RULES COMMITTEE: 6/8/2022
Item: B.1
File ID: ROGC 22-262
TO: Honorable Mayor & FROM: Toni J. Taber, CMC
City Council City Clerk
SUBJECT: The Public Record DATE: June 8, 2022
May 26 – June 2, 2022
ITEMS FILED FOR THE PUBLIC RECORD
Letters from Boards, Commissions, and Committees
Letters from the Public
1. Letter from Ryan Lopez, dated May 26, 2022, regarding: Help for Washington and Guadalupe Community.
2. Letter from Brett Bymaster, dated May 26, 2022, regarding: Project Activate:
Washington United Youth Center & Tamien Park Field.
3. Letter from Regina Kern, dated May 30, 2022, regarding: My former neighborhood needs your help.
____________________________
Toni J. Taber, CMC
City Clerk
TJT/tt
6/1/22, 3:53 PM Mail - Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADhhYzk3NTk1LTBmZDAtNDc4Yi1hN2Q0LTZjNmZjNTk5MT… 1/2 [External Email]
You don't often get email from Learn why this is important Fw: Help for Washington and Guadalupe Community
Agendadesk <[email protected]>
Thu 5/26/2022 6:49 PM
To: Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas <[email protected]> From: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2022 3:57 PM
To: Agendadesk <[email protected]>
Subject: FW: Help for Washington and Guadalupe Community From: Echo Compassion Team <
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2022 3:11 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>; The Office of Mayor Sam Liccardo <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]> Subject: Help for Washington and Guadalupe Community
Dear Mayor and City Council,
My name is Ryan Lopez, and I am the Central Local Compassion Director at Echo.Church. It has been a pleasure to work with the city and county over the past few years to provide services and assistance to those in our community impacted by the pandemic through our efforts at Echo.Church Echo Compassion. We look forward to continuing to partner with the city to find ways to show love, compassion and generosity to our neighbors in need.
The Washington/Gaudalupe community has struggled with gangs, crime, drugs, obesity, and health problems related to poverty for decades. We know that the best solution for these critical problems is building resilience from within low income minority communities of color. Because of our longstanding commitment to Silicon Valley, Echo.Church is pleased to support the efforts of Healing Grove Health Center and Project:Activate (https://healinggrove.org/activate).
We're calling for the City of San Jose to partner with the Washington Community and Healing Grove to find creative solutions to repair the Tamien Park soccer field by installing artificial turf funded by the generosity of a local donor. We're calling for the City of San Jose to partner with Healing Grove to bring enhanced community programming to the Washington United Youth Center. We're calling for San Jose Public Record: 1
6/1/22, 3:53 PM Mail - Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADhhYzk3NTk1LTBmZDAtNDc4Yi1hN2Q0LTZjNmZjNTk5MT… 2/2 This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Unified to open the Washington Elementary artificial turf soccer field to community use after school and weekends (it is currently closed to the public against SJUSD policy).
It's important that both Tamien Park and the Youth Center have active daily programming that is prioritized and targeted for Spanish speaking youth and families that live in the immediate Washington/Gaudalupe/Tamien/Alma communities. While these beautiful resources can and should serve the larger city, the first priority should go to serving the local low income Washington community with programs run by local leaders. Healing Grove has assembled a team of local Spanish speaking leaders that live and serve in the community that are committed to serving the children, youth and families of the Washington community. We're encouraging the City of San Jose and PRNS to partner with Healing Grove and their team to find creative solutions to barriers of access to City owned facilities and parks in order to promote the future of public safety in our community.
Blessings,
Ryan Lopez
Central Local Compassion Director | Echo.Church
6/1/22, 3:54 PM Mail - Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADhhYzk3NTk1LTBmZDAtNDc4Yi1hN2Q0LTZjNmZjNTk5MT… 1/3 [External Email]
You don't often get email from Learn why this is important Fw: Project Activate: Washington United Youth Center & Tamien Park Field Agendadesk <[email protected]>
Thu 5/26/2022 6:49 PM
To: Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas <[email protected]> 3 attachments (456 KB)
Healing.Grove.Support.Lttr.12.10.21.pdf; WUYC email.pdf; Health Trust Letter (1).pdf; From: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2022 3:58 PM
To: Agendadesk <[email protected]>
Subject: FW: Project Activate: Washington United Youth Center & Tamien Park Field I am sorry if this is a duplicate!
From: Brett Bymaster <
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2022 1:59 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>; The Office of Mayor Sam Liccardo <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; Brett Bymaster <
Subject: Project Activate: Washington United Youth Center & Tamien Park Field Dear Mayor & City Council,
Our hearts have been broken by all of the violence and recent shootings. In the Washington/Gaudalupe community we've definitely seen an uptick in depression, domestic violence and hopelessness coming out of the pandemic -- a dangerous combination. The solution resides in building community in our low income community of color. But we can't do that without access to public space. Learn more about the Washington/Gaudalupe campaign to gain access to our public spaces at http://healinggrove.org/activate
Project:Activate has three goals around building community in Washington/Guadalupe:
1. Activate the Washington United Youth Center
The 17,000 sq ft youth center gym is currently open less than 8 hours per week to the public. It's completely closed 5 days per week to public access, including weekends. Healing Grove would love to partner with the City of San Jose and Catholic Charities to provide programming at the youth center. However, after 6 months of work, we still have not been granted access for our summer programs, and the youth center continues to be closed 5 days per week.
2. Repair the Tamien Park field
A generous local donor has agreed to install artificial turf and lighting at the Tamien Park field at no cost to the City of San Jose, after the $2.1 million natural turf died 3 weeks after installation. Similar to the Patty O'Malley field in the much more affluent Almaden community, this field could be packed with local children & youth. The donor envisions a reservation system that prioritizes access to the field for low income families that live in proximity to the field, potentially by having Healing Grove in contract with the City in a similar arrangement to Emma Prush & Veggielution. What an incredible offer! We are calling on the city to partner with this donor to install artificial turf and lighting as quickly as possible. Note that replanting of the natural turf field has begun, even as a donor is offering to pay to install artificial turf.
3. Access the artificial turf field at Washington Elementary The Washington Elementary artificial turf field was originally installed with SNI funds. Against SJUSD's written policy, the Public Record: 2
6/1/22, 3:54 PM Mail - Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADhhYzk3NTk1LTBmZDAtNDc4Yi1hN2Q0LTZjNmZjNTk5MT… 2/3 field is closed nights & weekends to public use. Further, the school has consistently denied Healing Grove's access requests to rent the field. We'd love to partner with the City of San Jose and SJUSD to see this field again opened to public use.
Learn more about Project:Activate by watching this 2 min video: https://youtu.be/yECK0_Ubkrk Take a tour of the space we're trying to activate in this 2 min video: https://youtu.be/uDFugVpEvIo WUYC Underutilization in 15 years of City Audits:
For more than a decade and a half, the Washington United Youth Center has been flagged in Audits by the City of San Jose for lacking community access. In 2018, the Office of City Auditor called out the WUYC for not having any public schedule or any online presence. That problem persists to today, 4 years later. Please refer to photos below from the City Audit, and a photo taken just this week, showing no resolution in the issues uncovered in the 2018 audit.
https://www.sanjoseca.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=33920
Issues with under utilization and high cost have plagued the WUYC for more than 15 years. A 2008 report by the Office of the City Auditor also found that the WUYC was expensive and underutilized as compared to City run youth centers. Unfortunately, lack of access is not new, or simply related to the COVID-19 shutdown. It has been a consistent, documented problem for 15 years.
https://www.sanjoseca.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=33702
6/1/22, 3:54 PM Mail - Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADhhYzk3NTk1LTBmZDAtNDc4Yi1hN2Q0LTZjNmZjNTk5MT… 3/3 This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Please partner with our community to cut through arduous bureaucratic red tape that is preventing the children and youth in the community from attending summer programs. More affluent families will spend thousands this summer ensuring that their kids get enriching summer camps. However, most families in our community are living in poverty and simply cannot afford to get their kids in those camps. Healing Grove donors have generously enabled our organization to provide low income kids access to summer camps at no cost. BUT WE CANNOT RUN SUMMER CAMPS AT SCALE WITHOUT ACCESS TO OUR PUBLIC SPACES.
Attached are letters of support from the Health Trust, the San Jose Parks Foundation and Dr. Angela Bymaster, M.D.
Brett Bymaster
Executive Director, Healing Grove Health Center
https://www.healinggrove.org/
NOTICE: This email including any attachments may contain confidential information which is intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entitled named. If you received this email message in error, please immediately notify the sender by email and delete it. Dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this email without prior consent of the sender is strictly prohibited.
Providing private sector support for San Jose’s Parks & Trails A 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation
T:
San Jose, CA 95153 sanjoseparks.org
Board of Trustees
Steven H. Nakano
Attorney at Law
President
Cayce Hill
Veggielution
Treasurer
Ken Pyle
ViodiTV
Secretary
Avi Yotam (Ex-Officio)
City of San Jose / PRNS
Ed Solis (Ex-Officio)
City of San Jose / PRNS
Polly Santucci
Santucci Associates
Mollie Tobias (Ex-Officio)
City of San Jose / PRNS
Trustee Emeritus
Ray Turner
Retired
Helen Chapman
City of San Jose
Matt Cano
City of San Jose
Partners & Projects
Abronzino Field House
Almaden Winery Park
Buena Vista Park
Butcher Dog Park
Community Mural Pocket Park
Downtown Enrichment
Erickson Park
Farmworker Caravan
Feed the Frontline SCCounty
Five Wounds Trail
Guadalupe Oak Grove Park
Guardian Art/Saga
Hamann Park Mural
Japanese Friendship Garden
Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful
La Colina Park
Lake Cunningham Park
Martin-Fontana Parks Assoc.
Miner Park
Pueblo Play Playground
Roosevelt Park Roller Hockey Rink
San Jose Family Camp
San Jose Parks Advocates
Santa Teresa Bernal NA
Save Our Trails
Seven Trees – Project Kultoora
Sherman Oaks Playground
Sons Of San Jose Memorial
South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition
St. James Park
Theodore Lenzen Park
Thousand Oaks Park
United Veterans Council of SCC
Viva CalleSJ
James P. Reber
Founding Executive Director
Diana Dunckelmann
Finance
December 10, 2021
Mayor Liccardo
& San Jose City Council
200 East Santa Clara Street
San Jose, California 95113
Dear Mayor Liccardo and City Councilmembers:
I am writing to support Healing Grove Health Center’s Project Activate. I recently toured the Washington Community around Tamien Park, Washington Youth Center and Washington School with Board President, Steve Nakano.
It was surprising to us to find a community in need of some basic amenities that we believe merit immediate attention. The newly-planted field at Tamien Park appears to have been planted improperly and within a few months was rendered largely unusable.
The lack of accessibility to the Washington Community of Washing Youth Center and the field at Washington School are additional issues that strike at the heart of the issue of Equity, where children and families in a low-income area are effectively denied the kinds of facilities and access that most neighborhoods in San Jose take for granted.
San Jose Parks Foundation has a basic belief that all San Jose Parks and Trails should be green, clean and open to all. Healing Grove Health Center’s Project Activate addresses these issues head-on and seeks to improve the lives of the people in the Washington Community.
We understand that some of these issues are being given attention by various City Departments, but we can only state that we think they should be given a higher priority so that the concept of Equity serving San Jose residents is not just a common phrase, but is actually the guiding principle behind City Policy and Action.
We will do whatever we can to support the health and well-being of Washington’s residents, especially as it applies to the Parks and Youth Center and related concerns.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
James P. Reber
Executive Director
HEALTH CARE, SOUL CARE & CULTURE CARE
Healing Grove Health Center
San Jose CA 95110 https://www.healinggrove.org/
501c3 Non-profit, EIN: 84-4620762
2/22/2022
Dear Councilmen and City Staff,
For more than a decade, the Washington United Youth Center has been sorely underutilized. I’m calling on the City of San Jose in partnership with local organizations to address the lack of community access to this vitally important resource.
I am a Family Physician at Healing Grove Health Center. I have lived in the Washington/Guadalupe neighborhood for 15 years. I have a son at Washington Elementary, and I take care of a significant percentage of this neighborhood’s families in my clinic, Healing Grove Health Center. As you know, this is one of the lowest-income neighborhoods in San Jose, and nearly everything happens in Spanish here.
I occasionally stop by the Washington United Youth Center (WUYC), to see what programs are happening there, so that I can know what is going on and encourage patients to take advantage to things that are happening at our local community center. For the past several years, every time I have stopped by, I have found the front door to be locked. Usually someone eventually notices me and comes to the door. Every time I have stopped by, the building has been completely empty except for a few staff sitting at desks. It seems that not many people use the facility, and those who do use the facility come from outside of the neighborhood. Apparently, an online charter school meets in a room which previously contained workout equipment, and some Catholic Charities programs use some of the space for some of their mental health programs. Even the parking lot seems to be used as a storage facility for Catholic Charities vans.
This low-income neighborhood has high-density housing. Many of our neighbors live with large families in very small apartments. There are no front or back yards. The kids try to play soccer in the apartments’ tiny asphalt parking lots. Washington Elementary is the only school in SJUSD that locks its gates in evenings, weekends, and summers, despite the district’s policy that states that schools will be open for public use at times when school is not in session. The WUYC is the only community center in this neighborhood, and the community has no access to it.
This week, we are extremely grateful to Pauline Khek and her team for making it possible for Healing Grove to use the WUYC to run a sports camp for neighborhood kids. Dozens of kids have been beside themselves with joy this week, shooting baskets and kicking soccer balls with their friends, connecting with coaches and mentors, building athletic and leadership skills and deepening friendships. They are off their screens for 3 hours, running and playing with each
HEALTH CARE, SOUL CARE & CULTURE CARE
Healing Grove Health Center
San Jose CA 95110 https://www.healinggrove.org/
501c3 Non-profit, EIN: 84-4620762
other! The vibrancy we are seeing this week as we activate this large, underutilized building with the community it was built to serve, propels us to desire more. We are confident that we could keep this center hopping!
This community needs access to its community center even more than middle class and affluent neighborhoods do. In wealthier neighborhoods, there are parks, front- and backyards, trampolines, private pools, and community pools. Middle class parents can drive to regional parks, and they have money for sports programs, summer camps, and vacations. The Washington/Guadalupe community has none of those things, and the kids are stuck in tiny spaces where they can’t run and play. It is no surprise that this community has very high rates of childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Several factors are contributing to the inaccessibility of the WUYC, and they are all modifiable.
First, if Healing Grove could have access to the space, we could fill it with neighborhood families, providing opportunities for exercise and community building. Secondly, the city must eliminate barriers which result in the exclusion of BIPOC individuals and families, including COVID vaccine requirements, background checks, TB tests, and other requirements which have unintentionally resulted in institutional racism against the members of this important immigrant community. The devastating downstream effects of prohibiting children and families in this neighborhood from accessing their only community center; including obesity, diabetes, depression, substance abuse, school failure, and gang affiliation; are far more detrimental than the much smaller risk of a young person contracting a COVID or TB infection while playing basketball at the community center.
Policies must be made to prioritize the health and wellness of this valuable community.
Sincerely,
Dr. Angela Bymaster, M.D., FAAFP
Family Physician, Healing Grove Health Center
/font>
Letter
2 messages
The Honorable Mayor Liccardo and Members of the City Council City of San José
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Re: Guadalupe-Washington Neighborhood Access to Parks and Recreation Spaces Dear Mayor Liccardo and City Council Members:
The Health Trust is writing to encourage appropriate expansion of accessibility of the Guadalupe-Washington neighborhood’s public parks and community center. As a nonprofit operating foundation focused on building health equity in Silicon Valley, we believe that children’s and families’ access to recreational and open spaces is an increasing public health concern that demands attention, especially in underserved and under-resourced communities.
We understand that, in the short time since the June 2021 grand opening of Tamien Park, its large sports field is now unusable. Further, while Washington Community Center is a welcome addition to the community, the reservation system could be more accessible in recognition of those that are not native English speakers and those that suffer from access issues due to the digital divide. Many residents in the Guadalupe-Washington Neighborhood are low-income residents of color. These residents have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, both physically and economically. As we now find ourselves in another COVID-19 surge, open spaces and parks play a pivotal role in the health and emotional well-being of our residents.
The Health Trust requests that the City of San Jose improve the field at Tamien Park and ensure the accessibility of the neighborhood’s city recreation spaces to the immediate community residents. We welcome continued collaboration on both this and future initiatives to address health equity and accessible spaces in our community.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if we might be of assistance.
Sincerely,
Michele Lew
Chief Executive Officer
The Health Trust
Kris Cameron
Policy and Communications Associate
The Health Trust
--
Michele Lew
Pronouns: she, her, hers
CEO
(o) | (f)
The Health Trust | healthtrust.org
San Jose, CA 95118
Because everyone’s health matters.
NOTICE: This email message and/or its attachments may contain information that is confidential or restricted. It is intended only for the individuals named as recipients in the message. If you are NOT an authorized recipient, you are prohibited from using, delivering, distributing, printing, copying, or disclosing the message or content to others and must delete the message from your computer. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by return email.
6/1/22, 3:56 PM Mail - Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas - Outlook https://outlook.office365.com/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADhhYzk3NTk1LTBmZDAtNDc4Yi1hN2Q0LTZjNmZjNTk5MT… 1/1 [External Email]
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.
Some people who received this message don't often get email from Learn why this is important FW: My former neighborhood needs your help
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Tue 5/31/2022 8:49 AM
To: Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas <[email protected]> Cc: Agendadesk <[email protected]>
From: Reggie <
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2022 9:26 AM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>; The Office of Mayor Sam Liccardo <[email protected]>; District1 <[email protected]>; District2 <[email protected]>; District3 <[email protected]>; District4 <[email protected]>; District5 <[email protected]>; District 6 <[email protected]>; District7 <[email protected]>; District8 <[email protected]>; District9 <[email protected]>; District 10 <[email protected]>; Brett Bymaster <
Subject: My former neighborhood needs your help
Dear Mayor and City Council,
The Washington/Gaudalupe community has struggled with gangs, crime, drugs, obesity, and health problems related to poverty for decades. We know that the best solution for these critical problems is building resilience from within low income minority communities of color. Because of our longstanding commitment to Silicon Valley, we are pleased to support the efforts of Healing Grove Health Center and Project:Activate (https://healinggrove.org/activate).
We're calling for the City of San Jose to partner with the Washington Community and Healing Grove to find creative solutions to repair the Tamien Park soccer field by installing artificial turf funded by the generosity of a local donor. We're calling for the City of San Jose to partner with Healing Grove to bring enhanced community programming to the Washington United Youth Center. We're calling for San Jose Unified to open the Washington Elementary artificial turf soccer field to community use after school and weekends (it is currently closed to the public against SJUSD policy).
It's important that both Tamien Park and the Youth Center have active daily programming that is prioritized and targeted for Spanish speaking youth and families that live in the immediate Washington/Gaudalupe/Tamien/Alma communities. While these beautiful resources can and should serve the larger city, the first priority should go to serving the local low income Washington community with programs run by local leaders. Healing Grove has assembled a team of local Spanish speaking leaders that live and serve in the community that are committed to serving the children, youth and families of the Washington community. We're encouraging the City of San Jose and PRNS to partner with Healing Grove and their team to find creative solutions to barriers of access to City owned facilities and parks in order to promote the future of public safety in our community.
Sincerely,
Regina Kern
Public Record: 3