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Segment 1

Okay I think we're going to get started.
All right everyone, I am calling to order the Berkeley City Council meeting.
Today is Tuesday, October 14th, 2025.
It is 6.07 p.m.
and clerk, could you please start us off with the roll? Okay.
Council member Kesarwani? Here.
Taplin? Present.
Council member Bartlett is currently absent.
Tregub? Present.
O'Keefe? Here.
Blackabee? Here.
Lunaparra? Here.
Humbert? Here.
And Mayor Ishii? Here.
And Vice Mayor Humbert is participating in the meeting remotely this evening pursuant to the Brown Act as amended by AB 2449 under the Just Cause exception.
A quorum of the council is participating in person at the physical location that is noticed on the agenda.
And Vice Mayor Humbert, if you could please provide a general description of the circumstances relating to need to appear remotely.
Whoever did not disclose any medical diagnosis or other confidential medical information.
All right, thank you, Mr.
Clerk.
I have a mild cold that I don't want to transmit to anyone else.
Okay, and please disclose if anybody at your location is 18 years of age or older, and if so, the general nature of their relationship with you.
Yeah, there's no one else present in my home office.
Okay, and Vice Mayor Humbert will participate through both audio and visual technology during the meeting.
And Council Member Bartlett is present.
Very good, thank you.
And thank you, Vice Mayor Humbert, for not passing on your cooties to us.
And the next on our agenda is our Land Acknowledgement Statement, and that will be this month by Council Member Taplin.
The City of Berkeley recognizes that the community we live in was built on the territory of Huchun, the ancestral and seeded land of the Chochono-speaking Ohlone people.
The ancestors and descendants of the Sovereign and Verona Band of Alameda County, this land was and continues to be of great importance to all the Ohlone 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 Ohlone people who continue to reside in the East Bay.
We recognize that Berkeley's residents have and continue to benefit from the use and occupation of this unseeded, 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 Ohlone people are present members of Berkeley and other East Bay communities today.
The City of Berkeley will continue to build relationships with the Luzon tribe and to create meaningful actions that uphold the intention of this Land Acknowledgement.
Thank you very much, and I think it's worth noting that Monday was Indigenous Peoples Day, so hopefully folks are able to attend our Indigenous Peoples Day Pow Wow, which was on Saturday at Civic Center Park.
And so I have some ceremonial matters this evening, and we have two adjournments in memory, but I want to start with our very exciting one.
So if you'd like, come on up.
Yeah, so I'm going to put my hat on for this.
Yes, important.
Okay, so very exciting, y'all.
We have two members of the Ballers that are actually from the City of Berkeley.
So I'm going to read a little bit about, yeah, thank you.
Yes.
So it was very funny, actually.
Well, I went to a Ballers game and I heard them say, you know, they're like, Isai Santos from the City of Berkeley.
And I was like, it's so exciting.
And then turns out they actually won this year.
So yay.
So congratulations to the Ballers.
In just the second year of their existence, the Oakland Ballers are champions of baseball's Pioneer League.
On September 21st, they beat the Idaho Falls Chuckers 8-1 in front of a sellout crowd of 4,100 at Raimondi Park to bring a well-deserved championship to Oakland.
With a 73-23 regular season, the Ballers broke the league's modern era record for wins, ending the season nine games ahead of the second place Missoula Paddleheads.
The Ballers have a team full of top-notch players.
And we're thrilled tonight to do a special shout out of recognition and congratulations to two hometown Berkeley High School alums, Isai Santos and Noah Milliken.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Did you want to say anything? Um, thanks for this recognition.
Definitely not prepared for this.
But I appreciate all the support I see up here.
And all the support that I'm sure a lot of people from Berkeley and Oakland came and showed to our team.
And yeah, we talk about the fans a lot being a big part of what we do as a team.
And the energy that they bring is important for us.
And shout out to my parents right there.
They supported me throughout my whole life here in Berkeley.
And yeah, thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
And I'll give you Noah's and you can give it to him.
You want to take a picture? Because you guys have your hats on.
This is making it work.
They give a hat to everyone? Oh, you have to go to the game.
Come on! Yeah, you have to go to the game to get a hat.
Yeah, yeah.
I missed this.
I missed this too.
Okay, all right.
Thank you.
Congratulations.
So exciting.
So glad we could do that.
Okay, so we also have a proclamation and adjournment in memory for Joanna Macy, which was requested by Council Member Lunapara's office.
And actually, I'm sorry, I meant to pass this to you in case you wanted to read it.
Thank you.
Okay, would the family of Joanna Macy like to step forward? Thank you so much for being here.
Honoring the life and legacy of Joanna Macy, whereas Joanna Macy was a beloved mother, grandmother, teacher, author, and activist, whose life's work profoundly shaped the cultural, philosophical, and academic framework of ecological connection.
And whereas Joanna found a home in Berkeley in 1987, creating community and planting roots.
Throughout her time in the Bay Area, she served as an adjunct professor at Star King School of Ministry, California Institute of Integral Studies, University of Creation Spirituality, John F.
Kennedy University, and several other universities across the country and across the world.
And whereas throughout her life, Joanna committed herself to the pursuit of spiritual and environmental resilience in an era of ecocidal capitalism, with the central vision that a better, more peaceful world will endure.
And whereas her many publications explored the intersection and overlap of Buddhist practice, systems theory, and environmentalism, forging prophetic methodologies, empowering those fighting for justice, peace, and sustainability, and reminding us all of the sacred and inextricable connection between all life.
And whereas Joanna was a world-renowned author and teacher, and yet always dedicated herself first and foremost to her family, friends, and community, living her life according to the values she taught.
And whereas Joanna Macy has made an indelible mark on the Berkeley community and beyond, inviting all to participate in the work that reconnects, her life and work will forever be cherished and celebrated.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Adina Ishii, Mayor of the City of Berkeley and the City Council, do hereby honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Joanna Macy, recognizing her unwavering resilience and commitment to justice, may we all strive to follow in her footsteps.
Thank you.
And if you want to say any words, you can.
Yes, thank you.
Thank you very much, Mayor Ishii, Councilwoman Lunapera, and the rest of the council.
I'm Jack Macy, Joanna's second born, and I've lived in Berkeley for over 30 years.
And I will say that my mother, Joanna, loved living in Berkeley.
And in the last 30 years, she lived in the Elmwood neighborhood, and she really relished being able to walk and patronize many of her favorite local businesses and shops from her dining room away from home at King Yen that she would take people to, to Nambal Elm Bakery that, with many treats, to Casa de Chocolate for hot chocolate, Miss Dalloway's Books for great books, Elmwood Theater.
So she was well-rooted.
And not only did her three offspring, we all live in Berkeley.
We came here, you know, we grew up in the East Coast, so she has three grandchildren that lived either downstairs from her or short walking distance away.
So close, close family ties.
And, you know, she demonstrated the way she lived that she really loved, not only us, but she loved so many people and the world, really taking in the beauty right to her last days as she would take walks and just breathe in the beauty of everything.
But she's also known for having been really fearless and being able to honor her pain and other pain for the world and really being able to see what's happening in the world.
And her work, it helped people get in touch with that and move through that to see with new eyes, new perspectives, and to be able to act more effectively in the world.
So she has people all over the world who've been impacted by her work, and it's a real honor.
She would be delighted by this recognition.
And just a couple of quick quotes, you know, if you haven't heard, she likes this.
She has said that the heart that breaks open can really hold the whole universe.
And if the world is to be healed, she said, I'm convinced it will be by ordinary people, people whose love for this life exceeds their fear.
And in her last public appearance was in Berkeley at Zellerbach Hall as a keynote speaker for the 2023 Bioneers Conference, awesome conference.
And she said at the closing of her remarks that, I'm going to tell you how to save the world.
Be glad to be alive.
So with that, I thank you very much for this honor.
I find these adjournments in memory so sad and yet hearing about people's lives is just a really beautiful thing.
It's an honor that we get to do that.
So we also have an adjournment in memory for Nobel Laureate George Smoot, requested by Council Member Blackaby.
And so I know you've got a brief presentation for us.
Yes.
Thank you, Mary Ishii.
Professor George Smoot passed away on September 18th at the age of 80.
And I also ask tonight that we adjourn our meeting in his honor as well.
In Berkeley, we remember George Smoot as a brilliant astrophysicist, a dedicated educator, and a cherished member of our academic community who lived and worked here for more than four decades.
As a professor of physics at UC Berkeley and a longtime researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, located in my district, Dr.
Smoot led a distinguished career, quote, uncovering the secrets of the universe, in the words of current lab director Mike Witherell.
In 2006, Dr.
Smoot was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, along with John Mather, for their groundbreaking discovery of the black body form and tiny temperature variations in the cosmic microwave background radiation, or in layman's terms, the evidence that helped confirm the Big Bang Theory, and profoundly deepened our understanding of the origins of the universe.
His work not only transformed the field of cosmology, but also inspired generations of students and scientists around the world.
Beyond his scientific achievements, George Smoot was deeply committed to education and public engagement.
He donated $500,000 of his Nobel Prize winnings to establish the Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics, and later founded the Teaching the Universe program to support science education for secondary school teachers.
He also brought humor and accessibility to his field through cameo appearances on the Big Bang Theory, delighting audiences and demystifying science for the public.
Professor Smoot even won the $1 million prize on TV game show Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader in 2009.
What a risk! Imagine the embarrassment if he hadn't won that.
As noted by the Academic Programs Committee, Dr.
Smoot believed that cosmology and physics should reach beyond the walls of the laboratory to enrich public understanding of science and connect discovery to the broader challenges facing humanity.
Colleagues remember George as a terrific human being, someone who took the time to talk with everyone, regardless of their position, and who was always generous with his knowledge and support.
One former colleague noted that Professor Smoot joined the lab's dance club in anticipation of having to learn the waltz for various Nobel ceremonial galas.
As this colleague said, and I quote, and who had unlocked the secrets of the universe, struggling to master a simple box step.
Scientists observed that he will continue to branch into the work of others, ensuring that science remains at the forefront of our understanding of the universe.
And even the late Stephen Hawking once described Smoot's discovery as the scientific discovery of the century, if not of all time.
Perhaps nothing encapsulates Professor Smoot's passion for science, his commitment to education, and his love for Berkeley and the Cal Band than this video clip, if I can get it to work here.
I really admired the band.
And so when they said we wanted to react to the Big Bang with the guys from your lab, I said, no way, I want the band.
Okay, so now I got to tell you what the Big Bang is so you guys can do this before the sun goes down.
Okay, so the idea is everything in the early universe was packed together very densely.
It may have gone for infinite, we don't have infinite people, so we just have to use what we got.
And everything stretched, right? Everything got bigger.
And the further away you are, the faster you go.
So we're going to want to start at the beginning with everybody packed dense and jostling around and playing high tempo rapid.
Then at the mark, everybody moves apart, the people on the outside moving faster than the people on the inside.
And there's a little bit of irregular motion, so miss some steps, okay? I know you can do this, right? And then what happens is you're going to form, you're going to coalesce together in groups of six, right? So you have to find six buddies and half of you are going to form spiral galaxies, three people facing one way, three the other, and you rotate slowly as you move out.
And the other half form elliptical galaxies, which are round blobs that keep moving out.
So now there's a brass section out there called tubas.
They make a really spectacular spiral galaxies, a really big one, like our own galaxy or like Andromeda.
So you guys get to be near the middle and you get to make a really cool, you don't have to run out so fast, but you get to make, you get to be able to orient where half is facing the other way and you get to rotate with a sort of twist up.
And you're like the centerpiece of this whole thing.
Go tubas.
So just ask, please join me in honoring the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of Professor George Smoot, a true son of Berkeley.
Thank you.
Thank you very much for sharing that.
I'm sure it would have made him proud.
So next we're moving on to our city manager comments.
No comments tonight, Madam Mayor.
Okay, thank you very much.
And then next we'll move on to our city auditor comments, which I'll say slowly so that she can walk up here.
Thank you so much.
So good evening.
As you know, as an auditor, I sometimes bring news where things can be improved.
And sometimes that's not the best news to get, but it's necessary.
It's part of my job.
But tonight I actually have some good news to share.
So this is after an audit comes out, we work with departments on implementing those recommendations.
And I wanted to call your attention to the information items that staff have submitted.
I'd like to first provide an update on the audit of city's staff shortages that we released in 2023.
In that audit, we found that Berkeley government at the time had difficulties retaining employees, which caused staff shortages that limited the city's ability to provide services.
We found a number of issues that contributed to those shortages, including employee dissatisfaction, high workloads, and instability in HR.
I'm pleased to report that city management and HR, both under new leadership since the time of the audit, have made significant progress on implementing those recommendations.
Since the last audit update in 2024, the city has implemented 12 out of 25 total recommendations.
Yay.
To give an example of one of the recommendations update, HR launched a comprehensive training program for staff at all levels through a platform called Neo Gov Learn.
This training program includes the supervisor learning plan, which is a hybrid learning experience for supervisors in the city of Berkeley.
Another highlight from this most recent audit update includes city management enhanced communication strategy.
City management has expanded the communication opportunities with city staff to include department open houses, a weekly wrap up, which I really enjoy because I get those and I think everyone loves getting those because we get regular updates.
And that's made available to all city staff.
Online town halls and annual manager meetings.
These communication efforts are being integrated into annual plans to maintain strong communication in the city of Berkeley.
While Berkeley along with other departments face challenges with budget deficits and an ongoing hiring freeze, retention improvements will help the city maintain the current hardworking staff who serve the Berkeley public.
We wanna thank HR and city management for their collaboration on this important audit.
Second, I wanna provide an update from HR on our 2019 audit of the city's domestic violence policy response.
In this audit, we found that Berkeley's domestic violence leave policy for employees did not fully align with state requirements and model policy elements at the time of the audit.
We also found that Berkeley could adopt practices to provide a more supportive domestic violence response such as training, outreach, and education.
Since the last audit update last year, HR has implemented five out of six total recommendations.
Yay.
In response to the audit, HR recently launched the updated administrative regulation on leave policy for absence related to acts of violence.
This new policy incorporates model policy elements and includes comprehensive guidance to employees experiencing acts of violence.
These are really important steps to keep our staff safe.
HR also developed training materials for employees on the updated policy and plans to launch this training on NeoGov Learn the training platform I discussed earlier, ensuring that staff understand the city's domestic violence response policy.
Thank you again to HR for implementing these recommendations in response to our audit and congratulations to all this progress made.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
It's always great to get good news and so proud of our city and all the work that's being done to take care of our employees.
Literally the lifeblood of our organization.
Thank you very much for those comments.
Okay, so we are moving on to public comment on non-agenda matters.
Okay, there's just two cards.
So this is also the time when people who are participating remotely on Zoom, if you wish to speak on an item that is not on the agenda, please raise your hand now.
Okay, so there's a total of six speakers.
So it would go to one minute per speaker.
We have Maria and we have Carol.
Okay, come on up.
Sharing with council a presentation I heard today from the National Housing Low-Income Coalition.
Just when you think you haven't heard anything, couldn't hear anything really even much worse from the federal government.
This was a federal employee who was presenting and as we know, the federal administration wants to lax in the regulations of the Fair Housing Act well actually, they're actually disciplining and terminating employees who are actually doing their job.
And this was one of those employees and he has filed a whistleblowing complaint and they're especially focusing on that they don't want any investigations on persons and sexual orientation, gender identity and immigrant women intended to be protected under the Violence Against Women Act.
Thank you.
Thanks for letting us know about that.
Hello Maria.
Welcome back.
I'm so glad that we're all here and I'm so glad we honored Joanna Macy.
I knew her personally, not really well, I wish but Shambhala, the fact that there can be a peaceful, harmonious, I'm starting to cry, community where everyone is all right, everyone cares and shares and the fact that it's born from be grateful that you're alive.
From there, I mean when I actually take the time to be grateful, I fill up and overflow and can't help but be generous.
What a privilege it is to be alive.
So thank you, Mayor.
Thank you for the space.
Thank you for each of us here and I really, really want us to know that we can because if Berkeley can't, what in the world is the world gonna do, right? So we can and I'm looking for space for everyone.
Thank you.
Thanks, Maria.
I'm getting a minute down.
Yeah, getting good at staying on time.
Okay, so online for non-agenda public comment, the first speaker, the hand raised is Madeline Rich.
Howdy, it's me again.
I'm calling because as you know, I feel the vitality of downtown Berkeley will flounder without access to, a movie theater and I'm not talking about the kinds of films of the Pacific Film Archive.
I'm not trying to cast aspersions on those but I'm talking about Friday night, Saturday night kinds of films and I'm here to tell you and remind you that the Berkeley City Council Planning Commission and ZAB and many others have many arrows in their quiver to collaborate with the developers in downtown Berkeley to try to realize some sort of access to movies at certain occasions.
Not least is the public art on private development.
Ordinance and so while I think what happened with United Artists Movie Theater was a hugely missed opportunity to work with Mr.
Kennedy on providing some sort of community benefit to provide access to cinema, not necessarily on site.
I do entreat you to kind of think more creatively about how to make sure that there's ongoing access to more popular films in downtown Berkeley.
I think the retailers and the community need it.
Thank you very much.
Thanks, Madeline.
Okay, next is Amanda Montez.
Oh, wait.
She just lowered her hand.
Next is Jerry's iPad.
Hey, hello, good evening.
My name is Jesse Sheehan.
I run the Chess Club on Telegraph Avenue.
I'm calling to advocate tonight, Mayor Ishii.
There's some talk that you're trying to move our Telegraph Holiday Festival from Telegraph Avenue and the talk was it's being moved to where we all know there's gonna be a giant construction site at the Ashby BART Station.
Last year, just before you took your tenure, most of our vendors, we got together.
We've been vending there for as long as many of them have been doing, 40 years, some of them.
And there's talk they don't want to move the Telegraph Holiday Festival off of Telegraph.
And I believe because there's some understaffing.
So Peter Radue in several of the items has admitted he's understaffed and submitted some items.
And it's almost like, is it easier to just get rid of our special events in Berkeley? I really would plead that you pull together like you did last year.
Thanks, Jesse, I'm sorry.
Your time's up, but I just want to reassure you that's not something that I am trying to do.
So I just looked over at Council Member Lunapar and we'll talk about it.
Thanks for bringing that to our attention.
Thank you.
Next speaker for non-agenda public comment is Della Luna.
Yes, I would like to make a comment about, I felt we need more education around the bicycles and the bikeways, the bike, what's it called, the lanes in the roadway.
I noticed there's like a lot of infrastructure that's changing and happening in the roadways, but there's no education around that.
So for example, in Berkeley, I was in a car, biker was in the right-hand lane on the right-hand side of me.
And then he signaled that he was making a left turn kind of suddenly, and then he came in front of, into my lane and then made a left turn into the left lane.
So it's like he needed to be indicating he was making two turns, not just one.
And it seemed as a biker that he had no clue really how drivers drive and how we look for signals.
So it just seemed like a really dangerous place for the biker to be.
And then I saw a biker in the left-hand turn lane in a 12-lane traffic intersection.
And it's just unclear how the biker gets from the bike lane into the left-hand turning lane.
And so it just, there's these moments where things get really dangerous in the roadways.
And I think cross-education would be ideal.
Thanks, Sally.
I know your time's up, but thank you for letting us know about that and bringing that to our attention.
Is there anyone else? Yes, there's four more.
Next is a caller with a phone number ending in 000.

Segment 2

Hi, good evening.
So today we could not serve you with a table in person, but we did email you a man for 1.2 million dollars and some other interesting emails.
I should give you a dire warning.
With the action of Donald Trump, we'll have a real serious problem if bird flu comes in.
He dismantled the whole health department, pretty much.
And remind you, in his first administration, by denying COVID-19, 1.2 million people, million Americans died from COVID-19, where most countries only had tens of thousands.
We need to do something.
Also, the memory, my beautiful Bruce Chief, who served in my company, millions of dollars, appointed two policemen in front of my house in Euclid for two years.
Have a good night and work very hard to get our business back into location in Berkeley.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay, next is Sam Teasdale.
Sam, you should be able to unmute.
Good evening, council members.
My name is Sam Teasdale, and I'm here to speak against the proposed increases to special event permitting fees.
Our long-standing Telegraph Avenue Holiday Street Fair has already faced major hardships after being pushed out of its traditional location on Telegraph to Adeline at Ashby Bart Station.
This event has been part of Berkeley's culture for decades.
It supports local artists, small business, and brings people together during the holidays.
Adding new or higher permit fees will only make it harder to keep this beloved community event alive.
These fairs don't make large profits.
They operate on tight budgets and depend on vendors who are already struggling with higher costs.
I urge the council to reconsider any additional fees or to find ways to support community events rather than burden them.
The Telegraph Avenue Holiday Street Fair is part of what makes Berkeley unique.
Please help us keep it that way.
Thank you.
Thanks for your comment.
So that item is actually on the information calendar, so if there's any other commenters commenting on that item, we would wait until the public comment on consent and information soon.
Amanda Montes.
Hello, I was actually calling in regards to public comment by employee unions for the first regular meeting of the month.
I'm calling as vice president of AFSCME Council 57 Local 1, and I was hoping I can have that five-minute time period.
Oh yeah, can you just give us a minute because we're just finishing up public comment on non-agenda matters, and then we'll come over to you.
Great, thank you.
Thank you.
So actually Amanda is the last speaker, so we could reset the clock.
Very good, all right, well we will in that case reset the clock for five minutes.
Thank you.
We're moving on to public comment by employee unions.
Okay Amanda, go ahead.
Thank you.
My name is Amanda Montes, and I serve as vice president of Berkeley's AFSCME Council 57 Local 1.
I also serve the city as a senior management analyst in the public works department, and I serve as the secretary of the Safe Street Citizens Oversight Committee, and I'm a proud Berkeley resident.
Item number 16's recommendations from the city auditor and the city's response are what bring me here tonight.
Our union, which represents the city's managers and engineers, has a vested interest in retaining and successfully recruiting city staff.
Finding number two is one of the issues that we wanted to bring to you tonight.
Individual contributors who move into managerial roles, or even smaller managing roles of five or more people into management roles of 20 or more people, are accepting promotions with lower compensation packages.
Essentially they're getting pay cuts while managing larger teams.
Our city can do better by assessing our pay bands to meet reality and adjusting accordingly for real life salaries.
We literally have a staff member in the last two months who moved into essentially a division manager role, managing 20 more people than they previously had, and had to take a pay cut.
That's not normal.
That's not right, and that's something we have to be able to fix, but our system doesn't work that way.
Moving on to section three, please consider utilizing in-person and online job fairs.
Our management staff see these opportunities and routinely are disappointed by our lack of participation in vital one-on-one opportunities to find the best and the brightest.
Sections 4.1 and 4.2 of the city auditor's recommendations, if you're looking at item 16, which I hope all of our council members are, this audit recommends expanding telework options to reduce costs, retain staff, and attract talent.
Current policies being adopted by city management disregard this cost-saving measure, despite facing future budget deficits in the coming fiscal years.
Our staff see this as an opportunity to contribute to the city's overall solutions in looking towards how we can meet our budget realities.
We are hoping that the council would begin to consider this as well as a real-life solution for real-life staff.
Our union stands ready to problem solve with city management to truly take the steps needed to build and maintain the workforce of the future.
Thank you for considering some of our recommendations and we look forward to continuing on these conversations as we move forward and see the city meeting more of the auditor's recommendations from this particular audit.
Thank you so much for your time.
Thank you.
Thanks for bringing that to us.
Are there any other employee unions? I don't see any.
Okay.
I don't see any hands raised.
I don't want to hear.
Nobody's come forward in public, in person.
Okay.
Thank you very much.
All right, well let's move on to the consent calendar and I will take public comment on consent calendar and information items only, please.
Do you want to do the council discussion? Oh, thank you.
Yes.
Well, actually, yeah.
No, you're right.
No, you're right.
Sorry y'all.
Carol, sorry, give me a minute.
We're gonna, I'm gonna take comments from our council members first.
Okay, comments? Council Member O'Keefe.
I'm the only taker.
Thank you, Mayor.
I wanted to say a few words about the RoboCop item, if that's all right.
Mostly because I want people to appreciate how cool this item is that you're hopefully going to be voting for soon.
So, I don't know if you know the backstory, but there was a surveillance device that was installed at the CVS in District 5 last spring and we immediately started getting calls and it wasn't the surveillance that's normal for a busy drugstore.
It was, it had an audio component and the audio component was like a scary robot cop voice, hence the nickname RoboCop, which we immediately gave it.
And most alarmingly, in my opinion, it would, it would say all kinds of things, but it would admonish people for standing on the sidewalk, which I believe is a right we all have.
So it was, it was problematic.
Multiple constituents independently described it as dystopian.
I saw that word a lot.
I think it was right.
And it was a clear nuisance and it was on all night.
So it would just make noises randomly all night that could be heard inside homes across the street with the windows closed.
I also want to note it was active during the farmer's market.
And I went and spoke with a vendor, the vendor whose table was right there.
And he said it had been like telling him it was going to call the cops on him for the entire farmer's market.
So unfortunately he was more amused than, than upset.
But I found that to be pretty unacceptable and also ridiculous.
So, you know, I don't want to make too much of, take too much time here.
And the story does have a happy ending, which was that it went away, it was silenced, and then eventually it was gone completely.
But the problem is that despite the best efforts from city staff, it took over a month to make it turn off.
And over that time, people were routinely and regularly being woken up in the middle of the night with scary robocop sounds.
So, what's that? Oh no, they're coming for us.
It was not quite, not quite.
That's, I have a recording of it actually, but I'll play it for you later.
Yeah, we should take a pause.
Is it okay if I pause? That might be a fire alarm.
Hold on.
Okay.
Does it say something? Touch it.
Okay, so I guess Spark is going to call.
Sorry.
Sorry, I can keep talking.
Oh, yay.
See, he touched it.
I think it needs to be audited.
Sometimes people just want to be heard.
Yes, thank you.
Yay.
Okay, well, why don't you finish your comments? I know Mark is going to look into this.
I don't see any fire, so hopefully.
Yeah, we seem to be safe for now.
So anyway, I think the point I was going to make is, we were able to get rid of it, but the reason it took so long and people were, people had their sleep disturbed for a month is that our noise ordinance isn't really equipped to deal with something like this, because it was loud, but it was, it was intermittent and also unpredictable.
So it was just, it was difficult to really make a strong case that this was a nuisance, although it clearly was.
So I was kind of bummed about that, but then I remembered that as a member of the City Council, I can change the laws, sort of.
I can, I can do a process that may result in the law being changed.
So, so here we are.
I just want to thank my staff and the staff from Environmental Health, who worked a lot to get rid of it, and also the City Attorney's Office, who worked really hard on this item with me.
And I just want to say that I hope that one day soon our city will be free of RoboCop-style surveillance devices.
And, oh, I also have a note here.
I would like to add Council Members Humbert, Tragoob, right, and Lunapara as co-sponsors.
So thank you to all three of you for your support.
Okay, very good.
Moving on to Council Member Lunapara.
I was just going to ask to be added as a co-sponsor, so thank you, Council Member O'Keefe.
Okay, very good.
And Council Member, actually Vice Mayor Humbert, and then we'll go to Council Member Blackabee.
Thank you, Madam Mayor.
I want to talk about a couple items, and the first is number one, which is just a slight addition, maybe not so slight, to the cost of constructing the new restroom at Willard Park.
And I'm truly excited about this.
The old one, and it's about to open, knock on wood, pretty soon here.
The old one was awful and filthy, and looked like it belonged in a punk rock club in Lower Manhattan in 1979.
I expected to see Joey Ramone walk out of it, which would have been sort of cool, but it was unfit for children or adults.
It was really, really hideous.
This new one may wind up not being quite as lovely as the beautiful new Willard Clubhouse, but it will be plenty nice.
And thank you to our great Director of Parks, Recreation, and Waterfront, Scott Ferris, and his team for seeing this through, and thanks to my predecessor, Lori Droste, for advocating for this great improvement.
And then I also wanted to talk a little bit about RoboCop, and I want to thank Council Member O'Keefe for adding me as a co-sponsor.
We don't need the unjustified and extremely unpleasant voice alarms that are triggered by someone walking by in the public right-of-way.
I encountered one on a residential street several months ago, and it made my walk through the beautiful Berkeley Hills much less present.
I just hope I was not recorded when I turned the air blue in response.
And then finally, on item 13, I want to thank Council Member Blackaby for that item, and for his work on these regulations, these PAB regulations, during your tenure, Council Member Blackaby, on the Police Accountability Board.
It's time to get these done.
The process has taken years.
Thank you.
That's all I have.
Thank you.
Council Member Blackaby.
Thank you, Madam Mayor.
Comments on just a few items.
I wanted to thank Economic Development Manager Eleanor Hollander and the Office of Economic Development for item five, pursuing a $16.5 million FEMA grant to underwrite the seismic retrofit of Old City Hall and the Veterans Memorial Building, two historic and essential landmarks in our downtown.
Also, really wanted to thank Planning Director Jordan Klein, Fire Chief Sprague, Assistant Chief Arnold, and their teams on item six.
This is a really important part of the strategy of financing implementation of the EMBER program.
It's pursuing a FEMA grant to support Berkeley's home hardening and defensible space project.
If awarded, this grant would provide $4.1 million to support property owners in the Berkeley Hills Wildland Urban Interface area to help make their homes more resilient to wildfire ignition and spread.
This is both for home hardening as well as creating defensible space, which are, as we know, really important elements of making our neighborhoods more wildfire prepared.
This is just one more important element in the work that staff and this Council are doing, and we've said we were committed to lining up financial support to make EMBER implementation possible.
We've already secured a $1 million CALFIRE grant, which is helping to fund work under the Residence Assistance Program.
We already have a transfer tax readout on the books, which is being improved and strengthened to help buyers and sellers make home hardening improvements on their properties.
We're working on a forthcoming loan program to help neighbors finance work on vegetation management and home hardening.
We just saw yesterday that the Governor signed AB888, which this Council helped advocate for, which is the California Safe Homes Grant Program, which will be administered by the Department of Insurance, which will also provide grants to homeowners.
Lots of important work.
This FEMA grant is an important element of it, and there's a lot in the hopper.
Again, I just want to thank the Fire Department and the Planning Department for the pursuit of this grant.
On item 13, thanks to Councilmember Humbert for mentioning it.
I also want to thank the Mayor, Councilmember Humbert, and Councilmember Taplin for co-sponsoring this item.
This item requests that we, as a Council, adopt a resolution urging that the Police Accountability Board, the Berkeley Police Association, the Department, and the City complete negotiations on the final PAB regulations as soon as possible, and also schedule a closed session in the very near term so we can get updates from stakeholders on the state of negotiations and any outstanding issues.
As Councilmember Humbert mentioned, the PAB's been operating under interim regulations for the past four years.
To fully implement the voter-approved mandate from 2020, the Board needs its final regulations in place.
We recognize that the negotiations have been complex.
There are many parties involved, and all parties are making significant efforts to reach agreement, but it's been four years, and this resolution calls on all parties to make the completion of these final regulations a top priority and bring this important process to a close.
It will bring more certainty to the public, more certainty for officers, for the Department, and for the Board.
So I appreciate the support of my colleagues and look forward to passing that tonight.
Two more quick items.
Just comment on the Information Report Item 17, which is the Civic Arts Grant.
It's granting 91 awards, totaling more than $650,000.
I just want to comment that I recognize that we are in a challenging budget environment, but I also think it's important that as a city we continue to support the arts, and this demonstrates our commitment to making sure that the arts flourish here in Berkeley.
And finally, Information Item 15, which is the referral response to, I think, Council Member O'Keefe's item requesting alternative housing options for people experiencing homelessness.
I want to thank Peter Radue, the City Manager's Office, for preparing this comprehensive report that identifies potential locations that the city could utilize to establish staffed shelter sites, whether following the successful Grayson Street model or other models that the City Manager's found effective.
It's important to me and many colleagues that we identify one or more potential locations, secure financial support from the county, and move swiftly towards implementation.
It's important to do this so we can relieve the strain of unsanctioned encampments in parks, along creeks, in the commercial corridor, and in residential areas across the city.
And this would help us bring some resolution to that challenge.
As part of this, I would propose tonight that we bring this informational report back to Council as an action item on our November 18th agenda, so that we could discuss next steps and consider future actions based on those findings.
That's all I have.
Thank you.
Five minutes.
Perfect timing.
All right, thank you very much.
Council Member Trakob.
Thank you, Madam Mayor.
I also wish to thank Council Member O'Keefe for the Robocop item, number 12, and honored to serve as a co-sponsor of that item, as well as thank Council Member Blackabee for his item 14, Urging Police Accountability Board Regulations Completion.
I also wish to thank staff, and in particular Eleanor, for the work on item 5, which would adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to submit a letter of commitment of matching funds for seismic hazard mitigation grant application for the Historic City of Berkeley Civic Center Project Seismic Retrofit, as well as retrofitting the Historic Veterans Building, something that has been an issue that has certainly predated my time in office and the time in office of many before me, but absolutely must get done.
These are crown jewels of our civic life.
They are historic and architectural landmarks, and they absolutely need to be preserved, and providing the needed funding to make sure they're seismically safe is a critical component of that.
I also would like to acknowledge staff's hard work on bringing back the response to a referral authored by Council Member O'Keefe around exploring alternative housing options for people experiencing homelessness.
This is a topic that my office, working with all of my colleagues, has been laser focused on, and we're getting regular updates and have regular engagement with the County around uses of Measure W funding, so if there is an opportunity to discuss this further, I would certainly support that as well.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Going back to Council Member O'Keefe.
Thank you, Mayor.
Earlier I didn't realize we were also commenting on information reports, so I want to add, actually Council Member Blackabee, thank you.
You said everything I wanted to say about the response to was item 15, yeah, the response to my alternative housing sites item, but I just want to add my gratitude to City staff for all the hard work.
I was actually blown away by how much information was in that document, so Paul, please extend that to Peter, whoever else worked hard on it.
I really appreciate it, and I'm looking forward to the discussion that we'll have later.
All right.
Thank you very much.
Anyone else? Okay.
Oh, sorry.
Vice Mayor Humber, did you have additional comments? No, I didn't.
I just failed to lower my hand.
Sure, no worries.
Okay, adding on my thanks as well for five and six in particular.
The State of the City is next week, and I was like, wow, it's amazing we don't have a venue to have our own State of the City in.
So many times people tell me they're shocked we don't have like a civic space that holds more people, and our alarm thing going off today is a good reminder that not having our own Council Chambers also has an impact on our meetings, as we've had many audio and recording issues over this last year as well.
So I'm excited to kind of move that process forward, so thank you all for that work, and also want to add my thanks for 15.
This list is very exciting, and I know it's also just the beginning.
We've got a lot of work to do to get the funding in place, and you know, it's exciting.
I think we're in a good place to do it, given we've been working very closely with the County on Measure W funds.
As the Chair of the Homelessness Working Group within the Alameda County Mayor's Conference, it's been great to connect with my colleagues and get more coordinated around homelessness as an issue, as a regional issue.
And then just to mention again on 13, the urging the Police Accountability Board regulations completion.
Just to say that I've spoken with all the different parties there, and I know that we have a path forward there, so I am very excited and looking forward to that moving forward.
So thank you all.
Okay, so now that we have done our comments, I will close Council comments and open up to public comments.
Are there any comments on consent calendar or information items only? Sorry about that earlier, Carol.
I figured you out.
Go ahead.
First on item four, I am hoping that Healthy Black Families is also collaborating with Soul Space.
Soul Space is also funded under the Mental Health Services Act.
It is funded to provide services, mental health services, wellness services, to African-American community members.
And so hopefully they're coordinating together, because they're time limited also.
When we coordinate together, we have something that's more effective.
And hopefully they will be incorporated within the African-American Holistic Resource Center.
Moving on to the Police Accountability item, board item number 13, it seems as if there should be something definitive.
Although I hear the Mayor saying that there's a lot of hope out there, if you have three parties who don't agree, perhaps they should bring in a mediator.
Perhaps it should be the model where they have a list of three mediators that they can, so they all agree to one, and they fund it from their budget, and there be a definitive deadline where when they return, they have reached an agreement.
Last on the alternate, well not, maybe not last, because since I have a little more time, alternative housing options.
If there are members of the public who may, right or wrong, believe that there are other possibilities as far as vacant lots, who can they inquire to, to see if those are possible spaces, possible locations to add to the list.
And last I was going to say, I hope five and six that we're not being overly optimistic, because of course we need these things, and we can't use the word equity in them, because as we know, we lost the one million dollar tree planting grant by using the word equity.
So hopefully we won't be penalized by being a sanctuary city.
Thank you.
My name is Curtis Walters.
I live in Shoshana O'Keeffe's district, and I'm one of the people who was directly impacted by the surveillance system in CVS.
My bedroom window has a direct line of sight to the CVS, and I'm about 500 feet away, so I was woken up on a regular basis.
When that started happening, I contacted city council, Shoshana O'Keeffe, and her chief of staff, Alex Wallen, jumped right in.
So I'm here mostly to say thank you for the engagement.
I talked to friends of mine who don't live in Berkeley, and told them the level of engagement that I got with this situation, and they're like, really? So I really appreciated that.
It was from the very beginning, I was really very pleasantly surprised to find that Shoshana had gone down to the farmer's market to see what was going on for herself, and then handed the situation mostly over to our chief of staff, Alex, who was constantly engaged with me.
As situations would continue, there were minor improvements, and then it would fall apart again.
I was constantly feeding back the information on what was happening, how it was happening.
And the department that deals with noise issues got engaged, and I was shocked to learn that they really had their hands tied, that they couldn't stop a situation of noise that wasn't necessary coming from a business into a residential area.
And so I'm delighted to see that there's an item on the agenda to pass laws to make resolving the situations like these far easier in the future.
Thank you.
Thank you, and it's always nice when someone comes just to say thank you.
So props to your office, council member.
Hello, good evening.
I'm Lisa Bolinkle.
I'm here as a private citizen tonight, but I am the former chair of the art commission, and I'm currently on the art commission, and I've been working on a lot of items that are on your agenda tonight.
I'm really thankful that Eleanor has put this grant forward.
We've been working for five years to get those two buildings in a state so that they don't fall down around our ears, and this is maybe a good way to get going with some funding, and thank you, Terry, also for your work on this.
So mainly I am here to talk about the fee increases on festivals.
One of the things I've been working on for almost eight years in the city is getting the festival grant program up and running and well funded, and we now have an incredible festival grant, and this year we have almost 60 of.

Segment 3

Events that have received grant money from us.
You know, this is a time when we're all being reminded constantly on a daily basis that the way to fight fascism is to create joy and hope and community.
And that's what festivals do, and our community wants that.
And I think, yes, we need to increase fees.
I've been consulting with a group of all the event producers, and we have some other ideas we're going to bring to you in a couple weeks.
But for these increase of fees, we want to know what we're going to get on our end.
We find this very one-sided, and we'd like to know if we can have any input, if there's time to still have input on this, or if this, by bringing this to you, is that a done deal, or do you have to approve the fees? We're not clear.
So anyway, thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Appreciate it.
Y'all are so busy, and you're doing such a great job, and I'm so impressed.
The mention of public restrooms just thrills me, since I've brought it up for years.
And police accountability, obviously, to serve and protect, is such a grand aspiration.
And fire safety, you know, helping us do that, because it's kind of overwhelming when I drive around to see how easy it will be if we don't get it together.
But I'm primarily here at the moment to encourage you to, again, hold the space of grace.
I'm so thrilled you're the head of the whole kit and caboodle with regard to homelessness, however you define it, because I know your heart is here in Berkeley, but I know it's going to take a whole range, regional collaboration, because people from Richmond, everybody's shuffling people around, and if we don't work together, we're not going to find the places for people.
And when we do find space, it's like, for everyone, then everyone feels better.
They really do.
I mean, I would be down and outright annoying if I didn't have a place to be.
So it's like, tuck me away somewhere, and I won't bother you.
And there's a way that we can do this if we remember that we, in coming together, can.
And must, because no one's going to be safe if everyone isn't.
And there is space.
There's more than enough.
I drive around tending everyone all day long, every day, and I see endless possibilities.
So if we remember like a family, no one has to go hungry.
There's enough.
No one has to be suffering.
We can care.
So thank you for listening to me, because I know we can.
That's my whole point.
Thank you.
I won't take the whole time.
Emily Ragusa from the Berkeley Scanner.
I'm commenting on the civic arts grants, actually, which I think it's fantastic.
The city funds those projects in the interest of community.
And I wanted to just highlight a movement going on now to bring more public funding also to journalism organizations, to see journalism as a public good contributing to our democracy.
And it would be great if Berkeley or sort of regional efforts also made money available through grants to local journalism organizations.
New Jersey has a really strong program doing this, where they've actually given more than $5 million to 81 different journalism orgs throughout the state.
There's other ones under consideration.
And I think also California is working on its own program at the state level.
But I think Berkeley and Alameda County could consider doing something, because there's a lot of independent organizations that could benefit from support.
And then I also just, as a side note, wanted to thank Councilman Humbert for teaching me a new phrase.
I had to Google, turned the air blue.
And I recommend everyone else do it, too.
So thank you.
Thank you.
Is there comment online? Yes, there are.
Oh, and just to answer your question, the fees aren't getting approved tonight for the event fees, so there is opportunity to have conversation.
Thank you.
First speaker on consent and information is phone number ending in 000.
Good evening.
I hope you heard about this big, huge earthquake in the Philippines a couple days ago.
Two of them.
One was over 7, one over 8.
That happened in Berkeley.
50% of the building will be flattened.
By the way, I have been emailing you for years.
The big one is coming.
The Herald Falls is the most dangerous fall in America.
It's called the Saving Giants.
A similar magnitude in Herald Falls will flatten the whole East Bay.
And we have to take that into consideration.
And we really can't do much.
Besides physics and teaching as well, geology.
We're in a very, very dangerous zone.
I hope the city council tells all Berkeley residents to do whatever they can to enhance the foundation of poverty.
By the way, my name is Ed.
I've been a Berkeley resident for over 62 years.
Thank you and wish you the best.
And everybody.
Thank you.
Next speaker is Isabel.
Isabel, you should be able to unmute.
Hello? Yes.
Okay.
Hi, everyone.
I'm Isabel.
I'm a resident that lives very close to the CVS.
And I want to comment on the RoboCop item.
The individual who spoke in person was very eloquent.
Did a great job.
Second, absolutely everything they said.
Both with how annoying and disruptive to sleep and normal existence and life.
I think that the flashing light was also very irritating to us as well.
There was a blue and white combo flashing light that especially at night was, I guess, aimed to mimic police car lights.
That was very disruptive as well.
We could see it even with our blinds shut.
So in any legislation you pass about that, it would be appreciated if you were able to include something about the light aspect as well.
Thank you all so much for taking this seriously.
Thank you.
It will make our lives better.
Thanks.
Okay.
Next speaker is Jesse.
Yes, hello.
Thank you for calling on me again.
I would like to thank the city manager's office for the work on the homeless action.
And going forward, I'd like you guys to look at, because I deal with it and I deal with the companies.
What happens oftentimes is these large companies that we subcontract to, even given the space that you identify a facility and give them the space, they tend to run short on funding themselves, which puts the community short.
I'd like to see the city of Berkeley take and own their own shelter and staff it with city employees and lead the country in the model of how we should be dealing with homelessness.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next is Joyce car.
Hi, I'm Joyce car and I'm a community member.
I just wanted to say that the changing the event space is really.
I'm not happy with that.
I mean, it was supposed to be on Telegraph Avenue, hence Telegraph Avenue fair.
It's been going on forever.
That was one of the great things about Christmas time.
Joyce.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
The permit fees.
Oh, and the permit fees.
You know, that makes it harder to to to put those on.
If that's part of what you're saying right now, the permit fees they're going up and, you know, these crafters, and it's just harder to put these together with those.
With that happening, and I wish that you wouldn't raise it so we can keep making these events wherever they are.
Thank you.
Okay, that's it.
And then Mariah.
Hi, can you hear me? Yes.
Hi, can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you.
Okay, great.
Thank you.
So, I don't know what to say, but just wanted to add my thanks about the Robocop proposal.
I live on Henry street near the safeway at Shattuck and Rose, and I'm not right by the CBS, but I'm across Shattuck across Shattuck place across the parking lot and I could still hear it.
So, I just wanted to say thank you to the city of Shattuck.
Thank you to council member of Keith and to all the other co sponsors for moving, moving that forward.
So, thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay, that is all the speakers.
Okay.
All right.
Thank you all.
I appreciate your.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mariah for having me and my colleagues as well.
All right.
So is there a motion to approve the consent calendar, so move a second, second.
All right.
We've got a council member online, so we'll need to take the role for this.
Okay, to approve the consent calendar council member wait and just want clarification.
Okay, so is there a motion to approve the consent calendar and move a second.
So I think it could be a date that might work okay.
Okay, yeah, carry over this same item or submit a new item.
Bring this item back upwards.
Yeah.
Okay.
So we'll continue this item to.
November.
Would that come into our agenda and roles committee.
Yeah, it, you know, it's a, it's a little bit unusual because we are actually adopting the resolution tonight, which is what the items recommendation is.
So to have this same item with the same recommendation on the 18th might.
I guess the issue is where we wanted staff to have time to prepare us to prepare to have a proper sort of conversation about it at a future agenda rather than to do that tonight.
So happy to accommodate whatever the right mechanism is for doing that.
I think we also wanted to make sure the public had a chance to comment on it was I don't think people can prepare to do that today.
I also think that until we have like some concrete next steps to move that forward.
It would be maybe not advisable to have the public discuss all the items on that list.
Thank you.
Can I maybe ask that it come back as a separate item.
But that would be like an action to do something new with it as opposed to just receiving this list again and then discussing it.
Sure.
Do you want to say something about that, Mr city manager, I'm just trying to figure out what that what that looks like.
Yeah, not this one, but this topic I think should come back for us to have conversations about next steps.
That seems reasonable to me and I'm happy to work offline with people to figure out what the mechanism, what the like prevailing change would be to initiate that.
Does that make sense I'm sorry Councilmember we should have had that conversation.
Yeah, I think as long as it, as long as it's an expeditious return, and if we can prepare the item for the 18th I just, yeah, didn't just want to keep that ball.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I think that makes a lot of sense.
So I think we don't then.
So I think if that's the commitment from staff and the council I think then we don't need to like it will adopt it as part of the consent calendar tonight and then I think there's a commitment to bring back something on the 18th separate.
Yeah, I think that makes sense.
We can do it.
I'm not exactly sure what will be different.
I mean, what you know what could be different is if we got an indication from the county that measure W money would be flowing to the city for this purpose.
I don't know if you want to go back a little bit more and wanting to perhaps I can recommend I can bring it back as like a report back from the county and the conversations we've been having there about, like, if we are receiving funding if they're changing their structure.
It might be a good idea anyway for me to give a report on what we've been doing on the county level around homelessness and how it connects what we're doing here.
Yeah, I can work with my team to get an item together for that.
Okay, so then our presentation so we'll so we'll kind of withdraw my piece we'll just adopt this part of the consent calendar tonight and then you'll come back with a separate item.
Okay, that sounds good.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay, okay.
Okay.
On the consent calendar council member because they're wanting.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Okay.
All right.
Very good.
All right.
All right.
Sorry, I will take non agenda public comment.
Was there anyone else.
Anyone online.
Okay, in that case, I will entertain a motion for a second.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
And Mary she yes, okay.
Okay.
This is the record.
I don't know.
All right.
Thanks everyone.
Have a good night.
Recording stopped.