OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Oakland Public Works Committee Meeting - December 9, 2025

City CouncilTuesday, December 9, 2025
BodyOakland, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, December 9, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:26:49
Transcript — Verbatim
1:08

Okay.

1:14

Okay.

2:06

And 2000 000.32 AM and this meeting may come to order.

4:27

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

4:32

If you're here with us in chamber and would like to submit a speaker card, please fill one out and turn one into a clerk representative no later than 10 minutes after the start of this meeting or before the item is read into record.

4:43

Registering to speak via Zoom is now due twenty-four hours prior to the start of this meeting time, and this meeting came to order at eleven thirty-two AM, and speaker cards will no longer be accepted 10 minutes after that meeting this meeting has begun, making that time eleven forty-two a.m.

4:57

We'll now proceed with taking role with members present.

5:00

Councilmember Guyo thank you council member won or councilmember Houston.

5:08

Thank you.

4:59

Councilmember Wong present.

5:11

And Chair Unger here.

5:13

Thank you.

5:13

We have four members present.

5:16

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

5:31

Can we move items five and six to the end to accommodate um the DOT director who is at a press conference right now.

5:43

Oh no he's there.

5:45

Never mind.

5:45

So no no longer need a change from DOT.

5:50

All right let's keep it in order then.

5:52

Okay, keeping the order of the agenda reading in item number one approval of the draft minutes from the committee meetings held on October 28th 2025 and November 18 2025.

6:04

We do have one speaker that signed up Mr.

6:08

Blair Beekman but it looks like he's not on Zoom.

6:13

Okay.

6:14

I will entertain a motion to approve the minutes.

6:22

Thank you we have a motion made by council member guy's second by council member Houston to approve the committee draft minutes of October eight sorry October 28th and November 18 2025 on roll councilmember guy aye.

6:37

Councilmember Houston thank you council member wong I and Chair Unger aye thank you motion passes with four eyes to approve the draft minutes from the committee meetings held on October 28th and November 18 2025.

6:55

Reading in item number two determination of schedule of outstanding committee items and we do have one speaker that signed up.

7:02

Anything from uh council members or staff about the pending list we don't have an administrator sorry let's understand about that.

7:15

I just figured it's usually city administrator Johnson who might be the president.

7:21

Anything from uh DOT or public works for the pending list all right well let's uh hear our public comment please calling in the names that signed up to speak on item number two Mrs.

7:39

Olabala let me start off by thanking you chair for the information about we do have a new human service uh department head it's fantastic I just read that the city of San Jose has focused a target initiative on park vehicles with expired registrations and from August 18 to November the 8th they have told 527 vehicles and cited what are we doing related to this issue of parked vehicles with expired registrations being fined or towed can we have a report on that I am concerned about the encampment policy not being thoroughly understood by the public uh this concept of criminalization of our homeless community is just too far fetched we need to have a clear before going to council you need to have a clear understanding from Mr uh Houston what exactly what we're trying to accomplish and I'm not sure if this council is being supportive enough and maybe it's because they don't know what you're really intending to do.

8:57

So uh the other thing I'm concerned about is the uh rules committee has placed the item of the ABC security contract on the agenda for approval that that contract expired in June 30th, I think, of this year.

9:16

And the reason for why we are at this point extending the contract, there should no there should not be any kind of situation like this.

9:28

This should have been brought up a long time ago if you wanted to extend the contract.

9:33

Uh and lastly, uh I got a few seconds.

9:38

Illegal dumping, the whole perspective of what's going on should be at every meeting, how we handling this illegal dumping situation.

9:46

Thank you, Mr.

9:47

Hughes.

9:51

Thank you for your comments.

9:52

Chair, that concludes all speakers on item two.

9:57

Okay.

9:58

Do we have a motion?

10:00

So, thank you.

10:03

We have a motion made by Councilmember Guile, seconded by Council Member Houston to accept the determination of schedule about standing committee items as is.

10:10

On roll councilmember Guyo.

10:12

Aye.

10:12

Council Member Houston.

10:14

Aye.

10:14

Councilmember Wong?

10:15

Aye.

10:16

And Chair Unger.

10:17

I thank you.

10:18

Item two passes with four eyes.

10:20

Reading in item number three.

10:28

Adopt a resolution updating the City of Oakland's environmentally preferable purchasing policy to align with the short-lived climate pollutants act SB 1383, the city's 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan and the City's reusable foodware ordinance, Oakland Municipal Code 8.07, and authorizing the city administrator to implement such policy and approve feature policy updates.

10:52

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

11:00

Let's hear from our staff first, please.

11:04

Good morning, council members.

11:06

My name is Jeffrey Wong with Public Works, and today I have an update for you on our environmentally preferable purchasing policy, which incorporates updates related to state regulation, SB 1383, the short-lived climate pollutants act, as well as existing environmental regulations that the City Council has already approved, namely our 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan, as well as our reusable foodware ordinance.

11:29

This policy was first passed in 2007 by this council to better protect human and environmental health as it relates to the city's purchasing decisions, and we bring it before you today for an update, a much needed update.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Contracting And Procurement███████████████████19%
Environmental Protection█████████████████17%
Active Transportation█████████████13%
Procedural████████8%
Disability Rights████████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████7%
Transportation Safety███████7%
Technology and Innovation██████6%
Racial Equity████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Oakland Public Works Committee Meeting - December 9, 2025

The Public Works Committee met on December 9, 2025, at 11:32 AM in City Council chambers. Four members were present: Councilmember Guyo, Councilmember Houston, Councilmember Wong, and Chair Unger. All eight agenda items were unanimously approved (4-0) and forwarded to the December 16 City Council consent agenda. The meeting also included public comments and open forum.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Mrs. Sada Olabala spoke on multiple items: criticized the term BIPOC in city reports, asked about funding for environmentally preferable purchasing, questioned the comparative costs and insurance of electric vehicles, requested multilingual traffic signs, expressed safety concerns about e-bikes in certain areas, and noted the lack of safe EV charging stations in Oakland.
  • Kevin Daly (Transport Oakland) supported the ADA compliance waiver (Item 6) and the e-bike program (Item 7), and raised concerns about moving parking policy to the Finance Department without council discussion.
  • Blair Beekman asked about technology in procurement for ADA work, thanked the committee for starting the e-bike program at Fruitvale BART, and discussed Flock contract alternatives.
  • Sam Wilson (Bike Hub) spoke in support of the e-bike lending program, noting 50% of rentals have gone to low-income residents.

Discussion Items

Item 1: Approval of Minutes (October 28 & November 18, 2025)

  • Motion by Councilmember Guyo, seconded by Councilmember Houston. Approved 4-0.

Item 2: Determination of Schedule of Outstanding Committee Items

  • Public comment from Mrs. Olabala raised concerns about enforcement of parking violations, encampment policy, and an expired ABC security contract. Motion to accept as is, passed 4-0.

Item 3: Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Policy Update

  • Staff present: Jeffrey Wong (Public Works). The policy aligns with SB 1383, the 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan, and the reusable foodware ordinance. No additional costs. Councilmember Guyo asked about cooking oil dumping enforcement; staff said education and enforcement are underway. Councilmember Wong asked about the $100,000 annual cost for SB 1383 compliance; staff said the policy will save tens of thousands of dollars annually. Motion to forward to consent, passed 4-0.

Item 4: Grant Funds for Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles and EV Infrastructure

  • Staff: Richard Battersby. Accepting ~$4.8 million in grants, requiring $7.1 million match, appropriating $4.3 million from city funds. Projects include 119 EV chargers, 4 battery electric vehicles, 3 electric street sweepers, and 1 electric refuse truck. Timeline: 12-24 months. Councilmember Guyo discussed OUSD collaboration. Councilmember Houston questioned procurement through Sourcewell. Councilmember Wong asked about performance benefits; staff cited increased capacity and noise reduction. Motion to forward to consent, passed 4-0.

Item 5: Traffic Sign and Pavement Marking Supplies Contract

  • Staff: unnamed (likely DOT). Award contract to Safe Boys Signs Inc., $2.5 million over 5 years. Only two bids received, one non-responsive. Councilmember Houston asked about advertising; staff said online and city organ. Councilmember Wong requested estimated number of signs but none provided. Motion to forward to consent, passed 4-0.

Item 6: Waiver of SLBE Requirements for ADA Compliance Work

  • Staff: Josh Rowan (DOT). Cleans up previous waiver to include local hiring and apprenticeship requirements. City has 25 years to comply with ADA settlement. Councilmember Houston preferred in-house but staff said they are not ready. Councilmember Wong said waiving will enable rapid compliance. Motion to forward to consent, passed 4-0.

Item 7: E-Bike Lending Program - Grant and Contract Extension

  • Staff: Kirby (DOT). Accept $800,000 additional grant from CalSTART, extend contract with Bike Hub for 4 years at $264,812 total. Program launched September 2025 with 50 e-bikes; 30 rentals to date. Councilmember Guyo made motion. Motion to forward to consent, passed 4-0.

Item 8: BayREN Technical Assistance for Building Decarbonization

  • Staff: Nick Kordash (Sustainability). Accept $100,000 and free engineering for energy audits at Temescal Library, install electric heat pump. No matching required. Motion by Councilmember Houston, seconded by Councilmember Guyo. Passed 4-0.

Open Forum

  • Kevin Daly opposed moving parking policy to Finance without council discussion.
  • Blair Beekman urged community dialogue on the future of the Flock ALPR contract.
  • Mrs. Olabala highlighted $35 million in DOT lawsuits that could have funded homeless services.

Key Outcomes

  • All agenda items (1-8) passed unanimously (4-0) and were forwarded to the December 16, 2025 City Council consent agenda.
  • Chair Unger made a comment about rising gasoline prices due to refinery closures, encouraging alternative transportation.
  • The meeting adjourned after open forum.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. Okay. And 2000 000.32 AM and this meeting may come to order. Before taking role, I will provide instructions on how to submit speaker cards for items on this agenda. If you're here with us in chamber and would like to submit a speaker card, please fill one out and turn one into a clerk representative no later than 10 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, and this meeting came to order at eleven thirty-two AM, and speaker cards will no longer be accepted 10 minutes after that meeting this meeting has begun, making that time eleven forty-two a.m. We'll now proceed with taking role with members present. Councilmember Guyo thank you council member won or councilmember Houston. Thank you. Councilmember Wong present. And Chair Unger here. Thank you. We have four members present. And before we begin Chair do you have any announcements at this time? Can we move items five and six to the end to accommodate um the DOT director who is at a press conference right now. Oh no he's there. Never mind. So no no longer need a change from DOT. All right let's keep it in order then. Okay, keeping the order of the agenda reading in item number one approval of the draft minutes from the committee meetings held on October 28th 2025 and November 18 2025. We do have one speaker that signed up Mr. Blair Beekman but it looks like he's not on Zoom. Okay. I will entertain a motion to approve the minutes. Thank you we have a motion made by council member guy's second by council member Houston to approve the committee draft minutes of October eight sorry October 28th and November 18 2025 on roll councilmember guy aye. Councilmember Houston thank you council member wong I and Chair Unger aye thank you motion passes with four eyes to approve the draft minutes from the committee meetings held on October 28th and November 18 2025. Reading in item number two determination of schedule of outstanding committee items and we do have one speaker that signed up. Anything from uh council members or staff about the pending list we don't have an administrator sorry let's understand about that. I just figured it's usually city administrator Johnson who might be the president. Anything from uh DOT or public works for the pending list all right well let's uh hear our public comment please calling in the names that signed up to speak on item number two Mrs. Olabala let me start off by thanking you chair for the information about we do have a new human service uh department head it's fantastic I just read that the city of San Jose has focused a target initiative on park vehicles with expired registrations and from August 18 to November the 8th they have told 527 vehicles and cited what are we doing related to this issue of parked vehicles with expired registrations being fined or towed can we have a report on that I am concerned about the encampment policy not being thoroughly understood by the public uh this concept of criminalization of our homeless community is just too far fetched we need to have a clear before going to council you need to have a clear understanding from Mr uh Houston what exactly what we're trying to accomplish and I'm not sure if this council is being supportive enough and maybe it's because they don't know what you're really intending to do. So uh the other thing I'm concerned about is the uh rules committee has placed the item of the ABC security contract on the agenda for approval that that contract expired in June 30th, I think, of this year. And the reason for why we are at this point extending the contract, there should no there should not be any kind of situation like this. This should have been brought up a long time ago if you wanted to extend the contract. Uh and lastly, uh I got a few seconds. Illegal dumping, the whole perspective of what's going on should be at every meeting, how we handling this illegal dumping situation. Thank you, Mr. Hughes. Thank you for your comments. Chair, that concludes all speakers on item two. Okay. Do we have a motion? So, thank you. We have a motion made by Councilmember Guile, seconded by Council Member Houston to accept the determination of schedule about standing committee items as is. On roll councilmember Guyo. Aye. Council Member Houston. Aye. Councilmember Wong? Aye.

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