Mayor and Councilmembers:
This is the weekly report for the week ending December 7th, 2012.
Meeting Notes
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 18th. For planning purposes, please be advised that the first meeting following the New Year will be the swearing in ceremony on January 8th. The first full business meeting of the City Council is scheduled for January 15th.
Holiday Street Lights Dedication Ceremony and Holiday Festival
Richmond Main Street and the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts (Center) are hosting the Holiday Street Lights Dedication Ceremony and the Holiday Festival on Wednesday, December 12th, at 339 11th Street. The Holiday Festival starts with performances by the Center’s resident companies beginning at 6:00 PM. Performances will include Richmond Bloco Steel Band playing holiday favorites, Iron Triangle Theater Company performing scenes from the Wind in the Willows, Son de la Tierra performing traditional Mexican song and dance including La Rama procession, the Iron Triangle Urban Ballet presenting scenes from the Nutcracker, and Voices of Reason singing Christmas carols. In addition, there will be visits from Santa and Buki the Clown, gifts for children under 10 and light refreshments.
The Holiday Street Lights Dedication Ceremony starts at 7:30 PM at the corner of 11th Street & Macdonald Avenue. Rejoice in yuletide cheer with a ceremony to dedicate the holiday street lights in Downtown, featuring group caroling and special guest speakers from the City of Richmond. Admission is FREE!
City Office Closure
As has been the case during the past two years, as a cost saving measure and with the cooperation of our bargaining units, the City offices will be closed during the holiday week in December, beginning December 24th, with offices reopening on January 2nd.
The Police and Fire Departments will remain open, and the Recreation, Paratransit, Public Works, and Housing Authority departments will have partial services. The main branch of the Library will be open at reduced hours, and the branch libraries will be closed. (See further details on the schedule for the Library, Recreation, and Paratransit services in items 10 and 11 of this weekly report.)
We will continue to provide updates regarding the work schedule during this holiday week.
City of Richmond Hosts Eastern Coachella Valley, East Salinas, and Santa Ana Leaders for Health and Wellness Shared Learning Convening
Last Friday, November 30th, The California Endowment hosted a Building Healthy Communities Shared Learning Convening at the City of Richmond entitled “Placing Health at the Center of Planning and Policy: Learning from the Richmond Example.” Leaders from Eastern Coachella Valley, East Salinas, and Santa Ana attended. All cities participate in The California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities initiative, a 10-year strategy in 14 communities across California to build healthy communities.
The City of Richmond and Richmond Equitable Development Initiative partners shared successes and challenges in conducting the General Plan Update and Health and Wellness Element implementation. Richmond, Eastern Coachella Valley, East Salinas, and Santa Ana shared strategies and approaches for placing health and equity at the center of local planning and policy work and engaging diverse constituencies. Attendees identified next steps for continued learning, sharing, and partnership.
Forum Addresses Issues Facing Richmond Youth
This past Saturday, December 1st, the Teen Services Division of the Richmond Public Library and Bill Say, who specializes in organizational development, hosted “Public Open Forum: Youth in Richmond – Whose City Is It?” in the Library’s Madeline F. Whittlesey Community Room. More than two dozen participants were in attendance at the dialogue between teens, young adults and youth service providers to better understand the challenges, needs and services to address Richmond youth. Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, LoVonya DeJean Middle School Principal Dr. Silvia Greenwood, Richmond Police Sergeant Eddie Russell, high school counselor Serbrener Pride, teen librarian Añgela Cox, and West Contra Costa Unified School District and Contra Costa College students were among the panelists. The Friends of the Richmond Public Library sponsored the spoken word performance of the Making Waves group, RAW Talent.
After the powerful exchange of ideas and information, the consensus was to have continued dialogue and future forums. The event was covered in a feature by Richmond Confidential and will also be highlighted in the newspaper, Richmond Pulse.
Sales Tax Update
The City of Richmond Finance Department closely monitors sales tax receipts and related data as they are received from the State of California. The chart below provides comparative data for fiscal years (FY) 2002-03 through 2011-12 on a per capita basis.
As shown in the chart, the recent low points for sales tax receipts were during the three year period between FY 2008-09 and 2010-11; however, FY 2011-12 showed an increase from the prior year of nearly 5%. The level of sales taxes for FY 2011-12 was still approximately 16%, or about $2 million, below the peak level in FY 2006-07. While sales tax in the general retail and food product categories have remained fairly static, sales taxes in the construction, transportation, and business-to-business categories remain well below their peak levels of five years ago.
Richmond’s tax base is well-diversified, led by the general retail category which makes up approximately 31% of sales tax revenue, led by Costco, Wal-Mart and Target. Of significance, new auto sales increased 39.6% during the second quarter of 2012 as compared to the same time period in 2011.
United Heckathorn Community Workshop
On December 3rd, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hosted a United Heckathorn Technical Assistance Workshop at the RichmondBUILD facility. The EPA has developed a Technical Assistance Needs Assessment with input from the Richmond community, which will help inform the EPA in its community engagement and clean-up efforts. Approximately 20 community members attended the meeting. Find out more about EPA efforts to clean up the United Heckathorn Superfund Site in Richmond by clicking here.
Health in All Policies Community Meetings
Richmond Health Initiatives hosted community workshops in November 2012 to provide information and solicit feedback on Health in All Policies, a strategy to integrate health into all levels of city governance. At community workshops (see list of meetings hosted below), Richmond Health Initiatives staff and UC Berkeley School of Public Health graduate students provided presentations on the Health in All Policies concept and facilitated workshops identifying stressors from living and/or working in Richmond. Health in All Policies attempts to connect all City services and activities to the City’s General Plan, 5-Year Strategic Business Plan, and the current fiscal year budget. With valuable community input, Richmond Health Initiatives continues to develop a Health in All Policies strategy. Find out more about Health in All Policies. 
Richmond Health Equity Partnership
Last Wednesday, November 28th, Contra Costa Health Services, West Contra Costa Unified School District, and City of Richmond hosted the eighth meeting of the Richmond Health Equity Partnership. The meeting was held at the new state-of-the-art West County Health Center facility in San Pablo, which is replacing the old Richmond Health Center. Dr. William Walker, Director of Contra Costa Health Services, provided a presentation on health services provided by Contra Costa County and an overview of the Affordable Care Act. Meeting information will be available at: www.richmondhealth.org.
Richmond Public Library Holiday Hours (Monday, December 24, 2012 through Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The Richmond Public Library’s main branch will be open the following hours during the December holidays:
Mon. Dec. 24th
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Tues. Dec. 25th (Christmas)
Closed for the holiday
Wed. Dec. 26th
12:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Thu. Dec. 27th
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Fri. Dec. 28th
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Sat. Dec. 29th
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Sun. Dec. 30th
Closed
Mon. Dec. 31st (New Year’s Eve)
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Tues. Jan. 1st, 2013 (New Year’s Day)
Closed for the holiday
Wed. Jan. 2nd
12:00 PM to 7:00 PM
The main library’s normal hours will resume Thursday, January 3rd, 2013. Both the Bayview Branch and the West Side Branch will be closed from Friday, December 21, 2012, through Tuesday, January 1, 2013, and will reopen for normal hours on Wednesday, January 2, 2013.
Recreation Highlights
Chess
The 2nd Annual McKinley Williams / John Easterling Free Community Chess Tournament will be held on Saturday, December 8th at the Recreation Complex. Registration is from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM. Rounds are at 11:00 AM, 12:30 PM, and 2:00 PM. Rated and non-rated games are open to players of all ages.
Senior Winter Ball
The 15th Annual Senior Winter Ball, sponsored by the Commission on Aging and featuring the Junius Courtney Big Band, will be held on Saturday, December 8th at the Richmond Auditorium from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Dinner will be served at 7:45 PM. Seniors are looking forward to yet another joyous and entertaining evening, which is an annual tradition offered by the Senior Winter Ball.
Disabled People’s Recreation Center
The Disabled People’s Recreation Center participants have been staying busy with taking down fall decorations and setting up winter decorations. The center looks festive and inviting.
Recreation Department Holiday Observance Schedule
Community Centers:
In observance of the holiday season, all Recreation Department facilities will be closed on the following dates:
December 25, 2012 December 31, 2012 January 1, 2013
The Richmond Recreation Complex (3230 Macdonald Avenue) Fitness Center and Gymnasium only will be open as follows:
December 24, 2012 & December 26 – 28, 2012 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Richmond Plunge (1 East Avenue) will be open as follows:
December 24, 2012 & December 26 – 28, 2012 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Shields-Reid Community Center (1410 Kelsey Street) will be open for Weigh of Life classes only as follows:
December 26, 2012 & December 28, 2012 9:45 AM to 11:15 AM & 5:45 PM to 7:15 PM
Nevin Community Center (598 Nevin Avenue) will be open for Weigh of Life classes only as follows:
December 29, 2012 from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
The Recreation Department Administrative Offices and all other facilities will be closed from December 24, 2012 to January 1, 2013.
All Recreation Department facilities will resume normal programming on January 2, 2013.
Paratransit:
Regular Paratransit services will be available until 5:00 PM on Friday, December 21, 2012, and will resume on Wednesday, January 2, 2013.
Between December 21st and January 2nd, the Taxi Scrip Program, another transportation service offered through the Paratransit Division, will be available 24 hours per day, as usual. Taxi Scrip tickets must be purchased in the Cashier’s Office in City Hall at 450 Civic Center Plaza on the 2nd floor no later than Friday, December 21st by 3:00 PM.
Please call 510-307-8026 to schedule services or if you have any questions.
Public Works Updates
Public Works Crew spent last weekend and a better portion of the week addressing storm related issues across the City. There were fallen trees, fallen poles and signs, flooded areas, increased potholes, and leaking facilities.
Facilities Maintenance Division: The Carpenters boarded up and repaired vandalized portions of the Parchester Community Center, replaced the broken backboard at the Booker T. Anderson Community Center, addressed roof leaks with temporary solutions and repaired the gym doors at the Richmond Recreation Complex.
Stationary Engineers repaired the automatic doors at the Parchester and Nevin Community Centers, and serviced the pool equipment at the Richmond Swim Center and Plunge.
Electricians removed the leaning pole at Point Isabel, relamped the holiday lights at Civic Center Plaza, removed a knocked down pole in Hilltop Green, replaced the red light at Robert Miller and Hilltop Drive, and replaced the green light out on Richmond Parkway and Parr Boulevard.
Parks and Landscaping Division: The Crew performed drain maintenance throughout the City’s parks and landscaped areas, performed storm related clean up and monitoring, removed fallen trees or large limbs at four parks, removed five large pine trees at Hilltop Lake that fell, removed trees on five streets, and raised electrical boxes at Booker T. Anderson Park.
The Tree Crew trimmed and pruned trees on Western Avenue, May Road, Bissell Avenue, Roosevelt Avenue, 28th Street, Saddleback Court, Mackenzie Drive, and 21st Street.
Streets Division: Pavement Maintenance Crew worked from the outstanding pothole list and cleaned storm drains as part of storm patrol.
Street Sweeping continued with the commercial and residential routes for the first Monday through Wednesday of the month in the Parchester Village, Hilltop Bayview, Hilltop Green, Fairmede/Hilltop, Carriage Hills North Side, El Sobrante Hills, Greenbriar, Hansford Heights, Via Verde, San Pablo Dam Road, Bristole Cone, May Valley Vista View and Clinton Hill I Neighborhood Council areas.
Residents should note that the sweepers cannot sweep during the rain.
*********************************************
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 (510) 620-6512 Bill_lindsay@ci.richmond.ca.us