Richmond residents will get a glimpse tonight into how the city plans to determine what to do with its $550 million Chevron settlement.
According to the meeting agenda, District 4 councilmember Soheila Bana wants to direct city staff to consider spending $100,000 on a consultant who would determine what the community wants the money spent on, with examples including things such as improving public safety and quality-of-life services such as the city’s infrastructure needs and “unfunded obligations.”
Bana also wants the council to explore establishing a reserve fund for the money.
In a separate Chevron-related item, Vice Mayor Claudia Jimenez, District 6, and District 5 and 3 council members Gayle McLaughlin and Doria Robinson, are presenting a resolution that would lay out the city’s intentions for managing the spending of more than half a billion dollars, to be paid over 10 years. Both Jimenez and Robinson were on an ad-hoc committee which negotiated the settlement with Chevron.
The resolution would guide the types of expenditures that the funds could be used for while prohibiting city employees from making “alternative” plans or committing the funds without the council’s approval.
The Chevron settlement funds have been a hot topic in the Richmond City Council race, dominating various candidate events of the election season, including a League of Women Voters forum and a Meet-the-Candidates night co-hosted by Richmondside.
During the special meeting to approve the Chevron settlement, McLaughlin said she would be presenting a resolution to allocate some of the funding for a “just transition.” The settlement was reached in lieu of putting a refinery tax on the ballot, as had been proposed by Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) and Communities for a Better Environment (CBE).
“I look forward to doing that and collaborating with the environmental justice groups who have done so much for Richmond and continue to do more as we go forward,” McLaughlin said at that meeting.
Also at that meeting, Megan Zapanta, Richmond organizing director with APEN, said to the honor work of environmental groups the council should commit to using some of the money to prepare the city for a post-refinery future, including, for example, a environmental cleanup if or when Chevron ceases operations.
“Five hundred and fifty million is an unprecedented amount of money, and none of that would be possible without the frontline community residents who have been living day after day in the shadow of the refinery,” Zapanta said.
Bana sent an email to supporters this morning urging them to attend tonight’s meeting, saying she’s “puzzled” by what she said is APEN’s opposition to her idea to hire a consultant.
“We need to ensure that Special Interest Groups do not dictate how these funds are spent, and that all Richmond residents are heard on how to best improve the lives of Richmond residents,” Bana wrote in the email.
Commission appointments and Pedie Perez street renaming
In addition to the Chevron settlement, Bana also plans to introduce a discussion on amending Richmond’s Municipal Code 3.14 to limit the percentage of members on boards and commissions that belong to any single political advocacy group or organization.
Bana’s suggested amendment comes two weeks after Community Police Review Commission’s (CPRC) investigator Jerry Threet resigned from his position, claiming new commissioners appointed to the civilian oversight body have not been objective and are biased. Threet, however, did not disclose which commission members of the civilian oversight body he was referring to.
A number of appointments by Mayor Eduardo Martinez are slated for tonight with four appointments for the Community Crisis Response Program Advisory Board, one for the Community Police Review Commission, one for Arts and Culture, one for the Aging Commission and one for the Economic Development Commission.
The city council will also look to finalize plans to rename a portion of Spring Street south of Cutting Boulevard to honor the life of Richard “Pedie” Perez, who was killed 10 years ago by former Richmond Police Department officer Wallace Jensen outside of Sam’s Liquors.
Prior to the council’s summer recess, Pedie’s father Rick Perez voiced his support of the renaming, saying he hoped it would take place soon so that his wife, Julie, who has been battling health issues, could see it happen.
“I hope this happens fairly soon,” he said. “Please, whatever anyone can do I appreciate it because my wife’s health is declining very quickly.”
