Oakland City Council Committees Preview
1 Frank Ogawa Plaza
Tuesday, Jan. 14, begins at 9:30 a.m.
Hashtag: #oakmtg

>>> FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
NO-BID CONTRACT Committee will discuss awarding a $5.8 million no-bid contract to IPS Group, Inc. to install 4,300 parking meters in Oakland. Price includes wireless, credit/debit card-enabled meters and installation. WHAT IT MEANS No-bid contracts always raise eyebrows, especially ones for $5.8 million. However, of the four companies, a comparative ranking showed IPS Group was vastly superior. Same vendor installed meters in Berkeley and San Francisco. If approved by the council, Oakland’s streets could have new parking meters by the end of May. (Meeting starts at 9:30 a.m. Committee members: Brooks, Kaplan, Kernighan; Schaaf, chair)

>>> LIFE ENRICHMENT COMMITTEE
WEST OAKLAND YOUTH CENTER The $7.6 million youth center located on Market Street may have a partner to operate the facility. The committee will discuss allowing Alameda County to run the center under a proposed one-year contract starting Feb. 28, along with a pair of one-year mutual options. WHAT IT MEANS The county has experience in programming these types of centers. If approved by the council, it will have to give the county access to existing funding resources already allotted to the center and maintain city oversight over the partnership. (Meeting starts 4 p.m. Committee members: Gallo, McElhaney, Kaplan; Brooks, chair)

>>> COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
CANCELED

>>> PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
OAKLAND ANIMAL SERVICES In response to an article in the East Bay Express describing the inability of the Oakland Animal Services to adequately care for cats and dogs, the committee begins discussions of whether to move oversight of the shelter from Oakland Police Department to another city department or a non-profit such as the East Bay SPCA. WHAT IT MEANS People at City Hall read the Express and it gives the council the opportunity to revisit whether monitoring animal shelters is a job the police department should be doing, especially one with limited resources. (Meeting starts 6 p.m. Committee members: McElhaney, Kalb, Schaaf; Gallo, chair)

BE AWARE The issue of Internet cafés offering sweepstakes gaming comes to Oakland after Hayward and San Leandro made moves last year to ban them in their cities (Public Safety Commitee). Look for a proposal allowing the city administrator to negotiate a multi-year contract for the operation and management of eight city-owned parking garages (Public Works Committee).

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