Columns

It is hard not to be drawn into the pandemic that is raging across the country and it is disappointing to hear Berkeleyans planning social get-togethers thinking somehow all this concern about coronavirus doesn’t apply here. This is exactly the kind of thinking that leads to exponential spread of COVID-19.

It was even more disappointing to hear our Health Officer say last Monday that celebrating Thanksgiving with up to three families all of whom are “bubbled” and not socializing beyond that group would be fine. The problem is not everyone defines what it means to “bubble” the same way. I am not confident that current luck of low incidence in Berkeley will hold.

This column is about what happened locally in city meetings and community group, so let’s get to it. 

Cheryl Davila is losing her seat in District 2. Unless someone else picks up her mantle for climate, the environment, the unhoused, addressing racism and asking penetrating questions on city budget and spending, we are in for significant impact on these issues. 

Kate Harrison can’t do it alone and I don’t see much of anything beyond window dressing from the rest of the crowd. Sophie Hahn would call the single use container restriction significant, but so far that is going nowhere. We’re in a pandemic and piling up more plastic with each outing. 

Cheryl has put forward a number of complicated proposals that are sitting in Council committees. The Monday Council policy committee, the Health, Life, Enrichment, Equity and Community Committee meeting which was supposed to take up declaring racism as a public health crisis, a threat and a safety Issue in the City of Berkeley, was cancelled. If I hadn’t recorded the agenda earlier one wouldn’t even know it had been there as the key item. 

The Tuesday City Council meeting ended abruptly at 11:01 pm (as predicted) in the middle of discussion of item 12, on security cameras and lighting in high crime areas. 

It was not unexpected that there would be extended discussion on another item to run out the clock so item 22, the Vote of Confidence in the Police Chief, wouldn’t come up and could be postponed for another 60 days. What was surprising is that nothing in the Action Calendar was addressed, and there was not so much of even an apology to Lisa Warhuus from Health, Housing and Community Services for not getting to the presentation of a report on Homeless Outreach during COVID-19. It would be fair to interpret from the absence of an apology that it was all preplanned to run out the clock on another item before getting to the presentation. 

Wednesday the Parks and Waterfront Commission met to review and finalize their recommendations for Phase 2 allocation of T1 bond funds in advance of their joint meeting with the Public Works Commission that will happen on the 19^th. The Parks Commission has basically settled on recommendations taking money away from Aquatic Park “Dreamland” and placing it toward improved lighting at Ohlone Way. Without going into the entire unpleasant discourse from the chair, Mr. McGrath, regarding the process at the Public Works Commission, let it be said that Mr. McGrath ought to not let his ego get in the way of cooperation. He was reminded by this attendee that he was speaking in a public forum. 

This is not the first and probably not the last time that some commissions are so accustomed to having the public drop out after a particular item is addressed or not attend at all, that they forget we are still present and listening. And, as long as this column continues and I attend or receive a reliable description, behavior will be reported. 

Thursday was packed with overlapping meetings and four evening meetings all running at the same time. Choices were made. 

November is the mid-year review with additional allocations for budget spending approved by Council in December. As usual, department reports are not available for study in advance of the meeting. City revenue is down by almost 16%. The Police Department has overspent its annual overtime budget by 108% in the first quarter. The Marina Fund, Public Works, and Parking Funds are all losing money. 

Cheryl Davila has asked the penetrating questions, leaving for Mayor Arreguin and Lori Droste “thanks” and “needing more study.” The presentation on Encampment Management / the Homeless was interesting in that the organizational chart, as attendee Maxina noted, looks like the funding is for bureaucracy, not direct service. She gave as an example that simple things like needle collection boxes areleft to volunteers. The next meeting is supposed to be at 10 am November 19, but it is not posted yet. 

The Citizens for Cultural Civic Center has a tentative meeting with Mayor Arreguin and Councilmember Harrison on Wednesday at 1 pm. The announcement is not out yet. This is an open community group. John Caner is the convener. Email johncaner@gmail.com to join. The regular meeting is on Thursdays from 12 1 pm. The group is in agreement that no City Council Chambers should be built in the park, and a letter to that effect is being finalized to be sent to City Council. 

The challenges ahead are what should become of Old City Hall, the Veterans Building and Civic Center (Martin Luther King) Park. The cost of seismic retrofitting and restoration for reuse of these buildings is going to be around $100 million. The $376,000 spent on consultants for a civic center plan did not provide the middle ground of retrofitting to damage control, and consultants didn’t consider other possibilities like maintaining the shell giving a historic appearance from the park with a new inside that is functional. 

The absolute highlight of the week was the Public Works Commission on Thursday evening, which left me with the feeling if every commission functioned like this what a fine city we could have. The T1 subcommittee was thorough in their ranking of projects and the full commission discussion was inviting. The top ranked priority is city sidewalks, followed by streets. The disabled members of the community would agree with this conclusion. The full presentation should be posted on the commission website before the joint meeting on November 19^th.