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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Oakland Public Works and Transportation Committee Meeting - June 23, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, June 23, 2026

BodyOakland, California

SessionCity Council

DateTuesday, June 23, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:01:16

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

4:28

Rock and roll.

4:30

Good morning.

4:32

And welcome to the rules and legislation.

4:34

Excuse me.

4:34

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

4:38

My apologies.

4:39

Yes, good morning.

4:40

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

4:47

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

4:52

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

4:58

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.

5:09

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

5:20

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

5:23

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

5:31

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

5:38

Councilmember Houston.

5:40

Here, you council member Wong.

5:46

Present Chair Unger.

5:50

Here.

5:50

Thank you.

5:51

We have four members present.

5:53

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

5:57

I will now go on to item number one.

5:59

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

6:06

I will need a motion.

6:10

I'll second that.

6:12

Okay.

6:12

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

6:22

On roll council member Guile.

6:26

Councilmember Houston.

6:28

Aye.

6:28

Council Member Wong.

6:30

Aye.

6:31

And Unger.

6:32

I.

6:33

Item number one is approved with four eyes.

6:36

As is.

6:37

That now takes us to item number two.

6:39

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

6:46

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

6:49

Yes, thank you.

6:50

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

7:00

I accept that change.

7:03

Any other uh comments uh Councilmember Guy.

7:12

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.

7:27

And specifically public works, transportation.

7:31

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.

7:46

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

7:53

Unger, I mean, you join me one time.

7:56

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.

8:08

We're even short staff.

8:10

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?

8:19

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

8:25

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

8:33

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

8:38

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.

9:03

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

9:06

I write city vehicles cleaning the streets every day.

9:09

Especially on the weekend.

9:11

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

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Contracting And Procurement██████████████████████████26%

Procedural██████████████████████22%

Public Works████████████████████20%

Transportation Safety████████████12%

Engineering And Infrastructure██████6%

Racial Equity██████6%

Public Safety████4%

Public Engagement███3%

Community Engagement█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Oakland Public Works and Transportation Committee Meeting - June 23, 2026

The Oakland City Council Public Works and Transportation Committee convened at 11:33 AM on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, with Councilmember Zac Unger (District 1) presiding as Chair. All four committee members were present: Councilmembers Noel Gallo (District 5), Ken Houston (District 7), Charlene Wang (District 2), and Chair Unger. The committee approved several contracts related to street sweeping, asphalt and concrete disposal, and a safety project, and rescheduled one item to a future meeting.

Approval of Minutes

Item 1: The committee unanimously approved the draft minutes from the June 9, 2026 meeting (4-0).

Determination of Schedule of Outstanding Committee Items

Item 2: The committee approved a motion to withdraw and reschedule Item 6 (Broadway Streetscape Improvements Construction Contract Award) to the July 14, 2026 Public Works and Transportation Committee agenda. Councilmember Gallo requested a future report from the City Administrator on the status of public works vehicles and equipment, citing over 150 vehicles out of service. Councilmember Houston highlighted the recent grand jury report on illegal dumping and urged better management of city property and vehicle maintenance. Public speaker Asada Olabala asked about vehicle maintenance indicators and prevention strategies for illegal dumping.

Discussion Items

Item 3: Contracts for Street Sweeper Brooms and Brushes (United Rotary Brush Corp. and Owens Equipment Sales, each up to $750,000 over five years): Richard Battersby, Assistant Director of Oakland Public Works, explained that the contracts cover replacement brooms and brushes for the city's 18 street sweepers, of which only 10–12 are currently operational. Councilmember Houston asked about Oakland-based vendors that did not bid (RS Hughes and Grainger) and requested follow-up. Councilmember Wang noted that street sweeping is a first line of defense against illegal dumping and that the city is acquiring three battery-electric sweepers via an EPA grant. The committee voted unanimously (4-0) to forward the item to the July 7 City Council consent agenda.
Item 4: Asphalt and Concrete Disposal Service Contracts (Argent Materials, Inc. and Bee Green Recycling & Supply, each up to $560,000 per year for three years, with two-year options, total not to exceed $2.8 million over five years): Tony Jones, Interim Operations Manager for DOT Streets and Sidewalk Division, stated that without a contract, the city is stockpiling material at its own yard, running out of space, and spending nearly $2 million on waste management. The new contracts are with Oakland-based companies that hire locally and save money. Councilmember Houston strongly supported the choice of local businesses. The committee voted unanimously (4-0) to forward the item to the July 7 City Council consent agenda.
Item 5: 14th Street Safety Project Construction Contract Award (Gruendl Inc. dba Ray’s Electric, $2,494,685.86): Amit Salvan, Principal Civil Engineer for DOT, described the project—reducing travel lanes, adding pedestrian crossings, and improving lighting on 14th Street from Mandela Parkway to Brush Street in West Oakland—funded by state HSIP, gas tax, and Measure BB. The project has an 83.35% local business participation rate. Councilmember Wang praised the project, and Councilmember Houston expressed frustration with underinvestment in East Oakland, vowing to advocate more strongly. The committee voted unanimously (4-0) to forward the item to the July 7 City Council consent agenda.
Item 6: Broadway Streetscape Improvements Construction Contract Award (withdrawn and rescheduled to July 14, 2026). Public speakers offered comments, including Asada Olabala questioning the emergency use of Rule 28 and raising equity concerns about investments in Chinatown versus other neighborhoods. The item was not voted on.

Public Comments & Testimony

Multiple public speakers participated throughout the meeting. Asada Olabala consistently raised concerns about city processes, staffing, equity, and the use of Rule 28 to bypass committee vetting. She also criticized the allocation of resources to Chinatown over African American communities. Kevin Daly supported the 14th Street safety project and suggested progressive ticketing for repeat traffic violators. Blair Beekman asked about the status of the Flock surveillance contract and requested regular community updates.

Open Forum

Three speakers addressed open forum. Kevin Daly revisited progressive ticketing. Asada Olabala criticized the lack of action on the police administration building and alleged favoritism in city spending. Blair Beekman asked for updates on the Flock camera system and urged continued community engagement.

Key Outcomes

Approved and forwarded to July 7, 2026 City Council consent agenda: Item 3 (street sweeper brushes contracts), Item 4 (asphalt disposal contracts), Item 5 (14th Street safety contract). All votes were 4-0.
Withdrawn and rescheduled: Item 6 (Broadway Streetscape) to the July 14, 2026 Public Works and Transportation Committee meeting.
Directives: Councilmember Gallo requested a future report on public works vehicle and equipment status; Councilmember Houston asked staff to follow up with Oakland-based vendors that did not bid on the sweeper brush contracts.

Meeting Transcript

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.

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