Summary totals
Headline new/amended direct spending: ≈ $7.70M across 13 items with explicit dollar figures. Behind it sits a $14–15M unfunded capital commitment (Hopkins Street) moving forward as a referral.
| Bucket | Amount | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Largest single item — QLM-Inc, Santa Fe Trackbed park conversion (Item 16) | $3,690,722 | Moderate |
| Life-Assist — EMS supplies purchase orders (Item 10) | $1,552,000 | High |
| Swifthawk Consulting — Alameda Co. wildfire coordinator, grant-funded (Item 9) | $1,000,000 | High |
| Berkeley Food Network — HOME-ARP food security (Item 13) | $372,901 | High |
| Total new / amended direct spending | $7,700,778 | High |
| Contingent extensions & local match (not committed July 28) | $2,723,000 | Moderate |
| Hopkins Street repaving w/ bikeways — staff estimate, no funding identified (Item 27) | $14–15,000,000 | Moderate |
A. Spending items PROPOSED
Direct city expenditure proposed for approval. "New $" is the money newly authorized on July 28; "Total" is the resulting not-to-exceed contract ceiling.
| # | Title / vendor | New $ | Total NTE | Category | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Amend — Dr. Orsolya Kuti (Contract 32100053) | +$103,000 | $376,000 | Animal Services | In-house veterinary medical services at Berkeley Animal Care Services. |
| 8 | Amend — DataProse (Contract 32600030) | +$150,000 | $200,000 | Budget & Finance | Bill printing and mailing; extends term 18 months to 12/31/2028. A 4× increase on a $50K base. |
| 9 | Contract — Swifthawk Consulting, LLC | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | Fire / Wildfire | Alameda County Coordinator for fire safe councils and wildfire mitigation groups, Aug 2026–Dec 2029. Funded by incoming California Fire Safe Council grant money — grant-contingent, not General Fund. Possible +$225K/yr in FY30–31 if new awards land. |
| 10 | Purchase orders — Life-Assist, Inc. | $1,552,000 | $1,552,000 | Fire / EMS | Emergency medical supplies and equipment via NPPGov cooperative contract PS25830, Aug 2026–Nov 2029. Two further 2-year extensions would add up to $1,888,000. |
| 11 | Purchase orders — Bound Tree Medical, LLC | $25,000 | $25,000 | Fire / EMS | Secondary EMS supply vendor via BuyBoard contract 804-26, Aug 2026–May 2027. Renewals would bring the ceiling to $110,000. |
| 13 | Contract — Berkeley Food Network | $372,901 | $372,901 | Health & Housing | Food security services for eligible populations through 6/30/2028, paid from federal HOME-ARP supportive services funds. |
| 14 | Contract — CivicPlus, LLC | $200,905 | $200,905 | Parks & Recreation | Recreation management software, five years from 12/1/2026. |
| 15 | Purchase orders — One Workplace Inc. | $300,000 | $300,000 | Parks & Recreation | Furniture and equipment for the MLK Jr. Youth Services Center and other community centers, via Omnia Partners. Parks Tax Fund. |
| 16 | Contract — QLM-Inc. | $3,690,722 | $3,690,722 | Parks / Capital | Santa Fe Trackbed to Park conversion — new community gardens, dog park and playground, Blake to Ward St along Acton. Base bid $3,185,202 + $170,000 add alternates + $335,520 (10%) contingency. See figure conflict below. |
| 17 | Amend — The Dutra Group (Contract 32500050) | +$300,000 | $8,893,200 | Waterfront / Capital | Berkeley Marina Docks D&E replacement project. |
| 22 | Council office funds → SupplyBank.org school supply fair | $450 | $450 | Council Discretionary | Bartlett $200 + Tregub $150 + Ishii $100 from D13 accounts; others invited up to $200 each. |
| 23 | Council office funds → Downtown Berkeley Association | $1,800 | $1,800 | Council Discretionary | Tregub/O'Keefe/Blackaby $500 each + Lunaparra $300 for the DBA Social Service Outreach Coordinator; up to $1,000/member allowed, closing a cost-sharing gap for the position. |
| 25 | Council office funds → Russell St Halloween (2026–29) | $4,000 | $4,000 | Council Discretionary | Humbert $4,000 to the Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Association for four years of Russell Street Halloween festivities; other members may add up to $4,000 each. |
B. Revenue, fees & financing
Incoming grants, lease revenue & outside fund sources
| # | Source | Amount | Category | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ICRI lease — 125-127 University Ave (Ordinance 8,031-N.S.) 2ND READING | Not stated | Waterfront / Lease | Five-year office lease to the International Child Resource Institute, Sept 2026 – Aug 2031. Lease revenue amount is in the staff report, not on the agenda face. First reading: all ayes — this is the one adoption-track item on the agenda. |
| 12 | FEMA Port Security Grant Program | up to $1,200,000 | Fire / Marine | Authority to apply for and accept funds to replace the City's Fire & Rescue Boat. Includes a $300,000 (25%) local match — ≈$900,000 federal, $300,000 City. Not yet awarded. |
| 9 | California Fire Safe Council (CFSC) | $1,000,000 | Fire / Wildfire | Grant funds backing the Swifthawk contract; Council also authorizes applying for future CFSC awards through 2031 to sustain the coordinator position. |
| 13 | Federal HOME-ARP supportive services funds | $372,901 | Health & Housing | Pass-through federal funding for the Berkeley Food Network contract — no General Fund impact. |
| 6 | Friends of Berkeley Animal Care Services (FoBACS) | $60,000 | Animal Services | Acceptance of a private donor-group grant to BACS. |
| # | Fee change (public hearing) | Amount | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Inclusionary Housing In-Lieu Fee — update for single-family units | See report | Establishes a 2,500 sq ft Residential Unit Floor Area (RUFA) deduction for detached single-family units (multi-unit projects keep the 5,000 sq ft deduction). Because the deduction shrinks fee-assessable floor area, this is a fee reduction for single-family projects and a likely decrease in affordable-housing in-lieu revenue. No yield figure on the agenda face; effects deferred to the 2028 in-lieu fee study. |
| # | Future procurement | Amount | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Formal Bid Solicitations & RFPs scheduled for possible issuance after July 28 | See report | Approves the slate of RFPs/IFBs departments may issue. All resulting contracts above the City Manager's threshold return to Council. This is the pipeline for the next round of spending. |
C. Item 27 — Hopkins Street: the $14–15M item with no funding source
The largest fiscal commitment on this agenda is not on the consent calendar. It is a referral — and the staff packet puts a number on it.
| Figure | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Repaving with Class IV separated bikeways (the proposal) | $14–15,000,000 | Public Works, April FITES Committee |
| Repaving with pedestrian safety features only (the Feb 2026 alternative) | $11,000,000 | Public Works, April FITES Committee |
| Marginal cost of the bikeway option | ≈ $3–4,000,000 | BeTH calculation from the above |
| Hopkins funds previously reallocated to close the Measure T1 gap (June 13, 2023) | −$2,800,000 | Attachment 3, Feb 2026 referral |
| Further Hopkins funds removed in the FY 2023–24 budget | −$900,000 | Attachment 3, Feb 2026 referral |
| Original 2018 corridor study budget referral (Hahn) | $200,000 | Attachment 1, Jan 2018 referral |
"Proceeds of the tax may not be used to fund bicycle-specific safety improvements (such as cycletracks or protected bike lanes) on Hopkins Street between McGee and Gilman."
That is why the earlier version of this item asked for pedestrian features only. Item 27 reverses that and asks for the bikeways anyway — which means the marginal $3–4M must come from somewhere other than Measure FF, and the packet does not say where. The FITES Committee sent this item to Council with a qualified negative recommendation — to be rejected unless amended to extend the protected bike lanes, and it asks staff to "immediately identify and secure funding for all proposed pedestrian, transit and bicycle improvements" — an unusual instruction that confirms the money is not currently in hand.
Why this matters for the budget: $2.8M + $900K of Hopkins money was already swept to other projects in 2023, and the street has since deteriorated to among the worst Pavement Condition Index scores in Berkeley. A referral appropriates nothing on July 28 — but it directs staff toward a project whose current price tag is larger than every spending item on this agenda combined, with a legally constrained primary funding source.
D. Other policy referrals & committee items
| # | Sponsor(s) | Named $ | Category | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B&F 2 | CM Kesarwani (Author), Mayor Ishii | Staff time | Budget & Finance | Budget & Finance Committee, Thu July 23 — ordinance amending BMC 7.18 to require competitive solicitation for all city services contracts over $100,000, with sole-source and emergency exceptions; refers implementing regulations to the City Manager. Due back to Council Oct 13, 2026. A structural procurement-accountability reform. |
| 24 | CM Tregub (Author), Mayor Ishii, CM Blackaby, CM O'Keefe | None stated | Economic Development | RENAISSANCE Part 1 — refers commercial-vacancy blight mitigation to the City Manager: performance standards for stalled/demolished sites, permit-revocation streamlining, and adding "unmitigated prolonged commercial vacancy" as a blight factor. Financial implications listed as None, though enforcement carries staff cost. |
| 28 | CM Tregub (Author) | Staff time | Land Use | Refers updates to the "Adult-Oriented Business" definition (incl. vaping shops) and review of restrictions in the C-DMU Downtown district. Qualified positive recommendation from the Policy Committee. |
| 21 | Mayor Ishii (Author), CM Lunaparra, CM Tregub | Staff time | Legal / Climate | Authorizes the City Attorney to join a Sabin Center amicus brief challenging the EPA's rescission of the greenhouse gas endangerment finding. The supporting report cites Berkeley's own exposure: ~$3M in sea-level-rise repair costs by 2050 (over $17M by 2100) at the Marina alone, $11M in stormwater infrastructure costs by 2050, and $364,847 in response costs from the 2023 winter storms. |
| 18 | Civic Arts Commission | Staff time | Arts | Authorizes an additional Civic Arts Commission meeting in 2026 (adds Aug 26). Absorbed within existing resources. |
E. Reviewed — no direct fiscal impact
| # | Item | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Minutes for Approval | Minutes for seven June meetings. Financial implications: None. |
| 3 | Police Accountability Board — new member appointment | Resolution appointing a Taplin nominee to the PAB. "See report"; no figure on the agenda face. |
| 4 | Voting delegates — League of California Cities | Designates Lunaparra (delegate) and Humbert (alternate) for the Sept 25 Anaheim conference. Travel cost not itemized. |
| 19 | Plaza naming for Dolores Cooper — removed by the City Manager | The draft agenda carried ~$2,000 in signage cost; the item was pulled before posting and is not before Council on July 28. |
| 20 | Excused absence — CM Bartlett | Excuses Bartlett from the June 30 meeting for a medical condition. None. |
| 29–30 | Landmark Preservation notices of decision | 2455 Telegraph Ave; Elmwood Commercial Historic District. Information only. |
| 31 | Civic Arts Commission FY27 Work Plan | Information only — worth reading for FY27 arts spending direction. |
| 32 | Annual Report — Landmarks Preservation Commission | Information only. |
Confidence & sourcing
High — Items 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 22, 23, 25: figures quoted verbatim from the final posted agenda. The $7,700,778 subtotal is arithmetic on those quoted figures.
Moderate — Item 16 figure conflict. The recommendation says "not to exceed $3,355,202" but itemizes $3,185,202 base + $170,000 add alternates + $335,520 contingency, which sums to $3,690,722. The item's own Financial Implications line reads "Various Funds - $3,690,722." We use $3,690,722 and read $3,355,202 as base + add alternates, omitting contingency. If $3,355,202 governs, the agenda total drops to $7,365,258.
Moderate — Item 17 figure conflict. Recommendation says amended NTE $8,893,200; Financial Implications says $8,893,222. A $22 discrepancy, immaterial. The $300,000 increase is unambiguous. (The item's PDF link on the City site is also mislabeled "32500020"; the contract is 32500050.)
Moderate — Item 27 Hopkins range. The $14–15M and $11M figures are Public Works' verbal "order of magnitude" estimates reported to the FITES Committee in April 2026, quoted in the councilmember's report. They are not engineer's estimates and no formal cost study is attached. Treat as directional.
Moderate — grant amounts (Items 9, 12) are authority to apply for and accept funds, not confirmed awards. The FEMA figure carries a $300,000 City match that becomes real spending if the grant lands.
Moderate — Items 22/23: only contributions named in the agenda are counted ($450 / $1,800); totals rise if more councilmembers opt in.
Low / Unknown — Item 1 (ICRI lease revenue), Item 7 (RFP slate values), and Item 26 (in-lieu fee yield) list "See report" with no figure on the agenda face.