Alameda County seeking to pay off Coliseum debt
Raiders stadium deal or not, Alameda County officials are negotiating with Oakland to pay off the entire $100 million debt outstanding from the rebuild of the Coliseum that brought the team back from L.A. almost 20 years ago.
Under the deal, the county would use its reserves — said to be in excess of a half-billion dollars — to pay the entire debt. The city would reimburse the county down the line for the half it owes.
“That way the land would be free of any indebtedness, and the city and county could have more flexibility” to sell or lease it, said Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who serves on the city and county Coliseum
Authority.
Meanwhile, with the NFL deadline to submit stadium proposals just two weeks away, Oakland officials are scrambling to make the math work — and from the looks of things, taxpayers could be co-signing for much of the deal.
Sources who have been briefed on the plan said Mayor Libby Schaaf continues to eye lease revenue bonds — backed by future rent payments from the team — to help pay for tens of millions in infrastructure improvements on the stadium and accompanying development site.
The city wants Alameda County — which has a higher credit rating than Oakland — to help carry the bonds and the risk as well. But Miley told us “we are probably not interested in doing that.”
Lease revenue bonds were used to build Mount Davis, the cliff of stands added in in 1996. The deal didn’t live up to expectations, however, and city and county taxpayers wound up paying $20 million a year at a time when Oakland had to lay off police for lack of money.
Oakland’s negotiating team held a private sitdown with the Raiders on Wednesday to gauge their reaction to some of the financial terms being proposed.
Neither side would comment publicly afterward, but a source close to the Raiders described the meeting as “productive” — particularly with the involvement of Oakland’s Assistant City Administrator Claudia Cappio. The source reiterated team owner Mark Davis’ contention that he wants to remain in Oakland.
Still, the source cautioned whether a deal was workable given “all the moving parts,” including what it might mean for the Coliseum’s other tenant, the Oakland A’s.
All of which has Miley remaining skeptical that a realistic financial plan will materialize before the deadline.
“I still think it’s too much of a hope and a prayer and a wish,” he said.
Not so fast: In an effort to lessen the use of lethal force after the Mario Woods shooting, Police Chief Greg Suhr announced plans to arm officers with crowdcontrol shields to be used as protection when police confront someone with a knife.
The idea is modeled after London police practices and is intended to give officers an alternative to pulling their guns. From the looks of things, however, the 60 shields are going to stay locked up for some time to come.
“I’m not going to let my members get exposed to bodily harm just because of political expediency,” said Police Officers Association President Martin Halloran.
“There isn’t another police department in the U.S. that uses shields,” Halloran said, adding that there are no policies or training available in their use.
“Can you imagine an officer going up against a machete wielder with a shield and a baton?” the union leader said. “What’s to prevent the guy from reaching over the shield and slashing the officer?”
In ordering the new gear, Suhr cited an incident in London where several officers approached a suspect with shields — then hit him with a stun gun him.
Attorney John Burris, who is representing Woods’ family, said the shooting could have been avoided if the police has used better tactics, including stunning Woods with a Taser.
“They’re used by departments all across the country and tend to be effective more often than not. But for some reason San Francisco decided not to go down that road,” Burris said.
The San Francisco Police Commission has twice rejected the use of electronic stun guns after mental health advocates raised questions about the safety of the high-voltage stun guns. Even if the commission agrees to go with the devices, it will take at least six months before they are ready for use by police.
In the meantime, Suhr has ordered 70 more high-powered beanbag launchers and instituted new training aimed at slowing down how quickly officers operating as a group go for their guns.
“We’re working with what we have,” Suhr said. “We are not waiting until we get whatever we get.”
Be prepared: The other day, San Francisco police Officers Anthony Randolph and Riley Bandy saw a man who appeared to be casing vehicles and locked bicycles on Sansome Street. They stopped and spoke with him.
“Come on man, I haven’t stolen any bikes since the last time you arrested me,” the man said before the officers found the bolt cutters, wrench, pliers, screwdriver, bicycle chain and metal grinder in his backpack.
The would-be thief was cited and released for possession of burglary tools — which is now a misdemeanor.