I’m on a boat

Big props to Peter Hegarty over at the Alameda Journal for a really precise Request for Information query, yesterday the Alameda Journal ran this story, highlights:

Alameda city officials were put on notice that a water rescue program was necessary for public safety more than two years before a despondent man drowned himself off Crown Beach while firefighters watched because they said department policy prevented a rescue attempt, public records show.

The warning came in a Feb. 4, 2009 grievance letter filed by a leader of the firefighters union who said the department’s fire boat and water rescue programs were first implemented “due to the inherent risk that comes with providing service for an island community” and that an estimated 2,000 private boats are docked in Alameda.

Task Force field

It’s super easy to laugh at the foibles of a large City like San Francisco.   A recent SF Weekly article about the inefficiencies of San Francisco’s numerous Boards, Commissions, and Task Forces makes you glad that Alameda seems positively streamlined in comparison.

Highlights:

San Francisco doesn’t know how many commissions, committees, task forces, or working groups it has. The clerk of the board monitors 96. The mayor’s office keeps tabs on 97. A database lists 116 citizen bodies — a total well over double that found in other large cities in California and nationwide.

…

Not only is the city not counting its commissions, it’s not accounting for them. This has led to duplication and inefficiency. San Francisco prides itself on allowing everyone to talk (and talk and talk).

…

Sweet and demurrer

Last week, John Knox White broke the news that the City of Alameda has a fairly significant ruling in the Kapler v. City of Alameda and everyone else case.

As a reminder, former Fire Chief David Kapler filed a lawsuit against the City (and various current and former public officials) for a variety of assorted reasons which simply boils down to him being pissed off because he was let go after a very public scuffle over his gas usage.    In addition to suing the City of Alameda as a whole, David Kapler has gone after former City Manager Debra Kurita, Interim City Manager Ann Marie Gallant, and City Councilmember Lena Tam as individuals.

I have to appraise you like I should

Yesterday, I wrote about my concerns about the proposed Mif Albright land swap.  At the City Council meeting, the direction was to negotiate further with Ron Cowan to come up with a better plan.   However, if they are going to be starting from the land appraisals that were done for the two properties then the City is already coming in at a disadvantaged negotiating position.

The City commissioned two appraisals to gauge the potential land value of the Mif Albright site and the North Loop site.   The appraisals generated the following potential values to the two sites:

Give it up to me

I wanted to circle back around to a City Council meeting that happened a while ago about the Mif land swap.  I didn’t get a chance to cover it in as much detail as I would have liked.

Let me first say that I don’t dislike Ron Cowan.   I know people  have a lot of issues with him and he has built up a lot of resentment with a very large group of Alamedans.   Personally, I don’t have that sort of baggage about Ron Cowan.  So I don’t come from a place of suspicion whenever the name “Ron Cowan” comes up.

But here’s why I don’t like the Cowan swap plan as presented right now.   First, it comes from a premise that the Mif Albright site is the only developable land left on Bay Farm Island and therefore Ron Cowan’s last chance to get his remaining units built.   Second, the plan also is built on the premise that Ron Cowan is owed the right to build these units and therefore the City must find a place for him to put those units. Third, there are other options if Ron Cowan is willing to be more creative.

Didn’t we almost have it all

Here’s what I have been enjoying about the Hospital Board and the City Council lately, granted I don’t watch the Hospital Board as much as the City Council, but I have enjoyed the two chairs of these bodies really taking control and pushing back on blanket statements made by other Councilmembers or Boardmembers who have gone pretty much unchallenged for a while.

So last Tuesday the subject of the police contract came up and of course it was pulled from the consent calendar — and I’ll note that the City Manager’s office actually sent a Press Release out the day before the meeting to point out that the Police contract was on the agenda.

Staff talks about the contract and what it all means and how much it will save yadda yadda yadda, and then Doug deHaan talks about how this new contract does nothing to save any money right now.   Then after some more discussion and some folks pointing out that because the police (and the firefighters because they have the same contract) have not had any wage increases in the last few years and would not have any for the duration of the contract AND because they are contributing not only their share of their pension costs but also now they are contribution a portion of the City’s share they are, in essence, getting a pay decrease since their take-home salary will be less due to the increased contributions.   After Doug deHaan announces that there are no savings now, he then launches into this speech, I’ll transcribe it here, but I have the discussion here up until the vote:

Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

I don’t generally write all that much about the Hospital Board.  It’s one of those New Year’s Resolution type things that you promise yourself that you are going to try to do better at, like eating healthier or exercising or cutting down on caffeine.   You never really get around to doing it, but when confronted with a donut or a raucous City Council meeting, I always end up going for the donut.

But July’s meeting was extra special because the Hospital Board was going to vote on the parcel tax levy for Alameda Hospital.   For those that don’t know, every year the Hospital Board has to vote on levying the voter approved parcel tax to help fund the Hospital.   Every year, they do it.   This year they have Board member whose sole purpose of being on the Board is to attempt to shut down the Hospital and whose rhetoric around the subject has been slowly ramping up.

Rob’s base came to get down

First off, a message to City Manager, John Russo, who I now know reads this site because he said so in this video interview with Zennie Abraham: update your Twitter profile!

Now that is out of the way, let me start this part of the post by saying that I really like Vice Mayor Rob Bonta. I think he’s smart and that he really cares about Alameda. I’ve worked with him previously when we started Alameda Currents all those years ago and he was just such a nice guy. And he always pulled his weight when it came to producing content for the show, essentially when he said he would do something he always did it. In fact, he’s still a really nice, super sincere guy. I write all this because I will admit that I was disappointed (and truthfully a little pissy) when I heard that he announced his run for State Assembly.

From the Oakland Tribune:

Bonta, 39, was elected to the Alameda City Council just last November and is a former Alameda Health Care District board member; he works as a San Francisco deputy city attorney. He and his wife, Mia, have three children.

Consenting adults

Tonight, the City Council — in addition to reviewing the two Police contracts — will also be considering the Boatworks density bonus application and approving (or not) the tentative map for the property.    As I mentioned last week, there was no opposition at the Planning Board meeting when the Planning Board voted to recommend approval of the application and tentative map.

To recap, there will be 182 units on site and the developer has put in a density bonus application to waive Measure A for certain units on the site.   And unlike other projects, the City will have to tread carefully because of the ruling in the lawsuit filed against the City.

Contract lens

On Tuesday night the City Council meeting will be packed full of interesting items, but the first big thing is that the Council will be voting to approve two more employee contracts: one for the rank and file police officers and one of the police management.

What is makes these notable is that the concession are exactly the same as the ones negotiated for the firefighters that people seemed to get so worked up over that they stormed the City Council chambers en masse to decry the contract.   It will be interesting to see how many people get as worked up over these contract as they did the firefighters contract.