Mayor and Councilmembers:

This is the weekly report for the week ending March 5th, 2010.

• Meeting Notes

 

The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 9th beginning with a Closed Session at 5:00 PM.  The regular agenda begins at 6:30 PM and consists solely of a study session on the land use designations in the updated General Plan for shoreline areas of the City.

• Wastewater Rate Increase

 

Property owners in the area of Richmond served by the City’s wastewater system recently received notices of a Public Hearing to be held on April 6th regarding a proposed rate increase beginning in fiscal year 2011-12.  A special study session is planned for March 23rd, at which time City staff will provide detailed information to the City Council regarding the $35 million in capital repairs necessary to remain in compliance with the settlement terms of the BayKeeper environmental lawsuit, as well as to preserve reliable sewer collection and treatment services.  Additionally, the presentation will include a proposal to mitigate the cost of the rate increase for qualified homeowners.  The current rate structure, which was approved in 2006, calls for an 8% increase in FY 2010-11.  The proposed increase would extend the 8% annual increases for three additional years, through FY 2013-14, and then transition to an inflation-based adjustment, to be determined annually by the City Council. 

• State Legislature Approves Gas Tax Swap Package

 

The League of California Cities has provided information to the city of Richmond concerning a “gas tax swap” that was passed by both the State Senate and Assembly yesterday. 

In brief, the swap contains the following major components:

• Repeals the sales tax on gasoline;
• Increases the excise tax on gasoline by 17.3 cents and adds an annual index that will ensure that the new excise tax will keep pace with the revenues expected from the sales tax on gas; and
• Increases the sales tax on diesel by 1.75 percent and allocate 75 percent to local transit agencies and 25 percent to state transit programs. The excise tax on diesel will be reduced from 18 cents to 13.6 cents for revenue neutrality purposes.

 

The proposal increases the local streets and roads share from 40 percent to 44 percent, apparently providing increased funding for local streets and roads.  However, it also includes weakened constitutional protections and revenue vulnerability for cities if the state debt service increases in the future.

This swap will need to be watched carefully for its ultimate impact on local government.

• Fire Captain Promotions

 

On Monday, March 1st, Engineers Robert Giaramita and Marc Palecheck were promoted to the position of Fire Captain.  They were selected from a group of six eligible candidates following an interview process in February.  Captain Giaramita and Captain Palechek have been with the Fire Department for eleven years.  A badge pinning ceremony is scheduled for Monday, March 15th at 5:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.

• Traffic Safety Study

 

The Engineering Department recently posted a Traffic Safety Survey on the City’s website, which, to date, as been completed by approximately 150 community members.  Department staff is encouraging community members to complete the survey so that they can utilize the data to objectively analyze, prioritize, and develop appropriate solutions and cost estimates for traffic safety concerns.  The survey closes in one week and can be found at http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=487 or http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RichmondPublic-TrafficSafety

• Black History Month Contribution to Haitian Earthquake Relief

 

As you may recall, I reported last week that the City of Richmond employees recently celebrated “The History of Black Economic Empowerment” as part of the 10th Annual City of Richmond Employee Black History Celebration.  What I failed to include in my report is that the individual ticket price for the event included a contribution to the American Red Cross Haitian earthquake relief effort.  A very gracious representative of the Red Cross attended the Employee Black History Celebration to acknowledge this generous contribution by Richmond city employees.

• Public Works Updates

 

• Nicholl Park’s new restroom area is still awaiting paving. As soon as weather permits, crews will pave the area and it will be opened shortly thereafter.

• The re-roofing of Richmond Fire Station #62 (1065 - 7th Street) will begin as soon as weather permits.

 

• The Bayview Library was badly flooded during the end of February.  The abatement of the damaged walls and flooring is 95% complete. The refinishing of the floors and walls will begin next week.

• The Electrical Department has continued to work on the series street light outages in the Parkview area (Campbell, Fallon, Creely and Fleming Avenues).  Almost the entire system has been checked and wire will be replaced as weather permits.

 

• The Public Works paving crew began prepping and paving Ponderosa Court from Fascination Circle to the end of the street.

• Recreation Highlights

 

• Futsal League:  The Youth Sports Program Futsal League will participate in the Regional Qualifier Tournament where over 100 Futsal teams will compete from Friday through Sunday at the Richmond Recreation Complex, the RPAL Gym, and the Richmond Memorial Auditorium.  The Recreation Department League will have 12 youth teams, from ages 8 and under to 19 and under, including a girls team, and 2 adult teams participating.  The winners of the regional tournament will qualify for the national championship to be held in Long Beach, CA this summer.

• Tennis Camp:  Tennis instructor Barbara Lewis recently received a letter notifying the City that the Recreation Department’s Tennis Program was nominated as an outstanding leader in excellence and continued dedication to youth tennis in the Budget Level 1 category.  The Youth Sports Tennis Program won the United States Tennis Association/Northern California Section National Junior Tennis League of the Year Award.

 

• Excursion:  The Shields Reid Community Center escorted 18 adults, teens, and youth to opening night of Disney on Ice at the Oracle Arena on Wednesday, March 3rd.  Tickets were allocated through participation in the Community Access Ticketing Program.

• Workshop:  The Recreation Department hosted the Commission on Aging, which sponsored the Emergency Preparedness Workshop for Seniors on Wednesday, March 3rd, at the Richmond Recreation Complex.  Over 90 community members attended the free event which included presentations on wills and trusts, emergency preparedness from the Office of Emergency Services, and various county services.  Participants received emergency kits and were able to sign up for the Richmond Youth Academy fire alarm installment 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!

 

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Bill Lindsay
City Manager
City of Richmond
450 Civic Center Plaza
Richmond, California 94804-1630
Phone:  510-620-6512
Fax:  510-620-6542
E-mail:  bill_lindsay@ci.richmond.ca.us