Oakley Press 04.07.17

Page 1

www.thepress.net | Family friendly news & more!

YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

Vol. 17, No. 14

Developer fees to change

Celebrating science

April 7, 2017

Education Leader Dies

by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer

The City of Oakley is in the process of changing its developer fees to align with its future traffic and park needs. The fees, which have not been updated since 2003, are paid by developers and used to establish neighborhood and community parks, open-space facilities and traffic improvements necessitated by future growth. “You have to recalibrate every once in a while, and we have probably waited too long,” said City Manager Bryan Montgomery. Developers currently pay $9,442 per single-family unit and $6,170 per multifamily unit in park fees, as well as $14,000 per single-family unit in park fees and $5,129.67 per multifamily unit in traffic fees. The city isn’t expected to determine the fee chang-

Former Superintendent of Schools, Joseph A. Ovick, passes away unexpectedly. Page 10A

Season For U-pick Nears Photo by Roni Gehlke

L

indsay Wildlife Experience’s Jessica Groetsch talks about their resident red-tailed hawk, Red, and other birds of prey around the Delta, during last year’s Oakley Science Week event at Ironhouse Sanitary District. To read about this year’s programs and events, see page 3A.

see Fees page 26A

Board approves deal for fourth station by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer

The City of Brentwood will likely enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District (ECCFPD) to pay for a portion of the district’s fourth station over the next three years. In a 7-2 vote, the district board opted this week to team up with the City of Brentwood to keep the district’s fourth station open, after officials from the district and the city expressed reservations about the City of Oakley and Contra Costa County’s willingness to band together to keep the fourth station open, as has been done since July 2016. “I specifically asked them (the county and the City of Oakley) if they’d bring the idea back to their

“ The option of a fourth station brings us an option of an additional resource, which is going to go away without additional funding.

Joel Bryant, fire board president, Brentwood city councilmember boards and champion the idea, but there was no affirmative response,” said ECCFPD Board Director Joe Young about recent meetings with officials from the county, fire district and cities of Brentwood and Oakley, in which they discussed the future of the fourth station. Since mid-2016, the district’s fourth station in Knightsen has been funded with a combined $2.2 million from the district, the cities of Brentwood and Oakley and the county. However, it will close

in June if additional funds aren’t procured. Under the proposed plan, which was moved forward by the board this week, the Knightsen station will close at the end of June and a second Brentwood station will open, in return for Brentwood’s pledge of $3 million over three years. The district will pay for the remaining $4.3 million needed to keep the station open during that period. “The option of a fourth sta-

tion brings us an option of an additional resource, which is going to go away without additional funding,” said Joel Bryant, fire board president and a Brentwood city councilmember. The deal appeared to materialize after Brentwood officials met twice with officials from Oakley, the county and the district and came away concerned the county and the City of Oakley were not in full support of a multijurisdictional funding approach. During the ad hoc meetings, a plan was proposed by Brentwood officials that called for the district to pay $4.2 million over three years, with Brentwood contributing $1.5 million, Oakley $946,000 and the county $600,000, to keep the Knightsen station open. The consee Board page 26A

Cherry farms have only a few weeks before opening their locations to the public. Page 6A

Track Teams Take Top Spots

Liberty, Freedom track-and-field teams win big at Delta Mustang Invitational. Page 4B Calendar............................. 11B Classifieds............................ 6B Cop Logs............................. 10B Entertainment.................... 9A Food....................................... 8A Health & Beauty...............11A Meet The Beat..................... 7A Opinion...............................18A Pets......................................21A Sports.................................... 1B

Smoking Ban

www.thepress.net/news/webextras

✔Plan your weekend. ✔Join a class. ✔Register for sports.

Connect with The Press! Scan QR code with your mobile device.

Find & Post Events for FREE! thepress.net/calendar

Bill prohibiting smoking on state beaches and in state parks passes first committee.

CONNECTING PARKS TO PEOPLE www.ebparks.org/features/rin

LOOK INSIDE FOR THE NEW

Activity Guide


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.