Title
Approval of the May 18, 2022 Minutes
Body
AUSD/City Council Subcommittee Meeting
Draft Minutes
May 18, 2022
Start - 4:00 pm
Via Zoom (recorded)
1. Call to Order/General Information
Jennifer Williams, AUSD Board of Education, President
Heather Little, AUSD Board of Education, Trustee
John Knox White, Councilmember
Tony Daysog, Councilmember (Absent)
Present:
• Jennifer Williams, President, Board of Education (AUSD)
• Heather Little, Trustee, Board of Education (AUSD)
• John Knox White, Councilmember (City)
• Pasquale Scuderi, Superintendent (AUSD)
• Shariq Khan, Assistant Superintendent, Business Services (AUSD)
• Amy Wooldridge, Recreation and Parks Director (City)
• Gail Payne, Senior Transportation Coordinator (City)
• Lisa Foster, Transportation Planner (City)
• Michelle Koka, Executive Assistant (City)
2. Minutes
2-A. Motion to approve minutes of March 14, 2022 Meeting
3. Oral Communication Non-Agenda (Public Comments)
Jay Garfinkle - stated first time participated in this subcommittee meeting. Stated Item s 4-B and D were vague. Mentioned School Bond. Councilmember Knox White explained how meeting was held. School bond not on the agenda. Question: money will not be used for administrative use. No mention of teachers’ salaries or gardeners. Councilmember Knox White stated this was not a Q&A. If not on the agenda, it will not be addressed. Website may have information.
4. City/Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) Issues
4-A: City Leadership Update (City)
Amy Wooldridge ensured all were aware of City Manager Eric Levitt’s move to the City of Fullerton. Assistant City Manager Gerry Beaudin’s last City Council Meeting was May 17, 2022. Public Works Director Erin Smith is Acting City Manager until May 23, 2022. On May 23, Dirk Brazil, PERS retiree, will come onboard as Interim City Manager. Dirk was City Manager for the City of Davis and Interim City Manager for the City of South Lake Tahoe. Excited to have him. Council will be choosing a City Manager within next few months.
4-B: Traffic Safety and Transportation Projects (City)
Lisa Foster updated on School Street Safety Project. Traffic injuries under 18.
In 2021, four lost lives. Nine severe injuries. Nine reported pain after crashes. Teen driver not injured.
Problematic all schools are eligible - Otis Edison and Maya Lin. Participation can increase. Locations of crossing guards. Program will be reevaluated in next FY 23-24. Crossing guard jointly funded by AUSD/City. Safe roads to school program. 17 schools enrolled. Bike festival on Sunday. Joint school/city/safe routes to school. Also work on safe routes to school’s infrastructure improvements. Assessment around schools. Implemented some recommendations. Engineering analysis and project review, planned constructions by end of year.
New school safety assessment at Otis in March. Waiting for report. Overview map is being worked on. Red/orange projects that will be completed this year. This year includes Fifth Street to Paden and 9th Street to Maya Lin. Sherman to Broadway completion in summer 2023. Flashing beacons on Route 61 will be done within a month. Also, Otis and Versailles, Encinal and Benton near Franklin School.
Gail Payne: Central Avenue improvements in front of Encinal school. Central flashing beacon to help school access. Two-way bikeway on school side. City owns front lawn in front of Encinal school. Staying on city property. Nice place for busses to wait. Roundabouts need easement from school district. Thank you to Shariq and Danny Crooker. Fabulous job of helping with this request. Went May 10 to School Board, May 24 to Planning Board and then Council for small sliver of property. Finalize drawings this year, by 2024.
Grand Street improvements - safety and resurfacing shoreline to Encinal. Wood school - Franklin School.
Wood School: great job getting word out about going to Lum School to disperse traffic. Still a lot of traffic. Wanting to use center turn lane for picking up of students.
Marshall and Pacific - three miles Love School on corridor. Great participation from Love School. Former Chipman School Academy of Alameda, expressed concern to student access. Looking at bike lanes along that whole corridor. Couple roundabouts if possible and flashing beacons. Going after a grant. Placeholder project. This is right approach. Going to Transportation Commission next week.
Clement Avenue and Tilden Way. Workshop tonight at 6:30. City purchased Union Pacific, North of Tilden Way. Extend truck work to Tilden. Preliminary survey results. People not happy walking here. Happy people on bus.
Lisa Foster: Willie Stargell complete street. Separate walking and bicycle path. Applying funding for this this year. Complete active transportation plan, pedestrian improvement and school safety. Safer Streets web page or use SCF for street safety issues.
Speaker: Jay Garfinkle: congratulated transportation staff - juggling many issues all at one time. Concerned with an issue: Driving down Oak between central and Encinal. Traffic backed up when kids come out of school. We need crossing guards or some mechanism to help traffic flow. Encourage you to have Public Works coordinate with AUSD when doing projects that impact flow of traffic. An accident occurred last year near Edison - need to look at education aspect. We all see when cars stop to let someone cross and car passes and pedestrians get hit. Passing on the right. Need to focus on this as educational process. Maybe a slogan to kids that they need to pay attention when walking in front of a stopped car.
Little: Stated that Lisa Foster came to a School Board meeting last week. Discussed permission to use land by Encinal High School. Safer to move around our City. Prioritizing other modes of transportation. Good to create safe avenues for our kids. Parents less apprehensive for letting kids get to school. Super happy re: Intersection of Benton and Encinal. Back in 2017 a friend’s daughter almost died at this dangerous intersection. Very much appreciate her 100% support. Appreciate Mr. Garfinkle’s comment on how students need to learn how to cross and drivers need to know too. All have to know and learn. Not just students. Responsibility is driver going around those cars. There’s a reason the one car is stopped.
Knox White: echoed great appreciation and thanks and had a great meeting with AUSD board last week. Appreciates collaboration around this.
4-C Withdrawn
4-D Pool Updates
Khan: state they have approval from the County to extend pool closure to December 2023. Conditions/requirements are not that difficult to meet. Supply monthly maintenance record. Good positive response form County office. Will incorporate those with Amy Wooldridge in joint use agreement … end of June.
Wooldridge: at budget workshop last week, Council approved directing staff to identify funding for the 7.5% to rebuild Emma Hood swim center. Final Council approval end of June. Happy to say talked a lot about schedule and include athletic directors. Included in joint use agreement continued daytime use at Emma Hood. Daytime use also at Encinal if that passes thru DSA approval.
Speaker Garfinkle: Limited pool use could be a problem. Some activities go into evening hours. Harbor Bay Club not doing well. City might consider leasing time for school teams to use that facility. Their pool going unused. Use of Franklin and Lincoln pools perhaps until something gets finalized.
Knox White: Stated great appreciation for all work being done here.
5. New Business
None
6. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned by John Knox White at 4:34 pm.
Respectively Submitted,
Michelle J. Koka
Michelle J. Koka
Executive Assistant
City of Alameda