Berkeley council directs staff to fully fund African American Holistic Resource Center, preserves Turtle Island Monument funding

BERKELEY — The Berkeley City Council on the special 4 p.m. session unanimously directed the city manager to fully fund replacement of the African American Holistic Resource Center and to preserve Measure T1 funding for the Turtle Island Monument, while asking staff and the Budget & Finance Committee to present options to close an estimated $3.2 million to $4.5 million funding gap.

Staff from Parks, Recreation & Waterfront and Public Works told the council that rising construction costs and project-specific issues have created shortfalls across phase 2 of Measure T1. "We've had a construction cost escalation in the previous two years of about 26 percent," Scott Barris, Director of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront, told the council during the presentation. He said 27 of 36 phase-2 projects remain incomplete and nine projects cannot be reduced further and need added funding, including a set of public restrooms, the Turtle Island Monument, D & E dock replacement at the marina, 1947 Center Street improvements, and corporation yard projects.

Staff identified separate gaps: just over $1 million across the nine non-reducible projects and roughly $350,000 in outstanding project and legal costs for the North Berkeley Senior Center. For the African American Holistic Resource Center (AAHRC), staff summarized current allocations as roughly $8,250,000 assigned to the project: about $7,000,000 from T1, a $1,000,000 federal HUD earmark and $250,000 from the general fund. Following a building assessment, staff said renovation carries high risk of unforeseen escalation and recommended full replacement. "Given the building assessment, we tear down that building and rebuild as new," Barris said.

Council members pressed staff on tradeoffs and constraints. Several members said they would prioritize projects that are public-facing or where the city risks losing outside matching funds. "When we put Measure T1 on the ballot... the expectation of voters was that these public funds would be used to prioritize public improvements," the mayor (speaker 3) said, urging staff to present prioritization criteria and alternatives for closing the gap without undermining matching grants.

Public commenters and neighborhood advocates urged the council to keep the AAHRC and the Turtle Island Monument on track. Shahida Williams, speaking on behalf of Supervisor Carson, and multiple other community leaders described the AAHRC as an urgent, equity-focused program and urged full funding. Supporters of the Turtle Island Monument warned that rescinding the $300,000 T1 allocation could jeopardize nearly $596,000 in matching grant funding.

After public comment and discussion, the mayor moved — and the council seconded — a direction that would: fully fund the full replacement of the AAHRC; continue to fully fund the Turtle Island Monument to preserve state and private matching money; and direct staff to return to the Budget & Finance Committee with options to close the T1 gap using criteria that prioritize public-facing projects, projects with matching funds, and projects already far along in planning. The motion also instructed staff to pursue available grants and consider general-fund excess equity and other sources, and to present scenarios for both a 4,000-square-foot and a 6,000-square-foot AAHRC so council can see tradeoffs.

The clerk called the roll and the motion carried unanimously. Council recorded that staff should present the financing scenarios to the Budget & Finance Committee before returning to full council.

What happens next: staff will prepare financing options and scenario comparisons for the Budget & Finance Committee, including cost and schedule trade-offs for alternative AAHRC sizes, and will report back to council with recommended pathways to close the Measure T1 shortfall.

Notes: The meeting opened with the clerk reading the required remote-meeting finding under Government Code section 54953(e). Staff cited a recently confirmed $1.5 million Cal OES/FEMA grant that restores funding for a seismic retrofit at the South Berkeley Senior Center, and staff said further details on some federal deadlines remain under review. Where the transcript did not provide an exact date for future committee meetings or the precise sunset dates for grants, the article states that those details will be provided by staff in follow-up reports.