Minutes of the Regular Joint Meeting of the Oakley City Council/Oakley City Council Acting as the Successor Agency to the Oakley Redevelopment Agency and Special Meeting of the Oakley Public Financing Authority held
February 27, 2024
1) OPENING MATTERS
1.1 Call to Order and Roll Call of the Oakley City Council/Oakley City Council Acting as the Successor Agency to the Oakley Redevelopment Agency/Oakley Public Financing Authority
Mayor Anissa Williams called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. in the Oakley City Council Chambers located at 3231 Main Street, Oakley, California. Vice Mayor Shannon Shaw and Councilmembers Hugh Henderson and Aaron Meadows were also present. Mayor Williams announced that Councilmember Dr. George Fuller is joining by teleconference and provided his location, the DoubleTree by Hilton, Pakalana Room, 1956 Ala Moana Bl, Honolulu, HI 96815-1897.
1.2 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag (Heritage High School JROTC) The Heritage High School JROTC led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
1.3 Proclamation Recognizing February as Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month (Danielle Aubin, BAART Programs)
Mayor Williams presented the proclamation to Danielle Aubin with BAART Programs.
Ms. Aubin thanked the Council.
2) PUBLIC COMMENTS
Online public comments were submitted by Katie Patterson, Angela Lanuza, Michele Duran, Michele D, Jennifer Barajas, Jennifer Carper, Michelle Meade, Erin Mass, Sean Mass, Sandy Whiting, Jennifer Greene, Jennifer Emmons, and Justin Ashford to request that the Council consider the City providing financial support toward the Freedom High School Grad Night.
3) COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS
Dr. Fuller thanked the City Clerk and City Manager for their efforts in regard to the minutes, item 4.1.
Mayor Williams commented that the Freedom Parents Club is trying to pull off Grad Night and she has contact information if anyone can help. 4) CONSENT CALENDAR
4.1 Approve Minutes from the Regular Joint City Council/City Council Acting as the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency/Public Financing Authority Meeting Held February 13, 2024 (Libby Vreonis, City Clerk)
4.2 Accept Report Out of Closed Session Memo (Derek Cole, City Attorney)
4.3 Award of Construction Contract to sofSURFACES for the Daffodil Park Playground Surfacing Project - Capital Improvement Program (CIP) No. 307 (Kevin Rohani, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer)
4.4 Approval of Subdivision Improvement Agreement and Final Map for Summer Lake North Subdivision 9307 (Located at the northeast corner of East Cypress Road and Bethel Island Road) (Kevin Rohani, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer)
4.5 Approval of the Final Agreement for the Purchase of Portions of Contra Costa Assessor Parcel No. 034-090-022 from the Del Barba family for the Laurel Road Widening (Cloverbrook Avenue to O’Hara Avenue) ProjectCapital Improvement Project (CIP) Number 280 (Derek Cole, City Attorney and Kevin Rohani, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer) Vice Mayor Shaw pulled item 4.4.
Mayor Williams pulled item 4.5.
It was moved by Councilmember Meadows and seconded by Councilmember Henderson to approve the remainder of the Consent Calendar. A roll call vote was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0) Item 4.4
Vice Mayor Shaw shared that she pulled the item for staff to highlight the history and what the agreement and final map do for the process.
Public Works Director/City Engineer Kevin Rohani shared that the Summer Lake development began before the City of Oakley incorporated and at that time, the developer was Shea Homes, and in the early 2000s, it completed Summer Lake South and owned the Summer Lake North property of which a tentative vesting map was approved by the Council in 2011, creating one of the largest subdivisions. He mentioned Civic Summer Lake North LLC purchased the property in July 2021, actively began working on it, and since then levee work was completed on the property and they are now ready to begin infrastructure. He explained this agreement and map are a formality of that process. He mentioned the development could take 10 years before all homes are built and the E. Cypress Road project will be completed over the next 3 years, extending to the frontage of this subdivision, so the road will be completed before the homes are built.
Vice Mayor Shaw mentioned that she wanted to highlight it to make sure people are aware that the road will be complete before the homes are built, and that this is a formality for the homes that will be built, but that the E. Cypress Road expansion is in the forefront.
Mr. Rohani explained that the road improvements are forefront and happening and these will be separate but parallel projects.
It was moved by Vice Mayor Shaw and seconded by Councilmember Henderson. A roll call vote was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0) Item 4.5
Mayor Williams shared that she pulled the item for staff to highlight the history and next steps.
Public Works Director/City Engineer Kevin Rohani shared that staff has been working on this portion of Laurel Road for many years, other parts of Laurel Road have been expanded, and this portion was left out because the City did not have the right of way to execute the project. He mentioned staff has been in contact with the property owners over a number of years and in December 2022, they came to an informal agreement.
He shared that once the right of way is acquired, an item will come before the Council in April to consider granting an easement to WAPA to move the poles on the property, to allow the City to proceed with the road expansion. He thanked the City Attorney for his work to help get to this point of the final agreement. He mentioned the road design should be completed by summer and the award of a construction contract should come before the Council in July, with construction beginning late August, and completion of the project occurring in mid-2025. He thanked all the parties involved for their work to make this happen.
Vice Mayor Shaw mentioned the City is spending money on this. She inquired if in the event the rest of the property sells, if the City can recuperate some cost for improvements it is making.
Mr. Rohani explained that is correct; the vineyard may eventually be sold and once a developer acquires it, as part of the developer’s conditions of approval, the frontage improvements will have been completed by then so the City will know its cost and keep that on file, and when the developer comes in, the developer will have to pay the City for the cost of the frontage improvements.
Councilmember Meadows referred to section 5.1 in the Agreement and mentioned the days appear to need correction. He requested clarification on the timing of the due diligence period (60 days) and closing of escrow (30 days).
City Attorney Derek Cole mentioned it is the intent to have a 30-day escrow and staff can make the appropriate changes to section 5.1 to clarify the language.
Mr. Rohani explained there has been a lot of last-minute back and forth between the parties to wrap this up and staff will ensure that Councilmember Meadows’ comments are incorporated.
Dr. Fuller thanked staff and the Del Barba family. He commented that it has been many years and he is glad it is wrapping up as he believes the road will improve safety, convenience, and happiness for the community.
It was moved by Councilmember Meadows and seconded by Vice Mayor Shaw to approve the Purchase and Sale Agreement with a 30-day close of escrow and clean up revisions to section 5.1 to reflect a 30-day close of escrow. A roll call vote was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0) 5) PUBLIC HEARINGS
5.1 Consideration of a Resolution Establishing a Master Fee Schedule and Updating Certain City Fees (Jeri Tejeda, Administrative Services Director) Administrative Services Director Jeri Tejeda presented the staff report and provided a handout for a change to the last page of the fee schedule. She requested the fee schedule be considered with the following amendment to correct clerical errors: Account Reinstatement Fee $35.00 (not $75.00), Go Back Service Fee $35.00 (not $75.00), and the Cart Service Per Cart Charge $75.00 (not $40.00). She mentioned that all noticing requirements were met for this public hearing and if approved, the fee schedule will be effective April 28, 2024.
Mayor Williams called for questions of the Council, including Dr. Fuller joining remotely.
The Council had no questions.
Mayor Williams opened the public hearing and called for public comments; there being none, she closed the public hearing.
Dr. Fuller commented that staff did fantastic work on the master fee schedule. He mentioned there are a couple of items he disagrees with, one being the increase of the after-school fee from $4 to $10 which provides a 150% increase. He explained that he doesn’t want to request each item to be considered separately so he will vote ‘no’ for the entire item.
It was moved by Councilmember Henderson and seconded by Vice Mayor Shaw to adopt the resolution with the amendments. A roll call vote was conducted by the City Clerk. AYES: Henderson, Meadows, Shaw, Williams. NOES: Fuller. (4-1) 6) REGULAR CALENDAR
6.1 Waive the First Reading and Introduce an Ordinance Regarding Administrative Fines for Unlicensed Commercial Cannabis Activity Including Cultivation, Manufacturing, Processing, Distribution or Retail Sale of Cannabis and Declaring Such Activity a Public Nuisance (Libby Vreonis, City Clerk/Paralegal)
City Clerk/Paralegal Libby Vreonis presented the staff report. She recommended clerical revisions to the ordinance to reflect that Chapter 41 of Title 4 is being added, that there are amendments to Oakley Municipal Code Sections 1.5.022 and 1.5.207, and that the definition of “Distribution” in Oakley Municipal Code Section 4.41.104(d) read as follows: “refers to the procurement, sale, and transport of cannabis and cannabis related products between persons or entities.” Vice Mayor Shaw inquired if there is a cap with the $100, $200, $500 escalating fees.
Mr. McMurray explained that there is not; it is per violation, per day.
Dr. Fuller expressed his strong opposition to cannabis operations within the city as it doesn’t fit our lifestyle, safety plans, or needs, he is glad the City is taking measures to ensure there are no rogue marijuana operations, and that it is being handled in a professional manner.
No public comments were submitted.
It was moved by Vice Mayor Shaw and seconded by Councilmember Meadows to waive the first reading and introduce the ordinance with the stated amendments. A roll call vote was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0)
6.2 Adopt a Resolution to Establish a Library and Community Center Project Specific Sub-Committee (Joshua McMurray, City Manager)
City Manager Joshua McMurray presented the staff report. He recommended that two sub-committee members be nominated, and that the sub-committee terminate at the end of 2024.
Councilmember Meadows commented that he also likes the end of this year to terminate and nominated Mayor Williams and Vice Mayor Shaw to serve.
Vice Mayor Shaw and Mayor Williams both confirmed they would like to be on the committee.
Mayor Williams called for comments from Dr. Fuller. He had none.
Mayor Williams called for public comments. There were none.
It was moved by Councilmember Meadows and seconded by Councilmember Henderson to appoint Vice Mayor Shaw and Mayor Williams to the sub-committee and for the subcommittee to terminate 12/31/24. A roll call vote was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0)
6.3 Resolution of the City Council of Oakley Declaring the Existence of a Local Emergency Due to the City's Sustaining of a Cyberattack on February 22, 2024 (Derek Cole, City Attorney)
City Attorney Derek Cole presented the staff report. He explained that the City is requesting the declaration of emergency to ensure the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated. He explained that it is out of an abundance of caution, and it is not a traditional emergency such as during COVID or a natural disaster. He explained that legally, the City is not likely to get reimbursement from the state for declaring the emergency such as during the COVID era, but the City wants to make sure emergency operations are in place and purchasing powers are available.
City Manager Joshua McMurray added that they need to declare a local state of emergency as it is necessary to activate the EOC and for staff to have the ability to purchase. He mentioned knowing that the City Council meeting was just days away and is within the 7 days that the Oakley Municipal Code requires to ratify the declaration felt appropriate, he plans to keep the EOC open through the length of the investigation, and as the City is under an active investigation, he is not at liberty to disclose publicly where they are at with the investigation, but the City is actively working through it and trying to restore all of its systems so it is fully operational, and he would expect that the EOC will be operational for at least 1 more week, possibly 2 weeks.
Dr. Fuller commented that he appreciates staff’s response and professionalism and he supports it so they can conclude the investigation.
Vice Mayor Shaw thanked staff for working on this all weekend while also attending the governance meeting.
Councilmember Meadows echoed her comments.
Mayor Williams commented that they all appreciate the work of staff, being kept up to date, and believes it is in good hands.
Mayor Williams called for public comments. There were none.
It was moved by Councilmember Meadows and seconded by Councilmember Henderson to adopt the resolution. A roll call vote was conducted by the City Clerk.
Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0)
7) REPORTS
7.1 CITY MANAGER
(a) City Manager
(b) New Rail Platform Safety Plan Memo
(c) Police Department Annual Update
(d) Fireworks Update
(e) School Resource Officer Update
(a) City Manager Joshua McMurray reported Friday Night Bites will be held March 1st in Civic Center Plaza and Oakley’s Got Talent will be held at the Recreation Center March 9th, 1 p.m.-4 p.m.
(b) Mr. McMurray mentioned this item was requested as a future agenda item and he has provided a memo.
Mayor Williams mentioned there was a public comment submitted a few Council meetings ago and it might be something to look into--a quiet zone similar to that in Downtown Martinez near homes for the area in proximity to the platform.
Mr. McMurray suggested a future agenda item request can be made to direct staff to research.
Dr. Fuller commented that he has researched trains blowing horns and discussed the matter with federal and railroad officials; it is his understanding that the train engineer must blow the train horn as loudly as possible approaching intersections pursuant to federal regulations.
(c)-(e) Chief of Police Paul Beard presented a PowerPoint presentation. Lt. Robert Roberts and Lt. Logan Cartwright were also present for any questions. (c) Police Department Annual Update
Vice Mayor Shaw inquired if the staffing numbers reflect that the K-9 officer is assigned to something else but also has K-9 duties.
Chief Beard mentioned the K-9 officer is currently in the patrol unit but once there are enough bodies in that unit, he will transfer out.
Dr. Fuller inquired if we pursue retail theft as a burglary.
Chief Beard requested clarification if “we” refers to Police or the retail establishment.
Dr. Fuller clarified that he was referring to the City/Police when he said “we”.
Chief Beard explained that Police responds to every call they are called to and takes appropriate law enforcement action; he is aware some retail establishments in some extreme circumstances have policies where employees will not confront thieves, and some retail stores have stopped calling when theft occurs, but Police will respond and take action when called.
Dr. Fuller mentioned that he understands the policies, He used an example when $1,500 of property is taken. He inquired if there is any reason Police cannot arrest in these situations for burglary.
Chief Beard mentioned if they have identification of the person committing theft by the retailer, it can be turned over to Police to pursue.
Dr. Fuller inquired if Police can pursue it as burglary.
Chief Beard explained that they can pursue it as burglary if they have enough evidence and information, and they do follow up on leads to try and bring it to successful prosecution.
Dr. Fuller mentioned he see the citation level increase is working and he is glad to see it; he sees it as an enhancement of driving behavior and he is seeing enforcement.
Regarding the school resource officer, he mentioned the state wants to take over and have it in every school but have the cities provide it; he hopes that the City can continue making the decision. He expressed his preference is for the high school and middle schools to budget and handle situations themselves and for the City to assist them to maintain campus decorum. He thanked Chief Beard for his presentation and efforts.
Mayor Williams inquired if Chief Beard could provide context how the 84 training courses over the previous year relates to other agencies.
Chief Beard mentioned he did not have that information available.
Mayor Williams called for public comment.
An unidentified member of the public inquired if particular cars are being stolen; i.e., KIA and Hyundai. She mentioned it is a problem is several cities and inquired if there is any way for reimbursement from manufacturers for patrol, etc. She also mentioned considering the growth in the area, they may wish to apply growth per citizen/per capita because they may find that the numbers are down in some areas.
Chief Beard mentioned no movement has been made at this time regarding manufacturer reimbursement for Police response services for what some may think is a faulty starting system or something similar.
(d) Fireworks
Chief Beard mentioned fireworks is an issue statewide and within our County. He shared that he plans to meet with Fire Chief Broussard ahead of 4th of July to discuss a joint effort and he would like the plan to include education, enforcement efforts, preevent planning, intelligence gathering, post-event debriefing, and evidence disposal after the fact which Lt. Roberts will oversee developing and deploying. He mentioned the fireworks suppression period will begin several days early in July and with July 4th falling on Thursday, they will be anticipating when the heaviest days will be and discussing it with their Fire partners. He mentioned overtime will be paid to officers during the suppression period to patrol streets, identify violators and issue administrative citations.
Councilmember Meadows commented Police had a good year last year and thanked him.
Vice Mayor Shaw commented she likes the idea of having a bigger plan, that they are considering the potential timing of the suppression period, and she looks forward to seeing the collaboration with Fire.
Mayor Williams inquired if Dr. Fuller has anything to add. He had no comments.
Mayor Williams mentioned the City has an incredible PIO. She suggested more social media outreach to address for example, fireworks purchased in a county where it is legal but used here, to get the word out. She mentioned Oakley did better last year than places that held firework shows. She mentioned the extra communication could provide the education Chief Beard mentioned.
Chief Beard mentioned they have used social media in past years and can tap into it and magnify/spotlight it even more.
Vice Mayor Shaw mentioned County dispatch is servicing so many cities at the same time and she mentioned before and would like to bring it back now for staff to look into a local number for reporting, if possible. She mentioned she feels like a lot of residents don’t call because when they have they have experienced being placed on hold for a long time.
Chief Beard mentioned County dispatch has been overwhelmed on July 4th for a long time. He mentioned he will look into an internal number; but the reason they use County dispatch is because he has to have a record of the call. He mentioned he would have to look into if they could take 50 calls (random number) and later create a record. He mentioned he would also be looking at skills set and whether an officer would have ability to intake information and dispatch it out and keep track of where all the other cars are. He mentioned this might be a good topic to bring up with Chief Broussard if he can meet with him.
(e) School Resource Officer
Chief Beard mentioned the City has had a longstanding relationship with the high school for a school resource officer (SRO) and in 2023, he was approached by the middle schools to have 1 SRO for both middle schools. He mentioned the conversations are exploratory and when there is more firm information and the district demonstrates it is truly engaged, they will discuss further and bring it to Council, but they cannot staff now for an SRO at the middle schools. He explained that they are short 4 officers due to injury, 2 have pending retirements, and has 1 potential injury. He mentioned it is an endeavor he would like to explore as an SRO at the middle schools is the right service to provide in this day and age, and whether it is this year or next, he believes they will get there, and everyone will be better served.
Vice Mayor Shaw inquired if this would include an additional officer hired.
Chief Beard mentioned if he had all the bodies allotted now and they were healthy, he could fill this position without hire.
Dr. Fuller commented that an SRO can be of value to the educational system, but he would like the schools to budget money for it and the City can assist them with maintaining safety and also ensure they have a close working relationship to share information on cost and expenses incurred.
Vice Mayor Shaw commented that there were incidents at the middle schools over the past year and the kids are growing up so much faster than they used to, so she sees the benefit of it but when it comes down to talking about schools handling things themselves, there certain trainings that come along with policing and they don’t expect Police to be teachers so she does not expect teachers to do some of the things that only officers have training to do. She mentioned she looks forward to seeing this and believes many communities will move toward it.
Chief Beard commented that each school has a school safety plan which is reviewed by Police on an annual basis which he believes is normal in most jurisdictions. He mentioned the school safety plan places expectations on school staff for what to do in ‘X’ situation and Police attend lock down drills to see how the schools handle certain emergencies, one of which they will attend tomorrow. He added that he feels like the schools are taking steps in the direction of being self-reliant and handling certain tasks on their own and it will be always will be a conversation between Police and school staff who is expected to handle what and under what circumstance, so the key is to keep open dialogue between the entities.
Dr. Fuller agreed with Chief Beard. He mentioned saying teachers can’t handle anything and only using Police would be a costly use of City personnel. He mentioned if the school wants it secure, they need to train teachers and hire enough security staff to handle situations in the schools to ensure halls are properly monitored and that administrators are handling situations appropriately. He suggested the City augment school safety, but that the schools take responsibility to maintain a safe environment, hiring of personnel, and provide enough training from their budget, not necessarily ours.
7.2 OAKLEY CITY COUNCIL/OAKLEY CITY COUNCIL ACTING AS THE
SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE OAKLEY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
(a) Reports from Council Liaisons to Regional Committees, Commissions and Boards AND Oakley City Council/Oakley City Council Acting as the Successor Agency to the Oakley Redevelopment Agency
(b) Requests for Future Agendas
Vice Mayor Shaw reported they all attended the governance meeting and she attended the Affordable Housing Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee meeting. She thanked the Council for extending the Committee and shared that during the last meeting, there were some hard truths for the management and owners, and that an owner showed up and told her she was blunt. She shared that the meeting had a bigger crowd, expectations are on management and the owners, and the management and owners have goals that residents can hold them accountable to which should allow the city to step back with reporting guidelines.
Councilmember Meadows concurred. He mentioned she may have said they are blunt, but he doesn’t think the things they mentioned were things that she didn’t already know.
Vice Mayor Shaw agreed.
Councilmember Henderson reported he had initiated and attended the governance meeting. He thanked staff and the facilitator and expressed that he hopes it makes them all work better together in the future.
Councilmember Meadows reported that since the last meetings, he attended the CCTA meeting, he was placed on the power purchase agreements committee at the MCE meeting he attended, and he will attend the Mokelumne Trail grand opening on March 20 at 10:00 a.m.
Dr. Fuller reported he also attended the MCE meeting where he was sworn in as an alternate and he attended the Diablo Water District meeting which due to length, he will report on next time when he is back in the Council Chambers.
Mayor Williams reported she attended the governance meeting, a meeting today with staff from Lori Wilson’s office regarding small business support for Oakley, a 25th City Anniversary planning meeting, and she will attend a Tri-Delta meeting tomorrow.
Mayor Williams asked the Council, including Dr. Fuller joining remotely, if anyone had any future agenda items and they did not.
8) WORK SESSION
None.
9) CLOSED SESSIONS
None.
10) ADJOURN
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:17 p.m.
Respectively Submitted,
Libby Vreonis
City Clerk