Council President De La Fuente's

District 5 Connection

Fruitvale Glenview San Antonio Tidewater Jingletown

Issue #7 September 2007

Dear Oaklander,
I'm throwing a party! Please come to the District 5 Community Picnic tomorrow September 8th - see details below.

A lot has been said lately about what is going on in City Hall and how to respond to our public safety crisis. Here are my thoughts, this will also be published in the Oakland Tribune:

While the vast majority of people in Oakland feel safe and have never been victims of crime, the level of crime and fear in many parts of Oakland is unacceptable and has been for too many years. There are actions that can and should be taken by us City Hall leaders to better manage our public safety resources and collaborate with other agencies to reduce crime. I would start with the following:

1.         Recognize that we need more police officers, but while we hire more, every cop already on our force should be patrolling the streets and investigating crimes. We started this effort by moving our officers out of the airport and I will continue to advocate for moving sworn officers out of any position that can be performed by a civilian or annuitant. To give us a competitive edge over other cities that are also recruiting, I'd like to see us offer an attractive hiring package that includes a bonus in addition to a housing subsidy. Our outreach efforts to every local young man and woman who wants to work in public service should be exhaustive

I am proposing, and some of my colleagues have already express support for, a ten percent set-aside of tax increment funds for public safety in Redevelopment Areas. This will create a sustainable and targeted revenue stream to augment our resources for public safety.

2.         Install GPS capabilities in every police and city vehicle. Over the last 25 years Oakland has experienced eight Presidential-declared disasters including the Loma Prieta earthquake and the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire. It is mind-boggling that a city as prone to natural disasters and as vulnerable as Oakland is has not been able to equip our fleets with state of the art equipment.

When another disaster hits our city, our command center must have the capability to strategically and effectively deploy our public works and safety personnel. In addition to the public safety benefits, every day management of resources is enhanced when we can track our vehicles and personal on the streets.

3.         Aggressively pursue economic development. It has been shown time and time again that when economic growth and prosperity create  jobs and opportunities for local residents, the result is a reduction in crime. The only long- term cure for the hopelessness in the hearts and minds of many of our young people, parolees, or others who may eventually engage in criminal activity is a good paying, rewarding job that enables them to raise and support their families.

But government alone cannot fill this role. There are not enough federal grants, state grants, or non-profit capacity to meet the deep needs of our community. In the end, it will be largely through vast partnerships between the City of Oakland and the business community that we will climb out of violence and despair. But now, even the most ardent supporters of Oakland are beginning to fatigue and question their longevity in this town.

We need the business community to commit to staying in Oakland, to increase their investment in our City, and to work to find ways to create jobs and opportunities for all Oaklanders, rich or poor, well educated or not. I am sounding the trumpets that this is not the time to leave--it is the time to believe!

We need developers to build, mixed-use, and commercial projects, in a way that creates jobs and business growth opportunities for Oakland. We need developers to help us retain and modernize our industrial base and attract emerging industries such as solar and biotech, and encourage them to hire locally and to pay well.

These are some of the reasons that I am encouraging a Specific Plan for our central waterfront -to revitalize, to attract and encourage investment in job producing endeavors, into housing, modern industrial jobs as well as retail. All of these ventures will increase our tax base, allow the City to modernize our infrastructure, improve our parks, build out our waterfront trails, hire more police officers than authorized by measure Y, improve our cultural centers, but more importantly, to invest and build affordable housing for working families.

 We must stop fear of economic growth in its tracks and instead welcome growth and development as a powerful tool to improve the quality of life for all Oaklanders. We stand at the cross roads; now is the time to act boldly and courageously. I ask the business community to stay committed to Oakland, and to continue to believe! This will be the ultimate path to winning peace on our streets. With a balanced approach to governance, accountability and policy making that values the role of private innovation, capital and partnerships, Oakland will be a strong vibrant, safe, and livable city.

As always, I am interested in hearing your thoughts.

Sincerely,

Ignacio

Temporary Staff Change - Please welcome Edith Guillen

As many of you know, Claudia Jimenez in my office will be leaving shortly on maternity leave. Filling in for her will be Edith Guillen. Some of you may know her Edith since she has been a Neighborhood Services Coordinator for the City for several years. Edith's contact information will be:

eguillen@

oaklandnet.com,

238-7051

Please join us in wishing Claudia the best!

Reminder:

Come to the District 5 Community Picnic!

Saturday September 8th, 12noon-4pm

Peralta Hacienda Historical Park - 2465 34th Ave. 

Close to the 53, 54, and 14 AC Transit Bus Lines 

• free delicious lunch including tacos, BBQ, fruit, corn and ice cream
• activities for children: making tortillas and adobe bricks, storytelling, sports, face painting, fire truck
• tours of Peralta Hacienda and music
• bring a blanket, bring your family and friends ~ all are welcome.

   For more information and directions to the park:
www.peraltahacienda.org
info@peraltahacienda.org
532-9142 

If you are interested in volunteering at the picnic, please call Lisa at 238-7247.

We hope to see you there!

Revitalization Projects in District 5

For more information, contact Claudia Jimenez at 238-7051 / cjimenez@ oaklandnet.com

Gateway Community Project: Gateway Community Project went to Planning Commission on September 5^th.  The Gateway Community is a proposed development project in the Fruitvale/San Antonio/Jingletown communities.  It is a mixed-use project with 810-units for homeownership as well as retail space.  The project will include workforce housing, local after-school programs, a new educational facility on site, renovate two parks, and employ local youth in the construction of the buildings.
The purpose of this hearing was for the owner of the proposed project may present his project to the commission and discuss any potential environmental impacts to the area and what steps he is going to take to address those impacts. There will be further planning commission meetings regarding this project. It is important, more than anything, that the commissioners hear from people in our district and understand your concerns and desires for your neighborhood. For more information, please contact Claudia Jimenez at 238-7051 or cjimenez@ oaklandnet.com

Fruitvale Orchards: A new development Project with 62 family townhouses with 2 or 3 bedrooms and 18 condominiums each with parking and shared courtyards. Located on Wattling Street between 37^th Ave and 41^st Ave, this project will convert 1.75 acres of bare dirt into a residential neighborhood.  The project will be presented to the community during a community meeting to be held on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 6:30 PM at ASCEND Elementary School, 3709 E. 12^th St.  For more information, please contact Claudia Jimenez.

Teen Center for the Fruitvale: As has been reported in this newsletter, I obtained $500,000 for a teen center in District 5 as part of the 2007-2009 budget. Now I would like to begin a community process by which we can together identify possible locations for a Teen center in the District.  Please contact Claudia Jimenez in my office if you are interested in participating in this process.

City Hall Update

This is a crucial time in Oakland. Many important issues and decisions are coming before the City Council in the next few months in the areas of economic development and good government. For more information, contact Ratna at 238-6126 / ramin@ oaklandnet.com

• Housing Policy: The Sept.11 CED Committee will discuss the findings of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Housing Policy that was created last fall. The committee will discuss how we can help more Oaklanders afford housing and how we can keep on increasing the supply of homes in Oakland. 
• Waterfront Specific Plan: The Sept.11 CED Committee will discuss if and how a Specific Plan for the waterfront should be completed. This would facilitate revitalization and public access in the waterfront of District 5.
• Public Works Work Management System: The Sept.11 Finance/Management committee will discuss a modernized work management system for the Public Works Department. This would provide an automated way to deploy our City resources for sidewalk repair, trees, sewers, graffiti, etc. This kind of system would be an enormous leap forward in accountbility and transparency for City services. As part of this effort, I am proposing that we equip every Public Works vehicle with GPS so we can truly manage our valuable resources.
  

The City Council meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month at 6pm. Council committees meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays as follows: Public Works - 12:30pm, Finance/Management - 2pm, Community Economic Development (CED) - 4pm, Life Enrichment - 6pm, Public Safety - 7:30pm.

For Council Agendas and Reports, please click here, and choose on "on-line agendas/reports/minutes"

District 5 Jewel:

  The District 5 picnic on September 8th is a great time to visit this jewel in the heart of Oakland. Peralta Hacienda Historical Park is one of the most significant historical sites in the East Bay. It was the first European settlement after the establishment of Mission San Jose.

The park hosts Family Fun Days the Second Saturday of every month from Noon to 4 pm.

Culture, History, Arts, and Community (CHAC) is a weekly after school Youth Enrichment Program at the Peralta Hacienda Historic Park, running every Wednesday from 1:30 - 3:00 pm during the school year. Through a collaboration with United for Success Academy, Peralta Creek Middle School, and Calvin Simmons Middle School students will explore relationships between culture, history, the arts, and community. Projects include:

• Building an adobe oven for the outdoor kitchen -Photographing the neighborhood and exhibiting photo artwork
• Collecting oral histories, interviewing neighbors, and writing about one's own history
• Scripting and recording audio for permanent exhibits in the Peralta Hacienda
• Participating in the design of the kitchen exhibit about food, culture, and the migration of plants from around the globe into California agriculture and cuisine
• Gardening and contributing to the Community Recipe Book, an ongoing art project in the community garden
• Checking out traditional arts of the Mien
• Checking out archeological practices at the historic park and discovering how objects have been gathered from the grounds at the site
• If your child(ren) would like to attend, please call (510) 532-9142 or email info@ peraltahacienda.org.       

Peralta Hacienda
Phone: 510 532 9142
2465 34th Avenue 
Oakland, CA 94601-2618
peraltahacienda.org