COUNCIL INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING
Remote Participation - Digital Zoom Meeting
October 26, 2022
5:30 p.m.
MEETING MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER: Meeting called to order at 5:02 p.m. by Chair Elisa Márquez ROLL CALL:
Members Present:
Elisa Márquez, Chair
Angela Andrews, City Council Member
Mark Salinas, City Council Member
Staff Present:
David Donovan, Waste Pollution Control Facility Manager Suzan England, Senior Utilities Engineer
Yama Farouqi, Associate Civil Engineer
Kathy Garcia, Deputy Director of Public Works
Dave Hung, Senior Civil Engineer
Jennifer Ott, Assistant City Manager
Mary Thomas, Management Analyst II
Michael Wolny, Administrative Secretary (Meeting Recorder) PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Hayley Currier, a representative with Save the Bay, called in support of projects that mitigate climate change and asked that all future infrastructure projects look into green technology where applicable.
1. Approval of Minutes of the Special Council Infrastructure Committee (CIC) Meeting Held on June 16, 2022
2. Approval of Minutes of the Special Council Infrastructure Committee (CIC) Meeting Held on April 27, 2022
3. Approval of Minutes of the Council Infrastructure Committee (CIC) Meeting Held on October 27, 2021
4. Approval of Minutes of the Council Infrastructure Committee (CIC) Meeting held on April 16, 2019
Council Member Andrews moved items one through four, seconded by Council Member Salinas and were approved unanimously.
5. Review of the FY23 Pavement Improvement Project
Deputy Director Kathy Garcia, introduced Yama Farouqi, Associate Civil Engineer who provided the presentation and update.
Public Comments
There were none.
Committee Questions / Discussion
Council Member Andrews and Chair Márquez asked if the City can work with Alameda County Public Works for areas in Hayward where jurisdiction boundaries of streets meet.
Associate Civil Engineer Farouqi confirmed that City staff does keep in contact with Alameda County Public Works in areas that border jurisdiction street lines so that paving projects can potentially be completed together, so that a neighborhood can be improved around the same time.
Council Member Andrews asked if sustainable materials for paving have been used for before. Mr. Farouqi confirmed the City has used sustainable paving materials in the past, but the products were much more expensive and did not hold up as well causing long term maintenance costs. Staff will continue to look for alternative sustainable materials for future projects if the cost is favorable and can stand long term normal wear and tear.
Council Member Salinas asked staff to work with Alameda County to add a “Welcome to Hayward” sign or welcome structure near Hesperian Blvd and A St since it’s a main street that brings people into the City if possible.
6. East Bay Greenway Multimodal Corridor Project Update Assistant City Manager Jennifer Ott and Deputy Director Kathy Garcia provided the presentation and update alongside Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC) staff.
Public Comments
There were none.
Committee Questions / Discussion
Council Member Salinas expressed concern about the street parking on Mission Blvd and believes it would be a challenge to ask business owners along Mission Blvd to all have parking on their private lots. Assistant City Manager Ott agreed that requesting mandatory parking from the business may receive some comments, but the goal of the project is for a safer Mission Blvd for all multi-modal transportation. She added that having street parking available on sections of Mission Blvd could attract customers for the businesses in the area
but adding a bike lane is still a priority for cyclist safety. The analysis in still in progress, and staff will try to avoid removing all street parking in the area. Council Member Andrews also expressed concern in regard to parking on Mission Blvd due to the new housing developments in the area. ACTC staff confirmed that they do include new developments in their review and evaluate the best options for street parking to address all multimodal needs.
Council Member Andrews asked staff to see if it’s possible to have bike lanes off Mission Blvd be better connected throughout the corridor for easier and safer bike access towards the downtown area. She also asked staff to be mindful of the increased speeding along main streets in their analysis for potential traffic calming measures.
Chair Márquez asked ACTC and City staff to be aware of other jurisdictions with their adoption process for this project, so that traffic can flow as optimally as possible when crossing city or county boundary lines. Chair Márquez added that she appreciates the current concept but staff will need to find a balance for all multimodal usage due to all the incoming developments along Mission Blvd.
The committee thanked City and ACTC staff for their time, presentation, and report. The committee also encouraged the public to take the survey and to provide feedback here:
https://www.alamedactc.org/programs-projects/bicycle-and- pedestrian/eastbaygreenway
7. Stack Center: Update on Phase I Construction and Budget Assistant City Manager Jennifer Ott introduced Mary Thomas, Management Analyst II who provided the presentation and update.
Public Comments
There were none.
Committee Questions / Discussion
Council Member Andrews directed staff to discuss value engineering for future phases of the project. Assistant City Manager Ott confirmed that value engineering will be considered for phases two and three. Council Member Andrews expressed concern over the budget and asked if fund raising is an option. Ms. Thomas confirmed that fund raising is an option but cannot be solely relied on as it would require multi-million-dollar donations from private investors. With pricing and inflation on the rise, the goal is to complete as much as the project as soon as possible. Ms. Ott confirmed they are looking at grants and will apply for those additional funds as they become available. Council Member Salinas suggested to sell dedication bricks to help generate additional funding and build community investment.
Chair Márquez preferred that the main parking areas be done in phases one and two so that the community has easier access to the building and plaza amenities. The committee
agreed that major building construction and amenities should be completed first so that the public could use this community space sooner instead of experiencing delays due to funding.
8. Proposed 2023 Agenda Planning Calendar: Review and Comment Public Comments
There were none.
Committee Questions / Discussion
Chair Márquez would like to discuss green infrastructure as a future agenda item and how it would tie into the climate action plan. She was unsure if this would come back to the Council Infrastructure Committee or be presented to the Council Sustainability Committee due to the topic overlap.
9. Water Pollution Control Facility Improvements - Phase II Project Update Deputy Director of Public Works Kathy Garcia introduced Senior Utilities Engineer Suzan England and Water Pollutions Control Facility Manager David Donovan who provided the presentation and report.
Public Comments
There were none.
Committee Questions / Discussion
Council Member Andrews suggested that staff research if energy companies are available to provide competitive bids for the plant upgrades as there could be potential fund savings.
Ms. England confirmed staff will work with Finance on reaching out to those vendors for more competitive bids. Council Member Andrews recommended that the consultant on behalf of the City apply for all available state grants and funding as the application process can be complicated and multiple reviews will increase the odds of success. She also recommends that the consultant provide any support for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District permit process.
Chair Márquez expressed concern for the project budget and staff confirmed once the project is assigned a project number during the next budget season, funding sources will be identified and secured. Chair Márquez asked what the training center area will be used for and Mr. Donovan confirmed it would be used for staff training, as well as hosting presentations for public education and school field trips.
Chair Márquez asked staff if the future plant upgrades will expand the recycled water program. Ms. England clarified that this project is separate from the recycled water
program, but the laboratory upgrade for this project will expand the testing for the recycled water program. Another long term goal of this project would be to set up an interpretive garden space that educates and highlights recycled water irrigation for public education. The committee thanked staff for the thorough report and look forward to future updates.
ORAL REPORTS
Dave Hung, Senior Civil Engineer provided an update for the Mission Blvd Phase III project which will go to bid again in January 2023 and construction should be completed the summer of 2024.
Kathy Garcia, Deputy Public Works Director provided an update for La Vista Park which should go to bid in early 2023.
COMMITTEE MEMBER/STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REFERRALS
There were none.
ADJOURNMENT
Chair Márquez adjourned the meeting at 7:29 p.m.
MEETINGS
Attendance
Present
10/26/22
Meeting
Present
to Date
This
Fiscal
Year
Excused
to Date
This Fiscal
Year
Absent
to Date
This Fiscal
Year
Elisa Márquez ✓ 1 0 0
Angela Andrews ✓ 1 0 0
Mark Salinas ✓ 1 0 0