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Record of Proceedings

Berkeley City Council Special Meeting - July 30, 2025: Consent Calendar Approval and Homeless System Presentation

City Council — Wednesday, July 30, 2025
BodyBerkeley, California
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, July 30, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:21

All right.

0:22

We are ready.

0:23

Thank you so much.

0:25

Um today is Tuesday, July 29th, 2025, and I am calling to order the special meeting of the Berkeley City Council.

0:34

Thank you.

0:35

Take the roll.

0:36

Yes.

0:36

Uh Councilmember Kessnerwani.

0:39

Here.

0:41

Present.

0:41

Bartlett.

0:43

Is currently absent.

0:46

Trey.

0:49

Here.

0:50

Blackbee.

0:51

Here.

0:52

Luna Parra.

0:53

Here.

0:53

Umbert present.

0:55

And Mary Ishi.

0:56

Here.

0:56

Okay.

0:57

Corma's present.

0:58

All right.

0:58

Thank you very much.

0:59

This is a special meeting.

1:00

Um, but we're gonna move straight on to the consent calendar.

1:03

Is there any public comment on consent calendar and or information items only?

1:09

And if so, please, oh yes, thank you.

1:12

If so, please come up to the podium here.

1:23

And I think because we looks like we only have two folks here, so you'll each have two minutes to speak.

1:28

Or you're gonna speak together.

1:30

I'm gonna speak for you.

1:31

You're gonna speak for him.

1:32

Okay.

1:33

Sounds good.

1:36

Two minutes begins now.

1:38

Okay.

1:38

Greetings, uh, mayor and the council.

1:40

My name is Kentrell Killens.

1:42

I'm from uh Live Free.

1:44

Um, we are the organization that is holding the contract for uh the gun violence program, um intervention program in the city of Berkeley.

1:52

We're here on behalf of a grant opportunity that we just uh acquired, and it has to get um your approval for the funds to be released.

2:01

Um this is an additional uh services to expand our current team.

2:06

We currently have two and a half um life coaches and outreach workers.

2:11

Um when I say two and a half, we have one certified, we have two individuals who are 24 hours around the clock.

2:17

Todd is one of those individuals um who at the moment of a crisis can get called to a scene at three in the morning, six in the morning, five in the afternoon.

2:25

Um so we want to expand that.

2:27

It'll give us the opportunity to add two more individuals um to our additional team.

2:31

Definitely much needed work um as we're um addressing a lot of harm and trauma that um individuals are facing.

2:40

I know that you all as a city council may understand that at this current moment there has not been a gun violence homicide in the city of Berkeley, but I want to lift up the fact that there are three individuals, four individuals from the time that we got this contract that are all residents of Berkeley that lost their lives in the city of Oakland.

2:56

And so through these funds, we've been able to support families um in extreme moments of tri um trauma, helping individuals to um get connected to other resources throughout the region, as well as do what we can to keep ongoing support.

3:09

And so it's imperative that this um the grant is um adopted and allowed to be um executed as as as is stated, but it's also important to keep the integrity of the work that's being built here.

3:22

I know this started off as a pilot, um, but we're definitely looking to continue the work that we're doing.

3:27

We're also seeking other funds, have a few applications in currently um to expand those grant opportunities so that we can be more permanently um around as a fixture within the city of Berkeley, and we're looking forward to continuing this great work right on time.

3:41

Thank you so much.

3:42

Appreciate it.

3:43

Thank you.

3:46

Did you have a comment on consent calendar?

3:50

I do good afternoon, council mayor, city manager.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████48%
Procedural███████████████████████25%
Homelessness█████████████████████22%
Affordable Housing█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Berkeley City Council Special Meeting - July 30, 2025: Consent Calendar Approval and Homeless System Presentation

Note: The transcript date is July 29, 2025, but the provided meeting date is July 30, 2025. This summary uses the specified date.

The Berkeley City Council held a special meeting on July 30, 2025, called to order by the mayor. The meeting focused on approving the consent calendar (including a grant for a gun violence intervention program) and receiving a presentation on the city's homeless system. The meeting was attended by councilmembers Kessnerwani, Trey, Blackbee, Luna Parra, Umbert, Mary Ishi, and Corma; Councilmember Bartlett was absent.

Consent Calendar

  • The consent calendar was approved by a motion without objection. The calendar included approval of a grant for the Live Free gun violence intervention program, which provides life coaches and outreach workers. The grant would expand the team from 2.5 staff to 4.5, supporting crisis response and trauma support for Berkeley residents affected by gun violence, including those who have lost family members in Oakland.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Kentrell Killens (Live Free) spoke in support of the consent calendar item, urging approval of the grant to expand the gun violence intervention program. He highlighted that the program has helped prevent gun violence homicides in Berkeley and provided support to families of Berkeley residents killed in Oakland. He emphasized the need for sustained funding and the program's role in addressing trauma.
  • An unidentified speaker commented on the consent calendar, contrasting the cost of the grant ($1 million) with the salary of a police analyst, questioned the value, and suggested hiring a graduate student for a lower salary. The speaker appeared skeptical of the program's cost-effectiveness.

Discussion Items

  • Homeless System Presentation: The city manager introduced the presentation, noting that homelessness is a national failure and that Berkeley's homeless response team (HRT) works across departments to address the crisis. Peter Redu (manager of clean road services), Josh James (homeless services coordinator), and Sagari Devedea (housing specialist) presented. They outlined the scale of homelessness in Berkeley, noting that the most recent point-in-time count showed more people sheltered indoors than ever before, and fewer people on the streets. However, for every person who exits homelessness, nearly three become homeless. The presentation highlighted the Housing Retention Pilot Program, which provides up to $1,800/month for three years to high-risk elders, disabled individuals, and families with children. The program has served over 50 households and helps prevent evictions. The presenters stressed that local funding is at risk of expiring, which could reverse progress. They also noted that Berkeley's eviction filing rates are lower than the county average, with 44 evictions per 1,000 rental households in 2024. The transcript cuts off during this presentation, so additional details were not provided.

Key Outcomes

  • The consent calendar was approved without objection, including the Live Free grant.
  • No further decisions or votes were recorded. The meeting was ongoing at the time the transcript ended.
  • The council received the homeless system presentation for discussion; no action was taken. The presentation referenced a May 20, 2025 council referral on homelessness, but no subsequent referral or directive was recorded.

Meeting Transcript

All right. We are ready. Thank you so much. Um today is Tuesday, July 29th, 2025, and I am calling to order the special meeting of the Berkeley City Council. Thank you. Take the roll. Yes. Uh Councilmember Kessnerwani. Here. Present. Bartlett. Is currently absent. Trey. Here. Blackbee. Here. Luna Parra. Here. Umbert present. And Mary Ishi. Here. Okay. Corma's present. All right. Thank you very much. This is a special meeting. Um, but we're gonna move straight on to the consent calendar. Is there any public comment on consent calendar and or information items only? And if so, please, oh yes, thank you. If so, please come up to the podium here. And I think because we looks like we only have two folks here, so you'll each have two minutes to speak. Or you're gonna speak together. I'm gonna speak for you. You're gonna speak for him. Okay. Sounds good. Two minutes begins now. Okay. Greetings, uh, mayor and the council. My name is Kentrell Killens. I'm from uh Live Free. Um, we are the organization that is holding the contract for uh the gun violence program, um intervention program in the city of Berkeley. We're here on behalf of a grant opportunity that we just uh acquired, and it has to get um your approval for the funds to be released. Um this is an additional uh services to expand our current team. We currently have two and a half um life coaches and outreach workers. Um when I say two and a half, we have one certified, we have two individuals who are 24 hours around the clock. Todd is one of those individuals um who at the moment of a crisis can get called to a scene at three in the morning, six in the morning, five in the afternoon. Um so we want to expand that. It'll give us the opportunity to add two more individuals um to our additional team. Definitely much needed work um as we're um addressing a lot of harm and trauma that um individuals are facing.

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