oakley press 04.29.16
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Your Hometown Weekly NewspaperTRANSCRIPT
APRIL 29, 2016 THEPRESS.NET | 3A
COMMUNITYNEIGHBORHOOD NEWS & EVENTS
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Press photogra-pher Tony Kuku-lich teamed up for this magical shot of Brent-wood’s iconic wa-ter tower, taken over the week-end. If you have a photo you’d like to share, send it to [email protected] and you might see it in the pages of The Press or online.
Meetings to discuss Oakley’s Measure K
The City of Oakley, in partnership with the Contra Costa County Library, is inviting the public to informational meet-ings to learn more about Measure K.
The meetings will take place on Tues-day, May 3, and Tuesday, May 17, in the Oakley City Council chambers, located at 3231 Main St., beginning at 7 p.m.
Oakley’s community library is cur-rently located at Freedom High School, oc-cupying 3,000 square feet. After 17 years, the temporary sharing space is now inad-equate, limiting both community and stu-
dent access to needed resources. The col-lection, technology, programs, space and parking are all lacking at this location.
The city council has approved placing a proposition on the June 7 ballot, asking voters if they support a new, downtown Oakley Library and Community Learning Center.
Approval of the ballot measure would result in $7.75 in additional tax, per month, per parcel, over a 30-year period.
For more information and the full bal-lot language, visit www.ci.oakley.ca.us.
Save the date for first Moviein the Plaza event
The popular Movie in the Plaza series returns this summer, so bring your lawn chairs and blankets and cozy up for the show.
The fi rst movie, “The Good Dino-
saur,” is scheduled for May 7. Movies begin at dusk at Civic Center Plaza, and snacks will be available for purchase.
For more information, call 925-625-7041.
APRIL 29, 2016 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 13A
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Come celebrate Cinco de Mayo with master puppeteer Joe Leon and his Cat-erpillar Puppets, as they present the new bilingual variety show, “Ready, Set, Go!” featuring the story “The Tortoise and the Hare” (“La Liebre y la Tortuga”).
Scheduled for Thursday, May 5, at the Oakley Library, at 6:30 p.m., come be amazed by Joe’s puppet artistry, hu-mor and interactive style as he shares
stories, fi nger plays and sings songs, then delight in movement and monkey-shines with Chango the Exercise Mon-key. Guaranteed giggles for all!
The Friends of the Oakley Library is funding this event. The library is lo-cated on the Freedom High School cam-pus, at 1050 Neroly Road, in Oakley.
For more information, visit ccclib.org or call 925-625-2400.
Cinco de Mayo fiesta
The Taste of Oakley has been sched-uled for Saturday, May 7, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Oakley City Hall.
This event will feature various Oak-ley-based restaurants and caterers serving a dish from their menu for guests to sam-ple. Restaurants include Black Bear Diner,
Mountain Mike’s, Grocery Outlet, Peke’s, C&C BBQ, Carpaccio, Sabrina’s Pizzeria and Los Charros, with more to come.
Tickets are $10 and are available for sale at City Hall, 3231 Main Street, in Oakley, and online at https://goo.gl/4kVz8d.
Enjoy a Taste of Oakley
Cityhood Celebration staff looking for vendors
The City of Oakley will be hosting the annual Cityhood Celebration on July 2.
They are currently inviting vendors to join the festivities to sell their wares, mar-ket their businesses and share their mes-sages. They are looking for food, arts and crafts and retail vendors, as well as service groups and nonprofi t organizations. Ven-
dor space is limited and applications are taken on a fi rst-come, fi rst-serve basis.
Vendor applications are available online at www.ci.oakley.ca.us/events/city-hoodcelebration and at City Hall, 3231 Main Street, in Oakley.
For more information, call 925-625-7044 or email [email protected].
APRIL 29, 2016 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 15A
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Knightsen fire station set to reopen The East Contra Costa Fire Protec-
tion District (ECCFPD) expects to reopen Knightsen Station 94 on July 2, but offi cials warn it will only be open for about a year, un-less additional funding is found.
“It’s a short-term fi x, but it is nice to be able to provide some additional service, and give our fi refi ghters a bit of a helping hand,” said Fire Chief Hugh Henderson.
Station 94 and Station 54, in downtown Brentwood, two of the district’s fi ve stations, were closed last May, after voters rejected a proposed benefi t assessment aimed at keep-ing the stations open.
A multijurisdictional task force, com-prised of offi cials from Brentwood, Oakley, the county, ECCFPD and the fi refi ghters union, was launched independently last June to explore solutions to the district’s struggling response times. THose on the task foce have agreed to pool $2.2 million to reopen the sta-tion through June, 2017; explore a 2016 ballot initiative to help fund the district; and create a master plan to identify how fi re and medical services should be delivered over the next 25 to 30 years.
Under that agreement, Brentwood will pay $666,000, Oakley $382,202 and the county $311,617, with the district meeting the remaining $873,978 to fund the recommen-dations. The contributions were based on call-volume numbers in the respective areas.
Of the seven additional fi refi ghters needed to reopen the station, fi ve have been hired and began training last week, ready-ing them for the July reopening, Henderson said. The station is expected to reopen in July while the district continues to search for the two additional fi refi ghters. Three recently hired fi refi ghters hail from Sacramento, while another is from Southern California and one from Brentwood, who is returning to his old job with the district.
“We will end up with not all (seven) of them hired, but we’ll be running a second group through the hiring process through the month of May to get caught up,” Henderson said. “We will probably have to use a little bit of overtime to get that station open, but we are pushing for that timeline.”
The station is expected to stay open until at least June 2017. If an additional funding source is not found by then, the station will close and the seven fi refi ghters will be laid off.
To comment, visit www.thepress.net.
The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District hired fi ve new fi refi ghters in an-ticipation of reopening the Knightsen Station on July 2. The station will only be open until the end of June 2017, unless the district can fi nd additional funding.
Photo courtesy of the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District
by Kyle SzymanskiStaff Writer
In celebration of the National Park Ser-vice’s Centennial this year, organizations that serve youth in the Golden Gate National Rec-reation Area (GGNRA), along with the San Francisco Public Library system, are inviting fourth graders and their families to join in the fun of learning what it takes to be an offi cial National Park Service Junior Ranger, from noon to 3 p.m., at the Junior Ranger Jambo-ree on Crissy Field, at East Beach, on Satur-day, May 7.
As part of the Every Kid in a Park cam-paign, all children attending will enjoy a day
of entertainment, refreshments, hands-on ac-tivities and games to help them earn their own centennial edition junior-ranger badge and be sworn in as an offi cial Junior Ranger at a special ceremony led by GGNRA’s General Superintendent Christine Lehnertz.
“The 100th anniversary of the National Park Service’s founding is a cause for intro-ducing the next generation to the parks,” said Lehnertz. “We are excited to welcome thou-sands of fourth graders and their families as our biggest centennial celebration in the Gold-en Gate National Recreation Area.”
Interactive and place-based activities will enable young people to think and act like a ranger whose duties include protecting and preserving the natural and cultural resources of parklands. From collecting and observing wetland plankton under microscopes to dig-ging up and analyzing artifacts, visitors will discover the uniqueness and rich history of the GGNRA. Entertainment groups for the event will showcase the diversity of our local com-munities through a variety of dances and mu-sic, including hip-hop, ballet and drumming.
One of the primary partners for the
NPS Centennial year at the GGNRA is the San Francisco Public Library system. The SF Public Libraries are helping celebrate the Cen-tennial with the 2016 Summer Stride reading program for kids and adults where patrons will be able to earn specially-designed buttons as part of the offi cial ‘Reading Ranger’ chal-lenge. There will be library trailheads, park book nooks, community ranger talks at SF library branches and more.
For a full outline of all Centennial-re-lated events, visit www.parksconservancy.org/nps100.
Celebrate Junior Ranger Jamboree
22A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY APRIL 29, 2016
NOTICE INVITING BIDS 1. Bid Acceptance. The City of Brentwood (“City”), will accept sealed bids for its 2016 Pavement Management Program and Trail Pavement Management-Rebid, CIP Project Nos. 336-30836 and 352-52413 (“Project”), by or before Tuesday, May 17, 2016, at 2:00 p.m., at its City Clerk’s offi ce, located at Brentwood City Hall, Third Floor, 150 City Park Way, Brentwood, California 94513. The bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at Brentwood City Hall, 150 City Park Way, Brentwood, CA 94513. 2. Project Information. 2.1 Location and Description. The Project is located at various sites throughout the City, and is described as follows: grinding and overlay of certain roads and placement of slurry seal. 2.2 Construction Time. The planned timeframe for beginning and completion of construction of the Project is: 40 working days. 2.3 Engineer’s Estimate. The City Engineer’s estimate for the cost of construction cost is approxi-mately $940,000. 3. License and Registration Re-quirements. 3.1 License. This Project re-quires a valid California contrac-tor’s license for the following classifi cation(s): “Class “A” or combination of Class “C” Special-ty Contractor’s License(s)”.
3.2 DIR Registration. City will not accept a Bid Proposal from or enter into a contract with a bidder without proof that the bidder and its subcontractors are registered with the California Department of Industrial Relations (“DIR”) to perform public work under Labor Code Section 1725.5, subject to limited legal exceptions. 4. Contract Documents. Bidders must obtain an electronic copy of the Contract Documents directly from the City of Brentwood. The Contract Documents may be ob-tained at no charge by sending an email to: [email protected] or by calling 925-516-5420. The City may reject a bid submitted by a bidder that did not obtain the Contract Documents from the City as required. 5. Bid Proposal and Security. 5.1 Bid Proposal Form. Each Bid must be submitted using the Bid Proposal form provided with the Contract Documents. 5.2 Bid Security. The Bid Pro-posal must be accompanied by bid security of ten percent of the maximum bid amount, in the form of a cashier’s or certifi ed check made payable to the City of Brentwood, or a bid bond ex-ecuted by a surety licensed to do business in the State of California on the Bid Bond form included with the Contract Documents. The bid security must guarantee that upon award of the bid, the bid-der will execute the Contract and submit payment and performance bonds and insurance certifi cates as required by the Contract Docu-ments within ten days after issu-ance of the notice of award.
6. Prevailing Wage Require-ments. 6.1 General. This Project is subject to the prevailing wage requirements applicable to the locality in which the Work is to be performed for each craft, classi-fi cation or type of worker needed to perform the Work, including employer payments for health and welfare, pension, vacation, apprenticeship and similar pur-poses. 6.2 Rates. These prevailing rates are available online at http://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSR. Each Con-tractor and Subcontractor must pay no less than the specifi ed rates to all workers employed to work on the Project. The schedule of per diem wages is based upon a working day of eight hours. The rate for holiday and overtime work must be at least time and one-half. 6.3 Compliance. This Contract is subject to compliance monitor-ing and enforcement by the DIR, under Labor Code Section 1771.4. 7. Performance and Payment Bonds. The successful bidder will be required to provide per-formance and payment bonds for 100% of the Contract Price. 8. Substitution of Securities. Substitution of appropriate secu-rities in lieu of retention amounts from progress payments is per-mitted under Public Contract Code Section 22300. 9. Subcontractor List. Each bid-der must submit the name, loca-tion of the place of business, and California contractor license number, DIR registration number, and percentage of the Work to be
performed for each Subcontrac-tor who will perform Work or ser-vice or fabricate or install Work for the prime contractor in excess of one-half of 1% of the bid price, using the Subcontractor List form included with the Contract Docu-ments. No more than 50% of the Work may be performed by Sub-contractors. 10. Instructions to Bidders. Ad-ditional information is provided in the Instructions to Bidders, which should be carefully reviewed be-fore submitting a Bid Proposal. City of Brentwood /s/ Margaret Wimberly MMC, City Clerk; Dated: April 26, 2016. Brentwood Press No: 02-1273/69738. Publish Dates: April 29, May 6, 2016.
PROPOSED ORDINANCE 970 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BRENTWOOD REQUIRING THAT POTABLE DOMESTIC WATER SERVICE CUSTOMERS RE-DUCE CONSUMPTION FROM THE AMOUNTS USED IN 2013 BY 28 PERCENT AND THAT POTABLE IRRIGATION WATER SERVICE CUSTOMERS REDUCE CONSUMPTION FROM THE AMOUNTS USED IN 2013 BY 35 PERCENT; ADOPTING REGULA-TIONS FOR CITY WATER SER-VICE CUSTOMERS TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN ACTIVITIES SO AS TO PROMOTE WATER CONSERVA-TION; ELIMINATING USAGE PEN-ALTIES; AND REPEALING ORDI-NANCE NO. 965 THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE was introduced with the fi rst reading waived at a regu-lar meeting of the Brentwood City
Council on the 12th day of April, 2016, by the following vote: AYES: Barr, Clare, Stone-barger, Taylor NOES: None ABSENT: Bryant ABSTAIN: None And was adopted at a regular meeting of the Brentwood City Council on the 26th day of April, 2016, by the following vote: AYES: Barr, Bryant, Clare, Stonebarger, Taylor NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None ATTEST: Margaret Wimberly, MMC City Clerk The above is a summary of the major highlights of the ordi-nances; reading the ordinances in its entirety may be necessary to obtain a full understating of all changes. A copy of the full text of the ordinances is on fi le and may be read in the City Clerk’s of-fi ce located at 150 City Park Way, Brentwood, and/or a copy may be obtained from that offi ce based on the City’s actual cost for du-plicating. Brentwood Press No: 02-1273/69739. Publish Date: April 29, 2016.
PROPOSED ORDINANCE 969 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BRENTWOOD ACCEPTING AND APPROVING A WATER RATE STUDY, IDENTIFYING USER CHARGES FOR WATER SER-VICE INCLUDING AN OPTIONAL DROUGHT SURCHARGE, ADOPT-ING REVISED MONTHLY USER CHARGES FOR WATER SERVICE FOR FISCAL YEARS 2015/1616
TO 2017/18 AND SUBSEQUENT YEARS, AND REPEALING ORDI-NANCE NO. 922. THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE was introduced with the fi rst reading waived at a regu-lar meeting of the Brentwood City Council on the 12th day of April, 2016, by the following vote: AYES: Barr, Clare, Stone-barger, Taylor NOES: None ABSENT: Bryant ABSTAIN: None And was adopted at a regular meeting of the Brentwood City Council on the 26th day of April, 2016, by the following vote: AYES: Barr, Bryant, Clare, Stonebarger, Taylor NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None ATTEST: Margaret Wimberly, MMC City Clerk The above is a summary of the major highlights of the ordi-nances; reading the ordinances in its entirety may be necessary to ob-tain a full understating of all chang-es. A copy of the full text of the ordi-nances is on fi le and may be read in the City Clerk’s offi ce located at 150 City Park Way, Brentwood, and/or a copy may be obtained from that offi ce based on the City’s actual cost for duplicating. Brentwood Press No: 02-1273/69740. Publish Date: April 29, 2016.
PROPOSED ORDINANCE 968 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BRENTWOOD APPROV-ING A REZONE (RZ 15-007) TO AMEND CHAPTER 17.474 OF THE BRENTWOOD MUNICIPAL CODE
TO INCLUDE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS FOR THE TRUE LIFE COMPANIES PROJECT SITE, LO-CATED ON AN 18.5-ACRE PAR-CEL WEST OF SELLERS AVENUE, EAST OF THE POLICE DEPART-MENT, NORTH OF THE ECCID MAIN CANAL, AND SOUTH OF LA PALOMA HIGH SCHOOL (APN 010-160-043). THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE was introduced with the fi rst reading waived at a regu-lar meeting of the Brentwood City Council on the 12th day of April, 2016, by the following vote: AYES: Barr, Clare, Stone-barger, Taylor NOES: None ABSENT: Bryant ABSTAIN: None And was adopted at a regular meeting of the Brentwood City Council on the 26th day of April, 2016, by the following vote: AYES: Barr, Bryant, Clare, Stonebarger, Taylor NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None ATTEST: Margaret Wimberly, MMC City Clerk The above is a summary of the major highlights of the ordi-nances; reading the ordinances in its entirety may be necessary to obtain a full understating of all changes. A copy of the full text of the ordinances is on fi le and may be read in the City Clerk’s of-fi ce located at 150 City Park Way, Brentwood, and/or a copy may be obtained from that offi ce based on the City’s actual cost for du-plicating. Brentwood Press No: 02-1273/69741 Publish Date: April 29, 2016.
LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES
ten hard to track down, because they frequently move around. Moreover, the county only occasionally conducts sweeps for the vendors, and not often on weekends.
When they are caught, the ven-dors’ produce and materials are usually seized, but that is just a glancing blow, since the root of the problem is much deeper. Often, companies – some of which presumably bring produce into the country without inspection – hire unsuspecting employees to work street corners by themselves, Underwood said.
Under state rules, the county has authority over roadside vendors and can take action against them, but the supplier is considered a wholesaler, which requires the state and federal au-thorities to act together.
“(Street corner workers) oftentimes
don’t even know they are doing some-thing illegal, and it’s the overarching person we would like to get,” Under-wood said.
The situation is complicated fur-ther by the fact that many purchasers are not aware of the risks associated with the illegal fruit. In fact, many be-lieve the fruit comes from East County, Underwood said.
“I try to avoid buying from those men and women, but it’s tempting,” said resident Sara Jacques, as she walked near the bus stop on Second Street in Brentwood. “It looks no different than what you get at the farmers market or the store.”
If buyers are sickened by produce purchased at corner vendors, it’s hard to pinpoint the culprit, let alone track down the vendor, Underwood said.
“We have to have several people
who ate the same thing in order to say, ‘Wow, the only thing they have in com-mon is some fruit they got by a stand,’” Underwood said. “Then, we have to go, ‘OK, now how are we going to fi nd that corner stand person, where (the food) came from and where it is going today and tomorrow?’ If one batch is contam-inated, oftentimes you have others.”
Aside from potentially harming the health of consumers, fl y-by-night stands also snatch business away from local merchants, who are subject to steep fees and rigorous rules to operate legally.
“(Corner venders) don’t go through the proper permitting process when ev-erybody else does, and local farmers are trying to go by the book and have all the local permits and pay the prop-er fees, so it affects their bottom line,” said Steve Gursky, president of Har-vest Time, which promotes the U-pick
farms, roadside stands and agricultural retail marketing outlets in East Contra Costa County.
He advises those seeking fresh pro-duce to purchase it at certifi ed farm stands and farmers markets, which are regulated. The California Department of Health also advises consumers to ask questions of your supplier regarding what food-safety standards and guide-lines they expect of their suppliers and growers, and to not buy produce from sellers who cannot provide a physical business address in case follow-up is needed.
For a list of offi cial U-pick farms, roadside stands and agricultural outlets, visit harvest4u.com. For more produce safety tips, visit bit.ly/1rioiqV.
Suspected illegal operations can be reported to the county at 925-692-2500.
To comment, visit www.thepress.net.
Vendors from page 1A
16 years of the city relying on the county to staff the ranks of its police rosters, an annual arrangement that has ballooned from approximately $2.5 million in 2000 to roughly $8.7 million in 2014, in part due to increased county-personnel costs.
Despite these fi nancial concerns, the sheriff ’s deputies consistently won uni-versal praise from offi cials and residents, something the council strongly empha-sized in their deliberations.
“All is set to go … we have both the sworn and civilian staff hired and are get-ting (the fi nal plans) in place to make a smooth transition,” said City Manager Bryan Montgomery, adding that all but a handful of the patrol offi cers have been with Oakley for a while and will be tran-sitioning from sheriff ’s deputies to city employees. “We are very pleased with the high-quality personnel we have on board.”
Although the transfer date is arriv-ing a few weeks ahead of the original June time frame, the offi cers themselves say they are more than ready, including incoming Chief Chris Thorsen – who believes that going in-house is one of the biggest points in Oakley’s timeline since the city incorporated and became a mu-nicipality in 1999.
“It’s pretty exciting … we’re looking forward to serving our community and to continue on with providing a high level of service,” said Thorsen. “We’re building on a tradition of professionalism that was started by the sheriff ’s offi ce. As we move forward, we’re standing on their shoul-ders. We truly recognize that.”
Like many of the offi cers who have transferred in, Thorsen is a familiar face himself, having served as Oakley’s chief from 2005 to 2010, during his lengthy ten-ure with the sheriff ’s offi ce. He also served as chief of police in the city of Clayton
from 2012 to 2015.Altogether, the new department
has been authorized with a strength of 29 sworn offi cers and approximately six civil staff members fi lling various posi-tions, according to Oakley’s mayor, Kevin Romick. These personnel will be split between an operations division, which handles patrol-related and investigative functions, and an administration division that will keep the books and ensure the department remains bound to required mandates. To a curious public eye though, little change will be noticeable, as the city already owns the police equipment used by the sheriff ’s deputies, who have worn Oakley uniforms over the years and al-ready give the appearance of being part of the community.
“Establishing public safety is among local government’s fundamental obliga-tions to its citizens,” said Romick at a re-cent lunch event with residents.
He later added that with the change-over, the city is expected to save about $700,000 each year and will be able to use those funds to hire more offi cers, expand the department’s traffi c unit and renew its canine program, among other adjust-ments.
However, not all ties to the sheriff ’s offi ce will be cut. The fl edgling depart-ment will still depend on the countywide agency for dispatch services for the imme-diate future – leaving it with an indispens-able role to be fulfi lled in the city’s new public-safety model.
While the changeover date itself will be uneventful, the public is being en-couraged to attend a special city council meeting on May 10, which will include a ceremonial swearing-in of the new de-partment’s offi cers. The events will be held at 6 p.m. at Oakley City Hall, located at 3231 Main St.
To comment, visit www.thepress.net.
Police from page 1A
