body,date,page,text,path
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,1,"MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
SATURDAY--MARCH 16, 2019- -8:30 A.M.
Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft convened the meeting at 8:37 a.m. and made brief welcome
comments.
ROLL CALL -
Present:
Councilmembers Daysog, Knox White, Oddie, Vella
and Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft - 5.
Absent:
None.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Susan Hauser, League of Women Voters, urged the City Council to address the Open
Government Commission's role.
Ruth Abbe, Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda (CASA), urged the Council to
set environmental sustainability as a priority.
Catherine Pauling, Alameda Renters Coalition, discussed rent control; urged Council to
lower the rent cap.
Holly Lim, Filipino Advocates for Justice, discussed her rent situation; urged Council to
address the rent cap and just cause evictions.
Eleanor Wiley, Alameda, stated that she is a small landlord; urged Council to craft an
ordinance that protects renters and small landlords.
Richard Bangert, Alameda, suggested funds be allocated to study the costs to construct
De Pave Park.
Irene Dieter, Alameda, stated that she would like the Council priorities to include
electoral reform, specifically ranked choice voting starting with the office of Mayor.
WORKSHOP
(19-145) City Council Workshop Facilitated by Cynthia Kurtz and Nancy Hetrick
The Management Partners report on the workshop is attached hereto and made part of
the minutes by reference.
Nancy Hetrick, Cynthia Kurtz and Lisa Phan, Management Partners, briefly introduced
themselves.
Special Meeting
Alameda City Council
March 16, 2019
1",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,2,"Ms. Hetrick gave a Power Point presentation guiding the workshop.
Council participated in two exercises: creating a news headline or tweet and exploring
communication styles.
***
The meeting was recessed at 10:03 a.m. and reconvened at 10:17 a.m.
***
Ms. Kurtz and Ms. Hetrick continued the Power Point guiding the workshop reviewing
the individual Councilmembers survey results.
The City Council discussed broad priorities.
***
The meeting was recessed at 12:00 p.m. and reconvened at 12:33 p.m.
***
Ms. Hetrick continued the Power Point presentation guiding the workshop by having
Council pick the top three issues to discuss.
The City Council discussed transportation and housing.
***
The meeting was recessed at 1:39 p.m. and reconvened at 1:43 p.m.
***
The City Council discussed infrastructure and additionally discussed the Sunshine
Ordinance and Councilmember Daysog's referral to form infrastructure and finance
committees.
To close, Ms. Hetrick solicited Council feedback about the discussion.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft adjourned the meeting at 3:02
p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Lara Weisiger
City Clerk
The agenda for this meeting was posted in accordance with the Sunshine Ordinance.
Special Meeting
Alameda City Council
March 16, 2019
2",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,3,"ALAMEDA
City of Alameda
City Council Workshop
Held March 16, 2019
April 2019
Management
Partners",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,4,"City Council Workshop
Table of Contents
Management Partners
Table of Contents
City Council Workshop Report
1
Workshop Overview
1
Workshop Objectives
1
Participants
1
Workshop Agenda
2
Ground Rules
2
Workshop Preparation
2
Welcome by the Mayor and Call to Order
3
Warm-Up Activity
3
Communication Styles Activity
5
Interview and Survey Results
5
Interview Themes
5
Survey Results
5
Framework for Discussion
6
Issues for Discussion
7
Broad Priorities Discussion - Option A
7
Issues Discussion - Option B
8
Referrals to Council Workshop
11
Sunshine Ordinance
11
Adding Commissions/Strategies for Increased Community Engagement
12
Memorializing our Discussion
13
Wrap-Up and Next Steps
14
Bike Rack
14
i",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,5,"City Council Workshop
City Council Workshop Report
Management Partners
City Council Workshop Report
Workshop Overview
The City of Alameda held a City Council workshop on Saturday, March
16, 2019, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the WETA Central Bay Operations
and Maintenance Facility. The purpose of the workshop was to facilitate a
collaborative discussion about city priorities and allow time for Council
members to explore how to work together collaboratively.
Workshop Objectives
Explore what we collectively care about,
Discuss success factors for key priorities,
Develop an understanding of ways to work together effectively,
and
Identify next steps.
Participants
Active workshop participants included the following:
Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft
Vice Mayor John Knox White
Councilmember Tony Daysog
Councilmember Jim Oddie
Councilmember Malia Vella
Incoming City Manager Eric Levitt was also in attendance along with
Public Information Officer Sarah Henry and City Clerk Lara Weisiger,
who were both present in a workshop support role.
Facilitation
Nancy Hetrick of Management Partners facilitated the workshop with
support from Cynthia Kurtz and Lisa Phan.
1",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,6,"City Council Workshop
City Council Workshop Report
Management Partners
Workshop Agenda
Welcome by the Mayor and Call to Order
Public Comment
Workshop Overview
Warm-Up Activity
Communication Styles Activity
Interview and Survey Results
Framework for Issues Discussion
Issues Discussion
Memorializing our Discussion
Wrap-Up and Next Steps
Adjournment by the Mayor
Ground Rules
At the start of the workshop, Nancy Hetrick asked Council members
what they need from each other for a successful and productive day. The
resulting ground rules are listed below.
Listen carefully to each other on all topics,
Speak openly and honestly,
One person speaks at a time,
Be present and share your perspectives, and
Seize this opportunity.
Workshop Preparation
Before the workshop, Nancy Hetrick met with Interim City Manager
Dave Rudat and the Mayor to discuss the workshop and desired
outcomes. Cynthia Kurtz then conducted interviews with the Mayor and
each Council member to learn their views about challenges facing the
City, their priorities, and hopes for the workshop. As a follow-up to the
interviews, an online survey was conducted to obtain additional input on
the agenda and the priorities to be considered for discussion during the
workshop.
2",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,7,"City Council Workshop
City Council Workshop Report
Management Partners
Welcome by the Mayor and Call to Order
The workshop began with a welcome from Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft.
Mayor Ashcraft briefly highlighted the purpose of the workshop and
asked everyone including Management Partners to introduce themselves.
Mayor Ashcraft then opened the room to public comments.
Warm-Up Activity
To get warmed up for the day, Nancy Hetrick introduced an activity to
get Council members thinking about what they would like to see
accomplished in the next few years. Specifically, they were asked to write
a headline or social media post they would like to read in the paper or see
online about an accomplishment of the City of Alameda five years in the
future.
The resulting headlines and social media posts were recorded by Public
Information Officer Sarah Henry and are shown below.
INSIDE THIS WEEK
7-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant opens new restaurant on Park Street. B1.
FAITHFULLY SERVING THE ISLAND COMMUNITY
Alameda Journal
Alameda resolves its housing crisis - has built enough affordable
housing, small units, ADUs, and more, to end homelessness and
displacement of our residents
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed
do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
do ciusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation
3",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,8,"City Council Workshop
City Council Workshop Report
Management Partners
Moments
Twitter
Alameda
meda
A
City of Alameda
Follow
@CityofAlameda
Roy Williams
215 Tweets
Inaugural Finance Commission
#ThingsBatmanNever:
775 Tweets
Wednesday - new Infrastructure
2019 Twitter About He
ivacy policy Cookies
Commission next week #alamtg
9:02 AM-15 Mar 2024
ta
0
either Oak Street or 29th Avenue.#alamtg
tz
0
INSIDE THIS WEEK
7-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant opens new restaurant on Park Street. B1.
FAITHFULLY SERVING THE ISLAND COMMUNITY
Alameda Journal
Alameda a leader in climate action hits goals early
while reducing congestion and increasing public
health outcomes
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed
do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
do ciusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation
Moments
Alameda
neda
A
City of Alameda
Follow
@CityofAlameda
Roy Williams
215 Tweets
New units open at Site B,
ThingsBatmanNever
775 Tweets
Alameda continues to thrive, and
2019 Twitter About
ivacy policy Cookies
Groundbreaking for new West
End Crossing is today! #alamtg
9:02 AM 15 Mar 2024
either Oak Street or 29th Avenue. #alamtg
tz
INSIDE THIS WEEK
7-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant opens new restaurant on Park Street. B1.
FAITHFULLY SERVING THE ISLAND COMMUNITY
Alameda Journal
Alameda Point Site B development
opens for business
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed
do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation
aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation
4",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,9,"City Council Workshop
City Council Workshop Report
Management Partners
Communication Styles Activity
The pre-workshop interviews and survey revealed a shared interest in
allocating time during the workshop for teambuilding - specifically on
communication styles. Nancy led the Council and incoming City
Manager in an activity designed to identify individual communication
style(s), and later facilitated a group discussion about the different
preferences of the group, as well as strategies for effective communication
to meet the individual and collective needs of the elected body and their
soon-to-be manager.
Interview and Survey Results
Interview Themes
Cynthia shared a summary of the interviews she conducted prior to the
workshop. She noted the themes around accomplishments and priority
issues and grouped the priorities into the following categories:
Protect Core Services
Enhance Livability
Prepare for the Future
Business Planning
Effective and Efficient Operations
Survey Results
Nancy presented the Council survey results, noting the top six issues that
emerged using a weighted total. Below is a snapshot of the PowerPoint
slide Nancy presented.
5",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,10,"Adopt a Data Sharing Policy
0
1
3
5
Management
16
Partners
Framework for Discussion
For purposes of Council's discussion of priorities, Nancy presented two
process approaches for consideration. Option A used a ""bucket""
approach, by focusing on the major priority themes that emerged during
Cynthia's interviews. Option B offered a more specific, ""deeper dive""
approach that would enable Council members to explore what they wish
to accomplish (""what success looks like"") for key issue areas. A summary
of topics for each option is presented on the two PowerPoint slides below.
Broad Priorities Discussion - Option A
Protect Core
Enhance
Services
Livability
Business
Preparing for
Planning
the Future
Effective and
Efficient
Management
Operations
A
Partners
6",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,11,"City Council Workshop
City Council Workshop Report
Management Partners
Issues Discussion - Option B
Recreation and
Housing
Infrastructure
Transportation
Parks
Build
Public Safety
Preparing for
Community
City Charter
the Future
Review
Trust
Enhanced
Business
Public
Neighborhood
Adopt a Data
Planning
Protection
Sharing Policy
Engagement
?
?
?
Management
&
Partners
Council members decided to begin with a high-level discussion about the
broad themes and then spend additional time discussing the highest
rating issue areas.
Issues for Discussion
Broad Priorities Discussion - Option A
Council began a discussion about priorities using the broad themes that
emerged during interviews. They were asked to share their thoughts in
response to the question: ""What does this mean to you?"" Below are
highlights from the discussion.
Preparing for the Future
Thinking about the environment
Housing elements or General Plan
Understanding how the plan is adopted and developed
Looking back and assessing where we are
Transit options
Continuation of Alameda Hospital
Defining expectations in all areas
Begin dialogue around having BART in Alameda
Benchmarks on Recreation and Library Department
Protect Core Services
Having a long-term plan and financial strategy
Public safety plan
Benchmark - delivery of service and follow-up on how well
benchmarks are being met
Follow-up reports
7",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,12,"City Council Workshop
City Council Workshop Report
Management Partners
Clarity around the standards of the issues
Not just general fund services, but public utility services
Considering what is truly a core priority
Enhanced Livability
Knowing where we are with facilities and infrastructure and
quality of life
What are the metrics?
What do we expect?
Opportunities that it presents
Enhance and improve and make sure that the people who live in
Alameda can still stay
Transportation
Defending neighborhood in quality of life
How accessible are we making these policies in City Hall?
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Think about parks, swim center, street plan and storm drain
Think about affordable housing, tenant protections and
transportation
Enhance neighborhoods and quality of life is ""enhance livability""
Business Planning
Economic development
Economic development plan
Business planning (more operational)
Effective and Efficient Operations
More board, council, and council staff operations
How Council operates with the staff, team and community
Identify what priorities need to be done
Efficient seems to be more aligned with core services
Effective seems to be more aligned with community
Council/staff/public feedback
Issues Discussion - Option B
After reflecting on the broad priorities contained in Option A, the group
took a short break and then reconvened to discuss more specific issues
and what they hope to achieve in the next two to five years. To prioritize
the issues for discussion, Nancy asked everyone to identify the top three
issues they would like to discuss. The results of the prioritization are
shown in Table 2.
8",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,13,"City Council Workshop
City Council Workshop Report
Management Partners
Table 1. Top Priority Issues to Discuss
No.
Issue Area
Wish to Discuss
Count
1
Housing
4
2
Infrastructure
3
3
Transportation
5
4
Recreation and Parks
0
5
Public Safety
2
6
Preparation for Future
0
7
Building Community Trust
1
8
City Charter Review
0
9
Business Planning
0
10
Public Engagement
0
11
Neighborhood Protection
0
12
Data Sharing Policies
0
Council members discussed the top three issue areas based on the
ranking above. They expressed what they hope to achieve over the next
two to five years. Some responses were specific and near-term, while
others represented a more aspirational, longer-term approach. The notes
from the discussion are summarized below.
Transportation
Develop a feasibility plan and/or engineering study for the West-
end Crossing (bike and pedestrian bridge); have a financing plan
underway
Open the sea plane lagoon ferry terminal
Develop a policy around ride-sharing and incorporate it into
Transportation Plan
Complete Central Avenue (bike lane) improvements
Increase public transit ridership; have a way to measure it
Develop a plan for how to bring BART to Alameda
Increase use of low-emissions vehicles within the city's fleet (e.g.,
use of electric vehicles)
9",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,14,"City Council Workshop
City Council Workshop Report
Management Partners
Track and monitor both emissions and vehicle trips with a goal of
reducing both
Have more electric vehicle chargers around town
Adopt a bike plan
Partner with Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA),
AC Transit and other regional transit operators to lessen
congestion on bridges and improve environmental impacts
Launch a marketing campaign to encourage people to use public
transit (have the PIO interview transit stakeholders)
Increase connectivity across the city
Develop ways to track and measure outcomes of the
Transportation Plan and provide quarterly updates
Explore transportation funding strategies, including through
partnerships, transportation tax, congestion pricing at tubes and
bridges
Housing
Update the Land Use Element of the General Plan
Evaluate funding options for affordable housing (e.g., bonds)
Be realistic and understand that land and labor costs are high,
building costs are high; it takes funding to supplement
construction of affordable housing
Identify strategies to address issues/concerns pertaining to
displacement based on inability to afford housing
Identify and assess barriers created by city regulations that may
impact the development and cost associated with housing
construction
Review housing and homeless services and ensure they are
adapting to meet the changing needs of the community
Consider policies that encourage small units as part of a broader
array of housing options; meet the demand for housing at all
levels
Stay on top of the West Midway project
Continue the rental ordinance 314 (expires at the end of this year);
discuss impact on small landlords
Consider a comprehensive General Plan update
Take an accounting/assessment of all city-owned land or
properties as options for future housing sites
Consider involvement in the CASA compact
Evaluate north Alameda housing options; housing bond
Streamline the process from approval to construction
Running out of land. Think about building up?
10",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,15,"City Council Workshop
City Council Workshop Report
Management Partners
Infrastructure
Create a database of all city-owned buildings, what they are being
used for and their current state of repair
Establish standards regarding what constitutes adequate
infrastructure, such as pavement rating and/or road repaving
treatment
Take advantage of funding sources (e.g., gas tax, SB1 for roads)
Determine what to do about storm water issues
Alameda Point - Where we are? Need to consider fire, police and
schools
Build dialogue regarding what to fund and allocate more money
for infrastructure; consider spending money now so it will save
more money in the future
Partner with neighboring cities regarding the issue of sea level rise
Pursue grant funding available to improve environmental goals
like clean air
Develop a policy that factors in lifetime replacement costs for
infrastructure
Talk about revenue measures that could be used to fund
infrastructure
City's pool/swim center is important; there is a false sense of
austerity with budgets the last few years, consider allocating
money to it
Observe geographical equities
If the city is going to go in debt for a bond, we need to invest in
mitigation to sea level rise (SLR)
Referrals to Council Workshop
Sunshine Ordinance
Discussion of the City's Sunshine Ordinance was referred to this meeting;
therefore, following discussion on the top three priorities we shift to this
topic.
Below are notes from the discussion:
We should have a special workshop or study session with the City
Attorney in attendance regarding the Sunshine Ordinance. Once
the new City Attorney is on board ask him to assess current issues
and provide guidance.
Need clarity on when and why some memos are marked
""attorney-client privilege""
11",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,16,"City Council Workshop
City Council Workshop Report
Management Partners
How to communicate agendas and memos to the City Attorney
and vice versa. A subcommittee can work with the City Attorney
to bring ideas back to Council.
What should be the process in flagging issues?
How do we work with staff regarding agendas?
Need to standardize agenda format
Maintain focus on compliance and transparency
Have City Attorney focus on best practices; need clarity regarding
who to process, oversee and approve the agenda (all agendas) -
someone to be in charge
Have a discussion about social media and understand how it can
lead to Brown Act violations
If we use a subcommittee, what is their role and when will
Council weigh in?
Provide proper public notices and how they should be titled. The
cannabis notice was pulled because it wasn't noticed properly.
Have a meeting with Open Government Commission (OGC)
about what they need clarity on before the workshop with the
City Attorney. What is their role?
OGC was in violation of how they notice. Consider focusing on
best practices, such as:
Jurisdiction of OGC
Process
Make agendas comply with requirements
When OGC and City Attorney disagree, what happens?
Considering inviting OGC to the workshop?
Have City Attorney review the Brown Act (refresher)
Adding Commissions/Strategies for Increased Community
Engagement
Council member Daysog referred a discussion about the potential for
adding two commissions to this workshop. He framed this interest within
the priority area of building community trust (see Table 7) and increasing
public engagement, and Council members agreed to allocate time to
discuss it. Below are notes from the discussion.
Council member Daysog introduced the idea of considering two
new commissions (Finance and Infrastructure) to, in part, address
concerns about streets and sidewalks. The intention is to engage
more community members and ensure Council is fully informed
before taking action.
12",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,17,"City Council Workshop
City Council Workshop Report
Management Partners
This would present an opportunity for the community to get to
know City Hall personnel and convey what is going on; to
institutionalize how people can be more engaged.
How do we make Council accessible and get the community
involved in vital issues?
Maybe use the PIO in more of a strategic way (e.g., interview
department heads and share with the public via postings;
distribute an article on what happens and what to do when there
is an air quality emergency)
Council members are elected to make decisions in the City's
interest, so conversations and choices about the finances/budget
and infrastructure should happen with them
We can do more to communicate with people on how decisions
are made if that is a concern
Consider having a communication strategy. Tell the story and
bring people into the conversation
Help inform the public about the formation of the budget
More input and more transparency results in greater
understanding
Concern about institutionalizing who gets to have a voice
(unelected) by adding formal commissions. Certain voices get left
out of conversation.
There are two staff people in finance. Who would oversee or work
with of a new commission? (They are already stretched thin.)
When considering the infrastructure bond, is the money going
toward what the city is trying to fix?
People don't know how to apply for commissions or boards
Some cities allow a speaker slip to be submitted from home and it
gets in the queue; maybe we should update our practices for
soliciting public comment
Last budget was well done, user friendly, could be doing more
Consider having a strategic plan around communication
Create videos on how to apply for permits
If/when and infrastructure bond is issued utilize an oversight
committee. Members of the Council can appoint members.
Memorializing our Discussion
Understanding that there were community members and staff who were
unable to attend the workshop, Nancy asked Council to address the
question, ""What are our messages to those who were unable to attend today?'
Below are short summaries of each person's response.
Council is trying to work collaboratively and collectively
13",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf
CityCouncil,2019-03-16,18,"City Council Workshop
City Council Workshop Report
Management Partners
Revisit topics and priorities that haven't been discussed
Enjoyed having the opportunity to discuss priorities
Valuable to learn about each other's communication styles
Identified a number of priorities and part of discussion
Goals set for Alameda community; the community is very
forward thinking
Would like to set another workshop
Wrap-Up and Next Steps
The workshop concluded with a review of the items on the bike rack and
next steps. Nancy shared that a workshop summary report will be
prepared by Management Partners to document the outcomes of the day.
Council expressed an interest in scheduling a follow up to this workshop
to build on the work accomplished during this session.
Bike Rack
The bike rack includes topics raised during the workshop that require
additional time and attention or were not relevant to the agenda of the
day. Below are items that were added to the bike rack.
Using referrals
Public engagement
14",CityCouncil/2019-03-16.pdf