Input process continues for Rivertown Community Space begun last May following council direction in Nov. 2021

By Allen D. Payton

The City of Antioch is continuing its effort to obtain public input on the development of a new gathering place in Antioch’s historic, downtown Rivertown. All residents are invited to share their vision for what is expected to be that part of town’s future central attraction. The empty, dirt lot is bordered by W. 2nd and 3rd and E Streets.

City staff is asking for input stating, “This new outdoor public space is uniquely situated along the Sacramento-San Joaquin River. It will benefit our diverse community by fostering a vibrant, thriving downtown. Share your thoughts on what this space should look like and what features it should include.”

The process began last May with an online survey and will continue during two Community Design Workshops on Thursday, Feb. 8 at the Antioch Community Center in Prewett Family Park, 4703 Lone Tree Way and Sunday, Feb. 18 from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. at the Nick Rodriguez Center, 213 F Street.

The effort follows the city council decision to support the River Town Square proposal by Save The Yard led by former Councilwoman Joy Motts. As previously reported by the Herald, during the Nov. 23, 2021 Antioch City Council meeting, after years of advocating for a park and event center on the former Antioch Lumber Company lot the group was given the go ahead by all five council members to pursue the idea.

“We can begin a process for exploring a community gathering space, a green space,” then-City Manager Ron Bernal said at the conclusion of the meeting.

The City’s downtown hasn’t had a large park, but only the smaller Waldie Plaza, since the much larger Barbara Price Marina Park was replaced with the marina boat launch and parking lot in 2012.

To take the survey and for more information visit Rivertown Community Space.

By Allen D. Payton

After discussing the matter with Rivertown business and building owners for the past two years and with at least 35 officers still on paid leave due to the text scandal, during their first meeting of this year on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2023, the Antioch City Council agreed to hire a private security firm to patrol city parking lots in the historic downtown.

According to the city staff report, the contract with Brentwood-based Shield Protection & Public Safety, Inc., DBA Spearhead Protection, for private security services of City-owned assets and parking lots in the Rivertown area for an amount not to exceed $50,000 in fiscal year 2023-24 (ending June 30th) and $100,000 in fiscal year 2024-25.

The company has worked with public and private clients throughout the state. The provided security service will include seven hours of security between 5pm and midnight, seven (7) days a week including holidays. Spearhead Protection will provide one uniformed security guard that will patrol the Rivertown area in a marked security vehicle performing checks at nine locations in the area.

Background: Over the past 18-24 months, Rivertown business owners and their customers have experienced an increase in criminal activities either on or near city-owned public parking lots. In late 2022, a group of business owners began working with City staff on identifying viable solutions to improve the safety of the Rivertown area. In addition to several of the businesses hiring their own private security, one proposed solution consisted of the City hiring a private security firm to monitor City-owned assets and parking lots. The security service provider would function as a visual deterrent and would have the ability to identify potential safety issues and report those issues to Antioch Police.

At their December 13, 2022, Council Meeting, the Antioch City Council gave direction to the staff to issue a request for qualifications (“RFQ”) for private security services. Unfortunately, a series of staff changes resulted in the RFQ being issued a total of three times. Thus, it wasn’t until September 22, 2023, that eight private security companies submitted their qualifications for consideration. Staff determined the best qualified company for this effort to be Spearhead Protection.

The council approved the contract on a 5-0 vote.

See videos of the Celebration here and here.

All photos and videos by Allen D. Payton

Performances at the Antioch Historical Museum. Call the Musuem Office for tickets: 925-757-1326 or email at AntiochHistoricalSociety@comcast.net. More details later.