City Council to Revisit Measure WW Projects at Future Meetings

Despite receiving support from four City Council members Tuesday night, a list of potential parks and recreation projects will be revisited during a special May 31 budget meeting and the regularly scheduled June 14 meeting.

Among the six projects outlined in a report by the Parks and Recreation Commission were: renovating restrooms at five parks, completing the Veterans Memorial at , resurfacing basketball courts and performing other maintenance duties the city had previously deferred due to a lack of capital improvement funds, officials said.

These renovations and improvements are estimated to cost up to $1.8 million, with the most expensive project being up to $1.1 million for restroom repairs. They would be funded through Measure WW, an East Bay Regional Park District bond with approximately $3.5 million earmarked for Union City parks and recreation projects.

The funds became a topic of debate when the city green-lighted the planning of a controversial $3.8 million aquatic facility project in January. It was later shot down when council members to EBRPD for Measure WW funding in March. Officials then cited budget concerns and the lack of community impact for voting against the facility.

“Looking through this series of proposals, I see a broader sense of applicability across the community,” said councilman Lorrin Ellis. “I think all six of these items brought to attention are long overdue.”

However, Mayor Mark Green opposed the recommendations, calling it a “potpourri-smorgasbord-mishmash list” of maintenance tasks.

“That’s what we should be doing on our own, not with this big pot of money,” Green said.

Improved teen center a possibility

Also up for consideration but not recommended by the Parks and Recreation Commission was revisiting the aquatic facility and renovating the William May Teen Center and to divert youth from violence.

The youth center had been discussed in the past, with a community task force being formed last year to address the subject.

Community members asked that the task force be reconvened to discuss teen center renovations with the remaining Measure WW dollars. Council members will vote at the June 14 meeting on reconstituting the task force.

The improved center could be expanded into a digital arts facility for music and visual arts, similar to Youth Uprising in Oakland, said Deputy City Manager Tony Acosta.

“There’s a lot of creativity in Union City and it would be popular, not only with youth but dovetail into our youth violence program,” Acosta said. “For somewhere between a million or a couple million, we could do a significant overhaul of the teen center.”

Various community members also spoke in support of the teen center.

Mary Schlarb, a community leader with Communities Organizing for Renewal, cited the recent homicides as a reason for more recreation activities for youth.

“It was a reminder to me that bullets do not respect age, race or neighborhood. These could have been our youth from either side of the city,” Schlarb said.

“With the , the school district is going to have to make major cuts,” she said. “Our youth need a place to go where they can express themselves in a creative way.”

Though a member of the League of Filipino-American Veterans, former councilman Manny Fernandez also spoke in favor of teen center improvements.

“With the money coming from WW funds, there is new hope,” said Fernandez, who co-chaired the teen center task force with fellow former councilman Richard Valle.

Green said he saw more value in an improved teen center than replacing park restroom urinals, but also reiterated his support for the pool project.

"I'm not going to sit here and pull any punches,” he said. “I still think it should all be going to the aquatic park.”

City officials also discussed a proposal for an agricultural preserve of five to 10 acres made by members of the citizens' group Save Our Hills.

The project calls for an acquisition of land from the Masonic Homes Flatland property that could eventually be used to start a “farm-to-school” program where locally harvested produce would be served at local school cafeterias, according to Elizabeth Ames, a Save Our Hills member.

However, the proposal would require a discussion with the Masonic Homes, which has not yet taken place.

“We don’t know if they’re willing to part with that property or not,” Acosta said.

The City Council will discuss the topic again at a special budget meeting next Tuesday and again during the regularly scheduled meeting on June 14.