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| Weekly Report for the Week Ending September 21st, 2012 September 22, 2012 |
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Mayor and Councilmembers: This is the weekly report for the week ending September 21st, 2012.
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 25th, beginning with a Closed Session at 5:30 PM and with the regular agenda beginning at 6:30 PM.
As they almost always are, KCRT staff was in the right place at the right time, and was able to capture on film the space shuttle Endeavour, carried atop NASA's 747 shuttle carrier aircraft, as it flew past the City of Richmond City Hall. As you may know the shuttle was being transported to its retirement in Los Angeles, where it will be permanently installed at the California Science Center. Apparently, it couldn’t do so without first doing some sightseeing over Richmond. Use this link for some memorable video: Link to video on Youtube.
Contra Costa Health Services and the City of Richmond are hosting a community meeting on September 24th at 5:15 PM in the Richmond Memorial Auditorium to provide residents with updates and review future actions regarding the fire that occurred at the Chevron Refinery this past August 6th. The doors open at 5:15 PM to allow for informal questions and answers. The meeting will begin at 6:00 PM. Light refreshments and child care will be provided. Those attending the meeting will be able to hear from:
If you are interested in attending, please RSVP at www.chevronfiremeeting.eventbrite.com to help staff plan accordingly. Light refreshments and child care will be provided. More information regarding the Chevron Refinery fire can be found at www.ci.richmond.ca.us/chevronrefineryfire2012
Bill Lindsay
As you may recall, the City of Richmond successfully partnered with the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts (EBC) to receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for the Iron Triangle Interactive Art/Downtown Rejuvenation Project. This project is an exciting on-the-street interactive digital art experience designed to strengthen the Richmond community through community engagement, civic pride, and economic development in the Iron Triangle. The art itself is a collaboration between the local community, EBC and internationally acclaimed digital artist Scott Snibbe, whose installations have been experienced by 20 million people at sites that include: Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry; San Francisco’s Exploratorium; the London Science Museum; Cité de Science in Paris; and the Los Angeles International Airport. The dedication ceremony of the Iron Triangle Interactive Art/Downtown Rejuvenation Project will take place as part of an all day festival on Saturday, September 29th from 1:00 PM – 8:00 PM. The festival includes food and beverages, artisan shopping and phenomenal music performances featuring local favorite, Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic. The schedule for the day is as follows:
Please reserve Saturday, September 29th from 1:00 PM – 8:00 PM on your calendars.
On Thursday, October 4TH, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and UC Berkeley (UCB) are hosting a community workshop to discuss the Long Range Development Plan for the new Richmond Bay Campus of LBNL. All residents are encouraged to attend and learn more about site planning and development objectives for the new campus. Those attending will have an opportunity to join in a discussion with LBNL and UCB researchers and offer their thoughts and ideas about the future of the campus. The meeting will be from 7:00 to 8:30 PM at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium. Refreshments will be served. Please RSVP at www.lbnlrichmond.eventbrite.com so that the hosts can plan accordingly.
The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has awarded its Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the City of Richmond for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30th, 2011. The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management. The City of Richmond has received this award previously for fiscal years 2005-06 through 2009-10. The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR. An Award of Financial Reporting Achievement has been awarded to the Finance Department, as the department designated by the City as primarily responsible for preparing the award-winning CAFR. Congratulations and thank you to the Finance Department for sustained excellence in their work.
The City has received notification from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that it is the recipient of a grant award in the amount of $794,968 through its FY2012 Port Security Grant Program. These funds have been awarded to fund the purchase of a Marine Patrol Unit (Police Boat). The award acceptance will be scheduled for City Council review and approval for an upcoming meeting.
As you may recall, since March 2012, the City of Richmond has been in the process of planning to implement the Cities of Service® program model. Cities of Service® seeks to meet priority needs through impact volunteering: a volunteer strategy that targets a community’s priority needs, uses best practices, and sets clear outcomes for measurable results. Richmond is proud to be a part of this growing coalition of over 100 mayors and local municipalities that use the power of citizen service to address local challenges. This past August, we invited the community to help us name and locally brand this new City of Richmond volunteer and service program. The community responded by submitting a number of innovative names for this inaugural volunteer and service program using the national Cities of Service model. 1. Richmond Community Impact We have also launched the program into the social media world. Follow us on our new Twitter account: CitiesOfServ and on our new Facebook account: Cities of Service, Richmond CA. Visit us on one of these accounts to cast your vote for one of the three entries. You may vote online, too, at https://www.research.net/s/vote4name or contact Bertha Romo at 510-620-5535 or at Bertha_romo@ci.richmond.ca.us. Voting ends October 3, 2012 @ 11:59 pm PST. One entry per person please.
In July of 2011, the Marin Community Foundation provided funding for one Imagination Playground to be used at Community Centers throughout the City. An Imagination Playground consists of 90 oversized tubes and blocks made of durable blue foam that can be arranged into just about anything a child can imagine. The Imagination Playground has been referred to as “life-sized tinker toys.” To ensure children from each community had the opportunity to play with the Imagination Playground, it has become the “Traveling Imagination Playground”, moving between six different sites throughout the year. Parks staff has been instrumental in ensuring that the Playground stays on schedule by transporting it from site to site. After seeing the positive interaction that the Imagination Playground provides for the children in each community, and considering that each site only receives the Imagination Playground two months out of the year, the goal has become to identify funding for each community center to have their very own Imagination Playground.
On Friday, September 21st, the City of Richmond Environmental Initiatives Team hosted a free olive tree giveaway. Olive trees were generously donated by the Richmond non-profit Self-Sustaining Communities and McEvoy Ranch of Petaluma. Mayor McLaughlin was onsite to greet community members and share Richmond’s green and healthy vision for the future. Community members picked up free olive trees at the Civic Center Farmers Market and at several city community centers. The City’s Environmental Initiatives Team signed in over 700 people and gave away over 1,000 trees to community members.
The Richmond Public Library and the Richmond Public Library Foundation are proud to sponsor retired judge Lise Pearlman’s talk on her new book, The Sky’s the Limit. This comprehensive account of the 1968 Huey P. Newton murder trial provides the reader with a glimpse of the political and judicial climate at the time of the trial and its impact on the country years later. The author will share valuable insights on the issues that framed the trial and a comparison of other noteworthy trials of the century. Richmond Memorial Auditorium – Bermuda Room
As we previously reported, as part of the BART parking structure project, the bus circulation area will be repaved and a new concrete crosswalk at 16th and Macdonald will be installed. This work will necessitate the closure of the intermodal area to vehicular traffic from September 22nd through October 8th. During this time, the following functions will be relocated as follows, and as shown on the graphic below:
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will host an Open House on Saturday, October 13th from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Families, community members, and science enthusiasts are invited to tour facilities, hear from scientists about their research, and have fun with hands-on activities in the Family Adventure Zone. Registration required: www.lbl.gov/openhouse
DPRC Adult participants at the Disabled People’s Recreation Center are using Life Fitness exercise equipment to complete the Circuit Training physical fitness component of their program. Although the range of disability is varied among the participants, each is able to work at their own level. In the short time since the program has started, the participant’s physique and endurance are surpassing expectations. Halloween Party Tickets are now on sale for the 9th Annual Richmond Senior Center Halloween Party! Entertainment, refreshments and a costume contest are included! This ghoulishly fun event will be held on Saturday, October 27th from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Purchase your $7 ticket at the Senior Center today. May Valley The after school program at the May Valley Community Center extends a big thank you to the parents who continue to support the monthly birthday party program by providing refreshments and helping to celebrate.
Facilities Maintenance Division: Carpenters installed television mounts in all community centers. The Stationary Engineers repaired the booster pump at the Plunge, replaced insulation in the steam line in the Auditorium, repaired the exhaust fan at Fire Station #67, and replaced the circular pump for the hot water at the Police Activities League building. Utility Workers have cleaned and waxed the floors at the Transit Station and the gym and multipurpose rooms at the Richmond Recreation Complex. The Electricians installed a new traffic cabinet at 5th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue and continued street light re-lamping around the City. Parks and Landscaping Division: Crews are continuing with the Burg Park construction and the replacement of the Booker T. Anderson Pedestrian Bridge, park maintenance at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, weed abatement along Richmond Parkway on the north shoulder from Hensley to Barrett Avenues and Giant Road to Hilltop Drive, Civic Center Plaza pressure washing, repaired cracked and hazardous pathway section at Kennedy Park, and with field aeration and fertilization.
The Tree Crew trimmed and pruned trees along Rheem Avenue, Berk Avenue, and E. Richmond Avenue. The crews also removed three pine trees at Martin Luther King Park and ground stumps around the City. Streets Division: Pavement Maintenance crews grinded and paved on Reno Place, Surrey Lane, and Victoria Lane.
Street Sweeping continued with the commercial and residential routes. The routes swept during the third Monday through Friday of the month were North Richmond, Iron Triangle, North Belding Woods, South Belding Woods, Atchison Village, Santa Fe, Coronado, Marina Bay, and Point Richmond Neighborhood Council areas.
********************************************* 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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