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| City Manager's Weekly Report for the Week Ending November 4th, 2011 November 5, 2011 |
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Mayor and Councilmembers: This is the weekly report for the week ending November 4th, 2011.
The next meeting of the Richmond City Council is on Tuesday, November 15th. Enjoy the week off.
This Monday, November 7th, at approximately 2:30 PM, the first shipment of Subaru vehicles will arrive at the Port of Richmond. As you may recall, the Port entered into an agreement with Subaru to be its west coast port of entry at the Point Portrero Marine Terminal, where an 84-rail car-capacity facility was completed last year to handle Honda vehicles. This is another significant milestone for the Port that will generate both revenues for the City of Richmond and jobs for the local economy. It also reinforces the Port’s position as one of the premier auto-handling facilities on the west coast. The Port of Richmond specializes in petroleum and liquid bulk cargo as well as dry bulk and break-bulk goods. With the recent rehabilitation of the Point Potero Marine Terminal, the Port can provide automobile processing for as many as 200,000 Honda and Subaru vehicles annually.
The Port of Richmond is also temporarily hosting the USS Iowa (BB-61) on the battleship’s final trek to become an interactive museum at the Port of Los Angeles. The USS Iowa is berthed at Terminal 3, across the channel from the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park. The Navy first launched the Iowa in 1942, and it subsequently served in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets during World War II. The ship ferried President Roosevelt to Casablanca, Morocco on the first leg of the journey to meet with Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill at the Tehran Conference to discuss the allies’ final strategy to end the war. Interestingly, the ship was fitted with a bathtub specifically for President Roosevelt due to his paralysis from polio. The Navy decommissioned the Iowa in 1990 and anchored the ship in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay. In September, the Navy awarded the USS Iowa to the Pacific Battleship Center, a nonprofit group that is responsible for transforming the vessel into a museum. In order to prepare the Iowa for the voyage, the Pacific Battleship Center sought a Bay Area location for temporary berthing. Due to the ship’s size of 887 feet long, 108 feet wide, and draw of 37 feet, a large facility was necessary. Pacific Battleship Center selected the Port of The USS Iowa is scheduled to depart for Los Angeles in late January 2012. The Port of Richmond anticipates that visitors will be allowed deck tours of the vessel at the end of November or early December.
USS Iowa towed into the Inner Harbor on Friday, October 28th, with the SS Red Oak Victory Ship and Whirley Crane in the foreground. The area was previously Henry J Kaiser’s Shipyard Number 3, which constructed more than 700 ships during World War II.
This past Thursday, November 3rd, approximately 175 federal and local agency representatives, community organizations, and community members gathered in the Richmond Auditorium for a day long convening of the Federal Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Environmental Justice (EJ). The program included a bus tour, speakers, and interactive sessions addressing environmental justice, jobs, food, equitable communities, and more. Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, Supervisor John Gioia, Dr. Henry Clark, and Jared Blumenfeld, US EPA Administration Region 9, welcomed the convening participants. Keynote speakers included Lisa Garcia, US EPA Associate Assistant Administrator for Environmental Justice, and Tony B. Iton, M.D., J.D. MPH, Senior Vice President for Healthy Communities at The California Endowment. The EJ IWG is comprised of 15 federal agencies and several White House Offices. The group guides, supports, and enhances federal environmental justice and community-based activities. This was the first IWG convening to take place in EPA Region 9 (Pacific Southwest). (View event photos and download event materials by following these links.) Special thanks go to all event participants, federal officials, and event sponsors: EPA, Richmond Community Foundation, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, City of Richmond and East Bay Center for Performing Arts. The Planning committee included Building Blocks for Kids Collaborative, City of Richmond Community Housing Development Corporation, Contra Costa County Health Services, EPA, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Holland & Knight, Richmond Community Foundation, Rubicon Programs, Urban Habitat, West County Toxics Coalition, in corporation with Congressman George Miller’s Office, Supervisor John Gioia’s Office, and Mayor McLaughlin.
The Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) just announced their new National Leadership Grant awards for 2011-12. The Richmond Library’s Literacy for Every Adult Program (LEAP), as a partner with Portland State University, will be included in the research project, Tutor-Facilitated Digital Literacy Acquisition in Hard-to-Serve Populations. This project will conduct in-depth research on the digital literacy acquisition process in our Broadband Technology Opportunities Program project. It will mine and analyze system-collected data from students' and tutors' interactions with Learner Web as they go through the process. The grant project will also conduct in-depth interviews and focus groups with some of the students and tutors at LEAP.
The City of Richmond’s Public Works and Engineering Departments are hosting their first American Public Works Association (APWA) Northern California Chapter Conference on November 8th and 9th, at the Richmond Auditorium. The APWA is an international educational and professional association of public agencies, private sector companies and individuals dedicated to providing high quality public works goods and services. Chartered in 1938, APWA is the largest and oldest organization of its kind in the world with over 25,000 members. The association currently consists of 67 chapters throughout North America, of which the Northern California Chapter is one.
On Saturday, October 29th, five staff members of the Watershed project assisted city staff and two student volunteers in performing a trash assessment on Garrity Creek just north of the Hilltop Mall. The effort pulled 60 pounds of trash out of a 100 yard stretch of creek that receives trash from the east side of Hilltop Mall. Plastic containers from fast food or convenience items comprised half of the trash collected. Polystyrene foam pieces not identifiable as foodware made up another 20%, and plastic bags an additional 15% of the collected items. Information on the types and percentages found in trash assessments along creeks and shorelines will assist the city in its short-term trash reduction plan to meet stormwater permit requirements.
The Disabled People’s Recreation Center (DPRC) held a Halloween party for the Therapeutic Interactive Recreation Program on Wednesday, October 26th. Those involved contributed candy for trick or treat bags, and staff provided finger food. In addition, music, games, and dancing made for a successful party. The Pt. Richmond Community Center’s staff and participants were thrilled to participate in the trick or treat parade where students from Washington Elementary School went from business to business collecting treats. The annual event is sponsored by local merchants who provide a safe environment for the children to have fun and show off their costumes.
The City and Veolia continued work on the 2011/2012 annual sewer pipeline repair and rehabilitation project. A summary of work in progress is listed below:
Any questions related to the ongoing 2011/2012 annual sewer repair and rehabilitation projects may be directed to Mr. Fadi Alabbas at (925) 323-8937. Those interested may also follow our daily Twitter updates at www.twitter.com/CoR_Engineering.
Chrisp Company, a striping subcontractor for Ghilotti Brothers, Inc., has installed pedestrian crosswalks, arrows, railroad crossing, stop bars, speed signage, shared road bike symbols and other pavement markings on the following streets: 35th Street (Stop Bar) Pavement marking work will continue on the following streets for this week: 23rd Street
Parks and Landscaping Division: During the past several weeks, crews completed vegetation abatement from the medians on the Richmond Parkway from Parr Boulevard to Gertrude Avenue; performed landscape rehabilitation on Robert H. Miller and Blume Drives; repaired the irrigation leak at the Valley View soccer field; continued work on the Bay Trail landscape rehabilitation project; prepared the 33rd Street entrance to the Greenway for the support Groundwork Richmond event to be held on November 5th; the tree maintenance crew removed various trees throughout the city, as well as multiple trees on Arno Court and Huntington Avenue; and completed mulching tree wells at John F. Kennedy Park. Next week, crews will continue the weed abatement and vegetation management on the Richmond Parkway between the Giant Road overpass and Hilltop Drive; install a drinking fountain at the Nicholl Park tennis courts; and will continue working on the rehabilitation project in the center medians of Robert H. Miller and Blume Drives. Facilities Maintenance Division: During the past two weeks, electricians performed light replacements throughout the city and continued providing support for the repairs of the Point Molate high voltage transformers that provide power to the Point Molate wastewater treatment plant. Carpenters created a concrete pad for the new shed that will be placed at the May Valley Community Center and completed cutouts for the Halloween Festival event held at the Shields-Reid Community Center.
Painters completed the partition walls in the Resource Room at the Richmond Art Center and completed touch-up painting at the Richmond Auditorium for the upcoming American Public Works Association (APWA) Northern California Chapter Conference. Engineers repaired and serviced heating units at the Hilltop District Park’s trailer field office; rebuilt back flows and made repairs to the boilers at 440 Civic Center Plaza and the Richmond Museum; and replaced two faucets at the Senior Center. The utility workers have been cleaning the carpets at 440 and 450 Civic Center Plaza. Streets Division: During the past two weeks, paving crews completed paving Coach Court, Cutter Lane and Carriage Drive to the end at Carriage Hills North. Next week, crews will be resurfacing Wilson Avenue from Barrett to Macdonald Avenues, and 46th Street from Nevin to Barrett Avenues.
* * * * * 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
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