Supervisors ink negotiating agreement with Pacific West Communities for Bay Point Orbisonia Heights mixed use development; Extend temporary industrial hemp cultivation moratorium to Sept. 30

By Daniel Borsuk

By next Wednesday, Contra Costa County residents can expect the county to graduate from the Purple Tier to the less restrictive Red Tier, Contra Costa County Public Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano announced Tuesday as the daily cases per 100,000 continues to decline to 7.9 per day.

The red tier designation means businesses and gyms can reopen at 25 percent capacity and retail businesses can reopen at 50 percent capacity. Schools are also reopening with COVID-19 health precautions in place for students and on-site staff.

When Contra Costa County does graduate to the red tier next week, it along with Sonoma County will be the final two Bay Area counties to move into the less restrictive tier.

Dr. Farnitano delivered the upbeat report at the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday.

Progress is also materializing as more Contra Costa County residents from all economic and racial groups roll up their sleeves to be inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines. About 370,000 county residents have been vaccinated with either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, said Contra Costa County Health Director Anna Roth.

As for last week’s development where the state designated health giant Blue Cross to manage the state’s COVID-19 vaccination appointment system, Dr. Farnitano said. “We are still working with Blue Shield during the transition.”

Approve Bay Point Property Exclusive Negotiating Agreement

After years of neglect and bumps in the economy, the county might be taking another stab at trying to nail down an exclusive negotiating development agreement to finally get a 7.7-acre of county-owned property on Bailey Road to the west, State Highway 4 to the north and West Leland Road to the south, developed.

Supervisors voted 5-0 to approve the exclusive negotiating agreement that was a consent agenda item at Tuesday’s supervisors’ meeting.

The vacant property is near the Bay Point-Pittsburg BART Station, the Oak Hills Shopping Center on Bailey Road and Ambrose Park to the East.  The proposed development is commonly known as the Orbisonia Heights project in Bay Point.

In 2009 the county failed to develop the property when the real estate market collapsed, said Maureen Toms, deputy director of policy planning division of the Contra Costa Conservation and Development Department (CCCDD).

Supervisors designated the CCCDD Director John Kopchick. or his representative. to negotiate and execute an exclusive negotiating agreement with well-known multi-family housing developer Pacific West Communities of Eagle, ID for the potential development of a at least 325 multiple family residences and 40,000 square feet of commercial space.

At least 15 percent of the residential units would be affordable housing, Maureen Toms, CCCDD deputy director of policy, told the Contra Costa Herald in an email.

“There were delays due to the poor economy and the elimination of redevelopment. We have been working with Pacific West Communities to develop the property,” Toms wrote in the email.

Planners have visions of developing four-story structures over parking with 15 percent of the residential units designated as affordable housing.

“It has been a long time coming,” said District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover of Pittsburg, who is reservedly excited about the potential of getting the Orbisonia Heights development finally up and running. “We’re at that point to get the development underway because it is near BART, shopping, and Ambrose Park.”

Glover envisions the possibility that other services could be included in Orbisonia Heights project such as a library and retail.

A representative for Pacific West Communities was unavailable for comment.

Supervisors Extend Temporary Industrial Hemp Cultivation Moratorium to September 30

Even though District 3 Supervisor Karen Mitchoff of Pleasant Hill initially pushed for a June deadline on extending an urgency ordinance extending a moratorium on Industrial Hemp cultivation in East Contra Costa County, Mitchoff eventually relented and agreed with colleagues and CCCDD Director Kopchik to set a deadline of September 30.

The supervisors’ action marks the third urgency interim ordinance that the supervisors have set in order to accommodate county officials in developing new regulations that accurately balances the sensitive commercial and agricultural activities of hemp interests versus homeowners land value and safety interests.

Supervisors have heard complaints from East County homeowners about criminal and traffic impacts stemming from hemp growing operators while hemp growers have defended their thriving businesses as being safe and economically solid sources of income for local residents.

At one point, District 3 Supervisor Karen Mitchoff of Pleasant Hill wanted to curtail the timeline for CCCDD staff and Agriculture Commissioner Weights & Measures Director Matt Slattengren to draft a new county hemp ordinance by setting a July 30 deadline.  But CCCD Director Kopchik was able to convince Mitchoff and other supervisors that due to work assignments, a September 30 deadline would be more realistic.

Making it difficult for county officials to draft new regulations on hemp cultivation is the fact there is little if anything on the books that regulates the rising hemp industry in California.  The urgency ordinance makes this obviously clear stating: “Under state law, industrial hemp is not subject to the same regulatory provisions as cannabis. Health and Safety Code section 11018.5(b) exempts industrial hemp from regulation under Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act. As a result, the county’s cannabis regulation ordinance, Chapter 88-28 of the County Code, does not regulate the cultivation of industrial hemp within the unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County.”

At least this observer thinks, it appears county officials are left hanging in limbo on this hemp issue. It will be interesting to see what Kopchick and Slattengren are able to concoct in ensuing months.

Dentist-Engineer Dr. Jack Rosenfeld Recognized for 30 years of Service

Supervisors recognized Dr. Jack Rosenfeld, who retired after 30 years of service with Contra Costa Health Services as a dentist. “Dr. Rosenfeld has worked at various clinics throughout West, Central and East Contra Costa County, providing a wide array of dental services to the community,” the board of supervisors’ resolution stated about the dentist.

His specialty was practicing dentistry in underserved populations at several community clinics and Native American reservations throughout California.

Before studying dentistry at UCSF School of Dentistry, Dr. Rosenfeld was an electrical engineer. Dr. Rosenfeld used his electrical engineering training to develop a dental safety device that is still in production.

Supervisors Recognize American Red Cross Month 

With March being American Red Cross Month, supervisors acknowledged the organization’s 140- year mission of preventing and alleviating suffering by noting that in 2020 in Contra Costa County, 115 families affected by home fires relied on the American Red Cross volunteers for aid.

Contra Costa County residents donated 17,350 units of blood, the resolution stated. The resolution also noted that the American Red Cross hosted 142 blood drives, 3,459 local community members took classes to learn skills that save lives, and 719 military members and their families received support and services.

“Nearly 200 years since the birth of American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, we dedicate this month of March to all those who continue to advance her noble legacy, and we ask others to join in their commitment to care for people in need,” the resolution stated.

For construction of brackish water desalination plant; could impact business for The Red Caboose restaurant nearby; boaters will have free access to launch at Antioch Marina during construction period

By Allen Payton

Today, Wednesday, March 9, 2021, the City of Antioch has announced that the boat launch located at 225 Fulton Shipyard Road will be closed beginning next Monday, March 15, with an anticipated re-opening in the summer of 2023. The closure is a result of construction related to the City of Antioch’s brackish water desalination plant. (See related articles, here and here)

John and Judy Pence, owners of The Red Caboose restaurant, nearby, are concerned about possible impacts to their business.

“You’d think they’d notify the only businesses nearby,” Judy Pence said when reached for comment. “If they’re going to have the road closed, obviously we can’t have that. We get some business from the boat launch ramp, but not a lot because they took out all the docks. So, there’s nothing for boaters to tie up to.”

“We’re going to have an issue, because that’s been overflow parking for us, if they close the parking lot,” she continued. “So, we’ll be very concerned if that happens.”

Questions were sent to City Manager Ron Bernal, Economic Development Director Kwame Reed and Public Works Director John Samuelson asking if all of the nearby property and business owners were notified about the boat launch closure and if there are any plans to help the restaurant offset any negative impacts that it might cause.

“I spoke with Judy Pence, just now,” Samuelson responded. “She was supposed to be notified but that didn’t happen. So, I apologized to her for that.”

“I explained to her that we won’t be closing the street during construction, so traffic to the restaurant won’t be blocked,” he continued. “Hopefully, this could be good for their business, as our contractor and workers can eat there for lunch.”

“We’ll be using Roger’s Point as the staging area,” Samuelson added.

Free Launching at Marina Location

Anyone seeking access to a boat launch will have access to the Antioch Marina Boat Launch located at the end of L Street. It will be accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at no cost during the construction period. Additionally, Antioch residency is not required for use of the Antioch Marina Boat Launch.

About the City of Antioch Brackish Water Project

At a price of $110 million, the Brackish Water Desalination Plant was made possible with $93 million in funding from the State, and $17 million from the City of Antioch.

This is a resiliency project that will mitigate the impacts of upstream freshwater diversion, prepare for future freshwater diversion, once the Delta conveyance project/tunnel is completed beneath the Delta to send the water south, and will accomplish drought reliability improvements. Once completed, Antioch will be firmly positioned to preserve its pre-1914 water rights and provide the city with a reliable source of drinking water for generations. For more information: http://www.antiochbrackishdesal.com/ 

Please check back later for any updates to this report.

City of Antioch PIO Rolando Bonilla contributed to this report.

But mayor, council members not informed at that time

By Allen Payton

The Herald was informed on Thursday, March 3, by a very reliable source who chose to remain anonymous, that on Dec. 24 Antioch Assistant City Manager Rosanna Bayon Moore received an email, about the incident with Angelo Quinto on Dec. 23, from Captain Trevor Schnitzius who was the acting chief at the time. Because both Chief Brooks and City Manager Ron Bernal were on vacation at the time.

As of Monday, March 15 that was confirmed when through a public records request, the city released a copy of the Dec. 24 email from Schnitzius to Bayon Moore informing her of the incident the night before. (See UPDATE below) Email fr Schnitzius to Bayon Moore re Quinto 122420

Questions were emailed on Thursday to Mayor Lamar Thorpe, City Manager Ron Bernal, City Attorney Thomas Smith, Police Chief T Brooks and Bayon Moore asking to verify that information.

In addition, each of the other four other council members were emailed the following questions about the matter: “Were any of you aware of that? Did she contact any of you, at that time? Were you contacted by any member of city staff about Mr. Quinto’s death on Dec. 26th? Anything else you would like to share about it?”

Mayor Thorpe Not Aware

“This is breaking news, to me,” Thorpe said when asked about the email from APD to Bayon-Moore and the questions to him and city staff about it.

“In the four years that I have been on the city council I have always received a text message from the Chief of Police, whether it was Allan Cantando or Chief Brooks about major incidents,” he stated. “No one told us anything about this incident and there was no press release.”

“Even if he hadn’t texted us I would have seen the press release a few hours later,” Thorpe continued. “Usually, we get a text message and then a few hours later a press release issued.”

He reiterated that he didn’t know about the Quinto case, “Until I heard about it on social media, then during a conversation with Chief Brooks about other matters, I asked him if there had been an in-custody death.”

Like Bernal and Brooks, Thorpe was also on vacation at the time, and there are reports that he was in Mexico on a bicycle trip. While not confirming that he said, “it wouldn’t matter if I was on the moon. Someone should have contacted me and the council.”

“Whoever is in charge, whoever is acting, anything, my policy will clear things up and the council will be informed of major incidents and the policy will also including informing the police,” Thorpe added. “And the media will be in there.”

Ogorchock Responds

In response to the questions sent to her, District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock responded, “I don’t know the date that we were informed. I’m looking for it.” She had not yet found it in either her texts or emails prior to publication time.

No Responses from Other City Officials, Public Records Act Request Submitted

None of the other three council members responded to the questions emailed to them as of publication time. Since none of the other city officials responded to the emails sent to them on Thursday, March 4 asking for verification of the information, a third email was sent Friday morning, which included the City’s Public Information Officer Rolando Bonilla.

In addition, a records request search was done on the city’s Open Public Records webpage for a copy of the email from Schnitzius to Bayon Moore. Because the search produced no results, on Friday, March 5, 2021 the Herald submitted the following Public Records Act request to the city:

“Please provide a copy of the email on Dec. 24 from Captain Trevor Schnitzius, who was the acting chief at the time, to Antioch Assistant City Manager Rosanna Bayon Moore, regarding the incident with Angelo Quinto on Dec. 23.

In addition, please provide any and all email and other communications between all Antioch Police personnel and other city staff members and council members, as well as between all other city staff members and council members regarding the Dec. 23 incident and Mr. Quinto’s death on Dec. 26. Thank you.”

The City had 10 days to respond to the request for public records. If there is anything in the information requested that is deemed to require additional review, the City can take up to an additional 14 days to release it. However, the aforementioned city staff members could respond to the questions about the alleged email between Schnitzius and Bayon Moore before then.

3/17/21 UPDATE: In response to the public records request, on Monday, March 15, 2021, city staff released a copy of the email from Schnitzius to Bayon Moore and copied to Chief Brooks sent at 7:07 a.m. on Dec. 24, 2020. The subject line reads: Law Enforcement Protocol Event and “Importance: High”.

The email reads, “Officers responded to a family disturbance service call where the caller reported the subject was hurting another family member. Upon arrival, officers determined the 30 year old male resident was experiencing a mental episode. The resident was restrained in handcuffs for everyone’s safety due to his non-cooperative behavior and was to be sent for a mental health evaluation pursuant to W/I 5150. An ambulance was summoned to the residence and while awaiting the ambulance’s arrival, the subject lost consciousness.”

 

Fifth generation East Bay native, former Oakland City Administrator, Emeryville City Manager

By Dave Mason, Public Information Supervisor, East Bay Regional Park District

The East Bay Regional Park District’s Board of Directors today approved the appointment of Sabrina Landreth as General Manager. She is the first female and the tenth General Manager appointed in the Park District’s 87-year history.

“Our Board is thrilled to have Sabrina join our organization,” said Dee Rosario, President of Park District Board of Directors. “She has all the right elements of urban public sector leadership experience and especially understands the diversity of the East Bay communities we serve.”

Ms. Landreth has deep roots in the East Bay as a fifth generation native who has held the top executive leadership positions managing the cities of Oakland and Emeryville.  She is a U.C. Berkeley graduate with a master’s degree in Public Policy, in addition to receiving a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“I am honored to be appointed by the Board as the District’s next General Manager,” Landreth said. “I look forward to continuing to build upon the great work the District does to improve the quality of life for our East Bay community, while adhering to its social and environmental responsibilities.”

Most recently Ms. Landreth served as City Administrator in Oakland from 2015- 2020, where she is credited with strong fiscal management and developing a capital improvement program that included community equity goals and has become a model program for local governments around the country.  She also worked for Oakland as Deputy City Administrator, Budget Director, and Legislative Analyst to the City’s Finance Committee.

Previously Ms. Landreth served as City Manager of Emeryville and as staff in the California State Assembly advancing state and local legislative initiatives.

Ms. Landreth succeeds Robert Doyle, who retired as General Manager after a 47-year career with the Park District.  She will begin her new position at the Park District on Monday, March 15 just four days after her 45th birthday.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

 

Governor, Senate Pro Tem Atkins and Assembly Speaker Rendon highlight new $6.6 billion package to reopen schools and deepen student supports

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon today highlighted an agreement on a $6.6 billion budget package to accelerate the safe return to in-person instruction across California and empower schools to immediately expand academic, mental health and social-emotional supports, including over the summer.

“Since the height of the winter surge, we have successfully shifted the conversation from whether to reopen schools to when,” said Governor Newsom. “Now, our collective charge is to build on that momentum and local leadership, and – just as critically – do whatever it takes to meet the mental health and academic needs of our students, including over the summer.”

The Governor was joined by Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and other legislative leaders at Franklin Elementary School in the Elk Grove Unified School District. The state’s fifth largest public school district was among the first to close for in-person instruction last year. Last week, based on deep partnership between school staff and leaders, the district announced plans to reopen grades K-6 in mid-March and grades 7-12 in early April.

Elk Grove Unified and public schools throughout the state will be allocated $6.6 billion under the proposed budget package. $2 billion would fund safety measures to support in-person instruction, such as personal protective equipment, ventilation upgrades and COVID-19 testing. $4.6 billion would fund expanded learning opportunities, such as summer school, tutoring and mental health services. Together, the funds empower schools to develop and execute comprehensive strategies to both reopen and expand programs to address the social-emotional, mental health and academic needs of students.

All public schools would be required to offer in-person instruction to grades K-2 for all students and for high-needs students in all grades by the end of the month, losing 1 percent of eligible funds every day thereafter if they do not. Schools in the state’s Red Tier or better would be required to offer in-person instruction to all students in all elementary grades and at least one middle or high school grade, or risk the same penalty. Together, these requirements help ensure schools begin to reopen as soon as possible, in order to build trust and confidence to continue phased reopenings.

As students return to in-person instruction, all public schools would also be empowered to meet the needs of the whole child. The Expanded Learning Opportunities Grants allocate $4.6 billion to local educational agencies based on the equity-based Local Control Funding Formula, with an additional $1,000 for each homeless student. These funds would be for supplemental instruction and support for social and emotional well-being. Schools would be able to use the funds for providing more instructional time, such as summer school, and accelerating progress to close learning gaps through tutoring, learning recovery programs, mental health services, access to school meal programs, programs to address pupil trauma and social-emotional learning, supports for credit-deficient students and more.

The package would also codify multiple successful state programs to support safe school reopenings:

• Vaccine Prioritization for K-12 School Staff. The package codifies the Governor’s commitment to set aside 10 percent of vaccines for education workers. This commitment ensures that the state prioritization of school staff, in place since January, is made real in all 58 counties. Since the Governor’s announcement two weeks ago, the state has collaborated with county health departments, the Biden Administration and providers such as Kaiser Permanente to accelerate vaccine access for K-12 school staff starting March 1.
• Data Reporting. The package codifies data reporting requirements, including requirements for schools to report reopening status and COVID-19 safety measures. These statutory requirements will help build on efforts to increase transparency, including interactive geospatial maps displayed on the Safe Schools Hub.
• State Safe Schools Team. The package also allocates $25 million to the State Safe Schools Team, which serves to provide technical assistance, oversight and accountability to the over 10,000 public schools in the state. The capacity will enhance the Team’s reach, and the Team will conduct a safety review of any school with two or more COVID-19 outbreaks.

The budget package is the result of months of work by the Governor’s Office, Senate and Assembly. The Governor, Senate Pro Tem Atkins and Assembly Speaker Rendon also thanked Senators Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) and Connie Leyva (D-Chino), along with Assemblymembers Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach) and Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) for their tireless work and leadership on this effort.

The state’s efforts to accelerate safe school reopenings to date include delivery of three months of PPE and safety supplies to all schools at no cost, direct support to over 1,000 schools in 41 counties to implement COVID-19 testing and direct technical assistance to over 300 school districts.

For more information, please visit: https://schools.covid19.ca.gov/.

 

For redevelopment of former administration building site, build fire stations and fund new airport terminal; savings of $7.3 million also generated from refunding existing bonds

By Susan Shiu, Director, Office of Communications and Media, Contra Costa County

Thursday morning, Feb. 25, 2021, Contra Costa County sold $97,420,000 of lease revenue bonds with Barclay’s Capital Inc. serving as underwriter. Proceeds from the bond sale will fund infrastructure projects including redevelopment of the former County Administration Center complex in Martinez, a portion of a new Aircraft Terminal at the Buchanan Field Airport in Concord and construction of two fire stations in Pacheco and Bay Point.

In addition, the County refunded $48.4 million of outstanding bonds resulting in significant savings to the County.

The bonds funding the new construction projects have a true interest cost of 2.27% with a term of 20 years. The refunding bonds have a true interest cost of 1.80% and shortens the term of the previous bonds by two years, from 19 years to 17 years. The refunding bonds resulted in a net present value savings to the County of $7.3 million.

“The results from today’s bond sale are proof of the County’s reputation of strong financial management within the municipal market,” said Chair of the Board of Supervisors Diane Burgis. “This allows the County to secure financing for important public infrastructure projects at very attractive rates to better serve our residents.”

According to the California State Treasurer, lease revenue bonds (LRBs) are a type of revenue bond. Lease revenue bonds usually finance the construction of facilities, including government office buildings, correction facilities, courthouses, and fire facilities. However, unlike revenue bonds that use money generated by the project (a bridge toll) to repay investors, lease revenue bonds have a lessee (government agency) that pays rent to use the facility. The rent payments are used to pay back investors who purchased the bonds used to finance the construction of the facility. LRBs are secured by lease payments made by the party leasing the facility (school or office building) that was funded by the bond issue.

“Historically low interest rates and the County’s strong credit profile have allowed us to advance critical projects and refund existing debt for cost savings,” stated County Administrator Monica Nino.

Contra Costa County has been rated “AAA” by Standard and Poor’s since 2012 and, most recently, was upgraded by Moody’s Investor Service to “Aa1” from “Aa2” on February 16, 2021. Both credit rating agencies have attributed their high ratings for Contra Costa County to strong financial management, with policies and practices well-embedded in County operations. They have also pointed to a strong local economy with a large, diverse tax base.

Famous football brain injury neuropathologist featured in Will Smith movie “Concussion”

As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout moves forward, it is important that we continue to reach out to our diverse communities and make sure everyone has the information and access to protect themselves and their families. Congressman Jerry McNerney (D, CA-09) will hold a conversation on Friday, February 26th from 4:00-5:00 PM to discuss COVID-19 and health disparities in the Black community and how we as a community at large can engage and support one another in the fight against this pandemic. The Congressman will be joined by special guests Dr. Bennet Omalu, Dr. Kim Rhoads, Dr. Otashe Golden, and Stockton Branch NAACP President Bobby Bivens.

Dr. Omalu is the forensic pathologist and neuropathologist who was first to discover and publish findings on brain damage caused by repeat head injuries in American football players, labeled chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). He was later appointed chief medical examiner for San Joaquin County, CA, and is a professor at U.C. Davis, department of medical pathology and laboratory medicine. Omalu was the subject of the 2015 movie Concussion, in which actor Will Smith played the role of the doctor.

To join online:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88176937313?pwd=Qy95Y0dPODBVZlJzQzRtQ0lhZFZoUT09 

Passcode: 875675

To join by phone:

(669) 900-6833 

Webinar ID: 881 7693 7313

Passcode: 875675

Participants can join via phone or by using the webinar link above. If you would like to submit a question in advance of the event or share your story, please submit it here.

 

No representatives of pro-Second Amendment or guns rights organizations included in discussion

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D, CA-11) will host a virtual town hall meeting on the state of gun violence prevention in America and Contra Costa on Thursday, February 25 at 3:00 p.m. The event will be held live on Zoom and on Congressman DeSaulnier’s Facebook page (facebook.com/repmarkdesaulnier).

DeSaulnier will be joined by a panel of special guests, including Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton; Michelle Sinnott with Diablo Valley Moms Demand Action (www.momsdemandaction.org); Amanda Wilcox of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; Dr. Garen J. Wintemute with UC Davis Violence Prevention Program; and Sam Vaughn with the Office of Neighborhood Safety in Richmond.

However, when asked if any representatives from pro-Second Amendment and guns rights organizations will be included, DeSaulnier’s aid, Betsy Arnold Marr responded, “This event is focused on data-driven gun violence prevention efforts and we invited groups in Contra Costa working on this issue as well as the DA and an independent researcher from UC Davis. We hope this event will foster a good discussion and look forward to our constituents bringing their perspectives to the Q&A section.”

This will be DeSaulnier’s 125th town hall and mobile district office hour since coming to Congress. Contra Costa residents will have an opportunity to submit questions before the event and live during the town hall.

Solving America’s Gun Problem Virtual Town Hall
Thursday, February 25
3:00-4:30 p.m.

This event is open to the public and press. To RSVP, submit a question, or request special accommodations, visit https://desaulnier.house.gov/town-hall-rsvp or call (925) 933-2660.