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.

And that's why we need to look at this

to resolve that issue.

We need to have a report on Measure U

related to the Lincoln Rec Center

allocations of Measure U money to the center.

The center is not being developed,

but the principal issue I have is that

that

thank you for your comment miss osada and that concludes your public speakers for item two

all right I would move that we accept the pending list

oh question

uh not a question so much but I want to thank the chair for scheduling the informational

report on the parking reorganization.

I am getting more and more questions about it,

frankly, from like bids in my district, the chamber.

And so I think that we do.

We should discuss this as a public body.

So thank you.

It's scheduled for our next public works and transportation committee.

Thank you.

We do have a motion made by Council Chair Anger, seconded by Councilmember

Houston to accept the determination of schedule outstanding committee

items as is on roll council member gallo aye council member houston council member wong

aye and chair unger aye this motion passes with four eyes to accept determination schedule

outstanding committee items as is moving to item three

adopt a resolution amending resolution number eight eight two four zero to increase the

professional services agreement with loving campus associates architects and architect

architectural and engineering design services for the fire station four and the amount not to exceed

two million seven hundred thousand dollars bringing the total amount from one million five

hundred thousand dollars and four million two hundred thousand dollars and two waiving the

competitive request and pro proposal qualification requirements and three adopting appropriate

california equality act findings and you do have two speakers for this item good morning chair

Chair Unger, members of the committee.

Bearing before the committee today is a resolution

to increase the design contract

for Loving Campos Associates Architects,

a local business enterprise from 1.5 to $4.2 million

for the Fire Station 4 project,

waiving the competitive RFP, RFQ requirements

and adopt appropriate CEQA findings.

In July, 2020, council approved a $1.5 million contract

with LCA Architects for master planning

and design of a new fire station at San Antonio Park.

however after extensive community engagement from 2021 to 2022 the community opposed locating the

station within the park as it would reduce park programming it was also determined that

new construction would not be allowable under the city's oscar element due to the elimination of

open space by the fire station in march 2022 fire station 4 was excluded from the council adopted

san antonio park master plan after an extensive four-year search the city has since identified

the property at 1745 14th avenue as the future home of fire station 4. the state of california

has provided 5 million dollars through senate bill 101 to support property acquisition and council

approved a resolution of necessity in may 2025 to secure the site however this site presents

significant challenges a geotechnical and environmental report completed in march 2024

revealed a very shallow groundwater table resulting in a high probability of liquefaction

additionally the site requires the removal of a leaking underground storage tank and a hydraulic

lift before construction can proceed the additional 2.7 million dollars requested today will fund

hazardous materials remediation planning to address these site conditions complete the

architectural and engineering design tailored to this new location and provide design support

during construction. The amendment also covers community engagement, permitting, and bidding

support. The total design fees as a percentage compared to the construction cost is approximately

25%, which is still below the average statewide percentage of 40% to 50%. Approval of this

resolution will advance the replacement of Fire Station 4, a facility built in 1909 that has

served our community for over a century. LCA Architects was selected through a competitive

PROCESS IN 2020 AND WAIVING THE RFP RFQ REQUIREMENTS ALLOWS US TO MAINTAIN PROJECT CONTINUITY AND

AVOID DELAYS. FUNDING IS AVAILABLE THROUGH MEASURE KK SERIES THREE AND THE ITEM IS CEQA EXEMPT.

STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

COLLEAGUES, QUESTIONS?

COUNCILMEMBER WONG.

NOT WORKING.

Thank you. So this is a station that's in my district. So I had a chance to talk with staff in advance of this report. This is a really critically needed fire station in the district. And I also want to thank you all for working with the community to not place it in the park. That was going to be quite controversial. One of the things I did vet with staff is just it did strike me as a high dollar amount to add $2.7 million for a design contract.

but I was given helpful stats that show that this is actually

pretty part of the norm for a public works project of this size,

that this is not, this is standard.

So with that, I do want to make a motion to adopt staff recommendation.

So thank you.

We have Councilmember Houston next in the queue.

Through the chair, how are you doing this morning?

I have a few questions.

this was a highly controversial issue when it came to the intimate domain and the whole get down right

my question is when we purchased it or do we do inspection on this prior to doing the purchasing

of this and did we know um the conditions of hazardous because it went from 1.5

and now we go at a 2.7 for design and it's on the design on the 1.5 was that on that location

it was on a different location the 1.5 million dollars was for a design of a fire station and

master planning of a fire station at San Antonio Park the the report was done in March 2024 and

and it determined that there were several issues with the site,

including shallow groundwater table

and also environmental issues that needed to be addressed

before a fire station could be built.

But given a site-wide search looking for a location for the fire station,

the only feasible site was this location at 1745 14th Avenue

that would accommodate the 33,600 square foot minimum footprint

that the fire department's requesting for.

Yeah, through the chair, I'm very familiar with that

because it went through closed session.

My point is we spent 1.5 on a different location.

Now we're spending another 2.7.

Is that what I'm hearing?

That's correct.

I know we need it.

I know it's not my district, but I'm a numbers guy.

And so through the chair, the next thing is that the designer,

he has an office at 590 in Walnut Creek

and then one at 197 in Oakland.

Which one is his main office?

The main office is in Walnut Creek,

but their office is in Oakland.

Yeah, I know how that works too.

So when it comes to that,

what kind of outreach is he doing

to actually embrace another local designer in Oakland?

Because, you know, I'm about Oakland, Oakland, Oakland,

Oakland, right?

So has he embraced, what's the subs?

The subcontractors that he's working for are based on the LSOB requirements, so they meet that 50% requirement.

So we do have small local businesses that are from the city of Oakland that help with this project.

That's working with them. What companies are they?

Through the chair.

Through the chair, off the top of my head, I don't know just the names of the companies, but there are structural firms.

I need to know who they are.

So before we close it out, I just want to know I sent it to my office, because I want to know what firms they are and how many they are.

some detail on that yeah I know that we need to fire houses it's not my district

at all but I just wanted to find out this detail matter on who is the designer

where that money was spent and now we're spending another 2.7 on a different

location and so through the chair one more time we did get a inspection prior

to purchasing and using the intimate domain correct okay I'll let my

councilmember here speak I got a couple more questions though council member

guy yes thank you thank you for that information certainly public safety is

number one and and this for this fire station in this area we've been after

this project for many many years and and we're at a point out of getting the work

done and certainly I support that effort for the community that's there and

certainly I know the the old fire station we've been there many times and

certainly know the challenges that exist. So with that, I second the motion to get this

project done. And the sooner we can get it built, the better. Thank you.

Other questions from my colleagues. All right, let's go to our public comment, please.

What do you call your name? Please approach the podium. You do have one minute.

Miss Assata and Blair Beekman.

Clearly, the best way to have approached this project was to allow it to be placed on the

park area.

We already own the land.

And the space, the community's recommendations based on it would interfere with recreational

activities.

What activities would it have been interfering with?

What should have been the question from whoever?

And it should be recognized that just because the community has input, that is not the last

stand of how we make a decision about the use of our property.

The other thing is, in order to acquire some property, you use eminent domain.

You force people out of their land for this project.

Lastly, because this has cost us so much money, if we proceed, we should go with the...

Blair Beekman, that concludes your public speakers, item 3.

I believe we have some more questions Councilmember guy no councilmember Houston support

through the chair so can you give me a list I send my my office to Trinity Hall the subcontractor

so I know who he's embracing how they're embracing and what the dollar amount that they are actually

getting to to grow their business so we can go to Oakland businesses on our next design instead of

walnut creek please after this meeting that's the first thing I do all right thank you sir

we do have a motion made by council member Wong seconded by council member

Gio to approve the recommendations of staff and to forward this item to the

February 3rd 2026 city council agenda at the will of this body is this consent or non-consent

would you like it to be on consent or non-consent

On consent.

On consent, on roll, Councilmember Gallo.

Aye.

Councilmember Houston.

Aye.

Councilmember Wong.

Aye.

And Chair Unger.

Aye.

The motion does pass with four ayes to approve the recommendations of staff and afford this item to the February 3rd, 2026 City Council agenda.

And that is on consent.

Moving to item four.

Adopt a resolution honoring Michael P Ford PhD for being awarded the National Parking Association

Innovator of the Year award and you do have 14 speakers okay popular guy this is a real honor

to be able to recognize our employees when they receive outstanding honors in their field as Dr.

Ford has done receiving the Innovator Award from his national organization that recognizes

innovation in parking.

And I can't claim to be an expert on parking, but I know that Dr. Ford has been supervising

an enormous staff under difficult conditions coming out of the pandemic, trying to use

technology and figure out the best way for us to both maximize revenue and maximize turnover

and the ability of our streets to be safe.

So this is really a wonderful honor.

I don't know if Director Rowan is in the room

to speak to this item.

There he is.

He's hard to miss.

If you could come up and give us a few words,

I would appreciate that.

Yes, thank you through the chair.

I don't know if I'm allowed to speak to the gallery,

but I'm going to.

So for starters, I'm actually wearing

Michael Ford sweatshirt today.

When I started with the city of Oakland,

the first week he took me out and he said,

I think you need an Oak dot sweatshirt

and I'll give you mine.

So that's the kind of person that we're dealing with.

And so it's a big deal when your industry

recognizes you for excellence.

And so I wanna thank you, Chair Unger,

for bringing this item forward to recognize the work

that Dr. Ford has done.

And I just simply wanna say his work's not done.

Thank you for what you've done.

We met last week to talk about challenges that we have going forward, and I think you're going to see him achieve even higher levels within our team.

And one of the things that he always talks about is team.

You don't hear him often talking about me or I.

It's always the team.

Here's what the team needs.

I'm concerned about the team.

And I just really appreciate that spirit and that attitude that you bring.

I medicated myself up today.

I spent the weekend in bed with the flu.

I may collapse as soon as I step down from here, but I really wanted to thank you, Dr. Ford,

for all you mean to the team and all that you're going to bring to us going forward.

So congratulations.

Dr. Ford, would you be so kind as to give us a few words?

You have 15 seconds.

Before I begin my prepared remarks, I wanted to say that I'm originally from St. Paul,

Minneapolis, and my wife is originally from Tehran.

So our thoughts and prayers and support are with the people of Minnesota and Iran.

So thank you, Chair Unger and members of the committee.

I'd also like to acknowledge and thank Josh and other senior members who are here today.

I'm truly honored by this recognition and grateful for all of your continued support.

While thinking about what I would like to say on this auspicious occasion, I was reminded

of the powerful lines that Mayor Barbara Lee spoke last May when she received an honorary

doctorate degree from Howard University and she addressed the graduating class.

She said, quote, prove yourself, work in your community, make the change that is necessary

regardless of what your passion is.

Do the work and you will get the recognition.

If public service is in your spirit, then do the work and, quote, by their deeds shall thee know them.

I find these words capture perfectly what this recognition represents.

First, I want to acknowledge Mary Lee herself as a tremendous leader.

Her decades-long dedication to Oakland and commitment to public service is an inspiration to all who work to serve their community.

Second, and more importantly, the National Parking Association Innovator of the Year Award is not mine alone.

It belongs to every single member of our Parking and Mobility Division.

For eight years, I have had the profound honor of supporting and working alongside exceptional public servants.

They are the ones who have done the work.

They are the ones who have proven themselves day in and day out.

This award is a recognition of their hard work and their innovative thinking.

From our parking control technicians who are on the streets promoting compliance and safe streets,

to our parking meter collectors who keep the coins coming in,

to our parking and mobility assistance center staff who, despite appearances, are committed to every constituent's success,

To our vehicle enforcement team that is recovering and clearing more and more stolen, blighted, and abandoned vehicles.

To our mobility management team that has taken the active management of the parking system to a whole new level.

Each member of our team has contributed to the creative solutions and dedication that earned this national recognition.

Finally, I want to say this.

Public service is truly in the spirit of this parking staff.

They put the work in every single day.

Through tight budgets and staffing challenges, through pandemics and demanding constituents,

they show up and serve the people of Oakland with professionalism, innovation, and heart.

And by their deeds shall thee know them.

Thank you.

Colleagues, who wants to follow that?

I did want to, so first of all, Dr. Ford actually lives in District 2 and I'm honored

to represent him.

I first of all wanted to just acknowledge you that parking is really critical to not

only public safety but also economic development.

so linked to so many of the things that we so desperately need in the city of Oakland.

So it's not just about vehicle placements.

It's so much more than that.

The other thing that I just wanted to note is I have heard from a number of folks,

a little birdie has told me that Dr. Ford, he's a true servant-oriented leader

because he is known to do random volunteer projects just across the city of Oakland,

doesn't ask for any recognition.

I've heard this from other sources not Dr. Ford himself and I think that so just

exemplifies how you really approach public service so thank you so much and

thank you to the chair for putting forward this resolution

councilmember Gaya where's Michael for there no thank you Michael for the many

many years of service you've given Oakland and certainly I know you for a long time I'm glad

you're here in Oakland and support you and when we need to make contact with you you're always there

and helping us in the neighborhood so thank you and we welcome you and we appreciate everything

you've done for this city thank you thank you so much do you want to speak councilmember Houston

No, no, go ahead.

Before I got this seat,

I was able to go straight to Michael Ford

and speak to him about things in the community.

But now as a council member, you can't do it

because it's almost like directing staff.

That's how they say it.

So I can't come to you like I used to.

Have to go through Josh Rowan.

So working with Michael back in the day

when we were working together,

I appreciate when you did step up for me

when I did call you before I was in this seat.

I appreciate every time you did return my phone call,

really do, thanks.

All right, I see a number of Dr. Ford's colleagues

and coworkers out there and there's no greater testament

than when the people who work with you every day

wanna come up and sing your praises.

So let's go to public comment.

Thank you, wanna call your name,

please approach the podium in no particular order.

If you're participating via Zoom,

Please raise your hands so you're easily identified.

We will take in-person speakers before Zoom speakers.

Kevin Dolly.

Daniel Swafford.

Henry Simmons.

Keith.

And if I mispronounce your last name or your first name, I do apologize in advance.

Skrutslitz.

Shalina Obey.

Miss Asada.

Kirby Olson.

Savlan Hulser, Craig Raphael,

Razu Ngin, Douglas Maut,

George Spees, Stephanie Tran.

Once again, if I called your name,

please approach the podium, no particular order.

You do have one minute.

We will take in person before Zoom.

Thank you.

Hi, council members.

My name is Henry Simons and I work on BART's Government

and Community Relations team.

We review Oakland City Council items each week and we're delighted to see

that Michael Ford is being honored by both his council

and the National Parking Association as Innovator of the Year.

Michael's been a key partner for BART as we work to ensure the safety

of our critical infrastructure throughout Oakland and he embodies

effective intergovernmental partnership and has been key

to keeping our riders safe.

And just want to say congratulations, Michael.

We're very happy to see you recognized by the city

and looking forward to many years

of continued collaboration with all of you.

So thank you.

Good afternoon, members of the council.

My name is Shalini Abbe Gunasekhar

and I'm a program manager with Trelland,

one of city's parking technologies partner.

I just want to briefly congratulate Dr. Michael Ford on his well-deserved recognition.

Michael's leadership and vision had a meaningful impact on how the city approaches parking

compliance and collections.

His ability to bring data-driven practical innovation into day-to-day operations has

helped improve outcome for the city while also supporting fair and efficient experience

for the public.

We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Michael and the City of Oakland on this

initiative and appreciate the continued collaboration and commitment to modern responsible solutions

that benefit the city and its residents.

Congratulations again, Michael, and thank you for your leadership.

Thank you.

Hello, George Spies.

I'm here both to give my respect to Mr. Ford, but also to go to the question of the challenges that the parking team faces going forward that were referred to by Director Rowan.

And in my view, splitting the team and sending part of it to finance is probably the biggest challenge.

From my perspective, the idea that parking is transportation is self-evident.

If that's not something that's obvious to you, then there's plenty of work online to demonstrate that.

So it seems to me also that this move needs to be justified,

and so far I think I feel safe in calling it unjustified.

Why? Because no public justifications have been offered.

It's an unjustified move.

I think the city administrator needs to come before the change is made

rather than after, which is not the case right now.

Thank you.

J.R. Unger, honorable city council members, my name is Doug Mount.

I'm here to urge you to recognize and celebrate Dr. Ford's award for innovator of the year

from the National Parking Association.

I have worked with Michael Ford for a number of years.

I know him as a highly respected head of the Parking and Mobility Division.

He is a visionary.

He's a man of intellect and integrity.

And I urge you to publicly recognize Dr. Ford's many

innovations and awards today.

And I'd like to share my minute, what's left,

with my colleague, Shala.

Thank you so much, Doug.

Good afternoon, Chair Enger.

I really appreciate you guys recognizing the great work

that Michael Ford has done throughout the years.

The public speaker stood a chair.

Could you please announce your first name, please?

Sure.

Shala is S-H-A-H-L-A.

Last name is Azimi.

Michael Ford has done a great job since he has, you know,

I've been with him in DOT for the past several years.

I can't say enough about his innovation, about the respect,

about this work-tireless dedication that he has to the work he's been doing.

I'm here to speak about Michael Ford receiving the National Award for Parking Innovation and while Michael absolutely deserves recognition for the innovative programs he's pioneered at Oak Dot I want to talk about something that doesn't fit neatly into award categories the way he shaped the people who work for him the 26 years that I've worked for the city of Oakland Michael is the best leader I have ever had he doesn't lead by memo or by theory

He leads by doing.

He shows us what good leadership looks like.

We see that it works, and then we work to do it ourselves.

He's taught me many things in the time that I've been here,

but here's what tells you who Michael really is.

When our contract for bus shelter maintenance was terminated,

we had no one to assume it.

Michael went out himself to clean up broken glass,

waste, and refuge from the bus stops.

That's not any job description.

That's someone who understands that public service

means serving the public, whatever it takes.

That's the kind of character that matters.

That's leadership under pressure.

That's why this...

Good morning.

For the record, Kirby Olson, I'm speaking as a local 21 union member

and an Oakland resident.

Thank you to Councilmember Unger for introducing this item.

When I think of the word good governance, Michael comes to mind.

He is constantly looking to improve both the staff who work under him and the efficiency with which we do our work.

He has worked tirelessly to staff up the parking division to bring together all of the teams that work on parking under one roof and to introduce new, more efficient processes.

The proposed reorganization of the parking division into finance is a terrible idea for so many reasons.

One of them becomes all the more evident as a result of this item.

The administration is removing from parking leadership one of your most effective staff in the entire city of Oakland.

Finance's plan is to replace Michael with two new positions who will together cost almost a million dollars per year fully loaded.

That is not good governance. That is the opposite of good governance.

Oakland has 99 problems, and Michael is not one of them.

Craig Raphael, Project Manager with OakDot.

And I've worked with Michael over the last six years, most recently through my role leading

speed camera implementation.

I'm proud that Oakland is the second city in California to launch speed cameras, and

that would not have been possible without Michael's leadership.

Michael was a key partner throughout the process, helping us to get a consultant on board, ensuring

the parking department was properly staffed, and troubleshooting all the issues that came

up along the way.

Some other things I appreciate about Michael, he's deeply committed to equity.

He operates with transparency and skill, especially evident around complex and fraught issues

such as abandoned autos.

So I wanted to take this time to thank him, let him know I appreciate him, especially

with everything going on.

I'm hopeful that I'll continue to partner with Michael on issues related to

parking and mobility well into the future. Thank you.

Good afternoon everybody my name is Savlan Hauser I'm the chair of the

Oakland Bid Alliance and executive director of the Jack London Improvement

District. We are the city's partners in creating vibrant commercial neighborhoods

and safe fantastic streets and public spaces. We collectively reinvest 13

million dollars of private funding and mobilized dozens of street ambassadors that help revitalize

invigorate make our neighborhoods amazing and safe and this award is in no small part for the

teams and michael's leadership strategic management of parking and the use of our curbs and streets

as a critical and dynamic component of transportation mobility and oakland's equitable

economic development. This is part of the core mission of the Department of Transportation

to envision, plan, build, operate, and maintain a transportation system for Oakland and ensure safe,

equitable, and sustainable access and mobility for residents, businesses, and visitors, which I just

had to look up on part. I apologize. I don't have that memorized. Just congrats to the team, and we

look forward to

Kevin Daly speaking for myself congratulations to Michael Ford and the

parking and mobility division part of the award is for improving collections

of citations which makes this move of parts of Michael's division to finance

particularly ironic sad if collections are being improved now what is it that

the finance director can add to that process I'm concerned that a discussion

on moving parking to finance was originally scheduled for today's meeting

at the city administrators request that move that date was changed to February

10th and now we find out that the city administrator plans to change all the

positions move all the positions February 7th three days before the hearing this

sounds like an end run around the city count

good afternoon Razu Engen and here to echo a lot of the previous speakers

comments recognizing Dr. Ford and the other wonderful public servants we have

here in Oakland. I really appreciate all the work that they do every day and it's

it's really wonderful. I am going to also echo the concerns expressed by other

speakers about the move to take apart this award-winning division and move it

to different departments. I don't think that that's a fully baked idea and would

like to hear more about how this will be implemented and affect parking

operations throughout Oakland before it's put into effect I think it's it's

putting the horse before the cart if you have it broken apart and then have a

hearing at City Council about it thank you

hello council members my name is Stephanie Tran president of the Oakland

Chinatown Chamber of Commerce we of course are supportive of this

recognition and are so excited that Dr. Ford is being recognized and honored for all the great

work that he does for Oakland. For more than a decade, Dr. Ford has been a wonderful partner to

Chinatown. He has overseen the city's garages at the Pacific Renaissance Plaza and Frank G. Marr,

and he has consistently understood the importance of parking to Chinatown's small businesses. He has

been a responsive and reliable partner working to ensure that parking is safe, clean, and accessible

for our community.

When street parking transitioned to DOT,

Dr. Ford listened to our merchants' concerns,

addressed placard abuse, and helped implement loading zones

and updated signage that was in language,

changes that really made a difference for businesses on the ground.

So again, you know, Dr. Ford really understands the need

for small businesses to thrive,

and congratulations on this very well-deserved national recognition,

and we look forward to continue working together.

Good afternoon my name is Chernell Smith and I'd like to thank the council for hearing me.

I've worked in the Department of Parking Control for over 35 years and I've seen our department

go from Public Works to Finance to OPD and finally we're in DOT. Well for years we've

been the foster children of Oakland and we finally found a home under Michael

Ford we've gotten more responsibilities our gifts to the city have grown we're

working lots where our duties have expanded our morale is picking up and I

think for the city to just snatch all of that away from us is gonna be a big slap

in the face of morale we've built the VEU from parking enforcement to serve

the city better and we're doing that we're recovering stolen vehicles blighted vehicles

abandoned vehicles and i think the growth that we've experienced in dot under michael ford is

reviving

thank you

Okay, here's some areas that we need to work on seriously related to parking.

Illegal parking and handicapped zones.

Parking large vehicles in what is considered compact spaces.

Double parking in Chinatown and other spaces in Oakland.

Broken parking meters.

Parking on the sidewalk.

Ticketing parked stolen vehicles.

The last major update to the city's parking signage was 15 years ago.

Cars parked on the street that impedes street cleaners needing to clean areas of our city.

And that's just some of them.

I just wrote on my own.

So all this praise about parking.

We got a lot of work to be done related to parking, particularly in Chinatown and Fruitvale,

where there is no parking that's sufficient on international and in Chinatown.

Let's call the roll.

Oh, I will make a motion to accept and send this to full council on consent.

Any other comments?

Council Member Houston.

Yeah, second. Did you second it council member? Okay. I'm sorry. Thank you. Yeah, I did. I heard four different individuals

I thought this was about iron honoring Michael Ford

But I heard four different individuals mentioned something about currency and finance and I was already

Briefed on that and I with Justin Johnson's office and I from my briefing I

because I heard the statements I

I agree with Justin Johnson, but now that I'm hearing what I'm hearing, I think I'm

have to go back and we have an informational.

Not to go back.

OK, I just I just wanted to because I heard some stuff at our next public works meeting,

we're going to have a full information report on this.

OK, yeah, so.

OK, thank you.

We have a motion made by Chair Unger, seconded by Council Member Wong, to approve the recommendations

of staff and afford this item to the February 3rd City Council agenda on consent, noting

Council Member Gio excused at 1203.

Council Member Gio is excused.

Council Member Houston?

Aye.

Council Member Wong?

Aye.

And Chair Unger?

Aye.

The motion does pass with three ayes and one excused.

Gio to approve the recommendations of staff and afford this item to the February 3rd,

2026 city council agenda and that is on consent moving to open forum if I could

ask folks to stick around for a minute after open forum I'd love to get a photo

with dr. Ford and everyone in attendance after we adjourn thank you want to call

your name please approach the podium and no particular order you do have one

minute if you're participating via zoom please raise your hands you're easily

identified, we will take in-person speakers first and then Zoom.

Razu, Kevin Dolly, Blair Beekman, Ms. Asada.

Kevin Dolly speaking for myself.

One of the problems with the way the current municipal code is structured for

Oakland is that there is a list of departments.

there's a title of department to guarantee that there is a director for

each department but there is no responsibility assigned to the

departments with three exceptions but transportation is one of those

departments that does not have written responsibility we have trusted in the

past that the city administrator would honor the concept of transportation and

assign all transportation related items to Department of Transportation or get

City Council permission to do otherwise this city administrator is violating

norms and procedures and is moving the

Okay, so in February we're going to readdress the public hearing on the tree cutting issue

where you're trying to find a property owner $900,000 for cutting trees without permission.

You had two employees who testified around that issue.

One said that the reason why it took them three years to bring it before you was lack

of staffing, and then another employee said, or staff member said, that it was because

you had no process in place.

Now this property owner had plans for development of that property, and for three years he's

been denied an opportunity to get permits for his development.

This is outrageous.

It's outrageous that three years has been,

you've held up a property owner,

and I don't know if he had to pay vacancy tax or not

because the property was vacant.

Moving to our Zoom speaker, Blair Beekman.

You may unmute yourself and begin your one-minute comment.

Hi, Blair Beekman.

Only four public commenters.

So hopefully we can get two minutes in the future.

As current local crime numbers have been lowering in Oakland across the state and across the country since 2023,

let's hope the Trump administration can begin to offer more sensible ICE and immigration policies

and so as to not start new levels of violence within our local communities.

Thank you for the patience to the Oakland community as we're all trying to understand how the future of neighborhood surveillance

and technology and data collection compared with the open practices of tech accountability

can be equals.

We're not using shock and awe with armaments and military, but creating open conversation

and increasingly familiar dialogue, Oakland can continue to develop a well-balanced approach

of social services, the Oakland Macro Program, open accountable tech practices, and law

enforcement all working together as how to continue to build the future of Oakland neighborhood

public safety and to give good examples to the trump administration at this time

that concludes your speaker's role perform uh before we adjourn i believe councilmember

houston would like to adjourn in the honor of someone who's passed yeah i'm i'm toe up right now

I just got news that Bridget Cook passed away yeah and I want to close this

meeting in the memory of Bridget Cook

we'll just do a moment of silence

Thank you all.

This meeting is adjourned.

Thank you.