CITY COUNCIL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING
Hybrid Meeting
November 10, 2025
5:00 p.m.
MEETING MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER: Meeting called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Council Member Francisco Zermeño.
ROLL CALL:
Committee Members:
▪ Dan Goldstein, City Council Member
▪ Julie Roche, City Council Member
▪ Francisco Zermeño, City Council Member/CSC Chair
Staff:
▪ Alex Ameri, Director of Public Works
▪ Linda Ko, Senior Secretary (Meeting Recorder)
▪ Jeff Krump, Solid Waste Program Manager
▪ Erik Pearson, Environmental Services Manager
Other:
▪ Kelly Abreu, Public Comment Speaker
▪ Mimi Dean, Public Comment Speaker
▪ Alan Fishman, Public Comment Speaker
▪ Virginia Harrington, Waste Management of Alameda County (WMAC), Public Sector Manager
▪ Alejandro Jasso, Public Comment Speaker
▪ Thomas Omolo, Hayward Area Recreation and Park District (H.A.R.D.), Management Analyst
▪ Jason Toro, Tri-CED Community Recycling, CEO
▪ Anita Wah, Public Comment Speaker
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Anita Wah advocated for more open space and urged the Council Sustainability Committee to vote to keep the former Skywest property as open space.
Alan Fishman also supported keeping the former Skywest property as open space and restoring it by planting more trees and plants.
Mimi Dean spoke on the importance of trees and the benefits they provide. She stated that she was not in favor of cutting down trees at the former Skywest property.
1. Approval of Minutes of the Council Sustainability Committee Meeting held on September 8, 2025
The item was moved by Council Member Zermeño, seconded by Council Member Roche, and approved unanimously.
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2. Preliminary Plan for Compost Hub at the Hayward Community Garden Jeff Krump, Solid Waste Program Manager, presented a report on the development of the proposed compost hub.
Public Comments
Mimi Dean stated her support for the compost hub project and emphasized the importance of composting.
Alan Fishman expressed his enthusiasm for the project and stated that it was a wonderful opportunity to educate students about composting.
Committee Comments
Council Member Roche supported the idea of adding fencing to the compost hub to deter the location from becoming a public dumping ground. She also agreed that the hub should be staffed but had concerns about staffing due to the hiring freeze.
Council Member Goldstein stated that he liked the concept drawings but voiced concerns about staffing expenditures and suggested a trial compost hub. He also suggested using the funds for other projects if the City needed to meet the spending requirement.
Council Member Zermeño thanked staff for contacting StopWaste regarding the compost hub. He stated his agreement with other Committee members regarding the staff funding concerns.
3. Parks and Open Space in Hayward
Erik Pearson, Environmental Services Manager, and Thomas Omolo, H.A.R.D. Management Analyst, presented a report on Hayward’s current available parkland per capita and future efforts and plans.
Public Comments
Mimi Dean suggested presenting the data through census tracts as opposed to showing data for the whole city.
Anita Wah inquired about the development of a trail through Parcel Group 8.
Alan Fishman asked where La Vista Park was located.
Kelly Abreu stated that the new La Vista Park would benefit only new residents who would purchase homes near the area.
Alejandro Jasso commented the importance of looking at the amount of land that was dedicated to parking and to balance that amount with the portion of land dedicated to parks. He encouraged moving forward with projects related to developing more parks and trails.
Committee Comments
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Council Member Goldstein expressed his excitement for the La Vista Park and stated he anticipated an economic boost in the nearby area, since the park would be accessible to everyone.
Council Member Roche suggested reaching out to schools to re-open their public spaces.
She also stated that the La Vista Park would be the only outdoor play space for the communities with housing in the hills because the developments were approved without parks because the City Council at the time had contemplated the La Vista Park being at the location.
Council Member Zermeño expressed his enthusiasm of being more green with parks and more open space.
4. Update on Implementation of Solid Waste and Recycling Franchise Agreement and Update on Evaluation by CalRecycle of Hayward’s Compliance with SB 1383 – Review and Comment
Mr. Krump provided an update on the implementation of the Solid Waste and Recycling Franchise Agreement between Hayward and Waste Management of Alameda County (WMAC) as well as an update on CalRecycle’s evaluation of Hayward’s compliance with SB 1383.
Public Comments
Kelly Abreu questioned the importance of recycling and the business practices of waste companies.
Jason Toro announced that Tri-CED was a week out from reopening their Material Recovery Facility (MRF) after a lot of retrofitting for automation. He also stated that Tri- CED is a non-profit organization that focuses on second chances and sustainability. Mr.
Toro noted that Tri-CED provides formerly incarcerated people, about 70% of staff, with life changing opportunities and also that Tri-CED had just started their youth workforce development program.
Virginia Harrington from WMAC expressed her appreciation of working with the City of Hayward and also with Tri-CED as their sub-contractor. She also stated that their goal was to divert materials from the landfill and to promote education on recycling to people.
Committee Comments
Council Member Roche suggested having different shapes on waste containers help people with sorting.
Council Member Goldstein stated that he was encouraged by the residential rate of compliance with only a 1% non-compliance rate, but he expressed his concern with the 40% non-compliance rate among commercial customers. Mr. Krump stated that the rate shown was a snapshot and that it varied. He stated that staff could show an average rate in the next presentation.
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Council Member Zermeño thanked staff for the presentation and expressed his appreciation for the partnership of the City, StopWaste, WMAC and Tri-CED.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
5. Proposed 2026 Agenda Planning Calendar: Review and Comment Erik Pearson, Environmental Services Manager, shared the proposed 2026 agenda planning calendar with the Committee.
Public Comments
There were no public comments.
Committee Comments
Council Member Roche stated that she would like to have a discussion or work session regarding data centers. Council Member Goldstein also supported this idea and also asked to include information on water and energy usage regarding data centers. Council Member Zermeño also agreed on a discussion regarding data centers and also thanked staff for the upcoming Tree Canopy Assessment item.
COMMITTEE MEMBER/STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REFERRALS:
Mr. Pearson announced that the electric vehicle (EV) charging requirements and Reach Code items would be discussed at the November 18th City Council meeting. He also shared a thank you note from Winton Middle School to WMAC for delivering compost to their gardening club.
ADJOURNMENT: 6:45 p.m.
MEETINGS
Attendance Present
11/10/25
Meeting
Present
to Date This
Year
Excused
to Date This
Year
Absent
to Date This
Year
Julie Roche ✓ 4 0 1
Dan Goldstein ✓ 4 0 0
Francisco Zermeño ✓ 5 0 0
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