Loading...
2019-03-16 Special CC Minutes Special Meeting Alameda City Council March 16, 2019 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 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. April 2019 City of Alameda City Council Workshop Held March 16, 2019 City Council Workshop Table of Contents Management Partners i 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 Evaluation Summary ................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Attachment A – Workshop Evaluation ............................................................................................... 15 City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 1 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. City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 2 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. City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 3 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. City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 4 City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 5 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. City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 6 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 23 Protect Core Services Enhance Livability Business Planning Preparing for the Future Effective and Efficient Operations City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 7 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 City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 8  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. City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 9 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) City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 10  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? City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 11 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” City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 12  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? o How do we work with staff regarding agendas? o Need to standardize agenda format o 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: o Jurisdiction of OGC o Process o Make agendas comply with requirements o 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. City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 13  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 City Council Workshop City Council Workshop Report Management Partners 14  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