Alameda City Council Meeting - September 16, 2025: LGBTQ Action Plan, Navy Lease, and Public Comments on Hate Graffiti and Contamination
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Alameda City Council Meeting - September 16, 2025
The Alameda City Council held a special closed session at 5:15 p.m., followed by a special joint meeting of the City Council and Successor Agency to the Community Improvement Commission (SACIC) at 6:59 p.m., and the regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16, 2025. The regular meeting included public comments on hate graffiti, hexavalent chromium contamination, and parking cash-out laws; a consent calendar with 16 routine items; a discussion on the LGBTQ+ Action Plan; and introduction of an ordinance amending a lease with the U.S. Navy. The council also announced actions from closed session.
Consent Calendar
- Successor Agency (SACIC) Meeting: Approved minutes of June 17, 2025 and July 15, 2025; approved the City of Alameda Investment Policy (item 2B); accepted the Investment Transactions and Annual Investment Report for FY 2024-25. (All unanimous.)
- Regular City Council Meeting: Approved 16 consent calendar items (5A through 5P) with one recorded no vote (Councilmember Daysog on item 5N, the EUPA MOU). Items included: minutes of July 15, 2025; bills for ratification; a $90,000 mental health support agreement with Alameda Family Services; a battery energy storage purchase with Alameda Municipal Power; a $550,000 agreement with Village of Love Foundation for a day center and shelter; police policy updates; a $3.3M amendment for the Lincoln Avenue/Marshall Way/Pacific Avenue Corridor Improvement Project; acceptance of North Housing Phase 1 public improvements; a street sweeper purchase; rejection of all bids for the Safe Routes to School Project (item 5J); temporary fleet fueling services; a $200,000 CDBG-funded ADA curb ramp project; workforce changes in Public Works; the EUPA MOU; reallocation of grant funds for Stargell Avenue Complete Streets and Neighborhood Greenways; and a resolution for library general obligation bond property tax levy.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Molly Loffer (resident, Jewish mother): Expressed concern and frustration that a swastika painted on a traffic light pole at Otis and Broadway on September 1, 2025, remained uncovered after two weeks, despite reports to APD and SeeClickFix. She urged the city to escalate repainting and stated that such inaction makes her feel less welcome as a Jewish resident.
- Josh Altieri (Community Relations Manager, Housing Authority of the City of Alameda): Provided updates on the North Housing grand opening (September 25), community meetings for the Poplar development, town halls at Housing Authority properties, and a ribbon cutting for the city’s first building-powered public curbside EV charger (September 23 at Everett Commons).
- Christy Black (resident): Raised concerns about hexavalent chromium contamination discovered at Alameda High School, urging the city to advocate for residents and determine if contamination extends beyond the school site. She also advocated for a citywide ban on glue traps for pest control, citing suffering caused to animals and a pending ban in San Francisco.
- Mitchell Ball (resident): Urged the city to enforce California’s 1992 Parking Cash-Out Law by adopting financial penalties for non-compliant businesses and requiring unbundled parking in commercial leases. He argued this would reduce traffic congestion, benefit non-drivers, and free up land for development.
Discussion Items
- LGBTQ+ Action Plan (Item 7A): Assistant City Manager Amy Woolridge presented a comprehensive action plan developed with input from city departments, boards, and commissions. The plan inventories existing partnerships (e.g., Pride in the Park, QTAC teen drop-in), policy actions (gender-neutral language, sensitivity training), and opportunities organized by resource needs. Councilmembers expressed strong support and offered additional ideas: Councilmember Daysog emphasized intentionality, monitoring transgender issues, and installing welcoming plaques at parks; Vice Mayor Pryor highlighted mental health data tracking; Councilmember Bowler suggested a dedicated LGBTQ+ liaison and exploring non-discrimination ordinances; Councilmember Jensen proposed a rainbow crosswalk as a visual expression of support. The council directed staff to continue developing the plan and report back.
- Navy Lease Amendment (Item 7B): Management Analyst Alexis Krieg introduced an ordinance authorizing the City Manager to execute a third amendment to lease with the U.S. Navy for 3,895 square feet of office space in City Hall West at Alameda Point, reducing space as the Navy relinquishes one office to Public Works. The ordinance was introduced on first reading with no questions.
Key Outcomes
- Closed Session Actions: Council provided unanimous direction on: (1) real property negotiations for Building 92 at 650 West Ranger Avenue (price and terms of sale); (2) existing litigation in opiate cases (Purdue/Sackler); and (3) potential litigation against Astra Space, Inc.
- Consent Calendar Votes: Approved with a single no vote (Councilmember Daysog on item 5N).
- LGBTQ Action Plan: Council provided general support and additional suggestions; staff will refine the plan and bring back updates.
- Navy Lease Ordinance: Introduced on first reading (unanimous) and will return for second reading.
- Council Communications: Councilmembers reported on various events, including a joint meeting with AUSD, ribbon cuttings for Improv Central and Park Street Station, the Alameda Welfare Council luncheon, and meetings of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Alameda County Mayors’ Conference. The meeting was adjourned in memory of Alice Huey, a longtime community volunteer and citizen of the year (2000).
Meeting Transcript
We ready? Ready to start? Because we got it's five fifteen. Hi, you were here anyway. Um, good evening, everyone, and welcome to the city council meeting for the city of Alameda. Tonight is Tuesday, September sixteenth, twenty twenty-five. And we are about to go into closed session, and so I would like to call this meeting to order. And we'll start with the roll call, Madam Clerk, Laura Weissinger. Would you please call the role? Council members bowler. Day Sag. Here prior. Here, Mayor Ezia Ashcraft. Here. For present, and hopefully Councilmember Jensen will be here shortly. Perfect. So um first up is the consent calendar. This is a routine item. We'll be approved by one motion unless removed by council members. This is not something you would remove. And this is just the nigga. Why don't you tell us what this is, Madam Clerk? Okay, so this is just one item to um uh designate the negotiators for building ninety-two. Okay. Motion by Vice Mayor Pryor. So moved seconded by Council Member Bowler. That's what I thought maybe you even use the microphone. Um favor signify by stating aye. Aye. Aye. All right, that motion uh passes unanimously. Madam Clerk, do we have any public comment on the closed session items? We do not. All right. With that, we're gonna adjourn into closed session to consider three items and um the clerk will please introduce those items. Well, uh three four eight is conference with real property negotiators pursuant to government code section five four nine five six point eight. The property is six fifty West Ranger Avenue, building ninety-two at Alameda Point. Uh, city negotiators are the city manager, economic development director, assistant city attorney, and uh Tenet Anderson from Cushman and Wakefield, the negotiating parties are the city of Alameda, Alameda Point Redevelopers, Best Bay Apartments Inc. Uh, DBA Riaz Capital and SM Earnst Development Partners under negotiation or price and terms of sale. For BS conference with legal counsel existing litigation pursuant to government commitment code section 54956.9. The case name is Purdue Sackler versus Alvigin Nationwide Opiate Litigation. Courts are United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, New York and the United States Court Northern District of Ohio. The case numbers are 19 BK 23649 and 117 MD 2804. 4C is conference with legal council potential litigation for potential initiation of litigation pursuant to government code section 54956.9 subdivision D4. Number of cases is one with the city initiating litigation legal action as plaintiff, the potential defendant is Astra Space. Perfect, thank you. And so with that, we're going to adjourn into closed session. We have every intention of being back here at 7 p.m. to start the regular meeting. Okay, with that, we'll see everybody involved in item 4A to please come back to the closed session.
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