Downtown Oakland Association/ Lake Merritt-Uptown District Association Joint (S.O.B.O.

) Sidewalk Operations Beautification Order Committee September 21st, 2011 at 12:30pm Cathedral Conference Center-Room B Present: Staff: Guests: Laurie Berberich, Michelle Lane, Martin Ward, Tanicia Jackson, Samantha Stires, Michelle Mansfield-Hicks, Mike Brown, , Nola Montgomery, Marco Li Mandri, Steve Snider, Andrew Jones, Ted Tarver, Harold Dees, Rick Williams, Captain Steve Tull, Kim Bardakian

Minutes The following items were discussed and recommendations or actions are made to the Board as follows:

Subject
Introductions

Discussion
Introductions were made and the meeting began at 12:08 p.m. A motion was made to approve the minutes of the June 28th, 2011 SOBO meeting.

Action?

Approval of minutes, June 28th, 2011

Martian moved and Laurie seconded the motion to accept the minutes with one correction. The motion was approved unanimously.

Introduction of Captain Steven Tull, new Bureau of Field Operations: Division 1 Commander

Security Ambassador Report: Ted Tarver

Captain Tull could not make it to the meeting. Andrew explained that he is the new Division 1 Commander, which is the area that contains both of the CBDs. He has visited our office, and attended a LMU board meeting. He has been supportive of the CBDs and thus far we have established a good relationship. Ted commented that he has had several communications with Captain Tull. Ted mentioned that there has been a marked decrease in robberies as noted by OPD Problem Solving Officers OConner and Campos (who have been working with our Safety

No action taken

388 19th Street Oakland, California 94612 DOA Phone 510.238.1122 LMUDA Phone 510.452.4529 Fax 510.452.4530 [email protected] www.downtownoakland.org [email protected] www.lakemerritt-uptown.org

Maintenance Ambassador Report: Rick Williams

Ambassadors) in the last Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council meeting. Ted reported that he feels 100% supported by OPD and attributed that to the leadership of Captain Tull. The CBDs became aware of a potential issue with a fringe group at an upcoming First Friday Art Murmur event, and Captain Tull coordinated with Ted to provide extra Ambassador and OPD presence. It was noted that the group did vandalize several parking meter kiosks and parking meter poles. The Ambassadors were able to capture videos and photos of the suspects and that information was shared with OPD. Laurie Berberich asked if there was a way to compare crime and safety statistics from before the districts were formed and now. Ted and Andrew reported that those statistics are difficult to track down because OPD does not have them specifically for this area, and approximately a year and a half ago they switched to a new form of record keeping that has made it difficult for us to retrieve information from before the districts formation. Andrew noted that he has spoken with Captain Tull about this, and he is willing to work with the CBDs to narrow the information that OPD has. Ted also mentioned that Officer OConner is working with a crime-tracking company to find these statistics. Ted mentioned that he has been working with Derreck Gaskin and OPD to put together a safety video for the public to include things about awareness, and how to use electronic devices without drawing attention to ones-self. Rick reported that there have been no outstanding maintenance issues. The amount of trash and littler pick-ups are beginning to decrease. Though there has been a small increase in the amount of flyer posting, and the amount of stains from food and graffiti on the sidewalks. This has led to an increase in power washing especially in LMUDA. PSC has been proactive about cleaning before and after events in the area, including the Hemp Festival, Oakland Pride, Art and Soul, Project Bandaloop, and Moneyball. Rick mentioned that they have developed a system to accommodate the illegal dumping occurring in the districts that is saving money. We are working with Frank Foster, who is ensuring the pick-up of illegal dumping within 24 hours of

No action taken

District Services Coordinator Report: Andrew Jones a) Hanging Plant/Median Update b) Back of BART, Status c) Upcoming meeting with Walter Cohen and PWA staff on September 29th and review of proposed agenda d) Review of budgets

reporting. This system has been in place Rick made a special point of acknowledging the growing collaboration between the safety and maintenance crews. The next step is to try and implement this system with graffiti abatement. Harold continued to report on their work with acid etching scratching on windows. This work is not within the scope of the Peralta Service Corporation contract, and will cost money for the extra man-hours. In LMUDA there are 31 instances of this etching, and in DOA there are 16. Though the process of buffing out the etching is difficult, it is much less expensive than replacing the window. It will cost about $110 an hour (a 6 foot by 6 foot area will take about 3 hours). It was determined that staff should conduct a cost analysis and create a onepage informational pamphlet for distribution. The next issue discussed was that of the chronic 5150 rooting through trash cans and dumping trash on the ground. It was noted that the security team has identified the individual and all team members are aware of the issue. There is unfortunately not much that can be done. Resources from the city or county are limited and unless the individual is a direct danger to him or herself and or others, there are no public resources. There is an abandoned bus shelter at 12th and Broadway that is becoming a congregation place for shopping carts. Andrew reported: A) We have officially received approval to install hanging plants on Broadway. Originally the DOA hanging plant budget could afford to purchase 20 hanging baskets. This leaves us with 11 useable light poles left on Broadway in DOA. The DISI committee volunteered to supplement the hanging plant budget in order to fill that gap. The price of hanging plants has since dropped, and the DOA budget is left with approximately $3,000.00 to $4,000.00. However, the cost of median work this year is projected to rise and it was proposed that the excess money be used to supplement that budget. We should have a finalized contract next week. Within a month of payment the hanging baskets should be installed. Plants will be changed seasonally to suit

the weather. Steve mentioned that we receive more comments on the hanging baskets than any other project. Andrew suggested that we wait until 2012 to install hanging plants on the side-streets of Downtown. B) We have been meeting with Robert Rayburn the commissioner of BART. The head architect has the plans, and we are waiting to hear back. C) CBD staff is ready to begin median work. We have a budget and a contract ready to go with Triamcs. We are simply waiting for approval and cooperation from PWA and the city. We have a meeting scheduled with Walter Cohen and Vitaly Troyan the head of PWA to get approval for median work. The agenda for the Walter Cohen meeting is included in todays packet. There was some discussion about exactly what is holding up this process and who the right people in the city to discuss these issues with. D) The committee had no questions about the year to date budget. Martin pointed out that going into next year we will most likely have considerably less money and we will either have to cut back services or look into raising more money. Andrew mentioned that he is trying to get a PWA representative sit on the board and on the SOBO committee. The committee was supportive of this idea. Michelle inquired as to the success of the expansion of Uptowns security ambassador hours. Ted reported that those extra hours have made a large difference. He also noted that the general nightlife of both Uptown and Downtown have been growing rapidly. Andrew mentioned that if any more service increases are required it will be weekend maintenance. Ted brought up the issue of the city issuing letters alerting business owners of a litter abatement fee being charged to restaurants ranging from $200.00 to multiple thousands of dollars. This fee is a part of a program the city runs to charge certain businesses that traditionally create more trash. Steve contacted Aliza and found that businesses that pay into a BID need only pay half

Other

Next Meeting Dates

of the charge. Steve noted that this program does not take into account our situation where property owners are already paying for a litter removal program, outside of the city. He also noted that clearly these littler abatement services from the city are not being received from the businesses in our district. Ted mentioned that Block by Block has been dealing with Snow Park indirectly by cleaning up spots when they are deemed unsafe based on the presence of drug paraphernalia, individuals sleeping on benches, etc. October19th: Budget Meeting

Minutes taken by Victoria Decker, staff