The office of Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, is offering a free tax assistance workshop for East Contra Costa County residents.

What: Free Tax Assistance Workshop

Where: 420 West Third Street, Antioch, CA

Date: Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Time: From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Contact: George Escutia, Office of Sen. Glazer, 925-942-6082

The event, through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, is free for taxpayers with annual incomes of $54,000 or less. Contra Costa County’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It!  program will provide assistance.

Volunteers are certified by the IRS and all information is confidential. This is a free service for low-to-moderate income taxpayers filing basic federal and California state tax returns.

Contra Costa’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! (EKS) Campaign is part of a regional effort that provides free tax assistance to low-income workers and helps them to receive their full tax refunds and credits.

EKS is a project of the Family Economic Security Partnership (FESP). FESP is a public, private, and non-profit collaborative dedicated to increasing the income and building the assets of low-income individuals and families living in Contra Costa County.

PASO ROBLES, CALIFORNIA – The Central Coast Wine Competition has announced that it  is now accepting entries for the 2016 competition, which will take place June 14-16, 2016. The competition staff strongly encourages wineries to take advantage of the opportunity to enter the competition online at http://cmsfw.fairmanager.com/. The entry book, which details the entry classes and guidelines, can be found at the California Mid-State Fair webpage or the CCWC blog at http://centralcoastwinecomp.com.

The Central Coast Wine Competition is the largest evaluation event for wines produced exclusively on California’s Central Coast and is hosted by seven fairs: The California Mid-State Fair, Contra Costa County Fair, Grand National Livestock Exposition, Horse Show and Rodeo, Monterey County Fair, San Benito County Fair, Santa Barbara County Fair and the Ventura County Fair. The 2016 competition features our new chief Judge Tim McDonald and an internationally renowned panel of judges including wine writers, winemakers, sommeliers and wine buyers.

The 2016 competition will run June 14 -16, 2016. For further information, refer to our wine blog at centralcoastwinecompetition.wordpress.com.  Be  sure  to  follow  us  on  Facebook,  Instagram  and    Twitter @CCWineComp.

By Nick Goodrich

The Antioch City Council met on Tuesday, March 22^nd, for its regular meeting. Among the topics discussed were a plan for video cameras in certain Antioch intersections, the proposed spray park and playground at Prewett Water Park, a desalination project to increase Antioch’s water reserves, and the possibility of adding an Assistant City Manager Position to City staff. City Council also received its annual report from the Measure C Sales Tax Citizens’ Oversight Committee.

The Oversight Committee, which was created in 2013 with the adoption of Measure C, is tasked with reviewing the City’s use of Measure C funds in order to ensure that revenue is being properly used. The Committee consists of Antioch citizens who determine whether or not the City has used the funds as it promised to, and report their findings to City Council each year.

Sal Sbranti, a member of the Committee, was on hand Tuesday night to give the report. He reminded the room that Measure C, adopted by Antioch following the announcement of a City fiscal emergency, had three main goals: to increase the size of the Antioch Police Department, reduce emergency response times, and increase code enforcement in Antioch.

Sbranti noted that since Measure C’s adoption, the APD has seen a net increase of five officers, taking into account retirements and other attrition that naturally occurs in police forces. Measure C also provided for the hire of one additional full-time Code Enforcement Officer.

In these functions, Measure C has seen success. However, Sbranti also raised questions about the City Wide Administrative Allocation segment of the ordinance, which has seen disproportionate increases in budgeting each year since the adoption of the Measure.

Antioch resident David Redford spoke during the comments section, stating that he believed the financial reporting of Measure C expenditures was unclear. Redford noted that several expenditures were attributed to hotels, among other things, and worried that not all of the Measure C funds are being used for their specific purposes.

Councilmember Mary Rocha expressed concern over Redford’s statements, and reiterated that Measure C revenue—as stipulated by the City in 2013—must only go toward achieving the ordinance’s enumerated goals.

License Plate Reader Cameras

Police Chief Allan Cantando was on hand during the meeting to present City Council with plans to install video cameras and license plate readers on several Antioch intersections. He asked the Council to consider what type, and how many, cameras should be installed in the problem areas.

The intersections in question are the corners of L Street and Sycamore Drive, and Sycamore Drive and Auto Center Drive. These areas have been hotspots for crime in the past, and Cantando believes that any cameras installed would significantly help the APD solve crimes around the two intersections. He noted that similar cameras at the Contra Loma Estates have been instrumental in helping police investigations.

Cantando offered up several options that the City could choose to pursue in order to monitor the intersections: fixed cameras, rotating view cameras, and license plate readers. Depending on how the City decides to approach the issue, the cameras could cost between $16,000 and $122,000. Mayor Wade Harper suggested that the APD look into the use of portable video cameras, that could installed in crime hotspots and then moved according to the City’s needs. As for Cantando himself, he would prefer that any license plate readers be installed on squad cars rather than intersections, to increase the range of vision the readers would provide.

“Logistically, it makes sense to have those cameras on as many cars as possible,” he said, “because they would assist us in solving stolen vehicle situations and violent crimes.” Councilmember Monica Wilson suggested coordinating with the Pittsburg Police Department camera system, and Harper noted that Pittsburg has asked for cameras on the Antioch side of Auto Center Drive in the past.

Ultimately, whether the Council decides to place the cameras on the intersections or the license plate readers on squad cars, Chief Cantando will be happy. “The more tools we have out there, the better,” he said. City Council voted 5-0 to begin consideration of where and how to install the cameras and readers.

All Abilities Playground at Water Park

Following that vote, City Council voted on the approval of a construction company to build the proposed spray park and playground at Prewett Water Park. The spray park will incorporate 1,500 square feet, and is expected to be a major draw from both Antioch residents and citizens from the surrounding area.

Sierra Valley Construction offered Antioch the lowest bids on both the spray park and playground, $949,672 and $417,998, respectively. They are expected to complete the projects by December of this year. City Council voted unanimously to approve both bids, and will allow Sierra to go ahead with the construction.

Desalination Plant

Also on the agenda Tuesday was discussion of a water desalination project for Antioch, which has been in the works since the City awarded a contract to Carollo Engineers, Inc. last August. The city of Antioch has historically had the right to draw water from the San Joaquin River in times of need, but that water was deemed unsuitable for human use due to its high salt content. Therefore, the city has turned to desalination methods in order to use the San Joaquin as a water source.

Carollo Engineers recently completed the initial stage of the desalination plans, which set the groundwork for the rest of the project. As Carollo prepares to move into Phase 2, they asked City Council on Tuesday to approve the additional $150,000 needed for that next step, which involves cost estimates and conceptual facilities designs, among others. City Council expressed its admiration for the work Carollo has done for Antioch so far, and approved the budget increase in a 5-0 vote. Together, Phases 3 and 4 are expected to cost the city somewhere in the range $400,000.

New Assistant City Manager Position

Toward the end of Tuesday’s meeting, City Council was presented with the possibility of adding an “Assistant City Manager” position to city staff. City Manager Steve Duran pushed hard for the new position, reminding the Councilmembers that his department is understaffed, leaving him—and future City Managers—with far too many things for one Manager to get done in a timely manner. “The City has been discussing an Assistant City Manager for a while, but was never in a good position to have one,” he said.

Duran told Council that adding such an employee would allow his department to better address Antioch’s needs as outlined in the city’s Strategic Plan, and would also help with succession planning. An Assistant City Manager who has accompanied the City Manager to meetings, worked with him on the issues facing the city, and gains a better understanding of how the City Manager position operates, would be much better suited to succeed him as City Manager than an outside hire who must spend time learning the ropes.

Most of the Council agreed with Duran. Council Member Tiscareno stated the value of keeping the city running smoothly with a better-staffed City Manager’s department, and Wilson agreed with the sentiment. However, Mayor Pro Tem Lori Ogorchock was wary of adding another management position when Antioch is already short on police services and “feet on the street.”

Ogorchock stated that the proposed salary for the new position would be better used on the labor side of City Services rather than management. She cited police services as an example of where the funds could be better used. “We need more workers,” she said.

Ultimately, City Council decided to join the proposed Assistant City Manager position with another city Department Head, essentially adding more responsibilities to that position and a $60,000 increase in pay to go with it. The resolution passed in a 4-1 vote, with Ogorchock dissenting.

New Public Works Director Position

Ogorchock also split with her fellow council members on the issue of re-categorizing Antioch’s Director of Public Works/City Engineer position. The resolution presented to the Council called for that job to be specified as only Director of Public Works, and was proposed so that the City could draw from a larger pool of applicants when considering candidates for the position.

With the new specification, the city manager could hire an applicant who is not a licensed engineer, but who still has the desired qualifications and would otherwise have been disqualified from consideration. The salary range assigned to the Director of Public Works would, according to city staff, have no real fiscal impact on the city’s budget.

However, in the event the City hires someone to be the Director of Public Works position, a licensed engineer would have to be promoted from within to the City Engineer spot, or recruited from elsewhere. That would bring an increase in pay to a promoted employee, or a new salary in the event of an outside hire.

According to the staff report, “the new class specification of Director of Public Works will be assigned a salary range of $10,952 – $13,313. Currently the City has a Public Works Director/City Engineer so there is not fiscal impact to the budget at this time.” However, if the two positions are filled separately, the annual fiscal impact will be between $131,424 and $159,756 for the salary, plus benefits.

In keeping with her earlier vote, Ogorchock resisted the potential City expenditures for a new or improved management position. The remaining four council members split with her in a 4-1 vote.

Annual event at Los Medanos College, April 1

Los Medanos College (LMC) will host the annual “Celebrating the Life of César Chávez” awards program on Friday, April 1, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the LMC Recital Hall. The college is located at 2700 East Leland Road in Pittsburg. The celebration is free and the public is encouraged to attend. Easy access parking is available in Lot C for this event.

Los Medanos College hosts this annual event to honor the life of labor leader and human rights activist, César Chávez. The celebration also recognizes members of the East Contra Costa County community who embody his great tradition of voluntary service, civic activism, and non-violent social change.

The event includes the presentation of five recognition awards, including two newly created this year. The César Chávez Award for Exemplary Community Service, established in 1995, is presented to local citizens who best represent the following core values modeled by César Chávez: Service to Others, Sacrifice, Help the Most Needy, Determination, Non-Violence, Acceptance of All People, Respect for Life and the Environment, Celebrating Community, Knowledge, and Innovation. The East County Educator Award recognizes a member of the educational community who demonstrates a commitment to student success and equity, particularly for students of color and those from low-income families. The Chávez Spirit Award is given to an emerging leader who has made a significant impact on the local community in the areas of advocacy and social justice. The two new honors are: the LMC Educator Award, which recognizes faculty at the College; and a “Special Recognition for Perseverance & Achievement.”

This year’s recipient of the César Chávez Award is Eren Mendez. A resident of Concord, Ms. Mendez has a deep commitment to Latino youth empowerment and civic engagement. The East County Educator Award will be presented to three outstanding educators: Samy D’Amico, principal of Pioneer Elementary School in Brentwood; Anna Gonzalez-Ortega, Spanish teacher at Freedom High School in Oakley; and Louie Rocha, principal of Antioch High School. The Spirit Award will recognize an up-and-coming community leader and advocate, Sarai Espinoza of Antioch. Two of the College’s faculty members will be honored with the LMC Educator Award: Laura Subia, counselor for EOPS (Extended Opportunity Programs & Services); and Nicholaus Garcia, department chair for Dramatic Arts. Norma Cendejas will receive a “Special Recognition for Perseverance & Achievement” for her work with El Concilio, providing Migrant Head Start services for children and families.

Please join us to celebrate the spirit of service and activism in our community.

For more information, visit www.losmedanos.edu/chavez/events. Questions? Contact Jennifer Adams jadams@losmedanos.edu (925) 473-7302.

Los Medanos College (LMC) is one of three colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District. LMC prepares students to excel and succeed economically, socially and intellectually in an innovative, engaging and supportive learning environment. It provides quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities to serve the needs of a rapidly growing and changing East County while enhancing the quality of life of the diverse communities it serves. LMC is located on 120 acres between Pittsburg and Antioch, with an additional education center in Brentwood.

Diane Burgis, a trustee on the East Bay Regional Parks District Board and Executive Director of Friends of the Marsh Creek Watershed received the Women Improving the Environment Award from the Contra Costa Women’s Hall of Fame, Tuesday night in Concord.

The Board of Supervisors established the Contra Costa Women’s Hall of Fame in October 1997 to acknowledge those exceptional, multifaceted women who have enhanced life in Contra Costa County through their careers and volunteer activities.

The honorees have made a difference through their efforts towards equity, innovation, service or achievement in commerce or community outreach.

Burgis was nominated by Susan Morgan, a Director on the Ironhouse Sanitary District Board.  “Through Diane Burgis’ leadership as Executive Director of the Friends of the Marsh Creek Watershed, the protection of natural resources including creeks, water quality and open space has become a priority to our community and its leaders,” said Morgan.  “Much of Diane’s work has been funded part time and she was able to accomplish great things for our environment and the Watershed by working beyond her paid hours and by recruiting and encouraging support from volunteers in the community.”

Marsh Creek is one of the fastest urbanizing watersheds in California, and the creek flows for 30 miles through the rapidly growing communities of Brentwood, Oakley and Antioch in eastern Contra Costa County and into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

“I am honored to receive this award on behalf of the many volunteers who contribute their time and talent to protecting, conserving and restoring the Marsh Creek Watershed,” said Burgis.

Burgis is a candidate for County Supervisor in District 3 in the June election. This is the second honor for her since she entered the race.

The Antioch City Clerk’s Office is accepting applications for the following Boards and Commissions:

Board of Administrative Appeals Alternate Member – One 2-year term  – Deadline March 25.

Economic Development Commission – One partial term – Deadline March 25.

Sales Tax Citizen’s Oversight (Measure C) Committee – Three 2-year terms – Deadline April 15.

Planning Commission – One partial term – Deadline April 15.

Applications are available at the City Clerk’s Counter and online at www.ci.antioch.ca.us.

 

By Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed

Join us Sunday March 20th at 6PM for a viewing party of Open Roads with Doug McConnell featuring a segment on Marsh Creek.  Friends of Marsh Creek Watershed invited our friends from Save Mount Diablo, the John Marsh Historical Trust & the Independence High School Outdoor Wetlands Learning (OWL) Program to participate in a quick look at Marsh Creek top to bottom.

We will have food and soft drinks for $10.  This is a family event!

You can attend without eating just sign up for a free ticket.

When: Sunday, March 20, 2016 from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM (PDT) – Add to Calendar

Where: Providence Bar & Eatery – 2085 Main Street, Oakley, CA 94561 – View Map

By Allen Payton

Antioch is in the process of developing a specific plan for more housing in the Sand Creek Focus Area as described in the City’s General Plan. The area on either side of Deer Valley Road, near the Kaiser medical center, has long been planned for additional housing.

At their meeting, on Wednesday, March 16, the Antioch Planning Commission will be deciding on recommendations they will make to the City Council on policies for how the area will be developed.

Following are some key facts I believe people should know before they make comments and provide input to the Commission and the Council, as well as some of my own recommendations:

Voter Approved Housing Area

The Sand Creek Area is inside both the County’s and City’s voter approved Urban Limit Lines.  The County’s line, approved in 1989, sets aside 65% of the land in the county from development of anything more than one house per five acres. The City’s line is the same as the original County line, but the vote for that included approval of the Roddy Ranch housing project. That land around the Roddy Ranch Golf Course was sold two years ago to the East Bay Regional Park District, and is now open space.

So, any housing approved there, in spite of opposition from current residents of Antioch and East County, who are saying the City Council isn’t listening to the people, is doing what the voters allowed.

Growth Is Inevitable

Growth is inevitable as long as people keep having babies. The only way to not have housing growth is for all generations currently living in a family to all live in the same house. But, I’m sure we can all recognize that’s not realistic.

Those from the opposition to almost new housing growth, such as Save Mount Diablo, would prefer us to live in high-density, high-rise housing, and preferably in inner cities. I ask them, when is enough open space enough? They want a buffer zone between housing and the East Bay Regional Park District’s Black Diamond Regional Preserve, which our tax dollars paid to purchase. Why do we need a buffer zone for open space?

Plus, this area isn’t Mt. Diablo. That’s already been saved, which is a good thing. They need to focus their efforts on the 65% of the land outside the Urban Limit Line and face the reality that most Americans don’t want to live in high-density housing, or in the inner cities. Home and private property ownership, with space between us and the next Americans, are part of our heritage.

I understand that most opponents of new housing growth in Antioch, don’t want more traffic or are concerned about the current lack of police. But, if they own a home or reside in Antioch or East County, and weren’t born and grew up here, or live in the same home their parents owned, they are basically and hypocritically saying, “I’m in. Shut the door. I’ve got mine, too bad for you.” They need to remember that when their homes were being approved, the people who already live in Antioch or next to their subdivision probably didn’t want them built, either.

I’m sure others who live in one of the homes in the subdivisions that back up to the Sand Creek area want to maintain the area as open space. If you are one of those Antioch residents and were told that it would be permanent open space, that’s unfortunate, because you were misled.

I’m a second-generation native Californian and could have opposed anyone who moved to our state since either I or even since my parents were born in the 1930’s and would have some credibility. But, that’s a ridiculous position to hold.

I graduated from high school in Walnut Creek and after I returned from college and got married, like many of my friends from Central County, we needed a place to live that we could afford. Antioch and East County was that place. If the homes weren’t built here for us, where were we supposed to live?

It reminds me of what I said, with tongue-in-cheek, at a meeting in Concord on transportation issues attended by elected officials in the county, most of whom opposed the widening of Highway 4 and construction of the Highway 4 Bypass, because they would “induce growth in East County,” back when we were pushing for their funding and approval from 1995-98. I said “don’t blame us for the growth. You had kids over the past 30 to 40 years. Where are they living? East County. So, if you ever want to see your grandkids again, give us money for Highway 4 or we won’t be coming back to Central County because it will take too long to get here.” They laughed, but they also got the message.

It’s time we all face the fact that the long-planned growth is going to occur, in Antioch, and focus on the issues related to it. Those issues are where and when the new homes should be built, how many and what type. Plus, how do we ensure the new homes pay their way so as to not burden city services, but support them and their expansion to provide for the people who already live here and will live in the new homes.

East County is the Place

Growth is like a balloon. If you push in one side it will pop out on another. East County is where much of the developable land is still available for housing in our county. If the homes aren’t built here, within the 35% of the land in the county where housing growth is allowed – by the voters – then it will continue to occur further out in the Central Valley. That means less land to grow our food and longer commutes for those working in the job centers along the 680 and 880 corridors, Silicon Valley and even San Francisco and the Peninsula, blowing smoke out of the tailpipes longer, creating more pollution.

Now Is the Time

It is a good thing we didn’t approve the housing in what was known as Future Urban Area 1 (FUA-1) back in 1995 when I was on the City Council, and we started planning the area. We needed time for Antioch and East County to get caught up on Highway 4 widening and the extension (Bypass), and for the BART extension to be built, as well as the new school construction. That’s why a few of us proposed and got passed Measure U, the growth management advisory initiative which was approved by 69% of the voters in 1998. Now, all those things are either done or will be done in the next few years.

4,000 Homes Maximum

Back then a total of 8,900 homes were proposed to be built in the FUA-1/Sand Creek area. Now the number is down to about 4,000 homes, maximum. Recently two housing developments were approved, totaling about 1,300 homes. So there are only approximately 2,700 more homes that can be approved within the current confines of the General Plan.

The reality is enough homes must be approved to pay for the needed infrastructure to support the new developments, which includes local streets, sewer, water lines, parks and trails, plus the major roads which will serve any and all of us who will drive through the new area to either Kaiser or Highway 4 at Sand Creek Road.

Larger Homes on Larger Lots, Gated and Senior Communities

Going back to the 1990’s the plan has been as Antioch grew further south, the homes approved in the new areas would be larger and on larger lots, to add a different type of housing to the mix. While things have changed in the market place since then, the idea is to have executive and upscale housing, and gated communities, adding a different type of housing to the mix that we already have. That should help attract executives and business owners to Antioch who will hopefully bring their businesses and employ residents in our city and neighboring cities, so they would no longer have to commute out of the area to work.

Plus, senior housing communities, as have been approved in Brentwood, will provide housing for our own aging population for people who will not impact commute traffic or our schools, but stay in town during the day and spend money at local businesses and restaurants.

Hillside and View Lots

Recommendation: The Planning Commission and Council must include large hillside lots and view lots in the mix, like those in Blackhawk and the San Ramon Valley which will allow for upscale houses that command higher home prices, which attract the executives, professionals and business owners.

City Services & Infrastructure Impact Mitigation

The new subdivisions already approved in the Sand Creek area will be helping to pay for the completion of Sand Creek Road, which will connect Deer Valley Road to Highway 4 on the east side, as well as the extensions of Hillcrest Avenue and Heidorn Ranch Road. The other proposed developments in the area will help pay for the connection of Sand Creek Road to Dallas Ranch Road. The road improvements will of course serve the new homes, but will also benefit students who attend Dozier-Libbey Medical High School and provide better access to patients of the Kaiser medical center.

The homes, like all other new homes in East County will continue to pay the $15,000 fee for regional roads, such as the Highway 4 extension, previously known as the Bypass.

In addition, the new subdivisions will be paying a new, annual police fee which will help provide additional officers who will not only serve the new area, but all of Antioch.

Recommendation: The Commission and Council need to ensure that each new home helps pay for the completion of the 115-acre Prewett Park, which is the City’s regional park. There is a plan for all the vacant land between the parking lot and Antioch Community Center and Deer Valley Road, along Lone Tree Way. Just like the current homes in the newer areas of southeast Antioch paid 20% of their Mello-Roos assessment for the construction of the other parts of Prewett Park, such as the Antioch Water Park and the Community Center, the new homeowners in Sand Creek need to pay to complete the master plan of the park.

Meeting Information

The Commission meeting will be begin at 6:30 and held in the Council Chambers next to City Hall, at 3rd and H Streets in downtown.

To see the entire agenda and Staff Report for the General Plan Land Use Element Update, Sand Creek Focus Area please click here and on Item 3.

If you plan on speaking on the item, be sure to let the Commissioners know what you want to see in the new housing and subdivisions. Don’t just be against the new growth, because it’s coming. We just need to make sure it’s the type of housing we want in Antioch.