Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The council approved 12 routine items on consent, including a $225,000 contract with Cypress Mandela Training Center for construction job training and accepting a $500,000 state grant for job training programs. The consent calendar also created several new city positions and approved a $87,417 office trailer purchase.

The council approved design guidelines for additions to historic homes by a 6-1 vote, with Bates voting no. The new rules will establish standards for home additions to preserve the character of heritage properties. Currently, the city lacks specific guidelines for how residents can modify historic homes.

Council members voted 6-1 to set quorum rules for Design Review Board meetings, with Mayor McLaughlin casting the lone no vote. The new rules require at least 3 members to be present for the board to conduct business. Any decisions require approval from a majority of attending members.

The council unanimously approved allowing Sister City Commission members to serve on multiple city boards at once. Richmond currently limits residents to serving on only one board or commission at a time. The change will help fill Sister City Commission seats since many qualified volunteers already serve elsewhere.

Two measures passed unanimously to help the city collect unpaid fines from property owners. The council authorized adding unpaid administrative citation fines and cleanup costs to property tax bills as special assessments. Property owners who don't pay code violation fines will now see those costs added to their tax bills."}