evans; Attended the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Community Leadership Breakfast, at which the Richmond Promise program was honored; Met, along with Mayor Butt and members of his staff, and City Manager’s staff member Gabino Arredondo, with members of Kaiser leadership to discuss their community activities; Attended the ribbon cutting for the Harbor 8 Project bioswale and rain garden.
These meetings were in addition to attending the regular management staff meeting, agenda planning, reviewing staff reports to the City Council, doing department head “check-ins,” having discussions on various personnel matters, and having short discussions with staff, community members, members of the press, etc.
Community Services Highlights
North Richmond Shoreline Festival Join us October 7, 2017 from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM for our annual North Richmond Shoreline Festival! Free food, entertainment, activities, and more for the whole family! Info: 510-219-1571
Richmond Tool Library’s Fundraiser and First Ever Tool Talks Workshop!
The Richmond Tool Library is hosting its first ever tool workshop! Join us, Sunday, October 15 from 12 noon to 2:00 PM at the Recreation Complex (3230 Macdonald Avenue) to learn about pruning, tool maintenance, and more! Refreshments will be provided.
Our crowdfunding campaign is live! Help us replace tools in the Library! Check out