$100,000 allocated for code enforcement
By James Ott
City leaders have decided to postpone the closure of the Fulton Shipyard boat ramp due to public pressure to save the 53-year-old facility.
City staff recommended at last Tuesday’s City Council meeting to close the free boat launch, saying the ramp and its surrounding area are a haven for crime and a threat to the income potential of Antioch’s new Marina ramp. Constructed in 1958, it’s now little more than a criminal nest and blight on the city, according to staff and Antioch Police Capt. Stephen J. McConnell.
Police were called 298 times to the Fulton Ramp over the last five years to deal with stolen and vandalized vehicles, drug dealing and drug use, assaults and vandalism among other crimes, said McConnell.
City staff also said they are concerned with potential pollution because Antioch’s fresh water intake pipe is right next to the west side of the Fulton Ramp. They say phone booths, shopping carts, porta potties and cars have all been sunk into the river nearby, potentially leaking hazardous waste into the city’s water supply.
In addition, closing Fulton Ramp would conserve much needed funds currently spent maintaining the area, say staff. And closing the free boat launch will force residents to launch their boats at the new Marina Ramp for a $5 fee, thereby increasing city revenue.
Two residents told the council they’re aware of the problems, but would prefer that the city find a way to conserve the property because of its historical significance to Antioch. Robinson provided a petition with hundreds of names asking to postpone the ramp closure.
“There hasn’t been enough study to close this place down,” said Rick Robinson. “Please postpone this until we get experts who know this river, that know about the history of this area so that we can talk about this.”
Sheila White, who owns The Red Caboose restaurant near the Fulton Ramp, fears that closing the ramp will severely hurt the business she has owned for over eight years. White argued that while there are unsavory types that hang near the ramp, there are criminals all over the city, and she said that none of her customer’s cars have been vandalized.
White and Robinson suggested the area be turned into a park because they say there’s no other free place for residents to hang out near the water.
Councilman Brian Kalinowski suggested leasing the ramp to a private company that would clean up the area, removing the burden from the city while still keeping the ramp open for residents.
In the end the council voted unanimously to reconvene in January to discuss the item with more public input before deciding the fate of the Fulton Ramp.
Other items at the meeting:
The council voted unanimously to allocate $100,000 of community benefit money from the general fund to re-establish some form of city code enforcement after the economic crisis destroyed the city’s original 11-person Code Enforcement Division. Staff said the violations most worthy of attention are related to unoccupied and abandoned houses and trash buildup in residential areas.
Because of limited funding, however, the city is likely to only hire one employee to address just a few of the most critical code violations. A full time code enforcement officer is expected to cost the city $50-$59 an hour with overhead expected to double that cost to around $100 to $118 an hour.
Kalinowski disagreed with those figures and suggested that staff re-evaluate them. He also didn’t want to wait until January or February to hire an employee. The job market is so bad that many would be chomping at the bit to get the job, he said.
Councilman Gary Agopian suggested that the city look into creating a volunteer force to assist in code enforcement as well as blight and crime prevention, although the legality of such a volunteer force would have to be decided.
The council also received an annual report from the Antioch Development Agency. California Health and Safety Code requires such a report yearly that reveals what has been accomplished by the agency the prior fiscal year in areas such as blight prevention, properties purchased and any loans that may have defaulted.
The report said the city’s development agency completed blight prevention projects like the widening of L Street between Fourth and Tenth Streets, and is currently looking into a possible interchange at Phillips Lane and infrastructure improvements in the Hillcrest Station area.
The development agency also loaned $300,000 to purchase property for 85 affordable senior homes that will be available to seniors with incomes at or below 50 percent of the area’s median income level.
Antioch’s development agency, like all such agencies across the state, was hit hard by the state’s attempt to dissolve all state redevelopment agencies unless they agreed to pay a large annual fee to the California government. As a result, the development agency was only able to help two first-time homebuyers purchase a home in Antioch, despite more than 50 applications.
The city’s redevelopment agency currently has no loans above $50,000 – nothing below that is required in the report – that are in default.
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