Item number one is the minutes from last time they were sent today in the email.

I don't know if anyone has any questions or even.

There should be one in front of you there.

Um, I don't think we have it.

I don't know what a little bit of.

That's fine.

Um Susan, do you want to introduce yourself to the group?

Yeah.

Uh hi everybody.

Uh I'm Cesar M.

I am the new employee for uh economic basis and economic development.

I uh an economic development specialist.

Um I have uh I think of experience in planning.

Um strategy uh that would be good.

Right.

We should focus on Alameda Point.

Uh to be determined.

Are you working at City Hall West?

Yes.

Welcome.

Yeah, this is uh volunteer economic planning where we quarterly.

Um typically Abby is the house.

Welcome.

Um okay, so going back to the minutes.

Is there any corrections to the minutes I don't know?

Is there a sorry?

Um communication.

So we're required to state this.

Anyone wants to anyone in the public wants to comment on an item?

Um, I don't think we have anyone public comments on it, but um if so, um we're allowed a three-minute interval for speaking, which brings us to the consent part of it.

Yeah, nothing up set time, but it's just gonna push us with it.

Caesar, are you gonna run the um Alamina Point Enterprise District presentation?

Really your first week on the job.

You don't know about it.

Uh the topic tonight's gonna be the Alameda Point Enterprise District.

For those of you that are not familiar, it's the area off to the left when you drive it to Alameda Point.

Uh, if you come in on the scientific entrance.

Uh it's a large, I think it's a hundred and twelve acre parcel that's not really developed at all.

Uh, sort of specific fusions wanting to go.

Um, there's a spattering of businesses out there.

Good question.

Yeah.

Uh I may be a little kind of behind the times, but do we know why Pacific Fusion decided to choose New Mexico as opposed to California and Alameda?

I think you probably have.

Um, so they were looking at three sites um in Livermore and Alameda Point and in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Albuquerque was a late entrant into the process and kind of threw a wrench into things a little bit.

But um, the state of New Mexico is they have a sovereign wealth fund, and they basically said to Pacific Fusion, we'll give you a hundred million dollars to build it here.

Um they also have any a lab there.

So there were a lot of reasons.

Um construction costs are lower, labor costs are lower.

So um, yeah, yeah, so it was disappointing.

Yeah.

But understandable.

Okay, because I was reading all, I was looking at the presentation and other things, and um I think one of the questions says what could we do differently next time?

You know, based on what happened with the situation.

And so in my mind, like, well, do we even know the reason why?

Right.

So sorry, that was a fiasco.

So that gives me a lot of.

Can you put on an unlock if you don't have to?

No.

Okay, we started already, sorry.

Oh good.

No, I was hoping you would.

I'm sorry for being late.

There's an accident on an ED and I think my daughter from Hazer.

Thank you.

Um so down on the very ground floor.

So yeah, I don't know what the lesson part is.

I don't know if we could be replied.

I don't know if we could have done that.

So the state is that key.

It doesn't seem like in this fiscal state when I use it.

Or the state even um, you know, didn't but I think Abby can probably provide more insight.

Because I really feel like having worked with Pacific Fusion and the City, I feel like we kind of left it all out there.

Very modern.

Yeah, city did amazing job.

Twisted in multiple.

I mean, because it seems like you last tracked it pretty well.

You know, the reason if the reason they gave us was A, we're not.

Did they provide feedback?

Oh, that's a good question for Abby.

We're talking about Pacific Fusion, and I gave some um background on the choice that they made.

But you probably did give more detail.

Did they provide feedback?

Yeah.

I didn't ask for any because I knew that you know I should have given them $777 million.

So I assume that was the feedback.

That was a lot more than I think.

Oh wow.

So I sort of figured that was the feedback, and I never I should ask.

Yeah.

I think I didn't know.

It was like that.

Well, maybe proposals that were not successful.

We ask for feedback.

Yeah, yeah.

I should ask for feedback.

I just more for the next one.

Yeah.

Yeah, I think it would be good to know what other considerations that money.

And you said it hadn't been part of it, which the money hadn't been part of it.

Where would you have fallen?

Yeah, take that out or it's um, you know, they could be they could be pretty open about the pros and cons of what they saw here.

That's all I think.

It's not around here.

It's not organized.

That's interesting to see what it's not like.

So it's equal to the capitalization.

Yeah.

It is not, yes.

I don't know what form or structure, like it might have been third years and tax credits, certainly, right?

We don't know.

Yeah, university sometimes together.

Yeah.

Did you already do all the things?

We went through the uh, the people stuff.

Uh it's being recorded.

We have no one on the outside.

Okay.

Okay.

So we're actually keyed up.

Oh, I'm so sorry.

Okay.

Did you do the minutes?

Yes.

Um.

Did anybody vote no?

No.

Okay.

Uh great.

Well, should I just dive in then to the.

I did a I created a little presentation for the Enterprise District.

Sounds like you all have started the discussion.

We just teed it up with a quick explanation of the Enterprise.

Oh, great.

Knowing that's what you were doing.

Okay, question about why Pacific Fusion didn't choose Alameda.

So got it.

So we sort of teed up the presentation.

Oh, wait.

I do have to.

Yes.

It did.

Great.

Okay.

Um, so uh I wrote up the staff reporting.

So just by way of um I guess I'll be very quick.

I handed out copies of the presentation because um there are a lot of photos in here.

There's a lot of background that I was not intending to spend a lot of time on.

Many of you already are very familiar with this.

We did have uh, as I mentioned in the staff report, we did have a discussion about positioning the enterprise district for development back in 2024.

Then we went through the Pacific Fusion process.

So I'll kind of touch on all that very lightly, but really wanted you to have the reference slides with the photos.

Um so I just wanted to recap the back from August 2024 and another attachment to the staff report was the summary of the discussion that this panel had back in 2024 before the Pacific Fusion deal came through.

Um, and so talk a little bit about that, talk about what I learned from the Pacific Fusion process.

I know that uh Becca was deeply involved in this.

Rock's hi.

We're just diving into six A.

Um Rock's uh firm did some work on this.

I don't know if you did work personally on this.

No, we're not very brought to.

But yeah, that's pretty much the extent of your work.

Um, David's not out of the Joe Joe's not here but did some work on this, and then multiple folks to this table.

Mark, Madeline, a lot of advocacy, Rock and David all kind of came out and tried to help recruit them into town.

So I think everybody here will have a few lessons learned that I think I'd love to also hear.

So uh and then discuss ideas for where to go now.

I think I'm really looking for from my perspective to figure out how we can capitalize on the work that was done, but also like what worked, what didn't work, how can we do things differently or better the next time around.

Um, just a this was again a background slide I won't dwell on, but just defines the enterprise district uses that are that the zoning allows for and the vision um uh was that was set, which is really jobs oriented, really flexible zoning, allowing for pretty much any job-generating uses, very limited residential development is allowed, um, and just a reminder of the the zoning districts for Alameda Point, and that the enterprise district is generally we consider bounded by West Atlantic Avenue, and it's a pretty much can be discussed as anything south of West Atlantic or maybe a the sort of the core subset, depending on kind of how you view things, and there are four specific zoning designations to the enterprise district AP E1 through E4.

Um, the the real difference here is that most of the land is in APE1, which allows for anything.

The APE4 um is in the State Lands Trust, and so it's more restricted in what can be in there.

Um, there's a small strip of residential land along Central Avenue, which is really supposed to be a hundred-foot buffer from Central Avenue to provide just as noted a buffer from whatever the job uses are to the neighborhood next door.

Um so that kind of gives you an E2, which is north of West Pacific Avenue, uh, which is pretty much where Astra is.

So I don't quite know the difference between one and two, but they're all very similar.

Um, I just put this as an example.

I think the master infrastructure plan, and I'll I'll speak more to this really served us well in this process.

We knew exactly what we needed to replace in terms of infrastructure.

I think I've said to you all many times that Albion Point development is all about replacing infrastructure, it's our biggest constraint to new development.

It drives how we sell and lease land, um, and the master infrastructure plan is a guiding document that really inventories our assets and sets the vision for where the new assets will go and identifies everything from electricity to stormwater, sewer roads, road designs.

It has some cross-sections of the street designs and designates which roads are what um, and in this case, sewer pump station, the electrical substations, where things are flowing.

So, and we just um in this this year we actually did a cost estimate.

We had been using this number of replacing everything at Alameda Point is going to cost an additional 700 million dollars, um, and a lot of that is also because it includes sea level rise work and the like seawalls adaptation work, which is extraordinarily expensive.

Um, we did have our civil engineer re-estimate that this year, and the new price tag on all the infrastructure is 900 million dollars, so I'm not surprised that people at this end of the table to hear that.

I think, but um, so the costs have just gone way up, but land values have not gone up correspondingly.

So I think we are really framing up, and I think for council next year, and in fact, later later this week, we are going to start teaching up for council that the expectation has always been Alameda Point will pay for itself that we will sell land and leverage the value of land to pay for all of that infrastructure.

The math does not work anymore on that premise, and that we need to start contemplating that we may need to be seeking outside sources of funding and grants in order to start paying for some of this infrastructure.

So I think that's really never been thought of before.

I think it's always been contemplated that Alameda Point piece for itself in every way, and so I think we really need to start questioning that notion, and that's that's going to be a huge topic for council, obviously.

Particularly as we're going into if you have been watching the council meetings, been reviewing all of the infrastructure needs of the entire city, and there are many.

So this is just a map showing current conditions.

I just brought three of our placemats in, they're always a useful reference, and on the back they show who our tenants are.

We have um some pretty fantastic, some amazing tenants in the area.

And uh so we do have, I think, a pretty robust employment base, but I think most most of the most of the buildings that are in this area are envisioned to be torn down in support of new development.

With with two exceptions, which are identified in the master infrastructure plan, which are buildings 166 and 167.

Um just a little bit on the negotiation background for Pacific Fusion.

Um, so Pacific Fusion uh submitted to us an unsolicited proposal in late 2024.

We brought it to council and post-session in January.

They directed a staff to work on an exclusive negotiating agreement.

We brought that back in February.

It's the fastest ENA I have ever negotiated.

My fastest one before this was three months, which was probably not very fast.

We did this in four weeks.

Um then um in June, so from February to June, we worked really hard to uh negotiate and get approval on not just a purchase option agreement, which laid out all of the all of the price and terms for the deal, but also and I think I think much more impressively the CEQA checklist, which was uh completely environmentally cleared the project.

So all of that happened in about four months, and then um over the summer.

So we approved that in June.

Over the summer, uh we weren't really hearing much of anything.

We knew they were working on their other two sites, which were Livermore and Albuquerque, and in September they notified us of their intent to terminate the purchase option.

So they kind they kindly at least made the process very clean for us by doing that, right?

They could have just dragged it out, they really were very clear and up front and just said we're done, and so a nice clean break.

Um, one of the requirements of the purchase option agreement is upon termination, the city receives all third-party consultant materials, and I think that might be a benefit to us.

I'm kind of curious to hear from this group.

Um, so the that the negotiation, the deal that was struck was a 13-acre property bounded by Pacific Avenue, Orion Street, and West Ticonderoga Avenue.

The building would orient towards this corner of Orion and West Ticonderoka, the the southwest corner, um 220,000 square foot building, parking cut parking and uh main parking would be on West Ticonderoga.

This is Skyhawk, that was the boundary here, and that then everything between Skyhawk and Central Avenue would be uh allow for them to negotiate a second purchase option for a second phase.

Um the price for the first phase uh was 28.9 million dollars, which they were to deliver through we were through developer-led improvements to the infrastructure in the enterprise district.

We negotiated an infrastructure package of 22 to 24 million dollars, allowing for some cost overruns.

This was the most complicated part of the deal, was figuring out well, what if the price tag is wrong?

And what if we run into surprises in Algae to Point, which always happens, um never happens, and so um, and so we uh uh so getting that package exactly right was quite a bit of work where we really buckled down with public works.

Um we were uh Pacific Fusion's developer partner, which was Heinz scan, had a contractor scan the steward and sewer and stormwater lines adjacent because we had to make sure that we were getting as much infrastructure as we could out of the deal, but also that that infrastructure was could support a new 220,000 square foot building, right?

It was being built on the Navy's sewer lines, the Navy stormwater, um, the Navy's electrical, um, which streets were we gonna improve?

And so right siding that package, so one of so just an example of kind of the nimble decisions we were making was um we there is a new sewer pump station that's required down at the the lower left corner.

We made the decision not to require Pacific Fusion to build that very expensive piece of infrastructure, but to defer it, but that then the city would be amassing money to do that sewer pump station.

We made the decision not to require Pacific Fusion.

So we we so this site is supposed to flow south out into the bay.

We made the decision to have it flow west into the seaplane lagoon instead, so that we could use the existing stormwater system.

So we just kind of were making decisions like that as we went along to right size that infrastructure package to the value of the land.

How many acres were in the first purchase?

Uh 13.

I'm sorry, I just we've been so moving so quickly that I forgot to share screen.

All right, now I want that to go away.

Let's hope I just start doing things and it goes away.

Okay.

Almost there.

It's not now, it's not advancing.

All right, we're going to do the steel fashion right.

Okay.

So the question I'd really love to discuss with you all is how can the city best position the enterprise district to take advantage of private development opportunities like this and leverage what we learned from this process to just do things even better and be, you know, even more aggressive about attracting new development and new and new businesses to the area.

Um, so as I mentioned, we completed a lot of work, and I'm sort of like I'm thinking we can leverage a lot of this work for the future.

Um, I mean, we established price and terms at um, so we we and we know, as I mentioned, what infrastructure packaging we need to support a new project and what public works is willing to kind of accommodate in terms of using existing lines versus new.

Um we completed a CQA checklist which involved extensive this is like a 400-page document of traffic analysis and environmental analysis, and so I think that that a lot of that is reusable.

Um, one of the things I I'm most proud of, like the and for those of you who read the news, you know that the the on-site contamination was a huge drama for us this summer, but um the Navy part of the the southern portion of the site is a navy petroleum site, and they are required to do on growth ongoing groundwater monitoring in perpetuity, and there are wells that that the Navy accesses to do the testing.

And we were able to work with the Navy and the environmental agencies, and within two weeks, but basically we saw where the building was going to be, we saw where the wells were.

We proposed which wells would be demolished and where new wells would be put and how they would be relocated, and within two weeks we had approval from all of the agencies EPA, Department of Toxic Substances Control of Water Board, and the Navy.

So I felt like very proud of how quickly we did that.

The Terry refinery material is oil refined oil refinery residuals from pre-Navy days, and that's been a bit of an ongoing drama because Chevron is the responsible party for cleaning that up, and they were supposed to have completed their corrective action plan, which is the final step before they can begin the remediation.

They were supposed to have completed that in February, they missed that deadline.

There to be fair, the environmental agencies did move the goalposts on them.

Um, they then missed their July deadline.

That's when uh the city became a little bit pushy about things, and they did submit a corrective action plan about two months ago.

So we actually think they will start the cleanup work on that in early 2026.

And the other great news is that the cleanup is removal of seven feet of dirt, which is a pretty easy cleanup process.

Um, so things that I learned from this before I turn it back to our chair is um really um I'm sort of putting a lot of thought to how we can tell the story of this process and what we did really well, and sort of the wording and I are thinking about market materials and kind of how to really put into words the cities that to the speed and flexibility that the city really brought to this process.

Um, I think one of the biggest challenges is when you know the city really does not want to speculate and hold land, right?

The city, like that's but that's been made very clear.

We're not gonna be entering into 10-year purchase options and just holding things.

I think that there's been so much resistance to that.

Um, but that means that instead we're waiting for a business to come in who may or may not know anything about real estate development and probably doesn't, as was the case here.

And we were working with actual nuclear physicists on explaining real estate, and like these nuclear physicists, you know, this was an incredibly challenging process for us, and they brought Heinz into the process, and this was really Heinz's responsibility, but the a level of of walkthrough and explanation that staff had to do of CEQA and of how these agreements might work and how the entitlement process worked.

Like real estate is just hard.

Um, and so if we're waiting for that business to come in, then they're and and this was a this is a company, two-year-old company that has a crazy aggressive timeline for operations, and they're running on city time, and it was really immensely frustrating to them, I think.

Um, and so how do we like for a business that's got a deliverable to their investors?

How do we how do we shorten that amount of time that the real estate transaction and then and the city's entitlements process takes?

Like this the timing of these two things is very different.

Um then um the last was I feel like we and I think the collective, we including everyone in this room, really refined how we talked about Alameda and and the benefits of being to business of being in Alameda, and I feel like we we all we kind of the talking points didn't change.

I didn't think like AMP is fabulous benefit of being in Alameda, um, being central to the Bay and the labor force, uh the ferries are an amazing benefit, uh, quality of life, but I feel I feel like the emphasis and where we put the emphasis did shift over this process.

In particular, I think one of the sort of epiphanyes and I and I credit Jonathan Delong with this really was the quality of life in Alameda is what's bringing what's gonna bring business here.

So it's the quality of living here that brings business here.

It's the quality of Park Street and Webster Street and the South Royal Shopping Center and just the mix of amenities.

And I feel like we went from really under not really emphasizing that to realizing that like that was what set us apart from Livermore, right?

Like, and that that really is what sets us apart.

So I felt like the emphasis shifted a little bit in the tone of our dialogue over the course of the six months.

So um uh that I think is is pretty much oops, that was kind of the the crux of my reflections on the process, and I'd love to hear, and then I just have again I just printed this out so you can see the different site conditions and kind of really we showed these to council during the during the process because we really wanted council to understand the level of transformation of the infrastructure that we were talking about.

So we were showing juxtaposing um what the current condition of the area, which is the top, with what has been done along West Tower Avenue, along Pan Am, just like what how different Alameda Point looks in the places where we have done the new backbone streets.

So we just wanted to kind of enforce that.

So with that, Chair Mick, I will turn it back to you.

But thank you.

Does anyone have any clarified questions?

I guess I mean we learned that Mexico would got in all the state.

So I don't know if that's the city as far as not California houses, it's a huge state, that a lot of municipalities that probably wanted to work on different initiatives for that.

But it's just what do we learn from that from the city of Alameda, how it maybe leverage the state to move on?

It's a big big enough opportunity to try to rule uh business or not care, uh, obviously, the Mexico's trying to bring industry, probably had to start.

We see what's going on in Arizona with the chip making and study prices that I don't know, on more of that in the zone, so I'm just curious how California, because it seems like the city's just left on its own to try to negotiate it against obviously a bigger player with the state funds.

Well they're often with these is seven hundred seventy million dollars a lot, probably a lot of tax incentives, uh, just certainly certain milestones that the company must fit as far as hiring how many people they promised to hire jobs they've created, because I've done this in the past with other companies.

So there's strings attached to make that that money, but it's it's seven or something?

Very substantial and it's it's they care.

So I think that's a good idea to draw off with the spot, so that was what it is in the press, but this group aptly pointed out that the next step we should take is asking Pacific Fusion for feedback, which I just didn't do because I figured the reason was funny.

So I yes.

Um I think in spite of the money just to or out of them just to understand the pros and costs.

Take them take that money part out of it and just really dig into well what did you like about Alameda and what did you dislike?

So you know what you're working with when the next opportunity comes along.

Yeah.

Um just to Mark's point, Abby, I know that the city did have conversations with California's governor's office of GoPiz, and so they were governor's office of GoPis was engaged.

Um and then there were also a lot of other elected officials at the state and federal level that wanted to see this happen here who also got involved, but I just don't know where that ultimately ended up.

I mean obviously it ended up in New Mexico, but I I don't know, Dwayne, did you have conversations with go-go's during this process?

I did.

Um I mean for me, having been in economic development for a little while and working with Go Bus.

Okay.

To me it seems like Go Biz is more reactionary than proactive.

Um, you know, the a w a long time ago we had California trade commerce and the state was you know, at least in my opinion, twenty years ago was much more active.

And then it turned into Go Biz and and there are programs that are out there, but I still don't think that we compete very well with other states as far as like what the state can offer.

Um we get so go kind of the how how they operate is is leads that are that go into the state, then kind of get disseminated to the different regions of different cities.

But many times that's a a fairly last minute type of process.

It's like here's a company looking if you want to put together a proposal.

Um so to get I think back to your kind of question, to me it seems like our state is has been lacking for a while on what we can what our state is offering for these type of projects.

So that being said, to get their apples to apples, I would ask them if New Mexico wasn't a contender and it was solely Alameda and Livermore.

What would their preference be and why?

And and what Rob was saying, you know, what are the what do they like about Alameda and what did they you know not like about Alameda, because that would be very helpful.

But they told us that during when we had that meeting at the place in that building, yeah.

And discussion at that was a huge thing.

The cost of energy uh was because it's what they're gonna need a lot of uh and obviously you can use myself in the right.

But I'm really curious I'm curious is there's staff that has to potentially relocate to Al Kirby.

Are they gonna l are they losing talent because of that?

It's interesting.

I just lost two employees, two employees left.

So I don't actually go work for the city fusion.

They still have a manufacturing facility in San Jose, yeah, which they're coaching people from like so that people work there.

So there's that is still operating.

Yeah, yeah, they're not gonna move those people.

That's right.

They're keeping San Leandro and Livermore, and so a lot of people will stay here, and even some of the C suite is planning to just commute.

I mean, it's like Cairo's Power, who's a tenant of ours, uh that you know they have huge R D.

You know, they're the population in that building now is just mushroom.

Um, but they're building their nuclear actors and uh and New Mexico, yeah.

So but they can't get the talent there, so you know, you know, the RP stays here.

You guys are rare, and that you have so much of your operation here, but my whole career I've watched comp you know we innovate like crazy here, but the minute something's ready to commercialize, it leaves.

So I don't think it's always because of cost, it's time to the bigger, you know, for the more sophisticated manufacturing where the talent is so critical and being close.

You know, if you're making cookies and donuts, then that is more likely to leave.

But if it's something more sophisticated where the engineering talent, I think if we could get rid of the regulation or shorten the regulation, cost would be less of an issue.

Well it seemed like it would be so much work was done right now.

Clearly learned a lot, even the next party that happens to come along.

You've already answered a lot of questions, but can be an advantage to even make it go faster next time.

Um I think it would be important to kind of remember all that, document all that, um, so that you you can fall back on it quickly.

Um so you know, you're asking a lot of what you're asking is probably buried in the work you board as far as what we can do next time, you know, just to re sequen.

You answered a bunch of questions.

It would be on the table next time.

Yeah.

Um, even though certain circumstances are different, but we could survive something, somebody's asking, well, how fast could this happen?

And I think it'd be worth chasing the state looking into that, at least so you know which channels where to explore those channels channels more quickly next time.

Um, really, you know.

Yeah, go is whatever it's.

I mean, this is not really something I do chasing the state for money from government group to government group, but um, you know, to really just dig into that a little further and kind of go about it hypothetically, so that uh really we really do know what the leverage I mean it's kind of marketing seven out of 70 million, but that's pretty unique situation too.

I think you're you've commented work on the infrastructure um studies is super important because I look at some things I've done in the past when I was on Amazon we were doing the charging stations for the electric vans, and we specifically chose and we were doing this in the line, so we were looking at this we chose where to launch that electric van first based on where we could get power, utility, where you go to the utilities.

Every utility company's different every state, every city's different, and it was a bill.

Hey, and so we chose places that was like going quickly and had power, uh and you know get sites set up fast, so the infrastructure is a huge thing.

And then when I went on, and then on what the car factories get infrastructure is cheap, and then you get promises from the utilities and then you can you're doing a transfer, and then they tell you it's coming from our city transfer and you're like, what the hell is you know because we really have our whole programs of infrastructure is just super important, power, so it's just more than all that stuff.

But the more the city can present something that says your infrastructure ready, um, that's huge.

I have a question about uh you had mentioned um looking for grants or other sources of funding that you identify anything specific yet.

It's a good question.

Um we we have um there's um obviously the federal government's not getting a lot of money for adaptation right now, but this the state, you know, is um but one of the opportunities we were able to leverage very quickly, not for the enterprise district, but for Alameda Point was um we are applying for a 15 million dollar Army Corps of Engineers grant to do work on the seawall on the north side along the estuary, um realizing that and they'll just put in a plug that on Saturday we're doing a walking tour with the city council sort of teeing up the next phase of housing development, and we raised with the city manager, you know, this development will not be able to paint for the seawall here, and we will not be able to build the housing without the seawall.

And she pivoted, we had this opportunity to apply for this grant that was we were the city's been looking actually at doing something else with it, um, and we pivoted very quickly and actually redirected the entire process to like designing the seawall to protect the s the northern side of Alameda point so yes we have um we've also um uh mark has been tuning us in to some federal port infrastructure money that we're hoping we can pursue next year probably not on seawall work but on repairs so we're trying our best to you know identify other other sources um we also just got word this this evening there's another state source of funding for for affordable housing and uh we just got word that the first phase of reshape is the top ranked uh candidate to be granted this it's the money to cap and trade program and with that we partnered with the SF Bay Ferry to pay for their ferry electrification and we're also gonna we also have um a couple of blocks of pet and bike improvements so like we're piecing it together it tends to be for like uh easier more ribbon cutting type projects right if you're sure you're all over right so getting the addressing adaptation pet and bike improvement safety improvements affordable housing right it's not gonna be so that's been a little bit of a challenge but I think that we can we can continue to look for sources like we have an inventory of exactly what we need.

Is there federal funding for more military basis?

Does that funding cycle still exist for any kind of infrastructure improvements?

No.

Um yeah it really doesn't um so yeah it doesn't so hopefully it will come back around I don't know um I can't help but think that you know because this was unsolicited when um Pacific Fusion came to Alameda um I almost think that it's I don't want to say a blessing disguise but it's it has it's an impetus to kind of get our stuff together so we have done the research we've learned all these things.

The first meeting that I attended for eat up was um a conversation about blue tech.

Yes do you remember that?

And so I almost feel like we have to go back to that um perspective where we said what makes Alameda unique and I had heard about there's very few places that have you know the water and that kind of stuff.

So I almost feel like we have to think about you know marketing what makes Alameda unique and and pull those kind of industries because that I think um is a big selling point.

You know um Livermore and Alameda are I think different um so if we can if we can s show that hey there's very few places like this I feel like that would be a big draw.

So I I just I would hate to see us um go off of course you know lamenting that we can't have fusion here because um it wasn't initially um the I would say ideal kind of uh you know technology that we wanted here so I just wanted to put that focus back on I think we've got it yes well yeah and then also you know um if we're looking at a marketing uh focus you know I think the uniqueness is important to capitalize.

What do you mean by the technology that we said about there was the first meeting I went to was all about blue tech and so what you said about Pacific fusion it's not a good technology oh no because it was unsolicited so they came to Alameda right now it was an ARIA right now.

But nothing bad about the no not at all I'm just saying instead of instead of pursuing a potential you know other fusion company why don't we go back to the idea of hey you know what kind of uh businesses or what kind of um technology likes Alameda for the uniqueness and that has to do with being by the water and all those other things that I heard I think we're desperate enough we take anything back.

I mean I think that I you know the city needing to figure out the infrastructure and keep pushing for that regardless of whether you've got a perspective tenant or what have you because again making the place more presentable and more so people can envision it especially if they're if they're engineers and they're coming from a completely different thing.

They're like we gotta do what sewer and water what do you what are you talking about?

We we want to bombard atoms and so you know try if one way or another really the city is paying for the infrastructure right I mean if at the end of the day the city's paying for the infrastructure it's the city's infrastructure um and I realize that there's not money growing on trees anywhere but just keep hammering that trying to find sources and just to keep trying to build incrementally if nothing else.

I mean every little every block is another advantage you have to attract a tenant or a buyer.

In the rest of the world it happens largely that way where a devil a developer will come in and grade property putting infrastructure and utilities um and then they sell they sell the lots they sell the they sell the property they're not they're not the ones that are building the buildings and what have you that's very very much what they do.

And yeah it looks it looks intimidating the way it is unfortunately.

No I mean that goes right to you know build a suit is very difficult and for these tenants you know it's very complex and they don't understand it but very few things get done that way and so um you know in most cases like you just described you know a developer developer comes in gets a plan approved and builds speculatively um you know may build just infrastructure and sell lots or may build shell buildings and um that's a huge benefit especially these technology companies because time you know time to market is so critical and and uh time is expensive um so you know I know the city hasn't wanted to allow someone to tie up land for long periods of time but at the same time getting someone to come in and get control and build something you know a box that would be attractive to advanced manufacturing and RD will greatly raise the probability of getting it developed.

I think that's why the city is seeking to make sure that the infrastructure bond gets in the ballot next to you that's gonna help us a lot because we don't I mean this doesn't have the response that we can go for the state of this infrastructure bond to get pushed because we don't make it before and now they're asking 800,000 but the more we wait the more the the cost will be more expensive.

So we need to do something like that.

Well I know that you know all mission day pretty much got developed the infrastructure first and ever and then if the infrastructure was you know they were trying to follow it with with people who are coming by property and go with buildings that you know they have all sorts of different owners of the actual property and the actual buildings there but the infrastructure I know there was a partnership between Catalyst and city how I don't know you know the whole relationship and how that worked but um we did a ton of work over there that was for Contelus um some kind of weird developments and putting in roads and streets and no man's land but to go with it now it's it's a whole different world.

We've we've started to think about this a little bit around um the so up in the reuse area I think we've discussed this before but you know where the city is is taking on um building the infrastructure loops because we don't have a master developer and will not have a master developer.

Phase one is complete, and we phase two has a price tag of 43 million, and I'm working right now on getting to get into the math, right?

And the city's strategy to date that was approved by council was sell the properties that are around the phase one loop where that infrastructure already is and leverage the money from that into the phase two loop and then sell those properties in the phase two loop.

Um the challenge being the mostly rated property on the phase one loop is building 41, which is where do our is in the corner of West Tower and um and Pan Am.

And we don't own that.

The Navy still owns it and we'll own it for at least another year or two, two years.

And um, so I have started to look with Kaiser Marston or economic consultant at I mean infrastructure finance, right?

Using using some kind of infrastructure finance mechanism where we could um bond off of the um bond up and lease revenue from the buildings on phase two to build to just build that loop preemptively, and I don't know, I mean, I think we should be looking at those kinds of financing mechanisms for the enterprise district.

The challenge is what are we bonding?

What is what is the revenue security that in the reuse area we have a lot of leases and a lot of lease revenue?

We have some in the enterprise district, but I think we like to your point about if we put what if we put the infrastructure first.

I see I see two ways of curious what others see, but I see two ways to do that.

What if the city figures out a way to finance it, right?

Because we don't we don't have that money sitting, we don't have 30 million sitting in the bank, um, in our value point fund.

Um and the second way is to bring in a developer who's willing to take on that risk with some favorable deal from the city, and I don't see any other ways, but curious if others have thoughts about putting the infrastructure first so that it is not that daunting and overwhelming, um a factor in a decision making.

Yeah, I mean, you know, for the for the city itself to be the developer, I would I would look for I would look for a partner and somebody who is used to doing that and has the financing wherewithal maybe has depockets themselves and um to probably do have to have put it on a sweet deal of some sort.

Um but it's it's a it's seems like it's a pretty common pattern that it gets done that way.

That's completely different entity that it's doing infrastructure, and I I don't know if all the behind the scenes and deals that are made, but then a completely different builder comes in and uh notice whether it's residential or commercial.

I guess it's usually a master developer.

I don't I don't know, Joe.

No, it is.

I know in case of mission bay, you know, it's a capital, yeah.

I you know, they're building two bot values, they sell bot values.

Some of it will develop and sell, some of it they'll sell.

Um, but they're they're building to a mark if they believe it's there, know it's there.

Um and which I think can exist here.

I mean, again, with the power, the community.

You know, if there's comfort that that will be a point is gonna get a momentum to it, you know, not um keep going, you know, citing about going and then got stopped by challenges, but you know, some things are outside of control, but you know, so are you saying we think we need to build more of a momentum and level of certainty um that there's a there, and then that's the point at which we can consider a financing recognition, or somebody would be willing to assume the risk, right?

Like a multi-phase future.

Yeah, if we have you know, big enough stake, uh, you know, a first phase.

I don't want to say it's a lost leader, but it you know, maybe the most bottle, you know, if there's you know, additional opportunity or to make up through vertical development or additional land as part of the deal.

But I think it's gonna be a much better chance of getting something done if somebody can come in and tie up the land for acceptable period of time and build speculatively versus waiting for a tenant to do a building suit.

That's just it that's very difficult.

So what do you think of the city doing the infrastructure as a way of creating momentum?

I think it'd be great if that do you as a developer.

Or is that kind of box you in no you know it's it's a challenging piece that we're done be very practically shortening the delivery time frame.

If that risk is be risked it seems like it's um the same decision like two sides of a coin whether the city develops it or they allow a master developer to like the city's reluctant to have a developer sit on it for 10 years and then walk away like like SunCal or somebody rather that was a much larger player.

Yeah I think it's hard to structure deal with someone who just comes in and land based yeah that's it seems like if the city just as a perspective if the city did some sort of back no infrastructure it's one less sort of up from expensive developer has to risk because it's selling and then the developer has some idea of okay I'm purchasing this land for X I can sell up the Y and there's no other um a variable in there.

It just seems like because it's we've been out there since 97 and it's a wasteland.

Like there's that far as I can walk there's nobody out there.

And it doesn't seem like other than the fusion dropping out of the sky and it's coming anytime soon to rescue us.

So maybe the momentum comes from within um for a bond or a grant or something.

And maybe it's a bigger risk that it's like the outfall or like bomb something takes a long time it's complex and someone who wanted to come in wouldn't maybe understand or didn't have a timeline for um you know like East Payment water but there's whatever.

We did have some conversation during this process about doing um an enhanced infrastructure finance district which for those who are not entirely familiar with all of California's financing tools basically it replaced redevelopment where we can take the tax increment um like the property tax increment um from the future development and we can take all of that increment and potentially bond against it.

Um but the challenge that we are running into is the city is in a very vulnerable fiscal position and the concept that property tax is going to the general fund when we're leasing and selling buildings it's I mean there's a provision in the in the um conveyance agreement with the Navy that um through I want to say 2037 but I might have to hear wrong any revenue from leases and sales at Alan Point stays at Alania Point cannot leave the base and um and so the at the mo at this year we were fairly able to balance our budget but every city around us is an even more worse position it was really hard to entertain the idea of redirecting property tax even future pro even future property tax that's not in hand but if we could um find a way around that issue that like that seems like the best bet in terms of a way to get this done sooner rather than later um in a meaningful way because I think now we kind of have order of magnitude that like do we know that this one this was about 30 million dollars maybe 200.

Well you did it's huge you've done you've done a lot of the groundwork we have a goalpost now we have a dollar enough that I know we have to have you even have I'm looking at drawings you can have some scope ideas on what you want to do.

It seems like if you could figure a way to finance that against some future sale it might be more attractive to the group of developers even if it's not a large area maybe it's it's the 13 or 14 acre plots you're selling at a time.

I don't know what's a better way to attract up development team but it seems like if the infrastructure were there you've become the catalyst at mission bay um and maybe that's what it takes to jumpstart this area.

Is there been any discussion around opportunity zone with the new opportunity zone rights coming in.

I've not looked into it that's something we need to really better understand.

Are they gonna redefine the opportunity zones?

I know some zones of OA and not soon you know they will be divine zones.

But um I should look into that point so we can become a zone.

Okay well I'm I think really um I think it's really important for us to strike strike a there it's hot right while this information is fresh but chevron's doing the cleanup work we you know we have this it's just gonna get outdated really quick.

So I think we um uh we need to figure out how to kind of just position ourselves and put ourselves back out there in early 2026 like I I think we really want to be back out there you know first half of the year at the latest um so yeah the other suggestion just to reiterate is I I would say you'd really want to do some sort of a documented lessons learned that included a civic fusion but also took some of this into account because you're gonna forget it.

Or lose it's it's a it's a best practice we do on proposals.

So we we have a formal lessons learned process and we have a lessons learning library.

Now you've got new staff it's an easy way to bring them up to speed on what we did because you've done looking at the timeline I think six months you did this that's um even in Texas though we do this is a we haven't even talked about the engagement and mindset uh that was turned around in the community that time yeah are there other questions or comments uh did we address what you were looking to hear in discussion I think I think so I think we need to I think we need to reach out to Pacific Fusion and and and I appreciate that you all have given me questions to to ask thank you for that um and regroup and I think we need to put some thoughts in the infrastructure finance like really deep dive on that a little bit more um and figure out our marketing strategy and um for those who aren't aware we're also in the process of um entering into a new broker listing agreement and so that's also just kind of a moment for us to reinvigorate our marketing um with pushment wakefield or whoever else it may be better meet our existing broker um and just take the opportunity to just start fresh so we're questioning specific fusion about it um I won't don't let them just say it was because of the money because there's there's other things there you know and and that might be the easy way for them to answer but really to say be really honest what are the things that we need to work on what are the there are some cons to Allen data but let us know what they are and are they can we overcome yeah not for the money.

Okay yeah I appreciate that so um this item was for discussion only so there's no actually required do we want to Dwayne do you want to check your we have no participants on Zoom do you have want to check your email to see if we have public like public comment all right no I don't have anybody okay you know okay um well I should I'm not sure because I was well, I should I'll apologize for being late today.

I had um I have a family member that's going through medical treatment, and I was out in Palae, and then get more traffic than I've thought until exact year.

So maybe we were joking.

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

And I don't know if you if if if Caesar got introduced or not.

He started the meetings.

And here is that he said he's going to be the ball for that.

Okay.

So we he just started on Monday, so we're excited because now we have a full team.

And so we're figuring out a way to plug him in.

He's got a great background.

So uh yeah, so we're just going to miss it where you where you come from.

Sure.

Um, sorry.

Uh how about the development?

Um, the meeting.

Oh, come on, right?

Uh a bit of a giant engineering.

I think this is a professional question.

What office were you in?

LA or then uh out of the San Francisco office, uh, but most of my projects were in the US.

So a really good fit for us, so we're excited to start it on Monday.

So I thought that this would be a good introduction where so we're taking around all our meetings and being people.

So welcome to the other one.

Uh so the next six B is just recommendation to approve our schedule for 2026.

And see if that works.

We're keeping on the first Wednesday of the month.

So we have four dates March 3rd, June, March 4th, June 3rd, September 2nd, and December 2nd.

So first order business is too I'm sorry, March 4th, March 4th, June 3rd, September 2nd, and December 2nd.

So those are the first Wednesdays of both, so we'll meet in quarterly.

Um, work for everyone, those dates.

Okay.

Is your birthday coming on?

Yeah, well, you might decide to have it here.

So, I think I have the dog.

You know, I don't know.

Yeah, we have a channel.

Sure.

Okay, I'm ready to look at anyway.

So are you gonna send out a calendar in time to pull those dates?

Yes, yeah, so after after this, we'll uh we'll set that up so you have all those things.

Um, so then so the next one is request suggestions for discussion topics for future meetings.

Um so we we moved this to a quarterly meeting, and so we've talked before about how I think this is a great collective group um with with all the experience that you bring from different levels of businesses, public and private, and so we want to make sure we're maximizing kind of your time and our exposure to your knowledge and and and your experience.

So um I thought we could just spend a little bit of time tonight kind of going and thinking about ways of future discussions for our future meetings, and and one of the things I I wanted to do is just kind of as a as setting the kind of the stage for that, um, give you guys a little bit better idea of kind of what we have, what our activities are, what we're planning for for kind of 2026.

So if you don't mind, I'll just spend a couple minutes kind of walking through this, so that'll give you guys a better idea of what we're doing and then how then that's kind of setting the stage for how our interaction with this group can play into that.

Um I just put down here so staff just so you understand.

So now we're we have a full staff.

Um I divided up kind of our activities into four kind of broad categories.

Large business activities, small business.

We have we have ongoing programs that that we manage, and then we and then I'll I'll get into kind of the one-time kind of project management.

Does everyone have one of these?

Okay.

So in the category of large business activities, we we uh started something a while ago called at your service program, and it's basically a kind of a liaison service.

So if a company comes in and wants to you know do something in Alameda, the idea is that's kind of that would be the handholding aspect of economic development to reach out to them and to be okay.

We will walk you through this process, we'll be the interface with you with other kind of departments.

Um, so that's an ongoing kind of process for us, and part of that is um is is working, you know, this partnership that we have with other departments, so that's something that that we're working towards to make sure that that partnership works well and that we're all kind of on the same page.

Typically, the issue that you have is in economic development, we are the ones that want the deals to happen, we want to move things along as quickly as possible.

Let's take away the barriers, but other departments are set up because they're they're regulatory department ultimately.

So it's kind of for us, it's kind of riding that line between we want to, we know we have to keep the regulations, but we want to how can we make this as smooth as kind of possible?

So that's what that program is about.

Ummercial broker engagement, that's you know, part of this expanding our marketing is is we want to have a um a greater relationship with brokers.

So, in past cities that I've worked with, um we've had certain so we have the commercial brokerage community in our in our business parks or office parks.

So for us to have regular check-ins with them.

How what's the market?

What are you working on?

Um, what are the properties that we should be aware of?

Um, and then biannual events is having things like Alameda tours and breakfasts and lunches, stuff like that.

We're we're bringing that group of people together because many times those the brokers will have their specific kind of expertise, but one of the things that we can bring to the table for them is to give them a better understanding of what's going on globally, kind of in Alameda, which they may not know about different projects, different programs, budgets, things like that.

So, that's something that we're going to be instituting this year.

Uh, business visitation program.

I mean, a lot of cities do this, we've done this before.

Um, but it's really just our way to if we're gonna meet the needs of the business community, we have to have uh relationship with them.

We need to talk to them, we need to understand why are they here in Alameda?

Why did they come to Alameda?

What are the issues that they're dealing with, and so that really happens in those kind of face-to-face kind of meetings.

So we have that we have we basically have this list of okay.

Let's let's let's pick larger employers, let's have large sales tax generator, people from all different kind of categories.

Um, but that's the goal of that kind of program.

Um, eDAP here are quarterly meetings uh from the workforce, and that's that's a big kind of category for us.

It's something that we'd like to talk about more with this group.

Um right now we have we the city runs a summer internship program.

So the the uh uh career fair that we do at the at the high school.

Um, that's kind of the introduction to what types of uh internships are available at the city of Alameda.

So we coordinate with that with all the other departments in the city.

Uh and that's gone well.

So the career fairs high school, and then we do the the job fair.

Um we've done that last couple years at South Shore Center, so that's more of a okay, getting employers out there with booths.

We could talk about this more, but I'd I we'd like to get more involved in those the jobs that the internships that we have now are high school.

We'd like to get more involved in college, we'd like to get more involved with workforce, you know, after you graduate, so the workforce needs.

So that's something I kind of like to talk about after we're done.

Uh and then the and then Alameda Point liaison.

So our groups work together.

Abby's group is is working on you know getting people here and and the but once they're here, then we kind of work together so that so that we're out also talking to businesses.

Um so they may have a tenure lease, they may already they may be here for a while, but it's important for us to to understand their needs, and so that's kind of how our our groups come together.

Uh small business activities.

So uh we work quite closely with with the downtown Alameda Business Associations and then the West Alameda Business Associations.

So we have uh monthly meetings with them from an economic development standpoint.

We attend their board meetings.

Uh a lot of this is then pushing us into this next line, which is the vacancy program.

So the city council is very uh one of the one of the priorities for us is to improve the overall vacancies in our in our kind of main downtown corridors.

So we're very involved with that as far as identifying um which properties are vacant.

Um a lot of it is is also looking at kind of the process that we that uh property owners and and these buildings go through.

So we've I think kind of ratcheted up our involvement from the from the planning from the building side as far as um what does it take for for new tenants to come into buildings, and so we're looking at that a lot.

Every month we have meetings, we meet with brokers, we meet with the property owners.

We've kind of we've taken all the vacancies and put them in kind of different categories, and so um that's a pretty big effort for us.

Um but I think I think from a infrastructure standpoint of of how we do business, I think that's also proven.

And our and that's that's coming a lot from our planning and building department.

Uh SBDC liaison.

So we started a contract with the SBDC this last year.

Uh so they're gonna be coming back again in January.

If you're not familiar, SPDC stands for the small business development centers.

Uh the one that we have in Alam, the one that we have out in Hayward covers Alameda and Cochosta County.

So we contracted with them to come directly to Alameda.

So it's a partnership with the chamber, they cover the chamber, they do small business consulting, they do workshops.

Uh so that's our kind of tie with them.

Chamber liaison.

I see Madeline periodically.

Uh uh.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, so we talk uh quite often.

No, it's I think it's I told Madeline before.

I I think of all the cities I've worked in, not just because you're here, but uh I think this is the this chamber has the most has the greatest connection that I've seen with with the business community with large businesses.

Um for a lot of the cities that I've worked in, it's been mostly you know the small business and mom pop type of stuff, but I think I think here there's a really good connection with the chamber and and this board and with large businesses, so that's it's a great partnership we have, hopefully.

Um so that's really good for us.

Shop local programs.

Um we do that kind of throughout the year.

Uh so we just in our department just started a 12, it's the 12 days of Alameda.

So you have kind of different themes, and so you'll see that information out there.

I think there's like a hundred and something 20 businesses participating.

Uh, and so the theme this year is going out to visit these different businesses, and they're all kind of in different categories.

And so you go to the business, you buy something, you get a ticket, and then we have drawings or gift baskets that are kind of based around these 12 days of shopping.

So it's one of the things that we do to promote shopping local, getting out, staying in Alameda, and supporting our local businesses.

Oh, really?

I didn't see that yet.

She got almost like five minutes in studio time, free publicity.

Okay.

She did a really good job.

Yeah.

Good.

Yeah.

And then along with that, we also do, we've done for a while we do restaurant week as well.

So kind of highlight our local restaurants.

A lot of cities do that.

So that's a way that we could kind of promote that kind of category.

Program management.

So we have in economic development quite a few programs that are ongoing for us.

One I have here is our special events grant program.

So those are funds that are set aside to in many ways help pay for city kind of mandates that come up through holding special events.

So you know, if you're doing an event here in Alameda, and you'll need to pay for police or for traffic rallying, or if you're having food for having sustainable server where that stuff, those type of things that that cost additional money for people to have events here, then they can apply for a grant program from our department.

And then the next the next two are kind of tied together.

So public arts program.

So we have uh the ordinance in Alameda is that it's over is it 200,000?

I think it is.

Um, so if you're any development that's over a certain dollar amount, then you have to put in one percent of that dollar amount into supporting public art.

Um and so you have the option of either providing that art yourself or putting the money into the art fund, and then at that point the city then goes out and does an RP to find an artist to do that art.

Um, so that program has been going on for a long time.

I'm trying to think the next uh I mean you'll if you out at Alameda Point, um, storehouse loss, they're the next one I think that's gonna be that you'll be seeing on everything, including um a sculpture up there, and then we're also looking at uh public art from the from the fund, uh either at Washington Park or else at the uh potentially at the new swim center that the City City's building.

So our department's it runs that program along with that is we also have something called cultural arts.

So the public art is actual physical art, cultural arts is uh you can get grants for putting on um kind of activity art.

So whether that's you know dance programs or or um radium has done things, so those are kind of the activities and the time with economic development is that you know our arts are important component to our community, and so uh feel that it enriches our lives and and it makes our city a better community because we have that, so that's kind of how we're tied into that.

Uh guaranteed basic income programs started, I guess it was two years ago.

Um, so that was a program that came.

We there was ARPA money that the city had, and you've probably heard about these programs in different areas.

That's basically where money is set aside for people that are participating in the program, and then they get a monthly check.

Um, and so it's been two years, the lat the participants just got their last check in November.

Um we went before the city council, uh, talked about kind of the results of the first year of the program, and then we'll be going back in the spring to talk about kind of what were the results of the overall for the over that two-year period.

And right now we're going through a process of of being able to kind of tell that story.

Um, I think that was a real successful program that made it made it a huge difference, kind of in their lives.

So we track that for the city of Al Rita.

So Al Vita has its own minimum minimum wage kind of requirements.

So I think it's every spring that we come out with how that's calculated, that gets sent out to the businesses.

So we've been doing that for a while.

The one difference is this year we are we're expanding the program and kind of making it.

Is that you know we realize that for Park Street and Webster's, I mean, you gotta you have a fair number of older buildings, and so um so the rationale is if if we're gonna be trying to change the use of those buildings, it's gonna require not only exterior improvements but interior improvements as well.

And so now our programs will be expanded to allow to allow you to do interior approvements as long as it's the same amount as exterior.

So that way, you've got an old bank building or whatever it is.

Now someone's gonna change it into a restaurant, but you've got to do you know, sewer, water, ADA bathrooms, all that kind of stuff.

So now this program can apply to that.

And the last category we also have is because this is an overall safety category.

Oh, these grants are loads.

These are grants, so it's so they're all 50 50.

So the applicant does the work, pays it, and then we reimburse them.

So, are these the only people that come forward looking for a grant for it's the city, or go around and say you know, it's really um I think it's pretty well known.

So we every in January we go out, and it's kind of so Sarah will send it out.

Okay, we have this program available.

Um, I'm thinking like Sherry's picking.

Yes, I mean, he's got something in mind.

I mean, I could think of some places and I'll keep it to myself.

But it's just, you know, it can make such a big difference even to the business that's next door.

Yeah, um, well, I'll touch on that a little bit because when when I talk, I only ask because I think sometimes those kind of owners of whatever, they kind of are right, they just find paying any attention, or they don't even notice it, yeah.

So they wouldn't even think of the grant or or whatever, right?

So one of the things that we did is when we first looked at the program, we our first approach was well, okay, we're just gonna work with the people that are willing to do the work.

We're just gonna work with the property owners that are invested that want to do something.

Then we realize, well, then we're probably never gonna make a difference for those ones that aren't invested.

Uh so we kind of divide everyone into four categories, and that and that I shouldn't say lowest category, but one of the categories is essentially disinterested owners for whatever reason it is.

Um, so we actually sent so we sent out letters with the mayor saying, you know, hey, vacancies are important, you own a building in downtown, it looks like it's been vacant for a long time, things are kind of falling apart.

We'd like to work with you, and so and and then also our building department through code enforcement.

Now they've kind of ramped up what their requirements are, and that they can actually find people for not doing things.

So in that process, then we would then reach out to say, you know, we have this program available, and this might you may be a great candidate for that.

So it's kind of both, yeah.

Okay.

Um, and then and then social.

I put this down here, um, as part of our overall kind of marketing effort.

One of the things we feel we need to do, and and is just do a better job kind of telling the story of what economic development's about, um, and and the activities that we're involved in.

And so, and so we're we're planning on kind of ramping that up this year as well.

Um, quick, I'll go through project management.

These are all kind of one-time things that we're involved with um in our downtown.

Uh it's I think it's been 20 to 30 years with our existing zoning, so so we're in the planning department to do uh um an update of the zoning in those downtowns, essentially to make it a kind of a cleaner process, quicker, uh expand things that are allowed by right, and so um in January, we're putting together kind of a working group of brokers, property owners, representative of the city, and um so starting in January, we're gonna be looking at doing that.

Uh, for our internal use, we have a CRM, uh customer relationship management program that we're that we're putting together, um, and that'll help us do a better job of kind of keeping track of how we're meeting with people, talking to people, uh, so get into I think catching up with technology of of how we do our work.

We're back to kind of telling the story.

We're gonna be doing a quarterly economic development newsletter.

Uh we have two websites that we're finishing up, so one of them working with the chamber on a choose alameda website.

So, this group, I think two meetings ago talked about kind of one of the messages, so we're pretty close to to showing that to you guys of what that looks like.

But that's that's the main that's the attraction kind of website.

So, anyone who wants to do a project invest in Alameda, that's the information that's where they would go get that kind of information.

Uh, and then spirituality.

We we've had a Spirit's Alley website for a while, and we're updating that and going most likely in the direction of having it be covering all of LG points.

So the feedback we got was that well, you're you know, you're coming maybe to go to faction or wherever you're going, but you don't know that there's restaurants here, there's activities here, employment here.

So, we're putting a website together that's gonna cover all those kind of things.

We do need to come up with a new spirituality's been around for a while, so we're looking at how we uh it could be we're open marketing, we're open, drum point.

Um, along with that, we we're looking at um uh the ambient point the way the signage that we have out there, so quite a bit of it is old and needs to be repaired, so that's something that we're looking at kind of your points about how it looks and feels so that's something that we know we need to be involved with.

Um, access project, so that's been ongoing.

We're learning more about that, that's getting closer and closer.

So, from our department standpoint, it's it's it's working with working with those the people that are doing the work to make sure that that information is getting out to the business community.

They and they know, so we have our own website that's going to be launched that's gonna talk about the business resources that are available, things like our SQBC and find out where your customers are coming from, so that when people are impacted because that tube work, that there's also some resources that they know are out there.

No one else's gonna say, I mean, there isn't a traffic.

Right now, they're saying end of January.

I know they're still negotiating the scope, so we'll see.

Um, and then the last thing is business sector attraction marketing.

I put that I phrased it that way because you know, um, our goal really is to do kind of what you talked about.

It's it's it's much more targeted attraction, and so how do we tell the story from blue tech companies?

What is that story?

There's gonna be some common themes that we have, and we talked about that.

And you know, what should we be stressing that that you guys gave us direction on that as far as infrastructure and cost to do business, cost to open your business.

Some things would be common, but then other things would be much more targeted if you're a biotech company and clean tech company blue tech.

So that's the direction we're going on.

Um so that was that's hopefully gives you kind of an idea of of the activities that we're doing, and so I wanted to, I'm happy to answer questions about any of these, but maybe if that's a framework for um things that we should be discussing.

So I thought I'd want to open up to kind of ideas that you see, whether it's whether it's on here tied to one of these or not, of what are some of the points that we should be discussing.

I'll throw out one because it's it's in here already is kind of that the workforce idea, because we've heard that in a number of different ways.

Some of them are like the executive round tables that we've had with the chamber, and and we've heard that kind of message already about uh I think the message was we could find engineers that have that degree, but we need to find technicians.

Um, so maybe we can start with that, and I'm happy to open up to kind of types of things that we should be discussing when we put these for.

When you say workforce, you're talking about promoting the Alameda Island workforce or the city workforce.

What should target in that discussion?

Um, well, for for me, it's well, two things.

One is from an attraction standpoint, we're we'll we would be talking about workforce of what's available in Alameda and around the area.

I was thinking more of of local work, how do we how do we um make sure that the workforce that we have here in Alameda meets the needs of Alameda companies?

And I think specifically we've been brainstorming about a uh joint presentation with College of Alameda around training programs, and sort of how that meets the needs of the players, and um right now everything's been done sort of like piecemeal.

Just yesterday we were over at PICA, and they were talking to us about their workforce needs, and we were talking to them about students we thought that might be a good fit uh primarily with this time, uh aviation maintenance technology makes some uh diesel mechanics as we're going to get um heavy-duty electric.

They're gonna come out to the college to present with this relationship with brokered by uh regional director of advanced transportation, which is funded by the area community college.

So, I'm gonna posted at the college of Alanina, so she brought us all together and connects us with transit companies.

So if there is another person, an entity that could sort of facilitate those introductions.

I think that's what you're suggesting, right?

Uh to um the space in our different programs, uh, that would be really good.

So I know we like we would talk about workforce needs would come up in our business visits, but but we we have you know Alameda Point Coalition, we have coalition type of meetings, we have round table meetings in uh, I mean, I just so this is a there's a lot on this list.

I mean that seems like a pretty big fight and the fact that the city is uh budget concerns and how how much bandwidth are you working with and and then let's do grants, let's let's fix everything.

How we're all funded you feel you are relative to going after this whole list.

Before we start adding more.

Um, I mean, we're funded to do this list.

If I I think this discussion tonight is the kind of well, I'll answer your question first of all, workforce.

I think for us, economic development, I would be a lot of our role shouldn't we just kind of that liaison role anyway?

So it would be how do we how do we initiate discussions?

How do we bring together industry with with providers so I think it for me that's how our work plays out in this?

It's not doing the programs or funding the programs, but how do we collaborate?

Collaborate with college and other places, yeah.

So like I think some of that is happening, you know, in the city.

I don't know how well coordinated it is.

I'm really excited about the city's plans, somebody wants to have a facility set meeting, and we're gonna share a parking lot from our uh 860 Atlantic site is that you who said the I was trying to find the name I thought on.

Probably my email isn't low, right?

Justin Long, the direct girl, right?

Yeah, yeah.

So it seems like it's happening anyway, but I don't know if it's one concerted effort or if it's just when it comes out when when a project gets started that you know, we can hear about this.

Or the ladder.

Yeah, and for this group, I mean, it if it's on our agenda, I mean, today's function today's reason for this item, it's really for us to step out kind of discussions about what we should be discussing in the future.

So it's it's more of okay, let's in March, what do we want to talk about in March?

One of those topics may be workforce, uh, and then and then getting people around the table.

So, I that's really I think the goal for tonight is kind of are there ideas that you have of what should we what we we should be discussing in our meetings, um, that kind of work within the framework of of what we're trying to accomplish with economic development.

I think if you're on the workflows tied up together, it's a great deal.

And uh what you hear and what I hear all the time, the community that we have.

It's always the power pipeline that businesses not losing here because they're they're not having enough and they're getting them from outside the community here, but then they get ports for their own community and they lose them here, and that's why we need to make sure that we really hone down the workforce here at how that again with the College of Alameda is huge to do that.

Also, connecting with the LMA workforce board will be great, bringing Ronda on you, or have to speak to us, I think that would help a lot to put a five things.

Okay, yeah, yeah.

Industry specific discussions.

Um there was an event years ago, is it sale drone?

You guys are like brand new.

And um, most of the site were fairly new.

And who was the Fremont Economic Development Director?

She presented, but it was it was a discussion on manufacturing and you know, Kelly, yeah, yeah.

And um, you know, to me those kind of things start to create dialogue, you know, sort of a lot of her around workforce and create uh a draw with the schools and I can't remember who put that on or but it was in a location manufacturing, talking about manufacturing, um would have been really neat to see it continue.

Um that kind of dialogue, that culture that it's created, that environment.

I think a lot of this stuff can draft off of that.

Yeah, I put in my notes, um, I'd love to see our business coalitions have more teeth, you know.

We have the Alameda Point Business Coalition and the Harbor Bay Business Coalition, but instead of maybe every few months we get some businesses together to you know talk about, you know, our grievances or what have you, maybe you could do something like what Joe's suggesting and you know, take a theme or a topic and host it at a different location each time, and I think that might be really engaging for a lot of the not only current tenants but also just prospective businesses.

Or we can be part of the business coalition.

Yeah.

Is your goals weighing with the EDAP next year, moving forward that or a discussion or a sounding board for you and your team?

So you're asking us in these four meetings what we might want to talk about, but what do you I it sounds like workforce is one of them, right?

But something you want our input on, and then maybe what we're strategizing on is who facilitates that, like Joe is saying there's a person out there that maybe it helps like tonight you teed up the discussion about um the enterprise district by explaining what you had done with specific fusion that allowed us to kind of have a brown shape discussion with you.

I hope it was useful.

Um but I think your goal is you've got business owners here, and you want to hear our feedback from your team.

Right.

And so which of these are the other kind of hot buttons for you that you'd like to see?

Um for me, uh, well, definitely the the marketing component, it and telling that kind of story, because you know, are are we are we are we giving the right messages?

Is this the right?

So from an industry perspective, um, we're when we're going through that.

It would be great to have this kind of sounding board of this is what we think we should be saying, because that was you guys think we should be saying.

And then would you would you have someone present that and then we have a discussion on each of these topics?

Right.

And so that could be around industry-specific kind of discussions.

So right now we're looking at we've got, you know, we've got biotech, we've got blue tech, we've got clean tech.

If those are kind of the three categories of how we're going to be focusing our attraction efforts, then we want to make sure we have the right messages.

So yeah, so like for future meeting, we would say, okay, we now we want to discuss this specific industry.

Um, or if we're planning these kind of events, okay, what what do you, you know, we'd like to do something in March, we'll talk about okay.

We'd like to do something in summer.

And this is what we're thinking of having this panel.

Because that was one of the things that also came up at one of our at the executive round tables.

It was we want kind of you're saying we want we want more value than just talking amongst ourselves.

We want we're we're interested in coming to something where we're learning where there's a speaker, where we can, you know, all meet around that.

So this group could we could come to this group and said, Okay, these are some ideas that we have for planning this and what you're putting on that.

We do marketing and messaging in a lot of different ways, and I think I'm curious.

Some of some of which we've brought to this group quite often, right?

But others, like the vacancy strategy and all of the restaurant week and 12 days of Alameda, like the shopping aspect we really haven't brought to this group, but it is a huge amount of what Green's team is working on.

And I think, you know, would that be a bit like would you want to weigh in on that aspect?

Or as he's saying, a big priority for us next year is Alameda Point Marketing, messaging and positioning, new website, and you know, and and at a time when West Alameda's going to be super vulnerable because of the access project.

So, like is that you know, that's a different marketing topic or the industry specific.

So there's lots of different ways to slice that topic and actually maybe tease out a couple of different sessions with this group.

Yeah, I think if you if you pre-direct us to look at certain things, um maybe you want us to critique, um, we could do that.

You know, you might even you might even find that your the panel should be have a different makeup to address some of these things.

Or like a subcommittee, like if you're talking about small business.

Yeah or restaurant specific which you know I might not be the greatest ad than that but um but I don't know you know when you talk about stuff I don't necessarily know where it's floating out there in the world wide web.

Well that me brings up a good point maybe just that's a direct question because do you feel like this group is more suited towards the large business kind of activities.

I I've kind of also shied away from that I mean I think that I think I think the reality is for yeah maybe some of us in here are more suited towards large business but the the attraction for a lot of large business to Alameda is a bunch of this other stuff you know if if Pacific Fusion wants to come to Alameda because Western Park Street in the neighborhoods are a place that they think that their employees are gonna appreciate then that's important feedback and to have all that stuff really attractive makes the point really attractive.

We talked a lot about the attraction side but but you know a good portion of what we do is also on the retention side so I I think that's another kind of broad topic of that we can be discussing is what should be we what should we be doing as we're out talking to businesses what should be our focus on the retention side.

What like what do we need to be doing to make sure that aluminum companies are happy here and so that gets into other broad topics of safety and code enforcement and finding employees so it's not just getting them here it's like how do we keep them here to grow and expand.

Are they focusing on the small businesses attention or the larger businesses and the board um I I think from a program standpoint it's more of a larger businesses.

Our interaction with the small businesses are more on you know vacancies plugging them into programs promoting them restaurants which that kind of stuff.

So would you want to have the next discussion be uh future marketing for tech to come in or do you want it to be on um keeping the businesses that are here those seem to be two distinct topics.

Which would be your preference well we have four meeting I'm saying for March.

Oh, for March is that we want to do um I would say for me at least it's it's more of the attraction side because that's something we're jumping into do we I don't know do we how do we feel about doing that as a group is that a you know working on the attraction side.

Yeah I mean I think um I think it's a priority.

What are the big issues to attracting and I mean you know I over many years it's you know a lot of workforce loves to live here but you know I think for the average company at 15 to 25% of the workforce lives here the balance commutes so it's getting here tubes and bridges and limited tubes and bridges that's always been a big challenge to attract those who are making location decisions.

Yeah yeah and that's maybe we think like at the end of June in that construction especially so much less enough today with that yeah that's all but it does I mean the big businesses get so tied to the to the small business.

I mean if you think of all of Harbor Bay.

And it's a food island, right?

There's a ton of people that come to work there.

And it's limited on your choices for what you're gonna do for lunch and or otherwise.

Uh so you know, so even when it comes to discussion of of the the crappy little Safeway Center, maybe it turned into all residential or whatever.

Um, just kind of like a panic, yeah, business out there.

Fairly a little bit something still, you can get some food there.

You can that goes away.

Oh my god.

Um, those are those are significant attraction issues.

Yeah, something about a quality approach, yeah.

Do we need to lost the vote on this or do we just like let's lay out the ideas?

I think you need a vote on the schedule at least, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

We have to vote on just a proof of schedule.

And then um, but I think I just want to introduce another idea for this.

I mean, I also envision that this group's the purpose of this group is to support the council, right?

As the council is making policy decisions that affect the economy.

We would like to, we and we did this with the enterprise district, and I think we'll continue to do this with a lot of elevated point topics really here, and we did that today.

I mean, that's what we've done today.

Like, I brought your feedback into the city council meeting, and so this is what you know the mayor's economic development advisory panel recommends around this topic.

So I think there might be other topics that get, I mean, I would mention the infrastructure bond.

Perhaps that's something that we should have a deeper conversation about here, because these are policy topics where there's an economic perspective, but it's not you know an econom economics for like you all as business owners have need to weigh in, and this is your stakeholder moment to do that for the council.

So I think we should be thinking about those as well, and what the city's initiatives are gonna be in 2026.

Um that that you all might want to have a voice in as a body.

So I think that's a great idea.

I mean, even like on the agenda, the council agenda last night, the housing ordinance, the revisions that are going to be made to the housing update.

Yeah, then very thinking, um, you know, I mean, that's not as directly a business impact, but it is in a way.

So um, I agree.

Anything that is um time sensitive policy wise would be really great for us to hear about it.

And I can mean that uh I agree with you.

Actually, one of the challenges of businesses have is uh well, the building for the employees here, they can't have houses here, right?

And they have to commute with the community to let them lose more people here.

So portability is an issue for housing for transportation for the logic floors, all median employers or small, and also work across the floor.

So it's just like everything is tied up so that's a track.

We have to make sure that we show them that we have all these things available for the track.

Yeah.

So why don't I I don't really, I don't currently have a good handle on what's coming for 2026.

I know we will have a very good handle soon because we're gonna have the uh state of the city before our next meeting.

Oh, right after our next meeting.

The day after, but maybe we can be like maybe in the in in between time we can send out a list of what we think is coming in 2026 and you all can just provide feedback offline that might be in on schedule for different items.

I understand the mayor will address the housing transportation, uh economic development, innovation.

Um we suggested some profits, and she said she mentioned through Sarah that she will cover all these and address on launch one.

I know we're launching polling as well right now for a potential 2026 or so.

It could be interesting to discuss the polling.

Sorry, uh poll polling for uh measure, so it could be interesting to see the polling results as well.

I don't know how that tees up with the next meeting and then you too late and see what the yeah, I think you can all send out stuff ahead of time, uh so that we can have plenty of time to think about.

So it sounds like for March we'll think about business attraction and workforce develop and then talk talk to you then and to Melanie about a workforce.

Sounds interesting.

Oh, okay.

Uh so there's no the dates.

Oh, you're looking for public comment.

Yeah, still letting nobody on stage.

Uh no public okay.

Oh, so we do have to have a official vote on if we're voting to approve the the uh dates for for 2026.

So all those of paper any opposed okay thank you.

Uh staff communications you have any other things yeah um at the December 16th council meeting oh so first of all this Saturday at two o'clock we will be doing as I mentioned a walkthrough at Alpine Point teeing up the next phase of housing development that's to the north of West Midway Avenue.

So that's this the beginning of the conversation um I know that it's a really challenging time of year to be attending a lot of things and this happens to also be the day of holiday lights and the boat parade and the hot chocolate stroll and pretty much everything else in Alameda.

This is really the beginning of the conversation really asking the questions and taking a site walk we'll intend to come back to city council in probably February or March with with more data and information on kind of the feasibility of doing a next phase of next our next RFQ or on developer for that phase of housing.

So if you can't make it there will be a future opportunity and then on this at this at the 16th December 16th city council meeting the council will consider an extension to the exclusive negotiating agreement with little opera house LLC for the Radion Performing Arts Center um that uh will be a very very short term extension just to get us over the finish line with bringing the entire real estate transaction to that performing arts center um in the spring we hope so just so you guys know that's on the radar you I hope you all know city manager Jennifer Ott is her last day is Friday.

No way really shocking uh we're we're pretty devastated I mean especially as the person who gets to sit in her former seat um and uh they have uh the council has selected an interround from city manager Adam Pulitzer whose first day will be Saturday and he'll be at my event um he is he been he is the former city manager in Sasolito and and he this is pretty much what he does he acts as an interim city manager so he won't hold that seat um and so I'm excited I I've heard good things about him so while they are uh while the council takes action to continue recruiting a permanent city manager um and uh the other item that I'm looking to bring to city council in early 2026 as I mentioned is a disposition strategy update um I think at this point I don't know for those of you who followed the city council meeting last night there is now a backlog of items that is forming so I will be on when there's time which I think will probably be February to discuss the phase two infrastructure loop in the reuse area um and potential transaction for the um for some of our properties kind of how we're gonna get to that 40 million three million dollar target I mentioned to build the next phase and also just kind of giving an overview of the the fact that the master infrastructure plan costs 900 million and sort of teeing up that discussion with council so that's coming I think in February.

So those are the items that I think I've got and then um also we are uh the World Cup you should mention the World Cup.

Well that's right this Friday too yeah so this Friday they're gonna announce uh the final teams in the World Cup including the team that's gonna be housed here in Alameda.

So they will announce are you are you familiar with announce the they're going to announce the where the pools and which pool will be had will be based in Santa Clara.

And then those sets of teams can consider the groups and the Claremont hotel as their home base so it's not I didn't I don't know that we'll get final final it's a little confused.

That's correct.

Yeah.

Okay, I got it right.

Okay.

I know we had our messaging next.

Heard of this.

So are you familiar with the the I'll be where the roots are playing?

So um we were approached then by, I guess it was.

Uh if if we could support having one of the teams housed and use that as a base camp for the training facility during the World Cup.

So that we went for the council and then pledged a portion of the uh TOT hotel tax.

So essentially we if if we do have a team here, then there'd be more people staying in our hotels during the period of time.

And so the increment, we said, okay, we will pledge that because there are costs associated with housing team.

So yeah, so we'll see.

Hopefully, voice is that, yeah.

Uh there uh the practice.

It's yeah, it's a harbor bay, it's where the old Raiders practice facility used to be, you know where that is.

And on the map.

Right against the Oakland Air.

Oh, it's on the map, isn't it?

Starting here.

Yeah, there we go.

Very lower right corner.

Oh, so most.

Oh, okay, yeah.

Probably we're happy to get that hotel right across the street.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, so we very much are eager to have that question.

Yeah, what what is this palace left, you know?

So he is that is what I favor.

We are all right.

Um, we'll have grand opening for it.

West, right?

It's the Hilton Rotted Input.

Yes.

I mean, completely unregulated.

How about the um surf facilities?

Yeah.

Oh yes.

Um the SERF facility went to closed session, and I believe they're continuing to pursue uh the intent to bring uh an exclusive negotiating agreement at the part by the party to council uh um record parks is leading on this effort and advising, but I think in early 26th, so I think it's tech blue tags you probably is it blue tags because it counts as an attack.

Yeah, that's we really stretched the interpretation.

Yeah, so any uh discussions from the panel members.

Well, I will just give a plug.

Um the Alameda food bank.

If you haven't been to the new Alameda Food Bank, it is quite spectacular.

Um they're having a community open house on Saturday the 13th.

I think it's from 10 to 2.

You can drop in any time if you haven't checked it out.

Highly encourage it.

It is uh really they did an incredible job.

Very close, very close.

Was there a city because I remember when the little brand like jeans in the uh oh wow, yeah.

No, they haven't been there for a while.

So what's the address of Costco Building Amazon?

Oh six.

This is 677, or 677 Western.

Yeah, it's a gorgeous brand new one.

Um, and West Midway or in the ranger, yeah.

Uh any other location?

Okay, and nothing from the public, so we're or we're adjourned at 758.

Right, thank you.

Thank you.