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
April 23, 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 6:30 p.m. in the Oakley City Council Chambers located at 3231 Main Street, Oakley, California. Vice Mayor Shannon Shaw and Councilmembers Hugh Henderson, George Fuller and Aaron Meadows were also present.
1.2 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
Mayor Williams led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
1.3 Update from Liberty Union High School District Superintendent (Eric Volta) and Oakley Union Elementary School District Superintendent (Jeff Palmquist)
Superintendent Eric Volta provided an update and handout to the Council including information regarding current enrollment, academics, Measure U and other projects, the proposed District focus for 2023-2024, and District budget.
Dr. Fuller inquired about the partnership or academy Superintendent Volta mentioned.
Superintendent Volta explained it is the California Partnership Academy whereby schools can create a smaller learning community within a school, in this case, contractors, homebuilders, etc. to provide a school to career program, also called linked learning in some cases. He mentioned they have the classes, there is just a little extra funding for them to make clean classes of core classes, i.e., English 11 Construction Academy or U.S. History Construction Academy, for the students to go to school together.
Dr. Fuller commented that it is concerning to hear that they are the 4th lowest funded.
He inquired if that is based on per student.
Superintendent Volta confirmed that it is per student. He explained that with the new funding model (in last 10 years), schools with high numbers of students that are either English language learners or receive reduced/free lunch receive a greater amount of money per student, and there are also some high school districts that are rather small in affluent areas that receive more money than the state would actually give them under LCFF. He mentioned they have a low number of students that are signing up for reduced/free lunch (under 30%) and so their general fund revenue is not as great.
Dr. Fuller congratulated him on the figures and mentioned they went up in both English and Math, and their acceptance rates are at least at par, if not more, into UCs and CSUs.
Superintendent Volta mentioned he is very happy with last year’s acceptance rates, and they will see how this year’s acceptance rates are.
Mayor Williams inquired where he is seeing the biggest impact with being the 4th lowest funded, i.e., attracting teachers, teacher shortages, or openings for teachers.
Superintendent Volta mentioned there are 4 openings, 3 in English, with interviews happening for some today. He explained that when they have freshmen sign up for classes early, in January/February, it is to determine students’ needs for courses and so the District may offer teachers. He mentioned one way they are attracting teachers from other districts is to allow them to bring their kids into the District.
Superintendent Jeff Palmquist provided an update and handout to the Council including the LCAP process, professional development, continued work with the County office on literacy, residency grants, district and community-wide events, advisory councils, developing a comprehensive facilities plan that details recommendations from the facilities audit, investigate the cost and feasibility of a Facilities Master Plan, upgrade facility security across all district facilities, work with the City and other partners on joint use, enrollment, schools, finance, and challenges (state budget, post-COVID behavior and support, and structure and alignment).
Mayor Williams inquired if there is still discussion regarding a potential school site on E.
Cypress with enrollment increasing and anticipated growth on E. Cypress.
Superintendent Palmquist mentioned with the Facilities Master Plan, it is comprehensive, i.e., future site, school boundaries, state of affairs on current sites, etc.
He mentioned they are getting ready to issue a Request for Proposals and the firm that is awarded would be tasked with looking at the needs in that area. He commented that Summer Lake is pretty full and will continue to grow. He mentioned they know as more housing comes in that will be of primary concern. He shared that they are still working through it, but they are active, and these things are on top of mind for them.
1.4 Proclamation Recognizing May 5-11, 2024 as Municipal Clerks Week (Libby Vreonis, City Clerk)
Mayor Williams presented a proclamation to City Clerk Libby Vreonis recognizing May 5-11, 2024 as Municipal Clerks Week.
2) PUBLIC COMMENTS
Michael Dupray commented on a middle school racist assault and bullying incident two years ago in which an agreement was eventually reached with the Oakley Union Elementary School District on 12 issues. He mentioned the District went above and beyond, creating a complete anti-racism program, Creating Places of Belonging, that has successfully been offered to other districts and to the state as a resolution for legislation. On behalf of the parents of African American Students and the NAACP, he thanked Mr. Palmquist, Mrs. Bordanero and Dr. Tiffanie Monique-Jenkins for their strength of character and courage to recognize the problem and work with the student’s mother and NAACP. He provided a handout regarding Creating Places of Belonging.
Odessa Lefrancois thanked Superintendent Palmquist for creating a safe space and working with NAACP to make that happen and commented that it is great to see diversity and inclusion being done in the school system, but it also must happen in the community as a whole. She mentioned on May 4, they will be honoring 5 seniors in East Contra Costa County on a scholarship, at an annual banquet, and she hopes to see other Councilmembers attend; for tickets see Michael Dupray.
Bud Chaddock commented regarding the previous meeting and effort of the Council and staff for their efforts to contact others (CCC Sheriff, EBRPD, U.S. Coast Guard and Fish & Wildlife) regarding enforcement and laws pertaining to poaching and destroying the Marsh Creek ecosystem, in the form of a letter. He mentioned EBRPD has been the first to the rescue in making it known they will have more enforcement now and during the spawn period to write tickets. He thanked Colin Coffey with EBRPD, and EBRPD and its workers, for their clean-up efforts of needles and debris. He also thanked Pete Zirkle with ISD. He requested a copy of the letter the City will send so he may share it with groups concerning the matter. He mentioned this past Earth Day he was on the Upper Sand Creek Basin by the Kaiser facility in Antioch and retrieved many items, over 3 hours covering ½ mile or so, along with 17 volunteers. He thanked Victoria Woolfolk with Contra Costa Resource Conservation District. He mentioned he attended a meeting in Sacramento regarding Bill Jenkins, Chairman of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, and Jay Sorenson, a defender of the Delta, as well as to talk about his issue.
Vicki Morgan commented that she has lived in her quiet neighborhood for 37 years and requested the Council consider an ordinance for Airbnbs as there is a house near hers in which Police has been called a few times, the house was cleared one time, there are cars parking backward on the lawn and 4 deep in the driveway, and cars backward driving and doing burnouts. She mentioned she also has a new renter on her street that is a nuisance, having many cars and a 20-foot limo. She shared that she called Police, and the cars were all towed except the limo which he states is his car and he finally registered it. She mentioned he doesn’t take care of his yard, he is crashing into neighbors’ cars and doesn’t have insurance, so she is not sure what to do but wants it resolved. She also commented that the volume of meetings online is super low-and suggested it be reviewed. She thanked the City for its service. 3) COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS
Vice Mayor Shaw commented that she appreciates the NAACP scholarship banquet event invitation; however, she is unavailable as it is the same night as City’s 25th Anniversary event but asked them to keep them coming.
Dr. Fuller commented that he wasn’t sitting on the dais then, but the City has an Airbnb policy and good code enforcement, and he has worked with Police on parking issues as well, so he appreciates it is there. He mentioned he just returned from the AERA Annual Conference in Philadelphia, and for people who are hard of hearing, with audio processing deficits, they had a machine the size of an iPad put in the middle will transcribe words as they are being spoken, and he is sure through AI that it could can translate, and if someone is unable to read their native language, they could probably get a Bluetooth to translate the audio. He mentioned it seems fairly inexpensive and easy to have at the Clerk’s desk, so people do not have to call ahead of time or go through a lot to access.
Mayor Williams commented that she is overcommitted on May 4th; she already asked Vice Mayor Shaw to cover two other events for her.
4) CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Williams announced that item 4.4 will be continued to the next meeting.
Dr. Fuller requested items 4.8, 4.9, 4.10 and 4.14 pulled.
It was moved by Dr. Fuller and seconded by Councilmember Meadows to approve the remainder of the Consent Calendar excluding item 4.4. Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0)
Items 4.8, 4.9, 4.10 and 4.14
Dr. Fuller commented on 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.14, that he is very happy to see these items, especially the mention of the systems being out of date. He thanked Ms. Navarro for diligently researching this and bringing it forward so that access to the website can be easier and hopefully protect the City from cyberattacks.
In relation to item 4.14, Mayor Williams requested language be included that the provider must show how it will future proof the website so it will always kept up to date with the latest technology as modernization of technology and the Brown Act occurs, so Council is not having to start over again in 15 years.
Ms. Navarro confirmed language can built in. She requested to remove the second paragraph on page 2 of the draft Request for Proposals (RFP) as it includes old language to mail or hand-deliver the RFP.
Mayor Williams inquired about the timeline for the new website.
Ms. Navarro indicated that the RFP will be received in one month, but to implement something as major as this could take up to a year, especially given other priorities staff has and they want to do it right. She mentioned staff has built into the RFP a schedule for the things they are asking for.
It was moved by Dr. Fuller and seconded by Councilmember Meadows to approve items 4.8, 4.9, 4.10 and 4.14. Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0)
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 April 9, 2024 (Libby Vreonis, City Clerk)
4.2 Accept Report Out of Closed Session Memo (Derek Cole, City Attorney)
4.3 Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute an Agreement for monthly Security Camera Services with KB Security Kams, Inc. for Fiscal Years (FY) 2024/25 and 2025/26 (Kevin Rohani, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer)
4.4 (Continued from April 9, 2024) Adopt a Resolution Accepting a Grant Deed Conveying to the City of Oakley Certain Real Property Interests (portions of APN 034-090-022, located at Laurel Road and O’Hara Avenue) (Derek Cole, City Attorney)
4.5 Adopt a Resolution Approving the Contract and Grant of Transmission Line Easement for a portion of Laurel Road to Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) to Relocate Electric Utility Poles to accommodate the Laurel Road Widening Project-Capital Improvement Project Number 280 (Kevin Rohani, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer)
4.6 Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement with TJKM Transportation Consultants, to provide contract traffic engineering services for the City of Oakley on an on-call basis for Fiscal Years (FY) 2024/25 and 2025/26 (Kevin Rohani, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer)
4.7 Adopt a Resolution for Award of a contract to Waterworks Industries, Inc. for Lake, Aeration Fountain, Pump Station, Generator Maintenance and Overhead Crane Inspection Services at Cypress Grove Subdivision, Emerson Ranch Subdivision, Delaney Park Subdivision, Prescott Subdivision, Bridgehead Rd, City Hall, Recreation Center and Oakley Plaza for Fiscal Year FY 2024/25 and 2025/26 (Kevin Rohani, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer)
4.8 Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the Purchase and Installation of Four New Firewalls (Danielle Navarro, Assistant City Manager and Robert Barker, IT Manager)
4.9 Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Professional Services Contract with Keep IT Simple for Information Technology Services for FY 2024/25 (Danielle Navarro, Assistant City Manager)
4.10 Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the Purchase and Installation of a New Storage Area Network and Appropriation of $105,538 from the ARPA Fund in FY 2023/2024 (Robert Barker, IT Manager)
4.11 Adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Purchase and Sale Agreement with KB Home North Bay for the sale of the real property containing approximately 27.0-acres, located at the northeast corner of East Cypress Road and Knightsen Avenue (APN 032-081-025) (Joshua McMurray, City Manager)
4.12 Adopt a Resolution Approving the Agreement with McDonald’s USA, LLC (APN 035-510-006) for “Stormwater Management Facility Operations and Maintenance Agreement and Right of Entry” for DR 09-20 McDonald’s Restaurant Project Located at 1060 Laurel Plaza and Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the Agreement (Kevin Rohani, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer)
4.13 Adopt a Resolution Approving the Agreement with McDonald’s USA, LLC for “Agreement of Property Owner for Provision of Landscaping in the Public Right of Way” for DR 09-20 McDonald’s Restaurant Project Located at 1060 Laurel Road and Authorizing the City Manager for Execute the Agreement (Kevin Rohani, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer)
4.14 Approve the City of Oakley Website Design, Hosting, Implementation & Maintenance Support Services Request for Proposal (RFP) and Authorize the Release of the RFP (Danielle Navarro, Assistant City Manager) 5) PUBLIC HEARINGS
Mayor Williams announced there are no Public Hearing items. 6) REGULAR CALENDAR
6.1 Annual Report of Military Equipment Usage - 2023
(Paul Beard, Chief of Police)
Chief of Police Paul Beard provided a PowerPoint presentation including background information regarding AB 481 (2021), military equipment used by OPD, patrol rifle inventory, less lethal launcher inventory, 2023 military equipment purchases, 2023 military equipment training, 2023 military equipment operational incidents, 2023 military equipment community concerns/complaints, 2023 military equipment internal audit, 2024 military equipment projected purchases, and anticipated “retirement” of military equipment. He announced a community meeting is required within 30 days of this report and it will be held May 16, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in the Oakley City Council Chambers.
No public comments were submitted.
The City Council had no questions or comments.
6.2 Waive the First Reading and Introduce an Ordinance Amending Section
2.1.010 of the Oakley Municipal Code Concerning the Use of Social Media by Members of the City Council (Derek Cole, City Attorney) City Attorney Derek Cole presented the staff report.
No public comments were submitted.
Dr. Fuller commended Mr. Cole and Councilmember Meadows for the courage they have exemplified in bringing forth this ordinance. He explained that this is not a comfortable position for free speech within this Council Chambers and has not been for a few years. He mentioned Councilmember Meadows talks about six generations. He shared that his great-great-whatever grandfather, Dr. Samuel Fuller, arrived in 1620 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and was the first doctor in Plymouth and died an early death because he was treating patients. He also shared that his family served their country and worked diligently. He mentioned some may say they were colonizers, but in the process, they built a great nation that came up with the Bill of Rights that exists for many reasons, one of them, freedom of speech. He mentioned he entered the opportunity and distinct honor of military service, the Marine Corp, during wartime, before three of the Councilmembers were born and Councilmember Henderson was probably going around in shorts. He mentioned there were WWII veterans that served, and he understood what it is to stand up for the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies foreign and domestic. He mentioned that many have given their lives to ensure what we have. He shared that Pearl Harbor shows what the Japanese intended, how badly we handled it, and what our response was, and people were giving their lives to ensure that they have freedom of speech because if they would have lost, they would have lost it. He mentioned he sees the ordinance Mr. Cole has brought forth and has heard Councilmember Meadows say that people should be able to say what they want to say on this dais, and he agrees, but has probably angered some people.
He mentioned they need to know that free speech is going to happen and they take responsibility for it, and when he says something at the dais, he understands that, or when he writes something, he understands that, but when someone comes to him and says he better take that back or he is going to suffer consequences, they shouldn’t say something like that with him. He mentioned that this Council, in the time that he has sat on the dais, has spent $25k on consultants to find a way to have a social media policy to quiet certain Councilmembers, especially himself, and if you add in fees to bring meetings together and Mr. Cole’s expertise to write the ordinance, it is at least $10k, so at least $35k has been spent on trying to abridge free speech which he finds shameful.
He mentioned they cannot get a simple device in front of someone to help them hear but they have managed to get $35k for this. He mentioned he hopes this ends the dialogue, and he knows they will have censures and other things, but they will still have free speech up at the dais.
It was moved by Dr. Fuller to waive the first reading and introduce the ordinance as presented.
Mayor Williams clarified that Councilmember Henderson requested the ordinance.
It was seconded by Councilmember Henderson to waive the first reading and introduce the ordinance as presented. Motion was unanimous and so ordered. (5-0) 7) REPORTS
7.1 CITY MANAGER
(a) City Manager
(b) Report from the Oaks Apartments
(c) Legislation Update
(a) City Manager Joshua McMurray mentioned the County is undergoing an update to its Local Hazard Mitigation Plan and the City has slides running on the screens to bring awareness and advertise what the County is doing. He mentioned in an effort to make the County more disaster ready and resilient, the Contra Costa County Office of Emergency Services is seeking feedback on the 2024 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. He explained that the Plan serves as a guide for the County and Oakley to become more resilient to the impacts of natural, human caused, and technological hazards. He shared that Oakley residents are invited to share feedback on the Plan through the City’s website, www.ci.oakley.ca.us, and clicking on the 2024 Hazard Mitigation Plan post under News & Announcements, or by using the links in the City’s Facebook, Instagram and Nextdoor accounts. He mentioned they have also provided a QR code being displayed on the slides during this meeting as well as on the sign in the City Hall lobby.
Mr. McMurray thanked the Council for the approval of the purchase and sale agreement with KB Home North Bay for the Burroughs property. He mentioned construction on E Cypress starts next week; it begins on the frontage of the Burroughs property, starting at the west end of site at E. Cypress and Knightsen Avenue where the signalized intersection will be, then will move east. He shared that they are going through a permitting process and there are birds in the area causing some delay. He mentioned in the next few months construction should happen on the remainder of the roadway; the contract is signed and they are ready to go as soon as they have the green light.
Mr. McMurray announced the City’s 25th Anniversary event will be held May 4 at Civic Center Park, 4pm-10pm. He reintroduced staff member Ken Strelo who was recently promoted to the position of Community Development Director. (b) Mr. McMurray shared that the result of the Affordable Housing Ad-Hoc Committee meetings is to have a monthly report from the management company which is attached to the agenda and representation is here tonight.
An anonymous online public comment was submitted indicating that The Oaks have not lived up to their expectations and what was discussed at the meeting; they are trying about 1% with very little improvement.
Barbara Bautista provided public comments, an update from the residents. She thanked the City for getting involved with the Ad-Hoc Committee and mentioned there were a lot of things that came out of it that were helpful. She mentioned the tenants’ perspective from those she has spoken with, both seniors and families, are pleased right now because things are moving along, landscape and maintenance have started, and it doesn’t mean that things can’t still improve, but that they are seeing a lot of things happening. She mentioned trees are being marked for trimming and the grounds are looking better like 11 years ago when she moved there which is nice to see. She shared that they updated the community room floors and the residents are very happy with that, so they do see some progress happening with it, but tenants are still watching. She mentioned the garbage is still an issue but not as big of an issue as it started out to be and communication blasts are very effective. She added that they know there is room for more improvement, and this is just the beginning, and they have faith that this will continue on.
Dr. Fuller thanked Councilmember Meadows and Vice Mayor Shaw for what they have done to put this together and get action going. He inquired what happens if this doesn’t continue and suggested it be monitored. He mentioned he is a bit chagrin in regard to the report in that it is the type of report that comes across as “we can’t make any money”, they have 74 tenants and 79 are needed to break even, and he is concerned that they have all these great ideas but will eventually indicate they are running out of money. He mentioned the City is part owner of the property and is supposed to receive revenue but never does, although the City facilitated bonds for its construction, so the City needs to take responsibility for that area. He mentioned contacting Mr. McMurray or Mr. Cole for further explanation.
Vice Mayor Shaw thanked Oke Johnson for being present and mentioned in the report, she asked for good and bad, so the short revenue is the bad. She mentioned she wants to know how many residents are participating in the regular meetings so they can have an idea if the number of participants are the same as they had at meetings held at City Hall. She thanked Barbara Bautista for giving the residents’ perspective. She shared that she still receives calls from residents and obviously, nothing changes overnight, but she doesn’t want to borrow worry on what may happen, rather she would like to continue having updates and if things get real bad again, they can discuss bringing the ad-hoc committee back, but hopefully will not have to do that. She mentioned she appreciates the thorough report and suggested they try to lease up to get the full revenue.
Councilmember Meadows thanked Oke Johnson for the report and Barbara Bautista for her comments. He mentioned he wants to continue to hear comments every time Winn Management brings reports. In relation to Dr. Fuller’s comments on revenue, he mentioned he (Councilmember Meadows) has said at previous meetings that he does not care what their revenue is, they have responsibilities, and they need to meet those responsibilities. He shared that he is a landlord and property manager, and it doesn’t matter if he makes money or not, he has to do certain things to provide habitable housing and so do they, and they know that. He thanked Oke Johnson for what has been done so far and mentioned they will be watching.
Mayor Williams requested a couple of follow ups. She mentioned she sees the day-today maintenance states 96 new work orders for March and 295 work orders were completed for March, but she would still like to see how many work orders were called in for March. She mentioned obviously, there was a big backlog. She provided correction; she does not want to see how many were called in, but how old the old work orders were. She mentioned if they only had 96 new work orders and 295 were completed, it seems like a big jump, and she would like data on how many that were completed were old versus new. She mentioned one of the pain points is the gates which has constantly been an issue and it looks like a vendor was supposed to repair the gate on April 17th, so she would like to see follow up to know if the gate got repaired and what the long-term plan is to keep it closed for residents. She requested more detail on these items in future reports. She mentioned she liked the things everyone was talking about, i.e., the number of residents using services and going to meetings. She added that she likes the information that is being provided regarding the programming offered but would like to see the number of people utilizing that. She mentioned food and security is an issue here and she would like to know the number of people utilizing it. She commented that it is a great thing to offer, but whether people utilize it are two different things.
Councilmember Meadows mentioned that in follow up to the service request that Mayor Williams mentioned, he would like to see the average days from open to close on a service ticket.
(c) Mr. McMurray mentioned he does not have further update other than what has been provided in the analysis and he is happy to take any comments or direction.
Dr. Fuller mentioned with AB 1657, about halfway down on the first page, the state legislature can change different allocations and rewrite the laws regarding affordable housing, and the last time it came in, it was, and still is his interpretation, that they can change RHNA numbers and if AB 1657 passes at $10 billion, they can take everything that has been done before and rewrite it in a manner that they want to put it in which bothers him considerably. He mentioned in attending ABAG meetings, all he hears is it is great because they can change RHNA numbers which is mostly coming from more affluent areas in the south, cooler areas, and coastal areas where their RHNA numbers are much higher than ours.
Mayor Williams mentioned the analysis does not mention RHNA much. She requested staff find out if the intent is to decouple RHNA and the Transportation Bond Act. She indicated it is not mentioned here, but that does not mean it is an impossibility.
Mr. McMurray responded that he will confirm that.
Mr. McMurray mentioned AB 1033 is regarding an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) local ordinance separate sale or conveyance which is now law. He explained that it allows cities to introduce an ordinance to allow an ADU to be sold or conveyed separately. He explained that currently, without that ordinance in place, any single-family property that is allowed an ADU by right, the single-family home and ADU cannot be sold separately:
they are sold as one property, but they can be rented out separately. He mentioned this bill would allow for cities to allow a separate sale or conveyance under specific conditions, like the process for residential or commercial condos.
Dr. Fuller mentioned in the first paragraph, it mentions they “may” implement, which he understands they are not required to implement, but they may with specific conditions, but are not obligated to which he is happy to hear about as his preference would be to not get into backyard units being sold with neighbors and condominiums over garages.
Councilmember Meadows mentioned as a real estate agent, he fully agrees with Dr.
Fuller.
Mayor Williams mentioned she requested further analysis on this, mostly because she had local, smaller developers asking her about it and they are targeting cities that are adopting this ordinance to provide these ADUs. She explained as she has mentioned before that she sits on a policy committee that addresses community services and one of its biggest issues right now is homelessness and the easy path that gets people to homelessness so she brought this up, not because she has a position on it, but rather to know implications of adopting an ordinance like this with the caveat that there are a couple of other Senate bills that are going before Tax & Revenue which would potentially exempt ADUs from tax for 15 years which she believes would be a disaster for cities. She mentioned she would like to know the implications of passing an ordinance like this on the housing supply side, implications of any fees the City collects from it, and what it would do for our neighborhoods. She mentioned that she doesn’t want to send staff down a rabbit hole if no one else is interested in that analysis.
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
Councilmember Meadows reported he attended the Contra Costa Transportation Authority meeting last Wednesday where they received a presentation on the WETA ferry service and 4 potential locations in 3 different cities (Martinez, Pittsburg, and Antioch).
Dr. Fuller reported that the BAHFA/ABAG/executive committees are very intertwined; it is hard to disassociate one from another. He mentioned that the person heading the housing committee, Carlos Romero, said he is speaking for the landowners, developers, and citizens of the County, which he was amused by. He mentioned the final action of the $20 billion regional bond for affordable housing will go for final approval; however, with ABAG, that doesn’t mean General Assembly; everything is done in committee, so the committee will make the final decision if it goes forward as a regional bond in November or in June, probably after the General Assembly which is June 21. He mentioned they had what he believes a pretty good poll; they found in the 9-county area, citizens (67%) do not believe government is doing a good job, and they also found that citizens believe we need more money and affordable housing needs more money, but citizens (69%) are not in favor of a tax for any matter. He mentioned they went on to say who favors it (50%), but they need 2/3 to pass. He mentioned Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, who is now trying to be State Senator District 7, suggested elected officials campaign for it which is a great soapbox for him to stand on during his campaign, but he doesn’t know how they are going to overcome 50% and it is going to cost a lot of money to campaign. He added that not surprising, Alameda and San Francisco are in favor, but it is still not by 2/3, and the rest of the 9-county area is not in favor. He mentioned BAHFA discussed labor standards and want project labor agreements (PLA) for all the money that will be coming into ABAG, or at least the 80% that will go out to others; if it goes out to a city, the city will have to go out for a PLA for anything that is spent. He mentioned the state legislature is holding it up and the inside scoop that he got was that the labor trade unions already proposed a PLA agreement with ABAG and BAHFA, but they turned it down and in doing so, said they would send it up to the state and they don’t expect it to pass. He added that PLAs for local areas would be allowable, he is not opposed to that, and the local areas would keep it, supposedly. He mentioned to keep in mind that BAHFA is doing everything it can to get 100% control of regional bonds, they are still active, they are still with the legislature, and still want all the money. He added that they have an expenditure amount and as Mayor Williams mentioned during the last meeting, they expect a big pot in the regional area, and they will allocate all the money in one manner or another. Dr. Fuller also reported he attended the meeting on April 18 that Mayor Williams mentioned and attended the power meeting that was even more depressing. He explained that the power committee out of ABAG has taken it upon itself to start in the process of allocating natural gas because they say it’s going to be a lot cheaper but for all the areas they showed where they would be saving money, they have different double-digit increases in prices in natural gas they would be selling. He mentioned the biggest thing he saw was that they plan to be a regional natural gas distributor. He mentioned he didn’t go to MTC as it is someone else’s bailiwick and he thought this would be enough for him.
Councilmember Henderson reported he attended the Ironhouse Sanitary District Board meeting on April 16, the Green Empowerment Zone on April 19, and the East Contra Costa Habitat Conservancy meeting yesterday.
Vice Mayor Shaw reported she attended the Chamber Mixer and the Friends of the Oakley Library had its first presentation for fundraising for the new library and community center. She also reported a library subcommittee meeting on April 17 and a tour with Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson later this week to try and get some more attention around the library project. She reported she attended a fundraising event for Get Vocal for Victims, a non-profit that provide legal and victim services to families at no cost and the speaker was discussing a former police officer that was working security and was killed; his family was denied any victim rights because it was determined he was the victim, not the family, so this non-profit was able to provide services to the family and provide more justice. She also reported that she attended the Opportunity Junction Gala on April 20; the organization provides training for low-income Contra Costa residents to get into the workforce either with administration or nursing and they will have their ribbon cutting for their second nursing program they are starting in Antioch. She mentioned she was on Zoom today, her brother passed away 5 years ago from a fentanyl overdose, and next week she will be speaking at the fentanyl awareness event on April 30 at 6:00 p.m. that will be held at Liberty Union High School District in the Performing Arts Center; registration is available. She shared that there will be presentations regarding fentanyl awareness and Narcan administration, they will be handing out Narcan to all registered attendees that would like it, and she is going to honor her brother and speak about it as a personal experience.
Mayor Williams reported she also attended the Chamber Mixer as she wanted to support the Friends of the Oakley Library in its first presentation. She mentioned she attended the Library stakeholder meeting, Get Vocal for Victims, and yesterday she had an opportunity to take a long tour with Loaves and Fishes that services Oakley and most of Contra Costa County through dining rooms and she had a great experience getting to know their operations and all the things they do for our community, and it’s an important resource which is why she was talking about
food and security. She mentioned that Oakley is the third most utilized for their meals and one of the smallest service areas; it’s a pretty shocking number to beat out Antioch for food and security and she wants to bring attention to it so they can figure out a way to have their community members eat. She explained that is why she wants more detail about what The Oaks are doing for their residents.
(b) Requests for Future Agendas
Mayor Williams requested a letter of support in alignment with CalCities’ letters of support of 5 bills proposing substantial changes to Prop 47, especially punishment for things related to retail theft.
Vice Mayor Shaw supported it and mentioned CalCities has sample letters.
Mayor Williams mentioned she already forwarded the sample letters to Mr. McMurray, hoping that she would get at least a second.
8) WORK SESSION
Mayor Williams announced there are no Work Sessions.
9) CLOSED SESSIONS
Mayor Williams announced the Closed Session item. She mentioned the meeting will be adjourned after Closed Session and the next meeting will be held Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. in the Oakley City Council Chambers.
9.1 PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.5(e)
Title: City Manager
10) ADJOURN
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Libby Vreonis
City Clerk