Public Works and Transportation Committee Meeting – January 27, 2026
Public Works and Transportation Committee Meeting – January 27, 2026
The Public Works and Transportation Committee of the Oakland City Council met on January 27, 2026, at 11:31 AM. The meeting covered four agenda items, including approvals of minutes, scheduling of outstanding items, a contract amendment for Fire Station 4 design, and a resolution honoring Dr. Michael Ford. Public comments were heard on multiple items, and the committee forwarded two items to the full City Council on consent.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1 – Approval of Minutes (January 13, 2026): Moved by Chair Unger, seconded by Councilmember Houston, and approved unanimously (4-0).
- Item 2 – Determination to Schedule Outstanding Committee Items (Pending List): Accepted with a motion by Chair Unger, seconded by Councilmember Houston, passed 4-0. Councilmember Wong thanked the chair for scheduling an informational report on parking reorganization for the next committee meeting.
Discussion Items
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Item 3 – Resolution to Increase Professional Services Agreement for Fire Station 4: Staff presented a resolution to increase the design contract with Loving Campos Associates Architects from $1.5 million to $4.2 million, waiving competitive bidding and adopting CEQA findings. The new site at 1745 14th Avenue requires hazardous materials remediation because of a shallow groundwater table and a leaking underground storage tank. The total design fee is approximately 25% of construction cost, below the statewide average of 40–50%. Councilmember Wong (in whose district the station lies) supported the motion, noting the critical need and that the cost is standard. Councilmember Houston asked about pre-purchase inspections and subcontractor details; staff promised to provide a list of local firms meeting LSOB requirements. Public comment from Ms. Asada criticized the use of eminent domain and the additional cost after abandoning the park location. The committee voted 4-0 to approve staff recommendations and forward the item to the February 3, 2026 City Council meeting on consent.
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Item 4 – Resolution Honoring Dr. Michael Ford (National Parking Association Innovator of the Year): Chair Unger introduced the resolution. Director Josh Rowan praised Dr. Ford’s leadership, noting his team-oriented approach. Dr. Ford gave remarks emphasizing public service and credited his Parking and Mobility Division staff. Councilmember Wong and Gallo offered thanks. The public comment period attracted 14 speakers, including representatives from BART, a parking technology partner, and the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. Many speakers celebrated Dr. Ford’s work but also expressed strong concern about the proposed reorganization moving parking functions to the Finance Department, calling it unjustified and potentially damaging to morale and efficiency. Councilmember Houston acknowledged these concerns and stated he would revisit the issue. The committee voted 3-0 (Councilmember Gallo excused) to approve the resolution and forward it to the February 3, 2026 City Council meeting on consent.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 3 Public Comment: One speaker (Ms. Asada) opposed the fire station location change and eminent domain, and noted the cost increase from $1.5 million to $4.2 million.
- Item 4 Public Comment: Multiple speakers praised Dr. Ford’s leadership, innovation, and dedication; several also criticized the plan to split the Parking and Mobility Division, arguing it would undermine the department’s recent successes. Specific speakers: Henry Simmons (BART) highlighted partnership; Shalini Abbé Gunasekhar (Trelland) noted data-driven innovations; George Spees called the reorganization unjustified; Doug Mount and Shala Azimi lauded Dr. Ford’s hands-on leadership; Kirby Olson (Local 21) warned that replacing Dr. Ford with two new positions would cost nearly $1 million per year; Craig Raphael (OakDOT) cited speed camera collaboration; Savlan Hauser (Oakland BID) praised strategic parking management; Kevin Daly and Razu Engen echoed concerns about the timing of the reorganization.
- Open Forum: Speakers addressed tree-cutting fines, local crime trends, and federal immigration policies. Blair Beekman urged balanced approaches to public safety and technology.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Minutes from January 13, 2026 (4-0).
- Approved: Outstanding committee items/pending list (4-0).
- Approved: Fire Station 4 design contract increase to $4.2 million, forwarded to full council on consent (4-0).
- Approved: Resolution honoring Dr. Michael Ford, forwarded to full council on consent (3-0, with one excused).
- Adjourned: The meeting adjourned at approximately 12:30 PM after a moment of silence for community member Bridget Cook, requested by Councilmember Houston.
Meeting Transcript
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning and welcome to the Public Works and Transportation meeting for today, January 27. The time is now 1131. This meeting has come to order. Before taking roll, I will provide instructions on how to submit a speaker's card for items on this agenda. If you're here with us in chambers and you would like to submit a speaker's card, please fill one out and turn into a clerk representative, my left, your right. the item is read into record. Online speaker requests were due 24 hours prior to this meeting. This meeting came to order at 11 31 a.m. Speaker cards will no longer be accepted 10 minutes after the meeting has began making that time 11 41 a.m. With now we proceed to take roll. Councilmember Gaio. Present. Thank you. Councilmember Houston. Present. Councilmember Wong. Present. And Chair Here. We do have four members present and before you begin, Chair Unger, do you have any announcements for us today? Yeah, I think we're going to limit speakers to one minute because of the volume of people who came out to say nice things about Dr. Ford. We don't want him to get too much of a swell head, so we're going to do one minute per speaker. Thank you. Proceeding to item one, approval of the draft minutes from the committee meeting on January 13, 2026. We do have one speaker for the side. I would move that we approve the minutes. Moving to our public speaker, Blair Beekman. And I do not see Blair Beekman online. We have a motion made by Chair Unger, seconded by Council Member Houston to accept the approval of the draft minutes from the committee meeting held on January 13, 2026, as is on the roll. Councilmember Gallo? Aye. Councilmember Houston? Aye. Councilmember Wong? Aye. And Chair Unger? Aye. This motion passes with four ayes to accept the approval of the draft minutes from the committee meeting held on January 13, 2026, as is. Moving to item two, determination to schedule outstanding committee items, and you do have, also known as your pending list, and you do have one speaker for this item. Do we have anything from staff or council members? Amendments? Nothing from the administration at this time. All right, let's hear from our speaker, please. Ms. Asada? I'm going to ask that in conjunction with permitted projects for development of housing that we take a serious look at the parking spaces that are being provided with those developments. We have a development on West Grand that's going to be 71 units with only six parking spaces. When we develop these units with no parking spaces, then we put cars on the street, and parking becomes problematic.
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