Posted: 02/10/2010 08:38:00 AM PST

Vallejo City Councilwoman Erin Hannigan said the city has seen proposed projects fail, and cannot be blamed for concerns about the joint city-Solano County Board of Supervisors project. Hannigan stressed that the development, including retail aspects, is needed.

"It's easy to say it's unique, but I think you need to look at unique from a 100 miles out, to make sure it's really a draw," Hannigan said.

The proposed agreement was modified with updated feasibility projections for a large-scale development, and to include the city's Redevelopment Agency as a partner.

Several speakers shared concerns about information in a city-funded November "peer review" study that looked at the financial financial feasibility of fairgrounds development.

The county has spent an estimated $1.5 million on the project so far, Assistant City Manager/Community Development Director Craig Whittom told the council.

Joe Feller, who led citizen protest against a proposed Wal-Mart store opening in Vallejo, said that money could have been better spent elsewhere.

Anita Hawkes, Vallejo Chamber of Commerce interim president and CEO, spoke in support of the proposed city-county agreement.

Resident Kim White, however, asked the council to focus on its downtown development, and to be careful the fairgrounds project does not sap resources from that area.

The council was still discussing the issue as of press time.

Phil Tucker, project director for the California Healthy Communities Network, asked the council to consider the fallout of having significant revenue-generating businesses relocate to the fairgrounds, where the city would only receive a portion of those businesses' sales taxes.

Councilwoman Stephanie Gomes said she was comfortable moving forward with the non-binding deal, despite some of her own and others' concerns, because "it's just an agreement to get things started."

The council was still discussing the issue as of press time.

Contact staff writer Jessica A. York at (707) 553-6834 or jyork@timesheraldonline.com.

Posted: 01/27/2010 01:13:51 AM PST

The council gave a nod to the first reading of an ordinance that will give preferential treatment to established vendors within city limits when the businesses bid on city projects, at the urging of the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce.

The council also forwarded work on an ordinance that would allow the city manager more leeway in approving city contracts, setting the threshold for council approval at a higher dollar amount.

The draft proposal to give the city manager more spending discretion, within the confines of the council-approved budget, moved the manager's oversight from $25,000 up to $100,000 for general contracts, and from $50,000 to $150,000 for public works contracts. The city would also not have to send projects out to bid for spending as high as $3,000, up from the current $1,000 limit.

Several council members expressed concerns over added city manager discretion, as it applied to professional services, like consultant contracts.

The local business purchasing preference ordinance provides a 5 percent "leeway" on bids from local vendors. That means that if a local business bid on a city contract and came in less than 5 percent above the lowest bidder, the city contractor would win the bid. The program will be up for review in one year.

The council also approved an agreement to enter into a one-year pilot program with other Solano County transit operators designed to provide subsidized and Americans with Disabilities Act-conforming taxicab service.

The council also gave the city manager to move two city employees, filling the executive assistant positions for the city manager and mayor, into the city's middle-management labor group. The two positions have traditionally been classified with unrepresented management workers.

Discussion of a proposed June ballot initiative had not begun as of press time.

Posted: 01/24/2010 12:33:53 AM PST

It's said these students are bored or have lost hope, have issues at home, or are stuck with teachers who need more training.

Whatever the reason for Vallejo's excessive school dropout rate, the Chamber of Commerce Educational Task Force wants to help reduce it.

Chairman Ian Kaiser said the panel plans to help fashion programs and curricula to turn out the type of person local businesses want to hire.

A group of about 40 school, business and community leaders met recently to develop ways to accomplish these goals.

The idea was to begin developing an agenda for an Education Business Summit planned for Touro University in April, Kaiser said.

The recent session began with Ford Foundation representatives highlighting their best practices with chambers nationwide, he said.

"I'm really excited for the chamber to be part of a new attempt to work with the Ford Foundation, which has seen success in other parts of the country," Vallejo Chamber of Commerce Interim President Anita Hawkes said.

Hawkes said the concepts discussed include expanding a program of small high school academies geared toward helping students acquire specific skill sets.

"You talk to the kids, find out what they're interested in, and that's the career path they take," she said. "So, the students can come out of school prepared to land a job if need be."

Vallejo school board member Raymond Victor Mommsen, who attended the meeting, said he, too, sees potential in the proposals. "There's not one, big solution out there, but I think it's wonderful that the chamber is once again paying attention to education," he said.

But just as there are many factors contributing to what he calls Vallejo's "appalling" dropout rate, Mommsen said, there also are many possible approaches to turning it around.

The Vallejo City Unified School District's dropout rate is 39.9 percent, much higher than Solano County's 22.4 percent and the state average of 18.9 percent.

"I think the district shouldn't accept anything less than perfect, and that's pretty much the new thinking," he said. "It's about engaging the students and making and keeping them excited about learning."

The session planned for April is intended to hammer out specific actions to implement, Kaiser said.

"Whatever it's going to take, we have to work with our kids to get them prepared," Hawkes said.

Contact staff writer Rachel Raskin- Zrihen at (707) 553-6824 or rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com.