Public Hearing to Consider Adoption of the Community Development Block Grant(CDBG)/HOME Partnership Investment Program (HOME) Five-Year Strategic Plan for FY 2020-25 and the FY 2020-21 CDBG/HOME Action Plan; and Authorize the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute Related Documents, Agreements, and Modifications. (Community Development 236/235)
Public Hearing to consider adoption of the Community Development BLOCK Grant Home Partnership Investment Program, five year strategic plan for fiscal years 2020 through 2025 and the Fiscal Year 20 2021. CDBG Home Action Plan and authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute related documents. Agreements. Modifications. And I am. I'm just reading to constituents who text me during the meeting. I don't pay close attention to my text. Somebody texted a little while ago, Madam Clerk, asking if you could turn your volume up, that apparently some of the audience are having trouble hearing you. I just got that, too. And I turned it up. So. You okay? Yeah. And, um, then could, um, the C and then Ms.. Potter had said that when she let me know that city public hearing, CBG public hearing has to be heard tonight. As the plan is due to HUD on July three, we can dispense the staff report and open and close the public hearing quickly. That's music to my ears. And unless any of the council wants to hear the staff report, report it on. Why don't we just open and close the public hearing quickly? Just get yourself. Yes. I think that that's exactly right. We're prepared to have the counsel open, the public hearing, taking your testimony, and then staff is prepared to answer questions at the conclusion of the hearing. Right. Um. So. Um. I'm sorry. My iPad just froze. Perhaps the court can let us know if there are any public speakers. There are. Three here. Presently. Right. Okay, good. That gives me time to get my iPad back up. So if if we don't have any clarifying questions of the staff report. Counsel, are you okay if we go right to public speakers? I think I'm sitting nodding. Okay. Would you please call our public speakers? Oh, sorry. Okay. Scott, there I am. All right. And Scott. Can you hear me? Yes. Hello? City council members and Mayor Ashcroft. I just wanted to thank the city. Of Alameda for. Allocating some of the extra CDBG funds. For. Emergency shelter needs for. Domestic violence. Survivors. There's a group of survivor providers throughout Alameda County who have been meeting regularly since the beginning of the pandemic, discussing the needs of survivors. And I just wanted you. All to realize. That you're in the vanguard on this issue that we've been asking other cities, as well as the county board of Supervisors, to allocate. Funds. For this pressing need. But the city of Alameda jumped to the idea. I think even city staff might have suggested it before we suggested it. So I just really it's something I think the city should be proud of. You know, I suggested to city staff even that you release a press release. Talking about. What you all are doing. For survivors. You know, because unfortunately, the needs are going to continue to be significant even after a shelter in place is completely lifted. So thank you. Again. We look forward. To our continuing partnership. And Ms.. Scott, I should remember this, that my brain is a bit overloaded these days. Remind me who you're affiliated with. I am so. Sorry. There were way. Too many Zoom calls. So, Aaron Scott. I'm the executive director of the Family Violence Law Center, which we free legal services to. Residents. Of Alameda. Who are. Struggling with domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as a 24 hour crisis intervention. Services. Yes, that's good work. Yes, I. I know we know each other and we've met. Like I said, I just some technology. So I need I need details. Introductions, but thank you. Yes. So much important work is being covered by these funds. So thank you. And then I know you said quick, we have other public speakers. We have three more. And the first one is Lynne. All right. Welcome. You hear me? I can. Okay. Hold on 1/2. I can do that, too. Okay. My name is Sofia Carson, and I'm a sophomore in high school. The current budget that's being grossly unfair ends the current political discussions and awakenings that America's reckoning with. Oh, in our demands to this coffin. Ms.. Coffin, I don't mean to interrupt you, but I think you're on the wrong item. At the time. We are. We're voting for some wonderful funds that are going to things like homelessness, support and shelter. So I think you probably want to be an item. Help me out, Laura. Six G. The budget. I'll be back then. Thank you. Yeah, so we'll see a little bit. All right. So. So our next one is Allison. Get the young. Welcome, Mr. Young. DeJong. Hi. Can you hear me? I can. Oh, perfect. I'm out of their city council and city staff. I'm young. I'm the executive director of Eat in INR, which is, uh. Operates two one, one, two, one, one. Okay. Yeah. Spoken before you all. Several times. I wanted to sort of. Dispense of my usual two, one, one. Song and dance. I just wanted to take the opportunity tonight. I know when I've come before you in the past, I always make sure to mention the role that 211 plays in disaster response. Did I ever think I'd be coming to speak to you on Zoom about pandemics? No. No. But here we are. So quickly, I just wanted to let you know that like all of us, we have been very busy since shelter in place. We have had an increased call volume. The first four weeks of shelter in place. We had a 52% increase over the immediate four weeks prior. Since then, it's calmed down a little, but still about an average 40% increase in calls over pre shelter place time. The other sort of perfect storm for 211. Not only did we have do we have a greater increase in calls, but when shelter in place started, so many of our resource records needed to be updated. Obviously hours of operation, things like congregate meals. We quickly deployed additional staff across the agency to support plan to. Make all of the. Necessary record updates. We've also been utilizing some volunteers and some temporary staff to handle the increased call volume, which has been amazing. We deployed our entire staff to work remotely within the first eight days of shelter in place, which has been working out amazingly well. I think we'll continue some combination of remote and in-office down the road. We have had our disaster preparedness coordinators stationed at the county's emergency operations persons that would be relaying all of the updated information, both for shelter types and then a couple of weeks ago. Related. To the civil unrest and various curfews. All of that, we get calls and handle those calls from 211. We've also been handling calls for the COVID 19 line set up by Alameda County Public Health Department, my statewide COVID 19 line that was set up and we had a text campaign. People can particularly right before shelter in place when people had more sort of general coronavirus calls. If people text two, one, one, people text the word coronavirus, two, two, one, one, two, one, one. They get some general health information and then they're further prompted to add their zip code. And Alameda County specific information is then texted back. So I just wanted to share all of that with you and just thank you, as always, for the city's continued support of the vital service of two on one. So thank you very much. And thank you for your remarks. And you provide a very valuable service at two, even two, one, one, two. Thank you. All right, who's next, madam? Liz Varella. Hi. No, Liz are areola. Welcome. Hello. Hello. This is my executive director of Building Futures and it's nice to see you all on screen. Can't wait to get back in the chamber again. I want to take this moment to do a couple things. I want to echo what Aaron Scott from his law center said that really, I am proud to be a Alameda city of Alameda Agency. The way the city staff have approached the domestic violence crisis here during COVID is impressive. We have had a few meetings of domestic violence task force, and the funding that went to Family Violence Law Center is really going to help address the issues that are going on in in the city of Alameda. And we're definitely telling the rest of the cities we're working with in the county. What you guys are doing. I also want to thank you all for the funding that is supporting the Midway Shelter. Again, we need to keep up the Midway Shelter. It's serving a really important purpose, housing women and children who are homeless. And so we really want to thank you on that. And lastly, I am excited to partner with the city. We are building futures to administer the funds for rent relief for those folks who have lost income during COVID. And thank you very much. Thank you. And thank you for all the good work that building futures does. You were one of our just go to partners. So thank you. All right, Miss Seger, who's next? We have no additional speakers. Okay. And then on the neighbors raising their hand on Zoom or any. Correct. All right. All right. So any comments or questions or. You know, Mr. Potter, if I could ask you just for the benefit of our listening audience or watching audience, however you're experiencing this meeting. There's that exhibit. It's I think it's the last one, exhibit five of this summary of activities. You don't have to read the whole thing, but can you just give some highlights? Because I happen to think we're doing some really special things with this this many and just to give the public a sense of what that is. I am I'm happy to do that. See. But I lost your volume. Miss Potter, I am reading lips. What happened? Can you turn your volume up? Yeah. You are? Okay. Did I throw you off with my ass? Well, I. I was. I needed time. Regardless, I was hoping that Lisa Fitz would be here. She should be. I don't know if the Kirk hasn't had a chance to admit her, but in the meantime, I'll start. Sure. I see her down at the bottom of the screen. I mean, I see her name. Yes. She did a nice presentation to the Social Service Human Relations Board. Lisa, do you want to do the highlights, Lisa, if they're in otherwise? Sure. Okay. And quick highlights, because we've got we still have more to hear. But like I said, I just I want the community to know what we're doing here in Alameda. But we it's. Hi, I'm Lisa Vince. I'm a management analyst with Housing Authority of the City of Alameda. And yes, to answer your question, we've got a lot of the usual suspects. So the Alameda Food Bank, domestic violence, you heard from some of the new ones, our school based mental health uh, through Alameda provided by Alameda Family Services Emergency Case Management will be offering for the first time this year with CDBG funds as well. And then some of our public improvement projects include helping Alameda Food Bank improve their warehouse so that they can handle the shelter in place. Social distance requirements. We've got a teen technology lab proposed by the Boys and Girls Club. Um, and then I think you heard about some of the health and safety improvements that we're going to do at Midway Shelter and then, uh, park improvements at Woodstock Park. And how about that safe parking and day center? Yes. And then yes, we will also be, um, one of the proposed public improvement projects is health and safety improvements at the U.S. 15. Yes, including shower and kitchen facilities. Thank you. Thank you both. And it sits in this potter for for all the good work on this. So Council, do we have any questions, comments, motion. Councilmember Odie. And then all of that. Okay. Thank you. Second move. All right. We've had a motion by Councilmember Oti, seconded by Vice Mayor Knox White. Any comments? Any discussion? Hearing? None. Let's take a. Oh, I'm sorry. Councilmember Vela. I just wanted to highlight and thank staff for working to expand the school based mental health services. And I think our partnership with Family Services, we have. We did a one time expenditure last year. I think based off of the numbers, this all works together and I'm glad we were able to find the funds to do that . I just wanted to thank staff for their work on that. Thank you. Okay. But if there are no further comments, maybe we have a roll call vote, please. Councilmember de SAG. Yes. Next way. Hi. Odie. Hi, Vella. I may or as the Ashcroft. Hi. That carries by five eyes. All right. Thank you to everyone, including our speakers, and thank you for the good work. And it's so, so well needed and so timely. All right. So with that, we will move on to item six, Madam Clerk. Introduction of ordinance authorizing the city manager or designee to execute a Third Amendment to the license with Amber Kinetics Inc, a California corporation for the unimproved lot located at 641 West Redline Avenue in Alameda to extend the term for 12 months and provide for a one hour period for 112 month extension option. And Ms. Party, this is your item, right? Yes. And I'm hoping that. Ms.. Mercado yeah? Where is Ms.. Mercado? And that cute little dog of hers is still outside. Maybe it's dark outside now. Well, there she is. This is your name. You're muted, Ms.. Mercado.