On the agenda: updates and decisions on climate, education, and infrastructure
The Richmond City Council will review a range of projects at its November 19 meeting. Highlights include an update on the Richmond Rising Transformative Climate Communities Grant, which has funded multiple initiatives to enhance transportation, energy efficiency, and community resilience.
The meeting will also address a $4.5 million funding shortfall for the Richmond Main Library renovation, updates from the Contra Costa Community College District, and proposed enhancements to the Richmond Parkway.
Richmond Rising Transformative Climate Communities Grant one year later
The Community Development Department will update the council on the Richmond Rising Transformative Climate Communities Implementation Grant.
The City Council authorized an application for a Transformative Climate Communities Grant from the California Strategic Growth Council for the Richmond Rising: Healthy, Connected, and Climate Strong project in 2022.
The city’s proposal included six co-applicants: Groundwork Richmond, GRID Alternatives, Rich City Rides, Trust for Public Land, UC Berkeley, and Urban Tilth. Richmond Rising includes projects, programs, and Transformative Plans that provide environmental, health, and economic benefits in the Iron Triangle, Santa Fe, and Coronado neighborhoods.
Richmond Rising partners have spent $2,245,492.87, with a remaining budget of $32,754,507.13 for the next five years.
The California Strategic Growth Council grant is at the center of former mayor Tom Butt’s FPPC complaint against councilmember Doria Robinson.
State of the Contra Costa Community College District
Contra Costa Community College District Chancellor Mojdeh Mehdizadeh, and Contra Costa College President Kimberly Rogers, will update the council on the state of the Contra Costa Community College District.
Richmond Parkway Transportation Plan presentation
The West Contra Costa Transportation Commission will present the Draft Richmond Parkway Transportation Plan. In 2022, WCCTC received a $562,650 transportation planning grant from Caltrans to work with the County and City of Richmond to develop a cross-jurisdictional transportation plan for the Richmond Parkway.
Parkway enhancements focus on health, safety, walking, biking, maintenance, driving, goods movement, and transit. Strategies include tree planting, truck route updates, idling and parking restrictions, intersection upgrades, speed reduction, bikeway improvements, sidewalk gap filling, Wildcat Creek Trail crossing addition, coordinated pavement management, signal upgrades, and enhanced transit access.
Consent calendar
(Non-controversial items grouped for a single vote to streamline proceedings)
Community Police Review Commission seeking an interim investigator
Councilmember Claudia Jimenez has an item to hire an interim investigator for the Community Police Review Commission after the last one said commissioners disregard evidence, make biased decisions, and fail to thoroughly review investigative materials before reaching conclusions in his resignation letter.
Soren Hemmila
Since hiring a new permanent investigator will take at least six months, an interim investigator is needed to undertake the investigative duties previously performed by the former investigator while the city recruits and hires a permanent investigator.
The item would create an ad hoc committee of the City Council to prepare an interim investigator job description, interview proposed candidates, select the best-qualified candidate to fill the temporary interim investigator position, and present the candidate to the full city council for approval.
Two CPRC appointments are also on the agenda. Rachel Lorber will be reappointed to the Community Police Review Commission, with a term expiring November 1, 2027, and Sarah Shwaika will be appointed anew.
Lorber is the Contra Costa Public Defender appointed to fill an unexpired term last year. According to her application, Shwaika is a self-employed custom cake decorator.
Soren Hemmila
Port to the rescue: Richmond taps $4.5 million to cover library renovation shortfall
Faced with a $4.5 million shortfall for the Richmond Main Library renovation project, city officials are turning to the Port of Richmond for funding, proposing an amendment to the loan agreement that would draw from the port’s revenues while accelerating its repayment schedule by 15 years to finalize by June 2049.
The amended payment schedule of the loan agreement between the city and Port will advance $4.5 million to the general fund within this fiscal year.
Richmond’s oldest pensioners, average age 105, seek higher cost-of-living adjustment
The adjustment would raise the total cost-of-living increase for the General Pension Fund’s three beneficiaries to five percent, exceeding the mandated two percent minimum.
According to a report from the Finance Department, the incremental cost of the three percent increase is $7,609.64 for the year, which will be covered by existing resources within the General Pension Fund.
The General Pension Fund, established for city retirees employed before July 1, 1953, now supports three beneficiaries with an average age of 105 and a monthly pension of $7,045.97. These retirees do not receive CalPERS pensions or post-employment medical reimbursements.
City voters approved amendments in 1984 mandating a two percent annual adjustment and allowing the council to authorize an additional three percent. Since 2000, the council has consistently granted the maximum increase.
Pre-Approval of Qualified Local Public-Private Organizations for Grant Partnership
A resolution pre-approving six non-profit, community-based, public, and private local organizations to provide grant administration and management in collaboration with city departments in compliance with the city’s grants policy
To support the solicitation process and be transparent, city staff members are requesting the council adopt a resolution that will allow city departments to receive grant partnership support from a pre-qualified list of non-profits, community-based, public, and private local organizations, including ACCE Institute, Coach to discover, Just Cities LLC, MCE Community Choice Energy, Trust for Public Land, and The Good Job Company
Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair
An item from Councilmember Cesar Zepeda will direct staff to review City policies governing appearance align with the city’s anti-harassment policy’s definition of Race and include as part of the Race Equity Initiative, educating the workforce about the CROWN Act.
The Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Coalition created the CROWN ACT to protect against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles in workplaces and public schools.
The CROWN Act resolution works to ensure protection against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles by extending statutory protection to hair textures and protective styles such as braids, locs, twists, and Bantu knots in the workplace and public schools.
Richmond Police Department building lease
Since 2006, the Richmond Police Department has leased a portion of the building at 1689 Regatta Boulevard from DiCon Fiberoptics, Inc., for police department operations. The existing lease term expires on December 31, 2024, and RPD is requesting approval of a five-year lease extension with five one-year renewal options.
The lease will be extended for 5 years to December 31, 2029. The first year’s estimated expenditure of $2,198,723 (base rent, operating expenses, and utilities) is included in the Fiscal Year 2024-25 adopted operating budget for the Police Department.
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