Bay St. Site B rationale, November 2 at 6:30 pm

On Tuesday, November 2, 2010, the City Council will be having a Special Study Session that begins at 6:30 pm in the Council Chambers to hear the background on Site B, the empty lot north of Bay St. I asked for this session so that the staff could present the rationale for the "best use" for this location.

For 6 years the Redevelopment Agency has had an Exclusive Right to Negotiate with Madison Marquette, the developer who built Bay St., to develop this prime site as an extension of Bay St. In two more weeks, at the November 16th meeting, the Agency will consider whether to grant another extension to this agreement, possibly for 2 years this time.

I encourage all interested residents to come and listen to the meeting tomorrow evening, and share your opinion about this part of town and what would be its best use. If you are unable to attend, know that you can watch the Special Study Session through the City of Emeryville website after it is posted, or on ETV (live or later when it is replayed), and send your opinion to the city council before the November 16th meeting.

Fire Services Task Force and Training

Fire Services in Emeryville

I had the unique opportunity to participate in a training exercise at the Emeryville Fire Department a few weeks ago. With my children watching, I put on the full fire fighting gear (boots, turn outs, fire hood, helmet, air tank and gloves) and entered a trailer set up for practice fire fighting, with members of Emeryville’s fire fighters there to help me. The heat was intense, the hose was heavy, the dummy I tried to rescue was heavier, the fires were hard to put out, and the noise was extreme. With my own breathing, it was hard to hear the instructions my buddy was shouting to me, and boy did I want to hear what he was telling me!

Afterwards, shaking from the physical challenge and adrenalin, I thanked the crew for allowing me to experience just a bit of what they do. I know that having well trained men and women, strong and with strategic know-how, is the most important thing we can provide to our residents, workers, shoppers and all the folks who drive through town on I-80.

Emeryville is taking an opportunity to look at how we provide our Fire Services, whether there are ways to improve our services and reduce the cost of our services. With improvements in mind, the city council created a Fire Services Task Force, a group of city council members, union representatives, staff and residents to work with a consultant to examine our Fire Services. We are still looking for at least 2 residents to help with this important task. Please contact Karen Hemphill, City Clerk, if you are willing and able to serve your community in this way. She can be reached at city_clerk@ci.emeryville.ca.us or by phone at (510) 450-7800.

My thanks to Chief Johnston, Steve, Heather, Kyle, Jason and all the other folks who helped me to understand just a little bit about their jobs. And thanks for making me feel like I did my best. They even took pictures of me to memorialize the event!

Vote on November 2, if you haven't already!

Vote on November 2!

Friends and neighbors,

Here is the way I am voting on several of the propositions facing us on Tuesday:

Measure J in Emeryville: YES will fund the school portion of new school facility with collaboration from the city for a rec center and library (see my earlier posts for more info)

Prop 20 NO redistricting commission has less accountability than legislators

Prop 21 YES secure funding for our State parks with a vehicle license fee

Prop 22 YES protect local government money from being taken by Sacramento

Prop 23 NO Will turn back the clock on climate change bill AB32 – green jobs now!

Prop 24 YES Keeps some corporate tax breaks from going into effect

Prop 25 YES!! Simple majority for budget in CA legislature

Prop 26 NO increases fee requirement to 2/3 majority vote

Prop 27 YES also about redistricting (like prop 20)

Hope that helps you if you are dropping off your ballot on Tuesday or are voting at the polls. Don’t forget to vote!

Financial Considerations for Measure J

October 10, 2010

Dear Emeryville Neighbors,

Here is another installment in the information regarding Measure J and the Center for Community Life. This time I will talk specifically about the financing structure, as well as I understand it. I am not a financial professional, but I feel that the information I have heard makes sense to me, and I will try to share it with you.

At the city/schools committee meeting last Thursday, October 7, I spent the better part of 20 minutes asking Khushroo Gheyara (from Caldwell, Flores and Winters, the consultant that is advising on facilities and financial planning) questions that I had or that had been posed to me in the last few weeks. I will sum up the answers that I received, and hope that this will bring clarity for you as well.

First of all, there are 2 aspects to Measure J that we need to consider: the overall project and the financing of that project. I feel strongly that the project is one that will enhance our community: both the schools and the city. I have stated those reasons in my previous blog.

If you like the project, then let’s look at the financing. Bond financing is the way that many capital projects are accomplished. This bond measure is not remarkable or different than many others. It would combine two kinds of bonds: a traditional one where interest is paid out every 6 months, and a “zero-coupon” bond where the interest is paid at maturity of the bond. As with a mortgage, the one where interest is not paid during the life of the loan ends up costing us more – a greater amount of interest over time.

The bonds for this measure are typical for a project like this. By allowing 3 different series of bonds to be sold, the district is left with some flexibility about how much to issue and when. Emery Unified would have about 7 years’ time to issue the bonds. If interest rates were high, we might choose to issue less in bonds early on, or add years onto the repayment of the bonds, if necessary.

We cannot anticipate accurately interest rates or how much assessed value the city of Emeryville will have over time, so what happens is we work with assumptions. For now, this bond measure assumes a growth of assessed value of 4%. Historically over the last 2 decades of extreme growth, Emeryville has had assessed values rise at close to 11%, but times have changed. The 4% assumption is conservative. If assessed value does not grow at at least 4%, then there would be a longer life to the bond payments.

Interest rates are the other variable that we do not have control over. Assumptions again guide our decisions here. If the bond were sold today, at today’s interest rates, the cost of the bond would be principal plus interest roughly equal to 1.8 times the principal. In other words, with $95 million borrowed, we would pay back the $95 million plus an additional $171 million, or a total of $266 million. Just as homeowners can refinance a mortgage, there is an option to change a bond whose interest rate is higher than we’d like, and it is called “defeasance”. If the interest rate (which is locked in at the time the bonds are issued) is higher than today’s, the interest would be higher than the amount above. This bond has been projected out at an assumed 6% interest rate. Again, this is a conservative assumption, as currently the interest rate is closer to 4%.

(Interestingly, the bond measure on the ballot for neighboring Berkeley assumes a higher rate of assessed value growth and a lower interest rate. I feel better about our more conservative estimates.)

The length of each bond will also vary. The first bond is assumed to be for 25 years.

The best way to measure how much this bond will cost the property owners of Emeryville, is to look at the maximum annual payment of $60 per $100,000 assessed value. For my family that would equal approximately $180/year. Just as when you take out a mortgage, you don’t usually look at the total cost over the life of the mortgage, you instead calculate how much your monthly payment is. This bond is really that annual payment for each property owner.

Ultimately, I feel that if you are comfortable incurring some debt for the long-term benefit of the community, then this project will make sense. If you are someone who disagrees with bond financing in general (although it is used all over our state and country), then you might not like this plan. The building is slated to have a life of at least 50 years, the bond should be paid off in 47 years.

I hope that if you have questions, or you see some inaccuracies or mistakes in what I have written here, you will write to me directly to let me know. Again, I am no expert on general obligation bonds, but I am very interested in getting all questions asked and adequately answered.

I hope this information will help you to support Measure J.

Sincerely,

Jennifer West

Emeryville City Councilmember

(510) 420-5795

emeryvillewest@gmail.com

emeryvillewest.blogspot.com

Measure J and the Emeryville Center for Community Life

The City Schools Committee voted unanimously in August to recommend that the Emery School Board place a bond measure on the November 2010 ballot to help fund this facility. The information that I have received over the past several months was compelling to me, and I see the realization of this facility as an important step for our community: it will create a school, a library, a recreation center and a place where community services can be housed. I believe that public participation in every step of this facility plan is essential. Dissenters are welcome in my opinion to help strengthen this ambitious and sorely needed improvement to our schools and city services.

I was lucky to go on a tour of several facilities to see firsthand the places where our students learn and play. Anna Yates (K-6, 425 students) had improvements done a year and a half ago, but structurally speaking the school needs more. It is cheerful and adequate for now.

The Emery Secondary School (7-12 grades, 340 students) is a place where I substitute taught this past year. The school was built in the 1950s and 60s. The technology that we enjoy today is not supported by the infrastructure: you can see wires draped around to try and make do with what is there. The science labs are not functional. Classrooms are too small for today’s class sizes, limiting the possibilities of different configurations.

The City of Emeryville’s Rec Center has been housed in portables on San Pablo Ave. at 43^rd St. Children spend time here before and after school, and there are many classes and camps offered. There is no recreation facility here to speak of, it consists of classrooms.

The next stop on our tour was a newly built high school in the West Contra Costa County School District called El Cerrito High School. This school gave us an idea of what might be possible.

NEWS FLASH: Tours to see firsthand what I was able to see are being offered October 18 and 19. Please contact Sherron Conway by Thursday, October 7th, at sherronconway@emeryusd.k12.ca.us or by phone at (510) 601-4909.

The main idea behind co-locating all students K-12 and the Rec Center along with a community library at one Center is that we gain efficiency of scale by doing so. Small, urban districts like ours are rare. It is more common to see something like this in rural settings, or in the model of an International School. Emery Unified is projected to grow because our town has grown and still is (the new General Plan includes a 60% increase of residents over the next 20 years), and also because as the schools improve (and they have steadily improved) more residents will choose to send their children there. More residents will stay in Emeryville as they have children. So far, the enrollment numbers at Anna Yates have outpaced the demographers’ projections. An additional Kindergarten class was added for this school year. Getting to a sustainable number of students (minimum 1200 combined) is important for the long term health of the district.

As a progressive educator myself (I taught in the public schools from 1995 until 2010), I applaud the innovation of “full-service” schools; schools where services go beyond the traditional classroom, but look instead at meeting the needs of the population they serve, from wellness services to job training, counseling and adult education. Emery Unified is doing this already, and the new Center would provide the space to continue and enhance these services.

The library is another need for our area. My family and I go to Golden Gate Library, an Oakland Public Library. According to the OPL itself, this geographical area is underserved and needs either an expansion or additional library. A great school needs a library as well, and by combining the library needs of both schools and the public, we can again create the efficiencies of scale to serve all users much better.

This whole plan needs creativity and innovation to provide traditional services and beyond with less, with collaboration between the School District and the City of Emeryville. We have consultants who know these models well, who look at using physical space with barriers that keep all safe, and reduce conflicts, but built with flexibility so we can economize and use the space as wisely as possible.

November’s ballot has a bond measure called Measure J, placed by the Emery Unified School District, asking the residents of Emeryville if they will support this project by voting for a $95 million school facilities plan. For each property owner in town, that will translate to $60 per $100,000 assessed value of property. So a $300,000 condo owner will pay $180 per year. Assessed values have come down recently. The Emeryville Redevelopment Agency has previously committed $25 million from its Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) budget to support this project. Some of that money is helping to fund the continued plans and support. The entire project is supposed to cost $112 million, and would be built on the current ESS site. Economically difficult times like ours now are a good time to move forward on a project like this because construction costs are low and we are hopeful for matching funds from federal sources (think stimulus) as this is a job creation project.

I still have some reservations about the project and the process going forward. One is about governance of the project, as it is a joint-use facility, and the collaboration of the City and School District is essential to success. Nancy Skinner, our Assemblymember in Sacramento carried a bill last year that was passed and signed by the Governor allowing these 2 public entities to move forward on this joint use facility. Much of this still needs to be worked out.

The second issue is trust. Trust in our elected officials and leaders on this project to allow all concerned residents and property owners to be involved.

Third is the amount of public participation. Built into the language of the bond measure are the Core Values of Public Participation from the International Association for Public Participation. All elected officials have endorsed this list, and now it is up to you, the citizens, to get involved and stay involved as decisions are made. It starts with voting on November 2, 2010.

My fourth concern is the sheer cost of an ambitious project like this one. But I am getting used to this one as I understand better what it would cost to build a new Emery Secondary School, a new Rec Center and a new library.

Fifth, is seeing the interest and involvement of the school community: the teachers, the parents, the families at ECDC, and the staff.

I believe that all information on this bond measure needs to be easily accessed, easily understood, and the opportunity for input made clear.

We need your input during this process! During this next month, we need to make sure Emeryville residents are informed and get their questions answered and concerns addressed. If you have an HOA in your community that could host a Q & A session with folks from the School Board, please write back to me to set something up. I see critiques as opportunities to make things better. We need to make sure this plan is done well, as this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the city and the school district. I support Measure J on the November ballot, and I hope you will too.

City/Schools meeting, Weds, July 21 5:30 pm

July 16, 2010
Dear Emeryville Neighbors,

I am trying a new format for my messages to you. By using a blog, I can direct you to my messages, but write more often without clogging up your inbox. If you would like to receive notification of new messages on my blog, you may sign up for that.

The Emeryville Center of Community Life, City/Schools Committee, Weds, July 21, 5:30pm, ESS

Next Weds. evening at 5:30 there is a City/Schools Committee meeting at Emery Secondary School in the atrium (enter on 47th near San Pablo Ave.). All City Council members and all School Board members serve on this committee (10 of us altogether) with 2 youth members as well. This is a very important meeting in my mind as the Committee will be recommending whether or not the School Board should place a bond measure on the November 2010 ballot to help fund the Center of Community Life project. I hope that you will be able to attend this meeting, or watch it on Channel 27 afterward (it is not broadcast live).

I believe that this meeting is important to all citizens of Emeryville. Whether you have children who attend the schools or not, you know the success of our schools says a lot about our community. Excellent schools make a place better. Emeryville’s schools are steadily improving. Not only will better schools help the individual students, families, teachers and staff in the short run, but it will help the wider community in the long run: improving quality of life for students and families, reducing crime, producing better employees for jobs and ultimately sustaining a more robust retirement system (if you consider that the next generation will be paying for our retirement). It also affects our property values. I don’t think the people of Emeryville need to be convinced that good schools are good for the community; we already know that.

The bond measure that is being considered would be paid for by the property owners in Emeryville on their property tax bill (approximately 80% of property owners in town are businesses, 20% are residents). The amount paid would depend on the assessed value of the property. The proceeds from the bond would help to pay for a new facility that would be used collaboratively by the school district for a K-12 school (during the weekday) and by the city for a new Rec Center (after school, on weekends and during vacation). It is about efficiency and economy of scale. It is a new model of a full-service school where the school community’s needs are met. There would also be room for other community services that would serve ALL residents of Emeryville, including a community library. This facility would be built on the current site of Emery Secondary School.

You might already know all of this, or this may be news to you, but I think that the information that will be presented on Weds evening at 5:30 is essential to understanding the rationale for building this facility. I think that all residents of Emeryville should be informed about this project because it will affect you. I think that all residents of Emeryville should be included in these decisions, not just by voting at the ballot box, but also by being heard in public forums. I know that there are many stakeholders who would like to know more, would like your voice to be heard, would like to feel that your elected officials are listening to you. Maybe you sent back a postcard from the recent school district mailing with your comments and suggestions. Please come, attend the meeting, get informed and be involved. The agenda can be found at the city website under City Schools Committee.

Sincerely,
Jennifer West
Emeryville City Council Member
emeryvillewest@gmail.com
(510) 420-5795

p.s. There is also a City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 20 beginning at 7:15 pm at City Hall. You are welcome there, too.

p.p.s. Hope you have checked out the Farmer's Market in town! It is open every Thursday from 12:00 noon until 7:00 p.m. next to City Hall, on Haven St.