Public Meeting: Allocation of Measure U Funding

One step closer to groundbreaking

At the December 16th special meeting of the Oakland City Council, Councilmember Kaplan and Council President Fortunato-Bas proposed a resolution amending the mid-cycle budget to allocate Capital Improvement bond funding so that many City transportation projects, affordable housing developments, park renovations, and facilities improvements, including the Lincoln Square Park rec center, can proceed. The proposal was unanimously approved (at 4:13:30), clearing the way for a 2025 groundbreaking!

Special Thanks to CM Kaplan and CP Fortunato Bas for advancing this important item during one of their last meetings on the Oakland City Council!

During the public comments for the meeting Co-Chair Tiffany Eng spoke in favor of this item for Friends of Lincoln Square Park (at 3:55:45):

I’m Tiffany Eng, with Friends of Lincoln Square Park. Speaking in favor of S13 and proceeding with CIP projects without delay. Neighborhoods around the city have been waiting years, and in our case with our rec center, decades, for critical improvements in our parks and Rec centers. As we have already seen, the longer we wait, the more expensive these projects will get.
The City really need these wins.  These projects have been thoroughly vetted and prioritized through the City’s equitable CIP planning process. As the most urgent needed capital projects, we just cannot delay any longer.  

These tangible investments will help rebuild trust in  city government and provide safer, more resilient places where our communities can thrive.

Shina Robinson of APEN also spoke in favor (3:59:40), and during the first reading of this item a week earlier, Co-Chair Karen Dea also shared her thoughts in favor.

My name is Karen Dea, I’m a co-founder of Friends of Lincoln Square Park based in Oakland Chinatown. I’m also a board member of the Wa Sung Community Service Club, an active member for the past 35 years. I am speaking in favor of Item S13, this resolution -amendment to proceed with the Bond sale.

Neighborhoods around the city have been waiting years and in our case, decades for critical improvements in our parks and recreation centers. As we have already seen, the longer we wait, the more expensive these projects will get. I understand there are painful budget decisions in front of us now, but with item S13 we also have a spark of hope. We have the opportunity with voter approved Measure U to make investments in our future now.

The Lincoln Square Recreation Center approaches its 50th year serving the community of all ages and neighborhoods. Let us continue the investment for Lincoln Square CIP project which also brings forward the City of Oakland first Resiliency Hub model.Thank you in advance for your consideration in approving the ongoing forward momentum for the Lincoln Square CIP project.

This exciting milestone follows the approval of the City’s 2023-25 budget, which included capital funding from voter-approved Measure U to help the City close the gap, and the unanimous approval of the Planning Commission in September 2023.

What’s next? The next public meeting to look out for is the City Council award for the construction contract. You can count on Friends of Lincoln Square Park to be there to speak up on behalf of the community!

Friends of Lincoln Square Park is a volunteer-based community group supporting the City’s efforts to build a larger recreation and community resiliency center to better meet the needs of the community. We invite the public to learn more and get involved in this once-in-a-generation campaign!