> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.grandviewindependent.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # On the agenda: new police cameras, a license plate reader critic and a Chevron health study - URL: https://www.grandviewindependent.com/on-the-agenda-new-police-cameras-a-license-plate-reader-critic-and-a-chevron-health-study/ - Published: 2026-10-04T16:22:15.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-04T16:22:15.000Z - Author: Soren Hemmila - Tags: City Council Updates Richmond police are asking the City Council for a third time on Tuesday to approve a $3.5 million deal with Axon to replace the city's Flock license plate cameras. The council will also hear from a group opposed to the technology and will get its first look at a preliminary study of the health impacts of air pollution from the Chevron refinery. ### [Axon cameras, third try](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63344&ref=grandviewindependent.com) The deal was [put off twice in September](https://www.grandviewindependent.com/on-the-agenda-an-interim-city-manager-more-police-cameras-and-168-tons-of-trash/). It would add 110 license plate readers, 60 surveillance cameras and 11 drones to the city's existing Axon contract, which already covers police body cameras and Tasers. The contract would grow to $12 million. A separate $500,000 deal would install security cameras at city sites, including Shields-Reid Park and the Civic Center. Police say the switch would save money. The city pays Flock about $1 million a year, compared with about $700,000 annually for the Axon equipment. Police also cite problems with Flock, including bills for equipment that was never installed, cameras pointed the wrong way, and slow repairs. The city [shut off its Flock cameras](https://www.grandviewindependent.com/richmond-police-halt-license-plate-readers/) last fall after learning that police agencies across the country could search Richmond's data. The council [voted 4-3 in March](https://www.grandviewindependent.com/richmond-council-votes-to-reinstate-flock-safety-license-plate-readers/) to keep Flock through the end of the year. Under Axon, police say, outside agencies would have to ask RPD to run searches for them. Seven residents have submitted written comments on the contract so far, four in favor and three opposed. Several supporters cited the recent killing in El Cerrito and the [23rd Street hit-and-run](https://www.grandviewindependent.com/richmond-police-investigate-fatal-hit-and-run-near-23rd-street-and-hellings-avenue/), where police say license plate cameras helped identify suspects. "I've watched this topic for years, and until recently, I was agnostic," wrote Edith Alderette. "Recent events, particularly the recent El Cerrito murder and the hit-and-run homicide on 23rd St., where cameras were key to apprehending the suspects, have changed my mind." Opponents said changing vendors wouldn't fix the underlying problem. "Axon is just a different company offering the same so-called services as Flock," wrote Alicia Alexander. "Save the money and invest in community-based policing that is proven to work." ### [A study and a critic](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63418&ref=grandviewindependent.com) Councilmembers Claudia Jimenez and Sue Wilson and Vice Mayor Doria Robinson want two things before making a decision. The first is a $20,000 study on whether license plate readers have helped Richmond police solve crimes, recover stolen cars and secure convictions. The second is a [presentation](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63377&ref=grandviewindependent.com) from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group. Its slides argue that the cameras track everyone who drives past, not just suspects, and that a misread license plate can lead to a dangerous police stop. The presentation ends with this: "Given how pervasive, sprawling, and ungovernable ALPR sharing networks have become, the only feature update we can truly rely on to protect people's rights and safety is no network at all." ### [Slowing down 23rd Street](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63375&ref=grandviewindependent.com) Councilmembers Jamelia Brown and Cesar Zepeda want quick safety fixes on 23rd Street. The item follows two deadly pedestrian crashes in the area in the past six weeks. On August 23, 81-year-old Rafael Delgado was [killed by a hit-and-run driver](https://www.grandviewindependent.com/richmond-police-investigate-fatal-hit-and-run-near-23rd-street-and-hellings-avenue/) while crossing at 23rd Street. A month later, a man was [struck and killed](https://www.grandviewindependent.com/police-investigate-fatal-pedestrian-collision/) while crossing Maricopa Avenue just off 23rd Street. Brown and Zepeda want high-visibility crosswalks with pedestrian-activated flashing beacons, along with new signs and pavement markings. They also want speed signs that show drivers how fast they’re going. They're asking the city manager to report back in 30 days with locations, costs, funding sources, and a timeline. The city named 23rd Street a priority in its 2022 road safety plan. A 2023 pedestrian and bike plan called for better crossings and flashing beacons at several spots along the street. Most of that work hasn't been built. Brown and Zepeda say the quick fixes wouldn't replace a larger redesign of the street, which will take years to plan and fund. They want staff to check whether funds from the city's new neighborhood traffic safety program could pay for them. The cost isn't known yet. ### [Chevron refinery health study](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63383&ref=grandviewindependent.com) The Bay Area Air District will present a preliminary study that uses predictive modeling to estimate health outcomes from the Chevron refinery's routine air pollution. The draft model is based upon 2021 emissions and estimates that a person living at the single most-exposed spot, just south of the refinery, would have up to a 37-in-a-million chance of developing cancer over a lifetime. The level that would require Chevron to cut emissions is 10 in a million. The model also put short-term exposure slightly over its limit. The figures are a worst-case prediction for one location, not an accurate measurement of what most residents breathe. The Air District says the numbers could go up or down after it reviews public comments and Chevron's response. If the final numbers stay above the limits, Chevron would have five years to reduce emissions. Comments are due November 23. ### [Show us the money](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63370&ref=grandviewindependent.com) Robinson and Jimenez want a full report on city finances at the October 20 meeting, including revenue, spending, reserves, and how much Chevron settlement money remains. They also want an outside expert to review the numbers. ### [Armor for police](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63369&ref=grandviewindependent.com) Councilmember Soheila Bana wants the city to seek grants for two armored police vehicles. Richmond has none of its own and borrows them from other agencies, which Bana says can take hours. Bana points to the [September 3 shooting on Key Boulevard](https://www.grandviewindependent.com/police-activity-prompts-shelter-in-place-order-on-key-boulevard/), when an officer was wounded, and police called in armored vehicles from outside the city. ### [A home for veterans](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63354&ref=grandviewindependent.com) The Richmond nonprofit Veterans Resource Program will present plans for more than 200 apartments for veterans at 338 Carlson Boulevard. The project would also include shops and job training. ### [Trouble on the beach](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63356&ref=grandviewindependent.com) Point Richmond's 1959 sewer line runs through the sand at Keller Beach and is falling apart. New hookups have been on hold for years. Repair options range from an $800,000 temporary fix to a roughly $21 million replacement. The city expects to make a recommendation in November or December. ### [Ready for the big one](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63372&ref=grandviewindependent.com) Bana and Jimenez want the city to create a disaster preparedness commission, citing earthquake, wildfire, tsunami, and refinery risks. ### [Room to dance](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63373&ref=grandviewindependent.com) Bana wants the city to help cultural groups find space to rehearse and teach. Aztec, Arab, Hispanic, Cambodian, and Nepalese groups have asked for help. Huitzilin Aztec Dance, one of them, says it can't afford regular facility fees. ### [**Blue curbs** get **rules**](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63349&ref=grandviewindependent.com) Richmond gets about 21 requests a year for blue curb parking spaces for people with disabilities, but it has never had a written policy for handling them. Public Works will present a draft program for reviewing, installing, and removing the spaces. Under the draft, the city would look at the whole block around a request and pick the best spot. That means a new space might not land in front of the person who asked for it, and it wouldn't be reserved for them. Paint and signs cost about $3,500 per space, and curb ramps or sidewalk work would add more. Staff wants the council's direction on whether to charge application or appeal fees. ### On the consent calendar The council would [cancel its November 24 and December 22 meetings](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63368&ref=grandviewindependent.com) and add one on November 10\. Other items include a [$5.5 million repair contract](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63385&ref=grandviewindependent.com) for the Point Potrero Marine Terminal, [$50,000 in community grants](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63378&ref=grandviewindependent.com) and a [city co-sponsored memorial](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63417&ref=grandviewindependent.com) for Dr. Desmond Carson, a Richmond-born physician and youth football coach. Staff also want to [move about $200,000 in leftover federal pandemic relief money](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63394&ref=grandviewindependent.com) from the North Richmond Pump Station, which came in under budget, to street paving before a December 31 spending deadline. They want to begin [talks with local hotels about reviving the Richmond Tourism Marketing District](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63410&ref=grandviewindependent.com), which charged hotels a fee for tourism marketing from 2015 to 2020\. The council would also spend $14,985 more on [live Spanish translation of council meetings](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63363&ref=grandviewindependent.com) and $46,625 to [renovate the Nicholl Park tennis courts](https://pub-richmond.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=63437&ref=grandviewindependent.com). Bruce Brubaker would be reappointed to the Planning Commission, and Shayna Keyles would join the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee. 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