RULE Hosts Meeting: Getting Progressives Appointed

From RULE:
Residents United for a Livable Emeryville

R.U.L.E.  Monthly Meeting:
Saturday, Feb. 25, 11:00 - 1:00
Doyle St. Community Room, 5514 Doyle St., First Floor

AT this meeting we have 2 interesting activities planned. 

1.  We will prepare for the Visioning Workshop (Feb. 28 at 5:30) by developing RULE's priority list of projects formally funded by the Redevelopment Agency.

2.  We will have the opportunity to meet Riana Robinson of the Boards & Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI). It's a program that recruits and prepares progressive leaders for appointments to city, county and regional boards.  Sam Kang, a RULE supporter and applicant for Planning Commissioner, turned us on to this agency, and highly recommends it to us. The program is run out of Urban Habitat, and the program has been incredibly successful and has been getting national attention.  Riana would like to learn how BCLI can be more supportive of progressive efforts in Emeryville. 
Come and meet some of your progressive neighbors in Emeryville!
Coffee, tea and breakfast snacks (bring some!) served
For more information email me or call 601-6521  
Judy Timmel, Meeting Coordinator

School District Has "Backslid" Says City Council

School District Called To The Mat 

By Council

The Emery school board and the city council changed an earlier vote and unanimously granted $200,000 for consulting contractors to assist in a "change of culture" to implement programs associated with the Center of Community Life.  The money request was rebuffed vigorously at a contentious January meeting wherein city councilwoman Ruth Atkin admonished the School District for "going down the wrong direction".

The January request for $200,000 to pay the consultants, the National Equity Project and Partners In School Innovation, jarred council member Ruth Atkin; "If we still need culture change after 10 years, we're going down the wrong direction, we're not being effective" she said adding, "This sounds like the School District has seriously backslid."  Ms Atkin's colleagues chimed in expressing concern about the direction of the District.  Ms Atkin noted the money request seemed to represent a disturbing drift in District policy, "The scale has swung to 'process' from academic achievement" she lamented.

Before a shovelful of dirt has been taken, the $200,000 ultimately approved at the February City/Schools meeting will be added to the $2 million of Measure J bond money already spent on the Center of Community Life, a school/community center project to be built on San Pablo Avenue.
Emeryville voters passed Measure J in November 2010 to authorize $95 million in bonds to build the Center of Community Life but crashing assessed valuation in Emeryville has dropped the bonding capacity to $40 million.  District officials note $8 million was recently added by the federal government in the form of a low interest loan. The city's defunct Redevelopment Agency was to kick in an extra $25 million but those funds may now not be available, leaving just $48 million to build a project originally slated to cost $120 million.

Letters To The Tattler: Kevin Johnson & John Cooper

Emeryville Considers Folding The Fire Dept

Emeryville's budget nightmare continues to force cost cutting at City Hall and they are now considering folding Emeryville's independent fire department and contracting out services with the Alameda County Fire Department to help with costs.  This is an idea previously considered several times over the last twenty or so years by the city council but it's always been rejected.  Now the council seems to be serious since negotiations with the County have revealed Emeryville could save up to a million dollars per year and services for residents and fire fighting capacity would actually improve.  Significantly, the Fire Fighters Union is accepting of the current plan.  


Fire Chief Kevin Johnson addresses resident's concerns with the following letter to the Tattler:

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"The Alameda County proposal clearly indicates that both the Hollis and Powell Street fire stations will be staffed-each with an engine company and each with paramedic/advanced life support personnel and equipment.  The service level would continue to be specified and directed by the City.  Alameda County Fire essentially will work for the City of Emeryville under contract and will provide the level of service that is specified by the City.  The proposal contains no reduction in the fire stations that will be staffed and response times will not suffer.  Part of the service involves making regular measurements of service levels and response times and reporting those findings to the City.  If there were any departures from specified service levels, Alameda County would have to make the appropriate adjustments to meet their contract requirements. 

Under the plan, current Emeryville firefighters will remain in the City during the transition and integration into Alameda County .  This transition phase is explained as “incremental” over one to two years.  During that period, Emeryville firefighters learn about Alameda County polices and operating procedures.  They begin to train with Alameda County firefighters and orient themselves with other areas of the County (and Alameda County personnel orient to Emeryville).  In time and after full integration, some Emeryville firefighters may choose to bid into assignments in other areas of the County.  The important point is that this process is planned whereby firefighters receive appropriate orientation and training before movements occur.

Additionally, the proposal includes a subcontract with the City of Oakland Fire Department to provide a planned and coordinated emergency response to augment Emeryville fire units in the event of a larger incident (such as a structure fire).  Currently, Emeryville receives assistance from Oakland but it is not particularly planned or coordinated and it is not through a written agreement.  Thus, the Alameda County proposal provides an enhancement to emergency response.  In any case, service levels will certainly not diminish.    

The concept of the [fire fighting] boat is to place that resource in Emeryville to handle water-based rescues should that type of incident occur.  While rare, from time to time there have been water-based incidents that have occurred in Emeryville.  As we all saw in the tragic case of the drowning at the shore in the City of Alameda , it is much better to plan for, train, and equip emergency personnel to handle foreseeable emergencies that may arise in their community.  Sometimes emergency incident planning dictates use of mutual aid resources from other communities (which Emeryville would still use in the event of a significant water-based emergency) and sometimes it is prudent to provide equipment and training in the community.  The placement of a small boat in the City represents a service level enhancement that would make Emeryville more versatile in terms of its response capability." 

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Captain John Cooper, Union representative of the Emeryville Firefighters Local 55 also weighs in on the negotiations; in a companion letter to the Tattler, Mr Cooper notes that the rank and file voted for the new plan to contract out with the County in a 21-3 vote:

..."Regarding the three individuals who voted against contracting with Alameda County- The vote was done by secret ballot and those individuals were not specifically identified, however, concerns that were expressed all related to personal pay and benefit issues and not the quality of the service being offered. All members of the Fire Department agreed that the Alameda County Fire Department will be able to provide a much higher level of service than the current stand alone Emeryville model can at a significant cost savings to the City. 

Both of the current Fire Stations will remain open and all currently employed Emeryville personnel will remain employed. If you were to have a structure fire today, you would get 2 Engines and a 1 person Truck with 7 Emeryville Firefighters responding to your house without the use of mutual aid from neighboring Cities. When the Alameda County Fire Department starts providing service in July, you will get 3 Engines, a fully staffed Truck and a Battalion Chief with 16 firefighters arriving on scene without the need for calling for mutual aid. Response times to emergencies will not be affected and the quality of service and medical care you’ve come to expect will remain the same. 

The fire boat is a nice addition as we have responded to numerous water emergencies over the years and always had to rely on the Coast guard for assistance. This will allow us to respond faster with paramedic level care and water rescue capabilities to those people who are on a boat or in the water. 


I have been employed with the Emeryville Fire Department for 25 years and I can say that this solution will provide a higher level of service to the community than you are currently receiving which is saying a lot." 

Letter To The Tattler: Sam Kang

The following letter was submitted by Emeryville resident Sam Kang, recently considered for a Planning Commission appointment.  Mr Kang is an attorney for Greenlining, an advocacy group for small business and low income residents in matters of housing and other concerns.

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Dear Emeryville Community,

My name is Sam and I'm an Emeryville resident. Three years ago, my wife and I were lucky enough to buy a home in this great city. We wanted to find a place with friendly neighbors, a diverse community, and a little charm. We considered ourselves blessed when we found such a place in Emeryville. What I didn't anticipate was how much people loved living in this city.

A few weeks ago, Mayor West encouraged me to apply for a seat on the Emeryville Planning Commission. I was flattered that our city's mayor had heard about me. It wasn't long before many of you not only encouraged me to apply, but advocated directly on my behalf. I applied not knowing if I was the best candidate. But I was inspired that so many of you thought I was.

At [Tuesday night's] city council meeting, the council members voted that another candidate was a better fit for the vacant seat - Sean Moss, a planner and an involved Emeryville citizen. Sean is very qualified to take on this challenge and I believe he's going to do a great job. Besides the pleasure of getting to know Sean better, I had an incredible time getting to know all of you better.

Throughout my application process, I had the opportunity to listen to many of you and hear your thoughts about the planning commission. But I encountered much more than that. I was astonished by how much everyday residents knew about the city, both its beauty and its faults. But even with all of its imperfections, your instinct was not to leave Emeryville or become apathetic, but make it your lifelong commitment to make it better. You see Emeryville not just for what it is (which is pretty terrific), but what it can become. Your desire to create a more perfect Emeryville was not just a wish. It was a commitment. You are willing to do everything in your waking hours to realize a better Emeryville. Such faithful commitment can only be described by one word - love.

Your love for this city is palpable and you made me feel it. You made me feel welcomed into the community and your support has instilled in me a love for this city. For some reason, many of you (some who I've never even met) advocated on my behalf for planning commissioner. It was humbling that you saw my candidacy as the vehicle to realize a better Emeryville. 

So this Valentine's Day, I want to reflect and thank you for making me fall in love with Emeryville. This is a great city because of you and your commitment to make it better. In the weeks and months ahead, I would welcome your advice and counsel on how I can help.

In the mean time, my wife and I are going to spend a quiet Valentine's Day together. We haven't nailed down all the specifics yet, but don't be surprised if you see us having a quiet dinner in the city that we love.

With much love,

Sam Kang

Council Selects New Planning Commissioner

Tuesday night the city council appointed Emeryville resident Sean Moss to the Planning Commission in a 4-1 vote.  Mr Moss replaces retiring Commissioner Art Hoff.  The vote was contentious as the council received many letters of support from citizens endorsing both Mr Moss and Emeryville resident Sam Kang.

In a highly irregular move, council member Ruth Atkin killed an impeding vote on Mr Kang by substituting an alternate motion to appoint Mr Moss.  The council then voted on Mr Moss:

Ruth Atkin, Nora Davis and Kurt Brinkman and Jennifer West: AYE
Jac Asher: NO.

Mayor West had moved a vote on Mr Kang which was seconded by Ms Asher but Ms West changed her mind and voted with the majority after her initial motion for Mr Kang was deep sixed.

Council watchers expressed dismay at the refusal to allow a vote on Mr Kang.  One RULE member who chose to remain anonymous intoned, "It looks like Ruth Atkins' [hoped for] 'swing vote' status isn't going to swing.  We're going to have to have one more election to finally break up business as usual in Emeryville."

'State Of City' Address Given Directly To Residents

Strange Sounds Heard At City Hall

Opinion
Japanese subjects heard the most epic and calamitous sound coming from their radios on August 15th 1945.  It was the strangely wispy voice of Emperor Hirohito, urging the people to accept defeat in the war with America.  The Emperor was divine so it was as if god were speaking directly to the people, something no commoner had ever heard.
Similarly, tonight Emeryville commoners heard something never heard before: it was the mayor delivering the annual State of the City address, directly to the people.
Previously, the State of the City speech has been delivered by the mayor to businessmen at Chamber of Commerce functions.  The annual speech has for years been delivered at luncheons around town and accessible only to Chamber members or for those able to pay the entrance fee.
Tonight's speech was open to the rabble; given from the council chambers at City Hall.  It will even be televised over ETV.

The implications of this event are far reaching and novel for Emeryville; residents themselves will get the message that they can be part of the decision making process at City Hall.

This new democratic and inclusionary idea was conceived by mayor Jennifer West.  As audacious as it is, it should not surprise anyone as Ms West has made transparency, accountability and accessibility central to her term as councilwoman as she said she would if elected.

We commend mayor West for this opening of the resident's government to the residents.  It shows respect and a trust given over to the people.  Forgive the histrionics Ms West, in Emeryville we're not used to campaign promises being so faithfully comported and democracy so unabashedly embraced.

His voice was heard by
the stakeholders.

So was hers.

Bay Citizen On The Rocks

The San Francisco Business Times reports on the possible folding of a invaluable source of independent Emeryville news. The Bay Citizen has focused on our town more than any newspaper in the modern era.  It's demise would be a loss for all.


Reprinted from the SF Business Times:

What a short, strange trip it's been

The Bay Citizen's short, strange saga in nonprofit news could be coming to an end

San Francisco Business Times by Chris Rauber, Reporter

Date: Tuesday, February 7, 2012, 12:11pm PST

Chris Rauber

Reporter - San Francisco Business Times

Email  | Twitter

Bay Citizen, we barely knew ye.

The Bay Citizen, less than two years old as a functioning news organization, has lost its founding editor, founding CEO, chief philanthropist and interim editor in the last few months. Soon, it could lose its independence.

Not quite what the doctor ordered in early 2009, when billionaire Warren Hellman and other Bay Area bigwigs were casting about for a way to salvage the badly listing -- at the time -- San Francisco Chronicle.

That salvage operation morphed into something quite different, a nonprofit news organization intended to play a major role in reinventing journalism in the Bay Area and beyond.

Now, 21st century journalism can use all the help it can get, but it was never quite clear how an enterprise soheavily dependent on the largesse of a single individual -- the late Warren Hellman -- could alter the Bay Area journalistic landscape for the better.

And The Bay Citizen, unfortunately, seems to have lived down to those fears, amid reports on its own site that it may be “absorbed by an older but similar nonprofit news organization,” the Berkeley-based Center for Investigative Reporting. (The Wall Street Journal, however, scooped it on parts of its own story.)

Things got off to an odd start, with the young enterprise and would-be partner KQED breaking things off very quickly in early 2010. And the Bay Citizen undermined much of its initial credibility by hiring a CEO with no direct journalistic experience or aptitude, Lisa Frazier, and an out-of-town editor, Jonathan Weber, both at exorbitant and -- many thought -- scandalous salaries, especially for a tiny and quite experimental nonprofit with a lot to prove and not much to show for itself.

The Bay Citizen also joined forces with the University of California at Berkeley’s graduate school of journalism, a program perhaps best known over the last decade or so for its inability to recruit and keep a dean. I discovered the odd nature of the connection personally at the time, when no one at the journalism school would answer phone calls or emails asking for comment on its relationship with the new nonprofit -- an odd stance for a nationally known journalism program.

The organization also formed an equally odd partnership with the New York Times. One would have thought that a long-term agreement to produce San Francisco Bay Area stories for perhaps the most influential newspaper in the nation would have been the salvation of the young Bay Citizen. But instead it served up a long series of “evergreen” news stories of dubious news value to the Times, most of them either old news to Bay Area residents or stories of little particular interest.

Read the rest of the story by clicking HERE.

Emeryville Needs Another Mall: City Hall's Obstinacy

City Council's Bay Street Blunder; Where's The Accountability?  

Opinion
What is it about Emeryville that always seems to make accountability at City Hall out of bounds?  Why is it that even the most bone-headed public policy, cooked up by the city council dilettantes, never seems to face a day of reckoning?

City Council: Let it ride with
Madison Marquette

For years, the city council has allowed a huge piece of cleared land north of the Bay Street Mall to lay fallow, all so the mall developer, Washington DC based Madison Marquette corporation, can have exclusive dibs to develop it at their pleasure.  They get to hold this valuable piece of land in reserve as long as they like and the cost is paid by Emeryville taxpayers.  The council kept voting 'all in' with Madison Marquette's Bay Street expansion, locking out any other (paying) proposals for the land.  The council has read the tea leaves and they see shopping malls in Emeryville's future.

A recent article in the New York Times however highlights the fool's errand the city council has been on, especially with regards to the planned Bay Street Mall expansion.  The article is not specific to Emeryville but it reveals how the shopping mall's best days are behind them and the political favors bestowed upon Madison Marquette by the council will not likely net a new mall on the land and any chance at another use for it has now likely been usurped by the recession.  It was a failed initial bet on Madison Marquette and the council kept doubling down.

The future of the Bay Street Mall?

The Times tells the tale: As retailers crawl their way out of the worst recession since the advent of malls, many are realizing they are overbuilt and they're closing locations at a fast clip.  The result is near-record vacancy rates in malls of all kinds; Gap Inc is closing 200 stores, Abercrombie and Fitch recently closed 50 stores and Talbots will close 110 this year.  In addition, many more have filed for bankruptcy.  The story chronicles how non-retail uses are starting to move in where stores close down, "Schools, medical clinics, call centers, government offices and even churches are now standard tenants in malls."
 Urban planners and Wall Street say there are too many malls today.  The vacancy rate at shopping centers and strip malls was 11% in the last quarter of 2011 even though larger malls fared better at 9.2% vacancy.

Here in Emeryville, the Redevelopment Agency cleared the way for Madison Marquette by seizing land from private owners, closing down locally serving businesses including the much loved Flower Mart on Shellmound Street.  The taxpayers picked up the tab while the council continued to say NO to other offers for the cleared land from other developers.
Meanwhile, a city-wide survey has shown that the residents of Emeryville don't use the existing Bay Street Mall, but criminals sure do: it's been the single largest source of Emeryville Police overtime pay because of it's vastly underestimated crime profile.  Not enough taxes were negotiated by City Hall to pay for cops to offset the increase in crime generated by the mall.  So the taxpayers have to pick up that tab as well, not to mention  the original $50 million subsidy Madison Marquette received from City Hall to build the existing mall.

So now we're left with eight years of fallow land, not generating revenue for the city while the city council waits for Madison Marquette to start building the next mall; an increasingly unlikely prospect.
It reminds us of the assurances residents got from the city council that the $95 million school bond brought by 2010's Measure J will be backed up by Emeryville's iron clad positive assessed valuation growth.  We were told the whole thing can't fail, "Four percent growth is very conservative" Mayor Ruth Atkin told us.  Well, fail it did; Emeryville can now rate only $40 million in bonds but onward the $95 million project goes.
Emeryville citizens can wait for a day of reckoning for these blunders, some accountability for pig-headed and disastrous public policy.  But accountability at City Hall is not part of the culture.  It's a yet another increasingly unlikely prospect.

Emery Education Data Website

The California Department of Education runs a very informative website for educators, legislators, parents and taxpayers known as Ed-Data.  The site answers basic questions about a school district's demographics, STAR test results, district finances, teacher salaries and credentials and the like.  It includes 'pop trend' reports or information on a district's educational trending trajectory.

The academic progress at Emery United School District is sub par according to the State and the website shows the district has earned a 'red light', having not met State requirements on Average Yearly Progress (AYP).  The district is also shown  to have not met the State mandated Academic Performance Index (API) growth targets, a major indicator of school academic performance.

A quick perusal of the website reveals that teachers at Emery are paid less than the State-wide average, calling into question the wisdom of spending so much taxpayer money on building a new Center of Community Life school campus and augmenting the argument that a better way to increase academic performance at the district is to pay teachers more rather than building an expensive new school.

The site can be viewed by clicking HERE.  Emery Unified School District can be accessed by the pull-down menu under the 'District' bar.

Let's Recoup Some Money From Reagan's War On Drugs

It's Time To End The Phony 

War On Drugs 

Opinion

As we round year 42 in the national War on Drugs, we have to ask, shouldn't Emeryville residents expect a reasoned, cogent public policy emanating out of City Hall with regards to medical marijuana?

Emeryville shockingly still has a prohibition on medical marijuana dispensaries; left over detritus from the absurd 'just say no' years.  With nothing more than phony demagoguery about the evils of marijuana and an unmentioned but palpable overlay of Christian puritanism, Emeryville's city council instituted a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries many years ago.  It wasn't for lack of compassion towards medical patients the council told us upon initiating the ban, it was because of the criminal element that would flock to our town.  That and the fact that some people might obtain marijuana under false pretenses; they might attempt to obtain marijuana by lying or exaggerating the extent of their illnesses to their physicians.  Legitimate cancer patients would have to make do without in order to stop some patients who might enjoy the pleasant calming effects of marijuana we were told.

Now there's a new push to remove the ban and allow a marijuana dispensary in Emeryville.  A non profit group wishes to locate a dispensary in our town and the Public Safety Committee will consider this on Thursday.  The group has shown how they expect more than six million dollars in sales the first three years and these revenues would be directly taxable, unlike Pixar.  Emeryville's General Fund would benefit greatly at a time when we desperately need a new revenue stream.

The State and County regulation on marijuana dispensaries is inexorable and omniscient, negating ancillary criminal activity, unlike the Oaks Club.   Auto use by patients should be relatively light, keeping traffic impact reasonable, unlike the Powell Street Plaza.  Further, the group has shown that our police services will not be overly impacted, unlike the Bay Street Mall and if for any reason the council decides to shut down the dispensary, all it takes is one phone call from the City Manager, unlike Kitty's Bar.

Emeryville allows a host of different businesses to operate in our town and they negatively impact the residents to greater or lesser degree.  We allow this because the tax revenue is supposed to more than offset the negative impacts.  A medical marijuana dispensary is no different except unlike these other businesses, a non-profit medical dispensary is in business to help suffering patients, sometimes the help comes in the form of pain management at the end of their lives.  As we jettison past low-minded jingoism and irrational public policy, we should consider this value added benefit for this new business in our town.