MEASURE DD COMMUNITY COALITION MEETING
OCTOBER 17, 2005
LAKESIDE GARDEN CENTER
Agenda Committee: Ron Bishop, David Bolanos, Sandy Threlfall
Minutes by Kathy Raymond, Executive Director, Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation
In Attendance:
Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee – Ron Bishop
East Bay Bicycle Coalition – Rick Rickard
Friends of the Cleveland Cascade – Jim Ratliff
Coalition of Advocates for Lake Merritt – James Vann
Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation – Kathryn Raymond, Judy Johnson
Jack London District Association – Simon Waddington
Lake Merrit Institute – Elizabeth Borowiec
North Hills Landscape Committee – Gordon Piper
Interested Citizens – David Bolanos
From the City of Oakland:
CEDA – Kerry Jo Ricketts-Ferris
City of Oakland Public Works – Danny Lau
Council Member Reid’s Office – Pat Mossburg
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 P.M. by chair Ron Bishop. The attendees introduced themselves.
The Executive Meeting protocol was discussed. It was again mentioned that without a continuous person or persons it was hard to keep track of what is going on each time. It was requested that at least an agenda and packet be sent out ahead of time to those attending so they could prepare themselves more for the meeting. It was discussed what the Coalition’s member’s role was in these meetings, advisory or informational. It seemed that the role was to mainly pass back information to the other Coalition members, however, that the members should also be part of the discussion on relevant issues. Liz Borowiec said she might be able to be one of the continuous attendees if she had enough advance notice of the meetings. We will bring up again at the November meeting to see if we can or should set standard attendees.
STUDIO ONE:
Bids came back for Studio One the budget is $6.5 million but the current bill is now $7.5 million. There needs to be some decisions made around the budget shortfall. Also, Friends of Studio One is trying to be involved in the selection of the Executive Director. It was also mentioned that Studio One and Temescal Pool all belong to a Recreation Center Committee set up in the 40’s.
PROJECTS:
A concern about inflation and funding shortfalls was mentioned as the cost of construction is going up across the board due to the recent hurricanes and natural disasters.
The Pergola – a contract has been awarded to do a survey to assess the condition of the structure, a report is due back in 3 to 6 months.
Lake Merritt Wetlands was reported on. There had been some concern that Measure DD Lakeside Park improvements were working in conjunction with the wetlands. There was some work done outside of Measure DD, a two-phase project. The first phase is the Lake Merritt Shoreline habitat and bird islands, paid for by the Coastal Conservancy. Moffitt & Nickels are the consultants and are planning on presenting the design plans in January or February. There are plans for vegetation management to improve the area and some soft repairs. They hope to improve the tidal action of the area. Phase 2 is currently unfunded. It was noted that there should be an environmental services creek update at the next meeting.
Lakeshore Project – Ron Bishop highlighted the need for pedestrian islands on both sides throughout the Lakeshore to East 18th renovation. This is a matter of pedestrian safety, which should be the greatest concern. It was mentioned we should invite Jason Patton from CEDA to talk about this issue. Also, Kerry Jo mentioned that we should request a matrix of the pros and cons from Public Works of the different types of pedestrian controls and what was being suggested at each crossing and why.
Gordon Piper came to the meeting to seek information about potential Measure DD Creek funding and if there was any way to utilize some of these funds to aid in the fire protection in the hills. There are many potential fire hazards around Temescal Creek and some new proposed construction could make this even more dangerous. We suggested Gordon come back to the next meeting when we would invite environmental services to give us a creeks update. It was noted Joel Peter should be the point of contact for Gordon and Kerry said she would get Gordon a staff report.
Ron Bishop also handed out information he had collected on different types of surfacing for walking and bike riding. There is very limited information out there and no real studies on the long-term effect of these surfacing on the body. Trying to gather information to make the best and most informed decision about what types of surfacing to use for the pathways. The question of rubberized sidewalks came up; there are some areas where they are going in around Oakland, mainly where tree roots are an issue. There was a question on if these sidewalks posed a water quality issue, Rick Rickard thought they were similar in scope to asphalt, Danny Lau pointed out there was more oil content in them. In reality they are new and no real studies of long term impact has been done on this issue. There is rubberized asphalt on Highway 13 apparently it is much quieter. Again, it was suggested that a matrix of the pros and cons of the different surfacing options should be provided and why certain decisions have been made to this point. It was noted that a matrix like this is around and perhaps additional layers should be added to it, such as the creek protection issue and impact on the body issue.
GRANTS:
Kerry handed out a listing of all the grants that they have applied for and what funding has been awarded. It was also mentioned that the City has new lobbyists in Sacramento that hopefully, will aid in funding. Kerry also went through the private funding partnerships she is working on. There will be a reception on Wednesday from 4-6 for Rotary Plaza, the entryway into the Municipal Boathouse. The Coalition wishes to congratulate Kerry on all her hard work on these grants and for around $8 million that has been granted to date.
FUTURE AGENDA SUGGESTIONS:
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. and the next meeting is to take place on November 21st from 7-9 p.m. at the Lakeside Garden Center.