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Segment 1

Okay, Mayor, we can start.
Okay, I'm sorry everybody, but our microphone system is still not working.
So we're going to begin the meeting, and we're going to do our absolute best with this owl situation here.
So we'll see you online.
Oh, we can't use the mic.
For now.
Is it going to be echoey on the Zoom? No, we're good.
Okay.
All right.
Well, that saves me some yelling.
So yay.
Yeah.
All right.
Thank you so much to everyone for your patience.
Again, I am going to call to order the Berkeley City Council meeting.
Today is Tuesday, April 15th, 2025.
And we are going to start with the roll.
Okay.
Council member Kesarwani? Here.
Kaplan? Present.
Bartlett is currently absent.
Trageb? Present.
O'Keefe? Here.
Blackbee? Here.
Lunapara? Here.
Humbert? Here.
And Mayor Ishii? Here.
Okay.
Okay.
Thank you very much.
Okay.
So we are going to start with the first meeting of the month after our spring recess.
And we have the land acknowledgement.
That we read at the beginning of each first meeting of the month.
And this, this month is council member O'Keefe.
And so she will read for us the land acknowledgement.
It's not it.
Here it is.
Okay.
The city of Berkeley recognizes that the community we live in.
Was built on the territory.
Of.
The ancestral and unseated land.
Of the speaking aloney people.
The ancestors and descendants of the sovereign Verona band of Alameda County.
This land was and continues to be of great importance.
To all of the aloney tribes and descendants of the Verona band.
As we begin our meeting tonight.
We acknowledge and honor.
The original inhabitants of Berkeley.
The documented 5,000 year history.
Of a vibrant community at the West Berkeley shell mound.
And the aloney people who continue to reside in the East Bay.
We recognize that Berkeley's residents.
Residents have and continue to continue to benefit from the use and occupation of this unseated stolen land.
Since the city of Berkeley's incorporation in 1878.
As stewards of the laws, regulating the city of Berkeley.
It is not only vital that we recognize the history of this land.
But also recognize that the aloney people are present members of Berkeley and other East Bay communities today.
The city of Berkeley will continue to build relationships with the Legion tribe.
And to create meaningful actions that uphold the intention of this land acknowledgement.
Thank you very much.
Council member O'Keefe.
I'd like to report out on the items from the closed session meeting on March 24th.
The city council met in closed session and authorized the city attorney to settle a claim for personal injuries by Rohan Agarwal for $75,000 in exchange for a release of all claims against the city.
The city council also met in closed session and authorized the city attorney to settle a claim for real property transfer tax overpayment.
In the matter of DS property 17 LP the city of Berkeley at all.
Alameda County Superior Court case number 2, 3, C, V, 0, 3, 8, 3, 5, 3 in the amounts of $250,000 in exchange for dismissal of the case and a release of all claims against the city.
We will now move on to ceremonial matters.
We have four proclamations today.
And I will start with Holocaust awareness day which was brought by council member O'Keefe.
Apologies.
And I have Sunny DeWitt here to receive it.
Sunny, would you like to come up to the podium? Okay.
So commemorating April 24th, 2025 as Berkeley Holocaust remembrance day.
Whereas the Holocaust was a crime of shocking inhumanity, targeting for persecution and death 6 million Jews as well as the Roma and Sinti people.
Those with mental illness and physical disabilities, members of the queer community, Slavs, Poles, and members of anti-Nazi networks from throughout Europe.
And whereas Holocaust remembrance day serves as an imperative reminder of the appalling crimes and atrocities of the Holocaust so that we may keep them in our memory and continue to condemn them for generations to come.
And whereas false information on the Holocaust continues to distort, deny, and trivialize the horrendous truth about what took place during the Nazi regimes.
And whereas the Berkeley Police Department reports that since October of 2023, there has been an increase overall in the number of anti-Jewish hate incidents.
And that in 2024, anti-Jewish hate crimes made up 18.6% of overall hate crimes, the third highest category and one of only three categories that are in the double digits.
And whereas the purpose of Berkeley's Holocaust Remembrance Day is to come together as a community to remember the Holocaust, to honor survivors who chose to rebuild their lives in Berkeley and the Bay Area and to reflect on the need to respect all people.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Adina Ishii, Mayor of the City of Berkeley, do hereby declare April 24th, 2025 to be Holocaust Remembrance Day in the City of Berkeley.
Thank you.
To Mayor Ishii and the Berkeley City Council members, I'm deeply appreciative to you for issuing a proclamation for Berkeley's 21st Annual Holocaust Remembrance Day.
In your issuing this proclamation, you are demonstrating leadership in combating Jew hatred here in Berkeley.
It shows that you are committed to preventing the recurrence of the horrendous act of genocide committed by the Nazi government in Europe in the 1930s.
Never again.
There should be no doubt that anti-Semitism is rising, visible, chilling and increasingly normalized in our public discourse, politics and institutions.
It requires urgent and consistent action by our national political, academic, religious and civic leaders.
Most shocking is the climate of hatred towards Jewish students on the Berkeley UC campus.
My personal earliest memory is of being deported by train to Poland in October 1938.
The train had many sections with the toilets being in the rear car.
I was frightened when crossing between the cars exposed to open rails underneath.
Incredibly, I was questioned by three armored SS agents who questioned me about Jews who were supposedly hidden in the old-aged home, the Munich Jewish home for the agent, where my father was the live-in physician.
I remember answering, my name is Susanne Teglerina Kalte, und mehr weiß ich nicht, essentially giving only my name, rank and serial number.
I would not cooperate with them.
The train stopped at the Polish border on a very rainy and windy day, and we were herded on the station but not allowed to cross into Poland.
The Poles did not want to receive any more Jews, as there were already three million Jews in Poland.
The train then returned to Munich, where we were living.
The Nazi government had issued the Nuremberg Laws, somewhat similar to Jim Crow laws here in the United States.
The Jews were not allowed to walk on sidewalks.
Jewish children could not go to school.
Books by Jewish authors were burned in bonfires.
Jewish faculty members at universities were purged from their academic appointments, and Jewish professionals lost their licenses to practice their occupations.
My father, a doctor, could no longer treat patients.
Daily life was becoming impossible.
A few weeks later, after the October deportation to Poland, on the 9th of November, which was Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, the Gestapo entered the bedroom where I was sleeping through the broken windows of our ground floor apartment and demanded that I take them to the office where my parents were doing daily paperwork about the health of the elderly occupants of the old age home and various staff issues.
We were all herded into waiting vehicles and transported to Dachau concentration camp, about nine miles from Munich.
Dachau was then a labor camp.
It had not yet built gas chambers for murdering Jews.
As I was obviously too young to work, I was let go.
A woman took pity on me and smuggled me across the border into Holland using the password of her daughter, a scheme that the water cards did not notice.
I was taken into the home of a Dutch family that hid me, first in Amsterdam and then in Rotterdam.
I didn't speak Dutch and couldn't understand anything that they had to say to me, nor could they understand my German.
So my life was saved by a number of kind, courageous people who helped me escape the Nazis.
I was escorted across the English Channel to London just before the Germans invaded the Netherlands, just in time, at the time that the German blitzkrieg on London started.
I spent nine months of nights in bomb shelters before being evacuated to the countryside.
My family and I immigrated to the United States in 1945 and established a new life.
I went to Cornell University for my undergraduate degree and to UC Berkeley for graduate work in microbiology and genetics with supportive faculty and colleagues.
I would have never imagined that I would be hated for being a Jew on campus today.
It's shocking.
It reminds me of the anti-Semitism in the 1930s in Germany.
The mayor, I deeply appreciate the proclamation that the mayor and the city council have issued.
It will restore the good image of Berkeley and be a light to other cities never again.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you to Council Member O'Keefe and also to Council Member Trageb, who I neglected to add in my earlier comments, for bringing that forward so we could recognize Holocaust Awareness Day.
Next, I'd like to see.
We are going to have a proclamation for Muslim American appreciation, and that's from Council Member Lunapara.
And I think we have a few different groups here to receive this, maybe CARE, SFBA, and the UC Berkeley Muslim Students Association.
Anyone else that I'm missing? Yes, please come forward.
Thank you.
American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month.
Whereas the city of Berkeley takes great pride in supporting individual religious freedoms and is strengthened by the diverse religious, political, and cultural traditions and contributions of its diverse populations, including those that practice Islam.
And whereas the history of Islam on this continent dates back to before the founding of the United States, originating with enslaved Africans who brought their Muslim beliefs to the Americas.
And whereas over 90,000 Muslims live in Alameda County and significantly contribute to the cultural, political, and economic fabric of our communities.
And whereas the city of Berkeley is home to a variety of Muslim institutions, such as the Berkeley Masjid, a vital spiritual and community center, providing a space for prayer, connection, and support for Muslims in Berkeley.
Satuna College, the first Muslim liberal arts college in the United States, and many Muslim organizations, including the Berkeley Muslim Students Association.
And whereas it is critical to acknowledge and promote awareness of the invaluable contributions of Muslims in Berkeley and across the country.
And whereas the Berkeley City Council acknowledges the importance of local government in advocating for justice and reaffirms that Muslims everywhere deserve to live in peace, dignity, and safety.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Adina Ishii, mayor of the city of Berkeley, do hereby declare April 2025 to be American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month in the city of Berkeley.
Thank you.
Yes, please go ahead and share your comments.
I'm going to walk up.
Of course.
Hello, esteemed mayor and council members.
I'm Musa with CARE, the Council on American Islamic Relations.
And we want to thank you for recognizing American Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month.
This proclamation is especially meaningful as our Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities have faced an unprecedented and unrelenting wave of Islamophobia and discrimination in the last 18 months.
In these last 18 months, we've seen an unprecedented surge, again, in anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian hate, creating a climate of fear, hostility, and discrimination that directly impacts our Berkeley Muslim community.
In 2024, CARE offices nationwide received the highest number of complaints in our 30-year history.
It is important to understand that the efforts to suppress support for Palestinian rights has directly contributed to the proliferation of this anti-Muslim hate and the hate crimes that have followed.
We want to thank the city for recognizing the Berkeley Muslim community, especially in a time where our communities are facing historic levels of violence and discrimination.
We also want to thank you for recognizing this year's Holocaust Day of Remembrance and reaffirming the core principle of never again for anyone.
We look forward to continuing working with you to ensure a just, diverse, and equitable Berkeley for all.
Thank you.
Good evening, Mayor Ishii, esteemed council members, and community members and guests.
My name is Naila, and I'm here representing the Muslim Student Association at UC Berkeley.
I want to begin by thanking Mayor Ishii and Councilwoman Cecilia Lunapara for this proclamation recognizing Muslim American Appreciation and Awareness Month.
As students and young leaders, we are proud to represent the rich diversity, resilience, and contributions of Muslim Americans in Berkeley and across the country.
Whether through civic engagement, education, entrepreneurship, or community service, Muslim Americans have long been woven into the fabric of this nation, though often our stories go unheard.
I come before you today with a heavy heart and a responsibility to speak honestly.
As much as our organization appreciates this honor, I don't want this proclamation to be the only thing that the city of Berkeley does to support its Muslim residents.
If our city truly affirms that Muslims everywhere deserve to live in peace, dignity, and safety, we must speak out to condemn the mass murder of Muslims in Palestine, especially when our tax dollars, tuition, payments, and our funding this genocide.
As we gather here today, hundreds of thousands of millions of Palestinians have been martyred.
Every 10 minutes, a child is martyred and is killed in Gaza.
A majority of them are Muslim and Arab, and entire families and generations are wiped out.
As someone who has been spat on, constantly and verbally harassed on the UC Berkeley campus, I urge you to pass this ceasefire resolution.
So how can we in good conscience celebrate Muslim American Appreciation and Awareness Month without condemning the ongoing genocide of Muslims abroad? How can we honor our identity here while ignoring the suffering of those who share the same identity across the globe? True solidarity means more than just some symbolic gestures.
It means policies, resolutions, and actions that affirm the dignity and right to life for Muslims, whether in Berkeley or Gaza.
Please, through our work on the UC Berkeley campus, the Muslim Student Association aims to foster understanding, build coalitions across communities, and create a space for good dialogue and belonging.
We look forward to the April 28th special meeting to consider a ceasefire resolution.
We hope that the members of this body who support us with their words also support us with their actions on April 28th.
Thank you.
Applause.
Oh, sorry.
Okay, all right.
So we have two more.
Okay.
Next we have Education and Sharing Day, and Rabbi and Mrs.
Ferris will receive this one.
If you could come up to the front if you're here.
Thank you.
Okay.
All right.
Recognizing Education and Sharing Day 2025.
Whereas the basis for the continuity of any society is education, and in Berkeley the education of our youth is a priority.
And in order to receive its highest goals, education must form and strengthen moral character by imparting moral and ethical values that have been the bedrock of society since the dawn of civilization, including the values known as the seven Noahide laws, and whereas a global spiritual leader and leading advocate for the advancement of education, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi? Menachem.
Menachem, thank you.
Schneerson.
Schneerson, thank you, stressed that a moral and ethical education can nurture the unity of diverse peoples through encouraging increased acts of goodness and kindness imbued with the awareness that even a single positive act of an individual can make a major impact in this world and usher in an era of global peace.
And whereas Education and Sharing Day is observed each year on the Rebbe's birthday in recognition of his outstanding and lasting contributions toward the improvement of education, morality, and acts of charity around the world.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Adina Ishii, Mayor of the City of Berkeley, do hereby declare April 9th, 2025, to be Education and Sharing Day in the City of Berkeley.
Thank you.
Good evening, Mayor and City Council members.
Thank you very much for what has become a meaningful tradition in proclaiming and honoring Education and Sharing Day here in the City of Berkeley.
With this proclamation, the City of Berkeley has proudly joined the U.S.
Congress, governors, and mayors in dozens of states and hundreds of cities and counties across the country in designating the birthday of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M.
Schneerson, celebrated annually four days before Passover as Education and Sharing Day.
The Rebbe was a global spiritual giant and a visionary leader.
He dedicated his life to the advancement of education as a cornerstone of humanity.
Under his leadership, more than 5,000 educational and social institutions were established across all 50 states and in over 110 countries worldwide.
Here in the Bay Area alone, there are over 80 numerous Chabad centers, including a vibrant presence in Berkeley.
This year marks 75 years of the Rebbe's loving leadership, 75 years of guiding, inspiring, and uplifting people of all backgrounds.
His vision continues to shape lives, and his influence only grows, and his revolution of goodness continues to transform the world.
When it came to education, the Rebbe insisted that it was not merely the pursuit of knowledge or academic achievement, but a path to character building and moral refinement.
For the Rebbe, education was not just about textbooks and classrooms.
It was about instilling in every child a deep sense of purpose and responsibility, a drive to make the world a better, kinder, and more just place.
The Rebbe taught that every individual, regardless of background or circumstance, has a unique mission and limitless potential.
Today, as we honor that vision, let us ask ourselves, how can we strengthen the moral fabric of our schools, homes, and communities? How can we ensure that education goes beyond information and nurtures wisdom, ethics, and integrity? And how can each of us, in our own way, share our gifts, our time, resources, talents, or encouragement to uplift those around us? In the spirit of the Rebbe's legacy, may we not only educate minds, but also illuminate souls.
May we not only fill classrooms, but fill hearts, and not only share knowledge, but share love, hope, and a deep sense of purpose.
May this proclamation serve as a reminder and an opportunity for us to pause and reflect on our shared responsibility to ensure that the next generation receives not only the tools for success, but the foundation for a life of meaning and fulfillment.
Thank you once again to the Berkeley City Council for everything you do and for this important proclamation.
May God bless your efforts to build a brighter future for everyone in our city and beyond.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay, thank you all so much.
This is really important that we're acknowledging these people and their work.
And so I'm honored to read the final proclamation.
I don't believe that anyone's here to receive this one.
And we're also going to be adjourning in memory of this person as well.
Honoring the life of Willie Ann Bullock.
Whereas Willie Ann Bullock, who entered the world on July 8, 1926, was the seventh of 11 children born to the late Lefal and Julia Dixon in Marshall, Texas.
And whereas Willie Ann attended high school in Dallas, Texas, learned to live with her father in California to continue high school, then later returned to Dallas to graduate with her class and attend Phillips Business College.
And whereas Willie Ann, again, returned to California, enrolled at Marriott College in Oakland, had her first part-time job at Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, where she met and married Witterless Bullock and then became the parents of nine children.
And whereas Willie Ann, as a student and a mother, worked part-time for the U.S.
Postal Service in Oakland, California, and later held various jobs working for the Berkeley Head Start Program, the state and federal government, obtained her California real estate license, and after retiring from the Social Security Administration, determined to earn her college degree, she proudly graduated from Alameda Community College at the age of 75.
And whereas Willie Ann stressed the importance of education and encouraged everyone to pursue their educational goals, her proudest achievement was to see her children graduate from high school and continue to achieve their goals.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that People's Church, the Church of Son Stephen, wants the Bullock family and friends to know that the members of their congregations mourn with you, and their continued prayers for the Lord's strength and comfort and grace remain with you always.
And be it further resolved that they share with you these words of Helen Steiner Rice, May tender memories soften your grief, may fond recollections bring you relief, and may you find comfort and peace in the thoughts of the joy that knowing your loved ones brought for time and space cannot divide or keep your loved one from your side when memory paints and colors true the happy hours that belong to you.
And be it further resolved that I, Adina Ishii, Mayor of the City of Berkeley, do hereby honor the life of Willie Ann Bullock.
Thank you all.
Thank you.
I'd now like to move on to city auditor comments.
Sorry, I didn't give you much warning.
Our city auditor, Jenny Wong, is running up to the podium.
All right.
It's great.
Mike's work.
So good evening.
And I just wanted to say that it's great to see recognition of the diversity of our beautiful city.
So thank you so much for that.
Just wanted to comment quickly about the information item that I submitted into the agenda.
Often people ask me who you're an auditor, but who audits the auditors.
And the answer to that is that other auditors audit the auditor.
So it's a tongue twister.
Every three years, our office undergoes a peer review to ensure that we are following the charter mandated audit standards that have appropriate quality control.
Earlier this year in February, experienced auditors from Oregon came to our office to conduct our regular peer review for the period of November 1st, 2021 to October 31st, 2024.
They followed the standards and guidelines from the Association of Local Government Auditors to examine our quality control system.
And that includes efforts for ongoing monitoring and improvement, staff training and qualifications, and an in-depth review of three audits from this period.
After they completed their review, the peer reviewers affirmed our system and passed us.
So the peer reviewers shared that they thought our team's dedication to continuous improvement and the support and tone set by management was a highlight.
And they also stated that the work.

Segment 2

The City of Berkeley is proud to be a part of the audit process.
The work our office does centers the stories and experiences of different stakeholders throughout the audit process and our full letters included in the packet and on our website.
I just wanted to say I'm very proud of my team in the City of Berkeley for continue to uphold rigorous standards and produce high quality work that is recognized by auditing peers.
Thank you to the community for their ongoing support of our mission to promote transparency and accountability.
Thank you.
Thank you, Auditor.
I love that you get applause for your reports.
That's wonderful.
I neglected to also thank Councilmember, actually Vice Mayor Bartlett for the Willie Ann Bullock adjournment in memory and also the proclamation.
So thank you very much, Vice Mayor.
I was told that Vice Mayor was ending at the end of April.
Switch over.
Yes, of course.
Okay.
All right.
So anyway, we're going to move on to City Manager comments.
Thank you all.
Thank you, Madam Mayor.
Just one quick comment, which is that for item 27, which is the notice of decision of the Landmark Preservation Commission's designation of 2425 Durant Avenue as a City Landmark.
We did receive an appeal for that, so it'll be coming back to you at a later date.
Thank you for letting us know.
I appreciate that.
Okay, so next we have public comment on non agenda matters.
Do we have any public comment on non agenda matters? Okay, thank you.
So this is a public comment on items that are not on the agenda.
If you put in a card and you're speaking to a consent item, just let me know and we can set your card aside if you don't want to speak.
Thank you.
Okay, so the five names we have is Jonah M.
Jesse Sheehan.
S Vaughn.
Michael Nettles.
So you can come up in any order, line up to speak here.
Yes, if your name is called, please come on up.
What's your name, sir? Nettles.
Okay, so we can pick another card.
Kit Sagan or for non agenda public comment is the fifth speaker.
Okay, so we have a public comment on non agenda matters.
Which is are you are you first on our.
Public comment on non agenda matters.
I believe so.
Could you speak in the microphone just so folks can hear you on the zoom.
I got it.
I have a big boy down the field.
Perhaps can someone so hold on one second.
Okay.
There is.
Concern for wheelchairs.
When the rent of bikes.
This will have to be a project jointly worked on.
By the UC police department and.
The Berkeley police department.
When they ride through when I can't see them.
It is quite dangerous.
They might hit me.
And I need, I need to form like a task force.
To.
You know, you know, I am uncomfortable calling the rental.
Company.
And saying your bike bikes are in the wrong place.
This is very, very important to me.
Because I've been over the years hit by 14 cars, a bus and a van.
So, yes.
The UC Berkeley and Berkeley.
Police department can execute fundamentals.
On this.
Thank you.
Thanks for your comments.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate you sharing.
Thank you.
Who's next on our list? I see kit standing there.
Actually, I'd like to 2nd, the remark you just heard, I often see things sprawled across the sidewalk and in places in the rental and the companies don't deal with them.
But I wanted to comment on something that occurred to me today at looking at what's going on in this country.
I'm really very grateful to be in Berkeley.
I've come tonight to talk about some of the things that are happening in our country.
I've come tonight to talk about something else that's on the agenda.
And as is often the case, I and other people come to tell you about the things we see that we'd like for you to do differently that we're not happy about.
But I do want to say that I and I think many people are very happy about a lot of the things you do.
The fact, for instance, that I have confidence you're not going to back away from Berkeley being a sanctuary city, even though it's going to cost us money.
And the federal government is basically threatening us in many regards.
So I really, I really appreciate so much that Berkeley does.
And the fact that there are other things that I would like you to do or like to do differently doesn't mean that I don't appreciate that.
Thank you, Kit.
Appreciate it.
Who else is on our.
I know we have Wanda Warkington, S Vaughn and Jesse Sheehan.
An alias because I know people don't always do the right thing and call fairly.
I don't think I just want to make sure that there's not an S Vaughn here.
This is the name that I put on the S Vaughn for my grandmother.
I'm not calling me a liar.
That's not nice.
And please don't take any of my time away because you should restart the clock.
Go ahead.
All right.
Knock, knock.
I left at the door or a Zion settler.
And then they shoot to kill.
They destroy your belongings, steal your things, burn your house down, your olive trees.
They kill your children.
Please pass a ceasefire resolution.
Divest from Israel apartheid.
You talk about Holocaust and genocide.
There's a Holocaust and genocide going on right now in Palestine.
Over 51,000 people have been killed over and that's not even the right number.
There's probably hundreds of thousands under the rubble rubble.
Children, babies.
Medical workers just found in a hole buried with their ambulances shot in the back of their head with their arms behind their back.
You need to do something about it.
If Berkeley does something that other people will follow.
I know you're on a time constraint.
Thank you for that.
I'm not.
Thank you.
Ceasefire votes.
Your time is up.
I know.
So, you know, your time is up.
I got it.
The speakers are Wanda Warkington and Jesse Sheehan.
Hi, my name is Jesse Sheehan.
I'm one of the volunteers, the co-founders of Berkeley's Chess Club on Telegraph Avenue.
What I see in our neighborhood, there's a lot that I can talk about what's going on in the city and that we're doing tonight.
Those conversations happen at our chess club.
What I've seen is a company called Web Corps.
Web Corps Development is developing People's Park.
They've come into our neighborhood acting like gangsters.
I've been assaulted by the military style security.
My head was ran into the free speech mural quite literally.
I'm currently going through some litigation with Web Corps Development.
They're trying to sweep Telegraph Avenue of any reminiscent reflection of People's Park.
Save People's Park.
It's an ideal.
It's the people that I see from Food Not Bombs bringing food to our chess club for our most vulnerable.
Our most vulnerable can't sit on Telegraph because there's no seating.
If you're shopping with your grandchild, there's nowhere for you to sit.
Thank you.
Thank you for your comments.
I'm sorry your time's up.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
Last call for Wanda.
Pick another one.
Go ahead and pick a new name.
Jonah Markowitz.
He spoke.
He put two in.
Russell Bates.
There's another one.
Yeah, I'm another one.
I'll stand in support of Holocaust Remembrance Day when you do a Gaza Genocide Remembrance Day.
There's as many what the person was describing.
What happened in Nazi Germany is similar to what's happening in Zionist Nazi Palestine.
Occupied Palestine, 48.
People being murdered.
Hundred kids a day are being killed and or wounded.
They've got the most child amputees in the world going on right now.
This is murder.
This is genocide.
This is totally wrong.
And I am one of them.
I am definitely an anti-Zionist and I will live and die as an anti-Zionist.
Thank you very much.
All right.
Going to the speakers on Zoom, we have Andrea Pritchett.
Good evening, Council.
I have two things I'd like to share with you tonight.
I want to invite you all to come to the Berkeley Cop Watch National Conference that's happening at the Berkeley City College on April 19th from 9 to 9.
We have workshops and panels.
We would love to help you to understand a bit more about what we do and what this movement is about.
I also want to report back on my latest interaction with the so-called Special Care Unit.
I called this week because there was a man who was clearly disordered and half-naked right by the door of the school where I work.
When I called the Special Care Unit, they told me this time they only respond to suicides and homicides.
So, in previous encounters, they've told me they don't go to encampments, they're not a taxi service, so don't call them for transportation to services.
She said, we don't do wellness checks.
So, I don't know what homicides they're going to.
Thank you.
Sorry, your time's up.
Thank you for your comment.
For the City Manager.
Next, we have a speaker with a phone number ending in 538.
It should be press star 6 to unmute.
Hello.
Never again means never again.
That's very important when applying for CINFGAS.
What HRSA did, killing 6 million innocent Jews.
Well, everybody was just, we didn't have TVs, we didn't watch what was going on.
But now, we have Palestinian kids getting killed every day in hundreds.
Every day in hundreds.
Our business manager, ended today, objected to the city for $1,180,000.
What Mayor Ergin and the horrible City Council of Berkeley have done much damage to our company, as well as to people of Berkeley, people of the Bay Area, who have no other way to shop at CINFGAS, who are doing business.
You know, we need also to say, the word semitic refers to all people in the Middle East.
Jews, Muslims, and Christians.
Anti-semitic should not be confused with anti-Zionist.
The whole thing now, organized by Trump.
His government is destroying this country.
He's a Russian mole.
Thank you for your comment.
Your time is up.
Thank you.
Next, we have Daniel Brownson.
Hello.
It is good to have Holocaust Remembrance Day, but we need to also remember that the first people put in the camps were the political opponents.
Which is what the government is doing now.
Transporting labor organizers to El Salvador.
Deporting people of conscience, speaking out against genocide.
We are already, you know, past the first they came for the communists line.
We are already partway through the poem.
We need to act like it.
Thank you.
Okay.
And now we have Hillary Kalimnick.
Hello.
Can you hear me? Yes.
Hello? We can hear you.
Can you hear us? Yes, go ahead.
Okay.
Thank you for honoring the memory of the Holocaust.
I'm deeply appreciative of that.
I do want to say that I strongly oppose any resolution that would be considered calling for a ceasefire.
The resolution that is being brought before the city council disregards the views of the majority of Jewish community.
The resolution fails to acknowledge or condemn the horrific attacks of terror committed by Hamas against innocent civilians on October 7th, 2023.
These atrocities, rape, burning of entire families inside their homes, violent kidnappings and mutilations, they're well documented, including by Hamas itself.
And any resolution addressing the ongoing conflict must begin by recognizing this unprovoked attack and the suffering it has caused.
I also want to call out that a ceasefire has been proposed today and rejected by Hamas.
Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.
Thank you.
Your time is up.
Thank you for your comment.
And we have Jocelyn DeSena on, but Jocelyn, are you on for public comment by employee unions or for non-agenda public comments? Jocelyn, can you hear us? Are there any other hands raised? Oh, no, she muted.
No, there's no other hands raised.
How many? I'm sorry.
That was nine.
Nine.
Why don't you pull one more from there? Paul Blake.
Paul Blake.
Thank you.
I was a little surprised by this.
I do want to address something that is not on the agenda, and that is the movement of campers to an encampment set up by Where Do We Go Berkeley? And I'm urging the council and citizens, particularly Friends of Ohlone, to take a close look at this.
I went to a meeting of the Friends of Ohlone Park, and we discussed this.
All that I'm asking is that the Friends of Ohlone speak to the people that represent the campers and the campers themselves.
We have a lot of campers moving around town.
When you basically destroy a human ecology by moving in another population, you draw a lot of other problems, which advocates like myself would like to avoid.
Thank you for your comment.
Okay, we're going to move on to public comment by employee unions.
Jocelyn, can you hear us now? I can hear you.
Can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you.
Oh, yay.
Thank you.
Okay.
Thank you so much.
So my name is Jocelyn.
I'm the COPE coordinator for the CSU PTRLA chapter of SEIU 1021, which represents 60,000 workers in Northern California.
And, you know, every time I come here and speak during union comments, I give the disclaimer that I'm speaking on the position of my union.
I am also speaking from my own personal experience as a city worker and as a Jewish American.
So I thank the speakers that spoke about all the proclamations and the lady that spoke about Holocaust Remembrance Day.
I'm sorry, I forgot her name, but thank you for your story.
I felt a lot of personal connection with my own family.
You probably studied microbiology with my cousin, Walter Schoenholtz, who was also a refugee from Nazi Germany, and his wife, Elsa, was also in the Kindertransport.
So these are the elders that I grew up with.
So your story, definitely, I felt a strong personal connection.
Thank you so much.
And also thank you to the students.
And also thank you to the students.
And anyway, in light of Holocaust Remembrance Day, I do want to share a quote from a video I saw recently from Dr.
Gabor Mate, the renowned trauma expert and Jewish Holocaust survivor.
He said, there's something called moral injury, and moral injury happens when you are watching something terrible happen, and you can't stop it, and you're helpless in the face of it.
It's impossible to have your eyes open and not have your heart broken.
And it's impossible to me to recognize that you remember a Holocaust and not condemn the Holocaust that's happening now.
And as far as moral injury, I'm going to speak really personally as a worker.
It's my privilege to support families with lactation, but Berkeley's lack of ability to pass a ceasefire resolution is causing a moral injury to me.
I was very proud to join City of Berkeley, but over the last 17 months, it's hard to maintain that pride.
I've seen videos coming out of Gaza of a newborn who looked like the babies that I work with, sucking on a date, because their mother was so dehydrated and malnourished, she was not able to produce milk to feed her baby.
I mean, I have cried in the bathroom at work.
In more than one work location, as one building gets renovated, I move.
I'm going to go back and have a beautiful new bathroom to cry in at West Berkeley Family Wellness Center.
My union has spoken up, and the council has historically, over all this time, done nothing.
Meanwhile, I have been told by a mom from Yemen that when she saw me and my union on the council screen speaking up for a ceasefire resolution, it made her feel like she belonged in Berkeley and that she could come to WIC to get help with breastfeeding.
But the fact that this is going on so long, and our council has had inaction and stonewalling, it is really demoralizing as a worker.
I'm going to read some encouragement that another SEIU 1021 member messaged me today.
I'm really just going to quote directly.
They said, when I start to feel down after talking with do-nothing leaders who only have excuses for why they can't take a position on Gaza or on apartheid or genocide, I think of Rebecca Solnit's piece.
And they quoted, they want you to feel powerless and to surrender and let them trample everything, and you are not going to let them.
You are not giving up, and neither am I.
The fact that we cannot save everything does not mean we cannot save anything, and everything we can save is worth saving.
They ended that quote and went on to say, all the excuses for not taking a principled moral stance because what we are doing won't fix everything or isn't perfect is an excuse for doing nothing, and we don't accept that.
There are things we can do and things we can save today, and we will keep doing that despite the lack of leadership in the Berkeley City Council.
And they ended their message by saying, asking me to ask you to tell us what you can do instead of continually telling us what you can't do.
So I'm just going to restate what my union has been saying in these meetings during union comments every month for, I don't know, 15 times in a row.
This is the position of our local.
We have taken a principled stance with our resolution for ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and an end to the occupation of Palestine.
And our local will always oppose injustice and oppression anywhere.
Sudan, Congo, Haiti, Palestine, Columbia, Tufts University, where our SEIU sibling, Rumeysa Ozturk, was abducted by ICE.
The Gestapo, they're here coming for workers, union workers, for their opinions and their words.
And we are kidding ourselves that we don't think this is coming to UC Berkeley.
So it is my duty as a member of a union that stands up for international solidarity to call on our elected officials to do the same as many times as it takes.
So we're very happy that there's a meeting on the calendar for April 28th.
Thank you, Mayor.
I'm almost done.
We urge you to post the agenda as early as possible.
Thank you.
I'm sorry, your time is up.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate your comments.
Is there is there another.
Thank you.
Is there are there any other employee unions that are here to speak either in person or online? OK.
All right.
Well, we are going to move on to the consent calendar.
Thank you all so much for your comments.
We are going to now take public comment on consent calendar and information items.
Oh, thank you so much.
Actually, we have an urgent item that was brought forward.
Would you like to speak to it? Sure.
Thank you very much.
This is a time critical item I brought forward in support of our institutes for the first anniversary auctioning exhibit.
This event came to my attention prior to the deadline closing for tonight's meeting.
Sorry, not prior.
After.
Sorry.
And yeah, so my office is contributing five hundred dollars and I welcome my colleagues to contribute what they can.
And I also hope that we can have this agenda.
Thank you.
So I believe we.
Oh, yeah.
OK, I was going to say we need to vote for it.
So there's a second.
And could you take the role, please? OK, this is to add the urgent item to the agenda.
Council member Sarwani? Yes.
Kaplan? Yes.
Bartlett? Yes.
Traigub? Aye.
O'Keefe? Yes.
Blackaby? Yes.
Lunapara? Yes.
Humbert? Yes.
And Mayor Ishii? Yes.
OK, item is added to the agenda.
Thank you so much.
And thank you for bringing the item forward.
So now moving on to public comment on consent calendar.
Council comments.
Council comments on consent calendar.
Would you like to do comments first? Yes.
OK.
All right.
So I'm sorry.
I had you all stand up and we're going to do our comments.
So if you feel like you need to sit, please go ahead and do that.
I have council member Traigub first.
Thank you, Madam Mayor.
I wish to contribute $100 from my G13 account for the immediate action urgency item that is now on the calendar sponsored for the Arts Center, as well as $100 for item 15, Celebración Cultural Silvia Mendez, as well as council member Humbert's Music in the Elmwood Festival.
Thank you.
I would like to request that 11A and 11B be pulled to action.
I wish to comment very briefly on the items that I authored on item 18, resolution in support of California Senate Bill 42.
I would like to thank council members Blackaby, Lunaparra, and Taplin for their co-sponsorship.
This is an item I think I certainly benefited from the ability to do public financing in Berkeley to run for the seat, as many of my colleagues have as well.
I was excited when the ballot measure allowing public financing was first brought forward and then passed on the 2016 ballot.
SB 42, if approved by the legislature and signed by the governor, would allow other cities to also explore and utilize public financing in their local government, reducing the influence of big money in politics to promote democracy.
And I would like to thank my colleagues on the council for their support of both the Holocaust Remembrance Day and would invite other offices to join in giving of their D13 account to ensure that the memory of the Holocaust lives on.
I am grateful for the testimony that Sam DeWitt gave this evening, and I am grateful to the memory of all survivors of the Holocaust.
This is the first year that my grandfather, blessed be his memory, will not be on this earth to be a part of this Holocaust Remembrance Day.
My grandfather, Yosef K.
Tregub, grew up Jewish in the former Soviet Union and at the age of 17 enlisted in the army in World War II to fight Nazi occupation, defending our homelands.

Segment 3

He loved fighting for democracy.
He hated the sight of war.
He then ended up becoming an educator at a military academy and was one of the very, very few Jews in the former Soviet Union who was able to retire with the rank of colonel.
Forty years ago, after facing a terrible anti-Semitic hate crime in his own apartment, he was able to avail himself of being granted refugee status, asylum, so he could come here.
Towards the end of his life, he was a foreign combatant in support of democracy.
And against the rise of fascism, doing everything he could to try to ensure that Trump would not get elected to office and that we will continue to have the opportunity to fight for a free and independent homeland of Ukraine.
His spirit lives on in me and in all of us who knew him, just as the spirit of all the Holocaust survivors, whether they're still with us or whether their memory lives in us today for a renewed commitment and investment in democracy and the principle of never again.
Thank you.
Thank you, Councilmember.
Moving on to Councilmember Bartlett, please.
Thank you, Madam Mayor, and thank you for your wonderful words.
My colleague, very inspirational.
Never again.
Indeed.
Very quick, I'd like to give $250 from my D13 account to the Kala Art Institute, the wonderful program.
Thank you, Councilmember Chaplin, for bringing this forward.
Great group over there.
Item 15 is my own item.
This is Sylvia Mendez's Spring Cultural Celebration.
It's a lot of fun.
Beautiful event.
I'm going to give it $250 myself and invite my colleagues to come check it out and possibly support if you can afford it.
But it's an amazing event.
It really is.
Of course, $250 as well to the Holocaust Remembrance Event.
And again, thank you for bringing it forward again, once again.
And I think that's about it.
Oh, and also, forgive me, the Music in the Elmwood Festival.
Thank you again.
I love this event.
Going for a long time.
Love it.
Please, $250 to this event as well.
Please enjoy yourselves.
Thank you.
Okay, moving on to Councilmember Chaplin.
Thank you.
In addition to relinquishing $500 to Kala, I would like to relinquish $250 to the Sylvia Mendez event.
$500 to the Holocaust Remembrance Day event.
And $250 to the Elmwood Festival.
Thank you all very much.
Okay, thank you.
Moving on to Councilmember O'Keefe.
Thank you.
I want to speak briefly about Item 19, which is the budget referral for the airplane-themed play structure in Thousand Oaks Park.
This structure is in honor of a man named Mikey Seltzer, who grew up in District 5, very close to the park, and unfortunately passed away last year, tragically.
There's his best friend, Peter, and members of his family are here, so they're going to speak a little more.
I don't want to upstage them.
I just wanted to say what an honor it is to be part of this memorial that's going to be for Mikey.
He was a lover of planes, and this is going to be an airplane theme.
I love a good, really touching memorial, and I love a good play structure for little kids.
It warms my heart to be part of such a lovely gesture.
I'll let them speak more about it, but I just wanted to say thank you so much for hopefully supporting it.
Thank you.
Councilmember Humbert.
Thank you, Madam Mayor.
Before I get started, just on enumerated items, I wanted to make sure to comment on Councilmember Shoshana's item.
I was privileged to, and she granted me the ability to co-sponsor it.
Colonel Seltzer, is that correct? Colonel Seltzer's life was cut short.
He was an Air Force colonel, as I understand it.
My father was an Air Force colonel, and he got to live out his life, so I felt it was important that I become involved as a co-sponsor of that item.
I'd like to contribute $250 to the CALA urgency item brought by Councilmember Taplin.
Let's see here.
Then, on items 16 and 17, I want to recognize that these were the two Holocaust remembrance items.
I want to recognize that former Councilmember Worthington was the original sponsor of the Holocaust Remembrance event.
Then, when he left, Councilmember Susan Wingraf carried it on for many years.
Now, I feel privileged to be a co-author of the current resolution.
Thank you for the opportunity to do that.
Then, I would reflect it in the agenda as my contribution for the Elmwood Music Festival.
I'd like to also contribute $250 to the Sylvia Mendez event.
Thank you.
Thank you, Councilmember.
Moving on to Councilmember Lunapara.
Thank you.
I would like to give $200 to the Sylvia Mendez celebration, $400 to the virtual Holocaust Remembrance Day program, $100 to the Music in the Elmwood, and $100 to the CALA Art Institute.
I'd also like to highlight item 12, the Sanctuary City Ordinance Referral, and item 1842, which makes it easier for state and local governments to establish public campaign financing programs.
Thanks.
Thank you.
Councilmember Keserwani.
Thank you very much, Madam Mayor.
I'd like to be recorded as donating $100 to each of the four events or items.
$100 to CALA Art Institute, $100 to the Holocaust Remembrance Day event, $100 to the Sylvia Mendez event, and $100 to the Elmwood event.
And I just wanted, for myself, highlight the budget referral I have put forward requesting $150,000 to complete the Ohlone Greenway safety improvements design.
This project has already secured $5.3 million in county funds, so this is a great leveraging.
I know this is going to be a very difficult budget, but I'm putting this forward because I think this makes a lot of fiscal sense.
And these intersections that are along the Greenway have been noted in our bike plan as being unsafe.
And so this project would enhance the safety for pedestrians and bicyclists and help people get to the future development at the North Berkeley BART station as well.
So I thank my colleagues for what I hope will be their unanimous support of that referral to be considered in June.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Councilmember Bacoby? I feel like it's a live auction.
I also want to add from my council account $250 to the CALA Arts event, $250 to the Sylvia Mendez event, $500 for the Holocaust Memorial event, and $250 for Music in the Elmwood.
Also, I'd like just to comment very briefly on a couple of things.
One, I'd want to thank Vice Mayor and soon to be demoted Councilmember Bartlett for his appointment to the Police Accountability Board.
We're nearing a full complement on the PAB, which is great.
So thank you for doing that.
And thank you, the mayor, for authoring the referral on the Sanctuary City ordinance.
I was proud to be able to be a co-sponsor of the item with you.
And thank you to Councilmember Tragoob for his authorship of the resolution in support of SB 42.
Also was honored to be able to be a part of that.
And it's, you know, supporting public financing where we can is great for making it possible for more people to run for office.
Thank you.
Thank you, Councilmember.
Councilmember O'Keefe? Thanks, Mayor.
I was so excited about the airplane, I forgot to mention that I would also like to donate $200 to each of the three things that aren't the Holocaust thing, because I already am on record for donating to the Holocaust Remembrance.
Thank you.
All right.
Thank you very much.
So, Councilmember, I just, Tragoob, I know you had asked to remove item, was it 11A? A and B.
A and B.
And I believe it takes three to pull to action.
That is correct.
Well, it takes three, so are there two other people to join? Okay.
Okay.
We have two other Councilmembers who are joining, so we will be removing items 11A and B from the consent calendar and moving it to action.
So, I will hold my comments on that, but I do want to add some comments on some of these other items, just to say that in addition to the Holocaust Remembrance Day, we've already given $500 for that.
But we'd also like to give $500 from our office to item 15 for the Sylvia Mendez events, as well as $500 to the music in the Elmwood, item 21, and Councilmember Taplin's item, $500 to the Kala as well.
So, thank you all so much for that.
And with that, we will move on to comments, public comments on consent calendar and information items only, please.
And so that means if you were planning on speaking to 11A or B, that's now on action.
So, just to make sure that that's clear for folks, so this would not be your time to speak on it.
Thank you.
Hi, I'm Ann Pernick.
I'm with Safe Cities at Stand at Earth.
We work with local government leaders and advocates to pass local policies to help transition communities to renewable energy.
I want to applaud the mayor, council, and staff for your leadership in creating a new approach to cutting air and climate pollution from existing homes with the amendments to BASO.
This policy will help the city meet its climate goals, decrease air pollution, and help homes across the community modernize and lower their energy bills.
The work to cut air and climate pollution from our buildings has faced aggressive opposition from gas utilities and the fossil fuel industry at large.
Despite that, there's new momentum in local government action.
Multiple cities are moving forward, and Berkeley's new policy on existing homes, which has been in development for years, building on earlier energy disclosure requirements, can now be replicated in other cities.
Several local governments we work with, including in other states, are really interested.
I want to thank you again for your leadership and the opportunity to speak tonight.
Thank you so much for your comments.
Hi, good evening.
I'm here to speak in regards to item 16.
You say that you're actively working to combat anti-Semitism, racism, bigotry, etc.
Your work starts right here.
If you're really behind what you're saying, you have to start fighting the hate that's right here in this room.
Anti-Zionism is not a political way of thinking.
It's a form of hate targeted against Jews.
Hate targeted against Jews.
It's also called anti-Semitism.
You can call it whatever you want.
It's hate targeted against Jews, and this noxious hate is being spread here week after week by former elected officials and other members of the public.
Let me be clear.
I'm a Zionist.
I believe in the right of my people, like all other peoples, for a homeland in their ancestral land.
Thank you for your comments.
Folks, please keep your comments to yourself.
Next speaker.
Hi, I'm Carol Bennett.
Go ahead and pull the mic a little bit closer to you.
There you go.
Thank you.
I'm Carol Bennett-Simmons.
I'm an elementary teacher, and I've been teaching in Berkeley schools for 31 years, but I have retired about 25 years ago.
But meanwhile, I've been busy with doing things for the community, been part of the Berkeley Historical Society Board, and helped found an organization you've been hearing from, which is called CHIA.
And we are called California Habitats Indigenous Activists because we work with indigenous plants, and we've created a fabulous garden on the Ohlone Greenway, which is now part of a linear park.
And we feel under threat by the plans for the transportation department, which is going to be moving heavy machinery through there.
And they're calling it an improvement plan, but really we're calling it a possible destruction of our garden plan.
So we're hoping that they will decide not to widen.
Thank you.
Did you want to finish that sentence? I have something to give you.
Oh, okay.
Thank you.
You can pass it over here.
Thank you.
Go ahead.
Next speaker.
We've got a lot of public comments, so feel free to just come up as soon as the other person's done, okay? Thank you.
Thank you, Mayor and council members, for listening to us today.
I'm one of the cofounders of the CHIA group, the native California native plant group that's been working on the Ohlone Greenway for the last almost 27 years.
So we're very concerned about destruction of our plants, which are habitat bee plants.
We've worked with botanists and entomologists, and they register our project as having the most number of bees of any garden that size in Berkeley.
So I would like to draw the attention of the mayor and the council to measure L, since we are classified as a Berkeley linear park.
Part of that measure, if we understand it correctly, prevents the destruction and removal of any plants in a park without a vote on that issue.
So that's what I wanted to say to you today.
Please consider that, and we're very thankful.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you for your comments.
Hello, my name is Wendy Caesar.
I live here in Berkeley, and I'm one of those CHIA members.
So why do we get out there for over 27 years and work on this part of the Greenway? The people who go by help us remember.
Some stop and chat, some jog and wave, and even some on those fast bikes, as they go, say, looks great.
Thank you.
So being outside is healthy, and they know this on some level, and then they're showering that back on us, which is a lovely thing.
It's a multi-use linear park filled with various activities, various ages.
So we're hoping it doesn't get narrowed to one particular group.
It doesn't need to be expanded and widened and regraded.
Let's keep it basically as it is so that many different people can use it.
It's a beautiful spot, a gem of Berkeley.
You are all invited.
Please come.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
Hi, City Council.
My name is Mike Dentles.
I'm also one of the volunteers with the CHIA group along the Ohlone Greenway, and I want to invite you to come out.
We have work parties every second and fourth Saturday between 11 and 1, and a wonderful potluck.
Our group and project is really unique.
As you go from Richmond through UC Berkeley along the Ohlone Greenway, you won't find such a diverse collection of plants anywhere else.
It's a really special place, and the plants have begun to naturalize and reseed and kind of do their own thing.
You'll see that I'm wearing a Pacific Crest Trail, and I love experiencing nature.
But one of my favorite places in Berkeley is the plants along the Greenway because they're native plants that you could see on hikes in Tilden Park and, you know, the wonderful regional parks that we have.
So it's just a wonderful place to be educated about the nature that's around us.
Thank you.
Thanks for your comments.
Hi, Mayor and City Council.
Thank you for having us.
I'm here to respectfully request Item 13, Ohlone Greenway Safety Improvement Project, to be pulled from the consent calendar until it is first approved by Berkeley voters.
The proposed project is in violation of Measure L by essentially turning the Greenway into a transit corridor without the vote of the people.
Berkeley-owned portions of Ohlone Greenway were designated as linear city parks in 2019 at the July 23rd City Council meeting.
Item 33, Measure L, which was approved by City of Berkeley voters at the municipal election on November 3rd, 1986, states in part that no public parks or public open space owned or controlled or leased by the City of Berkeley or agency thereof.
Sorry, your time is up.
Okay.
Thank you.
Hi, everybody.
So nice to see you all.
I'm here tonight to thank you in person for your generous support of the Holocaust Remembrance Day program.
Last year, more than 800 people watched the program, and this year we're hoping for more.
Our theme this year is remembrance, resistance, and resilience.
Our time is running out to try to capture the story of our survivors.
We're so lucky to have here in the Bay Area and in Berkeley Holocaust survivors who are ready and willing to share their stories with us.
And we know that the gold standard for Holocaust education is to hear what happened firsthand.
My appreciation to Mayor Ishii and to City Manager Paul Bundagan for your participation in our program.
We just finished the program, and it's really fabulous.
I can't wait to get feedback from you.
I also want to thank Councilmembers Trigger and O'Keefe.
I've got a minute over here for you.
Thank you.
Okay.
Thank you.
The Holocaust Remembrance Program will be aired on Berkeley Community Media Channel 33 on April 24th at 2 p.m.
It will also be available on YouTube at 2 p.m.
on April 24th.
Thank you for helping to ensure that our survivors' stories live on.
Although what they experienced happened more than 80 years ago, I believe you share my belief that their stories continue to be very relevant, especially now.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hello.
Thank you.
I want to thank the City Council for your generous support of Holocaust Remembrance Day, and especially for Mayor Ishii for inviting Sunny DeWitt to come share her experience this year, especially after she was heckled so rudely last year.
Holocaust Remembrance Day, I believe, offers us the opportunity to do two separate but intertwined things.
One of them is to recognize the unique story and suffering of the Jewish people and the unique dynamics of anti-Jewish hate in the way that it fuels extremism from across the political spectrum, scapesgoats the Jewish people for both imagined and real power that our community thankfully does have.
And the second thing, though, is to share really in our common and unified humanity to recognize that hate across all different kinds are intertwined with each other and fuel each other, and together with the Jews, the Gypsies, Roma, and queer communities were targeted by the Nazis as well, and we need to stand in solidarity in Berkeley today.
Thank you.
Thank you for your comment.
Thank you.
Several folks who are willing to see their time.
Can they identify themselves? OK, thank you.
And you might want to.
You're tall, so you might want to.
Yeah, there you go.
Thank you.
Good evening, council members and Miss Mayor.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak today.
My name is Peter Case, and I'm here this evening to speak in support of the Parks Project that Council Member O'Keefe mentioned at Thousand Oaks to honor Michael Seltzer, a son of this community, a devoted father, son, brother, a gifted pilot, and a cherished friend to so many.
Mikey's legacy, a life of service, is one that deserves to be honored in a way that reflects the joy, inspiration, and wonder that he brought to so many around him.
As Council Member O'Keefe mentioned, Mike passed away in October, and after several years of battling cancer, many of us today are still coming to grips with the tremendous loss we feel from his absence.
And in the weeks after his passing, we began to envision a place where future generations of Berkeley children could imagine themselves as pilots soaring high above the trees at Thousand Oaks.
And we've been so moved by the outpouring of support from neighbors and friends that to date we've raised, just in the last month, over $20,000 to support this project.
From when he was just a toddler and uttered his first full sentence, plane takes off, while watching planes at the Oakland airport with his father, who's here tonight, and to when he first took to the skies as a teenage pilot, it was clear to those who knew him that flying was what he was meant to do.
But Mikey was so much more than a highly decorated pilot and an instructor.
He was an exceptional father and partner, a loving brother, son, friend, neighbor, and his presence in people's lives made them better, not necessarily because he told them how to be better, but because he made them believe they already were.
A park is a place where kids dream about what is possible and where communities come together.
Thousand Oaks is where we got together as kids over 30 years ago to play sports and just hang out while eating slices of Zachary's pizza.
It's also where we return decades later with our own children.
And so we imagine children climbing into the airplane structure, inspired to learn about flight, with curiosity and courage.
And we very much hope that you support this project.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you for your comment.
Mayor, council members, thank you for letting me speak here in support of item 19.
I'm a PhD student here at Berkeley, so I'm a nerd.
I'll hit you guys with some facts.
The Bay is one of the aviation capitals of the world, as you guys know.
Despite this interest in new pilot certifications have dropped by over 30 to 40 percent in the last five years here in the Bay alone.
And so I strongly believe that introducing children into aviation at a young age through the introduction of this memorial and this place structure at the park will help expose more children to careers in aviation and STEM and bring more people into this exciting new world.
Lastly, planes are cool.
I love planes.
I wish to be able to be a pilot myself one day and certainly support this memorial for Mikey Seltzer.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm new to this.
I'm speaking with a neighbor that has some concerns about the airplane projects.
Do I get an extra minute? Yes.
If he's giving you his minute, you can.
And then just move the mic closer so you can be heard.
I'm so nervous.
I've never done this before.
Oh, no.
Welcome.
And just maybe just tilt the mic a little towards you.
Thank you.
Would you like me to sing? We understand and we respect the desire to honor Air Force pilot Michael Seltzer.
But we feel the process is not being conducted in a thoughtful way.
It seems to be moving along very quickly with very little transparency or input from the community.
So Cole and I, for instance, represent the neighbors.
We live literally directly across the street from the park that the aircraft is being proposed for.
We feel the proposed location in the northwest corner of Thousand Oaks Park is compact.
And it's a it is a compact rather and nicely undeveloped area with old broke trees, picnic tables, Blackberry Creek, which was daylighted years ago to improve the natural beauty of the park setting.
It's a green and shady space enjoyed by people in the community of all ages as a place to gather, eat lunch, visit with friends, rest and play with their dogs.
We do not believe there is ample space in this location for the proposed structure, and we feel it will take away from the natural beauty and the pristine nature, the trees, the creek, the whole vibe there.
There are two other large play structures in very close proximity, including the top lot at the top of the park and the playground at Thousand Oaks Elementary School.
If approved, might it be better to place the proposed aircraft structure near those areas or in the large lawn next to the Thousand Oaks Elementary School playground? There's a lot of space there.
And we're also regarding the chosen location.
We're curious who has legal jurisdiction jurisdiction over all of these areas and are they being consulted? In addition, the project is expected to cost two hundred fifty thousand to half a million dollars.
And we feel there are other more pressing needs in Berkeley for this type of civic funding in terms of the Thousand Oaks Park area alone.
It's been three years since the winter storms badly damaged the Ensenada side fence and the entry gate.
Neither have been repaired since.
The picnic tables are very worn out.
They're carved up.
There's constant graffiti and vandalization.
And there's cleanups that we do as neighbors by month twice a week, rather twice a month, rather two times a month.
Oh, please.
I just want your time.
Your time.
I just get this last thought.
I know.
I'm really sorry.
I'm very strict about timing.
I got it.
I want to say something about myself.
If someone if someone else wants to get it's going to it's going to give you a minute.
OK, you're so kind.
Yes.
Thank you.
So new to this.
The existing playground at Thousand Oaks Elementary hasn't been updated in decades.
And Berkeley Unified School District is facing a seven and a half million budget cut this year.
We feel there are potentially other ways to honor Michael Seltzer's memory and improve the spaces he spent time in that are less expensive and less intrusive.
For example, fixing up Thousand Oaks Park in his honor, dedicating the project to him, adding beautiful benches in his honor like those recently added to Peralta Park.
I invite each of you to visit the northwest corner of Thousand Oaks Park and witness the natural beauty with its magnificent redwood trees and creek for yourself and ask yourself.

Segment 4

Is there realistically enough space to install an airplane climbing structure there? We love this corner of the park because it's open, natural, and undeveloped, and we'd like it to remain that way.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you to everyone who gave your minutes.
I appreciate it.
I know a minute feels very fast.
Can we share our minutes? Yes, you can definitely share your minutes.
I'm Ellen, and I'm here from Kala Art Institute.
Hi, I'm Mayumi from Kala Art Institute also, and thank you so much for your support.
Yeah, we're basically here just to say a big, heartfelt thank you for supporting arts and culture in Berkeley, and you guys are all invited to Kala Art Institute.
We're open Tuesday through Saturday, 12 to 5, and we really appreciate your support, and thank you, Councilmember Taplin, for bringing this up at the last minute to the group.
So, thank you.
Yeah, I just want to say or add that your support will really give us financial aid to offer financial aid and tuition assistance to the students and the adults and young and teens all intergenerational program that supports arts and also the cultural and connection to really build a community together.
So, thank you so much for Councilmember Taplin and Mayor Ishii and everybody else.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah, you can always have less time.
That's always okay.
Thank you.
Good evening, Mayor and Councilmembers.
My name is Hanzo Aguilar, and I proudly serve as your Director of Police Accountability.
I just want to express my gratitude for two items on the agenda, or three items, rather, the appointment of a new board member.
As Councilmember Blackabee mentioned, we were quickly trying to get to our number, so this is very helpful.
I'd also like to express appreciation for the Police Accountability Day proclamation, even though we didn't bring it in the traditional format.
I think this is something to be proud of as a city.
This gesture honors the city's national leadership and civilian oversight and reinforces collective commitment to transparency, accountability, and community trust, and a lot of alum are in the room.
Vice Mayor Bartlett served in the PRC.
We also have one of our NACo esteemed board members behind us, George Perez-Feliz.
We have other PRC members, George Lipman.
So, we're really proud of our tradition here.
Just want to express gratitude for that.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hello, my name is Robert.
First, I'd like to thank you all for all your hard work.
I'm coming to speak.
I want to oppose any ceasefire resolutions.
They've been divisive.
It has to be something on the consent items or information items only.
I don't know what a consent item is.
So, on our agenda, we have a section that's called consent, and what you're talking about is the ceasefire is not on our consent agenda.
It's not on this agenda, actually, at all.
But there is a period at the end of the meeting.
If you would like, that's public comment for items not listed on the agenda.
Okay.
Thank you.
Sorry about that.
Hi.
I go by my Jewish middle name, Rivka, named for my great-grandmother who was murdered by the Nazis, along with many other family members.
But it pains me deeply that people who care so much about the horrors of what is happening in Gaza and happening in the West Bank are pitted against.
I'm sorry, are you speaking on a consent item? Yes, Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Okay.
Thank you.
Which I greatly appreciate it, and I thank Susan Weingraff for that.
But it pains me that it's become a thing where people who care deeply about preserving the Holocaust as a living reminder of oppression are pitted against people who hate what's happening in Palestine and want more action on that.
And why can't we find our common ground as people who care deeply about human beings, Palestinian, Jewish, whatever? Thank you.
Why can't we all get along? Have we heard that somewhere before? That was great.
Hi.
My name is Donald Simon.
I am a Berkeley resident, a Berkeley business owner.
I'm also a board member of the California Clean Money Campaign.
And I'm here to speak in support of the resolution that's been proposed by Council Member Tragoob about supporting SB 42.
In Berkeley, we have public financing.
In California, everywhere else, except for charter cities, it's banned.
SB 42 would not implement a public campaign financing program.
It would simply remove the barrier that precludes it so that in the future, it could be adopted if California so chose.
$650 million has been spent on California state and local races just since 2020.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist or an accountant to understand who gets the influence.
It's special interest and the wealthy, and everybody else is minimized as a consequence.
This gives us an opportunity to, in the future, level the playing field.
And we also thank the co-sponsors and hope that you will send your good words based on your experience to our representatives in Sacramento to do the same.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
I didn't get a chance to comment on that, but I also support that as well.
I wasn't able to join as a co-author, but as a longtime league member, I'm definitely very supportive.
And thank you.
I'd like to discuss item number 27.
I'm glad to hear that it has been tacitly removed from consent, but I'd like to use the minute anyway because I had to come here.
I didn't know it was going to be appealed.
And these things keep coming up on consent.
And I do not think that it is really in the public interest that land use decisions are being made at the Landmarks Preservation Commission by aggrieved anti-development activists in the middle of the night in meetings that are not recorded.
And then the only opportunity that we have is to come to this meeting, which is five hours long, and find out whether a member of the public paid $1,500 to initiate the appeal.
I would like this body to get the instinct that when they see these things on consent, maybe it's time to exercise some oversight.
And in particular, in the last couple seconds here, I would like to point out that there is actually not a petition attached to this anywhere.
It is a highly unusual landmark designation.
That's all I got.
Thank you.
Thanks for your comments.
First comment here on item seven, always pleased to see options receiving monies.
Excellent substance use program.
And I'm hoping there will be more clarity as to the transition from the Mental Health Services Act to the Behavioral Health Services Act, which has incorporated substance use, and that how this is actually going to proceed the planning forward.
Also, the Mental Health Division has discussed or is considering taking, asking for a waiver from the state for the housing element so that they don't have to commit the full 30% to housing that was covered under Prop.
1.
I also want to speak to item, the Holocaust Remembrance Day.
And I want to..
Carol, I'm sorry, your time's up.
There's a minute over here for you, Carol.
Carol, you've got another minute.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Anti-Semitism Anti-Semitism is very much alive in Berkeley.
And I can state on this Thursday, I'm accompanying my friend to court for a restraining order.
For three years, she has had to hear her neighbor refer to her as Jew bitch.
Also had to hear that shouted up from under the floor.
This culminated in her neighbor finally knocking her down to the ground, causing her injuries, covering her mouth.
And this is something where I also has a friend have been said, shouted out at, you Jew bitches, blocked together, although I'm Italian and Croatian, just for being friends with her and also threatened.
She has had to live with this.
This is going on in our community and anti-Semitism exists here.
It's really sad in this time and age.
And that's why an event such as Holocaust Remembrance Day needs to continue to exist.
Thank you.
Hi there.
Good evening, everybody.
I want to continue Sylvia's comments.
We need to protect our native plant garden.
So Measure L is still in effect and it requires a vote of the people to use or to develop a public open space or park for any purpose other than that public park or open space unless a state of emergency has been declared.
Measure L further protects the native plants adjacent to the Ohlone pathway between Peralta and Gilman.
The plants cannot be dug out for the purpose of widening the pathway as proposed in the Ohlone Greenway Safety Improvements Project.
According to a recently circulated petition, over 520 Berkeley cyclists and pedestrians who use the Greenway pathway between Peralta and Gilman along the native plant pollinator garden on a regular basis are against the widening of the pathway, including myself.
I signed that petition because it would harm the native plants as well as the birds, butterflies, bees and other insects and pollinators that depend on this garden for their survival and biodiversity.
Removing the plants to widen the pathway would harm the delicate ecosystem.
Just want to say Zionism is an ideology.
Anti-Zionism is not hate.
It's just an ideology.
And there's more Christian Zionists than Jewish Zionists.
Your time is over.
Thank you.
Holocaust remembrance, a very good idea because it's very necessary to see the equivalency with the Gaza genocide going on today.
Why is it so important now? The West Bank is being divided in half for annexation to the Zionist entity sometime soon.
Gaza is going to be empty to people, whether it's by deportation or whether it's by killing them.
It's necessary to make that ceasefire that's been so long overdue here.
You've been sitting on your hands for that one.
I'm saying that very nicely.
You need to do something about it.
They're saying that got or that Berkeley is so far ahead of the game on that, so far behind on that.
Make sure you're staying on topic for this.
Stop the genocide.
Consent items.
Thank you.
Coming back to speak on a consent item.
Yes.
Consent item number 16 is Berkeley Holocaust Remembrance Day, which speaks about hatred in all forms.
And so I'd like to say that I think the best way to combat hatred is not necessarily by passing resolutions, but another way, which I've suggested here before, which is listening circles, emphasis on listening.
We need to listen to each other.
My ideas and my thoughts are far too complex on the subject to say in one minute, so we need to have a place where we can listen to each other and circle so that we understand that we're all together, we're all human, and we're all trying to do the best that we can.
And we're all in pursuit of justice and peace and things like that.
So I would like to propose this as an alternative to any resolutions you might pass on this subject.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I'm supporting item number one on BASO and also on the Holocaust.
I just don't understand how you can recognize it, which I mean, it's not that you shouldn't, but it's somewhat hypocritical when you can recognize the Holocaust of one group of people and not the Holocaust of another.
Palestinians being murdered, killed every day is a Holocaust, a genocide, ethnic cleansing.
It's murder.
And if you guys are talking about Sanctuary City, how can you be in Sanctuary City if you're not Sanctuary City for everyone? If you don't recognize the humanity of Palestinians, then like what the hell? I don't understand how you can not.
And anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism.
Your time is up.
Thank you for your comments.
I get it.
I understand that.
Your comment time is over.
You know, I'm very strict with the timing.
You don't have to be so rude though.
You don't.
You don't have to be very disrespectful.
I think I'm being pretty fair about your timing.
I understand that.
You think you are, but you're not.
Okay.
You can sit down.
Thank you.
So we have four hands raised on Zoom.
The first hand is Andrea Pritchett.
Thank you.
And just folks, just a reminder where we are at right now.
We are on the council consent items.
So this is public comment on consent items and information items only.
Thank you.
Go ahead, Andrea.
Council members, I'm addressing item number 10, police accountability day.
I'd like to celebrate by actually giving the police accountability board some real power.
What do you think? Real power to initiate investigations.
There was a police shooting on Sunday.
Now, we have no idea if that was a, you know, if a justified shooting or not.
The question is, will the police accountability board be able to initiate an investigation and access the documents that they need in order to produce the results that the people of Berkeley voted for them to be able to provide access to public documents without getting stonewalled by the police department.
They also have to have independent council to be able to defend them when they're trying to access and further a subpoena.
So let's really celebrate.
Let's give them real power this time.
Thank you for your comment.
Next commenter.
It's okay.
Get back in.
Daniel Brownson.
Daniel Brownson.
I second Andrea's demands for a more empowered police accountability board.
Additionally, anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism.
One of my best friends is Palestinian.
His family can trace their origins in that land for literal centuries, back before Islam existed, when they were Christian, and before that, they were Jewish.
So stop conflating the two.
I could convert to Judaism and get given a house in Israel.
He can't go back, even though that's where his family has always been from.
Thank you.
Okay.
Next is..
Two more? Two more.
Yeah.
Caller with a phone number that ends in 191.
Department in the whole country.
Beautiful.
I lived through it for 60 years.
And in the memory of Dash Butler, he was one of the greatest, Berkeley, the chief of police, who was great help when one of my employees embezzled $1 million in 1980.
And I really feel it.
He appointed two policemen to guard my house in Euclid for two years.
It was great.
Holocaust, item number 16.
Yes.
Zionism is not semitic.
Both, by the way, the Palestinians, Arabs, and Jews are cousins.
They are the children of Abraham.
And we should not at all, we're never again, again, means never again.
We're humans.
We're never given a choice, what country, what race, whether it be humans, animals, or trees.
Everybody wake up and pray for peace.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay.
We have speaker Erica.
Erica, you should be able to unmute.
Can you hear me? Yes.
Okay.
Yeah.
Hi.
I wanted to echo the person who said, let's try to find common ground.
I believe her name was Rivka.
I really agree with that.
I think it's great that you did this Holocaust Day.
I've been to Dachau.
It is one of the most chilling things I've ever seen in my life.
And we need to really acknowledge that there's antisemitism now as well.
Continuing on this thought, I think we can all agree we want to be anti-fascist, right? And anti-Nazi.
And it's pretty scary what's going on now.
But I think along those lines of anti-oppression, anti-occupation, we need to address what's happening to the Palestinians right now.
It is a genocide.
We have to look at that too.
And I think, you know, JVP and others say never again for anyone.
And that has to include the people in Gaza.
It just has to.
It has to include anyone.
Thank you.
Thanks for your comments.
Sorry, your time is up.
Are there any other comments online? No.
Okay.
All right.
Well, council members, I just want to check to make sure nobody has any other comments before we move forward.
Okay.
Oh, yes.
Thank you.
I just want to address something that came up.
There's a little bit of misinformation about the airplane play structure item.
The proposal, I just want everyone to be clear.
The proposal is for a budget referral only.
The design and the location of the structure within the park is completely up in the air.
And that process will involve quite a bit of public input.
So I just wanted to make that clear.
Thank you.
Thanks for clarifying that.
I know that that can be confusing, especially when there's renderings of images.
I think that that makes it seem like it's already complete.
So thank you for saying that.
And council member Humbert.
Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor.
I just wanted to confirm looking at item number 20 on the consent calendar that that is on the consent calendar for purposes of taking no action.
Thank you.
I really appreciate the process, going over the process.
Thank you, everyone.
Council member Taflin.
Oh, I was going to move adoption of the consent calendar.
A second from council member Bartlett.
But council member Kessler-Waning, did you have a comment? Yes, I just wanted to speak to some of the public comments we heard about the budget referral related to the Ohlone Greenway safety improvements.
I just want to note that measure L doesn't speak to preservation of any native plant garden.
So I just wanted to clarify that.
It is true that I designated the Ohlone Greenway a linear park.
That does not mean that this linear park cannot change.
I also want to note that the segment from Peralta to Gilman is a two-way shared use pathway that is currently 10 feet.
And our bike plan recommends that a shared pathway should have a minimum total of 12 feet where feasible.
And that is to ensure safety of all users.
Some of the native plant garden folks have written about the high speed of bicyclists.
What we are trying to do is make the Greenway safer for folks.
And I'm more than happy to work with folks to find another appropriate place where people can continue to engage in planting native plants.
But I cannot compromise on the safety of users of this Greenway.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, council member.
I appreciate you going over that as well.
So we have a motion.
So could you please take the roll? Sure.
To approve the consent calendar, council member Kisarwani? Yes.
Kaplan? Yes.
Bartlett? Yes.
Tregub? Aye.
O'Keefe? Yes.
Lackabay? Yes.
Lunapara? Yes.
Humbert? Yes.
And Mayor Ishii? Yes.
Okay.
Motion carries.
Thank you all.
So we are going to take a brief break for folks that are saying we now have one item on our action calendar.
That's items 11a and b.
So I will give just so folks understand what's going to happen next.
I'm going to give five minutes to speak from our representative from PAB, Josh Satano, who's here somewhere, I believe.
And five minutes also for Hansel Aguilar.
And then, excuse me, gentlemen.
I'm sorry.
Can we? Okay.
And then, sorry.
So that's for item 11a.
And then for item 11b is council member Blackabay is the author.
So allow him to speak to that.
The chief will also be on hand to answer any questions about either of those.
And if she would like the time to speak, she can as well.
So I just want to make sure folks are clear about what that looks like.
And we are going to take a 10-minute break.
I think we need to stand and stretch.
And, you know, we believe in self-care and health here.
So we need to do that.
Thank you, everyone.
So So You don't have one I'm glad it's happening on break time so I don't make a fool out of myself So if you have a preference, actually I want to make sure they have a preference.
Oh, I have to ask him if he's doing the coordination.
I think he should be okay.
Yeah, I think he should be okay.
If not, we can make a decision.
I'd rather have you have a chance.
Okay.
Hey, how are you? Good.
Busy, busy.
I'm getting calls.
Okay.
Okay.
Yeah.
That's it.
I'm getting pinged at work nonstop.
It's been kind of busy, huh? Yeah.
Even between me and you, it's been kind of busy.
Just keep working through my list.
I only say something when I need to.
Hey, how are you? Good.

Segment 5

Let's connect later.
Council members, can I have you come to the front, please? Council members O'Keefe and Lunaparra? Thank you.
I feel like I'm in a grocery store right now.
All right.
Hi, everyone.
We are back.
Thank you so much for your patience this evening between all of the mic situations.
It's just making our meeting longer.
Okay.
I'm sorry, folks.
We're going to have quiet.
Thank you.
We are coming back in.
So for people that missed it, we moved items 11A and 11B from consent to action.
And because these items are being taken together, what I want to do is the presentations.
We have folks from PAB and ODPA, Office of the Director of Police Accountability.
And we also have some comments from Chief Lewis.
That's for item 11A.
And then Council member Blackaby has some comments for item 11B as the author of that item.
And then we will take public comment, and then we'll go into council comments and questions.
Sound good? Okay.
All right.
Take it away.
Please introduce yourselves.
Can you turn on the mic? And just make sure you're close because these ones are, yeah.
If y'all didn't know, this is my first time ever being at a city council meeting and presenting.
My name is Josh Cayetano, and I am the chair of Berkeley's Police Accountability Board.
I'm also a graduate of Berkeley Law and a proud resident of District 3.
I'm actually going to pass it over to my fellow board member, Kitty Calavita, who is the primary author on this report, and I will take over afterwards.
Good evening, mayor and council members.
My name is Kitty Calavita, and I was the chair of the PAB's subcommittee on the Downtown Task Force Texting Offenses.
As you remember several years ago, the community and its leaders were shocked when they saw text messages that had been sent by members of the Downtown Task Force.
Some of these messages said things like, how's Operation 100 going? Referring to the expectation to meet 100 arrests in a month.
And another one said, Stern is going to come back with a new strain that wipes out the homeless population.
We'll just ride by the bodies.
And another said, Shadaddy's Obama phone screwed up the video.
Actually, he used a different verb.
I'm not going to say it.
I've been on this oversight body for seven years, first on the PRC and now on the PAB.
And in my seven-year tenure, nothing has eroded community trust as much as this incident, which drew media attention from across the state, from the Los Angeles Times to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The PAB launched a policy and practices review, which it was our duty to do under the Charter, and we worked for many months to access the information we needed.
Ultimately, we made several recommendations for reform and presented those recommendations to the Council's Public Safety Committee a couple of months ago, where our report received a summary negative review with no questions asked.
Subsequently, Councilmember Blackabay submitted a resolution, which is on the agenda tonight, that incorporated two of our recommendations for which we are very grateful.
But given that resolution, it is perplexing that our recommendations were treated as an omnibus package and rejected altogether.
And now I'm going to turn it over to Chair Cayetano for some more details.
Thank you, Kitty.
I want to start by apologizing to the Council for, and I wanted to clarify any confusion that our report and recommendations caused.
The four recommendations that are listed on items 11A of the current agenda are not an omnibus bill, and they are not the only recommendations that the PAB and the Public Safety Committee were asked to consider.
The Committee has made an unqualified negative recommendation to Council, but at the same moment asked this Council to consider a resolution that affirms some of our recommendations, namely sub-item 2, adopting a robust resolution ensuring full and meaningful accountability, and sub-item 4, calling on California legislators to extend the prohibition on arrest quotas.
We think that in light of that resolution introduced by Councilmember Blackabee, the negative recommendation is not warranted, and indeed sends the message that the Council has no confidence in the Board's diligence, expertise, recommendations, and effort, which are entirely geared to ensuring that policing in Berkeley is fair, transparent, and accountable.
Second, the PAB made a recommendation in its report for BPD to adopt a policy banning explicit and implicit arrest quotas in Berkeley.
The Chief stated that a policy was not necessary because Berkeley Police Department does not have a practice of arrest quotas.
We deeply disagree and ask this Council to direct the BPD to implement sample quota ban policy on page 95 of our report.
I would direct the Council's attention to the slides that we prepared, which were evidence in our Downtown Task Force report.
It says, I was at Kevin Reese's birthday party just now, and Dave was there, and we briefly talked about Downtown Task Force.
He said, just kick ass, arrest people, have fun, and get me results, and I will never jam you about overtime.
How's Operation 100 going? Going all right.
I like that way of thinking.
I'm going to come with a bike for a sport game.
You do shit around the city to go forward.
I'll come up with a cool award for the winner, maybe like a week-long challenge.
Famous people arrested, you get extra points.
81 arrests, we can do 19 by Friday for sure.
I was thinking whoever gets the least arrests today does the waxing.
Even if the BPD does not have a practice of encouraging implicit quotas, we do not write policy to correct past acts.
We write policy to prevent future acts from happening.
Written policy is the only way true accountability exists.
We have a policy against police chokeholds in Berkeley to prevent any sworn officer from choking anyone in Berkeley.
There's a statement from this Council and from the community about how we expect our sworn police officers to act.
Let me tell you what Berkeley Police Department policy does say about quotas.
There's a single mention of quota in 1319 pages of its policy manual.
Section 500.3 says, this department does not establish ticket quotas, singling out tickets, and the number of arrests or citations issued by any officer shall not be used as the sole criterion for evaluating officer overall performance.
We submit that it should not be any criterion and that the BPD, that this Council directs BPD to implement the policy that we have provided in clear detail.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And Hansel Aguilar is also going to speak for five minutes.
If you could give him five minutes.
I won't take my full five minutes and I appreciate the conversation and it's very, very uplifting tonight here to proclamations, but now we're going to talk about a more serious matter.
And I think as a community, we could all respect that we want to be on the other side of this, whatever this is, but I think we should be coming out better on the other side of this.
And I, there's opportunity here to take accountability.
I'll also take accountability for any confusion, the report and the way it was submitted cost.
It was the intent of our office to make sure that it was fully representing the hard work that the body did here.
And I just also want to indicate that our office exercise a provision within the commissioner's manual that allows for a companion report.
And this is reserved as the commission's manual reads for the city manager.
When they, one of their commissions or board makes a report, the city manager can submit a report to give another view or additional information for the council to consider.
So our report attempted to do that.
We provided eight recommendations that went to, or intended to go to council, two for the city manager and two for the community.
Some of them already been discussed, but one I'd like to start is the final one, which I made mention of at the public safety committee.
And it's to adopt a resolution and issue in a formal apology.
So a lot of the new board member, excuse me, council members are new, so they were not in office when the news came out.
But a lot of individual council members did make statements to the effect that this does not represent our city.
But the community yet has to hear a collective apology, a formal apology.
And I think if we want to come out better on the other side of this, I think it's proper.
My role in the city is to build trust between the community and the police.
And I aim to do that, but we need to do that truthfully and in a way that reflects the values of this community.
There were other recommendations and for the sake of time, I won't get into the weeds of, but I think this incident, this case, it was an opportunity for us to take a look at where we are and reflect.
And we have some system gaps.
And council member, former board member Blackby indicated that we in one instance, whereas in resolution encouraged our office and a path to work with the city manager and the police chief to continue to use the mechanisms for policy review.
We aim to do that.
So we just want the community to be reaffirmed that the system gaps we noted, they will not be left here regardless of whatever option or action the council takes tonight.
And we do believe that we can strengthen not only for us, but for the community members in the state of California.
There are some system reforms.
We called onto a legislative action for reforming code section 1215, 12519, which is an opportunity for different offices around the state to tap into the attorney general.
And that, if we reform that to call into state legislature to include civilian oversight, we'll now have access that can benefit the whole community in California and also the city of Berkeley.
And I also want to make sure quickly that we recognize that there were some missteps in terms of communication, what was being told to the community about this event.
I believe we still have system gaps there, and we need to strengthen our protocols within our internal infrastructure to make sure it doesn't happen again.
I yield the rest of my time to the chair.
So I clarify one thing that I said when I said we disagree.
I mean, we disagree that policy is not necessary.
We also disagree that this back here does not represent encouraging implicit quotas.
We actually have no visibility into what the police department is currently doing with respect to arrest quotas.
But to the extent that the chief agrees that arrest quotas or encouraging arrest quotas, explicit, implicit, otherwise, we invite the chief to craft this policy with us as the council directs.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Chief, did you want to address anything? Yeah.
All right.
Good evening.
So thank you, Madam Mayor, for the opportunity to make a couple comments.
And I want to say very clearly to start that I completely agree that misconduct of any kind is not acceptable.
And that includes all forms of bias.
And I needed to start there.
I want to formally thank Council Member Blackabee for his resolution tonight, as I think it reflects very clearly the values of the department and our city as a whole.
Thank you.
I also want to acknowledge the amount of work that went into the report that was prepared by the PAB in this matter.
I value the work of the PAB for both the accountability measures that it provides the community, the oversight that it provides the community.
I also value the professionalism and hard work of the members of the department.
I think we've made a lot of progress over the last several years to lean into our work around transparency and accountability, to stand offices up like our Office of Strategic Planning and Accountability, to lean into data and producing data publicly.
Answers to questions like how many arrests you're making, who's being arrested, how much force we're using are available to the public in real time on a transparency hub.
That's the point of that measure to really lean into that.
Training and focus that we've started doing, really focusing on what's been identified as called kind training, but really leaning into those training topics that cover implicit bias, procedural justice, constitutionality of our work, crisis intervention, all of that work.
It makes us more professional, more aware, more empathetic, more understanding so that we can provide fair and impartial policing.
I'm proud of leading this department.
My commitment to you is to continue to explore ways to expand those data-driven efforts, to continue to be collaborative in our processes, to uphold not only the values of professionalism within our organization and make sure our culture is strong, but to ensure that our policies reflect that.
And to also ensure that we're caring for our officers that are doing this really hard work every day.
And we're recognizing the protection of their rights for their employee rights, but also protecting our community safety and our community's values.
So, you know, I believe we're a really high-performing department.
I think there's always room for improvement and always room for growth.
And that's my commitment to you that we are open to that.
I also have a responsibility to balance my response, my duty to provide public safety to the community against some of the administrative burdens that can be placed on some of our data collection and things like that.
I want to know what's important to the Council to collect and report on.
I want to know what's important to the Police Accountability Board and to our community.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And so, you know, we, just so folks are clear, we've got items 11a and 11b, and the intent was that they would be looked at together.
And so I want to let Council Member Blackaby also introduce his item and make some comments.
We will also give you five minutes, even though I doubt you'll need it, but just, you know, yeah.
I do drone on, so I'll be brief.
As I saw on Twitter, I do drone on, so I'll be brief.
So, a couple of things.
One is, you know, I appreciate the work.
Look, I served on the PAB, and so I appreciate the work that it does.
It's important.
I also appreciate the job that the Chief has.
It's important.
It's important that both bodies and the Director are high-functioning.
That's how we will get the outcomes that we want.
Oversight is strong, and the Department is strong, and these things are not.
While there are times where they are in opposition, they need to work together to get us to the best outcome.
I will say from the Policy Committee's perspective, I think what happened in this process is there was a lot of things happening at one time.
One was there was a report that we were being asked to review, and we did review, and then there was a set of recommendations that did not have anything actionable in them that the Council could act upon.
So, when we got it at the Policy Committee level, we, you know, reviewed the report, heard the report.
I think then it was my effort to try and be responsive to do what we could to sort of acknowledge the recommendations and put something forward that the Council could review and adopt.
So, that was really the effort here, and I would say learning going forward is, if you have language, if you have, you know, like, come with some of that prepared so that we can actually have the conversation about that, because then there'd be a report, and then there would be the draft of a resolution, or the draft of an ordinance, or a draft of a policy if you're needing our input on that.
Anyway, so I think going forward that'd be more helpful, because we basically had to create that in the process.
So, I'll just make that one comment.
I also suggest that there are existing mechanisms for having the discussion about the arrest quota policy.
I think that sounds like a worthy goal.
I think we should have that, and as I understand from my time, I mean, there is a policy review process between the department and the PAB where that gets fleshed out, and I think that should happen.
You know, I think that should that should happen, and we should move forward with that.
I think that's the way it should go.
I'll also acknowledge that just the fact that this report is here at all, the fact that the PAB is here at all, is also evidence that, yes, the process was a little creaky, but it did work.
There was a report that was produced.
You are here presenting the report, and the public is talking about it.
That is oversight, and so it is happening.
Could it happen better? Could it happen cleaner? Absolutely, but it is here in the public.
We are talking about it, and so oversight is happening, so I also want there to be that kind of acknowledgement.
The last thing I think I'll say is that I think underlying all of this, and we haven't really talked about it, is there's been a long, I mean, look, it was already happening when I joined the PAB.
There was an ongoing meet and confer process about permanent regulations, which is still not complete.
Where exactly that falls in terms of the negotiation, and the work between the PAB, and the department, and the union, and the city attorney's office, and all of that, I would just urge us all to try and get those regulations done, because I think there's also an element of just certainty for everyone that we all know how the process should work, whether you're a subject officer going through a personnel complaint process, whether you're the department working on policy, whether you're the PAB doing oversight, I think we'd all be better served if those regulations are completed, and meet and confer comes to an end very quickly.
I do have one more final final.
In the language, we did try and I think acknowledge as many of the points as we could in that list of recommendations.
You know, we called out misconduct of any kind.
We call it unacceptable.
We gave credit to the importance of civilian oversight.
We gave credit to the amount, the tremendous amount of work that was done in crafting this report, and, you know, we affirmed the PAB's right and ability to access information under the charter.
We also affirmed our opposition to arrest quotas.
If it passes, I'm saying that's what we're proposing here, and we're asking the legislature to extend the prohibition on arrest quotas beyond the vehicle code.
So we tried to craft something that I felt that a majority of us could get behind that hit on as many of these items as we could, and I really viewed 11b as trying to be responsive to what came to us in 11a.
That was really the spirit that I drafted it.
So thanks, Mayor, for the opportunity, and I think that's it for my side.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate all of your presentations and your comments, and I'm going to open it up for comments on, I guess, both of these items from the public, and then we'll come back and we'll do council comments and questions.
So if anyone has any comments from the public, please step forward.
Go ahead.
Yes, thank you.
Just one minute, right? You just put the mic up a little bit so we can hear you better.
Thank you.
George Lipman, as the director said, former chair of the PRC.
I have a slightly different perspective than the one just expressed.
I remember talking with a former mayor, who I won't name, but we were talking about an issue that had come up that the council made a decision on without consulting the PRC at that time, and I said, you know, this is what we exist for, is to help.
We're helping take, because you can't know every single subject before every single commission.
That's why you have commissions.
But it was clear, and so their response was, no, you make our job harder.
This is about what I can say in one minute.
It feels like the council needs to decide, do you want these commissions like this one to function, or do you find it an annoyance? Finish your sentence.
Please, thank you.
Please make use of it.
Thank you.
And find a way to work together.
Thank you.
I think I have a minute from us.
Okay.
Thank you.
Okay.
Ilana Auerbach, District 4.
So I have a teenage son, and I know we just heard from you, council member, that oversight is happening.
Well, so we monitor his, with his request, his video use, and so if I don't turn off, like, his access to his apps, then oversight is not happening.
So we can want oversight to happen, but unless I put in place certain things, then oversight doesn't happen.
And what I understand, the Police Accountability Board has four very basic recommendations that would begin to ensure that this egregious behavior, that we all agree is egregious, including the chief herself, I think, does not want this behavior to continue.
Four simple recommendations.
Many of you campaigned in the past year or before saying that you want transparency and accountability.
This is your opportunity to say, yes, we do.
We want, because I want to be my word, and I also want to support the community that voted over 80% for more police oversight.
This tech scandal is a shameful episode in our city's history, and it must not be minimized or forgotten.
And without the courage of a whistleblower, the community would have never, it would have remained in the dark.
And so just because we don't know, and it was spoken at the Public Safety Committee meeting, we don't know that, we don't think anything else has happened.
We will not know unless a whistleblower comes forward or we implement, we actually implement oversight so that these recommendations, simple recommendations, that the Police Accountability Board spent over a year doing, that's how we're going to have oversight.
That's how we're going to build trust and begin to build trust with the community and our police department.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Kit Saganor, thank you so much for taking this off consent.
I'm very grateful to those three council members who did take it off consent.
Otherwise, there would not be happening this discussion.
You would not be hearing from the PAB about this.
There were three definitely, several definitely actionable items that were presented to you that you could take action on actionable items that were presented to you that you could take action on tonight.
One is that there should be a policy, an actual written policy,.

Segment 6

Against a set number of arrests, we know that telling people you need to make this many arrests, that's one of the things that's going on with ICE, is that they're trying to say, oh yes, we need to make hundreds of arrests, so we'll arrest these people, I don't know why.
Well, they have tattoos, right? Having quotas is a terrible thing.
Another issue is the support for the PAB to get the information they need to review a practice and policy, which is different from getting information about individual officers.
I'm going to finish my sentence.
It's different from getting information about individual officers for a complaint about an officer, but they are required to look not just at written policies, but what is the actual practice for those policies.
Thank you.
Thank you, Kit.
Good evening, Council.
I'll say that before my minute starts.
George Perez-Velez, former second longest serving member of the PRC, 14 years.
Former DOJ COPS program member, current board member of NACL, and chair of our Police Review Board, speaking as a Berkeley resident.
Related to past similar infractions, command instructions during 2016 Black Lives Matter demonstrations of Go Get Them.
81% of voters approved the PAB and Get Them Powers to investigate and recommend policy changes.
You have an agency and a board comprised of subject matter experts coming to you with well thought out recommendations that continue to increase transparency and accountability.
City Council in 2020 and 2022 moved the bar forward.
Join them in continuing to increase legitimacy and trust while taking tangible action towards increased accountability.
Approve the recommendations.
Continue to be a national leader in oversight.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Good evening, Madam Mayor and Council.
My name is Nathan Mizell.
I am a rent board commissioner in the city of Berkeley.
I am the former vice chair of the PAB.
I was the chair of the Reimagined Public Safety Task Force.
I was a member of the Fair and Impartial Policing Task Force.
I am the only person in the city who has done all three.
I can tell you a little bit about the oversight problems in the city.
One of the big problems is, unfortunately, city leaders often don't listen.
They often believe that for some reason on this issue, not all issues, we agree on many, that the police are right, or we could just go with their position, despite the very reasonable recommendation of the PAB.
It is my understanding that tonight you intend to adopt none of them.
You intend instead for a symbolic something to say that we oppose racism in Berkeley.
Thank you.
I'm glad to hear we want to oppose racism in Berkeley.
I would like us to hear what substantive steps we are going to take to prevent the perpetuation of racism in our department.
And that starts with adopting reasonable recommendations of the folks you appointed, you nominated to make those decisions in the city.
Thank you.
It is imperative.
It must be taken seriously.
I'm asking all of you.
I understand.
And that's the thing.
You're getting a minute from someone else.
While I was waiting.
Thank you.
Excuse me.
OK, first of all, one second before you continue, you're giving given a minute from someone else.
But when I tell you that your time is up, you need to respect that.
Please, please continue.
I will do that, Madam Mayor.
And I hope the city will understand that when I was being stonewalled and the PAB was being stonewalled from the records that the city charter ensures they should have access to.
That was a lot more rude than what I just did, folks.
That was a violation of our city charter.
And now that has been brought forth to this council, reasonable recommendations like perhaps posting, which they can after robust due process when officers violate or dishonest, commit sexual assault, that that is public information.
This council has said, no, we're not interested in that.
Here's a nice statement about racism.
That's not real action, folks.
I served three and a half years on the PAB.
That's a lot more than one, folks.
I served as the chair of the Reimagined Public Safety Task Force, folks.
I served the Fair and Impartial Policing Task Force, folks.
You just heard from one of the most qualified individuals on police capability in this country.
They're all telling you the same thing.
Give us this opportunity.
Let's work on real policy.
Send this back.
Tell the PAB, damn it, get to work.
Write up a policy, bring it back and let us consider it.
Give them the opportunity.
Thank you.
With everything that's going on in the federal government, it seems as if we have little control over anything, and this is something we have control over.
We can, at least at this point, we can recommend to the state about not having a quotas, any quotas, not only traffic quotas.
And so council should proceed with that.
Second, council often addresses how the police department needs the tools to do their job.
And they do need the tools to do their job.
Well, the police accountability board also needs the tools to do their job, which is oversight.
And oversight is always important to make sure that things are working well, that there always is accountability.
So please look towards what tools that they need to have access to records, access to information to properly do their job.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Is there additional comment on this item online? Yes, there's.
Let's see.
First, we have seven commenters.
I'm going to turn it over to Andrea Pritchett.
She's one of the commenters.
Andrea Pritchett.
Yes, you may.
Andrea, you have an extra minute.
Come on, Andrea Pritchett.
Are you there? Hello? Yes, we can hear you.
Oh, great.
Thank you.
I've been working with them for two years and I sadly I had to resign because it had become such a farce.
And such a hollow exercise in futility.
Because of the stonewalling of the police department, the fake collaborations, the missed deadlines, the foot dragging the, the stonewalling.
Maybe some of that would have changed.
Apparently not.
You know, I work with Berkeley cop, which Berkeley cop watch did.
We did our own investigation.
We got a police, we got a public records act request that got five years of data from the district attorney.
We looked, we crushed the numbers.
We looked at it.
Yes, of course.
According to officers to duty.
Yes, there was the data bore it out.
There was a spike in arrests.
And we looked at it and we found that.
Yes, there were there.
Those arrests were all they were dropped.
They were bad arrests.
It was it was pure politics that drove that.
So, yeah, we did our own investigation.
We're very clear, but look at where we are right now.
The incident that we talked about that should duty blew the whistle on.
This is 3 years ago.
So, this do not keep yourself Berkeley is without effective oversight because the city council has not empowered the police accountability board to actually do the job that the voters.
And to give these platitudes, like, oh, we affirm affirm the that what what give them the data, give them access to the records.
Not 1 cop was punished.
Not 1 policy was changed as a result of all of this.
Thank you for your comment.
Okay, next up is Erica hot mic Erica Anderson.
That's okay.
I, I don't need to make a comment.
I had wanted to see to someone else and they got their time.
Thank you.
Okay.
MJ Bowman.
Hello, MJ Bowman.
I'm in district 5 Shoshana's district, like many Berkeley residents.
I was appalled when I learned about the egregious conduct of the bike team.
I was almost equally shocked that the city really took no action.
No corrective action.
Now, through the hard work of the police accountability board, we have some actionable things.
Some meaningful measures that can be taken to promote accountability.
So I ask that you respect and validate their hard work by adopting their report as it is.
Thank you.
Okay.
Thank you.
Next is Candia Gandhi.
Can you hear me? Yes.
Great.
Thank you so much.
Honorable mayor and city council members.
I just wanted to speak on behalf of the legal women voters of Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville.
The league has been been a strong supporter of empowering the Berkeley police accountability board since its inception.
When it was voted for 5 years ago by Berkeley voters, so it can support constructive community police relations after listening to P.
Member Kitty Calavita discuss the Berkeley police department texting allegations at the P.
Regular meeting on Wednesday, July 10th, 2024 and reviewing the report.
The league decided to convey our support for their extensive work and sensible recommendations, which should be enforced to city policy to name just a few council needs to affirm the right to access to access documents and records in a timely manner.
And furtherance of the central accountability function so that it can conduct investigations in formal and formal arrest quotas that promote policing.
Could you pause for a 2nd? Is there another minute from the? There's another minute here for you, so you can continue on.
Okay, it won't be much longer.
We also believe that informal and formal arrest quotas that promote over policing should be explicitly prohibited as well as officer misconduct, whether on or off duty, which should be captured in a database following their prudent recommendations.
The P.
A.
B.
is prudent recommendations.
We believe will increase public trust in and the ability of the P.
A.
B.
to be a helpful partner and oversight body.
Thank you so much.
Okay, thank you.
Next is Daniel Brownson.
Hello.
Yes, we can hear you.
Okay.
So.
I even have this board.
If you're not going to actually implement any of its recommendations that they spent so long on we don't.
We don't need more rhetoric from our electives.
We need actual policy.
As far as I know, none of the officers involved in what people are calling text gate.
Thank you for your comment.
Thank you.
Rivka.
Hi.
Um, yeah, I was very involved with the police accountability board.
It's a long history of the board being bypassed ignored, not taken seriously roadblocks.
So here's a chance to affirm the value and importance of their hard work.
And, you know, it would really help community trust in the police and the council to see some real action because, like, the, the guy who was the worst offender with the texting messages he, he was the head of the police officers association, I believe.
So, you know, that really says that there's a problem and the investigation that the council did the independent.
I mean, you have an independent investigation done that said there is not a problem of racist racism or quotas, how could they possibly have come up with that conclusion.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for your comments.
Kelly hammer grin.
Okay, I'm looking at the January 21 agenda.
And on that agenda is the early intervention program contract $200,000.
And with an option to extend for two years for $400,000.
If we're going to have early intervention police officers need to be supported.
And when I talk about supported, I mean, those police officers who want to talk about a problem with another officer.
This whole text messaging has the way it's been handled and all the years, it just seems from the outside, it just appears to be totally mishandled in 2022 I was asked to review a book walking with the, with the devil, the police code of silence by Michael.
And there was tell your time is up.
Thank you so much for your comments.
How many more comments do we have one more comment or Maria soul.
Oh, good evening.
Thank you so very much.
I, given that I'm on two commissions, I.
In terms of truly bringing into action what needs to be.
There's one police officer in this very room that you are all and that demonstrated the true epitome of serving and protecting.
He literally served and protected me in a very abusive situation.
So, I know that's the mission of police officers, and I can also speak to how traumatized the general public and so easily be, because of the abuse that has happened.
So, I just encourage us to please put into action ways and means of not only culturing more respect and courtesy, but also redressing grievances that we might directly have.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Maria.
Thanks for your comments.
Okay.
Was that the final comment? Okay.
I'm moving forward to council member comments and questions.
Council member.
Thank you.
Madam Aaron.
Thank you.
And the public city policy committee, and I want to commend the chief in the department for your professionalism for your accountability measures and the transparency of in particular.
I also want to thank the.
I also want to thank the city manager, the city attorney for retain a 3rd party from the conducting the investigation.
I just have 3, hopefully quick questions.
The question under investigation was whether or not the city maintains a policy, enabling the practice of rest quotas.
Correct.
That was what we were investigating, whether or not the city has a policy of enabling.
I think what the investigation was looking into was whether or not there was a practice that occurred of a rest quotas.
And just if I can make a clarifying point about that, the language that chair referred to is actually the vehicle code language that prohibits arrest quotas for all for all arrests.
So, it's not limited to vehicle code violations and that's the state law that guides us and prohibits officers from making arrests and being faced with the code of the language that he read about.
It can't affect your ability to promote and decisions like that.
That's from from the vehicle code policy.
So, that that language does exist and and our offices are bound to follow both vehicle code and appeal codes as part of our standards of conduct for our policies.
Thank you very much.
And could the city manager, or perhaps city clerk clarify the process for submitting companion reports.
Sorry, could you what the process for submitting a companion report? Sure.
So, a companion report is sort of a separate and distinct report from the, you know, the commission writes their report.
And that's agendized and then city manager companion report is a separate and distinct staff report that is written such that it's a, it's own agenda item that is then paired as a and a B item with the commission's report.
So, in order to submit additional recommendations, it would need to happen under those circumstances rather than being appended as attachments to staff report.
Right, you know, you know, the council is somewhat limited in what the actions that it can take based on how items are agendized and noticed to the public.
So, yes, I mean, the council can discuss information that's in reports and attachments that's in reports.
It could refer information to the to the city manager.
If it's so chose, you know, it could take other sort of.
Other sort of actions and discussion about information that's in a report or attachment.
If it's going to formally adopt certain recommendations, those would need to be listed on the agenda so that there was public notice of those potential actions.
Thank you.
And my final question.
So, how's the meeting confer around the administrative regulations has been completed, or is that still underway? It's still underway.
It seems to me that we can still underway.
Thank you.
Those are my questions.
Thank you so much.
It was my intent in pulling this to action to have an opportunity to hear more from the various stakeholders and give the opportunity for the public to weigh in as well.
First of all, I want to say that I personally, but I have witnessed both as a council member and prior to was nothing but complete and full professionalism on this.
I also acknowledge that that is my own experience, and everyone has their different experiences, and I supported the police accountability board.
The text scandal is something that I think all of us in this room can agree should not and does not represent the department.
And I appreciate the work of the PAP to do analysis and surface, some of the underlying situation, and make recommendations.
And I also appreciate council member block of these effort to try to put some of the recommendations in his recommendations from the baby in his item so it is with that in mind that I have three questions.
What is for the PAP.
What are the recommendations, or other areas where, in your view, 11 a and 11 be differ for the police chief.
timeline of the meat and conform process.
He have an estimate of when there might be a resolution to it, and when that happens, what might be the mechanism by which the council could be informed of that.
And thirdly, and this is for council members, lack of the and I really appreciate the intent of your item.
So, based on this discussion, is there anything else you feel that could be added to your item to ensure the continuity of ongoing accountability measures.
I don't know how this thing works.
I'm so sorry.
Since the first question was addressed to us, if I may.
First off, thank you so much to council member black for this resolution.
I fully agree that the intent of it was to align as best as it could with their recommendations and.
And we will, going forward, be diligent and making recommendations for council that are actionable and and then we also expect council to act on them.
In terms of the separation between the two, I just wanted to highlight for council.
The one thing that I've discussed, which is that the resolution that council member Blackley puts forward says it supports existing practice against using arrest quotas.
But it also says it affirms its strong opposition to arrest quotas.
My contention, the convention is that those two things cannot exist in the same statement because Berkeley needs a policy against arrest quotas.
Written down into the policy.
It's not enough to just say we're not doing that.
So those are the that's that is the gap between the two.
And that's the one I wanted to highlight for you.
I think the next question was to the chief, but do you feel that it makes sense for you to respond to this or perhaps? No, I'm happy to answer council members question.
The meeting confers ongoing.
I know the goal is to be done within the next couple of months after it's completed.
Of course, it would be an absolutely public document.
I'm looking forward to those regulations being completed.
I think we all are so that we can move forward and start to rebuild the relationships in collaboration.
For my part, I'll just say.
There was not an ask for us to adopt a policy to ban arrest quotas.
I do not see that in any of the four recommendations.
I, by the way, I think I agree with that.
And what I said earlier is.
There is an existing process between the path and the BPD to work that out.
In my understanding, there's a policy review process or so.
Anyway, I would just say that that may be a gap, but it's not a gap between our resolution and the recommendations because it's not in the recommendations, at least in these four that I see in the staff report.
So, if I may, because I know you asked these questions, but I think that there's some disagreement about arrest quotas and if this vehicle code covers all arrest quotas.
And so I've asked our city attorney if her staff could speak to this issue, because I feel like that kind of gets to the crux of what we're discussing.
If that's okay with you, council member.
That would be great.
Madam Mayor.
Thank you.
I'll pass it over to our city attorney.
Madam Mayor, it's, it's going to take a few minutes.
Bren does not have a panelist link, so we're trying to.
Sure.
Sounds good.
Okay.
So while we work out the zoom bit, if there's anything you want to say, council member trick up.
I agree that perhaps the one area I have.
Absorbed just listening to all of you where there may be just a difference of position is on what is covered by, you know, the extent to which an arrest quota policy applies now and what it should cover.
I'm, I'm ready to support something tonight with teeth, and I think, personally, it is my belief that council member black obese item did a good faith attempt to cover the recommendations that at least I saw in the report.
So, if there's an opportunity to maybe strengthen language around arrest quotas, it sounds like we're all in agreement that I'm going to speak for myself that arrest quotas, the presence of them is not something that is in tune with Berkeley values.
And, you know, I would, I would support 11 be with the possibility of adding that one bit, if that, if that is something that we're able to do tonight, kind of in honoring the that the meet and confer process is also ongoing.
Thank you.
Council member.
I think we may have our representative from the city attorney's office.
I apologize for being on the phone.
No worries.
Thank you for being here.
If you could please just answer the question.
I'm not sure if you heard it.
Would you like me to repeat it? That would be excellent.
Thank you.
We were just talking about the California code that covers arrest quotas, and we'd like to understand if that covers arrest quotas generally, or just for vehicle violations.
I believe that's the question.
That's correct that it's narrowly applicable to tickets and vehicle code violations.
And so, you know, the, the proposal by council member black to beat it, or excuse me by the, by the path to ask the, the legislature to expand the scope would be a change to the existing law, which currently specifically applies to the sort of situation where somebody goes out looking for a vehicle.
Additional speeding tickets or other moving violations, that kind of thing.
Thank you very much for the clarification and for the person in the audience, I want to make sure you understand that it's perfectly appropriate for us to check with our attorneys to ensure.
That when there's a disagreement between two folks that are here that we understand the law, especially since not all of us are attorneys, nor are some of us, you know, some of us are lawyers and practicing attorneys, but not everyone.
So I just think that that's perfectly appropriate.
So I would ask that you keep your comments to yourself and be respectful of the process here.
Okay, so, yes, go ahead chief if I could just comment on that and I can share that from a practical standpoint, the interpretation that law enforcement takes in the state of California is that that prohibition prohibits us from making arrest quotas for any purpose.
So, that broader language we make our rest based on probable cause we don't practice in creating implicit or explicit arrest quotas.
And I think it would be accurate to say that the state has not come out in the penal code section and said and said specifically about arrest quotas in that.
But that is the, since I've been here doing this work for 26 years, the understood implication of that language in the vehicle code.

Segment 7

Thank you, Chief.
Council member Humbert.
Yes, thank you.
Just shortly, I mean, I have very brief comments.
I'm not going to vote for, I'm going to vote against 11A.
It's partially repetitive of 11B.
Recommendations 2 and 4 are contained within 11B, submitted by Council member Blackaby.
Recommendation 1 in 11A is not appropriate, as we've been discussing for passage, as it relates to an issue that's currently subject to meet and confer.
Recommendation 3 is redundant.
BPD already has a transparency website.
All this information is subject to public record requests, and there's no need to build an entirely new website, such as the PAB asks for and describes.
So I will be voting no on 11A and yes on 11B.
Thank you, and thank you, Council member Blackaby, for bringing 11B forward to address two of the largest issues, I think.
We all stand united against racism and misconduct, and I personally support asking the state legislator to, you know, to clarify, to extend the prohibition on arrest quotas, even though our department and other departments understand that that binds them generally.
Thank you.
Council member, just to clarify, so this item 11A has a negative recommendation from the committee, and so you said you were voting against it, but do you mean that you're supporting the negative? I'm supporting the negative recommendation.
Okay, I just want to clarify because I know that that's confusing.
Good question.
Thank you.
Okay, Council member Blackaby.
Great, thank you.
I've made my, I think, comments known.
So my motion is to, two-part motion.
One is to accept the PAB report with our thanks on the downtown task force investigation, and part two is then to adopt our resolution in 11B.
Second.
Council member Bartlett.
Thank you.
And I do want to thank all the parties here, thank the PAB for the report and your diligence.
It's always a pleasure to see.
I served in this body years ago before I was a council member, and it's wonderful.
And, of course, this text gate was a horrific stain, and I'm not going to go into too deeply into that.
I covered that one meeting, some of you may remember very thoroughly, but I will say, you know, people do what you inspect, not what you expect.
And that's a maxim, particularly when you're dealing with, you know, martial power, right, and power of persons.
And, you know, what we see in Washington, obviously, is playing out before our eyes, remandering people without justice and due to anti-process.
Very troubling signs coming from the East Coast right now.
But we know from our own data, which we saw last week, was it last week or the week before, we saw our crime report, a police report, and the results here were really positive.
They were really groundbreaking.
And I spoke about them recently in Venezuela with some national persons, our arrest data, our use of force data, our yield rates, all indicated that our efforts, and your efforts in particular, your efforts, both Chief and Hanson, everyone in the community, the efforts in really applying a deep constitutional framework to policing is bearing fruit.
And that this aspect of expecting the best and then giving our persons the tools to deliver the best are bearing fruit.
It appeared to be very racially balanced and very fair across the board.
So it's indicative that there is not a quota, unless it's a quota of white people and Asian people.
Only I would find that funny.
But yeah, so I am curious about this distinction between the vehicle code, clarifying quotas, and it seems as if my colleague's 11B motion, Mr.
Blackabee's motion, appears to sort of take the actionable components out of your proposal and sort of filter out the ones that need more work due to a meet and confer process with the union or a butt against state law.
And I think that it captures the essence of what we can do.
And I also look forward to seeing what happens when you complete your ARs and do the work that you need to do to come back to us with that journey.
So I will be supporting Mr.
Blackabee's measure.
I think it's really well done.
And it's a fine framing around the spirit at play here.
But I look forward to learning more about this distinction between the state vehicle code and our common practice.
But again, noting that, you know, the evidence we saw, the practice is bearing fruit.
Thank you.
Thank you, Council Member.
Council Member Lunapara.
Thank you.
I wholeheartedly believe that this was a, that item 11B was a good faith attempt at addressing item 11A.
And I'm also concerned that it is taking away the teeth of what the PAB was hoping to do.
And I'm concerned that, and I think that this concern echoes what a lot of community members said here tonight and what a lot of community members who aren't here feel, that the second whereas clause that references to our community's full faith and confidence in the Berkeley Police Department conveys that even though the police committed, some police officers committed predatory acts of racism and classism, this body still has full confidence in them and support them uncritically, especially given that some of them are still part of our police department.
And this isn't to say that we, that I don't think that we should state that we have full confidence in them to do better.
But I think that this, as it is right now, sends a bad message to those who were directly impacted by this behavior.
We have a council-appointed, charter-mandated board of experts who have worked tirelessly to make recommendations of how we can hold our PD accountable.
And I'm having trouble.
I don't think that this resolution fully conveys that, although I see, I know that it takes a, it tries to.
I am wondering if we can add a friendly amendment to this motion, to the motion, to also to add a referral to send the item back to the Police Accountability Board or at least to refer to the Police Accountability Board to develop specific requests related to the public repository of data to have them come up with language, because we don't have the language here right now, that then we can consider separately.
I appreciate the question.
I'm not inclined only because I look, I think we should do that work.
I think that that work should happen anyway.
It's not clear to me that it's, again, I'm not a lawyer, but as I was reading the state, as I was reading the statute which requires Public Records Act request and that those records be available upon demand under PRA request, whether that's different than the idea of having an on-demand repository in this way, I don't know.
So I had some question as to whether we could even do that.
I'm fully supportive of having that move forward and having people look at that and think about it.
I just don't know if I, I don't support necessarily making part of this item because I just don't feel like it's ready to be done.
But I understand what you're asking.
So I guess I wouldn't support it.
Can I ask a clarifying question for folks? So just because we, if we vote to approve a negative recommendation, does that mean that they can't still do some work on something and bring it back later? I just want to clarify.
Yes, they could.
Okay.
So I just want to make sure that that's clear.
Okay.
By the way, I think it's kind of about any discussion to Council Member Trager's point about language around the arrest quota policy.
I don't feel comfortable doing that from the dais because I know the way those policies are constructed that there's a lot of work that goes into it.
Anyway, so for a similar reason, I know you haven't asked, I'm preemptively saying I wouldn't support that either just because I think that takes more work and the PAB and the BPD have an existing process to do that.
I am concerned that passing a resolution saying that we trust the PAB and the ODPA is not trusting the PAB and the ODPA and passing a resolution saying that we support them without providing them the data and resources that they need is not supporting them.
And I know that some of these are in the works through the meet and confer process and I hope that we can continue to work collaboratively to ensure that material support for all of our institutions that serve and protect our community.
Thanks.
Thank you.
Council Member Taplin.
Oh, thanks.
I just wanted to say very briefly, I wanted to thank my colleagues and the PAB director and the chief and everyone here for another night of civil, thoughtful discourse.
This is a very complicated topic.
It's not over tonight and I just want to say that sometimes it can be frustrating when we have a, when we have an outcome that we want to see happen and sometimes it takes time or sometimes the outcome is different because of the number of people involved.
So I want to thank everyone for their patience with this process and I am prepared to support the motion.
Thank you.
I have some comments as well.
So just like everyone else did, I also want to thank you all for your work here and I want to say that I also found this to be very frustrating because as you mentioned, I think that there are some ideas that we have, some of us have about what we want to see and when there's an item that's in front of us, this is what we vote on.
And so even if we agree about certain things that were mentioned in the presentation, if that's not what we're voting on this evening, then that's not what we can support or oppose.
It's just not even before us.
And so I know there were a lot of miscommunications about how this came and you know, if it was a companion report, where does it go and what needs to be in this actual item and so I want to make sure that it's clear from this evening to both ODPA and PAB what needs to happen in the future.
If there is something specific that you'd like us to vote on.
I heard comments about arrest quotas and apology, neither of which are in item 11A specifically that we're voting on.
I want to speak to this bit about resources, having resources to be able to do your investigations.
Similarly, not in here and I think that in the past some of the conversation has been around the clarity about what information is being requested.
So I just want to say that and as mayor, I want to maintain the community's trust in both the ODPA, PAB and BPD.
I think that that's really important and I actually really appreciate that you all are sitting there together in a line because we are one city and it's important that our work is seen together.
I also want to acknowledge that it's been difficult in moving forward together that obviously there's some tension here and I just want to really call that out and say that I really think it's important that we're moving forward together.
I want to highlight that both offices have the shared goals of keeping our city safe and ensuring that we're accountable to the people.
And I think there was plenty of context given around this, what this means a negative recommendation and just to say that, but to say that this doesn't mean that the Public Safety Committee isn't supportive of the work that PAB is performing.
I'm not on the Public Safety Committee, but I feel that I can say that on their behalf.
And in this case that, as has been said, the Public Safety Committee found that the recommendations as given were too vague or general.
The inclusion of rest quotas they found was redundant in this piece, making it challenging for the committee to send it to the Council with a positive recommendation.
So I don't want to say that, I want to make sure it's clear that this negative recommendation doesn't mean we're just saying we don't agree with PAB at all, that we don't think your work is important, or that we don't value all the hours that you put in because I know that that report was quite long.
And I'm really grateful for all the time and energy that you put into preparing the report and crafting the recommendations.
And like everyone else has done, I really want to strongly condemn racism, bigotry, and any official or unofficial rest quotas.
The text messages that were released during the course of the investigation were completely inappropriate and really embarrassing.
I understand I wasn't here and most of us were not here at that time, but I think we should all be embarrassed as a city by this type of language and that there's no room in the Berkeley Police Department for that type of behavior.
And I know that the Chief agrees with me about that.
I'm supportive, as is the Chief, of the Early Warning System and the transparency tools, the Transparency Hub, which will bring more accountability and help identify any unfair treatment or discriminatory practices so that we can prevent this type of behavior in the future.
Again, I want to thank you, PAB and ODPA, for your work and to the Chief and the Police Department for their support of additional accountability measures and training.
And thank you to the community members who have reached out in support of PAB's work and in support of accountability.
It's my sincere hope that going forward that BPD and PAB work together to ensure that the Police Department is operating at its best.
And, you know, I just want to say that this has been really challenging, but I am prepared to move forward here.
So I believe we have a motion with both 11A and B on the floor.
And I believe there's already been a second.
Is that correct? Yes.
Thank you.
So if you could take roll, please, Clerk.
Okay.
On the motion to accept the PAB report, express thanks for their efforts and to adopt the resolution item in 11B, Council Member Kesarwani? Yes.
Taplin? Yes.
Bartlett? Yes.
Drago? Aye.
O'Keefe? Yes.
Blackabay? Yes.
Lunapara? No.
Humbert? Yes.
And Mayor Ishii? Yes.
Okay, motion carries.
Thank you all.
And thank you for your presentations and your time to be here this evening.
We now have public comment for items not listed on the agenda.
Are there any other public comments? So in the earlier public comment period and not on the agenda, it was mentioned now another SCU response as to why they were not coming out.
And this, apparently this recipient of the call said they only respond to homicides and suicides.
Now, and it was mentioned that they don't go to encampments.
I know I have received friends that have said they wouldn't respond to someone because they were autistic and they only respond to schizophrenics.
They wouldn't, last week someone told me they were told they had to call the police because they don't respond when someone is agitated.
I have also been told and know other people who have been told that they have to call to the police first and the police have to screen the situation first.
They don't want to respond if there's any possibility of a medical issue, even though they don't know if it's a medical issue.
And..
Can you finish your sentence? Okay.
Finishing up, I understand the Mental Health Division or HHCS is going to come back with a proposal that this be triaged through the County CAT team.
Thank you.
I'm sorry.
Thank you.
Thanks.
City Manager, Mr.
City Manager, I don't know if we have recordings of those phone calls or I'm not really sure, but..
We'll look into it.
I received Council Member, Vice Mayor Bartlett's referral from DICE.
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
Hi, Council.
Yeah, I just want to talk about public records real fast.
So like when I requested for the records on any additional text messages, right? I had to wait hundreds of days to get any competent response from the City and that was because I had connections to the City Attorney's Office and was able to have a conversation with Sam Harvey at the time.
The process has not worked magically because we have public records access.
I was a City Commissioner.
I'm not a city attorney.
I was a City Commissioner.
I'm not a city elected and dealt with that type of difficulty.
The idea that the public will be able to have access just because they can request, that's not true.
Not in this city.
We have to be honest about that.
So I hope that's something we can at least look into.
It's good policy work.
And if you want the PAB to look into it, tell them to look into it.
I would have wished you would have referred it back to them, but hey, y'all make the decisions.
I just talk.
So yeah, that's all.
There are a lot of falsehoods, misguided comments made about that.
You should let the PAB respond more in the future.
Hopefully, that's something we can consider because they are the experts, not other folks.
Thank you.
Sure, kid.
I appreciate it, kid.
Yeah, so going on about that, I think I heard one of the council members say item three, that there's public records access and it's redundant and da-da-da-da.
That's specifically talking about a carve-out, right, that allows for public records to be released when there is dishonesty, sexual assault, use of force that leads to death or serious bodily injury, things I think all of us would say we would want the public to know about that.
But it doesn't magically happen, you know, it's not redundant in what we currently have.
There's no such thing that currently exists.
It's not on the Transparency Hub.
That information as far as I was not in the Transparency Hub is that's not true.
If someone wants to show me the new link in the Transparency Hub, I'd love to know it.
I was on the task force that worked to get the Transparency Hub to become a thing.
But hey, you know, these meetings are quick.
You don't have a lot of time to deal with all the facts.
I wish you did.
And I really hope in the future you will because this work will continue to matter.
Folks will continue to speak up and because we want to put nice statements out, it doesn't change the truth.
Thank you.
Thanks for your comment.
All right, Berkeley values.
I keep hearing that used and the context is really scary to me because Berkeley values as expressed by the majority of the Berkeley City Council condone this genocide.
It doesn't do anything to stop it.
The police department here has been before this Texgate scandal known as the most moral police department in the world, in the history of the world.
Something similar to that symbolically.
Now, that makes me connected to the most moral army in the world.
Of course, the Zionist Army, a lie we've seen through.
It's in the news every day, no matter what station you look at.
I suggest Electronic and the Father, where people people have been killed who have been reporting to them.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for your comment.
I've enjoyed being.
I'm Jesse Sheehan chess club.
I've enjoyed being here this evening.
It's kind of a breath of fresh air from some of years ago council meetings.
I would like to know that we have zero public space in District 7 0 0 square footage.
Not one park.
The only benches are for the bus stop.
I know you guys voted against the Dwight triangle measure the conversations that we see in the council chamber.
That's what happens in public when you have public space and people can become friends.
They might disagree, but they're friends.
They might hang out.
A lot of people in our community are still mourning.
The loss of People's Park is devastated, you know, and we have zero not one foot of public space in District 7 and you guys voted against this young ladies councilwoman Luna pars measure.
We need a park in District 7 so that the town and gown can talk people can express their differences in politics.
So please consider that going forward.
Thank you.
Thanks for your comment.
Other public comment items not listed.
Yes, there's five speakers online Andrea Pritchett.
Thank you.
Erica Anderson is also she's yielding her time to me on zoom.
I'm sorry.
Can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you.
Great.
I want I want to say this about that, you know, when officer should duty blew the whistle three years ago.
I don't know if you remember this, but he said that the text that he released were merely the tip of the iceberg that they're merely the tip of the iceberg that there's plenty more than an insider could divulge about the operations of Berkeley Police Department.
And when we're talking about access to information, we're not talking about the public portal, the data portal.
We're talking about more sensitive documents that are internal to the police department that will reveal in investigation.
What's actually going on at Berkeley cop watch.
We filed our Public Records Act requests.
We never got to the text.
They never showed them to us.
And I have to agree with with Nathan Mizell.
This city has a transparency problem and we can keep, you know, complimenting each other thanking each other for the work being so polite.
But meanwhile, you know, the reason why the special care unit, one of the reasons why it's not working is because the police never came to the table to have a serious conversation about relinquishing some of their power.
And I think it's quite an illusion for you to think that you have control of the police department.
You don't.
They are in control.
Look at the budget.
They're the ones running this city quite frankly, and I'll be interested to see how authentic an investigation they conduct.
The PAB is allowed to conduct and how much access to information they have relative to the shooting that happened on Sunday.
Ricardo G.
Ruiz is also the guy who pepper spray your comment.
Thank you.
Next is Maddie Teblum.
Hi, can you hear me? Yes.
Yeah.
Well, I was there earlier tonight and I I said that anti-Zionism is not a political opinion.
It's a form of hate.
A form of hate that's dedicated and reserved only to Jews against Jews.
Some community members said that it's an ideology that anti-Zionism is an ideology.
So was Nazism.
Nazism was an ideology.
Holocaust happened after anti-Zionism this idea that the Jews and only the Jews are not entitled are not cannot benefit from the right that's served for any other people.
That's a form of hate and you're allowing it in your room.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you for your comment.
Next is caller number ending in 000.
Something we all have to extremely concerned about what's happening in Washington DC.
This fascist government of Donald Trump, Elon Musk is destroying this beautiful country to never be the same.
There is war, education, University, health care and everything else.
What can we do? We're getting in one of the darkest age.
I never expected to live long enough.
I'm 84 years old.
I don't ever expect to live that long to see this beautiful country.
Universities are getting destroyed using false anti-Semitism garbage.
Semantic by the way is language, Hebrew language, Arabic, Hebrew and so on.
Anti-Semitism has no meaning whatsoever.
Jews, as I said before, Muslims and Christians are cousins.
They are all the children of Abraham.
We need to unite and before you go to sleep tonight, please listen to one song Imagine by John Lennon.
Imagine there's no country, no religion too.
How much advance would have be, would be today? Wouldn't have all this crazy war for the last century.
Thank you very much and have a beautiful evening.
Thank you again.
Next is the Berkeley scanner.
Oh, hello.
Sorry.
I couldn't be there tonight.
I have an early flight.
This is such so minor given all the meaty things you guys have been grappling with.
This was just maybe a Robert's Rules situation or somebody else can correct me.
But there's sometimes during the consent calendar where someone might say I'm moving item 3 to action and I think Robert's Rules says something about actually saying what the item is and I just noticed that, you know, with the new council, not everyone's doing it and it just helps the public follow along which items are actually moving.
So I just wanted to note that and then I did think this was items not on the agenda, but I feel like I did hear some comments earlier about agenda items in this public comment period.
Anyway, thanks a lot.
Have a great night and I will see you guys in the next couple weeks.
Thank you.
Thanks for your comment.
Next is Cheryl Davila, former council member.
Anti-Semitism is anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism and you can't equate the same, the two things.
It's really unfair, unjust and Zionists aren't all Jews, some are Catholic.
You know, we don't know what they are.
There's a combination of folks but being anti-Zionist and against genocide and against ethnic cleansing and against starvation, against killing journalists and medical personnel, doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers.
It's just really sad that you as a council don't appreciate humanity, humanity of children, of parents, of men, women, grandparents, aunts, some of you have children.
And you're allowing or not.
Thank you for your comment.
Your time is up.
Next is Maria Sol.
Is this our last comment? Thank you.
Yeah.
So again, bravo all of us.
I'm unmuted again.
So I'm sorry.
There we are.
Maria, you lost it.
Go ahead.
You can start over.
Go ahead.
Okay.
Thank you.
I'm just impressed that we're all still here and away just because we care and I'm so grateful.
I really am but I really want to speak again that this I thank you for listening.

Segment 8

Public Comments, because a lot of us have direct experience, and we're also on commissions pertaining to policy.
This isn't about petty grievances.
This often is a question of mechanics.
Are the logistic mechanisms in place where I can call and receive a response from someone? Is there a space that I can express a complaint or a suggestion, a grievance, or not? And my direct experience and peripheral experience, tending all the people that I do on the street, there isn't.
There must be.
This is about practical implementation, not just policy.
Please.
Appreciate the fact that we appreciate you and we've got to do better.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you for your comment, Maria.
Is that the final comment? Okay.
Thank you all so much for your comments and everyone.
This is our longest meeting that we've had since I've been there.
It's 1040.
So, I just want to thank you all for staying.
Thank you to the staff for setting up.
Is there a motion to adjourn? Motion from Councilmember Taplin, second from Councilmember Tregub.
If we're all in agreement, then we will pass this unanimously and we will be adjourned for the evening.
Thank you all so much.