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WAS WAS STANFORD PAC? OF COURSE.UH, GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO THE BOARD LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT ON THIS, THE 10TH OF JANUARY, UH, 2024.
WE'RE BEGINNING TODAY AT 10 37.
[Roll Call]
MADAM CLERK, WOULD YOU TAKE THE ROLE, PLEASE? YES.JUST COORDINATORS IN THIS MEETING INCLUDE, UH, DEPUTY MANAGER ANA ALVAREZ, PRESENT CHIEF OF GOVERNMENT LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS.
TODAY'S MEETING IS HELD PURSUANT TO THE BROWN ACT, WE PROVIDE LIGHT, LIVE, AUDIO, AND VIDEO STREAMING.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT CAN DO SO, ONE LIVE VIA ZOOM TWO BY SUBMITTING AN EMAIL, THREE LEAVING A VOICEMAIL.
THIS INFORMATION IS NOTED ON THE AGENDA.
IF THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS, WE WILL BEGIN.
ALRIGHT, OUR FIRST ITEM BUSINESS IS THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES.
WE HAVE NO MINUTES, SO LET'S MOVE TO PUBLIC
[Public Comments on Items Not on the Agenda]
COMMENTS.DO WE HAVE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO'D LIKE TO SPEAK? KELLY AND BAR? ALRIGHT.
UM, I SEE YOU, KELLY, ARE YOU THERE? I HAVE JUST, OKAY.
KELLY, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT, UH, BIG LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE, WHICH IS SEA LEVEL RISE.
AND THERE WAS AN ARTICLE IN THE, UH, NEWSPAPER ABOUT, ABOUT, UH, SIX MONTHS AGO ABOUT, UH, THE COST AND WHAT, UH, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE BAY AREA.
UM, AND, UH, THIS, UH, ARTICLE PUT OUT A NUMBER OF, UH, A HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS NEEDED WITHIN THE NEXT 30 YEARS OR SO.
AND, UH, THEY, THEY SAID, UH, SAN FRANCISCO'S GONNA SPEND $5 BILLION ON BUILDING A SEA WALL.
THE, UH, THE AIRPORT THERE IS GONNA BUILD, SPEND LIKE $600 MILLION ON THE SEA WALL.
AND FOSTER CITY WAS SPENDING A HUNDRED MILLION ON A SEA WALL.
AND THEY TALK ABOUT THE MEASURES, UH, THAT WILL, THAT INCLUDES, UH, EXPANDING THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF WETLANDS, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT THESE BAY PARKS, UH, DISTRICT LIKES TO DO.
BULLDOZING, UH, DOZENS OR HUNDREDS OF MILES OF HIGH, UH, BUILDING, UH, A LOT OF, UH, MILES OF LEVEES, HIGHER LEVEES, CONSTRUCTING NEW TITLE, TITLE GATES, UH, STRENGTHENING SEAWALL AND RAISING ROAD ROADS.
UM, AND I, AND I THINK, UH, THAT THE, UH, TWO, TWO IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE IN THE ARTICLE.
ONE IS THAT THEY ONLY, THEY SAY THEY ONLY HAVE $5 BILLION LINED UP, UH, TO PAY FOR ALL THIS, UH, SO FAR.
AND, UH, SO THAT'S, UH, E EITHER THINGS ARE GONNA GET FLOODED OR THEY'RE GONNA FIND, GO FIND, GO SPEND MORE MONEY.
UH, AND SECONDLY, UM, WE, WE STILL HAVE, UH, PEOPLE MAYBE, UH, UH, MAYBE NOT FOSTER CITY.
I DON'T THINK IT'S EXPANDING, BUT PEOPLE LIKE, UH, THE CITY OF NEWARK THAT ARE, UH, STILL BUILDING, UH, ADDITIONAL HOUSING, AND MAYBE IT'S NOT, UH, BELOW SEA LEVEL RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S KIND OF CLOSE, KIND OF FAR OUT THERE TOWARDS THE BAY SHORE.
AND, UH, A LOT OF THESE, UH, MUNICIPALITIES, THE WAY THEY WORK WAY THE COUNTIES AND CITIES WORK IS, UH, THAT YOU HAVE TO GIVE THEM A HARD LINE, TAKE A HARD LINE A, UH, ATTITUDE.
BECAUSE IF YOU GIVE THEM A, ANY KIND OF, UH, WIGGLE ROOM, THEY'LL BUILD RIGHT UP TO THE, UH, TO THE GRAY ZONE AND BEYOND.
IS THAT IT FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS? ALRIGHT, THEN WE'LL MOVE TO OUR FIRST ACTION
[Action Items]
ITEM, WHICH IS THE CONTRACT FOR SERVICES WITH E TWO STRATEGIES, LLC AND THE AMOUNT OF $96,000 FOR GENERAL FEDERAL ADVOCACY CONSULTING SERVICES.ERIC FEELER, CHIEF OF GOVERNMENT AND LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, UH, COMING TO, TO YOU BEFORE THE COMMITTEE TODAY TO APPROVE OR AGREE WITH THE GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION TO RETAIN E TWO.
UM, AS OUR, UH, FEDERAL ADVOCATE IN WASHINGTON DC THE FIRM, AS YOU ALL WELL KNOW, IS, UM, MANAGED BY
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PETER, UM, HOFFER.WE'VE WORKED WITH PETER FOR 12 YEARS NOW.
UH, WE HAD SUCCESS WITH THE TIGER TWO, UH, GRANT AWARD IN, UH, 2010.
UH, AND THEN, UH, MORE RECENTLY HE'S GOT AN, UH, MA UH, PROVIDED US ACCESS TO NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, UH, DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, UH, INCLUDING, UM, BRINGING SALLY JEWEL, THEN THE SECRETARY OF INTERIOR TO THOROUGHGOOD MARSHALL REGIONAL PARK, HOME OF THE PORT CHICAGO 50 BEFORE IT WAS NAMED SUCH, UH, ON THE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.
UH, HE IS ALSO BEEN MORE RECENTLY VERY HELPFUL WITH OUR COMMUNITY BENEFIT PROJECTS.
AND WE'VE HAD SUCCESS IN THE LAST TWO YEARS RECEIVING, UM, DIRECT ALLOCATIONS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UM, ACTUALLY DIRECTLY FROM CONGRESS.
AND HE'S ALSO BEEN VERY, UH, HELPFUL IN OUR DC CONFERENCES, UH, PARTICULARLY AS WE'VE DONE MORE AND MORE, UM, WORK WITH OTHER AGENCIES.
UH, I BELIEVE LAST YEAR HE HELPED US ARRANGE A MEETING WITH FEMA, UH, WHICH WAS SOMEWHAT NEW FOR US.
UM, SO WE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE, UH, STAFF AND GENERAL MANAGER RECOMMEND CONTINUING, UM, HIS CONSISTENT SERVICE FOR THE PARK DISTRICT.
AND WE'RE ASKING FOR A SUPPORT OF THE GENERAL MANAGER RECOMMENDATION FOR THE $96,000 CONTRACT TO EXCEED, NOT TO EXCEED 8,000 A MONTH.
ALRIGHT, ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FROM BOARD MEMBERS, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, ERIC, IN SACRAMENTO, WE'VE, UH, BROADENED OUR RESOURCES, SO TO SPEAK, IN, IN TERMS OF HAVING ADVOCATES, UH, NOW THAT SPECIALIZE MAYBE TO BROADLY CHARACTERIZE IN, IN ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES AS OPPOSED TO THE LEGISLATURE.
UH, HAS ANY THOUGHT OR, UH, ANY, UH, RESPONSE TO, UH, RFPS THAT WE'VE ISSUED, UM, RESULTED IN LOOKING AT WHETHER WE COULD BROADEN THAT, UH, UH, RESOURCEFULNESS, UH, IN DC UH, THANK YOU FOR RAISING THAT DIRECTOR COFFEE.
YES, WE, WE DID PUT OUT AN, I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED IN THE BEGINNING, WE DID PUT IN OUT AN RFP, UH, FOR THIS PARTICULAR YEAR, AND WE DID RECEIVE, UM, AT LEAST ONE OTHER VERY COMPETITIVE OR VERY, UM, PROMINENT, UH, APPLICATION.
UH, AND SO, UH, DE DEPENDING UPON THE, UH, APPROVAL OF THIS CONTRACT, WE MAY BE LOOKING AT SOME, SOME SPECIALIZED SERVICES WITH ANOTHER ENTITY, BUT WE, UM, WE NEED TO GET THE, THE MAIN ONE SETTLED FIRST.
YOU KNOW, I'M VERY PLEASED WITH PETER'S WORK OVER, OVER, UH, UM, MY TENURE HERE.
I THINK, UH, HE DOES WONDERFUL, VERY GOOD AND EFFECTIVE WORK FOR US.
I JUST WANT TO EMPHASIZE AS I ALWAYS HAVE THAT, UH, IN, IN TERMS OF GOING AFTER FUNDING, UH, WE SHOULD USE EVERY RESOURCE WE CAN.
ELIZABETH, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? OKAY.
I MEAN, I, I SUPPORT, UH, UH, THIS FULLY E TWO STRATEGIES IS ALWAYS, IN MY OPINION, NONE GREAT WORK IN MY 10 YEARS HERE.
I, I JUST WANNA, I, I NOTICE THIS IN, IN READING THE ANALYSIS AND, AND I'M JUST A NOTE.
UM, BUT I, I, I, EVERY, FOR 10 YEARS NOW THAT I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD, UM, THIS WHOLE BIFURCATION AND TRANSFER THE 14 ACRE, OUR OAKLAND ARMY BASE HAS BEEN A THORN IN OUR FLESH.
AND I'M WONDERING, UH, CAN WE GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION?
UM, AND HAS BEEN, AND THANK YOU CHAIR, UH, WASPY.
UH, THE, UM, ACTUALLY LAST YEAR WAS THE FIRST YEAR WE DID, UM, PIVOT IN A BIT OF A DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
UH, WE WERE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ARMY AND, UM, THE TWO STATE AGENCIES THAT, UM, ARE WORKING ON THE CLEANUP, UH, PARTICULARLY IN THE MARINE SENTIMENT.
UH, BUT, UH, SO LAST YEAR, IT WAS THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE ACTUALLY WORKED ON LEGISLATION, UH, TO BE INCLUDED IN THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT.
UH, WE WERE SUCCESSFUL IN HAVING, UM, SENATOR PADILLA, UH, OFFER THE LEGISLATION.
AND IT WAS INCLUDED IN A, A VERSION OF THE BILL, BUT NOT ULTIMATELY INCLUDED IN THE FINAL VERSION, UH, THAT WAS SIGNED INTO LAW.
IT WOULD'VE CALLED FOR BIFURCATION OF THE PROPERTY AND ALLOWED THE 14 UPLAND ACRES TO BE TRANSFERRED SOONER, UH, WHILE THE DISPUTE, UM, OVER THE SIX
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ACRES OF, UM, OF THE MARINE LAYER WE WERE, UM, UH, RESOLVED.SO WE DID TRY A DIFFERENT APPROACH, AND I THINK WE WILL PROBABLY TRY THAT AGAIN, UM, THIS YEAR.
BUT, UH, SORT OF REMAINS TO BE SEEN.
WHAT'S, WHAT WOULD BE POSSIBLE.
UM, IF THERE, ARE THERE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT HAVE ANY COMMENTS ON THIS? UH, HEARING NONE.
UM, GENERALLY WE SAY THAT THIS GROUP WOULD, THIS COMMITTEE WOULD, UH, FORWARD IT TO THE FULL BOARD FOR APPROVAL.
IS THIS, ARE WE DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT HERE, OR DID I READ THE RECOMMENDATION INCORRECTLY? ARE WE RECOMMENDING TO THE FULL, IF WE VOTE TO RECOMMEND TO THE FULL BOARD TO, UM, GO AHEAD WITH THIS CONTRACT, WILL IT GO TO THE FULL BOARD OR IS THIS JUST THE COMMITTEE'S APPROVAL? IT, IT, IT IS SCHEDULED TO GO BEFORE THE FULL BOARD.
I BELIEVE THE, THE REQUEST IS TO ASK TO SUPPORT THE GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION, UH, THAT IT GO BEFORE THE FULL BOARD.
AND A SECOND BY SECOND MEMBER.
UH, IF THERE IS NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
THE MOTION PASSES IN UNANIMOUSLY.
WE'LL NOW MOVE TO THE RECOMMENDED LEGISLATION SUP TO SUPPORT AGAIN, UH, ERIC FEELER, CHIEF OF GOVERNMENT AND LEG LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS.
UH, WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF A LIGHT, UH, AGENDA ON LEGISLATION AS THE STATE LEGISLATURE, UH, ADJOURNED AND HAS JUST NOW GONE BACK IN SESSION.
UM, BUT WE WERE, UH, WE WERE BROUGHT, MADE AWARE OF TWO FEDERAL BILLS OF INTEREST TO THE PARK DISTRICT THAT ALIGN WITH OUR SEVEN ADVOCACY GOALS.
UM, THE FIRST OF WHICH HRES 8 81, UH, RECOGNIZES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY, WHICH AT, AT THIS POINT WAS NOW LAST YEAR OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT.
UH, AND I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THAT LEGISLATION, UH, WHEN IT PASSED IN 19 73, 92 TO ZERO IN THE SENATE, AND 355 TO FOUR IN THE HOUSE.
UH, IT HAS SINCE, UH, PROTECTED OVER 2,300 SPECIES, UH, AND IT, UH, HAS BEEN WIDELY CONSIDERED TO BE VERY SUCCESSFUL, UH, IN TERMS OF BOTH, UM, ANIMAL AND PLANT HABITAT.
UH, SO WE'RE ASKING FOR A SUPPORT POSITION ON, ON THAT AS IT ALIGNS WITH OUR ECOSYSTEM STEWARDSHIP, UH, ADVOCACY GOAL.
THE SECOND BILL, S3 416, UH, IS THE, WOULD ESTABLISH THE CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCY FUND, AND IT AUTHORIZES THE DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY TO AUTHORIZE FROM 200 TO A MILLION TO A BILLION IN CLIMATE BONDS ANNUALLY.
AND THESE CAN BE, BE PURCHASED TO RAISE MONEY, UH, TO HELP, UH, WITH RESILIENCY PROJECTS, PARTICULARLY IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.
UH, PARK DISTRICT WOULD, WOULD BENEFIT FROM ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR SHORELINE PROTECTION, WILDFIRE RESILIENCE, AND OTHER IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
IT IS MODELED AFTER THE WORLD WAR II BOND PROGRAM.
AND JUST AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT THAT PROGRAM IS THAT 85 MILLION OF OF US RESIDENTS OUT OF 151 MILLION TOTAL PURCHASED BACK IN THE FORTIES, AND IT RAISED 186.7 BILLION TO HELP THE WAR EFFORT.
SO THIS IS MODELED AFTER THE SAME PROGRAM, AND IT ALSO DOES PROVIDE, I BELIEVE, 10 MILLION FOR PROMOTION OF SELLING THE BONDS, UH, ANNUAL ANNUALLY.
SO WITH THAT, THOSE ARE THE TWO PIECES OF LEGISLATION THAT WE HAVE RECOMMENDED FOR SUPPORT.
AND IN THE SHOULD ALSO MENTION ON S3 416, THAT ALSO ALIGNS WITH OUR ECOSYSTEM STEWARDSHIP GOALS AND OUR, UM, OUR SHORELINE, UH, PREPAREDNESS GOALS.
ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
UM, I, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'LL KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS, BUT I, I THOUGHT IT WAS INTERESTING THAT IT WAS GONNA BE SET UP UNDER THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, AND BECAUSE IT IS, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD THINK IT WOULD BE NATURAL RESOURCES OR, UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN POSSIBLY SOME TYPE OF ENTITY THAT HAS INFRASTRUCTURE IN IT.
BUT I, I DUNNO IF YOU HAD ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT.
ACTUALLY, THAT'S A REALLY EXCELLENT POINT, DIRECTOR
'CAUSE I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THAT TOO.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT BECAUSE IT'S A BOND PROGRAM, THEN THE FUNDS GO THROUGH TREASURY.
THEY WOULD, THEY NEED TO BE ADMINISTERED BY, UH, THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT, BUT THEY CAN BE ALLOCATED TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES, UM, TO THEN FOR THEREFORE THEN ALSO BE REALLOCATED TO LOCAL APPLICANTS AND STATE APPLICANTS.
WELL, THANKS FOR LOOKING INTO THAT.
AND I GUESS MY ONLY COMMENT WOULD BE, YOU MENTIONED
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THAT, UH, UM, THE COMMEMORATING 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF PASSAGE OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT OF 73.I JUST WAS LOOKING THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA THIS MORNING AND SAW THIS INCREDIBLE PICTURE OF A BALD EAGLE THAT'S TAKEN UP RESIDENTS AT LAKE TESCALS, JUST AMAZING, UH, AND ENCOURAGING.
SO, UM, IF THERE'S NOTHING FROM THE PUBLIC COMMENT WISE, UM, I'LL ACCEPT A MOTION TO MOVE THIS FORWARD SUPPORT FOR THESE BILLS.
AND SO MOVED, MOVE BY MEMBER LES, SECONDED BY MEMBER COFFEE.
UH, IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, ALL IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
[Informational Items]
ON LOCAL ACTIONS TAKEN BY OTHER JURISDICTIONS.MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE, BRIAN HOLT, CHIEF OF PLANNING TRAILS AND GIS HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE, UH, THE STANDING ITEM ON UPDATES ON THE ACTIONS OF THOSE LOCAL JURISDICTIONS.
AND SINCE WE HAVE, UH, NEW MEMBERS, UH, TO THIS GROUP, ALTHOUGH I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR, UM, THIS, THE INTENT HERE IS TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF OUR, UM, WHAT WE CALL THE SAGE PROCESS, UH, STRATEGIC ACTIONS BY I GOT IT.
UM, OTHER JURISDICTIONS, UH, OR BY STRATEGIC ACTIONS BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.
UH, THIS IS OUR, UM, UH, WEEKLY REVIEW OF ALL OF THE AGENDA ITEMS, UH, PROJECT REFERRALS, UM, AND REALLY JUST, UH, ANY OF THE, THE SORT OF SCUTTLEBUTT THAT'S GOING ON ABOUT, UH, PROJECTS THAT, UH, THAT RELATE TO THE DISTRICT, UH, POTENTIALLY AROUND OUR BOUNDARIES OR THAT, UH, HAVE, UH, RELATION TO IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR, OUR MASTER PLAN.
SO WE HAVE, UH, UH, BEEN COMING HERE TO THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING AT EACH OF YOUR MEETINGS AND PROVIDING JUST A, A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THE KEY TOP, UH, HOT ITEMS. UM, AND ALWAYS AVAILABLE, UH, FOR SUGGESTIONS ON ANY ITEMS THAT YOU WANT TO HAVE, UH, WANNA HEAR ABOUT.
WE CAN, UH, TRY TO DO SOME RESEARCH AND BRING THAT FORWARD.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA SHARE MY SCREEN.
UM, AND I SAID I WAS ALL GOOD, BUT MAYBE I'M NOT, ARE WE? OH, THERE WE GO.
OUR FIRST ITEM, UH, THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON REALLY FOR, UH, ABOUT THE SECOND HALF OF, UH, LAST YEAR, 2023.
THERE'S BEEN MULTIPLE ACTIONS, UH, INCLUDING THE COMPLETION OF A FEASIBILITY STUDY BY THE CONTRA COSTA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, UM, REGARDING DYNAMIC PERSONAL MICRO TRANSIT DEVICES.
SO THESE ARE, UM, AUTONOMOUS, UH, SHUTTLES, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM, THAT PROVIDE, UM, ESSENTIALLY LAST MILE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN, UH, VARIOUS POINTS TO, UH, TO TRANSIT PROVIDERS.
SO IT'S AN ON-DEMAND, UH, FACILITY.
UM, AND, UH, UH, A FEASIBILITY STUDY WAS COMPLETED A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
UM, THIS WAS PRESENTED TO THE CONTRA COSTA COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, UM, WHO IS NOW MOVING FORWARD WITH A, UH, PUBLIC PRIVATE, UM, PARTNERSHIP, UM, AGREEMENT, UH, REGARDING, UM, UH, IMPLEMENTATION OF, UH, POSSIBLE IMPLEMENTATION OF ONE OF THESE FACILITIES.
SO, UH, MOVING INTO THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PHASE AND, AND DESIGN, UM, THIS IS SORT OF A, A LITTLE BIT OF A, A CONCEPTUAL DRAWING OF WHAT THESE, UH, WHAT THESE DEVICES LOOK LIKE.
AND ACTUALLY, IF YOU HAVE BEEN ON, UH, THURGOOD MARSHALL, UH, REGIONAL PARK, UH, THIS IS, UH, UH, ONE OF THE PARTNERS IN THIS, UH, PROGRAM IS, UH, A COMPANY, UH, BY, CALLED GLIDE WAYS.
UM, GLIDE WAYS HAS BEEN, UH, DOING SOME TESTING, UM, UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF THE MENTUM, UM, UH, PROGRAM THAT'S ADMINISTERED THROUGH THE CONTRA COSTA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY.
THEY HAVE, UM, THEY HAVE A TESTING FACILITY THAT IS ON, UH, THE THURGOOD MARSHALL REGIONAL PARK PROPERTY.
UM, SO, UH, SO SOME OF THESE DEVICES YOU CAN KIND OF SEE BUZZING AROUND OUT THERE AT TIMES.
AND AGAIN, THESE ARE SORT OF AUTONOMOUS SHUTTLES THAT YOU COULD ESSENTIALLY CALL.
UM, WE'LL COME TO YOU, UM, AND TAKE YOU TO, UM, TO YOUR BUS STATION OR TO YOUR BART STATION, OR WHEREVER ELSE YOU NEED TO GO.
UM, OUR PRIMARY INTEREST HERE IS THE POTENTIAL USE OF PARK DISTRICT FACILITIES FOR, UM, FOR THIS, UH, FOR THIS SYSTEM.
SO, UH, WE HAVE BEEN APPROACHED BY CONTRA COSTA COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, AS WELL AS GLIDE WAYS AND THEIR OTHER PRIVATE PARTNERS ABOUT, UM, POSSIBLE USE OF THE DELTA DEZA TRAIL, UM, THROUGH PITTSBURGH.
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UM, WHICH PROVIDES, UH, ACCORDING TO THEM, UH, ACCESS TO SOME OF THEIR KEY FACILITIES, INCLUDING LOS MADONNA'S COLLEGE, UH, PITTSBURGH, BART STATION, AND SOME OTHER FACILITIES THERE.UM, I THINK YOU CAN APPRECIATE THAT, UH, STAFF HAD, UH, SOME INITIAL CONCERNS ABOUT USE OF THE, THAT TRAIL CORRIDOR FOR, UM, FOR ESSENTIALLY TRANSPORTATION, UH, FOR, UH, TRANSPORTATION PURPOSES, UM, AND WHAT IMPACT THAT WOULD HAVE ON THE, UM, THE TRAIL EXPERIENCE THERE, UM, CONFLICTS WITH OUR, UM, UH, PEDESTRIAN OR, OR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION USE OF THAT TRAIL.
UM, AND JUST, UH, JUST LOGISTICS REGARDING, UM, YOU KNOW, WHO OWNS THE TRAIL, MANAGES THE TRAIL, AND A LOT OF OTHER THINGS THERE.
SO, UH, SOME MORE TO COME ON THAT.
BUT, UH, BUT, UH, THE USE OF, UH, I FORGET THE EXACT LENGTH, BUT IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD STRETCH OF, UM, OF THE DELTA DEZA TRAIL FOR THIS FACILITY, UM, WAS KIND OF RISING TO THE TOP AS A PREFERRED PRIORITY, UH, PREFERRED, UH, ALIGNMENT OF CONTRA COSTA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY FOR, UM, FOR THIS FACILITY.
SO, MORE TO COME ON THAT, I THINK, UM, UH, UH, WE CERTAINLY EXPRESSED OUR CONCERNS, UH, ABOUT CONFLICTS OF THAT TYPE OF FACILITY.
UM, SO BEFORE I GO ON, I'LL JUST, UH, OPEN UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS, DIRECTOR, COFFEE, I BELIEVE YOU HAVE, I THINK IT WAS A YEAR OR TWO.
THEY GAVE ME A TOUR OF THOSE FACILITIES, AND I ACTUALLY GOT TO RIDE IN THE, UH, GLIDE WAYS, RIGHT, UH, VEHICLE AND, UH, PARTICIPATED IN SOME DEMONSTRATIONS.
MY IMPRESSION AT THE TIME WAS THEY NEEDED A DEDICATED PATHWAY FOR THOSE VEHICLES THAT WOULD BE INCONSISTENT WITH A REGIONAL TRAIL, HAS CHANGED.
WELL, THE, THE PROPOSAL THAT WE WERE PRESENTED, UH, AND AGAIN, THIS IS VERY CONCEPTUAL, UM, WAS THAT, UM, AND IT WAS, UH, PRESENTED TO US THAT THEIR BELIEF THAT THE, UM, TRAIL CORRIDOR, THE RIGHT OF WAY FOR THE DELTA DEZA TRAIL IS OF SUFFICIENT WIDTH TO ACCOMMODATE BOTH A SEPARATED TRAIL AS WELL AS, UM, AS WELL AS A DEDICATED LANE FOR THESE, FOR THESE FACILITIES.
I THINK, UM, AGAIN, STAFF'S INITIAL POSITION WAS, UM, THAT, UH, THAT SORT OF, YOU KNOW, MOTORIZED TRANSPORTATION, UH, FACILITIES SHOULD BE LOCATED WITHIN EXISTING MOTORIZED TRANSPORTATION RIGHT AWAYS, RATHER THAN TAKEN AWAY FROM, UM, WHAT WE SEE AS PRETTY PRECIOUS AND LIMITED, UM, NON-MOTORIZED, UH, UH, RIGHT OF WAYS.
SO, UH, SO, UM, REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE VERY PROTECTIVE OF THAT USE AS A, AS A PEDESTRIAN NON-MOTORIZED TYPES OF FACILITY.
UM, BUT, UH, BUT AGAIN, VERY CONCEPTUAL EARLY ON, AND I'M SURE LOTS MORE CONVERSATION HAPPEN ABOUT THAT.
AND TO THE EXTENT THEY WERE INTERESTED IN PROVIDING ACCESS FROM BART TO THE PARK, UH, I THINK WE WOULD BE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT, UH, THROUGH THURGOOD MARSHALL REGIONAL PARK.
YEAH, THAT, THAT'S A CONCEPT THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD AND OBVIOUSLY IS, UM, VERY DEPENDENT ON A LOT OF OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT GOES ON WITHIN THE CITY'S REDEVELOPMENT AREA.
BUT, UM, SOMETHING WE'LL CONTINUE TO BE OPEN TO TALKING ABOUT.
UH, MOVING ON, UH, CITY OF MARTINEZ, UM, UH, THE ALHAMBRA HILLS PUBLIC ACCESS AND HABITAT MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS, UM, UH, WAS, UH, PRESENTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
AND, UM, SOME IDEAS ON NEXT STEPS THERE.
UM, YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR, UM, ALHAMBRA HILLS, UM, UH, IS A, A COUPLE HUNDRED ACRE, UH, PRESERVE.
THIS WAS THE SUBJECT OF, UM, VARIOUS DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS GOING BACK DECADES, UM, UH, AND WAS ACTUALLY ENTITLED FOR HOUSING.
UM, UH, A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO.
UH, THERE WAS A LOT OF INTEREST IN TRYING TO, UH, PRESERVE THIS PROPERTY.
UM, AND, UH, PARK DISTRICT OVER THE YEARS HAD BEEN APPROACHED BY VARIOUS ADVOCATES TO ACQUIRE THE PROPERTY AS WELL AS THE CITY OF MARTINEZ.
UM, BECAUSE IT WAS ZONED AND APPROVED FOR HOUSING THAT WAS SEEN AS PROHIBITIVE.
UH, EVENTUALLY, UH, A BALLOT MEASURE WAS PASSED, UM, IN THE CITY OF PAR MARTINEZ TO PROVIDE FUNDING, UH, FOR ACQUISITION.
SO THE PROPERTY WAS, UH, ACQUIRED BY THE CITY OF MARTINEZ AND PRESERVED.
AND SO NOW THE CITY OF MARTINEZ IS LOOKING AT, UM, WHAT THE, UM, WHAT THE USE OF THAT PROPERTY WOULD BE.
AND, UH, UH, YOU CAN SEE IT'S ADJACENT TO BRIANA'S REGIONAL PARK.
UH, OUR MASTER PLAN DOES SHOW, UM, THE BRIAN'S TO, UH, TO MOUNT WANDA, UM, REGIONAL TRAIL GOING THROUGH THE SITE.
UM, SO THERE'S, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY SOME, UH, SOME INTEREST IN THE, THE ADJACENCY, UH, OF THIS AREA.
UM, WE'VE, WE'VE MET WITH THE CITY OF MARTINEZ, UH, REGARDING THIS SITE, UM, IN THE PAST AND CONTINUE TO KIND OF, UH, MONITOR AS THE CITY EVALUATES, UH, FUTURE USE OUT THERE AND, AND WHAT, IF ANY, UH,
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EXPECTATIONS FOR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE PARK DISTRICT MIGHT BE.UM, SO, UH, IF THERE'S NO QUESTIONS THERE, QUESTION.
I ATTENDED THAT COUNCIL MEETING.
AS, AS YOU KNOW, I, I FORWARDED TO YOU SOME OBSERVATIONS I HAD ABOUT, UH, WHAT WAS BROUGHT UP AND WHAT STOOD OUT FOR ME IS THAT THE CITY AND JOHN MUIR LAND TRUST, WHICH IS TASKED WITH COMING UP WITH THE, UH, ACCESS PROPOSALS FOR THE, UH, FOR THIS PARK, UH, THEY WERE VERY RELIANT ON THAT TRAIL.
UM, AND THEY WERE, AND WHEN I SAY RELIANT, THAT IS IN TERMS OF OPENING THAT PARK UP, DEVELOPING IT FOR PUBLIC ACCESS, THEY SEEMED TO BE HEAVILY, UH, FOCUSED ON EAST BAY PARKS, UH, DEVELOPING AND, AND MAINTAINING THAT TRAIL ACROSS THE PROPERTY TOWARD MOUNT WANDA.
UM, AND TO THE, THE EXTENT THEY ARE RELYING ON OUR ORGANIZATION TO CREATE THAT TRAIL, I'M WONDERING HOW MUCH WE HAVE DISCUSSED WITH THE CITY OR JOHN MUIR LAND TRUST, WHAT OUR, OUR, OUR PLANS ARE FOR THAT TRAIL.
YEAH, I GUESS, UM, MY INITIAL RESPONSE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, OUR MASTER PLAN IS A CONCEPTUAL, VERY BROAD, UM, PLANNING DOCUMENT THAT IDENTIFIES DIFFERENT FACILITIES AND MAYBE DESIGNATES FACILITIES AS REGIONAL TRAIL OR, UM, UH, OTHER USES, BUT THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THEY'RE ALWAYS MANAGED OR OWNED BY THE, BY THE PARK DISTRICT.
SO THERE'S LOTS OF EXAMPLES WHERE WE HAVE REGIONAL TRAILS THAT GO THROUGH OTHER PROPERTIES THAT ARE NOT OWNED OR MANAGED BY THE PARK DISTRICT.
BAY TRAIL IS A GOOD EXAMPLE, RIDGE TRAIL, UM, UH, AND PERHAPS OTHERS.
SO THERE MAY BE SEGMENTS OF WHAT MIGHT BE DESIGNATED AS A REGIONAL TRAIL THAT MAYBE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, IF IT GOES THROUGH A CITY PARK OR, OR CITY LAND OR OTHER AGENCY'S LAND, IT MIGHT BE MANAGED BY THAT AGENCY.
UM, SO I, I THINK THAT THAT'S ONE CONSIDERATION THERE.
UM, I THINK WE, AND WE HAVE, LIKE I SAID, WE'VE HAD SOME INITIAL CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'RE OBVIOUSLY ALWAYS OPEN TO HAVING MORE.
UM, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, THE CITY HAS, UH, DESIGNATED THIS AREA AS A PRESERVE, UM, UH, THAT POTENTIALLY LIMITS THE TYPES OF USES THAT WOULD HAPPEN IN HERE THAT WOULD RAISE SOME INCONSISTENCIES WITH, UH, THE WAY, UH, BRIANA'S REGIONAL PARK IS USED IN TERMS OF ACCESS BY, SAY, MOUNTAIN BIKERS OR, UM, OR DOGS.
UM, AND SO, UH, SO WE'RE ALWAYS KIND OF LOOKING AT THOSE, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO MAKE SURE THERE'S SOME CONSISTENCY IN TERMS OF HOW THESE AREAS ARE OPERATED.
WE DON'T WANNA HAVE OUR OPERATION STAFF, OUR RANGERS, UM, HAVING TO ENFORCE SORT OF TWO DIFFERENT LEVELS OF, OF, UH, OF RULES ON DIFFERENT PROPERTIES.
OBVIOUSLY, THE MORE RESTRICTIVE A PROPERTY IS, THE, THE HIGHER LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT, UH, IT REQUIRES, UH, SO THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING FOR US TO CONSIDER AS WELL.
SO, SO, UH, SO THE FACT THAT, UH, OUR TRAIL IS SHOWN THERE ON THESE, YOU KNOW, UH, BROADER REGIONAL PLANS, I, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY REALLY COMMIT US TO ANYTHING.
THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR MASTER PLAN IS, I MEAN, THIS IS A, IT'S A, YOU KNOW, PART OF A, A, THE REGIONAL GOAL, THE NETWORK THAT WE WORK WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS TO IMPLEMENT, JUST MUCH LIKE THE, THE COUNTY'S TRANSPORTATION AND BICYCLE MASTER PLAN MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, SIMILARLY THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, ALL ENGAGING, UM, TO TRY TO MAKE THIS SYSTEM HAPPEN.
AND THERE'S A ROLE FOR CITIES, THERE'S A RULES FOR US, AND THERE'S A ROLE FOR OTHERS.
SO I DON'T NECESSARILY THINK IT COMMITS US TO ANYTHING THAT SAID, I MEAN, IS THERE A LOGICAL ROLE FOR US? I MEAN, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, TO BE DETERMINED, I GUESS I DON'T, WELL, AND I GUESS IT'S A, A ROLE FOR, FOR MYSELF REPRESENTING THE AREA.
AND AS WE GO INTO THE SECOND CENTURY PLAN, UH, I COULD CERTAINLY ADVOCATE FOR IT.
IT'S A, UM, UH, FOR MY COLLEAGUES' BENEFIT.
IF YOU LOOK AT, AT OUR MAP HERE, UM, FOR MANY YEARS, LOCALS IN THE MARTINEZ AND BS, UH, REGION HAVE ENVISIONED WHAT IS REFERRED TO AS THE, UM, JOHN MUIR HERITAGE LOOP TRAIL.
AND IT IS NOW TWO THIRDS COMPLETE.
IF YOU START AT MOUNT WANDA, UH, GO DOWN NOW THROUGH ALMOND RANCH, WHICH WAS ACQUIRED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, AND THEN DOWN THROUGH, UH, VACA CREEK TRAIL INTO BRI'S AT ITS NORTHERN NORTHWESTERN POINT ON THE MAP, YOU CAN THEN LOOP THROUGH OUR, OUR PARK BRI'S AND, UH, TO COMPLETE THAT TRAIL.
WHAT'S ENVISIONED, AS WE SEE ON THE MAP, IS AN
[00:30:01]
EXTENSION FROM BRIE'S ACROSS, UH, RAYLEY'S VALLEY ROAD INTO ALHAMBRA HILLS, AND THROUGH THAT PROPERTY, UH, BACK TOWARD MOUNT WANDA, YOU WOULD THERE, UH, WITH THAT TRAIL COMPLETE WHAT HAS BEEN REFERRED TO AS THIS VISION FOR A JOHN MUIR HERITAGE LOOP TRAIL THROUGH THERE.SO THAT IS THE CONNECTION AND, UH, OUR ROLE IN IT.
AND AGAIN, IT'S A GOOD TOPIC THEN TO PURSUE WITH THE SECOND CENTURY PLAN.
AND, UH, YOU MENTIONED MOUNT WANDA, JUST, UH, WORTH NOTING, THAT'S MA OWNED AND MANAGED BY THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, SO, SO ANOTHER LAND MANAGEMENT PARTNER THAT WE'D BE COORDINATING WITH ON THAT.
UM, SO, UH, IT TAKES A VILLAGE.
UH, LAST ITEM, UH, THAT WE'LL HAVE FOR YOU, A VISIONING WORKSHOP ON THE ALAMEDA TESLA PLAN.
SO, UM, UH, UH, THE, UH, ANOTHER LONGSTANDING PROJECT, THESE ALL ARE, UM, GOING BACK DECADES.
UH, THE STATE IN THE, UH, EARLY NINETIES ACQUIRED SOME 3,100 ACRES, UH, ADJACENT TO THE CARNEGIE, UM, UH, OFF-ROAD VEHICLE AREA, UM, FOR EXPANSION OF OFF-ROAD, UH, VEHICLES INTO THAT AREA.
UM, OVER THE COURSE OF A NUMBER OF, UH, PLANNING EFFORTS, UH, AND STATE LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS, UM, THAT AREA WAS, UH, WAS, UH, DESIGNATED FOR, FOR NO OFF-ROAD VEHICLE, UH, ACCESS.
SO, UH, STATE PARKS IS AGAIN, UM, RESTARTING THEIR GENERAL PLAN PROCESS FOR THAT 3,100 ACRES.
UM, THIS IS WITHIN ALAMEDA COUNTY.
I DON'T HAVE A MAP ON THIS ONE, I APOLOGIZE.
BUT, UM, UH, WITHIN ALAMEDA COUNTY, ADJACENT TO, UH, CARNEGIE STATE VEHICLE RECREATION AREA, UM, JUST TO THE EAST OF LIVERMORE.
UM, AND, UH, THE, UM, UH, UH, SINCE, UH, SINCE THE PROPERTY WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED AS AN OHV PARK AND NOW IS NOT GONNA BE INTENDED FOR, UH, AN OHV PARK, THE STATE'S, UH, CREATING A NEW GENERAL PLAN FOR THE SITE TO SORT OF LOOK AT WHAT THE, UM, WHAT THE USE OF THAT AREA WOULD BE.
AND UNDER THE STATE PROCESS, UM, AT LEAST FOR THIS PARK, UH, WHAT, UH, WHERE THEY'RE CURRENTLY AT, IS ACTUALLY DEVELOPING A CLASSIFICATION, UH, AND NAME FOR THIS PROPERTY.
SO AGAIN, IT WAS ORIGINALLY, UH, CLASSIFIED AS AN OFF-ROAD VEHICLE RECREATION AREA.
UM, THAT, BECAUSE OF LEGISLATION THAT WAS PASSED, THAT HAS CHANGED.
SO NOW STATE PARKS IS GOING THROUGH, UH, DEFINING A CLASSIFICATION FOR THAT 3,100 ACRES.
AND REALLY THE QUESTION IS, UM, IS IT GONNA BE DESIGNATED AS A STATE, UH, RESERVE, WHICH WOULD BE, UH, RELATIVELY LIMITED WITH REGARDS TO PUBLIC ACCESS? SO THAT WOULD LARGELY BE A NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES RESERVE, PERHAPS WITH SOME LIMITED PUBLIC ACCESS, UH, OR MORE FOCUSED ON, UM, GUIDED INTERPRETIVE ACTIVITIES.
UM, OR IS IT, UH, IS IT MORE OF A TRADITIONAL STATE PARK OR, UM, PERHAPS A STATE RECREATION AREA? UM, I, I BELIEVE, UH, THE STATE HAS BEEN HEARING FROM, I'M SURE THE STATE HAS BEEN HEARING FROM FOLKS ON BOTH SIDES OF THAT, THAT ISSUE.
BUT I THINK IT'S AN ISSUE THAT, UH, THAT WE'RE VERY FAMILIAR WITH IS A QUESTION OF TO WHAT EXTENT IS, UH, MOUNTAIN BIKING PERMITTED IN THERE? UM, UH, OTHER OF THOSE, UM, USES THAT PERHAPS ARE NOT AS INTENSIVE AS OFF-ROAD VEHICLES, BUT, UH, BUT MORE INTENSIVE THAN WHAT WOULD BE, UH, PERMITTED IN A STATE RESERVE.
SO, UM, SO THAT'S THE PROCESS THAT THE STATE'S GOING THROUGH.
UM, WE, THE PARK DISTRICT HAVE NOT NECESSARILY WEIGHED INTO THAT PROCESS, UH, UH, TO DATE.
UM, UH, AS, UH, WE HAVE PARTICIPATED THROUGH, UM, THROUGH THE PROCESS BEFORE.
WE HAD A LOT OF CONCERNS ABOUT THE USE OF O HVS, UM, IN THAT PROPERTY.
BUT, UM, BUT TO THIS POINT, WE HAVEN'T NECESSARILY TAKEN A POSITION REGARDING THE QUESTION OF A STATE PRESERVE OR, OR STATE PARK CLASSIFICATION.
SO CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS AS IT AS IT GOES ON.
SO THAT IS, UH, ALL THE ITEMS THAT I HAVE TO SHARE WITH YOU TODAY.
UM, AGAIN, UH, ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO BE HERE AND WELCOME ANY SUGGESTIONS ON, UH, FUTURE ITEMS THAT YOU WANT TO HEAR ABOUT, ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, ON, ON FUTURE TOPICS? UH, I WOULD BE INTERESTED, BRIAN, AND I'M SURE MY COLLEAGUES IN, UM, CONTRA COSTA'S GENERAL PLAN WORK.
UH, I, I SEEM TO BE GETTING OCCASIONAL NOTICES, UH, ABOUT, UH, THE DRAFT PLAN THAT'S OUT THERE.
THIS IS THEIR NEXT CENTURY PLAN, SO TO SPEAK.
UH, AND I KNOW THAT EAST BAY PARKS HAS HAD SOME COMMENT AND, UH, INPUT INTO CONTRA COSTA'S PROCESS.
IT MIGHT BE TIMELY AT SOME POINT UP TO YOU, UH, TO UPDATE US ON, ON MATTERS OF, UH, INTEREST IN THE CONTRA COSTA GENERAL PLAN YEAH.
[00:35:01]
WE'LL TEE THAT UP.UH, BRIAN, I WAS JUST WONDERING, BACK TO THE, UM, TESLA, THE TESLA PLAN, YOU HAD THE BUBBLE DIAGRAMS. IS THERE ANYWHERE THAT YOU COULD IDENTIFY IN THAT GROUP OF BUBBLES ALONG THE LINE OF PROGRESSION WHERE, WHO'S GOING TO MANAGE THAT NEW PARK? UH, OR HAS THERE BEEN ANY, UM, RUMBLINGS AS THE, THE REGIONAL PARKS? UM, WELL, IT'S A, IT'S A STATE PARK.
AND I THINK THE INTENTION IS FOR IT TO CONTINUE TO BE MANAGED BY STATE PARKS.
UM, AS YOU ALLUDE TO THERE, YOU KNOW, OVER THE YEARS, CERTAINLY THERE'S BEEN RUMBLINGS ABOUT, UM, DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT THINGS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE DID INCLUDE, UH, THAT SITE ON OUR, UH, MASTER PLAN MAP, UH, IN 2013.
UM, BUT I THINK, UH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, FROM OUR, UM, LIKE I SAY, IT'S OWNED BY STATE PARKS.
STATE PARKS HAS EXISTING MANAGEMENT OF CARNEGIE, UH, STATE, UH, VEHICLE RECREATION AREA OUT THERE.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE STAFF IN THAT AREA.
SO I THINK, UH, UH, OUR POSITION HAS BEEN THAT IT MAKES SENSE TO CONTINUE TO BE MANAGED BY, BY STATE PARKS, UM, UNLESS, YOU KNOW, SOME OTHER, I DON'T KNOW THAT ANY CONVERSATIONS THAT PROGRESSED BEYOND THAT.
UH, IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC HEARING? NONE, THEN.
WE'LL MOVE TO THE UPDATE ON THE GRANTS, UH, FROM NOVEMBER 21ST TO DECEMBER 20TH.
I WAS THINKING, COULDN'T WE SAY WE'LL MANAGE THAT IF YOU, IF YOU DEVELOP JOHN MARSH AND STATE PARK AND WE CAN MAKE SOME KIND OF THERE, WE HAVE PEOPLE KNOW THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
WE THE SAME ROLE IN TERMS OF ADVOCACY.
GOOD MORNING, I'M KATIE HORNBECK, GRANTS MANAGER.
UH, ALSO, SINCE THIS IS THE FIRST MEETING OF THE YEAR, I'LL PROVIDE JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW OF WHAT I DO HERE AT EACH MEETING, WHICH IS BASICALLY, UM, TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW ITEMS FROM THIS REPORT THAT YOU'LL HAVE IN YOUR PACKET.
UH, THIS COVERS THE GRANT APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED WITHIN, UM, THIS PERIOD OF TIME SINCE THE LAST TIME I PRESENTED TO YOU, AS WELL AS THE GRANTS AWARDED.
UH, SO SINCE NOVEMBER 21ST OF LAST YEAR THROUGH, UH, DECEMBER 20TH OF LAST YEAR, SUBMITTED FOUR APPLICATIONS.
UH, THE ONE I'LL HIGH HIGHLIGHT TODAY IS THE FIRST ONE, UH, IT WAS FOR THE TIDEWATER PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT.
THIS IS AN APPLICATION SUBMITTED TO CALIFORNIA NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY'S URBAN GREENING PROGRAM.
UH, WE'VE SUBMITTED TO THIS PROGRAM BEFORE FOR THIS SAME PROJECT.
UH, SO WE RECEIVED SOME FEEDBACK AND INTEGRATED THAT INTO THE APPLICATION.
SO, UH, HOPEFUL ON THIS NEXT ROUND OF FUNDING FOR THAT, EXCUSE ME, FOR THAT PROJECT.
UH, AND THEN FOR GRANTS AWARDED, UH, WE RECEIVED A $1 MILLION GRANT AWARD NOTIFICATION FROM THE COASTAL CONSERVANCY FOR THE MARTINEZ BAY TRAIL PROJECT.
UH, INCHING US FORWARD TO FULL FUNDING, FULLY FUNDED.
SO I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
I AM, UH, JUST INTERESTED TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE WILDCAT CREEK RESTORATION IN BROOK ROAD, UM, IMPROVEMENTS.
I KNOW WE OBVIOUSLY GOT A GRANT OR MONEY THROUGH THE STATE MM-HMM.
AND I WAS CURIOUS TO KNOW HOW, UM, WHERE, WHERE ARE WE IN TERMS OF FUNDING THAT TOTAL PROJECT? MM-HMM.
WE'RE STILL WAITING ON THE GRANT AGREEMENT.
UH, AND WE HAVE FOUR OTHER GRANT APPLICATIONS PENDING FOR THE SAME PROJECT.
UM, OH, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M SORRY.
UH, WE, IT'S NOT NOTED ON HERE BECAUSE IT JUST CAME IN MAYBE A WEEK AND A HALF AGO.
UH, WE WERE AWARDED A GRANT FROM, UH, THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS AGENCY FOR THIS PROJECT.
UH, IT'S NOT FINALIZED YET, SO, UM, AND I WON'T GO INTO MUCH DETAIL, UH, BUT YOU'LL SEE THAT EVENTUALLY.
SO ALL THAT TO SAY, UM, IT WE'RE PROBABLY ABOUT HALFWAY FUNDED, UH, BUT NOT IN THE SORT OF CAPACITY TO WHERE THEY COULD GO OUT TO BID, UH, QUITE YET.
AND THAT'S THE STATE EPA, THAT'S THE STATE? UH, UH, NO, THE FEDERAL, FEDERAL, FEDERAL.
AND, AND WHAT IS THE TOTAL PROJECT? UH, ROUGHLY 1.5 MILLION.
[00:40:01]
WE'LL MOVE NOW TO THE 2024 STATE PRIORITIES AND ADVOCACY CONFERENCE.UH, ERIC FEELER, CHIEF OF GOVERNMENT AND LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, UM, SIMPLY HERE TO INTRODUCE THE ITEM, UH, LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY MANAGEMENT ANALYSTS, LISA BALLINGER WILL BE PRESENTING.
AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, ALL THE WORK THAT, UM, SHE HAS PUT INTO ORGANIZING THIS CON CONFERENCE.
WE'VE HAD SIGNIFICANT, UM, TRANSITION IN OUR TEAM AND ALSO IN OUR AB APPROACH TO ADVOCACY IN SACRAMENTO.
SO REALLY DID MUCH OF THE PREPARATION, IF NOT ALL OF IT, UH, IN, IN HOUSE HERE, UM, FROM PARK DISTRICT STAFF.
SO I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.
UH, ALSO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE LAUREN BLANCHARD, A NEW MEMBER OF OUR TEAM WHO'S BEEN VERY, UH, HELPFUL IN TERMS OF SCHEDULING AND ORGANIZING, UH, UH, SOME OF THE DETAILS FOR THE, FOR THE CONFERENCE.
WE ALSO WANNA THANK THE BOARD MEMBERS, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER AND GENERAL MANAGER FOR THEIR SUPPORT FOR THE CONFERENCE.
I THINK LAST YEAR'S WAS, UM, OUR VERY SUCCESSFUL POST COVID EFFORT, AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, EVEN MORE SUCCESS, ALTHOUGH WHEN WE GET TO THE BUDGET ITEM A LITTLE BIT LATER, I'LL, WE'LL SPEAK TO, TO WHAT'S GOING ON THERE.
UH, BUT ANYWAY, WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE LISA TO PRESENT, UM, BASICALLY OUR, UH, MEETING, UM, AGENDAS FOR OUR DELEGATION AND A COUPLE OTHER SIDE MEETINGS THAT WE'VE SCHEDULED.
AND, UM, SO WITH THAT, ALL RIGHT, GOOD MORNING.
UH, LISA BALLINGER, LEGISLATIVE POLICY MANAGEMENT ANALYST HERE TO PRESENT ON OUR STATE ADVOCACY CONFERENCE.
UM, IT'S COMING UP LATER THIS MONTH, JANUARY 30TH TO JANUARY 31ST.
UH, AND IT IS OUR MEANS OF ACTIVATING OUR STATE OBJECTIVES.
SO, UM, ON, UH, BOARD MEETING NEXT WEEK, WE'LL BE, UH, RESOLVING ON OUR LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM, WHICH INCLUDES OBJECTIVES AT THE LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL LEVEL.
AND FOR OUR PROGRAM, FOR THE CONFERENCE, WE'RE PAIRING THOSE STATE OBJECTIVES WITH, UH, MEMBERS OF OUR DELEGATION, UH, TO ALIGN PRIORITIES AND HOPEFULLY GET SOME TRACTION ON EACH OF THEM.
SO THE PRESENTATION TODAY IS AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE STATE CONFERENCE, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT EACH OF OUR STATE OBJECTIVES WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE MEETINGS THAT WE'LL BE HAVING.
SO TO BEGIN, UM, AS MENTIONED, OUR CONFERENCES WILL BE TAKING PLACE FROM THE MORNING OF TUESDAY, JANUARY 31ST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON OF WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST, UH, 2004.
IT WILL HAPPEN THIS YEAR, UM, IN SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA.
UM, AND THE GOAL IS REALLY TO ENGAGE WITH OUR DELEGATION AND OUR PARTNERS ON THE GOALS OF THE PARK DISTRICT FOR THAT YEAR.
AND IT INCLUDES THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, OUR LEADERSHIP STAFF, GENERAL MANAGER, AND DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER, AS WELL AS OUR GOVERNMENT AND LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS TEAM.
AND WE'LL BE SUPPORTED BY OUR STATE ADVOCATES.
AND SO THIS YEAR, THAT INCLUDES THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY CONSULTING ADVOCATES, WHO ARE OUR GENERAL CONSULTANTS, AS WELL AS HOUSTON AND MAGNI AND ASSOCIATES, WHO IS OUR BOND SPECIFIC, UH, CONSULTANT.
AND WE'LL TALK THROUGHOUT THE, THE PRESENTATION TODAY, HOW THAT'S GONNA LOOK.
SO FOR EACH MEETING, UM, WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT A, A FEW THINGS, OF COURSE, WE'LL START WITH INTRODUCTIONS, THEN WE'LL FOCUS IN ON A TOPIC.
UH, SOME OF THE FOCUS TOPICS ARE SHARED ACROSS, UH, MEMBERS OF OUR DELEGATION, AND SOME ARE SPECIFIC TO THAT MEMBER.
WE'LL ALSO BE SPEAKING WITH EACH MEMBER OF OUR DELEGATION ABOUT A PIECE OF LEGISLATION, UH, THAT THE PARK DISTRICT IS SPONSORING THIS YEAR.
WE HAVE TWO PIECES OF LEGISLATION THAT WE'RE SPONSORING.
ONE IS THE STATUTORY EXEMPTION FOR RESTORATION PERMITTING.
UH, LOOKING TO EXTEND AN EXISTING STATUTORY EXEMPTION THAT SUNSETS IN 2025 TO REMOVE THAT SUNSET AND TO EXPAND THE LANGUAGE WITHIN THAT EXEMPTION TO ALLOW FOR PUBLIC ACCESS, UH, WHILE STILL MEETING THE GOALS OF THE RESTORATION PROJECT.
AND THEN OUR SECOND ONE, WHICH IS MENTIONED HERE, UH, WITH SENATOR DODD, IS A PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT'S LOOKING AT LAND ACQUIRED BY PARK AGENCIES, UH, TO ALLOW FOR, TO CONTINUE THE USE OF EXISTING TRAILS AND ROADS ONCE THAT ACQUISITION HAS OCCURRED.
UH, CURRENTLY, IF WE WERE TO ACQUIRE A PIECE OF LAND, UH, FROM A FORMER, UH, RANCH LAND, UH, WHERE THOSE ROADS HAD BEEN USED, AND WE ACQUIRE IT, WE THEN HAVE TO GO BACK THROUGH THE SQUA PROCESS.
AND SO WE'D LIKE TO CONTINUE TO ALLOW, UH, FOR THE PUBLIC ACCESS, JUST AS IT WAS BEING USED ON ITS PRIOR USE.
AND SO, UH, WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT EACH OF THOSE BILLS, UM, IN THE DIFFERENT MEETINGS.
AND THEN WE'LL END WITH A REQUEST FOR SUPPORT FOR A CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS PERMANENT FACILITY IN THE EAST BAY.
SO YOU'LL SEE THIS PATTERN AS WE GO THROUGH THE SLIDE DECK.
UH, BUT WE'LL START WITH THIS MEETING WITH SENATOR BILL DODD.
WE'LL BE HIGHLIGHTING, UH, ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT NEEDS.
UM, THIS YEAR, UNFORTUNATELY, THE STATE IS IN A BUDGET DEFICIT.
[00:45:01]
REALLY LOOKING AT GUIDING OUR PRIORITIES TOWARDS BOTH PROTECTING FUNDING THAT CURRENTLY EXISTS, AS WELL AS SECURING FUNDING WITHIN A PROPOSED CLIMATE RESOURCES BOND MEASURE.AND SO WE'LL BE SHARING WITH, UH, SENATOR DODD, THE PARK DISTRICT'S VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, WHERE OUR FIRE SHIP TEAM AND OUR STEWARDSHIP TEAM WORK TOGETHER TO STEWARD THE LAND TO NOT ONLY REMOVE THE DEAD AND DYING VEGETATION, BUT ALSO TO RESTORE THE NATIVE FIRE TOLERANT VEGETATION AND HOW WE NEED THAT FUNDING SOURCE TO CREATE THAT HEALTH HABITAT.
THEN WITH SENATOR DODD, OUR IDENTIFIED SPONSORED LEGISLATION IS THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT, UH, EXEMPTION FOR EXISTING ROADS AND TRAILS.
SO WE'LL BE, UH, HIGHLIGHTING THAT LEGISLATION WITH HIM.
WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR HIS AUTHORSHIP.
WE'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT OUR PROPOSED AUTHOR LATER IN THE PRESENTATION, BUT WE WANT HIM TO BE AWARE OF THIS BILL BECAUSE IT WILL IMPACT HIS DISTRICT.
AND THEN WE WILL BE ASKING FOR SUPPORT, UH, FROM HIS OFFICE ON A PERMANENT CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS FACILITY.
THOUGH THIS FACILITY WILL NOT BE IN, UH, EVERY MEMBER OF OUR DELEGATIONS DISTRICT, THE WORK OF THE CCC WILL BE.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THEY'RE AWARE OF THAT.
UH, CONTINUING TO SENATOR GLASER'S OFFICE, UH, WE'LL BE BEGINNING WITH AN UPDATE ON THE RODDY RANCH PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT.
UH, BY WAY OF CONTEXT, IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET, $5 MILLION WAS MOVED FORWARD THANKS TO THE SUPPORT AND EFFORTS OF SENATOR GLASER TO EXPAND ACCESS AT RODDY RANCH.
UM, AND SO WE WANNA LET HIM KNOW HOW THAT PROJECT IS DOING, WHAT'S THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE PERMITS, AND WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO BRING THAT PROJECT TO FRUITION.
WE'LL THEN BE REALLY FOCUSING IN WITH SENATOR GLASER ON THE CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORE FACILITY.
THIS FACILITY WILL BE WITHIN SENATOR GLASER'S DISTRICT AT HOLLY COURT, BOLLINGER CANYON, SHOULD WE BE SUCCESSFUL? SO WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT HE'S AWARE OF IT AS WE'RE GAINING SUPPORT FROM HIMSELF AND HIS COLLEAGUES.
UH, HE DID SIGN ON TO A DELEGATION SUPPORT LETTER FOR THE CCC FACILITY.
SO HE HAS DOCUMENTED HIS SUPPORT.
SO WE'LL BE THANKING HIM FOR THAT.
AND THEN WE'LL BE SPEAKING TO HIM ALSO ABOUT THE, UH, ROADS AND TRAILS EXEMPTION WITH, UH, THE OFFICE OF SENATOR NANCY SKINNER.
UM, WE WILL BE HIGHLIGHTING A DIRECT FUNDING REQUEST.
AND LIKE I MENTIONED WITH THE BUDGET DEFICIT, A DIRECT FUNDING REQUEST HAS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS THAN IT DID DURING THE YEAR OF THE BUDGET SURPLUS.
SO THIS YEAR WHEN WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING THIS PROJECT, WE'RE EXPECTING EITHER TO HOPEFULLY FOLD IT INTO THE BOND FOR A POTENTIAL DIRECT FUNDING THROUGH BOND FUNDING, OR, UM, TO, UH, MAKE THIS REQUEST THIS YEAR AND TO CONTINUE IT NEXT YEAR.
SO, UH, BY WAY OF BACKGROUND, OUR REQUEST FOR FUNDING FOR THE DELVAL VISITOR CENTER AND WATER FACILITIES, THAT WAS A REQUEST THAT WE HAD IN CONVERSATION, UH, WITH FORMER ASSEMBLY MEMBER BAKER AND SENATOR GLACIER FOR FOUR YEARS BEFORE WE WERE SUCCESSFUL.
SO, CONTINUING TO PROVIDE THAT UPDATE AND SHARE WHAT THAT NEED LOOKS LIKE.
UH, WE WILL BE SPEAKING WITH SENATOR GLASER ON THE STATUTORY EXEMPTION FOR RESTORATION PERMITTING.
AND JUST BY WAY OF THE PATTERN OF THE TWO BILLS, UH, FOR OUR DELEGATION ALONG THE SHORELINE IS REALLY WHERE WE'RE FOCUSING ON THAT STATUTORY EXEMPTION FOR RESTORATION PERMITTING.
'CAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE'LL HAVE THE BIGGEST SUCCESS.
AND THEN FOR OUR MORE INLAND DELEGATION IS WHERE WE'RE FOCUSING IN ON THE ROADS AND TRAILS PROPOSAL, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE IT'LL HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT.
AND THEN WE'LL CONCLUDE OUR MEETING WITH SENATOR SKINNER WITH PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON THE CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS.
SHE DID NOT SIGN ONTO THE FULL DELEGATION LETTER BECAUSE HER OFFICE HAS A PRECEDENT OF NOT SIGNING ONTO BUDGET LETTERS.
AS SHE'S THE CHAIR OF THE BUDGET COMMITTEE, UH, WITH THE OFFICE OF SENATOR WAHAB, UH, WE WILL BE REQUESTING HER TO AUTHOR OUR LEGISLATION ON THE STATUTORY EXEMPTION FOR RESTORATION PERMITTING.
UH, WE'VE BRIEFED HER STAFF ON THIS LEGISLATION AND THEY'VE SHARED IT ALIGNS WITH HER INTERESTS.
UM, SO WE'RE HOPING TO MOVE FORWARD, UH, PARTNERSHIP THERE IN INTRODUCING THE LEGISLATION.
AND SO WE'LL BE REALLY FOCUSING THE MEETING IN ON THAT ONE BILL PROPOSAL, AND THEN MENTIONING, AGAIN, THE CCC FACILITIES.
ALRIGHT, WITH THE OFFICE OF SENATOR TIM GRAYSON, I'M PLEASED TO SHARE, WE'VE HAD VERY POSITIVE CONVERSATIONS WITH HIS OFFICE ABOUT SPONSORING, OR EXCUSE ME, UH, AUTHORING THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT, ROADS AND TRAIL STATUTORY EXEMPTION.
UM, AND SO HE HAS EXPRESSED, UH, INTEREST IN THIS BILL.
UH, AND SO THIS WILL BE ANOTHER TOUCH POINT TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH HIS OFFICE THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR AN AUTHOR ON THIS BILL THAT WE WOULD LIKE HIM TO AUTHOR, UM, AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT HE HAS.
UH, WE'LL ALSO MENTION OUR OTHER LEGISLATION WITH HIM JUST FOR, FOR AWARENESS FOR THE STATUTORY EXEMPTION, FRUSTRATION PERMITTING AND CONCLUDE, UH, WITH THANKING HIM FOR HIS SUPPORT, HE ALSO SIGNED ONTO THE DELEGATION LETTER, UM, FOR THE CCCS AND UPDATING HIM ON OUR EFFORTS THERE WITH THE OFFICE OF ASSEMBLY MEMBER BUFFY WICKS.
UH, WE WILL BE DOING ANOTHER DIRECT FUNDING REQUEST.
UH, THIS IS FOR THE WILSON POINT, SAN FRANCISCO BAY TRAIL GAP CLOSURE, ALSO KNOWN AS THE RICHMOND BAY TRAIL GAP CLOSURE.
UM, AND WE ARE REQUESTING FUNDING, UH, FOR COMPLETING THIS GAP, GAP CLOSURE AT $7 MILLION FROM THE STATE.
UH, OUR HOPE IS THAT THIS STATE FUNDING CAN BE LEVERAGED WITH FEDERAL REBUILDING AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE WITH, UH, SUSTAINABILITY, UH, RAISE GRANT FUNDING OR A DIRECT, UH, FUNDING REQUEST AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
SO, UM, THAT WILL BE OUR MAIN FOCUS WITH ASSEMBLY MEMBER BUFFY WICK'S OFFICE.
[00:50:01]
UH, BY WAY OF BACKGROUND, SHE DID, UH, CHAMPION A $500,000 DIRECT FUNDING REQUEST LAST YEAR FOR THE BROOK ROAD, UH, WILDCAT CREEK PROJECT.SO SHE HAS SUPPORTED US IN THIS WAY PREVIOUSLY.
UM, AGAIN, SHE, SHE'S A SHORELINE DISTRICT.
SO WE WILL BE HIGHLIGHTING OUR STATUTORY EXEMPTION FOR FRUSTRATING PERMITTING LEGISLATION AND THEN SHARING, UM, THE, UH, AN UPDATE ON THE CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS REQUEST.
ALRIGHT, SO WE'RE COMPLIMENTING OUR SENATOR NANCY SKINNER REQUEST WITH OUR ASSEMBLY MEMBER MIA BONTA REQUEST, AND WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING THE TIDEWATER DAY USE PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT WITH, UH, MIA BONTA AS WELL.
UM, SO THIS AGAIN, IS A DIRECT FUNDING REQUEST, UH, LOOKING TO EXPAND THE, THE NATIVE PLANTINGS, THE, UH, VISITOR USE FACILITY AREAS AT TIDEWATER AT MLK JUNIOR REGIONAL SHORELINE.
UH, WITH MIA BONTA WILL BE DISCUSSING THE STATUTORY EXEMPTION FOR FRUSTRATION PERMITTING AND THE CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS.
SO OUR HOPE WITH THESE SHARED AGENDA TOPICS IS THAT WE'RE REALLY CREATING COHESION ACROSS OUR DELEGATION, UM, AND GUIDING SUPPORT TO ACHIEVE THE PARK DISTRICT'S GOALS.
UH, WITH ASSEMBLY MEMBER LORI WILSON, UH, THERE IS A PROJECT THAT IS BUILDING AT THE BIG BREAK REGIONAL SHORELINE, WHICH IS WITHIN HER DISTRICT.
UH, STAFF HAS IDENTIFIED, WE'RE NOT QUITE READY FOR A FUNDING ASK, BUT WE'D REALLY LIKE TO KEEP HER ENGAGED SO THAT WAY WHEN WE ARE READY FOR A FUNDING ASK, SHE'S GOT BACKGROUND.
SHE UNDERSTANDS THE PROJECT AND THE INTENT.
AND SO WE'LL BE SHARING HER AN UPDATE ON THE GOALS OF OUR RESTORATION PROJECT, WHICH IS IN THE EARLY PLANNING STAGE.
UH, SHE HAS BEEN OUT TO THE SITE, I BELIEVE, UH, DIRECTOR COFFEE JOINED HER.
WE'LL INVITE HER IF SHE'D LIKE TO COME OUT AGAIN OR JOIN US FOR A WALK AND TALK OUT AT THE SITE.
UM, WE'LL THEN CONTINUE WITH PROVIDING HER AN UPDATE ON THE STATUTORY EXEMPTION FOR RESTORATION PERMITTING AND THE CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORE GOALS WITH THE OFFICE OF ASSEMBLY MEMBER, UH, BAUER CAHAN, UH, WE WILL BE FOCUSING IN ON OUR WILDFIRE MITIGATION EFFORTS SIMILAR TO DODD.
UM, THIS IS ALSO SOMETHING WE'LL BE HIGHLIGHTING WITH SENATOR ALEX LEE.
AND SO SHARING WITH HER THE NEED TO PROTECT THE EXISTING FUNDING AND COMPETITIVE PROGRAMS AT THE STATE LEVEL.
UM, IF NOT EXPAND IT, AND THEN TO ALSO FOCUS THAT IN AS A PRIORITY PRIORITY WITHIN THE BOND MEASURE PROPOSAL.
UH, WE WILL BE SHARING WITH HER AN UPDATE ON THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT, UH, ROADS AND TRAILS BILL.
WE HAVE SHARED THIS BILL WITH HER OFFICE, THOUGH SHE DIDN'T HAVE ROOM IN HER PORTFOLIO TO OFFER THIS YEAR.
UM, THEY DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFY ANY CONCERNS WITH THE BILL.
SO WANNA CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION, UM, WITH THEM DUE TO HER BACKGROUND ON CA WORK.
AND THEN WE'LL CONCLUDE WITH, UH, AN UPDATE ON THE CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS FACILITY.
AGAIN, SHE DID SIGN ONTO THE DELEGATION LETTER AND THIS FACILITY IS WITHIN HER DISTRICT, THE PHYSICAL, UM, LOCATION.
AND SO MAKING SURE THAT SHE'S FULLY, UH, VERSED ON THE ISSUE.
ALRIGHT, WITH OFFICE OF ASSEMBLY MEMBER LIZ ORTEGA, WE'RE BRINGING BACK A FAMILIAR ASK FROM LAST YEAR.
LAST YEAR ASSEMBLY MEMBER ORTEGA REALLY CONNECTED WITH OUR OYSTER BAY PUBLIC ACCESS PROJECT.
SHE, UH, INITIATED MOVING FORWARD A BUDGET REQUEST, SHARED A LETTER WITH THE GOVERNOR AND HER COLLEAGUES.
UM, AND SHE ALSO CAME OUT ON SITE AND VISITED WITH US TO SEE WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, AND SO THIS YEAR WE'RE MOVING FORWARD A LOWER LEVEL BUDGET ASK OF $2 MILLION.
UH, BY WAY OF BACKGROUND, LAST YEAR IS, INITIALLY IT WAS 4 MILLION AND GOT UP TO ABOUT 7 MILLION.
THIS YEAR WE'RE REALLY FOCUSING ON A $2 MILLION REQUEST.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS IT CAN BE OUR MATCHING FUNDING FOR A, UH, LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND GRANT, UM, AND BE ABLE TO MOVE THE PROJECT FORWARD, UM, INTO ITS INITIAL STAGES.
WE'LL ALSO BE HIGHLIGHTING AS A SHORELINE DISTRICT THE STATUTORY EXEMPTION FOR FRUSTRATION PERMITTING, AND THEN THANKING HER FOR HER SUPPORT ON THE CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS.
AND THEN AS MENTIONED WITH THE OFFICE OF ASSEMBLY MEMBER, ALEX LEE, WE'LL BE HIGHLIGHTING OUR WILDFIRE WORK.
HE'S, UM, EXPRESSED A, A STRONG INTEREST IN THIS WORK.
HE'S EVEN COME AND DONE A TOUR WITH US OUTSIDE OF HIS DISTRICT TO JUST LEARN ABOUT WHAT THE PARK DISTRICT IS DOING, BEST PRACTICES.
AND SO GIVING HIM AN UPDATE THERE AND A, A REMINDER OF THE IMPORTANCE OF FUNDING FOR THIS WORK.
UH, WE'LL BE SHARING WITH HIM THE ROADS AND TRAILS EXEMPTION, AS WELL AS THE CCC WORK.
AND THEN, UM, AS ERIC MENTIONED, WE WILL BE HAVING SOME ADDITIONAL LEARNING SESSIONS.
UM, AND SO WE'RE PLEASED TO SHARE THAT THANKS TO, UM, OUR BOND ADVOCATES.
UH, WE WERE ABLE TO SECURE A MEETING WITH EDUARDO GARCIA.
UM, AND THIS WILL BE A CONVERSATIONAL MEETING IN NATURE TO DISCUSS THE PROPOSED CLIMATE AND RESOURCES BOND, HEAR FROM, UM, A FAMILY MEMBER GARCIA, HIS PERSPECTIVE ON THE BOND WHERE HE EXPECTS CHALLENGES, WHERE WE CAN PROVIDE SUPPORT.
UM, AND THIS WILL BE, UH, A MEETING AT THIS TIME.
IT'S CONFIRMED WITH THE MEMBER HIMSELF.
UM, AND THEN ON OUR KEY ISSUE OF, UH, THE CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS, PERMANENT FACILITIES TO EXPAND WORKFORCE, UM, AND EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT HERE IN THE EAST BAY.
UH, WE WILL BE SITTING DOWN WITH LEADERS FROM THE CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS.
UM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PATTON SENDS HIS REGRETS.
UNFORTUNATELY, HE WILL BE OUT OF STATE AT THIS TIME, BUT WE'LL BE MEETING WITH, UH, TWO OF HIS EXECUTIVE, UH, TEAM MEMBERS.
AND THEY WILL BE JOINING US FOR LUNCH ON WEDNESDAY.
SO IT'LL BE A CONVERSATIONAL MEETING ON THE GOALS OF WORKING TOGETHER.
[00:55:01]
UM, AND THEN JUST CONTINUING SOCIALIZING OVER LUNCH.AND THEN WE HAVE A PENDING REQUEST WITH THE DEPUTY SECRETARY OF FOREST AND WILDFIRE RESILIENCE.
UH, WE HAD A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH HER PREDECESSOR, UH, DEPUTY SECRETARY, FORMER DEPUTY SECRETARY JESSICA MORRIS.
AND SO, UM, DEPUTY SECRETARY LYNN MAGNER HAS EXPRESSED INTEREST IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE PARK DISTRICT'S WORK, ESPECIALLY OUR PILOT PROJECT ON THE TREE MORTALITY ISSUE.
AND SO SHE IS, UH, SHE'S AWARE OF THE MEETING, SHE'S INTERESTED IN THE MEETING, AND SHE'S JUST HOPING HER SCHEDULE WORKS OUT.
'CAUSE AS A NEW DEPUTY SECRETARY, SHE HAS, UM, A LOT OF FOLKS ASKING FOR HER TIME.
AND SO THAT IS A PENDING MEETING REQUEST, UM, THAT WE'RE HOPING WE'LL, UH, BE ABLE TO GET ON THE CALENDAR.
AND SO WITH THAT, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO A SUCCESSFUL 2024 ADVOCACY CONFERENCE.
UH, WE ARE WORKING ON A BRIEFING PACKET.
UH, IT'LL BE A BOOKLET FORM THIS YEAR.
UM, AND WE HOPE TO SHARE THAT WITH THE BOARD NEXT WEEK, UH, FOLLOWING THE BRIEFING AT THE FULL BOARD MEETING.
SO I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, GREAT QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, ELIZABETH? SURE.
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, LISA, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WORK ON THIS.
IT'S, THIS IS REALLY EXCITING.
A LOT OF GOOD MEATY ISSUES HERE.
UM, I, I DID HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE, THE EXEMPTION, THE QUA EXEMPTION FOR EXISTING ROADS AND TRAILS.
SO ARE WE LOOKING FOR AN EXEMPTION JUST FOR US OR FOR OTHER ENTITIES LIKE US? OR WHAT, WHAT IS THE YEAH, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE LANGUAGE THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR THERE? SO THE CURRENT PROPOSAL IS BUILDING OFF OF LEGISLATION THAT I BELIEVE MOVED FORWARD IN 2018 OR 2019.
UM, AND IT WAS FOR LAND ACQUIRED BY PARK AGENCIES AND OPEN SPACE AGENCIES, UH, NO LONGER HAD TO GO THROUGH CQA.
AND SO WE HAVE, UH, UTILIZED THAT AND TO BUILD OFF OF IT, WE'RE NOW LOOKING FOR THAT LAND ACQUIRED BY PARKER OPEN SPACE AGENCIES CAN THEN ALLOW FOR THIS, UH, NON-MOTORIZED USE TO ACCESS THE AREA.
AND SO, UM, IT'S NOT SPECIFIC TO EAST BAY PARKS OR 5,500 AGENCIES AT THIS TIME.
UM, IT REALLY IS BROAD LANGUAGE FOR PARKS AND OPEN SPACE TO REFLECT, UM, THE LEGISLATION IT'S BUILDING OFF OF.
AND TO ECHO DIRECTOR ECKELS, I THINK WE SHOULD TIE THAT ADVOCACY INTO THE 30 BY 30 INITIATIVE.
AND IT, IT, IT FITS PERFECTLY.
AND IN THAT RESPECT, WE ARE VERY MUCH AN ARM OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND OUGHT TO HAVE THE SAME EXEMPTIONS THAT THE STATE ITSELF HAS.
IN TERMS OF PURSUING 30 BY 30.
AND I WILL SHARE IN THE STATUTORY EXEMPTION FOR RESTORATION PERMITTING, OUR PROPOSED LANGUAGE AROUND PUBLIC ACCESS FOR RESTORATION PROJECTS IS, UH, ALMOST VERBATIM, UH, FROM THE 30 BY 30 PATHWAYS REPORT.
SO WE'RE REALLY STRIVING TO ALIGN WITH THOSE PROGRAMS AS WELL AS THE OUTDOORS FOR ALL.
UH, GENERALLY, UH, I'VE LEARNED OVER TIME THAT THE ADVOCACY PRIORITIES THAT WE TAKE TO SACRAMENTO OR DC DON'T NECESSARILY REFLECT OUR OWN, UH, WHEN WE DO OUR OWN PRIORITY SETTING.
BUT I'VE LEARNED OVER THAT STRETCH OF TIME TO DEFER TO YOU FOLKS, UH, IN GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AND OUR ADVOCATES ON WHAT ISSUES, WHAT TOPICS, WHAT FUNDING, UH, ASKS, SO TO SPEAK, UH, WOULD BE, UH, MOST EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE TO TAKE TO SACRAMENTO OR TAKE TO DC.
UH, AND YOU ALL COME UP WITH THESE, UH, THESE PRIORITIES FOR EACH LEGISLATOR, AND THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE TO ME, AND I UNDERSTAND IT AND DEFER TO YOU FOLKS ON IT.
BUT IF I MAY, UH,
BUT I THINK IN LOOKING AT THE MIX OF TOPICS AND THE LEGISLATORS THAT WE'RE TALKING TO, UM, SOME THOUGHT MIGHT BE GIVEN TO TOPICS FOR THE CONTRA COSTA, UH, I THINK YOU REFERRED TO AS INLAND LEGISLATORS, UH, BEYOND THIS, THIS CURRENT LIST.
UH, A A COUPLE CAME TO MIND, I'M THINKING OF ASSEMBLYMEN WILL BE SENATOR IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, GRAYSON, UH, AND SENATOR GLASER.
UH, LORI WILSON, THERE'S GONNA BE A NEW SENATOR IN EAST CONTRA COSTA.
UM, SO THESE INLAND CONTRA COSTA, UM, LEGISLATORS, IT MAY BE A GOOD TIME TO TEE UP FOR MULTI-YEAR DISCUSSION FUNDING FOR REGIONAL TRAILS.
UH, WE, I'M VERY HAPPY TO SEE, UH, THE, THE BAY TRAIL GAP CLOSURE AND RICHMOND, UH, POINT, UH, WILSON TO POINT PINOLA GAP.
AS, AS YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN ONE OF MY PRIORITIES,
[01:00:01]
UH, FOR A WHILE.UH, I THINK IT WOULD BE A VERY GOOD TOPIC TO INCLUDE WITH THESE CONTRA COSTA LEGISLATORS TO DISCUSS OUR PLANS FOR THE EXTENSION OF THE IRON, UH, HORSE TRAIL.
UH, THE TWO EXTENSIONS OF THE MARSH CREEK TRAIL, BOTH, UH, SOUTH AND NORTH, UH, THAT WILL BE UPCOMING.
SO WE WILL HAVE DEFINITE FUNDING NEEDS FOR TWO EXTRAORDINARILY POPULAR REGIONAL TRAILS IN THESE LEGISLATORS, DISTRICTS IRON HORSE AND MARSH CREEK.
I JUST TEE THAT UP FOR, UM, AT LEAST CONVERSATION WITH A MULTI-YEAR, UH, IMPACT.
ONE, ONE OF, UH, DIRECTOR COFFEE'S COMMENTS REMINDING ME, I HAD ONE OTHER QUESTION AND THAT IS, UM, SO LAST YEAR, OBVIOUSLY THE, UM, MEMBER ASKS WEREN'T AS MUCH AS IN THE PAST BECAUSE OF THE STATE OF THE BUDGET, AND IT LOOKS LIKE THIS YEAR'S GONNA BE EVEN WORSE.
SO DO WE HAVE A SENSE YET OF HOW MUCH DISCRETIONARY MONEY THEY'RE GONNA HAVE FOR MEMBER ASKS? IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
THE BUDGET ACTUALLY WAS JUST POSTED, UH, THIS MORNING.
UM, AND SO ERIC AND I HOPE, HOPE TO BE ABLE TO REPORT BACK TO THAT, UH, PRIOR TO THE SACRAMENTO TRIP.
BUT I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU AT THIS TIME.
AND, AND THAT REMINDED ME
UM, YOU FOLKS ARE AWARE THAT OUR, UH, PARTNERS IN WEST CONTRA COSTA WEST ALAMEDA ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE POINT ME ALLOCATION AND WITH THE BUDGET ISSUES THAT AGREE.
SO, UH, I'M SURE ELIZABETH KEEPS HEARING THAT.
UM, AND, UH, UH, WE ALL NEED TO BE AWARE OF THAT, UH, ANXIETY THAT'S OUT THERE.
UM, SO I, AS IF I GO THROUGH THESE, IF I COUNTER CORRECTLY, WE'RE GONNA HAVE 14 MEETINGS IN TWO DAYS.
WE ARE REQUESTING 14 MEETINGS.
RIGHT? THAT'S WAS MY NEXT QUESTION.
HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE CONFIRMED HOW MANY MEMBERS HAVE CONFIRMED? I, I FIND IT MORE INTERESTING WHEN THE MEMBER SHOWS UP INSTEAD OF THEIR, THEIR STAFF.
UH, IF YOU HAVE THAT INFORMATION AND DO YOU PLAN ON, LIKE WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST, SPLIT OUR DELEGATION, UM, AND GO IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, UH, MOSTLY GEOGRAPHICALLY AS TO, UH, WHERE WE'RE GONNA GO? IS, IS THAT PART OF THE PLAN? YES.
SO, UM, KINDA A BUNDLE OF QUESTIONS.
SO TO TAKE THEM IN TERMS OF CONFIRMED MEETINGS, THE CALIFORNIA CONSERVATION CORPS AND THE MEETING WITH ASSEMBLY MEMBER GARCIA ARE FORMALLY CONFIRMED.
UH, TEMPORARY, UH, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT LAUREN BLANCHARD IS WORKING ON CONFIRMING THE REST AND SHE'S IN COMMUNICATION WITH ALL OF THE OFFICES, UM, AND KIND OF PLAYING A LITTLE BIT OF A TETRIS GAME TO ALIGN THEM, UH, WITH THE BOARD'S OPPORTUNITY.
AND TO THE QUESTION ABOUT, UH, DIVISION OF ATTENDEES, IT IS LIKELY THAT YES, WE WILL BE, UH, DIVIDING FOR THE MEETINGS.
UM, AND SO SHOULD TWO MEMBERS HAVE ONLY THE SAME SLOT, UH, WE'LL BE WORKING TO MAKE THOSE BE TWO MEMBERS WHOSE JURISDICTION DO NOT OVERLAP, UM, TO ALLOW THE BOARD TO ENGAGE IN THE MEETINGS THAT, UH, MOST ALIGN WITH THEIR CONSTITUENTS PRIORITIES.
UH, WE'LL MOVE NOW TO THE 24 25 FISCAL YEAR STATE BUDGET, UM, CHIEF OF, UH, GOVERNMENT AND LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS.
AND, UM, PROBABLY SHOULD JUST START WITH THE BREAKING NEWS AND, UM, SKIP THROUGH THE, THE INFORMATION THAT WAS PUT IN THE, UM, THE PACKET.
UH, BUT AS LISA CORRECTLY POINTED OUT, UM, ACTUALLY ABOUT THE SAME TIME WE STARTED THIS MEETING, THE GOVERNOR STARTED HIS ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE BUDGET.
UM, HE ANNOUNCED A $291 BILLION BUDGET, SO THAT'S A REDUCTION OF ABOUT 20 BILLION FROM LAST YEAR.
AND HE ANNOUNCED, UH, UNLIKE THE LAO THAT PREDICTED A $68 BILLION DEFICIT, HE, UH, THE GOVERNOR PREDICTED A $37.9 BILLION DEFICIT.
UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HE ACKNOWLEDGED IN THE DOCUMENT, UH, WAS THE DELAY IN TAX FILINGS, AND I ACTUALLY THINK THERE STILL MAY BE SOME COMING IN.
UM, AND THEN HE ACKNOWLEDGED ALSO THAT THERE ARE IMPROVING CONDITIONS.
AND SO IN THE STAFF MEMO FOR THE STAFF REPORT, WE DID TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE NATIONAL TRENDS WITH REGARD TO INFLATION.
UM, AND THE, THE FED, UH, NOT REALLY LOOKING AT RAISING INTEREST RATES, BUT RATHER PERHAPS REDUCING THEM, UH, WHICH WILL HELP IN, UH, HOME, HOME PURCHASING.
UH, AND THEN THE, THE, UM, UH, INTEREST RATES, UH, AGAIN, ALSO SOMETHING THAT IS BEING REDUCED.
[01:05:01]
AND THEN, UM, THE, UH, UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS BEING HOLDING PRETTY STEADY.UH, SO HE DID ACKNOWLEDGE ALL THOSE, UM, PIECES IN HIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
UH, IN ORDER TO MEET THE DEFICIT, THEY'RE GOING TO TAP 13.1 BILLION IN RESERVES, UH, THE PLANNING IN 8.5 BILLION IN REDUCTIONS INCLUDING 2.9 FROM QUOTE UNQUOTE CLIMATE REDUCTIONS.
SO WE HAVE SOME RESEARCH TO DO TO SEE WHAT THAT MEANS.
UH, THERE IS, UH, AN, UH, ACCOUNTING FOR 10.6 BILLION IN DELAYS, FUND SHIFTS AND DEFERRALS.
UH, THE NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT OVERALL IS FACING A 55% REDUCTION, UH, FROM 2324, JUST REMEMBERING THAT 23, 24.
UM, AND AS WE PUT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE, THE STAFF REPORT, YOU KNOW, PRE COVID OUR BUDGET WAS 214 BILLION.
UM, NOW, UH, LAST YEAR WAS 310 BILLION, UH, REDUCTION NOW TO 2 91.
SO WE'RE STILL AT VERY HIGH LEVELS FOR THESE AGENCIES.
UM, AND IT DOES CALL ON MAINTAINING 48 BILLION OF THE ORIGINAL 54 UM, BILLION FOR THE, UH, 30 BY 30 CLIMATE, CLIMATE FUNDING FOR THOSE PROGRAMS. UH, INTERESTING IN THAT, 'CAUSE WE WERE LOOKING FOR SOME REFERENCE TO THE CLIMATE BOND THAT'S BEEN PROPOSED.
UH, I THINK THE WORDING THAT THEY'RE MAINTAINING THE FUNDING AND THE BUDGET, UM, AND THAT THERE WAS NOT, OR AT LEAST WE HAVE NOT HEARD YET, THAT THERE WAS A, A SEPARATE STATEMENT ABOUT A CLIMATE BOND, UH, DOES LEND US TO THINK THAT MAYBE THE BUDGET PROCESS IS WHERE THE MONEY WILL STAY.
UH, AND THEN THE, UH, THERE WAS A $350 MILLION REDUCTION IN LEGISLATIVE REQUESTS.
SO TO, TO THE POINT OF ASKING, UH, I THINK DIRECTOR ECKLES, UM, WHAT THEY'LL BE ABLE TO ASK FOR, WE DON'T KNOW YET, BUT THERE IS A OVERALL REDUCTION.
UH, THERE'S ALSO A CALL AT THREE 30 TODAY FROM THE RESOURCES AGENCY TO GO THROUGH, UM, SOME OF THE, UM, UH, PLANS THAT THEY HAVE FOR THE BUDGET.
SO WE'LL BE, WE'LL BE LISTENING IN ON THAT AND BE PREPARED TO REPORT BACK.
UH, WE, WE ARE CONTINUING OUR ADVOCACY ON THE CLIMATE BOND.
UH, EDUARDO GARCIA HAS, UM, THIS STATED, THIS IS A, UM, A MATTER OF, UM, LEGACY FOR HIM.
SO, AND HE IS RETIRING, HE IS NOT RUNNING FOR REELECTION.
UH, SO IT IS OUR WORTH, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE SEE PRIORITIES WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THAT CLIMATE BOND.
UM, ESPECIALLY AS, UH, IT COMPETES WITH OTHER, UH, OTHER POTENTIAL BONDS THAT COULD BE OUT THERE FOR 2024.
SO THAT'S MOST OF WHAT I HAVE TO REPORT FOR NOW.
UM, BUT WE AGAIN, WILL BE DOING SOME, A DEEPER DIVE AND, AND TRY TO GET BACK TO THE COMMITTEE AND TO THE FULL BOARD, UH, WITH A REPORT.
ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, BOARD MEMBERS? PUBLIC SEEING NONE.
AND I ASSUME YOU'LL DO THE UPDATE ON THE SITE VISITS AND MEETINGS? UM, PARDON ME, I DIDN'T CATCH THAT.
UM, OUR NEXT ITEM IS THE UPDATE ON THE SITE VISITS AND MEETINGS.
UH, WELL, UM, DIRECTOR COFFEE MAY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THIS UPDATE AS WELL AS I, UH, IN FACT I'M SURE HE CAN.
UH, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE, UH, A, A REPRESENTATIVE GARY MEN'S STAFF ON A SITE VISIT, UH, TO THE SAN FRANCISCO RICHMOND BAY TRAIL GAP CLOSURE PROJECT.
WE STARTED, UH, BEHIND THE DISTRIBUTION CENTERS WHERE THE BAY TRAIL ENDS, UM, AND YOU ONE COULD CLEARLY SEE, UH, THE PATHWAY FORWARD FOR THE TRAIL.
AND SO I THINK IT MADE A, A, A SIGNIFICANT IMPRESSION ON OUR GUESTS AND, UH, WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE THEIR BOSS OUT THERE AT SOME POINT.
UH, WE ARE ALSO LOOKING TO HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE F-F-H-W-A AND CALTRANS TO THE SITE IN THE FUTURE AND, AND WORKING TOWARD THE RAISES GRANT APPLICATION THAT, UM, WAS REFERENCED EARLIER, EARLIER FOR, JUST FOR THAT PARTICULAR PROJECT.
UH, SO WE'VE GOT A LOT OF, UH, EFFORTS IN THE, IN THE QUEUE FOR, UM, WHAT WE FORMALLY CALLED THE WILSON POINT PROJECT, UH, BUT NOW CALLING THE RICHMOND BAY TRAIL GAP CLOSURE.
UH, AND THEN WE ALSO HAD A SECONDARY, UH, STOP AT THE LONE TREE POINT PROPERTY AND, UM, SHARED WITH THEM SOME OF THE POTENTIAL, UH, OPPORTUNITIES THAT COULD BE, COULD BE FOUND THERE.
UM, SO OVERALL I THINK IT WAS A GOOD, GOOD DAY.
WE, WE AVOIDED THE RAIN MOSTLY.
UM, AND, UH, I THINK, I THINK THE, THE, OUR GUESTS WERE VERY, UH, IM, THEY, THEY HAD A FAVORABLE IMPRESSION OF THE PROJECTS AND THEY ALSO, I BELIEVE WERE, WILL REPORT BACK TO THEIR BOSS, UH, ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THOSE PROJECTS.
[01:10:01]
I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT.ANYONE HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
LOOKS LIKE WE GOT A GREAT YEAR AHEAD OF US.
UM, ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS BY STAFF OR BOARD MEMBERS? HEARING NONE, WE ARE ADJOURNED.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE, EVERYONE.