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City Manager's Weekly Report for the Week Ending November 16th, 2007

Mayor and Councilmembers:

 

This is the weekly report for the week ending November 16th, 2007.

 

1.         Meeting Notes

 

The regular City Council meeting of November 20th is cancelled due to the Thanksgiving week.  As a result, the next City Council meeting is a special meeting on Tuesday, November 27th which replaces the November 20th meeting.  The exact meeting time on that date is yet to be firmly established, but it will include an afternoon session to discuss the General Plan, as well as a 5:00 PM Closed Session.

 

2.         City Manager’s Schedule

 

I will be out of the office beginning Monday, November 19th, and returning Monday, November 26th.  Leslie Knight will lend her capable skills as Acting City Manager during my absence.  Please enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving week and holiday.

 

3.         Update on the Oil Spill Impact to the City of Richmond

 

Lynne Scarpa, the City of Richmond’s Industrial Waste Inspector, has provided the following update on the impact of the recent oil spill on San Francisco Bay:

 

This week the Bay Trail from Meeker Slough (behind the U.C. Field Station) to the beaches in Vincent Park were closed to anyone not engaged in the oil spill clean-up or bird rescue activities.  The California Department of Fish and Game, assisted by trained bird rescuers from the Wildlife Care Network and residents versed in bird handling, have been using the beaches in this area to rescue oil damaged birds. The rescue effort has been conducted in the evening as it is easier to capture the birds when dark.

 

Initially, the clean-up of the beaches and rocky shoreline (mostly man-made rip rap) was conducted by the Contra Costa County Health Department, Hazardous Materials Division; however, the work is now being supervised by the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) and their contractors.  Personnel from the City of Richmond Parks Department, Engineering Department, and volunteers from the Police Department and community, have been assisting with the effort to inform and keep citizens out of harm’s way near the affected areas.

 

Except for the beaches and Bay Trail, Vincent Park remains open for public use.  Shimada Park is closed from time to time when clean-up crews are using the parking lot as a staging area.  Although these parks remain open, residents are encouraged to walk their dogs and exercise around the Marina for the next few weeks.  Oiled wildlife and sick birds are less likely to seek refuge in a more urban harbor setting.

 

The East Bay Regional Park District is keeping the Bay Trail open from the Meeker Slough area, south to the Albany mud flats, as this is a well used commuter route. They have closed Keller Beach and the beach area at Ferry Point, including the pier where fishing is prohibited for the time being.

 

We will continue to keep you informed.

 

4.         Emergency Oversight Hearing on the San Francisco Bay Oil Spill

 

On Thursday, November 15th, Fire Chief Michael Banks attended the Emergency Oversight Hearing on the San Francisco Bay Oil Spill, held in the Emeryville City Council Chambers.  Assembly Members Loni Hancock, Chair of the Natural Resources Committee, Mark Leno (San Francisco, District 13) and Sandre’ Swanson (Oakland, District 16) presided over the hearing.  Its purpose was to gather information on what actually led to the spill, assess current conditions, examine the environmental damage , as well as determine what immediate steps will be necessary to ensure proper clean-up and protection of coastal and marine resources and wildlife.

 

Representatives from the following agencies testified before the committee: State of California Legislative Analyst’s Office, California Department of Fish and Game, Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), Contra Costa County Office of Emergency Services, Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC), International Longshore and Warehouse Union, U.C. Davis Wildlife Health Center, California Coastkeeper Alliance, San Francisco Baykeeper, and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations.  The United States Coast Guard was invited, but declined to participate.

 

A public open forum followed this agency testimony, during which many issues were shared by concerned citizens and other governmental agency representatives.

 

5.         Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) Activities

 

One of the purposes of the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) is to begin to solidify cross agency and jurisdictional commitments and to identify points of collaborative opportunity.  Among the key activities involving potential collaborative strategies this past week were:

 

·         ONS participated in a symposium facilitated by Senator Don Perata’s Office and the Alameda County Re-entry Network as an opportunity to receive technical assistance on behalf of the ONS re-entry strategy.

 

·         ONS convened a meeting with the Contra Costa County Adult Mental Health Services Division to introduce the ONS Street Outreach Strategy.  The ONS will work to determine and establish meaningful points of coordination and collaboration between the City and this agency to ensure greater service coordination and delivery for Richmond communities impacted by street violence.

 

Another purpose of the ONS is to build and strengthen opportunities for dialogue and communication with Richmond community stakeholders and to share information and receive community input regarding ONS priorities and strategy implementation.  Among the key meetings this past week included:

 

·         ONS met with a sub-group of the Richmond Ministers Council to discuss ways that the Richmond ministerial community and the represented church congregations can assist and be supported in creating and implementing violence prevention and intervention activity in coordination with ONS efforts and priorities.

 

·         ONS met with Tent City President Jackie Thompson, Ms. Lillie Mae Jones and other representatives from C.Y.C.L.E., and Police Department Chaplain President Reverend George Brown to discuss and receive input regarding the ONS Street Outreach Strategy.  Also discussed were ideas about the potential implementation of violence prevention and intervention and supplementary street outreach activity that ONS, Tent City, C.Y.C.L.E., and Reverend Brown can coordinate and implement jointly.

 

ONS staff also met with the Richmond Police Activities League Board of Trustees, the Richmond Improvement Association (RIA), and continued work on the California Gang Reduction and Intervention Program Grant application.

 

6.         Measure B - Telecommunications Utility Tax Revisions

 

As of 5:00 PM on Friday, November 16th, an Argument in Favor of Measure B was filed in the City Clerk’s Office and with the County Elections Department.  No argument against Measure B was filed.  Therefore, there will be no rebuttals.  The Argument in Favor of the Measure along with the City Attorney’s Impartial Analysis will be printed in the Voter Pamphlet.

 

7.         Richmond Build Programs Recognized for “Best Practices”

 

Richmond BUILD staff hosted visits by Education Program Consultants from the California Department of Education in Sacramento, and by staff from the City of Berkeley and City of San Francisco, who came to view and learn about the pre-apprenticeship training program.  The City’s partnership with Adult Education, trade unions, City government, developers and employers is now recognized as a best practice model with possibilities for replication in other parts of the State.  In addition, Richmond BUILD’s solar technology training and installation component, coordinated with Solar Richmond, received positive media exposure this week from KNTV Channel 3, as program participants applied their newly acquired skills in helping to install a solar system for a Richmond residence.  Time magazine also had a photographer on-site for their upcoming story on Solar Technology.

 

8.         RichmondWorks Partners to Provide EMT Training Program

 

RichmondWORKS is partnering with the Richmond Fire Department (RFD), Richmond Professional Black Firefighters, and the WCC Adult School to implement an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training program in an effort to increase the number of qualified Richmond residents that apply for the City’s Fire Fighter examination.  RichmondWORKS will coordinate the recruitment and outreach, RFD will provide the instruction, Richmond Professional Black Firefighters will offer tutoring and support, and WCC Adult School will sponsor the class and will offset the cost of instruction.  The ten (10) week EMT training program is scheduled to begin mid-January 2008 and the class is limited to Richmond residents that have an interest in a career in public safety, possess a high school diploma and have or can obtain a driver’s license. 

 

9.         RichmondWORKS Hiring Statistics

 

RichmondWORKS hires during the last 10 months are as follows:

 

January             53

February           90

March             126

April                178

May                 166

June                  81

July                    45

August              76

September       32

October            73

Total               920

 

 

10.       Outstanding Efforts by Crescent Park in Crime Reduction

 

George Proper, the General Manager for Crescent Park Apartments, reports that, for the last eight consecutive months, calls for assistance to the Richmond Police Department have gone down compared to the same month in the prior year.  Calls for the past eight months are down 26%, while calls for the past three months are down 40%, and calls for October are down 56%.  The following table details this trend:

 

Month

 

2007

2006

 

 

 

 

March

 

57

60

April

 

63

65

May

 

76

85

June

 

60

77

July

 

47

84

August

 

58

71

September

46

74

October

 

34

77

 

 

 

 

Average

 

55

74

 

Mr. Proper sent his thanks to the Richmond Police Department, as well as the residents of Crescent Park for this excellent outcome.

 

11.       Adopted Operating and Capital Improvement Plan Budgets on Web

 

The adopted FY2007-08 Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) have been revised to meet the award requirements for Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO).  The revised document includes department and program summaries with three year historical comparisons; fund balance summaries; and revenue and expenditure historical comparisons.  The CIP budget has been revised to include project location, O&M costs, estimated start and completion dates and maps.  Both documents can be viewed on the City’s website.

 

12.       Public Works Department Activities

 

Significant activity in the Public Works Department this past week included:

 

·         Resurfaced 36th Street from Andrade Avenue to Rheem Avenue;

·         Participated in a partnership with CALTRANS, BART, and RPD in a joint clean up operation including graffiti removal, tree trimming, weed abatement, illegal dumping and homeless encampment removal south of Cutting Blvd, along the I-80 and adjacent to the future Target store;

·         Removed graffiti from the Union Pacific railroad and the Greenway corridors;

·         Continued hanging lights and banners for the Main Street Annual Holidays;

 

13.       Configuring the City’s New Permitting, Inspections and Code Enforcement System

 

The City is moving ahead with implementation of its new permitting, inspections and code enforcement system.  After a long selection process, the City in September selected CRW’s TRAKiT software.  Two weeks ago CRW’s Project Manager conducted business process review meetings with City staff from the Fire, Police/Code Enforcement, Planning, Building Regulations, Wastewater, Engineering and Finance/Business License Departments.  CRW will now configure the City’s new system and return to the City in early January to train the City’s System Acceptance Users.  System Acceptance will take two months.  CRW will then train end users in March and the new system will “Go Live” in April.

 

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 and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

 

Bill Lindsay

City Manager

City of Richmond

1401 Marina Way South

Richmond, CA 94804

 

Phone:  510-620-6512

Fax:      510-620-6542

e-mail:   bill_lindsay@ci.richmond.ca.us