pages: OpenGovernmentCommission/2021-11-01.pdf, 6
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OpenGovernmentCommission | 2021-11-01 | 6 | Mr. Foreman stated that he thinks Mr. Kuhn's explanation is contrived; the City negotiated with Union Pacific over a long period of time; the City knew the strengths and weaknesses of the railroad and vice versa; Council came to a consensus as to what would be a good deal; the railroad agreed to it; all the City Attorney had to do was ask whether it could be presented to the public in an open meeting; at the public meeting, nothing has to be disclosed if it would be harmful; the City could have simply stated, like the Mayor did, that the appraisal cannot be disclosed; it still gives the public a chance to speak out and feel they have real input and someone is listening to them; let the public feel they are participating in open government. Commissioner Reid inquired why the City would agree to pay a previously agreed upon price for the full parcel and now decide to pay less than half for a lot less land; further inquired whether the zoning was different in the appraisal process. Mr. Kuhn responded in the affirmative; stated the zoning was different; the original appraisal was done incorrectly; the trail appraisal prepared for the City was massively more expensive than the original $1.1 million deposit. Commissioner Reid inquired whether the appraisal for housing would add much higher valuation than for park land, to which Mr. Kuhn responded in the affirmative. Commissioner Reid inquired how long Mr. Kuhn has been contracted with the City on the project, to which Mr. Kuhn responded he became involved a little over a year ago. Ms. Freeman gave a Closing Statement. Mr. Kuhn gave a Closing Statement. Speakers: Jay Garfinkle, Alameda, stated that he does not find the City Attorney's argument compelling; the City Council and City Attorney's office have a tendency to disregard the people's constitutional right to know what the City government is doing; he is disappointed the Council chose to disregard the will of the people. Jenice Anderson, Alameda, stated that she knew the reasons for the changes to the park project, including Union Pacific changing the land price; she does not follow Ms. Freeman and did not get the information from her, nor is she part of the group bringing forward the Complaint; the public knew about the changes to the plan before the September 7th meeting, so it was not out of the blue; the person who did the bulk of the Complaint was banned from bringing Complaints to the OGC for several years; she feels if anyone else did a by-proxy Complaint, it would be called out; she thinks the whole Complaint is ridiculous. Commissioner Reid stated the closed session discussions placed a veil on the appraisal procedure; whether or not the valuation was based on housing or parkland would have a Meeting of the Open Government Commission November 1, 2021 6 | OpenGovernmentCommission/2021-11-01.pdf |