The Oakland Public Ethics Commission held its regular meeting on Monday, October 7, 2019, at 6:30 p.m. in Hearing Room 1 at City Hall. Commissioners present: Jodie Smith (Chair), James E.T. Jackson (Vice-Chair), Jill M. Butler, Gail Kong, and Nayeli Maxson Velázquez. Commissioner Jerett Yan joined later. Staff present: Whitney Barazoto (Executive Director), Suzanne Doran (Lead Analyst), Kellie Johnson (Enforcement Chief), and Simon Russell (Investigator). City Attorney Trish Hynes also attended.
Yeah. Good evening. It is six thirty two, and the October seventh meeting of the Oakland Public Ethics Commission will come to order. We have a quorum of four present with Commissioners Yan Kong, Jackson, and Smith, and may have another commissioner joining us shortly. Commissioners, do you have anything to announce? Okay. Staff. I'll make a short announcement of an item that is on our agenda later on, and that is that there is open recruitment right now for two commission appointed seats. And so those two seats will be appointed or selected by the commission. For all those who might be interested or who know people in your circle of friends and family and colleagues who you think would be uh who you think would serve well on this, we encourage you to share that information. Far and wide and encourage people to to apply. And before open forum, I'll just um give a couple of words about how we'll handle public comment this evening. Um open forum is the time on our agenda when members of the public may comment on any item within our jurisdiction that is not on tonight's agenda. And commissioners cannot discuss the substance of any comments that are made during open forum, and that's not because we're not interested, but it's precisely because it's not on the agenda this evening. Um so we can hear what you say, and we do hear what we say, what you say, and we we thank you for um for coming to to talk at open forum. Um and if you wish to speak on an item that is on our agenda, please wait until that item is called and you will be um invited to speak at that time. I also want to note how we handle public comment. That's both during open forum here and then later on each agendized item. So that everyone is confident in the process and knows that they will have a chance to speak tonight. Um the purpose of public comment is for us, the commission, to hear from you. Um it is not a time for commissioners to talk. It is not a time for us to answer questions, it's not a time for dialogue, it's the time when we get to listen to members of the public who have comments and ideas that they want the commission to be aware of. So we may ask you a brief clarifying question if you speak during public comment, but it is otherwise not a time for commissioners to talk or answer questions. Um, after the close of public comment uh on each item, we may indeed address questions that were raised during the public comment period. So I may ask our city attorney, who's Trish Hines, uh, to uh give some information about how an issue is handled or what the what the um what the law, the state of the law is on that matter. Um commissioners may address uh issues in a in a general manner. Uh may I may ask staff to explain procedures, or I may suggest that you give your contact information to staff so that uh they can follow up with you for the information you are seeking. Um but once the public comment period has remained closed or has closed, it remains closed for that item, and then we'll reopen when we take up the next item. I believe we have one person so far that would like to be heard during open forum tonight. Uh I invite you to line up at the mic and we'll call Alex Schroeder. I'm sorry, Alexa Schroeder. Good evening. I am Alexis Schroeder, and I have lived in Oakland for almost 35 years. Recently I have been using the Oakland Sunshine Ordinance to request public records regarding telecommunications facilities, specifically cell antenna projects in Oakland that funnel through the planning and building departments. I have two concerns to be addressed. First, I am disappointed in the length of time it takes to get the requested information. I understand that broad requests require more time, but a status update would be appreciated in order to start the dialogue between the requester and the city, which then could determine if the scope of the request could be broken down into manageable components for fulfillment. I would hope that there could be an amendment to help dictate the guidelines for public records processing within the Sunshine Ordinance. That would be more effective, timely, and respectful. Second, I have two public record requests outstanding, and the deadline was missed 33 days ago on both of them. They are 1942 53 and 1942 54, and they were submitted on August 25th. Each request is only one sentence in length. The documents requested are part of the city ordinance 17.128.130 sections B and C to ensure compliance to radio frequency emission standards for all telecommunication facilities installed in Oakland. Thank you. Thank you. And Ms. Schroeder, if you have not yet spoken with staff about these, I invite you to do so this evening. They may um be able to contact you if you would like assistance. Thank you. Is there anyone else who wishes to speak during public forum?