Fwd: Public Comment needed today at noon

[Ann Harlow]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Loni Hancock <loni.h...@comcast.net>

Subject: Public Comment needed on Wengraf-Hahn Budget request for Civic Center. Wednesday; 12 noon

Date: June 4, 2024 at 11:20:09 PM PDT

To: John Caner <jca...@downtownberkeley.com>, John Caner <john...@gmail.com>, Arlene Silk <arlen...@gmail.com>, Lisa Bullwinkel <lbull...@aol.com>, Winston Burton <winbu...@yahoo.com>

Cc: Ann Harlow <annha...@gmail.com>, Deb Durant <debd...@gmail.com>, Wyndy Knox Carr <hell...@gmail.com>

Friends,

Tom and I just returned from a month away, and I realized there is a special Budget Committee meeting tomorrow - Wednesday, June 5th, at noon. Susan Wengraf/Sophie Hahn’s Budget Request for $300,000 for next steps planning for Civic Center, specifically, for the Maudelle Shirek Building, will be heard under item #2 “City Manager’s budget", which includes a discussion of "Councilmember Budget Requests".

Please attend the meeting if you possibly can, in person or on zoom (the zoom address is listed in the attached pdf, below), and speak in favor of the request. 

The City needs to plan NOW for what will happen when the City lease with BUSD is up in 2028. It will be too late to plan when the lease expires. The Wengraf/Hahn item includes considering the possibility of returning the Council Chambers to Civic Center/Maudelle Shirek Building. The City needs to assess its future space needs, and I believe it is planning to do so. It is currently paying considerable sums to rent spaces, including the BUSD space, and it may be that consolidating City functions in Maudelle Shirek would free up funds to maintain the building after it is retrofitted. 

So sorry for the late notice! Susan Wengraf, who is shepherding the request, needs our support now….

Thanks!

Loni