West Oakland BusinessAlert

Business Community Attendees
George Burtt (WOCA), Andy Comly (PS Print), Roberto Costa (CEDA), Rich Fielding (CEDA Bldg. Svcs.), Gary Fracchia (Cassidy Turley), Debbie Hauser (Staff), Michael Herling (Consolidated Cleaning Services), Marcus Johnson (Amstutz Assoc.), Ray Kidd (WON), Officer Matt Komoda (OPD), Steve Lowe (WOCA), Tom McCoy (BBI Construction), Chris Mills (BKF Engineers), Tim Morse (Bay Alarm), Ellen Parkinson (Parkinson Enterprises), Margot Lederer Prado (Bus. Dev. Services), Sandra Sanders-West (OPD)

Approval of Minutes
February’s meeting minutes will be amended and presented at April’s meeting for approval.

Discussion with OPD & Neighborhood Services Coordinator
Marcus Johnson discussed the importance of having West Oakland shining and spotless in preparation for the upcoming Oakland Marathon on March 28th, and stressed that fast progress should be made in cleaning up the streets so that properties can be shown to potential buyers and lessees with confidence. Ray Kidd reported that Bike for Life representatives continue to conduct periodic clean-up’s of West Oakland streets. Steve Lowe advised that WOPAC and CEDA staff work toward making clean-up a priority, especially along Mandela Parkway.

Sandra Sanders-West encouraged business managers to attend Oakland Community Organizations’ Lifeline to Opportunity outreach meeting on March 18th, and distributed a flyer that outlines non-violence intervention strategies that will be discussed. Chief Batts will attend the meeting and engage the community. Sandra reported that her office continues to address illegal dumping as a priority issue affecting West Oakland businesses. Illegally-parked big rigs (most trailerless) on West Oakland streets continue to be a problem, and efforts are being made in concert with Councilmember Nadel’s staff to get the word out to truckers that citations will be issued shortly if trucks are not moved promptly.

The merit of using street signage to warn against illegal dumping was discussed. While some dumpers pay no attention to signage, consensus is that signs do help to deter dumping and inform of consequences. Marcus Johnson recently installed signs at the property he manages on Wood, from 12th to 18th. The signs posted there, provided by Keep Oakland Beautiful, cite Oakland’s municipal code against dumping, as well as surveillance being conducted at the property. He will report back to the committee on the effectiveness of using the signs as a deterrent to dumping.

Roberto Costa reported that only $10,000 of $120,000 allocated for the abatement of homeless and illegal dumping in Oakland’s four redevelopment areas has been dispensed. Approximately $50,000 of these funds is allocated from the City’s Redevelopment Agency budget and is available specifically for use in West Oakland. Roberto is seeking cooperation from Oakland Public Works and OPD staff in helping to develop a campaign that will use a portion of these funds to better West Oakland. Margot urged that a letter be submitted to appropriate Oakland Public Works staff requesting implementation of a clean-up program for West Oakland; Michael Herling agreed to submit a letter on behalf of BusinessAlert in this regard and present the group’s request for funding before WOPAC for approval.

Steve Lowe inquired as to whether funds can be utilized for a mobile camera program and illegal dumping sting operations, however it is unclear at this time if this is possible. Tim Morse discussed a new technology available through his company that uses battery-powered cameras tied to motion sensors, as one possible solution for catching illegal dumpers.

Steve Lowe discussed the use of funds in terms of his preference to get West Oakland “tweet-ready” so that owners can be better and more quickly informed of developments on the street that affect their businesses. Use of emerging technology, such as cell phones with internet access, to stay up to date on an immediate basis is worth exploring.

Andy Comly inquired about Chief Batts’ recently-released OPD strategic plan. Andy offered support from the business community to Officer Komoda in any way that can be of assistance to OPD in getting the Chief’s plan implemented. Officer Komoda reported that the Chief is a good fit for the department, coming from working in a city with similar demographics as Oakland with many of the same issues, including violence, gangs, drugs and guns, the elimination of which is a major focus of Chief Batts’ plan. Officer Komoda added that business managers are encouraged to contact OPD with any issues of concern and suggests using 238-DRUG to report drugs and prostitution. Data is compiled weekly for forwarding to area PSOs. Even problems that may seem minor are important to report so that crime trends can be identified and tracked. Differing views as to how West Oakland’s gang problem should be dealt with were discussed, the main concern being that gangs eradicated from one area of a city can take up residence in another area, thereby leaving the overall problem unresolved. Officer Komoda will report back on the status of a proposed Oakland gang ordinance that allows OPD to arrest purported gang members for loitering and/or gathering around parks and other public places.

City of Oakland Code Compliance
Inspection Supervisor Rich Fielding provided an update on recent code compliance activities in West Oakland. The department is making efforts to address blight in the form of vacated trucks and a broken down bulldozer on the 1200 block of Mandela. Division staff is working with representatives of the railroad to install fencing in the vicinity of 2430 Willow to alleviate illegal dumping at the site. Jocelyn Combs is assisting in working with the railroad company to gain their cooperation, and meetings continue on an ongoing basis. Rich will request that a representative from Councilmember Nadel’s office update the Committee on progress being made in this regard. The Code Compliance division is currently suffering loss of staff due to recent budget cuts, creating additional work for employees who remain. Staff is making efforts to work effectively within these constraints.

West Oakland Industrial Infrastructure Study Chris Mills and Committee members discussed use of rail in West Oakland, as it relates to the infrastructure study now underway by BKF Engineers. Copies of a map depicting out of date crossings, railroads, and open rail crossings in the Mandela Parkway industrial zone were distributed. For the most part, rail has not been and is not currently in use in the area, and the crumbling pavement at rail crossings is difficult to repair. The study document produced by BKF will include options for 1) improving streets to bring them to current standard, along with a cost, and 2) the cost to tear out rail. Patching rail crossings and keeping them in place is not an effective option. Keeping and improving rail is costly due to drainage issues and necessary sub-base work. Ownership of rail segments is in question and complicates progress toward improvement. Some rail is owned by the City, some is privately-owned, and most is owned by railroad companies. Easements are also in place and need to be considered. Margot suggested the involvement of Marcel Uzegbu, City engineering staff, who can assist in identifying rail not currently in use, information BKF is not currently under contract to provide. Tom McCoy suggested the following information be ascertained as part of the infrastructure study: 1) extent of rail in West Oakland, 2) condition of rail, 3) identification of active rail. Some of this information can likely only be provided by contacting individual property owners. Only three locations are currently identified as having active rail. Mr. Uzegbu will be invited to a future meeting to provide input on the rail issue. Margot invited committee members to continue to offer suggestions in regards to how area rail can be dealt with as part of the infrastructure study. Chris Mills will provide an outline of the pending infrastructure report, including a table of contents, distributed in advance of the meeting.

Announcements
Margot reported that the City of Oakland will be pursuing federal funding as part of President Obama’s stimulus efforts. A letter of support is needed by this coming Friday from both WOCA and West Oakland BusinessAlert in this regard, and Margot will distribute a letter template for use in expediting such. The intended use of funds is implementation of citywide wireless communications infrastructure. Approximately $400,000 is currently available to Oakland industrial property owners in the form of grants to be used in conducting Phase I and Phase II environmental testing and assessments. Funds must be fully utilized by 2012.