Recommendation to Accept the Work of McGuire and Hester for Cross Alameda Trail - Jean Sweeney Open Space Park, No. P.W. 05-16-11.  (Recreation and Parks 280)
Is a recommendation to accept the work of McGuire and Hastert for cross me to trade Jean Sweeney Open Space Park. And I am sorry the speaker's public. Okay. So we pull items when the public wants someone a member of the public wants to speak on it. We have. Okay. So we have two speakers, Dorothy Freeman. So you come on up and then. And Joe. But it has ceded time to her, so she gets up to 6 minutes. And then behind her is Brian Maguire. And those are the two speakers on the side of. Good evening. I'm Dorothy Freeman, representing. The Jean Sweeney. Open Space Park Fund. We hope you enjoy this short video of the first section of the future. Four mile cross Alameda Bike Trail with the adjacent walking and jogging paths. Construction was managed by our REC, our recreation and Parks Manager Director Amy Aldridge and built by Alameda McGuire and Hester Construction Company. Due to administrative errors. Due to administrative errors, not our city's. This trail almost didn't happen. Mayor Spencer, Director Aldridge, Jim Sweeney and myself traveled to Los Angeles to appeal to the Caltrans Board of Commissioners to allow an extension. On the due date. For the grant. Needed for construction. The appeal of a successful and construction started last summer. It has taken the effort of many of us to get to this phase place today. First, of course, was Jane Sweeney's vision of the park. Then, many citizens who attended meetings to give their input into the details for the park helped complete the design along the way. Many city councils, including this one, have always supported the park and the trails. We thank. Many recreation. And park commissioners by Clark. Alameda for. Their input. Planning Board Commissioner Christopher Koster and place works for their design work and many who donated time and money to make the park special. And our Recreation and Parks Director Amy. Wooldridge. And her staff, who have often jumped hurdles and walked through minefields to make so many things happen during each step. Along the way. Recreation and Parks has been working since 2013. On this. Very large project. Finally, we would like to thank. McGuire. And. Hester for their work. In building this phase of the project. They have been a good neighbor. Also donating funds. To feed. The volunteers who came out last fall to clean up the south side of the park. A bit more patience is required by all those who just want to come out and use the new trails. We anticipate by late summer or early fall, after 20 years of anticipation, the park will finally be open. Open. The trails will be use the picnic grounds for families to enjoy. Outdoor gatherings will be fired up and the East playgrounds will be ready for young family members to enjoy. Board members Tim Sweeney, who for some reason didn't make it here tonight. Former council member Doug Hahn and myself applaud this first major step and anticipate the others to come. Thank you very much. Brian Maguire. I didn't realize I would. Dorothy was such an accomplished drone pilot. That's pretty impressive stuff. You're right. Why do you do freelance for the military or CIA or anything? It's pretty good. So I think the video speaks for itself. It's pretty exciting to see that this path is done. $3 million, I think, worth of active transportation grants or so. And what is a two thirds of a mile? Maybe, maybe a little more. And it's done. It's ready today, but we're not going to open it for another six months or so, probably. Which I think is unfortunate. I think it's nice that this is there's an agenda item on this. I was going to do a stirring up and non agenda, but this way you can give feedback if you're so inclined. It would be really nice to, at a minimum, open these gates and let people start using this path when there's not active construction going on. Like, you know, after four or 5 p.m. and on the weekends while there's, you know, lots of sunlight from now for the next few months. It would be a shame for us to miss out on basically an entire spring and summer season of long evenings and nice weather. So if there's any way you can give direction and explore the opportunity of opening the path as much as possible now so that people can start using it, people can start getting out of their cars, people can start walking their dogs, taking advantage of what's there now. I think a lot of people are chomping at the bit to get at this. So we hope that you would consider accelerating the opportunity to open the gate instead of waiting until construction was done. We think we understand the argument that has been made that there's active construction going on. But we think if this was 3600 feet of road for passenger vehicles, that was complete and ready to alleviate congestion on the island or access to amenities that there would not be any hesitation in getting this open immediately. And we don't think people walking and jogging and biking should be forced to essentially wait till the sun goes down at 5 p.m. in the fall and the night start getting cold. Days and nights start getting colder and sort of lose an entire, you know, season an entire year. While it might be a minor inconvenience for the construction efforts, but I think it's really not that big a deal to open the gate when they're not driving. It doesn't look like they're driving a lot of earthmovers back and forth and heavy equipment maybe during the day, maybe during construction, during the week. But I think there's a lot of time that this path could provide a lot of use to the community now, and we should start getting the benefits of it. Thank you. Thank you. That completes our speakers on this item council. Did you want to make any comments? We have vice mayor, is. There somebody from staff who could comment? On the speakers question. I'd be happy to comment. Amy Wooldridge, Recreation Parks Director. A few things. One is that which was indicated in the staff report and in Bryan alluded to, is that we have during the day we have have equipment that's actually going back and forth across the trail and it was not included in the bid that they needed to provide product protection and safety crossing and all that that you would have if you had a street in future phases. That will be part of the requirement as an existing condition that they'll have to get get equipment safely across the path wall and and while pedestrians and bicyclists and such are using it. The other issue is because we weren't we we started to anticipate and realize that we weren't going to be able to time them correctly. We have the remainder. We can't just we would require two things. So it's it's possible. But here's what we require require additional funding for temporary fencing along both sides of the trail, all the way along the trail, and to secure around the existing construction zone, because we would have theft issues which we already have with the gates up. We already have people coming in and partying and leaving beer bottles. You know, we've already had theft problems of different materials on site, so we would have to fence all of that off. In addition, we haven't finished cleaning the rest of the site. As Dorothy mentioned, we had about 80 volunteers come. It was fantastic. Do a big cleanup. There's more hypodermic needles out there. There's more trash out there. We now have piles of bay mud. That's not. You actually could see it on the video that needs to get off hold and we need to figure that out before we open the park. So there's a lot of logistical issues. It's actually not a safe place yet for kids to run around. There's things that they could find that are simply not safe and are safety hazard. Member Ashcraft. Thank you. Director Wooldridge I also got a little envious looking at the the video. It's lovely. It's really impressive what has been accomplished thus far and congratulations to everyone involved. I do. I would be interested in at least if we could get an estimate of what that fencing would cost and what I would envision. I understand the when there's ongoing construction, I don't think the juxtaposition of bicycles and earthmovers is a good one, but they don't do the work on the weekend. And if there was a way that we could secure the the construction equipment, I will bet you that if we were to do another volunteer work day, you'd have a great turnout of people to help with the cleanup. And I think that one of the benefits of at least on the weekend, getting the use going would be those eyes on the street that, you know, more people out there doing positive, constructive things mean less opportunity for people doing nefarious things. So I know there's a lot of a lot of balls to juggle, but I would certainly appreciate if staff could just do a little looking into what it might be feasible. Maybe it's yes, maybe it's no, but maybe if we could give it a try. Appreciate it. Thank you. Did any of the cast members want to speak at this time? Ninette, I do want to follow up in regards to I want to thank Dorothy Freeman for the video. And I wanted to share when she spoke about going down to L.A., that that actually was pretty much against all odds. They really do not like to give extensions. And it really did take a huge effort. I do want to commend Amy Roberts and her preparation and the work and then the team that went down. Jim Sweeney, Joe Woodard and Dorothy Freeman. I did participate with this thing was organized. So when we went down, we had work to do and then we were in fact persuasive. So thank you very, very much, because you all may not know you go down to L.A. and then there's this big room and they really do have all these roles. They monitor projects for the entire state, and they're so afraid that if they give us a concession, then every project they're trying to push through with deadlines, they'll be asked to give concessions, too. So that really. Was a. Heavy lift. So thank you very much. Vice Mayor Actually, I. Do have a couple comments. One thing is, if in future instances we're looking at doing the bike lanes, if we could look at what the additional costs would be or at least consider it when we're looking at these bids to have the crossings or to have use and what it would take, whether it's the fencing or whatever else, if we could at least have that option in the beginning to look at. I know I would appreciate it. I don't know about the rest of the council, but at least it would put the numbers out there for people to consider. And I think to Councilmember Ashcroft's point, I think it's, you know, if there's an opportunity for folks to go out and volunteer again to do another clean up, if that's something that we could get in the works, I think we should definitely talk to Bike Walk Alameda because they probably have an interest in in expediting things as well. And I would also encourage you to reach out to the Jean Sweeney Foundation group that has been really leading this charge. And I'm confident so I would also be interested in both the issues that she raised. But I do appreciate Ms.. Aldridge's comments that in the future phases she is planning to do that. So mavrodi like the move approval of the item. Second. Although I push and thank you unanimously I was five C. Five H. Recommendation to approve the implementing regulations governing a request for proposal process for allocating limited privilege to apply for a cannabis business permit and the request for proposals. If you have speakers on the speakers. So it would have been. Oh. Okay. Okay. Do we have a present? We probably don't. So we have eight speakers on this staff. Did you want to introduce the item. Getting the mayor and city council? I'm Bill's butler with the Community Development Department. At our last meeting, the city council asked staff to come back and refine the RFP. That we presented the request for proposal that we presented to have objective scoring to increase the size of the selection panel and consider changes to the selection panel and to further decide to find site control. And that's what we've done. If you have other questions. Yeah. Mayor Member Ashcroft, if I may. Yeah, I really I was just telling Ms.. Art that sometimes I have time to e-mail my questions ahead of time, but it's been kind of a busy week or two and I didn't in so really my question. But I understand we also have speakers, but my question is on exhibit three. That's the evaluation criteria. Mm hmm. And the so the question is, are the scores for each category and for those who maybe aren't following along, you know, statement of qualifications, verifiable, detailed description of persons and type of resources, including financial, committed to employment, etc.. It's exhibit three are the scores for each category because these this is evaluation criteria made by a panel. Right. And you've selected you've described in the report. Good report, by the way, how the panel is who who is represented on the panel. So are the scores for each category, the average score of the members of the selection panel? Or does the panel collectively agree on each numerical score for each item? So the score is going to be the average score. Okay. And they're not going to collectively agree on the score. Right. So you just they submit their their list and your average amount, correct. Okay. That was all I had. Thank you. And by the way, beautiful necklace. Thank you, Brody. Thank you, madam. I had a quick question. So I had met with one of the folks that's interested in the lab, and they mentioned there's a July 1st deadline for the state regarding testing labs. And it looks like this proposal has. Announcement of selected proposals in letters issued on July nine. So can you kind of just fill us in on on how that might interplay with the state deadline? Well when we came to you on. RFP. We had asked because of the deadlines of the state that we not include testing labs in the RFP process. But what the council indicated is it want it to be fair and include them in in the process. So as a result of that, they're going to be delayed if they want to come into Alameda based on the process. Okay. Thanks for that clarification. Did you have one more question? Thank you. On the panel, you have one of the categories, Representative Health. And I notice that you have our director of the Mastic Senior Center, Jackie Krauss. So can you just explain that the health background or health connection there? Well, the city doesn't really have health individuals. And so she is covering that because she interacts with seniors on a daily basis and knows a lot about their concern. I thought that might be a thank you. All right. I'm going to go ahead and call the speakers at this time. Okay. And Rich Moskowitz, Chris Bailey, and then Brian Brownlee. Mayor council members. My name is Rich Moskowitz. I speak to you tonight on the eve of moving forward with this RFP process. And I want you to take a moment to start with why this process is of such importance to myself and the three members of the group I represent, Alameda Cannabis Times. We as a group hold the belief that in order to show respect for our neighbors who did not want cannabis here, that the businesses that the process yield are the best businesses for Alameda, that we ensure that not only are they successful, but they actually become a foundation of our community. They do not alter the fabric of our community, but they enhance the fabric of our community. And we honestly believe that only if these businesses initially that you choose that the panel chooses are successful in that way. Are we showing respect for that 30? 2% or so of people that we like to refer to in those numbers who were probably not in favor of this process. This being said, I'd like to also thank city staff for their accessibility and for all the work and progress made since last month in creating a more equitable RFP process. I have spent some time advocating for a citizen inclusion in the name of having deep background information available to the panel and players in this 50 plus year nontraditional business. And therefore, that information about those players has not been available. Tonight, I'm here to speak specifically about three points in the regulations in front of you. First point is that about the selection panel and the current makeup as it's progressed over the last month. The second aspect is one specific line in that about information gathering, and then the last point is about the upgraded oral part of the process. So currently we've moved the process from a three person selection panel to a six person selection panel, of which five members are voting members. Well, I think that's fantastic. I'm a little bit concerned that in section F, number one, the five voting members are spoken to about what department they come from. And in the terms of sports, there is one panelist from a city department to be to be named in the future. So it seems a little bit like a sports metaphor. We have these five people making decisions, but we are only speaking to four of them and one department to be named in the future seems a little bit odd, and that is section F number I. On the regulation in front of you, I also see really quickly that my lights on, I believe I was seated three extra minutes. I don't know. Think that was Chris Ballard. She's here in the audience and put that on the forms. Okay. Got it. Thank you. Thank you. So moving forward, I'd like to speak to a little bit about the background. It has been my benefit over the last three decades of my life to not only have been in charge of running several businesses, but also founding several businesses. Through that process, I have purchased millions of dollars of goods and services through the RFP process, and I fully understand the RFP process for business, if not government. So towards that end, I'd like to simply say that in business the processes are designed to get a 360 degree view. A people who will be providing services or goods to you and to make sure that those businesses and individuals are aligned with the organization's goals. Typically we shorthand this is due diligence. Now Section F, letter C specifically uses the line the panelist shall refrain from conducting outside research. And that greatly concerns me because the RFP process, the process of due diligence, is designed so that we can get the most information available. In my background, this has typically been that you put out a process, you whittle it down. At that point, you invite people in, in the case of sales, a dog and pony show, as we refer to them, you will sit down and at that point you reach out to your own personal networks, business and associates so that you can get. A true view of what is being told to you. So again, item F, number C, I'm a bit concerned that states that the panelists enact a challenge refrain from conducting any outside research. That does seem to me to be counter to the goal. Lastly, to move forward, the oral interview process is now as written in the regulation. It states that all the questions will be the same to all people, whereas I love that that is a base level of fairness from the beginning. Again, due diligence states that it's I find it very odd to say the least. And the reason why is in the oral part of the process, you really want to delve down to a level of granularity that will inform the panel members.