Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council — Monday, 19 October 2026
From the KCRT video of the meeting (about 2 hours 12 minutes; hybrid, Council Chambers). No agenda or minutes for this meeting were found online. Compiled from KCRT video; votes are unconfirmed unless minutes are posted. Where a mover, second, or tally could not be heard clearly, this digest says so. Names from speech-to-text are checked against the posted agenda where possible. The RNCC is a volunteer federation of neighborhood councils; no votes were heard.
Neighborhood council reports and announcements
- Council presidents and officers gave short reports: traffic discussions after a block party; a community meeting on the capped contaminated site next to a Marina Bay restaurant, with a follow-up email to Councilmember Wilson; trunk-or-treat October 31 (Parchester); flood-preparedness organizing in East Richmond; Laurel Park’s last community meeting of the year on October 28; a Point Richmond meeting October 28 at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom with the interim City Manager.
- Announcements: City public input sessions on City Manager recruitment (October 21 virtual; October 28, 2–3 p.m., Council Chambers; October 29, 10–11 a.m. virtual); December 14 RNCC party marking the neighborhood councils’ 70th anniversary. A notice of an October 29 evening public meeting on a draft ordinance was garbled on the video (UNCLEAR what it concerns).
Interim City Manager Mark Scott
- Introduced himself (36th consecutive year as a city manager, 13 cities), praised the community’s collaboration, and thanked the RNCC for helping spread word of City business.
Fire Chief Aaron Osorio: fire stations and Measure Q
- The Chief said he was there to inform, not campaign, on the facilities that Measure Q, a general obligation bond on the November 3 ballot, would address. As stated: Station 63 has foundation settling and roof and mold damage; Station 66 (1942) and Station 67 (1943) do not meet seismic standards and have cramped apparatus bays; the training center and Stations 62 and 64 also need work.
- Figures stated by the Chief: replacing Stations 66 and 67 and repairing 63 at about $98 million (rough estimates); Station 66 at about $30 million today versus $9–12 million in 2009; about $1.1 billion in unfunded City capital needs overall.
- Measure Q terms as stated: up to $120 million; about $22.15 per $100,000 of assessed value per year; roughly 30 to 32 years starting in 2028; two-thirds of votes cast needed; funds limited to fire buildings, alerting systems, and land; separate account, independent oversight, annual public reporting; bonds issued in series by Council action. The Chief said Measure Q has nothing to do with the Police Department.
- Questions from attendees: whether the City ever set aside money for the stations (the Chief said capital projects sit in the Public Works budget); whether the City or the Polluters Pay settlement money would offset the bond (the Chief: no definitive discussion; the Council is waiting on community input on settlement funds; early polling showed the settlement money as a leading reason to vote no); how bond money is controlled. One attendee said the City should commit some of its own money before asking taxpayers to pay. That is an attendee’s view, not a finding.
- Interim City Manager Scott responded that all City money is the public’s money; the City holds about $62 million in reserves (21%, against a 20% goal), the settlement funds are subject to a Council-promised public process led by a consultant, and no large unearmarked sum exists. He said he would not campaign. (On October 20 the Council was told reserves were about $62.8 million at the end of FY 2024–25.)
- September fire statistics: structure fires down 83%, vegetation fires down 45%, encampment fires down 55%, total responses up 7% to about 1,200; a $1 million state appropriation for a wildland fire engine (the senator’s name was garbled on the video).
Police Department (Lt. Ernest Lucas, filling in)
- Roughly mid-August to September: total index crime up (stated as 33% and later 10%; UNCLEAR which comparison), violent crime up 15%, with robberies, sexual assaults, and aggravated assaults down by one account. Southern District up 44% (domestic-violence-related assaults, street robberies Thursday–Sunday afternoons and nights, auto burglaries); Central District down 25% month to month and up 13% year over year (burglaries; an attempted-homicide case under investigation); Northern District up 9% (vehicle and catalytic-converter thefts in beats 8 and 9).
- Cops & Goblins at the department October 24, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. The lieutenant described staffing shortages and 16–18-hour shifts.
Mayor’s Office, Economic Development, Environmental, and Real Estate updates
- Boards and commissions: 55 members appointed since September, 16 more applicants in process, six appointments on the October 20 Council agenda; vacancies listed include Arts and Culture, Design Review Board, Economic Development, Housing Advisory, Recreation and Parks, and the McDonald Avenue Corridor Task Force. The next vacancy report is on the October 27 Council agenda.
- Façade-improvement grants not yet disbursed; consultant interviews underway for the “State of Black Richmond” report, with a recommendation to Council by year-end; the EPA’s Heckathorn cleanup-plan meeting October 21 (open house 5–6 p.m., presentation 6–8 p.m., 3230 Macdonald Avenue).
- Marina Bay temporary cap substantially complete September 2; the final Navy payment under the original $28.5 million Point Molate agreement expected by the end of October. Planning Manager Avery Stark said there is no plan for residential development at Point Molate; the path is parkland, open space, and historic structures.
Planning, Recreation, and Public Works
- Planning: 188 projects in process; 15 new applications in the last month; 341 records opened this year, including 113 new residential applications and 30 conditional use permits; no Planning Commission meeting last month; sea-level-rise workshop October 14.
- Recreation: apply now for 2027 community-center use; a revised rental policy for more free neighborhood events is expected at Council in a month or two; fall events October 24 and 31 and a tree lighting November 18.
- Public Works: about 188 pothole locations repaired in September; 160 tons of illegal dumping collected; abatement staffing shortages mean graffiti is prioritized; preparation for a wet winter (sandbag stations, delivery for seniors and people with disabilities, a storm flyer). Attendees raised Regatta Boulevard potholes, out streetlights, 13th Street trees, tree removals on Shane Drive, and trash cans used to reserve parking.
Business and adjournment
- No old business. A member urged attendees to follow or call in to the October 20 Council items on traffic safety (Y.5 and Y.6), which were not reached and are back on the October 27 agenda. Adjourned about 9:17 p.m.
Not yet confirmed
- Every dollar and rate figure above is as stated by the speaker; none was checked against a posted document except the Council’s October 20 reserve figure.
- The identity of the state senator, the October 29 draft-ordinance meeting, and the crime-percentage comparisons.
- No minutes or agenda for this meeting were found online.