[00:00]
Recording in progress.

[05:16]
The time is 6:45. This is a special study study session for the City Council of the City of Emeryville. Madam Clerk, the rule. Council member Priforce is absent. Council member Solomon. Here. Council member Welch. Here. Vice Mayor Kaur. Present. And Mayor Mourra. Here. Next we have approval of the final agenda. Do we have a motion? Motion to approve the final agenda. Second. Maddam Clerk, the role.

[05:45]
Council member Priforce is absent. Council member Solomon. Hi. Council member Welch. Hi. Vice Mayor Kaur. Hi. And Mayor Mourra. Hi. Motion carries. Members, do you have any ex-parte communications to report? Seeing and hearing none. Now is the time for public comment for items not on the agenda. If there are any other members of the public, you'll have two minutes. Welcome. Good evening, Mayor and Council. I was planning to to make this announcement city council, but I can shortcut that.

[06:14]
So, my name is Ryan Lau, external affairs representative at AC Transit. After two years reviewing and updating our bus service network including robust public participation, the AC Transit realigned service changes are going to into effect August 10th. a reminder, this is in response to all the changes in commute patterns and the way people travel around the region due to the the pandemic.

[06:43]
and we were working within a constrained budget due to low revenues and increased costs. , and we took each decision point and waited against the set of guiding principles which were reliability, equity, and frequency.

[07:02]
While while ensuring that there's sufficient workforce available to remain reliable and also ensure ensuring that service to low-income communities and transit-dependent communities remain reliable as well. So now we're we're launching all of our service-related information on our website, which is kind of our central hub.

[07:28]
You'll also have printed information on buses with card cards on the interior and on board brochures with line-by-line information. You'll also see some advertising at BART stations. and ambassadors throughout. so, you know, we we do have signage going up at 1,500 bus stops. so it may take a while.

[07:54]
So, we encourage the public to check our website for the the changes that are coming August 10th. and again, actransit.org/realign for any information about re-align. Thank you. Thank you, Ryan.

[08:11]
Seeing no other members of the public. We now have item 6.1, our study session on the city council guide to disaster operations. Welcome. Thank you, council members. We have a good evening so far. We're going to try and get through this. I have a tendency to talk a lot, so I'm going to try and stay focused on the slides so we can get through as we can get through this and you can get to the regular council meeting.

[08:40]
If you do have questions, the guidebook does go in into more detail about what we're going to cover today. This is just a brief overview. And of course, if you have any other questions, feel free to talk to me. Reach out to me. Also, need to give credit where credit is due. This presentation and the guidebook was started by Lori Elephant. She did an incredible job on it. So I didn't really have to do a whole lot except update a few very minor things.

[09:07]
So I want to make sure that that she gets credit she gets the credit for that. She did an incredible job, getting the city the city ready and I want to make sure she's recognized for that. All right, next slide. So, the city council has a significant role in the city's response to disasters. The council actions can influence community and city staff.

[09:32]
You're critical, you have critical roles in this and we're going to go through that in the presentation and that's what we're here for today. Next slide.

[09:43]
So, in July of 2017, the city council adopted the new ordinance title 4 chapter 2, which brought the city in line with current legislation at the time and California's Office of Emergency Services recommendations on emergency planning ordinances. The new ordinance designated the city council as the city's disaster council. The mayor is the chair of the disaster council.

[10:12]
and the vice mayor is the vice chair of the disaster council. you as the role of the disaster council, you set policy for emergency preparedness. You review and and approve emergency plans developed by staff and such ordinances and resolutions as necessary to implement the plans and agreements. I believe the local hazard mitigation plan is on for council this evening. It got moved? Okay. Well, there you go. But that's part of your role.

[10:42]
So you're going to be living it as well as learning it here very quickly. Next slide. So the city manager functions as the director of the emergency operations center. They have the authority to proclaim an existence of a threatened emergency or request the city council to do so.

[11:05]
They oversee all aspects of the city's response to operations, and they're authorized to issue and enforce rules, regulations, and or orders. Very critical role. And I know our current city manager is very attuned to that role and looks forward to it. look forward to doing some training with her. And bringing her expertise to the table. Next slide.

[11:35]
So proclamations, this is actually one of the important one of the important duties of the city council is to proclaim an emergency an emergency or disaster in the city. there are various levels of the that these can happen. you would be declaring a local emergency, which is a local threat which threatens the safety of persons or property by natural or man-made situations, state emergencies issued declarations issued by the governor or presidential declarations for federal emergencies.

[12:05]
The governor can request the president declare an emergency for a state or the president under their authority can declare an emergency as well. Next slide.

[12:19]
So your role during emergencies, so you are going to ratify a proclamation. In fact, this happened just recently in 2023 with the storms. I found if you recall it was January of 2023, we had some pretty severe storms. The city manager issued a proclamation of a disaster and the city council then ratified that. I believe it was on January 17th. You will pass emergency ordinances or resolutions.

[12:46]
An example of that would be in the case of unrest, perhaps a curfew. You will designate alternates. So that's your standby officers, which I believe all of you just did. to assist with the continuity of government and facilitate that. so that dedicating reliable standby officers is an important is an important role. Next slide.

[13:15]
In addition to the legislative duties, one of your main roles will be as a conduit between the city and the public.

[13:23]
 that means in assisting in public outreach efforts, serving as a liaison with community groups, surveying problem sites, visiting shelters, hosting VIPs and government officials, and also serving as a liaison with those county, state, and federal representatives. Next slide. That is one of the critical one of the critical roles.

[13:54]
Government must go on, and your role is to make sure that the continuity of government continues and that we are able to respond, react, and then recover from a disaster. What happens particularly with the proclamation of a disaster can impact the financial recovery after a disaster. So it is a it is an important and critical role. Next slide.

[14:23]
When you talk about disaster preparedness, there are five steps. You have prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. Generally, when you're talking about disaster operations, you're going to be talking about response and recovery, but obviously your role extends to those first three as well, prevention, preparedness, you help direct staff, and mitigation, which is included in our local hazard mitigation plan. Next slide.

[14:56]
So the emergency management systems that we operate under are SEMS and NIMS. One of the things particularly in law enforcement, we just love acronyms. We have to have we have to have abbreviations for everything. The SEMS is the standardized emergency management system. It was adopted after the Oakland Hills fire when you had multiple agencies responding and they needed to have a coordinated response with those agencies.

[15:22]
NIMS, this is where California leads the way, California did such a good job with SEMS that the federal government adopted it and called it NIMS. They're both based on the incident command system, multi-agency coordination and public information systems.

[15:40]
But again, we did California did lead did lead the way on that out of the unfortunately some some tragedies and lessons learned and it created a system that allows us to respond much more efficiently. Next slide. So level of of government and sims, you have the field level operations, which is the deployment of emergency response personnel and resources. So that's going to be that's going to be us.

[16:08]
 your men and women in blue, driving the black and whites and driving the red trucks and also public works, who play an extremely important role in response to a disaster. local government level, the city manages coordinates overall emergency and recovery activities within the jurisdiction. Operational love area level, which is the county.

[16:33]
So, when the city exceeds its own resource we will reach out for mutual mutual aid and assistance from the county and they would be considered the operational level. If the disaster exceeds the county level, you'll see the regional level and from there you'll see the state you'll see it expand to the state depending upon the nature and scope of the emergency. Next slide.

[17:02]
Response levels, local emergency. So this is one that can be handled within the city. So, it's a local, usually in a local manner, a command post at the scene. This would be your typical water, water main break that causes flooding or a minor minor incident that can be handled at at our level. Local disaster would be the next one up where we may have to request resources from the county.

[17:28]
And then a major disaster where all of the resources and the that we can muster that we can muster from our neighbors are overwhelmed and we need to and we need to reach for even further a a field for additional resources. Next slide.

[17:47]
So the City of Emeryville's Emergency Management Organization. this is the organizational chart for what you would see in a typical emergency operation center. There are five sections under the incident command system. You have management, operations, planning and intelligence, logistics, and finance. Next slide. So the incident command system is used to manage emergencies.

[18:16]
It can be used for small and large emergencies. This is where I have to give fire credit. They use it. It seems like on just about every scene. We use it, but we don't generally use it exactly the same as fire until incidents start to expand. It provides a common framework and it establishes standard response and operational procedures.

[18:40]
And normally when you activate the full incident command system where you have all those sections that would normally be where you would be activating the emergency operations center. Next slide.

[18:56]
Some of the advantages of the incident command system that have been developed over the years is one it has common terminology. So when you ask for something some resource particular, the terminology is the same. So, you're not sending an air tanker when you're asking for a water tanker. Management by objective and this is key. Through each operational period and particularly if you're activating the emergency operation center, you may be you may have multiple operational periods.

[19:26]
One of that you want to manage by objective and goal. ICS offers a manageable span of control. That means that every person that has someone lower than them on that that chart has a manageable span of control. Every time you have an operational period and even within each of those sections, we develop written incident action plans.

[19:50]
Those are actually they have standardized standardized ICS forms for that, but the goal is to have specific objectives that you can reach that you can reach and meet. Some of the other some of the other parts of the incident command system are chain of command. So, everybody knows who they report to. when you're going back to that chart, there's a line that you can follow directly up the chart. The other thing is unity of command.

[20:16]
So, you report to one person so that you're not having to worry about who who's giving you who's giving you orders. The other is unified command and this is where you have multiple jurisdictions that that are coming together. this you see this a lot with incidents where you have fire and police together or multiple agencies that are that are coordinating.

[20:37]
Even within that, there'll be one incident commander over over that scene, but the multiple agencies will coordinate to develop those objectives and goals. And you also have transfer of commands. So, there's always going to be somebody in charge, somebody that's directing that's directing those objectives. Next slide.

[21:02]
So, we talked about the five functions around SEMS and NEMS in the incident command system. this is an easy way to describe each of the each of the sections. So, management are the deciders, operations is the doers, planning and intelligence are the gather and the thinkers, logistics are the getters and finance are the payers. Next slide. I like it when we can simplify. Things need to be simplified.

[21:34]
So California statewide multi-agency coordination system. So when incidents go beyond multiple jurisdictions and multiple operational areas, you'll see the MAC system instituted. It's designed to assist emergency manager emergency manager managers with prioritizing allocations of scarce resources.

[22:00]
When you see particularly in a region-wide incident like an earthquake, it's going to be very difficult for each of the agencies to get all the resources they need and that's where the multi-agency coordination would come in. Next slide. We talked about public information systems.

[22:23]
So in an emergency when the emergency operations center is activated, particularly when you have multiple jurisdictions involved, you'll see a joint information center. Normally for us in this in this operational area, this would be at the county office of emergency services. It's established to coordinate the public all the public relation information going out from the incident.

[22:49]
You will actually have a critical role and making sure that that the information that goes out is coordinated through the city's press information officer and making sure that people are receiving the correct information. our PIO which is April will generally be coordinating with the county within the city. We also in the police department.

[23:14]
We also have a press information officer that can handle press inquiries directly in our operation. emergency operations center, you may or may not know is at the fire station. I'm hoping we're going to arrange a tour at some point. So you can see it. It's a centralized location. It is set up so that each of those sections that you saw has a has a specific area.

[23:42]
We have also recently given it capability to handle virtual emergency operations center. So we have so we'll have meeting capabilities within there. So we'll be able to coordinate both with other offices of emergency services or other personnel that are not physically located in the emergency operation center. The city manager again is the director of emergency services for the EOC.

[24:10]
The city manager has elected the assistant city manager, the city attorney, and our public works director as the standby by officer for the emergency services director. the director is the key decision making person and will operate from the EOC establishing policies and procedures. The emergency operation center is the central point for information gathering, processing and dissemination.

[24:39]
We can be partially or fully activated and we'll go over that. Next slide. And here it is. Levels of activation. So there There are a few ways when you activate the EOC. One of them is forward leaning and that generally just means that we're monitoring a situation. This may be something that could turn into a disaster and may require the opening of the EOC, but we call that forward leaning when we haven't actually activated it, but we are monitoring the situation.

[25:08]
Mineral activation, we saw this recently with the tsunami with the tsunami warning where we actually coordinated with city personnel in a virtual EOC looking at the information that was coming in from various from various sources. Partial activation is where is activated but not all of the positions are filled. Generally, that means that it's not going to be not going to be more than one operational period, which would be 12 hours.

[25:37]
A full activation is where you where you'll bring in all five of those sections and it usually involves any response that would require more than one operational period. Next slide. So your role when you respond to an emergency. So we recommend that you don't respond immediately to the aftermath. And we go back to the very beginning of this and continuity of government. It's very important that you remain safe.

[26:09]
Because you are going to be needed to make sure that the city can that the city can function. If you do choose to respond, please let the city manager know that you are going to the scene. Bring your ID as not every police officer or firefighter may know may or may not know you by sight. Most of them probably do since we're a small town but just in case. Realize that the possibility exists that you may not be allowed to enter a particular area because of because of it's hazards.

[26:39]
And that again, that's for your protection. If you have to walk or park a car, make sure it's in a safe place away from the scene. Watch for hazards, wear good shoes. Watch where you step. Dress appropriately for the for the circ stances, whether whether it storms. Again, your safety is going to be critical. Next slide. Working with the media.

[27:07]
We go back to the press information officer and the city manager. They should be briefing you as information comes in. If you do get a media request, we just ask that you confer with the city manager so that we can make sure that all the information going out is consistent and most and up to date. Our goal is to make sure that we have that we have a single message for the public and responding. Next slide.

[27:39]
So the other thing that we ask of you and this is again going back to your safety is to take action ahead of time to prepare. Remember disaster disaster operations include preparation and prevention. We're asking you to prepare you and your family in case something happens. So have a plan. If you don't already know ready.gov has all of the resources that you need. it's very easy. You can log on.

[28:04]
Those there are plans that you can download, enter your information, making an emergency communications plan. You can mail that, email that to people outside the state. Make sure you have an outside the state contact. Have a communications plan, a response plan, prepare a kit, be ready. Have your supplies for your household on hand. We just going to throw out there my little one gallon a day per person of fresh clean water.

[28:32]
and enough food for a minim of three days, preferably seven. Next slide. In addition to preparation, of course, this again this was just a very brief introduction. There are online FEMA courses that we would recommend that you take a look at. if you need help logging in or with the courses, let me know.

[28:55]
 but there is an introduction to NIMS, an introduction to ICS, basic ICS, ICS 800 100. And there are two additional ones now which specifically for government officials, incident command system for executives and senior officials and incident command system the emergency operations center interface. And both of those are available on the FEMA website and if you have any you have any trouble just let me know.

[29:25]
I think that should be it. Thank you, Fred. Members do we have any comments? Or sorry, questions? I do. Vice Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Fred, for the presentation. Very informative. I'm just wondering if these courses are mandatory. I I know it's a good thing to take them. I I can't I can't make you.

[29:53]
I I'm just I mean I want to be in compliance if they are mandatory. So we make them actually mandatory for our for our city staff. So the city staff is well aware of what's in there. Yes. Wonderful. I really appreciate that. We also do disaster service worker training on boarding and so all of that is is included in it. Any other questions?

[30:22]
Member Priforce. Hey buddy.

[30:27]
 , so yeah, I can imagine that in terms of council member response to emergencies that hopefully there's like a a secret private force protocol because I tend to show up to to these moments, but I am well aware the best thing I can do to make sure that the city manager is informed and that I am making all those precautions even when it comes to parking my bike you like a block away just to make sure that that I'm safe.

[31:01]
There Stepping ahead into the future, there are a couple of things related to emergency preparedness that are of interest to me that you possibly cannot answer right now and then there's one that that you may be able to answer So, one is, of course, how does emergency preparedness how how how can we prepare for Sutter Health's expansion and what how that is involved in terms of how how their presence in Emeryville changes some things in terms of how even when it comes to emergency traffic.

[31:38]
 and then relocating, hopefully, one day the fire station police headquarters to something to an area that is more environmentally sound and maybe century located in the city because we we we know that a sinking fire station police station is not a good thing.

[31:57]
 but the thing that comes across to me at this moment is something I brought up with Congress woman Simon when she visited our one of our fire stations which is technology as relates to the use of of a drone. And that I believe that Emeryville currently does not have any drone technology that that that's something that we request from the county.

[32:27]
And and I and I recall the the the tragedy of the beached whale that I was that that that I showed up for and and I remember us waiting for a local authority to show up and sort of help us.

[32:47]
But kudos to EPD, kudos to Alameda County Fire and everyone who was involved in in a transition for that beautiful life form.

[33:01]
But where are we at in terms of that discussion around just in case there is a disaster us not waiting from Alameda County because I mean we in addition to some of the things that you have mentioned in terms of our location, geographic location, many of our areas are coastal and affects a lot of people, notably the Watergate community, but also that we are around trains and several highways where in a spill can happen.

[33:38]
And so could could is there is there a technology to that could supplement that and is that something that It has and we will be the plan is to present a study session on drones. I believe the first I'm planning for the first meeting in September possibly. So you'll be in on recess in August.

[34:04]
So the first meeting in September is when I'm looking I'm looking to do another study session so you you'll have to deal with me again early September and then after based on the direction that we receive at that. You should you should be able to see things move rather quickly. We are we have been looking into the technology and are prepared to present several options in September. Thank you. That's one of the keys.

[34:30]
One of the keys would be would be its use for disaster response. Any other questions? Seeing none. We'll now open this item for public comment. If there are any members to the public, who'd like to comment. You may come to the podi and you'll have two minutes.

[34:54]
Seeing no members of the public, I will bring this back to council for discussion. Members, any comments? This is an information item. Sorry. I I think council member Priforce had his hand up before I Oh, member Priforce. Actually I have another question for acting captain Dower.

[35:22]
So what is the relationship between what we're doing in terms of emergency preparedness in terms of the city council and all the work that you all are doing as relates to sort of employing deploying training citizen involvement in see preparedness.

[35:46]
 , so that local  local tenant organizations can sort of organize around that. How how's how's that coming along or is there any? so I'll I'll throw a shout out and an advertisement to El Paso County Fire here because they do the personal emergency preparedness which I think they did at these it had one for the senior center recently.

[36:11]
 so I will recommend if you have interest in that either reaching out to the Alberta County fire directly or if you reach out to me, I can help coordinate coordinate you coordinate that. We also have I'm not sure if it's going to be I have to talk to to the Alameda County fire person that's in charge of it, but we have a cert another cert academy. So we had one that graduated last year.

[36:35]
I believe you've just recently had passed the resolution so that they new cert academy would be labeled as disaster service workers, which is supposed to happen this week, but I'm confirming that they do have enough attendees that they'll be able to run that cert academy as well.

[36:58]
And to clarify, this is a study session. So I think staff is looking for any guidance or input on the disaster plan. Any other comments?

[37:14]
Member Priforce. So one of the things that we talked about was the cyber security aspect and and how how integrated that was in terms of whatever processes need to happen. in case there's a cyber attack and and how do we respond to something like that. So for example, if there's a cyber attack, should we even be picking up our emails as council members? Should we like what what kind of communication should we have?

[37:43]
Those sort of things with one another. Is there a back channel way to communicate? Those sort of things. Has that been explored?

[37:58]
I am working with Mike Parente and also I have a contact at CISA the cyber cyber security infrastructure on developing a tabletop exercise to go through a to go through a a tabletop for cyber attack. So we are working we are working on preparing that. And I can tell you that Mike Parente is very some of the security measures that we have in place are very good. so I'm looking forward to looking forward to it.

[38:31]
Thank you Fred. A member of the private force, go ahead.

[38:34]
One of the most alarming situations that has happened especially in cyber attacks is that the emergency system is hijacked especially emergency systems that have that are not I say federally but in other countries there's there's another phrase that they use in terms of like national or state like systems what happens is that cities and towns they're sometimes told by by whatever Trojan or whatever cyber attack to go to a certain area and then there's a disaster that happens in a certain area you know people sometimes are unalive in that situation because so yeah so I think that that's that's the reason why this is a priority that in case something happens that we know what to do and how to best proceed especially in some of the things around media reports and I believe that Oakland during Oakland cyber attack it wasn't just that the council and staff were weren't prepared but it was also the absence of news of in information that I think hurt the San Tao administration.

[40:01]
And so yeah, so this is something to be aware and I'm just I'm thankful that you all are are looking into that and seeing how how much that is of a priority, especially with how unknown these next year few years will will come. So, thank you. Any other comments? Sing non, thank you acting Captain Dower and Chief Jennings on on behalf of the council.

[40:29]
 we greatly appreciate all the time and effort that you're putting into planning for disasters which can often catch cities off guard. So, thank you for continuing to develop those plans. we greatly appreciate it. The time is 7:21. This meeting is adjourned.

[41:01]
We'll start the next meeting.

[41:06]
The time is 7:21. This is a regular meeting of the City of Emeryville as successor agency to the Emeryville redevelopment agency. I'd like to note that all members are still seated. I will now take a mo do we have a motion to approve the final agenda? Motion to approve the final agenda? Madam Clerk, the role. Council member Priforce. Hi. Council member Solomon. Hi. Council member Welch. Hi. Vice Mayor Kaur.

[41:36]
Hi. And Mayor Mourra. Hi. Motion Kauries. Now is the time for ex-parte communications. Members, do you have any ex-parte communications to report? Seeing none. Now is the time for public comment for consent agenda items or items not on the agenda. If there are any members of the public, you can come to the podi and you'll have two minutes.

[42:03]
Good evening. How you doing? I'm Doug Jones, public organizer for SEIU United Healthcare Workers.

[42:08]
 here in with a continuing concern about the Emory Hospital project that's being worked on.

[44:57]
I wasn't able to be here for the last meeting in which you approved the contract to get the EIR study done, but we do have an understanding that that EIR is based on a pres ption that there's going to be a hospital that will have 225 beds in it. I can't say how many times I told you that Sutter is going to want to build a hospital that is too small. and a 225-bed hospital is too small for this community. It's clear to get this It's important to get this on the record. The current Berkeley Hospital has a capacity of 339 beds. They're asking you to build a hospital that's over 100 beds smaller. So, to get it on the record, 140 medical surgical beds include including GYN, 114 perinatal beds, excluding newborn and GYN, 16 intensive care beds. 14 coronary care beds, 55 intensive care newborn nursery beds. That's what the current Berkeley Hospital has and they're trying to build a hospital that's much smaller. It's not going to serve the community, not just your constituents but the entire East Bay community if it's built this small. And I'm hopeful that an EIR report that contemplates a hospital that's 225 beds includes the fact that the project is going to be overrun by patients and their families. That's the fact of the situation. And it's important to consider what's going on in Castro Valley right now in an unincorporated community in Alameda County where Sutter Health built that hospital too small. And now 10 years after the building of that hospital, they're building some extra beds on there. Now, 10 years after they built the original project because clearly they're not just losing the medical patients Thank you for your comment. patients as well. Thank you for the consideration on this. Appreciate you. Any other members of the public who'd like to comment on the consent agenda or items not on the agenda?

[44:23]
Welcome. You have two minutes. Thank you. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak. My name is Deborah Cohen, owner of Rug Depot Outlet on the corner of Hubbard and 40th Street as well as a couple light industrial warehouse properties in Emeryville. Today you are accepting funding for a project that my neighbors and I have been trying for several years to request modifications too.

[44:49]
It's unfortunate to see that our main concerns were not better heard and implemented into city plans during the earlier stages of this project. Nevertheless, I'd like to share them here hoping there is still room to submit modifications to your funding partners. For a project the size of 30 million and 3 years of construction on a main artery such as 40 Street, plus four of its local access streets, I request that you hear our concerns and implement needed modifications to the plan.

[45:18]
Each day, as I engage with more stakeholders and neighbors, I find more issues with this project. But tonight, I'll focus on the most alarming problems that affect not only my business and that of my neighbors, but the city of Emeryville as a whole. Safety and traffic, redundancy and spend, and cutting off legacy Emeryville businesses. A thorough review of the public incident data shows that 40th Street and Emeryville, aside from the San Pablo intersection, should not be a top candidate for redesign.

[45:47]
In 2019, even the BPAC agreed protected bike lanes along 40th rank n ber 22 on the list of priorities. The recent Ballard installation at the target side entrance address prior safety valid safety concerns as reflected in the data. One reported bicycle incident there between January 2020 and December 24 2024. compared to three in the previous five-year span.

[46:13]
A majority of accidents on the corridor between 2020 and 2024 actually happened at the San Pablo and 40th Street intersection. Yet the consequence of closing access to Hubbard threatens to shut off access businesses to shut off access to businesses along Hubbard and therefore Halick and the business park on Thank you for your comment.

[46:37]
You'll have two additional minutes. Thank you. Most ironically being affected, speaking of multimodal is Motivate, the largest bike sharing company in the US before the Lyft acquisition. While Lyft acquired Motivate's technology and corporate functions, its bike maintenance and servicing operations, we made a standalone business right here in Emeryville. The building, repair, and deployment of the charging stations for the entire Bay area happen on Hubbard Street.

[47:02]
I question how will they receive and deploy charging stations on flat beds under this 40th Street multimodal plan. But the problems don't stop there. The 40th Street multimodal project threatens to compromise the safety and utility of Park Avenue by unintentionally turning it into a trailer truck route to support the industrial properties such as ours that will be cut off from 40th.

[47:26]
Think container loads of rugs to rug depot or ceramic to pottery and beyond, bicycle charging stations to motivate, paint trucks to MB Jesse and countless deliveries to all the industrial and commercial kitchens on Hubbard, Hallick, Haven, Watts, and Holden, making multi-point turns backing onto Park Avenue and then back out again to 40th Street. How dangerous.

[47:52]
This This not only hurts businesses dependent on large truck deliveries, but it also undermines residential quality of life and safety along Park Avenue with an increase in large 18-wheeler truck activity. The plan even calls for the removal of parking spaces on 40th Street, Park Avenue, and the side streets I mentioned drawing opposition from local favorites like Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe. To cut off access and reroute delivery trucks to Park Avenue is truly unsafe.

[48:20]
What's most puzzling is how how the multimodal project directly competes with safe and well-established bike routes in Emeryville, like the 45th Street Bike Route Boulevard and the Emery Greenway. These routes each offer the same destinations as the proposed Phase 1 and Phase 2 bike way while offering a safer, quieter and car-free Thank you for your comment. So this council's practice is to allow a single person to yield their time once.

[48:50]
If you'd like to come speak, you're free to do so. So. Are you talking to me? Yes, so you you some one person has yielded their time, but now we have to allow new speakers. Okay. I was told a different set of roles today in an email. I'm sorry. I don't know who told you that.

[49:13]
Welcome. You have two minutes.

[49:21]
Thank you. I'm Deborah's neighbor and was thinking along her lines with this. what's most puzzling is how the multimodal project directly competes with safe and well established bike routes in Emeryville like the 45th bike boulevard and Emery Greenway. They reach the same destinations as phase one and two while offering a safer, quieter, car-free experience. We got that. The proposed bike way in contrast funnels pedestrians and cyclists through one of Emeryville's most hazardous intersections, 40th and San Pablo.

[49:52]
The region General bike path seems to be a misnomer and at worst will directly lead to more preventable accidents as we push bicyclists toward San Pablo and away from safer routes like 42nd in Oakland to Park or 45th and and then the Greenway in Emeryville.

[50:12]
 , I'm reading from Deborah's notes so it won't make sense. But as council saw, I made a video which compares with the GoPro biking from San Pablo to Bay Street by by two routes. To add and you can see this on reconsider40th.com www.reconsider40th.com.

[50:35]
To add a two-way bike lane on 40th would be duplicative with the existing 45th Street bike boulevard and the Emery Greenway which are stunning and safe. Analyzing this project through an economic lens, it's clear that the $30 million taxpayer-funded initiative isn't just duplicative, it's harmful. Despite the years of planning, its design remains alarmingly outdated, ignoring growing vehicle demand forecasted by changes underway throughout Emeryville, such as the Sutter Health relocation.

[51:04]
The changes being proposed here are not future proof and will handicap handicap the utility of our city as and its ability to generate tax income. As we're currently running a deficit, should the council be pursuing plans that are likely to compound our financial challenges. While we support improvements to our roads, in the expansion of state bike, safe bike bus and pedestrian Thank you for your comment. Proceed, you have two more minutes.

[51:31]
We must recognize that streets like 40th are vital arteries in Emeryville's economic landscape. Trying to retrofit every road to be optimally bike friendly leads to a zero s struggle. On the other hand, thoughtfully planned projects like the Emery Greenway built alongside the railway and free from car traffic represent the gold standard, as you will see by our video. They offer true safety benefits and beautify the city without disrupting key infrastructure.

[51:59]
Committing $30 million in 3 years of construction to the plan as it stands is not productive Are there still opportunities to modify this project before construction bidding? As it stands, we believe this project will be one that's regretted, both within Emeryville and as well as by California taxpayers. You have the opportunity to fix that and we sincerely urge you to do so.

[52:26]
Please visit reconsider40thstreet.com to better engage with this matter. Watch videos of alternative bike paths and view up-to-date information on project plans and their consequences. Sign up there to show support and join the growing list of concerned businesses and residents of Emeryville. Thank you. Thank you for your comment. If there are any are any other members of the public, you can come to the podi .

[52:53]
Seeing none, we'll now move to the consent calendar. Members, do we have a motion on the consent calendar? Mayor Mourra, before we proceed, I'd just like to the record to reflect that council member Priforis left the Dias had an abundance of caution after consulting with the city attorney and is recusing himself from any discussion regarding item 13.1. Thank you, Mr. Kennedy. We are now at the consent calendar. Members, do we have a motion on the consent calendar?

[53:22]
Motion to approve the consent calendar. Second. Madam clerk, the role. County member of the police is absent. Council member Solomon. Hi. Council member Welch. Hi. Vice mayor Kaur. I and Mayor Mourra. I. Motion Kauries. We have no action items. The time is 7:34. This meeting is adjourned.

[53:55]
The time is 7:34. This is the regular meeting of the Emeryville City Council. Madam Clerk, I'd like to note that all members are currently still seated. And we'll now have a Do we have a motion to approve the final agenda? Motion to approve the final agenda. Madam Clerk, we have a motion in a second, the role. Council member Priforce. Hi. Council member Solomon. Hi. Council member Welch. Hi. Vice Mayor Kaur. Hi. And Mayor Mourra.

[54:25]
Hi. Motion Kauries. We have no special orders of the day. Do we have any commission or committee vacancies? Yes, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you. Mayor and Council, I wanted to let you know we had a resignation from the B-pack and a resignation from the Commission on Aging in the last few weeks. We'll be opening up in a recruitment after the s mer for those positions and a few other vacant positions. Thank you. Thank you.

[54:52]
Next, we have Council Member Special announcements or reports on meeting attendance. Members, do you have anything you'd like to report or announce? Member Priforce. Member members of the Emmy Rising.

[55:09]
We had a a great sort of TV viewing at the courtyard of The Snake on Netflix that featured one of our former colleagues and so it was quite enjoyable and it was a a great it opened up great discussions amongst amongst me and attendants here in Emmyville. So, thanks. Next, we have the city manager's report. Thank you, Mayor.

[55:39]
There are no comments this evening. And we have the city attorney's report. Thank you, Mayor. On July 15th, 2025, a settlement agreement was executed between Grocery Outlet in the city of Emeryville, resolving a business license tax dispute in the matter of Grocery Outlet Inc. versus City of Emeryville, Alameda Superior Court case n ber 24CV06 9470.

[56:07]
Under the terms of the settlement, grocery outlet will pay the city $771,355.41, comprised of $296,355.41 in back taxes for 2022 through 2025 and $75,000 in attorney's fees.

[56:28]
Grocery outlet also agreed to dismiss its lawsuit seeking a refund of of $252,743 for its 2021 business license tax. The city agreed to wave $199,909.05 in penalties and interest.

[56:48]
On July 1st, 2025, the city council authorized the city manager to execute the settlement agreement in closed session by a vote of three to two with Mayor Mourra and council members Welch and Solomon voting in favor and vice mayor car and council member Priforce opposed. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Kennedy. Next, we have ex-parte communications members.

[57:14]
Do you have any ex-parte communications to report on any items on the agenda. Member Priforce.

[57:33]
Now, yes.

[57:40]
Member Welch. Received a communication from Deborah Cohen regarding item 13.1. Same. I also received the same email. same. Next, we have public comment for the consent agenda or items not on the agenda. Are there members of the public who would like to comment on the consent agenda or items not on the agenda?

[58:08]
Seeing none, we'll move to the consent calendar. Members, do we have a motion on the consent items? Move approval. Second. Adam Clerk, we have a motion in a second at the roll, please. Council member Priforce. Hi. Council member Solomon. Hi. Council member Welch. Hi. Vice Mayor Kaur. Hi. And Mayor Mourra. Hi. Motion Kauries.

[58:33]
Next, we have a public hearing, a resolution of the city council of the city of Emeryville approving a modification to the waiver from the noise ordinance for sewer rehabilitation work. if members are are agreeable. I'd like to wave staff presentation with a show of hands. Any objections? Okay, so we'll wave presentation. and we'll move to any questions before opening the public hearing.

[59:02]
Members, do you have any questions about this noise waver? Seeing none. I will now open the public hearing. The time is 7:39. If there are any members of the public who would like to comment on this noise ordinance waiver request. You may come to the podi . Seeing none, I will now close the public hearing. The time is 7:39. members, do we have any comments, questions, or discussion?

[59:34]
Or a motion? I move to approve the resolution. Second. Madam clerk, we have a motion in a second. The role, please. Council member Priforce. Hi. Council member Solomon. Hi. Council member Welch. Hi. Vice Mayor Kaur. Hi. And Mayor Mourra. Hi. Motion Kauries. We have one action item tonight.

[59:56]
This is item 13.1, the resolution of the city council of the city of Emeryville authorizing the city manager to accept funds and execute funding agreements with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for all other agreements necessary to implement the 40th Street transit only lanes and multimodal enhancement projects. Oh, Mr. Kennedy.

[01:00:28]
Thank you, Mayor Mourra. I'm not sure if council member Priforce would like to make a statement at this time. Member Priforce. All right, on queue. Okay. All right. so thanks staff for helping me with this. before I item 13.1 is heard, I publicly disclose that a group of small business activists and owners along 40th Street have made past contributions to my campaign committee who may be impact impacted by disruption in lieu of street closures related to this project.

[01:00:57]
These are businesses fighting to stay afloat while expressing their marginalization in these processes. In alignment with my commitment to transparent governance and to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, I voluntarily agreed during FPPC review to recuse myself from any decisions related to the 40th Street multi-modal project, while the investigation is is ongoing. Therefore, I will not participate in this item and I will now leave the chambers as required by law.

[01:01:23]
I do not I do this not in silence but in solidarity with the everyday people whose livelihoods are directly affected by our decisions.

[01:01:34]
Do we have a staff presentation for this item? Yes, we do, Mayor.

[01:01:50]
All righty. Good evening Mayor and members of the council and members of the public. My name is Ryan Connell. I'm a senior civil engineer in the public works department. We've brought various aspects of this project for your approval at prior meetings and now on the agenda item tonight we have here for you a request we request your authorization for the city manager to accept a significant federal grant that will help us bring this vital project to life. Next slide.

[01:02:19]
So, project of this scale, totally $32.6 million. It requires a significant sustained funding effort over many years. I'm incredibly proud to report that our team is successful fully secured and outstanding $31.9 million in outside grant funding for this project. it's been a mon ental team effort involving partnerships at the local, regional, state, and federal levels. The $850,000 federal grant we're discussing tonight represents a critical piece of the puzzle.

[01:02:46]
It helps us close the funding gap for when we get into construction phase next year. Next slide. So this success would simply not be possible without the tireless advocacy of our federal partners. I want to take a moment to acknowledge their critical contributions. The $850,000 grant we are here to accept tonight was secured thanks to the the pivotal work of former Congresswoman and now Oakland mayor Barbara Lee.

[01:03:11]
Her efforts were strongly supported by Senator Alex Padilla and the late Senator Diane Feinstein, whose legacy of service continues to benefit our community. I'm also thrilled to share that this federal commitment has not stopped. Our current Congresswoman, Latifia Simon, is already championing an additional $0.5 million for this project, demonstrating its ongoing regional importance.

[01:03:32]
Finally, I want to give a special acknowledgment to members of Congresswoman Simon's team, Eden Chan and Helser Zavala, who are true partners in the progress and are, I think, some are here in the audience. So, next slide. Now, for the details of the HUD grant, we've been awarded $850,000 through the highly competitive community project funding program. Being selected, really validated the importance of this project in our region.

[01:04:02]
This grant is a major fiscal win for the for Emeryville for two key reasons. First, it requires no local matching funds. This means every dollar goes directly to the project without impacting our general fund or other planned capital expenses. Second, the securing securing this grant right now is incredibly timely. The federal funding environment is much more challenging than it was. By securing this funding now, we've protected this high-priority project from future fiscal uncertainty. It's a testament to the advocacy of our partners and allows us to move forward with confidence. Next slide.

[01:04:33]
So to conclude, staff recommends that the city council adopt the resolution authorizing the city manager to accept the $850,000 in federal funds and execute the grant agreement with HUD. Thank you for your time and I'm here to answer any questions you may have. Thank you, Ryan. Members, do you have any questions? I have several. Vice mayor, please go ahead. Thank you. , Ryan, thank you.

[01:04:59]
I appreciate the importance of the project as well as the funding that we've been able to secure and thanks to the team for being able to do that. Having said that, I have several questions and concerns raised by some of the public comments that we've all heard today.

[01:05:18]
First of all, I want to know if there has been any engagement regarding the 40th Street multi multimodal project since the announcement of Satya's flagship campus that is going to be established So on that note, yeah, go ahead.

[01:05:41]
So yes or no? I I think one point of clarification, since this agenda item is on discussing accepting the funds related to the project, I'd like to clarify whether we are permitted to discuss the design details of the project.

[01:06:01]
I'm sorry. Could you repeat the question, Mayor Mourra? So we have a question from the vice mayor. Would you repeat the question? I just want to make sure that we are permitted to discuss this item. Okay. I the whole premise of this started with the design. That's why I'm asking this question. And that is the reason I need the clarification even though it is to approve the funding. I understand that, but the question is critical.

[01:06:30]
because the premise of it is the design. The The design was the submitted to obtain the funding. So, I I want to know if that is Okay.

[01:06:44]
If your question is whether or not that question is within the parameters of the agenda and the item that was posted on the agenda, the agenda indicates that the action item is to accept and execute funding agreements with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and for all other agreements necessary to implement the 40th Street transit-only lanes in multi-modal project. This is not a public hearing regarding the design elements of the project.

[01:07:14]
This is an action item whether to accept and execute the funding agreements for the HUD grant. Member Welch. So we received communications this afternoon from our city manager regarding some of the questions I believe that exact question was on the email correspondence that we received regarding those questions around Sutter. Did you receive that, madam vice mayor?

[01:07:44]
I don't think that there was anything about Sutter in there. I can bring it up and read it out. Okay. Or I may not have checked my email since that time. Was it this afternoon? It was this afternoon.

[01:07:59]
Please proceed member Welch. Just one moment.

[01:08:07]
There were some questions and from council members. When a city has accepted grant funding based on a specific design or application, can the city retain that funding if circumstances change such as the development of a billion dollar center campus that warrant modifications to the original design for reasons of safety, convenience, of economic stability.

[01:08:31]
So these there were several questions asked by I'm asking several council members and also the grant narrative was submitted as well.

[01:08:47]
No, I I have a question for the staff. The question I can repeat my question. That is not the question. Vice Mayor, please proceed. and staff, if you can answer the question, we'd appreciate it. Yeah. has there been any It's a yes or no? Simple yes or no? Has there been any engagement regarding the 40th Street mall time model project since the announcement of Sutter's flagship campus that is going to be established in Emeryville?

[01:09:12]
Yes, but not no analysis of the Sutro campus has been included in that. So, to answer the first part of your question. Yes, we have been engaged in the Fort 2 Street traffic analysis and other items related to the Fort Street project. Who have you engaged with? We are engaged with our consultant team on the design and the environmental process right now at this moment.

[01:09:39]
Have you engaged with the stakeholders since the announcement of that campus? No, we have not. Okay. That That was my question to be specific. Actually, sorry, if I can correct the record, there has been emails with stakeholders such as pop manufacturing during since Sutter has been announced. All right.

[01:10:01]
And have there been any updated traffic studies since the announcement of Sutter's flagship campus coming to Emeryville? Mayor, can you give us just a moment? Yes, go ahead.

[01:10:18]
Furthermore, I would just like to remind the council that the agenda item has to do with the accepting funds and executing funding agreements with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the grant funds for the 40th Street transit only lanes and multimodal enhancement project. It does not have to do the agenda and the action item that was made available to the public was not a a public outreach discussion regarding the project itself.

[01:10:47]
The agenda item had to do with the acceptance of funds and executing the funding agreements. So, I'm a little concerned that this discussion is exceeding the bounds of the Brown Act since a discussion on the planning and outreach for the project is not on the agenda tonight. So, on the advice of the city attorney, I I would ask if there's any questions pertinent to to the accepting the funds.

[01:11:15]
The accepting of the funds is on on the grounds of the conceptual design since it the staff report mentions the conceptual design before talking about the funding. So, I want to go ahead and ask my next question regarding the conceptual design for the project in 2019 if staff cannot answer this particular project about traffic studies.

[01:11:37]
Could I I'd like to give one of the other members a chance to ask a question beforehand if that's all right by I would like to finish my questioning because that would be the most respectful thing to do. And Mayor, if I could offer that we could take these questions from the vice mayor and get back to her. Vice Mayor, would you be all right providing questions to staff and they can provide a response to you?

[01:12:03]
They can provide me with this particular response to this question, but the other ones I want to ask while we are here. Please proceed with your additional questions. Okay, we have received several grants for the project since the approval of the conceptual design in 2019, correct? That's correct. Okay. And since the original design was proposed for the grants, there have been updates to it, correct? That's correct.

[01:12:32]
So the design can be updated if required to improve safety, accessibility, and efficiency along the regional corridor after receipt of any grants, as long as it stays true to the purpose of improving travel along a critical regional corridor, correct? If you If you allow me to answer that question, not necessarily. It It depends on the grants and and what was submitted to each grant at what stage.

[01:12:59]
So in general, we would very much caution on changing the design after receiving a grant because it could jeopardize the status of the grant. This is the exact question that was already answered by legal and I want I want public works to confirm that this as long as there is the required required improvement for safety, accessibility, and efficiency.

[01:13:29]
With that, I would accept the language for the other grants. I believe that's public information and should be allowed to be received by the public as well as by the council members. I would like to see the language of the prior grants. Understood. We can add response to that question to what staff will get back to you on vice mayor. I've nothing further. Sorry, did you say you have another question. No, I have nothing further for Member Welch. Hi Ryan.

[01:14:00]
 , I had a question about the additional 500,000 that congresswoman Simon is working on. Do we know a timeline of when we would perhaps know if she is successful with with that venture? So far we're hearing it's sometime later this year. , it's part of the House appropriations bill and our lobbyists is working with Latifah Simon's office on I just have one more follow-up question, Mr. Mayor, if that's allowed.

[01:14:29]
Yes, please proceed. , could it be is there any opportunity maybe for wiggle room? Could it be maybe comes in a little bit lower? Could it come in maybe it's not 500,000, it's 400,000, or is it 500,000 or zero? A lot of these get kind of, you know, added to chopped down as they go through the the house committees and all their meetings. things that they have. , so it's hard to tell at this moment.

[01:14:58]
So even our original 850 that we got here and we're talking about tonight was originally double that, you know, and got chopped in half before it was finally approved. Okay. Thank you. That's all. Any other questions?

[01:15:16]
Seeing none. I'll now open this item for public comment. Are there members of the public who would like to comment on item 13.1?

[01:15:30]
Seeing no members of the public. Oh, yes, please go ahead. You'll have two minutes.

[01:15:39]
I'm a member of a I'm an employee of Butner Properties. We own several properties along Hubbard Street as well as Park Street. This is we're not really concerned about the basic project, but we have concerns about the proposed street closure. that this will be deleterious to the many businesses along Hubbard. This is simply an issue of access for trucks to deliver goods and for customers to pick them up.

[01:16:06]
You see that Pottery & Beyond has a very clear access off 40th Street. If you close Hubbard Street then Pottery & Beyond will their viability is a business will decline. The same would be true for Motivate which as already mentioned that they deal with charging stations for electric bikes. Their access would be impaired. And I thank you for meeting with us over the past year with our group on Harvard Street.

[01:16:33]
I think the basic issue of access has never really been addressed of how goods will be delivered by small box trucks up to up to large 18-wheeler trucks. And I just know that this is there hasn't really been enough investigation. I realize there's a safety concern of bicyclists coming down Shell Mound. I mean whether they could yield to a stop sign at Harvard. That that it really hasn't been addressed.

[01:17:00]
And I think you might consider other options for Harvard such as a partial closer where people could turn in. They're making a right turn, they're able to see bicycles. When they come out, they I mean they could turn that cut that off to remove outgoing traffic for motorists that can't see bikes going out. I just feel that you we've been behind the eight ball behind this since this began. We only received a 30-day notice. About this these street closures we've been trying to catch up ever since.

[01:17:29]
 I just feel that the outreach has been very poor and I think there are other ways I think further investigation is needed. And I congratulate the city on obtaining all these grants. Thank you for your comment.

[01:17:47]
Welcome. You have two minutes. Good evening, Council. I'm here to speak against the multimodal design project as proposed. Staff states, they held extensive public outreach to business businesses and property owners and they disagree. With the population of 13,000 residents within the city of Emeryville, Staff says they put out mailers to only 1,000 people.

[01:18:12]
They had a 30-day presentation to seven in-person meetings, nine phone calls with residences, and their initial workshop was in 2018 which took a 4-month period. They had additional stakeholder meetings. The property owners on Park Street were never notified and communicated that to a letter within the city council, but you continued to ignore.

[01:18:38]
So, if all of the outreach the city in total per your report is a total of 283 people that responded. That's 2% of the Emeryville population. Now, let's fast forward. You have the Setter Sutter Health campus, which will bring millions of dollars to the city of Emeryville granted and it's going to produce several hundred more cars per day on the roadways. The road closures are a mistake.

[01:19:07]
40 Street multimodal design and the San Pablo corridor as designed today will be heavily congested. For all pedestrians and bikers, their safety should be taken into consideration. The current design does not work and is flawed.

[01:19:25]
Bike safety and travel on roadways with another bike path should be considered and traffic lights such as these which show yielding for the bikes and these are around the city of memory bill. That is what we've been asking for Hubbard and we continue to be ignored. So my question to you council is what is the life of a child worth? What is a million dollar stop light? What is Thank you for your comment. Thank you.

[01:19:57]
Any other members of the public? I'll now bring this item back to council for discussion or a motion to accept the funds. and before we get started, I I would actually like to give a special thanks to the office of our congresswoman, Latifah Simon.

[01:20:19]
 I know we have some staff members here and I I would like to thank you on behalf of the city for working tirelessly on our behalf to advocate for our project and the work that we do to improve transit and multimodal transportation in the city. and if you would if you'd like to come up and make a few remarks, I'd invite you to do so. But that's that's fine as well.

[01:20:49]
So, I'll bring this back. So, thank you and I'll bring this to the council for a discussion. again, we are discussing the resolution to authorize the city manager to accept the funds. vice mayor.

[01:21:05]
I like yourself Mayor, I thank you thank the office of Latif Simon, Congresswoman Latifah Simon, and the people who are here grateful for the grants that she has worked very hard before her Barbara Lee did that as well. And it's a effort that's the regional this is a regional corridor. It's a main artery as you have today heard a lot of these comments.

[01:21:32]
These are our constituents and I hope that you here, you've heard these remarks, you will take these back and perhaps go ahead and also advocate for the improvements for accessibility, safety along this corridor, which to me seems to be the absolute minim bare minim we can do for our constituents.

[01:21:58]
So, so I think again, I'm grateful for the grants, grateful that you're here, grateful for the continued efforts to make improvements. I think all of us want that. Even the people here sound to me. The people who made public comments, it's just not for economic interests for their businesses. It is also a safety issue. Safety is a huge issue for me.

[01:22:21]
 , I am the chair of the public safety committee in Emeryville and I think that all these people, all these stakeholders have to weigh in on this. So, this is something I feel strongly about with that. I will make a motion to if they're I I will make the motion to accept the grant pending any other comments. and if there's a second that's fine. Member Welch. I had an additional comment.

[01:22:49]
I also want to thank Congresswoman Simon and her team especially advocating for the additional half a million dollars.

[01:22:58]
As we know under the current administration, there has been a challenge to focus on projects like these for safety that are not projects that aren't car centric, projects that uplift the vulnerable people who are living in our communities that are using alternative modes of transportation that we know are better for the environment and move away from the car centric designs that so many of our American cities are used to.

[01:23:35]
And change can be new and it can be scary and can be challenging. But as a mother, as someone who as they get older has children that I want to feel safe and comfortable with maneuvering through this city the way I got to maneuver through my own neighborhood on a bike, walking with my friends.

[01:23:59]
I'm very excited that we were able to secure this funding because again nowadays it's looking a little bleak for projects like ours and cities like ours that want to focus on making sure that our vulnerable populations, people who do not drive have access to mobility in a safe way and giving people the option to move safely through our city without a vehicle.

[01:24:26]
And with that note, I would like to second the vice mayor's motion to move forward with this resolution. Madam Clerk, we have a motion in a second. Council member Priforce is recused. Council member Solomon. Council member Welch. Hi. Vice mayor Kaur. Hi. And mayor Mourra. Hi. Motion Kauries. Moving on to department head reports. I'll report the meeting.

[01:24:55]
And next with future agenda item requests from council members. Do we have any future agenda item requests? I have one. Vice mayor? I I this okay. I don't know if you want to be here for this future agenda item since you've recused yourself. It is concerning this project.

[01:25:17]
Yeah, I would like to make a request to revisit the design for the purposes of safety accessibility and improvements along the corridor, the 40th Street corridor. I would like to revisit this in light of the shutter, revisit it pending the traffic studies if they are not already done. I would like to have those done and also put that.

[01:25:40]
So item n ber one would be have traffic studies done to include the shutter projections of traffic and then n ber two based on those studies, , reconsider, revisit the design and get alternative designs. Members with a show of hands, is there support for the vice mayor's future agenda item? yes.

[01:26:07]
There's point additional of clarification There's additional to I wanted to ask that there's an additional voting that needs to take place. Correct? There's additional voting on 40th Street. We anticipate bringing final approval of the project once SEQA analysis has been completed to the city of council for approval. So that includes approval of the design. That is correct. Thank you.

[01:26:34]
 so with the director of public works's input and as context, is there support for an additional future agenda item to revisit the design?

[01:26:49]
There's No support for the future agenda item. Are there any other future agenda item requests?

[01:26:58]
Member Priforce.

[01:27:12]
Colleagues, tonight I'm formally requesting a future agenda item to establish a city Assistant Oversight Committee on surveillance technology with a specific focus on automatic license plate readers and related data sharing practices, including the Flock Safety Camera Network deployed in Emeryville.

[01:27:34]
Let me remind this council in the public, it was I who introduced and champion and reveals adoption of network LPR systems, including Flock with the explicit promise to balance public safety with civil liberties. We rolled out this technology with the understanding that community oversight would follow, not as an afterthought, but as a safeguard. Unfortunately, since my removal from the public safety committee, I have not been made aware of any progress on forming this oversight body.

[01:28:03]
As it's been over a year and a half since I introduced this to the public safety committee and two years since we approved the technology. Meanwhile, the risks we feared are no longer theoretical. They are real and happening now. And I take accountability for doing something about it. Here's why.

[01:28:22]
Recent revelations confirmed that flock data in Oakland was accessed by San Francisco police, the CHP and federal law enforcement, including ICE agent some masked, some acting without the integrity or transparency that we expect from Emeryville Police Department. They are not EPD. We love EPD. They are not EPD. This is a blatant violation of trust and directly contradicts the promises made to communities like ours.

[01:28:50]
We must not allow Emeryville's ALPR system to become a pipeline for federal immigration enforcement or unaccountable policing practices. Our policies including Lexipol 429 states that ALPRs are for official law enforcement purposes. That's 42 429.3.

[01:29:09]
Yet we know from California's 2019 state auditor report that agencies statewide have failed to safeguard ALPR data, audit usage, or prevent misuse, particularly by federal entities like ICE and Homeland Security.

[01:29:24]
Additionally, the ACL used community control over police surveillance model ordinance and cities like Vallejo, I believe has one as well, have already set precedents for civilian service advisory boards that direct review that directly review data sharing agreements, retention policies, and audit logs. Emeryville must catch up. The public safety committee meets only once every two months, while ALPR data is asked accessed daily.

[01:29:53]
In August, during our recess, I do not want to wake up to reports that Emeryville's surveillance data was used to detain undoc ented residents or violate someone's Liberties, chose in action.

[01:30:06]
And what's really was something that's really important to note is that if you go to the transparency portal for Oakland and you go to Emeryville, there's one thing that's really that's different, which is one of the reasons why this needs to be reviewed is we're pretty much a copy and paste from Oakland, but Oakland has a provision a provision for prohibited use for the enforcement for obtaining, providing, or supporting reproductive health care services, which is of course is a new threat that's happening nationally, which means that those who are seeking reproductive services are being tracked by these cameras nationally and Oakland made has has shared that they prohibit that use, but we haven't shared that.

[01:30:55]
What is not on our transparency portal. So, I respectfully request that the following be agendaized. The creation of a citizen oversight committee on surveillance technology that will review policies concerning ALPR and flock safety camera use.

[01:31:12]
And they will review approve and monitor data sharing agreements, work with our EPD, all our public safety agencies conduct regular audits to ensure data is not being shared with unauthorized agencies, especially federal immigration authorities, review retention periods and ensure compliance with California Civil Code 179-8. .90.5. And report to the city council annually. And that is my request for a citizen's oversight committee.

[01:31:41]
Member Priforce, can I ask, have you already consulted with staff on the existing prohibitions on the use of the flock camera system for the uses that you just mentioned? Yeah, have I spoken to staff? Yes, I have. About this specific prohibitions when the system was created? Have I spoken to staff about the prohibitions on the use of the system when the system was put in place.

[01:32:10]
The threat of for example the reproductive I mean I the reason why I'm hesitant is because I don't want to get into discussion. I'm very concerned about that. I'm just asking it's a yes or no question. Have you already had a discussion That is about a discussion even if it's a yes or no question is it is it's a discussion and I and I'm very very It does not constitute a discussion member Priforce. Yes it does constitute a discussion according to the Brown Act. Okay, we will put this to a You're having a discussion right now. That's a Brown Act in violation. Can May I Member Welch.

[01:32:39]
Chief Jennings, could you approach the podium just for a moment and just clarify? Because from my understanding, under the California Values Act, law enforcement agencies are not able to share things like license plate reader data for purposes of immigration immigration enforcement. Is that correct? That is correct. Along with SB 34 also defines that as well, correct? Correct. Okay. It's in our policy.

[01:33:05]
and we're not part of the the group of 77 that had violated that SP-34 or their own policies. We will not violate our policies. We clearly have it in there. we do have the transparency portal. I didn't see the part about Oakland, but we're not sharing that information. Okay. Thank you, Chief Thank Jenny you for verifying that.

[01:33:29]
members with a show of hands is their support for a staff establishing a citizen oversight board on the use of the Flock automated license plate reader system. The motion fails without support. Are there any other future agenda items? Member Priforce.

[01:33:57]
I am requesting that at the that the Emeryville Police Department provide a detailed report to the city council that reviews and recommends any updates to Emeryville's police police department's current ALPR policy. To align with California State Auditor Report 2019-118 recommendations and current best practices.

[01:34:15]
In addition to how the flock system is being used, policy updates, and ordinance language for a community control over a police surveillance framework, which we do not have with additional provisions that specifically addresses gaps left by neighboring cities such as Oakland and Berkeley. once again, even though Oakland is under these laws, they still illegally provided information. Gaps that can and have been exploited by federal agencies like ICE.

[01:34:44]
While the ACLU's cops model is a solid starting point and reveal has opportunity to lead by drafting a stronger, clearer ordinance that shows no backdoor access exist for ICE or federal entities to exploit local surveillance technologies including ALPR data. The objective is to proactively close policy loopholes that can lead to misuse, overreach or unintended data sharing with outside agencies without public accountability or council oversight.

[01:35:11]
This request is both a matter of public trust and a safeguard for a civil liberties in our community. So, essentially, he's just asking for sort of Chief Jennings to make a presentation to us. Members, is there support for member Priforce's future agenda item request? The item fails with no support. Are there Are there any other future agenda items?

[01:35:40]
Member Priforce. I would like to re-invite to the body, the discussion about the pledge of allegiance of returning to our council procedures as as as a procedure which I will demonstrate.

[01:36:00]
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Members with a show of hands is their support for adding the pledge of allegiance to a future agenda item. The motion fails without support. Any other future agenda items? Seeing none.

[01:36:29]
I will now move on to the adjournment. The time is 8:16.