[00:00:02]
ALL RIGHT. SO GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO THIS CLOSED SESSION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
[ROLL CALL]
OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT FOR OCTOBER 21ST, 2025, BEGINNING AT 9:10 A.M..MADAM CLERK, WILL YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL? DIRECTOR COFFEY. DIRECTOR.
OKAY. THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR THIS CLOSED SESSION? NO PUBLIC COMMENTS. OKAY.
WE WILL ADJOURN INTO THE CLOSED SESSION.
[CLOSED SESSION ITEMS]
WELL GOOD AFTERNOON AND WELCOME.[ROLL CALL]
OH, YEAH. WE GOT IT. OKAY.WELCOME TO THIS REGULAR BOARD MEETING OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR OCTOBER 21ST.
105. IS THAT. ARE WE GOOD? OKAY. SO WELL, MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL.
DIRECTOR COFFEY HERE. DIRECTOR ECHOLS HERE.
DIRECTOR ESPAÑA HERE. DIRECTOR.
WAESPI HERE. PRESIDENT MERCURIO HERE.
GENERAL MANAGER. LANDRETH GENERAL COUNCIL BOURGAULT HERE.
WELL, DIRECTOR ECHOLS LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE, PLEASE.
CERTAINLY. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. SUNDAY. AND DIRECTOR WAESPI WILL READ THE LAND.
[LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT]
ACKNOWLEDGMENT. THANK YOU.AS WE GATHER HERE TODAY, WE, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ALL OF THE LANDS WITHIN THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT ARE THE ANCESTRAL LANDS OF THE EAST BAY, OHLONE, BAY MIWOK AND NORTHERN VALLEY YOKUT, WHO WERE POLITICALLY ORGANIZED AND REPRESENTED BY A NUMBER OF TRIBES TODAY.
WE MAKE THIS RECOGNITION RECOGNITION AS A WAY TO RESPECT AND HONOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES WHO FIRST CULTIVATED AND INHABITED THIS LAND.
THE PARK DISTRICT IS COMMITTED TO IDENTIFYING WAYS TO WORK AND CONSULT WITH EAST BAY TRIBES. AS WE RECOGNIZE, ALL THESE TRIBAL CITIZENS REMAIN CONNECTED TO THEIR LAND AND CULTURE.
THANK YOU. DO WE? NEXT IS MODIFICATION OF THE AGENDA.
ARE THERE ANY REQUESTS TO MODIFY THE ORDER OF THE AGENDA? OKAY. HEARING NONE, WE'LL MOVE ON TO I DON'T THINK WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS TODAY, SO WE CAN MOVE BEYOND THAT TO PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA.
[PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA]
MADAM CLERK, DO WE HAVE ANY OF THOSE COMMENTS? WE WE DO. LET ME PROCEED THIS WITH MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT.CAN DO SO BY IF ATTENDING BY ZOOM.
THEY MAY RAISE THEIR HAND AND THEIR NAME WILL BE CALLED WHEN IT IS THEIR TURN TO SPEAK.
IN THE ZOOM ROOM, IF ATTENDING IN PERSON, THEY MAY SUBMIT A SPEAKER'S CARD TO THE CLERK STAFF OR OTHERWISE INDICATE THEY WISH TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON AGENDA ITEM.
ALL WRITTEN COMMENTS RECEIVED PRIOR TO THE DEADLINE OF 3 P.M.
ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 20TH, 2025 HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. ANY WRITTEN COMMENTS THAT COME IN AFTER THIS TIME WILL BE PROVIDED TO THE BOARD AND INCLUDED WITH SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS AFTER THE MEETING.
THANK YOU. MY NAME IS ELLEN THOMPSON.
I OWN REDWOOD VALLEY RAILWAY COMPANY, THE STEAM TRAIN IN TILDEN PARK.
WE'VE BEEN THERE FOR 73 YEARS.
WE GET NO MONEY FROM THE DISTRICT, NO GRANTS, NO DONATIONS. EVERYTHING THERE IS BUILT AND MAINTAINED WITH PRIVATE FUNDS.
IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING THE TRAINS, THE TRACK AND THE BUILDINGS, WE MAINTAIN THE MAJOR DRAINAGE AND EROSION CONTROL PROVIDE THE LANDSCAPING,
[00:05:03]
INCLUDING THE REDWOOD TREES.WE DO FIRE HAZARD ABATEMENT, INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES REMOVAL AND RARE SPECIES PROTECTION, ALL AT PRIVATE EXPENSE.
BUT NOW WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO RENEW OUR LEASE WITH THE DISTRICT FOR SEVEN YEARS WITH NO SUCCESS. IN THAT SEVEN YEARS, THE STAFF PEOPLE WE TRY TO WORK WITH HAVE CHANGED 12 TIMES IN SEVEN YEARS.
IN RECENT WEEKS, THERE'S BEEN A FLURRY OF EFFORT BY STAFF, BUT THE SHORT DOCUMENT PRODUCED IS SO FULL OF AMBIGUOUS WORD SALAD AND LEGAL LANDMINES THAT IT CAN'T BE USED. A GOOD WORKING DRAFT WAS CREATED SEVEN YEARS AGO, BUT NOW THE STAFF IS TRYING TO RENEGE ON ITS PROVISIONS THAT THEY AGREED TO.
WE ALSO HAVE A LONG TERM WRITTEN COMMITMENT FROM THE DISTRICT REGARDING THE PROPERTY THAT HAS BEEN FOLLOWED MUTUALLY FOR 60 YEARS, AND NOW THE STAFF IS CLAIMING THAT IT DOES NOT EXIST. WE'RE TRYING TO ENSURE THAT THE STEAM TRAIN CAN OPERATE FOR MANY MORE YEARS INTO THE FUTURE, AND MEET THE HUGELY INCREASING ATTENDANCE BY PARK PATRONS.
AND TO DO THAT, WE HAVE TO MAKE MANY CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS WHICH REQUIRE PERMITTING FROM THE COUNTY. BUT WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT OUR DISTRICT LEASE.
WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR MONEY, BUT ONLY THE ABILITY TO KEEP SERVING THE PUBLIC. DUE TO MAJOR DAMAGE TO THE FACILITY FROM PROBLEMS OUTSIDE THE PREMISES THAT THE DISTRICT HAS REFUSED TO FIX, WE'RE UP AGAINST CONDITIONS THAT WILL IMPACT BOTH OUR EMPLOYEES AND THE PUBLIC.
WITH NO LEGAL PROTECTION, WE MAY HAVE TO PICK UP EVERYTHING AND LEAVE.
IN THE PAST, CONCESSIONAIRES HAVE BEEN FORCED OUT OF THE PARK BY DISTRICT STAFF, SOMETIMES BY ILLEGAL MEANS.
I HOPED IT WOULD NOT HAPPEN TO US, BUT HERE WE ARE.
RECENTLY, THE BOARD HAS STATED THAT IT IS A PRIORITY FOR THEM TO PRESERVE CULTURAL AND NATURAL ASSETS. AFTER 73 YEARS, I HOPE THAT THE TRAINS ARE THE CULTURAL ASSET THAT THE PUBLIC SEEMS TO THINK THEY ARE.
I NEED TO KNOW IF THE PRESENT SITUATION IS DISTRICT POLICY.
PERSONAL AGENDA OR JUST NEGLIGENCE.
WE'RE OUT OF TIME. I AM AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION AT ANY TIME.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. SALLY TOBIN WE'RE RAISING YOU TO PANELIST.
WOULD YOU PLEASE UNMUTE? ACTUALLY, I HAVE A QUESTION.
HAS ITEM NINE ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR BEEN MOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR? NO, NOTHING'S BEEN MOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR AT THIS TIME.
OKAY, SO THEN IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR ME TO COMMENT ON THAT ITEM AT THIS TIME.
WELL, I'M GOING TO PUT A HOLD ON THAT, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE YOU COME BACK WHEN COMMENTS ARE MADE FOR THE CONSENT CALENDAR.
YOU CAN UNMUTE. OKAY. MIKE, DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT ON PUBLIC ITEM ON ITEMS, NOT ON THE AGENDA? YES. OKAY. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES, SIR.
FRIDAY EVENING, BETWEEN 6 AND 7 P.M., I WAS ON THE EAST EAST WEST TRAIL OR PANORAMIC TRAIL IN CLAREMONT CANYON REGIONAL PRESERVE, AND I MET FIVE MOUNTAIN BIKERS.
I WOULD EXPECT THEM MOUNTAIN BIKERS TO BE ON THAT TRAIL EVERY EVENING AFTER WORK OR AROUND NOON TO TWO ON THE WEEKENDS.
THE THEY'RE ON THE TRAIL SO BRIEFLY THAT THERE'S NOTHING THAT REPORTING THEM. I WON'T DO ANYTHING BECAUSE THE POLICE ARE NOT GOING TO BE NEARBY, SO, SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE ON THAT TRAIL DURING THAT PERIOD TO TO MEET THEM AND TO TO GET THEM. MOUNTAIN BIKING IS VERY DANGEROUS.
I'VE COLLECTED 135 DEATH REPORTS SINCE 2007.
[00:10:04]
I'VE SEEN WILDLIFE THAT WAS KILLED BY MOUNTAIN BIKERS ON THAT TRAIL.AND I'D LIKE TO SEE PARK DISTRICT.
ENFORCE THE LAW. BY PUTTING AN OFFICER ON THAT TRAIL AT CERTAIN TIMES.
THANK YOU. DO YOU. ARE YOU GIVING TO NORMA WALLACE? THIS MEANS GOOD AFTERNOON.
THAT'S THE CHOCHENYO LANGUAGE.
CHOCHENYO LANGUAGE OF MY ANCESTORS, WHO ARE FROM HERE FOR MILLENNIA.
I HAVE A SPECIFIC CONCERN THAT STAFF FOR THE ENTIRE PARK DISTRICT, AS WE JUST HEARD FROM THE PRIOR TESTIMONY, HAS NOT GOTTEN THE MESSAGE THAT YOU SINCERELY SEEM TO OFFER AT THE OPENING OF YOUR MEETINGS TO RESPECT TO TRADITIONAL LANDS AND THE WAYS OF THE TRADITIONAL PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL HERE.
AND I AM HERE TO SAY, YES, WE ARE STILL HERE.
SPECIFICALLY, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF STAFF HAS BEEN ASKED TO COMMIT TO THAT SAME RESPECTFUL PERSPECTIVE AS THEY SEEM TO DECIDE ON THEIR OWN WHAT PROJECTS TO ADVANCE OR NOT ACHIEVE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING, PRESIDENT MERCURIO BOARD DIRECTORS.
GENERAL MANAGER. EVERYONE, THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME A MOMENT TO SHARE MY THOUGHT ABOUT WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY IN THE DISTRICT.
I'D LIKE TO START BY SAYING THAT I'VE HEARD THE CALLS FROM MY COLLEAGUES ON THE SAME TOPIC, AND I AM GOING TO TRY TO KEEP MINE BRIEF AND ADDRESS ALL OF YOU.
BUT I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY GREAT POINTS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP AS WELL BY THEM.
MY NAME IS JESSICA SLOAN, AND I'VE BEEN WITH THE PARK DISTRICT FOR FIVE YEARS AS THE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM SUPERVISOR.
MY ROLE IS TO SEE THAT VOLUNTEERING HAPPENS ACROSS THE DISTRICT, AND WHILE I DO HAVE MY FIELD DAYS, MUCH OF MY WORK IS DONE FROM BEHIND A COMPUTER. IN MY CAREER HERE, I'VE WORKED IN THREE DIFFERENT OFFICE SPACES, AND UNFORTUNATELY, NONE HAVE BEEN TRULY ADEQUATE FOR ME AND MY TEAM.
CURRENTLY, VOLUNTEER SERVICES HAS FOUR EMPLOYEES, MYSELF AND MY THREE DIRECT REPORTS, AND WE WORK TOGETHER IN A CONVERTED CONFERENCE ROOM AT THE TRUDEAU TRAINING CENTER.
WE DON'T HAVE SPACE FOR PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS OR MEETINGS AND SOMETIMES EVEN JUST ROUTINE PHONE CONVERSATIONS CAN FEEL DISRUPTIVE TO THE.
I KNOW WE'RE NOT THE ONLY TEAM IN THE DISTRICT FACING SIMILAR CONDITIONS, AND WE DO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE SOME SOLUTIONS IN PROGRESS, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, THIS REALLY MAKES FOCUS AND COLLABORATION CHALLENGING.
DURING THE PANDEMIC, WHEN REMOTE WORK WAS POSSIBLE, I SAW FIRSTHAND HOW A HYBRID MODEL COULD HELP ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES.
I WANT TO BE CLEAR I TRULY VALUE BEING IN THE OFFICE WITH MY STAFF.
THE ALL REMOTE PERIOD WAS ACTUALLY QUITE DIFFICULT FOR ME, BUT HAVING FLEXIBILITY OF A WORK FROM HOME DAY MADE A REAL DIFFERENCE.
IT ALLOWED ME TO FOCUS ON THE MORE DETAILED OR STRATEGIC PARTS OF MY WORK, WITHOUT THE DISTRACTIONS THAT COME FROM A SHARED EXPERIENCE.
THAT FLEXIBILITY. FLEXIBILITY ALSO MADE IT EASIER FOR ME TO PLAN MY WEEK IN IN-OFFICE DAYS. I COULD DO COLLABORATION AND TEAM BUILDING MEETINGS TOGETHER, AND AT HOME DAYS I COULD WORK ON MY DEEP FOCUS WORK WITHOUT THE SMALL BUT FREQUENT DISTRACTIONS. AS FOR OUR DISTRICT AS LARGE AS OURS.
BEING ABLE TO WORK REMOTELY AFTER FIELD MEETINGS SOMETIMES MEANT SAVING HOURS OF COMMUTING TIME, REDUCING VEHICLE USE, AND STILL BEING ABLE TO MEET BOTH MY PROFESSIONAL AND FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES.
ADDING BOTH A SUSTAINABLE VALUE AND A BETTER WORK LIFE BALANCE.
I'D LIKE TO ENCOURAGE THE BOARD TO CONSIDER ADOPTING A CLEAR WORK FROM HOME POLICY, ONE THAT TRUSTS SUPERVISORS TO MANAGE IT RESPONSIBLY, ENSURES ACCOUNTABILITY, AND RECOGNIZES THAT FLEXIBILITY CAN IMPROVE
[00:15:03]
BOTH PRODUCTIVITY AND WELL-BEING.THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING THIS.
I TRULY BELIEVE THAT A SMALL AMOUNT OF FLEXIBILITY CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE, NOT ONLY AS WE NAVIGATE OUR CURRENT OFFICE SPACE CHALLENGES, BUT AS AN ONGOING TOOL TO SUPPORT EFFECTIVE AND BALANCED WORK.
PLEASE CONSIDER WORKING WITH THE GENERAL MANAGER TO ENCOURAGE TELEWORK POLICY THAT IS COMPARABLE TO OTHER BAY AREA PUBLIC SECTOR AGENCIES.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ALL RIGHT.
PRESIDENT MERCURIO GENERAL MANAGER AND COUNCIL.
I AM THANKFUL TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK REGARDING TELEWORK.
I WOULD LIKE TO START BY STATING THAT THIS POLICY DOESN'T DIRECTLY AFFECT MY PERMANENT POSITION IN THE FIELD.
EVEN SO, I STRONGLY EXPRESS MY SUPPORT FOR TELEWORK.
I DID, HOWEVER, EXPERIENCE THIS CHANGE WHILE ACTING IN PAYROLL AND I AM CURRENTLY ACTING IN ASD. WHILE WORKING IN PAYROLL, WE LOST A KNOWLEDGEABLE AND DEDICATED EMPLOYEE DUE TO THIS CHANGE.
ELIMINATING TELEWORK ALSO MADE AN ALREADY INTENSE WORKLOAD BECOME EVEN MORE CHALLENGING TO MANAGE. WORKING FOR THE DISTRICT FOR ALMOST 12 YEARS, I HAVE BECOME ACUTELY AWARE AIR THAT COWORKERS CAN BECOME LIKE FAMILY.
EVEN IN MY SHORT ACTING EXPERIENCES, I FEEL A FAMILY LIKE CONNECTION AND CAMARADERIE WITH MY FELLOW COWORKERS.
THE LOSS AND POTENTIAL LOSS OF VALUABLE EMPLOYEES HAS CAUSED CHALLENGES IN WORKLOAD.
A NEED FOR ADDITIONAL TRAINING, AND HAS CAUSED GRIEF FROM THE LOSS OF IMPORTANT WORK RELATIONSHIPS.
AS STATED ON THE PARK DISTRICT WEBSITE, THE ESSENTIAL ROLE OF THE DISTRICT IS TO PRESERVE A RICH HERITAGE OF NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES AND PROVIDE OPEN SPACE, PARKS, TRAILS, SAFE AND HEALTHFUL RECREATION, AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION.
AN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHIC GUIDES THE DISTRICT AND ALL OF ITS ACTIVITIES.
TO ACHIEVE THIS VISION, THE DISTRICT WILL SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION OF WELL TRAINED, DEDICATED AND PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYEES.
DURING MY ACTING ASSIGNMENTS DRIVING TO THE MAIN OFFICE, I HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAFFIC BEING CHALLENGING TO NAVIGATE, WHICH SEEMS TO BE INCREASING OVER TIME.
PARKING, ESPECIALLY WITH THE CONSTRUCTION, HAS ALSO BEEN AN ISSUE.
GAS EMISSIONS INCREASED, GAS CONSUMPTION INCREASED.
TIME ON THE ROAD ARE NOT IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR MISSION STATEMENT OR OUR SLOGAN, HEALTHY PARKS, HEALTHY PEOPLE.
ADDITIONALLY, AS AN EMPLOYEE AT THE LOWER END OF THE SPECTRUM, THESE CONSIDERATIONS HAVE A GREATER EFFECT ON MY ABILITY TO MANAGE RESOURCES, MAKING WORK LIFE BALANCE MORE CHALLENGING, INCREASING STRESS, AND AFFECTING MENTAL HEALTH.
WORKING FROM HOME ALSO SUPPORTS TALENTED AND PASSIONATE EMPLOYEES TO MORE EFFECTIVELY COMPLETE THEIR WORK, AS OFFICE ENVIRONMENTS CAN INCREASE STRESS AND DISTRACTIONS.
I AM INTIMATELY AWARE OF THE ONGOING NEED FOR OFFICE SPACE, AS I HAVE LOST MY PARK RESIDENTS TO THAT NEED AS THE DISTRICT CONTINUES TO GROW.
WE NEED TO CONSIDER MULTIFACETED, SCALABLE SOLUTIONS.
EVEN WITH THE NEW BUILDING UNDERWAY, OFFICE SPACE AT WHAT EXPENSE? ESPECIALLY WHEN THE DISTRICT CAN MEET WORK NEEDS REMOTELY.
IF TRAINING IS THE ISSUE, I WOULD PREFER TO SEE RESOURCES USED TOWARDS TRAINING. I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO DIRECT THE GENERAL MANAGER TO RETURN TO STATUS QUO AND DEVELOP A TELEWORK POLICY THAT IS COMPARABLE TO OTHER BAY AREA PUBLIC SECTOR AGENCIES THAT OFFER TELEWORK.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. LIZ BITNER.
GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
I WORK AT THE REGIONAL PARKS BOTANIC GARDEN IN TILDEN PARK.
I'M HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT TELEWORK.
WHILE MY JOB AT THE PARK DISTRICT IS A FIELD POSITION THAT DOES NOT ALLOW, DOES NOT ALLOW ME TO TELEWORK ON A REGULAR BASIS.
I SUPPORT TELEWORK FOR MY COLLEAGUES WHO SPEND THE MAJORITY OF THEIR TIME AT THEIR COMPUTER STATIONS, FOR ALL THE REASONS I'VE HEARD IN PREVIOUS PUBLIC COMMENTS, THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT OF HAVING FEWER CARS ON THE ROAD.
ALLOWING EMPLOYEES TO BE MORE EFFICIENT BY SPENDING MORE TIME WORKING VERSUS DRIVING, AND THE ABILITY TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN HIGH QUALITY WORKERS IN A COMPETITIVE JOB MARKET.
HAVING A TELEWORK OPTION CAN BE ESPECIALLY BENEFICIAL FOR ATTRACTING AND RETAINING PEOPLE OF COLOR, WOMEN, NEURODIVERGENT PEOPLE, AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
THE DISTRICT'S RECENTLY ESTABLISHED GUIDING EQUITY STATEMENT SAYS EQUITY AT THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT MEANS ACTIVELY IDENTIFYING AND REMOVING BARRIERS TO ENSURE THAT ALL INDIVIDUALS HAVE EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES TO THRIVE.
A TELEWORK OPTION CAN PROVIDE A WORK ENVIRONMENT WHERE ALL PEOPLE CAN THRIVE.
[00:20:05]
ACCORDING TO DOCTOR ANGELICA LEE, A PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONS AT DUKE UNIVERSITY, OFFICE CULTURE IN THE US IS GENERALLY CENTERED AROUND THE NEEDS AND STANDARDS OF WHITE PEOPLE.FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR, TELEWORK CAN PROVIDE A RESPITE FROM THE CODE SWITCHING TO CONFORM TO OFFICE STANDARDS. IN ADDITION, WORKING FROM HOME CAN REDUCE EXPOSURE TO MICROAGGRESSIONS OR BULLYING.
IN A 2020 SURVEY OF PARK DISTRICT EMPLOYEES, 39% OF EMPLOYEES EXPERIENCED RUDE OR UNCIVIL BEHAVIOR AND 70% OF THOSE WERE IN CLOSE CONTACTS.
A 2024 STUDY SHOWED THAT REMOTE WORK IS CONSISTENTLY ASSOCIATED WITH FEWER INCIDENTS OF EVERYDAY GENDER DISCRIMINATION.
30% OF WOMEN POLLED FOR THIS STUDY REPORTED EXPERIENCING GENDER DISCRIMINATION ON SITE IN A ONE MONTH SPAN, COMPARED TO ONLY 17% WHILE WORKING REMOTELY.
THE ABILITY TO WORK FROM HOME CAN BENEFIT NEURODIVERGENT EMPLOYEES, WHO MAY BE BETTER ABLE TO FUNCTION AND FOCUS AT HOME BY CONTROLLING LIGHTING, SOUND AND OTHER DISTRACTIONS.
TELEWORK CAN HELP EMPLOYEES WHO MIGHT STRUGGLE WITH SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND FIGHT FOR THE ABILITY TO CONCENTRATE IN STANDARD OFFICE SETTINGS.
A TELEWORK OPTION REMOVES BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, AS WORKING FROM HOME A COUPLE DAYS A WEEK CAN DRASTICALLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF TIME AND COST OF DAILY PREPARATION AND COMMUTE.
ALL OF US ARE TEMPORARILY ABLE BODIED, MEANING THAT MANY OF US WILL FACE SHORT TERM OR PERMANENT CHANGES. A TELEWORK POLICY CAN PROVIDE MORE OPTIONS FOR THOSE ON LIGHT DUTY OR THOSE WITH INJURIES AND ACCESS ISSUES.
ALL OF THESE BENEFITS HAVE NO PROPOSED COSTS.
IN THE LARGEST STUDY TO DATE OF WORKING FROM HOME PROFESSIONALS, EMPLOYEES WHO WORK FROM HOME TWO DAYS A WEEK ARE JUST AS PRODUCTIVE, LIKELY TO GET PROMOTED, AND FAR LESS PRONE TO QUIT THAN THEIR OFFICE BOUND PEERS. IN THE SPIRIT OF REMOVING BARRIERS SO THAT ALL INDIVIDUALS CAN THRIVE, AS STATED IN THE DISTRICT'S EQUITY STATEMENT, I URGE THE BOARD TO DIRECT THE GENERAL MANAGER TO RETURN TO STATUS QUO AND DEVELOP A TELEWORK POLICY THAT IS COMPARABLE TO OTHER BAY AREA PUBLIC SECTOR AGENCIES THAT OFFER TELEWORK. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.
THANKS. THAT'S IT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
ALL RIGHT. THANKS TO ALL FOR ENGAGING WITH US.
[ANNOUNCEMENTS]
ARE THERE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? THIS IS A GOOD TIME.I MAKE A QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT. YES, YES.
I JUST WANT TO LET FOLKS KNOW THAT THE OAKLAND HERITAGE ALLIANCE AWARDED SEVEN PARTNERS IN PRESERVATION THIS WEEKEND.
I WENT OVER THERE AND ACCEPTED THE AWARD FOR OUR PIEDMONT STABLES, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT A REGISTERED HISTORIC BUILDING.
THE PARTNERS IN PRESERVATION AT OAKLAND RECOGNIZES IT AS A HISTORICAL BUILDING, AND WE DID A GREAT JOB OVER THERE.
STAFF SPENT ABOUT $389,000 REMOVING LEAD IN PAINT AND REPAINTING IT.
AND I THINK JUDY MARTIN'S BEEN DOING A GREAT JOB OUT THERE.
SO I RECEIVED THIS CERTIFICATE AND I WILL HAND IT TO OUR GENERAL MANAGER TO FILE.
AND I JUST WANTED TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT WAS AN AWARD WE RECEIVED ON SUNDAY.
THAT'S GREAT. GOOD NEWS. THANKS FOR THANKS FOR SHARING THAT WITH EVERYBODY. NEXT IS BUSINESS BEFORE THE BOARD AND THE CONSENT CALENDAR.
[CONSENT CALENDAR]
SO THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EITHER ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT A CONSENT ITEM OR PULL AN ITEM FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR.YES. GO AHEAD. YES. I'D LIKE TO PULL A CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM A FOR FOR DISCUSSION AND SEPARATE VOTE. OKAY.
THANK YOU. ANY ANY. ANY OTHERS? YES. I HAVE A QUESTION ON NUMBER EIGHT.
OKAY. DO WE HAVE STAFF HERE ON THOSE ITEMS THAT COULD ANSWER A QUESTION STARTING WITH EIGHT? YES. PARDON ME.
ITEM EIGHT. IS IT'S THE AUTHORIZATION TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE SOGOREA TE LAND TRUST IN THE AMOUNT OF $180,000 FOR TRIBAL MONITORING SERVICES FOR THE MELODY TRAIL EXTENSION.
AND I GUESS MY QUESTION WOULD BE, HAVE WE IS THIS SOMETHING NEW? HAVE WE EVER DONE THIS IN THE PAST? YEAH, I BELIEVE THAT. I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A NORMAL YOU KNOW, IT'S A NORMAL PRACTICE THAT WE HAVE TRIBAL MONITORS IN OUR PROJECTS.
OUR CULTURAL RESOURCES DIVISION WORKS CLOSELY WITH OUR TRIBAL PARTNERS ON TRIBAL MONITORING. AND THAT COMES THROUGH AS WE'RE DEVELOPING THE PROJECT.
THAT SOUNDS GREAT. I'M JUST WONDERING, WHAT DOES SOMEBODY DO?
[00:25:01]
WHAT DOES A TRIBAL MONITOR DO IN TWO AND A HALF MILES OF TRAIL FOR 200,000 $207,000? I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE IN HERE WITH.YEAH. YOU KNOW, I CAN HAVE ANAMARIE COME TO MORE SPECIFICALLY DESCRIBE WHAT THEY DO, BUT THEY'RE THERE WHEN WE'RE IN POTENTIALLY CULTURAL RESOURCE RICH AREAS.
SO IF, IF AS WE'RE DOING EXCAVATION OR WORK THAT'S GROUND DISTURBING OR THE CONTRACTOR IS IF THERE'S CULTURAL RESOURCES THAT ARE DISTURBED, THEN THE MONITOR IS THERE TO HELP US DETERMINE THE NEXT STEPS RELATED TO THOSE CULTURAL RESOURCES. AND WE BUILD IN, I THINK, PROBABLY MORE CAPACITY THAN HOPEFULLY WE NEED BECAUSE WE NEVER KNOW, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH A PROJECT COULD IMPACT POTENTIAL CULTURAL RESOURCES.
AND THAT'S WHY WE REALLY VALUE THE PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR TRIBAL PARTNERS.
AND THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER ONE. YEAH. AND THEN ON NUMBER NINE, WHICH INVOLVES THE I JUST ADD SUZANNE THANKFULLY REMINDED ME THAT THE PERMITS FOR THAT PROJECT REQUIRE TRIBAL MONITORING. SO THAT'S THAT'S OFTEN THE CASE FOR THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE TRAIL THAT TWO AND A HALF MILES OF IT. CORRECT.
MOST OF IT OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.
AND THEN ON ITEM NUMBER NINE, THE AUTHORIZATION OF EXECUTIVE AGREEMENT TO ASCEND ENVIRONMENTAL TO PREPARE AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE WILDCAT BIKE TRAIL PROJECT. I WAS WONDERING IF THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION WHEN THIS WAS BROUGHT BEFORE THE BOARD LAST ABOUT WHETHER THERE WERE GOING TO BE PHYSICAL STRUCTURES ALONG THIS TRAIL. AND THERE WERE SOME.
I DON'T THINK WE GOT A REAL ANSWER TO THAT FROM THE BOARD.
AND ONCE WE LOOK AT THE I WENT TO THE WEBSITE WHERE IT REFERS TO THIS TO LOOK IT UP AND THERE. SO I'M SEEING WOODEN STRUCTURES DOUBLE ROLLERS STRAIGHT LADDERS, THINGS LIKE THAT THAT ARE GOING TO BE STRUCTURAL THINGS THAT ARE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND SOMEBODY'S GOING TO HAVE TO MAINTAIN IT. AND I WOULD ASSUME WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MAINTAIN IT, AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ASSUME THE LIABILITY FOR IT. IS THAT CORRECT? SO THE WAY THAT THE PROJECT'S DESIGNED THE FEATURES COULD BE BUILT WITH THOSE METAL AND WOOD STRUCTURES OR THROUGH A DIRT FEATURES.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE TYPICALLY THOSE WOOD AND METAL STRUCTURES ARE LIGHTER ON THE LANDSCAPE AND EASIER TO MAINTAIN.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT WE PUT THOSE IN AS AN OPTION.
BUT THERE'S SOMETHING THAT AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS TO GET PUBLIC FEEDBACK, FEEDBACK FROM YOUR BOARD, WE'RE OPEN TO THIS TRAIL HAVING THOSE OR NOT HAVING THOSE AS AN OPTION.
YES. I'D STILL LIKE TO PULL THAT ITEM, PLEASE.
THE SAME ITEM THAT WAS ITEM NINE.
TWO. SO I'D LIKE TO PULL AN ITEM FROM CONSENT FOR REASONS PURELY RELATED TO PROCESS ITEM NUMBER THREE. IT'S FINE IN ITS RECOMMENDATION.
IN FACT, I'M VERY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL INVOLVED.
BUT THE PROCESS DID NOT INCLUDE SUFFICIENT BOARD INVOLVEMENT.
SO I AM SUGGESTING THAT IT BE PUT OFF TO THE NEXT MEETING.
SO THE BOARD HAS A CHANCE TO MEET THE CANDIDATE BEFORE PROVIDING CONSENT.
AND IT IS ALSO MY INTENTION TO IMPROVE THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES SO THAT GOING FORWARD, THE PROCESS WILL BE CLARIFIED AND MEET THE NEEDS OF THE BOARD.
I BELIEVE THERE WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO JUST THAT RELATIVELY SOON.
PRESIDENT MERCURIO ANY COMMENTS FROM THE BOARD? MAY I JUST OFFER A SUGGESTION IF YOU'RE GOING TO PULL AN ITEM FROM CONSENT? IF YOU JUST INDICATE YOU'D LIKE TO PULL IT, AND THEN WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO VOTE ON THE REMAINING ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR, AND THEN GO THROUGH ORDER ON THESE ITEMS THAT YOU'VE PULLED RATHER THAN DISCUSSING IT.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO SO WE HAVE SO, SO THEN WE HAVE THREE WE HAVE AND LET'S LET'S TAKE THE FIRST ONE A VOTE ON THE REST.
OKAY. SO ON THE REMAINING ITEMS DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE ALL ALL OF THE ITEMS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A4, A9, AND A3, BUT THERE'S A COMMENT, SO WE'LL TAKE THE COMMENT OR QUESTION.
[00:30:01]
AND THEN I ACTUALLY ALSO WANTED TO PULL ANOTHER ITEM.OKAY. AND THEN I DID HAVE ONE QUESTION ON ITEM A10, THE VOTER SURVEY SUPPORT SERVICES.
I JUST WANTED TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE AND IF THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS REVIEWED AND DISCUSSED WITH OUR LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE.
DO WE HAVE SOMEONE TO THAT CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION? YES. ERICH PFUEHLER. DIVISION LEAD FOR GOVERNMENT AND LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS.
AND I DON'T DO NOT BELIEVE THAT CONTRACTS FOR CONSULTANTS ARE REQUIRED TO GO THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE AS PART OF THE PROCESS FOR THIS CONTRACT.
WE DID INTERVIEW EVERY BOARD MEMBER AND THE ENTIRE EXECUTIVE TEAM TO DETERMINE THE BEST PATH FORWARD IN TERMS OF WRITING AN RFP, WHICH WAS USED TO SOLICIT APPLICATIONS FOR THIS PARTICULAR SURVEY.
THANKS. ALL RIGHT. ANY ANY OTHER QUESTIONS BEFORE WE VOTE ON THE REMAINING ITEMS? DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE REMAINING ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR? SO MOVED. MOVED BY ECHOLS.
SECOND. SECOND. SECOND BY WAESPI.
ALL RIGHT. SO WELL, LET'S LET'S JUST TAKE THEM IN NUMERICAL ORDER.
[3. Consent to the General Manager’s Hiring for the Position of Clerk of the Board]
SO THE ONE THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT THERE WAS, WAS A THREE. ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS? MICROPHONE ON JOHN. YES IT IS.I BELIEVE WE HAVE. BUT IT'S NOT THE RANGE.
THE RANGE IS VERY LIMITED HERE, AND IT'S NOT LONG ENOUGH.
SORRY. I KNOW THE MICS ARE NOT OPERATING WELL TODAY.
I BELIEVE WE HAVE A STAFF PRESENTATION FOR YOU.
WHAT I, WHAT I WAS ASKING TO DO ON A3 WAS TO POSTPONE IT.
SO I MEAN TO, TO TO THE NEXT BOARD MEETING.
THAT'S THE TABLING. IT'S A TABLING.
SO WE'RE PREPARED TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE ON THIS.
AS THE BOARD IS WELL AWARE, WE HAVE HEARD YOUR CONCERNS.
SOME OF YOU, IF YOU HAVE MORE CONCERNS, BE GREAT TO HEAR IT ON THE RECORD.
WE HAVE PROVIDED A LOT OF INFORMATION IN WRITING, IN EMAILS, ALWAYS BEEN AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE ON THE PROCESS.
WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATE WHO IS HERE IN THE AUDIENCE, WHO IS HAS ACCEPTED THE JOB OFFER AND IS READY TO START ON NOVEMBER 3RD.
AND AGAIN, I'LL THIS IS A PROCESS ISSUE.
IT'S NOT RELATED TO THE INDIVIDUAL.
SO IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HEAR WHAT THOSE PROCESS QUESTIONS ARE ON THE RECORD.
AND ALISON IS HERE WITH HER STAFF AND SHE CAN ANSWER ANY OF THOSE.
HI, PRESIDENT MERCURIO MEMBERS OF THE BOARD ALISON COOK, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER.
AS THE GENERAL MANAGER, RELAYED, WE HAD HOPED THIS WOULD BE APPROVED ON CONSENT. KELLY IS HERE AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE HER START.
SO SINCE THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT PROCESS, I FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS THAT WE USE TO SELECT KELLY IF I CAN IS NOT ADVANCING. THERE WE GO.
SO IN MAY, THE FORMER CLERK OF THE BOARD PUT IN NOTICE THAT SHE WOULD RETIRE.
SHE GAVE AMPLE NOTICE TO US TO START THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS, WHICH HUMAN RESOURCES DID IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW.
THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES, HR BEST PRACTICES PARK DISTRICT PRACTICE THAT HAS BEEN IN PLACE SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE FOR ALMOST FIVE YEARS AND OPENED THE RECRUITMENT.
WHEN I STARTED AT THE PARK DISTRICT, WE DECIDED THAT CRITICAL POSITIONS, AS WELL AS ANY POSITION ABOVE A DIVISION LEAD AT THE TIME IT WAS A CHIEF.
WE WOULD UTILIZE AN EXTERNAL THIRD PARTY RECRUITMENT FIRM TO HANDLE THE RECRUITMENT.
JUST REALLY TO PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS.
HUMAN RESOURCES PUT OUT AN RFP SEEKING INTERESTED RECRUITMENT FIRMS. WHERE WE GOT INTERESTED AT PARTIES, AND WE SELECTED RALPH ANDERSON AND ASSOCIATE, WHO IS A VERY REPUTABLE RECRUITMENT FIRM.
WE HAVE USED THEM FOR OTHER RECRUITMENTS, AND THE BOARD HAS EVEN USED RALPH ANDERSON FOR A RECRUITMENT. SO HERE'S A TIMELINE OF WHAT WE DID.
[00:35:01]
SO RALPH ANDERSON AND ASSOCIATES, INDEPENDENTLY ISSUED THE JOB ANNOUNCEMENT ON JULY 23RD OF 2025. THEY LEFT THE APPLICATION PROCESS OPEN UNTIL AUGUST 25TH OF 2025.AND THEN THE RECRUITER ASSIGNED TO THIS RECRUITMENT INDEPENDENT OF THE PARK DISTRICT, SCREENED THE 30 APPLICATIONS THAT WE RECEIVED AND FOUND THAT 14 OF THEM MET THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OF THE JOB SPECIFICATION, AT WHICH POINT THEY RECOMMENDED THAT THEY PUT FOUR CANDIDATES THROUGH TO AN ORAL PANEL THAT CONSISTED OF INTERNAL ORAL PANELISTS, AS WELL AS AN EXTERNAL CLERK OF A NEIGHBORING PARTNER AGENCY.
ALL FOUR WERE INTERVIEWED, AND IT WAS UNANIMOUS THAT WE MOVED TO FORWARD TO THE GENERAL MANAGER AND THE ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS.
AT THAT POINT, ON SEPTEMBER 23RD OF 2025, THE GENERAL MANAGER AND THE ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER HELD THOSE TWO INTERVIEWS AND ALSO AGREED ON THE SELECTION OF KELLY, WHO IS HERE IN THE ROOM TODAY.
AFTER THAT SELECTION, BOARD PRESIDENT JOHN MERCURIO MET WITH THE SELECTED CANDIDATE AND WAS ABLE TO SPEAK TO HER BOTH WITH THE ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS AND THEN AGAIN WITH THE AGM OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS.
AFTER KELLY HAD LEFT THE MEETING AT THAT POINT, BASED ON THE CONVERSATION WITH PRESIDENT MERCURIO, WE EXTENDED A FINAL JOB OFFER ON OCTOBER 10TH, 2025 AND AGENDIZE THIS ITEM PER THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES, THAT WE WOULD GO ON AND THAT WE WOULD SEEK BOARD AUTHORIZATION TO CONSENT TO THE GENERAL MANAGER'S APPOINTMENT OF KELLY.
AND IF THIS ITEM IS STAYS ON THE AGENDA, I THINK AGM BROOKS CAN DO MORE JUSTICE TO HER BACKGROUND, BUT SHE COMES WITH 16 YEARS OF PROGRESSIVE EXPERIENCE IN LEGISLATION, LEGISLATIVE ADMINISTRATION, BOARD AND COMMITTEE SUPPORT, ELECTION MANAGEMENT, PUBLIC RECORDS COMPLIANCE, AND STAFF MANAGEMENT. SHE'S A CERTIFIED MUNICIPAL CLERK, AS WELL AS A MASTER MUNICIPAL CLERK THAT TRAINS CLERKS UP AND DOWN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. SHE JOINS THE PARK DISTRICT FROM THE CITY OF SAN LEANDRO, WHERE SHE HAS SERVED AS CITY CLERK SINCE FEBRUARY OF 2022 AND PRIOR AS THE DEPUTY CITY CLERK. AND I'LL LET ALLISON FILL IN IF NECESSARY.
SO THE GENERAL MANAGER RECOMMENDS THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS CONSENT TO THE HIRING OF KELLY B CLANCY AS CLERK OF THE BOARD AT THE COMPENSATION OF STEP F OF MGO THREE.
BEFORE PASSING IT ON TO THE BOARD.
I WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE WE HAVE RECEIVED FEEDBACK THAT THE BOARD WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED AT THE FRONT END OF THE RECRUITMENT.
WE HEARD YOU LOUD AND CLEAR, AND WE WILL MAKE SURE TO IMPLEMENT THAT WHEN WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS AGAIN.
AND KELLY HERE HAS A JOB OFFER AND IS WILLING AND HAS A START DATE THAT SHE IS TO START AT THE PARK DISTRICT. THE GENERAL MANAGER HAS ALSO COMMITTED TO TO MEETING WITH EACH OF YOU INDIVIDUALLY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR NEEDS ARE VIS A VIS THE CLERK, TO ENSURE THAT WE SET KELLY UP FOR SUCCESS HERE.
BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT'S WHAT WE ALL WANT.
AND SO UNLESS GENERAL MANAGER, LANDRETH OR AGM BROOKS HAS ANYTHING FURTHER TO ADD, I WILL END MY PRESENTATION.
OKAY. I DON'T I DON'T I DON'T SEE ANY QUESTIONS.
DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? LET ME LET ME CHECK. HERE'S.
MIKE VANDEMAN. DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? NO, I WANTED TO COMMENT ON ITEMS EIGHT AND NINE, EIGHT AND NINE. OKAY. I DON'T KNOW IF I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE STILL ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR OR NOT. WE'LL BRING YOU BACK FOR THAT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NO COMMENTS ON ITEM NUMBER THREE.
SO I'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD FOR COMMENTS.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. I'M SURE IT SOUNDS ALL GOOD, EXCEPT AND I'M SURE KELLY WILL BE A GREAT CANDIDATE AND EMPLOYEE.
[00:40:05]
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THIS PROCESS WOULD GO THROUGH THE PER THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES GO THROUGH, IT WOULD BE PRESENTED THAT YOU HAVE THE CANDIDATE, YOU HAVE THE PERSON YOU WANT, OR A SET OR A COUPLE OF CANDIDATES THAT MAYBE WE COULD GET SOME INPUT ON.BUT IT WOULD GO TO THE BOARD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, WHICH WOULD THEN REFER IT TO THE BOARD AT THIS POINT AND THAT WE SKIPPED THAT STEP.
I PEOPLE CAN SHAKE THEIR HEADS, BUT CAN SOMEBODY SHOW, I MEAN, I, I HAVE A OR I GOT A COPY OF THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES THAT SUGGESTS THAT'S THE WAY IT WORKS.
I DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH OUR CANDIDATE.
SO IF I COULD RESPOND TO THAT.
SO THAT IS NOT OUR INTERPRETATION OF THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES.
AND IS ALSO NOT A PAST PRACTICE OF THIS BOARD.
THE FORMER CLERK WAS HIRED AND APPOINTED IN CLOSED SESSION.
IT WASN'T EVEN AN OPEN SESSION ITEM.
WHEN YOLANDA WAS HIRED, THE GENERAL MANAGER WAS HIRED IN OPEN SESSION WITHOUT GOING TO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, AND THE GENERAL COUNSEL WAS ALSO HIRED IN OPEN SESSION ON CONSENT.
SO THERE IS NO PAST PRACTICE OF GOING TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, INCLUDING FOR THE PRIOR BOARD.
THE BOARD HIRED YOLANDA, WE INTERVIEWED YOLANDA AND WE HIRED HER.
SO I CAN'T COMMENT ON WHAT WAS DONE IN CLOSED SESSION.
BUT THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES ARE CLEAR THAT THE CLERK IS AN APPOINTEE OF THE GENERAL MANAGER, AND THE BOARD CONSENTS TO THE HIRING OF THE CLERK.
YEAH, I THINK THERE'S JUST A DISAGREEMENT ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE OF THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES IN TERMS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. BUT YOU KNOW, I'M NOT WE CAN'T RESOLVE THAT RIGHT NOW.
AND THAT'S WHY I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WHEN WE HAVE A CHANCE TO GO IN AND REVISE THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES, I PERSONALLY WOULD BE VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN CLARIFYING THE PROCESS A LITTLE BIT.
SO YOU KNOW, THAT'S THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE WERE DOING.
I HAVE A AND CLARITY IS ALWAYS GREAT.
BUT I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT, SINCE THE THE HIRING OF THE GENERAL MANAGER, GENERAL COUNSEL AND THE FORMER CLERK HAD NEVER GONE TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, NO ONE ON THE BOARD HAD RAISED THIS ISSUE TO US UNTIL MOST RECENTLY, WHEN IT WAS TOO LATE TO GO TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
BEFORE WE CAME TO THE BOARD, HAD WE KNOWN WE WE WOULD HAVE DISCUSSED IT IN FURTHER DETAIL AND AT LEAST BEEN ABLE TO HAVE A DIALOG ABOUT HOW WE INTERPRET THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES. BUT THIS CAUGHT US OFF GUARD.
WE HAD NO IDEA THE BOARD EXPECTED US TO GO TO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
YES. I JUST WOULD ASK THAT PRESIDENT HAVE A CHANCE TO READ INTO THE RECORD BEFORE HE WAS CUT OFF HIS PROPOSAL. I THINK THAT IT'S REALLY UNFORTUNATE WE HAVE A CANDIDATE THAT'S KIND OF STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF A PROCESS.
I ACTUALLY KNOW KELLY, AND SHE HAS DONE GREAT WORK IN THIS CITY OF MORAGA. I JUST THINK WE HAVE A PROCESS PROBLEM HERE, AND I'D ASK THE PRESIDENT TO MAYBE READ THE STATEMENT THAT YOU KIND OF GOT CUT OFF.
I THOUGHT YOUR PROPOSAL TO GIVE US ALL A CHANCE TO MEET WITH KELLY IS A GOOD.
IF YOU COULD READ THAT AGAIN FOR ME. AND YES, THAT WAS A THAT'S THAT'S PROBABLY IN MY OPINION, I BELIEVE THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS HAVE THE CHANCE TO TO MEET WITH HER. I ALREADY HAVE, SO I WOULD DEFER TO THE OTHER.
HANG ON PLEASE. DEFER TO THE OTHER ONES.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY DESERVE A CHANCE TO DO THAT, TOO. SO I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO INTERJECT THAT WE TRIED.
WE ASKED YOU, EXCUSE ME, IN THE INTERIM BETWEEN NOW AND WHEN THIS ITEM COMES BACK TO THE BOARD, WHICH I ASSUME WILL BE THE NEXT BOARD MEETING, THAT WE WOULD HAVE A CHANCE TO TO HAVE THAT THAT INTERACTION AND GET TO KNOW HER. BUT IT'S NOT AN ISSUE.
AGAIN, AND I THINK I CAN SPEAK TO EVERYBODY ELSE.
IT'S NOT AN ISSUE OF WHETHER SHE'S A GREAT CANDIDATE OR NOT.
WE BELIEVE SHE IS. BUT WE JUST ARE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE WAY THIS HAS BEEN HANDLED.
WE OFFERED THAT TO THE TO YOU TO MEET WITH, TO HAVE HER MEET WITH EACH OF YOU.
IT'S EVEN IN WRITING. WELL, I WAS GOING BACK TO THE BLIND.
YEAH. EXCUSE ME FOR ONE SECOND.
I NEED TO SAY THIS ON THE RECORD.
WE HAVE FOLLOWED A VERY PROFESSIONAL PROCESS.
WE HAVE INFORMED YOU OF THE PROCESS.
THIS IS. OF COURSE, IT'S UP TO YOU.
THIS IS YOUR CHOICE. I AM STATING AGAIN MY STRONG RECOMMENDATION.
MENDATION. GO AHEAD, PROVIDE US FEEDBACK ON HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE PROCESS IMPROVED FOR THE NEXT TIME WE HEAR YOU, YOU WANT TO WEIGH IN ON WHAT YOUR NEEDS ARE WITH THE CLERK'S OFFICE. WE'VE OFFERED THAT UP.
LET'S SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
BUT WE HAVE A CANDIDATE WHO IS HERE READY TO START, READY TO GET THE WORK DONE.
AND IN THE INTEREST OF BEING VERY CONSTRUCTIVE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH YOU ALL, WE DID OFFER THAT. SO FOR THIS NOW TO HAPPEN ON THE SPOT IS REALLY DISCONCERTING.
[00:45:03]
NOT JUST FOR US, BUT FRANKLY FOR THE ENTIRE WORKFORCE.BUT IF I MAY JUST NOTE, THERE IS WORK TO BE DONE.
AND NOW YOU'RE DELAYING HIRING A CLERK OF THE BOARD WHERE WE HAVE TWO.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO STAFF MEMBERS ON THE CLERK TEAM.
ONE IS ONE OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE OUT ON MEDICAL LEAVE.
SO WHAT YOU'RE SUGGESTING IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER MONTH WHERE WE POTENTIALLY DON'T HAVE A CLERK OF THE BOARD ON STAFF TO DO THE VERY IMPORTANT WORK OF YOUR IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, MANAGE THE VERY IMPORTANT WORK OF THE BOARD SO THAT THIS REALLY DOES HAVE IMPLICATIONS ON OUR, YOU KNOW, JUST OUR ABILITY TO DO THE WORK AT THE PARK DISTRICT. WELL, WHAT I, WHAT I, WHAT I UNDERSTAND IS THAT THE STARTING DATE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE NOVEMBER 3RD, AND THE BOARD MEETING WOULD BE NOVEMBER 4TH.
SO THAT'S ONE DAY. THAT'S THE WAY I SEE IT.
SO FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD HAVE APPRECIATED BEING ABLE TO HAVE MY COMMENTS BEFORE EVERYBODY KIND OF PILED ON HERE.
BUT THAT SAID IT SEEMS, YOU KNOW, PERSONALLY, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YES, THERE WERE CONCERNS ABOUT THE PROCESS, BUT AT THIS POINT WE HAVE AN EXCELLENT CANDIDATE.
AND WHETHER WE APPROVE HER TODAY OR WE APPROVE HER ON THE FOURTH? IT'S NOT GOING TO MATTER IN TERMS OF THE FACT THAT WE APPROVE HER, BUT MEANWHILE, SHE'S GOING TO BE SITTING THERE WITHOUT THE FORMAL CONFIRMATION.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT'S FAIR.
I DON'T THINK THAT'S FAIR TO OUR NEW INCOMING CLERK, BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO ME IT'S A FOREGONE CONCLUSION, AND SHE'S AN EXCELLENT CANDIDATE.
AND WE SHOULD JUST DECIDE TODAY AND THEN DO OUR MEETINGS.
BUT NOT. BUT LET'S GET SOME CERTAINTY HERE.
OKAY. THANK YOU. MY OWN THOUGHT IS I'D LIKE THAT CONSENT TO BE MEANINGFUL.
YES. WELL, I AGREE. IF I GET TO MEET HER AND HAVE A FEW MINUTES WITH HER AND GET TO KNOW HER A LITTLE, THEN MY CONSENT IS MEANINGFUL AS IT IS TODAY.
I DON'T I HAVE TO ALSO SAY I DON'T RECALL GETTING THE OFFER TO TO MEET WITH HER.
I MEAN, I SEE I SAW EVERYONE SHAKING THEIR HEADS HERE, SO I'M NOT SURE WHEN. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU'RE OFFERING TODAY TO MEET WITH HER IN THE FUTURE? OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WAS OFFERED IN THE PAST THAT I CAN ADDRESS THAT I WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT AT A AT AN EMAIL AND IT SAID AT SOME POINT THERE WAS OFFERED A THE OFFER WAS MADE FOR OCTOBER 16TH AS A POSSIBLE MEETING DATE.
AND THEN THAT THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
SO THAT'S IT'S IN A IT'S IN AN EMAIL THAT I RECEIVED.
SO IT DIDN'T IN ALL THE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE GOING ON, I APOLOGIZE FOR LETTING THAT SLIP THROUGH, BUT I DIDN'T I DIDN'T FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
HI. SORRY. JESSICA ROMEO AGM OF HR.
THE OFFER WAS MADE IN AN EMAIL FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER TO THE BOARD ON SEPTEMBER 22ND. SO I CAN FORWARD THAT TO YOU IF YOU WOULD ALL LIKE.
YEAH. MY ONLY COMMENT IS SO WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE PROCESS.
I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT IT SHOULD HAVE GONE BEFORE THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
THERE'S SOME DISPUTE OVER THAT, BUT IS THERE ANY DISPUTE OVER THE FACT THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY, IT SAYS THE GENERAL MANAGER RECOMMENDS THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS CONSENT.
I ASSUME THAT MEANS AGREE OR VOTE, WHICH WE'RE ASKED TO DO RIGHT NOW.
IS IT THE IS IT THE WAY THE DISTRICT WORKS IN THAT YOU HIRED THIS PERSON, YOU OFFERED THEM A JOB AND YOU TOLD THEM THEY COULD TELL THEIR EMPLOYER, GO AHEAD, TELL YOUR EMPLOYER YOU'RE GONE AND YOU'RE GOING TO SHOW UP TO WORK HERE WITHOUT EVEN A VOTE. DO YOU BYPASS THE BOARD? ESSENTIALLY. SO WE DID NOT BYPASS THE BOARD.
WE CHECKED IN WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD, AND HE GAVE HIS OKAY FOR IT.
WELL, THAT THE THE PRESIDENT DOESN'T GET I MEAN, WE COULD DO THAT. YOU COULD DO THAT WITH EVERYTHING. THAT'S WHY WE HAVE SEVEN MEMBERS HERE TO VOTE. SURE. MY ASSUMPTION WOULD BE THAT THE PRESIDENT CHECKED IN WITH ALL OF YOU. SAYS WE'RE SUPPOSED TO VOTE.
YOU GOT TO SAY YOU GOT TO ADMIT THE PROCESS IS THAT WE COME AND PUT IT ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR. WE CAN DISAGREE OVER THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING.
IT'S GONE. AND I DON'T WANT TO BYPASS THIS POOR WOMAN'S JOB.
BUT TELL ME THAT IT WAS CORRECT THAT WE'RE GOING TO.
AND YOU HAVE TOLD THIS CANDIDATE TO GO AHEAD AND QUIT YOUR JOB.
YOU'VE GOT THE JOB THAT SEEMS TO SKIP RIGHT OVER THE BOARD.
WE DID OFFER A CLOSED SESSION, SO.
I DON'T RECALL THAT. I DON'T KNOW I DON'T KNOW WHEN THAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED BECAUSE WE'RE ALREADY WE'RE ALREADY DOING WE HAD A THREE HOUR CLOSED SESSION TODAY.
I DON'T KNOW WHEN THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN. YOU KNOW, THAT WAS ON THE BOARD AS WELL. SO WE'VE OFFERED THAT TO YOU. WE HEAR YOU.
[00:50:02]
YOU WANT TO PULL THE ITEM, YOU'VE HEARD THE CONSEQUENCES. YOU'VE HEARD OUR OUR WE WE FEEL VERY STRONGLY.WE FOLLOWED A VERY PROFESSIONAL PROCESS IN ACCORDANCE WITH YOUR RULES AND THE LAW.
DID I DID I ASK FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS ONE? I DID. OKAY. THEN DO I DO? I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THIS ITEM.
DO YOU WANT TO CLARIFY WHAT THE MOTION IS? THE MOTION? THE ITEM. GO AHEAD AND MAKE THE MOTION.
I DON'T I DON'T HAVE THE I DON'T HAVE THE TEXT IN FRONT OF ME HERE.
I'M LOOKING AT THE SCRIPT, AND THAT DOESN'T HAVE IT ON THERE, BUT WELL, WHAT'S WHAT'S ASKING FOR THE THE BOARD'S APPROVAL HERE.
WHAT? ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THIS? ASKING FOR CONSENT TO THE GENERAL MANAGER TO.
FOR THE HIRING OF THE FOR THE POSITION OF CLERK OF THE BOARD? OKAY. THAT'S THE THAT'S THE THAT'S THE TITLE.
WE'RE LOOKING NOW FOR THE MOTION YOU WERE GOING TO MAKE.
AND I THINK YOU DESCRIBED YOUR MOTION ALREADY.
THE THE MOTION THAT I LIKE TO MAKE IS TO TABLE THIS UNTIL THE NEXT BOARD MEETING, WHICH IS NOVEMBER 4TH.
SECOND, I HAVE A SECOND FROM WAESPI.
ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? NO. OKAY. AND ABSTAIN.
OKAY. SO IS IT. IS IT? I HAVEN'T VOTED YET. PARDON ME.
YES. YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T VOTED YET BECAUSE I WAS STILL.
WE I, I KNOW, BUT IT WENT SO, SO FAST AND I WAS STILL LOOKING.
I KNOW. PROCEDURALLY, I KNOW WE NEED TO VOTE.
YES, I KNOW, AND I'M TRYING TO VOTE, SO JUST I THINK THIS IS JUST BEING TORN BETWEEN THE TWO.
YEAH. WELL, SORRY. I'M GOING TO VOTE.
OKAY. YEAH. I DIDN'T HEAR THE VOTE.
NO. AND FIVE. YES TO TABLE THE ITEM.
AND WE WOULD REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE A CHANCE TO SCHEDULE.
I'M NOT SURE HOW WE WOULD DO IT, BUT SCHEDULE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS TO TO MEET KELLY PERSONALLY AND HAVE A HAVE A CHAT.
THANK YOU. THE NEXT ONE IS ITEM A FOUR.
[4. Authorization to Approve and Adopt an Amendment to the East Bay Regional Park District Salary Schedule to Implement Approved Wage Adjustments for AFSMCE Local 2428, Certain Unrepresented Management (which include GM and General Counsel), Seasonals and Confidential Staff and to Add New Classifications to the Park District Salary Plan]
AND I GUESS YOU CAN IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT ONE.IN REGARDS TO THE NEW CLASSIFICATIONS TO THE PARK DISTRICT SALARY PLAN I'LL FIRST START WITH A QUESTION. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, WE AREN'T REQUIRED TO ALWAYS HAVE TO ADD NEW CLASSIFICATIONS WHEN WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS APPROVAL PROCESS.
I BELIEVE WITHIN PUBLIC AFFAIRS WE'VE ADDED NEW CLASSIFICATIONS, YOU KNOW, OFF THIS SCHEDULE OF YOU KNOW, APPROVING AND ADOPTING AN AMENDMENT TO OUR SALARY SCHEDULE AND MY RECOMMENDATION.
SO THAT'S ONE OF MY QUESTIONS, IS THAT WE CAN WE CAN DO THAT SEPARATELY. AND MY RECOMMENDATION IS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH EVERYTHING EXCEPT ADDING THE NEW CLASSIFICATIONS TO THE PARK DISTRICT SALARY PLAN.
AND PART OF THAT IS I DID RECEIVE CONFIRMATION THAT MID-NOVEMBER WE WILL BE RECEIVING THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN PRESENTATION.
AND MY RECOMMENDATION IS THAT WE WAIT UNTIL AFTER WE HEAR ABOUT THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN BEFORE MAKING A DECISION IN REGARDS TO ONE OF THESE TWO NEW CLASSIFICATIONS THAT ARE GOING TO BE ADDED THE THE ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.
AND THEN FOR THE SECOND ONE, I WOULD LIKE TO GET MORE FAMILIARITY WITH THE BOARD SERVICES PROGRAM SUPERVISOR BEFORE APPROVING THIS CLASSIFICATION.
[00:55:03]
SO SO MY MY QUESTION IS, CAN WE PUT THAT ON HOLD AND APPROVE EVERYTHING ELSE BESIDES THOSE TWO NEW CLASSIFICATIONS.THE BOARD CAN MAKE THAT MOTION. YES, JESSICA.
IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, THIS WAS AN ATTEMPT.
BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ANOTHER PLAN.
YOU DON'T HAVE ANOTHER SCHEDULED ITEM THAT'S COMING FORWARD.
WE DO NOT BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR, WHICH IS WHY THIS WAS COMING NOW.
YES. SO WE CAN WE JUST HAVE TO BRING IT WILL JUST PUSH THINGS BACK.
YES. ALL RIGHT. SO YOU'RE THAT'S THAT'S THAT'S MY QUESTION I THINK WE DO PUBLIC COMMENT AND THEN IT.
YES. IT'S JUST TO ESTABLISH THE SALARIES.
SO WE WOULD NOT BE BRINGING BACK ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THE POSITION IS LIKE, THE JOB DESCRIPTION.
IT WOULD TRULY JUST BE TO ESTABLISH THE SALARIES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OH, SURE. I JUST I WASN'T CLEAR ON THAT SECOND PART EITHER.
I'D LIKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE ON IT SEPARATELY.
I DID SEND OUT SOME EMAILS AND STAFF DID AN EXCELLENT JOB TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THERE'S GOING TO BE SORT OF A CHANGE IN TITLE AND POSITION AND MOVEMENT, BUT I DIDN'T FULLY UNDERSTAND THE FISCAL IMPACT, AND IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DOMINO OF SORTS OF PEOPLE MOVING AROUND, JUST CHANGES IN TITLE.
AND I JUST WONDERED IF IT WAS RELATED SOMEHOW TO POTENTIAL REORGANIZATION.
THE IT POSITION IS ABSOLUTELY RELATED TO A REORGANIZATION.
I THINK IT'S IN THE STAFF REPORT.
WE'RE LOOKING TO MOVE INFORMATION SYSTEMS, RETITLE IT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.
AND MOVE THAT INTO ITS OWN DIVISION.
THE OTHER ONE IS NOT A RESULT OF THE REORGANIZATION OF ANY KIND.
JUST. WE SAW A NEED. I'M SORRY.
SO IT IS A REORGANIZATION, BUT NOT A PART OF THE REORGANIZATION? NO. THE BOARD SERVICES SUPERVISOR.
I WANT TO SAY OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD IS JUST A NEED THAT WE SAW FOR SUPPORT FOR THE BOARD.
AND SO THAT POSITION IS NOT PART OF ANY SORT OF REORGANIZATION.
YEAH, BUT THERE ARE TWO OF THEM IN HERE.
THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POSITION. WE ARE LOOKING TO MOVE THAT DIVISION, TAKE IT OUT OF FMS. THANK YOU.
AND MOVE IT INTO ITS OWN DIVISION.
WHEN WILL WE SEE THE REORGANIZATION AT THE BOARD? DO YOU KNOW? IT'S PART OF THE BUDGET.
YEAH, WE'RE BRINGING IT TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE AND THEN THE FULL BOARD.
AND WE ALSO HAVE TO ENGAGE AND MEET AND CONFER WITH OUR UNIONS.
SO WE'RE DOING THAT AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE'RE BRINGING THIS FORWARD TO THE BOARD.
SO THAT WE CAN ENGAGE IN IMPACT BARGAINING WITH THE UNION.
OKAY. THAT WAS A THAT WAS A FOUR.
OKAY. ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THAT ONE? WE DO. MEADOW? DARCY. OKAY.
GOOD AFTERNOON. BOARD OF DIRECTORS, GENERAL MANAGER AND ASSOCIATED STAFF.
MY NAME IS MEADOW. CAN'T HEAR YOU.
SORRY. MY NAME IS MEADOW DARCY, AND I AM THE CHIEF STEWARD FOR AFSCME LOCAL 248. I'M ALSO AN EMPLOYEE HERE.
AND I, I'M GLAD THAT THE BOARD NOTICED THAT THAT POSITION WAS ADDED TO THE SALARY SCHEDULE HERE. I KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S A NORMAL PART OF PUBLISHING THE SALARY SCHEDULE FOR CALPERS. HOWEVER, I DID NOTE THAT THAT POSITION WAS ADDED HERE, AND THAT WAS PART OF THE REORGANIZATION, SHEN.
INFORMATION THAT WE WERE PROVIDED.
AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE A REAL PROBLEM WITH.
THE CHIEF OF INFORMATION SERVICES, I BELIEVE, IS AT AN MGO FIVE, AND ELEVATING IT TO AN AGM IS ELEVATING IT TO AN MGO NINE, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY A 50% RAISE.
ON THE PAPERWORK THAT WE HAVE, IT SHOWS THAT DAVID RUSTING WILL BE PROMOTED TO THAT POSITION. AND WE STRONGLY OBJECT TO TO MAKING THAT CHANGE.
AGAIN, THE REORG PROBABLY WILL BE BROUGHT TO YOU AT A LATER TIME.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IN A TIME WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT NOT ADDING ANY POSITIONS BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY IT DOESN'T SEEM THAT IT'S WITHIN REASON TO GIVE A POSITION A 50% RAISE.
I CALCULATED THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MGO AND MGO NINE, AND YOU COULD ADD ANOTHER INTERPRETIVE AID POSITION TO THE BUDGET INSTEAD.
[01:00:03]
AND THAT POSITION COULD BE, EXPANDING PROGRAMS AND PROVIDING SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC. SO YOU KNOW, I'VE COME UP HERE AND TALKED BEFORE ABOUT LONG TERM VACANCIES THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE IT DEPARTMENT FOR YOU KNOW, ONE, TWO, THREE YEARS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN FILLED.AND OUR EMPLOYEES ARE HAVING TO YOU KNOW, DEAL WITH THAT.
AND YEAH, I DON'T THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA.
SO I KNOW THIS IS JUST TO ESTABLISH THE SALARY.
I DON'T THINK AN AGM OF IT IS NECESSARY.
I THINK IT'S AN EXPENDITURE OF MONEY THAT'S UNNECESSARY.
AND I ALSO THINK THAT THE MONEY COULD BE BETTER USED TO HIRE POSITIONS THAT ARE NEEDED. ESPECIALLY SINCE WE JUST RECENTLY HAD THIS NEGOTIATIONS WITH OUR TEMP AND SEASONALS AND ADDED THESE NEW LOWER LEVEL POSITIONS IN ORDER TO HAVE BETTER SERVICE DELIVERY.
AND OUR SEASONAL EMPLOYEES ARE NOW RETURNING BACK TO THEIR CURRENT WORKLOAD OR THE THE CORRECT CLASSIFICATION THAT THEY'RE DOING.
AND SO THEY WILL NOT BE LEADING PROGRAMS OR WRITING PROGRAMS ANYMORE AS SEASONAL WORKERS.
SO YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE THE POSITIONS THAT WE REALLY NEED, AND WE APPRECIATE THAT ONE WAS ADDED.
A 0.75 WAS ADDED. HOWEVER, WE COULD USE A LOT MORE.
SO YEAH. JUST WANT TO SPEAK AN OBJECTION TO THAT.
THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.
ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS? NO OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS.
BRING IT ON BACK TO THE BOARD FOR FOR COMMENTS.
I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION LOOKING AT THE RESOLUTION ON PAGE 23 IN OUR PACKET I SEE THAT THERE ARE EIGHT PARAGRAPHS THAT START WITH.
WHEREAS. AND IN MY MOTION I MOVE TO APPROVE THE FIRST FIVE WHEREAS PARAGRAPHS AND STRIKE OUT AND REMOVE PARAGRAPH SIX, SEVEN AND EIGHT. AND I WILL READ THOSE RIGHT NOW. WHEREAS A REORGANIZATION OF THE INFORMATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT TO A STANDALONE DIVISION IS NECESSARY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DISTRICT'S ORGANIZATIONAL GROWTH AND INCREASE IN DEMAND AND COMPLEXITY OF MATTERS FACING THE PARK DISTRICT.
WHEREAS A NEW CLASSIFICATION OF ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WILL BE ESTABLISHED, WHEREAS A NEW CLASSIFICATION OF BOARD SERVICES PROGRAM SUPERVISOR WILL BE ESTABLISHED.
MY PROPOSAL IS TO REMOVE THOSE THREE PARAGRAPHS BUT KEEP EVERYTHING ELSE THE SAME.
OKAY. WE HAVEN'T I'M NOT SURE WE'VE GOTTEN COMMENTS FROM EVERYBODY THAT WANTS TO COMMENT ON THIS YET, THOUGH. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY, SO THERE'S A MOTION.
IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.
OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
AYE. OPPOSED? NO. NO. OKAY, SO THERE'S TWO NOES.
AND ME? ME AND YOU. YOU SAID NO, RIGHT? OH, SORRY. I'M CONFUSING THE TWO.
I'M SAYING YES. LET'S APPROVE IT WITH THE REMOVAL OF THOSE THREE WHEREASES.
DON'T. I'M SORRY, I GOT CONFUSED WHAT WAS ON THE TABLE AND WHAT I WAS READING, THE STUFF I WAS THINKING AND WRITING AT THE SAME TIME.
I'M GOOD. I'M SECONDING THE MOTION AS A YES.
OKAY. LET'S START. LET'S START OVER AGAIN. SO THERE'S A MOTION ON THE TABLE.
AND A SECOND. DIRECTOR SANWONG.
SECONDED BY. SORRY, I HAVE A QUESTION.
SURE. ARE YOU THINKING THAT SOME OF THIS IS GOING TO COME BACK LATER? IS THIS IS THAT THE IDEA OR WHAT? YES, I THINK THAT'S WHAT IT WAS, RIGHT? YEAH. OKAY. OKAY. OKAY.
AND SPECIFICALLY, I MEAN, I DON'T THINK THIS NEEDS TO BE PART OF THE MOTION, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE INFORMATION SERVICES INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN FIRST. OKAY.
ALL RIGHT. SO ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
OKAY. THANK YOU. SO NOW MOVING ON TO A9.
[9. Authorization to Execute an Agreement with Ascent Environmental Inc. in the Amount of $167,996 for Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report for the Wildcat Bike Trail Project: Wildcat Canyon Regional Park]
SO YOU ASKED FOR THAT ONE? NO.OKAY. SO, DIRECTOR DESCHAMBAULT, YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR ON ON THIS? I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
I MAY HAVE COMMENTS I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM THE MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WHO WANTED TO COMMENT ON THIS. OKAY, SO THERE ARE NO QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD.
IS THAT RIGHT? ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS?
[01:05:02]
ARE WE DOING A STAFF PRESENTATION OR.NO. OKAY. SORRY. PUBLIC COMMENT.
THANK YOU. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. I'M A LITTLE UNCLEAR ON ITEM EIGHT.
I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO COMMENT ON THAT BEFORE THE BOARD VOTED ON IT.
MR. RANDLEMAN, WE'VE ALREADY PASSED THE CONSENT CALENDAR, WHICH HAD EIGHT. AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE ON NUMBER NINE.
DID YOU WANT TO COMMENT ON AUTHORIZATION TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH ASCENT ENVIRONMENTAL INCORPORATED? SO I'M NOT ALLOWED TO COMMENT ON EIGHT.
WELL, DID WE DID WE? I DON'T THINK WE HEARD FROM FROM ANYBODY THAT WANTED TO COMMENT ON THAT WHEN WE ADOPTED THE CONSENT CALENDAR.
SO WE WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE I HAD MY HAND UP, HAD A REQUEST. ANYWAY MY POINT IS STILL IT'S BASICALLY THE SAME FOR BOTH A8 AND A9.
THAT TRAIL CONSTRUCTION IS HAPPENING ON A9 NOW.
THEN THE ONE WE'RE ON? YES. OKAY, THERE YOU GO.
GO AHEAD. WHEN YOU BUILD A TRAIL, YOU ARE DESTROYING HABITAT.
IT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS. WHAT'S NOT OBVIOUS IS THAT YOU ARE NOT JUST DESTROYING HABITAT ON THE TRAIL BED, BUT ALSO IN A SWATH OF THE PARK ON BOTH SIDES.
BECAUSE THE WILD ANIMALS DON'T LIKE BEING AROUND HUMANS.
AND YOU PUT HUMANS ON THE TRAIL AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO WANT TO COME AROUND.
AND THEY YOU, THEY LOSE FULL, FULL USE OF THEIR HABITAT.
ALSO, THE WHEN YOU HIRE A COMPANY TO DO AN ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS THEY BASICALLY GREENWASH EVERYTHING. THEY SAY, OH, WELL, THERE'S NO ENDANGERED SPECIES, SO WE DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE.
SO THERE'S NO SIGNIFICANT HARM TO THE ENVIRONMENT.
IT'S JUST NOT TRUE. OF COURSE.
YOU'VE HEARD OF 30 BY 30 AND HALF EARTH.
THOSE PROJECTS ARE TO PRESERVE HABITAT, NOT ONLY EXISTING HABITAT, BUT PROTECT MORE HABITAT.
AND THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
THERE'S REALLY NO GOOD REASON TO BUILD THE WILDCAT BIKE TRAIL.
MOUNTAIN BIKERS HAVE MILLIONS OF MILES OF ROADS THEY CAN RIDE ON, OR THEY CAN WALK IN THE PARK ANYWHERE THAT THEY WANT TO.
BUT THEY SOMEHOW CONVINCED PEOPLE THAT THAT THEY HAVE A NEED TO MOUNTAIN BIKE, WHICH IS NONSENSE. SO I I VEHEMENTLY OPPOSE CREATING ANOTHER BIKE TRAIL AND YOU KNOW, HABITAT IS FINITE. IF YOU KEEP BUILDING TRAILS, YOU EVENTUALLY WILL HAVE NO MORE HABITAT.
SO AT SOME POINT YOU HAVE TO STOP.
AND I'M RECOMMENDING THAT YOU STOP NOW.
NORMA. NORMA WALLACE FROM THIS LAND FROM FOREVER.
ON MY NATIVE OHLONE SIDE, I AM VERY CURIOUS HOW WE GET TO THE POINT OF OF YOUR BEING ASKED TO CONSENT TO ALMOST $170,000 TO TELL US WHAT, AS THE GENTLEMAN WHO JUST SPOKE SO ELOQUENTLY PUT IT, WE KNOW WILDLIFE WILL BE IMPACTED.
WE KNOW WILDLIFE WILL BE KILLED.
WE KNOW WILDLIFE WILL BE HABITAT HABITS WILL BE DISRUPTED BY THIS BIKE PARK.
I WANT TO QUOTE FROM AN EMAIL I RECEIVED FROM A NONPROFIT SUPPORTING UKRAINE.
BRIDGES ARE FOR BOOTS, NOT OFF ROAD TOYS.
KEEP IT QUIET. IN THE MIDDLE OF AN AGGRESSIVE INVASION BY THEIR NEIGHBORS, THEY ARE STILL MORALLY AND ETHICALLY CLEAR ABOUT WHAT ENVIRONMENT MEANS,
[01:10:07]
AND IT DOES NOT MEAN BUILDING THINGS AND PUTTING WHEELS AND METAL PLACES WHERE THEY DON'T NEED TO BE. I HAVE SPENT DAYS AND HOURS AND MILES HIKING WILDCAT RIDGE, LOOKING OUT AND IMAGINING WHAT MY ANCESTORS SAW HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO.I CAN STILL DO THAT BECAUSE I CAN RAISE MY EYES UP.
BUT WHEN IF THIS BIKE BIKE PARK GOES THROUGH, YOU WILL BE LITERALLY GUTTING THE EARTH, GUTTING THE HILLSIDE, DOING IMMEASURABLE HARM.
AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY STAFF GETS TO PROVIDE DIRECTION TO YOU.
YOU'VE JUST SPENT MORE THAN HALF AN HOUR TALKING ABOUT HIRING ONE PERSON, BUT THIS HAS GREAT IMPACT FAR BEYOND ONE PERSON.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
MR. LA FORCE. MAYOR NORMAN LA FORCE. ON BEHALF OF SPRAWLDEF.
THIS ITEM SHOULD NOT BE APPROVED AT THIS TIME.
THIS YOU DON'T HAVE THE REQUISITE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THIS PROJECT IS GOING TO BE TO HAVE IT GO FORWARD AS A PROJECT.
YOU HAVE NO ALTERNATIVES EVEN IDENTIFIED.
AND THE PROBLEM WITH THIS IS THAT IT'S CLEARLY THERE'S GOING TO BE WHAT I IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY AND OTHERS REFER TO AS PROJECT CREEP.
IT'S SAID THAT, WELL, WE MAY NOT HAVE PLATFORMS WOODEN OR OR FABRICATED OTHERWISE, BUT THEY'RE THERE AND THEY'RE BEING PROPOSED.
SO WE KNOW THAT THERE'LL BE PLATFORMS. THIS IS GOING TO BE A FLOW TRAIL WHICH YOU GO ONLINE, YOU'LL SEE WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE.
SECONDLY, THERE'S THE THE POINT STRATEGY SAID, WELL, THIS WOULD BE AN IDEAL TRAIL FOR THE NEGRO RACES.
AND YET THERE'S SOME RESPONSE SAYING, OH NO, NO, IT'LL NEVER, NEVER BE USED FOR THAT.
WELL, I KNOW TWO YEARS AFTER IT'S DONE, FIVE YEARS AFTER IT'S DONE, SOMEBODY'S GOING TO SAY, THIS IS AN EXCELLENT SPOT FOR HAVING A RACE.
AND THEN AT THAT POINT SOMEBODY WILL SAY, WELL, WE SHOULD HAVE. SHOULDN'T WE ANALYZE THE IMPACTS? AND THE RESPONSE IS GOING TO BE, OH, WE DID THAT WAY BACK YEARS AGO WHEN THEY REALLY DIDN'T. BUT THAT'S GOING TO BE THE RESPONSE.
SO YOU'RE CREATING A MASSIVE STRUCTURE HERE THAT IS GOING TO REQUIRE ALL KINDS OF ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS ON THIS PIECE OF PROPERTY, FROM TOILETS TO EMERGENCY FACILITY LOCATIONS.
IN THE PARKING ISSUES ARE GOING TO BE HUGE, EVEN WITHOUT THE EXTRA RACE COMPONENT OF THIS, AND NONE OF THAT IS EVEN BEING DISCUSSED.
MOREOVER, CERTAIN COMPONENTS OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN OR WHAT ARE ISSUES CAN'T BE AND WON'T BE DISCUSSED IN THE EIR.
THAT'S THE COST OF MAINTENANCE AND WHAT THAT WOULD BE. THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE OF FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IN TERMS OF THE COST OF MAINTENANCE SIMILARLY SUPERVISION.
WHO'S GOING TO SUPERVISE ALL THIS? WHO'S GOING TO BE PAYING FOR THE UPKEEP AND MAINTENANCE? THOSE ARE ALL ISSUES THAT I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN THEY'RE RAISED IN THE COMMENTS. THE RESPONSE IS GOING TO BE, THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT. AND YET NONE OF THAT HAS BEEN FLESHED OUT AND ANALYZED FOR SUFFICIENCY SUFFICIENTLY FOR THIS PROJECT TO GO FORWARD, SO YOU REALLY NEED TO GO BACK.
THIS PROJECT IS NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME.
IT WASN'T WHEN IT WAS FIRST CONCEIVED IN SECRET THREE YEARS AGO BETWEEN THE STAFF AND THE MOUNTAIN BIKE COMMUNITY. AND IT'S NOW COSTING WHAT YOU'RE AT $500,000 FIVE YEARS DOWN THE LINE, FOUR YEARS DOWN THE LINE, AND WE STILL DON'T SEE A REAL PROJECT IN FRONT OF US. WE JUST SEE CONCEPTUAL CONCEPTIONS AND VISIONS.
THIS IS NOT A WAY TO GO TO DO A PROJECT IN A WILDCAT CANYON PARK, LET ALONE THE FACT THAT THIS IS IN VIOLATION OF THE MASTER PLAN AND THE LAND USE PLAN FOR THE PARK. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.
THANKS. THANK YOU. MICHAEL MEJIA.
I JUST WANT TO REINFORCE THE IDEA THAT THIS PROJECT WAS NOT CONSTRUCTED IN SECRET.
WE HAVE ORGANIZATIONS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL WHO HAVE SUGGESTED THAT THE NATURE OF COMMUNICATION HAS BEEN OBSCURED IN ORDER TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT.
I THINK BOTH OF THOSE THINGS ARE JUST A SMEAR.
OUTREACH IS PERFORMED IN PROPER AND TRADITIONAL WAYS BY THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT. YOU CANNOT SEND PEOPLE EMAILS UNWANTED.
[01:15:02]
THAT'S CALLED SPAM. YOU HAVE GIVEN PEOPLE OPPORTUNITIES TO REACH INTO THE WEBSITE AND AND REQUEST THAT INFORMATION BE SENT TO YOU, AND YOU CAN GET ANYTHING YOU WANT.THAT'S HOW I FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS MEETING. AND THE OTHER PART IS IT WAS NOT FORMED IN SECRET. THIS THING HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR FIVE YEARS.
IN FACT, THIS WHOLE THING HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR 35 YEARS.
AND I FIND MYSELF LOOKING AT TWO PRINCIPAL ENEMIES OF ANY KIND OF MOUNTAIN BIKING IN THE IN THE PARK. THEY'RE STILL HERE.
AND THEY KEEP SHOWING UP AND THEY KEEP SMEARING US.
AND I RESENT THAT. AND I FIND THAT INEXCUSABLE.
SO I THINK THAT I REALLY APPRECIATE THE PROCESS AS IT'S GONE ON.
I THINK THAT THERE WERE ADVANTAGES WITH THE STAFF WHO KNOW THESE GROUNDS REALLY, REALLY WELL. AND WHEN THE IDEA CAME FORWARD, THEY COULD THINK VERY QUICKLY ABOUT PLACES WHERE IT WOULDN'T WOULDN'T HAPPEN. THAT'S THEIR SKILL.
THESE PEOPLE THAT WE'RE WORKING WITH HAVE BEEN HERE FOR 20 YEARS.
SO I HAVE GREAT CONFIDENCE IN THE PARK DISTRICT.
I HAVE GREAT CONFIDENCE IN THE PROCESS, AND I THINK WE LET THE PROCESS GO FORWARD AND DO WHAT IT DOES. AND IN THE VERY END, ALL YOU SEVEN FOLKS GET TO VOTE.
YOU GET TO LISTEN TO ALL THE COMMENTS AND CONCERNS, AND THEN YOU GET TO VOTE.
BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET THERE UNTIL YOU GO THROUGH THE PROCESS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ALL RIGHT.
THANKS. THANK YOU. ELEANOR BLAKE.
THANK YOU. CAN YOU HEAR ME? ALL RIGHT. I HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTING TO.
I'VE BEEN. I'VE LOST MY CONNECTION TWICE IN THE LAST FEW MINUTES, SO I'M NOW OUTSIDE NEAR OUR ROUTER.
IF I GET DISCONNECTED, IT ISN'T DELIBERATE ON MY PART.
I I'VE HEARD GREAT THINGS FROM BIKERS ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRAIL AND WAS ON YOUR LAST MEETING AS WELL. AND AT OUR LOCAL MUNICIPAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING IN RICHMOND, EAST RICHMOND HEIGHTS.
MY CONCERN, I'M, I'M WORRIED THAT MY CONCERNS AREN'T NECESSARILY COVERED BY THE EIR I HIKE ON. I LIVE RIGHT NEAR WILDCAT.
I HIKE ON THE WILDCAT CREEK TRAIL, AS DO MANY OF MY FRIENDS.
AND WE ARE ALWAYS SAYING, OH, IT'S GARBAGE DAY.
IF YOU HEAR NOISE, WE ARE ALL.
WE ARE ALWAYS WITH HORSEBACK RIDERS, WITH PEOPLE CARRYING BABIES, WITH PEOPLE, WITH BABY STROLLERS, WITH DOG WALKERS, WITH LIKE EIGHT DOGS, MANY DOG WALKERS.
AND I'M CONCERNED THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION AND I DON'T THINK PARK HAS INFORMATION ABOUT I HOPE YOU CAN HEAR ME ABOUT THE USE OF WILDCAT TRAIL FROM ALVARADO TO MISSOU, WHICH IS A DISTANCE OF TWO MILES.
THAT. ARE YOU FROZEN? WE CAN COME BACK TO HER IF IF YOU LIKE.
OKAY. YOU HAVE ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL.
TOBIN. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
THANK YOU. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. I'M SALLY TOBIN. I'M CHAIR OF FRIENDS OF WILDCAT CANYON PARK.
AND REGARDING THE PROPOSED BIKE TRAIL THIS IS THE RIGHT IDEA, BUT THE WRONG LOCATION.
IT TARGETS AN EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT DESIGNATED NATURAL AREA WITH COMPLEX ECOSYSTEMS. SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT ECOSYSTEMS STOP AT VISIBLE TREES AND GRAZING ANIMALS AND BIRDS, BUT ECOSYSTEMS GO MUCH DEEPER.
AT FIRST GLANCE, A GRASSLAND WATERSHED MAY LOOK LIKE AN UNDULATING MONOCULTURE, BUT UNDERNEATH ARE POLLINATORS LIKE GROUND DWELLING BEADS, THE BEES THAT PROPAGATE, FLOWERING PLANTS THAT PROVIDE LITTER AND SHADE AND ROOT HABITATS AND EROSION CONTROL.
AND THERE ARE MOLES AND BEETLES AND TARDIGRADES AND MICE AND EARTHWORMS AND NEMATODES AND FUNGI AND BACTERIA AND PROTOZOANS THAT TEAM UP TO CARRY OUT NUTRIENT CYCLING, WATER MANAGEMENT AND SOIL MAINTENANCE.
[01:20:03]
AS A RESULT, BULLDOZERS, IN MY OPINION, DO NOT BELONG ON NATURAL WATERSHEDS. THE SECOND DEFICIENCY OF THE PROPOSED LOCATION IS ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE FOR SERIOUS INJURIES. WHILE SUCH TRAILS ARE DESIGNED SO THAT RIDERS NEED TO SLOW DOWN FOR FEATURES, IT IS EASY FOR USERS TO MISCALCULATE WHO WILL MONITOR THE SITE ON A DAILY BASIS. WHO WILL ALERT FIRST AID AND STOP OTHER WRITERS? WHERE WILL THE AMBULANCES PARK? HOW WILL HELICOPTERS EVACUATE? THESE CONSIDERATIONS CAUSE CALL FOR A WELL DESIGNED FOOTPRINT, WITH ACCESS TO FACILITIES THAT ARE SIMPLY NOT POSSIBLE AT THE REMOTE WILDCAT CANYON LOCATION. THOUGH THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT MAY BE SHIELDED FROM SOME LIABILITY, THE DISTRICT DOES SEEM TO BE ON THE VERGE OF AFFECTING PUBLIC TRUST BY FAILING TO THINK ABOUT THE SAFETY OF PARK USERS.THANK YOU. THANK YOU. JOHN CALLAWAY.
I WAS JUST GETTING LINKEDIN AS A PANELIST.
I'M THE CO-CHAIR OF THE EAST BAY CONSERVATION COMMITTEE FOR THE GOLDEN GATE BIRD ALLIANCE, AND I'M A BERKELEY RESIDENT AND A REGULAR USER OF BOTH WILDCAT AND TILDEN PARK.
I'M I'M COMMENTING ON THE PROPOSED BIKE TRAIL THAT'S BEING CONSIDERED FOR THE CONTRACT TO GO FORWARD WITH THE EIR, AND AS WAS PROPOSED IN PAST MEETINGS, I URGE YOU TO DO MORE PREPARATORY WORK PRIOR TO DIVING INTO THE NOTICE OF PREPARATION AND THE EIR. I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT, AS WAS HIGHLIGHTED BY OTHERS, THAT THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS TO VALUABLE ECOSYSTEMS. IN PARTICULAR, WHERE IT'S CURRENTLY LOCATED, THERE WILL BE SUBSTANTIAL IMPACTS TO GRASSLAND HABITATS, AND FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BIRD SPECIES, THERE ARE IMPACTS TO GRASSLAND BIRD SPECIES, INCLUDING A SPECIES THAT'S LISTED AS A STATE AND FEDERAL SPECIES OF CONCERN.
GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS AND THE GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS HAVE NESTED IN THIS AREA SO THEY WE KNOW THEY WILL BE IMPACTED.
THEY'LL BE VERY SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS TO THAT LISTED SPECIES.
SO WE STRONGLY URGE YOU TO CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE LOCATIONS WHERE IMPACTS COULD BE REDUCED AND WHERE LISTED SPECIES WOULD NOT BE IMPACTED.
FROM WHAT HAS BEEN PROPOSED SO FAR.
THERE HAS BEEN VERY, VERY LITTLE EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE LOCATIONS FOR THE PROPOSED TRAIL, AND THAT REALLY IS ESSENTIAL.
IN ADDITION, AS WAS HIGHLIGHTED IN SOME OF THE EARLIER QUESTIONS FROM THE BOARD, THE PROJECT IS POORLY DEFINED.
IT'S NOT CLEAR HOW THE TRAIL WILL BE CONSTRUCTED AND OTHER DETAILS THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE SCOPE OF THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT.
SO GIVEN THIS, IT'S NOT CLEAR HOW HOW YOU COULD GO FORWARD WITH THE AIR AND HOW HOW THE PUBLIC CAN PROVIDE A VALUABLE AND FOCUSED INPUT ON THE SCOPE.
WITHOUT A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE PROJECT REALLY IS.
LAST, I KNOW THAT FROM ATTENDING MULTIPLE PREVIOUS MEETINGS ON THE TRAIL THAT MANY YOUNG BIKE RIDERS HAVE SPOKEN OUT IN SUPPORT OF THE PROPOSED TRAIL.
HOWEVER, I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THERE ARE MANY OTHER YOUNG EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT VISITORS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN ENGAGING WITH NATURE IN A LESS DISRUPTIVE WAY. AS AN EXAMPLE, GOLDEN GATE BIRD ALLIANCE HAS BEEN WORKING WITH MANY SCHOOL GROUPS AND OTHERS TO PROVIDE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN WILDCAT, TILDEN, AND OTHER EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT PARKS.
THE BIKING COMMUNITY HAS BEEN VERY ORGANIZED IN WORKING WITH YOUR STAFF ON THIS TRAIL, BUT YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOT THE ONLY COMMUNITY OR THE ONLY YOUNG PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN THIS ISSUE AND THIS REGIONAL PARK.
GIVEN ALL THESE ISSUES, I URGE YOU TO ADDRESS THESE CONCERNS PRIOR TO MOVING FORWARD WITH THE NOTICE OF PREPARATION AND THE CONTRACT FOR AN EIR CONSULTANT.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SO THAT'S IT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
ALL RIGHT. ARE WE GOING TO TRY TO GO BACK AND GET OR IS THERE ANY WAY TO DO THAT OR.
ELEANOR BLAKE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ON THE PANEL.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WELL, THAT'S TOO BAD.
ALL RIGHT, SO ANY COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? A NINE JUST. JUST WANTED TO NOTE THAT I APPRECIATED PROFESSOR TAYLOR'S INPUT.
I THINK HE SUBMITTED IT IN CONNECTION WITH THE SEQUA STUDY.
AND I WANTED TO MENTION THAT IT WAS RECEIVED AND BECOMES PART OF THE RECORD FOR THE STUDY.
YES. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER ANY OTHER COMMENTS?
[01:25:08]
YES. I THINK YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALREADY VOTED ON THIS ISSUE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH IT. AND TODAY WE'RE MORE SPECIFICALLY VOTING ON THE COMMITMENT OF FUNDS. AND I THINK BASED ON THAT ALONE, I FELT TO BE CONSISTENT AND WANTED TO HEAR FROM STAFF IF ANYTHING HAD CHANGED.BUT CONSISTENT WITH EARLIER COMMENTS AND A MOTION THAT DID NOT PASS.
I GUESS BACKING UP, I WANT TO MAKE ONE OTHER COMMENT. I THINK ONE THING THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT IS THIS ISSUE ABOUT DEFINING THE PROJECT, AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO SEE THAT FLOW TRAIL.
THE WORD FLOW IS NOT JUST AN ADJECTIVE HERE.
THE FLOW TRAIL EVERYWHERE I GO IS VERY CLEAR THAT YOU KNOW, THE INTENT IS TO HAVE THESE ROLLERS AND BUMPS TO TRY TO YOU KNOW, NOT USE BRAKES AND SLOW DOWN TRAFFIC AT THE SAME TIME.
KIND OF LIKE A SKI TRAIL, LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU GO TO THE TOP AND THEN YOU YOU USE THESE DESIGNS.
BUT I DON'T THINK WE'VE COME TO AGREEMENT ON WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE THESE UNDERLAYMENTS OF METAL VERSUS WOOD OR NONE AT ALL.
AND SO I, I PERSONALLY WAS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH MOVING FORWARD BECAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING AND MY WORK WITH CEQUA IS YOU HAVE TO HAVE A DEFINED PROJECT, AND THIS BOARD HASN'T FULLY MADE A DECISION. THROUGHOUT THE POINT STRATEGIES REPORT, WHICH I GUESS WE CAN OR CANNOT ACCEPT THROUGH THIS PROCESS, IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT THEY'RE BUILDING IT TO NATO STANDARDS.
SO WHETHER OR NOT WE TAKE THOSE OUT IS IT A TRAIL THAT WE STILL WANT WITHOUT THE BERMS AND ROLLERS AND ALL OF THAT? SO I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED.
AND I JUST WANT TO ALSO BE CONSISTENT AGAIN WITH THE EARLIER MOTION THAT THAT I FELT WE DON'T HAVE THE DESCRIPTION.
I THINK WE STILL NEEDED MORE TIME TO LOOK AT LAND USE PLANS.
I REALLY AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY AND THE RACES AND THE COST.
I HEARD THAT PLEASANTON RIDGE IS REDOING.
I MET SOME FOLKS IN ORLANDO WHEN I WENT TO THAT.
THEY'RE COMPLETELY REDOING THEIR FLOW TRAIL BECAUSE A NUMBER OF THOSE UNDERLAYMENT THINGS ARE FAILING AND ROTTING AND FALLING APART.
I HAVE SINCE THEN FOUND OUT THAT CROCKETT HILLS HAS A FLOW TRAIL THAT'S GOT VIDEOS EVERYWHERE OF OF WHAT THEY CONSIDER NOT.
IT'S NOT PURPOSE BUILT, BUT IT HAS THE BUMPS AND FLOWS AND ROLLERS.
SO IT DOES DEFINE WITH THE ADJECTIVE FLOW TRAIL TO THE MOUNTAIN BIKER WORLD.
AND THEN JUST OVERALL, I STILL KEEP HOLDING ON TO THE THE ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS. I'VE BEEN HAVING TROUBLE GETTING A COPY OF THE NOMAD REPORT.
I WAS HAVING TROUBLE GETTING THE POINT STRATEGIES REPORT.
I'M CONCERNED ABOUT WATER SHED IMPACTS BROADLY.
THE PACK DID RECEIVE SOMETHING ABOUT RESTORATION OF THAT CREEK, AND I DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND HOW THIS WILL IMPACT OR INTERACT WITH THAT AND THE CORRIDORS. SO I JUST FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT OTHER SENTIENT BEINGS BESIDES THE CATTLE AND THE CATTLE FENCING WE TALKED ABOUT.
AGAIN, NOT BEING FULLY DEFINED, IT IS ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE AREA I HAVEN'T GOT A GOOD FEELING FOR. HOW WILL THE I CALL IT A ROPE TOW OF SORTS.
HOW IS THE FLOW OF THE TRAFFIC GOING TO GET UP SO THEY CAN COME DOWN? IT'S A ONE WAY TRACK AND I DO, I APOLOGIZE, BUT EVEN POINT STRATEGIES CALLED IT SIMILAR TO A SKI SLOPE IN THEIR AREA THAT YOU GO TO THE TOP AND YOU COME DOWN AND YOU DO THAT MULTIPLE TIMES IN A DAY.
AND I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED, AND I THINK WE HAVE SOME SAY IN THAT AT SOME POINT WHERE WE'RE GOING TO MITIGATE, BECAUSE ARE WE GOING TO GO UP HEAVY? ARE WE GOING TO JUST ALLOW THEM UP? MESA. THERE'S SOME DISCUSSION.
SO I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED ON THE IMPACT OF THE BROADER IMPACT OF THAT AND WAY BEYOND CATTLE AND CATTLE GATING AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND THE TARPLANT MENTIONED, I HAVEN'T SEEN AGAIN, THE 2024 NOMAD REPORT.
I THINK PROFESSOR TAYLOR MADE SOME GREAT COMMENTS.
SO AS EVERYONE ELSE. SO I DON'T KNOW.
THOSE ARE JUST MY ADDED COMMENTS. NOTHING I DON'T THINK HAS CHANGED.
UNLESS STAFF HAS ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD.
I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE GENERATIONS HAVING YOU KNOW, THEY SAY IN ALL OUR POLICY MAKING WE SHOULD CONSIDER OUR IMPACTS ON THE NEXT SEVEN GENERATIONS. AND I'M REALLY BEGINNING TO SEE THAT BICYCLISTS AND MOUNTAIN BICYCLISTS ARE REALLY EVOLVING TWO CATEGORIES OUT THERE IN OUR PARK.
SO AS WE WRITE OUR DISTRICT PLAN, HOW DO WE ADDRESS YOU KNOW, THE HIKERS, BIKERS AND DOG WALKERS, BUT ALSO THE BICYCLISTS VERSUS THE MOUNTAIN.
ANYWAY, THIS IS A LOT OF MONEY TODAY FOR 170,000.
I APPRECIATED THE ADDED INPUT AND I GUESS JUST CONSISTENT WITH MY FORMER COMMENTS.
THERE YOU GO. I STILL HAVE THE SAME CONCERNS, IF NOT A FEW MORE, SINCE I'VE LEARNED AND SEEN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT OTHER FLOW TRAILS. I DIDN'T KNOW WE HAD TWO MORE FLOW TRAILS IN OUR PARK DISTRICT ALREADY.
MAX HELPED ME TO LOOK AT THAT.
SO YOU KNOW, THE THE BICYCLISTS ARE I DON'T KNOW, I'VE HEARD EVERYTHING FROM 8 TO 18% OF OUR USERS.
SO WE STILL HAVE ANOTHER 80% OF USERS THAT NEED TO BE REPRESENTED.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THIS? YES. YES. I'M NOT GOING TO BE SUPPORTING THE PROPOSED ITEM HERE.
[01:30:01]
I STAND BY THE THE PREVIOUS MOTION I MADE WHEN WE REVIEWED MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS.AND YES, TODAY IS VOTING ON A COMMITMENT OF FUNDS AND I DON'T SUPPORT THAT.
I DO THINK THAT WE HAVE A NEED FOR DISCUSSION IN REGARDS TO LAND USE PLANS.
I WAS HOPING WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE SECOND CENTURY DISTRICT PLAN AT OUR WORKSHOP, THAT THAT WOULD BE A TOPIC THAT WE WOULD HAVE COVERED.
IT WAS SOMETHING THAT I WAS PREPARED FOR WHEN WE WERE DISCUSSING THE SECOND CENTURY DISTRICT PLAN. I THINK THAT WE DO HAVE A NEED TO TALK ABOUT LAND USE PLANS OVERALL ACROSS ALL OF OUR PARKS, ESPECIALLY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE SECOND CENTURY DISTRICT PLAN, AS WELL AS SPECIFICALLY IN REGARDS TO THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT.
AND I DO ALSO HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT SAFETY AND MAINTENANCE.
I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER CONVERSATION WE NEED TO HAVE, AND I'D LIKE TO HAVE IT PRIOR TO MOVING FORWARD WITH THE EIR.
THE EIR IS NOT GOING TO ANSWER THAT FOR US.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHERS? SO ANYWAY, THE THE MOTION WOULD BE AUTHORIZATION TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH ASCENT ENVIRONMENTAL IN THE AMOUNT OF 167,000 $996,000 FOR PREPARATION OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE WILDCAT BIKE TRAIL PROJECT, WILDCAT CANYON REGIONAL PARK.
SO ANYONE ANYONE WANT TO MAKE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL OF THAT.
SECOND BY COFFEY. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE, AYE. OPPOSED? I'M OPPOSED.
OPPOSED. DESCHAMBAULT AND SANWONG.
THANK YOU. SO NOW, MOVING ON NOW TO A 12 AUTHORIZATION TO TRANSFER AN APPROPRIATE
[12. Authorization to Transfer and Appropriate $800,000 of Measure WW Acquisition Funds for Safety and Security at Pt. Molate: Pt. Molate Regional Shoreline]
$800,000 OF MEASURE WW ACQUISITION FUNDS FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY.IN POINT MULATI. WERE THERE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS? YES, I PULLED THIS ITEM.
I'M STILL NOT COMPLETELY CLEAR ABOUT USING MEASURE WW ACQUISITION FUNDS FOR ITEMS THAT ARE NOT LAND ACQUISITION.
I KNOW WE MADE A PROMISE TO THE VOTERS WITH MEASURE WW AND AND I KNOW WE DID START THIS CONVERSATION AT OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS WORKSHOP NUMBER TWO THAT WE HAD A FEW WEEKS AGO WHERE WE STARTED TO EXPLORE THIS THIS IDEA.
AND I WANT TO PULL THIS BECAUSE I JUST DIDN'T FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE ITEM, AND I'M NOT SURE I'M READY TO SUPPORT IT TODAY.
IN TERMS OF QUESTIONS I GUESS IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO GO OVER THIS CONCEPT AGAIN.
AND I KNOW THAT THIS WAS BROUGHT UP AT THE CAPITAL PROJECTS WORKSHOP, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS EXPLAINED WELL AT THE CAPITAL PROJECTS WORKSHOP, BUT I'M STILL TRYING TO RECONCILE WHAT IT MEANS.
OKAY, SO I GUESS FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT AT THE CAPITAL PROJECTS WORKSHOP.
EVERY TIME WE COMPLETE A NEW LAND ACQUISITION, WE HAVE A TYPICAL PROCESS TO PUT SOME FUNDS INTO SOME OF THE INITIAL WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO TO MAKE IT SAFE AND SECURE.
SO THIS IS FOLLOWING A STANDARD PRACTICE THAT WE DO FOR BASICALLY ALL OF THE LAND THAT WE ACQUIRE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
AND WE TYPICALLY DO UTILIZE THE ACQUISITION FUNDS TO FUND THIS TYPE OF INITIAL SAFETY AND SECURITY WORK. DO YOU HAVE SOME? HIGH DEB SPAULDING OF FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES.
JUST WANTED TO ECHO THAT THIS IS SAFETY AND SECURITY MONEY.
SO IT'S REALLY PART OF THE LAND ACQUISITION PROCESS.
SO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT AT THAT BOARD STUDY SESSION. ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU. I GUESS WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL WOULD BE TO KNOW MAYBE JUST A PREVIOUS EXAMPLE OF WHERE WE MIGHT HAVE DONE SOMETHING SIMILAR WITH A LAND ACQUISITION.
THAT'D BE HELPFUL FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND. YEAH, WE ACTUALLY DO THIS WITH EVERY LAND ACQUISITION, ALMOST EVERY LAND ACQUISITION PROJECT.
SO ONCE WE'VE ACQUIRED THE LAND, THERE'S ADDITIONAL WORK OFTEN NEEDED TO LIKE REPAIR FENCES OR IF THERE'S SOME HAZARD THERE OR LIKE MAYBE SOME FUELS MANAGEMENT IS NEEDED. AND SO WE'LL APPROPRIATE ADDITIONAL FUNDS.
WE'LL ACTUALLY HAVE STAFF GO OUT AND LIKE FIGURE OUT WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO MAKE THE LAND SAFE AND SECURE. SO IT'S DONE AS A PART OF EVERY ACQUISITION.
I THINK TYPICALLY IT'S DONE AS PART OF THE ACQUISITION, SO YOU DON'T SEE IT COMING AS A STANDALONE ITEM.
AND SO THAT'S WHY IT'S CONFUSING, RIGHT? RIGHT NOW TO SEE IT ON ITS OWN.
[01:35:01]
AND I JUST ADD I THINK WE DID IT FOR THE FRISKY PROPERTY TWO BOARD MEETINGS AGO.YEAH OKAY. OKAY. THAT'S HELPFUL.
AND THEN I GUESS I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE AND YOU'VE ALMOST CONVINCED ME, BY THE WAY, TO SUPPORT THIS.
SO THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS. THIS IS REALLY HELPFUL.
FOR ME HERE, I GUESS JUST MAYBE A QUICK REVIEW.
I KNOW THAT THERE IS ALSO AN AGREEMENT WITH CITY OF RICHMOND, WITH SOME FUNDS AVAILABLE LEFT OVER FROM THEIR PREVIOUS AGREEMENT WITH THE US NAVY.
IT MIGHT JUST BE HELPFUL TO REVIEW THAT AGAIN RIGHT NOW.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
I'M BECKY BREMNER, DIVISION LEAD FOR LAND ACQUISITION.
AND I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE OF PIECES.
ONE IS WE HAVE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF RICHMOND.
AND THAT IS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF OUR OWNERSHIP TO DO OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT STUFF, MOSTLY AROUND PUBLIC SAFETY AND LANDSCAPING.
SO SETTING ASIDE THE NAVY PIECE AND NOW WE'RE STARTING TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CITY OF RICHMOND, NAVY WATER BOARD AND THAT SORT OF THING TO WORK OUT WHAT THE PLAN IS ON SPLITTING THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES WHEN IT COMES TO ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP.
SO THIS IS SEPARATE, BUT I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU'RE ASKING, BECAUSE IT IS COVERING MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES WITH THE PROPERTY. GREAT. THANK YOU.
ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES. NO QUESTIONS. OKAY.
ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS? NO PUBLIC COMMENT? NO PUBLIC COMMENTS. ALL RIGHT. BOARD COMMENTS. YES.
DIRECTOR COFFEY. I'M LEARNING. IT'S TAKING ME TIME.
IT'S REALLY HARD. I'LL GIVE YOU A COUPLE OF MORE YEARS AND YOU'LL PROBABLY.
THAT'LL HELP. MAYBE. YEAH, I STRONGLY SUPPORT IT SINCE YOU WERE ONLY SOMEWHAT CONVINCED. I'LL TAKE IT.
I HOPE TO CONVINCE. IT IS A USUAL AND REGULAR PRACTICE IN ACQUISITIONS TO PROVIDE FUNDING FROM ACQUISITIONS FOR THESE SECURITY SERVICES.
BEYOND THAT, IT WAS PART OF THE DEAL HERE, AND I THINK BECKY JUST LANDED ON THAT.
BUT WE COMMITTED AS PART OF THE ACQUISITION TO DO THIS AS PART OF THE ACQUISITION.
SO IT IS A WHOLLY APPROPRIATE USE OF ACQUISITION FUNDS.
ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
SO WITH THAT DO I HAVE A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE MOVED? OKAY. SECOND GUYS ARE MOVING RIGHT ALONG HERE.
ALL IN FAVOR? I, I SUPPORT OPPOSED I.
ALL RIGHT. THAT'S UNANIMOUS ONE.
THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. SO THAT IS THAT CONCLUDES THE CONSENT CALENDAR PORTION OF OUR MEETING. AND WE MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM 8B1.
[ACQUISITION, STEWARDSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION]
AND, AND I WILL I WILL SAY THAT I WAS PLANNING ON HAVING A BREAK AFTER THIS ITEM.OKAY. SO LET'S LET'S JUST GO AHEAD.
GREAT. THANK YOU. I AM REN BATES, DIVISION LEAD OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
THE STAFF REPORT IS IN THE PACKET.
WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR IS TO TALK ABOUT PERALTA OAKS NORTH.
THE PROJECT ACROSS THE STREET.
I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO TOBY PERRY, WHO'S OUR PROJECT MANAGER. JUST A MINUTE. BUT I WANTED TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT. THIS IS.
WE'RE IN THE HOMESTRETCH OF RENOVATING THIS BUILDING.
THIS HAS BEEN A LONG, LONG ENDEAVOR FOR THE PARK DISTRICT.
WE PURCHASED THE BUILDING ACROSS THE STREET IN 2019, AND BEFORE THAT, THERE WAS A MULTI-YEAR ENDEAVOR TO LOOK FOR OTHER PROPERTIES.
AND PRIOR TO THAT, THERE WAS EVEN AN ENDEAVOR TO BUILD A SPECIFIC PURPOSE BUILT BUILDING.
SO IT'S BEEN YEARS IN THE MAKING, AND WE'RE IN THE HOME STRETCH OF RENOVATION FOR NEW PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICE AND ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING AND PUBLIC FACE FOR THE DISTRICT IN TERMS OF MOVING THE BOARD OVER THERE.
SO JUST AS A REMINDER FOR THAT.
LIKE I SAID, WE ARE HERE TO ASK FOR A LITTLE BIT MORE MONEY AND TO AMEND SOME CONTRACTS.
THIS IS TOBY WILL GET INTO THAT IN THE PRESENTATION.
I DO WANT TO SAY THAT WE DID BRING THIS TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE IN AUGUST AND PRESENTED THIS THERE. SO THIS HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY STATED TO BOARD MEMBERS.
AND I DO AT THIS POINT WANT TIME, WANT TO ALSO COMMEND THE TEAM THAT'S WORKING ON THIS FROM THE PARK DISTRICT. SO TOBY PERRY IS THE PROJECT MANAGER, AND HE'S LEADING A TEAM THAT INCLUDES A REALLY STELLAR TEAM, A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS.
THIS IS A MASSIVE BUILDING PROJECT.
IT'S THE BIGGEST CAPITAL PROJECT THAT THE DISTRICT'S EVER TAKEN ON.
IT'S ALSO A GENERAL SERVICES TYPE OF BUILDING.
[01:40:01]
IT'S A BUILDING. IT'S NOT A PARK.AND SO THIS IS NOT OUR STAFF'S TYPICAL WORK.
IT'S THE BIGGEST THING WE'VE EVER, EVER DONE HERE.
SO IN TERMS OF THAT, I WANT TO PAY KUDOS TO THE TEAM THAT'S MAKING IT HAPPEN.
LIKE I SAID, TOBY'S MANAGER, HIS SUPERVISOR, CARMEN ERASMUS, WHO'S OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS MANAGER, JIM DEVLIN, OUR DISTRICT ARCHITECT, AND STACY HOGAN, WHO IS A PROJECT COORDINATOR ON THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT. AND THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION DEPARTMENT.
ARE OUR EYES AND EARS ON THE GROUND OVER THERE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN, AND THEY ARE MANAGING THIS MASSIVE PROJECT.
SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE THEM A SHOUT OUT BEFORE THEY WE GET INTO THE ACTION IN FRONT OF YOU AND THE RECOMMENDATION THAT STAFF IS HAVING. SO WE ARE TOBY WILL WALK THROUGH THE NEEDS FOR THIS RECOMMENDATION AND WHY WE'RE DOING IT AND WHY WE'RE HERE BEFORE THE BOARD.
WE'LL BE HAPPY TO FIELD QUESTIONS AFTER THAT. AND SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO TOBY.
THANKS, FRIEND, FOR THE CONTEXT AND THE KUDOS.
GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD PRESIDENT MERCURIO, BOARD MEMBERS, GENERAL MANAGER OF LANDRETH AND COUNCIL.
I'M A PROJECT MANAGER IN THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION DEPARTMENT.
AND MANAGING THIS IMPROVED PROJECT.
I LAST PRESENTED THIS PROJECT TO YOU ALL LAST SUMMER WHEN WE AWARDED THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT TO SWINERTON INCORPORATED.
AND WE'VE BEEN IN FULL CONSTRUCTION MODE SINCE THAT TIME LAST SUMMER OR LAST FALL.
SO THE RECOMMENDATION BEFORE YOU TODAY HAS BEEN INCLUDED IN YOUR PACKET.
IT'S AUTHORIZED AN INCREASE TO THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT CONTINGENCY IN THE AMOUNT OF $8,150,000 WITH SWINERTON INCORPORATED OF OAKLAND FOR ADDITIONAL CONSTRUCTION. SCOPE. AUTHORIZE AN AMENDMENT TO A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT WITH GRIFFIN STRUCTURES OF SANTA CLARA IN THE AMOUNT OF 600,000, AND TO TRANSFER AND APPROPRIATE 4,960,296 FROM GENERAL FUND UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE, AND 1,539,704 FROM 2024 PROMISSORY NOTE FUND BALANCE TO THE PROJECT.
HERE IN THIS IMAGE, YOU CAN SEE THE BUILDING AS IT CURRENTLY SITS RIGHT THERE ACROSS THE STREET. THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN JUST LAST WEEK DURING OUR WEEKLY CONSTRUCTION WALK WITH THE CONTRACTOR. AS A REFRESHER FROM THIS IMAGE, YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE PROJECT PROPERTY PERALTA OAKS NORTH IS IN RELATION TO THE BUILDING WE'RE SITTING IN TODAY.
YOU CAN ALSO SEE WHY THE ACCESS, THE ACQUISITION OF THIS BUILDING MADE SO MUCH SENSE FOR THE DISTRICT, AS WE PLAN TO CREATE A CAMPUS FEEL BETWEEN THE TWO BUILDINGS, THIS ONE, AND ACROSS THE STREET.
AS A REMINDER, HERE ARE A COUPLE IMAGES OF WHAT THE BUILDING FIRST LOOKED LIKE WHEN WE ACQUIRED IT IN 2019. AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE 1980S ESTHETIC AND THE AND THE BUILDING HAD SAT UNOCCUPIED FOR CLOSE TO A DECADE, WHICH IS WHY, AS I'LL DISCUSS IN A BIT HERE, HAS CONTRIBUTED TO A LOT OF THE UNFORESEEN CONDITIONS THAT WE ENCOUNTERED AS WE STARTED DEMOLITION LAST FALL.
SO THE BUILDING WAS INITIALLY CONSTRUCTED IN 1983.
IT CONSISTS OF FOUR LEVELS THAT INCLUDES A GARAGE, 107,000FT² OF WHICH IS 100,000 SQUARE FOOT, BUILDING OF WHICH ABOUT 65,000 IS OCCUPIABLE.
WE'RE INCREASING THAT A LITTLE BIT BY USING SOME OF THE INTERIOR GARAGE SPACE FOR, FOR FURTHER OCCUPIABLE SPACE.
THE PROJECT WAS INITIALLY PROPOSED FOR THE FOLLOWING THREE PRIMARY REASONS ONE.
OUR CURRENT HEADQUARTERS BUILDING CANNOT ACCOMMODATE ALL OF OUR CURRENT ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL AND HAS NO ROOM FOR GROWTH.
OUR CURRENT PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING HAS LONG OUTLIVED ITS USEFUL LIFE AND CANNOT ACCOMMODATE ALL OF OUR CURRENT PUBLIC SAFETY STAFF.
AND THEN THE BOARDROOM WE'RE IN TODAY IS UNDERSIZED.
IT'S DIFFICULT TO ACCESS AND NEEDS TECHNOLOGICAL UPGRADES, ALL OF WHICH WILL BE MADE ACROSS THE STREET.
SO TO JUST HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE SOME OF THE PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS AND IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES, I'LL QUICKLY WALK YOU THROUGH THE FLOOR PLANS TO GIVE YOU A SENSE FOR WHAT'S HAPPENING ON EACH FLOOR. BUT THIS IS KIND OF AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS.
SO FIRST, THE DECISION WAS MADE TO MAKE THIS A LEED GOLD ZERO NET ENERGY BUILDING.
IT WILL ACCOMMODATE 225 DISTRICT FTES AND 39 TEMPORARY PART TIME FTES VIA 167 WORKSTATIONS. ADA CONNECTION.
FROM HERE TO THERE, 24 EV CHARGING STALLS WILL BE INSTALLED AT PROJECT DELIVERY, WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR AN ADDITIONAL 23 CHARGERS THAT WILL BE EV READY.
THERE'LL BE FIBER REDUNDANCY FOR INCREASED NETWORK RESILIENCE AND RELIABILITY, EMERGENCY ROAD ACCESS TO THE PROPERTY VIA SHELDON STREET,
[01:45:03]
WHICH IS ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE PROPERTY. AND THEN WE'VE ACTUALLY SALVAGED SOME OF THE WOOD FROM THE SITE WHEN WE FIRST STARTED DEMOLITION FOR FURNITURE AND FOR THE FURNITURE, FOR THE BUILDING AND FOR THE BOARDROOM DAIS.AND SO I ACTUALLY HAVE A, A PIECE OF THAT SYCAMORE THAT WILL BE A CONFERENCE WILL BE YOUR CONFERENCE TABLE IN THE CLOSED SESSION ROOM. AND DURING THE BREAK, YOU'RE WELCOME TO FEEL THE WOOD. IT FEELS NICE.
SO AS FAR AS THE FIRST FLOOR PLAN IN FRONT OF YOU THIS IS THE FIRST FLOOR OF THE BUILDING, WHICH IS WHERE YOU'LL ENTER THE BUILDING AS A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC, OR IF YOU'RE NON PUBLIC SAFETY STAFF. THE BEIGE AND TAN AREA IN THE CENTER IS WHERE THE LOBBY AND NEW BOARDROOM AND EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AND MEETING ROOMS WILL BE.
THE GREEN IN THE LOWER LEFT WILL BE ADMINISTRATIVE SPACE.
RECEPTION WILL BE THE SMALL GREEN AREA RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF THE LOBBY.
AND THEN THE LARGE GREEN AREA IN THE UPPER PART OF THE IMAGE IS WHERE THE CLOSED SESSION ROOM AND WHERE THE CLERK AND OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES WILL BE.
AND THEN THERE'S A WHITE AREA, ALL THE WHITE AREA ON THIS FLOOR.
AND THEN ON SUBSEQUENT IS THE INTERIOR PARKING, ALL OF WHICH WILL BE LIMITED TO DISTRICT STAFF AND BOARD MEMBERS FOR SECURITY REASONS.
SO THERE'S THE THE OTHER THREE FLOORS, THE BASEMENT, THE SECOND FLOOR AND THE THIRD FLOOR WHICH WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A COUPLE COMMON AREAS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL STAFF, THESE FLOORS WILL BE SECURE PUBLIC SAFETY SPACES SHOWN IN BLUE. SO AS I MENTIONED, IN JULY OF LAST YEAR, THE BOARD AWARDED A $59,847,000 CONTRACT TO SWINERTON, AND THE WORK BEGAN IN SEPTEMBER.
THE CONSTRUCTION WORK COMPLETED TO DATE INCLUDES DEMOLITION, MOST OF THE HEAVY GRADING SITE WORK, AND CONSTRUCTION OF SOME SIGNIFICANT RETAINING WALLS. ALL OF THE SEISMIC RETROFIT WORK IS COMPLETE, INCLUDING SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF SEISMIC DAMPERS AND STRUCTURAL STEEL.
AS A REMINDER, WE'RE RIGHT HERE ON TOP OF THE HAYWARD FAULT, SO THIS WORK IS INCREDIBLY NECESSARY AS WE'RE DEVELOPING AN ESSENTIAL SERVICES BUILDING.
WE'VE ALSO COMPLETED WORK TO ENSURE THAT ALL THE FLOORS ARE LEVEL, WHICH WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT IN A MINUTE. MAY SEEM PRETTY OBVIOUS, BUT WE UNCOVERED SURPRISES. AS I SAID CURRENTLY, SWINERTON AND THEIR TEAM OF SUBS ARE WORKING QUICKLY TO ENSURE THAT THE BUILDING IS WATERTIGHT PRIOR TO REAL RAINS BEGINNING THIS WINTER. THIS WORK INCLUDED INSTALLATION OF ALL THE WINDOW FRAMES AND FLASHING, AS WELL AS THE GLASS ITSELF.
AND THEN THEY'RE APPLYING THE WATERPROOFING MEMBRANE TO THE ROOF AND TERRACES CURRENTLY INSIDE THE BUILDING. WORK IS HAPPENING FAST AND FURIOUS.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S DAYS WHERE THERE'S 100 WORKERS IN THAT BUILDING CARRYING OUT THE WORK. THEY'RE INSTALLING MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT, PLUMBING AND ELECTRICAL, AS WELL AS FRAMING AND INSTALLING DRYWALL OUTSIDE THE BUILDING. THEY'RE TRENCHING FOR SITE UTILITIES, INCLUDING BRINGING THE ELECTRICAL AND FIBER SERVICES TO THE BACK OF THE BUILDING FROM SHELDON STREET. HERE BEFORE YOU ARE A FEW RECENT PHOTOS FROM THE SITE, ON THE LEFT, YOU CAN SEE THE SEISMIC DAMPERS AND THE AND THE NEW STRUCTURAL STEEL.
IN THE CENTER YOU CAN SEE THE LARGE NEW RETAINING WALL MAKING SPACE FOR THE NEW EMERGENCY GENERATORS THAT WILL GO ON THE PAD.
AND ACTUALLY, THAT PHOTO IS A LITTLE OUT OF DATE BECAUSE THE THREE GENERATORS ARE NOW SITTING THERE ON THE SITE. IT WAS A BIG ENDEAVOR TO CRANE THOSE INTO INTO PLACE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. AND THEN ON THE RIGHT.
YOU CAN SEE THE NEW STAIRCASE THAT WILL TAKE PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEES BETWEEN THE SECOND AND THIRD FLOOR. THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF WHERE WE'VE MADE SOME CHANGES TO THE BUILDING.
THERE WAS NOT CURRENTLY THERE WAS NOT HISTORICALLY A STAIRCASE THERE.
AND FOR THE PURPOSES OF OF PUBLIC SAFETY EFFICIENCIES AND, AND WORKING IN THIS BUILDING, THEY NEEDED A STAIRCASE IN THAT LOCATION. AND SO THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT. ON THE LEFT IN THIS IMAGE IS THE SOUTH AND WESTERN FACING PORTION OF THE BUILDING WITH THE NEW WINDOWS INSTALLED THE, THE TEAL COLOR THAT'S KIND OF IN THE, IN THE BOTTOM THERE ARE THE WATERPROOFING LAYERS THAT ARE APPLIED TO THE EXTERIOR SURFACE OF THE BUILDING. THE BROWN IS ACTUALLY A COMPOSITE, A CONCRETE MATERIAL THAT'S MADE TO LOOK LIKE A CEDAR SIDING, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY CONCRETE AND IT'S EXTREMELY DURABLE AND LONG LASTING.
AND THAT WAS AN EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THE THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT AT THE INITIAL STAGE OF THIS PROJECT, KNOWING THAT IT WOULD HAVE A COST.
BUT THAT OVER THE LONG RUN IT WAS GOING TO BE MORE ECONOMICAL AND MAINTENANCE FRIENDLY FOR FOR OUR FOR US. AND THEN ON THE RIGHT YOU CAN SEE THE COMPLEXITY OF THE MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL AND PLUMBING EQUIPMENT THAT'S GETTING INSTALLED IN SOMETIMES VERY CRAMPED QUARTERS THERE. SO IN THIS, IN THESE IMAGES, YOU CAN BEGIN TO SEE THE FINAL BUILD OUT OF THE SPACES WITHIN THE BUILDING. AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT IMAGE, THERE IS THE FUTURE DAIS STARTING TO TAKE SHAPE. AND THEN THE BASEMENT QUARTERS ON THE RIGHT.
THERE ARE FULLY KIND OF DRYWALLED.
SO AS I'VE HINTED IN SOME OF THE EARLIER SLIDES,
[01:50:02]
WE UNFORTUNATELY UNCOVERED SOME SURPRISES.ONCE WE HAD THE BUILDING FULLY DEMOLISHED.
I MEAN, NOT SURPRISED THAT WE FOUND SURPRISES, BUT THE SURPRISES THEMSELVES.
JUST THE THREE HIGHLIGHTED ON THIS SLIDE HAD AN APPROXIMATE COST OF $6.5 MILLION.
SO I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW OF THESE BIG TICKET ITEMS. FIRST, WITH RESPECT TO THE WINDOWS.
WE KNEW GOING INTO THIS PROJECT THAT WE HAD SOME LEAKING THAT HAD TO BE ADDRESSED, BUT WE THOUGHT IT COULD BE ADDRESSED WITH SOME SOMEWHAT SIMPLE RESEALING WORK AROUND THE WINDOW FRAMES. UNFORTUNATELY, IT WASN'T UNTIL WE STARTED DEMOLISHING THE SUPPORT WALLS THAT WE LEARNED OF THE EXTENT OF THE ISSUE.
BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE WINDOWS WERE INSTALLED OVER 40 YEARS AGO, THERE WASN'T SUFFICIENT SPACE BETWEEN THE STUDS THAT SUPPORTED THE WINDOW FRAMES AND THE FRAMES THEMSELVES TO REFLASH AND RESEAL THE WINDOWS.
AND THEN IN ADDITION, AS WE PULLED BACK MATERIAL ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING, WE DISCOVERED THAT MUCH OF THE STRUCTURAL SUPPORT FOR THOSE WINDOWS WAS NO LONGER SUFFICIENT AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.
AS MAYBE YOU'RE ABLE TO SEE FROM SOME OF THE PHOTOS I JUST SHOWED, THE EXTENT OF WINDOWS IN THE BUILDING WERE SUBSTANTIAL, AND SO THE COST TO REMOVE THE OLD WINDOWS AND FRAMES, REPAIR THE EXISTING STRUCTURAL SUPPORT FOR THE WINDOWS AND INSTALL THE FRAMES AND AND INSTALL NEW FRAMES. AND GLASS WAS APPROXIMATELY $5 MILLION.
SECOND. DURING THE DESIGN PHASE OF THE PROJECT, WE HAD MADE THE DECISION TO UTILIZE EXISTING PLUMBING IN THE BUILDING, KNOWING THAT THERE MAY BE A FEW LOCATIONS WITHIN THAT EXISTING PLUMBING THAT REQUIRED REPAIRS. KEEP IN MIND THAT MOST OF THE PLUMBING WAS NOT VISIBLE BEFORE THE PROJECT STARTED. ONCE ALL THE INTERIOR WALLS AND CEILINGS WERE DEMOLISHED, IT BECAME CLEAR HOW MUCH OF AN IMPACT THE BUILDING BEING ABANDONED FOR THE LAST DECADE HAD HAD ON THE PLUMBING.
WE HIRED AN INDEPENDENT PLUMBING CONTRACTOR TO LOOK AT ALL THE PIPE IN THE BUILDING AND MAKE AN ASSESSMENT FOR US.
IT WAS THEIR RECOMMENDATION TO THE DISTRICT THAT WITH THE THE MULTITUDE OF LEAKING PIPES AND THEIR AGE, THAT IT WOULD BE MORE PRUDENT AND COST EFFECTIVE TO REPLACE ALL THE PLUMBING IN THE BUILDING THAT HAD A COST OF ABOUT 800,000.
AND THEN THE THIRD ISSUE I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS REGARDING THE FLOORS.
ONCE ALL THE FLOORING AND INTERIOR WALLS WERE REMOVED FROM EACH OF THE FLOORS, OUR CONTRACTOR PERFORMED A HIGHLY ACCURATE FLOOR SCAN THAT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE PRIOR TO DEMOLITION. THAT FOUND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES WITH THE FLOORS NOT BEING LEVEL.
CERTAIN AREAS OF THE FLOOR, PARTICULARLY ON THE FIRST AND SECOND FLOORS, DUE TO SETTLEMENT OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS, HAD DROPPED IN EXCESS OF AN INCH, WHICH, IF NOT CORRECTED, WOULD HAVE LED TO ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES AS WELL AS GAPS UNDER DOORS OR EVEN DOORS THAT COULDN'T CLOSE.
SO TO RESOLVE THIS, WE HAD TO REFLOAT SIGNIFICANT PORTIONS OF THE FLOOR WITH BETWEEN A QUARTER INCH AND AN INCH OF OF LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE.
THIS WORK HAD A COST OF ABOUT 700,000, AND SO MAYBE I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT THAT OR ADD THAT ONE OF THE SILVER LININGS TO THIS WORK, OF COURSE, IS THAT THESE COSTS IS THAT WE'VE GOT OURSELVES A BRAND NEW GOT BRAND NEW SYSTEMS WITHIN NEW LIFE CYCLE OF LONGEVITY.
AND IF NOT FOR THIS WORK, WE WOULD HAVE LIKELY ENCOUNTERED MAINTENANCE ISSUES SOONER THAN WE WOULD HAVE LIKED. SO BEFORE YOU IS THE PROJECT BUDGET, WHICH YOU CAN FIND IN YOUR PACKET.
I WON'T REALLY HIGHLIGHT MUCH THERE.
AND THEN IN FRONT OF YOU NOW ARE SOME PROJECT SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS.
SO OBVIOUSLY CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES LITERALLY AS WE SPEAK.
WELL, AS OF THREE MAYBE, MAYBE NOT.
BUT CERTAINLY WORK IS ON GOING EVERY DAY.
NEXT SUMMER WE EXPECT TO HAVE SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION, ALLOWING US TO COMMISSION THE BUILDING, WHICH MEANS MAKING SURE ALL THE NEW MECHANICAL SYSTEMS ARE CALIBRATED AND THAT OUR STAFF KNOWS HOW TO OPERATE THE BUILDING AND SIMULTANEOUSLY WILL BE INSTALLING THE BUILDINGS FURNITURE.
AND THEN FOLLOWING THAT, WE EXPECT THE PROJECT WILL BE WRAPPED UP AND STAFF CAN MOVE IN IN THE FALL.
AND THERE BEFORE YOU AGAIN IS THE RECOMMENDATION. SO I THINK MYSELF AND REN ARE HAPPY TO KIND OF TAKE QUESTIONS FROM YOU ALL.
CAN WE GET THESE GUYS TO WORK TILL FIVE AT LEAST? WE'RE ALL GOING HOME AT THREE. WELL THEY STARTED THEY START A LITTLE EARLY, SO. SO I SEE THAT THE COMPLETION DATE IS STILL THE SAME AS WHEN YOU CAME HERE LAST YEAR. SO THAT'S. THAT'S A GOOD SIGN.
ALL RIGHT. DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS HERE TODAY FOR THIS? THE BOARD? YEAH. YEAH.
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. AND I DID SEE THIS AT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. SO ALREADY ASKED MOST OF MY QUESTIONS.
BUT I WAS JUST CURIOUS BECAUSE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE THE HAYWARD FAULT AND BEING SO CLOSE TO THE HAYWARD FAULT.
AND THEN I WAS INTERESTED WHEN YOU STARTED TALKING ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT LOOKS LIKE WOOD IS ACTUALLY CONCRETE.
AND SO HOW I MEAN, IT SEEMS LIKE CONCRETE DOESN'T REALLY FARE AS WELL USUALLY IN AN EARTHQUAKE. SO I WAS JUST WONDERING, YOU KNOW, IT'S A BIG BUILDING, SO YOU NEED IT TO BE BE BOTH FLEXIBLE AND STURDY.
BUT I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU COULD COMMENT ON THAT.
SO FIRST I'LL SAY THIS IS A COMMON APPLICATION THROUGHOUT THE BAY AREA.
[01:55:04]
SO WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING THAT'S KIND OF FROM A IN A SENSE UNIQUE IN THAT WAY.I WILL ALSO SAY FROM AN INSTALLATION PERSPECTIVE, THESE IT APPEARS TO BE KIND OF ONE, YOU KNOW, IT'S INDIVIDUAL PIECES THAT ARE PUT IN THERE.
SO IF THERE WAS TO BE SOME DAMAGE TO A PARTICULAR PORTION OF IT.
IT COULD THAT PORTION COULD BE REPLACED.
AND WE'LL HAVE SOME ADDED STOCK OF MOST OF THE MATERIALS THAT GO INTO THIS BUILDING FOR FUTURE USE FROM A MAINTENANCE STANDPOINT.
BUT I GUESS MY QUESTION IS MORE, YOU KNOW, HOW WILL IT BE FLEXIBLE ENOUGH WHEN IT MOVES IN AN EARTHQUAKE? YEAH, I MEAN, THROUGHOUT THROUGHOUT THIS BUILDING, INTERIOR, EXTERIOR, YOU KNOW, THE DESIGN IS SUCH THAT IT DOES ALLOW FOR SOME FLEXIBILITY FROM SOME MOVEMENT IN IT.
ALSO RECOGNIZING THAT THERE MAY BE CRACKS AS A RESULT OF EARTHQUAKES.
I MEAN, THAT IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE THAT WE CAN'T COMPLETELY PREVENT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION. VERY HELPFUL TO HEAR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE ENCOUNTERED. I'M JUST CURIOUS, ON PAGE 106 IN THE STAFF REPORT WHERE WE LOOK AT THE TOTAL PROJECT BUDGET FOR THIS PROJECT, I SEE THE $87,134,118 DOES.
I BELIEVE THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE PURCHASE PRICE OF 14.4 MILLION OF THE BUILDING.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.
SO THEN I ADDED TOGETHER IT DOES PUSH THIS OVER 100 MILLION.
SIMILAR QUESTION FIRST, ACTUALLY A COMMENT I THINK TAKING THIS ON AND I THINK THE MODERNIZATION AND GOING FOR THE GOLD LEAD IS PROBABLY GOING TO ANSWER MOST OF MY QUESTIONS. SO I GUESS MY FIRST ONE IS, ARE WE STILL ON TRACK FOR GETTING THE GOLD LEED CERTIFICATION? I KNOW THAT HAS FLEXIBILITY AND THE CHECKLISTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND WHETHER IT'S INSULATION OR WHATEVER, RATHER THAN GOING INTO EACH OF THOSE, ARE WE STILL ON TRACK FOR RECEIVING GOLD LEED FOR THIS BUILDING? YEAH, YEAH.
FOR FOR THOSE WHO KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LEE, WE'RE WE'RE RIGHT NOW GETTING READY TO FILE OUR DESIGN CREDITS, WHICH IS KIND OF LIKE THE FIRST HALF OF THE LEAD. AND THEN WE'LL BE FOLLOWED UP WITH THE CONSTRUCTION PORTION AT THE END OF PROJECT COMPLETION. BUT YES, WE ARE ON TRACK FOR THAT, BUT I CAN'T STILL ASK FOR A QUESTION THAT PROBABLY FALLS UNDER THAT UMBRELLA.
I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE THE SOLAR ON THE BUILDING AND WHETHER THE 24 CHARGING STATIONS WILL BE SOLAR. AND YOU MENTIONED IT AS A EOC OF SORTS.
WILL IT BE A MICROGRID ON SOLAR IN THE EVENT THAT POWER GOES OUT? ARE WE? SO TO ANSWER THE FIRST QUESTION THE SOLAR IS THE SOLAR.
THE SOLAR PANELS FEED THE ENTIRE BUILDING.
THOSE EV CHARGERS ARE TAPPED INTO THE SAME BUILDING.
SO IN ESSENCE, YES, 100% THEY ARE.
THEY WILL OFFSET THE USE FROM EV CHARGING.
THAT WAS PART OF THE CALCULATION USED FOR THE ZERO NET ENERGY AND THE SAME FOR THE BACKUP GENERATOR IS ALSO GOING TO BE SOLAR POWERED.
THE BACKUP GENERATORS ARE NOT KNOW IT'LL BE GAS.
IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO PROVIDE THAT RELIABILITY THAT WE NEED.
BUT BUT BUT TO BE CLEAR, THOSE BACKUP GENERATORS DO NOT COME ON IN ANY COURSE OF NORMAL BUSINESS THAT WOULD BE PROVIDED THAT ONLY THAT ALL POWER IS LOST.
AND THAT'S THAT'S WHEN THOSE KICK ON.
I KNOW A LOT OF CITIES OF FREMONT, FOR INSTANCE, ALL THEIR POLICE, FIRE AND THEIR SCHOOLS HAVE GONE TO SOLAR MICROGRIDS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE STABILITY IN THE EVENT OF POWER OUTAGES AND TO GET AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS.
BUT THAT'S NOT AN OPTION FOR US AT THIS POINT.
AT THIS POINT, NO, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SOMETHING THAT I THINK A LOT OF THIS HAPPENED BEFORE. ME TOO. AND I WHAT I'M KIND OF SEEING IS THE OVERALL COST OF THE BUILDING IS, IS OVER A HUNDRED THAT THE 15% CONTINGENCY AND ANOTHER 15% IN GENERAL.
THAT DOESN'T ALARM ME. I JUST HAD A ROOF REDONE AND I COULDN'T TELL TILL I TOOK IT OFF THAT I HAD WOOD ROT AND THE PROJECT WENT, YOU KNOW, UP MORE THAN 30%. SO JUST THE NUMBERS ARE OVERWHELMING A LITTLE BIT IN FRONT OF ME.
AND I WAS TRYING. I'M NO COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE PERSON.
I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE A COST PER SQUARE FOOT WHEN WE'RE DONE.
AND I KIND OF NOTED IN HERE, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND THAT OF THE 107,000FT², ONLY 65,000 ARE OCCUPIABLE.
SO I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, LIKE, IF YOU LOOK AT HOW MUCH ARE WE SPENDING PER SQUARE FOOT? BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER AT THIS POINT.
WE'RE ALREADY IN THIS. IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE GOING TO GO OUT AND BUILD A NEW BUILDING. BUT I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF YOU COULD HELP ME COME TO TERMS WITH THAT.
YOU KNOW, PER SQUARE FOOT AND UNDERSTANDING, HOW CAN 40% OF IT NOT BE USABLE? I MEAN, WHAT IS THAT? WELL, SO SORRY TO SAY.
YOU MEAN OCCUPIABLE, AS IN, IT'S IT'S WHERE PEOPLE WILL BE SITTING.
[02:00:01]
THE 40,000 IS ABSOLUTELY USABLE.IT'S BEING USED FOR PARKING. IT'S BEING USED FOR SOME OF THE STORAGE FUNCTIONALITY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY. SO WE'RE USING EVERY SQUARE INCH.
IT'S JUST NOT ALL OFFICE SPACE PER SE OR, YOU KNOW, CONFERENCE ROOMS OR KITCHENS.
OKAY, THAT MAKES SOME SENSE TO ME.
AND DID THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE HAVE ANY OTHER INPUT? WHEN THIS CAME TO YOU? OH. ALL RIGHT. I DIDN'T GET YOUR QUESTION.
ASKED IF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE HAD ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD FROM THEIR MEETING, THAT I MIGHT HAVE MISSED THAT AS OUR ADVISORY BOARD, IF THERE WAS ANYTHING ELSE.
I DON'T RECALL. OKAY. THANK YOU.
SO GREAT. HEY WHAT PERCENTAGE COMPLETE ARE WE? WELL, FROM A TIME, TIME STANDPOINT, WE'RE ALMOST EXACTLY HALF FROM A FROM JUST OVER HALF. I MEAN, WE STARTED LAST SEPTEMBER. WE'RE GOING TO FINISH NEXT SEPTEMBER.
SO WE'RE WE'RE A LITTLE WE'RE A MONTH PAST HALF FROM A TIMELINE STANDPOINT.
AND THEN FROM A COST STANDPOINT, WE'RE RIGHT IN LINE WITH THAT. JUST JUST OVER HALF. BUT HOW MUCH OF THE BUILDING IS BUILT IS HALF OF THE BUILDING BUILT? OH. SO WHAT? SO I MEAN, TO GET INTO A LITTLE OF THE JUST HOW THEY PROGRESS THROUGH THE BUILDING.
THEY BASICALLY START IN THE GARAGE WITH YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THEY WORK THEIR WAY UP IN THE BUILDING. SO DEMO ON THE GARAGE STARTED. THEN THEY CAME BACK IN AND PUT FRAMING AND THEN DRYWALL AND MECHANICAL GOES IN AND THEN THEY PROCEED LIKE THROUGH UP UP THE STACK.
SO AS AN EXAMPLE AND THEN IF YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, WE WE'RE HAPPY TO SHARE THE BUILDING WITH YOU ALL.
BUT WHAT YOU'LL SEE RIGHT NOW IS THAT LARGELY THE GARAGE IS ALL DRYWALLED AND PAINTED.
THERE'S NO WE'RE STILL WAITING FOR ELECTRICAL, SO YOU WON'T SEE LIGHTS IN THERE. THE SECOND FLOOR THE FRAMING IS UP.
MOST OF THE DRYWALL WILL BE IN BY THE TIME YOU ALL SEE IT.
AND THEN CORRESPONDINGLY, ON THE SECOND AND THIRD FLOOR, LESS AS YOU GO UP THE BUILDING. SO SO SO SORRY.
DIRECTOR WAESPI JUST TO INTERVENE, WE'VE HEARD THE INTEREST OF THE BOARD MEMBER TO GO SEE THAT THE BUILDING.
AND SO WE ARE WORKING THROUGH DIRECT.
EXCUSE ME, DGM COURTNEY'S OFFICE, TO WORK WITH HIS ADMIN TO SCHEDULE THAT.
SO ANY BOARD MEMBER THAT'S INTERESTED, PLEASE KNOW WE WILL DO SUCH SO THAT YOU CAN SEE THE PROGRESS THAT'S MADE. YOU CAN SEE THE BUILDING AS IT IS CURRENTLY.
WE WILL HAVE TO DO THOSE IN GROUPS OF 1 TO 3 JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROTOCOLS.
ALL RIGHT. BUT IN TERMS OF THAT WE'RE HAPPY TO TO SCHEDULE THOSE SO THAT YOU ALL CAN SEE THAT BASED ON ACTION NOW.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME INTERRUPT YOUR QUESTION. THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT. SO IF IF THE ORIGINAL SWYNNERTON CONTRACT WAS 59, LET'S SAY $60,000, AND THEN AT 15% CONTINGENCY, WE BURNED THROUGH THAT 15% CONTINGENCY.
SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO TODAY WE'RE GOING TO OR WE'RE ASKED TO APPROVE ANOTHER 8 MILLION.
SO WE'RE 30%. WE'RE HALFWAY DONE AND WE'RE 30% ABOVE THE BID PRICE.
DO YOU CAN WE ANTICIPATE ANOTHER 30%? NO, I WOULD SAY THAT THE WAY IN WHICH THESE PROJECTS TRACK IS THAT THE UNKNOWNS BECOME KNOWN AS YOU GET STARTED.
SO THE THE COST FOR CHANGES ARE REALLY FRONT LOADED ON, ON THE FIRST HALF OF THE PROJECT.
AND WE'RE LOOKING OUT TOWARDS KIND OF THE WE'RE LOOKING WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD.
SO THERE'S ANTICIPATION, WE'RE ANTICIPATING THE CHANGES THAT ARE YET TO COME BECAUSE OF WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROCESS.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.
I'LL AMEND AS WELL THAT OUR ENGINEERS ESTIMATE WE WENT OUT TO BID WAS $80 MILLION.
SO JUST IN TERMS OF AN ENGINEER'S ESTIMATE, IT WAS MUCH HIGHER WHEN WE WENT OUT TO BID THAN WHAT WE ACTUALLY ENTERED INTO AGREEMENT ON. OKAY.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? NO PUBLIC COMMENTS. ANY BOARD COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? OKAY. THANK YOU AGAIN.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SOUNDS GREAT.
SO DO WE HAVE PARDON ME? YEAH, WE GOT TO VOTE ON IT.
DOES THAT. THAT'S THAT'S WHAT I'M. THAT'S WHAT I'M ABOUT TO DO. YEAH, I'M ASKING FOR A MOTION, APPARENTLY. A MOTION FOR THIS.
SO. MOVED. SECOND. MOVED BY WAESPI.
SECONDED BY ECHOLS. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED. ABSTAIN.
OKAY, SO WE HAVE SIX SIX AYES AND ONE ABSTAIN FROM.
SANWONG. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.
AT THIS TIME IT'S PROBABLY BEYOND THE TIME WE SHOULD HAVE HAD A BREAK, BUT ANYWAY, WE'LL TAKE A TEN MINUTE BREAK.
[02:05:02]
OKAY. TILL ABOUT 20. AFTER BY THAT CLOCK.ALL RIGHT. AND WE ARE BACK ON.
AND WE ARE NOW ADVANCING TO AGENDA ITEM 8B2.
AUTHORIZATION TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH SEQUOIA ECOLOGICAL CONSULTING IN THE AMOUNT OF $2.4 MILLION FOR BIOLOGICAL MONITORING AND REPORT REPORTING.
SUPPORT FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FUELS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS.
GOOD AFTERNOON. MAX GORTON, DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER.
I'M GOING TO HAND IT OVER TO KRISTEN IN A MINUTE.
BUT I JUST WANT TO DO A QUICK INTRO AS YOUR BOARD HEARD IN OUR LAST SITE TOUR.
THIS IS REALLY COOL WORK THAT HAS MULTIPLE BENEFITS AND IS REALLY A PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT TEAM AND OUR STEWARDSHIP TEAM TO DO THIS WORK.
AND I JUST WANT TO TO SORT OF MENTION AT THE INTRO TO THIS AND OUR NEXT ITEM THAT WE REALLY SEEK TO DO AS MUCH OF THIS WORK AS WE CAN IN-HOUSE.
THERE IS SORT OF A NATURE TO THIS WORK WHERE A LOT OF IT HAPPENS WITHIN A VERY CONSTRAINED TIMELINE. SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BETWEEN THE END OF BIRD NESTING SEASON AND THE WINTER. WE HAVE A SHORT WINDOW WHEN WE NEED TO DO A LOT OF WORK.
SO THAT'S HARD TO DO WITH FULL TIME STAFF.
AND SO WE BRING ON THESE CONTRACTORS TO HELP SUPPORT THIS ONE TIME WORK.
THAT BEING SAID, WE'RE ALWAYS WORKING TO FIGURE OUT ARE THERE WAYS THAT WE CAN BRING THIS WORK IN-HOUSE, AND WE'RE COMMITTED TO CONTINUING TO DOING THAT WORK AS WE GO THROUGH THIS CONTRACT.
AND WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO KRISTEN. THANK YOU.
HI. GOOD AFTERNOON. PRESIDENT MERCURIO BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
GENERAL MANAGER KRISTIN VAN DAM.
I'M AN ECOLOGICAL SERVICES COORDINATOR IN OUR STEWARDSHIP DEPARTMENT IN WILDLAND VEGETATION. I WILL BE PRESENTING ON OUR FUELS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM ABOUT BIOLOGICAL COMPLIANCE AND WHAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO DO IN ORDER TO DO THIS VERY IMPORTANT WORK.
TODAY IS THE THIRD TIME WE'VE BEEN BEFORE THIS BOARD TO PRESENT ON THIS CRITICAL COMPONENT OF OUR WILDFIRE HAZARD REDUCTION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT TOOLS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. STEWARDSHIP SUPPORTS OUR PARTNERS IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT BY OVERSEEING THE MANDATORY COMPLIANCE ACTIVITIES THAT PROTECT RESOURCES AND SUPPORT GOOD PROJECT OUTCOMES IN THIS WORK. OH, NO. SO THESE PROJECTS ARE SUBJECT TO STATE AND FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION, LIKE SO MANY VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROJECTS ARE. THIS IS THROUGH STATE DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AND THE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. THE IMPORTANT LANGUAGE HERE, RELEVANT THAT DESIGNATE A BIOLOGIST, SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING FUELS MANAGEMENT WORK TO HELP MINIMIZE AND FULLY MITIGATE OR AVOID INCIDENTAL TAKE OF COVERED SPECIES.
COVERED SPECIES ARE THE THREE.
THERE IS ONE SNAKE AND ONE FROG, AND ONE PLANT.
THESE ARE THREE COVERED SPECIES NAMED IN OUR PERMITS, AND THOSE ARE THE MAIN ONES THAT WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT, ALTHOUGH WE ALSO DO DUE DILIGENCE FOR NESTING BIRDS, AS MAX MENTIONED, AND OTHER SPECIAL STATUS LOCALLY RARE, ETC..
SPECIES. THE MAIN BULK OF THIS WORK CONSISTS OF PRE AND POST PROJECT ASSESSMENTS, NESTING BIRD SURVEYS AND OTHER RESOURCE SURVEYS, PHOTO MONITORING, ONSITE BIOLOGICAL MONITORING AND REGULATORY REPORTING.
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO MENTION WE DO HAVE ASSISTANT CHIEFS AND MCINTYRE HERE FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TODAY. WE PARTNER CLOSELY WITH THEIR TEAM TO PLAN AND IMPLEMENT THESE PROJECTS IN A THOUGHTFUL MANNER.
SO THAT THEY DO RESULTS IN GOOD OUTCOMES.
THESE ARE THOUGHTFULLY IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS TO IMPROVE FOREST HEALTH, ECOSYSTEM RESILIENCE, TO INCREASE BIODIVERSITY AND PROTECT COMMUNITIES AND NATURAL RESOURCES FROM CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRE.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. OUR TEAM CURRENTLY CONSISTS OF FIVE PROJECT MANAGERS IN OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT. THESE ARE FUELS REDUCTION COORDINATORS.
YOU HEAR FROM THEM OFTEN? I BELIEVE THAT YOU HEARD FROM COLIN ON FRIDAY PRESENTING ON ONE
[02:10:04]
OF THESE PROJECTS. REALLY, REALLY WELL.WELL DONE. PROJECT. TWO FIRE CAPTAINS, ONE LIEUTENANT, AND OUR TYPE TWO FUELS CREW.
THE DIABLOS IN STEWARDSHIP, WE HAVE ONE ECOLOGIST AND MYSELF, THE ECOLOGICAL SERVICES COORDINATOR.
AND SO IN ORDER TO FILL THE GAPS THAT WE HAVE WITH THIS FAIRLY SMALL TEAM FOR THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT WE DO WE DO HAVE THIS EPISODIC AND SPECIALIZED NATURE OF THIS WORK THAT DOES REQUIRE CONSULTANTS FOR THE BIOLOGICAL COMPLIANCE MONITORING PIECE.
THESE CONSULTANTS MUST HAVE STAFF WITH RECOVERY PERMITS.
THOSE ARE FEDERAL PERMITS FOR ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE AND CALIFORNIA RED LEGGED FROG.
WE ONLY HAVE TWO STAFF IN THE PARK DISTRICT THAT HAVE RECOVERY PERMIT FOR ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE. I'M ONE OF THEM AND IT WAS HARDER TO GET THAN MY MASTER'S DEGREE, SO THAT'S HOW HARD IT IS TO GET THESE CERTIFICATIONS. THEY ARE NOT COMMON.
THESE ALLOW THE THE MONITOR TO BE CERTIFIED TO HANDLE THE SPECIES IF THEY'RE FOUND ON THE PROJECT SITE. AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE PHOTO THAT'S HAPPENING, AND THEY MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE ENOUGH TO BE APPROVED BY CDFW AND FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE. WE CAN'T JUST BRING ANYONE ONTO THESE SITES.
OUR REGULATORY STAFF ACTUALLY HAVE TO APPROVE EACH INDIVIDUAL MONITOR TO SERVE ON OUR PROJECT SITES. SO IT'S IT'S VERY THERE'S A LOT OF COMPLIANCE THAT GOES ON BECAUSE OF THIS. WE HAVE IF WE HAVE FIVE PROJECT MANAGERS, WE'LL HAVE MULTIPLE PROJECTS HAPPENING AT ONE TIME, WHICH YOU OFTEN HEAR ABOUT.
AND SO OUR TEAMS TYPICALLY CONSIST OF AT LEAST 20 MONITORS THAT ARE ON CALL TO REPORT TO A PROJECT SITE IF THEY'RE NEEDED ANYWHERE IN THE FUELS MANAGEMENT PLAN AREA.
SO THAT AMOUNTS TO A LOT OF HOURS PER YEAR, ALTHOUGH IT IS URGENT AND EPISODIC AT MANY DIFFERENT TIMES. SO IN TERMS OF THE COMPLIANCE THIS IS REALLY IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT FOLLOWING THE LETTER OF THE LAW. COMPLIANCE PROTECTS THE PARK DISTRICT AS WELL.
IT ENSURES THAT WE ARE COMPLYING WITH THE CONDITIONS OF OUR PERMITS, WHICH ARE LEGALLY BINDING, AND IT MAINTAINS US IN GOOD STANDING WITH OUR REGULATORY PARTNERS, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT WHEN IF THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH A PROJECT OR IF THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH ANOTHER PROJECT, WE HAVE THAT TRUST WITH, WITH OUR PARTNERS. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S EASY TO LOSE.
AND WE DON'T TAKE THAT TAKE THAT LIGHTLY, THAT RELATIONSHIP OF COURSE WE'RE PROTECTING OUR SPECIES AND HABITAT, AND WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO DO OUR BEST IN TERMS OF OUR BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO TO PROTECT AND EVEN TO IMPROVE THESE RESOURCES, BECAUSE WE'RE DOING THINGS LIKE REMOVING INVASIVE TREES AND PLANTS, CONVERTING HABITAT TO MORE BENEFICIAL, ECOLOGICALLY BIODIVERSE HABITAT TYPES.
AND IT DOES HELP DOCUMENT THAT FUELS REDUCTION DOES BENEFIT THE ENVIRONMENT, AND THAT WE'VE DONE OUR DUE DILIGENCE. IF WE GET QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC, WE'RE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT WE ACTUALLY DID THE BEST THAT WE COULD. SO TO THIS END, OUR OUR CURRENT CONTRACT IS CURRENTLY ENDING.
WE DISTRIBUTED AN RFQ VIA THE PLAN ROOM IN JULY.
SIX FIRMS RESPONDED TO THIS RFQ AND WE HAD A REVIEW TEAM.
THEY CHOSE THEY CHOSE SEQUOIA ECOLOGICAL CONSULTING INCORPORATED AS THE MOST RESPONSIVE BID. IT WAS A FAIRLY MIDDLE OF THE ROAD BID AS FAR AS THE OTHERS WERE CONCERNED, AND THAT WAS FOR $2.6 MILLION.
SO OUR STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS TO AUTHORIZE A CONTRACT WITH SEQUOIA ECOLOGICAL FOR 2.4 MILLION FOR A CONTRACT TERM TO COVER OUR WORK FOR THREE YEARS.
THANK YOU. HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS? IS THAT THE END? YES. THAT'S OKAY.
THE END. ALL RIGHT. QUESTIONS? YES, YES. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THIS IS REALLY HELPFUL AND GOOD.
AND CONGRATULATIONS ON GETTING YOUR ALAMEDA WHIPSNAKE CERTIFICATION.
I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT WAS MORE CHALLENGING THAN A MASTER'S DEGREE.
SO MY QUESTION, I'M JUST LOOKING AT THE STAFF REPORT AND THE RESOLUTION AND TRYING TO COMPARE A FEW THINGS. SO I SEE THAT THERE'S A RESOLUTION IN 2022.
SO I'M LOOKING AT THE FIRST PARAGRAPH ON PAGE 130 OF THE RESOLUTION WHERE IT'S A CONTINUATION OF 2010, IN REGARDS TO THE PROJECT SPECIFIC ANALYSIS FOR THE EAST BAY HILLS VEGETATION TREATMENT PROJECT.
AND THEN I'M LOOKING THEN I'M COMPARING THAT TO PAGE 128 IN THE STAFF REPORT, WHERE WE LIST ALL OF THE PARKS THAT ARE INCLUDED AS PART OF THE EAST BAY HILLS VEGETATION TREATMENT PROJECT.
BUT THEN WE ALSO HAVE A MANAGEMENT PLAN, THE WILDFIRE HAZARD REDUCTION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT'S MENTIONED JUST RIGHT BEFORE THE EAST BAY HILLS PROJECT IS
[02:15:01]
MENTIONED. AND SO THERE'S A SPECIFIC SET OF PARKS, WHICH IS ALSO ILLUSTRATED ON THE MAP.THAT'S ON PAGE 132. HOWEVER, WHEN I LOOK AT THE RESOLUTION.
SO NOW IF I SKIP DOWN TO PARAGRAPH PARAGRAPH SEVEN, WHICH IS THE RESOLUTION THAT WE WILL BE VOTING ON TODAY IT DOESN'T SPECIFICALLY MENTION THE EAST BAY HILLS PROJECT.
AND MY QUESTION IS, ARE WE CONSTRAINED TO USING THIS CONTRACT TO ONLY THE PARKS THAT ARE LISTED ON PAGE 128 THAT ARE PART OF THE EAST BAY HILLS VEGETATION TREATMENT PROJECT, OR SHOULD WE DISCOVER OTHER OTHER PARTS? PORTIONS OF OTHER PARTS THAT MAY NEED FUELS MANAGEMENT? WOULD WE BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THIS CONTRACT FOR OTHER PARTS THAT ARE NOT SPECIFICALLY LISTED ON 128? THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
DIRECTOR SANWONG. THAT'S A VERY YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK.
YES. 2022, I BELIEVE, WAS THE RESOLUTION WHERE THE BOARD CERTIFIED OUR THE ADDITIONAL ACREAGE THAT WAS ADDED TO OUR ORIGINAL RUMP.
SO THAT WAS THE THE EAST BAY HILLS VEGETATION TREATMENT PROJECT, ENLARGING OUR FOCUS AREA TO ALLOW US TO DO MORE FUELS MANAGEMENT WORK.
WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BECAUSE THIS HAS PERTAINED TO FUELS WORK AND ANYTHING BASICALLY THE, THE, THE FUELS MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT DOES AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DOES WE ARE ABLE TO OCCASIONALLY USE THOSE BIO MONITORS AND THEIR YOU KNOW, FOR SOMETHING THAT MAY COME UP, SUCH AS BRIONY'S THAT'S BEEN, A RECENT ADDITION TO OUR DISCUSSIONS ABOUT FUELS MANAGEMENT.
SO THAT WE DO HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY IN TERMS OF THAT.
ALTHOUGH QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO PERMIT THE WHOLE DISTRICT.
WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT, BUT WE HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY WITH THIS PARTICULAR CONTRACT WITH BIO.
DIRECTOR WAESPI, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. AND I LOVE THE WORK YOU GUYS DO. AND I SUPPORT THIS.
HOW MANY? SO I ASSUME THE THREE.
THE ANIMAL, THE PLANT AND THE SOMETHING OR OTHER FLOWER IS A DUSKY FOOTED WOODRAT.
NOT ONE OF OUR COVERED SPECIES, ACTUALLY.
WHIPSNAKE. YES. SO I JUST FOR FUN.
HOW MANY? WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR YEARS.
HOW MANY WHIP SNAKES DID THESE GUYS FIND.
SERIOUSLY? I MEAN, ARE THERE BECAUSE THEY'RE ENDANGERED? IF YOU SEE A BUNCH OF THEM, THEY'RE NOT ENDANGERED ANYMORE. THEY'RE COMMON. RIGHT? ON PROJECT SITES.
I BELIEVE THE NUMBER IS THREE.
OH, REALLY? OKAY. YEAH, IT'S KIND OF A BIG DEAL.
WHAT'S THE. SNAKE. WHAT ELSE? WHAT WAS THE PLANT? OH SO PALLID MANZANITA.
OH, RIGHT. OKAY. YES. AND THAT'S, OF COURSE, ALSO VERY LIMITED IN SCOPE.
YEAH. EASY TO SEE TO STAY AWAY FROM IT.
AND WHAT'S THE OTHER ONE? CALIFORNIA RED LEGGED FROG.
OH, OKAY. OH, YEAH. AND THEY'RE EVERYWHERE IN PONDS.
OKAY. WE HAVE NOT SEEN ONE DURING FUELS MANAGEMENT WORK IN THE CURRENT PERMITTED AREA. OKAY. THANK YOU.
EXCUSE ME. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I DON'T KNOW. CAN YOU SAY THAT WAS AN INTERESTING QUESTION, DENNIS. MAYBE I MISSED THAT. SO I THINK THIS IS REALLY GREAT WORK AND ABSOLUTELY MONITORS REQUIRED.
BUT YOU LITERALLY ARE DOING THE THREE SPECIES, JUST THE PALLID, THE ALAMEDA AND THE OR.
ARE IS THIS CONTRACT WITH SEQUOIA FOR ALL SPECIES? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. WE HAVE THREE COVERED SPECIES THAT ARE NAMED UNDER OUR PERMITS. THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE, THE THE MIGRATORY BIRD ACT, FOR INSTANCE. SO WE DEFINITELY DO.
NESTING BIRD SURVEYS. THAT'S ONE OF THE MAIN ACTIVITIES THAT WE DO ANYTHING RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE THAT WE HAVE TO DO IN ORDER TO DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE UNDER THIS WORK IS COVERED BY THIS CONTRACT.
SO THEY'RE AUTHORIZED TO PERFORM ANY KIND OF SURVEY THEY NEED BOTANY, RARE LOCAL SPECIES, DUSKY FOOTED WOODRATS.
ALL THOSE SPECIES ARE COVERED.
SO, I MEAN, TO ME, THIS IS KIND OF A NO BRAINER THAT WE NEED TO DO THIS, BUT ALSO WHAT A LITTLE BIT MORE ON WHAT IS STEWARDSHIP ROLE WITH YOUR VERY LIMITED STAFF. AND JUST CURIOUS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT $2.5 MILLION OPPORTUNITY FOR FUNDING THE STEWARDSHIP TEAM TO TO BE ON SITE, BECAUSE THIS IS KIND OF THE MINIMUM.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THINGS, SUBTLE THINGS, LIKE WHEN I WORKED AT EPA, YOU LOOK AT WHERE YOU STAGE YOUR EQUIPMENT BEFORE YOU PUT IT OUT THERE, YOU LOOK AT IF YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE GOATS, THEY GO NO, NO LOWER THAN FOUR INCHES BECAUSE THAT CAN BE DAMAGING.
AND THEN YOU LOOK AT YOU KNOW, THE RECOVERY AFTERWARDS OF WHAT'S LEFT YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU RESTORE WHAT REMAINS.
[02:20:01]
WHERE DOES THIS CONTRACT END IN STEWARDSHIP BEGIN? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. THANK YOU. DIRECTOR. STEWARDSHIP WAS BECAME INVOLVED IN THE FUELS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM WAY BACK IN THE DAY WHEN WE FIRST DID SEQUA.AND AT THAT TIME WE WERE AN EVEN SMALLER TEAM.
I BELIEVE IT WAS MAYBE FOUR OF US WHEN I, WHEN I STARTED AND THAT WAS THAT WAS BEGUN IN 2010. WE DID NOT GET OUR FINAL PERMITS CERTIFIED UNTIL 2018.
SO THAT WAS REALLY WHEN WORK REALLY BEGAN IN EARNEST UNDER THE FIRE DEPARTMENT STEWARDSHIP ROLE HAS BEEN TO MOVE FORWARD THE FINDINGS OF SEQUA TO ENSURE THAT THE PARK DISTRICT COMPLIES WITH THE PERMITS.
PURSUANT TO SEQUA AND TO SUPPORT, MOST IMPORTANTLY, TO SUPPORT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IN MAKING SURE THAT THE PROJECTS THAT THEY DO ARE ECOLOGICALLY INFORMED AND END UP WITH GOOD OUTCOMES.
SO WE WORK VERY, VERY CLOSELY.
WE'RE OFTEN OUT ON SITE WITH FIRE DEPARTMENT STAFF.
WE'RE IN THE TUESDAY MEETINGS, AND WE'RE REALLY WE'RE WE'RE VERY CLOSE PARTNERS IN THIS WORK.
AND I THINK THAT IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'VE HAD SUCH GOOD RESULTS IN TERMS OF LACK OF TAKE OF OUR COVERED SPECIES AND REALLY A VERY, VERY SMOOTH FUELS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM OVERALL.
I'VE THEIR TEAM IS FANTASTIC AND WE'RE HAPPY TO SUPPORT THEM.
APPRECIATE THAT. AND MATT GRALL, MACRO DIVISION LEAD FOR STEWARDSHIP.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD AND PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT. YOU KNOW, KRISTEN DID A GOOD JOB TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE STARTED AND DID SEQUA FOR THE WILDFIRE HAZARD REDUCTION PLAN.
BUT STEWARDSHIP WAS, YOU KNOW, A PART AND A PARTNER WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND DEVELOPING THE WILDFIRE HAZARD WILDFIRE HAZARD REDUCTION PLAN.
AND SO IN THAT, YOU KNOW, IN THE PRESCRIPTIONS WE HAVE DEVELOPED IN THE PLAN, THEY'RE DESIGNED TO PROTECT AND ENHANCE OUR NATIVE SPECIES.
AND SO THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TARGETING EUCALYPTUS, TRYING TO MAINTAIN AND PROTECT THAT NATIVE UNDERSTORY AND ALLOW THE OAK WOODLANDS TO REESTABLISH IN CERTAIN PLACES, OR MAYBE REESTABLISH GRASSLANDS WHERE EUCALYPTUS OR BRUSH HAVE ENCROACHED IN THOSE AREAS.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE HELP WITH THAT.
AND WE'RE PART OF THE TEAM IN DESIGNING THE OVERALL PRESCRIPTIONS AND THE METHODS WE'RE USING TO, TO IMPLEMENT FUELS MANAGEMENT.
AND SO ONE THING ABOUT IT IS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THESE OTHER SPECIES AND THINGS LIKE THE THREE COVERED SPECIES THAT KRISTEN MENTIONED. THAT'S WHAT'S REGULATED.
WE HAVE VERY SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS, HOW, HOW YOU WORK AROUND THOSE SPECIES. BUT I KNOW THE WOOD FOR THE WOOD RACK KEEPS COMING.
WE HAVE VERY SPECIFIC PROTOCOLS ON HOW WE WORK AROUND THOSE. SO THOSE STEWARDSHIP PROTOCOLS ARE IMPLEMENTED WHEN WE FIND WOODRAT NESTS THAT ARE ALSO APPROVED BY THE AGENCIES, THAT WE WORK TO RELOCATE THOSE WOODRAT NESTS OUTSIDE OF THE PROJECT AREA, OR RELOCATE THEM AND MOVE THEM IN A MANNER THAT WON'T DISTURB THE RATS THAT ARE OCCUPYING THAT. AND THERE ARE THERE ARE SPECIES OF SPECIAL CONCERN. THEY'RE JUST NOT REGULATED AS A THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES.
AND WE DO SIMILAR TYPES OF PROTECTIVE ACTIONS FOR OTHER SPECIES.
SO AS KRISTEN STATED, YOU KNOW, THE THE MONITORS CAN MONITOR FOR IF THERE'S A SITUATION THEY IDENTIFY, THEY CAN HELP US PROTECT OTHER RESOURCES.
IT'S NOT. BUT THE MAIN THING IS THIS PERMIT COMPLIANCE.
SO AND THEN ALSO JUST WHEN WE'RE CLARIFYING THE PARKS EARLIER, ALL THOSE PARKS LISTED IN THE PREVIOUS ACTIONS WERE RELATED TO THE PARKS THAT WERE IN THAT WILDFIRE HAZARD REDUCTION PLAN AND THEN THE EXPANSION OF THAT USING THE VEGETATION TREATMENT PLAN.
SO WE EXPANDED THE AREA BY ABOUT 4000 ACRES TO HAVE ABOUT 8000 ACRES THAT ARE COVERED UNDER OUR CURRENT PERMITS.
NOW, THAT DOESN'T MEAN, THOUGH, THAT IF WE HAD A NEW PROJECT THAT COMES UP SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE PARK DISTRICT, WE HAVE THESE PEOPLE UNDER PEOPLE UNDER CONTRACT THAT CAN GO DO WORK ANYWHERE.
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S WORKING. IT'S JUST WE WOULD HAVE TO PUT OTHER PERMITS IN PLACE THAT THEY MIGHT BE ENFORCING IN THOSE AREAS. BUT IT'S NOT GEOGRAPHICALLY RESTRICTED AT ALL.
JUST I KNOW THERE'S ALREADY ANSWERED.
I JUST WANT TO PLAY A LITTLE CLEAR. THANK YOU SO MUCH I APPRECIATE THAT.
I THINK THE ONLY OTHER THING WAS THAT IN MY I GUESS, I GUESS I SHOULDN'T QUIT.
I'M ON QUESTION STILL, RIGHT? I GUESS I'LL STOP THERE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
HEARING ONE MORE. MATT, SOMEDAY.
TELL ME HOW YOU MOVE A WOOD RAT NEST WITHOUT DISTURBING THE OCCUPANTS.
YEP. I'M INTRIGUED VERY CAREFULLY.
NO, NO, I MEAN, THEY TAKE IT APART OVER A TIME SCHEDULE AND VERY CAREFULLY.
SO THE THE RATS WOULD LEAVE AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE, BUT THEY TAKE IT APART CAREFULLY AND THEN REBUILD IT IN ANOTHER LOCATION.
WHETHER THEY REOCCUPY THAT, THAT'S UNCERTAIN, BUT THEY TAKE THAT BRUSH OR PART OF THAT AND MOVE IT TO ANOTHER LOCATION AND DO IT IN A TIME WAY THAT GIVES THEM TIME TO EVACUATE AND LEAVE.
THAT'S JUST AMAZING. THANK YOU.
ALL RIGHT. VERY GOOD. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT. ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS HERE? YES. MR. DARCY. HE CAN.
WILLIAM HOUGH. HI. GOOD AFTERNOON.
PRESIDENT. BOARD. BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
[02:25:02]
GENERAL MANAGER. GENERAL COUNCIL. WILLIAM DANIEL HOUGH, PRESIDENT OF AFSCME 248.FIREFIGHTER. AND YES, I HAVE NEW GLASSES.
WELL, I'D LIKE TO START BY SAYING THAT WE DISCUSSED THIS A MEET AND CONFER, AND WE APPRECIATE THAT WE ARE GIVEN AMPLE HEADS UP.
AND THE DISCUSSION REGARDING THIS WAS GREAT.
IT WAS ORIGINALLY PROPOSED TO US AS A FIVE YEAR CONTRACT, AND WE RAISED CONCERNS BECAUSE THIS IS WORK THAT CAN BE DONE BY JOB CLASSIFICATIONS THAT ARE COVERED BY AFSCME 242, EIGHT.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S LIMITED STAFFING AVAILABLE TO DO IT, AND WE FEEL STRONGLY THAT A PLAN CAN BE IMPLEMENTED IN ORDER TO REMEDY THAT.
WITHIN THE NEXT THREE YEARS OF THIS CONTRACT WILL EXIST.
SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING IS THE NATURAL RESOURCE TECHNICIAN JOB DESCRIPTION THAT WAS BROUGHT FORWARD WHEN THAT WAS ORIGINALLY FLOATED AND DISCUSSED.
IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A CREW, AND IT HAS BEEN WHITTLED DOWN TO ONE PERSON.
THAT JOB DESCRIPTION COULD NOT ONLY ASSIST IN FULFILLING THE ISSUE WE HAVE WITH THE BIOLOGICAL MONITORING, BUT ALSO CAN AFFECT THE ON CALL CONTRACTS WOULD BE DISCUSSING NEXT.
ALSO REREADING THAT, IT SAYS A 10 TO 15% OF THE PROJECT COST GOES TO PAYING FOR BIO MONITORS, WHICH SEEMS DISPROPORTIONATELY HIGH, AND IT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE MORE COST EFFECTIVE TO HAVE STAFF ON THE INSIDE THAT CAN DO THAT.
I WHETHER THAT'S LIKE A TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT.
SO WE HAVE SEVERAL YEARS TO TRAIN PEOPLE UP SO THAT THEY COULD FILL THAT ROLE WHEN WE NEED IT DURING THE SEASON, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WOULD MAKE A LOT OF SENSE TO ME, AS OPPOSED TO USING 10 TO 15% PER PROJECT IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH IT.
ALSO, I WAS I KNOW HOW BIG STEWARDSHIP IS, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF YOU ALL WERE AS SHOCKED AS I WAS TO SEE THE NUMBER ON THE SCREEN, BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVE KNOWN ABOUT, BUT IT HASN'T REALLY SETTLED. CONSIDERING THE AMOUNT OF WORK STEWARDSHIP DOES, IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO MAKE THAT MORE ROBUST AND CREATE MORE FULL TIME EMPLOYEES THAT CONTINUE TO CONTRACT OUT STEWARDSHIP WORK. AND THAT IS ALL.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU. MADAM. GOOD AFTERNOON, MADAM DARCY, CHIEF STEWARD OF AFSCME, LOCAL 2428 AND ALSO AN ADMIN ANALYST.
SAVING, SAVING OTHER BURNING BUILDINGS.
SO, YEAH, I WANTED TO MAKE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS ON THIS.
AND GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD OF DIRECTORS. I WANT TO MAKE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS. WE DID MEET IN MEET AND CONFER ABOUT THIS, AND WE DID REALLY TRY TO DIG DOWN TO SEE IF THIS WORK COULD BE DONE BY OUR CURRENT CLASSIFICATIONS.
AND IT WAS IDENTIFIED THAT IF WE HAD THE PERSONNEL THAT THIS IS ALL WORK THAT COULD BE DONE BY OUR BIOLOGISTS THAT ARE ON STAFF RIGHT NOW OR EVEN SOME OF THE ECOLOGICAL SERVICES PERSONNEL OR THE NATURAL RESOURCE TECHNICIAN.
SO WE FROM OUR UNDERSTANDING, THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THAT THIS CONTRACT HAS GONE OUT AND EACH HAS BEEN A FIVE YEAR PREVIOUSLY.
SO THIS IS TEN YEARS NOW OF CONTRACTING THIS OUT.
AND I APPRECIATED THE COMMENTS BY MAX EARLIER.
YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE LOOKING INTO YOU KNOW, HAVING THIS BE IN-HOUSE.
HOWEVER IT'S BEEN TEN YEARS AND THAT HASN'T BEEN DISCOVERED YET.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO YOU KNOW, PUSH BACK AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DIGGING INTO THIS AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO ON STAFF.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE IS A VERY SMALL STAFF.
THERE IS A NEED FOR MORE NATURAL RESOURCE TECHNICIANS TO CREATE A CREW.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE. SO THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT OF WORK IN HERE THAT IT COSTS AN AWFUL LOT OF MONEY.
AND CERTAINLY, AS I ALWAYS SAY, THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR CONTRACTING OUT SOMEWHERE IN THE DISTRICT. SO IT'S NOT THAT WE'RE OPPOSED TO CONTRACTING OUT, BUT WE ARE OPPOSED TO CONTRACTING OUT WORK THAT CAN BE DONE BY OUR WORKERS.
ESPECIALLY WHEN IT REPEATS OVER AND OVER AND OVER.
AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT TEN YEARS, ANOTHER THREE YEARS, THAT'S 13 YEARS OF CONTRACTING THIS WORK OUT.
AND WE'RE ASKING THAT INSTEAD OF, YOU KNOW, SAYING, WELL, WE'LL LOOK INTO THAT, THAT THERE ACTUALLY BE SOME SORT OF PLAN.
WE DID TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES.
I WAS WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE FUNDING SOURCES WERE HERE BECAUSE IN THE RESOLUTION IT JUST TALKS ABOUT IT SORT OF LISTS OUT FEMA AND OTHER GRANTING AGENCIES, MEASURED PH GENERAL FUND AND OTHER SOURCES CONFIRMED AND AVAILABLE TO PROJECTS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, USUALLY THERE WOULD BE SOME SORT OF BREAKDOWN OF LIKE THIS MUCH IS COMING FROM THIS ACCOUNT AND THIS MUCH IS COMING FROM THAT. BUT WE WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT GRANTS AND HOW SOMETIMES THERE IS A LIMITATION OF USING GRANTS FOR STAFF.
CURRENT STAFF ARE ALREADY CHARGING TO SOME OF THESE GRANTS AND PROJECTS.
SO REALLY, IF THERE WERE JUST MORE STAFF THAN MORE OF THIS WORK COULD BE DONE AND WE'D RATHER HAVE THAT AND MAKE A BETTER USE OF THE PUBLIC FUNDS TO HIRE IN-HOUSE STAFF THAT CAN BE AVAILABLE AND DO THE WORK PROPERLY.
SO SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ASKING, IS THAT THERE BE SOME SORT OF PLAN GOING FORWARD TO LOOK AT REPLACING SOME IF NOT ALL OF THIS WORK.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. NO MORE PUBLIC COMMENT.
[02:30:03]
NO MORE, NO MORE. OKAY.VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. BOARD COMMENTS.
YOU WANT TO GO? AS FAR AS THIS IS JUST A QUESTION FOR ALLISON AND STEPH.
YEAH. OR MAYBE. YEAH. YOU JUST ASK A QUESTION.
YEAH. I'LL JUST I'LL JUST ASK A QUESTION AND FIGURE WHO ELSE? JUST AS FAR AS WHEN ISSUES COME UP ABOUT WORK THAT COULD POSSIBLY BE TRAINED OVER TIME, HOW DO THOSE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLANS GET DEVELOPED, IF AS FAR AS IF AS FAR AS THE PARK SEES THAT THERE'S A TECHNICIAN, A NATURAL RESOURCE TECHNICIAN THAT COULD POSSIBLY AFFILIATE, ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN DIFFERENT TYPE OF CONTRACTS TO ALSO HAVE APPRENTICE ROLES THAT WORK ALONGSIDE THE CONTRACTORS.
THAT WAS JUST. THOSE ARE ALL GOOD QUESTIONS.
AND I'M GOING TO INVITE JESSICA ROMEO UP HERE AS THE AGM OF HR TO TALK ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR MEET AND CONFER.
BUT WHAT WE DO IS WE REALLY DO TRY TO ISSUE SPOT CONTRACTS THAT INVOLVE BARGAINING UNIT WORK, OR WHAT MAY TOUCH ON BARGAINING UNIT WORK.
IN THE PAST, THERE REALLY HASN'T BEEN A PROCESS, BUT WITH DGM, CORTIN, MYSELF AND THE GENERAL MANAGER, WE ARE REALLY TRYING TO ISSUE SPOT THIS EARLY ON SO THAT WE ENSURE WE GIVE THE UNION ADEQUATE NOTICE BECAUSE THE LAW DOESN'T PREVENT US FROM CONTRACTING OUT.
THE LAW JUST REQUIRES US TO NOTICE.
AND IF THEY DEMAND, MEET AND CONFER, MEET AND CONFER, WHICH IS WHAT WE DID HERE.
THE THIS WORK IS MORE LIKE WHAT WE CALL GRANT FUNDED OR LIMITED DURATION WORK.
IT'S NOT YEAR ROUND WORK, SO IT'S NOT IDEAL FOR STAFF, BUT IT DOES TOUCH ON BARGAINING UNIT WORK, WHICH IS WHY WE ENGAGED IN THE CONVERSATION WITH AFSCME. ORIGINALLY WE WERE SEEKING A FIVE YEAR CONTRACT.
WE HEARD THEM AND THAT'S WHY WE REDUCED IT TO THREE.
AND AND WE'RE RECOMMENDING A THREE YEAR CONTRACT.
AND IF I MISSPOKE OR LEFT ANYTHING OUT, I'LL LET THEM.
IT DID. AND BUT THERE WAS THAT WHOLE KIND OF LIKE THERE STILL SEEMED LIKE THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A, LIKE A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, COLONEL. LIKE AS FAR AS EVEN THOUGH IT'S TEMPORARY, BUT SINCE IT'S BEEN HAPPENING SO MANY YEARS, LIKE HOW HOW WOULD YOU GO ABOUT ADDRESSING SOMETHING LIKE THAT IF WE DETERMINE THAT THIS IS A CONTRACT THAT MAYBE AFTER THOSE THREE YEARS, LIKE, ARE THERE ANY POSSIBLE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS OR APPRENTICESHIPS SO THAT WE HAVE AN EMPLOYEE LIKE LEARNING IN THIS PROCESS? YEAH. AND I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT ANSWERING THE IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR QUESTION, WHICH IS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. SO WE UNDERSTAND AT LEAST I HAVE HEARD VERY CLEARLY FROM THE BOARD. THE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM IS A PRIORITY, AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM UP AND RUNNING THROUGH A HEAVY EQUIPMENT OFFICER, A HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR.
THERE IS ALSO AN APPRENTICESHIP COMMITTEE, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, THAT WE WORKED WITH AFSCME ON THAT I THINK THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO ROLL THOSE DISCUSSIONS INTO THAT.
WE DO NEED TO START UP OUR APPRENTICESHIP COMMITTEE WITH LOCAL 228, AGAIN, TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT EXPANDING THE LIST OF CLASSIFICATIONS THAT CAN BE APPRENTICES, BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND THAT IS A GREAT AVENUE INTO THE PARK DISTRICT, AND IT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO GET QUALIFIED WHILE ON THE JOB.
AND I'LL ADD THAT THESE ARE VERY SPECIALIZED.
SO AS WE TALKED ABOUT LIKE VERY SPECIAL CERTIFICATES, EDUCATION THAT'S REQUIRED FOR IT.
SO IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT LENDS TO OUR NORMAL ACTING PROCESS WITHIN THE DISTRICT BECAUSE OF THAT. BUT WE DID COMMIT TO LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN DO THAT IN MEET AND CONFER WITH THIS CONTRACT AND WITH ANOTHER.
OKAY, SO THERE'LL BE CONTINUED CONVERSATIONS.
WOULD WE BE ABLE TO GET LIKE JUST UPDATED WHEN SOMETHING SO WE COULD UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE? ABSOLUTELY.
ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER ANY OTHER COMMENTS? SURE. YEAH. OKAY. I THINK THIS HAS BEEN PRETTY INFORMATIVE.
AND APPRECIATE HEARING ABOUT FROM THE UNION IN HOUSE A LITTLE BIT MORE AND EVEN HEARING THE HISTORY THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE MODIFIED IT DOWN FROM FIVE YEARS TO THREE YEARS WITH SOME PLAN ON THIS IN THE FUTURE.
I THINK WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO CONTINUE TO ELEVATE OUR STEWARDSHIP TEAM UP TO THE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'LL EVER BE IT'S CERTAINLY NEVER BE EQUAL TO THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE'RE PUTTING INTO FUELS MANAGEMENT.
BUT I THINK EVERYONE HAS HEARD ME SAY THIS A NUMBER OF TIMES, HOW WE GET TO FUELS MANAGEMENT AT THE RESTORATION AT THE SAME LEVEL OF FUZE
[02:35:02]
MANAGEMENT. I JUST CAN'T TELL YOU. ALMOST EVERY DAY I'M TALKING TO SOMEONE HOW STINK WART AND POISON IVY AND COYOTE BRUSH ARE JUST TAKING OVER.WE GO IN THERE, WE LEAVE AN OPEN GAPING WOUND AND BUGS AND BACTERIA MOVE IN, WHICH ARE IN THIS CASE THE STINK WART, THE THE OILY PLANT.
SO WHATEVER WE CAN CONTINUE TO DO THIS IS SORT OF RELATED BUT NOT RELATED.
I THINK I'M JUST SUPPORTING DIRECTOR ESPAÑA COMMENT THAT LET'S HEAR MORE FROM THIS, MORE FROM THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT MORE WHERE THE LARGEST PARK DISTRICT IN THE NATION. SO LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO GET THIS IN HOUSE.
GET MORE PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH A MASTER'S DEGREE TO DO RECOVERY, BUT GET MORE PEOPLE IN THE FIELD, KEEP LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN DO BETTER.
WE'RE GUIDED BY ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS.
SO I COMMENT, I THINK WHAT WE HAVE BEFORE US IS, IS SEPARATE FROM THE COMMENT I'M MAKING, BUT I DO HOPE THAT WILL CONTINUE AS DIRECTOR ESPAÑA SAID, TO KEEP THE CONVERSATION OPEN AND KEEP ELEVATING OUR STEWARDSHIP TEAM AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY. YEAH, YEAH.
I ALSO WANTED TO JUST ELEVATE, I GUESS, DIRECTOR ESPAÑA COMMENT, BECAUSE I ALSO AGREE THAT IT MAKES SENSE TO CONTINUE TO PLAN AND KEEP THE DOOR OPEN AND TO TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN MAKE MORE OF THESE JOBS.
AFSCME I REALIZE THAT THIS PARTICULAR TASK MIGHT BE VERY SPECIFIC, BUT YOU COULD ALSO PERHAPS USE THOSE PEOPLE FOR OTHER THINGS AS WELL.
AND SO YOU KNOW, I AM GLAD THAT THE CONTRACT WENT FROM FIVE YEARS TO THREE YEARS.
AND I DO HOPE THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FOR FURTHER CONVERSATIONS AROUND A PLAN GOING FORWARD. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.
OR I'M INTRIGUED BY THE THE UNIONS SUGGESTED THAT MAYBE THESE WOULD BE SOME GREAT UNION JOBS. AND I'M WONDERING, I DON'T WANT TO PUT ANYBODY ON THE SPOT, BUT I BET THE GENTLEMAN RIGHT THERE IS FROM SEQUOIA, RIGHT? NO. DARN IT. I KNEW THAT.
CAN WE GET WHAT I WAS GETTING AT? IS CAN WE GET IT? WOULD IT BE TOO HARD TO GET A JOB DESCRIPTION FOR WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A BIOLOGICAL MONITOR AT SEQUOIA AND SEE IF WE COULD WORK TOWARDS MAYBE GETTING THAT.
YEAH. I THINK WE KNOW WHAT IT TAKES TO DO THIS WORK AND BUT.
WELL, I MEAN, THERE'S, THERE'S TALK OF.
OH, YOU NEED SO MANY CERTIFICATES. THIS MANY. I'D BE INTERESTED TO KNOW REALLY WHAT IT IS.
YES. SO TO DO THIS BIOLOGICAL MONITORING, AS KRISTEN MENTIONED, YOU NEED A SPECIAL CERTIFICATE WHICH TWO OF OUR STEWARDSHIP MEMBERS TEAM MEMBERS HAVE FOR WHIPSNAKE, MONITORING OR HANDLING? BUT SO WE KNOW WHAT THAT TAKES.
AND I GUESS, JUST TO BE CLEAR, EVERY TIME WE DO EVALUATIONS WITH OUR TEAM MEMBERS, ONE THING WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT IS CAREER GROWTH AND PLACES THAT PEOPLE WANT TO HAVE ADDITIONAL TRAINING. AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY WITH OUR TEAM. AND I KNOW FOR MATT'S TEAM AND OUR WHOLE STEWARDSHIP TEAM, THEIR PROFESSIONAL GROWTH AND LEARNING NEW THINGS IS IS PART OF PART OF HOW WE HOPE TO SUPPORT ALL OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS.
ADDITIONALLY, I JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE PREVENTING OUR TEAM MEMBERS IN-HOUSE FROM DOING THIS WORK.
THEY'RE DOING A LOT OF OTHER REALLY COOL WORK OUT IN THE FIELD.
IN SOME WAYS, THEY'RE DOING HIGHER LEVEL WORK THAN THIS MONITORING WORK.
AND SO JUST I GUESS, JUST TO BE CLEAR I THINK WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MORE IS SORT OF DOING. WORK THAT IS IN ADDITION TO AND SORT OF ON A MORE PERIODIC BASIS THAN WHAT OUR TEAM DOES. AND THEN FINALLY, I WILL BE IN FAVOR OF THIS.
BUT I WAS WONDERING, MATT, COULD I'M TOLD I'VE HEARD A RUMOR THERE'S GOING TO BE A STEWARDSHIP SEMINAR.
AND I FIND THAT INCREDIBLY INTERESTING AND FUN AND INFORMATIVE AND EDUCATIONAL.
AND I WAS WONDERING IF WE WERE GOING TO BE INVITED TO IT. BOARD MEMBERS.
SO, YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK WE TYPICALLY WE PUT ON THE STEWARDSHIP SEMINAR TO PROVIDE TRAINING FOR OUR STAFF.
WE HAVE A LIMITED AVAILABILITY OF SPACE, AND WE ALWAYS HAVE MORE STAFF MEMBERS THAN WE CAN ACCOMMODATE. SO OUR FIRST PRIORITY IS TO TRY TO MAKE ROOM FOR STAFF.
BUT YEAH. SO WE DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY INVITE YOUR BOARD TO ATTEND.
BUT IF THERE'S SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE REALLY INTERESTED IN THAT, WE CAN ALWAYS TALK OFFLINE.
[02:40:02]
ANY OTHER COMMENTS BEFORE WE FINISH THIS OUT? I JUST WANT TO SAY YOU KNOW, THE MORE I STAY ON THIS BOARD, THE MORE I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT STEWARDSHIP DOES.AND IT'S IT'S IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
IT'S A HUGE ELEMENT OF OF OF WHAT WE HAVE TO DO HERE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST IT'S I KEEP THINKING, YOU KNOW ON THE ONE HAND, I LIKE TO PROMOTE THE WHOLE IDEA OF, OF SPECIAL DISTRICT GOVERNMENT BECAUSE.
YEAH, YOU KNOW, THE THINKING IS, YOU KNOW, YOU GET TO FOCUS ON ONE THING, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU JUST YOU JUST DO THIS, YOU KNOW, SO, LIKE, SANITARY DISTRICTS DO THAT, YOU KNOW, AND.
SOME, SOME OTHER DISTRICT DOES JUST ONE THING.
WELL, THE ONE THING WE DO IS SO BROAD THAT IT'S JUST INCREDIBLE.
AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE WERE GEOGRAPHICALLY BROAD AND ECOLOGICALLY BROAD.
IT JUST MAKES IT MORE INTERESTING. SO I REALLY APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S INVOLVED. IT'S JUST SO MUCH TO TO STEWARD.
RIGHT. AND THEN FINALLY I JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, I WOULD I WOULD ALSO ENCOURAGE THE CONTINUED EXAMINATION OF YOU KNOW, AN IN-HOUSE ELEMENT TO THIS, TO THIS WORK.
I AND I'M ALSO INTERESTED IN WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE ONE OF THOSE, LIKE, WHAT DIRECTOR WAESPI WAS ASKING ABOUT? I'M KIND OF INTERESTED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT, TOO. SO I THINK WE'RE TO THE POINT NOW.
A MOTION I'D LIKE TO MOVE AUTHORIZATION OF THE 2.46 MILLION FOR BIOLOGICAL MONITORING AND REPORTING. SUPPORT FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR FUELS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. WE HAVE A SECOND, SECOND, A SECOND BY. WAESPI. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE, AYE. OPPOSED CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. MOVING ON TO AGENDA ITEM.
B3B3. AUTHORIZATION TO EXECUTE CONTRACTS FOR ON CALL TECHNICAL SERVICES TO 17 FIRMS. SO CONTINUING ON A SIMILAR THEME THIS IS SERVICES THAT SUPPORT OUR STEWARDSHIP ACTIVITIES ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
SO THIS IS ON CALL SERVICES FOR A LOT OF, LIKE, VERY SPECIALIZED AREAS OF SUPPORT.
JOSH, WHO'S PART OF OUR TEAM IS GOING TO PRESENT THIS IN A MINUTE, BUT I JUST WANTED TO ALSO RELAY THAT.
OUR TEAM MET WITH THE UNION ABOUT THIS AS WELL. WE'D INITIALLY PROPOSED A THREE YEAR CONTRACT, THEN WITH TWO ADDITIONAL YEARS AT THE DISCRETION OF THE DISTRICT.
AND WE'VE AMENDED OUR PROPOSAL TO JUST THREE YEARS AFTER THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
AND AGAIN, LIKE I MENTIONED WITH THE PAST ITEM, I THINK WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT HOW CAN WE BRING AS MUCH OF THIS WORK IN-HOUSE AS POSSIBLE? AND AGAIN, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES AROUND THIS IS SORT OF THE SPECIALIZATION.
THE OTHER CHALLENGE IS JUST THE DISCRETE NATURE OF A LOT OF THIS WORK.
IT'S PERIODIC AND RELATED TO SORT OF PROJECTS OR THINGS THAT COME UP THAT ARE BEYOND THE, THE, THE ABILITY OF OUR STAFF.
WE'RE REALLY GOOD AT, AT SORT OF OPERATING AND DOING THINGS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH YEAR ROUND STAFF.
AND SOMETIMES WHEN WE HAVE A BIG LIFT IS WHEN WE NEED TO BRING ON ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL HAND IT OVER TO JOSH.
THANKS. GOOD AFTERNOON, PRESIDENT MERCURIO AND DIRECTORS.
MY NAME IS JOSH PHILLIPS, AND I'M THE NEW ECOLOGICAL SERVICES MANAGER IN THE STEWARDSHIP DEPARTMENT. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT IT'S PERFECTLY UNDERSTANDABLE THAT DIRECTOR WAESPI DID NOT RECOGNIZE ME, BECAUSE THIS IS THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY I'VE HAD TO PRESENT IN FRONT OF THE BOARD. SO I HAVE BEEN AT THE PARK DISTRICT FOR SEVEN YEARS IN THE ROLE AS ECOLOGICAL SERVICES COORDINATOR, SO IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE TODAY. SO I'M PLEASED TO PRESENT THIS NEXT ITEM AND WALK YOU THROUGH THE RECOMMENDATION BEFORE YOU.
I'LL BE DISCUSSING THE TECHNICAL SERVICES ON CALL CONTRACTS PUT FORWARD BY THE STEWARDSHIP DEPARTMENT, AND THE RECOMMENDATION IS TO EXECUTE 17 THREE YEAR CONTRACTS FOR ON CALL TECHNICAL SERVICES. I WANTED TO START WITH KIND OF A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THESE ON CALL
[02:45:03]
CONTRACTS. SO THE PARK DISTRICT IS NOT FINANCIALLY OBLIGATED BY ISSUING ON CALL CONTRACTS. THEY EXPAND CAPACITY FOR FUTURE PROJECTS.SO THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY PROVIDING US WITH A DEEP BENCH OF TECHNICAL EXPERTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO HELP WITH PARK DISTRICT PROJECTS ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS.
SO STAFF WILL SOLICIT SCOPE AND BUDGETS FOR INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS AS NEEDED.
AND PROJECT FUNDING UNDERGOES SEPARATE BOARD REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS.
SO ANOTHER WAY TO PUT THAT IS THAT ALL COSTS ARE FUNDED BY SOURCES THAT UNDERGO YOUR REVIEW, INCLUDING PROJECT BUDGETS AND OPERATING BUDGETS.
SO IN THE STEWARDSHIP DEPARTMENT, WE'VE BEEN LUCKY TO HAVE ON CALL CONTRACTS OF THIS NATURE SINCE 2022 SINCE THE BEGINNING OF 2022.
AND OVER THESE FOUR YEARS, THEY'VE REALLY BECOME AN ESSENTIAL TOOL TO HELP US RESPOND QUICKLY TO PARK DISTRICT NEEDS.
WE DON'T ALWAYS KNOW WHAT PROJECT IS COMING NEXT, BUT WE WANT TO BE WELL POSITIONED TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND AND ADAPT AND BE RESPONSIVE.
SO THE EXISTING CONTRACTS WILL EXPIRE AT THE END OF THIS YEAR, AND THE SERVICE AREA IS COVERED BY THESE EXISTING CONTRACTS ARE SHOWN IN THE SLIDE.
AND OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, WE'VE ISSUED 90 PURCHASE ORDERS UNDER THESE ON CALL CONTRACTS. AND I THINK THIS REALLY DEMONSTRATES THE EFFICIENCY OF HAVING THESE ON CALL CONTRACTS IN PLACE, BECAUSE WITHOUT THEM, INSTEAD OF ISSUING 90 PURCHASE ORDERS, WE WOULD HAVE ISSUED 90 CONTRACTS.
AND THAT TAKES THE ASSOCIATED ADMIN SUPPORT AS WELL AS TIME TO GO THROUGH THE CONTRACT PROCUREMENT PROCESS. SO WE'VE USED THE EXISTING ON CALL CONTRACTS TO SUPPORT A LOT OF IMPORTANT PARK DISTRICT PROJECTS.
I'M NOT GOING TO READ THROUGH THIS LIST, BUT I DID WANT TO DRAW ATTENTION TO TWO PROJECTS. WE USE THE ON CALL TO SUPPORT WORK FOR THE MCOSKER CREEK RESTORATION PROJECT.
WE USED OUR ON CALL HYDROLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY CONTRACT FOR THAT TO SUPPORT GEOMORPHIC MONITORING.
THAT'S REQUIRED BY OUR PERMITS FOR THAT PROJECT.
WE ALSO USED ON CALL CONTRACTS TO SUPPORT PARK DEVELOPMENT AT THURGOOD MARSHALL.
AND FOR THAT WE USED OUR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON CALLS.
SO THE PROPOSED TECHNICAL SERVICES AREAS WE ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND THEM.
SO THERE'S TEN TECHNICAL SERVICE AREAS THAT WE'D LIKE TO HAVE COVERED BY ON-CALL CONTRACTS. THE ONES WITH AN ASTERISK NEXT TO IT ARE ONES THAT WE DID NOT HAVE ON THE EXISTING ON CALLS. SO WE WOULD BE ADDING VEGETATION STUDIES, PEST MANAGEMENT, HABITAT RESTORATION RANGELAND MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT AND ACCESS PERMIT APPLICATION REVIEW.
SO THE ON CALL CONTRACTS REALLY DO HELP US ADDRESS SPECIFIC SERVICE NEEDS AND CHALLENGES. AS HAS BEEN MENTIONED BEFORE, A LOT OF THE WORK THAT STEWARDSHIP DOES THERE'S A HIGH VOLUME OF WORK IN A SHORT SEASONAL WINDOW.
SO AN EXAMPLE OF THIS ARE RARE PLANT SURVEYS THAT ARE OFTEN NEEDED TO SUPPORT PARK DISTRICT PROJECTS. RARE PLANT SURVEYS NEED TO BE CONDUCTED DURING THE BLOOMING PERIOD OF THE TARGET PLANT SPECIES.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK DURING THE SPRING AND EARLY SUMMER.
AND CURRENTLY, WE JUST DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH IN-HOUSE BOTANISTS TO TO MEET THAT WORKLOAD.
A LOT OF THE WORK WE DO IS ALSO KIND OF EPISODIC IN NATURE, AND SOMETIMES THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH KIND OF FULL TIME NEED TO JUSTIFY, YOU KNOW, A FULL TIME STAFF TO DO THAT TYPE OF WORK.
THOSE OTHER SITUATIONS WHERE WE WOULD BENEFIT FROM EXTERNAL SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, LIKE WITH STORMWATER MANAGEMENT.
AND THERE'S OTHER SITUATIONS WHERE WE JUST HAVE CURRENTLY HAVE LIMITED IN-HOUSE EXPERTISE, SUCH AS WITH REMEDIATION AND WITH HYDROLOGY AND GEOMORPHOLOGY.
SO I WANTED TO TALK QUICKLY ABOUT OUR FIRM SELECTION REVIEW PROCESS.
THESE ARE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS.
SO WE PRIORITIZE CONTRACTORS BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS RATHER THAN COST.
BUT WITH THAT SAID, WE DID GET RATE SHEETS AS PART OF OUR RFQ PROCESS.
THE REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS WAS CIRCULATED ON JUNE 9TH, 2025, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF INTEREST.
WE RECEIVED 41 STATEMENTS OF QUALIFICATIONS.
SO WE MOBILIZED IN-HOUSE REVIEW TEAMS. WE HAD 12 TECHNICAL REVIEW TEAMS AND THEY REVIEWED AND SCORED EVERY SOC BASED ON PROPOSAL, APPROACH AND PROPOSAL QUALITY FIRM QUALIFICATIONS, RELEVANT EXPERIENCE, THE GENERAL WORK APPROACH THAT THEY WOULD IMPLEMENT AS WELL AS REFERENCES. AND BASED ON THAT REVIEW, WE'RE RECOMMENDING AWARDING ON CALL CONTRACTS TO THE FOLLOWING 17 FIRMS WITH A THREE YEAR CAPACITY, AS SHOWN ALSO ON THIS TABLE.
THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT JUMP OUT AT THIS TABLE THAT I JUST WANTED TO DISCUSS.
QUICKLY, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT AS FAR AS THE THREE YEAR CAPACITY,
[02:50:03]
THERE'S A LOT OF VARIATION IN WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING.ONE FACTOR BEING KIND OF THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF WORK WE THOUGHT THAT COULD BE NEEDED DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME.
AND ALSO SOME OF THESE FIRMS WERE AWARDED FOR WE'RE RECOMMENDING AWARDING MORE THAN ONE TECHNICAL SERVICE AREA.
SO SOME OF THEM ARE WERE RECOMMENDING THAT THEY GET UP TO THREE TECHNICAL SERVICES AREA.
SO THAT ACCOUNTS FOR THE THE DIFFERENCES IN THE THREE YEAR CAPACITY.
CLEARLY $9,375,000 OVER THREE YEARS OF CAPACITY.
SO I THINK IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WE DO NOT ANTICIPATE USING ALL THE CAPACITY, BUT THERE ARE BENEFITS TO HAVING MORE CAPACITY THAN IS NEEDED.
SPECIFICALLY, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PRIORITY PROJECTS WILL BE OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS AND WHAT TECHNICAL SPECIALTIES WILL BE NEEDED FOR THOSE PROJECTS. SO IT'S POSSIBLE THAT SOME OF THESE CONTRACTS WOULD BE USED TO FULL CAPACITY, BUT IT'S EQUALLY AS POSSIBLE THAT SOME OF THESE CONTRACTS WOULD BE USED LIGHTLY OR EVEN POSSIBLY NOT USED. WE ALSO DON'T KNOW WHICH FIRMS WILL HAVE AVAILABILITY WHEN WE NEED ASSISTANCE. SO THERE'S BENEFITS TO HAVING MULTIPLE FIRMS UNDER CONTRACT FOR THE SAME TECHNICAL SPECIALTY. SO BY HAVING ALL THESE FIRMS AVAILABLE, INCLUDING SOME REDUNDANCY, IT ENSURES THAT THE STEWARDSHIP DEPARTMENT CAN RESPOND QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY TO MOVE PARK DISTRICT PROJECTS FORWARD.
THIS NEXT TABLE SHOWS VERY SIMILAR INFORMATION, BUT IT'S ORGANIZED BY TECHNICAL SERVICE AREA.
AND IT JUST KIND OF GIVES AN OVERVIEW OF KIND OF THE RELATIVE ANTICIPATED NEED OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS. SO ONCE AGAIN, THE RECOMMENDATION IS TO APPROVE EXECUTION OF 17 THREE YEAR CONTRACTS FOR ON-CALL TECHNICAL SERVICES, WITH A MAXIMUM CAPACITY OF $9,375,000.
AND WITH THAT, I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. ALL RIGHT. TIME FOR QUESTIONS.
SO IN REGARDS TO THE CONTRACTS AND I DON'T HAVE THE SLIDE NUMBERS, BUT THE PART AND IT WAS ALSO IN THE STAFF REPORT, THE PART WHERE IT TALKS ABOUT PROJECT FUNDING, UNDERGOES SEPARATE BOARD REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS. THAT'S CURRENTLY WITH THE WITH THE GOVERNMENT CODE THAT WE'RE IN THAT'S CURRENTLY IS IT $50,000? BUT THEN THERE IS A PROPOSAL TO AND ABOVE, AND THEN BELOW THAT THE GENERAL MANAGER CAN APPROVE PROJECTS WITHOUT COMING TO THE BOARD.
BUT IF WE INCREASE THAT AMOUNT, THEN IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SOME PROJECTS THAT FALL UNDER THAT THRESHOLD COULD GET APPROVED AND GO THROUGH THESE CONTRACTORS.
IF THAT THRESHOLD IS CHANGED, IS THAT CORRECT? AM I INTERPRETING THAT CORRECTLY? I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THAT IS CORRECT BASED ON WHAT WAS APPROVED. THAT ENTIRE PROJECT COULD BE APPROVED BASED ON THE GENERAL MANAGER'S AUTHORITY. IT'S NOT A CONCERN.
ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I THINK THIS IS SIMILAR TO THE STRATEGY WE DID WITH THE OTHER.
WE APPROVED A BUNCH OF SMALL CONTRACTS BEFORE IT WAS.
I THINK I'M UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE'S SOME BUILT IN REDUNDANCY, INTENTIONALLY OF SORTS.
SO THAT YOU HAVE. WIGGLE ROOM.
REALLY? LIKE IF ONE OF THESE TAKES ON SIX OF THEM INSTEAD OF TWO OF TWO OF THE PROJECTS, THAT SORT OF THING, BUT STILL A LOT OF MONEY TO GET MY HANDS AROUND.
AND I HAVE A QUESTION WHAT'S THE UNION POSITION ON THIS? AND ONE THING THAT WE SAW IN THE PAST, LIKE WHAT WAS THE CAPACITY WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST THAT YOU'VE WORKED UNDER? I THINK WE SAW THAT BEFORE THAT WE WERE INCREASING THE CAPACITY VERSUS WHAT WHAT WAS THESE DID WE ALWAYS HAVE 17 IN THE PAST, AND WERE THEY ALWAYS AT THESE LEVELS, OR HOW MUCH HAS CHANGED HISTORICALLY OR IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS? YEAH, I COULD SPEAK TO THE THE SECOND QUESTION AND THEN I'LL MAX ADDRESS THE STUFF ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE UNION. SO FOR THE EXISTING ON CALLS, THEY WERE A FOUR YEAR TERM AND THEY HAD A MAXIMUM CAPACITY OF 3.7 MILLION THEIR TOTAL TOTAL. BUT THERE WERE SOME THERE WERE SOME KEY DIFFERENCES.
THERE WERE SIX TECHNICAL SERVICE AREAS COVERED BY THOSE CONTRACTS, AND FOR TWO OF THEM, WE ACTUALLY NEVER ENDED UP ISSUING CONTRACTS.
AND WE HAD A TOTAL OF EIGHT FIRMS ON CALL UNDER THOSE.
SO WE HAD LESS TECHNICAL SERVICE AREAS BEING COVERED, AND WE HAD A LESS TOTAL NUMBER OF FIRMS, IF THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION.
SO WE'RE ADDING QUITE A LOT OF CAPACITY.
WE'RE GOING FROM WE WENT FROM NO, WE'RE GOING DOWN IN YEARS, BUT WE'RE GOING FROM EIGHT FIRMS TO 17 FIRMS. AND THEN WE'RE UPPING FROM 3.7 MILLION TO $9.3 MILLION.
[02:55:01]
SO I GUESS THEN IT'D BE BACK TO MY QUESTION OF IN IN HOUSE AND.OKAY. SO I WAS JUST GOING TO ADD MATT RAWLE DIVISION LEAD ON STEWARDSHIP.
I WAS GOING TO MAKE JUST A CLARIFICATION ON THE LAST CONTRACT ON THE 3 MILLION THAT JOSH SAID, A LITTLE OVER 3 MILLION. THAT WAS THE CONTRACT AMOUNT OF THAT WE ONLY SPENT, I BELIEVE, OVER THE FOUR YEARS, ABOUT 1.3 MILLION OF THOSE.
WE ONLY ISSUED TASK ORDERS AND, AND INITIATED PURCHASE ORDERS FOR ABOUT ONE, 3.3 MILLION OF THE CAPACITY OF THE, YOU KNOW, TOTAL CAPACITY THAT WAS AVAILABLE. BUT YOU FEEL YOU NEED THIS SORT OF THREEFOLD, UP FROM 3.7 MILLION TO 9 POINT.
ARE WE JUST DOING THAT MUCH MORE WORK? IT'S SPECULATIVE. I MEAN, BASED ON ONE TASK AREA, IF THERE'S ONE LARGE PROJECT THAT EATS THAT ALL UP.
SO THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO HAVE MULTIPLE FIRMS AVAILABLE IN CASE ONE OF THOSE FIRMS ISN'T AVAILABLE. WHEN A NEW ISSUE COMES UP ON, SAY, A LARGE CAPITAL PROJECT OR MAYBE EVEN A ROUTINE MAINTENANCE PROJECT, SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, GET THESE SERVICES ON A VERY SHORT TIME FRAME. SO IT'S REALLY TO HAVE THE POTENTIAL IF SOMETHING COMES UP, BUT IT'S NOT. SO WE DON'T HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE BOARD AT THAT MOMENT. BUT WE CERTAINLY DON'T EXPECT TO USE ANYWHERE NEAR THE CAPACITY OF THAT BECAUSE LIKE, SAY, BECAUSE WE HAVE IF WE HAVE SAY WE HAVE THREE FORMS FOR GEOMORPHOLOGY.
WE'D ONLY USE ONE OF THEM, AND THE CAPACITY MIGHT BE LARGE BECAUSE THE POTENTIAL VOLUME OF THAT WORK. BUT THE LIKELIHOOD WE'D ONLY CONTRACT WITH ONE FIRM FOR THAT ONE TASK. OKAY.
IS THAT IT? OR YOU HAVE ANOTHER? ANOTHER? I GUESS THE ANSWER, THE QUESTION ABOUT THE UNION'S POSITION IN SIMILAR TO OUR LAST DISCUSSION, OPPORTUNITIES TO BRING SOME OF THIS IN HOUSE AND ELEVATE AND SUPPORT OUR STEWARDSHIP TEAM.
WELL, I DON'T THINK I'M GOING TO REPRESENT THE UNION'S POSITION, BUT BUT I WILL SAY THAT WE DID MEET WITH THE UNION, AND INITIALLY OUR PROPOSAL HAD BEEN THREE YEARS, WITH AN ADDITIONAL TWO YEARS AT THE DISTRICT'S DISCRETION.
AND WE MODIFIED THAT TO THREE YEARS AFTER MEETING AS A COMPROMISE.
OKAY, THANKS. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? JUST OCCURRED TO ME ONE OF THESE FIRMS WAS RESPONSIBLE, WASN'T IT, FOR THE RECENT DISCOVERY OF THE RARE PLANT SPECIES OUT AT VASCO? CORRECT. THAT'S NOMAD ECOLOGY AND HEATH.
YEAH. SO CONGRATULATIONS ON THAT, BY THE WAY.
WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SO, SO THIS KIND OF, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY NOT OBVIOUSLY, BUT IT REMINDS ME OF THE JOCK PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU HAVE HAVE THESE DIFFERENT FIRMS THAT YOU CAN GO TO TO GET WORK DONE.
AND FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THERE'S SOME OF THOSE FIRMS YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO GO TO FOR WHATEVER REASON THAN SOME OF THE OTHER ONES.
RIGHT. SO BY HAVING 17 DIFFERENT COMPANIES, I'M ASSUMING THAT NUMBER ONE, YOU'RE GOING TO FIGURE OUT MAYBE WHICH ONES ARE EASIEST TO WORK WITH.
AND NUMBER TWO, PROBABLY SOME OF THEM HAVE THERE'S DIFFERENT STRENGTHS IN THOSE COMPANIES, DIFFERENT FOCUSES THAT THEY HAVE.
SO THAT IF YOU HAVE 17 YOU THIS ONE MIGHT BE GOOD ON WILDLIFE, THAT ONE MIGHT BE GOOD ON INSECTS, AND THAT ONE MIGHT BE GOOD ON TURTLES OR SOMETHING. IS THAT TRUE? NO, THAT THAT THAT IS ALL TRUE.
AND YOU KNOW. YEAH. HAVING, HAVING, AS I SAID, A DEEP BENCH, YOU KNOW, IT REALLY IT PUTS US IN A GREAT POSITION TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND BASED ON WHAT THE SPECIFIC PROJECT NEEDS ARE.
ALL RIGHT. LET'S SEE. DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? WE DO, WE DO. WILLIAM HOUGH AND THE RIGHT SPEAKING OF IN HOUSE.
GOOD AFTERNOON. PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS, GENERAL MANAGER, GENERAL COUNCIL.
I I'M GOING TO AVOID REDUNDANCIES WITH THE LAST TIME I CAME UP HERE TO SPEAK, BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT KIND OF REPEAT. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO FIRST ADDRESS THE MEETING, THE MEET AND CONFER WE HAD REGARDING THIS.
WE HAD A REALLY EXCELLENT CONVERSATION WITH MEET AND CONFER. WE WERE GIVEN TIME TO REVIEW IT BEFOREHAND BEFORE OUR PRE MEET AND THEY DID AGREE, AS JIM GORDON MCNAUGHTON STATED TO TRUNCATE THE EXTENSION AND GET RID OF IT, AND I FEEL LIKE EVEN THOUGH WE OBVIOUSLY DID NOT FULLY AGREE, IT WAS A GREAT DISPLAY OF ATTEMPTS AT PARTNERSHIP.
AND LAST WEEK WE HAD THE FIRST MEETING OF OUR ARTICLE 19 COMMITTEE, WHICH IS A JOINT COMMITTEE WITH LABOR AND MANAGEMENT REGARDING VOLUNTEERS AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. AND I HAVE TOTAL FAITH THAT THAT WILL LEAD TO POSITIVE OUTCOMES IN THE HOPEFULLY NEAR FUTURE.
SO I'M NOT SURE IF I EXPRESSED THAT FULLY WHEN I CAME UP HERE EARLIER, BUT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH MANAGEMENT AND THEY'VE BEEN RECEPTIVE AND DISCUSSING WITH US. THE END RESULT IS NOT EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED, BUT THAT IS PART OF PARTNERSHIP SOMETIMES.
THAT BEING SAID, WE DID ASK TO REDUCE THE SCOPE OF THE WORK.
[03:00:02]
IF YOU LOOK AT THE CONTRACTS, NOT EVERYTHING CAN BE DONE IN HOUSE LIKE I DO NOT THINK WE HAVE A JOB CLASSIFICATION FOR GEOMORPHOLOGIST, EVEN THOUGH THAT WOULD BE KIND OF COOL. BUT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE AFSCME SPECIFIC THAT DON'T REQUIRE AN INTENSIVE AMOUNT OF TRAINING LIKE WE DISCUSSED WITH THE BIO MONITORS. SO WE DID REQUEST THE SCOPE TO BE LIMITED, AND ALSO TO BRING UP THE NATURAL RESOURCE TECHNICIAN THAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER. WE JUST HEARD THAT THERE'S A DESIRE TO HAVE LIKE A DEEP BENCH TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO ISSUES.AND IF WE HAD A CREW LIKE THE NATURAL RESOURCE TECHNICIAN THAT COULD DO DIFFERENT TASKS SEASONALLY, NOT NECESSARILY BE SEASONAL WORKERS, BUT THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN REGARDS TO STEWARDSHIP YEAR ROUND, WHICH IS PART OF WHY WE HAVE A PERMANENT STEWARDSHIP DEPARTMENT. SO IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO USE THE NEXT THREE YEARS WHILE THIS THESE ON CALL CONTRACTS, IF THIS IS BOARD APPROVED.
WHILE THESE ARE BEING UTILIZED TO ALSO WORK TO CREATING SOMETHING THAT COULD FILL THE GAP. AND THAT IS THE END OF MY NOTES.
THANK YOU. OH, AND I ALSO REALLY SUPPORT EVERYTHING THAT DGM COURTNEY WAS DISCUSSING ABOUT TRYING TO BRING THINGS IN-HOUSE, IN CASE I DID NOT MAKE THAT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR WITH MY MINUTE AND 36 SECONDS OF SPEAKING, SO THANK YOU.
GOOD AFTERNOON, LITTLE TAG TEAM TODAY.
YES. I JUST WANTED TO ADD ON TO WHAT WILLIAM SAID.
YOU YOU ASKED WHAT THE UNION'S POSITION WAS, AND I THINK OUR POSITION WAS THAT AS WE REVIEWED SOME OF THE AREAS THAT WERE BEING COVERED IN THESE CONTRACTS SOME OF THEM WEREN'T APPLICABLE AND SOME WERE.
AND SO THERE WERE SOME, LIKE THE ACCESS PERMIT REVIEW SOME OF THE DATA MANAGEMENT THAT SEEMED LIKE SOMETHING THAT WE COULD VERY EASILY DO IN-HOUSE AND THAT OUR, OUR EMPLOYEES ARE ALREADY DOING IN-HOUSE, BUT THEY JUST NEED MORE EMPLOYEES TO DO IT.
AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT'S YEAR ROUND. FOR EXAMPLE, THE ACCESS PERMIT REVIEW DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT A SEASONAL THING. YOU KNOW, WHEN PEOPLE PUT IN FOR PERMITS, THEY HAVE TO SEND THEM THROUGH TO BE REVIEWED TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NOT ANY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS THAT, THAT COME UP DURING THAT WORK.
SO WE REALLY OUR POSITION WAS REALLY, CAN WE PLEASE REDUCE THE SCOPE THAT WE WOULD BE WILLING TO DO A THREE YEAR CONTRACT IF WE COULD JUST REDUCE THE SCOPE? BUT WE WERE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT.
AND SO WHAT WE REALLY HAD TALKED ABOUT WAS YOU KNOW, TRYING TO MEET THE IMMEDIATE NEED OF THE DISTRICT IN HAVING A TWO YEAR CONTRACT SO THAT THEY COULD GET WHATEVER WORK DONE THEY NEED TO GET DONE, BUT THEN ALSO HAVING A SHORT TERM PLAN OF HOW CAN WE POST FOR ACTING OR DO OVERFILLS OR, YOU KNOW, DO SOME DIFFERENT TYPES OF SEASONAL OR TEMPORARY WORKERS IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THAT IN-BETWEEN NEED, AND THEN ALSO THE LONG TERM PLAN OF HOW ARE WE GOING TO ADD EMPLOYEES IN THE FUTURE TO DO THIS WORK? AND SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS SORT OF THAT THREE TIERED PLAN.
DON'T WORRY, I WON'T TAKE ALL THAT THREE MINUTES RIGHT THERE.
SO THAT WAS WHAT WE WERE REALLY LOOKING FOR. AND SO ANOTHER THING I WANTED TO POINT OUT WAS THE DATA MANAGEMENT IN THE PROPOSED REORG THAT YOU WILL SEE SOON THEY ARE DELETING A GIS TECHNICIAN. AND SO, YOU KNOW HERE WE'RE CONTRACTING OUT THIS WORK AND YET WE'RE TAKING A GIS POSITION AWAY.
SO IT JUST KIND OF BEGS THE QUESTION OF YOU KNOW, ARE WE REALLY FOCUSED ON THAT? SO I THINK WHAT WE WOULD REALLY LIKE IS I THINK, AS DIRECTOR DESCHAMBAULT POINTED OUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ADDING CAPACITY, BUT WE'RE NOT ADDING THE EMPLOYEES. SO WE DO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S A NEED, BUT WE JUST REALLY WANT SOME KIND OF A PLAN, SOME KIND OF A. YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE HOW DIRECTOR ESPAÑA ASKED, YOU KNOW, CAN WE BE UPDATED? YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO BE UPDATED TO WE ALSO WANT TO BE ON THAT PLAN OF WHAT IS THE PLAN, HOW ARE WE MOVING FORWARD, AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO ADDRESS THESE TYPES OF NEEDS THAT COME UP? BUT AGAIN, IN THE INTERIM, WE'RE WILLING TO LET THE CONTRACTS MOVE FORWARD FOR A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME AND THEN KEEP CHECKING BACK IN.
SORRY. ONE MORE QUICK THING. AND I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT FLOWER THAT WAS DISCOVERED COULD HAVE BEEN AN AFSCME EMPLOYEE. JUST SAYING. ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. ANY ANY.
ANY OTHERS? NO MORE. NO MORE PUBLIC COMMENTS.
ALL RIGHT, SO NOW WE'RE BACK TO THE BOARD FOR COMMENTS.
ALL RIGHT. IF THERE ARE NO COMMENTS I'LL LOOK FOR A MOTION.
SO MOVED. ALL RIGHT. MOTION TO APPROVE.
SECOND. I'LL SECOND. SECOND FROM ECHOLS.
UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ALL FOR THAT.
NOW, MOVING RIGHT ALONG TO ITEM ONE AWARD AND EXECUTE CONTRACTS WITH WORKDAY
[FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIVISION]
IN THE AMOUNT OF FIVE PLUS MILLION DOLLARS.[03:05:02]
STRADA, STRATA US PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.THAT'S THE TRUNCATED VERSION OF THE TITLE.
AND THEN HOW DO I GET IT TO BE FULL SCREEN? YEAH, THAT'S. GOOD. DON'T KNOW IF.
THAT'S MORE MANAGEABLE THAN. ARE WE THERE? OKAY. GOOD AFTERNOON. DIRECTOR MERCURIO BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
KATIE DIGNAN, ASSISTANT FINANCE OFFICER HERE TODAY TO PRESENT OUR RECOMMENDATION TO AWARD, AUTHORIZE, AND EXECUTE CONTRACTS AND AMENDMENTS AND TRANSFER AN APPROPRIATE GENERAL FUNDS TO FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE PARK DISTRICT'S ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEM. SO, TO START OFF, A BACKGROUND OF THIS VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT IS THE PARK DISTRICT HAS BEEN USING OUR CURRENT ERP CENTRAL SQUARE SINCE 2000 FOR FINANCE AND 2002 FOR HR.
HR AND PAYROLL OPERATIONS IN SEPTEMBER OF 2022.
THE PARK DISTRICT ENGAGED CLIENT FIRST TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOP THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN.
IN NOVEMBER OF 2023, A DRAFT IT STRATEGIC PLAN WAS DELIVERED AND RECOMMENDED THAT THE PARK DISTRICT ENGAGE A CONSULTANT TO ASSIST IN EVALUATING THE EXISTING ERP SYSTEM.
AFTER A PUBLIC RFP PROCESS IN SEPTEMBER OF 2024, THE PARK DISTRICT ENGAGED SDI PRESENCE TO PERFORM AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ERP SYSTEM.
SDI. THE SDI TEAM CONDUCTED OVER 29 WORKSHOPS WITH OVER 100 PARK DISTRICT SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS, WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM ALL DIVISIONS, TO OBTAIN AN UNDERSTANDING AND GAIN INSIGHT INTO THE PEOPLE, PROCESS AND TECHNOLOGY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH CENTRAL SQUARE.
THE ORGANIZATION EXPRESSED CONSIDERABLE DISSATISFACTION WITH MANY ASPECTS OF CENTRAL SQUARE, AND IT WAS RECOMMENDED THAT THE PARK DISTRICT PROCURE AND IMPLEMENT A NEW ERP.
IN FEBRUARY, THE PARK DISTRICT ISSUED A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR AN ERP SYSTEM AND IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES.
THE OBJECTIVES FOR THE NEW SYSTEM ARE AS FOLLOWS.
I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT IN A COUPLE OF THE IMPORTANT POINTS.
CONSOLIDATION TO A SINGLE SYSTEM THAT CONNECTS BOTH FINANCIAL AND NON-FINANCIAL DATA. USE OF AUTOMATION TO STREAMLINE AND IMPROVE OUR BUSINESS PROCESSES.
REDUCE. ELIMINATE REDUNDANT DATA ENTRY.
OUR CURRENT SYSTEMS REQUIRE DATA TO BE ENTERED ACROSS MULTIPLE SCREENS, RESULTING IN INEFFICIENCIES AND INCREASED RISK OF ERRORS.
WE'D LIKE TIMELY, ACCURATE, AND EASY TO ACCESS INFORMATION FOR DECISION MAKING. WE WANT TO IMPROVE AND PROVIDE BETTER REPORTING AND ACCESS TO DATA THROUGH INQUIRY AND DRILL DOWN CAPABILITIES.
CURRENTLY OUR SYSTEM MANY OF THE REPORTS ARE ONLY AVAILABLE IN PDF FORMAT, MAKING ANALYSIS AND REVIEW VERY TIME CONSUMING.
WE WANT IT TO SUPPORT INTERFACES WITH THIRD PARTY SYSTEMS THROUGH APIS AND OTHER DATA EXCHANGES, AND WE WANT TO IMPROVE OUR SERVICES TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS AND TO OUR EMPLOYEES. ON APRIL 15TH, THE PARK DISTRICT RECEIVED PROPOSALS FROM SEVEN VENDORS FOR BOTH AN ERP SOLUTION AND AN IMPLEMENTATION PARTNER.
THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE CONSISTED OF EIGHT MEMBERS FROM FINANCE, MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INFORMATION SERVICES, HUMAN RESOURCES AND BENEFITS DEPARTMENTS.
AN INITIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW WAS CONDUCTED OF ALL PROPOSALS, AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THREE PROPOSALS DID NOT MEET THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS.
THE DISTRICT THEN MOVED FORWARD WITH A DETAILED EVALUATION AND SCORING OF THE REMAINING FOUR PROPOSALS IN THE AREAS OF COMPANY EXPERIENCE AND BACKGROUND, PROPOSED SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH AND SCHEDULE, ONGOING SUPPORT. PRICING SOFTWARE AND MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS. THE COMMITTEE SHORTLISTED TO TYLER TECHNOLOGIES AND WORKDAY AND INVITED THEM TO EACH PROVIDE A FIVE DAY PROOF OF CAPABILITY DEMONSTRATIONS.
OVER 30 PARK DISTRICT STAFF FROM FINANCE, HUMAN RESOURCES, PAYROLL, INFORMATION SERVICES, BUSINESS SERVICES, LEGAL RISK, RESERVATIONS AND OFFICE SERVICES ATTENDED THESE WORKSHOPS AND PROVIDED FEEDBACK TO THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
REFERENCE CHECKS WERE CONDUCTED FROM SIMILARLY SIZED CALIFORNIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ON BOTH VENDORS.
AFTER REVIEWING ALL FACTORS, THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE UNANIMOUSLY, UNANIMOUSLY DETERMINED THAT THE WORKDAY SOLUTION BEST MEETS THE PARK DISTRICT'S OPERATIONAL AND STRATEGIC NEEDS.
THE WORKDAY MODULES THAT WILL BE IMPLEMENTING AS PART OF THIS PROJECT ARE FINANCE, HUMAN RESOURCES, PAYROLL AND ANALYTICS, AND REPORTING.
SOME OF THE NEW FEATURES WILL BE ADDING IS GRANTS MANAGEMENT TO REPLACE AN EXTERNAL DATABASE, EXPENSES TO SUPPORT EMPLOYEE EXPENSE PROCESSING, PROCUREMENT AND STRATEGIC SOURCING TO ASSIST WITH OBTAINING ITEMS, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THROUGH A CENTRALIZED FUNCTION TO ESTABLISH MASTER CONTRACTS AT THE
[03:10:02]
ENTIRE DISTRICT. CAN PURCHASE AGAINST CONTRACT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT TO MANAGE AND TRACK CONTRACTS FOR CREATION THROUGH SIGNATURE AND ABSENCE MANAGEMENT, TO SUPPORT REQUESTS FOR TIME OFF AND LEAVE OF ABSENCES, AND ENABLES THE VIEWING OF TIME OFF PLAN BALANCES, INCLUDING PROJECTIONS, AND INTEGRATES DIRECTLY INTO THE TIME TRACKING MODULE. SOME OF THE SYSTEM DIFFERENTIATORS AND NEW FEATURES THAT IS COMING FROM THE WORKDAY SOLUTION IS ROBUST, ROBUST, AND REPORTING ANALYTICS.WE'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE POINT IN TIME AND REAL TIME REPORTING AND ANALYTICS WITH DRILL DOWN CAPABILITIES, WHICH WILL ALLOW MANAGEMENT TO EASILY ACCESS STATUS OF PAYMENTS, VACANCY RATES, POSITION CONTROL, PROCESSING, ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE STATUSES, BUDGET TO ACTUAL REPORTS, AND MUCH MORE. THE NEW SYSTEM WILL BE INTEGRATED WITH OUR BANK OF RECORD, BANK OF MONTREAL AND ASSIST IN AUTO RECONCILING BANK TRANSACTIONS.
TRANSACTIONS WITH SUGGESTED MATCHES SO THAT STAFF WILL NO LONGER HAVE TO MANUALLY ENTER TRANSACTIONS, AND CAN ALSO SEND FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL VIA WORKFLOW.
THIS FEATURE WILL SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE TIME REQUIRED TO PREPARE AND REVIEW BANK RECONCILIATIONS TO ADDRESS TIMELY PAYMENT OF INVOICES.
WORKDAY HAS A VENDOR MANAGEMENT PORTAL, WHERE OUR SUPPLIERS WILL BE ABLE TO SUBMIT INVOICES DIRECTLY TO THE PARK DISTRICT FOR PROCESSING, AND THEN IT WILL GO TO THE APPROPRIATE WORKFLOW APPROVALS FOR PAYMENT.
THE SYSTEM ALSO HAS OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY AND USES AI DRIVEN TOOLS TO EXTRACT AND VALIDATE DATA, THEN ROUTES INVOICES FOR APPROVAL.
THIS WAY, STAFF CAN FOCUS THEIR TIME ON VALIDATING IF THE INFORMATION CAPTURED IS CORRECT, RATHER THAN MANUALLY ENTERING EVERY INVOICE THE PARK DISTRICT RECEIVES, WHICH WILL CONTRIBUTE TO REDUCTION IN ERRORS AND INVOICE PROCESSING TIMES.
OUR CASHIERING FUNCTIONS WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO WORKDAY VIA THE CAN AM TELLER POINT OF SALE SYSTEM, AND THIS WILL ALLOW FOR REAL TIME POSTING OF TRANSACTION AND ELIMINATES DUPLICATIVE DATA ENTRY STAFF WILL BE ABLE TO VIEW PAYMENT STATUS RECEIPTS AND REVENUE REPORTS INSTANTLY WITHIN THE ERP ENVIRONMENT, RATHER THAN HAVING TO COLLECT FOR MULTIPLE SYSTEMS. THE WORKDAY SOLUTION HAS OVER 500 PRE-ESTABLISHED BEST PRACTICE BUSINESS PROCESSES THAT CAN BE MODIFIED TO MEET THE PARK DISTRICT'S REVIEW AND APPROVAL WORKFLOW REQUIREMENTS. THE AUDIT FUNCTION IS ALWAYS ON.
THEREFORE, AT ANY TIME, THOSE WITH THE APPROPRIATE SECURITY ACCESS CAN RESEARCH TRANSACTION HISTORY.
EMPLOYEES WILL HAVE ACCESS TO A MOBILE EMPLOYEE SELF-SERVICE APPLICATION TO SUBMIT LEAVE REQUESTS, TRACK TIME, UPDATE DIRECT DEPOSIT INFORMATION, AS WELL AS SUBMIT EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS.
WORKDAY'S USER INTERFACE LEVERAGES COMMONLY USED TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN PATTERNS TO BUILD MODERN, USER FRIENDLY EXPERIENCES.
USERS FIND IT MORE APPROACHABLE AND LESS INTIMIDATING, AND ALLOWS ALL TASKS TO BE PERFORMED ON SMARTPHONES OR TABLETS.
THE PROPOSED TIMELINE FOR PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION IS FOR US TO BEGIN IN NOVEMBER AND BE COMPLETED WITHIN A YEAR.
WE'RE PLANNING TO. A DETAILED IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE WILL BE DEVELOPED AS AFTER WE EXECUTE THE CONTRACT WITH STRATA, AND THEN OUR PLAN IS TO RETURN TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE IN JANUARY WITH THAT DETAILED STAFF IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND AN UPDATE ON THE PROJECT. SO MOVING FORWARD TO THE INDIVIDUAL RECOMMENDATIONS, THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION IS TO AUTHORIZE THE TRANSFER AND APPROPRIATION OF 8,038,184 OF GENERAL FUND UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE DISTRICT'S ERP SYSTEM.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE CHART ON THE RIGHT, THERE'S FIVE DIFFERENT CONTRACTS THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO BE EXECUTING AS PART OF THIS ACTION.
SO FIRST WE HAVE STRATA WHO IS GOING TO BE ASSISTING WITH IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES AND INTEGRATION. THEN WE HAVE WORKDAY.
THIS IS FOR THE SUBSCRIPTION FEES AND TRAINING THROUGH 2027.
WE'RE GOING TO BE ISSUING TWO CONTRACTS, ONE FOR THEIR IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES AND HARDWARE, AND THEN THE OTHER FOR SUBSCRIPTION FEES THROUGH 2027.
THEN WE HAVE SDI PRESENCE FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT, AND WE'VE INCLUDED 3 MILLION FOR STAFFING, BACKFILL AND SUPPORT, A 15% CONTINGENCY, LEADING OUR TOTAL PROJECT COST TO 8 MILLION.
538 184 WE CURRENTLY HAVE 500,000 IN THE EXISTING PROJECT TO REPLACE THE DISTRICT'S ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEM, AND WE'RE ASKING FOR THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING OF 8,038,001 84 FROM GENERAL FUND BALANCE AS OF 2020.
FOR THE UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE AVAILABLE IS NINE POINT OVER 9.4 MILLION.
AND BASED ON CURRENT VACANCY RATES AND ESTIMATED SALARY SAVINGS FROM 2025, WE'RE CONFIDENT WE'LL HAVE AT LEAST 6 MILLION SO THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO COVER BOTH THE COST OF THE ERP SYSTEM AND THE ACTION YOU JUST TOOK FOR THE PERALTA, OAKES, NORTH CHANGE ORDERS AND CONTRACT AMENDMENTS AFTER DEPLOYMENT.
THE ONGOING SUBSCRIPTION FEES OF 4,270,000 FOR 24 WORK DAYS FOR YEAR THREE AND TEN, AND 629 EIGHT 60 FOR CAN AM.
YEAR THREE AND FIVE WILL BE FUNDED AS PART OF THE ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET BEGINNING IN
[03:15:01]
2028. SO TO CLARIFY, RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST ASKING FOR THE THE PROJECT BUDGET ONLY INCLUDES TWO YEARS OF SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES.THEN AFTER THOSE TWO YEARS WILL JUST BE THE ANNUAL ONGOING WILL BE PART OF THE ANNUAL BUDGET. THE NEXT RECOMMENDATION IS TO AWARD AND EXECUTE A MASTER SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH WORKDAY, WHICH INCLUDES A TEN YEAR SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION FEE AND TRAINING IN THE AMOUNT OF 5,056,758. WORKDAY IS THE ERP LEADING ERP PROVIDER, SERVING CORPORATIONS WORLDWIDE AND EXPANDING INTO THE PUBLIC SECTOR OVER THE LAST DECADE.
THEIR KEY BENEFITS INCLUDE PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS AND EFFICIENCY GAINS, FLEXIBILITY AND SCALABILITY.
IMPROVED USER EXPERIENCE AND STRONGER DATA GOVERNANCE AND TRANSPARENCY.
ANOTHER BENEFIT IS THAT THEY'RE HEADQUARTERED HERE IN THE DISTRICT IN PLEASANTON, CALIFORNIA. NEXT IS THE RECOMMENDATION TO AWARD AN EXECUTE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT WITH STRATA FOR EXPERT IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES TO CONFIGURE AND DEPLOY THE WORKDAY PLATFORM AND THE AMOUNT OF 02,000,132 989 OVER 30 THAT STRATA HAS OVER 30 YEARS OF PUBLIC SECTOR EXPERIENCE.
FIRST PARTNERING WITH WORKDAY IN 2008, THEY'VE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED OVER 1000 WORKDAY IMPLEMENTATIONS, AND THE SERVICES THEY'RE GOING TO BE PROVIDING IS OUR IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES.
THEY'LL BE MANAGING THE PROGRAM HUB, WHICH WILL TRACK ALL OF THE PROJECT DELIVERABLES AND OUR TESTING, DEPLOYMENT, ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING EFFORTS. THEY'LL BE HELPING US WITH INTEGRATING INTO OUR EXISTING SYSTEMS THAT WE NEED, SUCH AS ESRI AND AND SOME OF OUR BENEFIT PROVIDERS.
THEY'LL ALSO BE HELPING WITH DATA CONVERSION FROM CENTRAL SQUARE INTO THE NEW SOFTWARE SYSTEM. NEXT WORKDAY DOES NOT PROVIDE A POINT OF SALE SYSTEM, SO THAT'S WHY THEY'VE RECOMMENDED WE IMPLEMENT A CONTRACT WITH EM TECHNOLOGIES FOR CASHIERING FUNCTIONS. AND SO WE'RE ASKING TO AWARD AND EXECUTE A FIVE YEAR SERVICE AGREEMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF 1,010,004 26, IN A CONTRACT IN THE AMOUNT OF 437 615 WITH EM TECHNOLOGIES. THIS WOULD BE A TOTAL OF 1 MILLION.
448 OH 41 AND THEY'RE THE INTEGRATED PARTNER TO PROVIDE POINT OF SALE MODULE FOR CASHIERING. THEY HAVE OVER 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT CLIENTS.
AND THE SOLUTION SPECIALIZES IN ENTERPRISE ENTERPRISE PAYMENTS FOR GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WITH PROVEN PLATFORM THAT INTEGRATES INTO WORKDAY'S ERP SYSTEM.
THIS WILL REPLACE OUR CURRENT POS SYSTEM WHICH IS ACTIVE.
NET IS WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY USING.
THE LAST CONTRACT WE'RE ASKING FOR APPROVAL FOR IS TO AMEND THE EXISTING PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CONTRACT WITH SDI PRESENCE TO PROVIDE CONTINUITY AND OVERSIGHT AND COORDINATION THROUGH THE PROJECT, AND THE AMOUNT OF 687,000.
AS I MENTIONED, WE ORIGINALLY CONTRACTED SDI IN SEPTEMBER OF 2024 TO ASSIST WITH THE ASSESSMENT AND PUTTING OUT OF THE RFP.
AND THEY THROUGHOUT THIS PROJECT, THEY'VE COMPLETED ALL THEIR DELIVERABLES TO DATE, INCLUDING THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND THE ERP EVALUATION PROCESS.
THEY'VE ENSURED OUR PROJECT STAYED ON TRACK AND WELL DOCUMENTED AND ORGANIZED AND PROVIDED VALUABLE GUIDANCE AND CONTINUITY THROUGHOUT THE PHASES.
SO THE AMENDMENT WILL PROVIDE CONTINUITY AND EFFICIENCY, WILL HELP WITH RISK MITIGATION AND AND RESOURCE SUPPORT AS WE NEED IT.
NEXT, OUR RECOMMENDATION IS TO APPROPRIATE 3 MILLION TO PROVIDE FOR STAFF BACKFILLS AND TEMPORARY STAFFING SUPPORT TO SUSTAIN CORE OPERATIONS.
RECOGNIZING THAT THE ERP IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES WILL IMPACT EXISTING WORKFLOWS, THIS ERP PROJECT WILL BE CARRIED OUT PRIMARILY BY EXISTING PARK DISTRICT EMPLOYEES FROM A RANGE OF DEPARTMENTS, LEVERAGING INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE TO ENSURE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION.
THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE PROJECT, PARK DISTRICT PERSONNEL ASSIGNED TO THE PROJECT WILL ALLOCATE THEIR LABOR HOURS TO THE PROJECT FOR ACCOUNTING AND CAPITALIZATION PURPOSES TO MAINTAIN REGULAR FINANCE, PAYROLL, AND HR OPERATIONS, AND MAINTAIN EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY.
STAFF WHO ARE DEDICATED TO THE ERP PROJECT WILL NEED TO BE TEMPORARILY BACKFILLED.
WE'RE PROPOSING THAT THIS BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH A COMBINATION OF REASSIGNMENTS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENTS TEMPORARY HIRES, OVERTIME AND, WHERE APPROPRIATE, SUPPLEMENTAL CONSULTING SUPPORT.
IT IS CURRENTLY ESTIMATED THAT APPROXIMATELY EIGHT FULL TIME EQUIVALENT POSITIONS WILL REQUIRE BACKFILLING AND AT LEAST SIX TEMPORARY POSITIONS ACROSS FINANCE, HR AND INFORMATION SERVICES WILL BE NECESSARY TO SUSTAIN ESSENTIAL OPERATIONS THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT TIMELINE. THE PROJECT WILL BE IMPLEMENTED IN FOUR STAGES PLANNING, ARCHITECTURE AND CONFIGURE, TEST AND DEPLOY STAFF.
TIME AND COMMITMENTS FOR SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION WILL FLUCTUATE BASED ON THE PHASE AND MODULE BEING DEPLOYED.
AS I HIGHLIGHTED EARLIER, WE'LL RETURN TO THE BOARD FINANCE COMMITTEE IN JANUARY WITH A DETAILED IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE THAT COVERS STAFFING REQUIREMENTS.
LASTLY, WE'RE REQUESTING APPROVAL TO AUTHORIZE THE GENERAL MANAGER, OR DESIGNEE TO APPROVE CONTRACT AMENDMENTS UP TO 15% OF THE TOTAL CONTRACT PRICE FOR EACH
[03:20:01]
OF THE CONTRACTS WE'RE EXECUTING.WITH THAT, I'LL OPEN UP TO QUESTIONS.
I JUST WANTED TO. IS THIS WORKING OKAY? I JUST WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING REALLY QUICKLY, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE. SUPER COMPLICATED PROJECT. MASSIVE PROJECT.
WE'VE BEEN THROUGH SOME OF THESE THINGS BEFORE.
IN AGENCIES, THIS IS GOING TO REQUIRE ALL HANDS ON DECK.
SO I JUST REALLY WANT TO PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGE KATIE AND DAVID AND THE ENTIRE TEAM FOR ALL OF THE WORK UP TO THIS POINT, THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT THE PUBLIC NECESSARILY, YOU KNOW, LOOKS AT FOR THE PARK DISTRICT.
BUT WE CANNOT FUNCTION WITHOUT THIS THING.
SO I JUST REALLY WANT TO SAY THANK YOU AND FOR COBBLING TOGETHER THE FUNDS TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. HUGE. YEAH. AND THE PUBLIC WILL NEVER SEE IT, YOU KNOW. BUT WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW WHAT WE DID.
OKAY. SO ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH. GO AHEAD. YEAH. KATIE.
GREAT. GREAT PRESENTATION, GREAT PREPARATION, GOOD OVERVIEW. I'VE ACTUALLY SPENT A LOT OF TIME REALLY KIND OF DIGGING THROUGH THESE SLIDES AND THIS REPORT AND AND ALSO, I KNOW THIS WENT THROUGH THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, AND I DID WATCH THAT AS WELL.
AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS A VERY GOOD PRESENTATION AND GOOD INFORMATION.
AND I THINK THIS IS VERY NEEDED.
YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS LIKE TO SAY WE LIVE HERE IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, THE TECHNOLOGY CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.
AND WHEN I WAS ON OUR PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE I MENTIONED THIS A LOT THAT, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WHERE THE PARK DISTRICT, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE GOOD SOFTWARE AND TECHNOLOGY.
AND WHILE, YES, SOFTWARE IS VERY INTANGIBLE I THINK YOU'LL FIND THAT OUR YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITHIN OUR DISTRICT, THEY DO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS TECHNOLOGY. IN FACT, MANY IN FACT, SOME PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN OUR DISTRICT EITHER LIVE AND OR WORK AT WORKDAY.
AND SO I THINK THAT THAT'S ALSO REALLY AN IMPORTANT POINT HERE.
YOU KNOW, MY MY ONE QUESTION IS MAYBE NOT FOR YOU SPECIFICALLY, BUT, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN VERY EAGER TO SEE OUR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGIC PLAN.
I KNOW I MENTIONED A LITTLE BIT EARLIER IN THE MEETING, AND I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
I DID ALSO REACH OUT LAST WEEK TO AMANDA GAYLE, WHO DID PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION THAT WE ARE PLANNING TO SEE THAT PLAN IN MID-NOVEMBER.
BUT IT MIGHT JUST BE HELPFUL TO ASK THAT QUESTION AGAIN SO THAT EVERYONE ON THE BOARD CAN HEAR THAT INFORMATION.
YEAH. THAT'S CORRECT. AS AMANDA LET YOU KNOW, WE'RE BRINGING IT TO I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S COMING TO THE COMMITTEE OR TO THE FULL BOARD.
TO THE FULL BOARD. NEXT MONTH.
IT IS STILL A DRAFT REPORT, BUT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO BRING YOU WHAT WE HAVE. AND THIS OBVIOUSLY WAS AT THE VERY TOP OF THE RECOMMENDED NUMBER ONE, NUMBER ONE RECOMMENDATION IN THAT REPORT.
THANK YOU. THAT'S MY ONLY QUESTION. I DO HAVE SOME OTHER COMMENTS, BUT I'LL WAIT TILL WE GET TO THAT MOMENT. THANK YOU.
ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I HAD ONE. THIS IS ONE I ACTUALLY KNOW THE ANSWER TO, BUT I'M GOING TO ASK YOU IT BECAUSE I WANT IT OUT THERE. SO THERE'S A ONE OF, ONE OF THE ASPECTS OF THIS IS PROCUREMENT.
PROCUREMENT. WILL THAT WILL THIS SYSTEM ALLOW AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT MORE CENTRALIZATION OF THE PURCHASING FUNCTION IN THE DISTRICT? YES IT WILL. YEAH. AND WHAT IT'LL HELP US WITH IS REALLY HAVING A PORTAL TO MANAGE ON CALL CONTRACTS, JUST LIKE SOME OF THOSE THAT YOU HEARD. SO THAT IF OTHER DIVISIONS WANT TO USE AN ON CALL CONTRACT, THEY'LL SEE THE AVAILABILITY OF IT.
THEY'LL SEE HOW MUCH FUNDING HAS BEEN APPROVED.
I MEAN, THE CONTRACT LIMITS THAT ARE THERE AND THEN HAVE THE ABILITY TO ISSUE TASK ORDERS AGAINST IT. AND SO THEY'LL SHOW UP IN THE SYSTEM AS ALREADY BEING AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE OFF OF, AND WILL MAKE IT A LOT EASIER FOR EVERYBODY TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS THOSE SERVICES AND NOT HAVE TO DO MULTIPLE CONTRACTS.
ALONG THOSE LINES, I'M CURIOUS.
WE HEARD, I GUESS, AT A SITE TOUR ABOUT HOW PROJECTS ARE UNDER SORT OF ONE BUCKET OF DOLLARS FOR BUILDING THE BUILDING AND MAKING IT SOLAR READY WITH A DIFFERENT BUCKET.
THE ONE THAT CAN ACTUALLY PAY FOR THE, FOR THE SOLAR IS SOMETHING LIKE THIS GOING TO ALLOW MORE INTERACTION ACROSS, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT FUNDING AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR, FOR THAT KIND OF INTERACTION TO OCCUR.
YES, WE WE CAN SET THE PROJECT BUDGETS TO TRACK WHATEVER WE, YOU KNOW, TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU MORE READILY, READILY INFORMATION ON LIKE HOW MANY SOLAR PROJECTS DO WE HAVE IF WE WANT TO TAG THAT THAT INFORMATION AS TO LIKE THIS HAS A SOLAR COMPONENT TO IT, WE'LL BE ABLE TO ADD THOSE FEATURES TO THE NEW SOFTWARE. SO THE PROJECT MANAGER COULD SAY, WELL, THAT'S NOT MY JOB.
THAT'LL COME LATER. I MEAN, WE CAN DO MORE UPFRONT.
[03:25:01]
I IMAGINE IT CAN PROVIDE MORE EFFICIENCY RIGHT AWAY UPFRONT FOR FIGURING OUT MOVING THOSE DOLLARS. YES. WE'LL HAVE A WAY TO TO MOVE THE FUNDING INTO THE PROJECT IF IF THAT'S WHAT THE BOARD AUTHORIZES, FUNDING FOR THE SOLAR, YOU KNOW, PANELS OR THE REST OF IT, IT CAN GO INTO THAT PROJECT BUDGET AND ALLOW US TO NOT HAVE TO DO IT IN TWO DIFFERENT BOARD DECISIONS TO, I MEAN, IN ONE MOTION KIND OF THING WHEN WE APPROVE A PROJECT, WE COULD APPROVE IT WITH WITH A BIGGER VIEW.NOT JUST THE LOOKING AT INDIVIDUAL BUCKETS.
I THINK SABRINA IF I'M ON LIKE THE.
YEAH, I THINK I KNOW THE QUESTION YOU'RE ASKING.
IT'S YES, THE SOFTWARE WILL DEFINITELY A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW ARE BEING DONE VERY MANUALLY AND OFFLINE.
SO THE IMPRESSION I GOT SHOULD HELP TO STREAMLINE THAT.
YEAH. THANK YOU. THERE'S ONE THING IN THE TOWARDS THE SECOND TO LAST SENTENCE IN THE STAFF REPORT THAT SAYS BASED ON THE YEAR TO DATE 2025 EXPENDITURES, STAFF ANTICIPATES MORE THAN 6 MILLION IN SALARY AND BENEFITS SAVINGS FROM POSITION VACANCIES. SO HOW DO YOU EXPECT THOSE? ARE THEY BY ATTRITION OVER TIME? I CAN'T IMAGINE WE'RE JUST GOING TO LIKE LAY OFF 6 MILLION IN SALARY.
CAN YOU JUST KIND OF FLUSH OUT THAT SENTENCE TO ME A LITTLE BIT OF WHERE'S THAT 6 MILLION GOING TO COME? HOW'S THAT GOING TO HAPPEN TO OFFSET THESE COSTS? SURE. THAT'S FROM THIS CURRENT 2025 BUDGET AS RUNNING THE BUDGETS TO ACTUAL TO DATE.
AND BASED ON, YOU KNOW, OUR OUR 80 VACANT POSITIONS, WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT WE'LL HAVE AT LEAST 6 MILLION IN SALARY SAVINGS THAT THAT WILL GO TOWARDS THE FUND BALANCE NEXT YEAR.
YES. SO OF THE 80 CURRENT, HOW MUCH OF THE 6 MILLION ARE WE ALREADY? IT'S A THERE'S 6 MILLION SALARY AND WE'VE GOT 80.
I CAN'T QUITE DO THE MATH, BUT I MEAN, IS THERE OTHER ATTRITION OR OVERTIME THAT WE'RE GOING TO LET ME JUST SAY A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT. SO EVERY AGENT, EVERY AGENCY, WE DIDN'T DO THIS UNTIL THREE YEARS AGO. BUT MOST AGENCIES DON'T BUDGET 100% OF YOU DON'T ASSUME YOUR POSITIONS ARE GOING TO BE FILLED 100% OF TIME, RIGHT? I MEAN, YOU JUST HAVE NORMAL, NORMAL THINGS. PEOPLE TAKE LEAVE BALANCES AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS. SO WE HAVE SOMETHING HERE THAT WE INSTITUTED A FEW YEARS AGO CALLED A VACANCY FACTOR.
AND THAT'S BASED OFF OF KIND OF OUR BEST ESTIMATES OF KIND OF WHAT THAT KIND OF VACANCY IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE OVER THE COURSE OF A FISCAL YEAR.
WE'RE LOOKING AT MAYBE ADJUSTING THAT IN ORDER TO FREE UP SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING MOVING FORWARD. BUT THAT'S WHERE THAT'S WHERE MOST OF THE SAVINGS IS.
WE ALSO ADDED QUITE A FEW POSITIONS IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S BEEN A MATTER OF TRYING TO GET THOSE FILLED TOO.
SO WE HAVE A ACTUALLY A RELATIVELY SMALL OR LOW VACANCY RATE COMPARED TO INDUSTRY STANDARD, BUT IT'S STILL NOT 100% FILLED ALL THE TIME.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET THOSE FILLED.
BUT ANYWAYS, WE CAN WE CAN TALK OFFLINE A LITTLE BIT MORE.
BUT YES, THAT'S THAT'S PRIMARILY WHERE THE SAVINGS IS.
BUT IT'S A ONE TIME, ONE TIME EXPENSE THAT WE'RE ASKING.
WE DON'T WANT TO NOT NOT OVER TIME.
WE'RE NOT ASSUMING THE 6.5 EVERY YEAR.
YEAH. WE'RE NOT WE'RE NOT FREEZING ANYTHING.
ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS ONE? NO PUBLIC COMMENT. NO PUBLIC COMMENTS.
ALRIGHT. ANY BOARD COMMENTS? WE DO. SURE. OKAY. YES.
SO I JUST THINK THAT THIS IS SUCH A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH A COMPANY THAT'S NOT ONLY HEADQUARTERED IN THE BAY AREA, BUT ALSO WITHIN OUR PARK DISTRICT GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES. AND I'LL JUST SHARE.
YOU KNOW, I DID LOOK AT THE OTHER FIVE VENDORS AND SOME OF THEM, SOME OF THEM ARE THE SAME COMPANY, BUT WITH A DIFFERENT CONSULTING SERVICE PARTNER. I JUST LOOKED AT THE SOFTWARE COMPANIES I WILL SHARE, BUT ALL THE OTHER APPLICANTS THAT PUT IN THE BID FOR THIS PROJECT ARE HEADQUARTERED IN TEXAS. THIS IS THE ONLY CALIFORNIA COMPANY.
AND I JUST THINK IT'S WONDERFUL THAT IT'S ALSO BAY AREA BASED AND EAST BAY BASED.
BEST. I KNOW WHEN I WAS ON THE FINANCE COMMITTEE, WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION IN REGARDS TO OUR INVESTMENTS AND CONSIDERING A LOCAL PREFERENCE POLICY FOR INVESTMENTS IN BAY AREA AND EAST BAY COMPANIES THAT ARE HEADQUARTERED HERE. AND I BELIEVE WHEN I MENTIONED THAT, I DID ALSO MENTION THERE COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO THINK ABOUT A LOCAL PURCHASE PREFERENCE POLICY TO SUPPORT COMPANIES LOCATED IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA AND ALSO THE EAST BAY REGION.
AND SO WHILE WE DON'T HAVE THIS POLICY IN PLACE, I THINK IT'S REALLY GREAT THAT IN TERMS OF THE SCORING PROCESS THAT WAS FOLLOWED HERE, THAT IT ENDED UP WORKING OUT WITH THE WORKDAY SELECTION.
[03:30:01]
YOU KNOW, WORKDAY IS A VERY IMPORTANT COMPANY TO YOU KNOW, THE CITY OF PLEASANTON AND THE TRI-VALLEY AREA, THEIR HEADQUARTERS IS LOCATED AT THE FIVE 8680 INTERSECTION.EVERY SPRING I DO LEAD A BUS TOUR AS A PART OF THE PLEASANTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, OF WHICH WORKDAY IS AT THE GOLD LEVEL.
EACH YEAR WHEN I LEAD THIS BUS TOUR, I DO HAVE MEMBERS FROM WORKDAY ON THE BUS WHEN WE VISIT PLEASANTON RIDGE REGIONAL PARK AND SHADOW CLIFFS.
AND I DO THINK THAT WE HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITIES AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS WORKDAY PARTNERSHIP IN REGARDS TO OUR OWN ERP SYSTEM, TO ALSO POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH THE WORKDAY COMPANY AND EMPLOYEES.
LIKE I SAID, A LOT OF THEM EITHER LIVE AND OR WORK IN THE EAST BAY.
ENJOY OUR PARKS. THE HEADQUARTERS ITSELF IS LOCATED TWO MILES FROM OUR STAGING AREA.
I KNOW PRIOR TO COVID AND WHILE I WAS ON OUR PARK ADVISORY COMMITTEE, OUR PAC, I WAS WORKING A LOT ON EMPLOYEE WELLNESS AND CORPORATE TEAM BUILDING WITH PRIVATE COMPANIES. AND I KNOW WORKDAY DID, PARTICIPATE IN SOME OF THIS BACK IN 2018.
THERE'S A THERE'S ALSO AN ARTICLE ONLINE ABOUT WHEN THEY WENT TO REDWOOD REGIONAL PARK AS A VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY. AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US MAYBE REVISIT THAT EFFORT.
I KNOW A LOT OF THAT GOT PAUSED OR PUT ON HOLD DURING COVID IN TERMS OF OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH THESE CORPORATE GROUPS AND AND PERHAPS AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THIS RELATIONSHIP WITH WORKDAY, THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK AT. I KNOW PEOPLE PERSONALLY WHO WORK FOR THIS COMPANY AND WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO SPEND A DAY WITH THEIR WORK TEAMS OUT AT EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT, AND I THINK WE HAVE A HUGE OPPORTUNITY HERE TO REALLY HAVE A GOOD PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM.
AND I'M ALSO HAPPY TO HELP, YOU KNOW, CREATE THAT.
LIKE I SAID, I DO LEAD THAT BUS TOUR EVERY YEAR WITH PEOPLE FROM WORKDAY ON MY BUS WHEN WE GO TO SHADOW CLIFFS IN PLEASANTON RIDGE REGIONAL PARK.
AND I THINK WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY MAKE THIS A FRUITFUL AND EXCITING PARTNERSHIP. ALL RIGHT.
ANY ANY OTHERS? YEAH. JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT THE FINANCE COMMITTEE SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME ON THIS AND WE WERE IMPRESSED ON MANY, MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS JUST WITH THE PRESENTATION AS WELL AS THE VOLUME AND QUALITY OF THE WORK THAT WENT INTO IT AT EVERY LAYER OF THIS ORGANIZATION.
AND LASTLY, JUST WANTED TO OBSERVE AS SOMEONE WHO'S OBSERVED LOCAL AGENCIES DOING NEW IT SYSTEMS, IT SYSTEM REPLACEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION IT'S RARE THAT MOST AGENCIES ARE ABLE TO DO IT WITHOUT FINANCING.
IN OTHER WORDS, THEY OFTEN GO OUT TO A BANK OR TO THE VENDOR TO OBTAIN FINANCING.
AND I AS I TOLD KATIE, TO ME, IT'S A SIGN OF THE HEALTH, THE FINANCIAL HEALTH OF THE ORGANIZATION, THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO COBBLE TOGETHER THE FUNDING. IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO BUDGET FOR THESE SYSTEMS OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME TO TO GATHER MONEY. SO YOU COBBLE THEM TOGETHER.
AND THIS ORGANIZATION WAS ABLE TO DO THAT.
SAVING FINANCING FEES AND COSTS.
AND I'M VERY IMPRESSED BY THAT.
ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I'M REALLY I'M ON THE FINANCE COMMITTEE AS WELL.
AND I DON'T MIND AT ALL HEARING IT TWICE BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A GREAT STORY.
AND WE APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE.
AND WE ALSO RESPECT THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE YOU HAVE A LOT MORE TO DO.
AND AS SABRINA SAID, IT'S GOING TO BE ALL HANDS ON DECK KIND OF THING.
AND I KNOW FROM MY WORK EXPERIENCE THAT WHEN THESE SYSTEMS GET IMPLEMENTED, IT'S, IT CAN BE IT CAN BE PAINFUL IN A WAY, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT'S LIKE SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO LEARN AND IT'S DIFFERENT. AND BUT I'M FAIRLY CERTAIN THAT EVERYONE WHO HAS TO USE THAT SYSTEM PROBABLY DOESN'T LIKE THE ONE THAT'S THERE NOW. AND SO THEY'RE MOTIVATED, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THEY'RE MOTIVATED AND THEY CAN SEE THE THEY CAN SEE PAST ALL THAT TO THE TO THE TO THE EMERALD CITY ON THE HILL, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS THE NEW SYSTEM.
AND SO I'M REALLY EXCITED TO THAT WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO GO DOWN THIS ROAD AND GET THIS DONE. AND ALSO JUST THE SIMPLE THING OF REDUCING DUPLICATIVE, DUPLICATIVE DATA ENTRY AND THEREBY REDUCING ERROR, ERROR POTENTIAL IS JUST, YOU KNOW, THE PRODUCTIVITY IS GOING TO BE A LOT MORE. SO YEAH. YOU KNOW, I DON'T I DON'T, I DON'T I'LL JUST TAKE A WILD GUESS HERE. I'M THINKING THAT MOST, MOST EMPLOYEES DON'T WANT TO DO DATA ENTRY, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW. SO YEAH. SO THIS IS GREAT.
[03:35:04]
BUT IT'S IT'S CERTAINLY TIME AFTER 25 YEARS, RIGHT? IT'S TIME TO DO IT. SO ANYWAY, I WILL LOOK FOR A MOTION ON THIS ONE.I'D LIKE TO MAKE THE MOTION TO APPROVE.
SECOND. SECOND. SECOND FROM WAESPI.
ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? ABSTAIN. ALL RIGHT. CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GO DO IT.
ALL RIGHT. NEXT IS GENERAL GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS.
NO, NO GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS.
AND THERE ARE NO ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM CLOSED SESSION.
[PROPOSED FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
ANY PROPOSED FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? YES. OKAY. I'M WONDERING, PRESIDENT MCCRARY, COULD YOU GET IN? OH. I'M SORRY. I'M WONDERING WHETHER OR HOW WE CAN PURSUE WHAT WAS MENTIONED AT THE END OF THE CIP SESSION THAT WE SPENT, IN EFFECT, THAT WE THOUGHT WE NEEDED MORE TIME TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WERE RAISED THERE AND GET SOME OF THE ANSWERS THAT WERE RAISED IN OUR WORKSHOP.AND MY CONCERN IS THAT IT COMES BACK TO US AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.
AND WE WON'T HAVE THAT DEDICATED INDIVIDUAL WORKSHOP TYPE OF TIME TO PUT INTO IT.
SO I THOUGHT, THIS IS A REQUEST SUGGESTION THAT YOU WORK WITH MANAGEMENT AND SEE IF THAT'S GOING TO BE POSSIBLE.
ANY, ANY, ANY SECOND ON THAT ONE.
OKAY. YEAH. SO I WOULD, I WOULD BE IN FAVOR OF LOOKING AT THAT.
YEAH. OKAY. AND IF I MAY, I MEAN, AT SOME POINT, HOPEFULLY BY THE END OF THE YEAR, WE'RE GOING TO EVALUATE OUR GENERAL COUNSEL.
SO CAN WE GET THE BALL ROLLING AT SOME LEVEL? WE'RE ABOUT TO DO THAT.
ALL RIGHT. I HAVE ANOTHER SUGGESTION.
YEAH. FOR A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM SIMILAR.
I FELT WE RAN OUT OF TIME ON THE DISTRICT PLAN.
WE GOT UP OUT OF OUR SEATS AND HAD A GREAT EXERCISE, BUT I. AND WE'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY.
I'VE EMAILED THREE DIFFERENT TIMES ON SUGGESTIONS FOR THE OUTREACH PLAN, BUT I'D LOVE TIME WITH MY BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO PREFER NOT TO WAIT UNTIL PHASE TWO IS OVER. AND AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE A SECOND ON THAT, BUT I FELT LIKE I RAN OUT OF TIME SIMILAR TO THE SIP.
I WOULD LOVE ANOTHER DISTRICT PLAN MEETING ON THE CALENDAR.
I WOULD SECOND THAT. YEAH, IT'S JUST NOT PERHAPS THE IMMEDIACY OF MEETING THE SCHEDULE THAT WE HAVE WITH BUDGETING.
AGREE. PERHAPS SHORTLY THEREAFTER.
YES. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR THOSE.
[BOARD REPORTS ON MEETINGS ATTENDED]
BOARD REPORTS ON MEETINGS ATTENDED.CAN WE START DOWN ON LINDA'S END THERE? ARE YOU READY FOR THAT OR.
NOT REALLY. NOT READY FOR THAT.
MINE'S SHORT BECAUSE I BASICALLY FORGOT MY NOTES.
SO WHERE AM I STARTING? OCTOBER. OCTOBER 8TH. I ATTENDED THE FINANCE COMMITTEE THAT WE WERE JUST SPEAKING ABOUT.
ON THE 12TH, I DID MY OWN PERSONAL SITE VISIT TO THE ORCHARD TRAIL AREA OF BROWNS PARK TO LOOK AT ALL THE WORK THAT HAD BEEN DONE BY THE FUELS MANAGEMENT CREW, WHICH ALSO WAS REFERRED TO EARLIER.
CONSISTENT WITH THE CONCEPT OF BRANCHING OUT A LITTLE BEYOND THE EAST BAY HILLS, SPECIFICALLY NOW INTO BROWNS.
I HAD WALKED THAT ORCHARD TRAIL THROUGH TO OLD BROWNS ROAD BACK TO WHERE THE THE PARK OFFICES ARE. AND IT WAS LIKE NIGHT AND DAY.
ALL THOSE BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES WE SAW OUT AT POINT RICHMOND.
I WAS WITNESSING FIRSTHAND BY BY WALKING THROUGH THERE OVER A PERIOD OF A COUPLE OF WEEKS REALLY GOOD WORK.
AND THE THE ALHAMBRA VALLEY NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION OUT THERE.
THEY'RE JUST THRILLED. THEY'RE VERY HAPPY.
[03:40:01]
THIS IS AN AREA OF BRIONES THAT BUTTS UP INTO NEIGHBORHOODS.SO IT WAS VERY GOOD WORK AND VERY PLEASED THAT IT HAPPENED.
ON THE 16TH, I REPRESENTED THE PARK DISTRICT AT A CONTRA COSTA COLLEGE DISTRICT MEETING WITH VARIOUS COMMUNITY MEMBERS ON THE FUTURE OF THE COLLEGE SYSTEM IN CONTRA COSTA, THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM.
I ATTENDED THE BOARD SITE VISIT ON THE 17TH.
I REALLY ENJOYED THE NO KINGS RALLY IN MY HOMETOWN.
THAT WAS INVIGORATING AND EXCITING.
AND ON THE 19TH MEAL. AND I SPENT THE ALL DAY TABLING AT A BAY TRAIL FESTIVAL ALONG THE SHORELINE IN HERCULES, AND VERY MUCH ENJOYED THAT TABLING DAY.
BAY AREA. GOOD COMPANY PICNIC ON 1017.
YES. AND I SAW COLIN THERE ON 1010.
HE WAS THERE TOO. AND THEN ON 1018, IT WAS AT SUPERVISOR TAM.
WITH OUR LIFEGUARDING DEPARTMENT AND OUR SAN LEANDRO RECREATION TEAM, TOO, AND OUR JOINT PROJECT.
SO. ALL RIGHT. GREAT. THANK YOU.
ON THE SEVENTH, I ATTENDED A CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION RECREATION AND PARK DISTRICT CONFERENCE COMMITTEE MEETING. AND I'M PROUD TO SUGGEST THAT AT THE END OF MAY THIS COMING YEAR, WE'LL BE HOSTING OUR ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN MONTEREY, AND I HOPE YOU CAN ALL ATTEND.
ON THE EIGHTH, I ATTENDED THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING. ON THE NINTH, I ATTENDED A MEETING, AND THE HAYWARD SHORELINE PLANNING AGENCY IS GOT A NEW ADMINISTRATOR WE CALL THIS PERSON WE'VE HIRED TO DO THE WORK THAT WAS BEING DONE BY THE AGENCIES BEFOREHAND, AND WE'VE GOT A MASTER PLAN IN PLACE, AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO GREAT THINGS COMING IN THE FUTURE.
ON THE 16TH, I DID A ONE ON ONE WITH GENERAL COUNCIL BOURGAULT, AND WE HAD A WONDERFUL WALK AT LAKESHORE. BO DISCUSSED LOTS OF THINGS.
AND ON THE 17TH, I ATTENDED THE BOARD SITE TOUR AND ENJOYED IT VERY, VERY MUCH. AND I WOULD INVITE YOU ALL.
BUT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS OR DON'T GET IT, YOU OUGHT TO COME TO CHAT AT AT QUARRY LAKES ON THE 27TH AND 28TH.
IT'S VERY SHORT. YOU GO DOWN THERE BE GOT TO BE IN THE WATER ON SUNSET.
AND YOU NEED TO BE IN THE WATER ON SUNRISE.
SO IT'S A FESTIVAL UNLIKE ANYTHING YOU'VE EVER SEEN, I WOULD BET. AND IT'S THEY'RE VERY WELCOMING AND FUN.
IT'S A GREAT EVENT. AND THAT'S IT.
ALL RIGHT. I ACTUALLY, I'M JUST GOING TO MENTION TWO THINGS.
BUT THEN, BECAUSE I DO ACTUALLY HAVE A 6 P.M.
DEADLINE, SO I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO ALL THE DETAILS. AND I WAS AT MOST OF THE SAME MEETINGS AS THE REST OF YOU.
BUT THE TWO THINGS I WANTED TO MENTION AND I DO, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US NEXT YEAR AS WE'RE DOING OUR CALENDARING, TO HAVE SOME OF THESE IMPORTANT EVENTS ALSO INCLUDED ON OUR CALENDARS.
I KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, THE UN INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, WE DIDN'T HAVE ON OUR CALENDAR AT LAKE CHABOT.
AND THEN EARLIER THIS MONTH, WE DID HAVE THE GATHERING OF OHLONE PEOPLES AT COYOTE HILLS. AND THEN THIS PAST SATURDAY WAS SUNOL HERITAGE DAYS AT SUNOL REGIONAL PARK. OKAY, WELL, I'M GOING TO SUBMIT MINE IN WRITING, BUT I DID WANT TO JUST A SHOUT OUT TO STAFF FOR A REALLY GREAT SITE VISIT LAST FRIDAY THE 17TH TO POINT PINOLE REGIONAL SHORELINE, KELLER BEACH, AND MILLER KNOX. I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY WELL DONE AS USUAL AND INFORMATIVE.
SO THANKS FOR THAT. ON OCTOBER 7TH I WENT TO THE BRAZIL ROOM FOR THEIR LAST SEASON OPEN HOUSE.
IT WAS REALLY INTERESTING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW OUR RESERVATIONS PROGRAMS WORK UP THERE.
ON THE 10TH JOY, THE TOGETHER BAY AREA GATHERING AT OUR FABULOUS LAKE TEMESCAL, TEMBER 17TH. I AGREE, THE BOARD SITE TOURS PARTICULARLY.
I JUST HAVE TO SAY I FELT LIKE EVERY PERSON STAFF WHO SPOKE REALLY ADDED SOME STUFF ON THERE ON STEWARDSHIP, AND I REALLY ENJOYED THAT.
IT WAS ONE OF OUR BETTER SITE TOURS.
I ALSO, ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, ATTENDED NO KINGS DAY, BUT AS A BOARD LEVEL, I FEEL WE ALL SWORE TO UPHOLD AND SUPPORT THE CONSTITUTION AND AS ELECTED OFFICIALS, I WAS HAPPY TO BE THERE.
NOT IN THAT ROLE, BUT JUST FILLS OUT WHO I AM AND WHY I DO, AND WHY WE ALL DO WHAT WE DO.
OCTOBER 19TH I SWUNG BY THE TRAIL MIXER THAT IT WAS DONE OVER AT ALHAMBRA STAGING AREA.
[03:45:06]
AND ON THAT SAME EVENING IS WHEN I HEADED OVER TO OAKLAND TO THE THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE OAKLAND HERITAGE ALLIANCE AWARD PROGRAM.ALL RIGHT. ON OCTOBER 7TH, I ATTENDED THE BOARD MEETING ON THE FOLLOWING DAY TWO MEETINGS. ONE WAS THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND THE OTHER ONE WAS THE BOARD FINANCE COMMITTEE. THEY WERE CONSECUTIVE ON THE THE NINTH I HAD A A MEET AND GREET WITH THE CLERK OF THE BOARD CANDIDATE REMOTELY.
ON OCTOBER 16TH. I ATTENDED A CONCORD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MIXER AND GOT TO MAKE SOME GOOD CONTACTS THERE.
IT WAS REALLY GREAT. AND THEN ON THE FOLLOWING DAY, ON THE 17TH, I WENT ON THE BOARD SITE TOUR AND THEN ON THE 19TH YOU KNOW, DIRECTOR DECHAMBEAU MENTIONED THE TRAIL USER GROUP MIXER AT BRIAN'S AND AGAIN VERY, VERY USEFUL TO GET TO KNOW SOME OF THE FOLKS THAT WERE THERE AND MAKE SOME GOOD CONTACTS THERE AS WELL. SO I THINK THAT'LL DO IT FOR THAT.
THE NEXT ITEM IS ADJOURNMENT,
AND WE ARE ADJOURNED AT 5:00.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.