The Oakland City Council meets tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. Here are some of the items on the meeting agenda:
State champs: The Council is planning to honor the Oakland Technical High School’s girl’s basketball team, which won the CIF Division III state championship in March. It was the second consecutive state title for the Bulldogs and came after a trying couple of years. After winning the state title in 2019, the Bulldogs were on the verge of repeating in 2020 but the state title game was canceled a day before it was scheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 2021 season was later reduced to four games and the entire postseason was canceled.
Coliseum board: Members of the City Council, County Board of Supervisors, and appointed members of the public make up a board overseeing operations at the city and county-owned Coliseum complex. Council is voting to reappoint Jacqueline A. Thompson, a pastor at East Oakland’s Allen Temple Baptist Church, and appoint new member Chuck Baker, a 100 Black Men of Bay Area board member, for terms ending in October 2023.
Violence prevention: Between July and March, Youth Alive! has helped relocate 43 people and families out of Oakland who are facing threats of retaliation following a shooting or homicide. Youth Alive!’s grant funding is running low and Council is being asked to increase it by $30,000 so the organization and the city’s Department of Violence Prevention can continue assisting crime victims. DVP is also asking for more funding related to the Town Nights violence intervention program.
West Oakland housing: A project to build 222 residences on a vacant lot at 1396 5th Street is back. Last year, during a discussion about a group’s appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of the project, the City Council expressed concern over the cleanup of the site and questioned whether the environmental impact review was adequate. Now, the City Administration wants to come back at a future meeting to present an analysis of whether another EIR is necessary.
Digital kiosks: For the past 20 years, Oakland has had a non-exclusive agreement with Clear Channel Outdoor that gave the company rights to advertise on about 250 bus shelters. The ad revenue was used to maintain the bus shelters. The city is exploring updating its bus shelter program, possibly with digital kiosks and newer technology, but for the time being is extending its contract with CCO for one year, with an option to extend for a second year.
Traffic safety: The council will hear a detailed report from the Department of Transportation on traffic safety around schools, at sideshows, and the installation of traffic-calming measures, including speed bumps, as well as an update on work being done on problematic roads and intersections in each council district, as identified by councilmembers.
The agenda for Tuesday’s meeting can be found here. And here’s a helpful guide to watching and speaking at council meetings.
