[12:54] So for members of the public that are online, we are in the process of assembling our closed session ran just a little bit late. We anticipate starting in approximately two minutes.

[13:04] You

[15:33] Okay, thank you for your patience. It is seven and four. I'm calling the meeting of the Soundland or City Council to order today as Monday, September 3rd, 2024. I guess it is seven and four PM. I will lead us in the pledge of allegiance. Please stand if you are able to.

[15:53] of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation and

[16:00] the other God, indivisible with liberty and health and civil rights.

[16:08] Okay.

[16:08] At this point in time, we will have Madam Clerk take our role, please.

[16:15] Council Member Aguilar.

[16:16] President.

[16:17] Council Member Azavito.

[16:19] Council Member Beliu.

[16:20] President.

[16:20] Council Member Bowen.

[16:22] Councilmember Rivera-Varro's Walton, President, Vice Mayor Simon, Mayor Gonzalez,

[16:28] All members are present.

[16:29] As for announcements, the City of San Lando conducts orderly meetings to facilitate

[16:33] its mandate.

[16:35] Discriminatory statements or conduct that would potentially violate the Federal Civil Rights

[16:40] Act of 1964 and or the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, California Penal Code

[16:48] section for a three or four 15 are for say disruptive to a meeting and will not be tolerated.

[16:55] Please see the City Council handbook and City Council meeting

[16:58] rules of decorum for more information. Madam Clerk for your announcement please.

[17:05] If you would like to make a public comment during the meeting you can do so in person or via Zoom.

[17:11] If you are present at the meeting please complete a speaker card and submit it to the City Clerk

[17:15] before the item is presented. If you wish to participate in public comment via Zoom,

[17:20] you can use the Raise Your Hand Tool when the item is called. During the public comment session,

[17:25] speakers will be invited to speak and will have a set time to share their comments.

[17:29] A countdown timer will appear for their convenience and when the time is up the microphone will be muted.

[17:34] All raised hands outside of public comment will be lowered to avoid confusion.

[17:39] Once public comment is opened, hands may be raised to speak.

[17:42] There will be a 30 minute window for public comments which will take place under item seven public comments as per the published agenda.

[17:51] After this time is up, the council will proceed with the rest of the meetings agenda.

[17:55] If you have not had the opportunity to speak during the initial 30 minute period, there will be another chance to do so after item 12 city council reports.

[18:02] Thank you.

[18:06] Is there any report on closed session action taken?

[18:10] Thank you, Mayor. There were no reportable actions taken in closed session, but direction

[18:14] was provided to staff.

[18:15] Thank you. So at this point, we'll go to item four, recognitions. Today, we have a proclamation

[18:19] declaring September 2024 as national preparedness month. We've got firefighter Curtis Meyers

[18:29] and search instructor Don Faire. Yeah, are you here? Stand up and come on down.

[19:05] It is September and we're just coming back from that break, the cobwebs were being cleared out so here we go.

[19:12] September 2024 National Preparedness Month, I know that you guys do a lot personally,

[19:17] to help promote preparation here in the city of Sanland or so we'll begin by saying thank you to both of you.

[19:23] So whereas National Preparedness Month observed every September since 2004 creates an ideal opportunity for everyone.

[19:31] That's you guys and everyone who's not here watching online, please share the word.

[19:36] It's an opportunity for everyone and suddenly enter to join people across the United States

[19:40] in preparing their homes, businesses and the broader community for any type of emergency,

[19:45] including natural technological, human-caused, any kind of emergency.

[19:50] And whereas planning and investing in preparedness of ourselves, our families, our businesses,

[19:55] Now, before a disaster strikes can reduce fatalities, economic devastation, as well as

[20:01] improve community recovery and strength and resiliency in our community and as a nation.

[20:07] And whereas all residents of San Leandro are urged to plan ahead for disasters and to

[20:12] encourage their family and friends to do the same by participating in neighborhood preparedness

[20:17] activities, registering their contact information in the AC alert, I'll meet a county alert

[20:23] system, right? In the AC alert and NICSAL Mass Notification Systems, and by visiting the

[20:30] Preparedness Campaign website, Ready.gov.

[20:36] For essential preparedness tips and information.

[20:39] Now therefore, I apply on the tools of third and mayor of the city of San Leandro. Do here

[20:42] by proclaim September 2024 is national preparedness month here in San Leandro, and urge all community

[20:49] members and businesses to devote their own emergency to develop their own emergency preparedness

[20:54] plans, build a kit, prepare for disasters, and talk to friends and family about preparedness in

[21:01] order to prevent a stronger, more resilient community. I proclaim that you all agree, right?

[21:08] Okay, it's good to see so many head nods here in the room. I'll pass the mic to you guys if you

[21:12] want to say a few words. I don't

[21:19] know about a few words, but simply if you haven't heard

[21:23] of what a lot of the stuff that we do. We do personal emergency preparedness, our PEP classes.

[21:27] We also offer a search program, which is community emergency response training. We highly recommend

[21:32] that all of you sign up. This is a free service that's offered by the city in the Alameda County

[21:36] Fire Department. And we'd love to have you out there. We teach you how to build kits, what to do in

[21:40] case of emergency, how to handle your utilities, basic first aid, all sorts of things that can help,

[21:45] not only you and your family, but also your neighbor and then your block and then your entire city,

[21:50] which is the goal. So that once you can take care of yourselves, you can take care of each

[21:54] other and we can all participate in the next emergency because we all know the earthquakes coming.

[21:58] We just don't know when so we'd like to be prepared.

[22:37] But at this point in time I will turn to the consent calendar item number five. This opportunity,

[22:43] you pull any item so there's anything that you think requires for the discussion. If not,

[22:47] there are no problems with the consent calendar. I would gladly entertain a motion.

[22:50] Council

[22:55] Member Resvita, please.

[22:57] Yes, all about this item.

[22:59] Okay, and Vice Mayor, please.

[23:00] Second.

[23:01] So I've got a motion from Council Member Resvita

[23:03] and a second from our Vice Mayor,

[23:07] Vice Mayor Simon.

[23:09] Prior to taking a vote,

[23:10] I would accept comments from our public and our consent calendar.

[23:16] Mr. Mayor, we're just double-jacking

[23:17] to see if the one public comment came in if it's for consent.

[23:20] Thank you.

[23:30] You can make your public comment now.

[23:42] Good evening, my name is Thomas Clisell.

[23:44] I'm president of the San Andro-Golf Club.

[23:47] And as it relates to the potential renewal of the American Gulf

[23:53] corporations contract, I would like to inform the City Council that

[23:57] our board met in May of this year in unanimacy,

[24:01] asked a resolution in support of the renewal of the contract.

[24:04] Right. Our membership is grown over the year from 92 to now 116 members. We have incredible

[24:11] diversity in terms of race, age, gender. And if there's one piece of advice I'd give the

[24:20] city council is to associate a five year employment contract for the people who work on behalf

[24:27] of the American Gulf operation at the Monarch Big Gulf course, they are by far the best ambassadors

[24:36] representing your city, and we have so much respect and honor for their personnel that

[24:44] without any question, our club is unanimously voted in favor of supporting them.

[24:51] So thank you very much for your time and consideration and I appreciate your consideration.

[24:58] Thank you. Mr. Mayor, there's no more public comment.

[25:01] So with that, I'll close public comment and turn to my council and say,

[25:04] is there anything else that we need to discuss on this item? Seeing no interest, let's vote.

[25:17] All votes are in. Motion passes, unanimous, 7-0.

[25:22] Item number six, do we have any city attorney report today?

[25:26] No city attorney report, what about the city manager, is there a report?

[25:31] Yes, Mr. Mayor.

[25:34] It is my pleasure to announce that the state of California recently awarded San Leandro with the coveted pro housing designation, which is a distinction given to jurisdictions that have made an extraordinary commitment to supporting housing production.

[25:49] Achieving this designation was a key goal in the city's housing element update, which was certified by the state in early 2020.

[25:57] three. To date, only about 10% of cities statewide have received this pro-housing designation.

[26:03] Based on the strength of the city's housing policies and programs, the city earned 64

[26:08] points in its pro-housing application, which is the top score in the Bay Area and is tied

[26:14] for the fourth highest scoring application in the state. The city's effort was led by

[26:22] by Assistant Community Development Director,

[26:24] Avalon Schultz, and the Community Development Department

[26:27] and made possible through the City Council support

[26:29] of pro-housing policies.

[26:31] The City's Human Services and Public Works Department staff

[26:35] were also key contributors to the City's

[26:37] successful pro-housing application.

[26:40] By earning the pro-housing designation,

[26:42] the City now has priority access to housing,

[26:45] community development, and infrastructure funding opportunities

[26:49] administered by the state.

[26:52] Okay, that deserves a round of applause.

[27:01] Fourth highest in the entire state of California.

[27:05] That says something.

[27:06] Okay, let's move on to public comment.

[27:08] We're taking public comment.

[27:09] This is the time when any person may address council on matters not listed on the agenda,

[27:14] but which are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the council.

[27:20] We have folks online who would like to comment.

[27:28] There's no hands-up online, and I have three speaker cards in person.

[27:33] We have our in-room people line up, get the three, I'm just going to take online first.

[27:41] I'm just waiting a second, but they can get ready to speak.

[27:44] We have Cat Wellman, Wever Fry, and then Leo West.

[27:52] Seeing no public comment online, I will close that portion, and we're going to focus on the room then.

[27:56] Good evening, I'm Cat Wellman, President of Bovia, that supports the opening of Lake Shiboh Road.

[28:05] Next week, you're going to hear from a number of San Leandro residents who want the city to

[28:10] open Lake Shiboh Road right now to alternating one-way traffic with signals at either end.

[28:16] If you do not open the road to through traffic, it is not and never will be a known, usable,

[28:22] viable or safe evacuation route. When there is an emergency, we all go into auto pilot mode.

[28:31] Ask any first responder. The reason for intensive training is to have the muscle memory to do what

[28:37] is required in a time sensitive, high-pressure situation when there's no time to think, only act.

[28:44] Such is the case when one is told that there is only a short period of time to leave your home,

[28:49] with whatever you can grab due to an emergency evacuation.

[28:54] Lake Shabot Road with a bolted ballards in front of open gates

[28:59] will not be used by the hundreds of residents who need it.

[29:03] Why?

[29:04] One, we haven't driven the road in over 18 months.

[29:08] It is no longer part of our muscle memory.

[29:12] Two, we do not even know if it's safe to drive on the road.

[29:16] And if it is, it should be opened to one way traffic alternating at least three no one

[29:24] wants to risk damage to their vehicle by driving over the ballers.

[29:28] You think this is not a real fear?

[29:31] Tell that to a very large commercial tree trimming truck with an articulating arm and basket

[29:38] that unbolted and removed the ballers rather than drive over them just last week to get in

[29:44] out of Lake Shaboe Road. Unless you open Lake Shaboe Road to through traffic now to alternating

[29:51] one way traffic with signals at either end, you are risking the public safety of over 3500 residents

[29:57] if there is a fire or other on Earthquake.

[30:00] Public or other devastating emergency. Next week, please do the right thing. Thank you. Thank you.

[30:06] We're fine.

[30:19] Thank you for letting me speak. As reported by the point in time count conducted

[30:26] in January of 2024, San Leandro has at least 350 unsheltered homeless people living here. They

[30:35] We live where they can, outside of the boundaries of our civilized society, in encampments, parking

[30:42] lots, parks, curb sites, sidewalks, doorways, they live in these places for so many different

[30:50] reasons, but mostly because they have nowhere else to live.

[30:55] There are a multitude of problems, both which cause and exacerbate the inability to have

[31:01] But at the root of these are the facts that rent in California is exorbitant to safety net benefits have not kept pace with the living costs of being in the Bay Area or this state.

[31:18] And three, there are not enough low and extremely low rental housing units available to meet the human needs of the neediest people in all of our communities.

[31:28] Governor Newsom is like government agencies in California know they should be clearing

[31:34] encampments throughout the state.

[31:36] Several entities have recently passed ordinances reducing the amount of time between hosting

[31:42] and clearing from 72 hours to 24 hours, under the guise of helping people.

[31:49] In California there are approximately 70,000 shelter beds.

[31:54] There are approximately 160,000 unsheltered homeless for those beds.

[32:02] In San Leandra we have zero shelter beds for men, they just don't exist, they never have.

[32:10] We do fortunately, and have always had shelter for women and children, and for that I thank

[32:17] people in this room for continuing that.

[32:20] currently the belongings of people who live in the street.

[32:24] Thank you, your time is up.

[32:26] I sent this to you.

[32:28] Thank you.

[32:29] Dear West.

[32:46] In the last city council, public meeting, a good number of people spoke about election,

[32:51] integrity, or the lack of it.

[32:54] I worked as a president, in fact, for 20 years on election day.

[32:58] And in 2020, I work as a judge because the neighborhood president has been eliminated

[33:04] by the Democrats so much for the Democrats playing that they want to make it easier to

[33:11] vote.

[33:13] We may all vote in several election rules are violated, the secrecy of the vote is violated

[33:21] because your name is on the envelope, so anyone who has access to the register of water

[33:28] the roster, not your party affiliation, and what the vote inside is for.

[33:34] The custody of the ballot rule is also violated.

[33:39] The mayor carries post office workers, warehouse workers hand off the ballot, and who knows

[33:45] who else have access to the warehouse where the ballots are stored for up to a month.

[33:52] No wonder that the 2020 election battles were found dumped in the Santa Cruz mountains.

[33:59] In the 90s, we had electronic voting machines, but Democrats and Progressives complained that

[34:06] they cannot be trusted and got rid of them.

[34:11] And now that the Democrats control the process, all they are just fine, the system is rigged

[34:18] That's why the two council members run and oppose your people want to put their name to participate in a rig system.

[34:29] There's only one solution, the JD.

[34:35] Thank you. That's a mayor. There's no more public comment.

[34:39] That I will close public comment to move to the next item on our agenda.

[34:44] the next item is item number eight, which is public hearings. We have none today. We also do not have presentations under item number nine.

[34:56] Item number 10, action items, we have two orders of business today. Our first is the resolution to approve the 2024 San

[35:06] land or economic development strategy item 10A. And during the very beginning of this item,

[35:12] I need to step out very briefly to take care of some business. And so I'm going to ask Vice

[35:17] Mayor to be in charge of the meeting until I return, which should be shortly, but just, you know,

[35:22] it's your incapable hands with Vice Mayor Simon. So economic development manager Katie Bowman will

[35:30] lead us in this item.

[35:47] Good evening, Council Members, Vice Mayor Katie Bowman, Economic Development Manager,

[35:53] here to present the final draft of the 2024 Economic Development Strategy.

[36:00] And we have shared this strategy in its draft form with you in July.

[36:05] And so what we're going to focus on today is the additions and updates that have been made

[36:11] since you last saw it and what we're going to do next. And if at any point you want more detail

[36:17] on any of the strategies we can circle back to that. So first, just to orient anyone in the

[36:25] audience as to what we're doing with an economic development strategy, it is a strategy and work plan

[36:31] to focus our work as a city and focus our resources on in the ways that will most efficiently benefit

[36:40] the local economy and builds on previous planning activities that the city has done and also works

[36:48] to create revenue for the city and successful businesses which will help support our other

[36:54] city council priorities as well. And before I go on, I just want to briefly thank all of we've

[37:02] been working for almost a year doing a broad amount of public outreach, several community meetings,

[37:09] door-to-door outreach, stakeholder meetings, as well as meeting with you all.

[37:14] Thank you to the Finance Committee for your support. And also we've worked

[37:19] with a good team of consultants, a strategic economics who drafted the plan,

[37:26] Alex Greenwood, who is here with us tonight, who helped us with policy and

[37:30] project management, Winter, who did public outreach, and civil economics who did

[37:36] the Creative Economy Study, which I'll talk about.

[37:39] And so what have we done since we last saw you?

[37:43] First, what's not mentioned here, but is on your diast there,

[37:46] is we have worked to create a readable,

[37:50] a formatted version of this strategy.

[37:53] And so we have some copies as well here

[37:56] for anyone who would like.

[37:57] And if approved tonight, we'll get some glossy versions

[38:00] that we can get to you as well.

[38:01] But the goal here is to create a manageable document that can be used by SS staff as well

[38:10] as by other people who are looking to work here, bring a business here, and so it as well

[38:17] will be an informational as well as marketing tool.

[38:20] And so we're very excited, really I think captures the beauty and vibrancy of our community.

[38:27] And in addition to that, various we've done, I'm talking about adding additional information

[38:34] as well as additional emphasis with your direction and feedback from the community.

[38:40] And so really looking to focus, make sure that the strategy really highlights the focus

[38:47] and is mindful of how we're going to do it, when we're going to do it, where we're going

[38:53] to work and then as well through the emphasis looking in particular to really name as we talked

[39:02] about at the last meeting equity and inclusion and in particular while some of our initial

[39:07] strategies helped to bring in new companies, for instance, some of our last three related

[39:13] to retail, small business and workforce really will help to support people and to bring resources

[39:22] is in an equitable manner as well as reduce barriers to entry and really help to do that also

[39:28] looking at how we can address some of the really known and named and challenges related to

[39:34] security in ways that we can target our grants to help with that, target our inner departmental

[39:42] work to harness all of the power of city staff and finally to help focus and really be really

[39:51] mindful and proactive about how we share the resources such as business incentives and

[39:57] make sure that those with the highest need know about them.

[40:04] And so just briefly, what is the goal of this strategy and the work and just to take

[40:09] us one step back, the whole genesis for this is from the larger community vision that was

[40:16] established through the 2035 general plan for the city, and so this works to implement

[40:23] that from an economic and business perspective, and so it talks about a vision for a San

[40:30] Leandro that is safe, attractive, vibrant, sustainable, healthy, and economically resilient.

[40:37] And so how does this translate into a specific vision for the economic development work?

[40:42] And as I've talked to with you before, a lot of the vision and values and goals came from an analysis of what are our challenges, what are our strengths, and where can we focus our work to build upon our strengths.

[40:57] And so really one thing that has come out of this that all of you know I'm sure, but we want to make sure that the greater Bay Area knows is that, you know, a lot of the benefits we see can really be summed up in looking at San Leandro as

[41:11] as a unique blend between urban and suburban and into and brace that and how what benefits does

[41:19] that bring. It can bring culture. We have a lot of authenticity. We have amazing restaurants

[41:27] and all of these type of things that many communities try to create and we have it all naturally.

[41:34] it is who we are. And so we look to build on that. And so to look at the strategies which we've

[41:42] talked with you before in six key areas. And in the final version really we work to identify what

[41:51] the initial focus is going to be to focus our work and to help you in the community and us all

[41:58] be working towards the same goals in the same manner.

[42:02] And so really the four strategies that really will be kicking all of this off

[42:07] is what we're calling an innovation action strategy,

[42:10] which is a way to proactively look at how we can attract the target industries

[42:17] that I can talk about here in a moment where we have a competitive advantage

[42:21] and that are growing and that can bring good jobs.

[42:24] Also to do what's called a brand assessment and marketing strategy, and so really think

[42:30] about how are we perceived in the market?

[42:33] Are there any, you know, where there's negative perception, understand that and learn

[42:38] and respond to it in a way that will resonate well, as well as looking at how to proactively

[42:48] recruit the types of retail that is growing in the new retail landscape and that we know

[42:54] the community wants. And then finally, as we look to attract businesses that provide good

[43:01] jobs and jobs that have career pathways, how do we connect that with our community? How do we

[43:08] have our whole community share in this success? So that's a workforce partnership strategy.

[43:15] Also, you'll see in here a heat map, which highlights the different areas across town,

[43:21] where strategies will be implemented.

[43:25] And also, throughout the document, we have integrated the Creative Economy Analysis.

[43:32] And just as a reminder, this is a new element that we brought to the strategy that is unique,

[43:39] is something that we haven't done before and we're not seeing a lot of communities do.

[43:42] And so we worked with with that firm civil economics to look at what are our opportunities for the future in in the creative economy.

[43:52] How can we plant seeds today that will help us continue to have opportunities for or jobs such as digital film production and video production and that that are growing and that are that we're seeing people that maybe live here.

[44:08] commuting to work for a firm somewhere else that does that and so different

[44:13] examples where you'll see this throughout the document is looking to target

[44:19] these types of businesses through small business assistance, through incentives,

[45:00] And then also a note, in the final version, you will see that the strategies are proposed in phases and with some of these initial strategies, such as the ones I mentioned beginning and then others building upon that. And so just as a reference for you, you'll see referred later throughout the document, short term, medium, term, and long term. And these are the years that it's generally referring to.

[45:29] And so I'll briefly

[45:32] go through the different strategies, as we've talked about them before, but with the first strategy,

[45:39] to work to attract innovative companies, as well as creative companies, which will then help

[45:44] to foster economic growth, good jobs, and innovation and culture. And the four key industries based

[45:54] on where growth is happening, where we already have growth and where we have a competitive advantage,

[46:00] our food technology, clean technology, robotics, and biomedical.

[46:08] The next is to support and reduce barriers and continue to streamline our processes so

[46:15] that some of the transformative development projects which are proposed to help them

[46:22] proceed and when complete they can help to bring, you know, there's a lot of potential in these

[46:28] projects such as that Bay Fair or the Kaiser North site to bring significant amounts of

[46:34] housing and jobs, which can have that type of transformational impact.

[46:41] Next is to work through, explore opportunities through financing districts, public-private

[46:48] partnerships, and other creative ways to help fund and maintain the infrastructure that

[46:56] that the community needs, that the local economy needs, so that we can continue to support

[47:02] this and be clean and functional.

[47:11] Next as well, we've heard a lot from the community and from you looking to want to shop

[47:16] in town, want to have the stores that you want to go to wanting to feel safe and clean.

[47:21] And so to start with a retail action strategy, as I talked about, and then work to really target and be proactive and are outreach on commercial incentives and work to support them.

[47:41] And next, as I mentioned, working to connect the community with the training that they need for workforce, the businesses, with the training that they need for employment.

[47:52] and then as well look at how we can better spread this information through an outreach strategy

[47:59] and as well reduce barriers through looking at childcare support and other barriers

[48:05] to employment that may be identified.

[48:09] Finally, looking at a small business support and working to continue some of the relationships

[48:18] with service providers that have begun during the pandemic and continue to develop ways that they can really invest in the community and that their services can be known and utilized by San Leandro residents.

[48:34] And so on an annual basis, what we will look to do is start with how will we know whether this plan is succeeding? How will we track it?

[48:44] Not only will we look at the tasks that we are doing in the ways that we are controlling

[48:50] and implementing what we have set out, also look on an annual basis at how different

[48:58] economic measures are performing on an annual basis.

[49:04] And if they're, you know, say if one area is not getting better, say property value or things

[49:12] like that are there should we make adjustments to strategies and so in our next phase will be continuing

[49:19] to refine these economic indicators that will be tracking. And so next steps we are here to at the

[49:29] final hearing for the strategy and this not the end will be coming back to you in the fall.

[49:37] Thank you very much. You have adopted economic development as a priority, and so will be coming back

[49:45] with the Council priority work plan for economic development, and in that will include more details on

[49:51] specific timing, specific implementation steps, performance measures, as well as the different staffing

[49:59] and resources that may be needed for different tasks, and then also which will then drive as we go into the next budget cycle in looking at prioritizing the different tasks based on available funding.

[50:16] And so we look forward to continuing that discussion with you, and we'll be working with the different departments in the meantime to finalize that.

[50:24] And so with that I just want to once again thank you all, thank the community and in our

[50:31] many partners. This was a great project. This is the first time we've done this detailed

[50:38] of an economic development strategy in many years. And so we appreciate the opportunity

[50:44] and we really think it's a really ambitious and visionary and proactive plan. And so we have

[50:52] We're cut out for us, but we are excited.

[50:56] So with that, I'll recommend that the City Council adopt a resolution to approve the

[51:02] 2024 San Leandro Economic Development Strategy.

[51:06] Okay, so thank you for your presentation, your recommendation at this point in time.

[51:11] Let's take clarifying questions, no commentary at this time, please.

[51:15] Then we'll go to hear from members of our public to see what input they have, and then that

[51:20] and guide the discussion that we in turn have during part three of that.

[51:24] So let's begin with questions from Councilmember Aguilar.

[51:28] Thank you, Americans. All right. Thank you, Katie, for this robust presentation.

[51:34] With regards to tourism, are we working with any organization? Do we plan to work with an

[51:39] organization to address tourism in San Andro? Yes. So in the, we do have a strategy to do an

[51:48] assessment of hotel opportunities in the community and then based on that do outreach and so I

[51:57] you know certainly we continue to be interested in that and I think some of the changes that are

[52:02] going on right in our vicinity around around the airport continue to bring that to our focus yeah.

[52:09] And then with regards to short-term solutions I get numerous phone calls from various consultants

[52:17] and so we're working with, or companies who are trying to build in San Leandro

[52:20] or build their business with regards to our permitting process.

[52:24] And the amounts of delays and the red tape that they have to go through is what are we?

[52:28] What are we doing to work through that to help streamline that process?

[52:31] Yeah, thank you.

[52:34] The community department, community development department has kicked off

[52:38] a permit process evaluation project.

[52:42] And so, work has already begun, the different departments and divisions that work in permitting, so that includes community development, building, planning, as well as environmental services and engineering and mapping and looking at ways that we can improve that process.

[53:02] Wonderful. And with regards to TOT tax, I know there's a missed opportunity with building hotels in San Leandro.

[53:10] So that's what is our strategy? I think we're we're kind of partner. There's an RFP for

[53:15] Kaiser. Is is there anything promising? I know we had and we're we're delayed with Monarch Bay

[53:24] with Cal Coast and we're trying to figure out what's going on with with

[53:27] Kaiser. What's what's the strategy behind then? What do we see as a timeline to

[53:32] bring in some sort of hotel so that we can start

[53:35] capitalizing in sense of TOT deaths?

[53:39] Yeah, you know, as you mentioned, there's a couple different opportunities in the community,

[53:44] four large development and four hotels, I think as a next step in the process we're going

[53:50] to be evaluating that and we stand ready to respond to interest as well as we'll be developing

[53:57] some more proactive approaches as well.

[54:00] wonderful. And with regards to our rebranding of the city, what does that process look like?

[54:07] And are we going to go out and conduct an RFP to rebrand logo, street name, street name plate

[54:17] changes, and what have you? I'd say the scope of that is to be to be finalized and it's, you know,

[54:23] so that that's a larger discussion that will have an inner departmental level and would come back

[54:28] to you before initiating that, you know, it's it can take a variety of forms. I'd say, you know, as we've, as we've, you know, talked about to date, just as I mentioned, most importantly, looking at less about, you know, before looking at our branding imagery,

[54:50] a starting with what the vision or impressions are behind that, so the information.

[55:02] And so what and where we'll do with imagery is to be determined, but as conceptualized the first step,

[55:10] like I said, is what's called a brand assessment, so seeing really taking stock of that,

[55:16] and then from that information, then proceeding.

[55:18] Wonderful. My last question is, what are we doing to attract businesses here in San

[55:24] Leandro and also actually two? We have approved housing with maximists and bridge housing.

[55:34] You know, those are all also missed opportunity for, you know, adding taxpayer based money

[55:42] to our city. So, if you can answer those two questions, I'm done.

[55:49] So I'll start with the first part, I may have you clarify the second part, so what I believe the question is what are we doing to attract businesses?

[56:01] And so, you know, part of, well, so how about I go through this strategy, we will, we already do a lot of work through marketing and storytelling and relationship building and providing good service.

[56:17] But what we're excited to do through this strategy is develop what we're calling an

[56:23] innovation action strategy, which the idea there is to really have a more proactive

[56:29] step by, you know, laying out our work plan for who and how to approach as far as attracting

[56:38] those types of industries and the same thing on the retail side as well, doing some analysis

[56:44] and confirming, you know, where are our best bets and what that align with what our goals,

[56:51] what our community wants to see. So,

[56:56] and the second part was related to attracting housing or

[57:00] supporting housing. Supporting housing, I know we've have, as a council, we approved various projects

[57:06] with regards to economic development and housing, whereas where are we at in that time with building

[57:13] those gaps and housing costs are on the rise.

[57:18] Yeah, so from that perspective, you know, and Janelle mentioned, some of it when she talked about

[57:25] the pro-housing designations. So, you know, first and foremost, looking at effectuating,

[57:31] impacting what we can control as a city, and so a number of actions have already been taken to

[57:37] reduce barriers and make it more feasible to build the housing and really, and you all have been

[57:44] approving housing. And so, you know, we'll continue to look into ways. I think there's some macro

[57:51] economic things going on that we can't control. However, you know, you did recently have come before

[57:58] you an extension of the approvals to make sure that if projects were delayed due to construction

[58:04] cost, high interest rates, that they could continue when things improve.

[58:09] And so that has been the focus on related to housing.

[58:15] Thank you.

[58:17] Councilmember Bowen, please.

[58:20] Thank you, Mayor.

[58:21] Thank you, Katie.

[58:23] Could you speak a little bit to the continued engagement with the community stakeholders clearly

[58:29] so much of what is in this strategy, which I am such a big fan of, it really comes from the

[58:36] community and all the different stakeholders in terms of phasing out the work with them.

[58:45] Yeah, and so, and I was debating whether to go back to the slides, but I can't if you'd like,

[58:50] but first of all, I'll take a stab verbally. So I think two of the most important ways are

[58:57] related to small business support and workforce development, and for both of those, but well,

[59:04] so for small business support, some of the things that we've identified is continuing to work

[59:10] with service providers that try to, you know, that do work very closely with the community,

[59:16] such as Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, who we're already working with, but also continuing to

[59:22] deep in relationships with things such as the Chinatown Chamber and other organizations

[59:30] that provide, you know, have relationships. So going to where people are and so continuing

[59:38] and improving, going to community events, doing outreach in language. And so I think we

[59:50] We have, you know, I'd love to find new ways to do that.

[59:53] Those are some of the ways that we know so far,

[59:56] but I think a lot, yeah.

[59:58] Yeah, so really identifying.

[1:00:00] The goals of the vision. Is there a plan to be able to highlight that and the progress of it as as you continue with that work, especially as an outreach tool for the community, understanding that this is a working progress and some of these things are done now and other things are done in 10, 12 years. But if that could be more presence in available to the community, we could all be a part of that process. Yeah, I think that's a great idea. I know as a council priority will be coming

[1:00:29] back with work plan updates, and I do regularly speak to business groups and community groups

[1:00:37] and things like that, but further sharing the story with the community, I welcome ideas

[1:00:44] and connections that the council has to do that, always happy to do that.

[1:00:47] And then the last thing I wanted to ask about is thinking about, you know, obviously promoting

[1:00:54] economic development, but also being incredibly intentional about it.

[1:00:58] And I think one of the amazing things in San Leandro

[1:01:00] is the types of businesses.

[1:01:01] And specifically the people that run the businesses

[1:01:04] are pretty phenomenal.

[1:01:06] And is there an effort or is it part of any of the strategies

[1:01:10] to help our businesses, whether they're large or small,

[1:01:14] be really responsible,

[1:01:17] a factual community-driven partners in the city.

[1:01:22] I think about Tarani or Girodelli,

[1:01:24] the other ones that are so impactful in the community.

[1:01:28] How do we as a city continue to support those businesses

[1:01:31] and promote them so that others also want to behave

[1:01:35] in the same manner?

[1:01:38] I think some of, I think that's a really great point

[1:01:43] and as you mentioned, something that we can encourage,

[1:01:46] we can't always control, which is why we're,

[1:01:49] but so I think one way is we've outlined

[1:01:54] and a number of programs to help businesses, and I think building in those additional kind of,

[1:02:03] you know, B-Corp type community type information that once we get the relationship, once we get the touch,

[1:02:10] we can help to, we try to get them involved in part of the conversation more long-term.

[1:02:18] and so that's one way that we do it, always open to additional ideas, but as I

[1:02:24] meant, sometimes we, our first interaction is with a business when they have a

[1:02:28] really urgent need and so sometimes that's there, they're just really kind of

[1:02:32] day-to-day, but if we can help them get beyond that, then we can help them to be more

[1:02:39] holistic and make those types of improvements. And I would say to beyond just

[1:02:43] community giving back to you about some of our goals with workforce development. Obviously,

[1:02:50] being able to pay not just living wage, but having benefits, you know, when businesses come,

[1:02:55] if that could be part of the strategy, to share what our goals are as a city, to just promote that.

[1:03:04] Thank you so much, Katie.

[1:03:07] Let's go to vice mayor, please.

[1:03:09] Thank you for the presentation. A few questions. One is I heard a mission of safety. And without safety and businesses or people feeling safe, I don't think we're going to grow it all.

[1:03:22] Can you elaborate a bit more on how we're going to accomplish that in the short and the near term, for example, Bay Fair?

[1:03:29] Yeah, and so to start one of the most immediate ways is to continue a security grant and security

[1:03:41] assessment programs for small businesses to help them assess and make improvements and we have

[1:03:48] already done a round of that and really gotten a really great response and appreciation from the

[1:03:52] businesses, and so but for the larger centers such as Bay Fair, what we are already doing

[1:04:01] and will continue to enhance is really interdepartmental support and coordination.

[1:04:06] And so at the Bay Fair example, police are already collaborating with BART, with Union Pacific,

[1:04:13] the property owners, other stakeholders there, and so working on that from that public safety

[1:04:22] perspective also working to continue to support daytime population in the area and to continue

[1:04:30] to have quality property management and things like that.

[1:04:35] Another example is that the greenhouse marketplace where you all have supported a pilot project

[1:04:41] for safety ambassadors and so that will be getting started in some months and so through

[1:04:50] that looking to partner with the property owner to provide some of that additional day-to-day

[1:04:56] quality of life support for individuals in the area and for the business owners and

[1:05:02] for the visitors.

[1:05:05] Okay, in a related question, just looking at our area, our town by comparing to Alameda,

[1:05:13] and this is a question from my son today, we were at South Shore Alameda and he was asking,

[1:05:18] Dad, why is it feel safer here at South Shore than at Bayfair?

[1:05:25] I mean, it's hard to answer that question.

[1:05:27] Why?

[1:05:27] Why should they feel safer if people feel safer at South Shore than Bayfair?

[1:05:31] Do you have, do you do any analysis comparing to our neighbors on what they're doing to

[1:05:37] accomplish people feeling safe shopping and trader Joe's and other companies like that coming

[1:05:42] in?

[1:05:45] Yeah, so I've disclaimers that that's not my area of expertise.

[1:05:50] So I think from a business perspective, as we've talked about looking at that broken window theory or things like that where you're trying to support quality aesthetics, maintenance, and things like that that will help with the appearance and thinking about quality and pride and ownership.

[1:06:19] and so the city is tackling that in a variety of manners from code enforcement to our incentives.

[1:06:26] And then I'd say, I think our retail action strategy, I think that's a good question

[1:06:34] to really hone in on through that. We are already working with retailers on a case-by-case basis to

[1:06:41] provide information to help right-size their impressions if they're wrong to help attract them to

[1:06:48] coming here. Another safety kind of question. We've seen a lot of kids on bikes, gangs of

[1:06:56] kids on bikes riding through town, again, Bay Fair in particular. Do we have any plans to engage

[1:07:03] youth, take them off the streets and engage them in economic development, internships, the underserved

[1:07:10] in our area, even adjacent to us in Ashland area, to take care of the safety plus give them a future

[1:07:18] and help build our city, any youth work?

[1:07:21] Yeah, so the looking at the workforce development section,

[1:07:26] and so through that there are various partners

[1:07:30] or workforce service providers,

[1:07:32] such as the Ashland Reach Center or things like that,

[1:07:34] and our own boys and girls club,

[1:07:37] that work with youth help provide some job training services,

[1:07:41] and so looking at incorporating them

[1:07:44] in the larger conversations about workforce

[1:07:46] course with the community colleges and other workforce service providers.

[1:07:51] And then I think as well, what will be important is once the programs are put to, you know,

[1:07:56] if programs are new or improved, making sure that they actually make it so that the youth

[1:08:03] know about them.

[1:08:04] And so through that as well, we want to work better on, you know, work on communication strategies

[1:08:10] and marketing strategies for these opportunities.

[1:08:14] My final question on page 35 and your booklet, there's a very nice map that shows your focus areas.

[1:08:21] And I think I heard a little bit of this, but I think Councilmember Aguilar mentioned this to an entertainment district and do a little drive right next to the airport.

[1:08:32] And this was maybe four years ago, one of the, one of the people that was interviewing for the city manager position brought up that concept that idea.

[1:08:40] developing do-little to bring in the airport traffic and divert them to our

[1:08:46] marina. Are we looking at that do-little drive adjacent to the airport and

[1:08:51] making an entertainment district there? I think that that's something that

[1:08:54] definitely we can look at as we do a hotel feasibility analysis and looking at

[1:09:00] that. Yeah, we can look at that. Thank you. This is my time. We'll go to

[1:09:05] Council Member Azabita, please.

[1:09:08] Thank you, Katie, for your presentation.

[1:09:11] I have a question regarding Bayfair.

[1:09:13] Is the economic development team recommending any types of businesses for Bayfair?

[1:09:17] The reason why I asked that, because I met with some of the owners, and I let them know

[1:09:21] that I'd like to see something there for families, either Boeing, Ali, or Skating Ring, and one

[1:09:26] of the owners told me I'm a former hockey player, I love Skating Ring, so if we had something

[1:09:30] sponsored by Disney or Pixar or Marvel because in this

[1:09:34] economic development and I don't see anything for families,

[1:09:38] family businesses, so I'd like to see something for families.

[1:09:41] Yeah, and I didn't really talk too much about it today,

[1:09:44] but you know, in, in this section that talks about retail, you

[1:09:48] know, as you're saying right now and as we've heard consistently

[1:09:51] throughout this process is right wanting to find activities

[1:09:55] for youth, for families, for physical activity.

[1:10:01] We call that in the retail world.

[1:10:03] They call that experiential.

[1:10:06] And so that is an area that is also growing for space.

[1:10:10] And so it's a good match.

[1:10:12] And so through the development of this retail action strategy,

[1:10:16] right, looking at what are these type of users want?

[1:10:19] How can we help attract them?

[1:10:21] It is already on the radar at Bayfair.

[1:10:23] As you just mentioned, and for Bay Fair in particular, there's an overarching strategy

[1:10:29] and plan for that, and it does permit that as well as right employment uses, research

[1:10:37] and development, but also it has the benefits of large size, parking, central accessibility,

[1:10:44] all things that are attractive, or these experiential uses too.

[1:10:48] But they did express concern about safety because safety is a concern of Bayfair, so eventually

[1:10:55] I'd like to see the safety ambassador program expanded to Bayfair to make our police officers

[1:11:01] more efficient, so I think, and they are an union Pacific and it is working with Bayfair

[1:11:08] because we keep in having to clean up the railroad tracks, we've had issues out the railroad

[1:11:12] tracks and yeah, so we've been working with them.

[1:11:15] Okay. Seeing no more questions at this point, I will go to public comment on this item.

[1:11:25] There is no public comment online, and I have two in person.

[1:11:30] That's come in person.

[1:11:34] Robert Rayburn,

[1:11:41] and now I have one hand up online.

[1:11:47] Good evening, Mayor Gonzales, Councilmembers. My name is Robert Rayburn.

[1:11:51] I'm the elected bark director for District 4, which encompasses San Leandro.

[1:11:57] I appreciate Katie Bowman's presentation tonight, and I thank all of you for conducting

[1:12:08] this study and community workshops with strategic economics.

[1:12:15] It was exciting for me to read and review the strategy, it's truly transformational,

[1:12:22] and see the top focus areas include both BART stations in San Leandro, the downtown mixed-use

[1:12:30] developments and the Bay Fair Transit-oriented Development and Innovation Node. I stand

[1:12:37] before you today as an enthusiastic partner with a fleet of late-model electric trains BART

[1:12:45] has the capacity to assist San Leandro's economic growth. Each San Leandro station is served by

[1:12:56] three BART lines that together offer high-frequency show-up-and-go service, we call it. That's ideal

[1:13:04] for transit-oriented development. It's ideal for the future. BART's blue line, well Katie mentioned,

[1:13:12] and that you're in the middle of everything.

[1:13:17] You're not quite a San Francisco,

[1:13:20] you're not a Gerlock, Nevada either.

[1:13:25] But Bart's blue line connects San Leandro

[1:13:28] to the Trivalley area with San Francisco,

[1:13:32] the green line travels from Santa Clara County

[1:13:34] to San Francisco and the orange line also runs

[1:13:38] from Santa Clara County.

[1:13:40] But continues to the through the East Bay, Oakland, Berkeley and Richmond.

[1:13:47] Furthermore, art safe and clean plan includes a project to replace every single

[1:13:53] Bart's fair gate.

[1:13:55] Thank you. Your time is all next generation fair gates by the end of 2025.

[1:14:01] I encourage you to adopt the strategic development plan.

[1:14:06] Thank you.

[1:14:08] Ed Hernandez?

[1:14:17] Good evening, council.

[1:14:18] Ed Hernandez here.

[1:14:19] I'm here to speak about small businesses and supporting them.

[1:14:22] As they are, the heart of our community.

[1:14:24] Unfortunately, operating small business and our community has been expensive and difficult.

[1:14:29] Knowing across the street, you've been seeing somebody here who's been a long life long and multidire on the road show.

[1:14:34] Business reading Gonzales' meet markets may hit about four times, broken windows, and now it's been cited, or $4,000.

[1:14:41] market, restaurants, retail stores across have been broken into often multiple times causing

[1:14:46] this damage and been stolen.

[1:14:48] Let's help small businesses.

[1:14:49] Let's focus on small businesses that are staying thrive in their community.

[1:14:53] As a small business owner, we must be come together and be advocates for them so they can stay in our community.

[1:14:59] Thank you.

[1:15:00] In the things we need to do together, bring our police department back to full strength. We need to get them back to where they need to be so we can protect not only residents but small businesses. Establish the grant program to help them help those businesses hurt by crime. At least $2,000-$4,000 for all those windows that are being broken down to San Francisco has a program like that. And let's also consider freezing the business license tax or small businesses. They've gone up over 13% in the last three to four years, making it more expensive to run the business in San Leandro. You know, we all benefit.

[1:15:29] We all benefit when we support small businesses, they create jobs, economic development and opportunities for hard working families here in San

[1:15:36] Leandro. That tax revenue that we also need is also important. So let's make sure we can help small businesses so they can invest back in their

[1:15:43] community and do it together. Thank you.

[1:15:46] Thank you. Mr. Mayor, I have one more public comment in person.

[1:15:50] Brandon Braun.

[1:15:58] Actually, it was not planning on speaking tonight, but then hearing this topic, it's actually something I've been working on with the group.

[1:16:04] My son got into skateboarding recently,

[1:16:06] has been working with a group that was within San Leandro.

[1:16:09] They've recently left, but the group of them

[1:16:11] are looking to come back to San Leandro.

[1:16:13] They want to open up a business here.

[1:16:15] It is centralized to where all of their customers are.

[1:16:17] It allowed for family orientation.

[1:16:20] Right now they are struggling to find location here.

[1:16:22] One of those is safety.

[1:16:24] One of the first locations that we looked at,

[1:16:26] unfortunately had a deceased dog in the front of it,

[1:16:28] along with the bloody shoe.

[1:16:30] That deterred them from looking at that location.

[1:16:31] the next location I looked at was Speedway at Bay Fair and went and looked at it today and unfortunately

[1:16:38] I know that if they were with me there today they would have been deterred as well as within 50

[1:16:43] feet from where I had parked there was three people drug use right there in front of the location.

[1:16:49] This is a concern but they are still driving because they find San Lando as a centralized location

[1:16:55] for them and their business that hits on all the points that they were talking about before.

[1:16:59] video production for the youth, bringing teens in to help nurture them and garnish

[1:17:05] generational growth in their jobs in the future. This is a huge opportunity for

[1:17:10] our families and our youth and I'm very much looking forward to how this plan

[1:17:16] progresses forward and how we increase the safety for our families and youth. Thank

[1:17:22] you. Thank you. Mr. Mayor, we will now go online.

[1:17:28] Emily, you may unmute yourself.

[1:17:30] Hello,

[1:17:37] everybody. Can you can you can you hear me? Okay. Yes, we can. Okay. Thank you so much. This is Emily Grego with the

[1:17:42] Presidency of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce. So I am here today to just comment on a couple of things.

[1:17:50] I want to say that, you know, we have shared with the economic development of the past two surveys that we have put out to our membership.

[1:17:57] And I'm happy to see that there is some some of that feedback is reflected in this plan.

[1:18:03] course we're always very concerned about the permitting process so we're always going to be following that I also want to just kind of say a little bit about the Marina saying that it's delayed in its development is putting it lightly so I and the chamber commerce we want to strongly advocate to focus on where the energy and seriousness is and right now that is the Bay Fair area with the new owners of the Bay Fair mall.

[1:18:32] So we just really hope that the TOD plan for that area starts to come to fruition and that there are some momentum there.

[1:18:40] One of the things that is going to make people feel safe in San Leandro to go shopping and to have a better quality of life is sustained economic prosperity.

[1:18:51] And that is dependent on a vibrant business climate.

[1:18:55] So if you go shopping in Alameda, you see that because that business climate has been working.

[1:19:00] you go deliver more. You see that because they have been focused on that.

[1:19:04] It is imperative that the City Council put as its top priority economic development.

[1:19:10] That is what is going to get the city moving. That is what is going to bring tax dollars in.

[1:19:16] That is what's going to make people feel safe to go shopping, to spend their money,

[1:19:20] to go to the grocery store. So think about economic development every single time

[1:19:24] you wake up in the morning, City Council. Thank you.

[1:19:27] Thank you. Mr. Mayor, there is no more public comment.

[1:19:31] I will close public comment and come back to council members for discussion.

[1:19:36] Begin with council member, Aguilar.

[1:19:39] Thank you Mayor Gonzalez.

[1:19:42] Window peer said the social justice movement of the 21st century is economic development.

[1:19:47] And so this is something that, you know, I wholeheartedly support.

[1:19:50] I support this plan.

[1:19:53] I also support making sure that we invest

[1:19:57] in the community but also preserve the community, bring more housing, bring more businesses,

[1:20:02] but also tourism and hotels. That's where we'll make some of the transit-oriented tax money.

[1:20:15] I think as somebody who advocates for the LGBTQ community, we just had our first

[1:20:19] pride here in San Leandro in July. And so this is something that I'm looking forward to continuing on annually and working together with our special district and Morgan Macros and our council here in the city to make sure that we're promoting that promoting safety.

[1:20:39] But, you know, this is a place where a lot of our people in that community feel safe.

[1:20:45] And, you know, with us raising the pride flag, the transgender pride flag, conducting the resolutions

[1:20:50] that support of our community and our council.

[1:20:52] I think this is something that, you know, Sandy Andrew as a destination place,

[1:20:56] it's one of the affordable cities in the Bay Area.

[1:20:59] And we need to make sure we're providing, you know, eateries and places for folks to shop,

[1:21:06] where folks can live, work, and play.

[1:21:09] And I think this strategy is fantastic.

[1:21:11] It's been long overdue and is something that,

[1:21:15] it's gonna take time, it doesn't happen overnight,

[1:21:17] but I think looking at the quick fixes us

[1:21:21] to what we can do is to help streamline

[1:21:24] and shorten our permitting process

[1:21:27] and eliminate that red tape.

[1:21:29] Make sure that we're doing the job correctly,

[1:21:31] but make sure that we're getting businesses

[1:21:34] is on the fast track to opening up because that's the biggest complaint that I hear, a lot

[1:21:39] of phone calls that I get from consultants who are working for the corporations and then

[1:21:43] I have to make phone calls to figure out what's going on.

[1:21:47] So that's something that we can do to easily get our days and just work with our business partners

[1:21:53] and our developers and make sure that we're also asking for community benefits to help donate

[1:22:00] money to our parks, towards our unfunded infrastructures to help pay our streets and what have you.

[1:22:09] This is, you know, this is a social justice movement that we need to focus on is economic

[1:22:15] development and I would be happy to move this item.

[1:22:22] Council member Bowen, please.

[1:22:24] Thank you, Mayor.

[1:22:26] Katie, thank you so much for your work on this and the entire team, but I have been out in

[1:22:32] the community, I always chuckle because people say, you know, I work with Katie and it's

[1:22:37] so nice to work with her and she's such a great advocate for the city and people really

[1:22:42] are excited about it and it's because of their engagement with you and the team and that speaks

[1:22:47] volumes. I also want to thank the council for, you know, adding this to development or priorities

[1:22:55] because it really is foundational to the work that we're trying to do.

[1:23:01] I just very recently with the mayor was at Electrify Expo in Alameda and I mean there was

[1:23:08] a lot of conversation about I keep hearing things about San Leandro like I'm really interested

[1:23:13] like next year I want to go there and they're talking about big projects and really interesting

[1:23:18] projects and the words that you've used often today are proactive which I love right innovative

[1:23:24] creative forward thinking and I want to emphasize too we talk about other communities we

[1:23:29] compare ourselves to other communities, but I think that's going to be really special and

[1:23:34] we'll make us successful is we build something towards a uniquely,

[1:23:38] certainly, andro business environment. And that's why people love it here. I think the

[1:23:45] secret is now out. And it's really, you know, about how do we really sustain this and build

[1:23:50] it in a way that's going to work for us in our community. I want to speak a little bit to what

[1:23:58] people have been talking about with family and youth because that's that's my jam that's that's

[1:24:03] what I want to advocate for constantly and I want to center and I really appreciate that and we

[1:24:07] speak a little bit about Bay Fair and you know as an entrepreneur and family andro and started

[1:24:11] nonprofit and I want to acknowledge too that there's different types of businesses and stakeholders

[1:24:15] of the community that are part of the business community that are also adding things to the community

[1:24:23] And the more that we can engage and proactively create safe spaces and understand some of the issues that have been raised and say this is the barrier, then we I think can be really successful.

[1:24:36] I was in Bay Fair and the reason I was there because I wanted families to come to Bay Fair, I wanted people to see families to be in places, especially mothers to be in places where money was being spent.

[1:24:47] because we hold firsts, right?

[1:24:51] Like we are significant spenders and even now their at bay fair is every middle school

[1:25:02] robotics team that is now practicing in the bay fair space.

[1:25:05] And I really appreciate the developers for working with the team.

[1:25:10] But that is just one specific thing that says we want families there.

[1:25:14] We want kids to be there.

[1:25:15] We also have to make sure it's safe for them.

[1:25:18] So, not that they're there, you know,

[1:25:19] it's on us as an interdepartmental effort

[1:25:22] to be able to show that happens,

[1:25:23] but the more people are there,

[1:25:25] the more I can tell people no.

[1:25:26] Like, my kid is practicing in robotics,

[1:25:28] that behavior, I feel safe there

[1:25:30] than other people will as well.

[1:25:32] So, I think that effort towards outreach,

[1:25:35] I can't wait to actually have this available

[1:25:37] to carry around and be able to evangelize.

[1:25:40] I think it is fantastic.

[1:25:42] And, you know, we're speaking about Bart

[1:25:45] And, you know, with the East Bay Green Bay coming in and all of the development that we have, I think that I just want to commend the city for being forward thinking and building this out so that what other things are happening will be ready for it.

[1:26:00] So I just really, I'm just really excited for this and I really appreciate the work and I'll second recommendation.

[1:26:09] At this point in time, we'll go to councilman or blue.

[1:26:12] Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[1:26:13] Captain Obvious here.

[1:26:14] Economic development is community development.

[1:26:18] It's in community development, but it really is development for our community.

[1:26:21] It's also neighborhood development.

[1:26:23] It's also human development.

[1:26:25] I think one underdeveloped strategy, I think that we could really work on if we were looking

[1:26:29] at one area would be the airport, not just in terms of tourism and hotels, but in terms

[1:26:34] of things like anything but parking, right, you know, anything that activates that west end.

[1:26:40] We're so close to that airport, and I know that people have choices when they come here,

[1:26:45] and Stanley and it would definitely be a viable option for them if we had some sort of hotels

[1:26:48] and restaurants, et cetera. I think, I think one of the things that we always look at,

[1:26:54] and I know that in your world, Katie, thank you for the presentation, by the way, I know that the people

[1:26:58] that are economic development managers always talk about multiple use or dual use, single use

[1:27:02] doesn't work. Bowling alleys are not valid. They're not going to fly. They don't make

[1:27:06] enough money to sustain themselves. They're like swimming pools. It's not an accident.

[1:27:09] Cities run swimming pools. They don't make any money. They lose money. So, bowling alleys

[1:27:13] same thing if it's single focus, but a bowling alleys that also is like a top golf, a bowling

[1:27:17] alleys with a meeting space, with a party space, with a bar, with a restaurant, with a whatever

[1:27:22] is quite a different story. Same thing with ice skating rinks in... I want to say Samatil,

[1:27:27] but I think it's Foster City. There's an ice skating rink. That thing is used until

[1:27:30] 11, 30, 12 o'clock at night, not just by ice skaters, but by hockey teams and other things.

[1:27:35] So anything that's dual use, I think, has a better chance.

[1:27:38] You go out to a liver more double and they have these party places where there's these scary

[1:27:43] monster things for kids and we've all been there, right?

[1:27:45] Or the one that you go out and you jump up and down on the trampoline and dive into whatever.

[1:27:50] There are multi-use.

[1:27:51] There's many reasons for families to go there.

[1:27:53] So I think when we're talking about a specific business or specific strategy, I think we need

[1:27:58] to encourage that.

[1:27:58] But I also think that we need to be more focused and more in what I want to say, more proactive

[1:28:06] is not the way.

[1:28:07] We're more intentional around art, but look, one of my colleagues said, you know, what's

[1:28:10] the benefit from people that come here, not just parks, but make them pay to the arts fund.

[1:28:15] And I think they want to.

[1:28:16] We've done that in the past.

[1:28:17] We've had really good success with some of the recent economic development strategy businesses

[1:28:21] that came to town with that.

[1:28:23] I do want to make a comment about permitting.

[1:28:26] I've had in the last year four complaints about permitting taking too long and every time

[1:28:30] I tracked it down it was because the contractor wasn't coming to the city and paying the

[1:28:33] permitting fee.

[1:28:34] It wasn't the builder and it wasn't the person that owned the home.

[1:28:38] It was the contractor not wanting to commit or wait as long as they could or whatever.

[1:28:41] I know I've also had conversations with people like Torrani, the owner and other people of

[1:28:48] businesses in the community that when they partnered with economic development, it was smooth

[1:28:52] I mean, it was expedited, they didn't have any issues if they had a hiccup, they called

[1:28:57] you or they called Dez or they called someone else in the economic development.

[1:29:00] And within four hours, their question was answered and they were getting some service.

[1:29:04] So I think it's how intentional people are about what they want to do and also the accountability

[1:29:09] on the part of third party contractors that maybe aren't always telling their clients the

[1:29:13] 100% truth about what's going on at the permitting counter.

[1:29:17] I don't know if it's money or I don't know if they just don't want to come down here

[1:29:19] or what.

[1:29:19] I know we're online now, it's a little bit easier, and there is accountability.

[1:29:23] So I want to be really careful about that narrative because every time I've tracked it down,

[1:29:26] it's been unfounded, and with time stamps, date and time stamps about when things didn't

[1:29:32] occur, et cetera.

[1:29:34] And the last thing is, I noticed that we have this nice packet, and I know a nice slide presentation.

[1:29:40] And I wonder in the economic development world where I come from in a lot of nonprofit stuff,

[1:29:45] you have a 30-second elevator speech to tell your story.

[1:29:48] Do we have a one-page, two-page, nice, fancy, this is San Leandro or why you should come

[1:29:53] to San Leandro or, you know, here's a whole but not like a montage of who or collage

[1:29:59] of who we are.

[1:30:00] And why we're exciting for whatever. Maybe we have four of them. Maybe we have one for certain types of businesses and one for service businesses and one for nonprofits. But I think that would be really helpful. And I also think it would be really helpful for the council and others who represent the city to have those talking points like, like we get when things are a little bit dicey or whatever, very clear on what our talking points can be. So as we move forward with this development strategy, that would be really helpful for me as a policy makers to have that elevator speech. I think I can answer a lot of questions about Sam.

[1:30:29] But if we're all given kind of where what the target is and how we want to get there in a very simplified form,

[1:30:35] not that you need more work, Katie, you or your staff, but I think that might be effective for us being able to be echo the hard work that you're doing and maybe create a little bit even more opportunity and thank you mayor for your efforts recently to talk to people, especially in the commercial districts, commercial businesses about why San Leandro and the fact that our image is changing, we did have a hiccup for a couple of years, but we're back on track, appreciate that.

[1:30:59] Those are my comments.

[1:31:02] Council Member Viveto-Sualten please.

[1:31:05] Thank you Katie and your team for all of your work to get us to this point.

[1:31:11] I just wanted to kind of underline the various comments around the arts

[1:31:17] and I think we can all agree that that is a really important component

[1:31:20] and appreciate it being we've done throughout the plan.

[1:31:24] Some kind of short term things, some place-based work.

[1:31:26] I really appreciate that. I also wanted to thank you for including a lot of our feedback

[1:31:32] that we gave, was it two months ago, two months ago? Really appreciate. I could see the plan

[1:31:40] updated and so thank you all of the comments around child care, all of the comments around

[1:31:48] equity and ensuring that there's distribution of what we anticipate is going to be a really

[1:31:57] positive, both economic but just in community capacity that it is evenly distributed and

[1:32:02] that we have folks have equal access. Just a couple of things that I've been kind of,

[1:32:08] you know, as I've, you know, now that I wear this hat, there was a really interesting idea

[1:32:14] around that I've been seeing in some cities in using religious spaces that are not, that

[1:32:23] are kind of empty throughout the week, have fantastic acoustics, have huge empty layouts.

[1:32:30] I know that some churches are having, or some, not just churches, but some religious facilities

[1:32:36] are having financial issues in terms of, you know, people attending like the actual service.

[1:32:43] But I wonder, you know, if there is an inventory of these, you know,

[1:32:49] cultural spaces that just happen to also be religious that can also be community-gathering spaces,

[1:32:59] like a pop-up sort of space, and along those lines, I don't know and that this has happened.

[1:33:10] And I know that Marina Park has a lot of challenges,

[1:33:14] but I was thinking about some of the,

[1:33:19] it's like having a beer garden pop up during the summer.

[1:33:22] I know that the city did a concert series,

[1:33:26] one concert or two concerts that was really,

[1:33:29] really well attended, the weather really cooperated.

[1:33:31] And I think a lot of friends actually came from

[1:33:35] across the East Bay to go to that

[1:33:36] because it's kid-friendly and also adults like going there.

[1:33:43] And then I'm also thinking about all of the other departments and I think Council member

[1:33:51] Baloo alluded to this. Some of these kind of complimentary things that are departments or amenities

[1:33:58] that we offer that have a huge impact like our recreation and our parks.

[1:34:06] like Marina Park, Siampe Verde, and some of the other parts that folks go to to celebrate holidays.

[1:34:15] You know, how does, and this is kind of a question, not a comment, is how are, how was this plan

[1:34:27] kind of socialize amongst the departments? Like because I see really every department and at many

[1:34:32] of my colleagues here alluded to this, that it can't just live in your economic development

[1:34:40] staff. Yes, we're recruiting for an economic development position, so please apply.

[1:34:47] How does that work, right, in terms of city collaboration across the department?

[1:34:59] Great point. Right, so good economic development is interdepartmental. It's all of us

[1:35:05] contributing it's all of us working to provide service to both the community and the businesses

[1:35:11] that will help them succeed. And to that end, so we already, so the strategy that you have

[1:35:18] right here already has input and meetings from the different departments coming into it.

[1:35:24] And then as we finalize the council work plan, we'll be meeting again and doing that as well.

[1:35:30] So, you know, and as you look further into the end of this strategy with the specific steps,

[1:35:35] as you mentioned, you'll see different departments have leads on different steps and so you know,

[1:35:42] and I think so that'll be the first step and then as we continue through I think the kind of

[1:35:52] looking as continuing to support brand and marketing and thinking so that we're all, you know,

[1:35:58] ideally consistent across departments, which we already are but continuing to reinforce that

[1:36:05] and making sure we know how great our parks are and we share that but how do we connect the dots

[1:36:14] online and other places like that so that kind of knows. Thank you. Thank you for all of your work.

[1:36:20] Thank you so much. I'm really, really excited.

[1:36:23] Coming back to Vice Mayor Simon.

[1:36:27] Beautiful job. This is a great brochure. I love it. It's just incredible looking.

[1:36:35] It looks good. Great plan. My concern is where we are right now today and the reality is like the

[1:36:41] gentleman said here with the sunglasses bringing his family doesn't look like this brochure. There

[1:36:48] might be a few pictures but 90% unfortunately scares people away. Businesses, it just scares people.

[1:36:56] So we gotta get rid of that fear factor. We have to make it safer and I'm just trying to keep it real

[1:37:04] and not sugarcoat, I'm trying not to degrade our city, but the reality is people are scared to come here.

[1:37:12] And we have to break that. We have to. Otherwise, we're not going to get out of this.

[1:37:17] And we just have to, this is the way it is. We're going to get better.

[1:37:21] And I know what we're all focused on doing that and getting there and admitting where we are.

[1:37:27] And we have a lot of work to do. And I appreciate you making this goal this plan for us to get there.

[1:37:33] I'm also very appreciative of Robert Rayburn coming from BART, thank you very much.

[1:37:39] Huge fan of BART, and I love, here we go right on the front page, is the BART train.

[1:37:44] And BART is integral to our city.

[1:37:46] And we are very fortunate to have two stations.

[1:37:49] I think San Leandro BART is probably a better condition than Bay Fair.

[1:37:54] And my son took BART from Berkeley to Bay Fair this past weekend, and we'll talk maybe

[1:38:01] afterwards have some concerns about the condition and the safety, but I grew up in Oakland near Rock Ridge Bart.

[1:38:08] Absolutely beautiful Bart station, where it's so beautiful that people have concerts out front.

[1:38:15] I mean, I've heard them playing musical instruments right out front. It's that beautiful.

[1:38:19] Redwood trees, very mature trees.

[1:38:22] So I would like love to see our Bart stations become like Rock Ridge Bart, where people can congregate, have music,

[1:38:28] and just be a relaxing place, not just wait for a bus.

[1:38:33] So I'm looking forward to that.

[1:38:35] Also with Bart, maybe we can advertise our city, wrapping our,

[1:38:39] I think you used to wrap trains in the old days.

[1:38:41] I don't know if you still do it.

[1:38:43] Not to know it.

[1:38:44] Okay. That's up.

[1:38:46] But then the last part, one is the abandoned rail line.

[1:38:49] If we can partner with Bart in the railroad because that is an eyesore.

[1:38:53] Not only is an eyesore, it's a safety issue, everything under the sun.

[1:38:56] I know it's been passed over for the greenway and now they're going east 14th Street, but I don't want us to give up on that greenway beneath the bar tracks. We have to keep pushing.

[1:39:05] Do not take no for an answer. We have to make that work. So I'd love to work with Bart and all our staff. We have to make that happen because it connects.

[1:39:14] As we know Oakland connects Ashley and it connects all of us together and we are not isolated.

[1:39:21] And let's see. So the last, I'll just hit the safety again. So happy we got our ambassadors at the Green House.

[1:39:27] I support Councilmember Asavedo on bringing it to Bayfair.

[1:39:32] Another item, actually Councilmember Asavedo brought this up years ago was private security.

[1:39:37] And this is not to replace our police force. It's to augment our police force until we get fully staffed up.

[1:39:44] And hot spots like Bayfair, I think we have to do something different because

[1:39:48] they fare a suffering, took my family to the movies about two weeks ago, two

[1:39:53] o'clock in the afternoon, open drug dealing happening. Right, he opened. Like it was

[1:39:57] just normal. I couldn't believe it. My mom sees this, my kids sees this, and then

[1:40:02] here we go again. Why doesn't Alameda have this? So we have to do something. We have

[1:40:07] to admit what's happening, not look the other way, tell it like it is, and let's

[1:40:11] fix it. And lastly, again, I'll say thank you Katie. You're doing an awesome job.

[1:40:17] and your whole department. Thank you.

[1:40:22] This point in time we'll go to Council Merbohen.

[1:40:25] Thank you, Mayor. I'll make this quick. I just get really excited.

[1:40:28] I had it in big bold letters, and I forgot.

[1:40:30] It comes a member. There's all to brought it up.

[1:40:32] But I just really want to really uplift the fact that you took some of that additional feedback

[1:40:37] and specifically child care, which is very near and dear to my heart.

[1:40:41] And the fact that it all 50 states in this country.

[1:40:44] It is cost more to send your kids to child care

[1:40:48] that it has for rent in the state.

[1:40:50] And so it is a very real barrier.

[1:40:52] And then I wanted to bring that up again

[1:40:56] to highlight ways in which we can share our story

[1:41:01] about how innovative we are.

[1:41:03] As a city, we're saying this is a priority

[1:41:05] and this is a part of the conversation

[1:41:07] that is part of economic development

[1:41:09] that is part of getting people back into the workforce.

[1:41:11] That is part about caring for everybody in this community.

[1:41:15] And that's something that we can say

[1:41:16] that's how we're different and special

[1:41:17] and we're building it for our community.

[1:41:20] Because there are a lot of young families.

[1:41:21] There are, I have three kids in the schools.

[1:41:23] We do a lot of stuff in the city.

[1:41:26] I walk down to the downtown almost every day.

[1:41:29] You buy too much boba.

[1:41:31] We frequent too many of those shops down there.

[1:41:34] And I want to bring families out more.

[1:41:37] I want to show other people that it's,

[1:41:40] there's work to be done.

[1:41:41] But we also have to take that first step ourselves.

[1:41:44] And so I just really want to uplift that.

[1:41:46] and then just the, as I said, Walton was workshopping a little bit the idea of doing some family

[1:41:52] family pop-up so that if we do want to have skateboarding maybe we don't have a place yet

[1:41:56] but let's open up a temporary space and then make sure it is safe and say this there is a community

[1:42:02] for it. I absolutely know there's a community for it. We offer it at the middle school and it is one

[1:42:07] of the most popular ones and so there are a lot of things that we're doing here and so I want us to

[1:42:14] I also remember that things are also going well as well.

[1:42:18] And so I just want to uplift that before I end.

[1:42:23] Councilmember Aguilar, please.

[1:42:25] Thank you, Americans.

[1:42:26] I'll make this quick as well.

[1:42:27] I forgot to plug in.

[1:42:29] Thank you, director Rayburn for coming up

[1:42:31] and speaking on behalf of Bart.

[1:42:33] It means so much with two stations.

[1:42:35] And us, we're eliminating height restrictions

[1:42:39] within the TOD zone and the Bart location.

[1:42:43] We need to talk strategy and build

[1:42:46] up and be what they've done at the various stations, and I'm excited to see what's going

[1:42:51] on at West Oakland Wednesday break ground for the Mandela Station Parkway with the four

[1:42:56] different phases. It takes time, but I think we need to continue talking to build housing

[1:43:02] where we can eliminate vehicles and have folks just utilize public transit.

[1:43:09] I used to ride

[1:43:10] every day Monday through Friday and and utilize on the weekends and I still use it to get into

[1:43:16] the city because it's an easier means of transportation rather than driving over the Bay Bridge when

[1:43:22] there's a lot of traffic so you know I'm a I'm a professional at taking public transportation but also

[1:43:28] love you know where you can go home walk right off the station and go up to your building and have

[1:43:36] of businesses in that location as well.

[1:43:39] So I'd like to put that plug in Katie with regards

[1:43:42] to economic development to work with our partners,

[1:43:46] also AC transit to make sure that we're advocating

[1:43:50] and trying and building in those spaces

[1:43:53] that redeveloping that area.

[1:43:55] Thank you.

[1:43:58] So my council colleagues have covered almost everything.

[1:44:01] Do you think there's a couple of things to it

[1:44:03] to bring up the first one being that I talked

[1:44:06] to a number of businesses, a number of CEOs, a number of organizations, either developers,

[1:44:12] tenants, advocates, et cetera, in the commercial space.

[1:44:15] And I will tell you that the chatter is that San Leandro is a great place to go, and

[1:44:21] that there has really been a change in that dialogue from what I'm hearing that people

[1:44:26] are talking about it actively.

[1:44:28] Council Member Bill talked about the meeting that we had in Alameda.

[1:44:31] That's just the latest in a series of conversations.

[1:44:33] So I think that we are doing some really good things, and we need to double down on the things that we are doing to keep driving that positive chatter about the city, and to keep attracting businesses.

[1:44:47] I think that some of the significant investments that we have seen in Bayfair, for example,

[1:44:53] were gate 510, the doubling of Torrani's facility in San Leandro, a doubling within the first three-

[1:45:00] I think they all attend the types of changes that are happening on the economic development front, and we need to uplift the positive chatter that's out there in the business community. Among the things that I've been collecting notes from conversations with CEOs, they like that we're centrally located. They love the fact that we are big enough

[1:45:26] to have the types of services that big cities have, but that we are a small city and can be very

[1:45:33] responsive. So the stories that I've heard from CEOs are over and over you guys are great to deal

[1:45:39] with. And I can vary you to San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, other big cities. I get so much more

[1:45:46] service here in your city and I get it quickly. So I think that being able to tap into that

[1:45:52] community to take their ideas about why they are here, why they're expanding their businesses here,

[1:45:59] and use that leverage that to attract other businesses to our community.

[1:46:03] And the third point that I'd emphasize that I'm not quite sure exactly where it is in the

[1:46:08] strategy. Fundamentally, what the City of Sanland are needs is economic investment.

[1:46:13] It needs outsiders to come and say, this is the place that I want to go. And that comes from

[1:46:18] relationship development. And so I encourage that we are working proactively with the large private equity

[1:46:26] funds in the spaces that are strategically aligned and venture capital funds that are in the

[1:46:31] spaces that are strategically aligned, building those relationships and making sure that we're

[1:46:37] driving forward that vision of the city, combined with the talking points that Council member Blue

[1:46:43] and others have talked about so that any of us, as we're meeting with people, can convey

[1:46:48] that image of our city. Administratively, I had two council members who talked about what they

[1:46:55] would do and what they would be interested in doing, but I'd like to be really precise in our language.

[1:47:01] And I would ask that just in the future, we let everybody speak and then we make a motion because

[1:47:06] it just kind of reads the first button to push sort of dynamic. I know council member,

[1:47:13] For Aguilar had indicated an interest in making a motion, would you like to make a formal

[1:47:18] motion?

[1:47:22] Yes, I'd like to make a formal motion, too.

[1:47:24] What is that motion?

[1:47:26] Move this item.

[1:47:27] Move.

[1:47:31] Are we on this agenda?

[1:47:32] Sorry.

[1:47:32] Any.

[1:47:33] Item 10A resolution to approve the 2024 San Leandro economic development strategy.

[1:47:39] That is motion.

[1:47:40] That is perfect.

[1:47:41] I've got a motion from Councilmember Aguilar.

[1:47:42] I believe I have an interest in the second from Councilmember Bowen.

[1:47:47] I will second that motion.

[1:47:49] Yeah, so I've got a motion by Council Member Aguilar account second council member Bowen council member vice mayor Simon

[1:47:54] Did you want to add to the discussion or you wanted to be involved in that movement one

[1:48:03] more addition?

[1:48:03] I could add it. Okay, go ahead. My addition would be

[1:48:07] Similar to the Bart another Bart comment and just accolades to like their MagArthur Bart and bring building high again

[1:48:14] And it's kind of a question for Katie and

[1:48:17] You know sound different, but in an out burger. They're so successful on how they just build and build and build so efficiently

[1:48:25] And I mean, this is massive scale Bart stations and

[1:48:29] Development, but if MacArthur Bart is so successful with their towers and the shops

[1:48:34] Can we replicate do we have to go through all this full redesign and all these new details can we just say why we like that

[1:48:42] Let's do that at Bayfair and do it.

[1:48:50] Yeah, so I'd say, once again, that's what the Bayfair plan tackles, but write the Bayfair

[1:48:56] plan, you know, envision similar things but more unique to San Leandro, but so it does

[1:49:03] permit the higher building, it does permit the mixed use in those type of things.

[1:49:08] So the plan and the opportunities are there based on analysis and feedback.

[1:49:16] back, there are some logistical challenges,

[1:49:19] and so some of the grants that you've seen come before you

[1:49:22] that the community development department has gotten

[1:49:25] for Bay Fair is to help with some of that pre-planning

[1:49:30] that may be holding development back.

[1:49:32] So related to site layout, related to transportation,

[1:49:35] things like that.

[1:49:36] So yeah, I'm not the expert on all those details.

[1:49:42] Just trying not to reinvent the wheel.

[1:49:43] We'll see it working some other place. Let's do it.

[1:49:47] Okay, so with that, I will call the question.

[1:50:00] All votes are in motion passes 7 0 unanimous.

[1:50:05] So with that, let's move to item 10 of B.

[1:50:08] This is an action item to potentially adopt a resolution to accept the letter intent to

[1:50:13] donate an authorized city manager to expend the donated funds in the amount of 5 million

[1:50:18] dollars to aid in the replacement of the carry drive pass avenue pedestrian bridge.

[1:50:23] we have Public Works Director Sheila Marquesis there you are, coming forward to present on this item.

[1:51:00] Good evening, name Mayor, City Council, staff members of the public. My name is Sheila Marquesis,

[1:51:07] Public Works Director, and I am pleased to present to you a brief presentation on our Carey Drive

[1:51:15] the Haas Avenue pedestrian bridge.

[1:51:19] It's a little bit about our bridge. It was constructed in 1973.

[1:51:24] It was over our San Leandro Creek behind Bankroft Middle School, my alma mater,

[1:51:31] and connected Haas Avenue in Kerry Drive. It's about 110 feet long and 7 feet wide.

[1:51:39] And

[1:51:43] in the 2023 storms, you collect this tree fell on the bridge and collapse into the

[1:51:51] salientro creek.

[1:51:56] And in an effort to demolish and remove the bridge from the creek, we add to

[1:52:03] coordinate and collaborate with several entities including the county flood control district, the

[1:52:10] the San Leandro Unified School District and the private property owner to get access

[1:52:14] to the project site.

[1:52:17] We had to obtain regulatory permits from the California Department Fish and Wildlife

[1:52:22] and National Marine Fisheries, yes Army Corps of Engineer and the Water Control Board.

[1:52:29] And also had to coordinate with the East Bay Municipal Utility District, East Bay Mud,

[1:52:35] because they control the flow of water and the creek from the dam.

[1:52:37] and also initiated an application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA for any possible reimbursement of the work.

[1:52:49] And also, part of our team, we had to secure the services of our consultant and environmental consultant to our face engineering and our demolition contractor McGuire and Hester.

[1:53:00] So, with the appropriate applications and permits and the right contractors in our team,

[1:53:10] we were able to remove the bridge in August 2nd, 2024, and here are some photos of that

[1:53:18] work.

[1:53:22] And here are the next steps, so with the bridge removed we are grading the site, adding

[1:53:29] Hydrocyte to initiate more vegetation growth, cleaning out a few utilities and manholes,

[1:53:36] and install the fencing.

[1:53:38] We hope to finish up in the next week or so for the work.

[1:53:44] There's a quick look of those timelines of events that I just spoke about, starting from

[1:53:49] the bridge collapse on March 21st, 2023, working on our permits throughout the year.

[1:53:55] We did get our permits on in November and that was pending a 10-day dry weather forecast which we did not get.

[1:54:06] There were several atmospheric river events that pushed or delayed the start of the work and then found ourselves in the middle of the drought season in the creek,

[1:54:16] which further delayed our work to about the summertime.

[1:54:20] We're fortunate enough to have someone in our community an anonymous donor who we are referring to as the Kerry Drive Haas pedestrian bridge association who has stepped forward to provide us some donation to rebuild our bridge.

[1:54:38] The funds are to be used only for the reconstruction of the bridge.

[1:54:42] time is of the essence and so we're looking to keep the bridge pretty simple to what it was before which is

[1:54:50] steel-gurder bridge with a concrete deck and

[1:54:55] With the following disbursement schedule starting with tonight

[1:54:59] With the council acceptance of the letter of intent to donate be 1.5 million dollars and then

[1:55:07] and the next disbursement would be 500,000

[1:55:12] right before we are advertising for construction bidding

[1:55:17] and then $3 million prior to the construction contract.

[1:55:27] And this is a quick look of what our accelerated project

[1:55:32] timeline with an issue request for proposals

[1:55:37] which we issued last month, those proposals are

[1:55:43] to do this Friday, and with the design consultant

[1:55:47] to contract, which we hope to award next month,

[1:55:51] we go straight into design of this bridge.

[1:55:55] Assuming we get the same coordination collaboration

[1:56:00] with those same agencies that we worked with,

[1:56:03] the earliest we could start instruction

[1:56:06] would be in the summer of 2026.

[1:56:11] Every construction season will, for this area,

[1:56:15] will always be in the summer time.

[1:56:19] And so tonight, we are asking City Council to adopt

[1:56:23] this resolution to accept the letter of intent

[1:56:25] and authorize City Manager to execute all documents

[1:56:29] and appropriate the funds.

[1:56:33] At

[1:56:37] this point in time, we will take questions

[1:56:39] and we'll begin with Council Member Azvedo.

[1:56:45] Yes, I'm really excited about this because I know people that live on both sides of the bridge and it's been causing a big inconvenience for people walking their kids to school.

[1:56:53] Does the five million dollars do we forecast that it's going to cover the whole cost of the bridge and everything?

[1:57:00] We hope that we'll cover the total cost of the bridge.

[1:57:03] We do have the contingencies built in the five million.

[1:57:08] The sooner we go into construction, the lower the costs will be the longer we wait the material ostent to go.

[1:57:18] Thank you.

[1:57:21] Vice Mayor, please.

[1:57:23] Yeah, how will the bridge be built differently to prevent it from collapsing again?

[1:57:29] The bridge collapsed due to the tree falling onto the bridge.

[1:57:34] without the tree falling on the bridge, we would expect it to still be in place today.

[1:57:43] We are working with the school district to make sure if there's any trees that need to be trimmed

[1:57:50] in the area for any future threats or future wind, but the bridge as designed was intended to last

[1:57:57] a very long time. It's been in place for about 50 years and without any other threats we expected it

[1:58:03] But to last much longer, the new bridge will be built to new codes and standards.

[1:58:11] Eucalyptus tree?

[1:58:14] Yeah, those are terrible trees.

[1:58:16] Your bulbs are like this big tree, this big is bad.

[1:58:22] Yeah, Janelle and I, we've been talking about Eucalyptus trees.

[1:58:24] Oh, yeah.

[1:58:25] I look forward to more Eucalyptus trees being taken out and replanted with stronger, safer

[1:58:30] trees.

[1:58:32] Thank you.

[1:58:34] Seeing no other questions, I'll ask one quick question.

[1:58:38] You talked about cooperation with other agencies and assuming the same speed.

[1:58:44] The earliest we could assume is summer of 2026.

[1:58:48] My question is, but what would speed up that interaction with other agencies?

[1:58:55] So at this point, those agencies are aware that we had a bridge collapse,

[1:59:00] and they're aware that we there could be action to rebuild the bridge. This is a pedestrian bridge

[1:59:06] behind a school. And so they're aware that there is interest to rebuild the bridge. So as soon as

[1:59:14] we get the council action, that we are accepting these funds and that we have a direction to move forward,

[1:59:23] we will reach out to those agencies right away to let them know that design team is forming in that

[1:59:29] applications will be in place pretty soon. Seeing none of the questions I go to

[1:59:36] public comment on this item.

[1:59:40] It's a matter of we have one public comment in person

[1:59:42] and no hands up online.

[1:59:45] Let's come in person.

[1:59:46] Jennifer has.

[2:00:00] Hello, everyone. My name is Jennifer Heath, and I am the president of the Studio States Neighborhood Association. I'm here to publicly express our gratitude to the anonymous donor who is making their placement of the Kerry Haas pedestrian bridge of possibility. The new bridge will sort of link between our neighborhood on both sides of San Leandro Creek. This is particularly important to the pedestrians and residents, as well as the school children, allowing them to ride and walk their bikes to school.

[2:00:29] while avoiding traffic on a studio and be deeply appreciate their investment in our

[2:00:34] community and we appreciate your help.

[2:00:38] We also want to take this opportunity to thank

[2:00:40] Director of Public Work for the work she's already done to make this possible and for

[2:00:46] the future work to replace it. Once again, thank you for your support of our

[2:00:50] Neighborhoods residents, especially our children and to the donor. Thank

[2:00:57] you Mr. Mayor, there's

[2:00:59] no more public comment.

[2:01:00] Okay, so I will close by the comment and go to council member blue.

[2:01:05] Mr. Mayor, this is not my district, so I wasn't going to make the motion, but I wanted to get

[2:01:09] in line to second it.

[2:01:13] So is there... I can't tell if you're lining up for motions or if people

[2:01:17] would like to offer a comment. I'm going to go to council member Bowen next.

[2:01:23] It do have a comment. I just want to acknowledge

[2:01:29] and all the work that you have been doing forever to help make this happen.

[2:01:36] I am not kidding when I say I've had hundreds of conversations about this bridge

[2:01:40] because it could be literally anything else and at the end they say,

[2:01:43] so just wondering about that bridge.

[2:01:46] And so I know how hard it's been, how complicated it's been,

[2:01:50] and you've been so phenomenal at updating me so that I can update the community.

[2:01:54] and this is a labor of love and clearly it's a beloved bridge and I know that there are a lot

[2:02:01] of other people that have been working really hard to make sure that this can be rebuilt so just

[2:02:06] so much gratitude for that. I also want to acknowledge in that timeline I chuckled at the different

[2:02:13] reasons why the timeline sort of got stalled. I think there was a trout out there at one point and

[2:02:17] then the reins and on all of the things but it's such a good example for us and certainly a learning

[2:02:23] for me as a new council member and for the community to recognize just how things happen

[2:02:28] and to the point about the mayor's comment. There is absolutely room to grow in terms

[2:02:35] of trying to speed things up and there are also just a lot of things that happen and I know

[2:02:41] your team is not the biggest and you have also only 24 hours in a day and so I just really want to

[2:02:49] uplift the work that you all are doing but just describe it to you and certainly for the donor

[2:02:53] as well. And again, the Accelerated Timeline is 2026. And so just to ground ourselves in that as well,

[2:03:01] but that's great. So thank you so much.

[2:03:05] This point time, we'll go to vice mayor, please.

[2:03:09] A nice job, Sheila, as I hear in the residents and our council members, very important that bridge

[2:03:15] to bring the community together and keeping people off the streets and more riding their bikes and

[2:03:20] walking. So I'm very happy this project is happening. My comment goes back to the root cause of

[2:03:27] what caused this problem in the first place, that eucalyptus tree. And I'm very concerned about

[2:03:32] eucalyptus trees in our city. As I mentioned, Janelle and I have been talking about this.

[2:03:37] In the manner park, there's a massive eucalyptus tree that a senior resident lives right next to

[2:03:43] and she is so frightened of this tree, frightened that it's going to collapse and kill her in her house.

[2:03:49] And I don't know what to tell her, except for we looked at it, we're trimming it, but I personally

[2:03:55] seen these trees up in Shabopark, massive trees, but the tiny little bulb holding it, but you know

[2:04:01] they're going to fall down. It's just when and where. So this took out a bridge and I'm very concerned

[2:04:07] about them taking out houses and other things in our city and hope that we as a city can take a more

[2:04:12] proactive approach to taking care of the problem before it happens. So I'm not sure what we can do

[2:04:19] for that, but I would like to support something to be more proactive with removing these

[2:04:24] eucalyptus trees and replacing them with stronger rooted trees.

[2:04:31] Councilmember Vettos-Walton.

[2:04:33] Thank you just to echoing Councilmember Bowen. I think it was day one of my appointment that I

[2:04:39] immediately got asked about this tree and about this tree. You're in my head Vice Mayor. I keep saying

[2:04:45] tree.

[2:04:48] Just appreciation and gratitude to you and the team and to the community. I think,

[2:04:53] you know, oftentimes we want to move that speed of community and this was just one of

[2:04:59] those times where we had to kind of wait for nature at some points and just appreciate

[2:05:06] the patients of the community. That bridge literally bridges two districts. It is a bridge that is

[2:05:19] used so much and I'm just excited to see it go forward. For those who are on social media,

[2:05:26] There's a great video that the city put out about ongoing progress there so that's it. That's all I have to say. Just thank you appreciation and gratitude to the community too for your patience.

[2:05:42] We know it's a priority and that's it.

[2:05:49] Okay, so I'd like to share a few thoughts on this because obviously Public Works has played a significant role in the day-to-day logistics of speaking with government agencies and alike.

[2:06:02] But for this specific item for the funding for the grant, you know, a few months ago when I got the phone call, would the city be interested?

[2:06:11] Would the city be willing to take the money, right? Because there's always a question of will you take the money?

[2:06:19] What might seem like a no-brainer to the public is actually a little bit of a complicated discussion and evaluation.

[2:06:26] And so my personal kudos that I want to highlight in this meeting on this specific item is I want to highlight the City Manager's Office,

[2:06:32] City Attorney's Office for this significant work around the legal process for being able to respect the wishes of the association

[2:06:45] for laying out a groundwork that was mutually acceptable, and for doing that really quickly.

[2:06:52] And just in a matter of months.

[2:06:55] And so I think that that's something should be commended so thank you to your team,

[2:07:00] to your team for getting this done.

[2:07:04] Obviously, I want to acknowledge the donor because it's easy to say that we're a city

[2:07:10] where kindness matters and innovation flourishes, but to actually reach into a pocket or multiple

[2:07:19] pockets to collect some money and to say, you know what, there is an issue here in the community

[2:07:27] that we can personally help address. That's a very powerful thing. And we can choose to be

[2:07:36] negative and highlight, well, how can anyone have that much in terms of resources?

[2:07:43] But I like to think that it's actually a positive thing, that we are building

[2:07:47] confidence in our government to the point that people are willing to reach

[2:07:52] into their own pockets and self-tax and say, this is important to our community

[2:07:58] and we're going to do it of our own free will. No one is forcing us to do this.

[2:08:04] And what's even more powerful is that it's an association.

[2:08:10] It's not someone saying, name the bridge after me.

[2:08:15] It's an association that remains general and community based.

[2:08:21] It's really conveying that idea that we as a community believe in our community.

[2:08:28] So I'm particularly grateful for that.

[2:08:30] And especially to have a group of people who recognize that, yeah, we probably

[2:08:35] could get FEMA money for this to talk about waiting until the cows come home. It would

[2:08:41] literally take us a decade to get this bridge rebuilt. And so to have someone recognize

[2:08:47] the truth, the reality about how long it takes to get federal support on projects and to

[2:08:54] say, for the good of the community, let's make this happen. And so that, you know, I'm particularly

[2:09:01] Absolutely grateful in that way.

[2:09:03] So to the Carrie, Carrie Drive,

[2:09:06] Haas Avenue Association.

[2:09:08] Thank you on behalf of the City of San Leandro.

[2:09:12] So now I've got a conundrum because this bridge spams two council districts.

[2:09:17] And I'm trying to figure out who wants to make the motion and who wants to second.

[2:09:22] I'll, I'll defer to council member Bowen.

[2:09:25] This one in time, I recognize council member Bowen.

[2:09:28] Thank you.

[2:09:28] Council Member Rivera-Sualton.

[2:09:30] I will make a motion to adopt a resolution except the letter of intent to do it and authorize

[2:09:34] the city manager to expand the donated funds in the amount of $5 million dollars to aid

[2:09:37] in the replacement of the Cary Drive House Avenue pedestrian bridge.

[2:09:40] I have got a motion come from Council Member Bowen on this item.

[2:09:44] Council Member Rivera-Sualton.

[2:09:46] I'm second in motion.

[2:09:47] And I have got a second from Council Member Rivera-Sualton.

[2:09:50] So with that, looking down the aisle, I see no interest in further discussion.

[2:09:53] So let's vote.

[2:09:57] All votes are in, motion passes, unanimous, seven, zero.

[2:10:02] Okay, at this point in time, yay.

[2:10:08] At this point in time, we are at our natural break,

[2:10:12] but we're also passed all over our action items.

[2:10:14] So I'm going to look down the aisle and see if I get some head nods

[2:10:16] to just kind of power through the end.

[2:10:18] Yeah, I'm getting a lot of less, less power through.

[2:10:21] So item number 11, Council request to schedule agenda items,

[2:10:25] future agenda items.

[2:10:27] Seeing none, I'll move to item 12, Councilor City Councilor reports, announcements, topics of concern to the community, starting with Councilor Marbleau.

[2:10:37] It's too late to get in on this, I'll never mind.

[2:10:41] I just want to let the council know next week for the work session, I'm going to be probably coming in a little bit late.

[2:10:46] I'll try and come in quietly.

[2:10:47] I have mandatory CPR certification, recertification to stay current on how to save a life.

[2:10:56] Councilor Marbleau, do you have any other comments?

[2:10:56] Well, just a third time. I'm reminding everyone, but I am not I'll be absent on the September 16th meeting. I have a work retweet an overnight to a night retreat for my work, my work, work.

[2:11:14] So I will not be here this and I will not be able to call it either as I will not have reception.

[2:11:21] That's it.

[2:11:36] I will make this quick. I joke that I could do a 50-point slide deck, but I stuck to three.

[2:11:42] Apologies for the business of the slide deck. I just wanted to share a little bit about

[2:11:49] the amazing three weeks I spent at Harvard at the Kennedy School in July and really appreciate

[2:11:57] the city, this council for supporting professional development, leadership training. It was incredibly transformative.

[2:12:05] The ask what you can do. I'm sitting next to another member of the cohort who is also a former Peace Corps volunteer.

[2:12:15] And if, as many you probably know, Jeff Kennedy started the Peace Corps, and that was my journey into public service.

[2:12:23] And so it was really wonderful to be in that space and that room is where I spent all day every day with 82 other people and I was clearly very, very happy to get my certificate at the end you can see all of my teeth.

[2:12:39] I was also ready to go home. It was exhausting.

[2:12:43] If you could just go to the next slide.

[2:12:46] Any of these things will be things that I would be happy to share in more depth, then I will build out that slide deck if you want.

[2:12:52] But one of the things that continues to stay with me, including all the books of all the professors that were that talk to us are a lot of different policy frameworks that are incredibly impactful and relevant and necessary to the work that we do.

[2:13:12] I put a few up here, but one of the ones, you know, technical versus adaptive challenges

[2:13:19] and really pushing myself and us as leaders to be more effective and show up in the ways

[2:13:24] that we can as times change.

[2:13:27] My favorite course was on behavioral economics.

[2:13:29] I studied psychology and economics and so I felt like I was fangirling all of my teachers

[2:13:36] and I just highly recommend the entire short list of books to any of you.

[2:13:42] You can borrow all of them. And then Kelly, the next one, this is actually where I

[2:13:49] think the magic happens because those 82 people that were in my cohort, they

[2:13:56] are leaders, elected, just amazing humans who I don't doubt for a second that I

[2:14:04] could message on our incredibly active WhatsApp group and say, Hey, we're talking about alternative

[2:14:11] response unit. What are you doing in your city? And they were able to come back with, you know,

[2:14:16] what? In Denver, this is what we do. In Tallahassee, this is what we did. And this is how it could work.

[2:14:21] So in real time, even when I was there, we were talking about homelessness. I was literally working

[2:14:27] on a case study with the executive director for Sacramento County on homelessness, talking

[2:14:34] about what sort of programs that they have, what might work and sharing resources and connections.

[2:14:41] I've already been sharing a lot of these projects with Janelle and others, and I'll continue

[2:14:47] to send the emails, but we basically now have another network across the country of

[2:14:54] executives are doing phenomenal work, and I feel very, very fortunate that my group is actually

[2:15:00] Second, two-thirds, city managers, and city executives, because, again, they're the ones doing the work, and so I can say, hey, we have a problem, what are you doing? And they have the playbook, and they are more than willing to share that out, and we can utilize that. And so I just want to offer up, you know, all the learnings that I had, and really just express my gratitude to this. And I'm so excited for our city staff to continue to go. And Brian isn't in the room, but there was a big plug for librarians to attend.

[2:15:29] and other people that work in the city government

[2:15:32] to be able to share their ideas.

[2:15:34] And so I'm really excited about it.

[2:15:39] Thank you, Council Member Aguilar.

[2:15:43] Thank you, Mayor Gonzalez. So this passed after Harvard Fellowship, I started another fellowship,

[2:15:50] which was Water Education for Latino Leaders. And so on July 9th, I was in El Stogundo at the

[2:15:56] West Basin Municipal Water District, working with my cohort to talk about the method of inquiry.

[2:16:03] We toured the pure water treatment plan, we toured the LA River, we talked about water

[2:16:09] affordability with the General Manager Stephen Tucker, and he works with the water replenishment

[2:16:16] district in Sunday, California, and we also went through the history of California water

[2:16:20] by Dr. Pablo Ortiz. And on August 9th through the 10th, I was in Imperial Beach where we got to

[2:16:28] to understand the issues with raw sewage leaking into the Diwana River and contaminating

[2:16:34] not only Diwana Beach, but Imperial Beach and, you know, in that water, there's also

[2:16:41] percentage ends and people are also getting cancer.

[2:16:43] So it was great to see the Mexican sewage treatment plant in Diwana, which is also great

[2:16:49] to be on the U.S. site to see the International Waste Water Treatment Plant, where Congress

[2:16:53] has approved $300 million to help renovate, and so working in collaboration with Mexico

[2:17:00] and speaking with Dr. Gabriela Muñoz Melendez is also working on the Mexicans who is treatment

[2:17:06] plant. We also met at the Juana River Estuary to walk through the public narrative to kind of

[2:17:15] tell our own story and to help understand water policy. On August 2nd I did a membership

[2:17:23] I did a national league of cities, LGBTQ local officials meeting when we talked about

[2:17:30] memberships. We're working on a retreat. I am partnering with Victory Institute to

[2:17:37] put forth our first conference in DC with national league of cities. So that will happen

[2:17:43] December 4 through 6 and partner with Victory National League of Cities LGBTQ will have their

[2:17:49] own sessions, focus on municipal leaders and we're partnering with various organizations

[2:17:54] to help fund that.

[2:17:57] So that was my report.

[2:18:01] Thank you.

[2:18:02] Seeing others, I'll just kind of quickly identify a couple things on my side.

[2:18:06] Items of interest to the community have seen significant social media chatter about

[2:18:11] the marina.

[2:18:13] There was an unflattering news story about the marina, which I think, significantly blue

[2:18:19] out of proportion, some things that have happened at the marina. But what I can would like to highlight in

[2:18:25] particular, I'd like to start with the marina redevelopment because in speaking with a number of

[2:18:30] residents, there's just fundamental misunderstanding about what's going on with our situation around the

[2:18:37] marina redevelopment. So I'm just going to read through some of the talking points that we have prepared.

[2:18:42] So in 2022, the city of Sant Leander provided a loan to Cal Coast. That was our selected developer

[2:18:48] to buy the nine-hole marina golf course property.

[2:18:52] The development plans for the land call for a redesign nine-hole golf course and residential

[2:18:58] development.

[2:18:59] I think we've seen all the pictures and all that kind of stuff.

[2:19:02] We know that the legal entity that we that was going to do that redevelopment and to whom

[2:19:09] the city lent money to purchase the property as filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on June

[2:19:15] 20th of 2024. To be clear, it's not that all CalCost entities have gone bankrupt. It is at the

[2:19:23] specific legal entity associated with that specific development as requested chapter 11 bankruptcy

[2:19:32] protection. That is a significant difference. Three, the city of San Leandro is not financially exposed.

[2:19:41] I think there's a there's chatter on social media that the city has lost 25 million dollars. The city has lost its property. The city has done terrible things.

[2:19:52] Actually the city's loan is secured by the underlying property. So it's either we get paid or we get the property.

[2:20:00] it's so we are not financially exposed. We anticipate the bankruptcy process

[2:20:06] take at least nine months. Anything that involves court proceedings just takes time

[2:20:12] and that's a reality. Despite that, it's really important that the public understands that we

[2:20:17] continue to work with the developer. The developer is submitting plans or corresponding with the

[2:20:24] developer, we're working constructively to continue the process of moving the development forward.

[2:20:31] We as a city are committed to that development, and we will continue to work to support that

[2:20:37] development. Obviously, we are interested in protecting our own rights in the bankruptcy process,

[2:20:42] and we have legal counsel that is advising and supporting us. We will provide periodic updates to

[2:20:48] the community, but those are the facts. So we can put it into the negative misleading

[2:20:55] social media chatter. The other thing that I'd like to highlight at the Marina area in particular

[2:21:00] is that I have seen active engagement by public works team, by the police department, by the city

[2:21:10] manager's office, by the city attorney's office, and working through some of the challenges that we

[2:21:16] we have faced with illegally dumped boats and for boats that are using the boat launched

[2:21:25] and public access space to turn it into what one might perceive as their own private property.

[2:21:32] And to work through the legal angles, through work through the realities of what's involved

[2:21:38] in maritime enforcement, I think the city is doing a persistent job at addressing that issue.

[2:21:46] I give you one specific example for the benefit of the public.

[2:21:50] I visited the Marina on August 14 and took a picture of an abandoned boat that had been

[2:21:55] dumped on the public access boat ramp.

[2:22:00] Reported it to the city, that boat is no longer there.

[2:22:05] Every single time that we have to remove boats, it costs us money.

[2:22:09] So my encouragement to the public is support us in identifying the illegal dumpers, take pictures of license plates, write them down.

[2:22:22] Please be our eyes because no one's going to be out there individually 24-7.

[2:22:28] We've got 90,000 residents and lots of visitors to our community.

[2:22:32] So please, when you see illegal dumping and you can identify the vehicle associated with

[2:22:38] that illegal dumping, please call San Leandro Police at 510-577-2740 and touch through

[2:22:47] the menus to get to leave a tip and just leave the information.

[2:22:52] Because by working together, we're actually driving change at the marina.

[2:22:57] Go all the way back to, I think it was 2005 when the decision was made to no longer fund

[2:23:01] dredging at the marina. So this concept that something has happened in the last year,

[2:23:06] last few months that has killed the marina, that's simply factually not true. The decision was

[2:23:11] made almost 20 years ago to allow that land to silt. But I just want to be very clear that we

[2:23:17] are working proactively to continue the economic revitalization. So with that, we're going to move to our

[2:23:23] are closing of our meeting and you know it's with with our break in August we

[2:23:31] really weren't able to recognize Ellen Corbett you know many of you know and

[2:23:37] to the extent that you don't know in the public Ellen Corbett our former mayor

[2:23:40] passed away about four weeks ago I guess it is now our first directly

[2:23:50] elected female mayor. He was literally a friend-setter. He broke that glass ceiling, but then she

[2:24:01] went on from San Leandro to serve in the assembly, on to serve as Senate in the state of California,

[2:24:08] served as a majority leader in the state of California, all from San Leandro, California. And while she was

[2:24:16] doing this, she didn't abandon momhood. It was a full-time mom. She had her son with her a lot.

[2:24:25] We shared daycare with Ellen. We'd see her rushing in and making sure that he was at her side

[2:24:31] often. There's images of her son pulling on her pant suit. She really young had many kind words to

[2:24:39] say about Ellen or Mayor of Maritime. And so I think that recognizing when someone has gone

[2:24:48] out there and made a difference, promoted consumer protection legislation, promoted protection

[2:24:56] for the most vulnerable, we should lift that up. One small way to do that is to close in her honor

[2:25:04] tonight. Before doing that, I do want to let people know that there will be a memorial service for

[2:25:10] Ellen at Church of the Assumption. It's right off of 580 in Sybil. That will be on September 21st

[2:25:23] Saturday. It will be at 1030 in the morning. And the memorial is open to the public.

[2:25:31] So with that,

[2:25:32] I'd like to adjourn in Ellen Corbett's memory with 15 seconds of silence.

[2:26:05] It's 9.15 and we are adjourned.

City Council on 2024-09-03 6:00 PM - SPECIAL MEETING AND CLOSED SESSION

Agenda

Transcript