Tom Butt
 
  E-Mail Forum – 2018  
  < RETURN  
  City Manager Bill Lndsay's Last Weekly Report -- for the Week Ending August 31, 2018
August 31, 2018
 

Mayor and Members of the City Council:

This is the report for the week ending August 31st, 2018.

  • Meeting Notes

The City Council has been in recess for the month for August. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 11th.

Editor’s note:  I want to acknowledge and thank Shane Johnson in the City Manager’s office for her ongoing, splendid work in preparing the initial draft of the weekly reports.  While departments submit the initial drafts of items to be included in the report, Shane works to make these items interesting and artistic.

  • City Manager Chronicles

Today is my last day as city manager for the City of Richmond.  I wrote the following message to the Richmond employees acknowledging my departure:

Dear Colleagues:

It is with a great deal of sadness and gratitude that I say goodbye to you on this, my final day, as a fellow employee of the City of Richmond.  I cannot begin to thank you enough for all of the goodwill and support you have given me for over thirteen and a half years as we have worked together in service to this community.  You have been gracious and patient in meeting the constant challenges of the day, and you have inspired me with your efforts.  It is this that I will miss most as I leave the City of Richmond.

The Richmond City Council has made an excellent choice in selecting Carlos Martinez, the (soon to be former) city manager of the City of East Palo Alto, to be the next city manager of Richmond.  I know that, with your support, this outstanding person will continue the superb trajectory on which the Richmond community finds itself.

Goodbye.  I shall miss you.

With gratitude,

Bill Lindsay
City Manager
City of Richmond

What I wrote in my message to City staff can just as easily be said to members of the Richmond community at large.  I have been very fortunate to work in a city where residents care about policy issues and public service, do so in the context of broader human values, and are supportive in helping their community move forward in this context.

Thank you for all that you do for Richmond.

Good bye!

  • Farewell Celebration: City Manager & Executive Assistant

Community members and City staff gathered at the Richmond Auditorium on Friday, July 27th to wish the city manager and his outstanding Executive Assistant, Sue Kadlec, a happy retirement. Bill and Sue gave heartfelt speeches and shared stories of their time working for the City of Richmond.  The evening was filled with entertainment, fun, great food, and most of all, great people! 

Thank you to all who contributed countless hours and efforts to make the event a success.

Sue Kadlec will be missed!

  • Richmond Business Hub Groundbreaking

Last month, the Richmond Business Hub Groundbreaking ceremony officially launched the construction of a 10,000 square foot ground floor commercial space at the downtown Richmond BART garage.  The Richmond Business Hub will house a coffee shop, restaurant, and co-working space (CoBiz) which will be the anchor tenant in the Business Hub.

Since 2016, City staff has worked with Richmond Main Street Initiative, Inc. (Main Street) to design and raise funds for a co-working space in downtown Richmond that would serve the needs of small businesses, entrepreneurs, and freelance creative workforce in Richmond, North Richmond and surrounding areas. The Richmond Business Hub is a transformational project for downtown Richmond.  The link to the article below provides coverage of the groundbreaking ceremony.

https://richmondpulse.org/2018/07/19/business-hub-aims-to-bring-new-life-to-downtown/

For more information on the Richmond Business Hub, contact Janet L. Johnson, Economic Development Administrator at (510) 307-8131 or janet_johnson@ci.richmond.ca.us

IMG_5276 (2)

  • Point Richmond Music Summer Concert Series

Don’t miss the high energy roots and world music/rock and roll of Achilles Wheel www.achilleswheel.com and the latin sounds of Ruckatan Latin Tribe at the final event of the Point Richmond Music Summer Concert Series.  The event is Friday, September 14th from 5:30 PM – 7:45 PM, and, as always, will feature an opportunity drawing, arts and crafts booths, face-painting for children and dancing in the streets. The all-volunteer non-profit organization Point Richmond Music produces the series in support of its mission to build community through the unifying language of music.

0914 Point Richmond Summer Music Achilles Wheel

  • City of Richmond Asks Residents to Sign-up to Receive Local Alerts

The City of Richmond has partnered with Nixle to implement its Community Notification System to alert residents in real-time for localized emergency situations and relevant community advisories.

As a resident, there are several simple ways to register:

  1. Text your ZIPCODE to 888777 from your mobile phone
  2. Go to www.nixle.com and sign up

Once registered, residents will receive a confirmation text to their mobile device. Residents may also customize their alert settings by going to www.nixle.com and creating a User Profile.

Nixle supplements our current Contra Costa County Community Warning System (www.cwsalerts.com).

The service is secure, reliable and easy to use for our organization. For more information about Nixle, visit: http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/nixle.

  • CivicSpark AmeriCorps Fellow Presentation

On Tuesday, July 24th, CivicSpark AmeriCorps Fellow Abigail Carlstad made a presentation to project partners and other CivicSpark fellows Richmond’s work on the Climate Action Plan dashboard initiative.  The dashboard reports Richmond’s progress towards meeting climate action goals, and provides general information on Richmond’s environmental, health, and resiliency programs.

BA Graduation3

The CivicSpark program, run by the Local Government Commission, is a Governor’s initiative AmeriCorps program dedicated to building capacity in local government for resiliency, addressing climate change, and managing water resources.  Fellows are placed across the state, with 24 having been placed in the Bay Area.  Abigail, who hails from West County, began her fellowship term in October 2017 and will continue through August 2019.

  • Apply for Your U.S. Passport at Richmond City Hall!

The City of Richmond City Clerk’s Office is accepting passport applications on behalf of the United States Department of State.  United States citizens planning international travel may apply for their passport at 450 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 300, during the following hours by appointment only:

Monday: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Wednesday: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Friday:  10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
(Closed 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM – days of operation only)

Please recognize that the area is an operational executive office, and a quiet zone.  No drop in service for same day appointments or scheduling future appointments is available at this time; you must call (510) 620-6786 to schedule all appointments. 

For application forms, information on documentation required, fees, and a wealth of other passport and international travel information, visit the only official website for passport information – travel.state.gov.

For more information about the City of Richmond Passport Acceptance Facility, please visit http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/passports.

Passport Information Flyer 8.5 x 11 - At City Hall

  • Information Technology

Website Statistics for the week of August 31, 2018

  • Actions on Page increased by 100%
  • Page previews up 33%

KCRT PHOTO OF THE WEEK

  • Infrastructure Maintenance and Operations (DIMO)

Code Enforcement:
There has been a property that the Code Enforcement division has been monitoring for over a year. The single family dwelling was a source of blight and out of compliance. The home has been remodeled and is currently listed for sale.


Before and After

Facilities Maintenance:
Stationary Engineers performed daily pool maintenance, boiler inspections, cleared the clogged sink in the Auditorium, repaired the toilet at Lucretia Edwards Park, replaced a damaged pipe at the Corporation Yard, repaired on the of the air conditioning units at 450 Civic Center Plaza, assisted with the inspection of the fire extinguishers at the Civic Center campus, and replaced the fan belt on the exhaust fan at Fire Station #68.

Utility Workers performed weed abatement around Civic Center Plaza, performed maintenance at the Transit Center, scrubbed and waxed the floors at the Recreation Complex, and maintained 29 City-owned facilities.

Parks and Landscaping Division:
General Maintenance crews repaired fencing in the play area of the Recreation Complex, weeded and trimmed Burg Park and the Solano Play Lot, cleaned the right of ways on Castro Ranch Road, picked up trash on the Greenway from South 2nd Street to South 20th Street, weeded the medians along 22nd and 23rd Streets, cleaned Belding Garcia Park, performed irrigation repairs at Lucas Park, performed maintenane at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, cleaned Boorman Park, removed debris from Booker T. Anderson Park, and placed a garbage can at the Plunge.

23rd Median
Median between 22nd and 23rd Streets

Castro ROW
Castro Ranch Road Right of Ways

Tree crews cut or trimmed trees on:  36th Street, 37th Street, Barnard Street, Carlson Boulevard, Lincoln Avenue, Lucas Street, McBryde Avenue, Napa Street, Ocean Avenue, East Scenic Avenue, Wiswall Drive, and at Booker T. Anderson Park.

Napa Ave tree trim
Tree Trimming on Napa Avenue

Hilltop District crews continued general maintenance around the business area, completed irrigation repairs at various locations, and continued weed abatement on Hilltop Drive and on Richmond Parkway.

Marina District crews cleaned picnic areas, continued with maintenance in the Esplanade planting areas, mowed turf, and refreshed staff in practices of mulching and composting.

Esplanade
Esplanade Planting

 

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!

Bill Lindsay
City Manager
City of Richmond
450 Civic Center Plaza
Richmond, California 94804
(510) 620-6512
Bill_lindsay@ci.richmond.ca.us

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

See below to see options for connecting with the City of Richmond.

Connecting with the City of Richmond

COR Connect Service Concern and Issues 1
COR Connect Service Concern and Issues 2
COR Connect Service Concern and Issues 3
COR Connect Service Concern and Issues 4
Connect with the City of Richmond

To contact us by phone:

The City’s website (http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/) provides a department and staff directory at http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/Directory.aspx.

If you’re not sure which department you need to contact, or, if you don’t receive a call back (which should not happen) from your original call or message, we encourage you to phone the City Manager’s office at (510) 620-6512.

Using the CORConnect Application on the City’s Website:
You can use the CORConnect button on the City’s website (http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/) to report a concern, pose a question, or acknowledge the City’s work in some way.  These CORConnect issues go directly to the responsible department, and the city manager reviews reported issues on a regular basis to determine if City staff members are responding appropriately.  If you do not feel that you have received a satisfactory response, please contact the City Manager’s office at (510) 620-6512.
To access CORConnect select the CORConnect button on the homepage of the City website.

Alternatively you can select the COR Connect button on any other webpage on the left hand side of the page.

On the next screen under Report an Issue select Report Issue/Concern to create a report or Search Issue/Concerns to look up a previously reported issue.  You can also look up previously submitted issues to check on the current status if you provided you name, phone number or email when you submitted it. 

On the page, you can also look up information on a parcel, see permits issued and look up business license information.  If you have a current business license you can pay to renew it online with a credit card.
The recommended browsers are: Microsoft Edge, or Microsoft Internet Explorer version 11 using the compatibility mode. It can be found in the upper right corner of Internet Explorer: click on the "gear" icon and select Compatibility View Settings, then add the site to the list and click "Close".
The City of Richmond is looking forward to feedback from the community on CORConnect. We welcome your comments at webservices@ci.richmond.ca.us
Using the City of Richmond Mobile Application:
The City of Richmond mobile app provides Richmond’s community members with one-stop access to City services and information via mobile devices. The app allows quick and real-time reporting of neighborhood-related issues; viewing the City’s events calendar; finding addresses and phone numbers of local businesses, city departments and council members.  The City of Richmond’s mobile phone app is available on the Apple App store and Google Play store. 
MOBILE APP UPDATE

We welcome your comments at webservices@ci.richmond.ca.us

  < RETURN