MEASURE DD COMMUNITY COALITION MEETING
JUNE 21, 2004
JACK LONDON AQUATIC CENTER
Agenda Committee: Patrick Daughton, Rita Torres and Aileen Frankel
Minutes by Kathy Raymond, Executive Director, Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation
In Attendance:
1000 Friends of Studio One – Patrick Daughton
Beat 15x NCPC – Jim Ratliff
Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee – Ron Bishop
Butters Land Trust – David Barron
Children’s Fairyland – C.J. Hirschfield
Cleveland Cascade – Barbara Newcombe, Jim Ratliff
Coalition of Advocates for Lake Merritt – James Vann
East Bay Bicycle Coalition – Rick Rickard
Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation – Kathryn Raymond, Judy Johnson
FROG – Theresa Nelson
Jack London Aquatic Center – Robert Kidd
Jack London District Alliance – Simon Waddington
Lake Merritt Institute – Stana Hearne, Liz Borowiec
Lake Merritt Rowing Club – Jerry Denham
Oakland Heritage Alliance – Naomi Schiff
Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission – Theresa Nelson
Spanish Speaking Unity Council – Rita Torres
Waterfront Action – Sandy Threlfall
Also:
From the City of Oakland:
Public Works Agency, Environmental Services Department – Ali Schwarz
Public Works Agency, Environmental Services Department – Markley Bavinger
Council member Jean Quan’s Office – Sue Piper
Council member Danny Wan’s Office – Pat Kernighan
Community & Economic Development Agency – Kerry
Jo Ricketts-Ferris
Public Works Agency – Joel Peter
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 P.M. by chair Rita Torres. The May minutes were approved and it was asked that we add to the agenda an update on Children’s Fairyland and item on measure 1622 and the Alameda County Funding Measure Task Force. It was also noted that Justin Horner could not be present at the meeting and that Kathy Raymond would give a short update.
The agenda committee for next quarter was selected; Jennie Gerard, James Vann and Liz Borowiec are the committee members for July, August and September.
PROJECT UPDATES:
Joel Peter, Public Works Agency, handed out a written update on the current project status. This update will also be put on the web site at www.oaklandparks.org. It was asked if the Coalition could get a breakdown on the expenditures. Joel and Kerry noted that they will go over the expenditures at the Executive meeting on June 30th, where two of the current agenda committee members will attend. Patrick Daughton will attend the meeting with either Rita Torres or Aileen Frankel. After this meeting they will report back to the Coalition and the updated expenditure list could be handed out, as it was last quarter. Joel opened it up for questions on the written update. He noted that there should be a Community Meeting scheduled for El Embarcadero sometime in late July. Also, they are currently meeting with user groups on the Municipal Boat House design. These groups include the Lake Merritt Rowing Club, the Lake Merritt Jogger and Striders, Gondola Servicio, Parks and Recreation, the Oakland Heritage Alliance and the Camron-Stanford House. It was asked about aeration of the lake and new storm drain filters. It was noted that 2 new filters had gone in and they were identifying locations for a possible 4 more new filters. The filters collect the trash and the aeration is really aided in other ways. Ali Schwartz, PWA-ESD, noted that she would go into more detail later in the meeting. There is a technical sheet that gives more details on the storm drains and it was requested that this be a hand out and to put it on the web site.
Kerry Ricketts-Ferris, CEDA, gave an update on fund development. She is working on grant writing and identifying additional funds. They have submitted 2 ongoing grants to the recreation trails program and the Habitat & Restoration program but were unsuccessful in both. They plan to resubmit the grants more tailored to the application guidelines. They are also looking at a number of other grant programs but there is some question on if the projects really fit the grant criteria. They are working with the Coastal Conservancy and the redevelopment agencies and hope to be successful in these venues. It was asked if the city has hired anyone to help with grants. Kerry said that she is looking into this but that you can’t hire someone to do fundraising out of the bond monies. She is still looking at how they would be funded. They are currently working on a PowerPoint Presentation and would like to show it at the July meeting and it was suggested that we should have an update to the Channel Feasibility study in July.
Oak to 9th Street was discussed. There have been 3 scoping session to date for the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process. They have no additional public meetins scheduled but will keep those that attended the scoping session meetings informed. Naomi Schiff, Oakland Heritage Alliance, that they are making a request to hold a very large public planning process and that the EIR process is really not enough. Groups should send letters to Claudia Cappio and Signature Properties urging this request. Sandy Threlfall, Waterfront Action, also reiterated that there needs to be more than the EIR process. For example, what is the interaction between the DD funds and the Developer, Condo Associations, etc? How public will the public lands be? The current design reduces the amount of Open Space called for in the Estuary Policy Plan by 50% to 60%. These groups are calling for either a weeklong charette to go over the design plans. If they don’t get the charette they will challenge the decision as there was supposed to be a specific plan before moving forward. A charette would cost about $200,000 and it was noted that this would be a cost the developer would need to pay, as the City doesn’t have these funds available. It was also noted that some developers choose to do this up front so they won’t be tied up with lawsuits later on. Theresa Nelson brought up that an area plan could also be an option and may not be as costly as a specific plan.
Kerry brought up that she is researching forming a Conservancy to be able to raise private funds to help with the projects. It was asked if Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation could be this vehicle. Kerry mentioned that she thought this may be outside of their mission. It was reiterated that the city could pay an outside source to do a fundraising plan but not to execute the plan. The Coalition asked how they could help push on this fundraising angle as many of the groups are established non-profits with connections. Kerry stated that it was a little early as many of the projects were still in design stage for actual private fundraising but agreed we need to come up with a plan soon. So far she believes a conservancy may be the best option but there is some concern this could take a while to set up.
C.J. Hirschfield, Executive Director of Children’s Fairyland, brought good news that it appears they may be able to shortly move forward with construction. After numerous meetings with the City the City Attorney stepped in and presented an emergency amendment to Fairyland’s existing contract to allow them to receive Measure DD funding for construction purposes. There had been a hold up because of trying to negotiate a new operating contract with the city before moving forward. They still need official approval but hope to receive that this week.
Ali Schwarz, PWA-ESD, noted that the Watershed Improvement Program is moving forward with their recommendation to the City Council for the first round of funding. They will ask that every site proposed for restoration go through an initial feasibility study. They are also asking that 4 projects be immediately funded, Cinderella Creek ($150,000), Shepherd Canyon ($8,000), Rockridge-Greenbelt Park ($140,000) and Lion Creek ($500,000). She also mentioned that they hired a new person to help with the acquisition side, Markley Bavinger. She also mentioned that they are recommending up to $350,000 for Butters Canyon acquisitions.
On the Lake Merritt Water Quality issues they are continuing to hold monthly meetings. They are recommending 4 new CDS storm drain filter units in locations to be determined, a pilot project to test an air diffuser, a new fountain at Harrison and Grand and upgrading the existing fountain.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
Kathy Raymond, FOPR, mentioned that Justin Horner, Chief of Staff for Jane Brunner, could not make the meeting but did send a brief update. Carol Misseldine has been following up after our last meeting. They are working on setting up the meeting with the various city agencies and some members of the coalition to discuss these issues. Carol also asked if anyone had contacts at other Cities so they could see how this issue is handled in other Cities.
The 1000 Friends of Studio One co-hosted the first community design meeting. They went over conceptual designs, provided certain assurances and gave a concept of how the programs would be divided. They spoke of having dirty (pottery, painting, etc. vs. clean arts (yoga, dance, etc.) on separate sides of the building and widening the corridors which will also allow for exhibit space. They mentioned that though the building façade is a landmark the designers hope to take some license to make the space work more like an arts building. A two-story glass wall is being discussed to let in light and provide views to the courtyard. The biggest issues are where to house the current programs during the construction. Overall they had a good turnout around 50 to 60 people.
The group forming to renovate the Cascades is moving along and has been getting some City support from Jim Ryugo, Oakland Parks and Recreation, and Public Works. They have also received a renewed commitment from PGA Design on their willingness to continue to help on the design. They have been getting good local publicity and have had people contacting them on how they can help. Public Works is planning to come out and snake the pipes to learn their condition. Also, the group is working on a medium term plan that includes plantings and colored flowers to mimic the rainbow lights that used to be in place. The community’s ongoing investment has certainly elevated this projects status. There was a suggestion to put in a bike channel like at some BART stations. The community has been out working on this project most Saturday mornings from 9am-12pm.
Next Agenda Items that were suggested:
Sandy Threlfall also mentioned that the Alameda County Funding Measure Taskforce is holding a meeting on July 14th and perhaps we should let them know more of what we are doing with Measure DD.
The next meeting dates were set, they will continue to be on the third Monday of the month. July 19th, August 16th and Sept. 20th.
The meeting was adjourned around 9:00 p.m.