West Oakland BusinessAlert

Business Community Attendees
George Burtt (WOCA), Roberto Costa (CEDA), Debbie Hauser (staff), Versall Henderson (City of Oakland Public Works), Michael Herling (Consolidated Cleaning Services), Marcus Johnson (Amstutz Assoc.), Steve Lowe (WOCA), Tim Morse (Bay Alarm), Ellen Parkinson (Parkinson Enterprises), Sandra Sanders-West (OPD), Carletta Starks (Councilmember Nadel’s Office), John Stewart (City of Oakland Building Services), Cpt. Anthony Toribio (OPD).

Approval of Minutes
April 2010 meeting minutes were approved.

Guest Speaker: Captain Anthony Toribio, Oakland Police Department

The Oakland Police Department currently has 774 active officers from a pool of a possible 803. Officers not on active duty are either on medical disability or off patrol for other reasons. Five officers recently graduated from a lateral academy, the Alameda County’s training academy, and will be available for active patrol in six to eight weeks.

The City of Oakland, and subsequently the Oakland Police Department, is suffering under the strain of recent and possible future drastic budget cuts. Layoffs will occur this summer and fall, no later than December. Up to 200 officers may be lost due to budget cuts unless a plan is implemented to save the positions. Releasing 200 officers will have dire consequences on law enforcement in Oakland. Any tasks outside of active patrol will be either cut or drastically reduced. The current mode of geographic command will be set aside and replaced by an older system of patrol. Captain Toribio was not optimistic about the outlook for OPD’s ability to service the public well under these conditions.

Overall, Area 1 crime has gone down double digits, in every tracked category, except homicide, which has seen a recent increase, four murders in the past two months (3000 Peralta, 7000 Peralta, 900 Campbell, 3400 Chestnut blocks). In general, homicides are occurring due to drug dealing in the Acorn, Lower Bottoms and Ghost Town areas. Robberies and auto thefts are more concentrated in the downtown area and upper downtown. Street robberies near West Oakland BART have increased.

Captain Toribio addressed crime statistics posted to the City of Oakland’s website. Incidents of crime were double-counted in a technical glitch that created an erroneous reporting of stats when downloaded by the public. Counts of homicide, burglaries, robberies, assaults and other crimes should have been reported as half that reflected in the crime report presented by an attendee at last month’s BusinessAlert meeting. However, Captain Toribio emphasized that robberies remain underreported, an issue that also affects the accuracy of crime statistics for the city.

OPD’s efforts in West Oakland remain focused on reducing violence in the Ghost Town and Lower Bottoms areas, where several police operations have recently reduced overall gang violence there.

Captain Toribio encouraged Oakland citizens to be vigilant in staying safe by not presenting themselves as targets for crime. Criminals look for opportunities to strike, and individuals displaying wallets, cell phones, iPods or money on their person or in their vehicles are easy prey.

Group discussion ensued in regards to possible sources of funding for OPD staffing. Use of Measure Y funds may represent a controversial source of revenue to maintain a suitable level of patrol officers. U.S. government stimulus funds may be another source of revenue that can be tapped. If alternative sources of revenue are located, it will be important that funds are used as intended. State funding and patrol assistance from CHP may also be available. Carletta Starks suggested that opinions and ideas related to sources of funding for OPD are best voiced before the full Council. Margaretta Lin of the City of Oakland, responsible for facilitating federal stimulus funding into the city, will be invited to next month’s meeting to address this topic, as having a strong police force to deal with West Oakland crime issues is of major importance to conducting business here. Steve Lowe encouraged the submittal of a letter on behalf of the West Oakland BusinessAlert Committee to key leaders who can make funding a priority. Steve also suggested discussing this issue in a broader public forum, possibly through a candidate’s forum. Carletta reported that Councilmember Nadel is currently in process of assembling a town hall meeting, the key topic for which is still under consideration but should be one that attract attendance by as many community members as possible. It is important to host a forum that will result in a list of positive steps for action. Committee members were encouraged to email Councilmember Nadel with suggestions and visit www.nancynadel.org for the latest district information as well.

The proposal to lay off 200 patrol officers will most likely spur a ballot initiative or other means of public input in regards to the impact this action would have on the community. Concessions made by the police officers’ union may be a necessity as well.

Oakland Public Works Update

Versall Henderson was welcomed as the new Supervisor of Illegal Dumping for Keep Oakland Clean and Beautiful. Being raised in West Oakland, Versall has a vested interest in keeping the city free of trash. He assured the Committee that he and his staff will remain visible in the community. Current equipment in use to facilitate the efforts of KOCB includes an overhead loader, packer and pick-up trucks.

Carletta reported that Councilmember Nadel’s staff is actively working with KOCB to apprehend and fine dumpers, in cooperation with Cookie Robles. However, she stressed it is a long process and maximum community involvement will bring about the best possible results.

Versall provided an additional new contact number to phone in illegal dumping: (510) 615-5509. Callers reporting dumping activity using this number will be provided with a tracking number and a work order notification will be issued to Litter Enforcement Officers in the field.

Versall was invited by Tim Morse to participate in an upcoming meeting. The May 26 meeting that will include community stakeholders, Jocelyn Combs, Brooke Levin, and City Attorney John Russo, will focus on use of the latest technology in security monitoring as a crime and dumping deterrent and apprehension aid. OPD will be asked to participate in and cooperate with any program that might be established in the future. One element of a potential camera program is the installation of both live and dummy cameras. A large quantity of cameras would leave dumpers and criminals in the dark as to which are active and/or monitored. Committee members stated the need for a comprehensive and coordinated camera campaign, and Steve Lowe reiterated the need for a plan to have businesspeople Tweet-ready in order to quickly report dumping and criminal activity without exposing themselves to confrontation with offenders. Dumping is a regional issue that should be addressed as such, since dumpers use the convergence of Caltrans highways near West Oakland as a convenient means of disposing their loads.

West Oakland Industrial Infrastructure Study

Roberto Costa discussed a recent meeting called by Margot Prado and held with City of Oakland engineering staff, Public Works staff, Chris Mills of BKF Engineering, and West Oakland property owners and advisors. The group meeting resulted in prioritization of elements to be included in BKF’s infrastructure study. Chris Mills was instructed to revise particular sections of the study to more accurately align with business needs. He will also update passages of report language as well as report graphics, and return with a draft report at the June 16 meeting of BusinessAlert. Roberto reported that BKF must complete the infrastructure study by July 1.

Area Rail Update

George Burtt discussed his planned documentation of current West Oakland rail conditions and identification of rail configuration. George has already identified four legs that run through the area, each “cut off” and nonfunctioning, with the exception of one leg on 20th Street. George will label his identification of each of the four legs and email it to Committee members. He noted that proof of non-functionality can now be proven to the Public Utilities Commission. Roberto asked that George’s emailed report be carbon copied to key City of Oakland staff. Administration It was noted that future guest speakers will be invited to present at 3:15 p.m., with a meeting start time of 3:00 p.m., ensuring that speakers are not kept waiting when they arrive.