DATE: December 6, 2022
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute a Lease Agreement with the Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs’ Activities League to Expand the Commercial Kitchen at the Matt Jimenez Community Center and Operate the Commercial Kitchen Incubator Program
RECOMMENDATION
That Council adopts a resolution (Attachment II) authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute a lease agreement with the Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs’ Activities League (DSAL) to expand the commercial kitchen at the Matt Jimenez Community Center and operate the Commercial Kitchen Incubator Program once the renovation is complete.
SUMMARY
The commercial kitchen at the Matt Jimenez Community Center (MJCC) on Ruus Road has been underutilized for many years. In August 2022, Alameda County Supervisor Brown’s Office and DSAL approached the City with a proposal to provide funding to expand and remodel the MJCC kitchen and then lease the space as part of Dig Deep Farm’s Kitchen Incubator Program. Staff is seeking authorization from Council to negotiate and execute a lease agreement with DSAL that would include the kitchen expansion and a five-year operational lease with the option for an additional five-years upon agreement by all parties. The renovation will occur concurrently with the Phase I construction of the Stack Center and the commercial kitchen program will be integrated into the Stack Center campus.
BACKGROUND
Stack Center Phase I Construction
Community members and elected officials have long held the dream of building a new South Hayward Youth and Family Center at the corner of Tennyson and Ruus Roads, referred to as the Stack Center. For the past seven years, the City and its partners have worked to make this dream a reality. The City will be going to bid for Phase I construction in early 2023. Phase I of the Stack Center is expected to break ground in early spring of 2023 and be completed no later than June 2024.
Phase I includes:
The renovation of the classroom and office spaces inside the MJCC to house a childcare center, which will be operated by Kidango The reconfiguration of the parking lots, with EV charging stations The construction of tot play areas on the north and south sides of the MJCC The creation of a community event plaza on the east side of the MJCC Reconfiguring the entrance to the gymnasium to be facing Tennyson Park In 2019 and 2020, the City Council authorized the City Manager to execute contracts with RossDrulisCusenbery, Inc. (RDC) for master planning, design, and construction documents for the Stack Youth and Family Center. The documents are nearing completion. At the same time, staff has been working to identify funding for construction. The City has received four grants and now has sufficient funding for a Phase I construction.
Partnership with ALL IN Eats
On October 19, 2021, Council adopted a resolution to join Alameda County’s ALL IN Eats partnership. Since joining, staff from the City Manager’s Office has been attending the monthly steering committee and working group meetings.
One of the primary initiatives of ALL IN Eats has been to map out and identify opportunities to create a circular food economy in Alameda County. The circular economy concept is to grow, process, recover, and distribute food locally in a virtuous cycle that keeps local money in the local economy and promotes environmental sustainability. At the January 2022 Strategic Roadmap Planning session, Council ranked the project to “explore funding opportunities to increase the circular food economy in Hayward” as one of its highest priority items.
DISCUSSION
The County’s ALL IN and ALL IN Eats initiatives were originally spearheaded by Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan. When Supervisor Chan died suddenly in November 2021, her Chief of Staff, Dave Brown, was appointed to serve her remaining term. In the past year, Supervisor Brown’s Office has created transition plans to keep the ALL IN initiatives active once his term ends this month. ALL IN, which is a broad anti-poverty initiative, was transferred to the Alameda County Social Services Agency in June 2022. At the same time, the operation for ALL IN Eats transitioned to DSAL.
All in Eats Operations: A Business Plan for Countywide Food Hubs In 2020, DSAL’s Dig Deep Farms launched the County’s first Food Hub on 2700 Fairmont Drive in unincorporated Alameda County as part of the ALL IN Eats Initiative. The purpose of the Food Hub is: 1) to receive food from farms and recovered food from producers; 2) to process and package that food for distribution through the Food is Medicine and other programs; and 3) to operate a Commercial Kitchen Incubator Program to support local food entrepreneurs.
Due to high demand, the Food Hub quickly outgrew its capacity. As a result, DSAL and Supervisor Chan’s Office created a business plan that identified possible locations for satellite food hubs throughout Alameda County. The commercial kitchen at Hayward’s MJCC was identified as a possible location to expand the Kitchen Incubator Program.
Dig Deep Farm’s (DSAL’s) Commercial Kitchen Incubator Program The mission of Dig Deep Farm’s Commercial Kitchen Incubator Program is to successfully develop, launch, and support the operation of small food businesses. The program opened with the Food Hub in 2020. Through the program, commercial kitchen space is available to rent at below market rates to small, local businesses. The space can be rented on a monthly or single-use basis for food production or events. There are currently eight stations and four prep tables in San Leandro. The program is at capacity with a waiting list.
In addition to space, the program offers one-on-one assistance to help businesses obtain permits, develop marketing, plan events, and grow their businesses. It also offers monthly Food Hub entrepreneur meetings for peer-to peer support.
Proposal for Food Hub at MJCC
In August 2022, Supervisor Brown’s Office and DSAL approached the City with a proposal to provide funding to expand and remodel the MJCC kitchen and then lease the kitchen to operate it as part of Dig Deep Farm’s Incubator Program. The kitchen, shown below in lime green, would be a satellite site with space for two to three businesses at a time, and the businesses located here would have the same one-on-one assistance and peer-to-peer support group as at the main Food Hub.
Lease Terms
Staff is seeking authorization from Council to negotiate and execute a lease agreement with DSAL to build the kitchen expansion and operate the incubator program. La Familia and Eden Youth and Family Center, the future operators of the Stack Center, are supportive of these terms. The Hayward Area Recreation and Park District (HARD), which operates the adjoining gymnasium, is also supportive.
The following are proposed lease terms:
DSAL will provide $150,000 in capital funding for the kitchen expansion. The City’s will match these funds with funding that is already part of the Phase I Stack Center Budget.
DSAL and the City will work together to coordinate the expansion and kitchen upgrades during Phase I of the Stack Center Construction, which will be completed no later than June of 2024.
Upon completion of the renovation, DSAL will have a five-year operational lease, with the option to extend for an additional five years upon agreement of all parties.
Hayward-based businesses would be prioritized for the Incubator program at the Stack Center.
DSAL will block out 10 hours monthly for community programming, such as cooking or nutrition classes.
DSAL will contribute $30,000 in annual rental payments to the Stack Center.
The entrance to the kitchen will be on Panjon with a timed access code for users. The kitchen users will not have access to the childcare center or gymnasium.
DSAL will be responsible for all program costs and maintenance of the space. There would be no ongoing fiscal impact to the City.
The lease will be transferable, so it can be transferred to La Familia/Eden Youth and Family Center once the Stack Center opens.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
This project will have a positive impact on small food businesses in Hayward. Currently, there is limited commercial kitchen space to rent in Hayward, and the space that is available is cost-prohibitive for many small businesses. The Kitchen Incubator program will allow these businesses to conveniently access a commercial kitchen and one-on-one assistance to grow their operations.
FISCAL IMPACT
This lease agreement will have no fiscal impact to the City’s operating budget. DSAL will contribute $150,000 towards the kitchen expansion and remodel. The City will contribute $150,000 of funding through existing grant and outside sources that are part of the Stack Center Phase I budget. DSAL will be responsible for all ongoing program and maintenance costs.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This agenda item is part of the City’s Strategic Roadmap Priority “Invest in Infrastructure:” N13: Oversee the rebuilding of the South Hayward Youth and Family Center (the Stack)
It is also part of “Confront Climate Crisis & Champion Environmental Justice:” C13: Explore funding opportunities to increase the circular food economy in Hayward as part of the Alameda County All in Eats Initiative In addition, it is related to the following “Grow the Economy” projects:
E6: Sidewalk Vendor Ordinance
E8: Strengthen workforce development pipelines
E13: Explore an outdoor marketplace that allows for a variety of vendors
NEXT STEPS
Upon approval by Council, staff will finalize and execute the lease agreement with DSAL and work with project architects to begin plans for the kitchen expansion and remodel.
Prepared by: Mary Thomas, Assistant to the City Manager Recommended by: Jennifer Ott, Assistant City Manager
Approved by:
_________________________________
Kelly McAdoo, City Manager
ALL IN Eats Circular Economy for Food - Pathway for Growth: https://allineats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ALL-IN-Eats-Circular-Economy-for-Food-Pathway-for-Growth-LR.pdf