City of Riverside, California Ward 6 Update

Jim Perry City Council Member - Ward 6

A Message From Your Council Member… 

Welcome our new City Manager John Russo! Mr. Russo spent four years as City Manager of Alameda, previously served as the City Attorney of Oakland for 11 years and was a City Council Member there for five years prior to that. During his tenure, he worked with current Gov. Jerry Brown, who was Mayor of Oakland from 1999-2007. 

 

His 27 years in California’s legal and government communities give him an extensive professional network in both Sacramento and Washington, D.C. While in Alameda, Russo planned and executed the entitlements for redevelopment of the Alameda Naval Air Station, which closed in 1997. Now known as Alameda Point, the 1,000-acre waterfront property across the bay from San Francisco is a huge economic development opportunity for the city. Russo balanced Alameda’s general fund budget, increasing its reserves while maintaining service levels and creating a 22-year plan for repairing and replacing all city sewers and roads. He oversaw the city’s electric utility and promoted transparency and responsiveness.

“Riverside has an excellent reputation around the state because of its ability to blend a reverence for its unique local history with an aggressive and groundbreaking public improvement program like the Riverside Renaissance. My family and I are looking forward to becoming part of such a vibrant and inclusive community.”   -John Russo

  

 I would also like to thank our Interim City Manager Lee McDougal for his leadership during this transition period. His sound expertise is admired and appreciated by the City staff and residents. Thank you Lee!

Jim Perry

JPerry@Riversideca.gov 

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Senior Citizen Nominations

 

The Mayor's Commission on Aging has been hard at work organizing August 21^st as Senior Citizens' Day- meant to honor the many contributions of senior citizens to our City.  The MCOA will hold its Awards Ceremony that day honoring one senior from each ward for his/her significant contributions to Riverside.  We are seeking nominations for these awards during the month of May.  The nomination forms will be available for download on the City's website on May 1^st.  Minimum age requirement for nominees is 55 years old and they must be Riverside residents.  All nomination forms must be accompanied by an essay describing the nominee's accomplishments, contributions, or volunteer efforts.  Both the nomination form and essay must be received in the Mayor's Office by 6/1/15. Questions may be emailed to AgingCommission@riversideca.gov.

 

Vons Closure

 

The Vons supermarket located in the La Sierra Plaza Shopping Center is scheduled to close May 16^th. In January, Albertsons completed a merger with Safeway, which owned the Vons chain. The store is one of a handful of Vons markets that are closing after the merger. The City is reaching out to the broker regarding a replacement for the site. At the moment, no commitment has been made for a new occupant of this building. We will keep residents posted as we have further discussions.

 

 Economic Development

 

Below is a snapshot of the City of Riverside’s Economic Development Team effort for

the month of April 2015:

• Number of new business licenses issued: 144
• Building permits issued: 344 valued at $17,090,384
• Job creation (July 2014 – February 2015) 1,149
• Employment rate: 138,300
• Median single family home price: $310,000
• Social media followers: 43,975 total followers; 30,396 City followers
• Economic Development Weekly E-Newsletter 4,184 subscribers

 

Sales Tax Update

Receipts for Riverside’s October through December sales were 2.3% above the same quarter a one year ago. Actual sales activity was up 5.9%. Local business activity was solidly up. The autos and transportation group showed the largest dollar gains due to strong sales of new and used au­tos and increases in auto leasing. Restaurants and hotels, also up, benefited from new business addi­tions and growing consumer desire for restaurant meals. De­partment stores and apparel stores added most to the general consum­er goods gain. Net of reporting aberrations build­ing and construction and food and drug receipts were up. Lower prices at the pump pared fuel and service station totals. Taxable sales for all of Riverside Coun­ty grew 5.3% over the comparable time period, while the Southern Cal­ifornia region was up 4.3%.

 

Construction Curiosity

What is going on behind the green vinyl on the Target parking lot on Tyler Street? Preparation has begun for a new building that will potentially include a new restaurant. The City is working with the property owner to attract a sit down restaurant for the new site. We hope to have prospective interested parties narrowed down in the next few months.

 

Board and Commissions

Ward 6 needs your help! We are looking for a volunteer to serve and represent the voice of Ward 6 on our Metropolitan Museum Board. View current vacancies for Ward 6 and Citywide seats by clicking here. Submit an application and be the voice for our ward.

Edison Delivers
Congratulations to Sophia Lee (Senior at La Sierra High School) for being selected by Southern California Edison as their 2015 Scholarship Recipient. Sophia was awarded a $40,000 scholarship. She has been accepted at Harvard University, but is also considering MIT or Yale for her college plans.

 

 

Community Events

05/05 City Council @ Council Chambers/3900 Main St. (6:30pm)

05/09 Color Run @ Wells Middle School/10000 Wells Avenue (8:00am)

05/12 City Council @ Council Chambers/3900 Main St. (6:30pm)

05/19 City Council @ Council Chambers/3900 Main St. (6:30pm)

05/23 Chili Cook-off @ Arlington Square (9:30am-5:00pm)