Richmond City Council
September 19, 2023

September 19, 2023

City Manager's Office

DATE: September 19, 2023
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:

Shasa Curl, City Manager

Subject: Fiscal Year 2022-2023 City-Wide Accomplishments FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact.

PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:

None.

STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:

The City Manager’s Office is providing an update on City- wide accomplishments during the Fiscal Year 2022-2023.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: RECEIVE a presentation from the city manager on the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 City-wide accomplishments – City
Manager’s Office (Shasa Curl 510-620-6512). This item
was continued from the July 11, 2023, and September
12, 2023, meetings.

AGENDA
REPORT

September 19, 2023
DISCUSSION:

The City Manager is pleased to highlight the extensive work that has taken place under the policy direction of the City Council and her leadership. The City Manager is working collaboratively with departments and divisions city-wide to implement policies, programs, initiatives, and partnerships with residents, businesses, and community- based organizations (CBOs) to improve Richmond’s health equity, safety, and environment.

Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024 started strong with the successful submission and adoption of a balanced proposed budget on June 20, 2023. As City staff close out FY 2022-2023, and begin to focus on FY 2023-2024, the City Manager and Management Leadership Team are proud to feature some of the many city-wide accomplishments addressing many of the community’s and City Council priorities and concerns.

Below is a high-level summary of the FY 2022-2023 city-wide accomplishments that the City Manager is delighted to share. The City Manager looks forward to continuing this positive momentum and receiving additional direction and support on community and City Council priorities, while working collectively to operationalize the goals and objectives that the City Council recently developed with Henry Gardner.

City-Wide Accomplishments

City Manager’s Office
 Prioritized filling vacancies city-wide and hired multiple positions including but not limited to: Deputy City Manager, Director of Public Works, Deputy Director of Public Works, Housing Manager, Planning Manager and Richmond Housing Authority Property Manager.
 Continued the implementation of I Heart Richmond initiatives to ensure and enhance City-wide clean-ups and beautification efforts.  Released a Request for Proposals (RFP) and selected RCF Connects for the Housing First Initiative.
 Processed 120 Municipal Identification Cards for Richmond residents.  Continued the implementation of the Classification and Compensation Study.  Adopted a balanced budget on June 20, 2023, for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024 and Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Budget in coordination with Finance.
 Released the Fiscal Year FY 2023-2024 RFP and awarded ~$1.43 million dollars to eighteen (18) youth-serving organizations via the Department of Children and Youth.
 Awarded and managed $1.62 million in grants to twenty (20) youth-serving organizations in Fiscal Year 2022-23 via the Department of Children and Youth.  Appointed a Grants Manager in May 2023.

September 19, 2023
 Awarded $225,000 to ten (10) community-based organizations via the Environmental & Community Investment Agreement (ECIA) grant program.  Began to pilot a Grants Enterprise Management System in collaboration with Finance.

Community Development
 Building Division completed 10,759 permit inspections, issued 3,687 permits, opened and followed up on 347 building enforcement cases, closed 147 building enforcement cases, and completed 3,432 plan checks.
 Code Enforcement completed lien and special assessment for Code Enforcement’s unpaid receivables from May 1, 2020, through April 30, 2022, implemented Cannabis Business Permit and issued 20 permits, and issued 629 Notice of Violations, 176 vehicle abatement intent to tow notices, and 214 administrative citations.
 Housing completed the sunsetting of the Castro Encampment on June 30, 2023; helped over 80 encampment residents transition to emergency, shelter, single room occupancy, and permanent housing; and applied for ERF-2-R Window 1 funds and received notification on June 14, 2023, of grant award of $8.6 million for continued homeless work.
 Planning completed the adoption of the Richmond Bicycle Pedestrian Action Plan (BPAP) and Richmond Livable Corridors Form-Based Code (FBC), completed entitlements for the Portside Commerce Center/Moxion Power at 1411 Harbour Way South, and completed entitlements for Supportive and Family Apartments (135 units) at 100 38ht Street.

Community Services
 Employment and Training awarded over $4 million in grants to provide employment and training services to Richmond workers, had 49 RichmondBUILD graduates complete the program, established a partnership with Richmond Promise to develop internships, and supported hundreds of youth with year- round and summer employment and training.
 Library increased operational hours from 19.5 to 41 hours per week in all three Library locations, eliminated overdue fines on library materials, was awarded a $9.7 million grant from the California State Library Building Forward Library Infrastructure program (matched with $4.86 million in City/ARPA funds) and received an additional $15 million from City Council to renovate the Richmond Main Library, were awarded a $250,000 grant from the California State Library to purchase a new Bookmobile, and Literacy for Every Adult Program (LEAP) partnered with KCRT Television to host LEAP’s online graduation ceremony for 22 students.
 Office of Neighborhood Safety’s outreach included:

September 19, 2023
o 5,004 contacts with community members most impacted by gun violence. o 5,390 hours spent with community members most impacted by gun violence.
o 63 conflicts mediated with community members most impacted by gun violence.
 Recreation continued providing in-person and virtual recreational opportunities for our youth, adult, and senior community members at our parks, pools and community centers, hosted in-person sports events and special events such as an Annual Track Meet and 3rd of July, beautified our community through implementation of Love Your Block clean-up efforts, mini grants, Tool Lending Library, and Mobile Tool Lending Library programs, and was awarded millions in grants to upgrade the City’s existing recreation and park facilities and support recreation programs.
 Transportation continued to manage grant funded on-demand shuttle service and carshare program, launched grant funded hybrid vehicle incentive program to serve individuals residing and working in Richmond, expanded public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations network for increased accessibility and EV purchases, and increased the number of publicly accessible electric vehicle charging stations.

Economic Development
 Economic Development created a Business Tool Kit that provides business friendly options for its customers, hired an Economic Development Director (Nannette Beacham), started planning and coordinating the Taste of Richmond event in collaboration with the Economic Development Commission, updated the Economic Development pages on the City’s website, visited businesses and connected with commercial brokers for new projects, and initiated the Buy Local Campaign to promote equitable economic growth and support local business activity.
 Arts and Culture installed the Osprey Bird sculpture in November 2022, awarded $71,739 to nine (9) FY 2022-2023 NPA Mini Grantees which required community engagement, solicited and awarded five (5) artists for the renovation of the Shields Reid Community Center, deep-cleaned and restored the Archie Held sculpture located at City Hall, and installed signage for various public art such as Ookwe Park and the Osprey Bird.
 Environmental and Health Initiatives filled an open, limited-term, management analyst position, hired an intern from UC Berkeley, received City Council approval for the PG&E Settlement agreement which generated a one-time funding of $800,000 and annual revenue of ~$3.3 million, hosted I Heart Richmond Earth Day community event at Nystrom Village, received $80,000 from California Energy to fund the establishment of the solar permitting platform, SolarApp+ in partnership with Community Development, and supported a

September 19, 2023
previous CivicSpark Fellow with completion of her Master’s thesis on Multifamily Family Housing Energy Retrofit Strategy for Richmond.
 The Port executed lease amendments with Point San Pablo Harbor and Marine Spill Response Corporation, worked in collaboration with Community Development and Public Works to executed and submit documents relating to the Terminal 4 Wharf Removal Project, and awarded a contract to GPP Analytics, Inc. to provide auditing services for the Port.  Real Estate facilitated the Marina Bay lease transfer, generating a minimum base rent of $243,504 per year and $68,000 per year in Possessory Interest Tax, and executed leases with Men & Women of Valor, Congressman Garamendi, and Richmond Promise.

Housing Authority
 Completed the construction of Hacienda and lease up, providing 148 affordable homes, plus two (2) management units.
 Commenced Nevin Plaza construction, repositioning property and beginning rehabilitation construction.
 Approved an extension for the Nystrom Exclusive Rights to Negotiate Agreement (ERNA) until October 30, 2023.

Fire Department
 Responded to 14,082 calls from July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023. o Medical and Rescue: 8,410
o Service Calls: 3,194
o Fires: 1,340
o Fire Alarm Activation: 661
o Hazardous Materials and Hazardous Condition: 357
o Other: 67
o Severe Weather/Storm Calls: 53
 Promoted two (2) Battalion Chiefs, five (5) Captains, and two (2) Fire Engineers.  Completed the 23-1 Richmond Fire Academy with five (5) graduates.  Attended 50+ public education events, career fairs, community events in local elementary schools, high schools, and communities.
 Completed the CERT Academy and graduated 20 volunteers.  Commenced the 2023 Richmond Youth Academy with more than 15 youth from Richmond.

September 19, 2023

Internal Services
 Finance adopted Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Budget along with a five-year Capital Improvement Plan on June 20, 2023, collected more than $13 million in Measure U Tax Revenue, and issued $156 million of fixed rate conventional Pension Obligation Bonds to refund the City’s outstanding Taxable Pension Funding Bonds.
 Human Resources onboarded 91 new employees and promoted 60 employees, reached tentative agreements to implement the Classification & Compensation Study with SEIU and Local 21 Units, negotiated successor memorandums of understanding with Police Officers and Firefighters, and Risk Management implemented an upgraded Employee Assistance Program, hosted a summer wellness fair for employees, and acquired Insurance Tracking Software (PINS) to ensure compliance.
 Information Technology deployed improved communications at all remote Fire Department facilities, upgrading the network for 20 mbps, engaged interdepartmental collaboration preparing for the City’s legacy system replacement, and deployed new hybrid and in-person process for City Council, Successor Agency, Richmond Housing, and Planning Commission Meetings.

Police Department
 Strategically restricted units to maximize employee collaboration and workflow efficiency.
 Reduced Property Crime by seven percent (7%) and Violent Crime by nine percent (9%).
 Recruited and hired 32 Police Department employees.

Public Works
 Abatement assisted ~600 seniors and disabled residents by removing 260 tons of debris from their homes during Neighborhood Clean-Ups, collected 415 tons of debris from annual Neighborhood Dumpster Days, and abated 97 locations for weeds, reducing the risk of fires.
 Building Maintenance repaired the Marina Bay Pier lights, cleaned and maintained ~30 City-owned buildings, including maintenance of internal systems and devices, and replaced the strainer at the Plunge.
 Engineering received City Council approval for the Richmond Greenway Gap Closure and Connectivity Study, completed 10 major site repairs, 2,422 shaved sites, and 14 ADA curb ramp site upgrades, and completed the design to restore a section of Rheem Creek to reduce flood risk.

September 19, 2023
 Fleet purchased 15 new City pick-up trucks and ordered 18 additional vehicles, installed over 30 catalytic clamp devices on City vehicles to reduce theft, and purchased two new street sweepers.
 Parks Maintenance filled one (1) groundskeeper position, landscaped the median along Robert Miller Drive, and planted ~70 trees at John F. Kennedy Park.  Streets Maintenance poured over 11,850 tons of asphalt, filled ~ 1,282 potholes throughout the city, installed or replaced ~700 street signs, and filled over 5,000 sandbags during the winter storm season.
 Water Resource Recovery completed Wastewater Plant SCADA System, standardizing the existing SCADA network communication and the sodium bisulfite facility is 99 percent (99%) complete, including installation of rebar and setting forms for concrete, and 65 percent (65%) of construction is completed at SRF Loan Grit Basin Aerator.

This summary only represents a partial list of the great work provided by City staff members during FY 2022-2023. City staff will continue to work collaboratively with community and internal and external entities to provide and expand services to Richmond residents and businesses.

DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:

Attachment 1 – Fiscal Year 2022-2023 City-Wide Accomplishments