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Tom Butt, Richmond
City Council Member
Accomplishments Since 2004
In November of
2004, I was re-elected to a third term on the Richmond City
Council. Following is a year by year summary of what we
accomplished during the last four years, including detailed
information about issues, initiatives and polices I supported,
in many cases authoring legislation or resolutions to adopt them
or providing research, leadership or collaboration to put them
in place.
In my view,
Richmond is clearly better off than it was four years ago, but
there are still many challenges, not the least of which is our
unshakable rate of homicides. Others include the condition of
our infrastructure, particularly our streets. But there is good
news. Homicides continue to plague us, but crime overall is own,
and we have increased the number of police officers on the
streets while starting up a new Office of Neighborhood Safety to
supplement the efforts of law enforcement. While Richmond was
still at the bottom among Bay Area cities for street conditions
in 2007, our Pavement Condition Index rose an amazing 13 points
this year and is projected to rise another 11 points next year.
I continue to work
full time in my profession as an architect in addition to
spending 10 to 20 hours a week on City Council business. My
architecture-engineering firm,
Interactive Resources, continues to be a leader in
sustainable design, providing engineering support for some of
the largest solar photovoltaic systems in the Unites States and
designing buildings that conform to
LEED and
CHPS criteria. Through Interactive Resources, I have also
provided substantial pro bono architecture and
engineering services for civic projects in Richmond, including
moving of the
Whirley Crane,
Point Richmond Gateway Plaza (rehabilitation of the
Trainmaster/Reading Room Building) and rehabilitation of the
historic
Maritime Child Care Center.
In 2005, I went to
New Orleans at the request of the National Trust for Historic
Preservation to help save historic buildings less than two
months after Katrina. On the way, I stopped in Fayetteville,
Arkansas, to receive the
2005 University of Arkansas Alumni Association Community Service
Award.
I chair two
Richmond-based non-profits,
East Brother Light Station, Inc., which operates and
maintains the historic lighthouse one-quarter mile off
Richmond’s western shore, and
Rosie the Riveter Trust, which is the non-profit partner of
Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park.
Involvement in
organizations that work at a state and national level on issues
vital to cities has also been a priority for me. In 2008, I was
elected by my peers (members of city councils and county boards
of supervisors statewide) as chair of the
Local Government Commission, and I serve on the League of
California Cities Environmental Quality policy Committee.
2004
Financial Crisis
The year 2004 was
the year Richmond dodged a bullet that later hit the City of
Vallejo and emerged from a fiscal crises much the stronger for
it. I personally recruited former Contra Costa County
Administrator Phil Batchelor to take on the job as interim city
manager, after which he began implementing a list of 170
reforms. From the New Year 2005 E-FORUM:
There was no competition for this year’s No. 1 story – the
revenue and spending imbalance that some labeled a “fiscal
meltdown.” This also made Chip Johnson’s (San Francisco
Chronicle, December 31, 2004) East Bay list, as follows:
RICHMOND
CITY WOES: The blue-collar city came within an eyelash of
insolvency last year and slashed essential services -- including
layoffs in the police and fire departments -- in order to close
a $12 million budget gap and stay afloat during the course of
the year. City officials seemed incapable of fixing the problem
and spent more time arguing about a proposal to slice the size
of the council from nine to seven members. City officials passed
on a one-time $50 million payment from Chevron to reject a
casino proposal at Point Molate and rolled the dice on a
Sacramento deal that will allow it to be built despite a
proposal to impose a ban on casino slot machines operating
within a 35 mile-radius of an already approved Indian gaming
casino in the neighboring city of San Pablo.
Despite the fact that during roughly the same time period, the
State of California went tens of billions in the red and the
United States government went trillions in the red, Richmond
became the focus of exhaustive media and public criticism. Just
as “all politics are local,” the ramifications of the resulting
massive layoffs were felt by local people who use libraries,
recreation services and other City services, and the enduring
presence of affected union members dominated every City Council
meeting for months as it did the numerous viewers of KCRT.
As
it turned out, the budget crisis, while real and serious, was
somewhat overblown. It appears to have consisted to a large
extent of sloppy accounting of internal fund balances pooled
into a single pot of cash. Untangling this web diminished the
problem substantially, which, with substantial layoffs, enabled
the City Council to deliver what the City Manager described as a
“balanced budget” for 2004-2005. I remain, however, dubious –
see Whiskey
to Beer,
E-FORUM,
June 24, 2004.
Various circumstances and individuals have been blamed for the
crisis, including State “takeaways,” the former city manager and
finance director, inflated union pension plans and the SAP
system that was so unusable even the 2004-2005 budget had to be
prepared by hand using EXCEL spreadsheets. Although the public
clamored for a scapegoat, the long-awaited State Auditor’s
report avoided getting too personal, essentially reporting what
we already knew -- that the City essentially spent more than it
received in revenue. Whether the failure was due to
incompetence, negligence or even criminal acts has never been
officially addressed. Responsible individuals were not listed by
name or title. Most, if not all, of the recommendations in the
audit were previously detailed in Interim City Manager Phil
Batchelor’s list of 170 reforms, and many of them have already
taken place or have been approved by the City Council and are in
process. See
State Audit Report
Slams Richmond,
December 8, 2004.
Interestingly, even the budget crisis did not generate the sheer
volume of participatory democracy that last year’s leader – the
front yard fence height debate – generated. Not once was a City
Council meeting transferred to the Auditorium due to audience
overflow. It appears that folks can live without jobs,
libraries, community centers and even fire stations, but don’t
mess with their fences. Incidentally, the provisions of the
amended fence ordinance crafted by the City Council after those
large and contentious public hearings in 2003 have yet to be
implemented by City staff. Go figure.
Point Molate
Also, in 2004, the City Council resolved a battle over Point
Molate between Chevron and Upstream. I came down on the side of
Upstream and authored a successful amendment to the agreement
that increased Richmond’s option payment by $10 million. From
the 2005 New Year E-FORUM:
No
question about this either. A battle of corporate giants bidding
ten of millions of dollars for Point Molate was waged for months
concluding with the City Council awarding Upstream Point Molate
a five-year, $15 million option to develop a destination resort
incorporating a gambling casino. There were few gray areas on
this one. Detractors were convinced it would ruin Richmond
forever, and supporters saw it as the City’s salvation. One of
the strangest outcomes form the struggle was the alliance
between ChevronTexaco and environmental organizations to oppose
the Upstream project, each with radically different motivations
but a common objective. Richmond, California 2004 Year End
Review
Political Change
in Richmond
The election of
2004 set the stage for political battles over the next four
years with Gayle McLaughlin winning a Council seat that would
later catapult her into the mayor’s office. Despite efforts by
the industrial/development establishment to defeat me, I became
not only the top vote getter but also the highest vote getter in
the history of Richmond. From the 2005 New Year E-FORUM:
For the first time in recent memory, City Council candidates
smelled real blood. The budget crisis, layoffs and reduced City
services gave eleven challengers a seemingly realistic hope of
knocking off traditionally entrenched incumbents. The decision
by Rev. Charles Belcher not to run for re-election made one new
council member a certainty. For many election watchers, it was
not a matter of whether or not incumbents were vulnerable but
which challenger would replace them. However, when the dust
settled, the voters failed to return only one incumbent, Gary
Bell, who strangely enough had a remarkably good record of
criticizing the City’s financial management and predicting dire
results if practices were not improved. Ironically, he was also
the only City Council member who voted against the ill-fated
2003-2004 budget. In my fifth campaign (four for City Council
and one for mayor), I finally rose to the top of the vote count,
garnering 11,727 votes, more than any other Richmond City
Council or mayoral candidate has ever received, helped of course
by this being the first City election held simultaneously with a
presidential election.
Newcomer Gayle McLaughlin made more headlines than anyone else
by nailing third place while running as a member of the Richmond
Progressive Alliance and identifying herself as a Green Party
member. John Marquez, who ran last in a field of four in the
2001 Richmond mayoral race, redeemed himself with a high second
place. Mindell Penn and Nat Bates secured the fourth and fifth
places with the other Richmond Progressive Alliance candidate
Andres Soto running a respectable but distant sixth. The final
vote count is below:
Tom Butt 11,727 10.5%
John E. Marquez 11,277 10.1%
Gayle McLaughlin 11,191 10.0%
*Mindell
Penn 10,645 9.5%
*Nathaniel "Nat" Bates 9,569 8.6%
Andres Soto 8,318 7.5%
Deborah Preston Stewart 7,456 6.7%
*Gary L. Bell 7,288 6.5%
Tony K. Thurmond 6,692 6.0%
Eddrick J. Osborne 6,152 5.5%
Kathy "Storm" Scharff 6,128 5.5%
Courtland Corky Booze 5,809 5.2%
Arnie Kasendorf 4,953 4.4%
Bill Idzerda 2,352 2.1%
Herman Blackwell 2,073 1.9%
2004 was also the
beginning of the battle over preservation of the north Richmond
shoreline. I went against the Council majority and encouraged
EBRPD to acquire Breuner Marsh. It was also the year the fight
over dismantling Design Review began, and I worked hard the next
four years to back the desires of Richmond residents and
neighborhood organizations to preserve a public Design Review
process. I was also elected to the board of the
Local Government Commission in 2004.
2004 Accomplishments
Other accomplishments of note
that I supported include:
-
Hiring a new
permanent City Manager, Orinda’s Bill Lindsey.
-
Closing the sale of the Ford Assembly Building to developer Eddie
Orton, paving the way for the completion of the structure’s
rehabilitation and eventual occupation.
-
Completing and selling out the first phase of Metro Walk,
Richmond’s uniquely multi-modal transit village.
-
Completing of Lucretia Edwards’ Park and additional portions of the
Bay Trail as well as final approval of the design of the
Richmond Central Greenway.
-
Collaboration of the City Council and the City’s public employee
unions to make structural reductions in pension plan and
medical coverage costs.
-
Initiating the Easter Hill Hope VI project.
-
Advancing the Rosie the Riveter WW II/ Home Front National
Historical Park with a visit from Lynn Cheney, opening of
the Interim Visitor Center in City Hall, recent posting of
the Bay Trail interpretive markers, and the Ford Motor
Company publicity that resulted in nearly 10,000 Rosies
responding with their personal stories and artifacts.
Rebuilding
City Leadership
The year 2005 was a year of
rebuilding for Richmond City government. From the 20066 New Year
E-FORUM:
Although it generated few
headlines in the conventional media, the incremental change
wrought in 2005 as Richmond City Government continued a massive
leadership rebuilding process is like nothing the City has seen
in recent memory.
During 2005, the City Council
replaced 75% of its Council-appointed officers, including the
city manager.
Although appointed in late 2004,
City Manager Bill Lindsay took over from Interim City
Manager Phil Batchelor in February 2005, after Batchelor
did us all a favor by candidly assessing the City’s challenges
and beginning to change a culture of entitlement and process to
a culture of service and performance. Lindsay’s selection was
particularly remarkable because it lacked the political intrigue
and back room high-powered deal making typical of other Richmond
city manager selections over the last two decades. Lindsay is
the first city manager in a long time to be truly selected
unanimously. During 2005, Lindsay proceeded to select four
outsiders for key department head positions and promoted another
half-dozen insiders as department directors, some with multiple
responsibilities.
About the same time Lindsay
arrived, former Assistant City Manager Jay Corey retired. Later,
Rich McCoy rode away in the sunset. Both were former assistant
city managers, perhaps the last with that title for a while.
Lindsay also reorganized city government, eliminating the
previously highly-paid assistant city manager positions and
creating five new positions: Library and Community Services
Director, Planning ad Building Regulations Director, City
Engineer, Public Works Operations and Maintenance Director and
Information Technology Director. In eliminating the assistant
city manager positions, Lindsay tightened the reigns of city
government by increasing the number of department heads
reporting directly to the city manager.
Following is a chronological
summary of key appointments during 2005. All are still in place,
except for John Eastman, who resigned under pressure and Willie
Haywood, who retired.
·
In April, “Lightning-Rod Richmond Planning Chief” (West
County Times description, not mine) quit and was replaced by
Richard Mitchell, who Bill Lindsay plucked from his own
Redevelopment Agency. Later, Lindsay expanded Mitchell’s
responsibilities to oversee Building Regulations. Also in April,
the City Council selected Don Casimere to return from
Sacramento and take up his old job again as Confidential
Investigative and Appeals Officer.
·
In July, Lindsay found his new finance director, James Goins
Sr., in Compton, where Goins once held the top job as city
manager but more recently had been working in the private
sector.
·
The City Council selected a new city attorney in September,
John Eastman of Redondo Beach, where he held the No.2 job
under an elected city attorney. Also in September, Lindsay
brought in Tim Jones from Oakland to head the Housing
Authority.
·
Insider promotions announced in September included Monique Le
Conge as Library and Community Services Director, Richard
Mitchell as Planning and Building Regulations Director,
Rich Davidson as City Engineer, Willie Haywood as
Public Works Operations and Maintenance Director and Sue
Hartman as Interim Information Technology Director.
·
October brought Lindsay’s announcement that he had selected
Janet Schneider, the executive director of the Central
Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority, to fill a newly created
position, administrative chief.
·
November brought the selection of Chris Magnus of Fargo,
North Dakota, as Richmond’s long-awaited permanent police chief.
Magnus will start on January 17, 2006.
Not to be outdone, the City
Council experienced a 22% turnover, seating two new
councilmembers. Gayle McLaughlin was elected in November
2004, and Tony Thurmond was selected by the City Council
to replace Mindell Penn, who resigned to be closer to her
aging mother in Michigan.
Fiscal Stabilization
From the New
Year 2006 E-FORUM:
The top story of 2004 became a
footnote in 2005. On January 19, 2005, the City’s top management
announced publicly that the City’s “cumulative deficit,”
estimated at $18 million to $28 million just seven months
previously, no longer existed. Just twelve months after being
hit by a fiscal train wreck, the City was once again pronounced
solvent with a balanced budget, no structural deficit and no
cumulative deficit.
In response to the City's actions
to improve and stabilize its financial position, Moody's
Investors Service upgraded the City's ratings by four notches to
Baa2.
In June, the City Council adopted
a balanced budget for FY 2005-2006. See
The Sun Comes Out,
January 19, 2005.
City Council ails to Act on
Violence
From the New
Year 2006 E-FORUM:
Although based on 2004
statistics, Richmond’s designation as California’s most
dangerous city fueled local outrage over a homicide rate that,
although starting no higher than previous years, zoomed to a
near record high by year’s end.
When several City Council members
moved to declare a “State of Emergency” in June, the homicide
rate was still lower than last year. See
Homicide Rate Falls, State of Emergency Declared,
June 17, 2005. Later this year, a spate of homicides sent the
number up to 40 (as of December 31, 2005), higher than any year
since 1994 when there were 52 homicides. See
Murder and Violence in Richmond,
October 16, 2004. There were 38 homicides in 2003 and 35
homicides in 2004.
Despite all the hype and bad
publicity for Richmond, no tangible steps were taken by the
Richmond City Council or City leadership to address the
violence. There was lots of talk but little action. See
Follow-Through and Accountability for Violence
Reduction,
November 20, 2005.
2005 Accomplishments
There was a subtle but
fundamental change in Richmond politics during 2005, with the
traditional bases of power and money losing clout. Issues became
more important than loyalties, votes more important than money
and the City’s health more important than that of special
interests. In my book, this is progress.
Accomplishments I supported
included:
·
Adopting a balanced budget for FY 2005-2006 that included
substantial funds for rebuilding reserves.
·
Advancing a number of initiatives that will change the image of
Richmond and attract visitors, new residents and businesses,
including management reorganization and increased funding for
Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National Historical Park (National
Park Service Reorganizes Contra Costa County Units with
Headquarters in Richmond – and Other Rosie News,
May 29, 2005), moving the
Whirley crane to Shipyard 3 (Whirley
Crane Docks,
November 10, 2005),
completing and securing funding for more Bay Trail segments (Richmond's
Bay Trail Gets Christmas Gift from EBRPD,
December 23, 2005), moving
the Santa Fe Reading Room to start the Point Richmond Gateway
Project(Point
Richmond Gateway),
reorganizing and revitalizing the Historic Preservation Advisory
Committee (City
Council Comes Through During National Preservation Month,
May
19, 2005), getting the
Richmond Convention and Visitors
Bureau up and running,
the
Point Richmond Music and Arts
Festival,
the
Main Street Initiative
and getting the Richmond Greenway Phase 1 project out to bid.
Let me also use this opportunity to thank the many donors, most
of them Richmond businesses, who contributed to the successful
Whirley Crane move. Among them was Fred Glueck of Plant
Reclamation, who earned a share of my Attila the Hun Historic
Preservation Award in 2004. Fred, you have redeemed yourself,
and I offer the public apology you once requested.
·
Establishing Internet based service request and tracking
capability. See
New Customer Service Internet
Access Debuts at City of Richmond,
December 14, 2005.
·
Putting on a respectable
Centennial
celebration.
See
Hats Off to the Richmond
Centennial Committee,
August 8, 2005.
·
Repealing the Certified Inspection Program. See
Chevron and Richmond,
November 19, 2005
·
Restarting Richmond’s historic preservation program. See
City Council Comes Through During National
Preservation Month, May 19, 2005.
Richmond has always been so preoccupied with its problems and
seeking instant solutions that we often ignore our most valuable
assets and the roots of an image change right under our noses.
·
Embracing the effort for better oversight and expansion of the
cleanup at the former Zeneca and future Campus Bay site. See
DTSC Takes Control of Richmond
Shoreline Cleanups at Two Sites,
May 13, 2005.
·
Implementing business license fees for owners of rental
property, bringing nearly $1 million in additional revenue to
the City. See
More Business License Questions
and Answers,
October 11, 2005;
More on Business Licenses,
October 6, 2005 and
Business License Fees for Rental
Properties,
October 5, 2005.
·
Averting a
Planning Crisis at Marina Bay
(April
5, 2005) by not flooding the Ford Peninsula with Toyotas and
perhaps torpedo Richmond’s shot at a future ferry terminal. Also
see
Toyota Bypasses Richmond,
June 29, 2005 and
Of Cars, Ferries, Long Trains,
Grade Separations and Transit Oriented Development,
May 28, 2005.
·
Making some
positive steps towards a future grade separation in
Marina Bay to mitigate the long train problem. Approval of the
Pulte Homes project carried a $3.5 million down payment on a
grade separation, and the Richmond Community Redevelopment
Agency retained a consultant for a feasibility study, due in
January 2006.See Marina
Bay on the Wrong Side of the Tracks?,
February 26, 2005.
·
Continuing to attract unusual
and niche businesses, many of them with artistic foundations.
See
Under the Radar Businesses in
Richmond,
October 14, 2005. Art and
history are thriving as components Richmond’s new economy and
new image. See
Three Richmond Locations Chosen
for Best of the East Bay,
April 6, 2005,
Richmond Company is Top Events
Planner,
May 31, 2005,
Beyond
Oil and Violence,
February 13, 2005
and
Some Good News From the
Waterfront,
June 27, 2005.
·
Stanching harassment by some
staff of City Council members just trying to do their job. See
Cromartie Harassment Complaint
Evaporates,
June 5, 2005 and
Attorney General Opines on
Alleged Conflict of Interest,
April 1, 2005.
·
Adopting a revised Residential
Dwelling Unit Inspection and Maintenance Ordinance, finally,
on August 2, 2005, after a several-year enforcement
hiatus. See
Richmond Ignores its Rental Unit
Inspection Ordinance,
May 4, 2005. We haven’t
heard much about it since then. I wonder what happened to it?
·
With the departure of Barry
Cromartie, a move to further gut citizen review and
participation in the review of development projects was stopped
in its tracks. See
Silence Will Give Consent on
Proposed Planning Changes,
January 28, 2005.
·
Adoption of a detailed procedure for fielding public records
requests.
·
Continued progress on smart growth projects, such as beginning
construction of the rail station at Richmond’s transit village
and the selection of a developer for the Macdonald Avenue mixed
use project.
·
Veolia continues to provide a level of sewer maintenance
response and service Richmonders never dreamed possible, based
on their former miserable experience with City crews who
previously had the job.
·
A consulting team was selected for the General Plan update,
which ramped up in 2006.
2006
Election 2006
From the New Year 2007 E-FORUM
Not since the 1960s, when hippie
City Councilman David Pierce served for a year as Richmond’s
rotating mayor, has this City been so jolted politically. (Last
time I saw David was only last summer; he was standing naked on
a gravel bar of the Eel River at a music festival.) Despite a
Herculean effort by the Richmond commercial-industrial
establishment, Green Party member and two-year Councilmember
Gayle McLaughlin emerged a winner in a cliffhanger election.
Although the media now touts Richmond as the largest American
city with a Green Party mayor, the real story is how she, as an
individual, prevailed over a heavily financed and entrenched
power structure, using a minimally financed grass roots
campaign.
Richmond has always been a
liberal city, but liberal meant support of labor, civil rights
and social equity. It did not include taking on the corporate
power structure, empowering neighborhoods, cleaning the air,
saving the shoreline or embracing environmental justice.
In trying to defeat McLauglin,
Chevron & Co, tried for a twofer, clogging mailboxes with
hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of campaign mailers
connecting McLauglin with Measure T. In what may have been a
Pyrrhic victory for Chevron, Measure T went down, but McLauglin
prevailed. Chevron finally got the message that there is a
revolt on the plantation, and with $1 billion of construction
requiring a revised conditional use permit coming up (see
Chevron and General Chemical
Line Up for Expansion Projects,
October 1, 2006), they are
contemplating some serious fence mending.
Buckle up and hang on for an
interesting ride.
Crime
From the New Year 2007 E-FORUM:
2006 homicides climbed to 42, two
more than 2005 and higher than any year since 1994 when there
were 52 homicides. There were 40 homicides in 2005, 35 homicides
in 2004 and 38 homicides in 2003.
In November of 2005, the City
Council passed Resolution 161-05, which authorized implementing
a violence prevention coordinator. In July of 2006, the City
Council approved a contract with The Mentoring Center to assist
in establishing the Office of Violence Prevention. Anticipating
a coordinated and circumspect violence prevention effort, the
City Council struggled with attempts by various organizations to
short circuit the process obtain funding for isolated programs
touted as violence preventatives (see.
City Council Reverts To Fiscally Irresponsible
Behavior #1,
March 25, 2006).
With continuing high homicide
rates, the tent city movement caught the imagination of the
press and thrust Richmond into an unwelcome national limelight
as the Murder Capital of California.
Unfortunately, the Mentoring
Center seems to have produced little work product other than a
list of meetings attended. This has been a very disappointing
endeavor with lots of churning and no results. I don’t know
anyone who feels this has been productive, and we have already
wasted a year.
The only good news seems to be
that the clearance rate for homicides appears to be up due to
better community cooperation with police, and there is early
evidence that the non-homicide crime rate may have actually
fallen during 2006 (Looking
for Some Good News About Richmond Crime?
December 18, 2006).
Civic Center Rehabilitation
From the New Year 2007 E-FORUM:
Nearly 15 years after my firm,
Interactive Resources, first evaluated the Civic Center
buildings and found them at risk during a seismic event (before
I was on the City Council), the first substantive steps are
being taken to reclaim Richmond’s 56-year old Civic Center. A
ceremonial groundbreaking is planned for January 5, 2005.
In the latest iteration of two
steps back and one step forward, the City Council voted in
December 2006 to award a $10.5 million contract for design of
Phase 1, which includes rehabilitation of the City Hall, the
Hall of Justice, parts of the Auditorium and Arts Center, and
the plaza. The police will be relocated to rental quarters at
Marina Bay indefinitely. Although design of a new Hall of
Justice will proceed, construction is on hold pending evaluation
of funding. See
Civic Center Design Process Sparks Controversy,
July 10, 2006,
Update On Civic Center Design,
August 3, 2006,
Connect the Dots,
October 20, 2006,
New Hall of Justice on the Ropes Due to Fund Shortage,
November 22, 2006, and
City Council Launches Civic Center Project on a Wing and a
Prayer, December 23,
2006.
2006 Accomplishments
On New Year 2006, I wrote, “As a
general observation, I sense that there has been a subtle but
fundamental change in Richmond politics during 2005, with the
traditional bases of power and money losing clout. Issues have
become more important than loyalties, votes more important than
money and the City’s health more important than that of special
interests. In my book, this is progress.” I believe this trend
continues.
I supported the following:
·
The City Council once again adopted a balanced budget for FY
2006-2007 that included adequate funds for rebuilding reserves.
·
Chief Magnus took definitive steps to reorganize the Police
Department for real community policing. See
Get to Know your Beat Cop - New
Richmond PD Organization and Contact Info,
August 10, 2006.
·
With BNSF kicking and screaming all the way, the City of
Richmond has been able to establish two-thirds of the Quiet
Zones it originally targeted. However, BNSF continues to throw
up every possible roadblock and defy compliance at ever turn.
See
Federal Railroad Administration
and BNSF Conspire to Thwart Quiet Zones,
May 21, 2006,
West One Quiet Zone Debuts Today,
July 15, 2006,
Railroad Quiet Zones Come to
Marina Bay, August 17,
2006,
City Council Gets Tough on
Railroads,
November 22, 2006,
Early Christmas Present for
Point Richmond - Peace and Quiet,
December 2, 2006,
Amended Notice of Establishment
of West Two Quiet Zone,
December 19, 2006 and
Railroad Draws a Line in the
Sand Over West 2 Quiet Zone,
December 28, 2006.
·
The City and County reestablished joint fire service in El
Sobrante. See
They Fiddle While El Sobrante
Burns,
January 14, 2006,
Grand Jury Slams City and County
For Impasse
June 9, 2006,
Immediate Resumption of
Automatic Aid in El Sobrante,
June 14, 2006, and Council
Reinstates Automatic Aid - Sort Of,
June 22, 2006.
·
The process of creating a new
general plan
for Richmond began this year and continues in full swing. A good
sign that planning is going the right direction appeared when
the Council of Industries pushed the panic button and claimed,
“The anti-business, anti-development, land preservation comments
outweigh recommendations for economic and industrial
development, business & port expansion, and growth…”
See
Parks? Richmond Prefers
Industry.
October 5, 2006.
·
The City finally came to grips with its overburdened and
sometimes crumbling sewage collection system, including adopting
an FOG (Fats, Oils and Grease) ordinance, a lateral inspection
ordinance and a rate increase.
See
Flushing it Down the Richmond
Way,
January 30, 2006,
The High Cost of Old Sewers,
February 19, 2006,
CCT Editorial Calls On Richmond
To Deal With Sewers,
March 9, 2006,
The Smell of Sewage in the
Morning,
March 16, 2006, and
Sewer Rate Increase Unrelated to
Treatment Plan,
June 3, 2006.
·
Progress continued on Richmond’s portion of the San Francisco
Bay Trail and the Richmond Greenway. A new organization,
mirroring TRAC and called FORG (Friends of the Richmond
Greenway) has formed and is already making significant progress
as an advocacy and support group. See
Bay Trail Update,
February 8, 2006,
Richmond Greenway on Path to
Completion,
February 12, 2006,
Richmond Greenway Approaches
Full Funding,
February 17, 2006,
Richmond Greenway Kickoff
Community Meeting,
March 29, 2006,
Richmond Greenway Groundbreaking,
May 11, 2006,
More On Greenway Groundbreaking,
May 23, 2006,
Richmond Greenway Breaks New
Ground,
May 27, 2006, and
The Greenwaying of Richmond,
August 12, 2006.
·
The Richmond Police Department adopted a police operations
procedure to deal with encounters with dogs on private property.
See
Richmond a Little Bit Less
Dangerous for Dogs,
February 8, 2006 and
That Doggone Blu Just Won't Go
Away,
February 17, 2006.
·
Richmond seems to have dodged a property tax reduction attempt
by Chevron. See
Tax Break For Chevron May Hit
Home,
March 7, 2006,
Refinery Tax Dispute Heats Up,
March 13, 2006,
State Board of Equalization
Board Member Bill Leonard Wants to Lower Taxes on Oil Refineries,
March 19, 2006,
Refinery Property Tax reduction
Impact Quantified,
April 10, 2006,
Contra Costa Times Editorializes
Proposed Refinery Tax Cuts,
April 17, 2006,
Refineries Lose One,
June 28, 2006, and
Richmond May Dodge Bullet on
Chevron Property Tax Assessment Reduction,
September 28, 2006.
·
East Bay Regional Parks District defied the Richmond Community
Redevelopment Agency and the Richmond City Council by stepping
up to purchase and preserve the Breuner Marsh. See
EBRPD Moves In On Breuner
Property,
March 8, 2006.
·
It was a big year for preserving Richmond’s rich history.
1.
Preserve America Community:
Richmond was designated a Preserve America Community. See
Richmond Capitalizes on Its
History,
November 15, 2006.
2.
Ford Assembly Building:
My experience with this building goes back to 1984 when, at the
request of Richmond Museum President Lois Boyle, my firm
completed a successful pro-bono National Register application.
Once the building was listed on the National Register, there
were at least modest impediments to its demolition, which many
clambered for over the years, especially after it was heavily
damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Today, it is a real
success story, essentially completed, almost fully occupied and
designated as the location of the future visitor center for
Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National Historical Park. See
Rehabilitated Ford Building
Ready To Go,
March 26, 2006,
NY Times Features Richmond's
Ford Assembly Plant Rehab Project,
June 7, 2006,
and
Richmond Lauded As An Icon Of
Historic Preservation As An Engine Of Economic Development,
August 6, 2006.
3.
Preservation Grants:
Richmond took home the Triple Crown with over $6 million ion
grants for the Plunge, the Winters Building and the Maritime
Child Care Center. Later in the year two of these three projects
won an additional $80,000 following an Internet popularity
contest sponsored by American Express and the National Trust for
Historic Preservation. See
Richmond Scores Triple Crown in
CCHE Competition,
April 28, 2006,
Preservation Open House at
Maritime Child Care Center,
October 11, 2006, and
Wartime Children's Art
Captivates Visitors at Maritime Center Open House,
October 15, 2006.
4.
Trainmaster Building:
The former Santa Fe Reading Room and the oldest remaining
building from the railroad terminal that started Richmond was
successfully rehabilitated after a 15-year fight. The non-profit
Point Richmond Gateway, LLC., which fronted the funds and
organized volunteers, is expected to announce a high profile new
tenant for the building, one of Richmond’s oldest businesses, in
2007. See
Historic Railroad Building Nears
Completion,
May 11, 2006.
5.
East Brother Light Station
continues to bring positive attention and accolades. See
Richmond's East Brother Named
"Best on the Bay.",
September 08, 2006,
San Francisco Chronicle
Recommends a Night in Richmond at East Brother,
September 17, 2006, and
Another Richmond Historical
Landmark in Internet Vote Competition,
October 11, 2006.
6.
Freeway Signs:
The first of 24 freeway signs directing drivers to Richmond’s
historic resources were erected in December. See
First of Freeway Historic
Richmond Signs Erected,
December 25, 2006.
7.
 Rosie the Riveter WW II Home
Front National Historical Park
continued to develop. See
Rosie the Riveter Webstore Goes
Live, May 16, 2006,
D-Day Tribute To Rosies Features
Richmond National Park,
June 9, 2006,
Help Make Macdonald Avenue
History Come To Life,
August 1, 2006,
Bringing back 'Memories of Macdonald'
August 10, 2006,
Richmond's National Park is a
Finalist In Award for Municipal Excellence,
September 06, 2006,
Contra Costa Times Editorial
Lauds Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front National Historical Park,
September 08, 2006,
Explore Macdonald Avenue and
Relive Exciting History,
September 08, 2006,
The National Park Service needs
your help in shaping the visitor experience at Rosie the
Riveter/World War II NHP,
October 2, 2006,
Final "Memories of Macdonald"
Tour,
October 6, 2006,
WCCUSD Joins in Funding Match
for Maritime Center for Working Families,
October 22, 2006,
Help Plan Your National Park,
October 28, 2006,
Two For The History Book,
October 29, 2006,
Two for Veterans Day,
November 5, 2006,
Red Oak Victory Featured on
Veterans Day NPR All Things Considered,
November 12, 2006,
New Rosie the Riveter Apparel
Features Famous Richmond Landmarks,
December 3, 2006,
Richmond's National Park
Featured at National League of Cities,
December 9, 2006,
Nation's Mayors Visit Rosie
Exhibit,
December 12, 2006, and
Saving the Historical Riggers
Loft,
December 16, 2006.
·
The Point Richmond Arts and Music Festival Continues to grow.
See
Grand Finale of Point Richmond
Arts and Music Festival This Saturday
September 07, 2006.
·
There appears to be movement on enforcing the Fence Ordinance.
See
City Moves On Fence Ordinance Enforcement,
June 3, 2006.
2007
City of
Crime and Violence or a Cool Place to Live?
From the New Year 2008 E-FORUM:
 Richmond
has always struggled with its image. Ten years ago, I explored
this subject in a paper I wrote to try to better understand the
challenges and opportunities to change both the image and
reality of this remarkable city.
Click here to read it.
 Then, as now, Richmond was defined by violence,
although the circumstances were remarkably different. In 1998,
Richmond had completed a three-year run of dramatic
decreases in homicides, (62, 46, 52 and 52 in years
1991-1994 versus 26, 34 and 30 in years 1995-1997), yet the
City of Richmond Image Survey found that crime, drugs, gangs
and violence dominated opinions about the most serious problem
in Richmond.
Similarly, respondents listed crime, drugs and violence as the
things for which Richmond was best known, according to
respondents who live or work in Richmond.
As this is being written,
homicides have climbed back up to a new high of 47 for year
2007, the highest since 1994 and the highest since I
began serving on the city Council. In 2007, Richmond was once
again rated as one of the top ten most dangerous cities in the
U.S. based on 2006 statistics. See
Richmond Ties Last Year's Homicide Record, December 16,
2007.
The 2007 City of Richmond
Citizen Survey showed that safety was a huge concern of
Richmond residents, especially “downtown” and after dark. In the
list of relative importance of issues for the City to address,
the second highest rating went to increasing police staffing,”
with 98%, following only "improving street paving conditions"
with 99% responding "essential" to "somewhat important."
The 2007 City of Richmond
Citizen Survey not only confirmed residents’ concern about
safety, it confirmed a broad dissatisfaction with conditions in
general and a perception of the quality of life that was lower
than in any of the other 212 cities that participated in similar
surveys. See
City Survey Reports, June 4, 2007 and
Richmond Survey Shows Rock Bottom Satisfaction with City
Services and Quality of Life,
June 2, 2007.
The following is from the E-FORUM
June 2, 2007.
Following the mailing of a pre-survey notification postcard to a
random sample of 3,000 households, surveys were mailed to the
same residences approximately one week later. A reminder letter
and a new survey were sent to the same households after two
weeks. Residents were also able to complete the survey on the
Internet. Approximately 141 postcards were undeliverable due to
"vacant" or "not found" addresses. Of the 2,859 eligible
households, 610 completed the survey, providing a response rate
of 21%. Of the 610, 594 written surveys were received and 16
surveys were completed online. Typically, the response rates
obtained on citizen surveys range from 20% to 40%.
I have
extracted at the end of this message the staff summary of the
survey results, which will accompany a public presentation at
the June 5 City Council meeting. While the relative attitude
about myriad things, as summarized in the staff report, is
extremely useful in setting public policy priorities, the real
news is the abysmally low esteem residents have for almost
everything related to quality of life and services in Richmond.
Perhaps I should not have been surprised that when asked to rate
the overall quality of life in Richmond, only 1% of respondents
thought it was “excellent” and thirty-six percent rated overall
quality of life as “poor.” In category after category,
substantially less than 50% of those surveyed had positive
perceptions of Richmond.
But
what really caught my attention is that when the Richmond
results were compared to those same questions asked in surveys
of other cities across the country, Richmond residents’ level of
satisfaction with virtually every municipal quality or service
came in either dead last or close to it. For example, of 43
cities between 64,000 and 149,999 where the question “How do you
rate the overall quality of life” was asked, Richmonders rated
themselves 27 out of a possible 100, coming in dead last. When
compared to 212 cities of all sizes, Richmond was still dead
last.
In
fact, in only two categories did Richmond even rise above the
50th percentile, ease of bus travel |
