Rock and roll.

Good morning.

And welcome to the rules and legislation.

Excuse me.

See, I do rules normally, so I tend to by habit.

My apologies.

Yes, good morning.

And welcome to the public works and transportation committee on this Tuesday, June 23rd.

It is now 11 33, and this meeting shall come to order.

I would like to give instructions on how to submit a speaker card for items on the agenda before I call roll.

If you're here in person and would like to submit a speaker card, please fill out a card on the table and hand it to a clerk representative, either before the item is read into record or 10 minutes after the meeting began.

The meeting began at 11 33, so that will be 11 43.

After the meeting began, so those will no longer be accepted.

And again, speaker cards will not be accepted 10 minutes after the meeting began at 11 43 or before the item is read.

With that, I will now call roll on roll for this meeting, Councilmember Gile.

Councilmember Houston.

Here, you council member Wong.

Present Chair Unger.

Here.

Thank you.

We have four members present.

With that, um, I will now go to and do you have any announcements before we go?

I will now go on to item number one.

And I'm going to the approval of the draft minutes for the committee meeting of June 9, 2026.

I will need a motion.

I'll second that.

Okay.

And that was a motion by Councilmember Guile, seconded by Councilmember Unger to approve the draft minutes for June 19, 2026.

On roll council member Guile.

Councilmember Houston.

Aye.

Council Member Wong.

Aye.

And Unger.

I.

Item number one is approved with four eyes.

As is.

That now takes us to item number two.

Item number two is a termination of scheduling outstanding committee items, and I do have two speakers for this item.

Okay, I believe we have one change from the administration.

Yes, thank you.

Um we would like to move item six from today to the July 14th committee meeting.

I accept that change.

Any other uh comments uh Councilmember Guy.

Council and members of the public, what I'm requesting is that we schedule as an ongoing within this item uh for the city administrator to report back in terms of the equipment needs that the city has.

And specifically public works, transportation.

Right now we have a hundred and fifty plus vehicles that are not in service or not being used to clean our streets to beautify our streets, and we sit here talking a lot about oh, yeah, you know, we're doing such a great job taking care of our streets.

But if you go to any of the the auto shops uh whether it's the Coliseum and uh Mr.

Unger, I mean, you join me one time.

You can see the trucks, not only the fire department, the police department, the city trucks, but we're sitting here doing a lot of talking, but I don't provide the tools and the vehicles necessary for my workers.

We're even short staff.

We're short staff, and then when you look at the vehicles, so we don't have to clean the streets, and you know you see it, Ken, right?

And so we I like to get our report back in terms of how many vehicles, what do we need to do?

Um in terms of getting those vehicles replaced, service, because I've never seen Oakland at this level.

We do a lot of talking, a lot of celebrating, but yet we can't take care of our neighborhood streets.

And so I'd like to get a report back through the administrator for the public works uh uh staff members to report what is the status of our vehicles, trucks, cars, and so forth uh that are needed, and what is needed to maintain the uh the department um vehicles necessary to keep our streets clean.

To give you an example this week, it's an example.

I write city vehicles cleaning the streets every day.

Especially on the weekend.

My employees, not they're not sitting in the office making more policies.

They're on the streets every day, Monday through Sunday, 6 a.m.

to 12 noon, picking up the illegal dumping and so forth.

And you get up and go out there on the streets of Oakland at 6 a.m., you're gonna be surprised what you see every morning.

A truck loads that we pick up, but to give you an example, I went out to ride, use the truck on Sunday, but you know, the I ran out of gas on at the street level because uh the gauge wasn't working.

It told me I had a full tank, but it was on empty.

Then secondly, we come back to write on the big vehicles that we rent to show up, and somebody had broke had in the yard on Coliseum has stolen uh the catalytic converter of the big truck.

And even though we have a security guard, we have all this and that, but how it's not the first time they've still the catalytic converter, but they've sold another vehicles at that yard as well.

But anyways, we need to be able to report back because we all talk about a clean city being a priority, but we don't have the tools, the vehicles, and the staffing available or necessary to keep our streets clean, especially in the area that you and I live in.

And so I'd like to get our report back uh through the administration to let the public know what is our vehicle or staffing status when it comes to public works, uh, to keeping our streets safe and clean.

Okay, I look forward to seeing that as a request for an informational item at the rules committee.

Councilmember Houston.

I just wanted to piggyback on Councilmember Gaio's um comment about uh this.

I would advise everyone to review the grand jury report when it comes to illegal dumping on how our city has not been doing the job that they should do.

We're not a cleanup service.

We're not a cleanup service.

We have all the tools that a cleanup service or a waste management has.

We gotta deter this problem, prosecute these individuals.

I've been working on this for 10, 12, 13, 14 years before it became so high profile that everybody wants to jump on the bandwagon about.

But I've been fighting for this for a long time with Supervisor Nate Miley and Governor Gavin Noosa about this crime against our community.

So I'd just like to piggyback on that, and at the same time, uh Councilmember Guyo mentioned about the yard um at by on Coliseum Way.

That yard is owned by someone and we pay rent, thousand millions of dollars, and we should be owning our own piece of property, storing our play our our vehicle so we can um have that money to for the kids for dumping or for whatever we need it for.

So the city, in my opinion, is not running it like a business.

That's a problem I have.

I ran a business many times since I was five years old.

I've been cutting grass, paper routes.

I know how businesses ran.

This ain't ran like a business.

Um, so uh I just wanted to make that comment and piggyback on what my council member Guy had mentioned.

Thank you.

Okay, let's hear from our speakers, please.

Thank you.

As I call your name, please approach the podium in any order.

Um, state your name for the record.

If you're participating on Zoom, please raise your hand so I can easily identify you.

I have Miss Asada Olabala and Blair Bleak Beekman in any order.

I saw something in the news, I think yesterday that caught my attention related to illegal dumping.

There are some people who picked up trash in what was uh Wood Street, West Oakland, and they say for four months nothing has happened in terms of i illegal dumping returning four months.

So we need to get a report on how they speculated that happened that no trash return for four months because something something's going on.

Uh we need a report, please, uh, what are the prevention strategies to keep up with our equipment?

So when my car has a a system that when it needs maintenance, it indicates it.

So does does the public works vehicle equipment have indicators in them that says maintenance necessary, earl change, your engine, whatever.

Does that exist?

I don't know, but it should be the kind of vehicles we have in place so we know when we need to take care of replacing or uh having maintenance.

There you go.

Soon as I see that light go off, I'm over to the dealership to get it fixed.

Okay, and maybe that's an issue we need to bring up.

Uh the I want to report on the school of the arts city property that has been turned into a park.

That property was supposed to be used for outside activities, but they have reconfigured it.

Is my time up?

I can't see anything.

No, you still have 29 seconds.

Okay, darling.

Uh that property was supposed to be returned to the city in 2027.

Now, who's gonna pull up that artificial turf?

All of those benches and so forth, so we can put housing on that property.

Um, very concerned about the police administration building.

Um, how does the public works department determine high priority neighborhoods?

How does it determine a high priority process for projects?

I apologize, Ms.

Asada.

Okay, thank you so much.

Um I will now call our next speaker who's participating via Zoom.

Or uh actually, let me see.

One second.

Blair Beekman.

I don't see him in the queue.

So those are all our speakers for item number two.

And with that, did we get a motion and a second for item two?

Uh I'll second it.

So there was a motion by Councilmember Guyo, seconded by Councilmember Unger to approve item two as amended with uh which is withdrawing item number six on this agenda and rescheduling that item to the July 14th Public Works and Transportation Committee on roll.

Council member Guile.

Aye.

Councilmember Houston.

I wong.

Aye.

And Chair Unger.

I item number two is approved as amended again.

Moving item number six to the withdrawing and rescheduling to July 14th.

Um, we do have speakers, so you guys will be able to speak at that time when we um get to that item.

Now moving on to item number two, three.

Item number three is adopt the following pieces of legislation, a resolution authorizing the city administrator to award a contract to two United Rotary Brush Corporations and the amount not to exceed $750,000 for the purchase of replacement brooms and brushes for street sweepers for a three-year term, July 1st, 26 to July 1st, 2029, and two one-year options to renew in response to the specific specification number, RFQ, and making SQL findings and two, a resolution authorizing the city administrator to award a contract to Owen equipment sales and the amount not to exceed $750,000 for the purchase of replacement brush brooms and brushes for street sweepers for a three one-year term, July 1st, 2026 to July 1st, 29, and one and two one-year options to renew in response to the specifications, RFQ and making SEQA findings.

I do have two speakers for this item.

Okay, Mr.

Battersby, let's talk about sweeper brushes.

Thank you, Chair Unger, Richard Battersby, Assistant Director for Oakland Public Works Bureau of Maintenance and Internal Services.

Uh, and just real briefly, uh, we just celebrated uh the Juneteenth holiday, and I wanted to remind folks that that message was delivered to the free people by the United States Army, so airborne.

We are here to discuss two contracts for repair uh items for our critical street sweepers.

Uh we typically are currently have an inventory of 18 street sweepers at any given time.

Uh we're fielding 10 to 12 currently, which is a pretty good number, and to keep those vehicles operational and sweeping, not just running the street, but getting a good thorough sweeping, we have to replace the brushes and other wear components such as the gutter brooms.

Uh we have two contracts with two different vendors in keeping with our our new practice of going out to RFP and offering opportunity to local businesses.

Um we did receive two responsive bids.

Uh none of the Oakland-based companies submitted a bid for these repair parts.

Each contract is in the amount of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars for five years.

Just a reminder to folks that establishing a contract capacity is not a uh budgetary action.

It is just giving us the capability to spend money that the council has already authorized us to spend.

We do have uh on the sweepers and other vehicles uh we call them a uh automatic vehicle locators, it's GPS that communicates when a failure is pending when we get a uh parameter or we get a reading outside the specified parameters so that vehicle needs service, and that also communicates to us the broom up and down time.

So we have very good tracking data on the vehicles, and we get that we do a good job getting them into the shop, but as council member guy so uh eloquently noted, we just don't have the bodies in the shop to fix the vehicles, and we're starting to have problems with our external uh vendor contracts.

These two contracts will give us the ability to procure the normal wear parts and also repair parts for street sweepers, and I'm available to answer any questions you might have.

Colleagues questions, Councilmember Houston.

Yes.

Um can you one of the public members asked the question?

Uh where how do you choose where the street, how do you choose where you do direct a street sweeper to go in and clean up the street throughout the city?

On the route sweeping programming, that is actually performed by uh keep Oakland Clean and Beautiful in the Bureau of the Environment.

I don't have direct knowledge but have general knowledge on how that takes place.

Uh we have map overlays that show the streets that need to be sweeped, and then we try to program the most efficient route.

We have another uh GPS type system that we're deploying called Route Smart that will help make the routes the street sweepers run the most efficient.

Uh the problem that we typically run into is we don't have enough sweepers.

Uh to have about a 50% sweeper availability rate really hinders our ability to meet the street sweeping schedules that we are programming.

Then the second question is regarding citing div individuals.

I mean, I have street sweepers in my neighborhood going daily, but then there's some of us that don't understand the rules, so the signage that we have and are parked in the red zone and parked in on that day for the street sweeper.

What is the process?

Uh is the does the department of transportation still go before or after the street sweeper to cite the people?

Yeah, uh through the chair.

My understanding is uh prior to the street sweeper running, uh DOT parking enforcement will send a vehicle and issue citations for vehicles that are parked on the street in violation of the posted street sweeping signage.

Thank you.

Thank you for that, and I'll make a motion to approve the item.

Councilmember Houston, please.

Through the chair, good morning, Mr.

Battersby.

Um, I'm gonna piggyback on Council Member Guillo's question again before I ask my two.

Is that before in the past?

There was a uh parking car, whatever you want to call them citation car following behind the street sweepers.

I haven't seen that any longer.

Um, did that change?

Uh through the chair.

Again, this I fixed the street sweepers, so I kind of have some general knowledge on how things work, but I I would have to get the answer to that question and report back to you because I just don't know for certain.

So through the chair, I'll ask the city administrator.

Is that has that changed?

Um, Mrs.

Lake.

Thank you for the question.

My understanding is that the DOT and street sweeping teams coordinate and the street sweepers precede.

They do not follow the street sweeper.

Okay.

Because they used to follow them.

They used to be right there.

That was it back in the day, and it really worked when people were parking on the wrong side of the street in the wrong direction.

Anecdotally, I would say the number of tickets that my kids get for street sweeping days proves that they're out there doing it.

All right.

Alright, you know, uh I believe what you say.

So through the chair again.

Um, so Mr.

Battersby, what's the lifespan of the brooms and brushes on the street sweepers?

Uh through the chair, it depends.

It depends on the surface that's being swept.

Obviously, the rougher uh street surfacing asphalt concrete can have a difference.

Um, and it also depends on how often we're running the sweepers.

Uh I would say, and again, I'm I probably should get the information and get back to you, but I I will say that a brush is probably gonna last in the matter of months.

So we're constantly replacing those wear items.

Okay, last question through the chair.

Um, you mentioned that the Oakland based, you know, I'm Oakland.

Oakland first on everything, workers, companies, and you mentioned that they didn't respond.

What were those Oakland based companies' names?

Sure.

Um through the chair, we have RS Hughes Company Incorporated.

And the next closest was Granger on Dude Little Drive, but that's in San Leandro.

Those are the two uh most local businesses.

So, so RSU, I know where Granger is.

Where's RSU?

Actually, it's on Edgewater Drive, right down the street from the corporation yard through the chair.

And what was the difference in the pricing?

Um RSHUs did not submit a proposal, so and Granger didn't either.

And Granger did not either.

Because that's important.

But did they get it?

Did they miss it?

Did they feel that Oakland is not um supporting local businesses?

And we want to ensure them that they are because I see your work through the chair again.

I see you what you're trying to do, and I appreciate it too because you're looking out because you mentioned it, right?

So can we reach out to them and find out?

Just find out and just say, hey, you know, this big came up for these these brushes.

Why didn't you just to get some input?

Get some engagement, right?

To see, and they'd say, Oh, wait a minute, Oakland reached out to us, they really want to work with us.

Can we find that out?

You get back to my office and let us know why they did not um respond.

Yeah, through the chair.

Uh, absolutely.

Uh it may it may be a um not proprietary but a specialized nature of street sweeper brushes that perhaps this is something that they don't generally stock.

I just don't know.

That would be my first guess, but we'll find out directly from the vendors themselves.

Yeah, just reach out to the the manager or whoever or whoever orders and just ask them so they know that we're concerned why they did not and just get that and get that back to Trinity for me, please.

Absolutely, thank you.

Council Member Wong.

Thank you through the chair.

First of all, thank you for your service to this country.

Um, I was wondering, so I I got some concerns and feedback from some of the community orgs that I work with closely who have street level observations that uh basically the street sweeping is not always happening on schedule.

And I know that doesn't sound like something that you can answer for today, but would love to just get some insight into that.

So I do fully support this item because street sweeping is the first line of defense for illegal dumping.

Um the other thing I just was wondering about.

I understand we have a street sweeper for bike lanes specifically.

I've noticed actually illegal dumping happening in our bike lanes.

Does this include brushes for the bike lane street sweeper?

Yeah, through the chair, thank you for the questions.

Um yes, this will include the wear components for the bike lane sweeper, which we coordinated with DOT when uh years ago when we saw the uh prevalence of bike lanes and the much narrower sweeping area.

It's uh defined by curbs so you have to have that smaller sweeper.

Uh we actually had the sweeper on hand in time for the new first bike lane opening, so we did a great job on that.

And just generally, as far as street sweeping not going as scheduled, when you have something between 45 and 50 percent of your sweeper fleet available, I would imagine that regularly routes are not being swept simply because we don't have the equipment to do so.

And the last thing I'll add is um through an EPA grant that we received, we'll be buying three uh battery electric street sweepers in the near future.

We hope to have those in service by 2027.

Um they're not exactly a one-to-one replacement for the diesels because of their range due to the battery, and then there's a lengthier charging time.

But once we get them deployed, we'll figure that out.

That's great.

Thank you for your work on that.

Uh, and I'll uh second uh the motion made by Councilmember Gaio through the chair.

I apologize.

I believe I heard Council Member Houston second.

Oh, okay.

All good.

Well, call the speakers for this item.

I have Mrs.

Sada Olabala and Blair Beekman for item number three.

In any order, please approach the podium or raise your hand in the queue and please uh state your name for the record.

Uh how an item comes to the committee.

So for this item, you have Rule 28 resolution.

You had to change the title.

So it looks like it went to committee, but at some point after the committee meeting, you had to change the title.

So, what's the title change?

Then related to the second part of this item, you this item never went to committee, the second part.

Rule 28 is adding it to the agenda.

I don't understand why when this item went to the rules, why both parts of the agenda items couldn't be presented.

You see, this process of how staff does things all crooked and confusing, it's gotta stop.

You have to have some legitimacy.

I question the confusion here, and you don't have to explain it.

You don't have to explain it because remember, I'm not old in an explanation because I'm only a citizen in this city.

Which means nothing.

So I'm also concerned with the statement we're getting it into the shop.

So let's make sure we understand.

When we're getting the need for this to be dealt with in terms of the replacement, we do the replacement, it doesn't go out for a payment of some outside vendor to replace the brushes and uh whatever else it is.

That's important because that's a cost.

And if it's somebody else's shop, how much money do we spend?

Lastly, the challenges that people have brought up about once we have this equipment.

Oh no, no, I don't want to go there.

I want to finish up with this process of two one-year options to renew.

Why did you do that?

Why do you have to put that in there?

You have a contract that's for a certain number of years, three years.

Why do you put that in?

Is that an easy way for you not to have to deal with it?

Thank you so much for your comments, Mrs.

Sada.

Our next speaker is Blair Beekman.

If you would like to speak, please raise your hand.

All names have been called.

Unger, and so we have a motion for item number three moved by Councilmember Guile, seconded by Councilmember Houston to approve staff recommendations to be forwarded to the July 7th city council agenda on roll council member Guile.

Houston.

I chair Unger.

I item number three is approved with four eyes uh to be forwarded to the July 7th City Council agenda on consent.

Yes, and that now takes us to item number four.

I believe council member Houston has a comment.

Sorry, yes, yes, on consent, but I need that information back from uh Mr.

Battersby before that date, please, because that might have me to change about um extending that.

Because I just want to hear what that those um vendors said.

That's very important, but I do want it on consent.

Thank you.

Oh, again, that now takes us to item number four.

Item number four is a resolution awarding a purchase contract for asphalt and con um concrete disposal services to aggregate materials inc.

in accordance with the request for the RFQ specifications and contract bid any amount not to exceed $560,000 per year for three years with one additional two-year option and amount not to exceed five hundred sixty thousand dollars per year for a total not to exceed two million eight hundred thousand dollars over five years, waiving any further advertising and bidding and awarding a purchase contract for asphalt and concrete disposal services to be green recycling and simply supply LLC in accordance with the request of the RFQ specifications and contracts, big contractors bid, any amount not to exceed $560,000 per year for three years with one additional two-year option, any amount not to exceed two million, two million eight hundred thousand dollars over five years and adopting sequel findings.

I have two speakers for this item.

Okay, let's hear the report, please.

Okay good morning, council, committee members.

My name is Tony Jones.

I'm the interim operations manager for the Department of Transportation Streets and Sidewalk Division.

Currently, right now, we're repaving our streets, and we have the opportunity to update newly surface roads.

But at this time, our disposal, as far as what we're trying to get rid of the material, we have to base it out at our Oakport Transportation Station, where it's basically like our third option.

Right now, our kind we don't have a contract with Argent Material, who we were using at the time, but so we had to store it at our own location for right now, and currently it's about three about three stories high.

Yes, we we've we're running out of room.

So we're trying to keep our work in progress and keep things moving, but at this time we were we're gonna have to slow down because we have no place to store our debris as far as concrete and our asphalt spoils.

So we're looking to get a contract renewed with Argent Material and trying to get a second contract with uh B-green supply that would help us out tremendously because our third option would also be we'd have to use waste management.

And right now, waste management, we're we're spending about almost over-I would say close to two million dollars just for disposal.

And that that's that's way too high.

So I'm here today to present this to you.

Hopefully, it'll pass, and then that would help us out tremendously.

Any questions?

Thank you for that report.

Let's hear from council member Houston, please.

Um, through the chair, Mr.

Tony Jones.

Um, nice meeting you pleasure.

Um, um, let me share this with uh before this world that I live in as council member.

I know both of those companies, one is in seven and one is in six, responsible to a whole nother level when it comes to embracing the homeless urgent material hire the justice impacted and the homeless to actually clean up the streets, actually paved ball in themselves at their cost, and actually keeps and cares about the air quality in that area.

Now, for us to actually, this is the news that I like to hear.

You know, we're using a local company that's hiring local people that's being responsible to our community that hires people within our community, in our community, and it's saving us some money.

We don't have to go to waste management, and this is beautiful.

This is this is music to my ears when I hear companies that are in the city of Oakland that's been here that's dedicated, that actually is responsible on different levels, right?

And then to mention B Green, that's in District 7.

I mean, six is Kevin Jenkins, President Kevin Jinx is me and him are two P's in a pod.

So anything that he he goes with, I go with it also.

But I'm saying they're responsible, right?

So you made two great choices that are in Oakland, responsible of the streets and the surroundings, and beautifying our neighborhoods so and saving us money.

So uh Mr.

Tony Jones, pleasure meeting you for the first time with this great news, and I want to move this item.

Let's do it.

Councilmember Wong.

Uh, I just want to say, well done, and I'll second the item just based off everything my colleague just said.

Thank you.

Councilmember Guy.

Yes, um, uh thank you, Mr.

Jones, for being with us here in the city of Oakland, and certainly you know the history of our streets and so forth.

So the only request that I have is just to do it publicly.

It used to be years, several years ago, um, that you know, once a month that I would have a chance to identify the potholes in my district, but my employers and I would actually come to join your crew to fill those potholes.

And I'd like to get back to doing that, because we will get those done directly, immediately, and the public will see us getting it done.

Uh but anyway, so if you could just check in with your leadership and and uh because I'd be more than happy to join.

Uh I'll identify the potholes in my district, but I'll join your crew to fill the potholes with three, four of my other employees as well.

Thank you.

Just make sure you have a service request number with those potholes, all right.

Thank you.

Let's hear from our public speakers, please.

As I call your name, please approach the podium and state your name for the record.

If you are participating via Zoom, this is a time to raise your hand if you would like to speak on item four.

If you signed up for it, I have um Blair Beekman and Asada Olabala.

Intro, huh?

Okay, yes, sir.

I hope uh I hope you keep the job.

Uh, let me tell you why.

Because you gave an honest presentation, and in that presentation, you said we had a contract, we didn't renew the contract, and because we didn't renew the contract, we had to take responsibility that we're not supposed to take responsibility for holding that asphalt.

Why we didn't renew the contract?

Why do we have to do this process of holding this stuff?

And why didn't we have a timely renewal of the contract?

Again, that's staffing.

I'm concerned about once you go through pulling up that asphalt.

There's a possibility that the soil that you're dealing with has contaminated that asphalt, particularly in areas of West Oakland.

I know that's the case.

You have lead in the soil, PCB can be in the soil if you're in West Oakland.

Do you go through a process of determining if that asphalt is contaminated?

You have to do that.

And if it's contaminated, how do you eliminate contaminated soil or asphalt compared to non-contaminated?

Who does the contractor deal with that you're dealing with?

Contaminated asphalt, or are they only taking non-contamin?

Discontaminated soil throughout Oakland is a big deal, and I know for a fact it's not being handled correctly.

Lastly, hiring local people.

I'm getting tired of hearing this thing about hiring local people and hiring local companies when you got the people that live in Oakland not having jobs because you allow illegal immigrants to come in here and take them jobs.

So please cut down on that.

Thank you for your comments.

Your time has ended.

We are now moving to the Zoom speakers.

If you uh signed up to speak for item four, Blair Beekman.

Please raise your hand if you would like to speak.

Blair Beekman.

And all names have been called for item four.

With that, I will call roll.

One moment.

Um I have a motion by council member Houston, seconded by council member Wong to approve item four to be forwarded approved.

Staff's recommendations to be forwarded to the July 7th City Council agenda on roll.

Council.

Member Guile.

Aye Houston.

I wong.

Wong?

I chair Unger.

Aye.

Item number four is approved with four eyes to be uh approved to be forwarded to the July 7th City Council agenda on consent.

With that, we will now go to item number five.

Item number five adopt a resolution awarding a construction contract to Griddled Inc.

DBA Rays Electric Inc.

for the highway safety improvement program, cycle 10, 14th Street Safety Project between Mandela Parkway and Brush Street, the lowest responsible and responsive bidder in accordance with the project plan specification and contractors bid in the amount of 2,494,685.86 cents in adopting CEQA findings.

I have three speakers for this item.

Okay, let's hear from our staff, please.

My name is Amit Salvan, principal civil engineer with the Department of Transportation.

So this item is to award a construction contract for 14th Street safety project between Mandela Parkway and Brush Street in West Oakland.

The scope of the project is to reduce travel lanes from two lanes in each direction to one lane in each direction, and installation of new rectangular rapid flashing beacons, signal mast arms, additional pedestrian crossings across the median crosswalk enhancements, including advanced stop lines and street lights.

The project intersections have the highest quantity and severity of reported crashes in involving pedestrians and bicycles.

This project is located in one of the highest equity priority area in the city and will connect to the downtown 14th Street project that is in active construction right now.

This project is approved by the state highway safety improvement program and the city's capital improvement program and is funded by state highway safety improvement program funds, state gas tax, and measure BB.

Therefore, staff recommends that the city council adopt a resolution awarding a construction contract to Grendel INC DBA Rays Electric INC, as they are the lowest responsible and responsible bidder and meets the city's local small local business program requirements with 83.35 participation rate.

That includes 32.44% to a small local business and 4.62% to a very small local business.

I will for questions.

Thank you.

Excellent.

Thank you.

Colleagues, questions.

All right, let's hear from our speakers, please.

As I call your name, please approach the podium in any order.

Or if you're participating via Zoom, please raise your hand in the queue.

I have Miss Asada Olabala, Kevin Daly, and Blair Beekman in any order.

Yeah, yeah.

Kevin Daly, thanks.

I'm really looking forward to the 14th Street project being built.

As you mentioned, it is on a high injury network.

And it's somewhat of a continuation of the 14th Street project that goes past City Hall all the way to the lake, which is how I get to the council meetings.

So good or bad news is you might have more cyclists attending council meetings if you have a safe way for them to get there.

So thanks.

Thanks for pushing this forward.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker for item five.

So this is an item that is um item is rule 28.

So it didn't go to rules.

So if this was an ongoing project, why couldn't you get it to rules on time to be vetted?

Why do we have to use Rule 28 to put it on the agenda?

Does it have a timeline that has to be met?

That you have to use Rule 28.

The item identifies that this is uh a part of what they call uh highway safety.

I'm sorry, which one is Broadway Streetscape?

But when you go into the uh report, you're talking about 2nd Street to 11th Street, and that's Chinatown and Jack London Square, and 20th Street to Grant.

Now, this is not any high population of residents, yeah.

They are Asians, like you say in the report because it's Chinatown, but you go into all this race and equity, you go into pensions, disability households that are very low income compared to Oakland population.

That's a lie.

This is another Chinatown focus.

You got the some of the projects you got on in Chinatown.

Chinatown bought transit uh uh developments.

You got the Oakland Alameda Access Project, the Chinatown Complete Streets Plan, the Lincoln Recreational Center, uh Resiliency Hub, the Safe Route to School 10th Street improvement.

All of that in Chinatown.

What you got going on in District 6?

What projects uh uh Mr.

Houston and District 7 they got going on?

They got eight projects going on in Chinatown related to uh this area of street improvement, eight, and you're trying to make it look like this project is for people who are in high risk communities.

Thank you for your comments, Mr.

Sada.

Our next speaker, Blair Beekman.

All right.

Um it looks like Blair is not available.

We will um we need a motion.

I believe Councilmember Wong had a comment.

Yeah, thank you through the chair.

So um I think this project looks fantastic.

I want to see more of this across the city, just uh too many people continue to get uh hit, and and we just we we have a real issue with reckless driving and people getting harmed by it.

Um, we have a project, so thank you for applying and getting this eight sip funding.

Um would welcome your thoughts on how we can get more of this.

And uh one question I just have is on measure BB funding this.

I thought measure BB we were in the negative on that, or somebody explained that.

Can you explain where we are with our measure BB funding?

Thanks.

Uh I don't know the details of the mayor BB, but I know that this for this project the money has been deserved through Mayor BB.

So uh we have the funds from AWB on this project.

I don't know the overall picture of Mayor B.

Excuse me, you know, the flashing lights, things like that.

I I would just love to see more of that across the city.

We try our best to uh get after the grants whatever possible.

We have a dedicated team with funding strategy and uh our uh city planners so uh we go for each and every grant possible, right?

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

And with that, I will make a motion.

Councilmember Houston, did you have a question?

It was really not a question, um, Councilmember Unger.

It was more of a statement that that, and and I always say this, that just this weekend, and um Miss Bessie Lake can share that just happened at Sunnyside, our um community center was burned up, or kids gotta be moved to somewhere else.

Um District 7 has been underserved for so long, so long.

Um I'm not only hurt, I'm angered, I'm angered, and I'm gonna start moving in a different way now because I got my 15 months on my feet now, and I'm gonna move like I moved in the streets back in the day.

I'm gonna move with force.

I'm gonna move with my people because they deserve better, they deserve better.

And I would my electoral obligation to my people that put me in office was to stand up for them, and and and I'm cut from a different cloth and I will.

And the people that are watching and know me, they know I will.

And I'm going, I'm gonna pull my people together.

We're gonna fight for what's right, and it's gonna be good or it's gonna be ugly, because I'm the only person on this diet that can speak to on the two races that are underserved.

My mom is black, my father's Latino.

Nobody can speak to it like I can.

Nobody, and I'm gonna speak to this at public safety later today as the vice chair.

That I support my LGBTQ community, my first cousin when I was a kid, she's LGBTQ.

Councilmember Wayne knows I support her initiative.

Janani knows I support hers.

Consumer Brown knows I support hers.

I support my my Latino family.

They know.

When my family die in Mexico, I gotta get over there in 24 hours because they handle it a different way, they bury quicker, right?

When my people die on the streets in the asphalt, their blood is dripped in that asphalt.

I'm there with them too.

So I'm gonna start moving in a different way.

If my people don't take good took care of, I'm gonna move in a different way.

Um, because I'm tired.

And I'm gonna say this.

My electoral obligation is to stand up for my black folks, and they not getting took care of.

They're not.

They're not.

You heard them this day the other day when they came down here with measure in talking about underserved, East Oakland, East Oakland.

I represent East Oakland from the hills to the flatlands, below the second rural tracks to Sheffield Village.

Very diversed, very diverse, and I touch them all.

So I just had to say that because come to public safety because I'm gonna speak on this on a different way.

So um the streets, my streets need to be taken care of too.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I have a motion by Councilmember Wong, seconded by Councilmember Guyo to approve staff recommendations to be forwarded to the July 7th City Council agenda on roll.

Councilmember Guyo.

Councilmember Houston.

Aye.

Councilmember Wong.

Aye.

And Chair Unger.

I item number five was approved with four eyes to be forwarded to the July 7th City Council agenda on consent.

That now takes us to our last item, item number six, which was withdrawn and rescheduled for the July 14th public works and transportation committee agenda.

Um, I will quickly read in the uh title as stated by city attorney, and then uh we will call the speakers as we will not be hearing this item.

This item has been withdrawn and will be rescheduled, is rescheduled to the July 14th Public Works and Transportation Committee, and this is a resolution awarding a construction contract to McGuire Hester for Broad Race Rescape Improvement Projects, the lowest responsible and responsible bidder in accordance with the project plan and specifications at state requirements and with contractors bid in the amount of 20,881,650 dollars and adopting appropriate sequel findings again.

I will call the speakers who signed up for this item, but this item will be rescheduled to July 14th, and I have Mrs.

Sada Olabala, Blair Beekman, and Kevin Dowley.

If you are participating online, please raise your hand for those who are here in chambers.

Please line up at the podium and state your name for the record.

Thank you.

Um, you know that last item, that's this item as I was addressing.

I had my notes on the wrong page.

But this was a Rule 28 item.

And now you're saying it was an emergency, you had to put it on the agenda, but now you're taking it off the agenda.

So why did you put it on the agenda in the first place?

It didn't go to rules.

Who put it on agenda?

Staff from Public Works.

I'm telling you, public works needs to be a whole lot of scrutiny.

Uh I'm not gonna repeat what I said, but uh this is a considered a high population, just like item five, high population.

Who's this high population?

You know, there's a reason why black people, all over these countries are boycotting the Asian businesses.

Go to Chinatown, see how many black people work in Chinatown, go to Fruitville, see how many black people work in Fruitville businesses.

None, and then when you have your nonprofits, like the Lau family, the East Asian Youth Center, gonna take care of correcting issues for black people.

Y'all better get the hell out of here.

And stop this insanity.

And as soon as we bring up, we're not gonna support Asian uh beauty shops and Asian nails, that's Asian hate.

And Chinatown had a meeting uh last Saturday on how they're gonna stop Asian hate.

You need to stop using black people to make your money.

That's what you need to stop doing.

Do your thing.

I don't know how under Proposition 209, how you can allocate money from the state for Chinatown.

That's a race community.

I don't know how y'all do that.

But I'll bring it up.

But you need to stop this, prioritize and given special treatment and stop that double calling in Chinatown.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker, Kevin.

You'll pass.

Kevin Daly is passing, and I have Blair Beekman.

All right.

Blair Beacon.

Uh, I do not have comments on this item.

Sorry.

That's okay.

Thank you.

Thank you all name.

Been called.

So again, item number six, Broadway Street Scrape Improvement Project Construction was withdrawn and rescheduled to July 14th during our item two pending list.

With that, we will now go to open forum.

We have Miss Auto Olabala, Blair Beekman, and Kevin Daly for open forum.

All right, Kevin Daly.

Now that we have made decisions on where parking enforcement is, I'd love to revisit the question of progressive ticketing.

There's a number of drivers who repeatedly have the same violations and have decided it's just a cost of doing business.

Subject, of course, to state law.

And I'd suggest either finance or public works and transportation, look at the issue and decide how we can increase the ticketing.

I hope for safer streets.

But until then, at least we make a little bit of more money.

Thanks.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker for open forum.

You seem to have no need to discuss the maintenance issues that are going on at the police administration building.

That building has been scheduled for a number of years to be demolished because of the number of safety issues, seismic issues, particularly, and some of the health issues that continue to go on in that building, but you don't deal with it.

But you use measure you money to build a library in Chinatown for which the community decided they wanted, not the library, the recreational center.

They wanted to build a new recreational center, and your your city management said we'll pay for it, we'll pay for it.

At the same time, that police administration building is continued to be a high risk issue.

When the property is demolished, we're supposed to put affordable housing on the property.

That was the next part of it.

But you are ignoring high priority issues to do favoritism, particularly in Chinatown, for which Wong is gonna at safe public safety declare that we already had a sanctuary city ordinance gallo and wong, but now you want an ordinance that's a city is a city of refugees.

When are you gonna refuge the people who live here who are African Americans?

I'll go into that detail over and over at every meeting.

You got a hell of a nerve to bring a city of refuge issue when you don't deal with gentrification.

You don't deal with 10% unemployment of African Americans.

You got a hell of a nerve talking about this needs to be a city of refugees, but people who don't live here, when you don't do nothing for the people that do live here who are known as African Americans.

Thank you for your comments.

We will now move to Zoom speakers.

I have Blair Beekman.

You may unmute yourself and begin.

Hi, Blair Beekman.

Really good luck on how to address that previous item, by the way.

Thank you for it.

Um for this item for uh open uh open forum.

Uh my two big issues today will be um the the strong mare, how to work on the strong mare issues and uh the flock issues.

Um I think I'm gonna address Flock because it seems more appropriate to this sort of meeting today.

Um, with the Flock, um we were promised, you know, in the December meeting.

I mean, they they were I was heard they were at death's door if they didn't sign the contract uh by March 2026.

And I heard is the contract been signed.

Uh I heard it took a long time for that contract to be signed, like into May, it wasn't signed yet.

Um, how is that going?

Um, I'm I'm a bit concerned and worried.

I mean, I spoke, you know, in uh just all of my everything that you guys did a great thing with compromise, and and but you know what that happens is you end up feeling stupid afterwards.

And uh but I still mean what I said meant what I said, but maybe we could have done it in a year's time in an 18-month period time frame.

And I never ever knew the concept that flock can be adding on to uh their surveillance things uh in that two-year time period, but I guess I'm kind of remembering that now.

Um, how is the flock review process going?

I think we really should have, you know, six-month updates, uh, some kind of report saying, well, we're at this place, the police are doing this, they're gonna bring this to the PAC at this such and such a time very soon.

We should have those kind of things happening, just and we should be, you know, this is a community process to change the world, basically, and change our dynamic of of how we view issues.

Good luck that we work on this as a good community process.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

All speakers have been called for open forum.

Alright, let's call it a day.

Meeting adjourned.

Thank you.