Regular City Council Meeting July 16, 2019

0:03:22the meeting is called to order will the

0:03:24clerk please call the roll

0:03:26council member fidelity

0:03:28here mayor pro-tem lyman president mayor

0:03:30pardue okamoto president councilmember

0:03:33abelson president councilmember quinto

0:03:37now we will have the pledge of

0:03:38allegiance by councilmember quinto

0:03:43i pledge allegiance to the flag of the

0:03:46united states of america and to the

0:03:48republic for which it stands

0:03:50one patient under god

0:03:53indivisible with liberty and justice

0:04:01do we have any staff reports

0:04:04yes your honor

0:04:05thank you

0:04:06i would like to begin tonight by

0:04:08recognizing and congratulating our two

0:04:10latest graduates of the contra costa

0:04:13leadership academy

0:04:14um anna bernardes who is our engineering

0:04:16manager and maya williams who is our

0:04:19assistant to the city manager um this is

0:04:22i believe the fifth year of the contra

0:04:23costa leadership academy it's an academy

0:04:25put together by all of the cities

0:04:28and the county

0:04:30has sends representatives and it is a

0:04:33learning opportunity for emerging

0:04:34leaders in local government and i that

0:04:36makes now 10

0:04:38graduates that that we have of the

0:04:40academy throughout the organization and

0:04:42we're just really proud of them and i

0:04:43just wanted to give them a shout out and

0:04:45congratulate them on their efforts and

0:04:48then i would like to call up chief paul

0:04:49keith to make an additional announcement

0:04:54in council i'm paul keith your chief of

0:04:56police i just want to give a reminder to

0:04:58our residents that national night out is

0:05:00coming up just around the corner on

0:05:02august 6th it's a great opportunity to

0:05:04host a block party and get to meet your

0:05:05neighbors and talk about crime

0:05:06prevention

0:05:08to sign up or get more information

0:05:09residents can go to do a google search

0:05:12or any kind of web search for el cerrito

0:05:14national night out and follow the link

0:05:15to the city's webpage there's a whole

0:05:17page dedicated to it

0:05:19thank you

0:05:20thank you

0:05:22do you have any communications uh

0:05:24councilmember quinto yeah sure thank you

0:05:27mayor

0:05:28good evening um

0:05:31the middle of june i had the honor of

0:05:34flying out to israel on a government

0:05:36trip and it was with a pro-israeli

0:05:40group called the wider bridge which is

0:05:43also

0:05:44has members of apec and i was able to

0:05:47meet with

0:05:48government officials from the former

0:05:51canesa

0:05:52which is their parliament

0:05:54which really does not exist right now

0:05:56because uh the government failed

0:05:59so i was able to speak to uh

0:06:01two of them who plan on running again uh

0:06:04in uh next month in august so uh

0:06:08so uh the country of israel will have uh

0:06:11their vote um on who

0:06:14uh will run the canesa so

0:06:17it was an amazing trip a trip of a

0:06:19lifetime and i encourage

0:06:21folks who are interested to

0:06:24take a look online at a wider bridge

0:06:28and

0:06:30i look forward to

0:06:32meeting with uh more folks from that uh

0:06:35community

0:06:37in the fall

0:06:38and uh

0:06:40another event that

0:06:42i was able to attend on thursday we had

0:06:45the league of

0:06:47of california cities

0:06:49i am president of the api caucus and we

0:06:51held a

0:06:55training

0:06:56for

0:06:57state boards and commissions which was

0:07:00led by us the speaker of the assembly

0:07:03speaker rendon

0:07:04uh his office hosted that

0:07:07um along with our assemblywoman buffy

0:07:10wicks and myself as president of the

0:07:12caucus and

0:07:14we had a good turnout we had a turnout

0:07:16of uh over 120 people and i

0:07:19want to say thank you for uh to the

0:07:20mayor for attending and also council

0:07:23member abelson

0:07:24uh we had folks from all over 8015

0:07:28and i just want to thank everyone here

0:07:31uh especially from el cerrito who

0:07:33attended

0:07:34that event

0:07:35and i did attend a meeting with

0:07:39the hazardous materials commission in

0:07:40north richmond this past friday

0:07:44and we are planning to have

0:07:46a training with business leaders

0:07:50and i.t departments

0:07:52on

0:07:54emergency preparedness especially for

0:07:57it workers so

0:07:59once i get the information on that i

0:08:01will send that out to everyone thank you

0:08:04mayor

0:08:05councilmember ableton yes i have several

0:08:08announcements i was first of all at

0:08:11a meeting at ac transit of the

0:08:14accessibility advisory which i am a

0:08:16member of

0:08:17and

0:08:19they mentioned what difficulty they are

0:08:21having

0:08:22people to serve as bus drivers

0:08:26and um so they asked me to please if i

0:08:30would distribute these flyers and i was

0:08:33hoping that we could do that

0:08:36and i'll pass i don't have that many of

0:08:39them but i'll

0:08:40see i could

0:08:42i'm thinking we could perhaps put them

0:08:44out on our rack down in the other room

0:08:46here

0:08:48and uh and i'll just sort of say what it

0:08:50says

0:08:52it

0:08:52they're looking for a number of

0:08:54different positions but in particular

0:08:57they're looking for bus driver positions

0:09:00so some of you may have noticed if you

0:09:02ride the bus like i do

0:09:04that

0:09:05the bus doesn't always come and from

0:09:08what i understand the most significant

0:09:10reason the bus doesn't come is that

0:09:12there's no one to drive it

0:09:15so it's a pretty serious problem

0:09:18that they have

0:09:20but

0:09:21anyway so if you know of anybody who

0:09:22might be interested in being a driver

0:09:26they you know they will do a complete

0:09:28training program

0:09:30and

0:09:32they offer a number of benefits

0:09:35for employees

0:09:36so um

0:09:38the um

0:09:41we do have some flyers out on on the

0:09:44record at least we will soon

0:09:47and you could just call ac transit

0:09:50directly or contact them you could call

0:09:52them at

0:09:57510-891-5470 and as i understand it

0:10:00they're not the only

0:10:02company that

0:10:04provides public bus service it's having

0:10:06that kind of a problem

0:10:08it's kind of a function of things going

0:10:10so well with the economy right now

0:10:13um there's anyway so that's

0:10:15that

0:10:16on another note i

0:10:19attended a training

0:10:22for

0:10:23[Music]

0:10:24the league of california cities it was

0:10:26down in

0:10:28newport beach

0:10:30and it was an advanced leadership

0:10:32training and i find it always very

0:10:35helpful to go to these things because

0:10:37you can even if you think you're up to

0:10:39date on things you may not be and so

0:10:42this is an opportunity to find out

0:10:45you know if in fact you are i went to

0:10:47the the one on uh leadership this year

0:10:51and i found it very helpful

0:10:54and um let's see here

0:10:58i think that's

0:11:00i think everything else i want to talk

0:11:02about i is really a function of

0:11:04committee reports so i'll do that later

0:11:07okay

0:11:09councilmember fidelity

0:11:11uh yes

0:11:12as every year i attended our incredible

0:11:14july 4th festivities at cerrito vista

0:11:17park it was incredible thank you to the

0:11:19staff and the cory mason for

0:11:22doing it one more time and july 3rd

0:11:24again is a great time to listen to music

0:11:26on the stage that's set up as well so

0:11:28if you haven't done it before please do

0:11:30that again

0:11:31um i represented the mayor at the

0:11:33mayor's conference for contra costa in

0:11:35pleasant hill last week

0:11:38where pleasant hill mentioned that they

0:11:40are beginning

0:11:41about to open or start their new library

0:11:44so it's very exciting for the cities of

0:11:46contra cost to see another new library

0:11:48coming into the fold

0:11:50and also with the mayor i was at a

0:11:52rotary club dedication to a new park

0:11:55bench in cerrito vista park with a lot

0:11:57of uh rotarians who have contributed

0:12:00greatly to our city

0:12:02including sunder shotty is on the list

0:12:04and the plaque that's that's there as

0:12:06well

0:12:07so thank

0:12:08you i'd like to echo what council member

0:12:11fidelity said and just thank the rotary

0:12:13club who also happens to be doing a

0:12:16membership drive so if you're interested

0:12:18in being involved volunteering and

0:12:22doing some good things for your

0:12:23community the rotary club club is

0:12:25definitely looking for all age groups to

0:12:28join and be part of the rotary club

0:12:31the fourth of july celebration was

0:12:34excellent as usual and i did hear from

0:12:37some people that we're getting the

0:12:38reputation of being the best fourth of

0:12:40july celebration around which i have to

0:12:42agree with so

0:12:44thank you to everyone who worked on that

0:12:46it's

0:12:47absolutely fantastic and impressive

0:12:48every single time

0:12:51i was also able to uh represent el

0:12:54cerrito at the dalai lama's 84th

0:12:57birthday celebration

0:12:58i happen to be a fan of his holiness the

0:13:01dalai lama and

0:13:03respect the work that he does so that

0:13:05was a quite an honor to be able to speak

0:13:07at that event

0:13:09and i wanted to

0:13:10thank our tibetan community here in el

0:13:12cerrito for inviting me to that

0:13:15and finally i'd like to also say that i

0:13:18was with a council member abelson at the

0:13:21mayor's executive forum

0:13:23in southern california and one of the

0:13:26highlights for me was being able to talk

0:13:28to

0:13:30other

0:13:31people members and other mayors city

0:13:34managers from other cities and hear

0:13:36about their experience not only in

0:13:38disaster preparedness but in actually

0:13:41going through a disaster

0:13:43hearing the story of malibu was really

0:13:46very interesting for me i think we hear

0:13:48a lot about what's happening up here in

0:13:50northern california so it was good to be

0:13:52able to connect with people in southern

0:13:54california

0:13:55and hear their experiences

0:13:58when they had their fire

0:13:59um i believe it was the exact same time

0:14:02that the paradise fire was going on

0:14:05and so while they made their emergency

0:14:07phone calls you know expecting for

0:14:09people to come

0:14:11and help out everybody who had already

0:14:13been deployed to northern california so

0:14:15they were kind of on their own for a

0:14:16while there

0:14:18they also had a blocked exit that there

0:14:21was only two exits out of town and one

0:14:23of them was blocked because of the fire

0:14:25so they had a six hour wait time getting

0:14:27people out of town

0:14:29and then of course

0:14:32after

0:14:33their

0:14:34horrific fire they ended up with

0:14:36mudslides not too long after that so

0:14:39one of the lessons learned that we heard

0:14:41from various parts of the state was not

0:14:43to just be prepared for

0:14:45one disaster but you have to be prepared

0:14:47for multiple disasters that can be

0:14:49stacked on top of each other

0:14:51and i even i was forgetting the exact

0:14:54story of the exact town but there was a

0:14:56place where didn't they have mudslides

0:14:58into like the lake and then like all the

0:14:59fish died

0:15:01or something like that

0:15:02there was something where they ended up

0:15:04with like some sort of smell from their

0:15:06lake and it was just you know things

0:15:08that you wouldn't even necessarily think

0:15:10of and then they had to kind of deal

0:15:12with how to

0:15:13clean that stuff up so

0:15:15um i'm i was happy to see that here

0:15:18we're doing a lot um to prepare as as we

0:15:21can so being able to to compare notes so

0:15:24to speak with other communities i feel

0:15:27like we're definitely on the right track

0:15:29we've done

0:15:30more than some places less than others

0:15:32but we're on the right track in our

0:15:34efforts and what they are recommending

0:15:36for us to do statewide

0:15:39with that i'll move on to oral

0:15:42communications from the public

0:15:45at this time anyone wishing to speak on

0:15:49a item that's not

0:15:51on the agenda

0:15:53we would like you to come up at this

0:15:55point uh remarks are typically limited

0:15:58to three minutes but i may

0:15:59limit it to less time depending on the

0:16:02number of speakers

0:16:05non-agenda and consent calendar items

0:16:06will be heard first

0:16:08comments related to other agenda items

0:16:10will be heard at the time the city

0:16:12council deliberates on those items when

0:16:14you come forward please

0:16:16state your name and your city of

0:16:18residence

0:16:19will the city clerk please call the

0:16:21speakers

0:16:22here we have 10 speakers at this time

0:16:24the first three speakers are cordell

0:16:26hindler followed by buddy akasic and

0:16:28michael fisher

0:16:32so

0:16:33good evening uh mayor padilla kimono

0:16:35council i am cordell handler richmond

0:16:38resident so

0:16:39what i just distribute to all is a new

0:16:41show called once on this island it is

0:16:44fabulous wonderful whimsical and if you

0:16:47get the youth rate it's only 15 bucks so

0:16:50so please do come you got three

0:16:52opportunities to see it so that's one

0:16:53and then number two is i'm i'm putting a

0:16:56future agenda item bring forward to you

0:16:58all so if you recall when we had i would

0:17:01like to have ac transit to come talk to

0:17:03you all about some of the projects that

0:17:05they're working on along san pablo

0:17:07avenue because there's no 72rs that

0:17:10don't that don't stop in front of um

0:17:13city hall and i said because i ride the

0:17:15bus like everyone else on a regular

0:17:16basis and it would be nice if someone

0:17:19from ac transit would come and tell us

0:17:21about what what other projects that

0:17:23they're working on so that's two and

0:17:24then number three is uh let me see oh

0:17:27yes

0:17:28there's something that i talked to you

0:17:30all about it last month i said i've

0:17:32looked at some of the other cities and

0:17:33uh how much their commercial property is

0:17:35and san pablo came out like about this

0:17:38much it cost six hundred thousand

0:17:40dollars to rent and i said

0:17:42as a business owner i would not i can't

0:17:44afford that

0:17:45that huge in

0:17:47amount of money so i'm saying to myself

0:17:50i would not pay this much money in

0:17:53in other cities i would pay less money

0:17:55than i would pay in other cities so i

0:17:57just want to bring that forward to you

0:17:59so with that i'll give mr buddy uh my

0:18:01time

0:18:02thank you the next speaker is buddy akka

0:18:04sidge followed by michael fisher

0:18:15good evening everyone i'm buddy akasic

0:18:17and i'm a president of canada gardens

0:18:21um

0:18:22it's a pleasure to be with you i'd like

0:18:23to

0:18:24um notify every maybe you already know

0:18:27this you know the the cleaners tailors

0:18:29at the corner of moser and san pablo

0:18:32after 21 years they're gone they're

0:18:34going to close down

0:18:36and

0:18:38i think that's a loss in the community i

0:18:40really like that place and the services

0:18:43that they provided

0:18:46i'd like to call your attention to the

0:18:47strategic

0:18:49san pablo plan the strategic goals

0:18:53page six

0:18:54goal c deepen a sense of place and

0:18:58community identity

0:19:00goal d

0:19:01develop

0:19:02rehabilitate public facilities

0:19:05community focal points

0:19:09and on the following page

0:19:11goal a strategies develop and strengthen

0:19:14relationships with public and private

0:19:16partners residents businesses schools

0:19:18and community groups

0:19:21i facilitate a community group every

0:19:24wednesday at two o'clock in hannah

0:19:25gardens senior center and tomorrow the

0:19:29showcase guest speaker will be heidi

0:19:31goldstein from the library

0:19:34you're all invited to i think we know

0:19:37heidi to be informed articulate

0:19:42an excellent speaker

0:19:45so she'll be with us tomorrow two

0:19:46o'clock hannah gardens community center

0:19:49senior center then

0:19:51in gold sea strategies develop a vision

0:19:54for undeveloped underdeveloped and

0:19:56underutilized properties through

0:19:58advanced planning efforts that encourage

0:20:01investment

0:20:02i'd like to talk about a couple of

0:20:03underutilized properties that used to be

0:20:06senior center that's

0:20:07been leveled behind the seniors in the

0:20:10library on stockton street

0:20:12underutilized another underutilized

0:20:15facility the life in christ church i've

0:20:19been going back to life in christchurch

0:20:22attempting to demonstrate the flavio the

0:20:24the document that i wrote up where i

0:20:26interviewed him and you guys all got a

0:20:28copy of it

0:20:29and he never got a copy of it so i

0:20:31thought i owe it to him i'd like to like

0:20:33him to see it so i've been going back

0:20:35there almost every day i go to the

0:20:39midtown activity center i pass right by

0:20:41so i stop and knock him he's never there

0:20:45so i thought well the interview that i

0:20:46did was on tuesday

0:20:48in the afternoon that must be a ripe

0:20:50time

0:20:51so i went back every tuesday afternoon

0:20:53he's never there

0:20:55finally i went to one of his services at

0:20:5710 30 on sunday morning a couple of

0:20:59weeks ago and i sat there for the

0:21:02service and i looked around and i

0:21:03counted the number of people in the room

0:21:0618

0:21:08so it seems to me that 18 people

0:21:11are served two hours

0:21:13once a week

0:21:15in that building

0:21:16now

0:21:17is that underutilizing thank you please

0:21:19conclude your comments thank you

0:21:22the next speaker is michael fisher

0:21:24followed by gary prost

0:21:30evening mayor and members of the council

0:21:32my name is michael fisher i live in el

0:21:35cerrito and i have the privilege to

0:21:37serve as your library commissioner

0:21:40at the july 4th one world festival i

0:21:43talked with many people about our

0:21:45library

0:21:46and i find from year to year there is a

0:21:49growing and need

0:21:50a growing agreement

0:21:52on the need to replace our over 70 year

0:21:56old library

0:21:58the effect of the city's continued

0:22:01support of the library both in terms of

0:22:04funding increased hours

0:22:06and in planning for a replacement for

0:22:08our old inadequate building

0:22:12is shown to have resulted now in

0:22:14increased library use

0:22:17summer means our kids are out of school

0:22:20and that means the school lunch program

0:22:23is not available through the schools

0:22:26the library has stepped up

0:22:28and feeds anywhere from 25 to 50

0:22:31children

0:22:32on tuesdays through thursday

0:22:35you just need to show up and be under 18

0:22:39and there are programs for the kids

0:22:41following lunch

0:22:43and the el cerrito library foundation

0:22:46has facilitated that program with the

0:22:49generous donation of a refrigerator to

0:22:52the library

0:22:54the library continues to provide

0:22:56increased service to our community

0:23:00in consideration of time let's just look

0:23:03at the increase in library events

0:23:05many of which are funded by either the

0:23:08friends of the library or the library

0:23:10foundation

0:23:12during the past fiscal year

0:23:14we saw the following increases in

0:23:17programming

0:23:19the first quarter we had 125 events

0:23:22attracting over 3 200 people

0:23:26the second quarter

0:23:28same number of events attracting over 3

0:23:30600 people

0:23:33the third quarter an increase to 145

0:23:37events and 4 100 people

0:23:41and the last quarter showed 160 events

0:23:45attracting over 5400 people

0:23:49the continued and growing need for our

0:23:51library is clear

0:23:53i look forward to working with you with

0:23:56the city and with our community

0:23:58in bringing to el cerrito a library that

0:24:01is both affordable and appropriate to

0:24:04our 21st century needs

0:24:06thank you

0:24:07thank you

0:24:08the next speaker is gary prost followed

0:24:10by paul duncan

0:24:13mayor city council

0:24:16good evening i'm gary prost el cerrito

0:24:19i'd like to talk about the vegetation

0:24:21abatement on private property

0:24:23i'd like to start by thanking the el

0:24:25cerrito fire department for sending out

0:24:27close to a thousand letters to people to

0:24:30bring their properties into compliance

0:24:32i think it's very necessary

0:24:35second i'd like to emphasize

0:24:38vegetation abatement on private property

0:24:41is analogous

0:24:43to the state insisting on

0:24:45people have their children vaccinated

0:24:47when they go to school

0:24:50overgrown vegetation is a threat to all

0:24:52of us

0:24:53it

0:24:54you pass a certain threshold and

0:24:57everybody's risk fire risk goes up

0:25:00so it's not just a public nuisance it's

0:25:02a potential death threat

0:25:05finally i suspect you're going to get

0:25:07some pushback from irate neighbors

0:25:10we

0:25:11people the neighbors of make el cerrito

0:25:13fire safe

0:25:15urge you to hold strong

0:25:17and follow through with vegetation

0:25:19abatement if a homeowner doesn't do it

0:25:21themselves thank you very much

0:25:24thank you

0:25:25the next speaker is paul paul duncan

0:25:27followed by susan duncan

0:25:32good evening i'm paul duncan i live in

0:25:34el cerrito

0:25:35i'm speaking tonight to once again urge

0:25:37the city to do the work and spend the

0:25:39money needed to make hillside natural

0:25:41area and our entire city safe from

0:25:44catastrophic firestorms

0:25:46the city has formally adopted at least

0:25:48four specific plans that call for needed

0:25:51maintenance of the city trees which of

0:25:53course include those in h hna

0:25:56those plans

0:25:58passed years ago yet we have seen very

0:26:00little work done to achieve their stated

0:26:03overall goals maintenance and management

0:26:06of hna has been neglected for decades i

0:26:09now quote from sections of the tree and

0:26:11shrub ordinance that you will be looking

0:26:12at later tonight

0:26:16el cerrito's diverse urban forest is

0:26:18comprised of distinct public and private

0:26:20trees including natural area stands the

0:26:24aim and purpose of this ordinance is the

0:26:26protection of public trees from harm

0:26:28attributed to inappropriate or improper

0:26:31management

0:26:32the park rec facilities master plan

0:26:34adopted in 2019

0:26:36identifies trees as important and need

0:26:39of and in need of maintenance

0:26:42the climate action plan adopted in 2013

0:26:45calls for standardizing best management

0:26:48practices in order to maintain and

0:26:51enhance a community forest

0:26:53the urban greening plan past 2015

0:26:57focuses on using trees including

0:26:59considerations for ensuring sustainable

0:27:02tree plantings and maintenance

0:27:04the amended public tree shrub ordinance

0:27:07aligns with multiple strategic goals

0:27:09updated 2013 by developing and

0:27:13rehabilitating public facilities and

0:27:15securing public safety

0:27:17the plans collectively set forth the

0:27:19relationship between long-term health of

0:27:21the urban forest relating to economic

0:27:24growth and sustainability and quality of

0:27:27life

0:27:29in conclusion i want to remind everyone

0:27:31listening that the key words management

0:27:34maintenance and public safety heard in

0:27:36each of the examples i just read are

0:27:38vitally important topics that must be

0:27:41much more highly prioritized in the

0:27:43budgeting and action of those of you

0:27:46here who are responsible for the

0:27:48property and personal safety of the

0:27:50people living in el cerrito

0:27:52thank you

0:27:53thank you

0:27:54the next speaker is susan duncan

0:27:55followed by robin mitchell

0:28:03good evening sue duncan el cerrito first

0:28:06a very big thank you to the el serita

0:28:08fire department for their tireless work

0:28:10and huge effort to reduce vegetation

0:28:13on private property thank you and one

0:28:16comment yes it's much it is very good

0:28:18for the city to be prepared and better

0:28:21yet though to prevent thank you

0:28:24here we are two months before september

0:28:27and october the usual time for our hot

0:28:29dry diablo wins

0:28:32red flag days and people on edge will

0:28:34this be the year

0:28:36has the process for so i want to know

0:28:39has the process for obtaining the master

0:28:41plan for h a started

0:28:43if not why not

0:28:45has a process started

0:28:47to identify all of the dying eucalyptus

0:28:49and dead oaks in this around the city

0:28:52and identify what is killing them and to

0:28:54remove them

0:28:55has the process started to remove the

0:28:57two dead trees in arlington park if not

0:29:00why not what are you waiting for

0:29:03last night i was reading the budget and

0:29:05saw that from on page 185 quote current

0:29:08maintenance levels are funded by the

0:29:10general fund and landscape and lighting

0:29:12assessment district as part of public

0:29:14works operating budget

0:29:16the budget referred to the urban forest

0:29:18management plan of 20

0:29:202007 so i read it it states quote

0:29:23specifically the city of el cerrito must

0:29:25support the urban forestry effort both

0:29:28financially and politically at all

0:29:30levels of the city government by

0:29:32providing

0:29:33consistent funding but then the budget

0:29:36continues says that permanent funding

0:29:38sources have not been identified

0:29:40it seems to me that with the lasting

0:29:42effects of four years of drought

0:29:44probably more on the way climate change

0:29:47and now some disease attacking

0:29:48eucalyptus besides the oaks that the

0:29:50city needs to quickly figure out a

0:29:53consistent funding source as i imagine

0:29:55that the problem of dying trees will

0:29:57only get worse

0:30:00i cordially invite the city manager the

0:30:02public works analyst and the public

0:30:04works

0:30:05director to join paul and i for a brief

0:30:07walk in h a to see in person what we

0:30:10were talking about and we're concerned

0:30:12about i'm also surprised the city

0:30:14attorney allows people to walk the paths

0:30:16in the quarry grove because it has so

0:30:18many huge dead branches overhanging the

0:30:21path

0:30:23they call them widowmakers for a reason

0:30:26thank you

0:30:27thank you the next speaker is robin

0:30:29mitchell followed by howdy gowdy

0:30:44[Applause]

0:30:48my name is robin mitchell and i'm a el

0:30:50cerrito resident and i'm handing out a

0:30:52copy of my comments to everyone

0:30:54so my comment is about the el cerdo

0:30:56climate action plan at the june 11 2009

0:30:59environmental quality committee meeting

0:31:01city staff gave a presentation titled

0:31:03climate action implementation report

0:31:06there were several interesting points in

0:31:07that presentation which is on the city's

0:31:09climate action plan web page

0:31:12the second page of the presentation

0:31:13shows screenshots of article headlines

0:31:15that included titles such as climate

0:31:18change and the new age of extinction

0:31:20scientific evidence for warming of the

0:31:22climate system is unequivocable

0:31:25the third page titled why a climate

0:31:27action plan

0:31:28had this title from an article from the

0:31:30u.n we have 12 years left to take action

0:31:34on climate change

0:31:36the rest of the report contained

0:31:38information about what the city has

0:31:39accomplished according to the existing

0:31:40climate action plan which has a goal of

0:31:4315 reduction from 2005 levels by 2020

0:31:46and 30 reduction by 2005 levels

0:31:49um

0:31:50of 2005 levels by 2035.

0:31:53these goals may have seemed reasonable

0:31:55in 2013 when the plan was developed but

0:31:57they are not enough to accomplish what

0:31:59has been declared by the ipcc to keep

0:32:02global warming to 1.5 degrees centigrade

0:32:04which requires net zero greenhouse gas

0:32:07emissions by 2050. and the graph i show

0:32:09there shows the current

0:32:13graph climate action plan graph for the

0:32:162020 and 2035 goals and the city has

0:32:18actually

0:32:20is actually met

0:32:21exceeded the goals but if you want to

0:32:24take it down to zero by 2050 that's a

0:32:26huge

0:32:27change

0:32:28so the potential next steps page in that

0:32:31same presentation including the

0:32:32following recommendations set stricter

0:32:35goals and extend to a 2050 timeline

0:32:37incorporate state laws and reduction

0:32:39goals into projections upstate update

0:32:42and develop strategy strategies for

0:32:44adaptation

0:32:45i request that the city council direct

0:32:47staff to update the city's climate

0:32:49action plan to the those three next

0:32:52steps in the presentation

0:32:54with the addition of a goal that of net

0:32:57zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

0:33:00it's an ambitious and difficult goal to

0:33:02achieve but if we don't try to achieve

0:33:03it we risk seeing the end of

0:33:05civilization as we know it

0:33:07a chilling australian policy paper

0:33:09outlining a doomsday scenario for humans

0:33:12if we don't start dealing with climate

0:33:14change and this was in usa today not

0:33:16exactly a radical paper

0:33:18suggests that by 2050 we could see

0:33:20irreversible damage to global climate

0:33:22systems resulting in a world of chaos

0:33:24where political panic is the norm and we

0:33:26are on a path facing the end of

0:33:28civilization thank you

0:33:31the next speaker is howdy gowdy followed

0:33:33by dan

0:33:34ogonoski

0:33:39good evening mayor and council members

0:33:41my name is howdy gaudi and i live in el

0:33:42cerrito

0:33:44um i wanted to speak to your consent

0:33:46item

0:33:47uh certifying the

0:33:50referendum petition

0:33:53uh

0:33:53that

0:33:54seeks to

0:33:56rescind the

0:33:58just cause ordinance that council passed

0:34:01um i understand

0:34:03that um this is just certifying

0:34:06the results of that um but it did say in

0:34:09the

0:34:10um

0:34:11document that you're required to

0:34:13reconsider and so i

0:34:16want i'm curious what your

0:34:17reconsideration is but i guess i want to

0:34:20urge you to actually

0:34:23let the voters have their opportunity to

0:34:27to vote and speak on this item i don't

0:34:30think it would be appropriate to

0:34:33to actually rescind the ordinance

0:34:35yourselves

0:34:37i would

0:34:38frankly find that pretty undemocratic i

0:34:41mean a majority of you voted for it and

0:34:44for 10

0:34:45of registered voters to

0:34:48make it not happen is

0:34:51not really appropriate

0:34:52good governments or or democracy so

0:34:56i think it's it's fine to have a

0:34:58petition system that allows the voters

0:35:00to to vote on it but we need to give

0:35:03them that opportunity now and i hope you

0:35:05will support putting it on the ballot

0:35:07thank you

0:35:08thank you

0:35:09the next speaker is ann oganowski

0:35:11followed by sherry dropner

0:35:20i'm ann oganowski i live in el cerrito

0:35:24i

0:35:25just like to make a short announcement

0:35:27following on what has been said about

0:35:29the hillside natural area and fire

0:35:30preparation

0:35:32friends of five creeks is sponsoring a

0:35:34work party this saturday july 20 from 10

0:35:37to 12 at the regency south entrance

0:35:40we will be primarily working on the

0:35:42removal of scotch broom

0:35:44some of which is large a lot of which

0:35:46are seedlings

0:35:48i

0:35:49have been working in the on that kind of

0:35:51project for over six years

0:35:53it's greatly reduced but it takes

0:35:55ongoing work

0:35:56friends of fire creeks has been involved

0:35:58probably longer

0:36:00so

0:36:01if

0:36:02you know people and are so inclined

0:36:05please show up

0:36:06we will provide gloves and tools

0:36:09just wear long pants close toed shoes

0:36:12that have good traction and

0:36:15help keep the area

0:36:17more fire

0:36:18safe thank you

0:36:20thank you and the last speaker is sherry

0:36:22dropner

0:36:28hi good evening i'm sheri drovener i'm a

0:36:30resident of el cerrito

0:36:32i also want to talk about the

0:36:34certificate of sufficiency

0:36:37for referendum petition regarding just

0:36:39cause

0:36:40ordinance

0:36:42um first so i understand there were

0:36:44enough signatures gathered

0:36:46and that doesn't surprise me given how

0:36:50how the signature gatherers were

0:36:52misrepresenting the

0:36:55petition to gather the signatures

0:36:58but it raises to me

0:37:00an interesting question

0:37:02because

0:37:03the california apartment association

0:37:06which sponsored the petition is not just

0:37:09active here in el cerrito it's active in

0:37:11concord it's been active in alameda it's

0:37:13been active in many cities across the

0:37:16state with their you know their number

0:37:18one

0:37:19goal is to prevent any kind of tenant

0:37:22protections or measures for

0:37:26rent regulation

0:37:27and so understanding that

0:37:30what i'm a little concerned about is

0:37:32how they moved into our community

0:37:35how they really divided the community

0:37:38between the quote landlords and the

0:37:40tenants

0:37:41and how they're not really they don't

0:37:43live in this community

0:37:45they probably don't live in the other

0:37:46communities where they're working as

0:37:48well

0:37:50and it's been very divisive

0:37:52and i know that they're not going to

0:37:54stop but i also know that the council

0:37:56has mentioned that they're committed to

0:37:58tenant protections

0:38:00so i'm hoping you know that we'll

0:38:02continue to work toward that but in the

0:38:04future as we work toward that i'm hoping

0:38:07perhaps there's a way that our city

0:38:09council could take some leadership

0:38:11and reach out to other cities in the

0:38:14region and think about how to change the

0:38:17narrative because we know what caa is

0:38:20doing is divisive and this really isn't

0:38:23about

0:38:24renters versus landlords and so i just

0:38:26wanted to make that point thank you

0:38:30thank

0:38:30you next we have the adoption of the

0:38:33consent calendar

0:38:36a approval of minutes b

0:38:39certificate of sufficiency for

0:38:40referendum petition regarding just cause

0:38:43ordinance

0:38:46c ordinance to amend chapter

0:38:4913.28 of the el cerrito municipal code

0:38:53trees and shrubs

0:38:55d authorized strategic economics to

0:38:57examine sales and use

0:39:00tax records

0:39:01for el cerrito businesses in support of

0:39:04the san pablo avenue specific plan

0:39:06update

0:39:08e parking modifications at harding

0:39:10elementary school

0:39:12f

0:39:13eureka avenue and lexington avenue

0:39:16street improvements project city project

0:39:18number c3078

0:39:21g

0:39:22approval of the third amendment to the

0:39:26agreement for services between the

0:39:27kensington fire protection district and

0:39:30the city of el cerrito and authorize the

0:39:34execution of a memorandum of

0:39:36understanding for administrative

0:39:38services

0:39:39and that is all do i have a motion mayor

0:39:42i would like to

0:39:45discuss letter

0:39:46a

0:39:47i was not here on june 18th so therefore

0:39:51i will abstain

0:39:53to approve the minutes on june 18th but

0:39:56other than that

0:39:57that's the only thing that i would like

0:39:59to

0:40:00mention

0:40:01okay

0:40:03and i would like to pull item 4a the

0:40:06minutes in item 4g

0:40:09all right do

0:40:11i have a motion on the remaining items

0:40:13i'll move items 4b through 4f

0:40:19there a second

0:40:21i have a second that

0:40:23okay motion by lyman second by quinto

0:40:26all in favor aye aye those opposed

0:40:30motion carries all right um council

0:40:33member fidelity

0:40:35yes on the minutes i had a question

0:40:37about

0:40:40the may 21st minutes and i had some

0:40:43confusion

0:40:44because

0:40:46in dealing with the just cause for

0:40:48eviction

0:40:51details it says that there was four

0:40:54votes in favor and one vote

0:40:57against

0:40:58and i it's been reported that it's been

0:41:00a three to one vote

0:41:02so i wanted to get some clarification if

0:41:04in fact it is a four to one vote or if

0:41:06it was a three to one vote

0:41:07or whether the

0:41:09minutes need to be corrected to be three

0:41:11to one i think i can clarify the the

0:41:13first time the first reading of the

0:41:15ordinance the vote was three to two and

0:41:18then on the second reading and adoption

0:41:21of the ordinance the vote was four to

0:41:23one so

0:41:24the two pieces of the process were

0:41:26different

0:41:27a different vote so we had a final vote

0:41:29four to one in favor of the just cause

0:41:31ordinance that is correct okay thank you

0:41:35um

0:41:37should i go to 4g sure

0:41:41well i actually i i'd like to make a

0:41:43motion obvious i'm going to can i divide

0:41:44the motion so that we can take up the

0:41:47may separate from june yes okay i'd like

0:41:50to make a motion to uh approve

0:41:53may 21 the minutes from may 21 and june

0:41:564.

0:41:57i will second that

0:41:59motion by lyman second by quinto all in

0:42:01favor i'm confused

0:42:03we're

0:42:05we're on item 4a and i'm dividing it

0:42:08okay 4a

0:42:11and i'm dividing it for mr quinto's

0:42:13benefit

0:42:14thank you council member

0:42:16it was aren't the minutes correct for

0:42:19both correct

0:42:21we're approving minutes for may 21st and

0:42:23june 4th

0:42:28there's no change to the minutes we're

0:42:29just dividing the questions that mr

0:42:31quinto can abstain from june 18th okay

0:42:35okay

0:42:36so i move that we approve uh may 21st

0:42:39and june 4th

0:42:41and i second that okay a motion by lyman

0:42:45second by quinto all in favor aye

0:42:49those opposed motion carries i will move

0:42:52that we approve the minutes from june

0:42:5318.

0:42:58second

0:42:59motion by lyman second by abelson all in

0:43:01favor aye aye

0:43:03abstain an abstention from quinto

0:43:06thank you

0:43:08so um

0:43:10on item 4g i just want to say i'm i'm

0:43:12really pleased that we're in we've

0:43:13decided to re-up that relationship with

0:43:16kensington

0:43:17uh i think it's beneficial to both

0:43:19communities i just had a couple

0:43:20questions and i'm not sure which staff

0:43:23can respond to this um

0:43:26going into if you have before you um

0:43:29page 68

0:43:31of our of our packet but it's the

0:43:33agreement for services by and between

0:43:35the kensington fire protection

0:43:38um

0:43:39number number two e which talks about

0:43:41the services that both city and the

0:43:43district will do

0:43:44it says the city shall provide weed and

0:43:47brush abatement as part of the public

0:43:49education program

0:43:50such abatement shall not include the

0:43:52actual physical abatement of weed and

0:43:54brush by city by citation or otherwise

0:43:57but as the district requires more

0:43:59extensive weed and brush abatement

0:44:01services in the future

0:44:03the district and the city shall

0:44:04negotiate the terms and provisions for

0:44:07such an expanded program

0:44:09i was just wondering whether or not that

0:44:10expanded program had been discussed

0:44:13in the context of of going to the third

0:44:16amendment

0:44:17because you think we need that kind of

0:44:19re-upping of

0:44:20coordination for weed abatement in both

0:44:22cities

0:44:24um

0:44:25good evening that's michael pagonia the

0:44:26fire chief

0:44:29in the upping the

0:44:32upping the requirements up there is part

0:44:35partial is the fact that that entire

0:44:38zone is in the

0:44:39um is in the very high fire severity

0:44:42zone and it's been a standard that we've

0:44:44been keeping up there for the whole time

0:44:47with it

0:44:48it's you know i mean that's basically

0:44:51the language that we've had

0:44:53um in the past it's just the services

0:44:56that we've been providing there the part

0:44:58about not abating it is that just as we

0:45:00do in this city

0:45:02we will not i mean we go out and do the

0:45:04same citations and do the cost sharing

0:45:07with them if we have to abate it but we

0:45:09actually you know hire out third party

0:45:11contractors to do the abatement so you

0:45:13don't really see any difference between

0:45:15the level of service and el salvador in

0:45:17kensington for the week in the very high

0:45:19fire severity zone

0:45:21good okay so that's a good and council

0:45:23member this is also addressed actually

0:45:24in the first amendment on page

0:45:28101

0:45:30this has been the language has has been

0:45:32over time um modified this is the third

0:45:35time or the third amendment that we've

0:45:38been doing that so it's been since um

0:45:40since the first amendment

0:45:41good because i to add that in because

0:45:43that was something that was missed in

0:45:45the um in the initial contract in

0:45:48in 1995 because we're going out for 10

0:45:51years here this is a good thing to lock

0:45:53in this kind of high level of service um

0:45:55also

0:45:56i know there's been a change in the

0:45:58administrative support can you describe

0:46:00a little bit what the the language means

0:46:02as far as how we

0:46:04support and who's doing what since um

0:46:072009 i believe when the el cerrito fire

0:46:10department's

0:46:13administrative assistant um which was

0:46:16linda white when she retired as we know

0:46:18the budget was tight at that point and

0:46:21so chief maples

0:46:23basically made a deal or negotiated out

0:46:27to as opposed to replacing linda with a

0:46:29full-time

0:46:31person here in el cerrito that we would

0:46:34share

0:46:34an administrative assistant with

0:46:37kensington so the decision was made to

0:46:40utilize their general manager and

0:46:44that where she would work part-time or

0:46:46half the time at kensington and half the

0:46:48time here at el cerrito

0:46:51taking the place of what linda white was

0:46:53doing at that time

0:46:56it was put into i believe the second

0:46:58amendment

0:47:00they put the language in there and it so

0:47:03in essence she was tied to that when we

0:47:06went into this third amendment um one of

0:47:09the one of the wishes of the board was

0:47:12to separate not necessarily change the

0:47:14job but to separate that part into an

0:47:17actual mou

0:47:20stand alone mou so that if down the road

0:47:24the their general manager was to retire

0:47:26or something was to change that we

0:47:28wouldn't have to go back in and change

0:47:30the amendment it would just simply be

0:47:32changing of the mou

0:47:34and not having to open up the contract

0:47:37as far as what the details or the amount

0:47:39of hours and then and the type of work

0:47:41being done it nothing is changing there

0:47:44it is still a shared 50

0:47:4650 50

0:47:47share of um of the compensation that

0:47:50goes to her

0:47:51so no no change in no change in the cost

0:47:54to the city it's just the just splitting

0:47:57it out of the amendment

0:48:00so that um since it does call her out by

0:48:03name um that

0:48:05el cerrito is still an el cerrito

0:48:07employee no she has never been elsewhere

0:48:10so she is a kensington employee that

0:48:12spends half her time here at el cerrito

0:48:15but we get the benefit of

0:48:17some of that time too as well that's

0:48:19correct so two just two quick so um

0:48:22the total cost we're talking about this

0:48:24is over three million dollars

0:48:27to this agreement

0:48:29and what can you give in just layman's

0:48:30terms not greg lyman's terms but

0:48:32layman's terms because that would be too

0:48:35detailed for all of us um

0:48:38what we're talking about how how's that

0:48:39fee determined how did we i mean it's

0:48:41the same fee structure and performance

0:48:44yes and what is that just generally that

0:48:46how was it determined the fee schedule

0:48:49is based on the um was in essence was

0:48:52set in the original contract it is based

0:48:56on

0:48:57mostly just like our budget it is mostly

0:49:00on salaries and for the rest of the cost

0:49:03that we do as far as

0:49:06as far as apparatus repair it's a

0:49:08percentage of what our total

0:49:11budget is there are certain items since

0:49:13they

0:49:14they own their own building they own

0:49:15their own fire apparatus um the cost

0:49:18that we have in our budget that goes

0:49:20towards taking care of our buildings and

0:49:22taking care or and replacing our

0:49:24apparatus or our fire engines are not

0:49:28moved across

0:49:29it's not a mathematical formula of how

0:49:31many fires there are here there is a

0:49:33percentage in there

0:49:35no it has nothing to do with fires it is

0:49:37strictly a percentage um doesn't right i

0:49:40mean the cost of running that station is

0:49:43you know there's a constant staffing we

0:49:45have to maintain there it has nothing to

0:49:47do with how many calls they run it is

0:49:49strictly

0:49:50based on a percentage based on the

0:49:52amount of people there and the services

0:49:54that they're requiring of us so thank

0:49:56you for that and the last is just a

0:49:57little technical question on the article

0:50:00one preamble

0:50:01on the mou

0:50:03um that that has our june 2019 data and

0:50:06at the back has sandy potter mayor is

0:50:08there is that

0:50:10a mistake or is that supposed to be that

0:50:11way is it supposed to be guessing it's

0:50:13cut and paste and we didn't i think

0:50:15there's city manager scott hannon and

0:50:17sandy potter mayor so maybe it was from

0:50:19the previous contact okay so i believe

0:50:21that's a new document we need to update

0:50:23and it is a draft document that if i

0:50:26believe correctly the

0:50:28what we're looking at tonight i mean the

0:50:29body of it will probably be the same

0:50:31that that correction can be made cause i

0:50:33believe what we're looking for is

0:50:34authorization for the

0:50:36city manager to authorize that that

0:50:39signature page is part of the previous

0:50:41attachment thank you yeah

0:50:44so i would i appreciate it thank you

0:50:46very much i wanted a little more detail

0:50:48on this and was ready to move that on

0:50:49the consent calendar

0:50:51thank you questions okay now

0:50:53second

0:50:54all right motion by fidelity and second

0:50:56by abelson all in favor aye

0:50:59as opposed

0:51:00motion carries

0:51:03all right next we will move on to our

0:51:05presentations for the evening first we

0:51:08have the annual sundar shoddy garden

0:51:11club awards

0:51:13and

0:51:14will you please come forward

0:51:21i'm much shorter

0:51:22hi everybody

0:51:24members of the council

0:51:26staff

0:51:28and members of the public

0:51:30i'm landry wildwind and i'm a member of

0:51:32the garden club and an el cerrito

0:51:35resident

0:51:36i'm here to bring you the sundar shoddy

0:51:39winners again this year

0:51:41i love doing this we don't come and ask

0:51:44you for anything you must love it too

0:51:48and i must say it's a wonderful

0:51:50opportunity to honor and celebrate

0:51:53members of our community who make a

0:51:55contribution to us

0:51:57every day visually

0:51:59as we drive or walk around our city and

0:52:02we get to appreciate the

0:52:04beautiful generous work

0:52:07of the creative people in our city who

0:52:10make gardens

0:52:12so i want to start by saying i

0:52:14appreciate the participation of our

0:52:16citizens in designing and creating and

0:52:19maintaining their front yards in such a

0:52:21way that we can enjoy them

0:52:24i appreciate the el cerrito garden club

0:52:27members who run around town all winter

0:52:30and spring looking scouting

0:52:33and then nominating

0:52:35i appreciate the members of the garden

0:52:37club sundar shotty committee who run

0:52:39around and look at all these gardens

0:52:42and

0:52:44judge them

0:52:45being judgmental it's not always a

0:52:47contribution but in this case

0:52:49we like it

0:52:51and then

0:52:52i want to appreciate you the council

0:52:55every year this presentation is a

0:52:57highlight for the winners and the

0:53:00participants from the garden club

0:53:02and so i very much appreciate your

0:53:05participation

0:53:06other than that i can see your time is

0:53:08short tonight so i'll keep it shorter

0:53:11i want to begin by mentioning every one

0:53:14of our gardens and i'm wondering if

0:53:16perhaps

0:53:18after we're done you want to go take a

0:53:20look

0:53:21closer up

0:53:22at the gardens

0:53:24and we start with yume young

0:53:27the garden of 1300 richmond street it's

0:53:30a corner garden

0:53:32it's made by an immigrant to our country

0:53:35she wasn't able to be with us tonight

0:53:37but i want to ask you

0:53:42oh come up please

0:53:44please come up i'm so glad you made it

0:53:48so glad you made it

0:53:50i want to present you with the prize

0:53:54yes that's better thank you thank you

0:53:57i want to present you with your i want

0:54:00to present you with your certificate

0:54:02okay and it includes a check for a

0:54:04hundred dollars as we do every year and

0:54:06also

0:54:07free membership in the garden club for

0:54:10this year please come join us in

0:54:13september when we're going to be

0:54:14presenting the story of your garden to

0:54:17the whole club

0:54:20thank you and congratulations thank you

0:54:23[Applause]

0:54:30our next winner is mallory johnson

0:54:33that's mallory not melanie

0:54:36she's at 67 6726

0:54:38snowden

0:54:40she unlike the other two winners does

0:54:42not have a corner lot she has a small

0:54:45front yard so it's even more impressive

0:54:48what she's been able to pull off in it

0:54:50she's an artist and a gardener and a

0:54:52professional creator

0:54:54and i want to invite her to come get her

0:54:56certificate malory

0:55:00[Applause]

0:55:06and our last winner

0:55:09is a pair

0:55:10it's the owner of the house

0:55:12and the owner of green gallery her

0:55:16landscape design company

0:55:18who started out by maintaining her

0:55:20garden and eventually

0:55:23recreated it entirely and

0:55:26she's at 6810 eureka all these gardens

0:55:30adjoin

0:55:31richmond avenue they're not hard to find

0:55:33i encourage you to take a tour

0:55:366810 eureka is our final garden and

0:55:39judith

0:55:40please come get your prize

0:55:47[Applause]

0:55:50that takes care of everything for me and

0:55:52this is my last year as head of sundar

0:55:54shoddy there'll be someone else here

0:55:56next year but i'll be here to support

0:55:58them

0:55:59and thank you all for your kind

0:56:01attention

0:56:03thank you

0:56:03[Applause]

0:56:08you have any questions from the council

0:56:11yeah i'll i'll take a opportunity here

0:56:13to

0:56:14more opine than to ask a question i want

0:56:17to thank the garden club for this event

0:56:20every year i look forward to it

0:56:24and i want to highlight the addresses

0:56:26again for those that are home that

0:56:27didn't necessarily write them down

0:56:29as they were said it's 1300 richmond

0:56:32street

0:56:346726 snowden

0:56:36and 6810 eureka

0:56:38these are gardens that should be

0:56:41inspirational to us so please take the

0:56:43time to go buy these gardens and get

0:56:45ideas about how you can improve your own

0:56:48garden so thank you to the garden club

0:56:50and to these homes that are taking the

0:56:52time to beautify el cerrito

0:56:59we would love to get a a quick picture

0:57:01over by the board with laundry and all

0:57:02of the winners perhaps with the mayor

0:57:05yes

0:57:37oh

0:58:18hmm

0:58:31who would say

0:58:55hey and mayor we do also have one

0:58:57speaker on this item okay cordell

0:58:59cordell hindler that's me so good

0:59:01evening again mayor puri okimoto council

0:59:04just looking at this picture it's just

0:59:06like

0:59:07blows me away i was like i'm looking at

0:59:09these colors of the flowers and i said

0:59:12i'm really inspired by this and i said

0:59:14whoa

0:59:15i told it

0:59:17i mean they it really blossoms you know

0:59:19get it flowers blossom

0:59:21you get the pun

0:59:23yes

0:59:25a little late so uh

0:59:27i just want to say thank you to the

0:59:28garden club for for all the hard work

0:59:30they have done it is not that easy you

0:59:33know i planning like you know in the

0:59:35winter and then in the spring and i said

0:59:37this is extraordinary so

0:59:39it's just it's just

0:59:41wonderful to see this uh atmosphere so

0:59:44that's it

0:59:46thank you very much and i i have to say

0:59:48i look at those gardens with envy

0:59:50between

0:59:51uh being the mayor and being a nurse and

0:59:54having two kids i'm just trying to stay

0:59:55off the fire abatement list

0:59:58with my garden

1:00:01all right

1:00:03so um speaking of fires um so next uh we

1:00:07have a presentation by pg e community

1:00:11wildfire safety program please come

1:00:14forward

1:00:20good evening mayor city council members

1:00:23city and community leaders we appreciate

1:00:26you inviting us to come and share more

1:00:29on our community wildfire safety program

1:00:31with a specific focus on our public

1:00:33safety power shutoff

1:00:39the devastating wildfires of the past

1:00:41two years

1:00:42have brought us to expanding and

1:00:44accelerating our wildfire efforts we've

1:00:47been working collaboratively and working

1:00:49to coordinate with our cities our

1:00:51community our state leaders on ways that

1:00:53we can continue to look to reduce the

1:00:55wildfire threats in the areas around us

1:00:59as part of the commitment to safety we

1:01:01have been directed under the cpuc to

1:01:04advance those efforts and coordinate to

1:01:07prepare for the threat of wildfires and

1:01:09power outages

1:01:11with our public safety power shut off

1:01:13i'm joined by les putnam who is our

1:01:14senior public safety specialist my name

1:01:17is triva reed i am the government

1:01:19relations public affairs lead that

1:01:20supports the city of el cerrito we'll go

1:01:23through the

1:01:24presentation we welcome your feedback

1:01:27we've been working in partnership with

1:01:28the county oes emergency preparedness

1:01:31managers

1:01:32we look forward to working further with

1:01:34both chief keith and chief pagone on the

1:01:37steps that we're taking locally and

1:01:39we'll discuss more that as we get

1:01:40through the presentation and and look

1:01:42forward to having your feedback to

1:01:43collaborate more

1:01:45thank you you're welcome

1:01:50good evening thanks for having us here

1:01:52um i'll start off um what i basically

1:01:54want to do is give you a very high level

1:01:56version of our community wildfire safety

1:01:58program and then get quickly into more

1:02:00detail on the public safety power

1:02:02shutoff of that program which is what

1:02:04everybody's obviously concerned about

1:02:06so i'll start with our first slide

1:02:09we have three phases or three ongoing

1:02:11things regarding our infrastructure and

1:02:14and the program and how we're developing

1:02:16that

1:02:17on the left side you'll see the

1:02:18real-time monitoring which includes the

1:02:22development and current operations of a

1:02:25wildfire safety operations center so

1:02:28eoc basically in san francisco which is

1:02:31where we gather all of our information

1:02:33regarding wildfires the weather

1:02:35conditions the we have meteorologists

1:02:38there and that is where the decision is

1:02:40made in uh in in the event of a public

1:02:42safety power shutoff we also have

1:02:45installed numerous

1:02:47weather stations and at this time we

1:02:50have i believe 15 weather stations in

1:02:52contra costa county one up the hill on

1:02:55arlington

1:02:56and terrace drive and

1:02:59then we've also additionally added what

1:03:01we call infrared cameras and the purpose

1:03:03is that of that is to find

1:03:06the wildfire that might be been started

1:03:08in an area of tier three area in the

1:03:10incipient stage so we can get resources

1:03:12responding quickly to that area

1:03:15the second part or the second area that

1:03:16we're working on and again these are all

1:03:18continuously ongoing efforts

1:03:20is what we call our new and enhanced

1:03:22safety measures that includes our

1:03:23vegetation management program in our

1:03:26tier two and tier three areas it

1:03:27includes the um

1:03:30the the basically the shutting off of

1:03:33what we call a reclosure system which is

1:03:35to prevent sparks during an outage so

1:03:38that's that is ongoing as we see the uh

1:03:40weather occurring we're able to

1:03:42eliminate the reclosures which

1:03:45eliminates a lot of arcing that we've

1:03:46gotten in the past

1:03:48and then basically we'll move over to

1:03:50the hardening area and the hardening

1:03:52area is where we're currently building

1:03:55our infrastructure to be more resilient

1:03:57to the weather changes that we're seeing

1:03:59so in particular the wind so we're

1:04:01replacing wood poles with cement metal

1:04:03or steel or

1:04:05fiberglass poles

1:04:07we're

1:04:08insulating our wires to prevent the

1:04:10wires from slapping together creating

1:04:11arcing

1:04:12and again in a lot of areas in some

1:04:14areas looking at underground uh when

1:04:16it's feasible so i want to go back to

1:04:19the new and enhanced safety measures

1:04:21that's where the public safety power

1:04:22shut off system occurs and so part of

1:04:25our safety goal is to reduce the threat

1:04:28of wildfires especially during the

1:04:29extreme weather conditions that we would

1:04:31have typically in the

1:04:32mid to end of the fire season and so

1:04:35we're looking to preemptively shut off

1:04:36electricity again to prevent ignition in

1:04:39those conditions

1:04:41this is a map of el cerrito this is

1:04:44based on the cpuc

1:04:47map which

1:04:48involves or incorporates the extreme

1:04:51tier 3 fire condition locations and then

1:04:54the tier 2 elevated locations and then

1:04:57the tier 1 which are the non-colored

1:04:59areas so you can see from the map el

1:05:01cerrito has a very small portion of tier

1:05:033 area the red areas

1:05:05and then

1:05:06a much larger area of the gold which is

1:05:09the tier 2 fire threat areas and again

1:05:11these are typically in the east bay

1:05:13hills

1:05:14between berkeley albany and el cerrido

1:05:17area

1:05:19i'm going to skip right to

1:05:21the public safety shut off so we can get

1:05:23right to the details on that

1:05:25basically when we're looking at weather

1:05:27changes and that information comes into

1:05:29our wsoc in san francisco

1:05:32we're looking for some particular things

1:05:33to occur for us to start making the

1:05:36decisions and shutting off the

1:05:37electricity

1:05:38we first start looking at red flag

1:05:39warning days everybody should be fairly

1:05:41familiar with those they're very common

1:05:43in the in the summer time

1:05:44and they're based on particular

1:05:47situations or weather conditions in

1:05:49microclimate areas

1:05:51once we look at a red flag warning day

1:05:53we then begin to look at humidity levels

1:05:55if humidity levels are

1:05:57dropped below 20 percent and typically

1:05:59in the low teens

1:06:00that would be an indication that we

1:06:02might want to shut off electricity

1:06:04in addition obviously again the wind

1:06:06conditions sustained winds at 25 miles

1:06:08per hour and wind gusts of 45 miles per

1:06:11hour have been determined to be the

1:06:13breaking point or the potential

1:06:15for us to have a damage to our

1:06:17facilities which in turn can cause

1:06:19wildfires we also look at fuel and dry

1:06:22fuel conditions so fuel moisture content

1:06:25within

1:06:26the vegetation in the area that also

1:06:28helps determine

1:06:29that a public safety shutoff we also

1:06:31begin to send people out in the field so

1:06:33we have eyes on our system so that we

1:06:35can actually determine if the wind is

1:06:37creating issues within the particular

1:06:39area in other words wires slapping

1:06:41together wind and debris causing debris

1:06:44to fall into our wires trees down and

1:06:46those types of things

1:06:50we start making notifications our hope

1:06:52is at 48 hours in advance of a public

1:06:55safety shutoff

1:06:57again that information is is gathered we

1:06:59are evaluating it on a minute-by-minute

1:07:01basis the in the weather could change

1:07:03and in which case we would change uh the

1:07:05potential for shutting off electricity

1:07:07but at 48 hours is our typical goal i

1:07:10will tell you that we don't always reach

1:07:1248 hours sometimes weather or event will

1:07:15come in quickly and it causes us to make

1:07:17a determination much shorter than that

1:07:20just an example in june we had two

1:07:22events and we typically were at about 16

1:07:24to 18 hours out before we were able to

1:07:27determine that we needed to shut off

1:07:28electricity so we didn't have the 48

1:07:30hour notice

1:07:32we would continue to make notifications

1:07:34to our customers including external

1:07:37first responders police fire local

1:07:39authority county oes city oes making

1:07:42those notifications throughout that 48

1:07:45hour to 24 hour period and then again

1:07:48obviously when we were actually shutting

1:07:49off electricity we would also notify

1:07:51them as we start to

1:07:54investigate our facilities and determine

1:07:56the the extent of the outage and let

1:07:58them know in a time frame to be able to

1:08:00get the electricity returned to normal

1:08:03notifications have gone out to customers

1:08:05already about 5.5 million customers have

1:08:08received mailings we also are making

1:08:12putting we'll be sending out

1:08:13notifications via phone text messaging

1:08:17cell phone

1:08:18landline messaging and then obviously

1:08:20with radio and tv ads

1:08:24so in order to restore power

1:08:26a number of things have to occur we hope

1:08:28they occur quickly but again the time

1:08:30frame is dependent on the weather so the

1:08:32first thing that has to happen is the

1:08:33weather actually has to clear

1:08:35well which means the wind conditions

1:08:36have to change we come back to

1:08:38conditions that are more normal once the

1:08:41weather clears we begin inspections on

1:08:43our system which allows us to put eyes

1:08:46on the system to look for any damage we

1:08:48can't re-energize with damage to the

1:08:50system because if we do obviously that

1:08:52creates potential for wildfires we make

1:08:54the repairs to the damage we are

1:08:56currently and we have been actually

1:08:58pre-staging equipment and manpower in

1:09:01the areas that we're looking to shut off

1:09:03electricity 48 hours in advance so that

1:09:05we can make those repairs much more

1:09:06efficiently

1:09:08once the repairs are made we can now

1:09:10turn on electricity we'll make those

1:09:11notifications to our customers and then

1:09:14they'll be advised electricity will be

1:09:15coming back on

1:09:19there are again a lot there's a lot of

1:09:21outreach going on regarding this and

1:09:23this isn't just a pg e wide system this

1:09:25is a statewide system it's affecting the

1:09:27three major utility companies uh in

1:09:30california and this comes from the

1:09:31governor's office and the cpuc and so we

1:09:34again we've begun with

1:09:36meetings that we've been having with our

1:09:39first responders police and fire in

1:09:41particular

1:09:42as city meetings such as this we are

1:09:44also reaching out

1:09:46the additional mailers additional media

1:09:49and then we um basically are asking our

1:09:51customers to log into the website pg e's

1:09:53website for wildfire safety and update

1:09:56their current information regarding

1:09:58contacts so that we have their current

1:09:59cell phone number and those types of

1:10:01things so that when we do send out the

1:10:03messaging they're getting that message

1:10:05we also have a program to reach out to

1:10:08our baseline medical customers and

1:10:10basically if they are a baseline medical

1:10:12customer they would again log on to our

1:10:14website provide their updated

1:10:15information when we make the

1:10:16notifications we're looking to see that

1:10:18they've actually received that

1:10:20notification and if they haven't we're

1:10:22looking to send a field personnel out to

1:10:24their location knock on their door make

1:10:26sure that they know that we're

1:10:27potentially going to be shutting off

1:10:28electricity make sure that they're

1:10:30prepared and if they need any assistance

1:10:32try to find the assistance that they

1:10:33need to handle that emerge that

1:10:36electrical outage

1:10:38that's basically the overview of the

1:10:40public safety shutoff and and i want to

1:10:42make sure we have enough time to answer

1:10:44questions

1:10:45from the council and mayor

1:10:49go ahead councilmember abelson um a

1:10:51question that i've been asked by more

1:10:53than one person

1:10:54has to do what you must be calling

1:10:57baseline medical

1:10:59so some people

1:11:01for their very life rely on medical

1:11:04equipment that relies on electricity

1:11:07let's say

1:11:08and um what happens to them exactly

1:11:12how do they um

1:11:14stay alive

1:11:18so once they're in our system again we

1:11:21have the ability to check on them and so

1:11:22before we have an outage just like with

1:11:25an earthquake we're asking people to

1:11:27prepare for that so if they have a

1:11:28medical need that they've identified

1:11:30that they need long-term electricity for

1:11:32they can't be without

1:11:34several things battery backup for

1:11:36whatever devices that they have if

1:11:37that's possible making sure that

1:11:39everything's charged up correctly and

1:11:41efficiently

1:11:42and then and basically making having the

1:11:44part of their plan be maybe they need to

1:11:46to get out of that environment and into

1:11:48an area where we do have electricity so

1:11:50that they can have the charging devices

1:11:53you know recharged or to a a friend's

1:11:55house that's out of the immediate area

1:11:57that's being impacted by the outage

1:11:59we're not looking at you know statewide

1:12:01outages we're looking at micro outages

1:12:03in various locations for for the climate

1:12:06so there's the potential that someone

1:12:07could go across the bay or or on other

1:12:10parts within the bay area and still have

1:12:12electricity and be able to be taken care

1:12:14of um

1:12:14[Music]

1:12:16some i i'm i'm not sure about all of the

1:12:19i i know that my

1:12:20granddaughter has that kind of a need

1:12:23but that's an as you know a nice you

1:12:25might say more isolated one person

1:12:28um

1:12:30at least you know i mean there are lots

1:12:31of occurrences unfortunately of one

1:12:33person but

1:12:34but in her case i only know of the one

1:12:37but there are other cases i know of

1:12:39where

1:12:41for example somewhere near here there is

1:12:43a dialysis center

1:12:45and i'm sure that uses a lot of things

1:12:48that are powered by electricity

1:12:50what are they supposed to all do all at

1:12:52once

1:12:54given that

1:12:56there's not

1:12:58doesn't look to me from what i hear like

1:13:00there's enough dialysis

1:13:02service centers to go around already

1:13:05right

1:13:06you know what then you want me

1:13:08i mean you can touch base

1:13:11so basically uh we are working with

1:13:13those centers the hospitals the um

1:13:15board and care centers and identifying

1:13:18those those needs and if those dialysis

1:13:20centers don't have uh

1:13:22generator backup

1:13:24there are there is potential that we are

1:13:26able to identify them and if necessary

1:13:28bring generators out to them normally i

1:13:30heard hear it referred to as davita not

1:13:33a hospital

1:13:34and not a board and care facility

1:13:37it's a company yes i'm familiar with it

1:13:40yeah okay

1:13:41so you're working with

1:13:43davita with a lot of the social services

1:13:46department

1:13:47leads so that we can coordinate what

1:13:49those specific organizations are that we

1:13:51need to do further outreach with to

1:13:53ensure that they're getting the

1:13:54messaging that we're coordinating with

1:13:56those organizations and companies

1:13:59we have specific account reps within pg

1:14:02e that are doing their own outreach to

1:14:04those customers to ensure that they're

1:14:06aware of the public safety power shut

1:14:08off efforts that we're taking to work

1:14:10just wondering more how to keep people

1:14:12alive absolutely and not

1:14:15you know i mean it's it's a more dire i

1:14:17think it's a more dire situation

1:14:20than just being court then coordinating

1:14:23or something like that it's actually

1:14:26making sure that there's enough

1:14:29energy available so that people can stay

1:14:32alive i think that's

1:14:34the thing that people i hear talk about

1:14:36it are concerned about absolutely

1:14:39but i don't hear what you're saying is

1:14:41addressing that am i missing something

1:14:43every organization will have their own

1:14:45needs some organizations may or may not

1:14:47have that generator power

1:14:49we're also working with the county to

1:14:51identify locally community resource

1:14:53center centers for pg e that will be a

1:14:56charging energy

1:14:58location for customers to be able to

1:15:01come to those places to ensure that they

1:15:03have some additional energy support for

1:15:06those needs

1:15:08for davita that's a their specific needs

1:15:10that they may have

1:15:12we're more broadly talking through the

1:15:14county through the hospitals through the

1:15:16care facilities and to those individual

1:15:19companies off line in separate

1:15:21discussions we're having broader

1:15:23meetings with our county public health

1:15:25departments and those social service

1:15:27leads who have other contacts that we

1:15:30may not be reaching directly so there's

1:15:31a broad effort are you talking to devito

1:15:34is my question i'm not specifically

1:15:36speaking to davida we can follow up to

1:15:39find out who that contact lead is within

1:15:41pg e who would be in direct contact as

1:15:44that account manager for davida i'm not

1:15:47able to tell you that i've personally

1:15:48met with them under the responsibility

1:15:51that i have within my role

1:15:54because because my understanding is a

1:15:56lot of it is done

1:15:58that way

1:16:01through davida

1:16:03[Music]

1:16:05every customer

1:16:06that has um

1:16:08customer interface particularly those

1:16:10customers who are medical baseline

1:16:12customers or who have these additional

1:16:15lifeline needs for our energy sources we

1:16:17are doing everything possible to reach

1:16:19out and to work with those organizations

1:16:21to ensure that we understand the needs

1:16:23of those customers and to make sure that

1:16:24they are aware of what steps we're

1:16:26taking and how best to partner with pg e

1:16:29and to be notified and to the best of

1:16:31their ability to be prepared

1:16:39i basically

1:16:40had the same question

1:16:42coming from a background working in the

1:16:44hospital and wondering about our

1:16:46medically fragile people around i would

1:16:49really like to see pg e be proactive

1:16:52in finding those people and then also

1:16:54providing a generator for them because i

1:16:57do think it is somewhat of an unfair

1:17:00burden on that person to

1:17:03whom is medically fat fragile to also

1:17:05you know come up with finding um some

1:17:08sort of

1:17:09generator to keep them alive during

1:17:11those times

1:17:13um

1:17:13what i'm wondering also is i mean i

1:17:16think a lot of people have been talking

1:17:18about

1:17:19medically fragile folks that might need

1:17:22generators have you come up with

1:17:25say a list of other

1:17:28people that might need uh personal

1:17:30generators during or or maybe for a

1:17:33business a generator during this time

1:17:35some like maybe something we haven't

1:17:38particularly been discussing or thought

1:17:40of

1:17:40um one thing that came up in one of our

1:17:42meetings was

1:17:45the water if it's some of those pumps

1:17:48you know to get to pump the water up the

1:17:50hills

1:17:52that's something that comes to mind is

1:17:53there anything else like that that maybe

1:17:55we

1:17:55we should be thinking about

1:17:58so we are working with east bay mud and

1:18:01the other water companies to develop a

1:18:02strategy for providing

1:18:04generation or our power to those pumps

1:18:07that are required to keep the water

1:18:09flowing

1:18:10to be frank with you with business is

1:18:12not going to be as usual you're not

1:18:13going to be able to use water and water

1:18:15your lawns during that event the reality

1:18:17is you know we talk about the duration

1:18:19the duration uh initially we were

1:18:21talking four or five days and we've

1:18:23gotten on the last two events that we've

1:18:24had down to about 12 and 18 hours and so

1:18:28we've reduced that time frame and so

1:18:31we're hoping the reality is that a lot

1:18:32of this need for generation and all

1:18:34these other things is really not going

1:18:36to become unnecessary with that being

1:18:38said um this is kind of like and we

1:18:41liken this to having an earthquake if we

1:18:43have an earthquake in the bay area we're

1:18:44going to be without electricity for a

1:18:46lengthy time and so those people that um

1:18:49that need that for medical needs they

1:18:51need to be prepared for that they need

1:18:52to have that plan they also may need to

1:18:55get transported to a a hospital

1:18:58situation where they're going to get the

1:18:59dialysis the care that they need until

1:19:01we can restore electricity we do

1:19:03identify critical facilities we are

1:19:06hoping that we can get those facilities

1:19:08up and running first as a priority um we

1:19:10will in addition we'll have identified

1:19:12and are continuing identify those

1:19:14medical need patients and as we're doing

1:19:16that working with um the different

1:19:18jurisdictions to be able to make sure

1:19:20that we're addressing that as much as

1:19:22possible

1:19:24again we're not able and i don't think

1:19:26you're ever going to see us able to

1:19:27provide generators for the general

1:19:30public in that form right now i was

1:19:32thinking more in terms of you know if we

1:19:34lose our water supply while we're trying

1:19:37to fight a fire you know what we want to

1:19:39make sure that we have enough water

1:19:40going up the hill to where the fires are

1:19:43likely to happen right and to that

1:19:46point

1:19:47the east bay mud does have a plan and

1:19:49again we're continually working with

1:19:50them with the notification that we we

1:19:52give them they plan on making sure the

1:19:54reservoirs in the east bay hills are

1:19:57completely topped off which gives them

1:19:59at least 48 hours of water

1:20:02and again they plan on sending out

1:20:03notifications for water conservation

1:20:05during that time frame so that could

1:20:06increase the duration that those

1:20:08reservoirs are going to last

1:20:10they do have

1:20:11some of their pumps are act do actually

1:20:13have generation fixed generation and

1:20:15then others would they would bring

1:20:17generators out there and we would

1:20:18actually assist them in doing that so we

1:20:20can get the water pumps working

1:20:22throughout the area to keep water

1:20:23flowing for emergency use

1:20:26what about businesses i know it's not

1:20:28going to be business as usual but what

1:20:29about businesses um such as like safeway

1:20:33lucky

1:20:34you know where they have they depend so

1:20:35much on refrigeration

1:20:37do those folks have backup generators

1:20:39are they

1:20:40what's going to happen to them if the

1:20:42power is out for three days

1:20:44so some do

1:20:45and some don't and and the reality is is

1:20:48that our different lines of businesses

1:20:50are working with those uh companies

1:20:52those businesses to make sure that they

1:20:54understand that they will lose

1:20:55electricity and what their backup plans

1:20:57are um and so to be honest with you i i

1:21:00don't know that each with each

1:21:01individual facility what what their plan

1:21:04is at this point okay thank you we have

1:21:06additional questions council member

1:21:08linemen yeah um thank you very much for

1:21:11coming tonight ms reed mr putnam uh it

1:21:13it's been educational and and for those

1:21:16that

1:21:16um are watching from home or want to

1:21:19take an opportunity the presentation

1:21:21tonight was

1:21:22severely truncated and i appreciate that

1:21:25to allow us to have more time to talk to

1:21:27you

1:21:28and there was discussion about the

1:21:30trimming of trees and and such but i

1:21:32want to uh focus on what looked like a

1:21:34handout that was in our our uh package

1:21:38and was wondering if you would be able

1:21:40to provide us with an a number of those

1:21:43so we can provide them at our counter

1:21:46for people to look out

1:21:47and and then that's one question but you

1:21:50can say yes and deliver them tomorrow

1:21:53um

1:21:53but but to some of this discussions that

1:21:56my council members fellow council

1:21:57members have made is there is a

1:21:59discussion on here about the medical

1:22:00baseline customers can expect and

1:22:02there's lots of touches and reach out to

1:22:04them

1:22:05uh

1:22:06what isn't clear on this handout but is

1:22:08in your presentation is uh making sure

1:22:11that you get the contact information for

1:22:13these people

1:22:14uh but specifically to to the mayor

1:22:17pardo okamoto's point there is actually

1:22:19a website in here pge.com

1:22:24backup generation

1:22:26where people customers who need backup

1:22:29generation can reach out to you to find

1:22:32out what their options are and and i'm

1:22:34assuming that in some cases those those

1:22:36options might be i know you can't

1:22:38provide a generator for every customer

1:22:40but there may be certain customers that

1:22:42you can facilitate either a discounted

1:22:45purchase through uh your mass purchasing

1:22:47power or or such um so

1:22:50there is a way for it's not the

1:22:53proactive uh system that you're asking

1:22:55for mayor but but there is definitely

1:22:57you you in this handout you are

1:22:59providing people with contact

1:23:01information

1:23:02um the other the other one that i wanted

1:23:04to make sure that

1:23:05people that are home that you may not be

1:23:07available to um

1:23:09oh it is it's up on the slide right now

1:23:12it's uh pge.com

1:23:15wildfire safety and that is the look

1:23:18actually no it's not wildfire alerts my

1:23:21wildfire alerts is the one that i wanted

1:23:23to make sure people were aware of

1:23:25pge.com backslash

1:23:27my wildfire alerts again it's in your

1:23:31presentation

1:23:32very small print in our handout but it

1:23:35that seemed to be a location where

1:23:36people can go and register

1:23:38their contact information

1:23:40can you please i think mr putnam you

1:23:43talked about the fact that it

1:23:44cell phone what is the benefit of a cell

1:23:47phone versus maybe some other form of

1:23:49communication

1:23:53if they register their cell phone

1:23:55they'll get text messages and or cell

1:23:57phone calls to their cell phone

1:23:59regarding an outage potential so it

1:24:02doesn't they don't have to be home in

1:24:03order to get that and that's the

1:24:05advantage to doing that um there are a

1:24:07lot of customers in our system that we

1:24:08don't actually have their current

1:24:10contact information because they just

1:24:12haven't done that we have an address we

1:24:14send a bill to and that's pretty much

1:24:15the end of it so

1:24:17getting them to come into the system

1:24:18register make sure that everything's

1:24:20current allows us to reach out to them

1:24:22in a more efficient manner

1:24:24and cell phone generally is that is the

1:24:25way to do that

1:24:26in the handout that i'm referencing you

1:24:29uh identified that there's 194 000

1:24:31medical baseline customers i'm assuming

1:24:34that's within pg e's service area

1:24:36um do you have a sense of how many are

1:24:38in el cerrito

1:24:41i'll get that information back to you

1:24:43yeah we do as as uh councilmember

1:24:44abelson pointed out we in addition to

1:24:46the davita dialysis care we do have what

1:24:50you guys refer to as board and care

1:24:51several board and care facilities that

1:24:54obviously will have potential customers

1:24:56that do that

1:24:57part of my basis for asking that

1:24:59question is what's the coordination

1:25:00between

1:25:01your database on this matter on who

1:25:04needs potentially uh medical baseline

1:25:08and our fire department

1:25:09because as you mentioned um they some

1:25:12may need transport and so i can imagine

1:25:16if if you haven't

1:25:17reached out to these people

1:25:19to give them

1:25:20their choices about power backup and

1:25:22they haven't necessarily acted on it

1:25:25that if this was this weekend for

1:25:27example

1:25:28that we would be transporting a number

1:25:30of these people so what's the

1:25:32coordination between your database where

1:25:34you know people are potentially

1:25:36vulnerable

1:25:37and fragile and potentially needing

1:25:39transport and our fire department that

1:25:42would be providing that transport

1:25:43service

1:25:47so we're actually in the process

1:25:52please please sit down thank you

1:25:54[Music]

1:25:58okay this is this is what's on the

1:26:00agenda for right now you may leave if

1:26:02you

1:26:04you may leave if you don't want to be

1:26:06here right now

1:26:08we need order

1:26:10order

1:26:13we're going to leave pretty soon

1:26:16it's all right we don't need to let's

1:26:18please sit down

1:26:20okay

1:26:21i heard you get to it

1:26:24we will continue our efforts in the same

1:26:26manner as we always do you must wait

1:26:28your turn to listen to the agenda item

1:26:34please continue on

1:26:36so we've actually uh are in the process

1:26:38of stabbing a portal so a mapping portal

1:26:41which identifies 48 hours in advance

1:26:43where the outages are going to occur and

1:26:45how they impact various locations

1:26:47included in that if an agency would like

1:26:50information regarding our

1:26:52our medical baseline patients they can

1:26:54gain access to that with that being said

1:26:57they have to sign a release which allows

1:26:59them access to that information because

1:27:01of hipaa violation hipaa rules

1:27:03and so we are working to get the local

1:27:06fire department police department's

1:27:08contacts to make sure that they have

1:27:09access to that mapping portal as well as

1:27:12the information regarding the medical

1:27:14baseline patients we'd love to

1:27:15coordinate both at the county level and

1:27:17at the city level to make sure we have

1:27:19cross information on on those patients

1:27:21on those i say patients on those

1:27:23customers great thank you

1:27:26council member fidelity

1:27:28thank you for being here i know the puc

1:27:30has given you some direction but i

1:27:32appreciate

1:27:33what pg e is doing as well i got in the

1:27:35mail this great brochure about do you

1:27:37have a plan

1:27:38from pg e which is a checklist

1:27:41an emergency contact information

1:27:44it's what you need to have and a lot of

1:27:46uh

1:27:47website information

1:27:49um which i think is very good and i

1:27:51heard this presentation at the mayor's

1:27:53conference um as some of the folks here

1:27:55have said i mean it the shutoff of

1:27:57energy could be up to a week and if that

1:28:00happens elsa rita could be in crisis

1:28:02because of just elderly not just even

1:28:05sick people but elderly people their

1:28:07food rotting away

1:28:09so i i concur with what uh

1:28:13councilman lyman has said about the

1:28:14coordination with our city and

1:28:17making sure there's a coordination and a

1:28:18discussion because there could be some

1:28:21great difficulties if you don't mind i'd

1:28:22like to ask two specific questions about

1:28:24el cerrito if we could i've been hearing

1:28:27you have a lot of tv commercials a lot

1:28:29of tv commercials which is great we're

1:28:31hearing the helicopters going over the

1:28:33hillside you say you're going to

1:28:35increase your drone activity do you know

1:28:37about the el cerrito drone activity at

1:28:39all any details or

1:28:41i don't right now we do have wildfire

1:28:43safety inspections that are taking place

1:28:45um there are compliance that we are

1:28:47completing on the transmission towers

1:28:49and other facilities in the area

1:28:52that will be taking place over the next

1:28:54couple weeks for us to finish the

1:28:55compliance work and identify any other

1:28:57areas that might need to be repaired as

1:28:59we prepare for the wildfires so there

1:29:01will be drone activity in el cerrito

1:29:03there's been helicopters there have been

1:29:05aerial patrols and there have been more

1:29:08foot

1:29:08patrols and we've been sending

1:29:10notifications out i believe we contacted

1:29:12about 64 000 customers

1:29:14i'm seeing good visibility so keep that

1:29:16up thank you and finally i've been

1:29:19hearing about the good relationship we

1:29:21do have our city with

1:29:23el cerrito with pg e

1:29:26on our hillside natural area and we keep

1:29:28hearing about the clearing underneath

1:29:30the power lines in el cerrito that head

1:29:32down

1:29:33to the bay and i heard about you guys

1:29:35were going to do some extra tree cutting

1:29:37for us from our hillside area do you

1:29:40have any update on that has that

1:29:41happened because our neighbors i know

1:29:44our vegetation manager and our team have

1:29:46been out doing the accelerated

1:29:48vegetation work i can confirm that's

1:29:50across the whole territory but that's

1:29:52and also

1:29:54okay yes we've been working specifically

1:29:55in el cerrito we've been going through

1:29:57the permit process with your city staff

1:30:00but i can find out what commitment you

1:30:01may be i would love to see if those

1:30:03extra trees whatever the extra goodness

1:30:05has happened here and where we've had

1:30:07that opportunity with customers we have

1:30:09been doing more

1:30:11um for those who've been agreeable for

1:30:12us to take those additions i heard

1:30:14you're going to err on the side of

1:30:15taking that dead tree away rather than

1:30:17keep on walking which is good

1:30:20thank you

1:30:22some questions

1:30:24i i have this uh

1:30:26whatever's appearing before us on our

1:30:29screen right now

1:30:30does not appear to be in anything i

1:30:33appear to have

1:30:34is it possible that we could get it um

1:30:38put on the website

1:30:40it should be this i believe is part of

1:30:42the presentation that is in the agenda

1:30:44packet so you should have this page in

1:30:45front of someone it's just small

1:30:48i looked and looked but not all some of

1:30:51my um

1:30:53agenda packet didn't quite make it

1:30:56um so i don't know what it is but i

1:30:59think it but that kind of information

1:31:01needs to go but further than

1:31:03me anyway it needs to

1:31:05go to our residence

1:31:07um and it seems to me call us that this

1:31:09number email us and whatever is the

1:31:12important part of the information

1:31:14so could we get that put on our

1:31:16somewhere on our website

1:31:18is that possible to do and could i get a

1:31:21copy of this please

1:31:23um

1:31:25i have seem to have some pages of it

1:31:28um

1:31:30thank you provide you additional

1:31:32information beyond what we've already

1:31:33given you and multilingual so that you

1:31:35can make that available to the residents

1:31:38okay

1:31:39and have you reached out to our chamber

1:31:41of commerce

1:31:43i've not been in touch with your chamber

1:31:44of commerce i think that because i'm

1:31:46thinking you know like i was thinking

1:31:47about lucky and safe way um but i'm

1:31:50thinking about also our little stores

1:31:52and restaurants i want to make sure that

1:31:54they're prepared for this as well

1:31:56absolutely i'll follow up and um

1:31:58see when we can coordinate having a

1:32:00presentation with the chamber members

1:32:02and guests that they would invite i

1:32:03think that would be great okay thank you

1:32:05very much uh do we have any speakers on

1:32:08this item we do have one speaker on this

1:32:09item

1:32:11and kathy kathy breyer it would become

1:32:14yeah

1:32:16thank you

1:32:16madam mayor members of the council i

1:32:19wasn't planning to speak on this i came

1:32:21for something else but

1:32:22relevant to remember fidelity's comments

1:32:27there are my understanding is pg e is

1:32:30planning to remove a number of live oaks

1:32:33all the way up near the top of moshe

1:32:34these are not in the wildland area they

1:32:37are along the street

1:32:39uh quarkus agrifolia has been identified

1:32:42as one of the more fire resistant trees

1:32:44these are big trees the bigger the

1:32:46thicker the bark the more resistant my

1:32:49understanding is they've been we've been

1:32:51working well for years now with pg e we

1:32:53limit up on the bottom there's no fire

1:32:56ladder they've been they've been

1:32:57trimming it from

1:32:58from above

1:33:00and so our uh stephen pray our city

1:33:03arborist recommended things to how to

1:33:06keep proceeding with that and and maybe

1:33:08do a little more but i was told that pg

1:33:11e came back and said no we decide just

1:33:14to take them all out these are a lot of

1:33:16trees up there they're important to sort

1:33:18of shade and

1:33:20by the way just by way of i'm with the

1:33:22urban force committee i'm here as an

1:33:24individual but i've also worked with cal

1:33:26fire um managing the mapping program

1:33:29that did the very the fire severity

1:33:32hazard maps

1:33:33also managing watershed programs and

1:33:35their climate change program so here

1:33:37you're removing these huge trees a lot

1:33:39of carbon in them

1:33:41they provide shade and greenery up there

1:33:43which will which is important if you've

1:33:45ever walked up those sidewalks

1:33:48and it looks like there may be a way to

1:33:50be more reasonable about this diablo

1:33:52fire safe council's identified quercus

1:33:54agrifolia costa voc

1:33:56as very fire resistant and has about 10

1:33:59sources i was online looking at research

1:34:02research so at the very least i would

1:34:05appreciate if pg a might work a little

1:34:07more closely explaining to our city

1:34:09arborist

1:34:11their plan for this or why or if there's

1:34:13something else they can do besides just

1:34:15take down all the coast live oaks up

1:34:18there along the sidewalks okay so can i

1:34:20just say i thought i heard that there

1:34:22were eucalyptus trees that pg e was

1:34:24going to be post live oak taking down

1:34:26coast like it was coast live oak okay i

1:34:29didn't know that thank you

1:34:30that's why you ask questions thank you

1:34:32thank you

1:34:34okay

1:34:35um

1:34:37all right too

1:34:38the presenters left

1:34:40uh do we have any uh further questions

1:34:43from the council

1:34:46i'll take this opportunity to

1:34:48ask staff to follow up on the last uh

1:34:49public comments with pg e to

1:34:52um ask

1:34:53pg e to be reciprocal at least give us

1:34:56more information as to why these native

1:34:58species are being removed they're fire

1:35:00resistant they're naturally fire

1:35:01resistant and

1:35:03maybe i can understand potentially if

1:35:04they're within

1:35:06if they're there are a good technical

1:35:08rationale that would be great for us to

1:35:10be able to post so we can explain to

1:35:11their neighbors the trees neighbors why

1:35:14the trees are coming out thanks

1:35:17thank you

1:35:19i got a number of contacts this weekend

1:35:22over

1:35:23what's with the helicopters

1:35:25it might be nice to put something on our

1:35:27website that said

1:35:29uh

1:35:30what's what the what the helicopters are

1:35:33about because there seem to be a lot of

1:35:35consternation

1:35:36yes we will be doing that okay all right

1:35:40okay thank you very much thank you for

1:35:42your presentation

1:35:44next we will move on to public hearings

1:35:47first we have

1:35:48civic center utility underground

1:35:50district

1:35:51they have the staff report

1:36:05mayor city council members my name is

1:36:07yvette ortiz i'm the city's public works

1:36:09director and i'll try to keep this brief

1:36:12tonight city staff is requesting that

1:36:14the city council adopt a resolution

1:36:16establishing

1:36:17the civic center utility underground

1:36:20district per el cerrito municipal

1:36:22chapter 14.08

1:36:26pacific gas and electric annually

1:36:27allocates work credits to cities to

1:36:30underground overhead utilities

1:36:32facilities this is done following the

1:36:34california public utilities commission

1:36:36rule 20a requirements

1:36:39the last utility underground project

1:36:41completed by the city of el cerrito

1:36:43under role 28

1:36:45was in 2003 2004 as part of the fairmont

1:36:49avenue streetscape project adjacent to

1:36:52the plaza bart station and shopping

1:36:54center

1:36:55in may city staff received a notice from

1:36:58pg e indicating that the california

1:37:00public utilities commission has ordered

1:37:03it to reallocate a portion of unused

1:37:06work credits from cities that have not

1:37:07participated in the program for over

1:37:10eight years

1:37:12in order to fund a project in the city

1:37:14of like oak

1:37:16because el cerrito has not been acting

1:37:18active since 2004

1:37:20we are subject to the reallocation

1:37:23el cerrito currently has about 2.6

1:37:25million in work credits

1:37:27of this amount pg

1:37:29pgme has estimated that about 9 000

1:37:32credits would be reallocated to liboak

1:37:35unless ulcerative forms

1:37:37an underground utility district by july

1:37:3925th

1:37:41in order to do this el cerrito must

1:37:42identify an underground project that is

1:37:45in the public interest

1:37:46and pass a resolution forming the

1:37:48district

1:37:50the number of credits subject to

1:37:51reallocation would increase

1:37:53if additional cities become

1:37:55active and the city of el cerrito does

1:37:57not

1:37:58in order to preserve el cerrito's roll

1:38:0128 work credits city staff has

1:38:03identified the civic center underground

1:38:05utility district project

1:38:07this district covers manila avenue from

1:38:11san pablo avenue to richmond street and

1:38:13currently street from manila avenue to

1:38:16schmidt lane

1:38:17the boundaries of the district are shown

1:38:19in exhibit a of your resolution

1:38:22underground of utilities in this

1:38:24district is in the general public

1:38:25interest because there's these streets

1:38:28serve a civic area

1:38:30an area that provides access to el

1:38:33cerrito city hall

1:38:34the public safety building which houses

1:38:37the police department and fire station

1:38:3971

1:38:40and the california department of motor

1:38:43vehicles office manila avenue is also

1:38:45designated a collector street in the

1:38:47city's general plan

1:38:50city staff does not anticipate that

1:38:51project

1:38:52will move forward in the foreseeable

1:38:54future given pgme's current queue of

1:38:58world 20 projects

1:39:00and also other priorities

1:39:04however

1:39:06following the district is required to

1:39:08preserve our credits

1:39:10and forming the district does not

1:39:12require the city to complete the project

1:39:14right away um the city can

1:39:17uh change the district amend the

1:39:19district in the future as needed or

1:39:21create another district if another

1:39:23priority is identified so we still have

1:39:26flexibility in the future to identify up

1:39:29additional districts are meant

1:39:31district

1:39:33this may be necessary in the future if

1:39:35you want to leverage

1:39:37outside funding sources to do a more

1:39:39complete

1:39:40street improvement project like we did

1:39:42when we did the lower fairmont street

1:39:43secure project

1:39:45but if this

1:39:47civic center project does move forward

1:39:49city staff would then develop a detailed

1:39:51timeline for design and construction and

1:39:53also detailed cost

1:39:55and we would notify property owners and

1:39:59provide them with more information about

1:40:01their responsibilities as property

1:40:03owners

1:40:04we would also hold additional public

1:40:06meetings to discuss those details

1:40:08this concludes my presentation lizette

1:40:11burtis pg e's rule 20 program liaison is

1:40:14here to answer detailed questions and

1:40:16i'm also available here to answer any

1:40:18questions you may have

1:40:19thank you

1:40:21all right do you have questions

1:40:23uh mayor pro-tem lyman yeah the only

1:40:25question i have is this

1:40:28doesn't this rule 20a is not what

1:40:30private citizens would use to

1:40:32underground

1:40:33wires in their neighborhoods if they

1:40:35were to get together and and want to

1:40:37underground so this is not taking away

1:40:41any communities

1:40:43capability to underground their wires

1:40:45correct

1:40:52yeah just

1:40:53um what about the non-pg e the cable and

1:40:57the 18t connection to those

1:41:00poles don't we have to deal with them as

1:41:02well we would as we move forward with um

1:41:05any utility underground project we would

1:41:07coordinate with those other utilities

1:41:09it's telecommunications 18 tm comcast

1:41:12who might have any cables on those poles

1:41:15and we would work closely with the pg e

1:41:17and have meetings and and they're all

1:41:19responsible for undergrounding their

1:41:20facilities

1:41:22so in this neighborhood the civic center

1:41:24area there are some residences

1:41:27correct um

1:41:28they will beyond what fifteen hundred

1:41:30dollars they will have to pay some money

1:41:33to convert their um electrical panel

1:41:35correct

1:41:36do you have an estimate of what that may

1:41:38be and what if they refuse to pay

1:41:41i don't have an estimate of what that

1:41:43may be um

1:41:46let me ask lizette if she has that

1:41:48information

1:41:54i'm going to give you like an average

1:41:56figure on that i would say probably for

1:41:58private properties in the neighborhood

1:42:00of maybe 3 3500 depending on what's

1:42:04needed to be converted on each panel

1:42:06and it's it's a bit higher on

1:42:09commercial properties

1:42:11so this probably won't be happening for

1:42:13a while

1:42:14but when it does that cost could come to

1:42:17these residents correct but this the

1:42:20city also had the option of having pg e

1:42:24manage the panel work and if you choose

1:42:27that option

1:42:28um

1:42:29the cost can come out of the work

1:42:31credits okay so you're not going to use

1:42:33the credits yes you can okay and i don't

1:42:35think we got in our pack at the copy of

1:42:37the letter to our residents if we could

1:42:40get that

1:42:42that would be great i didn't see it in

1:42:44there thank you

1:42:49and i just had the one question it when

1:42:51i first looked at this it reminded me of

1:42:53like

1:42:54the border with richmond on san pablo

1:42:56avenue it was all zigzagged

1:42:58um but now i see

1:43:00that these parcels that are

1:43:03they must be all connected are they all

1:43:05facing manila avenue these residences

1:43:08some of their frontages are on the side

1:43:10streets but uh we when we did a field

1:43:13walk through it looked like they were

1:43:14getting their electrical service from

1:43:16the poles along manila i see okay so

1:43:19that would explain the particular shape

1:43:22of it

1:43:24okay thank you very much

1:43:34all right

1:43:37the public hearing is now open

1:43:40do you have any speakers on this item we

1:43:42have two speakers on this item first is

1:43:44howdy gowdy followed by alan hanger

1:43:51good evening mayor and council members

1:43:52my name is howdy gaudi i live in el

1:43:54cerrito

1:43:55um

1:43:56so

1:43:57i think this is

1:43:58uh appropriate that this discussion came

1:44:01up on the night that you know pg e

1:44:03presented their electrical safety

1:44:05program

1:44:07there really is a great need for

1:44:09undergrounding i think there's a lot of

1:44:11public sentiment in support of it

1:44:14it is costly and that's an issue

1:44:17but it sort of begs the question why

1:44:19haven't we been doing this for eight

1:44:21years and why aren't we thinking a

1:44:23little bit more thoughtfully about where

1:44:26we would prioritize it because i realize

1:44:28this is just kind of a placeholder but

1:44:30this particular district does not make

1:44:33sense to me i i

1:44:36appreciate the need to

1:44:38have good facilities around the civic

1:44:41center but there is literally one poll

1:44:43that is right out front here that would

1:44:46be affected immediately

1:44:48to the

1:44:50civic buildings

1:44:52going out manila

1:44:54there's you know 10 other streets like

1:44:56that it's it's really nothing special it

1:44:58really doesn't impact the

1:45:00civic center proper and and so i just

1:45:03failed to see the motivation that this

1:45:06is the most important place to identify

1:45:08i could point to many other streets you

1:45:10know upper fairmont you have an

1:45:12elementary school a commercial district

1:45:13you have really dense wiring over there

1:45:16you have all kinds of other important

1:45:18evacuation routes moser

1:45:21you know petro cutting arlington um we

1:45:24have high you know fire hazard areas and

1:45:28so when um

1:45:30when it was mentioned that we're not

1:45:32taking away from the opportunity of

1:45:34residents to um to underground i mean

1:45:38the the criteria is public benefit you

1:45:41know evacuation routes are a public

1:45:43benefit and so that's

1:45:45you know perhaps a better place to be

1:45:47identifying um

1:45:49the opportunity for undergrounding

1:45:51the other thing i was concerned about is

1:45:54well just just the

1:45:55boundaries that are drawn for instance

1:45:58it stops at san pablo this pole out

1:46:00front of city hall the wires are going

1:46:02across san pablo so because san pablo is

1:46:05not part of this district can we dig up

1:46:07san pablo and get rid of that poll or is

1:46:10it going to be amended to have to

1:46:12achieve that um the other question is

1:46:15out here on kearney um you know there's

1:46:17a private development that needs to

1:46:19underground at um

1:46:22the

1:46:23village of town center

1:46:25their new development project is not in

1:46:27the district but across the street where

1:46:30they are not doing work is in the

1:46:32district but the street is and it

1:46:34doesn't actually sound good for me for

1:46:36the rate payers to be subsidizing a

1:46:38private developments undergrounding

1:46:41requirements so i think there's a lot of

1:46:43details that haven't been

1:46:45really well thought out or well

1:46:46prioritized here and i hope that there

1:46:48is more thought putting to it in the

1:46:50future thank you

1:46:52thank you the next speaker is armhinger

1:47:00madame mayer and members of the board

1:47:03i'm alan hanger calvin drive

1:47:06i support this proposal because uh

1:47:09all of the customers of pg e can pay for

1:47:11undergrounding this although i think the

1:47:14project is sort of a feel-good project

1:47:16all week and underground stuff but take

1:47:18advantage of the money

1:47:20now as far as individual costs and that

1:47:23my property in berkeley was

1:47:24undergrounded 30 years ago

1:47:27it was about 250 at that time for the

1:47:29breaker panel so probably three times

1:47:31that now but i did have to dig a

1:47:35open channel

1:47:36to the street

1:47:38from the breaker box so that they can

1:47:40place underground cables

1:47:42now having said that i'm

1:47:45i'm pretty ticked because of all the

1:47:47things we're talking here tonight that

1:47:49we shouldn't have to have talked about

1:47:52five years ago i tried to make a

1:47:54presentation

1:47:56at when

1:47:57mce came up

1:47:59and i

1:48:00my presentation addresses

1:48:02making el cerrito a municipal utility

1:48:05like alameda

1:48:07and

1:48:08undergrounding the whole city

1:48:10i got my numbers from the

1:48:14engineering manager at alameda for the

1:48:16undergrounding cost

1:48:18they'll be

1:48:19a little different now

1:48:21but i came up with a reasonable estimate

1:48:23and i've done rates for many years and

1:48:26bought power for alameda probably 240

1:48:29millions worth of

1:48:30power

1:48:32to i came up with a 150 million dollar

1:48:36cost to underground all of the 60 miles

1:48:39that are not undergrounded

1:48:41now that may be off because it was a

1:48:43very quick

1:48:44analysis that i did i can mail you my

1:48:46presentation

1:48:48but it's something that you should think

1:48:50about

1:48:51uh

1:48:52the guy the jackass that wouldn't let me

1:48:55speak

1:48:56he was thinking oh it's going to make

1:48:58property taxes go up no

1:49:00their revenue bonds secured by

1:49:04the revenue from the kilowatt hours sold

1:49:08and so i went through the calculations

1:49:10labor materials six cents for uh six

1:49:14seven cents for

1:49:16renewable energy

1:49:18uh i forget what it was now without

1:49:20looking it was seven or eight cents

1:49:23for

1:49:24the capital costs of undergrounding it

1:49:26and i actually i expected it would take

1:49:28five years we should be finishing up now

1:49:31at about 12

1:49:33miles a year

1:49:35and we haven't done that that's

1:49:37something you should look at

1:49:39the

1:49:41the costs i came up with were around 20

1:49:4321 cents per kilowatt hour well pg e is

1:49:46about exactly where i predicted 21 cents

1:49:49per kilowatt hour

1:49:51in the next

1:49:52five years they're going to be up at 30

1:49:54cents

1:49:55and the bulk of those costs are going to

1:49:58be debt they're going to be fixed for 30

1:50:00years so i urge you to think about

1:50:05forgetting about the criminal pg e who

1:50:08is doing their things that we can't

1:50:10control but we can control

1:50:13the city of el cerrito

1:50:15and going forward i urge you to think

1:50:17about that thank

1:50:22you all right

1:50:26motion to close the public hearing

1:50:30second

1:50:31motion by lyman second by abelson

1:50:35do we have any additional questions

1:50:39i'm sorry we need to vote um no we no we

1:50:42didn't have we did vote

1:50:44we just closed the public hearings on

1:50:45this

1:50:46questions okay so you're all in favor

1:50:49yes bye

1:50:50okay there's opposed

1:50:53motion carries okay next um

1:50:57do we have any additional questions

1:50:59i just had one comment um

1:51:02i had a similar concern to mr gabby

1:51:04about the

1:51:07evacuation routes could be a priority in

1:51:10el cerrito

1:51:11for this program but it's my

1:51:13understanding that

1:51:15there's such a long list in this program

1:51:17for using these that this we are really

1:51:20place making and in a

1:51:22emergency way preserving our right to

1:51:24use these funds in the future and this

1:51:27won't preclude other changes in this if

1:51:30some neighborhood or city wants to come

1:51:32to us and we can prioritize that we can

1:51:34do that so i think we lock this in now

1:51:37and we can act and we can make sure that

1:51:39those evacuation routes are something

1:51:41else we believe to be more

1:51:43important can be

1:51:44handled so that's all i have to say

1:51:47yeah i'll

1:51:49i'll add to that for purposes of clarity

1:51:51part of the reason this district was

1:51:54formed is because it only required 10

1:51:56addresses to be notified which would

1:51:58allow us to accelerate the process of

1:52:00notification like mr like mr fideli i

1:52:04also questioned the

1:52:06location of this

1:52:07um and so it i think it's incumbent upon

1:52:10us to move forward over time to

1:52:14have better undergrounding plans in the

1:52:16future so that that's that's to echo

1:52:19what mr fedele you're saying and what uh

1:52:21the public comments comment makers made

1:52:24so

1:52:25all right do you have a motion on this i

1:52:26would move this

1:52:32[Laughter]

1:52:38motion by fidelity second by quinto

1:52:41all in favor

1:52:43those opposed motion carries

1:52:47all right our next is public hearing for

1:52:51fire hazard abatement

1:52:55they have the staff report

1:53:04madam mayor members of the council

1:53:06dave gibson i'm your fire marshal

1:53:09before we i turned it over to the fire

1:53:11prevention officer damien carrion for

1:53:13the main presentation on on the staff

1:53:15report just wanted to give a quick

1:53:17overview on on where we are with the

1:53:19process for uh 2019.

1:53:22uh as you can see from the packet that

1:53:24we gave you it was uh there was some

1:53:26changes and it was significantly larger

1:53:29uh than than in the past years

1:53:32after two years of devastating wildfires

1:53:34in the in the state of california

1:53:37and the fact that we saw a fire in the

1:53:40santa rosa area go into

1:53:43the flatlands into coffee park

1:53:45uh we are understanding that these fires

1:53:48are not just

1:53:49a wildland urban

1:53:51wildland urban interface issue anymore

1:53:53they're not a high fire hazard issue

1:53:55anymore they're a community issue and

1:53:57they can reach down into the all areas

1:53:59of the community

1:54:02given this year we've also had two years

1:54:04of

1:54:05substantially more rain record rain um

1:54:08we have more growth in the community

1:54:10than we than we've had

1:54:12in in past years

1:54:14um we've at this point we've logged uh

1:54:18480 hours of time with the fire

1:54:20prevention officer in 250 hours for of

1:54:23my time just to get us to the to this

1:54:25point where we are

1:54:28some of that has been

1:54:30taken up um

1:54:32in a sense by

1:54:34some very concerned citizens and

1:54:36um

1:54:37and as an example one citizen we changed

1:54:4022 emails just because that property

1:54:43owner didn't want

1:54:44to clear or didn't feel that they needed

1:54:46to clear and after 22 emails uh

1:54:50we we got to a certain point with that

1:54:52property um 26 pages of in the original

1:54:57packet with 292 properties is way too

1:55:01many properties

1:55:03it it makes it gives me concern as the

1:55:06fire marshal here in this community um

1:55:09that we're not getting the word out

1:55:11despite the fact that we did community

1:55:14outreach and offered presentations

1:55:16despite the fact that you've talked

1:55:17about this same topic

1:55:19every council meeting since september

1:55:25we had to send out 292 letters

1:55:28to citizens in this community this

1:55:31that's just that's just shows from my

1:55:33perspective as the fire marshal way too

1:55:35much complacency

1:55:37way too much

1:55:39uh we need to make this a higher

1:55:41priority as a community

1:55:44another thing we noticed in out in our

1:55:46inspections this year is

1:55:49how hard it is to find people's

1:55:51addresses on their houses

1:55:53you know we get into a wildland

1:55:55situation or a wildfire even a medical

1:55:57emergency at people's homes

1:56:00if we can't see your address

1:56:02that that's difficult

1:56:04to to get render care and get people

1:56:07where they need to be so where we'd like

1:56:10to see people take a look at your at

1:56:12your posted address

1:56:14on your property and if it's not readily

1:56:17visible

1:56:19think about getting that getting that

1:56:20work done

1:56:22again

1:56:24this is a community issue and we're all

1:56:26in it together we all have to take that

1:56:28take that approach

1:56:29um

1:56:30one very important thing we want to say

1:56:32with this program that has not changed

1:56:34and will never change is that we seek

1:56:36100 voluntary compliance we want to work

1:56:39with each and every one of our residents

1:56:42to make sure that we

1:56:43get them to voluntary compliance we

1:56:45don't want to have to do forcible

1:56:47abatement on anybody's property

1:56:49um

1:56:49so

1:56:50again we want to we want to

1:56:52we understand there's a process we

1:56:54follow that process but it's also all of

1:56:57us working together private properties

1:56:59public properties pg e

1:57:01east bay mud

1:57:02school district all of us working

1:57:04together so

1:57:06you know we all have to we all have to

1:57:08make it a priority and we all have to

1:57:09work together

1:57:10so i will turn her over to uh

1:57:12to uh fire prevention officer carrion

1:57:14for the

1:57:15staff presentation um

1:57:17and

1:57:18and get you into the

1:57:20main part of the public hearing thank

1:57:22you

1:57:33good evening madam mayor council members

1:57:35and members of our community

1:57:37my name is damian karen your fire

1:57:38prevention officer and i'm here to

1:57:40provide an overview of the annual fire

1:57:41hazard vaping program introduce

1:57:43resolution declaring the identified

1:57:44properties in el cerrito as public

1:57:46nuisances for the purposes of abatement

1:57:50we have surveyed over 10 000 properties

1:57:52of those properties initially inspected

1:57:54992 were found to be in violation of the

1:57:57vegetation management standards of el

1:57:58cerrito after assessments and res and

1:58:01re-inspections that were requested by

1:58:02property owners we determined that 410

1:58:05properties to be declared public

1:58:06nuisances we conducted the initial

1:58:08inspections beginning may 1st continued

1:58:10until june 16th property

1:58:13assessments and reinspections took place

1:58:15as requested by property owners in an

1:58:16effort to accommodate as many per day as

1:58:18possible it took hundreds of hours

1:58:21480 to be exact to complete this task

1:58:25i would like to thank city staff member

1:58:27jennifer pete who also spent countless

1:58:29hours assisting with creating a new

1:58:30inspection form and streamlining the

1:58:32process her assistance was instrumental

1:58:34in making our deadlines i would also

1:58:35like to thank our intern from our intern

1:58:38program vaughn ing bader for working

1:58:40with us to complete this project as well

1:58:42as chief stated we took a proactive

1:58:44stance this year given the last two

1:58:46devastating wildfire seasons in

1:58:48california

1:58:49we received a strong response from

1:58:50various community groups and number of

1:58:52and a number of concerned citizens

1:58:55fire chief michael pagani and fire

1:58:56marshal david gibson acknowledged as a

1:58:58department we needed to take certain

1:59:00steps to accomplish these goals

1:59:03the city of el cerrito borders wildcat

1:59:04canyon

1:59:05and we have coordinated with east bay

1:59:07regional parks fire department to build

1:59:08a hundred foot shaded fuel break along

1:59:10the ridge line to create a defensible

1:59:12space that extends from camper to cannon

1:59:14drive in kensington he'll eventually be

1:59:17tied in to the north render shaded fuel

1:59:19break that is being constructed now

1:59:22we've worked with cal fire and the cdc

1:59:23to create a 100 foot shaded fuel break

1:59:25within the 110 acre

1:59:27hillside natural area to provide

1:59:29defensible space to properties that back

1:59:30to the hillside natural area the fire

1:59:32department has also conducted prescribed

1:59:34berms to remove the vegetation

1:59:37we have also been working closely with

1:59:39pg e to complete the work

1:59:41on the motor hill right away

1:59:43and including the hillside natural area

1:59:46we're continuing to work with the west

1:59:47contra costa county school district to

1:59:48maintain many schools located here in el

1:59:50cerrito

1:59:52the city of el cerrito public works

1:59:53department was also given 30 projects

1:59:55this year

1:59:57to complete in order to bring our our

1:59:58own properties into compliance

2:00:00this was all done in an effort to make

2:00:02our community fire safe we're asking

2:00:04property owners and community to work

2:00:05with us and do their part

2:00:07because there's a real fire safety issue

2:00:08within our city and we need to make the

2:00:10entire community fire safe

2:00:12thank you for your time

2:00:14thank you questions from the council

2:00:18nope i just had one

2:00:20from the council uh we you will have an

2:00:22opportunity to speak during public

2:00:24comment

2:00:26i do have one comment i'd like to make

2:00:29as far as the addresses not being

2:00:32visible if we could possibly put that in

2:00:34our news and views letter

2:00:37i think that would be a good thing to

2:00:40get out to people

2:00:42that

2:00:42we want to be able to find them in the

2:00:44case of an emergency whatever that

2:00:46emergency may be

2:00:48can i add on to that yes um

2:00:51it

2:00:51just saying that it is step one and it's

2:00:54a very good step one

2:00:55but step two might be how do you

2:00:58fix that problem

2:01:00and are there some

2:01:02services that we can recommend or can we

2:01:06use volunteers or something

2:01:09to have a system for

2:01:11actually um

2:01:14i think what we're talking about is

2:01:15painting the number on the curb no what

2:01:18are we talking about doing

2:01:26to that end there is requirements

2:01:28somewhere in the city i don't remember

2:01:30if it's in the building

2:01:32code or the fire code but there is a

2:01:34requirement for how high the letters

2:01:35need to be and how far off the ground

2:01:37they need to be posted and

2:01:38so

2:01:39there is a there is a very serious

2:01:41requirement i think news and views ran

2:01:44this about a decade ago because i think

2:01:46i raised the issue about a decade ago so

2:01:49um would love to see it rerun with the

2:01:52actual you know requirements of what the

2:01:53letter sizes need to be letter and

2:01:55numbers and sizes need to be we'll work

2:01:57together to put something together for

2:01:59the newsletter thank you great so also

2:02:00in the newsletter if you can

2:02:02twitter that i think

2:02:04many of our residents will get that

2:02:06right away and take care of it we'll do

2:02:07social media all over the place and also

2:02:10our website

2:02:14thank you i do have a couple of

2:02:15questions i i just yeah what i heard and

2:02:19and i appreciate the comments um from

2:02:22fire marshall uh gibson

2:02:24that that we

2:02:26we looked more places

2:02:29and we um found more

2:02:34issues

2:02:35and in and i heard it was a result of

2:02:37partially due the fact that we were

2:02:38looking in more places as a result of

2:02:40the experiences in paradise and and uh

2:02:44uh she was going over

2:02:46santa rosa thank you coffee park um that

2:02:49we looked in in places that we not

2:02:51haven't necessarily looked in the past

2:02:53and and that we're

2:02:55um as a result of more water over the

2:02:58last couple years there's more

2:02:59vegetation growth than we've seen

2:03:01in in the past so

2:03:03i just i want to this is your

2:03:04opportunity to i know you you said that

2:03:06in your remarks coming up but i want to

2:03:08make sure that that is true

2:03:10because clearly as as both of you have

2:03:13stated

2:03:14almost a thousand

2:03:16properties uh at the starting point

2:03:19which is ten percent

2:03:21of our of the number of parcels we have

2:03:23in el cerrito um a thousand properties

2:03:26actually represents almost one-seventh

2:03:29of the single-family homes so that so

2:03:31that's a very high

2:03:35in

2:03:36i know you both have have seen me have

2:03:39this conversation with you guys over the

2:03:40years that's a very high non-compliant

2:03:43rate and

2:03:45i just want to make sure that we

2:03:49are acknowledging that the reason it's

2:03:51higher this year is because of some of

2:03:53the experiences we've seen at paradise

2:03:56and coffee park

2:03:59so

2:03:59as far as the number of properties

2:04:01inspected we inspected the same number

2:04:03of properties in the past years

2:04:06every

2:04:08parcel

2:04:09uh we drive the entire

2:04:11community

2:04:12um

2:04:13we did notice that this year and we've

2:04:16actually talked with several residents

2:04:17this year that it's the first time i've

2:04:19ever got a letter it's the first time

2:04:21i've ever got a letter and we understand

2:04:22that

2:04:24we took a very

2:04:26letter of the law very letter of the

2:04:31vegetation management standards

2:04:34and

2:04:35and enforced that this year um

2:04:38in in past years

2:04:40that that may have been one of those

2:04:43fringe properties where would have said

2:04:46well you know it'll get you know it's

2:04:47not it's not showing that much of a

2:04:49hazard at this point

2:04:52and it would have been it would have

2:04:53been left to the homeowner and then

2:04:55followed up on later on um on on the

2:04:58complaint side if it would continue to

2:05:00be a problem and most of the time it's

2:05:02not

2:05:03um

2:05:04so

2:05:05there were more properties plus again we

2:05:07have had more rain and we do re we saw

2:05:10saw a lot of growth in places that we

2:05:12hadn't seen growth before uh so

2:05:15uh

2:05:16but that a little combination of both

2:05:20i did give a fire prevention officer

2:05:22carry on the directive of

2:05:25going through the community

2:05:27with the letter of the law

2:05:29to the standards

2:05:31and that is one of the reasons why

2:05:34that list was initially longer um the

2:05:37good thing is again

2:05:39counting on our community as we have in

2:05:41the past years

2:05:43that's already been

2:05:44now cut in half by over by and over half

2:05:48of the list so uh half plus um so we're

2:05:51down we're down to 400. um

2:05:54the non-compliant part is if we're in a

2:05:56process

2:05:58we're at a point in the process by no

2:06:00means

2:06:01does that mean um

2:06:03that we're not still you know the going

2:06:06to work with those with the community

2:06:08members to keep

2:06:09getting that voluntary compliance again

2:06:11with the goal of zero zero abatements um

2:06:14out there so and and remind us how many

2:06:17abatements have we done in the last

2:06:19three years roughly

2:06:21we've been we've been under five uh

2:06:24abatements in the in the last uh

2:06:27number of years so so the letter that

2:06:29for example there's a as attachment six

2:06:31that such it's dated tomorrow

2:06:33and and if i hear correctly we'll be

2:06:35spending out 410 of these letters

2:06:38tomorrow

2:06:39um to the to the revised list that we

2:06:41got tonight and this

2:06:43this letter is actually pretty effective

2:06:45in getting people to

2:06:46finally

2:06:48uh wake up and understand their

2:06:50community

2:06:51and i don't know if this letter this

2:06:53letter looks more like the ones i've

2:06:54seen in the past does it does this

2:06:56letter can it include uh this the

2:06:59concept that we've heard tonight more

2:07:01than once uh fire marshall you said it

2:07:03yourself that it's a community

2:07:04responsibility based on some of the

2:07:06things we've seen before

2:07:08that everybody needs to sort of step up

2:07:10and and do their part to protect all of

2:07:13us

2:07:14you know we

2:07:15we see that letter as a second

2:07:17opportunity

2:07:18to

2:07:19reach out to those property owners

2:07:22it does as you will see in the letter as

2:07:24you seen in the letter that it does

2:07:27provide for another 30 days

2:07:29before we

2:07:31take any any action on that property

2:07:34with the goal of

2:07:36finding that voluntary compliance um if

2:07:40that's a matter of us going out there

2:07:41and walking through the property or

2:07:44showing somebody which we've done

2:07:47numerous times already in the process

2:07:50that did people have requested

2:07:52if that requires us to go back out there

2:07:55then then we'll do so um again with the

2:07:58with the hope that we're going to get to

2:08:00100

2:08:01uh

2:08:02compliance so i want to expand on what i

2:08:04think i just heard you say is it between

2:08:06now and this letter says august 19th

2:08:09you would entertain if if there was a

2:08:12member of the public that got one of the

2:08:14410 letters and they said hey come show

2:08:16me exactly how i can comply with the

2:08:18standard that you're applying the letter

2:08:20of the law as we as we said earlier

2:08:23you would be more than willing to go out

2:08:25and and and educate them on which pieces

2:08:28as as in an earlier item we talked about

2:08:31how

2:08:32uh i'm going to butcher the latin name

2:08:34but live oak is is a fire retardant we

2:08:37aren't necessarily calling for them to

2:08:38cut down their live oak tree for example

2:08:41um but we might be

2:08:43asking them to limit or take away some

2:08:44of the other ladder fuels that would

2:08:47make that live oak vulnerable in the

2:08:49wrong conditions so so you're willing to

2:08:52go out and visit and help property

2:08:54owners make the right decisions about

2:08:56what vegetation needs to be removed to

2:08:58be compliant correct we we sent out our

2:09:00first first batch of letters on may 9th

2:09:03we probably started doing those fire

2:09:05assessments on may 11th so we've been

2:09:07doing them all along if somebody's

2:09:09requested that

2:09:11they didn't understand what we wanted or

2:09:13they wanted us to show them

2:09:15we went to their property at their

2:09:16request and we we showed them that

2:09:19that took a portion of that 480 hours a

2:09:22good fortune that 480 hours um

2:09:26so

2:09:27we continue to do that we will continue

2:09:29to do that we're happy to do that and

2:09:31and again um

2:09:33we want to work with the property owners

2:09:35to

2:09:36bring the property into compliance

2:09:39without having to force if we abate it

2:09:41there was a there was a gentleman who

2:09:43came

2:09:45and spoke to us about

2:09:47he lived over by the del norte bart area

2:09:49he lived uphill from a vacant lot that

2:09:52was

2:09:53not well maintained and frequently he

2:09:56would come to this meeting the july

2:09:58meeting and say that his house is at

2:10:01risk as a result of what his neighbor is

2:10:03not doing

2:10:04um how many of these parcels we have a

2:10:07number of vacant parcels in in el

2:10:09cerrito

2:10:10how many of these parcels

2:10:12are uh vacant or underutilized or or

2:10:16you know not

2:10:17in in the sort of state of as that

2:10:19gentleman who was living that's living

2:10:21over by del norte and i can't remember

2:10:23the streets

2:10:24is it five percent one percent

2:10:28of the 410 or vacant

2:10:31or even

2:10:32yeah

2:10:33probably

2:10:3420 25 total numbers

2:10:37that are vacant lots uh okay as a total

2:10:40but again looking at it as a community

2:10:42issue we look at it what we're looking

2:10:45to seek to eliminate here are receptive

2:10:48fuel beds

2:10:49in and in in emberstorm or in

2:10:53uh

2:10:55you know ember casting this is called a

2:10:57lot of different things but when you get

2:10:58these big fires going if we were to

2:11:01be subject to one of these big fires and

2:11:03we have embers reigning in in our

2:11:05community we seek to eliminate the

2:11:08receptive fuel beds so that these embers

2:11:11don't land in dry grass then they go to

2:11:13some kind of a brush and then next thing

2:11:15you know they catch the house on fire

2:11:17now the house becomes a fuel and and so

2:11:19that that's kind of the chain of how

2:11:21things go in these big fires and people

2:11:24wonder how to how do these fires spread

2:11:26a mile out two miles out ahead well they

2:11:28spread out through the embers landing in

2:11:30the community coming down like rain and

2:11:32finding a receptive fuel bed and the

2:11:34reason i'm asking about the vacant

2:11:35properties is that

2:11:36the bulk of these letters are going out

2:11:38hopefully to somebody who lives on the

2:11:40property and then would be able to

2:11:42voluntarily comply

2:11:44so that these letters that we're going

2:11:45to send out tomorrow

2:11:48are landing hopefully in mailboxes where

2:11:52the majority of these people can can

2:11:53bring us into compliance they go to the

2:11:55legal property address based on the uh

2:11:58the taxes right thank you

2:12:03thank you

2:12:06thank you i was just gonna say i i i

2:12:09know where all those 400 hours

2:12:11i see damien all over and he's like

2:12:13seven different places in one day so

2:12:14he's he's everywhere checking things out

2:12:17um just two quick questions

2:12:20last year

2:12:21councilman lyman mentioned about

2:12:22starting earlier

2:12:24is may earlier

2:12:27we we try to do a balance of timing as

2:12:31when it's

2:12:33the rains are getting to the end you get

2:12:35that spurt of growth

2:12:37what we try to uh eliminate is if we did

2:12:40these in say feb february let's say we

2:12:43went out and did them in february why it

2:12:44was still raining and we started

2:12:46noticing properties and we went in and

2:12:49we went in and we abated say this time

2:12:51of year

2:12:52we're going to get regrowth and we're

2:12:54going to be back here again

2:12:57potentially for the same property

2:13:00in

2:13:01september october november

2:13:03so that's why we seek to

2:13:05now we do realize too that that there

2:13:08needs to be

2:13:09uh community outreach we started our

2:13:10community outreach here uh at towards

2:13:13the end of march um in getting out in

2:13:16the community setting up uh

2:13:17presentations for folks uh to come to to

2:13:21try to talk about the the this very

2:13:23issue so

2:13:25and next year we

2:13:27we foresee that it will be something

2:13:29that will definitely start us from a

2:13:31community outreach standpoint uh into

2:13:34the winter months you're at least

2:13:35thinking about starting earlier i've

2:13:37already started thinking about next year

2:13:38already yes um and last question is do

2:13:41you go into

2:13:43or look at or

2:13:45backyards and easements

2:13:47we as there's some under under under

2:13:49this program and under the government

2:13:51code

2:13:52these assessments are only allowed to be

2:13:54conducted from the public way

2:13:57we are not allowed to go on people's

2:13:58property so we are still at harm yes

2:14:01yeah we are not allowed to go on

2:14:03people's property we are not allowed to

2:14:05look over their fence we are not allowed

2:14:07to fly a drone we are not allowed to do

2:14:09anything like that the only way that

2:14:12that one of the legal things that we are

2:14:14allowed to do if we are invited by a

2:14:16neighbor

2:14:17into their house to look into someone's

2:14:19backyard we can

2:14:21so and but we cannot just go into

2:14:23people's on people's property that's

2:14:24trespassing so i hate to you know talk

2:14:26about neighbor reporting to neighbors

2:14:28but i hear a lot of that has happened if

2:14:30there is a backyard situation that does

2:14:32endanger a neighbor they can call the

2:14:34fire department we encourage that

2:14:36because we again we look at this as a

2:14:38community issue it's a if i don't report

2:14:42per se my neighbor

2:14:44their my neighbor's house catches on

2:14:46their grass catches on fire goes into

2:14:47their bushes catches their their

2:14:50you know and then it runs to my house

2:14:52now my house burns down that's that's

2:14:54partly on me

2:14:56so i think again we have to look at it

2:14:58as a community issue thank you

2:15:01thank you

2:15:02do i have a motion on the first

2:15:03resolution

2:15:11the first resolution is just to declare

2:15:14the identified properties and then we'll

2:15:16go on to public comment

2:15:19so that would be this one here

2:15:21attachment one

2:15:22which has exhibit a so we would have to

2:15:24use the revised exhibit a that's correct

2:15:26so i'll move a resolution of the city

2:15:28council

2:15:29the city council the city of el cerrito

2:15:31declaring that weeds rubbish litter or

2:15:34other flammable material on certain real

2:15:36properties constitutes a public nuisance

2:15:38recognizing that we have a new exhibit a

2:15:41with only 410 properties identified i'll

2:15:46second that

2:15:47motion by lyman

2:15:48second by quinto all in favor

2:15:52is opposed motion carries

2:15:54all right now we will open the public

2:15:56hearing

2:15:57[Music]

2:15:59are there any is there anyone from the

2:16:01public who wishes to speak on this item

2:16:02please call them forward employees city

2:16:05court we have five speakers on this item

2:16:07the first speaker is alan hanger

2:16:08followed by eric cottrell

2:16:19alan hanger galvin drive just below the

2:16:22city's fire hazard on sea view

2:16:26that they're trying to pin on us

2:16:29there's a

2:16:30criminal going around breaking into

2:16:32houses and

2:16:34costing people

2:16:35so

2:16:36the city says oh you got to put

2:16:39fences up and you gotta bars and you

2:16:42can't go on the public or we'll find you

2:16:44well where we are now is we have a

2:16:47murderous criminal on the loose

2:16:50killing people with their equipment pg e

2:16:53this whole issue is pg e in fact

2:16:57probably the fire chief should be fired

2:16:59for taking a bribe from pg e

2:17:02pg e has

2:17:06put out 10 million dollars

2:17:08to fire abatement programs throughout

2:17:11the area

2:17:12and

2:17:13putting the onus on us as owners

2:17:17rather than their crappy stuff that's

2:17:19going to start the fire

2:17:21it's not you know it might be like up in

2:17:24reading where

2:17:26a chain broke loose on a truck and

2:17:28started a

2:17:30natural occurrence can occur

2:17:32but here it's going to be pg e and the

2:17:35owners of our houses the letter i got

2:17:37i'll be damned if i'm going to do it

2:17:40i don't care whether you're voted or not

2:17:42now i haven't been able to talk to my

2:17:44neighbor who got a letter also he's an

2:17:46attorney

2:17:47we will take action i'm sure my

2:17:49neighbors have said we ain't going to do

2:17:51it we're not going to cut the trees back

2:17:5310 feet from our house

2:17:55we're not going to

2:17:56do all of the things that are in this

2:17:58damn letter they sent me

2:18:01and

2:18:04there's some things i need to do i

2:18:05haven't

2:18:07blown the leaves from my one tree

2:18:10cutting the trees

2:18:1310 feet high

2:18:15i've got a laurel tree that's beautiful

2:18:17it's 20 feet high

2:18:1920 feet in diameter or maybe 30 feet in

2:18:22diameter

2:18:25to cut to cut it 10 feet would kill it

2:18:28i got a redwood i'm not cutting it

2:18:31i've got a bunch of other trees

2:18:33and things that i will not do

2:18:36so you may pass this but i'm sure i'm

2:18:39not the only one here

2:18:41that is not going to comply with this we

2:18:43will put a referendum together

2:18:46maybe go against you in the next

2:18:48election

2:18:49but this is putting the onus on citizens

2:18:52of el cerrito rather than that damn

2:18:54murderous pg e

2:18:57and i agree you know i agree we need to

2:18:59take care of our property i'm a little

2:19:01behind i was on just on vacation and

2:19:04barely get caught up

2:19:06so but we're we're not going to do the

2:19:10things that were in the letter

2:19:13thank you

2:19:14thank you the next speaker is eric

2:19:16cottrell followed by nick zamorono

2:19:28the mayor council thank you for the

2:19:30opportunity to speak

2:19:32i emailed a uh an email into the city

2:19:36court

2:19:36on sunday afternoon i don't know if i

2:19:39know that was past the deadline

2:19:42i don't know if you folks received

2:19:43copies

2:19:46although i've just given the clerk

2:19:47copies uh to back up a little bit my

2:19:50name is eric littrell i'm a resident of

2:19:52cerrito

2:19:54um

2:19:55we received a letter from the file

2:19:57marshall fire marshall on

2:19:59june 15th and read that read the

2:20:02inspection

2:20:04read the regulations and i

2:20:07put in a call to

2:20:09officer carrion the following monday

2:20:11morning

2:20:12left a message on his voicemail

2:20:15and then proceeded to wait because i

2:20:18figured with all of these letters going

2:20:20out he was probably quite busy

2:20:23i waited two weeks

2:20:25and then called his line again

2:20:27and was directed to leave an email

2:20:31to his email address

2:20:34which i did

2:20:35quite happily because my wife and i

2:20:38were perfectly happy to voluntarily

2:20:42mitigate the damages on our property

2:20:45however we never heard back from the

2:20:47fire department

2:20:48so now tonight i look at the council

2:20:52getting ready to vote my property as a

2:20:54public nuisance

2:20:56when i've been doing my utmost in good

2:20:59faith

2:21:00to comply with

2:21:02the wishes of the fire department

2:21:04yet have not had any good faith response

2:21:07back

2:21:09i don't know how many other property

2:21:10owners are similarly situated as me

2:21:14but i would hope that

2:21:16the council

2:21:17take people in my circumstance

2:21:21into consideration

2:21:22as

2:21:23my wife and i have been

2:21:25happy to comply

2:21:28requested some

2:21:32additional details

2:21:33from the fire department and

2:21:36have

2:21:37basically gotten back silence thank you

2:21:40very much i appreciate your hearing

2:21:43thank you

2:21:45the next speaker is nick zamorono

2:21:47followed by george fruin

2:21:52good evening madam mayor city council

2:21:54members city staff friends and neighbors

2:21:56in the community

2:21:58um on behalf of the

2:22:00nick samurano

2:22:01el cerrito on behalf of miguel cerrito

2:22:03fire safe i want to extend my thanks

2:22:07to the auswitha fire department the

2:22:09gentlemen here in the back

2:22:11for their efforts in identifying those

2:22:13city and residential properties that

2:22:15pose fire risk to

2:22:17all of us in el cerrito

2:22:19likewise i want to support the fire

2:22:21hazard abatement program and process and

2:22:24urge you the city council to adopt a

2:22:26resolution declaring those properties in

2:22:29violation of public nuisance safety

2:22:30hazard

2:22:32and thus ordering the city manager to

2:22:33debate such hatcheries public nuisance

2:22:35conditions pursuant

2:22:37to your el cerrito municipal cult

2:22:39chapter 62.26

2:22:41i want to thank those

2:22:43property owners who have

2:22:45voluntarily brought their

2:22:48homes and properties into compliance i

2:22:51know it's a lot of work

2:22:52all of us have to do our part this is

2:22:54our civic duty and responsibility as

2:22:57residents of el cerrito

2:23:00these fire hazard abatement measures are

2:23:02occurring not only in el cerrito but

2:23:04throughout the cities and counties in

2:23:05california because of the sea of fire

2:23:07severe fire risk that exists

2:23:10zero tolerance measures have been

2:23:11implemented in bay area communities such

2:23:14as contratosta county alameda county and

2:23:16marin county contra costa county fire

2:23:19protection recently adopted a weed

2:23:21abatement program that will assess a tax

2:23:24lien on all residential property owners

2:23:27whom upon inspection are deemed to be

2:23:28out of compliance therefore posing a

2:23:32fire risk to their communities

2:23:34zero tolerance and policies have

2:23:36likewise been adopted in alameda and

2:23:38marin

2:23:39i urge city council members to adopt a

2:23:41similar zero pollen

2:23:43uh zero tolerance

2:23:44policy in conclusion

2:23:47it is every homeowner's responsibility

2:23:49to reduce fire risks on their properties

2:23:51and when unable to do so or unwilling to

2:23:54do so like some of these gentlemen

2:23:56have spoken and will speak so then it's

2:23:58the city government's duty to abate the

2:24:01fire risk at the financial expense of

2:24:03the homeowner

2:24:04this is the only way shut up

2:24:07this is the only way that we can replace

2:24:09the fire risk of the next mega fire that

2:24:12is likely to occur it's not a process of

2:24:15when is if it's going to occur

2:24:17it's when it's going to occur and it's

2:24:19going to occur

2:24:21so thank you

2:24:22thank you

2:24:24the next speaker is george froon

2:24:25followed by howdy gowdy

2:24:29good evening mayor and city council

2:24:30thank you for um having this opportunity

2:24:33i'm george fruhan i've been a resident

2:24:34of el cerrito for 50 years

2:24:37i'm here to speak in favor of recent

2:24:39efforts to finally enforce the fire

2:24:42hazard debasement notices about

2:24:44defensible space

2:24:45to my surprise this year i got one of

2:24:48those letters from inspector carrion

2:24:51so i invited him to educate me on

2:24:53defensible space

2:24:54i found him cooperative and friendly and

2:24:57it was very easy to comply

2:24:59once he showed me what i had to do

2:25:03this issue is not about pg e starting a

2:25:06fire it's about our houses

2:25:09having so much fuel that if a fire is

2:25:11started by anyone it quickly spreads

2:25:13throughout the whole city

2:25:15i understand you're going to get some

2:25:17objections tonight and some of them may

2:25:19be fairly emotional

2:25:21but i think gary prost who spoke earlier

2:25:23this evening about the vaccine analogy

2:25:26this is a public health or public safety