| E-Mail Forum | |
RETURN |
|
| City Manager's Weekly Report for the Week Ending February 19th, 2010 February 20, 2010 |
|
|
Mayor and Councilmembers: This is the weekly report for the week ending February 19th, 2010.
The next meeting of the Richmond City Council is scheduled for Tuesday, February 23rd, beginning with a Closed Session at 5:00 PM and with the regular agenda (presentations and study sessions) beginning at 6:30 PM.
The Environmental Initiatives staff of the City Manager’s office participated in two successful joint proposals for State Energy Program (SEP) funds from the California Energy Commission (CEC). California's SEP is focused on increasing energy efficiency to reduce energy costs and consumption, cutting reliance on imported energy, and reducing energy impacts on the environment. Staff provided support to Contra Costa County for a proposal led by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) for Residential Building Retrofit Program SEP II funds to implement a regional residential energy retrofit program throughout the Bay Area. Contra Costa County will receive $1.1 million to provide home energy retrofit services. Contra Costa County will use the funds to offer subsidized home energy assessments and rebates on the cost of energy efficient improvements to qualifying homeowners proposing to implement home improvement projects that achieve at least a 20% reduction in home energy consumption. Richmond will partner with the county to promote the program to Richmond residents to ensure their participation in the program. Richmond also partnered with Energy Solutions, an energy services company based in Oakland, which led a successful proposal effort for municipal and commercial sector SEP III funds. This proposal was the top scorer out of 70 submitted proposals. With this grant, Energy Solutions will develop and implement an Energy Technology Assistance Program, a new statewide program that will help local government agencies implement advanced energy efficient technologies. The program is expected to begin in April 2010 and has a total budget of approximately $6 million to help implement wireless lighting controls, wireless HVAC controls, and bi-level lighting in parking lots and parking garages in local government facilities. Workforce development and training will also be an important component of the program. Richmond is slated to receive funding and will continue to partner with Energy Solutions to implement this technology in Richmond’s municipal facilities.
Planning Department staff met recently with community representatives to discuss proposed revisions to the draft General Plan. Represented organizations included the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program (GRIP), ACCE, Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organizations (CCISCO), Contra Costa Faith Works, Richmond Equitable Development Initiative (REDI)/Urban Habitat, Central Labor Council, and the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE). Executive Director Maria Alegria of Contra Costa Faith Works acted as the meeting facilitator. The group presented a list of recommended modifications to proposed policies and text. Planning and legal staff will evaluate the recommended modifications, along with other comments, and incorporate into a revised document those that are consistent with the intent and purpose of the plan. Modifications that cannot easily be incorporated into the draft will be presented to the City Council at a later date for discussion and direction.
Reentry involves the use of programs targeted at promoting the effective reintegration of offenders back to communities upon release from prison and jail. Reentry programming, which often involves a comprehensive case management approach, is intended to assist offenders in acquiring the life skills needed to succeed in the community and become law-abiding citizens. A variety of programs are used to assist offenders in the reentry process, including pre-release programs, drug rehabilitation and vocational training, and work programs. As you may recall, the City of Richmond Office of Neighborhood Safety is working with Contra Costa County on a reentry planning initiative for the County. The Reentry Planning Task Force held its second in a series of three meetings on February 10th, focusing on the preparation of two federal Second Chance Act grant applications. The Task Force brought together a group of county agencies, elected officials, law enforcement, community-based organizations and other reentry stakeholders to discuss how to move the Contra Costa Reentry Planning Initiative forward. Attendees discussed the preparation of two Second Chance Act applications, incorporating language of their vision for reentry in Contra Costa County and developing a system to inventory reentry services in the county. The Reentry Planning Initiative will use the Second Chance Act grant applications as an opportunity to begin designing a reentry system for Contra Costa County. This design work allows the applicants to ensure that their applications are coordinated with one another and with the overall Reentry Planning Initiative, which will extend beyond the submission deadlines. Additionally, the Task Force discussed building a searchable database of reentry services in the county. The database also may be used as a searchable tool for referrals of clients to services. More information about the status of the reentry initiative can be found www.cocoreentry.org.
The Engineering Services Department completed the Industrial Waste Program’s Annual Report for the State of California this week. Notably, there were no instances of significant non-compliance among any of the industries regulated as part of the City’s Industrial Waste Program.
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
|
|
|
RETURN |