Consideration of Mayor’s Nominations for Appointment to the Planning Board, Public Art Commission, Public Utilities Board, Recreation and Parks Commission, and Social Service Human Relations Board.
Avenue Complete Streets. And I'm really excited about the Seaplane Lagoon Ferry Terminal that was the probably the largest Alameda recipient with $8.2 million coming from these various funds, which tend to be county and state funds. So that's going to help that third ferry terminal in Alameda. So with that, then I'm going to go right into item ten a, I have been busy. My assistant Michelle Cook tells me that since I last saw you two weeks ago, I have interviewed 34 candidates for various boards and commissions and I'm really excited. We've had such interest this year and we've just got great, smart and our residents. It's been tough to make choices, but here are my nominations, which then council will vote on in two weeks or at the next council member meeting on July 2nd. So for the planning board there are two seats available and I am nominating Hansen Hamm. Mr. Hamm is a former planning director, himself a former community development director. Deep experience in policy planning, land use plans, affordable housing programs, urban design, environmental review and a longtime Alameda resident. Teresa Ruiz is my second nominee. Missouri's is an architect with a San Francisco firm, and she's also active in the Urban Land Institute. And in fact, she works with high school students in a number of Bay Area high schools in their government classes, having them actually set up a mock planning board. And they have a project that they undertake to, you know, deliberate on and vote on. And she puts in a lot of real life issues and she's very impressive in her own right. She's a native of Taiwan who came to this country to start high school when she was in high school, started high school at Fremont High , and she said she didn't know English. When she started high school at Fremont, she knew Spanish because her family on route from Taiwan spent a couple of years in Costa Rica. But that said, she graduated in four years and went to UC Berkeley and then got her architectural degree. And and she's a mother with young kids, but she wants to give back. And so I I'm very happy to appoint both of them for the planning board, the Public Art Commission. We are still doing interviews for applicants. I just can't get through all of them at once. Public Utilities Board. I am reappointing the incumbent, Laura Jean Tierney. She has great and deep financial expertize background, which is very useful for that board. The Recreation and Parks Commission has two openings right now. I have one. I'm nominating Tara Navarro. Ms.. Navarro is a tennis player. She's a mother of two young children. She makes a point to visit all the parks. And she's been involved in the Jackson Park proposals and has, you know, attends recreation parks commission meetings. We think she brings a lot to that commission. And I'm still interviewing nominees. So we'll we'll get that second seat filled probably by the next or nominating. By the next council meeting on the Social Service Human Relations Board, we have one opening. I am nominating Christian Fruit Fong. She is a long time reading specialist at Ruby Bridges School. She's also a third generation Alameda. And although she was born in Topaz, Utah, because her parents were interned there during World War Two. And in fact, just last week, Christian and 45 others, her family members and some others, were taking a trip to Topaz. And her parents were going. And she said her mother had actually designed for everyone. She did research and she designed they all would have the tags because, you know, all the families were numbered and they were these tags. But I said, would you please take pictures and write an article for the local newspapers? So I hope she did that. Anyway, those are my nominees. You all can look up there. You have the applications and their resume or their. Yeah. Resume is if they attach them. And so with that, I am going to adjourn this city council meeting. Thanks, everyone. Really good work tonight. Goodnight. See you July 2nd.