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The Berkeley Chamber of Commerce took a stand endorsing various candidates and measures on the November 2006 ballot. City Councilmember Dona Spring says it’s fine for the organization to support candidates of its choice—but she objects to the city paying dues to the chamber and other organizations that make endorsements.  

Spring’s resolution, on the council agenda tonight (Tuesday) calls on the city to withdraw its membership from the chamber and any other organization that endorses candidates for office. 

Tonight the council will also address restricting the number of years people can serve on commissions and limit commissioners’ service to one commission at a time. The council will also look at adding funding to the winter homeless shelter program, funding a loan for a low-income housing rehabilitation project and funding a study for a roundabout at Gilman Street and the I-80 freeway. 

The City Council meets at 7 p.m. at Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way.  

Commissioner restrictions 

Hundreds of Berkeley citizens get involved in the nitty-gritty life of the city through commissions—it could be looking at equipment for tot lots, investigating campaign spending irregularities or questioning whether it’s appropriate to develop a five-story structure on a particular site. But because some commissioners serve on more than one commission and others have served more than an eight-year commission term, Councilmembers Betty Olds and Laurie Capitelli are asking the council to approve a revision of the city code that would limit the time councilmembers serve on commissions and limit their service to one commission at a time. 

“It’s the best way to get people involved in city government,” said Councilmember Betty Olds. By imposing limits, “you get more people involved,” Olds said. 

There are some 40 commissions, most consisting of nine members, each appointed by a councilmember or the mayor. Currently, about 15 people sit on two commissions at once and a number of people have served on commissions more than eight years. (These people have gotten around the eight-year limit rule by quitting the commission after seven plus years, then getting reappointed to the commission a couple of months later.) 

However, there are 50 commission vacancies, according to Councilmember Kriss Worthington. 

Worthington argues that people such as Gene Poschman—serving on the Planning Commission from December 1996 until November 2004 and reappointed in April ‘05—bring institutional memory to their jobs. 

“Laurie’s [Laurie Capitelli] real motive is to stop people with land-use knowledge,” Worthington said, arguing that Capitelli wouldn’t care if someone serves both on the Child Care Commission and the Labor Commission. “It’s in land-use that it’s very important to have people who know what happened five or ten years ago,” Worthington said. 

Olds, however, said people like Poschman could stick around to give advice without being on the commission, underscoring that the reason behind the revision is “not to ‘get’ somebody.”  

While Worthington said it is hypocritical for councilmembers who do not support term-limiting themselves to support term limits for commissioners, Olds, in the middle of serving her third council term, said she supports a three-term limit for councilmembers. 

Capitelli did not return calls for comment on Monday. 

Winter Shelter 

The councilmembers are being asked to kick in an additional $7,000 for an emergency shelter program at the Oakland Army Base, the city’s share in rehabilitating a warehouse at the base used to shelter homeless Berkeley and Oakland residents during the winter months. The city’s winter shelter program will cost $156,979 if the $7,000 request is approved. 

Allston House funds 

The city is proposing a $789,546 loan to Affordable Housing Associates-managed Allston House, a 47-unit low-income housing apartment complex at 2121 Seventh St. to rehabilitate and acquire the property. But at least one Allston House resident says the city should do a better job of monitoring how the funds are spent.  

“We’re not getting the things we were promised,” said resident April Green, who wants to see better security and more experienced management.  

Councilmember Dona Spring said she would like the city to prepare a contract with AHA. “I want to see what the money is going for,” Spring said. 

No one answered the phones at Affordable Housing Associates on Monday. 

Moving the Roundabout  

The roundabout at the Gilman Street interchange at I-80 was planned a couple of years ago, but took some time for CalTrans to have the plans peer-reviewed. Due to the time lapse, CalTrans is requiring new documentation, including a new traffic volume analysis with a timeframe that extends to 2030 rather than 2025. CalTrans is involved because the roundabout is being built to redirect traffic from the freeway exit, as well traffic from Frontage Road, the racetrack and Gilman. 

A resolution on the council agenda calls for hiring a consultant for $77,649 to perform this analysis. 

“That’s typical CalTrans with its back and forth,” said Councilmember Linda Maio, in whose district the proposed roundabout is located. “It’s one of the more inefficient agencies we deal with.” 

In 2006, the city received $1.2 million federal funds earmarked for the Gilman roundabout. However, because of the increase in construction costs, “The earmarked federal funds and required local match will probably not be enough to construct the project,” according to a report written by Peter Hillier, the city’s assistant public works director. The city will request project funds from the Alameda County Congestion Management Authority, the report says.