{"body": "AlamedaReuseandRedevelopmentAuthority", "date": "2007-12-05", "page": 1, "text": "APPROVED\nMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE\nALAMEDA REUSE AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY\nWednesday, December 5, 2007\nThe meeting convened at 7:30 p.m. with Chair Johnson presiding.\n2-A\n1.\nROLL CALL\nPresent: Chair Beverly Johnson\nBoardmember Doug deHaan\nBoardmember Frank Matarrese\nBoardmember Marie Gilmore\nVice Chair Lena Tam\n2.\nCONSENT CALENDAR\n2-A. Approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of November 7, 2007.\nMember Gilmore clarified that the following correction should be made in the minutes\nregarding Item 3-C. Alameda Point Advisory Task Force: that the Board and Commission\nrepresentatives would not only convey their Board or Commission's position to SunCal at\nthe public meetings, but also, they could speak for themselves if they made it clear that they\nwere speaking for themselves and not on behalf of their Board or Commission. Member\nMatarrese motioned for approval of the Consent Calendar with the clarification made by\nMember Gilmore, seconded by member Tam and passed by the following voice votes: 5\nayes, 0 noes, 0 abstentions.\n3.\nREGULAR AGENDA ITEMS\n3-A. Presentation by the Veterans Affairs on the VA Project Development Plans at\nAlameda Point.\nDebbie Potter, Base Reuse and Community Development Manager, introduced Claude\nHutchison, Director of Asset Enterprise Management, and Larry Jaynes, Capital Asset Manager,\nof the VA who made a powerpoint presentation.\nMr. Hutchison gave a summary profile of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs. The VA is the second\nlargest agency within the Federal system, second only to the Department of Defense (DOD).\nThey are essentially the alumni association for the DOD and serve the needs and requirements of\n24 million living Americans who served our country. They have an annual budget projected to\nbe $84 billion. There are three major areas of responsibilities and activities: 1) Veterans Health\nAdministration - to serve the medical needs and requirements of those enrolled in the VA\nsystem. Currently 8 million enrollees, with 155 acute care hospitals around the country and 900\noutpatient clinics, 2) Veterans Benefit Administration - financial services ranging from real\nestate loans to insurance and educational requirements, and 3) National Cemetery Administration\n- runs 125 national shrines as final internment for Veterans.\nTheir hope is to place a combination of all three at Alameda Point - a significant, multi-purpose\noutpatient clinic, offices for the Veterans Benefit Administration, and an above-ground\ncolumbarium.", "path": "AlamedaReuseandRedevelopmentAuthority/2007-12-05.pdf"}
{"body": "AlamedaReuseandRedevelopmentAuthority", "date": "2007-12-05", "page": 2, "text": "The entire land mass that the VA hopes to have transferred to them by the Navy is approximately\n597 acres. They envision developing about 113 acres concentrated in the north east area of the\nproperty. Mr. Hutchison further explained that the VA is still in negotiations with the USF&W\nbecause of the Lease Tern and California Brown Pelican whose habitat is within the area they\nhope to control.\nMr. Jaynes concluded the presentation with an overview of the property area, stating that\nAlameda Point is strategically located to serve the Veterans of the greater Bay Area, and in\naddition, it is ideally and centrally located to serve the Veterans of northern Alameda County.\nHe indicated on the map which area was the federal-to-federal parcel at the far west end of\nAlameda Point. It primarily consists of what was the airfield and landfill for NAS. The parcel\ndoes not include the Northwest Territories, which is still going to the City of Alameda. It also\ndoes not include any submerged lands. The 579-acre parcel runs from the west side of hangar\nrow all the way down to the bay, and follows the perimeter shoreline all the way around the tip.\nWhen it gets to the Northwest Territories, it comes back down to hangar row.\nMr. Jaynes presented the VA's site development plan which they have been working on for 18\nmonths. They plan to only develop 113 acres, and the remaining 466 acres will be left\nundeveloped. The VA's planned development is a circumference of about 1900 feet from the\nLease Tern colony, based on the closest structure on hangar row, to assure the protection of the\nLease Tern and the Brown Pelican and so the VA and these endangered species can co-exist on\nthe site.\nTheir plans include an outpatient clinic on the far east end which would replace the two facilities\ncurrently in Oakland. The clinic will be approximately 80-90,000 sq. ft. and be a full-service\nambulatory care clinic which will not have any beds. The VA would like to develop an above-\nground cemetery on the 50+ acres on the far west end of the parcel. There are approximately\n390,000 Veterans in the greater Bay Area that would use the cemetery services, and for the\nclinic, they envision that it would serve approximately 7,000 of the 40,000 northern Alameda\nCounty Veterans. Also included in the clinic would be a small clinic that is run by the Air Force\n(David Grant Medical Center) that would treat active duty and active duty dependents in the Bay\nArea. The third development plan includes land reserved for \"enhanced use\", a public-private\npartnership where a developer comes in and builds a facility on under-utilized VA land. The VA\nwas envisioning as their enhanced use partner a civilian in-patient hospital, which they believe is\na compatible need with their outpatient clinic.\nChair Johnson asked how many in-patient hospital beds the VA would anticipate be used by\nVeterans. Mr. Jaynes replied that approximately 10 - 20 would be used for Veterans. Member\nMatarrese mentioned that there is already a hospital here in Alameda that can be partnered with\nthe VA. Mr. Jaynes explained that the plans for the civilian hospital are still conceptual. The\nenhanced use plans also include two structures for medical office buildings, which would house\ncivilian doctors and administration. Also included is a small nature center which the VA would\nbuild to house fish and wildlife services and employees on the site to work with the Lease Terns,\nas well as EBRPD rangers if an agreement can be worked out with them. The VA would also\nbuild a bay trail on the property, limited to the far west side of the parcel in order to protect the\nendangered species.\nMr. Jaynes presented the VA's timeline for development. They have been in consultation with\nUSF&W for almost two years, and are currently in negotiations with the Navy to develop an\nMOU which will lay out the transfer terms. It is the VA and Navy's plan that the final transfer,\nincluding the transfer documents, will be complete by Fall of 2008. In addition, the VA is\ncurrently conducting a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental assessment\nfor transfer, and a biological assessment. They have plans to do a NEPA environmental impact\nstudy which is funded and ready to go.", "path": "AlamedaReuseandRedevelopmentAuthority/2007-12-05.pdf"}
{"body": "AlamedaReuseandRedevelopmentAuthority", "date": "2007-12-05", "page": 3, "text": "Mr. Jaynes explained the VA's two major construction projects, one for the clinic, one for the\ncemetery. Both projects are congressionally authorized and appropriated, if approved for the\nbudget, design will begin on the clinic in 2010, with construction completed by spring/summer\n2012. The columbarium is on the same timeline, but could be phased and opened sooner. The\nenhanced use lease is in the concept application process and will go to the Secretary of the VA in\nthe spring, and if approved, the enhanced use process will begin in late spring and work toward\nhaving a partner and open in 2012.\nMember Tam thanked Mr. Jaynes and Mr. Hutchison for the presentation and had some\nquestions: 1) on the discussions the VA has had with the Navy regarding environmental clean-up\ncosts, 2) has there been progress in the VA's coordination with SunCal, and 3) the VA's role and\nrelationship with the Alameda Healthcare District.\nMr. Hutchison explained that the VA has had ongoing dialogue with the Alameda District\nhospital and will be meeting with the new CEO tomorrow morning (Dec. 6) to continue that\ndialogue and they are very interested in maintaining that relationship with the Alameda\nHealthcare District. He further explained that the VA has issued an RFP for outpatient services,\nand that the Alameda Healthcare District has responded. A final determination has not yet been\nmade.\nAs a response to Member Tam's first question about the clean-up costs, Mr. Hutchison discussed\nthat the Navy is responsible for clean-up. The VA's MOU with the Navy will set forth the terms\nand conditions that outline the requirements of the Navy to bring it up to appropriate commercial\nstandards. The VA does not want to take on liability for contamination over which they had no\ncontrol. The inter-agency transfer will set forth clearly the Navy's requirements with no dispute\nbetween the VA and the Navy as to those requirements. He emphasized that the VA has a\nsignificant due diligence process.\nMember Tam mentioned that since the VA is the alumni association to the Navy, that they may\nhave a stronger tie to them than the ARRA does. Mr. Hutchison explained that the Navy is well\naware of their obligation and is prepared to live up to it.\nMr. Jaynes discussed the coordination efforts with SunCal, stating that most of their\ncommunication with SunCal since their last meeting with them has been through Debbie Potter.\nHe said that he has been playing phone-tag with the project manager for SunCal, Pat Keliher, but\nwill continue to strive to communicate with them to make sure their plans are in coordination\nwith the ARRA's. Mr. Hutchison thanked Member Tam for being the catalyst to bringing\nSunCal and the VA together in a joint cooperation going forward.\nChair Johnson wanted to clarify whether residential units were still part of the VA's development\nplan. Mr. Hutchison confirmed that residential units were never part of their plan. Member\ndeHaan discussed his concerns about the budget appropriations and the VA's cost for their\ndevelopment plans. Mr. Hutchison stated that the budget approval cycle was FY '10 and the\ndollar amount for the hospital is in the $50M range, and considerably less for the columbarium.\nThey are confident that their proposal will be well received by congress and the Dept. of\nVeteran's Affairs. Member deHaan also asked about the status of their coordination efforts with\nSunCal. Mr. Hutchison reaffirmed what Mr. Jaynes had said about their intent to maintain\ndialogue with SunCal.\nChair Johnson called the speakers, first Bill Smith, who spoke about various topics, including the\nLease Terns and transportation issues. The next speaker, Mark Chandler, Commissioner of the\nAlameda County Veterans Affairs Commission, spoke in support of the VA's plan to develop the\noutpatient clinic at Alameda Point. He discussed the status quo of Veterans having to travel to\nMartinez, Travis AFB, and Mare Island for healthcare.", "path": "AlamedaReuseandRedevelopmentAuthority/2007-12-05.pdf"}
{"body": "AlamedaReuseandRedevelopmentAuthority", "date": "2007-12-05", "page": 4, "text": "Another speaker, Leora Feeney, Boardmember of the Golden Gate Audubon Society and Friends\nof the Alameda Wildlife (FAWR), stated her appreciation for the cordiality given by the VA\nregarding their proposal. She stated that all of them support Veterans in a huge way, and also\nsupport wildlife and open space and opportunities for our children to experience nature. Ms.\nFeeney discussed her concerns on specific issues of the VA presentation, mainly the \"circle\"\nconcept (1900 feet distance from the nearest hangar). She's concerned that any development that\nplaces a barrier between the Lease Tern colony and the water would present a problem, as the\nLease Terns do not fly over buildings. They would not be able to get to the water to forage. Ms.\nFeeney's other strong objection is the VA's unwillingness to accept the water around the refuge,\ntogether with the land, including the island breakwater where the brown pelicans roost. If the VA\naccepts the land and develops that northern portion of it, it seems reasonable, but there is a need\nto protect the foraging waters of the Lease Terns and the island breakwater for those endangered\nspecies. She emphasized the need for accountability to protect these things, and stated that if the\nUSF&W does not have it, nor the VA, she's concerned about who will accept the responsibility.\nChair Johnson asked the VA what their intention is with regard to Ms. Feeney's concerns about\nthe water. Mr. Hutchison stated that it is envisioned that the water area would go to the master\ndeveloper, SunCal, and that the VA has never coveted that water. Deputy Executive Director,\nDavid Brandt, corrected Mr. Hutchison's statement by explaining that the area is Tidelands\nproperty, so it would be the ARRA or the City that would hold title to the property, and not\nSunCal.\nThe next speaker was Eli Saddler, Conservation Director for the Golden Gate Audubon Society.\nHe discussed further the concerns of Ms. Feeney, and agreed that they support the VA. He\nwould like them to go forward with their development plans, but just not at the Alameda Point\nsite. One of their primary concerns is that the VA's plan contradicts the existing biological\nopinion that was developed when USF&W originally requested the property as a refuge. There\nwas a minimum acreage required for the California Lease Tern which was the entire area\nsectioned off, not including the northern-most portion, which was going to the City and was to be\ndeveloped as a buffer zone. The VA's plans would be inside the buffer zone of the area that has\nalready been designated as the critical habitat for the species. They do not think that it is\nbiologically defensible to draw a circle of 1900 feet around the colony, it is unrealistic to think\nthat the birds will obey and stay in that circle. They use the whole area, including areas where\nthe VA has already planned to put their hospital. Mr. Saddler also further discussed his concern\nabout the water area, which was also included in the original biological opinion, which stated\nthat the area to the south was needed for foraging for both species. He emphasized their concern\nabout whether the VA's plan was biologically feasible without very serious mitigation that\nwould have to be done ahead of any construction, mitigation meaning having an alternative site\nfor the Lease Terns to go to, and there was no discussion of this mitigation. It is their\nunderstanding that the USF&W would have some kind of requirement that would include\nmitigation. The problem is, however, that there really is no other location for the Lease Terns to\ngo. The VA plans could potentially jeopardize Alameda's very significant Lease Tern colony.\nMr. Saddler also discussed his concerns about the VA's NEPA process and whether it is legally\ndefensible. The transfer of the parcel is for a purpose, and if there is a new biological opinion\nthat contradicts a pre-existing one, this places the VA's development plans on shaky ground,\nlegally.\nChair Johnson thanked all the speakers and Mr. Hutchison for coming in from Washington, DC\nto make the VA's presentation. Member deHaan asked whether the VA looked at other\nopportunities at Alameda Point. Mr. Hutchison clarified that their discussions have been with\nthe Navy, and that the Navy came to them, unable to agree to terms with the USF&W and was\ngoing to dispose of the property, and asked whether the VA had an interest in taking it over.\nTheir relationship to the parcel is a direct result of the Navy soliciting their interest. Mr. Jaynes\nadded that the VA had looked at the older Coast Guard Housing property, but felt that it wasn't\nlarge enough to satisfy the VA's needs for a medical clinic as well as a columbarium.", "path": "AlamedaReuseandRedevelopmentAuthority/2007-12-05.pdf"}
{"body": "AlamedaReuseandRedevelopmentAuthority", "date": "2007-12-05", "page": 5, "text": "Member Matarrese expressed his appreciation for the presentation as it quelled various rumors\nabout the VA's interest in the property. It's good for the ARRA and for the public to hear a\npresentation live from officials of the VA. Member Matarrese asked if they would take back\nwith them a couple considerations: 1) that he does not share their optimism regarding the Navy's\ncommitment to do clean-up. He asked that they have the same demands as the ARRA does\nregarding clean-up, and to accept the land clean, especially if it would be the final resting place\nfor our Veterans, and 2) explore to the maximum the opportunity to work with the Alameda\nHealthcare District. A competing private hospital would be to the detriment of the hospital that\nAlameda taxpayers support.\nMember deHaan requested that the Alameda Healthcare District make a presentation to the\nARRA regarding their interest in the VA project. Chair Johnson stated that they will invite the\nAlameda Healthcare District to make a presentation to the ARRA when they are ready to do so.\n3-B. Update on the Former Coast Guard Housing Property.\nDebbie Potter gave an update on the North Housing parcel, specifically on the temporary license\nagreement/lease for estuary park, the exploration of a possible short-term leasing program, and\nthe screening process underway for the homeless accommodation and public benefit conveyance.\nStaff has been working with the Navy on the short-term lease for estuary park, some sticking\npoints involve environmental remediation, but a short term lease agreement is planned to be\nbrought back to the ARRA in January '08. Staff determined that it was not feasible to have a\nshort-term leasing program for the surplus units. Regarding the screening process, on Nov. 5,\nthe Navy published their notice of surplus property in the Federal register, which triggered the\nARRA's obligation to notify the public that the property is available for screening and we are\ncurrently in the middle of the process. There is a public information workshop scheduled for\ntomorrow (Dec. 6) to brief interested parties on the screening process, and to take them on a tour\nof the property. Notices of Interest (NOI) for both the homeless accommodation and the public\nbenefit conveyance will be due to the City on February 29, 2008. Those notices will be\nevaluated working with HUD and the Navy, and ultimately we will go through a public process\nof amending the Community Reuse Plan to reflect the accommodations and public benefit\nconveyances that may result from this process.\n3-C. Alameda Point Project Update - Oral Report.\nDebbie Potter gave an update on the Alameda Point project. A meeting with the Navy originally\nscheduled to take place in November was rescheduled to December 12th The next SunCal\ncommunity meeting is scheduled on December 13th at the O'Club at 6:30 p.m, with another\npublic meeting scheduled on January 30, 2008.\nThere was one speaker, Bill Smith.\n4.\nORAL REPORTS\n4-A. Oral report from Member Matarrese, Restoration Advisory Board (RAB)\nrepresentative.\nMember Matarrese will attend the meeting tomorrow (12/6) and will have a report in January.\n5.\nORAL COMMUNICATIONS, NON-AGENDA (PUBLIC COMMENT)\nThere were no speaker slips.", "path": "AlamedaReuseandRedevelopmentAuthority/2007-12-05.pdf"}
{"body": "AlamedaReuseandRedevelopmentAuthority", "date": "2007-12-05", "page": 6, "text": "6.\nCOMMUNICATIONS FROM THE GOVERNING BODY\nnone.\n7.\nADJOURNMENT\nMeeting was adjourned at 8:49 p.m. by Chair Johnson.\nRespectfully submitted,\nAirna Glidden\nIrma Glidden\nARRA Secretary", "path": "AlamedaReuseandRedevelopmentAuthority/2007-12-05.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2007-12-05", "page": 1, "text": "MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING\nWEDNESDAY - -DECEMBER 5, 2007- -6:00 P.M.\nMayor Johnson convened the Special Meeting at 6:10 p.m.\nROLL CALL - Present : Councilmembers\ndeHaan,\nGilmore,\nMatarrese, Tam, and Mayor Johnson - 5.\nAbsent :\nNone.\nThe Special Meeting was adjourned to Closed Session to consider:\n(07-576) Public Employee Performance Evaluation (54957; Title:\nCity Manager.\n(07-577) Public Employee Performance Evaluation (54957) ; Title:\nCity Attorney. .\n* * *\nMayor Johnson called a recess to hold the Regular Alameda Reuse and\nRedevelopment Authority Meeting at 7:10 p.m. and reconvened the\nSpecial Meeting at 11:00 p.m.\n***\nFollowing the Closed Session, the Special Meeting was reconvened\nand Mayor Johnson announced that regarding City Manager, Council\nmet with the City Manager to review her annual performance; a\nperformance bonus of 3.5% was approved in accordance with her\nexisting Contract terms; regarding City Attorney, the matter was\nnot heard.\nAdjournment\nThere being no further business, Mayor Johnson adjourned the\nSpecial Meeting at 11:15 p.m.\nRespectfully submitted,\nLara Weisiger\nCity Clerk\nThe agenda for this meeting was posted in accordance with the Brown\nAct.\nSpecial Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nDecember 5, 2007", "path": "CityCouncil/2007-12-05.pdf"}
{"body": "CityCouncil", "date": "2007-12-05", "page": 2, "text": "MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING\nWEDNESDAY - -DECEMBER 5, 2007- -7:01 P.M.\nMayor Johnson convened the Special Meeting at 8:50 p.m.\nROLL CALL - Present : Councilmembers\ndeHaan,\nGilmore,\nMatarrese, Tam, and Mayor Johnson - 5.\nAbsent :\nNone.\n(07-578) Charter Revision Workshop.\nCouncil reviewed and discussed proposed revisions; the Senior\nAssistant City Attorney provided an Annotated Charter incorporating\nideas and suggestions received.\nBill Smith, Alameda, discussed micromanagement.\nAdjournment\nThere being no further business, Mayor Johnson adjourned the\nSpecial Meeting at 11:02 p.m.\nRespectfully submitted,\nLara Weisiger\nCity Clerk\nThe agenda for this meeting was posted in accordance with the Brown\nAct.\nSpecial Meeting\nAlameda City Council\nDecember 5, 2007", "path": "CityCouncil/2007-12-05.pdf"}