Good afternoon, and welcome to the life enrichment committee meeting of Tuesday, November eighteenth, two thousand twenty-five.

The time is now four twenty-one PM, and this meeting may come to order.

Before getting started, I will provide instructions on how to submit speaker cards for items on this agenda.

If you'd like to sign up to speak on an item, um, please fill one out and turn one in to myself or a clerk representative no later than ten minutes after the start of this meeting or before the item is read into record.

Registering to speak via Zoom is now due twenty-four hours prior to the start of this meeting time.

This meeting came to order at four twenty-one p.m.

and speaker cards will no longer be accepted ten minutes after this meeting has begun, making that time four thirty one p.m.

We'll now proceed with taking roll.

Councilmember Guile.

And before we begin, Chair, do you have any announcements at this time?

Thank you.

Um, I would like to begin today's item with uh agenda item four, the disparities and contracting study update.

And then we will proceed with the agenda as listed.

Yeah.

Okay.

Noting the changes made to the order of the agenda to hear item number four after number two.

Now, starting off with item number one, which are the minutes, there are no minutes to be approved.

Item two, determination of schedule by standing committee items and we have no speakers on this item are any changes from the administration.

No changes from the administration chair and none from my office I will entertain a motion second.

Thank you that was the motion made by Councilmember Guyos seconded by Councilmember Wong to accept the deter the determination of schedule about standing committee items as is on roll council member Guile Councilmember Wong aye and chair five.

Thank you item number two passes with three eyes one ex sorry one absent Houston to accept the determination of schedule outstanding committee items as is now reading in item number four receive an informational report from the city administrator on the status of disparities in contracting study conducted by Mason Tillman Associates MTA pursuant to resolution eight sorry eight nine zero five eight CMS including MTA's findings to date regarding disparities in the city's professional services uh procurement and construction contracting activities and the timeline on when the final report would be presented to the city council and we have four speakers that signed up for this item.

Thank you madam city clerk and thank you to everyone who is in attendance at today's meeting I've been looking at this item for much longer than I've been a council member and I just want to lay out a couple things of how I plan on structuring this item today.

We're getting started a little late so I will have to manage our agenda pretty tightly but I will give my opening remarks and then I will open it up to City Administrator Johnson to present uh the findings from the city side I will offer an opportunity for Dr.

Ramsey to provide comments and to answer questions and then we will hear from the public so I wanted to start by saying since the 2000s the city of Oakland has commissioned multiple disparity studies to be conducted by Mason Tillman and associates to identify potential disparities in contracting and purchasing that limit the participation of minority and women owned businesses.

The initial race and gender disparity study studied contracts awarded from 2002 to 2005 the city then commissioned a new analysis which was completed in 2017 and updated in 2019.

The updated 2019 disparity study reviewed contracts and some contracts that were awarded between 2011 and 2016 and found that African Americans experience statistically different disparities among prime contract awards and multiple sectors including construction and professional services.

On March 1st 2022 the city council approved a resolution authorizing the city administrator to award a professional services contract to Mason Tillman associates in an amount not to exceed $6000 to study the city's professional services procurement and construction contracting activities for the period of July 1st 2016 through June 30th 2021.

In May 2023 I requested an update regarding the latest study by Mason Tillman but staff reported that the study was not yet completed.

Now two years later I am again requesting an update on the study including findings and recommendations this is a critical issue for many in our community and I have concerns that the longer we wait there will be a need for another study that looks at data for more recent years.

So I look forward to a conversation about this update I don't think we can talk about public safety in the city of Oakland if the people that we need to be safe are not able to provide meals and food for their families and to provide jobs for the greater community.

So with that I will open the floor to is Councilmember Houston here.

So we'll need a motion I'll entertain a motion to accept I'm sorry to accept the the it's AB 2449.

To accept the emergency services uh circumstances so council member Houston we're hearing from the uh parliamentarian that you need to explain on the record your reason for utilizing um this the reason why I'm utilizing this is I'm gonna turn it right there to my eighty nine year old mother I had to come out here and take care of and that's why I'm utilizing this.

Understood thank you council member so I'll entertain uh the motion from the committee.

Second thank you we have a motion we have a motion made by council member guy seconded by council member wong to accept councilmember Houston's use of AB 2449 for emergency circumstances on roll council member guy council member wong aye and chair five aye thank you motion passes with three ayes I will turn it back over to the city administrator there we go all right sounds good Justin Johnson to the administrator so council member thank you uh just for the opportunity to speak so very briefly I did want to share that the city did receive the completed disparity study in 2024 uh subsequently um the city attorney's office did um seek outside legal counsel in short order to conduct a review of the methodology uh provide legal review and formulate recommendations uh based on the study's findings um there is an in-depth review of current case law and standards that the city must consider as well as tangible methods that we can and should uh implement there is a relationship between uh the research completed by uh Mason Tillman and our SLL SLB program and the goal is to take a holistic approach to really address the issues that you outlined um at the outset of this meeting uh we do plan to bring forward all of these recommendations in late January including any revisions to our SLBE program as well as the work being completed by the department of workplace and employment standards um all of these recommendations will be presented to council um in late january along with specific updates on the measures we have already implemented to address disparities in contracting and I do want to appreciate and acknowledge the esteemed Dr.

Ramsey who is here who can certainly speak to uh her work but that is where the administration stands today and I know you did ask for the timing of that which would be late January.

So to clarify the disparity study results were um analyzed by outside council.

Through the chair yes ma'am so what is coming in January the actual to through the chair the actual the recommendations themselves as well as um our outside uh legal review and the feedback that we've received but also there's a quite a heavy lift that's happening within the department of workplace standards that are recommendations that we can uh quite frankly implement sooner rather than later to address some of the disparities um that that we are seeing and so all of that work we want to present as a total package because we want to make sure that they dovetail very nicely we can move in one cadence as I suppose as opposed to being sort of offset and kind of despair um in some respects which would have been the case um had we done so sooner.

I I appreciate wanting to move forward um in a certain type of cadence versus a staccato way of moving um these these changes forward I will say I'm deeply uh disappointed that it's been several years since the 2000s it's 25 years since the initial um disparity study was conducted and I'm I need clarity on why we needed to have outside legal counsel but I don't know if that's something that we can discuss publicly or if that needs to be discussed in closed session but the I've been on council now for five years, but I've been working on trying to move this forward for much longer than that.

And I think minority folks in the city of Oakland deserve a lot more attention, respect, and appreciation.

This existed before you got here.

So I'm not, this is not about you.

Yes, sir.

It's about what are we doing to rectify the issues, and I just want to know what they are, because I don't necessarily have to take the recommendations, and there aren't necessarily legal rap ramifications if the council doesn't take action on those recommendations.

I just think that we are spending public dollars on these reports and we owe the public an explanation on what is you know coming from these reports.

Because if there was a reason that we needed outside council to review the work product, then it seems like it wouldn't make sense to continuously give a contractor an award to do this year after year after year if we are consistently having problems with that work product.

I don't understand the logic.

So I I guess that is all, and if there's no uh advice from the parliamentarian on what can be discussed, then I would and through the through the chair, if if if it's your pleasure, um city attorney Richardson is here and concerned.

I'm understanding.

Yes, thank you.

Thank you through the Chair Ryan Richards and City Attorney.

I just wanted to clarify that the um the fact that we the city sought outside expertise to help review the report is not in and of itself an indictment of the report whatsoever.

Um it's any disparity study is kind of the intersection of a statistical scientific study and application of the law, uh, right, whether it meets the standards uh of the law to institute certain types of recommendations.

City staff doesn't have that type of expertise in-house, our office doesn't have that type of expertise in-house, so this was really to help the city administrators' office manage this study and provide feedback.

Um the other thing I would note is that we're in particularly in 2025, but we have been for several years in a rapidly changing landscape when it comes to the standards for government agencies instituting DEI programs when it comes to the federal standards for their disadvantaged business enterprise program, uh, when it comes to Supreme Court case law around equal protection, so that's also added to the the time that it's taken for the analysis.

The the goal is to provide the council with options that will be meaningful, impactful, but also defensible.

It won't serve anybody's purpose if we the council if we bring recommendations to the council that are immediately enjoined or ultimately struck down, and that's so that's part of what we're trying to do is make sure that we have recommendations that will actually work.

Um, and so I just wanted to clarify that this is whoever had done the disparity study, whatever the disparity study had shown we would have needed outside expertise to help us interpolate it, analyze it, and bring it forward.

Thank you for that explanation.

Um if you could just stay here for a few moments and then um maybe explain to me, explain to the public why it's taken so long to get to this point.

It's two decades.

I I can't speak to the last two decades, Chair.

I understand you weren't here either.

Have you been here that long?

I don't know.

No.

The point is is that I know I've been asking for five years, right?

And I I'm going to hope that in January we can actually have this discussion.

And the way that we are defending so many of you know our the different groups in the city of Oakland right now, even if there was a legal challenge, I'm confident that the city of Oakland could take on that challenge with the right framework and direction from the city council.

And I, in order to make those decisions, I need to understand what is being communicated by the uh the report findings to know what I can take or leave or leave out because we can hear the information and come decide to completely go in a different direction, but still addresses the disparities.

But if we don't have any framework to move from, then we keep turning our wheels.

And and again, I'm I just I I would like more communication about these issues, especially even today.

I didn't know what would be presented.

And so um I'm happy that you all are here, and I want us to have a level of urgency when we're dealing with issues of um, you know, minority contracting in the same way that we have issues of defending our immigrant populations against ice and homeland security and those types of things.

I want the same level of urgency because that's what it's gonna take to pull us up as a city.

That is my my belief.

Um so thank you for your presentation or your comments to the chair.

Yeah, so I just lastly I agree.

Um, I I do think that staff is on track to get this this study presented in January.

Um I do I'm I relatively confident that there will be a menu of options for the council to choose from as far as um short-term and long-term um ways to address the disparities that I think we all recognize, um, and I do think that we can get this the disparity study process on a more regular and predictable cadence going forward.

So will the outside council report that was conducted be presented in January.

We will be providing uh legal analysis to the council, some analysis to the council confidentially, because it's attorney client privileged, it wouldn't it to the extent we think there are legal risks, it does not benefit the council or the public for us to publicize what we think those risks would be.

So that we will provide our legal analysis to the council, but we will have to do that confidentially.

And will that occur before this comes forward in January?

It will.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Are there any questions from uh council member Houston?

Um, can you hear me, Councilmember Fife?

Yes, we can hear you, thank you.

So so I like to thank you for taking the courage to do this.

It takes a lot to to stand up for uh a group that has been um unheard for so many years.

If you go to page 32 in the grand jury report, the page 32 in the grand jury report that just came out speaks about this that happened in 2001, 24 years ago.

Now, for this policy to be created 24 years ago means something was happening right for that to happen.

So from my personal experience, it was six years prior and longer.

Alan Doan's father back in the day.

I can go further and further back.

30 years that we have denied, denied, and I'm gonna say denied.

Um our local contractors, small local contractors, the LBEs, the SLBEs, the opportunities, and our residents, um, generational generations have been lost because they didn't have the opportunity.

Generations and children have lost opportunities that have been murdered on our streets.

My obligation to the individuals that elected me in office, and that's why it's so important.

I'm on here.

I'm right here with my 89-year-old mom that she needed me, but I'm still dedicated to my city of Oakland, right?

And I like to thank you for taking the courage because when I take the courage to do it, I get hit, I get smeared, I get um my names get thrown in the dirt because I'm looking out for the small local businesses and the people that I see that lost this opportunity 24 years ago, and it's in the grand jury right now, council member Fife, on page 32.

Did you did anyone see that?

Can Trinity can you pull that up and print that out and give that to the council members if just in case they miss that piece?

Um, so I like to thank you for bringing this forward.

Um, and so I just hope you don't get hit like I've been getting hit, but I know you can take those bullets just like I can.

So we're gonna stand here and fight for the SLBEs, the LBEs, and the people that have dedicated their lives to trying to help the ones that's been underserved, like in district, your district and district seven.

So I like to thank you for that.

Thank you for those comments, Councilmember Houston.

I'll acknowledge council.

I mean, I apologize.

Administrator Johnson.

Uh thank you.

Uh through the chair and members of the of the count of the committee.

The one thing I I want to reiterate is the fact that I recognize this has taken you know quite some time, but I think it's under the auspice of trying to get it right, given the confines of what we're working with, and I appreciate the city attorney's office, but also I have to uplift the work that Emilina Spear is doing in the department trying to get it right and recognizing that's a very interesting needle that we're trying to thread with this with this work.

And I just want to say thank you for just your um I guess influence with respect to making sure that this stays at top of mind because it it is not lost on any of us that it is critical, and especially the folks that are here to speak on this item.

So I just want I just had to say that we're trying our best to get it right, given the circumstances that we have.

So thank you.

Thank you for saying that, uh, Administrator Johnson.

And listen, I'm gonna this is not to you, but I'm gonna say it to everybody.

I paid the cost to be the hot boss with the hot sauce, and I'm gonna keep pushing because our people deserve it.

Oakland deserves it.

So I'm not gonna let this slip for another year or two years, and so the more support that I have from the community to continue to push, the the easier it makes it for me to push, um, and the the more support that I have from the staff, the the easier it makes it for everybody.

So thank you.

If you could just keep me posted with what um Director Espia is doing, that would be helpful because the community just really deserves to know.

Yes, ma'am.

That's basically basically it.

I do want to ask up uh Dr.

Ramsey just to give us an overview of your understanding of what you've been doing for the city of Oakland for the last 20 years on this topic.

Um, you don't have to go into major details, but I would like you to be able to address your work product and what you've been doing on behalf of the city of Oakland through this contract.

Uh thank you.

I'm sorry.

Just um a couple of pieces of information that I think that are important given Mr.

Johnson's comments and uh attorney Ryan's comments.

Uh one that uh the uh consultant apparently that has been used to review our work was initially hired by the city to work with us when we conducted the study.

So every chapter in this report has previously been reviewed by the outside council that I presume is the same person that is currently been hired again to review the work that she reviewed previously.

So that's a uh a matter of concern, and then I might also note that that particular outside council is also a consultant with whom we compete to do work, and I think that having outside uh council review work is important.

It is done by a number of our clients, and I might note that over the last 30 years we've done over 400 disparity studies.

We have not had one single study challenged in the court of law.

We have had two reviewed because we were hired by uh two governments, one being the Illinois Department of Transportation, to review a study that had been done for them and challenged.

So the court actually got to review the study that we we completed in response to their conditions, and that report is uh obviously public.

It was released by the uh the um seventh circuit, and they affirmed our study methodology.

So I think it's important, and I believe that's why we were competitively awarded four contracts over the last 20 years to do disparity studies.

The other thing that I think is very important is to keep in mind that we were very mindful of the fact that we are doing a study in the state of California.

We're doing a study where proposition 209 is now part of the state constitution, and the issue and restrictions on using race are very significant.

Therefore, our study makes recommendations for race, because there's also a finding in the state Supreme Court that egregious behavior can be subject to addressing with race-specific information recommendations.

But in addition to race, we have a numerous number, a numerous recommendations for policies that do not involve race.

And I find it very difficult, and as an Oakland-based business, I found find it a particularly challenging that the city has not moved forward to implement the race neutral recommendations that we have made.

This study had a particular characteristic, which I think is to be risking, who was city uh manager at the time to be commended for having added it to the study, and so in addition to interviewing businesses, collecting and analyzing your contracts, we actually interviewed the managers of the city.

And as a result of that, and we have not done that in any other study, we were able to get inside views on barriers that are in digit and integral to the way the city does its business.

And so you will find in that study, which I hope will be released.

I think it is a public document that citizens have paid for, and I think they should have the right to see it.

But there are a number of recommendations that are for small businesses, mainly Oakland-based businesses.

We did a specific analysis on dollars spent in Oakland.

Over 50% of the dollars the city spends are being spent outside of Oakland, which is very important, although about 60% of the contracts are under 100,000, so they're small, could be and should be made available to local-based businesses.

So I do think that it is important to spend the money wisely.

I think you made a good judgment in hiring us because we do a thorough job and have not had a challenge, but we also bring practical solutions to very difficult problems, and those solutions are not just based on race, they're based on local status size, and it also offers you a number of changes in policy and most importantly, implementation of existing policies, which will effectively increase the spend with local citizens, build the business space which the city needs because with business comes revenue and revenue is beneficial.

So I really want to commend you and moving this forward and trust that the study will be released.

Actions to be taken are to be determined by counsel, but the public should read the document that we produce for you and the city's citizens of the city's paid to have done.

And thank you very much.

Thank you for your comments.

Are there comments from the committee?

Thank you.

Councilmember Wong.

Thank you for bringing up this important topic.

I just want to urge the importance of action-oriented recommendations.

I think I've been here a short time, but I see a lot of studies, and I want to see things that can move us towards action, and I would be interested to look at cities that have been able to make uh contracting reform and make it happen quickly.

It looks like in Memphis under the leadership of Mayor Strickland, they were able to have a 60% increase in minority and women-owned uh business enterprises in their contracting process, and uh would love to learn from that.

Thanks.

Thank you, Councilmember Houston.

Uh, my question is this was paid by the taxpayers' uh money.

Is that correct?

City attorney, was that was this paid by taxpayers' money?

I can answer that.

I I would is uh attorney Richardson still here.

Okay.

Well, well I I know the answer, I just wanted it to be on the record.

Um, this was paid by taxpayers' money.

Why can't both that what was what the city administrators talking about and what Dr.

Ramsey is talking about be done simultaneously?

This port this report needs to be released, period.

This report needs to be released.

It was done.

Release the report, it was done by the taxpayers.

We deserve to see it.

It's been too long, release the report.

Thank you for that, uh, council member Houston.

So uh to Attorney Richardson, is that the case?

If you could answer council member Houston's question, I would greatly appreciate it.

I want to find out if there is something that can be reviewed before January, as it was paid for and through the general purpose fund dollars and what have you.

Through the chair.

So the answer to the question of what yes, the taxpayers paid for the report.

Um defer to the city administrator, and they may need time to think about it.

It's it's not my report.

I did not commission the report.

I did not it was the reports done on behalf of the report, release the report.

So that that question has not come up.

I'd need to, I can't, I can't make that decision.

I'd need to consult with the city administrator.

But I as I understand the question, it's to just release the report without any condext context or presentation, but prior to staff presenting it.

Yeah, they things can be happened simultaneously.

The public paid for it, we've been waiting on it, been too long.

Release the report.

Thank you.

So I I hope that we can have some is the city administrator still here.

A response to council member Houston's question.

Sure, through the chair to council member Houston.

I think earlier in our conversation, there was uh commentary by attorney Richardson that he wanted to make sure that we had um we provided the council with feedback, the report as well as the legal findings that they wanted to make sure you all are aware of before it's publicly released, was the initial uh ask.

So, with respect to you know the report in and of itself, I think that's an important conversation to have.

If I'm not mistaken, I think you all have a closed session coming up within the next two weeks or so.

We can certainly have that scheduled in the council member Houston.

We can give you a definitive time as it relates to when we can actually when would be the best time to release the report once you all have all the information that you all will probably need.

So we'll talk about this in close session.

Is that what I'm hearing through the chair?

Through the through the chair, yes, sir.

Okay, all right.

I'm I'm I'm confident that you uh you never let me down, so I'm confident that you will do that.

Thank you.

Yes, sir.

Okay, my my final question.

If I could ask one more question, Dr.

Ramsey, before we move on to our public speakers.

Um you said that you've done 400 disparity studies.

Have any of those been in California?

And have I I think you said one was challenged, one or two were challenged.

Mason Tillman's studies have never been challenged, but what we have done is to represent local governments.

That government's study was challenged.

They needed someone to do a new study so that they could go back to court to request to continuation of their program.

So our we our study, our study was produced, the Illinois Department of Transportation took it back to the Seventh Circuit to say this is now the set of facts we want to use to reinstate our program.

The court reviewed our study, wrote an opinion that included reference to our study, and said that our method was sound and that the uh department could go forward to reinstate its minority business program.

So that is how our study got before the court.

Understood.

Now you asked me a second question, I think.

If you that you'd done 400, had any um been conducted in California?

California.

We did uh a number of studies pre-209 in California, and then since then we have done studies locally, the city and the county, uh, or two studies that we have done in the state, but prior to 209, we did probably at least two dozen studies all across the state.

We'll take one more um comment from Councilmember Houston, and then we will move on to our public speakers.

Thank you.

So when we have this in closed session, and this is through the chair, and it's just a statement.

You know how they give us documents in the in in closed session and then they take them back.

I would like to see that in closed session.

All of us see that they can take it back even if they don't decide to um release it.

I like to see it just like they do other documents in closed session and take them back.

I like to make that request.

Also, um, did my um council a drop off um page 32 of the the the that document that I asked her about?

She dropped that.

She handed out page 32 of the grand jury report, yes.

Now, I might be asking too much, council member um five, but can she read that so the public can hear it?

Can I call her up?

Because I've got what don't I have like five minutes to speak on every item or four minutes to speak on every item as a council member?

Can she come up and read that for the public, please?

Um I'm gonna give Trinity two minutes to speak on the uh disparities in contracting because it is related, and then we have to move the agenda.

We have several items today.

Okay, thank you, Councilmember Fife.

Trinity.

One moment, Trinity.

Sorry, through the chair, um Ryan Richardson.

So uh council member Houston.

I just wanted to clarify one thing.

We we um we'll need to analyze whether it's appropriate to meet in closed session to brief the council.

However, if it's if it's not, we will meet with the council members individually or or in small groups to brief them.

So I just wanted to clarify it may not be in in a closed session with the entire council, it may be um small one-on-one or small group briefings.

And so I want to make sure that the documents that council member Houston is requesting, all of that will be discussed at one time, even if it's with small groups.

Correct.

And it will be done before the January um item comes back before the council.

Correct.

The chair uh Trinity Hall from the Office of the Son of Oakland, Ken Houston, District 7 Council member.

I will be reading a portion of this grand jury report on page 32.

The first section reads contracting delays.

The grand jury learned of inordinate and inexplicable delays lasting as long as 10 months and getting contracts completed and executed through the city's internal processes.

These delays have contributed to hampering pothole and road repairs.

The next session next section cites Oakland's local business enterprise and small local business enterprise program.

The Oakland City Council created the local business enterprise LBE and small local business enterprise SLBE program in 2001 to give local and small businesses greater opportunity in city contracting.

As a result of this program, Oak DOT has difficulty locating qualified contractors who are able to comply with local requirements and ordinances.

Subsequently, Oak Dot has asked the city council for waivers, which the city council has not always approved.

For example, in 2021, Oak Dot had to reject all 10 bids on three paving projects as non-compliant with LBE slash SLBE requirements, but the process says ultimately taking two years to get those contracts completed.

More recently, the strict LBE slash SLBE rules resulted in only one contractor being qualified for some contract for some projects.

A large agency with projects the size of Oak Dots should receive multiple bids for work.

A lack of completion results in Oakland not receiving the best prices.

One city official estimated that Oakland could save 10 to 15% on projects if reforms were implemented, which would result in expanding competition.

The grand jury reports the grand jury notes that in December 2024, the city council amended the LBE slash SLBE program, removing the requirement of local contractors having Oakland headquarters and modifying the definition of substantial presence by removing the requirement that either 20% of the company's workforce or a minimum of 50 employees work in Oakland.

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

And through the chair, um, that is exactly what I've been fighting for, and that's what I'm being attacked on right now.

So thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Houston.

Um, I want to go ahead and move on to the public speakers, calling in the names that signed up to speak on item number four.

If you're here with us in chamber, you can come up to the podium, state your name for the record.

If you're on Zoom, please raise your hand to be easily identified.

Bruce A.

Giron, Kathy D.

Adams, Sam Tadassi, and Stanley Cooper.

Hello, my name is Bruce Giron.

I'm the current chairman of the National Association of Minority Contractors, and I stand here in solidarity with all small businesses who are working with you to deliver the services that you're obligated to provide to Oaklanders.

You want to make Oakland a good place to live and to raise a family and all small businesses, be it the shopkeeper or the case of the clients that I represent, uh contractors, we want to do the same thing too.

And this is about providing good, well-paying, blue-collar jobs that allows Oaklanders to be able to afford to live here in Oakland.

And so we're in we're on the same team on this, and so I commend Councilman Fife and uh Councilman Houston for their urgency because the urgency is now.

Uh, too many people are being lost because of the denial of these economic opportunities that should be there.

I own a business, a construction business in San Francisco, and I'm very, very proud of the 51 people that I sign checks for every week.

What I'm most proud of, though, is that just over in San Francisco, I am making a difference in the lives of people that look like me because all too often we've been left behind and wanting.

And so um I don't think that anyone uh that doesn't look like me does as good a job of being able to provide the most encouraging and welcoming environment that helps to develop people, not merely give them a job for a week or two, but to develop people, and so my urgency for this is that if we don't do that, we're we'll continue to leave people behind.

And so I thank you for uh moving quickly, expeditiously on uh taking the next step in organizing your efforts around the recommendations contained therein.

Thank you, Kathy Adams, um, president of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce.

I hate that we have to come to this all the time.

First of all, I do have Sam today.

He's carved to put additional time, please.

He's here.

When Mayor Libby Shaff was mayor, we had to take to the street to demand that the disparity study be released then.

And apparently in the city attorney's office, there absolutely has to be some glue on the desk because the reports always get stuck there.

And as I listen to Dr.

Ramsey, somehow this process seemed flawed to me.

If Mara Rosales was hired to be an advisor to look at Dr.

Ramsey's work, then now be hired as a consultant.

Something seems unfair to me for that.

When we were trying to release the disparity study, and bless you know, Deborah Barnes Hart.

May she rest in peace.

She didn't even have a copy on her desk.

These are people's lives that we're dealing with.

The press conference was at 11 40 a.m.

And if we had not fought to get that, it will still be there.

This is an excusable for a document to sit that long.

We need to either do an audit to find out what do you guys do every day?

What's your job?

Why is it stuck?

I'm looking at one of our members here in this audience, Marina Securities, Sam Tadesi.

The process we went through with Allied, a global company, and the city is supposed to be doing local.

And then when we fight for it, and you got Caucasians getting contracts and black folks getting and minorities getting less than one percent.

And it's not okay.

To me, it is intentional discrimination.

And I know we got something to do.

And yes, I want to thank, you know, council member Fife for standing up, but we need to do our jobs.

You can't let something sit like that.

It was released in 2024.

It's sitting on the desk, and I understand process.

But if I had somebody in my office working that long and the work not being done, they wouldn't be here.

So all I'm asking is that we do a fair process, an equitable process.

Release the study.

It sounds inexcusable to me.

We shouldn't have to come up here and fight to demand you to release something.

And I got something to say.

If I had an employee, and they're good, I'll hire them again.

But if I hired somebody and they wasn't good, why did you hire and pay her again?

It doesn't seem fair.

And I don't want to keep coming up here over and over and over again.

I do the work, I do my job, I show up every day.

Nobody can say Kathy Adams and the chain range doing their job.

And I don't get nearly paid the money you get paid for just doing your job.

Do your job and release the study.

I'm tired.

Thank you.

If your name was called and you're in chamber and would still like to speak, please come up to the podium.

Before I get started, if y'all don't mind, uh can I ask Dr.

Ramsey a question before I get started?

And my yes, ask what's the question?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh, first of all, let me introduce myself.

Uh, my name is Stanley Cooper.

I'm a uh I'm a civil uh, sorry, I'm a general aid contractor, which is civil engineering, and there's only a handful of black civil engineering companies in Oakland, and I do a lot of public work.

But my question to you, Dr.

Ramsey, is that um have you heard of uh when it comes to miss municipalities, if there's seven years of inconsistencies, oppression by a government, uh like in the state of Massachusetts, um, then the federal can the feds can come in and set a precedence.

Have you heard of anything like that before?

Hi, Stanley.

Um, to respond to that, I think it really depends certainly uh when it comes to a compliance with federal regulations, and in this case, the study also looked at the spend of the um U.S.

Department of Transportation Funds, and in that instance, yes, the state and the federal government can come in and there's Title VI provisions that should be addressed when you're not complying with federal rules.

So we can all take legal action, and so we've been waiting all this long out of respect that we hope Oakland can get things in order, but I believe that burning the candles at both stakes.

So I just want you to know that we can take federal action because it's been over seven years of this disparity not being released, and it's been oppressive to not only.

Can I start my time over?

I'm sorry, we can't do that, Mr.

Cooper.

Okay, well, it's messed up.

And I'm hoping that you guys release the study.

Um, one thing is that I would like you guys to not even wait to January.

Uh the Alameda County on page 32, it talks about the LBE and L SOB uh contract.

I mean uh not having contracts.

What I don't understand from the city administrator is why they keep pushing us back.

That's a red flag to me.

Thank thank you for your time, Mr.

Cooper.

What we did learn today, I want to tell you before you sit down, is that this is not going anywhere until we get answers, until we get the information in front of the public, so the council can take appropriate action.

So even though you didn't get the full amount of time that you would have liked to speak to today, we will have another opportunity to come back in January.

So we had that confirmed.

This is not moving nearly as quickly as I would like to see it either, but we are moving forward with transparency, urgency, and we will act.

So I just wanted to let you know that.

Thank you for coming and speaking today.

And thank you for all of the public speakers who came out on this item.

Thank you, Dr.

Ramsey, for sharing your comments.

And this is not over.

We have a lot more to do.

And it's in the best interest of the city.

So thank you all for for sharing your voices.

On that note, Madam City Clerk, if we can move on to the next item.

I do want to let just let me sum it up because it was asked for me to repeat that the initial gender disparity study was awarded in 2020 through 2005.

We commissioned a new analysis in 2017 that was updated in 2019.

The updated 2019 study was reviewed, and uh contracts that were awarded between 20 well study contracts between 2011 and 2016, and then we had another study conducted on in 2022.

I was asked to repeat those dates to let the public know that we've been at this for quite some time and we need action.

Thank you all again for coming out on this item today.

We will move to the next item.

Oh, I'll make uh I'll entertain a motion to receive and file this item in committee with the understanding that this is coming back in January.

Councilmember Houston, thank you.

I'll take it.

You'll make the motion on this item.

Oh, yeah, I'll make the motion.

I'm sorry.

I thought you, yeah, you made it.

I'll make the motion to accept it.

Second.

Thank you.

We have a motion made by Councilmember Houston, seconded by Council Member Guy to receive and file this informational report in committee on rural council member guy.

Councilmember Houston.

Aye.

Councilmember Wong.

Aye.

And Chair Five.

Thank you.

Item number four is received and filed in committee.

Now going to item number three.

Adopt a resolution amending resolution number 90827 CMS, which adopted the City of Oakland's biannual budget for fiscal year 2025 to 27 to reallocate funding from the general purpose fund non-department departmental to add one full-time equivalent cultural affairs manager position in the economic and workforce development department as set forth in exhibit A, and there are five speakers on this item.

So I'll just give some brief introductory comments about this item that I was uh pleased to bring forward in partnership with the economic workforce and development department with the support of Mayor Lee.

Um this item, this position was frozen uh during the budget, and fortunately I believe that the community understood clearly what the mission was, and they advocated to bring this back, and I was happy to support that.

So we have the resources to uh reverse this decision that was made, and I think it's for the best interest of the city of Oakland.

I do want to give an opportunity to our economic and workforce development director to speak to the importance of this item, and um just thank you for everybody who came and lent their voices to this argument.

So I will turn it over to Director Canett to give a few words on this topic.

Thank you, Chair Fife.

Ashley Canett, Director of Economic and Workforce Development.

I would just like to start with a thank you, a big thank you to Councilmember Fife for being such a strong voice for the arts and a champion for our creative economy, and for introducing this budget amendment.

I also want to thank the mayor who also championed the restoration of this position.

Um and Councilmember Brown, who tried her mightiest at the uh budget adoption hearing to restore the position at that moment.

We know that the work of sustaining and growing our cultural and artistic ecosystem requires partnership, and we are grateful for community showing up and speaking out.

We are here today because of the advocacy of community.

And just a quick feel-good story about Oakland, our um recent interim cultural affairs manager.

She was at a grant makers in the arts conference, and she shared with me that while at that conference, everyone was all abuzz about Oakland.

Funders were so impressed by how artists and culture keepers engaged local leaders and in turn by how local leaders responded.

It was really a highlight.

EWD cannot effectively do this work without an experienced leader at the helm who is focused on sustaining the work, reimagining the role of what it means for local government to support artists and culture keepers, developing the programs that align with the vision and priorities of the city council, and then implementing these programs.

So this position is going to be focusing on the following administering and staffing the Cultural Affairs Commission, closer coordination with the cultural arts staff in the mayor's office and council members, stewardship of the cultural facilities that were transferred to my department at the last uh mid-cycle budget, arts advocacy, fund development, philanthropic partnerships, and attracting philanthropic investment and pursuing grant opportunities, managing the public art program and the public art advisory committee, or overseeing the management of those programs, capital improvement programs, or the public art program that relates to the capital improvement program, and then the public art and private development program, those two components.

Importantly, this position will also be focused on implementing the cultural district program that is currently underway.

The formation of that work is underway to better support the city's three cultural districts.

And so I hope that provides a bit of an overview of the roles and responsibilities of the position, and just very grateful to be here today.

Thank you.

And the finance director is here as well if there are any questions about the funding source.

Yes, please thank you.

Um Mr.

Johnson, if you could um give a few comments about the funding source.

Absolutely.

Thank you, Chair Fife.

Brad Johnson, Director of Finance.

The during the adoption of our biennial budget, there was a pool of money set aside to restore the and ensure that we did not have layoffs or reductions in salary for approximately eight positions across the city that were potentially in danger of doing that.

Upon the adoption of the budget and the reconciliation of that, we were able to secure those eight positions at the current salary and step amounts, and found that the amount allocated was in excess of the amount required.

So effectively, we went through the process of ensuring those positions were fully funded.

And at the end of the day, there was an excess amount left over.

The amount in excess exceeds the amount required to restore the current position we're talking.

That funding that was in excess was both for the first and second year of the biennial.

It was ongoing funding because it was being used to preserve ongoing positions, and so this funding that we are talking about that is reserved and in access is also ongoing in nature.

Thank you for that clarity.

I appreciate it.

Um, I do want to move to uh entertain a motion to adjourn into a special meeting with the presence of councilmember Brown, and I also want to make a motion to um move this item to December 2nd on consent.

And if councilmember Brown is on the line, we will take her comments now and then we'll hear from the public speakers.

I'll make a motion to move to a special meeting.

Second.

Thank you.

Due to the presence of councilmember Brown, we have a motion made by Councilmember Houston, seconded by Councilmember Wong to adjourn the life enrichment committee meeting and to convene as a special meeting of the full council at 5 15 5 17 p.m.

on roll council members Gaio.

Councilmember Houston.

Councilmember Houston.

Thank you.

Councilmember Wong.

Aye.

And Chair Five.

Aye.

Thank you.

Motion passes with four ayes.

And I'll make a motion to accept the recommendation.

We have a motion.

You could do the second.

Thank you.

Council Member Brown, you can unmute yourself and begin your comments.

Yes, thank you so much, Chair Fife.

I'll keep my comments brief given the sake of time.

Just wanted to, you know, just really thank everyone involved in ensuring that we could restore this position.

As was mentioned, I think on two separate occasions during the budget kind of process, I was really focused on ensuring that we had this position.

And so thank you for the leadership of Council Member Fife and EWD as well.

So thank you so much.

I just wanted to say that.

Thank you.

Moving on to public speakers.

If you sign up for item um calling in the names that signed up for item number three, if you're here with us in the chamber, please come up to the podium.

If you're on Zoom, please raise your hand to be easily identified.

Mario Wagner, Carla Guerrera, Vanessa Wong, Liz Luke, and David Boltwright.

In no particular order, you can come up to the podium or raise your hand.

One or two.

Can I get a point of clarification first?

What just happened?

I I'm I'm a little bit confused.

So we're you're not going to be voting to put this forward to the city council.

You've already decided that it's going to go to the full city council on the consent agenda.

Is that what just happened?

We haven't voted yet.

Oh, okay.

I okay.

What you so what was it that just happened?

A motion was made.

It just the motion.

Yeah, we want to hear from you all first.

Okay.

Super.

Thank you so much.

Thank you for that clarification and the time.

Um, my name is Vanessa Wong.

I'm the chair of the Cultural Affairs Commission.

I wanted to first thank you, Chair, so much for the work that you've really to fight to get this reinstated.

Um, also, of course, to the other city council members who I know who have supported this all along or have been convinced to to support it and and to council member Brown for bringing it up during the original budget meeting where this was eliminated.

Um, I just want to make sure that the funding that I believe this funding source has been put under question, and I hope that we can get that clarified at the city council meeting as well as this meeting about the source of the funding, the properness of the use of this funding, because I believe it has been questioned.

Um and I just want to say not only is this important for the sector, of course it is for the cultural sector, but I want to say this, and I always say this, but it can't be overstated.

This is a cultural justice issue.

This is for the the cultural life of our city and all the different peoples in our city to make sure they are seen, they are heard, and they can express themselves in the way that their culture, you know, that comes from their heart and their ancestors and how they were brought up, and that's what this is about, in addition to it being the superpower of this city that we have so many cultures and that people get along here, that people work together here.

The intersection of the cultures in our city is our superpower and is gonna get us out of the economic issues that we have right now.

It's gonna be a critical part of that, and so I just want to thank you.

Hi everyone, thank you for your time and for your work today.

My name is Liz Luke.

I'm the executive director of Living Jazz, and we've been serving free music and dance education at over 20 East Bay Schools, and we are able to do that thanks to the City of Oakland's support over the last 42 years.

I'm also on the board for California for the arts and secretary of the board for California Arts Advocates.

We are statewide advocacy board.

I just spent a three-day retreat with 20 with 25 arts leaders from across the state of California in San Jose.

Different elected officials came through policymakers strategizing around the state of California.

About a third of that room has this position in their respective cities.

And Oakland did not have a voice representing a city at that table.

People came up to me asking me what was happening with the city of Oakland.

We are a beacon, we are vanguard in terms of decision making, terms of cultural precedence.

We represent over 125 different cultures and culture makers.

It is our duty to have a voice at that table for all of those 125 cultures that we represent.

I spoke with Roberta Badoya back in the day when he was in this very role, and thanks to him and to Lax Li-Fi for her service.

This position is the ambassador.

Whenever a major funder, domestic, national, international, statewide, has an idea for strategy or they have a cause they want to go after.

They don't just call up a local nonprofit executive director, they call the cultural affairs manager of that city.

They are your diplomat.

They are the ones who are deciding where to put their millions of dollars in strategy, who is that person that is the go-between between the elected officials, the policymakers, who has their finger on the pulse with over 25 institutions, over 50 institutions that are funded through the city of Oakland.

Who has the boots on the ground and listening to the 125 cultures that we represent?

And I ask of you, I beg of you to get us this money.

Over seven years, Roberta Badoya brought in over eight million dollars into the city.

This saves jobs, and I'm asking you to save this job today.

Thank you.

If your name was called to speak on item number three, and you'd still like to speak, you can come up to the podium or raise your hand.

At this time, all names have been called, and we do have a motion on the floor.

Thank you.

We have a motion made by Councilmember Five, seconded by Council Member Houston to approve the recommendation of staff and to forward this item to the December 2nd City Council agenda on consent.

On roll, Councilmember Gaio.

Councilmember Houston.

Council Member Wong.

Aye.

And Chair Five.

Aye.

Thank you.

Item number three passes with four eyes to for to be forwarded to the December 2nd City Council Agenda on Consent.

Now moving on to item number five.

Adopt a resolution one accepting appropriating and authorizing agreements for receipts of grants.

Grant funds from the corporation for national and community services, CNCS Americorps seniors for fiscal year 25 to 26 and an amount in amounts not to exceed 340,537 for the senior companion program.

Program and two authorizing contributions from the general purpose fund in the estimated amount of 37,110 for SCP and 24,973 for FGP for central services overhead charges and in the estimated amount of $62,083 to meet the required minimum of 10% local match funds for fiscal year 2025-26.

And three, authorizing the city administrator to accept and appropriate appropriate additional grant funds from CNCS Americorp seniors that become available for the same purposes within fiscal year 2025-26, and we have no speakers on this item.

Outstanding.

If we could put five minutes on the clock, we will hear from Director Umna.

I'd appreciate it.

Five minutes.

Okay.

We'll keep it short.

Good afternoon, Chair Fife and members of the Life Enrichment Committee.

My name is Anna Bagtus, human services manager overseeing the aging and adult services division and the human services department.

I'm here to present item five on the senior companion program on foster grandparent program, grant award renewal for fifth fiscal year 25-26.

Senior companion and foster grandparents programs are part of AmeriCorps Seniors.

Fiscal Year 25-26 represents the year two of a three-year grant cycle for these AmeriCorps programs.

We respectfully ask the committee to advance this item to the city council for approval and consent.

The senior companion program and foster grandparents provide meaningful part-time volunteer opportunities with stipends to low-income Oakland seniors 55 years and older.

In the senior companion program, volunteers provide support in the forms of companionship, escorted transportation, and daily living assistance for frail and isolated older adults.

Foster grandparents provide children and youth with exceptional needs with mentoring, literacy, and school readiness support.

Funding from AmeriCorps seniors for fiscal year 25-26 will support 42 or more low-income volunteers with stipends while they provide approximately 50,000 hours of service to frail isolated older adults and youth.

The resolution, if approved, will authorize the city administrator to accept the amount stated: 340,537 for senior companion and eight 38,823 for the foster grandparent grandparents program.

The city of Oakland has a long-standing partnership with the MaryCorps seniors.

The senior companion has been funded since 1977 in the foster grandparents program since 1999.

Thank you for advancing this item to the city council for its approval and consent.

And thank you for your presentation.

Are there questions or comments from the body?

Councilmember Guile.

Make a motion to approve the item.

I will second that and thank you for the important work on this.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We have a motion made by Councilmember Guile, seconded by Councilmember Wong to approve the recommendation of staff and support with this item to the December 12th.

City Council agenda on consent on roll, Councilmember Guile.

Aye.

Councilmember Houston.

Councilmember Houston.

Excuse.

Councilmember Wong?

Aye.

And Chair Five.

Aye.

Thank you.

Item number five passes with three eyes, one excuse Houston to be forwarded to the December 2nd City Council Agenda on Consent.

Reading in item number six.

Adopt a resolution authorizing the city administrator to enter into an agreement with the youth ventures joint power authority through the fiscal sponsored philanthropic ventures foundation in an amount of 150,000 per year for fiscal years 2025-26 and 2026-27 for the City of Oakland's annual contributions to the YVJPA.

And we have one speaker on this item.

Outstanding, we have Ms.

Robin Love for a presentation.

If we could have five minutes on the clock, I'll make it quick.

Good afternoon, Chair Fife and fellow council members.

My name is Robin Love, and I'm the Child and Youth Services Manager in the Human Services Department.

I'm here today to seek your review and adoption of the resolution before you for the youth ventures joint powers authority.

That's a mouthful.

Through their fiscal sponsor for annual contributions in the amount of 150,000 a year for fiscal year 25-26 and 26-27.

Resolution CMS 90626 was introduced by Council Member Guillaume and it was approved by the Council for the new slate of City of Oakland trustees for a four-year term beginning March 2nd, 2025 through March 1st, 2029.

The youth ventures joint powers authority is an anchor agency that supports uh work to improve the outcomes for children, youth, and their families in Oakland.

There are three primary trustees, the City of Oakland, Alameda County, and Oakland Unified School District.

Three additional public sector trustees complete the youth ventures joint powers authority, and that is first five Alameda County, Alameda County Office of Education, and Peralta Community College District.

There is no fiscal, no new fiscal impact for this uh request for annual contributions as these funds were included in the 2527 adopted city council budget.

I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have regarding this resolution or the agenda report.

Thank you.

Councilmember Guy.

Yes, sir.

I make a motion to approve the item.

Thank you for your work.

And thank you for nominating me.

I'll second the item.

Councilmember Wong, did you have any?

Or to vote.

Yeah.

Calling in the speaker that signed up to speak on item number six, Tony Parsons.

You can come up to the podium and make your comments.

Hello, everyone.

Uh, my name is.

Okay, sorry.

Hello everyone, my name is Tony Parsons.

I uh serve as the director of public policy and finance at Oakland Thrives.

We are the staff behind the Youth Ventures Joint Powers Authority.

Um, and so I just want to speak and say thank you so much for um potentially adopting the resolution.

And I also want to just let the folks know, like both you as the council members as well as the uh audience here, what the youth ventures uh joint the youth venture joint powers authority or the JPA, what we actually do.

Um, so we are the public-private partnership for the city of Oakland really working to collect to work on issues for children, youth, and families.

And we take our direction from the members of the JPA, which are appointed by the institutions.

So the city of Oakland, for example, um, the appointments to the JPA were actually made by Councilmember Guilla.

He was the president uh for the county, it's made by David Halbert, the county uh super uh supervisor president and so on and so forth.

Um, but what we're working on right now is actually food security at the behest of what the youth venture joint powers authority has asked us to do.

And I think that it's a really unique institution because we really do that cross-sector collaboration, bringing in as many government partners as we can as well as uh private sector individuals, which is we have a complement to the youth ventures joint powers authority known as the Oakland Thrives Leadership Council, which is a private entity, um, sorry, uh a council made up of private industry um throughout the city of Oakland, so really that public-private interplay.

We have meetings concurrently together.

So we're hearing from our elected officials, we're hearing from the people on the front line doing the work.

Um, in addition to food security, we've also been working on youth mental health.

Um, the youth venture joint powers authority in May of 2024 asked us to do a report on youth mental health here in Oakland, and we actually published that report uh back in August.

So I'm happy to share it if anyone is interested in that.

Um our meetings are brown acted and open to the public, so our next youth ventures joint powers authority meeting is December 5th.

Um, it will be at 9 a.m.

at the Alameda County Education and Training Center.

I really think that it's a great thing for people to come and see what we do and understand that we are here to serve the entire city of Oakland.

I think sometimes it's only forgotten that we, you know, we do a lot of work in East Oakland, of course, with Rise East, but we really do exist to serve the entire city, and we would love your partnership in making that happen.

Thank you.

Well done, sir.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes our speakers on this item, and we have a motion, a motion made by Councilmember Guyos, seconded by Council Member Pipe, to approve the recommendation of staff and support this item to the December 2nd City Council Agenda on consent on roll council member guy.

Councilmember Houston.

Councilmember Houston.

Thank you.

Councilmember Wong.

Aye.

And Chair Pipe.

Aye.

Thank you.

Item number six passes with four eyes to be forwarded to the December 2nd City Council Agenda on consent.

Now reading in item number seven.

Adopt the following pieces of legislation.

One, a resolution authorizing the city administrator to apply for and accept the California Department of Social Services Child Care and Development Division contract to receive state reimbursement funding in an amount of three million three hundred forty five thousand eight hundred two eight hundred twelve dollars to provide California General Care Child care programs, uh program service to eligible participants, ages birth to three years old, effective July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2027, and two to accept an appropriate additional California general child care program reimbursement funding that becomes available for the same purpose during the same contract term.

And two, a resolution a resolution authorizing the city administrator to one apply for and accept the California State Preschool Program contract in an amount of three million three hundred sixty-four thousand seven hundred sixty-five dollars,765 and to accept the California pre 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 ages three to five years old from July 1st, 2026 through July 30th, 2027, and to accept an appropriate additional CSPP and CPKS reimbursement funding that becomes available for the same purpose during the same contract term and three a resolution authorizing the city administrator to apply for and accept the U.S.

Department of Agriculture Child and Adult Care Food Program contract from the City, sorry, from California from the California Department of Social Services in an estimated amount of 260,000 to provide the funding for nutrition nutritious meals from July 1st, 2026 through July 30, 2027, and to accept an appropriate additional CACFP contracting contract funding that becomes available for the same purpose during the same contract term.

And we have one speaker that signed up for this item.

Well done, thank you.

That was a mouthful.

Um Miss Black, you have the floor.

Yes, thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair, um, and members of the Life Enrichment Committee.

My name is Tracy Black, Human Services Department, Early Childhood Family Services, and I'm the manager for program governance and state contracts.

I'm here on behalf of the City of Oakland's Homing Services Department, Early Childhood and Family Services Division to present three resolutions that support uh the continued delivery of high-quality early learning and family services for Oakland's children ages birth through five.

Um, staff respectfully respectfully recommends that the city council adopt three resolutions authorizing city administrator to apply for accept and uh appropriate fiscal year 26-27 state and federal child development and early childhood education funds that sustain and enhance the city's head start, early Head Start programs.

These contracts work in tandem with the federal head start grants, Oakland Children's Initiative funding as well to support comprehensive early care education, nutrition, and family support services.

This briefing really uh quickly summarizes the three resolutions requesting the city council to authorize um and authorize it apply for author, I'm sorry, apply for and accept the fiscal year 2627 state and federal child development contracts that collectively help to sustain Oakland's comprehensive early childhood system.

These contracts, which are California Child Care, General Child Care, which is CCTR, California State Preschool Program, which is CSPP, California Pre-K Supplemental Grant, which is CPKS, and the child care and adult child and adult care food program, which is CACFP, provide more than $7 million in annual reimbursement uh revenue to support full day, full year infant toddler and preschool services along with daily meals and meals for children enrolled in the program.

These funds, these funding streams directly strengthen the city's early childhood and family services division, which delivers school readiness services, health and developmental screenings, family engagement, and high-quality early learning services at 14 directly operated sites.

We are proud to share that the city has administered these contracts for decades with no fiscal or performance exceptions, and they remain essential to maintain service continuity for Oakland families.

Together, these contracts support more than 260 children, birth through five, through stable, high-quality early care, early education, and family services.

They enable families, particularly low-income families, immigrant, multilingual housing and secure households to work, pursue, and stabilize their economy, their I'm sorry, their economic mobility, and they ensure consistent access to nutritious meals, high quality instruction, early literacy supports, and developmental screenings.

Our state contracts are also in alignment with the following citywide priorities.

Holistic community safety, early learning reduces long-term justice involvement, supports family stability, and strengthens community wellness.

Housing, economic and cultural security, early childhood education and family services enables families and caregivers to work and remain housed, supports small medium, small to medium early childhood education businesses, and provides culturally responsive services, vibrant, sustainable infrastructure.

Early learning centers act as critical neighborhood anchors, offering consistent services, family navigation supports, and community connections, and finally, responsive trusted trustworthy government.

These resolutions demonstrate the city's commitment to data-driven investments in transparent fiscal stewardship.

So, in closing, staff respectfully respectfully recommends that the library enrichment committee forward these three resolutions to the full city council for adoption.

Securing these funds ensures the city of Oakland can continue to provide comprehensive, high quality early childhood services that strengthen children, families, and communities.

Thank you for your consideration.

You did that.

Okay, thank you.

I'm available for questions.

Thank you along with my colleagues.

Wonderful.

Is there a are there questions from the body?

Councilmember Wong.

You through the chair.

Uh thank you for that presentation and um for this really important work.

Um I'm just trying to understand tables one and the following after that, table two, the slots, the right hand side versus the left hand side.

Uh is this demonstrating a gap in terms of how many slots are funded and that some of our sites are under enrolled and we need to do some more outreach, or I'm just trying to understand why all the numbers on the right are lower than the numbers on the left.

You're looking at table one, the CCTR slots, yeah, CCTR slots per site, and then CSPP slots per site.

So we're looking at the total estimate, uh total estimated certified children per site uh for fiscal year for this fiscal year or the for this fiscal year and the coming fiscal year, and we're basing the projection for fiscal year 2627 on our numbers for 20 uh 526.

So we're look we're expecting to be serving more children in 2627.

Okay, so this is actually what you're expecting more more children to be served by these sites than as of today because of actually the expansions that were noted earlier.

Expansions or the extension of the hours were the no, it's more related to staffing that we're hoping to bring on, because you know we have a staffing challenge across the county, across the nation, and so the more um staff we're able to bring on, the more children we're able to serve, and we're expecting that.

Right, we're not gonna be serving any children over a ratio, right?

So they're out of ratio, so we need to make sure that our staff our classrooms are fully staffed, and they are at the moment, but when we can bring on more staff, we can actually enroll more children, right?

So that we stay within the required ratio that's required by licensing.

Right, okay, understood, thank you.

Okay, um, I move to accept staff recommendation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes, just for the public's information.

How many children do we have in our head start program here in the city of Oakland?

Currently, do we have you have any idea?

We have at the moment we're serving over 260.

How many?

Over 260 children.

260 children.

Over 2006.

Over 260 children.

Is that throughout the city of Oakland or specifically?

I thought you were referring to head start.

At the head start.

In head start, yes, over 260.

Head start and early start combined.

Over 260 children were serving.

Thank you.

And um, I'll second the motion.

Thank you.

Thank you, thank you.

Thank you.

Moving on to the public speaker that signed up for item number seven, Mr.

David Boltwright.

If you'd like to still speak, you can come up to the podium.

Otherwise, all names have been called.

We have a motion made by Council Member Wong, seconded by Councilmember Guyo to approve the recommendation of staff and to forward this I forward all pieces of legislation to the December 12th City Council Agenda on Consent on Roll Council Member Guyo.

Aye.

Council Member Houston.

Aye.

Thank you.

Council Member Wong.

Aye.

And Chair Five.

Aye.

Thank you.

Item number seven passes with four eyes to be forwarded to the December 12th City Council Agenda on Consent.

Now reading in the last item, item number eight.

Adopt an ordinance one amending section 8.62.100 to the Oakland Municipal Code for the purpose, sorry, for the purpose of removing the limit of public street closures for restaurants, retail, cafes, parklet, and other businesses to close and use public right-of-ways to encourage public safety, business development, and healthy outdoor use of and enjoyment of public spaces until December 31st, 2026, unless further extended by City Council and to adopting appropriate California Environmental Quality Act findings.

And we have two speakers that signed up for this.

I'll just give some brief comments to open up this Flex Street conversation.

So this straightforward action today requires no substantive changes to the existing program beyond adding a new sunset date of December 13th, 2026, and that is being proposed today.

So public outdoor events and activities have many benefits as many of us know, including generating revenue for struggling businesses, improving public safety, and elevating the cult cultural vibrancy of our city.

And I look forward to the support of this committee to extend that program for one more year.

Thank you.

Before we hear from the speaker, is there any are there any comments from the committee?

Wonderful.

Calling on the names that signed up for item number eight, Nigel Jones and Yavet Holtz.

In no particular order, you can come up to the podium.

Please state your name for the record.

Hi, good afternoon.

My name is Yavet Holtz, representing the Bay Area Organization of Black Owned Businesses.

We are an event organizing and revenue generating merchants association for small businesses, black owned businesses in particular in the city of Oakland and across the East Bay.

We work closely with small businesses in the various neighborhood districts and commercial district corridors and recognize that the permitting process and the uh adjustments that were made as a result of flex streets have been extremely helpful in supporting the growth and um feeling of safety in community and it also is important for small businesses that are not yet brick and mortar to be able to work up toward being able to take and be more solidly rooted for uh potential um moving into vacant storefronts and other kinds of uh placemaking activity.

So uh we really appreciate and thank the council and this committee for uh recommending that this uh initiative, this ordinance for flex streets be extended and stand in full support.

I work closely with Nigel, who unfortunately had to go pick up his after school child, but uh I I am speaking on behalf of both of us, so thank you.

That concludes our speakers.

Outstanding.

I will entertain a motion to move this forward, motion approved.

Um, I just want to thank you for catching this before it expired.

So love flex streets um seconded.

Thank you.

We have a motion made by council member guy, seconded by council member Wong to approve the recommendation recommendation of staff and to forward this item to the December 2nd City Council agenda on consent on roll council members guy.

Aye.

Houston, thank you.

Wong aye and chair Five.

Thank you.

Item number eight passes with four ayes to forward this item to the December 2nd City Council Agenda on Consent.

Moving on to open forum.

Uh, we have one speaker that signed up, Ms.

Jennifer Finley.

If you're on Zoom, please raise your hand.

All names have been called, Chair.

I want to thank everyone who came out, and I want to thank everyone who's coming for this next meeting.

We did have to shave off half an hour from the life enrichment Committee meeting because CED ran over.

And I would just like to um pat myself on the back for managing this agenda extremely well and keeping us on time.

Thank you all for coming out.

This meeting is adjourned.