Lake Merritt/Uptown District Association Board of Directors Meeting

Wednesday, October 11, 2023 – 8:30 a.m.

1901 Harrison Street, 1st Floor Conference Room
Virtual via Zoom
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4159385345?pwd=c1NpVVl2ZzBNbmIxR2R5R2I0WmJldz09
Agenda
1. Call to order, Sara de la Riva

2. Introductions

3. Public comment and announcements

4. The Lake Merritt Conservancy Coalition Presentation - Jonathan Hoffberg

5. Approval of the minutes of the August 9, 2023 meetings Action Item

6. Financial report – Tori Decker Action Item

7. Office Lease Updates: Tori Decker

8. Clean and Safe Updates

a. Uptown Entertainment Zone

b. Vendor updates

9. Marketing and Branding Updates

a. OWW (Oakland Works Wednesday)
b. Pablo’s Alley
c. Holiday Marketing
d. Social Media Update

10. Other

11. Next meeting date: December 6, 2023

12. Adjournment
BROWN ACT:
Government Code 54950 (The Brown Act) requires that a brief description of each item to be transacted or discussed be posted at least 72 hours prior to a regular meeting. The
Corporation posts agendas with the City at 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, #101. Action may not be taken on items not posted on the agenda. Copies of the agenda are available
from the Lake Merritt/Uptown District Association at 388 19th Street, Oakland, CA 94612. Meeting facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities. If you require special
assistance to participate in the meeting, notify our office at 510 238-1122 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting

________________________________________________________________________________________________

388 19th Street ■ Oakland, California 94612

DOA Phone 510.238.1122 ■ LMUDA Phone 510.452.4529 ■ Fax 510.452.4530

info@downtownoakland.org ■ www.downtownoakland.org

info@lakemerrittuptown.org ■ www.lakemerrittuptown.org
 Lake Merritt-Uptown District Association - Board of Directors Meeting
Wednesday, August 9, 2023 - 8:30 a.m.
1901 Harrison St. 1st Floor Conference Room
Virtual Option via Zoom
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4159385345?pwd=c1NpVVl2ZzBNbmIxR2R5R2I0WmJldz09
Minutes

Present: Deborah Boyer, Ruth Simon, Sara de la Riva(virtual), Don Rogers , Gregor
Thibodeaux, Nicole Price, Terry Wood, Kim Bardakian, Allison Davis(virtual),
Ramsey Wright

Absent: Yvette McCoy, Tederal Glover,

Staff: Steve Snider, Andrew Jones, Tori Decker, Tamiko Garner, Charles Taylor, Mauton
Akran

General Counsel: Daniel Schacht (virtual and in-person), Nathan Desai

Guests: Isaac Abid,

Discussions held and decisions made by the Board of Directors

SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION
Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 8:32am
Introductions
Public Comment and ● Pablo’s Alley next Wednesday.
Announcements ● Chinatown doing a pick it up day on
Saturday.
● Chinatown close to naming an
Executive Director - Tommy
● Brown Act - actions were taken that at
the last meeting do not meet the
requirement as quorum was not met in
person.
Approval of the minutes of The minutes of the March 1, 2023 and May 3, Deborah Boyer
the March 1, 2023 and May 3, 2023 Board Meetings were presented for moved, and Don
2023 meetings review. Rogers seconded the
March 1, 2023 motion to approve the
Nicole - yes minutes of the March
Ruth - yes 1, 2023 meeting as
Sara - virtual presented. The
Ramsey - abstain motion was approved
Gregor - abstain unanimously.
LAKE MERRITT/UPTOWN COMMUNITY BENEFIT DISTRICT

388 19th Street ■ Oakland, California 94612

Phone 510.452.4529 ■ Fax 510.452.4530 ■ info@lakemerrittuptown.org ■ www.lakemerrittuptown.org

2

Financial Report: Operations
Director
Terry Wood - abstain
May 3, 2023 Ruth Simon moved,
Don - yes and Deborah Boyer
Gregor - yes seconded the motion
Nicole - yes to approve the
Terry - yes minutes of the May 3,
Kim - yes 2023 meeting as
Ramsey - abstain presented. The
motion was approved
unanimously.
The financial report was presented to the Gregor moved, and
board for review. Nicole Price seconded
the motion to approve
Assessment income and prior year carry LMUDA financial
forward YTD actuals of $1,820,875.00 Versus report. The motion
budget of $1,800,200.00 leaving us with an was approved
unfavorable temporary variance of $20,674.37 unanimously.
as our January disbursement came in under
budget as a result of city-owned/manually
billed properties not being invoiced in advance
of our first disbursement.
Less our budgeted Reserve of $55,000.00 we
have a YTD total cash available of
$1,765,875.00
Our YTD actual Marketing & Branding
expenses total $65,000.00 versus budget of
$86,534.00 leaving a temporary favorable
variance of $20,833.00 due in part to public
space activations/sponsorships, including
Afrobeats at the Lake pending implementation.
Expenses to date in this category include
sponsorship of Bike to Work Day, and the
Black Joy Parade.
Our YTD actual Administrative expenses total
$217,121.00 versus budget of $242,914.00,
leaving a favorable temporary variance of
$25,792 due to a percentage of projected end
of year bonus in monthly allocation for staffing
line items.
Our YTD actual Clean & Safe expenses total
$742,270.00 versus budget of $807,260.00
leaving a temporary favorable variance of
$64,990.00, in large part due to June Block by
3

Nomination of Denise
Pinkston of TMG Partners to
the Board of Directors for a
new two-year term
Block billing not being paid as some final
contract termination negotiations are
underway. Also includes a percentage of
projected end of year bonus in monthly
allocation in staffing line items.
Our total expenses equal $1,025,093.00
versus budget of $1,136,709.00 leaving us
with a temporary favorable variance of
$111,616.00 and cash remaining of
$740,781.00
We currently have $43,509.00 of available
non-assessment funds. The variance report is
included on page 9 for reference. Page 10
contains the PROW Maintenance budget - it’s
a breakdown of one of our largest budget line
items that is a catch all for a number of
different projects and initiatives. It was
requested that we provide a little more detail in
this category at the board level and not just the
committee level.
Kim -yes
Ruth - yes
Don - yes
Ramsey - yes
Deborah - yes
Terry - yes
Nomination of Denise Pinkston of TMG Kim B moved and
Partners to the Board of Directors. Staff has Ramsey the motion to
worked with Denise on a multitude of projects approve the
over the past several years, including 13th nomination of Denise
Street Commons and the more recent Oakland Pinkston of TMG
Works Wednesday initiative, and have Partners to the Board
benefitted from her proactive approach to of Directors for a new
exploring solutions to shared challenges. Staff two-year term
feels that Denise would be an excellent
addition to this board and we look forward to
working with her in this more official capacity.
Nicole - yes
Don - yes
Ruth - yes
Gregor - yes
4

Nomination of Allison Davis
of TMG Partners to the Board
of Directors for a new
two-year term
Office Lease Updates
Clean and Safe Updates
1. Vendor transition
Deborah - yes
Terry - yes
Nomination of Allison Davis of TMG Partners Deborah Bmoved and
to the Board of Directors for a two year term - Terry Wood the
Allison represents 2201 Broadway for TMG motion to approve the
and has been participating as a guest for nomination of Allison
several years and engages heavily with staff Davis of TMG Partners
outside of meetings. She will be a good to the Board of
addition in staff’s opinion Directors for a new
Nicole - yes two-year term
Don - yes
Ruth - yes
Gregor - yes
Deborah - yes
Terry - yes
Office Lease Updates - received an extension
to exercise a lease option at 388 19th, but did
not choose to exercise it. Currently in
negotiations with the property owner and will
be in receipt of a formal LOI that I will share
with all of you. As it stands currently, we are
looking at a 19% rent reduction, some TI, and
three months of rent abatement. Lease for our
ambassador space, 1924 Franklin, will expire
in December of this year, and, if we wish to
exercise our lease option for another 5 years, I
will need to do so by September 31st. We
currently pay 1.74 a square foot for 2772
square feet, so not much negotiating to do on
price, but possible for some improvements
Transition Plan:
● June 19 was the first day of the new
vendor working.
● A monthly review by a Clean & Safe
Committee board member was
conducted on August 1 by both Sara
de la Riva and Mike Guerra. They have
suggested moving the review out to the
5th or 7th of the month versus the 1st.
The team seems strong. Staff is
considering looking into a system that
could be better than the current PBID
database.
● The team is meeting hours.
5
 ● There has been a major change in
leadership as Don Lepana has
resigned from the team as Program
Director.
● Porsche Washington has been hired as
the new Program Director.
● Joe Castagnola is the quality
assurance specialist and has been
acting as interim director.
● Time off seems to have decreased.
● It has been a time of catch up due to
the change over the last 2 months.
● All the equipment is getting in place.

Staff have been in meetings with the Mayor,

Deputy Mayor, office Economic Development
Workforce, safety, Hersey Joyner (eco system
of safety), weekly meetings the groups around
entertainment (OPD, OFD, DOT, etc.).
There is massive clean-up on Fridays,
Saturdays, & Sundays on Telegraph between
16th and 20th and requires a lot of resources
to keep clean.

25 camera proposals have been presented

and approved for the Safe City Network which
now has over 200 cameras.

Marketing and Branding

Updates ● Staff is building a relationship with
Oaklandside for sponsorship
● The updated District website is now up
and running. On the update website,
board members will have better access
to information.
● Oakland Works Wednesday campaign
has 13 businesses signed up with the
goal of 50 on board. An official
marketing launch is scheduled to start
mid-September.
● A Keith Carson event will be taking
place at Uptown Station and they
would like to purchase approximately
300 gift cards at a $50 value for the
East Bay EDA event on September 14
● AMP 2023 Series - have been going as
scheduled on a weekly basis

6
 ● Pablo’s Alley 2023 - next Pablo’s Alley
is scheduled for August 16

Other ● Levy updates. Approved the 5%

increase. Staff worked with a company
to assist with cleaning the assessment
data.
● Road closures do make a difference
with regard to establishing some sort of
order. There is a recap of how things
went without the road closure by
Captain Burch which is very telling in
the importance of having road closures.

Next meeting date: October 11, 2023

Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:42 a.m.

Minutes taken by: Tamiko Garner, Administrative & Marketing Coordinator

7
Lake Merritt Uptown District Association
YTD Cash Summary - September 2023

Perm/Temp Variance Comments

Cash Available YTD Actual YTD Budget YTD Variance (For variance amounts of 10% and $10K)
Assessment Income and Prior-Year Carry $1,961,946.59 $1,986,186.39 ($24,239.80) Unfavorable PV - The August and final disbursement of
2023 is came in less than budget. All city-owned properties
Forward
have paid. The variance is due to numerous properties on
the County levy not paying their property taxes in advance
of the distribution.
Less Reserve $55,000.00 $55,000.00 $0.00 Reserve reflects 3% of budgeted income.

Total Cash Available $1,906,946.59 $1,931,186.39 ($24,239.80) See comment above

Expenses
Marketing and Branding $90,978.21 $111,258.00 $20,279.79 Favorable TV - as a result of strategic projects such as
public space activations/sponsorships pending
implementation. Includes sponsorship of Afrobeats at the
Lake, Art & Soul, Bike to Work Day and Black Joy Parade.

Administrative (ORG) $283,032.78 $305,335.60 $22,302.82 Favorable TV - includes percentage of projected end of
year bonus in monthly allocation in staffing line items.
Clean and Safe $1,038,075.90 $1,037,906.68 ($169.22) Unfavorable TV - in large part due to unanticipated
irrigation repairs and the resulting median planting. Within
annual budget.
Total Expenses $1,412,086.89 $1,454,500.28 $42,413.39 See comments above and expense detail attached.

Cash Remaining $494,859.70 $476,686.11 $18,173.59

Total Available Non-Assessment Funds as of 9/30/2023 $50,242.66

Non-Assessment Funds - Contracted Current Current District Profit Notes

Services Contract Amount to Date
Amount Invoiced Awaiting payments of multiple invoices - they have net
300 Lakeside Drive - PG &E $104,448.00 $44,350.56 $182.74 90 payment terms.

* PV = Permanent Variance for the year.

* TV = Temporary Variance due to timing.

8
10:27 AM Lake Merritt-Uptown District Association
10/08/2023
Cash Basis September 2023 Expenses
Curr. Actual Curr.Bud. Curr. Var. % Var. Permanent Variance Comments Temporary Variance Comments
Operating Expenses Variance - 10% and $10,000 - Summary Line Items
Marketing and Economic
Enhancements
Marketing and Branding
Marketing & Communications 13,661.48 26,249.99 12,588.51 48% Favorable TV - as a result of strategic projects such as marketing
collateral creation, social media add buys, etc., pending
implementation.
Digital Media Coordinator 38,869.74 40,008.01 1,138.27 3%
Public Space Programming 38,446.99 45,000.00 6,553.01 15% Favorable TV - as a result of strategic projects such as public
space activations/sponsorships, including Afrobeats at the Lake,
pending implementation. Includes sponsorship of Bike to Work
Day and Black Joy Parade.
Total Marketing and Branding 90,978.21 111,258.00 20,279.79 18% Favorable PV in overall category - please see notes above.
Administrative Expenses
Accounting Expenses 12,678.02 15,100.00 2,421.98 16% Favorable TV - Includes costs associated with efiling 1099 NECs
and a reimbursement to a stakeholder for the overpayment of
their assessment, bill.com setup, and fees related to the annual
assessment levy creation, per board president authorization.

Annual Stakeholder Event 0.00 3,500.00 3,500.00 0%

Computer Service & Support 237.95 1,125.00 887.05 79%
Consulting & Legal Expenses 0.00 374.99 374.99 100%
Fees & Permits 654.37 4,264.34 3,609.97 85%
Insurance
Directors & Officers 600.00 600.00 0.00 0%
General Liability 5,242.00 5,242.00 0.00 0% Insurance premiums paid in full in January.
Misc. 2,717.11 3,000.01 282.90 9%
Office Furniture & Equipment 4,582.56 5,625.00 1,042.44 19%
Postage, Shipping & Delivery 333.81 194.99 -138.82 -71% Unfavorable TV - includes business card printing for new staff
members as a result of vendor transition.
Printing & Copying 1,491.95 1,875.01 383.06 20%
Rent 56,292.43 55,125.00 -1,167.43 -2% Unfavorable TV - due to 2022 CAM fee reconciliation. Within
annual budget.
Staff and Board Development 7,793.85 7,500.01 -293.84 -4%
Staff Personnel 185,937.21 197,234.24 11,297.03 6%
Supplies 1,992.59 2,250.00 257.41 11%
Telephone & Telecommunications 2,478.93 2,325.01 -153.92 -7%
Total Marketing and 374,010.99 416,593.60 42,582.61 10% Favorable TV in overall category - see notes above.
Administrative Expenses
Clean and Safe Enhancements
Clean and Safe 831,884.26 834,927.75 3,043.49 0% Favorable TV, but bumping against budget due to costs related to
the vendor transition, including truck wrapping expenses and
ambassador space refresh.

Misc. 1,110.76 2,250.00 1,139.24 51%

Outreach Coordinator 8,951.30 11,250.00 2,298.70 20%

Program Coordinator 38,864.79 40,180.50 1,315.71 3%
Program Director 45,903.87 49,396.50 3,492.63 7%
PROW Maintenance 111,360.92 99,901.93 -11,458.99 -11% Unfavorable TV- as a result of unanticipated irrigation repairs and
replanting of medians. Within annual budget.
Total Clean and Safe 1,038,075.90 1,037,906.68 -169.22 0% Unfavorable TV in overall category - see notes above.
TOTAL EXPENSE 1,412,086.89 1,454,500.28 42,413.39 3%

9
 2023 LMUDA PROW Maintenance Budget

LMUDA
2023 YTD 2023 Budget Remaining Notes
Actuals Funds
PROJECTS

Hanging Plants ($ 25,172.65) $29,351.80 $4,179.15

Total ($ 25,172.65) $29,351.80 $4,179.15

Median and Plaza Maintenance

Maintenance of all Medians $24,851.28 $30,000.00 $5,148.72
Total ($ 24,851.28) $30,000.00 $5,148.72

Ground Planter Maintenance

Replacement Plants and labor ($ 22,324.29) $20,000.00 -$2,324.29 57% of plant purchase
costs to be reimbursed
by DOA.
Total ($ 22,324.29) $20,000.00 -$2,324.29

Video Surveillance Network

Data for Program $729.72 $1,200.00 $470.28
Monthly Support Services for AVS - System $9,346.13 $13,751.00 $4,404.87
Maintenance
Grants For Participating Buildings ($ - ) $10,000.00 $10,000.00
Total $10,075.85 $24,951.00 $14,875.15

Franklin Square Management

Weekly, Monthly and Annual planting projects ($ - ) ($ - ) $0.00
Weekly Landscaping Maintenance ($ - ) ($ - ) $0.00
Furniture Replacements and Maintenance ($ - ) $0.00
Total ($ - ) ($ - ) $0.00

Total ($ - ) $0.00

PBID Manager Advanced Reporting ($ 7,522.00) ($ 11,899.79) $4,377.79

Watering for Landscaping Projects (hydrant ($ 2,545.57) ($ 2,000.00) -$545.57 Includes cost of CBD-
costs) rented water hydrant
meter. 57% to be
reimbursed by DOA.

Miscellaneous ($ 18,869.28) ($ 15,000.00) -$3,869.28 Includes unpaid

invoices for Big Belly
from 2022 that were
never sent by the
vendor.

Total ($ 18,869.28) ($ 15,000.00) -$3,869.28

Totals $111,360.92 ($ 133,202.59) $21,841.67

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