A scale version of this would be very doable within RPU’s service territory. Louisiana officials are smart in that they recognize the benefits of deploying hybrid sources of generation, which buys you resiliency, flexibility and adaptability.
And again, the big win is…. we would OWN the sources of generation!
Utilities are lobbying the state to make it harder and more expensive for people to get solar. They are trying to gut net metering, which lets solar users share their extra solar energy with the neighbors for a bill credit.
Even though we have Riverside Public Utilities, we can be doing so much more to lower our energy costs and raise our comfort level. Expanding city rooftop solar should maximize coverage to reduce our collective costs.
We need to make it easier for people to get rooftop solar so they can control over their energy bills and keep the power on. Will you consider signing and forwarding to others?
Good afternoon. I am writing to convey gratitude to you, as well as to convey some information.
First, thank you. Thank you for the service you provide every day to the Riverside community and to your colleagues across the City organization. Thank you, too, for your patience and support of your City management team as we have endeavored this past month to transition, adjust and get settled while striving to problem solve, add value, and serve. The City Manager’s Office is close to having its “sea legs” and will hit our stride together with you by August. I am grateful to you for who you are and what you do each day.
Second, I want to share an update on the reorganization of the City Manager’s Office, make you aware of opportunities that are becoming available within our organization, remind you of the 5-by-5 dimensions of my role as your City Manager, and to remind you of the Acting City Manager schedule for July.
Reorganization
As you know, the City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday, June 19th, to reinstate the classification and salary range for the position of Deputy City Manager. As I previously reported to you, I have asked Carlie Myers and Moises Lopez to fill these two posts. (Please congratulate both of them when you see them.) They report directly to Assistant City Managers Lea Deesing and Rafael Guzman, respectively, to ensure we provide a high level of customer service to the Mayor and City Council, the public and one another. Further, Valerie Castro, Sarah Varela, Kristina Clabaugh, and Donna Finch are incredibly talented and gifted colleagues who provide the City Management Team with the wherewithal to perform at our very best. They are passionate about public service, consummate professionals, and wonderful people. I am very proud of this whole team and know they are dedicated to working with you to do the most public good.
On a practical level, with this new organization of the City Manager’s Office, the following changes to department leadership and agenda report review are now effective.
Department
CMO/ACM
Legistar Agenda Report Reviewer
Community & Economic Development
Rafael Guzman
Donna Finch
Finance
Lea Deesing
Donna Finch
Fire
Lea Deesing
Donna Finch
General Services
Rafael Guzman
Donna Finch
Human Resources
Rafael Guzman
Donna Finch
Innovation & Technology
Lea Deesing
Donna Finch
Library
Lea Deesing
Donna Finch
Museum
Lea Deesing
Donna Finch
Parks, Recreation & Community Services
Rafael Guzman
Donna Finch
Police
Lea Deesing
Donna Finch
Public Utilities
Al Zelinka
Carlie Myers
Public Works
Rafael Guzman
Donna Finch
CMO – Office of Homeless Solutions
Rafael Guzman
Moises Lopez
CMO – Office of Organizational Performance & Auditing
Al Zelinka
Carlie Myers
CMO – Office of Communications
Al Zelinka
Carlie Myers
Also, with the elevation of Lea Deesing to the role of Assistant City Manager, Chris Tilden is filling the role of Interim Chief Innovation Officer, and George Khalil is the Interim Deputy CIO. David Welch is our Interim Director of Community & Economic Development, filling the shoes vacated by Rafael Guzman when he became Assistant City Manager. Chris Christopoulos is Interim Deputy Director of Community & Economic Development. Please congratulate Chris, George, David and Chris when you see them. Many thanks to everyone for stepping in and showing leadership in their respective roles.
Books By Al Zelinka
Opportunities
Because of these changes, and because of movement that already has occurred in various jobs, we have opened, or soon will open candidate searches for the following positions: Chief Innovation Officer, Community & Economic Development Director, Library Director, Public Utilities General Manager and Principal Management Analyst. Please encourage those you know – both within and outside of City Hall – to apply.
5 by 5
I have been sharing publicly 5 attributes of Riverside that I appreciate most and that provide me with the confidence needed to serve alongside you on this journey to accomplish important things for the benefit of the public:
· Leadership: Our elected leaders care about this community and strive to represent the diverse viewpoints of Riverside in their decision-making and interaction with each of us. Likewise, City departments care about this community and deliver services, solve problems and open doors to Riverside’s promise every day.
· Community: Riverside as a diverse community is complete with hard working residents who are largely proud of living here and who want to do better for themselves and their families. It is a place with innumerable points of pride in the built and natural environments. It is also a place with heritage that people cherish and question, and build upon for the future.
· Partnership: Riverside is a community with unlimited potential and networks of social strength that can accomplish anything – think about the Cheech and CARB. While people in Riverside may not always agree, they – by and large – stay at the table with one another with an eye to realizing the good for Riverside.
· Mindset. It is inspiring to be part of a City where so many residents and businesses do things together and for one another. This community admits mistakes, learns from them, and becomes better as a result; likewise, this community celebrates is successes and its assets. The Riverside community, while not perfect, has a collective mindset that is largely outward facing and wanting to do good.
· Elevating the Conversation. The questions of “what can be?” and “what if?” are at the root of Riverside. Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote that includes “Great minds talk about ideas….” well represents what is most natural to this community. While there will always be aspects of criticism and negativity, Riverside is entrepreneurial and can-do by nature.
In addition to the 5 attributes of Riverside, I have also been sharing publicly 5 areas of focus our whole City Team and the community need to advance to ensure a promising future for Riverside – these areas are not “wants”, they are “needs” and we need to draw from the above attributes to advance them together:
· Riverside and the Region. We need to: 1) Advocate for the Inland Empire’s Equitable Share of Scarce Public Resources and Do Our Part to Uplift the Capacity of the Region’s Non-Profit Ecosystem to Secure Its Share of Philanthropic Resources; and, 2) Do Our Part to Grow Riverside’s Local Economy and Work in Partnership to Facilitate Opportunities for Improved Quality of Life for All.
· The Riverside Brand. We need to: 1) Tell the Riverside Story Better than Ever to Heighten Riverside’s Brand throughout the World; and, 2) Communicate and Engage More Effectively than Ever with Riverside Residents and Businesses.
· Resilient Riverside. We need to: 1) Elevate the Entire Community’s Preparedness for Natural and Human Caused Conditions and Events; and, 2) Ensure the Financial Health of the City and Stretch Measure Z Dollars for Maximum Public Benefit Locally.
· Self-Reliant Riverside. We need to: 1) Align and Leverage the City’s Utilities to Maximize Local Resource Recovery and Renewable Energy Production; and, 2) Realize a Second Connection to the Electrical Grid and Prepare for Our Electric-Based, Information-Driven Future.
· Riverside Serves. We need to: 1) Demonstrate Continual Improvement to the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Providing Public Services; and, 2) Improve the Volunteerism Infrastructure in Riverside to Benefit All of Riverside.
Building upon the above 5 attributes and 5 areas of focus, I am confident our City Team will continue to excel in providing a responsive, engaged and innovative local government to the residents and business community of Riverside.
In closing, I am looking forward to our journey together and what our team will do to advance public good in the years ahead. I am proud of the services you and our 2,500 colleagues deliver every day – you make a difference. And, I am here for you – if you have an idea, a question, a suggestion or a comment, please let me know – we are each other’s greatest resources.
This is a check off the public participation box. It’s also our chance to ask about projects different communities want funded. Make your input known. There are numerous local food, recreation, environmental and social development projects worthy of consideration.
After receiving feedback from approx. 450 individuals, including faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members, a final report has been compiles to provide guidance regarding UC Riverside’s space needs, transportation, sustainability, safety, and aesthetics.
Below you will find a link to UCR Today’s feature article on the Physical Master Plan Study, as well as a link to the study’s website on UCR’s Capital Asset Strategies page and a link to the study itself.
You are invited to attend a 2 year budget presentation to the community for May 5, 2016 at 6pm at the St. Andrew’s Orthodox Church on Canyon Crest Drive.
Please share the following information with your neighbors and neighborhood groups.
After you’ve sent your 10 emails, post to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram about your free bumper sticker using the #NoFarmsNoFood hashtag. Tag us so we can like your status!
With your help, we can spread the No Farms No Food message and American Farmland Trust’s mission to protect farmland, promote sound farming practices, and keep farmers on the land.
Who remembers Measure L from 2014? Who remembers Dan Bernstein singing “Noel, Noel” on YouTube?
The developer, Terry Manley is threatening to come back in 2016 with the help of two opponents who fought him last year….yes, they are now part of “Team Manley”.
Currently 152 homes can legally be built under the current zoning. He is asking for 725 homes or approximately 5 TIMES that which is currently allowed. Last year he wanted over 1900 homes.
Can you see where this is starting to get insulting to the community?
Allowing outside interests to set a value for our community’s assets is offensive. If it’s warehouses in the Northside, or housing in La Sierra, who says those are Riverside’s only two options?
Community members are speaking up and speaking out. There is a new conversation about best use of our lands that includes all the environmental impacts and where our zoning protects or perverts our communities remaining open spaces.
Riverside’s prosperity has always been tied to the community protecting our unique natural assets. Looks like we’re seeing this conversation move into even more communities faster than last time.
Maybe the idea of a robust agricultural economy that could be easily developed by combining our ownership of water with the 19.5 million hungry consumers living within 90 miles of Riverside.. We can develop clean, sustainable businesses with real jobs if we talk more about how to best use our existing land and water resources. Housing and warehouses or food and prosperity for all? You decide.