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Newsletter - Winter 2011
It's been a busy winter and the Council achieved several milestones since the Fall Newsletter. A few highlights include the Council's
adoption and submission of a Five Year Business Plan to exit bankruptcy in Bankruptcy Court, entering an Exclusive Right to Negotiate Agreement with Mare Island Studios, and adopting 297 assessments to improve the delivery of city services and the quality of life for Vallejo Citizens.
For more information and to provide your comments and questions, stop by my "office hours" on the fourth Saturday of the month between 9:30 and 12:30 pm at the Vallejo Farmer's Market. The next one is March 26. Thanks, Marti Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees. And both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.
~ Henry Clay, American Statesman |
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Reinventing City Government
Speaker Series Round Up
The Reinventing City Government Speaker Series was a success. The objective was to examine and evaluate best practices and other models of managing city government and providing municipal services, as well as to start a dialogue about how to improve service delivery. Four of the five sessions are complete and if you missed these events, you can view the first two panel discussions via online video. 
Budgeting as if YOU Mattered - November 10, 2010
The speakers focused on priority-based budgeting and budgeting for outcomes - the City of Fairfield and Ventura Experience. Speakers: - Rick Cole, City Manager, City of Ventura
- Bob Leland, Director of Finance, City of Fairfield
Download Video: http://vimeo.com/17238705 Contract Cities - December 15, 2010 The speakers focused on the difference between a contract and full-service city and how the contract city model of service delivery works. Speakers: - Sam Olivito, Executive Director, Contract Cities Association
- Steve Falk, City Manager, City of Lafayette
- Robert Archuleta, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Pico Rivera
- Geoff I. Bradley, Principal, M-GROUP
Download Video: http://vimeo.com/18533437 Final Speaker Series The last session in this series will be on education. Dave Cary of New Era Schools and Vallejo resident will present and discuss a model and proposal that he's been working on to improve education in Vallejo. Event: Changing How We Deliver K-12 Education:
A Bold Solution to our Educational Crisis Location: Joseph Room, JFK Library Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Time: 6:30 pm A very special thank you to the speakers who generously donated their time and effort to present on these very relevant and timely topics, Marc Garman of Vallejo Independent Bulletin for videotaping , Katy Miessner, David Cates, Michelle Whitney, the Mira Theatre Guild Board of Directors, the Courtyard Marriott, Karol Heppe and Jane Ferrier. Without their support and generosity, these events would not have been possible. |
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New Partner's Smart Growth Conference
Building Safe, Healthy and Livable Communities
"Think Amish. But think Amish with telecommunications." ~ Andres Duany, Co-founder of the Congress on at the Smart Growth Conference
"If you're African American, you will not live past 50 and if you do, you're just lucky." ~ the observation and conclusion of a young African American woman researching health-related issues in West Oakland
I just returned from the Smart Growth Conference in North Carolina a few weeks ago where I was joined by Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson (along with more than 1,000 other planners, architects, activists, elected officials, government workers and consultants). I was amazed at the great city planning, collaboration and community activism that is going on throughout the country and right here in the Bay Area.
To highlight just one of the sessions I attended, the Convergence Partnership (a consortium of six foundations) is collaborating with a variety of local grassroots groups to address the often overlooked relationships and connections between community violence, healthy eating and active living. In this session, several groups from around the country discussed various approaches to addressing these issues. For example, the Prevention Institute has addressed these planning challenges by working to create safe spaces, promote community development and employment, and foster social cohesion. The Healthy Eating, Active Living Cities Campaign is also working with California cities to implement similar initiatives focused on land use planning and healthy living. To learn more about the Convergence Partnership and other groups working in this area, listen to the panel discussion
on Working in Partnership towards Equity.
Read Mayor Elizabeth Patterson's e-alert and learn more about her observations of the conference.
The following conference sessions can be heard online:
Working in Partnership towards Equity: Creating Safe and Healthy Communities - PolicyLink, Prevention Institute, Community Health Improvement Partners, Matrix Human Services, and Revision International
Implementing quality improvements in public spaces through Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and increase economic development and safe access to healthy food resources.
Slow Development - Andres Duany, Architect and Co-Founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism
Today, land is cheap and money is unavailable. Hear how we can take advantage of this inversion.
Rethinking Smart Growth: Is Smart Growth good enough?
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Natural Resources Defense Council, Good Clancy & Associates, Jonathan Rose Companies, and Bay Area LISC
How does density benefit neighborhood planning and what risks does it bring? What is the benefit of density to low-income communities and people? What are some best practices when working with density?
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Side Tracked: Little Italy, San Diego
Community Benefits District: Success Story
 In preparation for the January speaker's series on Community Benefits Districts, I visited Little Italy, San Diego over the December holidays to learn more about the District's success. San Diego's Little Italy District is only a few blocks long, but it's bustling with vibrant outdoor piazzas and cafes, filled with Italian restaurants, specialty shops and galleries, and surrounded by high-density residential development and boutique hotels. After a two-hour tour of the District with Marco Li Mandri, the Executive Director of the Little Italy Association and New City America, it was clear that the District's success can be distilled into a handful of key points: - Cohesive collaboration between the Board, District Management and District Members that is results--not process--oriented;
- Independent and sustainable revenue source (CBD) combined with one-time revenue sources (e.g., grants) that allow for implementation of new improvements and activities.
- Aggressive marketing, branding and promotion of the District and its activities as a destination place with unique character.
- One voice for the District in articulating its identity;
- High degree of focus on place-making (e.g., Piazzas), urban design and planning; and
- Combining the 'old' with the 'new.'
Stay tuned in the Spring Newsletter for an article comparing the various types of assessment districts and a link to the Video of Marco Li Mandri's presentation.
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Meet the Planning Interns
 Jonathan Atkinson, Planning Intern, Downtown Revitalization - Best Practices Jonathan graduated from San Francisco State University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Minor in Criminal Justice Studies. He is also a 2006 graduate of Jesse Bethel High School. He is currently applying to graduate school where he plans to pursue a Masters of Urban Planning.
Favorite quote: "Some men see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say why not?"
~ Robert F. Kennedy
John Conrad, Planning Intern,
Permitting Process John attends Napa Valley Community College and works at Napoli's. He is a 2009 graduate of Mare Island Technology Academy. While at MIT, he was also the Student Representative on the school's Board of Directors making policy recommendations to improve student life on campus. Favorite quote: "The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle." ~ Navy Seals Motto |
Political Internship (unpaid)
Research various policy topics, plan and coordinate events, and provide miscellaneous administrative support.
GIS Internship (unpaid)
Research and assemble various Vallejo socio-economic and planning data and prepare a GIS map reflecting the results of the data collection.This internship requires access to, expertise in and use of ARC GIS.
Planning Internship (unpaid) - Film Ordinance
Help draft a film ordinance similar to those in the cities of San Francisco and Santa Clarita.
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Grab Bag
Vallejo Downtown Campus
As you may recall, students from Sausalito-based SWA Group's innovative 2010 summer internship program developed conceptual designs for a Downtown Vallejo college campus last summer. Six planning and landscape students from leading universities explored their own ideas for this unique design challenge. The concept designs were published in an article in the American Planning Association's "New Planner" (in a download-friendly format). If you didn't get a chance to review them in the Fall Newsletter, check out this easy to read article highlighting these bold and creative urban design ideas.
Fix the Budget How will you balance the State budget? Take the California Budget Challenge - Next 10 Reprint - Letter to the Editor, Fairfield Fire Services Read former Fairfield City Councilmember Jack Batson's perspective on Fairfield's Fire Department services in his Letter to the Editor published last fall. Any similarities? |
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All information, opinions, and content of this e-newsletter reflect the
individual speech and personal opinion of Marti Brown and do not represent the
position of the City of Vallejo. This e-newsletter is not endorsed,
supported by or in any way affiliated with the City of Vallejo. |
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