Dear Editor,

I had submitted a written statement to the Mayor in objection to any action by the City of Antioch concerning overreaching and rental contracts to which the City is not a party.  The action by the City in this matter is unnecessary and largely disingenuous.

The City of Antioch has failed year after year, decade after decade to protect the homeowners who live in Antioch. Initially an inspection process for rentals was instituted to hold tenants and landlords accountable for poorly maintained property.  In the crash of ’08 that went belly up and the City has done almost nothing for the last 12 years.

Then as a citizen’s initiative Measure O was passed creating a business license fee for rental properties. No services have been directly provided to anyone for the fees collected. The inspections were not restarted. Another fail. And, oh yes, because no service is directly provided for this tax there may be a Prop 218 violation.

Now, the council steps forward to interfere in rental payments.  It might help if just one of the council members owned an investment property here in Antioch.  As far as I know, none do.  So, we have five people with little or no experience in the business taking destructive action.

In a previous article you printed concerning the County Courts, and I can confirm; no, Mr. Thorpe you cannot file an eviction at this time.  The courts are not accepting them.  And based on the closure, they won’t be filed for at least 30 days.  Additionally, even if a tenant has been served a 3-day notice to pay rent in Contra Costa County the courts have extend that notice period out an addition 10 days before they will even accept the filing.  It is questionable if the County courts have this right because it hasn’t been litigated yet.  Best guess, it will be found in violation of the State Constitution.

In my business we are allowing tenants who have found themselves without work, ill with CN-19 or taking care of a family member sick with CN-19 to defer part of the rent.  We are not waiving or cancelling rent. We require a written statement from the tenant attesting to the statement above.

The City Council is totally out of line, overreaching and in my opinion using this measure as a springboard for reelection.  If you want to help, help the property owners who live in town and care about value, quality of life and services.  Get the homeless issue under control, begin inspection of rental properties again and hold rental owners and tenant accountable.  And, provide some direct services to those of us who pay the taxes here in town.

Mark Jordan, Principal Broker RE/MAX Preferred Properties

Watch for updates on our website at www.antiochschools.net or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ausd.k12

By Antioch Friends of Animal Services

The following adoption special at Antioch Animal Services will begin on Thursday, April 2nd and will remain in effect until Saturday, May 2nd. It may be extended depending on if mandatory lockdown dates are extended.

Need a companion, co-worker, walking partner or playmate to keep you and the family company during the mandatory stay at home order as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Antioch Friends of Animal Services is sponsoring the adoption fees of all animals at Antioch Animal Services to encourage the public to adopt a homeless pet. There is no better time than now, when you are home and can help that new furbaby adjust to a home life.

All adoptions at Antioch Animal Services are by appointment only due to social distancing requirements. Please call (925) 779-6989 daily from 8am to 5pm to schedule a meet and greet with any animal (or animals) that you are interested in meeting.

You can view available pets at www.antioch.petfinder.com, www.petharbor.com or by following the Antioch Animal Services and Antioch Friends of Animal Services Facebook Pages.
The sponsored adoption fee includes: spay/neuter, microchip and age appropriate shots
Antioch residents will be required to pay a $20 license fee for dog adoptions.

Three deaths in county from 212 cases, so far

By Daniel Borsuk

Since the last time the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors met two weeks ago, the number of Contra Costa residents with COVID-19 symptoms have tripled, Contra Costa County Health Services Director Anna Roth told Supervisors during a live-streamed meeting Tuesday.

Roth told supervisors the county had 212 cases of patients with COVID-19 symptoms and there had been three deaths. Two weeks ago, there 70 patients had COVID-19 symptoms and one patient had died from the virus.

In the meantime, county medical professionals are barely treading water in providing life-saving ventilators for COVID-19 stricken patients. County Health Officer Dr. Christopher Farnitano said hospitals have 76 ventilators in use and 100 more ventilators are on order, but over time additional equipment will be need.

“We are not going to save most of our patients who will need to be on ventilators. We will have 1,000 patients or more who will need to be on ventilators. Most will die. We need to reduce the number of people coming down with COVID-19 symptoms,” said Dr. Farnitano.

Dr. Farnitano said an alternate health care site is scheduled to open at the Antioch Fair Grounds next week to help accommodate additional COVID-19 patients.

County Administrator David Twa, who will retire at the end of the year, said rising health costs stemming from COVID-19 will force the county to plug up funding holes totaling $43 million a year for the next three years. The rising medical costs stem from recently signed labor agreements for hospital professionals and in-home care attendant workers.

Twa projected an 11 percent decline in property values will trigger a $27 million decrease in property tax revenue at least for the upcoming 2020/2021 fiscal year.

That projection from Twa caused District 4 Supervisor Karen Mitchoff of Pleasant Hill to warn her colleagues, “We may need to reduce the work force. We could be facing difficult times.”

Supervisors will get a better picture of the proposed 2020-2021 budget on April 21 when it is presented publicly. The budget will be formally adopted on May 12.

County Treasurer-Tax Collector Russell Watts said his office anticipates an increase in the number of property owners to file online penalty cancellation requests on April 10 because of COVID-19. Watts told supervisors he would inform property owners if any of the hundreds of financial institutions holding $450 million in impound escrow funds miss depositing funds in the county treasury the financial institutions will be held accountable. He also will report to the board of supervisors if any financial institutions fail to submit impound funds to the county.

“This revenue is essential for keeping the county, our cities and schools, and other local government agencies running and providing vital services that the public relies on, especially in times like these,” said Watts in a press release.

Under the current stay-at-home orders, the county’s more than 177,000 K-12 public school students are coping under while the stringent shelter-in-place mandate stays in place, Contra Costa County Office of Education Superintendent Lynn Mackey told supervisors.

Students are learning via distance learning although students in some school districts fall through the technology gaps more than others, said Mackey. Noting that 42 percent of the county’s students qualify for the free lunch program, the county superintendent said, “We are making sure that students don’t fall through the cracks in providing the computers and resources for distance learning.”

District 1 Supervisor John Gioia of Richmond succeeded in getting Supervisors’ support to have Deputy County Counsel Mary Ann Mason prepare a comprehensive report on the feasibility of the Board adopting a moratorium on evictions, a ban that Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties have already adopted.

The proposed imposition of an eviction moratorium was one of major topics supervisors heard from 120 emailed letters from residents. Other issues citizens wrote about connected to the COVID-19 pandemic were: Imposition of a moratorium on rent, Depopulating the county jails, and Protecting county social workers.

Temporary Emergency Worker Classification Created

Citing the possibility, the County might need temporary emergency workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Supervisors unanimously approved County Administrator David Twa’s request to establish the classification with a salary range of $12 an hour to $35 an hour.

Supervisors approved County Administrator Twa’s request on a   5-0 vote even though Twa said he did not have the time to consult with labor representatives about the creation of the classification.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the county will need to hire additional workers to be able to continue providing current essential services to county residents, as well as services to provide information, protect health and save lives,” Twa’s request stated. “The County Administrator is recommending establishing the hourly classification of Temporary Emergency Worker.”

In other business, Supervisors appointed Walnut Creek-based commercial and residential developer Ross Hillesheim to fill the At-Large 2 seat on the Contra Costa County Planning Commission. Other applicants for the position, a four-year appointment, recommended by the Internal Operations Committee were former City of Concord planning commissioner LaMar Anderson, journalist Daniel Borsuk of Pittsburg, and North Richmond Residential Leadership team member Johana Gurdian.

Was also driving on walking trails in Brentwood

By Sergeant Rick Smith, Antioch Police Community Police Bureau

On March 31, 2020 at approximately 1:35PM, Oakley PD attempted to stop a white Nissan Altima with Arizona plates, later found to be driven by 54-year-old Andy Monticello for reckless driving. He refused to stop, and a pursuit ensued. The pursuit was terminated due to the reckless nature of the pursuit.

A short time later, the Brentwood Police Department began receiving calls of Monticello driving on the walking trails in their city. Multiple callers reported him driving along the trails and nearly hitting pedestrians. Updates kept coming in from numerous citizens reporting Monticello was driving reckless on Highway 4 bypass near Sand Creek Road and then again on Balfour Road. Citizen’s reported Monticello was last seen westbound on Balfour Road at a high-speed running red lights and attempting run other motorists off the road. Brentwood PD Officers converged in the areas of reported sightings and were diligently attempting locate Monticello.

Antioch Officers began to head towards Deer Valley Road based on updated reports of Monticello’s last known direction of travel. An Antioch Patrol Sergeant was southbound on Deer Valley Road when Monticello came towards him. Monticello pulled into the oncoming lane of traffic in front of the Sergeant. When the Sergeant attempted to move into the other lane to avoid a collision, Monticello matched the movement and continued to drive his vehicle at the Sergeant. Both vehicles collided head on and the Sergeant then used his vehicle to push Monticello’s off the roadway and immobilize it. Monticello was taken into custody without further incident.

Monticello was later booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on an outstanding Felony Warrant from Arizona and multiple new charges from this incident to include Felony Assault on an Officer. Oakley PD will be seeking charges related to their earlier pursuit. The Brentwood Police Department is contacting possible victims related to incidents that occurred in their city.

This was a collaborative effort by all agencies involved to resolve this incident as safely as possible and demonstrates the ongoing support each agency in Contra Costa County has for one another.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.