San Leandro City Council Special Meeting and Annual Planning Session - February 12, 2025

This special meeting and annual planning session focused on setting council priorities for the upcoming biennial budget. The council heard public comments, received presentations on capital assets and the city's financial forecast, engaged in team-building exercises to refine council working norms, and conducted a prioritization exercise to determine the top focus areas and specific referrals for the coming years. The meeting took place from 9:00 AM to 1:56 PM (actual date per transcript was February 1, 2025, but the provided date is used per instructions).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Maylin Dorman (District 1): Expressed concern about the unfilled sustainability manager position and urged progress on the climate action plan, including replacing gas vehicles with EVs.
• John Minat Schwartz (Ace Bay for Everyone): Advocated for muscular rent control, land use reforms to increase housing density, complete streets, and warned against spending on Lake Chabot Road.
• Susan Erb: Urged council to focus on long-term infrastructure and capital improvement needs rather than pet projects.
• Peter Van Oosting (Lake Chabot Road resident): Asked council not to spend scarce city funds to reopen Lake Chabot Road for one-way traffic, calling for equitable distribution of funds.
• Stephen Tao: Urged council to prioritize staff expertise and not rush to reopen Lake Chabot Road, noting fire and public works departments oppose the move.
• Craig Williams (Big Tent San Leandro): Reiterated calls for passage of rent stabilization and tenant protections, and revisions to the mobile home rent stabilization ordinance. Cited over 100 members and a dozen allied organizations.
• Mark Janowitz: Spoke in support of rent stabilization, noting that both council and residents support it, and urged moving forward.
• Douglas Spaulding: Emphasized that community security cannot exist without housing security, and urged council to take action on tenant protections and mobile home tenants.
• Ryan Jasinski: Called rent stabilization a fundamental right, criticized failure to pass it, and urged a strong ordinance.
• Ryan Jaczinski (Property manager, Mission Bay mobile home community): Opposed proposed revisions to mobile home rent stabilization, stating current ordinance provides stability and there is no evidence of crisis.
• Sarah Bailey (spoke on Lake Chabot Road): Cited fire chief's warning that opening one lane would hinder firefighting and could have disastrous consequences; urged council to keep road closed to daily traffic.
• Kathleen Kelly (San Leandro Art Association president): Urged restoration of arts commission funding to 2024 levels ($75,000 cut from $150,000) and adoption of a 1% for public art ordinance for major developments.
• Bernard Ashcraft (Big Tent member): Supported progressive housing ordinance drafted by the people.
• Rita Young (San Leandro Art Association member): Shared personal experience teaching art classes funded by the arts commission and urged continued funding.
• Bridget Lawley: Advocated for arts funding, comparing 1% of the city budget to a penny, and noted transformative effect of small, ongoing art events.
• Stephen Cassidy (former mayor): Advocated for arts funding and a 1% public art ordinance, noting current arts spending is far less than 1% of the general fund.
• Ginny Madson: Urged renter protections as a civil rights issue, referenced redlining in district maps, and praised the return of the disaster council.

Discussion Items

Council Working Norms and Team-Building

• Facilitator Claire Laughlin led an exercise to refresh council commitments. Council members shared personal goals for the day: respect, clear priorities, open mind, financial addressing challenges, clear direction to staff, collaboration, and deep listening.
• The group reviewed attributes of a high-functioning council (fair decision-making, open communication, proactive preparation, etc.) and refined commitments. Additions included: focus on analyze facts and data, consider all stakeholders in decision-making, respectful communication (including tone, word choice, active listening), effective candor (direct and kind), relationship building, and respect for each other's votes.
• The council agreed to add these to the existing list of commitments and will later combine and simplify.

Capital Assets Presentation (Sheila Marquises, Public Works Director)

• Provided an overview of major capital assets: water pollution control plant (125 miles sewer, 10-year need $92M), stormwater system (71 miles, $79.6M for all priority projects), parks (80.5 acres, $14M), facilities (34 buildings, most systems beyond useful life), and streets (382 lane miles, PCI 59).
• Pavement condition: 36% of residential streets have failed. Current funding of $4.5M/year is insufficient; maintaining current PCI of 59 would require $12.5M/year initially then $8M/year; achieving industry-standard PCI of 80 would require much higher investment.
• Highlighted root causes: underfunding, deferred maintenance, workforce challenges, and political decisions.
• Proposed order of operations: finish funded projects, fund roof repairs, focus on failure and public safety assets, increase revenue, perform parks and facility assessments.

Financial Forecast (Heather Rowden, Interim Finance Director)

• General fund budget FY24-25: $149.9M expenditures, $147M revenues, but after capital transfers, a $4.6M deficit. Fund balance policy 20% ($29M); current balance is 53.9% but projected to drop below 20% by FY2030 without action.
• Major cost drivers: staffing (43% of budget), pension (unfunded liability growing, annual payment to rise from $20.5M to $25.86M by 2030), and other post-employment benefits (95% funded).
• Capital needs summary: facilities backlog $19M by FY28, parks $14M over 10 years, stormwater $80M, water pollution control plant $58.85M over 5 years, streets $12.5M first 5 years then $8M/year. Also fleet ($6M by 2030) and IT ($11.5M by 2035).
• ARPA funds ending: $1.2M/year needed to continue programs like enhanced street cleanliness, volunteer San Leandro, alternative response unit, median maintenance.
• Factoring all needs leads to a projected $21.8M annual deficit. Staff working on reserve policies, fee study, ERP replacement, and refining performance measures.

Priority Work Plan Updates (City Manager Fran Robustelli)

• Reviewed accomplishments in five priority areas: public safety (police staffing now ~80%, sworn-in ceremony); infrastructure (tree master plan, waste franchise, park master plan upcoming); housing/homelessness (navigation center construction complete, winter warming shelter, renter protections in progress); economic development (safety grants launched); quality of life (work just started).
• Over 40 limited-duration positions must be reauthorized in next budget.
• Emphasized need for focused priorities to avoid spreading staff too thin.

Prioritization Exercise

• Council members used colored dots to vote on top three priority categories from ten options. After initial votes and adjustments, the top three categories were: Infrastructure (6 votes), Housing and Homelessness (5 votes), and Public Safety (4 votes). Race and Equity Initiatives tied with Public Safety but after a recast, the three categories stood.
• Within each category, council members allocated dots to specific referrals.

Key Outcomes

• Top Priority Categories (in order of votes): Infrastructure, Housing and Homelessness, Public Safety. Staff will focus work plans in these areas.
• Specific Referrals within Infrastructure:
  • Road repair, maintenance, and replacement funded at least at FY25 level with 50% of EOI fund balance added the following year (7 votes).
  • Implement the parks master plan (4 votes).
  • Comprehensive funding plan and policy to repair, maintain, and replace city assets (4 votes).
• Specific Referrals within Housing and Homelessness:
  • Rent review board with enforcement authority (4 votes).
  • Mobile home rent stabilization regulations (3 votes).
  • Rent control (3 votes).
  • Limit rent increases (3 votes). Staff will consolidate related rent stabilization items into a unified work plan.
• Specific Referrals within Public Safety:
  • Lockup dumpsters at all strip malls and shopping centers (6 votes).
  • Achieve 100% staffing for all allocated police positions (4 votes).
  • Adopt Alameda County multifamily unit smoking ban (4 votes).
• Other: Council will revisit additional priorities (e.g., race equity, fiscal sustainability) through regular meeting referrals and ongoing work. Staff will continue work on quality of life and economic development as already approved.
• The city manager noted that work on revenue generation (e.g., bond measures) will continue independent of the priority list.