Stockton Miracle Mile Work Group Meeting Minutes 05-22-24

Introduction of VMS (Joey Nespoli and Linda Chia)

- Emergency exits
- Restroom locations
- Safety and Security of vehicles – back parking lot gate will be closed.

VMS has been tasked by Caltrans to facilitate the Ad Hoc Workgroup during this effort.

Start from a place that everyone in this room is here because they care about the Miracle Mile and want to make a difference. Please respect each other and stay on topic.

Today is an opportunity to celebrate the future of the Miracle Mile with the culmination of all the work done by the Ad Hoc Workgroup over the last eight months.

Caltrans Non-Discrimination Policy (excerpt):

• The California Department of Transportation, under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ensures: “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
• Caltrans will make every effort to ensure nondiscrimination in all of its services, programs and activities, whether they are federally funded or not, and that services and benefits are fairly distributed to all people, regardless of race, color, or national origin. In addition, Caltrans will facilitate meaningful participation in the transportation planning process in a nondiscriminatory manner.
• Related federal statutes, remedies, and state law further those protections to include sex, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and age.

Spanish translation is available for any parts of the meeting that participants needed assistance.

Recording of the meeting will be available after the meeting by visiting the Caltrans website at https://bit.ly/stocktonmiraclemile

For additional comments or questions, please submit an email to StocktonMiracleMile@dot.ca.gov

The meeting was called to order at 6:10 pm by Kevin Dougherty.

This is the fourth and final public meetings to gather feedback from the public. The purpose of the Ad Hoc Workgroup is to provide direction to the City of Stockton on how to transform the Miracle Mile into a safe, vibrant, and economically robust business district that will be a premier Central Valley destination for residents, visitors, students, and new business enterprises. Kevin Dougherty thanked members of the public who served on the subcommittees. Jean Callahan stated over 1100 hours were dedicated to develop various ideas for the Conceptual Design Report.

Kevin Dougherty performed the roll call. The following Ad Hoc Workgroup members were in attendance:

• The assembly member representing Miracle Mile
  Israel Landa attended on behalf of Assembly member Carlos Villapudua
• Representing residents of Miracle Mile area
  Jeff Gamboni (present)
  Chip Hanker (absent)
  Phillip Herrera (present)
  Ted Leland (participating virtually)
  Howard Seligman (present)
• Representing business owners with property on Miracle Mile and member of Miracle Mile Improvement District
  Co-chair Kevin Dougherty (present)
• Representing business owners with no property on Miracle Mile and member of Miracle Mile Improvement District
  Jonathan Hernandez (present)
• Representing Miracle Mile business owner who is not part of Miracle Mile Improvement District
  Joanne Chappell (absent)
• Representing commercial property owner with no business on Miracle Mile
  Rex Dhatt (absent)
• Developer
  Kevin Hernandez
• Representing University of the Pacific
  Co-chair Jean Callahan (present)
• Representing Delta College
  Cameron Farrens (present)
• Representing developers
  Kevin Hernandez (present)
• Representing local service clubs
  Diana Lowery (present)
• Representing architects, civil engineers, traffic engineers, or land use and urban planners
  Paris Allen (present)
  Kerry Sullivan (present)
• Representing cyclists who commute to the Miracle Mile
  Jerry Enni (participating virtually)
• Representing Stockton Chamber of Commerce
  Reverand Dwight Williams (present)
• Representing Asian American Chamber of Commerce
  Les Fong (absent)
• Representing local farmers markets
  Emily Ballus (present)

There is one vacant seat representing the farmers markets.

Joey Nespoli introduced the Conceptual Design Report which can also be found on the Caltrans District 10 website: Stockton's Miracle Mile Project | Caltrans

Approximately 18 months ago, Assemblymember Villapudua’s office secured $20m of funding to develop safety and improvement ideas for the Miracle Mile project in the City of Stockton. Caltrans was tasked to form an Ad Hoc Workgroup, comprised of members of the public. Caltrans hired VMS consulting to facilitate the Ad Hoc Workgroup sessions. Four public meetings took place and numerous subcommittee meetings were held.

Charles Carroll, the Active Transportation Portfolio Manager with Caltrans gave a presentation on Active Transportation concepts. The City of Livermore shared insight of their First Street Revitalization project. Presentations of Little Italy and pedestrian and bicycle improvements in Santa Monica and improvements in the Gaslamp District in San Diego were discussed. The City of Stockton offered a tour of Miner Avenue to introduce a project of a similar dollar value.

The Ad Hoc working group participated in brainstorming working sessions. A total of 209 ideas were generated and organized into seven sub-categories which were evaluated by subcommittees. The subcommittees incorporated the feedback of the public from the third public meeting and started developing more detailed ideas including pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages, potential risks, etc. Forty-one final concepts moved forward and were ranked by the Ad Hoc Workgroup members (list of most importance and greatest impact such as lighting on the Miracle Mile). The Design firm which will be hired by the City will develop concepts that make the most sense and that should be developed together. The proposed concepts will most likely cost more than $20m. Additional funds should be secured in the future. The Ad Hoc Workgroup is hopeful to continuously involve the public throughout the delivery of the Miracle Mile project through the City of Stockton.

Below are the public comments and the responses that were noted:

• Thank you to Carlos Villapudua and everyone who has been involved in this project. $20m will not be enough; continue to be aggressive for future funding. Lighting, safety, and operational improvements should be brought forward.
• Thank you for putting all the hours in. I am a resident of Stockton and I am looking forward to seeing even more revitalization in Stockton.
• Is the $20m held in a separate account with a special reporting? In addition to complete streets, Miracle Mile needs a road diet. No removal of trees – these trees are historic, and the area should be walkable. Harry Black, City Manager with the City of Stockton responded: the money went into a separate account and every expenditure is being tracked by the City. The City will develop a webpage specifically to this project with additional information. Jean Callahan stated that road diets are specifically mentioned in the Conceptual Design Report. Silvia Dayak, Investment Planning Manager with Caltrans responded: the City will report every six months back to Caltrans in terms of expenditures. The reporting dates are scheduled for the end of July and the end of January.
• Served on the Mobility subcommittee to promote easy transportation for people on campus to travel to the mile. Bike lanes should be Class VI bike lanes to increase safety for bicyclists. Paris Allen stated that Class VI bike lanes are mentioned in the full version of the Conceptual Design Report.
• As someone living near the Mile, what is being proposed regarding the homeless on the Miracle Mile? Jean Callahan responded that cameras are currently on 1/3 of the mile. Security patrol has been added between 10 pm and 6 am. Additional lighting should help keep areas bright and safe.
• Lived in the area over 50 years; thank you for all the great work and the progress that is being made. Consider maintenance as part of the project; patrons notice safety concerns and cleanliness near the theatre area. Kevin Hernandez responded that maintenance has been a major discussion in addition to constructing the project. The integrity of the Miracle Mile is key to its success.
• How are UOP and Delta students included in this project? UOP currently has students from other countries and areas who would love to volunteer or work for businesses on the Miracle Mile. Jean Callahan stated that discussion have happened to have a formal entrepreneur center on the Miracle Mile, led by students. Kevin Hernandez stated that existing businesses can create a business development binder to help future business owners be successful. Ideas like those shared now are important. Howard Seligman stated it is continuously the responsibility of the City to deal with the homeless and the maintenance portion. Diane Lowery – have students help enhance the Mile by asking questions to business owners.
• Pedestrians who will be using the mile need shaded structures or trees to walk and/or park.

Jean Callahan asked everyone on the Ad Hoc Workgroup to introduce themselves and share their thoughts before voting:

• Israel Landa (Chief of Staff with Assemblymember Villapudua’s office) this group has worked very hard to develop various ideas. Thank you to the City and the public for being involved in this process.
• Phillip Herrera – securing $20m is impressive and the benefit will be great for the community. Acknowledged the consultants for doing a great job leading a difficult group. Project will require additional funds to be completed.
• Diana Lowery – Without the vision of Assemblymember Villapudua, none of this would have been possible, from securing the funds to assembling the Ad Hoc Workgroup members etc.
• Howard Seligman – the report is step number one. What happens after is part of the public and the Workgroup to ensure the City is following through in the consultant selection and ultimate construction of the project.
• Emily Ballus – Caldwell park was added late which tells you about the passion that the Workgroup has. Passionate conversations took place. Thankful to be a part of this and thankful that the public is here to participate.
• Jeff Gamboni – thank you to Kevin Dougherty and Jean Callahan and their leadership and for allowing a co-chair relationship. The security and lighting subcommittee worked hard and made lighting and security a priority. More ideas will come forward and public participation is key to be successful.
• Reverand Dwight Williams – Family always referenced the Miracle Mile as a vibrant location in the past. Excited to be a part of this and the work does not stop here.
• Kevin Hernandez – thank you to Kevin Dougherty and Jean Callahan, thank you to Israel Landa on answering questions on behalf of the Assemblymember’s office. Thank you to Giuseppi, Linda, and Silvia for keeping this group going.
• Paris Allen – honored to be involved in this community and to be part of this effort. This project has a lot of community support; being able to receive a lot of support from the City at the front end means a lot; being able to implement a project that addresses safety and vitalization is important.
• Jonathan Hernandez – thankful to be a part of the Workgroup and Assemblymember Villapudua’s office.
• Cameron Farrens – acknowledging team work between City of Stockton, subcommittee members, the consultants and Assemblymembers office.
• Kerry Sullivan – overwhelmed with the competencies of the consultant. Thank you to Paris Allen for working together. Excited to include Caldwell Park in this project. Excited to see the project unfold.
• Jean Callahan – new to the City of Stockton but the sense of community makes all the difference. Had the opportunity to listen to presentations from other City’s with similar challenges and I am looking forward to see this project through construction.
• Kevin Dougherty – grateful to be surrounded by visionaries, grateful to have opportunities to give back – this particular project received $20m – thank you to Caltrans and the Assemblymember’s office for securing and transferring the funds. The community was involved early on, identified issues, developed ideas and concepts which took over 1100 hours to finalize. Based on our work, we can now hand a report to the City of Stockton to give them a head start and hire a consultant. The co-chairs will remain to be involved in future progress updates.

Jean Callahan called for vote to approve report. Howard Seligman motioned with second by Emily Ballus.

The report was approved unanimously (14) by the Ad Hoc Workgroup present.

Kevin Dougherty introduced the proposed charter amendment with the following language:

“The Ad Hoc Workgroup will remain active through the duration of the project until construction is completed by Jan. 1, 2028. The City of Stockton will share quarterly progress updates with the Workgroup.”

Below are the public comments and the responses that were noted:

• Thank you for the report. I can’t wait to see the improvements on the Miracle Mile.
• Worknet approved Bluedot for local small businesses to receive credits to be used at other organizations. Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the District Attorneys office to report retail theft.

Jean Callahan asked everyone on the Ad Hoc Workgroup to introduce themselves and share their thoughts before voting:

Jean Callahan noted the date in the amendment added because of the final spent down date in the legislation when the funds need to be used by.

The Ad Hoc Workgroup opened discussion for the amendment:

• Kevin Hernandez – thank you for being involved and for caring – looking forward to working with future City staff.
• Philip Herrera – thank you to the City for being accommodating and allowing the Workgroup to make changes to the charter.
• Kerry Sullivan – I want to give credit to the consultants; they have been great to work with and been very responsive.

Howard Seligman motioned to approve the charter, Diane Lowery second the motion.

The charter amendment was approved unanimously (14) by the Ad Hoc Workgroup.

Ad Hoc Co-Chairs (Kevin Dougherty, Jean Callahan)

• Thank you to the City of Stockton for being approachable and making yourself available to attend meetings. Harry Black please meet at the podium to receive the final Conceptual Design Report.

Stockton City Manager (Harry Black)

• Thank you for Carlos Villapudua’s great work, thanks to Caltrans for making the Fund Transfer Agreement process smooth. Thanks to VMS for caring about the views and feelings of all the Workgroup members and for doing a great job leading this group. Thank you to the Workgroup members for bringing different viewpoints forward but still caring about the outcome and goal. We will do our best to optimize the aspirations and the desires with the available funds. A dedicated website will be developed on the City of Stockton webpage to track the project. Most likely the next progress will be shared prior to the 30% Design phase.

The Ad Hoc Workgroup Cochairs handed the Conceptual Design Report to Stockton City Manager Harry Black.

Assemblymember (Carlos Villapudua – joined virtually)

• Thank you to the Ad Hoc members and for all the hard work; thanks to SJCOG for providing a venue for our public meetings; thank you to the public for their continued support. Thank you to Kevin Dougherty and Jean Callahan for stepping up as co-chairs and leading this group. Thank you to Harry Black for seeing this project through and taking over. I envision the Miracle Mile as a safe place for people to visit. I attended the candlelight vigil three years ago to honor Casey Bynum who was fatally injured on the Miracle Mile. This started the idea of securing funding for the initial $20m and an additional $3.1. Thank you to my staff Steve Siebert and my Chief of Staff Israel Landa for attending many meetings and getting the funds approved. This project is the centerpiece of Stockton and thank you for everyone’s participation.

Motion to adjourn meeting by Kevin Hernandez. Motion was seconded by Phillip Herrera. A unanimous vote adjourned the meeting at 7:34 pm.