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1995-01-04 ARRA Minutes MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE ALAMEDA REUSE AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Wednesday, January 4, 1995 5:30 p.m. The meeting convened at 5:44 p.m. with Vice-Chair Sandré Swanson presiding. I. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmember Ralph Appezzato, City of Alameda; Councilman "Lil" Arnerich, City of Alameda; Mayor Ellen Corbett, City of San Leandro, Councilmember Albert DeWitt, City of Alameda; Wilma Chan, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, District 3; Councilmember Karin Lucas, City of Alameda; Councilmember Charles Mannix, City of Alameda; Vice-Chair Sandré Swanson, District Director, 9th Congressional District; Ex-officio Alternate, Gail Greely, Alameda Unified School District; Ex-officio Alternate Helen Sause, Base Reuse Advisory Group; Absent: Councilmember Dezie Woods-Jones, City of Oakland. A. Approval of Minutes - Regular Meeting of December 7, 1994 Councilmember DeWitt requested that the minutes of December 7, 1994 be amended, Agenda Item II.A regarding the P & D Aviation Report. He requested that the recommendation of staff read, "...at this time, discontinue further marketing studies on the use of the Naval Air Station Alameda airfield." Mr. Parker agreed that this was the correct interpretation of the staff recommendation. A motion was made by Councilmember Lucas to approve the minutes as amended. The motion was seconded by Mayor Corbett and passed by a unanimous voice vote. Chair Appezzato introduced the three new Members of the Reuse Authority: Supervisor Wilma Chan, County Board of Supervisors, ; Vice-Mayor Charlie Mannix, City of Alameda; Councilmember Albert DeWitt, City of Alameda. II. AGENDA ITEMS: A. Selection of Chairperson "Governing Body". Councilmember Mannix moved that Mayor Appezzato be elected Chairperson of the ARRA. The motion was seconded by Mayor Corbett and the motion was unanimously approved. B. Report from the Executive Director Recommending Approval of a Resolution Adopting, by Reference, Section 15000 et. seq. "State CEQA Guidelines", and As They May be Amended from Time to Time, for the Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) of 1970, and Designation of the Executive Director of the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority as the Authorized Representative of the ARRA to Administer Specific Functions of the CEQA Guidelines, and to Make All Necessary Permit Applications to Federal, State, and Regional Agencies, for Projects under the Jurisdiction of the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority. Paul Tuttle, Reuse Planner, gave a summary of the issue of compliance of the CEQA Guidelines. Mayor Corbett moved to approve the recommendation of staff. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Mannix and passed by a unanimous voice vote. C. Report from the Executive Director Regarding the Funding Status and Recommendation of Certification of Negative Declaration for the NAS Alameda Sewer Force Main Improvement Project Paul Tuttle, Reuse Planner, gave a summary of the issue and requested that the Authority accept the recommendation of staff. Councilmember Lucas moved to approve the recommendation of staff. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Arnerich and passed by a unanimous voice vote. Speakers: Neal Patrick Sweeney, City of Alameda resident stated that he felt we should declare war on the environmental toxic cleanup in the Alameda Naval Air Station. D. Approval of a Resolution of Appreciation for the Former Chair of the Alameda 2 Reuse and Redevelopment Authority, Mayor E. William Withrow, Jr. Due to the illness of Mr. Withrow, this item was postponed until the next meeting of February 1, 1995. E. Approval of a Resolution of Appreciation for the Former Member of the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority, Mr. Richard Roth. Chair Appezzato read the Resolution of Appreciation for Former ARRA Member Roth and thanked him for his service to the ARRA, City of Alameda, and community. Councilmember Arnerich moved and Vice-Mayor Mannix seconded a motion to approve the resolution The motion was passed by a unanimous voice vote. Speakers: Neil Patrick Sweeney stated that he felt that the public should make a comment on how thankful they are for Items. D.,E., and F. regarding Mr. Withrow, Mr. Roth, and Mr. Parker and added that he hoped that Mr. Parker will recommend that the current staff of the ARRA be retained and he thanked the staff for all of their work. F. Approval of a Resolution of Appreciation for the Former Executive Director of the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority, Mr. Don Parker. Chair Appezzato read the Resolution of Appreciation for the former Executive Director, Mr. Don Parker. Mayor Corbet moved and Vice-Mayor Mannix seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion was passed by a unanimous voice vote. Vice-Chair Swanson stated that he has appreciated the fact that Don Parker has, in a very professional way, kept Congressman Dellum's office well informed and communicated with both friend and adversary as the process of base conversion sort of pulled itself together. It has been an extraordinary accomplishment that may go unnoticed to some because things seem like they've moved so easily. But, in October, a year, the federal government's position was that communities, like Alameda, should only receive about a quarter of a million dollars ($250,000) to do the kind of planning that is taking place now. As a federal representative, Congressman Dellum's office obviously wanted to get as much money for the community as possible, but that there had to be a very competent proposal put together requiring passage of a number of technical review hurdles and rationale development. Mr. Parker and his staff did this in a very competent way and precedent-setting approvals were made in Washington, D.C. with a result of this community receiving more than some other communities, after a very sound reasoning and strong rationale was presented. Much of the credit goes to Don Parker and his leadership and the 3 support that he has received from his staff. He emphasized that this community should know this is why the grant was approved. Many groups have approached this process in a very cynical way, and tried to derail the process. However, Don Parker put on his "flack" jacket, entered meetings, listened, and responded and his cool and very professional approach diminished problems allowing for the best decisions to be made with people working closer together than they have in previous situations. He commended Mr. Parker's leadership and stated that Don would certainly be missed and that his presence had been felt. III. ORAL REPORTS A. Oral Report from the Executive Director Reporting on the EDAW Trends & Conditions Report for Naval Air Station Alameda. John Petrovsky from EDAW gave a summary report on the Trends & Conditions Report just completed. Copies of the report will be distributed to the ARRA Members. B. Oral Report from the Executive Director Updating the Reuse Authority on Reuse Authority Staff Activities. Mr. Parker gave an update on the recent activities of the Reuse Authority staff including: interim leasing strategy, utilities, State Lands issue, Science City funding, and interim rules comments. C. Oral Report from the Chair of the Base Reuse Advisory Group (BRAG) Regarding the BRAG Vision Statement. Vice-Chair of the BRAG, Helen Sause, requested that the review of the BRAG Vision Statement be postponed until the next meeting. She then gave an update on BRAG activities including the upcoming community meeting on January 28, 1995 which will give the community the opportunity to respond to issues that the consultant analysis are raising; measuring the conditions of the base and comparing them to the visions for the future; environmental issues; proposals; historic preservation; and the proposal to keep the carriers on the base. D. Oral Report from the Executive Director Regarding the Homeless Consultant Process. Mr. Parker noted that at the ARRA meeting of November 2, 1994, the ARRA voted to send a letter to the Secretary of Defense requesting application for all or portions of the Alameda Naval Air Station to be included under the Base Closure Community Redevelopment and Homeless Assistance Act of 1994. On 4 December 7, 1994, the Navy was notified of the ARRA's request to have the Naval Air Station (NAS) incorporated under the new procedures outlined in the Base Closure Community Redevelopment and Homeless Assistance Act, and the Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP to remain under the old Title V of the McKinney Act. This was proposed since most of NADEP had already been screened with minimal interest by homeless providers in the heavily industrial properties, and NADEP has the greatest interim reuse potential to generate jobs. The majority of NAS has not been published in the Federal Register (screened), and none of the housing at NAS had been screened; therefore, it was logical for NAS to be incorporated under the new procedure. Mr. Parker said that it is anticipated that these requests will be granted. Under the homeless screening process outlined in the new legislation, the ARRA is now responsible for the homeless screening process, which puts grater burden on the local reuse authorities that previously was born by the Navy, (i.e., providing building information to homeless interests, accepyting/screening the homeless applications, incorporating applications into the reuse plan, document conducting outreach to homeless providers, and drafting legally binding agreements with homeless providers projects that have been incorporated into the final reuse plan, etc.) Upon finalizing the grant application to OEA for additional consultant staff to the ARRA to meet the additional requirements of the legislation, it was determined that OEA had insufficient funding to meet all the needs. With the assistance of Congressman Dellums' staff member, Roberta Brooks, a revised process was proposed utilizing $40,000 in OEA funds channeled through the East Bay Conversion and Reinvestment Commission (EBCRC). The agreement would have the consultant paid by the EBCRC, but the consultant would work for the ARRA and report to the ARRA Executive Director. This was with the understanding that the ARRA retains control, guidance and integration of the homeless component into the community reuse plan. Mr. Parker stated that he was comfortable with proceeding on this basis, and a progress report on this issue will be given at the next ARRA meeting. E. Oral Report from the Executive Director Regarding the Schedule of Future Public Hearings and Meetings for the Community Reuse Plan. Paul Tuttle reported that a schedule had been handed out which outlines the consultant process and the schedule of meetings. The first public meeting is January 28, 1995 at the Officer's Club on base in the morning from approximately 9 a.m. to noon. The other meeting dates are all tentative but should be met in order to meet all the deadlines. The next phases, III, IV, and V have two meetings scheduled before the ARRA, hopefully one week apart, which will be major public hearings where the ARRA will be asked to make a decision. The first meetings have been scheduled for presentations by the consultants to identify the issues, and the second meeting would be closing the 5 public hearing and making a decision on that phase. Meetings scheduled include: a briefing to the BRAG, a public meeting briefing to the EBCRC, a public meeting sponsored by the BRAG, and the presentation to the ARRA. At each phase, as shown on the schedule an accompanying newsletter and a report from the consultant with recommendations will be generated. He added that at the beginning of the consultant process, it was stated that there would be one presentation (public hearing) before the Alameda City Council followed by another public meeting (the same presentation, same material) to the ARRA. Staff requested that the Authority Members consider the possibility that the presentations of the City Council and the ARRA be combined in order to avoid duplication of presentations as the City Council is a part of the ARRA. After a brief discussion, the Authority agreed that combining these public hearings was a good solution. Assistant City Attorney McLaughlin recommended that the City Council consider holding a special meeting at each phase of the planning process with the ARRA. F. Oral Report from the Executive Director Regarding the Status of AEG Leasing. Dave Louk reported that the BART Board will be working on the fare increases in January. He stated that, hopefully, in February, the award of the lease will occur, and if this happens, the notice to proceed will occur in March to AEG, if they win the project. G. Oral Report (and action, if necessary) from ARRA Member Appezzato Regarding Proposal for Retention of Home Porting of Carriers (CVN's) and Other Base/Reuse Opportunities at NAS Alameda. Chair Appezzato reported that the Alameda City Council heard the presentation on this subject the evening before regarding the possibility of the CVN's (aircraft carriers) remaining in Alameda, either on an interim basis or possibly permanent basis. The City Council voted, as well as the BRAG, to move forward with the proposal to Senior political and military leaders, asking the Navy questions as to the economic feasibility to maintain and keep the two to three CVN's in Alameda. Speakers: David Franklin of the Alameda Navy Retention Tactical Committee, which put the proposal together, gave a presentation on the proposal to retain the CVN's. Supervisor Chan reported that this concept had been presented to the County Board in December, 1994, by former Supervisor Perata, and the County feels that it could be an important opportunity for Alameda. She added that it would be discussed further in County policy and legislative committees and that 6 the County would like to participate in the process and help through lobbying, etc. Mayor Corbett stated that there was full support for this process from the City of San Leandro. Chair Appezzato requested that Vice-Chair Swanson provide the City of Alameda with a list of appropriate personnel to send the letter to from the City Council and the ARRA regarding the CVN's. Vice-Chair Swanson reported that the original decision of BRAC 93 to close NAS Alameda was a very close decision and arguments were made then, adding more facts with the case becoming stronger. Whether or not there is a will to reverse the decision, or the inclination on the part of the Navy to recommend a different decision--there has not been any evidence of a decision from when it was first heard that people were interested in the possibility. Congressman's office went to the highest ranking officials to be found in Washington, D.C. and asked them the question, "Is this currently under consideration and whether or not it was a definite no," and the response was that it wasn't. Vice-Chair Swanson added that the position of the Congressman's office is that they support the arguments as they were presented to BRAC 93, and will continue to support the arguments that are being made now. However, expectations should not be raised for the people of the community that are preparing for this transition and build any false hopes about what is possible. There has to be some indication from the Navy or someone in the Administration that they recognize these growing costs associated with this decision and they recognize that a mistake has been made, and they are willing to make adjustments. That will may exist and the presentation of these ideals and a review by those in position today may make a different decision and a different recommendation as BRAC 95 comes together. The possibility has to be approached realistically not giving false hope. Councilmember DeWitt moved that the ARRA endorse the proposal for continued home porting of the carriers as presented. The motion was seconded by Mayor Corbett and the motion passed unanimously. H. Oral Report from the Executive Director Regarding Next Agenda for the Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment Authority. Mr. Parker reported that the following items would be on the next agenda: presentation and public hearing on the existing conditions and trends analysis, approval of standard of reasonableness for the homeless collaborative group and approval of the community vision statement. Vice-Chair Swanson requested that the status of the new Executive 7 Director position be included on the next agenda. Mr. Parker stated that hopefully a selection would be made by that time. IV. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Speaker: Neil Patrick Sweeney, resident of Alameda, stated that the ARRA should communicate with ethnic language media so that people of other languages can participate and other ideas regarding base conversion. V. COMMUNICATIONS FROM GOVERNING BODY Vice-Chair Swanson reported that Congressman Dellums had requested that he offer to the new Members of the Authority a briefing on what has been going on for the last year and how the EBCRC fits into the work of the Reuse Authority. Chair Appezzato requested that he be included in the briefing. VI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned by Chair Appezzato at 8:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth Brydon Secretary 8