Laserfiche WebLink
BACKGROUND <br /> As part of the settlement of litigation over the expansion of the Altamont Landfill, the <br /> parties to the litigation agreement (Alameda County, Waste Management of Alameda <br /> County, the Cities of Livermore and Pleasanton, and various environmental groups) <br /> agreed that the County would impose a fee totaling $0.75 per ton at the Altamont <br /> Landfill and Resource Recovery Facility for open space acquisition. Eighty percent of <br /> the Open Space Fee is designated for open space expenditures in the eastern portion <br /> of the East County and 20 percent is for expenditures in the western portion of East <br /> County. <br /> The Open Space Committee consists of one member appointed by the Board of <br /> Supervisors, one member appointed by the Livermore City Council, one member <br /> appointed by the Pleasanton City Council, and one member appointed by the Sierra <br /> Club. The City of Pleasanton representative is Councilmember Jerry Pentin. Subsection <br /> 7.4.7 of the Settlement Agreement states that by approval of a majority of the members <br /> of the Advisory Committee, and concurrence by the County and Cities, up to five <br /> percent of the funds received in any given year may be expended for the services of <br /> independent consultants to aid the Advisory Committee in carrying out its duties to <br /> identify open space areas in need of protection and to make plans for their acquisition. <br /> DISCUSSION <br /> On June 19, 2018, City Council adopted Resolution 18-1030, which accepted the list of <br /> general priority areas for future acquisition, and determined an initial expenditure of <br /> $23,650 of Altamont Open Space funds for services to be performed by UC Berkeley <br /> was consistent with the Altamont Landfill Settlement Agreement. The initial scope of <br /> work under the UC Berkeley contract related to identifying, ranking, and mapping high <br /> conservation values in Eastern Alameda County as part of strategic planning to guide <br /> decision-making for future open space acquisitions. <br /> At the September 20, 2019 meeting of the Open Space Committee, the voting members <br /> from both the east and west acquisition priority areas voted unanimously to authorize <br /> the expenditure of additional funds, up to $30,753, for professional services by UC <br /> Berkeley. This expenditure will cover services related to Open Space Committee <br /> member training and ongoing maintenance, for a minimum of three years, related to the <br /> mapping tool that was developed for high conservation values in Eastern Alameda <br /> County. The total contract amount remains within the five percent of funds received <br /> annually, in conformance with the requirements of the Settlement Agreement. There is <br /> no cost to the City of Pleasanton as Altamont Open Space funds will continue to cover <br /> the contract costs with UC Berkeley. <br /> Page 2 of 3 <br />