Livable Community Stimulation
One of the great joys and rewards of serving on the Richmond City Council is the opportunity to benefit from the terrific resources of the Local Government Commission (LGC). When I was first elected in 1995, Rosemary Corbin was serving on the LGC board of directors,...
A County Called Richmond?
Recognizing Richmond"s centennial year, The following article appeared in the January 23, 2005, Contra Costa Times. Richmond was feeling its oats in those days, threatening to change the name of Contra Costa County to Richmond County if the Board of Sups didn"t play...
Silence Will Give Consent on Proposed Planning Changes
Tomorrow, January 29 could be the beginning of a fundamental change in the way Richmond provides discretionary review of development projects. There will be a workshop in the City Council Chamber from 9:00 AM until 12:00 noon wherein the Planning Department will...
Restore Richmond’s Rheem Creek
The Lower Rheem Creek Restoration and Community Outreach Project, which is funded by CALFED (http://calwater.ca.gov/Programs/Watershed/Watershed.shtml), invites the public to the Kick-Off Community Meeting at Parchester Village Community Center, 900 Williams Drive,...
One Year Later – A Review of Enforcement of Richmond Residential Fence Zoning Requirements
fences_One_Year_later.pdf After months of rancor, Richmond"s revised ordinance regulating residential fences was passed by the City Council on December 16, 2003 (first reading) and January 6, 2004 (second reading). The ordinance set the height of front yard fences at...
Chronicle Watch Targets Richmond’s Neglect of Rosie the Riveter Memorial
CHRONICLEWATCH Working for a better Bay Area - Suzanne Pullen Sunday, January 23, 2005 What's not working Garden missing at Richmond memorial: Tipster Tim Boorda is proud of his city's memorial to Rosie the Riveter, but he wants to know why part of it has been...
Items of Interest on January 25 City Council Agenda
The City Council agenda is supposed to be available on the City"s website on the Saturday prior to each Tuesday meeting, which is, in practice, a hit or miss proposition. This week it is a miss. However, there are several items on the agenda that have been of interest...
The Sun Comes Out
After months of storms, the sun is not the only thing shining in Richmond today. The City"s top management has recently confirmed that the City"s "cumulative deficit," estimated at $18 million to $28 million just seven months ago, no longer exists. Just twelve months...
TRAC Reports Richmond Bay Trail Plans and Progress
The upbeat, colorful Richmond Bay Trail New Year Report now is available at http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/trac. This New Year Report highlights accomplishments during 2004, lists projects to be built in 2005-2006 and sets planning priorities for 2005. The Bay Trail top...
Responses to Year End Review
The following responses were received regarding the 2004 Year-End Review, E-FORUM, December 31, 2004. They represent a different point of view about some of the critiques I previously received about City employees. Neither the original nor subsequent remarks are mine....
Development Review Process Workshop Rescheduled
The Development Review Workshop (See TOM BUTT E-FORUM Changing the Development Review Process, January 2, 2005) previously scheduled for January 22, 9:00 AM in the City Council Chamber, has been rescheduled for the same time and place on January 29. The proposals by...
Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour
Bringing_Back_the_Natives_flier.pdf Pre-Registration is open for the 2005 Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, which will take place on Sunday, May 1, 2005. More than 50 Alameda and Contra Costa county gardens, including the Butt residence garden, that don't use...
Assembly Member Hancock on Urban Gambling
Assemblywoman Loni Hancock will be holding a Town Hall meeting to discuss concerns about Urban Gambling. Flier attached. Saturday, January 22, 2005 10:00am to 2:00pm Contra Costa Community College Knox Center for Performing Arts Entrance at El Portal Drive and Castro...
Rosie Park Superintendent Judy Hart to Retire
Superintendent Judy Hart, who as a National Park Service official in the Washington, D.C. headquarters, helped shepherd the legislation that created the Rosie the Riveter World War II/Home Front National Historical Park through Congress and later became its first...
Parchester Student Bussing Resolved for Time Being
Parchester bus transportation funded for remainder of school year Vince Kilmartin, associate superintendent for operations for the West Contra Costa Unified School District, announced that an anonymous donor has stepped forward to fund bus transportation for the...
Crumbling Sewers?
A reader asked me today, "When is the City of Richmond going to address its crumbling sewer system?" I wanted to respond in the E-FORUM because there is actually good news here. The City of Richmond"s Wastewater Plant and collection system serves only 60% of the City....
State of the City
The attached report was just sent out to all employees by Interim City Manager Phil Batchelor. State of the City - Final.doc
Correction on Sewer Maintenance Information
The e-mail address for Veolia was incorrect. It should be: Christopher.mcauliffe@veoliawaterna.com. The contact number is also incorrect. It should only be the 510.412.2001. The other number, 510.231.3010 is the City of Richmond Maintenance Yard.
Rebuilding Richmond One Department Head at a Time
With a boost from the considerable recruitment skills and personal efforts of Phil Batchelor, Richmond continues to fill its executive management ranks with highly qualified individuals. Most recently, and to the chagrin of his former colleagues at Contra Costa...
Water Board Finds Richmond’s Stormwater Program Worst in County
Stormwater pollution is now the major source of pollutants to surface water bodies in the Bay Area. To deal with this the State and Regional Boards have issued NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permits that require implementation of certain...