By James Ott

The City of Antioch had decided to attempt to annex all of unincorporated North East Antioch after a letter from the Local Agency Formation Commission, (LAFCO), urged them to do so.

At the June 12 City Council Meeting council members voted unanimously to support the annexation after the recommendation of city staff. The city had previously only been working with the county and LAFCO to annex “Area 1” of unincorporated Antioch after residents in the remaining areas of “2a” and “2b” voted to oppose being annexed by the city.

That’s the residential area made infamous by the kidnapping and imprisonment of Jaycee Dugard by Phillip and Nancy Garrido.

In June, 2007 the city council voted to submit papers for annexation of “Area 1” after they asked residents and property owners in “Area 1” as well as areas “2a” and “2b” whether or not they supported being annexed.

“Area 1” was and still is uninhabited so the few property owners in the area were polled and supported annexation overall.

Areas 2a and 2b both opposed annexation with about 60 percent of voters and landowners in 2a opposing and around 75 percent in 2b opposing as well.

The process of annexing Area 1 continued but was stalled within a year by the city and county not being able to come to terms on how to split taxes in the soon-to-be-annexed area.

Although the city now says that those issues are mostly ironed out and will be resolved and presented to city council very soon, on May 11 the city received the letter from LAFCO wanting areas 2a and 2b annexed along with Area 1.

LAFCO said that the reason that it wants all of the land annexed is that the original approval they gave to annex as well as their approval of a service agreement to provide power and electricity to the annexed areas by PG&E and GenOn, was contingent on annexing all of unincorporated North East Antioch.

LAFCO also said they do not want to leave parts of the area un-annexed because it would create unincorporated “islands” that the county has to stretch their resources to cover. They mentioned the 2009 Jaycee Dugard kidnapping as an example of the county having difficulty covering such “islands” with police and fire forces.

In their letter to city council, LAFCO also stated that GenOn previously pledged $1 million dollars to both the city and the county if the annexation of all of North East Antioch was complete by December 2012.

LAFCO said that these incentives and commitments as well as “an impending deadline with critical LAFCO statutes schedule to sunset,” were good reasons to annex the entire unincorporated area.

Normally state annexation laws say that any unincorporated area with more than 12 voters – which both areas 2a and 2b have – would have to have it’s residents approve annexation with a majority vote before it could be annexed. However, if LAFCO determines such areas to be unincorporated “islands”, which it has all but declared for 2b but not 2a, then they could go ahead with the annexation without a voter approval.

City staff said that annexing areas 2a and 2b would likely cost more in public services than it would gain in taxes from the small amount of residents in both areas, making annexation likely a “break even” prospect or perhaps a slight net loss for the city. This does not take into account the $1 million they could receive from GenOn if they annex before December 2012, however.

Also city staff said the city could incur an estimated $3 million in infrastructure improvement costs from 2b because of the significant sewer and water upgrades it would need to it’s “over 50-year-old” septic systems.

Those costs could be somewhat offset by tax revenues from Area 1, said staff.

While 2a may need future improvements for any new residents, city staff said that that would be paid for by future developer costs and so shouldn’t have much of an immediate impact.

Mayor Jim Davis speaks at the Chamber’s Annual State of the City – photo by Art Garcia, courtesy of Antioch Chamber of Commerce

By Sean Wright

The Antioch Chamber of Commerce hosted the City of Antioch’s Annual State of the City Luncheon on Monday, June 11, with over one hundred and twenty attendees. The lunch provides an opportunity for the Mayor, the Chief of Police and the City Manager to give a city report card, and to celebrate accomplishments and share their vision for the future.

Mayor Jim Davis started by sharing his prognosis for the city.

“Last year, I characterized Antioch as being in guarded condition,” he stated. “Today, I say this city is in stable condition, and on track for a full recovery.”

This past year Antioch has opened the brand new Boat Launch and continues to prepare for eBART and the completion of the widening of Highway 4. Sales tax revenues have also shown an upturn with an estimated five percent increase this year, which allowed Davis to characterize Antioch as moving forward and slowly upward.

The city staff have all stepped up and taken on more responsibility in order to make up for staff shortages, and the mayor applauded and thanked the efforts of our city employees. On a positive note the city is starting to hire some positions back and will see a Code Enforcement Officer working for the city in the near future.

Antioch Police Chief Allan Cantando kept an upbeat focus for the luncheon as he shared several innovative ways that the police department is working with the community to initiate more crime reducing tactics. Three new officers will be hired, shortly and the police are utilizing volunteers to help park decoy police cars throughout the community to create a greater presence. He also talked about utilizing patrols in different schedules and areas to increase their ability to fight crime.

Another focus of the Chief was to add greater community involvement via Neighborhood Watch, and social media outlets like Facebook. He also alluded to a new program to give anonymous police tips on crime without fear of repercussion using texting. If you would like to know more about the efforts of our police department, go to Facebook and “like” them. Cantando is being proactive in these social media forms to get the word out about the department’s ongoing efforts.

The concluding speaker, City Manager Jim Jakel, gave a very positive outlook on the regional, financial markers that are pointing towards a promising future. He pointed to increased housing prices in surrounding areas, the half-billion dollars that will be spent in and around Antioch by the construction workers as they build Highway 4 through our town, sales tax increase of 5% this year, and decreasing unemployment rates. He also mentioned possible future revenue for our city via smart use of our water rights and working with power generating stations.

Antioch is looking better than it has looked in a few years. There is lots of work to be done to continue fighting crime, creating job opportunities, and helping the schools to excel. If the community can come together and help to improve these important aspects of Antioch, the future looks bright.

Wright is the Executive Director of the Antioch Chamber of Commerce and a Chiropractor in Antioch.

Pittsburg resident Reuben Rosalez heads federal agency’s western region

A native Contra Costa County resident has been appointed as the new regional administrator of the Western Region of the Department of Labor. Ruben Rosalez learned of his appointment June 25.

A resident of Pittsburg, Calif., Rosalez will be the guest speaker at Supervisor Federal Glover’s Breakfast Club. The breakfast will be held at the Wedgewood Event Center, 2222 Golf Course Road in Pittsburg starting at 7:30 a.m. on July 20.

“We’re delighted that Ruben is speaking at my breakfast,” said Glover. “His first public address as regional administrator will be a homecoming, of sorts.”

Rosalez, who also served as a school trustee for the Pittsburg Unified School District, graduated from the University of the Pacific in 1987 with a B.S. in Public Administration. He began his career with the Wage & Hour Division that same year as an investigator in the Los Angeles District Office and worked his way up through various positions until 1997 when he was promoted to be the Assistant District Director in the San Francisco District Office.

In February 2007, he was promoted to serve as the Western Region’s Director of Enforcement. In May of 2009, Ruben was again promoted to assist in leading the Western Region as the deputy regional administrator, during a time of significant growth and change.

Since September 2011, he has served in the role of acting regional administrator, overseeing DOL operations in eight western states.

In addition to his work, Ruben is very civic minded and involved in his community. He was active in the Pittsburg Unified School District, School Board of Trustees (elected in 2000, 2004 and 2008), Future Leader of America East Bay, Founder/Board Member Youth Leadership Program, and is an active member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. When he does find time to unwind he enjoys coaching youth wrestling and playing golfing, fishing and cooking.

Ruben still resides in his hometown of Pittsburg with three of his four children: Ruben Jr., Chica and Maya. His oldest daughter is Lazara.

For more information about the supervisor’s breakfast, call 925-202-5001.

Final Phase of Two-Step Increase

The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) reminds drivers of big-rig trucks, cars and trucks hauling trailers, and other vehicles or combinations with more than two axles that the second step in the two-phase toll increase approved in 2010 for multi-axle vehicles on Bay Area toll bridges takes effect Sunday, July 1. The first step in the toll increase took effect in July 2011.

Beginning July 1, 2012, tolls for vehicles or combinations with three or more axles on the seven state-owned toll bridges will be fully indexed at $5 times the number of axles, or $15 for three-axle vehicles; $20 for four axles; $25 for five axles; $30 for six axles; and $35 for rigs with seven or more axles. The fully indexed toll rate on the Golden Gate Bridge will be $6 times the number of axles, with a $5-per-axle rate for FasTrak® customers.

BATA approved the two-step increase in tolls for multi-axle vehicles on the state-owned bridges in January 2010 as part of a comprehensive toll increase package to finance seismic retrofits of the Antioch and Dumbarton bridges, to help offset the increased cost of debt financing resulting from financial market turmoil that began in 2007, and to counter revenue losses caused by a decline in tollpaying traffic on the bridges since fiscal year 2003-04. While the toll hike for most vehicles went into effect in July 2010, the Authority voted to delay the increase for multi-axle vehicles for one year and then implement the new toll schedule in two steps. This phased approach was designed to allow commercial trucking firms to incorporate the higher tolls into new contracts with shippers. These contracts typically carry 18- to 24-month terms.

California state law (Streets & Highways Code Sec. 30150.2) requires that tolls on state-owned toll bridges be based on the number of axles on a vehicle or the total number of axles on a vehicle plus the total number of axles on a drawn trailer or vehicle.

BATA encourages all motorists — including drivers of big-rig trucks and recreational vehicles – to take advantage of the FasTrak electronic toll collection program to make toll payment easier and more convenient. FasTrak can be used in all lanes at all Bay Area toll plazas. FasTrak toll tags are available at Costco, Safeway and Walgreens stores throughout the Bay Area. Customers also can enroll in the FasTrak program online (at 511.org or bayareafastrak.org), by telephone (dial 511 and ask for “FasTrak” at the first prompt), or in person at the FasTrak customer service center at 475 The Embarcadero in San Francisco. Currently, there are more than 1 million FasTrak account holders in the Bay Area.

BATA, which is directed by the same policy board as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), administers toll revenues from the Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges. Toll revenues from the Golden Gate Bridge are administered by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, which joined with BATA to operate a single regional FasTrak customer service center in San Francisco. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

See toll schedule for state-owned toll bridges here: http://bata.mtc.ca.gov/tolls/schedule.htm.

BART will operate on a Sunday schedule on the Independence Day holiday, Wednesday, July 4, 2012, with service beginning around 8 am. BART also will run longer trains and add special event trains as needed to accommodate riders attending the fireworks display at San Francisco’s Pier 39.

The largest crowds of fireworks-viewers are expected to be using Embarcadero Station. The fireworks over Pier 39 are scheduled to begin around 9:30 pm.

There will also be longer trains to serve fans attending the Oakland A’s vs. Boston Red Sox game at 1:05 pm at the Oakland Coliseum on July 4.

Riders are encouraged to buy a roundtrip ticket to avoid lines at ticket machines after events, or to use a Clipper card to avoid ticket machines altogether.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) are widening State Route 4 (SR-4) through Pittsburg and Antioch. As part of this construction work, the contractor will begin demolishing the abandoned roadway bridge and railroad bridge over the highway at Loveridge Road. In order to ensure crew and public safety during this work, the contractor will be doing complete closures of SR-4 in both directions overnight during the next several weeks. The closures will take place on Monday nights through Saturday mornings for approximately 4 weeks beginning on June 18, and continuing until approximately July 13, 2012. The eastbound closure will take place between 12:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. The westbound closure will take place between 10:00 p.m. and 3:30 a.m.

The detours for this work will be as follows:

o Eastbound motorists will be directed off the highway at Loveridge Road and immediately back on the highway at the eastbound SR-4 on-ramp from Loveridge Road.

o Westbound motorists will be directed off the highway at Somersville Road/Auto Center Drive exit, left on Somersville Road, continue on to Auto Center Drive, left on Tenth Street, left on Loveridge Road, right on California Avenue, and left on westbound SR-4 on-ramp.

Motorists are advised to expect delays and allow extra time for their commute. Please drive with caution through the detours and leave a safe traveling distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead of you. Caltrans and CCTA appreciate your patience as we work to improve the highways. For the most current information on all SR-4 corridor closures please visit our web site at: http://widensr4.org.

On Monday, June 11, 2012, the Highway 4 Widening Project will reach a major milestone when the western half of the new Loveridge Road overpass structure is completed and opened to traffic. When the bridge is fully constructed, it will reduce congestion and improve traffic flow along Loveridge Road.

To prepare for this bridge opening, the contractor will be closing a portion of California Avenue between the SR-4 westbound off-ramp and Loveridge Road in Pittsburg over the weekend of June 8, 2012. The road will be closed between 10:00 pm on Friday night, June 8, 2012, and re-opened at 4:00 am on Monday morning, June 11, 2012.

During that time, the approaches or ramps to the new bridge will be paved, traffic signals will be modified, and new striping will be placed. When work is completed and the roadway is opened to traffic on Monday morning, northbound and southbound Loveridge Road traffic will drive on the new bridge during the next phase of construction. This will allow for demolition of the existing inactive Loveridge Road and railroad bridges as well as further construction of the new Loveridge Road bridge.

All businesses at Loveridge Center on California Avenue (west of Loveridge Road) will remain open and accessible to traffic during the weekend construction. East of Loveridge Road, the temporary road from California Avenue to businesses at North Park Plaza (Staples, Home Depot, WinCo, etc.) will remain open. Detour signs will direct traffic to East 14th Street or Leland Road to access California Avenue west of Loveridge Road. Please refer to the attached map for detour routes.

The SR-4 Widening Projects have been made possible by $540 million in State, Federal, and Contra Costa Measure J sales tax, and other local funds to widen SR-4 from four to eight lanes between Loveridge Road and SR-160.

“The Department is pleased to continue our successful partnership with the Contra Costa Transportation Authority,” said Caltrans District 4 Director Bijan Sartipi. “Our combined effort on the projects on the State Route 4 Corridor will reduce congestion, create a safer roadway, improve operations, and reduce traffic delays on this important east-west connector.”

“This represents a significant milestone in the Contra Costa voters’ investment of Measure J funds in the SR-4 corridor” according to Randell Iwasaki, Executive Director of CCTA.

When completed, the SR-4 Highway median will be used to extend BART service from Pittsburg/Bay Point to a new station at Hillcrest Avenue in Antioch.

Questions or comments can be directed to the Highway 4 widening hotline at (925) 756-0721 or visit our web site at http://widensr4.org.

By Sergeant Morefield, Antioch Police Field Services Bureau

The Antioch Police Department responded to an auto versus motorcycle traffic collision on Deer Valley Road at the intersection of Balfour Road at approximately 8:56 pm on Sunday, May 27, 2012. The driver of the automobile (a 40-year-old, female, Brentwood resident) was turning southbound onto Deer Valley Road from Balfour Road when she collided with a father and son (52-year-old and 9-year-old, male, Clayton residents) who were traveling northbound on Deer Valley Road on a motorcycle.

The female was not injured, but both males suffered serious (but non-life threatening) injuries and had to be flown via helicopter to area hospitals for treatment. Neither drugs nor alcohol appear to be factors in this collision. None of the involved parties have been cited for any violations at this time.