The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors is seeking applicants interested in serving on its 20-member Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council (JJCC).  The JJCC currently has vacancies for two (2) At-Large Youth and one (1) At-Large Community-Member Representatives.

The JJCC is a multiagency advisory body that informs the development and implementation of a countywide juvenile justice plan composed of several critical parts, including, but not limited to an assessment of existing law enforcement, probation, education, mental health, health, social services, drug and alcohol and youth services resources which specifically target both at-promise as well as system-involved youth, and their families. The JJCC will also coordinate on a countywide basis the work of those governmental and non-governmental organizations engaged in activities designed to reduce the incidence of juvenile crime and delinquency in the greater community, develop information and intelligence-sharing systems to ensure that county actions are fully coordinated, and provide data and appropriate outcome measures.

The Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council is composed of the following 20 members:

Ten (10) Ex‐Officio Members:

• Chief Probation Officer, as Chair
• District Attorney’s Office representative
• Public Defender’s Office representative
• Sheriff’s Office representative
• Board of Supervisors’ representative
• Employment and Human Services Department representative
• Behavioral Health Services representative
• Alcohol and Other Drugs Division representative
• Public Health representative
• Juvenile Justice Commission Chair

Ten (10) Additional Members, appointed by the Board of Supervisors, as follows:

• City Police Department representative
• County Office of Education or a School District representative
• Four (4) At-Large members, residing or working within Contra Costa County
• Two (2) Community-Based Organization representatives
• Two (2) At-Large youth, fourteen to twenty-five years old and residing or working within Contra Costa County

Appointments to the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council will be for a term of two years ending June 30, 2023. The JJCC meets monthly October through April and bi-monthly the remainder of the year. Members have the option to serve on three (2) two subcommittees that each currently meets monthly.

The application deadline is 5 pm on May 10, 2021. All timely applicants will be invited to the public interview process conducted by the Board of Supervisors’ Public Protection Committee: Supervisors Candace Andersen, District II, and Federal Glover, District V. This committee will then recommend a selection of applicants for the Board of Supervisors to appoint to the Racial Justice Oversight Body.

Below is a complete timeline of this recruitment process to fill the three (3) vacant JJCC seats:

• May 10: Final Day of the Application Period, due by 5 pm
• May 24: Public Protection Committee Meeting: Interviews
• June 8: Board of Supervisors Appointments

Application forms can be obtained from the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors by calling (925) 655-2000 or by visiting the County webpage at www.contracosta.ca.gov/3418. Completed applications should be emailed to ClerkoftheBoard@cob.cccounty.us. Applications can also be mailed to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Office at 1025 Escobar Street, 1st Floor, Martinez, CA 94553.

 

Violates state law known as SB330, the Housing Crisis Act of 2019

Would have devalued property by over 99%, downzoning it from 2 homes per acre to 1 home per 80 acres

Cities and counties must approve new homes or face hefty fines which will fund low-income housing

By Allen Payton

As was reported in news articles and an editorial by the Herald during the 2020 fall election campaign, the state has issued an opinion letter confirming that the residential growth limitations in Measure T on the November ballot, “cannot permissibly be adopted, implemented or enforced.” That’s due to the passage of SB330, the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, also as previously reported. Known as the Let Antioch Voters Decide: The Sand Creek Protection Initiative, the measure passed by almost 79% of the vote.

SB330 added Section 66300 to California Government Code preventing cities and counties from reducing zoning of residential property by either council action or citizen initiative until Jan. 1, 2025.  Also, if a city council doesn’t approve new housing within existing allowable zoning, the new law requires a court to fine the city a minimum of $10,000 per housing unit denied and force the city to approve the new homes, and require they spend the funds from the fines on additional, low-income housing.

SB330 and State Housing Law

The language of SB330 reads, “(c) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, to do both of the following: (1) Suspend certain restrictions on the development of new housing during the period of the statewide emergency described in subdivisions (a) and (b). (2) Work with local governments to expedite the permitting of housing in regions suffering the worst housing shortages and highest rates of displacement.”

Furthermore, the act reads, “The Legislature finds and declares that the provision of adequate housing, in light of the severe shortage of housing at all income levels in this state, is a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair…Therefore, the provisions of this act apply to all cities, including charter cities.”

In addition, the new law reads, “with respect to land where housing is an allowable use, an affected county or an affected city shall not enact a development policy… that would  have any of the following effects: Changing the general plan land use designation, specific plan land use designation, or zoning of a parcel or parcels of property to a less intensive use or reducing the intensity of land use within an existing general plan land use designation, specific plan land use designation, or zoning district below what was allowed under the land use designation and zoning ordinances of the affected county or affected city, as applicable, as in effect on January 1, 2018.”

Also, the new law amended Section 65589.5 of the Government Code that reads, “the court shall impose fines on a local agency… in a minimum amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per housing unit in the housing development project on the date the application was deemed complete.” Furthermore, the law requires, “the local agency shall commit and expend the money” from the fines “for the sole purpose of financing newly constructed housing units affordable to extremely low, very low, or low-income households.”

So, not only will the new homes in the development that was denied be built, but the city will be fined and the funds from the fines must be used to build additional, low-income housing.

Finally, According to the HCD, “Since 1969, California has required that all local governments (cities and counties) adequately plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community. California’s local governments meet this requirement by adopting housing plans as part of their ‘general plan’ (also required by the state). General plans serve as the local government’s ‘blueprint’ for how the city and/or county will grow and develop and include seven elements: land use, transportation, conservation, noise, open space, safety, and housing. The law mandating that housing be included as an element of each jurisdiction’s general plan is known as ‘housing-element law.’

California’s housing-element law acknowledges that, in order for the private market to adequately address the housing needs and demand of Californians, local governments must adopt plans and regulatory systems that provide opportunities for (and do not unduly constrain), housing development. As a result, housing policy in California rests largely on the effective implementation of local general plans and, in particular, local housing elements.” Each of the regions in the state must develop a plan for their Regional Housing Needs Allocation and Housing Elements.

The Bay Area’s current Regional Housing Need Allocation Plan (RHNA) projected 187,990 units needed between Jan. 31, 2015 and Jan. 31, 2023 and another 441,176 units will be needed between 2023 and 2031, according to the HCD and the Association of Bay Area Governments. In the new RHNA, it requires Antioch to add 2,481 more housing units by 2030. (See related article)

City of Antioch Letter to HCD Regarding Measure T and SB330

A letter was sent on Jan. 8, 2021 from an attorney hired by the City of Antioch to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) seeking their advice and opinion on implementing Measure T. In that letter, attorney David Mehretu of Meyers Nave asked Paul McDougall, Housing Policy Manager for HCD to review Measure T for a determination of its “validity under SB 330 as follows: Letter to HCD Re Measure T (Antioch)

1. Whether Measure T’s housing development restrictions are proscribed under Section 66300(b)(1)(A) of the Government Code.
2. Whether, pursuant to Sections 66300(b)(1)(B)(i) and (ii) of the Government Code, Measure T’s housing development restrictions constitute “a moratorium or similar restriction or limitation on housing development . . . within [Sand Creek] . . . to specifically protect against an imminent threat to the health and safety of persons residing in, or within the immediate vicinity of [Sand Creek] . . . ”.
3. Whether Measure T acts as an impermissible cap on housing pursuant to Section 66300(b)(1)(D)(ii) of the Government Code; and
4. Whether Antioch may, consistently with SB 330, enforce Measure T’s housing development restrictions.”

Response Letter from HCD Explains Why Measure T Violates State Law

In a March 9th response letter entitled “Enforceability of Measure T’s Reduction in Land Use Intensity pursuant to Housing Crisis Act of 2019 – Letter of Technical Assistance,” McDougall wrote, “the City requested the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s (HCD) opinion as to the enforceability of a reduction in the intensity of land use included in the City’s voter-approved initiative Measure T.” HCD Antioch SB 330 Letter 03.09.2021

“HCD’s opinion is based on the mandatory criteria established by the Legislature with the passage of Senate Bill 330 in 2019, known as the Housing Crisis Act of 2019,” McDougall wrote.

“HCD finds that the less intensive use provisions of Measure T are impermissible under Government Code section 66300,” and “Measure T effectively acts as a ‘…cap on the number of housing units that can be approved…’, a violation of Government Code section 66300…,” he wrote.

McDougall offered one caveat writing, “the City could enforce the reduction in intensity contemplated in Measure T, notwithstanding this opinion, if and when it concurrently changes the development standards, policies, and conditions applicable to other parcels within the jurisdiction to ensure that there is no net loss in residential capacity.” However, he further wrote, “nothing in Measure T provides for an equal increase in intensity of land use elsewhere in the jurisdiction, therefore, these provisions of Measure T cannot be permissibly adopted, implemented, or enforced consistent with Government Code section 66300.”

He concludes his letter offering the state’s opinion that Measure T is impermissible.

“Measure T appears to have been drafted to assure that housing development in the City is restricted in a manner that preserves agriculture and open spaces (Measure T, section 1). However, there is minimal analysis in Measure T to support this outcome. Measure T language more readily suggests it was passed primarily with the intent to restrict future housing development as opposed to accommodating future residential growth as intended in the City’s general plan,” the HCD Housing Policy Manager continues.

“In sum, the provisions of the voter-approved Measure T result in a lesser intensity of land use and create a development cap, resulting in a reduction in the total number of housing units that can be built within the Initiative Area than what is currently allowed in the City’s General Plan. Accordingly, HCD is of the opinion that such a reduction in the intensity of land use created by Measure T cannot permissibly be adopted, implemented, or enforced consistent with Government Code section 66300,” McDougall concluded.

Measure T is Moot, Council Must Approve New Homes

Therefore, as previously reported, the state has confirmed that Measure T, which would have devalued four privately owned parcels on the west side of Deer Valley Road by over 99% from two homes per acre to just one home per 80 acres, is moot and will have no impact on the development of new housing in Antioch. It would have affected less than 900 housing units remaining of the total 4,000 homes allowed in the City of Antioch’s Sand Creek Focus Area of the general plan. But now those housing projects will move forward in the planning process and can be expected to be approved.

That’s because the council must adopt all new housing projects in the Sand Creek area and anywhere else in the city, until Jan. 1, 2025, which don’t require any zoning changes or general plan amendments, or the city will face state fines of $10,000 per unit, at a minimum, and the homes will still be approved and allowed to be built, and the fines fund additional, low-income housing in the city, according to SB330.

 

 

By Daniel Borsuk

A spike in assaults and crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islander citizens has triggered the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to publicly condemn the rising number of attacks. CCCBOS Resolution Condemning Xenophobia and Hate Crimes Against Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Communities

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020 there have been about 3,700 attacks on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the San Francisco Bay Area.

On March 19, President Biden proposed $300 million to improve public safety for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

“Too many Asian Americans have been walking up and down the streets and worrying, waking up each morning the past year feeling their safety and the safety of their loved ones are at stake.” President Biden said on March 19.  “They have been attacked, blamed, scapegoated and harassed. They’ve been verbally assaulted, physically assaulted, killed.”

Supervisors approved the resolution at the request of District 4 Supervisor Karen Mitchoff who brought the issue to the attention of Chair Diane Burgis.  Mitchoff’s chief of staff, Anne O, recommended that the board consider a resolution condemning attacks on the Asian and Pacific Islander citizens because her parents reside in Oakland’s Chinatown, a main area where assaults on Asian Americans have occurred especially to the elderly.

Supervisors did not hear any speakers either in favor or against the proclamation.

“The reality is racism and hate happen every day to Asians, Latinos and Blacks,” said District 1 Supervisor John Gioia. “We need to put it all together and to stand up against those that promote hatred against Asians. We need to do more than calling it out.”

“Racism is very widespread,” said District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover. “We know that it exists. This situation really highlights the issue we have in the United States.”

Supervisor Mitchoff Wants County to Super-Charge County’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Fleet

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors wants to jump start its sluggish Electric Vehicle fleet acquisition efforts, especially when Mitchoff inquired at Tuesday’s meeting if the county is actively applying for state and federal grants to assist the county in the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs).

The answer, was yes, from County Administrator Monica Nino, but Mitchoff, who represents the county on the San Francisco Bay Air Quality District Board which awards grants to counties to buy EV vehicles. Contra Costa faces stiff competition from counties like Santa Clara to be awarded the air board grants to acquire EVs.

Out of a fleet of 1,569 vehicles, equipment and trailers, 951 are vehicles in Contra Costa County’s Internal Service Fund, County Director of Public Services Brian Balbas wrote in a March 8 report to the supervisors’ Internal Service Committee.

Currently, 2.2 percent of the county’s fleet of vehicles are electric powered, 2.4 percent are Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered, 16.2 perc are Hybrid, 8.8 percent are Renewable Diesel powered, and 70.4 percent are Unleaded gasoline vehicles.

“Fleet Services continues to promote building a ‘Green Fleet’ by purchasing 8 electric and 17 hybrid vehicles as replacement vehicles in 2019-2020,” Balbas reported.  In 2019-2020, the county spent $16,311,795.

Mitchoff admitted it is difficult for the county to get grant money for Contra Costa County to purchase EVs when Santa Clara County tends to be awarded most of the air district’s grants for EVs.

“This is where we ought to be moving,” she said in reference to increasing the county’s low EV fleet.  “The President and the Green Economy direct us how we should address the budgetary process.”

In a related item, supervisors approved a letter of support for the GRID Alternatives, a nonprofit corporation, to have PG&E serve as implementer for the Empower EV Program that intends to reduce barriers to electric vehicle acquisition in low and moderate-income communities. The program was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in 2019.

The $4 million program will provide incentives for up to 2,000 low- and- moderate income households to cover the costs of a residential EV charger, increase awareness of the benefits of EV adoption through targeted education and outreach, and provide information on other incentives and programs available to customers. PG&E has named “the Bay Point to Discovery Bay corridor area,” as a region of focus for Empower EV.

GRID Alternatives, a Bay Area non-profit that installs solar energy in low-income communities while providing job training and helps low-income persons access clean vehicles, is applying to be the implementer for Empower EV.

16-Year-Olds to Get COVID-19 Vaccines

With the Contra Costa Health Services and State of California having inked a Memorandum of Understanding on the allocation of COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer), Contra Costa Health Services Director Anna Roth reported that the county is ramping up accessibility of the vaccine to Contra Costa County residents 50 years and older and will soon open the vaccination program to anyone 16 years old and older.

Roth expected eligibility will open in the next seven days. She asked the public to be patient when attempting to make an appointment.  Soon the county will open the Richmond Center and Bay Point Clinic to accommodate citizens registering to be vaccinated.

“Forty-four percent of resident have at least one dose of the vaccine,” Roth said. “We are removing barriers and making it easier to get the vaccine.”  She expected by April 15 the county will be in full compliance with the state.

Chief Equity Officer Gilbert Salinas reported that 19 additional ambassadors have been added to help register persons in communities like Bay Point, San Pablo and Richmond, communities with high numbers of black and Latino residents.

Deputy Health Officer Dr. Ori Tzviell said with Easter almost here, he advised that persons continue to wear masks and social distance as much as possible. “Outdoors is better than being indoors,” he said.  “Outdoors is safer for grandparents. It’s always safer to wear a mask.”

Approve Density Bonus for Walnut Creek Apartment Project

Supervisors approved as a consent item a density bonus inclusionary housing development agreement for the proposed 284-unit Del Hombre Apartments planned for Del Hombre Lane between Roble Road and Honey Trail in Walnut Creek.  Under the agreement, the developer is required to set aside five percent of the total number of rental units to moderate income households for a minimum of 55 years.

The development will include 21 studio units, 174 one-bedroom units and 89 two-bed-room units all located in one building. In addition, the development will include parking, landscaping, a community building, laundry, a pool, long-term bicycle storage, and trash enclosures.

Recognize Employees Skeritt, Emigh, Waters for Years of Service

Supervisors  recognized Kevin L. Emigh for 33 years of public service with the Road Engineering Division of the Public Works Department, Election’s Divisions Warehouse Unit employee Chuck Waters for 25 years of public service, and Victoria Skerritt for her 14 years of service with the Public Works Department.

Skerrit, who started her career with the Public Works Department as an Administrative Services Assistant II in Special District was promoted to Administrative Services II in Special Districts in 2007 and to Administrative Services Assistant III in 2014. Known for training new staff, Skeritt, who helped establish the Special Districts Community Center Policy, the Alamo Summer Concert Series and the implementation of the Tree Asset Management Program for all Special Districts was part of the 2017 Special Districts team that received the J. Michael Walford Team of the Year Award for delivering eight projects to seven communities from initial planning to construction in a single construction season.

Emigh is retiring from the Public Works Department after a 33-year career. As a licensed Professional Civil Engineer in California since 1993, some of his major projects that he played a part in the design and construction during his career include the Bethel Island Bridge, Iron Horse Overcrossing Project, Orwood Road Bridge, Alhambra Valley Road Washout Repair, Morgan Territory Road Slide Repair, Three Creeks Restoration and many others. Emigh received an Award of Excellence in June 1998 for his work designing and coordinating with the community on the Hilltop Drive Pedestrian Path-Phase 2 Project. He received an Award of Excellence in January 2000 for his contributions on the Editorial Board of Public Quirks Departmental Newsletter. He received an Award of Excellence in 2004 for his planning work and communicating with the community on the Rossmoor Detention Basin Project.

Waters, known as the Elections Division “MacGyver,” who would save the day by fixing anything with a paperclip, rubber band, straw or hammer, administered 73 elections during his career, including 11 primary elections and 12 general elections, seeing five different governors and five different presidents elected during this tenure. He is a certified technician, who maintained and repaired the county’s voting equipment, and provided regular safety lectures, while wearing his neon orange vest. He ensured that every Vote-by-Mail ballot was safely transported from Post Offices and Ballot Drop Boxes across Contra Costa County. He assures the Elections Division he will return to volunteer as an essential worker for future elections., the county proclamation stated.

Sheriff’s Deputy Acquires Service Dog Anavi for $1

Supervisors approved the request by Sheriff Deputy Timothy Allen to pay the county $1 for retired Sheriff’s Service Dog “Anavi.”  Since Dec. 18, 2007, the board of supervisors had approved a resolution (No. 2207/172), which authorized the transfer of ownership of retired police canine (K9) service dogs to their respective handlers for $1.

 

With the passage of the American Rescue Plan, more funding has been dedicated to programs that provide assistance and relief to small businesses and hard-hit industries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Congressman Jerry McNerney (D, CA-9) will hold a virtual town hall with Small Business Administration (SBA) officials on Thursday, April 1st from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM to provide updates on SBA programs to help small businesses including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG). He will be joined by special guests Julie Clowes, District Director of the SBA San Francisco District Office, and Heather Luzzi, District Director of the SBA Sacramento District Office, to discuss these programs, answer questions, and share resources for small businesses.

Join Online:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82924454895?pwd=Nk94NXN6dmxnbGU0b3FCdVVIc05wUT09   

Passcode: 015998

Join by Phone:

(669) 900-6833

Webinar ID: 829 2445 4895

Passcode: 015998

Participants can join via phone or by using the webinar link above and can submit questions in advance here.

Torres-Walker “acknowledges” Wright, Motts for process, Thorpe reminds her she and current council voted for it;

Only 114 residents and business owners participated in the three closed door discussions; City spent $55,000 for the process;

“This report in my opinion does not reflect the views of the community and we should not change an entire organization based on its recommendations.” – District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica

“There were not enough people of color in the discussion, not enough Black people in the room” – District 1 Councilwoman Torres-Walker

“The woman who was facilitating my group…her report out was completely inaccurate” – Mayor Pro Tem Monica Wilson

Thorpe takes dig at Barbanica and Ogorchock for voting against accepting report

By Allen Payton

During their meeting, Tuesday night, March 23, all five Antioch City Council members pointed out flaws in the process and results contained in the final report from consultants on the three Bridging the Gap Virtual Roundtable Discussions on Racial Justice and Police-Community Relations. Nevertheless, instead of sending it back to the consultants and directing them to get it right and come back with an acceptable report, the council voted 3-2 in favor of accepting it, with only District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica and District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock voting against the motion. (See council meeting video, beginning at about the 3:55:00 mark)

The report states CNA, the consulting firm hired to facilitate the forums, performed three post-event surveys and received 63 completed surveys. “CNA prepared a summary of survey responses including all written comments that were provided,” the report explains. However, that summary wasn’t included in the report, but “that report will be delivered under a separate cover.”

Lead consultant Hildy Saizow, Senior Advisor of CNA’s Center for Justice Research and Innovation, presented the report to the council stating, “the recommendations are based on community sentiments expressed in the discussions.” Second, they were based on “CNA’s knowledge of best practices in policing” and “Not based on an assessment of APD.” Bridging The Gap Final Report

Very Low Participation

The report shows that prior to the three discussions, out of 450 residents who opened a survey “to gauge the interest and availability of potential participants” including “the best dates and times, their access to and comfort with Zoom, and their willingness to participate on camera and to read materials in advance of the conversations,” “only 65 completed it.”

Yet, the forums were still held, including the final one at 10 a.m. on a Thursday, and council members complained about the lack of participation. Initially, the guidelines only allowed 75 participants in each session, with 15 people in each of five closed-door, round table, breakout groups. The consultants later increased the number of participants allowed. According to the report, out of 75 people who registered for the Jan. 19th discussion on Police Oversight, Accountability and Transparency, 57 participated; of the 99 who registered for the Feb. 6th discussion on Racial Disparities in Policing, only 36 participated; and finally of the 125 who registered for the discussion held on the morning of February 18th, only 21 participated for a total of 114 participants out of 299 who had registered, which is less than 0.1% of the city’s estimated population of 118,000.

Both council members and police officers observed the round table discussions to listen but did not participate.

The report offered 19 recommendations for the police department to implement under each of the three discussion topics, some of which Chief Tammany Brooks has already been implementing.

Council Critical of Entire Process That They Approved and Report

The council members weren’t happy with the process, the participation levels nor the report of what was discussed in the round table groups and said little about the proposed recommendations.

“The experience I had here was quite a bit different,” Barbanica said. “And I appreciate was attempted to be accomplished here. When I first started in this process, I had set up a time to reach out…and get in touch with CNA and have a private session. I attended the meeting, it was about 7 a.m. only to find out halfway through the meeting I found out I was in another city’s meeting. I made it clear I was in support of law enforcement one of the members started laughing. I asked them ‘why are you laughing?’ I didn’t get a real warm feeling of what was going on.”

Barbanica Opposes Changing PD Based on Report

“One-tenth of 1% of our community participated in this,” he continued. “I am for a lot of the things that were brought up here, tonight and I’ve been supportive of them, transparency, more training, body cameras, recruitment, youth involvement. All for that. But one of the problems that I saw with this process is…I attended all sessions. The first session…I was keeping a tally of what people were bringing up…and there wasn’t support in the group of civilian oversight. When we went back and reported out…the facilitator said, “overwhelmingly our group supported…civilian oversight.” He emailed CNA that evening and asked to watch the video of the session. “I said the numbers aren’t adding up here to what was reported. When they emailed me back, they said… ‘sorry, that was the one area that wasn’t recorded.”

“Then I started getting calls from other people that had attended other sessions and they were telling me the same thing, what their groups were actually reporting and talked about, were not reported with the actual facilitator when they came back,” Barbanica said.

“This cost us as a community, almost $55,000 and the police department wasn’t even allowed to participate in this or give any info,” he concluded. “This report in my opinion does not reflect what the community said in those meetings and it’s such a small sample of the community that how can we change an entire organization based on that.”

Torres-Walker Takes Swipe at Former Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem

“I want to acknowledge our former council, former Mayor Sean Wright and City Council Member Joy Motts who voted for this process. It was proposed by the former mayor,” said District 1 Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker said rather backhandedly. “And it was in lieu of an ad hoc committee that could have did just as much work and probably produced just as much, maybe the same results or different. We’ll never know because this process was proposed by the last council and championed by Sean Wright. So, that’s one point of fact, right there.”

“A lot of folks had reservations about the process, because we didn’t think that there would be enough participation, especially from people who have been impacted by, whether it was, you know police misconduct, harassment, whatever, what not. But we moved forward because people wanted a public process,” she continued. “Yes, participation was limited. I didn’t necessarily agree with that.”

Wanted Police to Participate “To Hear The Harm That They Pose”

“Also…I was informed that the police probably wouldn’t even participate because some people felt like it wouldn’t be safe for them to be transparent in their experience, for them to talk about their experience while law enforcement was in the room,” Torres-Walker stated. “And I specifically said ‘well, you can’t hold someone accountable if they’re not in the room to hear the harm that they pose on the community.’ Like, how can you hold me accountable as to a relationship if I’m not in the room? So, I wanted law enforcement to be in the room.”

“None of us participated,” she continued. “So, when everybody says law enforcement didn’t get to participate, they didn’t get to provide their input, nobody asked them any questions. We didn’t speak in these meetings. We were all observers. None of us fully participated. But because it was a community process, we decided that it was reasonable to step back and let the community have a voice.”

Blames Police Department for Lack of Information

“I want to highlight that there was one thing that came out in a group that I was in when we looked at the police data,” Torres-Walker continued. “People were like, what does this data say…how do we know if this data is telling the truth about the situation? This data was provided by the police department.”

“So, if you have a problem with the data, then you have to take those complaints to the police department,” she stated.

“I think there were people who felt like the report backs from the groups weren’t robust enough. I got phone calls myself,” Torres-Walker shared. “But I think it was an investment. People put in the time and we have to figure out how to make this work with some of the platform that the mayor has already put forward and we have already started to move on this council.”

“One thing I will say is that it says racial justice…and there were not enough people of color in the room, in this discussion, and not enough Black people and I want to point that out, as well,” she stated. “I also want to say that in one of my meetings someone said, ‘you know, I was here before the Blacks got here’. And I think that’s why we need to have conversations about race in this city. Because those same people are quoting Malcolm X, quoting MLK while also spewing hate about Black people. So, we really have a lot of work still to do. I appreciate this process that was recommended and championed by the former mayor and hope we can move some of this forward.”

Thorpe Corrects Torres-Walker

“This entire process was interestingly very public,” Mayor Lamar Thorpe stated refuting Torres-Walker’s comments.  “We actually voted for the very process. This council, all five of us, here voted. I brought this forward to the council to get feedback as to what direction we wanted to go in and you all voted for the very process that we were in. To create some type of ulterior narrative that something different happened was the very process all five of us either voted or we gave direction. But it was unanimous. I recall that because Rosanna and Ron brought that to me, and I said let’s take it to the council and let them decide. This was the process all five of us voted collectively.”

Ogorchock Wanted Police to Participate

“I agree that we five would not say anything. So, we voted that we would not speak. I agree 110% with that,” Ogorchock said. “But I don’t agree with our police department and police chief not give what the police department is doing. To bridge a gap, to me, all parties have to participate. If we had a conversation with our police chief we would know what he’s been doing. There’s Coffee with the Cops. So, I find it odd that had there been a conversation with him…we would have known what the police department is doing and we wouldn’t have had some of these.”

“In reading some of the stuff, it talks about youth engagement…SRO’s would have done exactly what this is saying,” Ogorchock stated.

“I don’t agree with the report. I do believe there are a lot of things that are in here, there are a lot of things that are being done,” she added.

Wilson Also Critical of Process, Report

“I have mixed feelings. I too was disappointed with the attendance,” said Mayor Pro Tem and District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson. “I don’t know if that was a combination of did we do enough outreach or did we do the right kind of outreach. I know we had one of the meetings, it was supposed to be a Spanish-speaking meeting. I went to all of them and two of my groups…there was two individuals that were in my previous groups. So, obviously there was some repeats going on. Some people had difficulties logging in. Sometimes they got the log-in information late.”

“The woman who was facilitating my group…her report out was completely inaccurate. I was wondering if I was in the same group,” she continued.

“I think in one meeting there were three city council members, the city manager and two officers in the same room,” Wilson shared. “I’m just going to take what was reported out…I’m just going to walk away with this is what we should be working on.”

“Yes, we can take some items and learn from them and get better,” Barbanica added. “I just don’t agree with all of them. For the record, when all of this started, I reached out to the city manager and said I didn’t agree with the process with the police department not being involved.”

“This was a conversation that the community wanted to have. We had a lot of engagement at the beginning. We know that these are difficult and challenging conversations to have,” Thorpe stated. “As our work with the committee of the whole, we will apply what we choose to apply. We already have the direction we’re going in regards to police reform. Hopefully this adds some value to our discussions as we try to move forward.

Council Splits 3-2 on Accepting Report

“Are we accepting the report? Do we need to accept the report,” he asked.

“The agenda does include a recommended action to formally accept the report,” responded Assistant City Manager Rosanna Bayon Moore.

Torres-Walker then moved approval to accept the final report. Wilson seconded the motion.

“What if I don’t accept the report. What if I don’t agree with the outcomes of the report?” Ogorchock asked.

“Then, that’s your choice. You can vote however you want,” Thorpe replied.

“Yes, you can vote however you want,” City Attorney Thomas Smith interjected. “If a majority of the city council didn’t accept the report then my thought is you can give direction whether or not something that is missing or whether there is something there. Or you can just not to accept it.”

“A lot of these things, you know they are are general categories…on that youth recommendation, were you specifically talking about cops on school campuses?” Thorpe asked Saizow, in response to Ogorchock’s earlier comment.

“No,” she replied.

City Clerk Ellie Householder did a roll call for the vote, asking the mayor last.

Thorpe Takes Dig at Ogorchock and Barbanica

Thorpe hesitated before saying “ah, yes” providing the third vote for passage of the motion to accept the report.

“I’m laughing because I didn’t want this, but I have to vote yes, because the folks who wanted this can’t even accept it,” he said.

City Clerk Ellie Householder announced the results of the vote, 3-2 with Ogorchock and Barbanica voting against.

“Unbelievable,” Thorpe added.

Continues to provide incorrect figures of additional sworn officers funded by Measures C and W – actually 26 more not 32; Code Enforcement staffing and activity increased

By Allen Payton

During the Tuesday, March 23, 2021 Antioch Council meeting, the Citizens’ Sales Tax Oversight Committee presented their 7th Annual Report on the use of Measure C and Measure W funds. There was a total of $15,582,340 in Measure W funds and $120,468 in Measure C funds received in Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2020. The report is required by April 1, each year.

Measure C was approved by Antioch voters in 2014 and established the city’s half-cent sales tax for seven year. “Measure W was approved by the voters in November 2018 and went into effect on April 1, 2019, which increased the tax to 1% and extends for 20 years,” the report states.

The presentation was provided by the outgoing chair of the committee, Susana Williams and current Vice Chair Dr. Kate Svyatets.

“Based on our review, we can ascertain all Measure C and Measure W monies are accounted for and meet the objectives of these Measures,” the report begins. “The entire balance of Measure C monies remaining were allocated to police per the City Council.”

“Measure W will continue to maintain our public safety services, as well as other quality of life services such as code enforcement, we are cleaning up blight, repairing roads, we’re supporting youth and senior services, recreation, etc.,” Williams shared. The report also shows the funds area used to attract new business and jobs to Antioch.

Incorrect Figures of Net Additional Sworn Officers

“Since the start of Measure C in 2014, the City hired 85 sworn police officers with a net gain of 32 sworn police officers,” Svyatets said. “By the end of the latest fiscal year 2020, the city of Antioch has 115 sworn officers.”

However, the information she provided is incorrect. There were 89 officers on the Antioch Police force at the time Measure C was placed on the ballot, according to the ballot argument in favor of the measure by the mayor and council at that time. The Arguments For Measure C read, “A Yes on Measure C will allow us to immediately hire 22 new police officers, decreasing the time it takes to respond to 911 calls. Our police force has dwindled from 126 officers four years ago to only 89 today.”

That means the City had an actual net gain of 26 sworn officers funded by Measures C and W.

Violent & Property Crime Continues to Decrease

There has been an “Overall reduction of 13.9% in Part 1 Crime compared to 2019 for the eighth consecutive year. ‘Part 1 Crimes’ are those which are mandated to report to the FBI under our Unified Crime Reporting (UCR),” the report continues. They include violent crimes of homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, and property crimes of burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft. Arson is also included but categorized separately.

The report shows that 83.77% of Measure W funds were spent on police in the 2019-20 Fiscal Year, and 8.3% on recreation, 6.92% on code enforcement and the remaining 1% on other city services.

Police Calls for Service

The report shows there were a total of 92,557 police calls for service during the fiscal year with the top four being 21.2% for quality of life calls, 17.7% person or vehicle stops, 14.3% for fire or medical and 12.7% for information.

Recreation Programs Funded

The report shows that $1,293,382 was allocated for Recreation Programs and that there is a $350,000 balance remaining of those funds due to facilities/programs being closed because of the pandemic.

Key Programs Funded by Measure W:

• Rolling with Rec bus
• Family Nights (including Summer Movie Nights, Paw Parade, Game nights, and Performance/Concern Night)
• Pop-Up Recreation (Afterschool Park Programs): offered at different parks throughout the City
• Preschool Academy Classes (expanded the program to make Montessori curriculum)
• Dance team Classes (expanded to include Afro Beats and Hip-Hop classes)
• Camptoberfest (expansion of camp for the fall break)
• Big Truck Day
• Adventures in fun and fitness (ages 6 through 12); and
• Tumbling Program (for ages 2 through 12)

Code Enforcement Expanded

A total of six additional Code Enforcement Officers were hired as a result of both Measures C and W, plus two Development Services/ Engineering Technicians, four maintenance workers and two laborers.

The report shows the following Code Enforcement activity for FY 2020:

• 2,087 Code Enforcement cases opened in 2020 and 1,066 cases opened in 2019
• 2,788 cases closed in 2020 and 1,127 cases closed in 2019
• 5,538 cubic yards of blight and rubbish abated in 2020 and 7,056 cubic yards in 2019
• 1,394 shopping carts abated in 2020 and 1,506 shopping carts in 2019

Vehicle Abatement

The report also provided that, “The City continues its active Vehicle Abatement Program with 488 Vehicle Abatement Notices Issued 407 citations issued in 2020.”

Sources of Funds

The report also shows the top sources of sales tax revenue from Measure W.

“As you can see general retail and transportation were the bulk of the monies that came in,” Williams said. “That was followed by business-to-business and food products, and then the rest of it went in the construction area and there’s a miscellaneous area. These figures are sourced by the City of Antioch’s finance department.”

“We’re really blessed in having some very large, big box retailers,” she continued. “So, you can see 7-11 tops the list, followed closely by Amazon. We’ve got a lot of our auto dealerships in here, Best Buy, Costco. So, you can get a really good idea of the types of businesses that are contributing to this sales tax.”

Shoots out window and breaks into house, police provide description of suspect

By Antioch Police Department

Saturday evening, March 27, 2021around 6:30 pm, the Oakley Police Department engaged in a pursuit of a stolen vehicle in the City of Antioch. During the pursuit, the driver of the stolen vehicle led officers around the area of Costco and ultimately into the downtown Antioch area. While in the downtown area, someone in the stolen vehicle fired at least one round from that car and struck a passing motorist’s vehicle. Fortunately, that driver wasn’t injured.

Shortly thereafter, the stolen vehicle crashed into a parked car and the driver fled while officers set up in the area being guided by the Sheriff’s office helicopter. The driver of the vehicle was caught a few short blocks later and was arrested without further incident.

However, another occupant of the vehicle also fled on foot into a nearby yard on W. 3rd Street and was apparently armed with a handgun. As he jumped into a rear yard, he was approached by the homeowner’s dog, which he shot. He then attempted to gain entry into the house and eventually shot out the rear sliding glass door while the homeowner and his 14-year-old son were in the living room. They fled out the front window of the house and escaped unharmed while the suspect then ran upstairs and took vehicle keys and a green mechanic’s coverall piece of clothing before fleeing yard-to-yard on foot towards K Street.

A Concord PD K9 team was on scene shortly after this incident unfolded, and attempted a search for the outstanding suspect, but was unable to locate him. The suspect outstanding is described as a white or Hispanic male in his early 20’s, approximately 5’ 9” tall with a thin build. He may be wearing a green mechanic coverall-type garment and was last seen in the area of W. 3rd Street and K Street.

Oakley PD has custody of the driver at this time and the investigation is still in progress. The injured dog was taken to an area emergency vet by an Antioch Police officer and its condition is not known at this time.

Anyone with any information as to this case is urged to call the Antioch Police Department at (925) 778-2441, or the Oakley Police Department at (925) 646-2441.

Both SWAT and Crisis Negotiating Team called to scene, K9 officer locates suspect in bathroom

By Acting Sergeant James Colley #4705, Antioch Police Investigations Bureau

On Friday, March 26, 2021, at approximately 11:00 p.m., Antioch Police dispatch received calls of shots fired at multiple addresses in the 2200 block of Mandarin Way in the Sycamore area of the city. Upon arrival, 0fficers determined a 39-year-old estranged family member had arrived at one of the residences unannounced. The suspect was acting paranoid and without explanation began firing shots inside of the house which also penetrated the neighboring residence. Officers were able to safely evacuate the family members and learned the suspect was still inside the house armed.

A perimeter was set up and nearby residences were evacuated for safety. As a result, a SWAT call out was initiated as well as the Crisis Negotiating Team (CNT) response. The SWAT team responded with their Rescue Vehicle, which allowed for safe deployment of officers and provided ballistic cover in the event of gunfire from the suspect.

Attempts to contact the barricaded suspect were initially unsuccessful. The SWAT team was able to have UAV Operators visually clear most of the residence with UAV’s. A police K9 located the suspect locked inside of a bathroom, but he refused to surrender. Antioch Police Crisis Negotiators attempted to establish communication in order to get the suspect to surrender, but he continued to refuse. Eventually the SWAT team deployed chemical agents through the bathroom door. The chemical agents were effective, and the suspect eventually surrendered and was taken into custody without further incident or use of force.

The suspect was identified as Sudan Holland. He received medical treatment at a local hospital for chemical exposure and was booked into Martinez County Jail.