Council Deadlocks on Craneway Pavilion as $12M Liability Splits Vote

Richmond's City Council unanimously launched the path toward a paramedic ballot measure but couldn't find consensus on the fate of a historic waterfront event venue — a split that may cost the city control of the Craneway Pavilion for years. The marathon seven-hour session also surfaced escalating tensions between the police union and city management, and a retirement announcement that will reshape city leadership.

• Council unanimously advances polling for a November 2026 ballot measure to fund engine-based paramedics and $100M in fire station replacements

• Craneway Pavilion donation deadlocked — both a motion to deny and a motion to approve failed, likely sending the historic Ford-era building to a marine nonprofit

• Police union publicly demands 360-degree review of city manager, citing micromanagement and staffing at a 30-year low of 147 officers

• City Manager Shasa Curl announces she will retire after three park renovation projects are completed

• Marina Bay residents deliver coordinated complaints about cumulative development impacts and an unresponsive council member

• Richmond wins APWA NorCal Best Project award for its 2.25-mile Ferry to Bridge to Greenway protected bikeway

No Deal: Craneway Pavilion Vote Collapses

The longest and most contentious item of the night ended without resolution — and the consequences could take years to untangle.

The basics: The Craneway Pavilion at 1414 Harbor Way South is a 45,000-square-foot event space inside the historic Ford assembly plant on Richmond's waterfront. The city invested $20 million in public funds to renovate the building and leased it to Orton Entertainment at $1 per year under a 55-year evergreen clause. After failed pickleball operations left Orton unable to maintain the property, the company offered to donate its leasehold interest back to the city.

Why it matters: Due diligence by Special Counsel Dave Aleshire and Special Counsel Anne Lanphar revealed $12 million in deferred maintenance over the next decade, including $4 million in wharf repairs. Public Works Director Daniel Chavarria estimated the true cost could reach $30 million in today's dollars and warned the work would compete with other capital projects citywide. Orton agreed to contribute only $80,000 at closing, plus indemnification for pickleball litigation and dock removal. The city had already spent $105,980 in legal fees negotiating the deal through September 2025.

A critical wrinkle: the building's event operations depend on an auxiliary lease from Madison Capital that provides access to restrooms, a kitchen, common areas, and parking — and that lease is tied to the ground lease's existence.

Where things stand: The council split sharply. Councilmember Soheila Bana led the opposition, calling the agreement a liability dressed up as a gift.

"We are not being [given] a gift. We are handed over a liability," she said.

The other side: Councilmember Sue Wilson argued the building will eventually revert to the city regardless and urged the council to accept it now.

"I'm not excited about taking on this liability either, but it's coming to us," she said,.

Wilson added there the city has "a little bit of money" to begin hosting community events.

Vice Mayor Doria Robinson expressed deep reservations about the timing.

"I more and more believe that this is not the right time to do that when we've making so much progress on turning things around in the core of the city," she said, citing the city's inability to fund existing maintenance obligations.

Decisions: The motion to deny, moved by Bana, failed 3-3-1 (For: Brown, Bana, Zepeda; Against: Martinez, Jimenez, Wilson; Abstain: Robinson). The subsequent motion to approve, moved by Wilson, also failed 3-4 (For: Jimenez, Wilson, Martinez; Against: Brown, Bana, Robinson, Zepeda). Robinson's shift from abstain to no on the second vote sealed the outcome.

What's next: With no council action, Orton is expected to donate the lease to an alternate marine-use nonprofit — potentially ending the Craneway's use as a community event center for years while the city retains fee ownership but loses control of the leasehold and the critical auxiliary lease for restrooms, kitchen, and parking.

Richmond Moves Toward Paramedic Ballot Measure

Last in the County, First to the Ballot

The council's most unified moment of the night came on the city's most pressing public safety gap.

The basics: Richmond is the last agency in Contra Costa County without paramedic-level service on fire engines. The fire department responded to more than 15,000 calls last year, with over 8,000 classified as EMS incidents — all handled at the EMT level, not the paramedic level that can administer advanced cardiac and trauma care.

Why it matters: Fire Chief Aaron Osorio framed the stakes in clinical terms.

"Having paramedics on scene within the first four minutes matters when you are in cardiac arrest. It matters when you sustain major traumatic injuries in a vehicle accident," he said.

Supervisor John Gioia of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors made the case personal.

"In 1987, my father at the age of 58 was walking his dog in front of his house in Richmond, suffered classic cardiac arrest. And by the time the ambulance arrived and revived him, he had suffered pretty severe brain damage," he told the council.

Gioia proposed a county partnership: once Richmond implements engine-based paramedics, the county's EMS response time standard could shift from 10 to 11:45 minutes, generating ambulance contract savings of potentially $1 million that could flow back to Richmond.

Deal Math

Finance Director Emily Combs presented the revenue options. The five-year ALS operating cost is estimated at $20.5 million total, roughly $4.1 million annualized. Fire station capital needs — replacements for Stations 63, 66, and 67 plus upgrades — total approximately $100 million. Revenue tools on the table include parcel taxes ($50–$150 per parcel generating $1.6M–$4.9M annually), general obligation bonds, benefit assessments, and first-responder service fees.

City Manager Shasa Curl placed the ask in context.

"As you are aware, we have approximately a billion dollars worth of deferred capital needs," she said, emphasizing the polling is designed to give the council informed options rather than commit to a single mechanism.

Two public commenters during the item urged caution. Irania opposed any new parcel tax, saying her property taxes had already increased $300 in one year. Tarnell Abbott expressed support for the fire department but questioned the cost difference between firefighter EMTs and non-fire-department EMTs.

Decisions: The council voted unanimously, 7-0, to direct staff to begin polling residents and explore revenue pathways for a potential November 2026 ballot measure covering both ALS operations and fire station capital projects.

What's next: Staff will conduct community polling to gauge support and identify preferred revenue mechanisms. Results will inform the specific ballot measure language the council considers in the coming months.

Police Union Fires Public Shot at City Manager

360-Degree Demand

The Richmond Police Officers Association (RPOA) used pre-closed-session public comment to escalate a labor dispute into a public confrontation over city leadership.

Why it matters: RPOA President Ben Terrio formally called on the council to adopt a 360-degree evaluation process for City Manager Shasa Curl.

"The RPOA is formally calling on this council to adopt a 360-degree evaluation process for the city manager. One that includes direct confidential input from labor, the public, and not something just filtered through HR," he said

He claimed there was a pattern of micromanagement and 24 stalled pay changes tracked on spreadsheets affecting multiple unions.

RPOA member Don Nelson reported that the police contract has been expired since July 2025 and that officers continue to leave the department.

The other side: Curl pushed back forcefully.

"I am not going to be bullied by our POA. We were scheduled to meet with them on Friday, April 17, and they canceled the meeting," she said.

She added that the city has 14 items to address with RPOA outside regular MOU negotiations.

Staffing Crisis by the Numbers

During Open Forum later in the meeting, Terrio returned with specifics:

"Police staffing, currently at 147, lowest in Richmond history well over 30 years, needs to be in the 170s, 180s for our population in demand."

He said only 112 officers are actually available for street duty, and cited the Raftelis report, Matrix report, and Contra Costa County Grand Jury as all concluding Richmond needs staffing in the 170s to 180s.

City Manager Curl Announces Retirement

During her city manager report, City Manager Shasa Curl announced she will retire from the City of Richmond after three park renovation projects — Shields-Reid, Boorman Park, and Wendell Park — are completed.

Why it matters: Curl's departure will trigger a leadership transition during a period of complex labor negotiations, a billion dollars in deferred capital needs, a potential ballot measure campaign, and unresolved questions about the Craneway Pavilion.

Multiple Open Forum speakers praised her tenure. Lori Hart thanked her for the police department's success and what she called a dramatically low homicide rate. Cordell Hendler was more blunt, declaring,

"She's not going nowhere, not on my watch."

Speakers cited the city's improved B3 credit rating and removal from the state's high-risk audit category as signature accomplishments.

Marina Bay Residents Sound the Alarm

Three Marina Bay residents delivered a coordinated message: their neighborhood is absorbing cumulative development impacts while their requests go unanswered.

Margarita Mitas of the Marina Bay Neighborhood Council outlined the convergence of the TransMontaigne expansion (30 trains, 95 trucks, hazardous materials), the Marina Point housing development, and OpenAI's proposed 24/7 operations — while longstanding requests for a quiet zone, pedestrian safety improvements, and park investments remain unfulfilled.

Lynn described months of failed attempts to reach Councilmember Sue Wilson by email and phone, saying she received a response only after posting on Nextdoor.

Susan Lustig, a 38-year Marina Bay resident and member of the lighting and landscape committee, reported the city told her committee that the council is "not in favor of supporting special districts" and refused to allow use of reserve funds to hire landscaping contractors despite deteriorating conditions.

Richmond Bikeway Wins Regional Award

Brian Balbas of the APWA NorCal Chapter presented the Best Project award in the transportation category (under $5 million) for Richmond's Ferry to Bridge to Greenway project — 2.25 miles of Class 4 protected bikeways connecting the Richmond Ferry Terminal, the Richmond Greenway, and the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge Trail. The project overcame tight BNSF railroad and I-580 corridors and was partially funded by $424,000 in private-sector developer donations. It also won the 2024 APA Transportation Project of the Year for all of California and has been forwarded for APWA national consideration at the August conference in Houston.

The ceremony doubled as an informal farewell for Deputy Public Works Director and City Engineer Robert Armijo, who is departing. Multiple staff members testified to his mentorship and leadership.

Minor Items

• Meeting extension approved 5-2 (Councilmember Brown and Councilmember Bana voting no) to continue the Craneway Pavilion discussion past the regular adjournment time.

• Nevin Plaza concerns: Elizabeth Woods raised alarm about structural integrity at the Nevin Plaza senior housing renovation, describing cosmetic repairs covering rotten concrete, exposed wiring, and crumbling masonry, and requested an independent structural audit.

• Traffic calming: Michael Hibma reported submitting speed-bump requests for Grant Avenue near Grant School on March 10 and July 16, 2025, with zero response after three follow-up emails. Ashton Damon of the Richmond Youth Council urged installation of accessible push buttons at crosswalks citywide, noting he has been diagnosed with low vision and that every neighboring city — San Pablo, El Cerrito, Oakland — has auditory crossing signals that Richmond lacks.

• Richmond United Soccer Club: Samantha Torres announced free FIFA Fan Zone watch parties and advocated for the McDonald mini field project on vacant city land in the Iron Triangle, citing 738 petition signatures.

• Chevron Community Action Plan: Lily Rahima provided an update on community resilience grants including asthma programs and home energy savings, and invited the public to a Town Hall on April 23.

• Don Gosney of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 342 promoted apprentice program signups in May.

• Cindy Hayden thanked the city for restoring Detective Hodges to duty.