Good morning, everyone.

Welcome to the rules and legislation committee meeting of Thursday, October 23rd.

The time is now 10 40 a.m.

and this meeting shall come to order.

Before taking roll, I will provide speaker instructions on how to submit a speaker's card for this meeting.

Two comment in person, members of the public must submit a separate speaker card for each item on the agenda.

Online speaker requests were due 24 hours prior to the start of this meeting, which was yesterday by 10 30 a.m.

speaker cards will be accepted within the first 10 minutes of this meeting.

This meeting came to order at 10 40 a.m.

Therefore, speaker cards will be accepted up until 10 50 a.m.

I will now proceed with taking role of members present on roll.

Council members Brown.

Present.

Councilmember Fife is excused, Councilmember Ramachandran.

Present.

And Chair Jenkins.

Present.

Showing three members present, one excused five.

President Jenkins, do you have any announcements before we begin?

No announcements.

Noting that there are no minutes to be approved, starting with item three, new scheduling.

We do have a title change for item 3.1 from staff.

I am requesting a new title change, separate from the title change that I have submitted.

Uh, the new title will be read as follows.

Uh adopt the resolution.

Amending resolution number eight, eight, three four, one to repeal the twenty twenty encampment management policy and replaced with a 2025 encampment abatement policy that A defines encampment to exclude vehicles and authorizes citation and telling of inhabited vehicles by city departments pursuant to the California Vehicle Code and Open Vehicle Code.

This section is underlined and bolded, reasonable efforts to make shelter offers and seven-day notice prior to non-urgent encampment closures.

And C clarifies emergency and urgent health and safety conditions that authorize immediate 24-hour or 72-hour notice for encampment closures, including encampments blocking sidewalks.

And I am requesting that this item be scheduled to the special city council meeting on October 27th at 9 30 a.m.

Thank you.

Adopt the following pieces of legislation.

First resolution reads a resolution amending and restating resolution number 90640 CMS authorizing the city of Oakland to apply for accept and appropriate funds as a local agency.

in making related CEQA findings and two a resolution amending and restating resolution number 90642 CMS authorizing the city of Oakland to apply for accept and appropriate funds as a local agency joint partner under the California Department of Housing and Community Development's Home Key Plus Program for the 34th and San Pablo Affordable Housing Project at 3419 3431 San Pablo Avenue and not to exceed 35 million dollars and adopting sequel findings and three a resolution amending and restating resolution number 90643 CMS authorizing the city of Oakland to apply for and accept an appropriate funds at a local joint partner under the California Department of Housing for the Maya affordable housing project at 4715 Telegraph Avenue and amount not to exceed 8.5 million dollars in making SQL findings and four resolution authorizing the city of Oakland to apply for accept and appropriate funds as a local agency joint partner under the California Department of Housing and Community Development's home key program for 3135 San Pablo Affordable Housing Project at 3135 San Pablo Avenue and 967 32nd Street and an amount not to exceed 13 million dollars in making sequel findings to go on the October 28th community and economic development committee agenda and the request to be added at the three day urgency finding is as follows the state needs the edits to the resolutions in order to issue a standard agreement for the funds that the state has awarded to these home key projects these projects serve people experiencing homelessness we need the standard agreement in order for the city to close our loan documents the developers are in purchase contracts with sellers and they need the funds to purchase the building etc.

Also this is for home key and the city urgently needs homeless housing to be placed in service as urgently and rapidly as possible.

Councilmember Ramachandra thank you sorry I'm not commenting on this but on 3.1 can I ask to the D7 office if October 27th is the date where the majority of council members can be present or are there any council members who have stated that they cannot come.

So I believe that council member five said that she's not available on that date and she will give her changes to either the D7 office or to myself okay and just to clarify were there any alternative dates possible where all council members can be here or so I um we'll send council member Houston attacks will work on not passing this until I hear back from them.

Is that okay and so do you have any suggestions for alternative dates?

Yeah I mean I cannot talk to all council members about their availability but I know others the author can um and the council president can so if there are alternative dates the following week I know that council member houston wants to explore this expediently but um since it's something that impacts our whole city if we can find a date where um all council members are present um alternatively if there's at least two council meetings where this can be discussed I'm open to that too but definitely when we're hearing public comment and making a final vote I think it's important that we at least try to make all availability possible ideally on a Tuesday or Thursday where we're already have council meetings.

Councilmember Brown.

Excellent thank you so much Councilmember Ramachandran um I also wanted to speak to item 3.1 and wanting to ensure that um you know this can take place at a time and date where all of our colleagues are available in addition council president Jenkins um did you want to share um your thoughts around the Monday date and it being more of a study session.

And would you the and then if that is the case does that require a title change and then can you also explain to the public if it is just a study session where we are going going through what are you know the current policy what are some of the potential amendments and just putting that out for the public when would the vote take place?

So as it is written right now it is an item that can be voted up or down.

There is an idea that it can be treated like a study session, right?

But I think for the public, it could still be voted up or down, and we don't want to give the impression that or say that it's a study session, and then the council decides to vote it up or down.

We can treat it as a study session, right, where people can offer their amendments out in public.

We can hear from the council, I mean hear from the public as well on changes that they think might need to take place and then schedule a subsequent meeting, and then at that point it would have been heard three times in public.

So councilmember.

Excellent.

Thank you so much.

And then is there a specific time frame that that follow-up meeting would need to take place?

Um there's no specific time frame.

I know vacation um holidays are coming around.

We can do it that same week as well, right?

We can possibly do it that Thursday or that Friday, um, seeing if we have quorum, but I agree with Council Member Ramachandran.

Maybe hearing it two more times is good for the public.

And we can do it like that, can keep this meeting in.

I don't know, I don't know if we can say out loud that we don't necessarily want to vote on it there, but we have the option too, and then having another subsequent meeting so that we can get down to um we can get it down to more of the amendments.

Are you guys comfortable with that?

Keeping this meeting and then with the thought that we will have subsequent meetings after that.

Okay.

Let's keep it as is.

Yes.

Um, I don't see any amendments published with this round.

Um, I guess the author, will there be amendments uh posted on the day or um, chair?

Okay.

To the chair.

Um, the materials for this item will be submitted to the clerk's office by 4 p.m.

today with amendments.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And then if any other council members have amendments, they should submit their amendments as well so that we can hear them, the public can hear them, we can study it, hear what the public has to say, and see what a subsequent meeting looks like, and we're fine with that on this body.

Councilmember Brown.

Excellent.

Um, and I just wanted to double check so um if any of the our colleagues have been working on any amendments, they would all be due today at four for the special meeting.

Is that correct?

Through the chair from the clerk's office, yes.

Materials for Monday's meeting will be due today by 4 p.m.

Okay, and then otherwise they would not be able to be presented day up.

Is that correct?

Okay, thank you.

Um council members can always introduce um amendments on the floor if it is within the scope of how the item is noticed.

But to be in the packet as the clerk stated, they would need to meet the print deadlines.

Okay, thank you so much.

Thank you.

3.3.

Yes, moving to item 3.3.

Adopt the resolution proclaiming October 2025 domestic violence awareness month in the city of Oakland to go on the November 4th city council agenda as a ceremonial through the chair to the chair.

Is somebody here from District 2?

We don't do ceremonials as part of our rules of procedure.

Is there another date that you guys can find to ensure that um we can celebrate this that's not during a council meeting?

What would an alternative date um be required for that?

So she was hoping to schedule this month.

Um a subsequent way that we could do this, we can put it on consent, and so that it'll be passed, and then um the at-large office checked with the rest of the office to see when they were available for a ceremonial.

So you guys can check to see for quorum on a different date.

I think yeah, that would work.

Okay, so we'll put it on consent.

Perfect, thank you.

Thank you.

Um, Councilmember Ramachandra, would you like to be added as a sponsor?

Yes.

All right.

Councilmember Brown as well.

Yes, please.

Myself as well.

All right.

Everybody, okay.

Okay, noting we're at Councilmember Ramachandran, Councilmember Jenkins, and Councilmember Brown to this item as co-sponsors and being placed on the consent calendar for November 4th.

Moving to item 3.4, adopt the resolution one authorizing the city administrator to enter into a professional service agreement with the Concord Police Officers Association for the use of the CPA firearms range by the Oakland Police Department and an amount not to exceed $250,000 per year for the time period July 1st, 2025 to June 30th, 2030, and waiving the competitive request for proposal qualifications and local small local business enterprise program requirements to go on the November 4th, 2025 City Council agenda on consent, ruling rule reading in the Rule 24 to bypass committee.

A new agreement with the CPA firearms range is vital for OPD's compliance with the negotiated settlement agreement, NSA, which mandates 40 hours of training for all OPD members every 18 months.

OPD cannot conduct police officer training academies without the CPA firearms range as POST mandates a minimum minimum number of live fire trainings.

The contract with the Concord range expired on April 30th, 2025 and needs urgent renewal to resume training for upcoming academies.

Item 3.5 adopt a resolution confirming the mayor's appointment of Byron White to the Privacy Advisory Commission to go on the November 4th, 2025 City Council City Council Agenda on Consent, and noting that such appointments typically go straight to the full council.

Item 3.6 adopt the following pieces of legislation.

One, a resolution waiving further advo advertising and competitive bidding under OMC Section 2.040512, authorizing open market award under Oakland Municipal Code, issuing a limited restriction waiver under OMC section, and a waiver under OMC Section 2.23030B, and authorizing the city administrator to award a purchasing contract to Martin Marietta Materials Inc.

and an amount not to exceed $1 million per year for two years with one additional two-year option and an amount not to exceed $1 million per year for a total not to exceed $4 million over four years in accordance with specification and the contractor's price quotation dated July 8th, 2025 without return to council, and adopting a sequel findings, authorizing a one-time payment in the amount of $250,000 to pay outstanding invoices and a resolution waiving further advertising and competitive bidding under Oakland Municipal, a code section authorizing open market award under and authorizing the city administrator to award a purchasing contract to read and graham and an amount not to exceed one million dollars per year for two years with one additional two-year option and an amount not to exceed one million dollars per year for a total not to exceed four million for over four years in accordance with the specification number and the contractor's price quotation dated August 6, 2025 without return to council and adopting CQL findings to go on the November 4th, 2025 City Council agenda on consent.

Noting that this item has already been presented to the committee on the September 30th and approved to be scheduled for October 7th council during which no action was taken.

Item 3.7, adopt a resolution confirming confirming Mayor Barbara Lee's reappointment of Jennifer Rink to the city planning commission serving her second three-year term to go on the November 6, 2025 rules and legislation committee agenda.

Item 3.8, adopt the following pieces of legislation.

One, a resolution authorizing the city administrator to apply for and accept CDSS Child Care and Development Division, CCDD contract to receive state reimbursement funding and an amount of three million three hundred forty five thousand eight hundred and twelve dollars to provide California General Child Care Program services to eligible participants, ages birth to three years old effective July 1st, 2026 through June 30, 2027, and to accept an appropriate additional California General Child Care Program reimbursement funding that becomes available for the for the same purposes during the same contract term and two have resolution authorizing the city administrator to apply for accept the California State Preschool Program contract and an amount of three million three hundred sixty-four thousand seven hundred sixty-five dollars and to accept the California pre-kindergarten supplemental grant in the amount of thirty two thousand five hundred dollars from the California Department of Education to provide California State Preschool services to eligible participants participants ages three to five years old from July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2027, and to accept an appropriate additional CSPP and CPKS reimbursement funding that becomes available for the same purposes during the same contract term.

And three, a resolution authorizing the city administrator to apply for and accept the U.S.

Department of Agricultural Child and Adult Care Food Program contract from the California Department of Social Services and an estimated amount of $260,000 to provide funding for nutritionist males from July 1st, 2026 through June 30, 2027, and accept an appropriate additional CACFP contract funding for the same purposes during the same contract term.

And this is to be scheduled to the November 18th, 2025 life enrichment committee agenda.

Item 3.9.

Receive an informational report of the city's domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking related activities.

So go on the November 18th, 2025 Public Safety Committee Agenda.

Item 310, receive an informational report from the Oakland Police Department on crime, crime trends, and crime reduction activities in the city of Oakland to go on the November 18th, 2025 Public Safety Committee agenda.

And this concludes your new scheduling for this week.

Let's go to public comment.

Reading in the public speakers who signed up for item three.

Once you hear your name, please approach the podium and/or raise your hand in Zoom if you are in Zoom.

Therese or Therese Mitros, you signed up for item 3.1.

Alex Pinagis, you signed up for two items.

Armando, you signed up for two items.

Safia B.

Two items, Nita B.

You signed up for five items.

Bridget Nicoletti for 3.1.

Miss Asada Olabala for all items, Juan Canham for 3.1.

Eve Argule for 3.1, and John Janasco for multiple items as well.

In no particular order, please state your name for the record before you begin.

Armando.

I'm very disappointed in the lack of transparency of this council.

The city attorney found you've been violating the Brown Act.

You're scheduling special meetings with little notice and no agenda posted in advance, making meetings inaccessible to the public.

AC Homeless Housing Director Jonathan Russell told us yesterday during his community engagement that new county shelter beds will only be coordinated with the city encampment team if they adopt evidence-based best practices protocols.

If the city continues reckless sweeps in vehicle tows, it will not be able to make shelter referrals.

So this policy will undermine measure W implementation, and the city will lose access to needed programs that will actually make a positive difference.

As Council Member Fife said, this policy doesn't reduce homelessness, it merely pushes people from one state of homelessness to another at great expense.

It will escalate the active harm the city does to the most vulnerable people, taking from those who have the least resources what little they have left that helps them survive.

And we keep hearing a weaponization of equity discourse.

Equity means distributing resources to where they are most needed to the districts historically impacted by racialized displacement.

To serve equity, we need to stop displacement.

The interest in equity should never be manipulated to displace people from their longtime neighborhoods.

This policy has no fiscal or equity analysis.

It allocates no new funding, it will divert resources from needed services like road repair and street cleaning.

It will divert police officers from solving crimes and responding to calls in order to forcibly displace people.

It's fiscally irresponsible, it's not evidence-based, and it's counterproductive on many levels.

So I just want to I just want to clear up some misnomers.

Um council member Ramachandran uh has been very fervent that every council member should be here.

Councilmember Houston also talked with Councilmember Fife who um stated that she would give her uh amendments to me or council member Houston, but we are going to make sure that all council members have a chance to weigh in on this policy.

There is no secret anything going on.

We've heard from three council members today that we are not going to be passing anything on Monday, right?

So spreading conspiracy theories are not helpful that council member Fife is gonna be here.

Order in the chamber, Miss Asada.

Order in the order in the chambers.

So it's imperative that it's imperative that this policy is important for the city.

All right, and we have to move forward together, all right?

And just spreading brought out conspiracy theories isn't going to help, right?

So if you guys have amendments, reach out to the council members.

Let's work together.

Uh good morning.

My name is John Genasco.

Um, organizer with Woodstreet Commons and the uh Housing and Dignity Project, uh working group.

Um I'm just a little I'm just concerned.

Uh I don't know the process, you know, all of this stuff, but I feel like it's moving a little bit fast, and that uh we all need a little bit more time to go over this policy and to make sure that what is proposed is in the best interest of the most vulnerable of our community right now.

Uh I've noticed that anything that's rushed through basically harms the unhoused, uh putting this off or not putting it off, or just making it to a later date.

It's not going to change, add numbers to the unhoused community.

It's definitely not going to bring numbers down by passing anything that's not uh looking out for the best interest of our unhoused community.

Uh I just want to state that concern that I think there needs to be more time uh for even the council members to like uh talk to some of the constituents, uh the unhoused constituents and some of these working groups that are working on amendments uh, you know, for this uh proposal.

I just I'm just really concerned about the speed that is being pushed through.

Um yeah, I just want to voice that and hopefully maybe we could think about giving more time for this.

Thank you.

My name is Bridget Nicoletti, and I'm an attorney from East Bay Community Law Center.

For the last four years, I've worked closely with the unhoused community in Oakland, and I now also represent Oakland tenants and eviction proceedings.

I have personally met with the three council members present today, as well as council members Fife, Wong, and Unger, and have discussed my extreme concern regarding Council Member Houston's proposed encampment abatement policy.

I was at the public safety meeting on 9 10 when this room was full of community members to oppose this policy.

Had the public known that this was coming before you all again today, we all would have shown up again.

I want to urge the committee not to schedule the EAP to be heard by special council on 1027.

I want to echo Councilmember uh Ramashondran's concern that not all council members would be present and urge the council to at least pick a day when everyone can be there.

Um I also believe that it's unacceptable that written amendments are due today.

The public is learning that amendments are due today, today.

Uh I believe that's unacceptable in terms of transparency.

This is an incredibly complex and important issue.

I urge you to take the time to consider it fully.

Greetings, my name is Nina with The Village in Oakland and the Housing and Dignity Project.

We are living in a time when legalized cruelty is taking hold of the United States.

We see repression, oppression, and broken moral compasses devoid of humanity, attack this country and its residents, particularly its most vulnerable.

And today, Trump's militia militarized forces and federal agents are here in the bay to invade and target our most vulnerable.

Never in my lifetime would I have conceived this kind of cruelty inhumanity with raises his head in Oakland, California.

The home of the Black Panthers, the Red Win, the birthplace of Alcatraz occupation, KDP, Julia Butterfly.

The list goes on and on and on.

A legacy that elected in City Hall like to refer and claim to carry a torch for, a legacy that uph holds all people should have access to affordable housing, a legacy that taught us to serve and protect those in our community who do not have access to their basic needs.

Food, shelter, clothing, medical treatment, popular education, and safety.

And yet here we are among elected officials who are seriously considering prioritizing the safety of businesses and people with a roof over their heads over the safety of people who have been live vulnerable, hungry, and without, under the claim of law and order, and by weaponizing equity in a misleading way.

The city has never truly managed communities of unhoused residents.

Instead, the city has succeeded in neglecting communities of unhoused constituents.

This neglect has created an open door for un for house predators and criminals to exploit and harm these communities, for illegal dumping to grow and checked, for settlements to grow onto the streets void of services.

Support and real pathways out of homelessness do not exist.

Under the current EMP, the city is not hindered in any way, shape, or form to do their jobs and address all the issues I just listed.

The reality is they choose not to.

I have witnessed repeatedly over the past 10 years while police sit in their cars across from encampments and watch crime happen and do absolutely nothing.

I have witnessed over the past 10 years.

Yes, the city needs to do something different and to do it urgently, but the proposed encampment abatement policy is not the answer.

We don't have enough time for what how you're fast pushing this forward.

It doesn't make any sense.

You had reached out and asked me to create some amendments.

I haven't had time.

The way we work, we don't move fast.

We come up with ideas, we go out into the community, get their ideas, synthesize it, go back and forth, talk to our other partners.

We don't move fast like that.

That's how democracy moves is slow.

So if you really want to uphold democracy, move slower.

Slow this down.

You you want to bring it to the first council meeting so we can go to the second council meeting to vote on.

No, keep this in committee.

Keep this in the life enrichment committee.

What you're doing is very uncharacteristic of every other homeless policy and program that has been passed by the city council.

Keep it in committee and work on it there.

Your committees are your workspace, not your city council meetings.

Your city council meetings are what you've already decided what you're gonna do.

Several years ago, they opened up an encampment at Lake Merritt Tiny Homes.

They had two sections of the encampment.

One was for the union park community, and the other was for a variety of different communities.

They gave certain privileges to the white majority union park people.

And I stood out in front of that encampment for six months protesting, let's create a fair situation for these homeless community members to exist together.

And none of them came up to speak about it.

It was unfair to do what they did at that site.

So I don't have nothing to do with these people.

They pick and choose their struggles now.

Related to the encampment policy, we have to do something to help uh make the situation better for our homeless community, but they can't exist with certain circumstances of all this trash out here, illegal dumping existed, even if they didn't put it there.

It has to be cleaned up.

And you cannot sit in front of people's houses.

If you cook if you love the community so much, give me your address, and I'll give it to a homeless person to come sit in front of your house and poop and pee and create uh illegal drug.

Don't tell me nothing about nothing.

Honorable chamber, please pause myself.

So they can talk, they can talk.

I do it all the time.

Uh you can disrupt it whenever you feel like, sweetheart.

I do it all the time.

Okay, all right.

Then you got the appointment to uh the home key.

You can't have home key for the homeless community when you got people like Wong saying you can have housing for them, but just don't come in my community.

Don't go into Montclair, don't go into Rock Ridge, uh, don't go into Timmer Cell.

You know, you're gonna have a super fit.

So what she did for homeless people who have health needs to have free access to a space.

The city didn't have to pay anything.

She said they were gonna have a potential for crime in Chinatown.

Y'all don't have the capacity to treat the homeless correctly based on Wong.

Let them go into certain districts and see.

As it relates to the privacy commission appointment, you got a privacy commission that oversees the police department.

You don't want the oversight of them.

They make sure that they invest ever invest every case that goes on with the Department of Justice.

And what's the qualifications to be on the commission?

You none.

You have to have a you be a resident and have an interest in privacy.

That's it.

Out of the nine, only two have to have certain qualifications to have to be a lawyer or something related to privacy expertise.

And you won't jump on Omar Pharma and you're gonna approve this.

You're gonna approve this as it relates to uh let me see what else y'all got on this.

Uh my time's up.

Yeah, it's almost up.

I'll be back.

That paving mess.

Oh, y'all gonna wave and allow the uh people who say.

Thank you, Mrs.

Harding.

Hi, I'm Juan.

Uh, I'm a D4 resident, a member of the tenants union as well as DSA.

It's telling the ICE for invading Oakland, and this is what you're focused on.

Instead of defending our neighbors, you want to sneak through legislation at awkward hours to criminalize our most vulnerable.

Those that care about the community will be out on the streets on Monday, unable to pay attention to these sneaky special meetings.

You can say it's agendized, but most of us can't turn up 9 a.m.

on Monday if it's only scheduled on Thursday.

Uh, you say there won't be a vote on it, and that makes the meeting not as important.

Well, what's the point in committee meetings if they're not important according to you?

Uh you should be having meetings about how to defend our neighbors, not how to attack them.

Uh, learn from LA and Chicago, put an eviction moratorium or a rent freeze in place to let vulnerable residents stay home.

Not only does this push back against Trump, but it also is the most effective thing the city has done in the recent past of preventing homelessness.

Um you don't need a special meeting.

We know how to get people off the streets.

Stop blocking shelter beds like Wong does, start building affordable housing.

The town didn't vote for Trump, stop pandering to his base.

Thank you, sir.

Hi, I'm Teresa Maitros, a D2 resident, and I'm very disturbed that this encampment policy, an important issue to all Oaklanders, has been scheduled only for special meetings and is being done so again.

It seems like this is being done to get less input from the people, particularly when you're scheduled for a Monday at 9 30 a.m.

when most people are just at work.

And if I recall correctly, Councilmember Fife stated at your last meeting she had previously informed you she was not available on Monday.

Thank you, Councilmember Ramashandran, for advocating for a meeting that works for the maximum number of council members as submitting uh amendments remotely is not the same as being able to advocate for them.

In addition to the procedural issues, the policy is written criminalizes the homeless and authorizes immediate notice, which will cause loss of important documents, medications, and belongings.

As measure you funds become available, chasing residents from one location is a waste of money and time that could better be spent on housing at a time when massed ICE officers are chasing down people on our streets.

The city does not need to do so as well.

Hello, my name is Eva Argetty.

I'm a D2 resident member of EBDSA, SCIU 2016, and the Teamsters.

I'm a registered nurse and a mental health counselor whose clients are mostly individuals experiencing homelessness.

We must face this problem, not push it away, not um go along with Trump's cruel ice raids or um I oppose the EAIP, of course, and I agree with Councilman Ramashadrin's um assessment of having more time to consider.

This is moving too quickly.

The impact is so dire, we have to give it some time to hear from the public at a time when working people are more available, perhaps later than 11 a.m.

The meeting on Monday should not be for voting on the amendment.

And I don't want to squander measure you funds.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Moving to our online speakers, starting with Alex Pinagis.

You may unmute yourself and begin your comments, Alex.

Hi, uh, my name is Alex Pinegus, and I'm a district four resident and member of the Housing and Dignity Project.

I oppose the proposed encampment abatement plan as it does nothing to address the structural issues causing homelessness.

It does nothing to help people experiencing homelessness get housed.

All it will do is criminalize homelessness and make it easier to sweep encampments and tow vehicles that people are living in.

If you wanted to write a recipe for making the unhoused crisis worse, criminalization and increased sweeps would be two of the main ingredients.

It has been proven over and over and over again that sweeps not only do nothing to address the problem, but actually make it harder for people to get stably housed.

Sweeps destroy personal belongings, including vital documents, medical devices, and medication.

They reinforce distrust in the government and police, making it easier for criminals to take advantage of people experiencing homelessness.

They push people into harder to find places, making it harder for them to keep in touch with service providers and often making it impossible for them to receive mail, like new identification documents or disability checks.

Everyone agrees Oakland's current homelessness policy is failing.

Oakland deserves a holistic homelessness policy that will address the structural roots of homelessness and get people housed.

The EAP would take the city in the wrong direction.

I also object to the way this item was introduced to this agenda at the last minute.

As the parents of a young child, I can't come to city hall on short notice, and it's unreasonable to expect people to turn in an online comment card 24 hours in advance when an item is added to the agenda at the very last moment.

This is an importance policy discussion.

The public needs to be able to fully engage with.

This proposal should be rescheduled for a later meeting to allow full public comment.

Thank you.

Thank you, Alex, for your comments.

Moving to Satya, you may unmute yourself and begin your comments.

Hello, my name is Satya Basker, and I'm a district seven resident and a member of the Housing and Dignity Coalition.

Um you'll have to forgive me.

I'm speaking from a place of deep grief right now.

All I can think of as I sit here and watch people discuss the ins and outs of scheduling a last minute meeting to talk about a policy that is going to affect the lives and in fact the deaths of so many residents in the city.

All I can think about is the amount of people that I have heard of passing away only in the last three weeks of passing away on the street.

As somebody who's been engaging with unhoused folks doing advocacy work almost every single day of the week for around the last two years now, I can tell you from my own personal experience and my own personal relationships with folks on the streets in my neighborhoods and beyond that the amount of people that are dying on a regular basis are escalating.

People are dying faster and faster.

People that I've known now for a long time, and then I'll hear one day I'll get a call.

This person passed away, not only on the streets, but in the shelters as well.

The shelter systems are just as dangerous as the streets for many people.

And at no point during this entire process, as folks have you know said before uh today during public comments, at no point have I heard the city engaging with the structural impact of homelessness and the structural roots of homelessness.

Instead, all I hear are let's escalate criminalization, let's escalate enforcement.

Let's talk about enforcement enforcement enforcement at no point, at no point during any city council meeting, as in the time that I've been attending them for the last couple of years.

Have I heard anybody be honest about the structural roots of homelessness and how to address them?

This has to change.

Thank you for your comments.

That was our 10th and final speaker for item number three.

Thank you so much, Councilmember Ramachandra.

Thank you.

Um, I didn't realize today would be that the amendments weren't published, and then the deadline would be today at 4 p.m.

if it was to if it was next Monday.

Um, is it possible to anyone from the D 7 office?

Or we can vote on here and then check in after since we'll have another rules meeting before then to move this item to the following Monday at 11 a.m.

uh November 3rd.

Councilmember Brown.

Um I think that that time and date um could work um well.

Um, however, um, we would have to check in with our colleagues to see their availability.

But I think that that works.

So it doesn't work with council member long.

Um council member Wong would not be able to make it on the third, and and so if I may um from last rules um committee, I think I had uplifted the desire to ensure that this item is actually scheduled during a regular regularly scheduled either committee meeting or council meeting.

So um, you know, is it the will of this body to go ahead and schedule it for November the fourth?

However, you know that's election day.

So I don't I don't a hundred percent feel comfortable with that date as well.

Um, but I just wanted to put that out there that you know.

Last week I did mention, you know, why why can't this item be scheduled on a regular scheduled council meeting?

Do you have a and we'll get to the district seven office?

Do you have a date in mind uh council meeting in mind that you like it scheduled to?

Um I'm happy to hear from the D7 team first.

Through the chair, I have council member Houston on the phone.

He'd like to chime in.

Is that okay?

That's fine.

It ain't okay.

All right, go ahead, council member.

The it's not it's not it's not nothing about being okay.

I can speak, and let me say this.

This is an urgent situation.

I suppose to be in D.C.

I cancel my trip because the public wants this, the people want this, it's the right thing to do.

What?

Somebody say something to me.

No council.

No, no councilman.

Go ahead.

Okay, so the public wants this, the people want this.

This is urgent.

I want it on Monday, the 27th, 9 30, right?

That's what I agreed upon.

That's what I want, and I'm asking to schedule it if the council president wants to make it as a listening session with the option to vote on it.

If we have consensus, let's do it.

What's the wait?

There's no need to wait.

Our city has other issues that I'm addressing out in my community now.

Ice and all that, right?

We have this issue.

If we keep pushing things back, back, back, it never gets done.

Let me say this to you.

I am unhappy that we cannot make a decision.

For the betterment of the people, in the best interest of the people, community, business owners, and everyone.

I wish I was there, but I'm out here on the ground at East Oakland, and let me share this with you.

I'm supposed to be in DC.

I canceled because it was for Monday.

I have some important issues.

This is how important it is.

This is my last words I'm about to say.

Let's put it on the calendar.

9 30 the 27th for listening with with this with this piece.

So I can hear the public, I can hear the council members, but if it's something that we like, and we agree on it, and we have a consensus.

Let's vote on it.

Thank you.

So I council members here's what I can offer.

All right, we can make this an informational item, and then that way it cannot be voted on.

Are you guys okay with that?

Order in the chambers.

We have it.

Uh yeah, and then come to full council.

So next week, you would have to have a special.

Next week.

You would have to have a special meeting because there's gonna be four hours of public comment there.

All right, so I mean this item is big enough to where all of the council members need to weigh in on it, right?

Also, we need to allow enough time so that the public can be heard, right?

And the public doesn't like when the time is cut down.

And then Brown acts as we need a reasonable amount of time between one and three minutes.

So council members, you guys have expressed um challenges with the special meeting.

Do you continue to express those challenges after the council member council member Houston's message?

I do.

I understand that the urgency of wanting to get this scheduled and heard and all of that, but I mean instead of an informational item, if we just push it another week or so, it would get give us time to review the amendments because I think that's my interest.

Getting it on Friday afternoon and then hearing it on Monday.

It's that that's a little tight.

Um I think it would, and then on top of that, seeing and processing all the other council member amendments that doesn't give us a time to talk to staff and others over the course of the weekend.

So this is really about being able to see the amendments tomorrow afternoon and then ask do the work because you know we're we're all about prepare for council meetings before you you that you know you actually show up to it.

So I want to be able to do that.

And Friday evening to Monday morning without being able to access staff doesn't give me that time to review.

Councilmember Brown.

Just mentioned, and then I guess um I have uh more of a question, like a scheduling question, um, given that um, you know, most of the engagement on legislation and different items that come before us happen in committee.

Um, I guess I'm curious um what is preventing um you know members of the council from joining our public safety committee meeting um already scheduled and and scheduling it there.

Um and then you know, we could just adjourn into a special meeting and have the discussion during public safety October the 28th at 6 p.m.

So I I think there's two-fold, and I have to be fair to Councilmember Houston.

One, I agree with council member Ramachandran that everybody should be here, but I need to be fair to Councilmember Houston.

He went around to every single council member, including council member five, and access to stay where it's all right, right?

And so we're playing this out in public and now pushing back and that's not fair to council member Houston.

It makes it seem like Councilmember Houston tried to rush this, and that is not the case, right?

So we as a body are going to need to come up with something.

If you guys are okay with number of the fourth, put it on November the fourth, but we cannot continue to offer problems without offering solutions.

So what is the date that we want to put this on the agenda?

Um I'd like to move to have it on November 4th, 11 a.m.

The November 4th special meeting starts at 9 30 a.m.

I believe.

Then at 9 30, if that's it, at nine, and we'll have hear it as close to 11 as possible.

But not as an informational item as a regular item.

Council member brown, are you okay with that?

Okay.

So item 3.1 title change item 3.3, move to consent adds council members Jenkins, Brown, Raman Chandren as co-sponsors, and item 3.1 will be on November the 4th.

I'll undertain a motion.

So moved.

Second.

For item three, move by council member Ramachandran.

Seconded by Councilmember Brown to accept item three as amended with the amendments read into record.

On roll.

Council members Brown.

Aye.

Ramachandran.

Aye.

And Council President Jenkins.

Aye.

The motion passes with three ayes, one excuse five.

To accept item three as amended.

Moving to our next item.

Review of draft agendas, pending list, city council and committee meetings.

And we do have one speaker for this item.

Is there anything from the administration?

We don't have anything at this time.

Candace from City Administrator's Office.

Sorry.

Thank you.

Oh, city auditor.

Good to see you.

Okay, so um agenda item number eight.

For the um audit recommendation follow-up that was proposed, no that was scheduled for finance and management this um Tuesday.

Um we request bypassing finance and management, um, and presenting the audit recommendation follow-up report to the full city council prior to this item that just um transpired, we were proposing November 4th, and we wanted to present it as a non-consent item.

So we previously bypassed the council committee meetings and presented the semi-annual audit recommendation follow-up report to the full council as it is a subject that is broader than just finance and management.

Um it's also in the city charter that um we present um the audit recommendation follow-up report to um to the entire city council, did you mean item number eight?

As opposed to item number nine.

That's item number eight.

Are we supposed to talk about item number nine just no you said item number nine?

Okay, you want to withdraw it?

I want to withdraw item number nine, right?

So we're withdrawing item number nine.

Um through the chair, item eight is placed on the October twenty-eighth finance and management committee agenda, and you're requesting with to withdraw that item and have it scheduled directly to the council meeting.

So that will be withdrawing it from the agenda for next week because it is on next week's agenda.

Okay, through the chair.

Thank you for the clarity.

Um I'm fine with that moving out of finance and going straight to council, but I would request that it goes to the November eighteenth council full council meeting instead of the fourth, as that's going to be an impacted calendar.

So, December 2nd.

So item number nine is going to item number nine is going to be scheduled to December the second, or is it item number eight to December the second and item number nine is going to be withdrawn and rescheduled?

Correct.

So item number nine, we don't have um a specific date.

You want it on the pending list?

Yes.

Okay.

Through the chair, just to clarify for item number eight, the audit recommendation follow-up report as of June 30th, which is currently on the October 28th Finance and Management Committee agenda requesting to be withdrawn to be and rescheduled to the December 2nd city council agenda.

Okay, thank you.

On consent.

Sorry, thank you.

December 2nd.

Okay.

Thank you.

And then just to confirm for item nine on the October 28th Finance and Management Committee agenda withdrawing number nine, the professional service agreement from the city auditor's office, withdrawing it from this agenda and placing placing it on the finance and management committee pending list, no date specific as of now.

Great.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

If there are no other amendments to item number four moving to public comment, Ms.

Asada Olabala, or through the chair to the council staff.

Do you have something for item number four?

Is this going back to item number three?

Can't go back to item number three.

Mrs.

Hada.

Mrs.

Sada, please continue.

There needs to be at some point of discussion when we're going to get a permanent head of the human services department.

Too many valuable decisions are being made with the leadership that's inappropriate at this time.

Bringing someone from workforce and economic development with no expertise on human services is unacceptable.

Same thing with the Department of Public Works and Transportation.

You've had for too long an interim person, and you need to get something done with finalizing a permanent person.

I'm concerned that some whenever you take a trip to represent the city of Oakland or whoever you're representing, you're going to DC, advocating federal, you need to come back and report exactly what you accomplished because we never hear anything.

Every police officer in the city of Oakland does not have access to a rifle and cannot fire a rifle.

That comes under a mandate that you have to be a part of a patrol rifle training program.

There are 35 officers on a day on a duty per shift.

How many of those officers per shift have access to using a rifle?

You got too much going on with these active shooters and violence, and you need to have people able to use that weapon.

You don't know anything about it, you experts on policing that got rid of Omar Former.

Your security contract, you have done nothing to secure that contract.

You have ABC working downstairs with no contracts.

Their contract expired June 30th.

You have also the fact that you have 37 police cars that you approved, and you never identify where the money was coming from.

You know, you talk about Omar Former.

You guys are ridiculous.

How you do your business here?

Thank you.

I believe that concludes the public comment.

So we are counseling the 1027 meeting at 9 37.

At 9 30.

1028 FMC item 8 withdrawn, rescheduled to 1212 city council meeting non-consent.

12-2.

Item nine withdrawn, scheduled to the pending list.

I'll entertain a motion.

I'll make the motion to move the item.

Second.

Moved by Council Member Brown, seconded by Councilmember Ramatranjan to accept item four as amended with the amendments stated on record by our chair on roll.

Council members Brown.

Aye.

Ramachandran.

Aye.

And Chair Jenkins.

Aye.

The motion passes with three ayes, one excused.

Five.

To accept item four as amended.

Moving to open forum.

Ms.

Asada Olabala, Nita B.

And Dana Mims.

No particular order.

So I happen to get a copy of the letter of the Queen.

You say they don't have no kings, but you all show here the Queen that y'all allowed to tell you what to do with relation to Omar Former.

Now this lady says in her letter that Mr.

Farmer spoke on a non-agendized item.

She said that Mr.

Farmer asked the police to report back to him on a nice.

Mr.

Farmer argued about a police timeline.

Boy, this is some serious stuff, Mr.

Farmer did.

Mr.

Farmer pursued a complete complaint against the police department.

He was a victim of racial profiling at some time in his life, and he did what he was supposed to do.

Mr.

Farmer spoke to the federal judge without permission.

Mr.

Farmer was against militarized equipment.

Oh, this is serious to be against militarized equipment.

But then this is the good, this is her recommendation.

She didn't only want to just get rid of Omar Former, she wants you to request the selection panel, issue a statement that they will refuse to deal with Mr.

Farmer.

She wants you to also advise the selection panel that the council will not support a slate of any candidates if it's Omar Farmer.

Are y'all out of your minds?

That lady in that letter has stuff in there about, and bottom words, that black man didn't ask permission to do what he did.

Oh, you know what the problem is?

The police commission is almost everybody is black on the police commission, except for one person.

Now, she didn't write a letter about uh Ricardo.

No, she didn't do that.

But y'all did that to that man.

And you and your uh your your thing about it's not about the individual, it's about the process.

Girl, get out of here.

You destroyed that man's character and integrity.

I'm going to the meet.

You said you wouldn't complain about the time.

Thank you for your comments, Mr.

Sada.

Nita B.

and Dana Mims, if you are in chamber or in Zoom.

Through the chair, that was our last speaker, noting that I do see Council Member Houston's hand raised in the Zoom app.

And white mail and saying this will talk to Trump and he will.