Mitchoff gets heat over Pleasant Hill Library closure during construction of new library

By Daniel Borsuk

At their meeting on Tuesday, Contra Costa County Supervisors approved on a 4-1 vote the ordinance that ties their base salaries to 60 percent of the salaries of superior court judges. Supervisor Candace Andersen cast the dissenting vote. The pay raise goes into effect for the period between July 2, 2019 and Dec. 31, 2019; then increases to 63 percent of judges’ salaries for 2020 and finally to 65 percent of judges’ salaries thereafter.

Supervisors will receive the same periodic increases as are as granted by the legislature to the judges as recommended by the Ad Hoc Citizen’s Committee.

Supervisors waived the reading of the ordinance and fixed their April 16 meeting for adoption of the ordinance. Two weeks ago, supervisors had voted 3-1 with Andersen opposing and Supervisor Diane Burgis absent due to recuperation from heart surgery.

In casting a negative vote again this week, Andersen said, “I still have my reservations. We still earn Bay Area salary, but this isn’t a full-time job. It’s more than a full-time job. I can leave my house at 8 a.m. and not return until 10 p.m.”

Consider Exempting Transportation Impact Fees for Accessory Dwelling Units

Supervisors can be expected to adopt a policy aimed at exempting the imposition of public transit fees on homeowners wanting to build accessory dwelling units to homes as a jab of slowing down the Bay Area’s runaway rising housing costs.

Supervisors on Tuesday instructed county Conservation & Development Department (CDD) officials to draft a policy that would halt the levying of transit impact fees on ADU applications in unincorporated Contra Costa County, a move that could lift a financial burden off the shoulders of homeowners wanting to add living units onto their homes. ADU transit impact fees are imposed taxes for public transit improvement or road construction to mitigate increased public transit patronage and automobile trips stemming from ADU construction.

Based on county data, since 2017, there’ve been 130 ADU’s approved, 42 interior conversions and 88 new footprint additions approved.   County records also show 130 ADU permits were issued via administrative means such as variance or deviation from the standards. Total ADU tax revenues data collected during that two-year period was unavailable.

“Ultimately, however, the reduction and or elimination of traffic impact fees would unavoidably create a funding gap.” warned CDD Director John Kopchik in a memo to supervisors. “That gap cannot be filled using the fee program’s revenue and must be backfilled with other sources.”

So far there has been political posturing locally and out of Sacramento concerning the status of ADU transit fees, but housing affordability advocates have maintained ADU transit fee are part of the reason for the Bay Area’s housing unaffordability crisis.

Leading the charge on the ADU fee exemption conversation at the county level has been board chair John Gioia of Richmond who has been tuned into the ADU and tax exemption discussions at West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee level.

Gioia said by exempting the transit fees it would remove financial barrier on homeowners wanting to add onto their homes. In West County, the additional costs a homeowner pays on average per ADU is $10,000 the supervisor said.

Supervisor Candace Andersen of Danville praised the ADU transit fee exemption fee proposal saying” It’s a great way for families to stay together.”

CDD staff is expected to present a draft ordinance on the ADU tax exemption proposal sometime either in June or July.

Mitchoff Gets Heat Over Library Closure

The upcoming closure of the Pleasant Hill Public Library drew protests from upset community residents, some of whom accused Supervisor Karen Mitchoff of Pleasant Hill of playing into the hands of real estate interests by closing down the library too soon.

Besides the construction of a new library, the county in conjunction with the city of Pleasant Hill are making way for the construction of a housing development on county owned property long vacant nearby the library.

The outdated library will be demolished in late spring or early summer to clear the site for a new library that will eventually feature a café, a used book store and shelf space for 70,000 books. The new library will be completed in 2021 and according to Pleasant Hill residents like Dick Offerman that won’t help middle school students who rely on the library to study.

Mitchoff took issue with Offerman’s statement that the library’s closure would negatively impact middle school students.

“I’ve visited the library when middle school students are there and many of them are playing video games rather than studying,” she said.

Pat Morgan also of Pleasant Hill criticized supervisor Mitchoff for not doing enough in keeping the old library open.

“It’s unacceptable. This demonstrates real estate money interest. Greed. It’s shameful, “she said.

Consent Items Approved

Supervisors approved the Sheriff-Coroner’s request to purchase Automated License Plate Reader cameras in the Discovery Bay area for an amount not to exceed $283,000. The ALPR camera capabilities are not only for the detection of stolen vehicles, but also as an investigative tool for persons and property crimes.

They also approved and authorized the Sheriff-Coroner to execute a contract with the State of California, 23rd District Agricultural Association (Contra Costa County Fair Board), including all indemnification of the State of California, to pay the county an amount not to exceed $35,000 to provide law enforcement services at the County Fair for the period of May 15-19, 2019.

Approve the collection loss write-offs in the public housing program in the amount of $106,729.09 for the quarter ending March 31, 2019, which is up nearly double from the $50,381.06 in collection losses for the same quarter in 2018. The Bayo Vista housing development in Rodeo led with the most loss write-offs with $73,470.36 followed by the Vista del Camino housing development in San Pablo with $10,501.

Supervisors also approved new Housing Choice Voucher payment standards for the Housing Authority that goes into effect April 15. Studio to three-bedroom sized unit payments standards have been reduced between $19 to $101 while the four to seven-bedroom sized payment standards are being increased between $121 and $175.

Article & Photos By Daniel Borsuk

Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors quickly approved on a 4-0 vote a Joint Exercise Powers Agreement on Tuesday in order to become a member of the forthcoming new statewide public assistance case management system called the CalSAWS Consortium.

There was neither public comment nor statements from supervisors on this pricey project.

“This is the first step in the consolidation of three automated welfare systems into one,” Contra Costa County Employment and Human Services Director Kathy Gallagher told the Contra Costa Herald after supervisors took their action.

Gallagher said the new automated welfare system requiring approval from California’s 58 County Boards of Supervisors will go into effect on June 28, 2019.

Basically, the new system will permit welfare recipients to use technology, i.e., social media. “It’ll be updated and will be more useful for our customers or users, who use social media,” said Gallagher.

In Contra Costa County there are about 200,000 welfare recipients who could potentially access the new CalSAWS system, said Gallagher.

The Employment and Human Resources Chief said the annual cost to the county for using the CalSAWS system will likely exceed the current price tag of $5.5 million. It is expected the inaugural cost to the county to plug in and use CALSAWS will run about $5.8 million a year.

Andersen Lauds Discovery Bay’s Request for Automated License Plate Reader Cameras

While District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis continues to recuperate from heart surgery, District 2 Supervisor Candace Andersen of San Ramon went to bat for her in supporting Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston’s item request of $331,000 for the acquisition and installation of Automated License Plate Reader cameras in the Discovery Bay area.

The agenda item was initially a consent item until Andersen requested that it be pulled for public review and action by the supervisors.

“I have seen how Automated License Plate Reader cameras have effectively reduced crime in Danville,” Andersen said in support of the anti-crime technology.

It not only helps in the detection of stolen vehicles, but also as an investigative tool for persons and property crimes, missing persons, runaways and other crimes or circumstances where vehicles are used by suspects or persons of interest.

Supervisors voted 4-0 in approving Sheriff-Coroner Livingston’s request to have automated license plate reader cameras installed at strategic locations in Discovery Bay. This would provide “virtually 100 percent coverage of the entrances and egress of the Discovery Bay area and would prove to be an invaluable tool for law enforcement,” Livingston wrote in a background statement to the supervisors dated March 19.

Sheriff-Coroner Livingston noted that the Discovery Bay P-6 Citizen Advisory Committee “thought ALPR to be an appropriate tool for identifying suspect vehicles coming and going in their town. With its location along Hwy 4 and other country roads, criminals can easily escape from Discovery Bay in a matter of minutes after committing their crimes.”

Some of the consent items Supervisors approved included:

Public Records Act Revision

Supervisors changed the administrative bulletin concerning public access to county records under the Public Records Act. At the recommendation of County Administrator David Twa, the bulletin has been revised to “describe the increasing array of media on which public records may be found, such as flash drives, cell phones, and tablets. Similarly, recognizing the shift of most records being held in the electronic format, the updated administrative bulletin discusses format in which a record should be produced and the charge, if any, for the record in a certain format.”

Apply for California Preservation Program and State Library Assessment Program

Supervisors approved Contra Costa County Librarian Melinda Cervantes’ request to apply for and to accept a Collection Preservation Assessment Project award from the California Preservation Program and California State Library to provide services for the purpose of planning proper care of the local history collection, which consists of more than 3,050 items pertaining to the history of the county, its cities and localities.

Cervantes informed supervisors in a recommendation that the collection consists of “3,050 items pertaining to the history of the county and its cities and localities. “

The county librarian wrote, “The collection is an invaluable and unique research resource. Many of the items are rare and irreplaceable. Although there is controlled access to the material, most of the materials, due to age and fragile condition, need more extensive preservation, “wrote Cervantes in a memo to the supervisors.

The artifacts are currently housed in the Pleasant Hill Library.

By Daniel Borsuk

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors revised their Meeting Rules of Procedure in a bid to comply with the state open law or Ralph M. Brown Act at a meeting on Tuesday.

But the supervisors action also paved the way for longtime Metropolitan Transportation Commission member and District 5 Supervisor Federal Glover to hook up to a new four-year MTC term of office even though there have been reports he has missed meetings and three other supervisors – Supervisor Karen Andersen of Danville, Supervisor Karen Mitchoff of Pleasant Hill and Diane Burgis of Brentwood – had reportedly jockeyed to replace him.

If not for District 1 Supervisor John Gioia, who wields clout as Board Chair this year and makes committee and commission assignments, Glover might have lost his new term of office on the powerful MTC. It’s a coveted position nowadays, especially when the regional transportation agency is gaining traction not only in doling out hefty sums of transit funding but is getting its share of the limelight in the nine-county Bay Area affordable housing arena.

But County Administrator David Twa told supervisors the recommended open meeting changes to their rules of procedures will “clean up the appointment process” of how supervisors select themselves to local, regional or state committees and commissions.

With the newly adopted Brown Act provision, each supervisor must submit to the clerk of the board on or before December 1 of each year his or her list of Boards, Committees or Commissions that he or she wants to serve on. The list of supervisors’ board-committee-commission interests will be placed on a Board Agenda for public review in December.

The Board Chair will continue to decide who will serve on local, regional, or state committees or commissions and the supervisors’ reorganization meeting, when the new chair and vice chair are selected, will continue to be held in January*.

Soon after the supervisors approved the new Meeting Rules of Procedure, supervisors without discussion reapproved Glover’s appointment to MTC, an action that they had similarly done at a January 19 meeting, but one that ran into objection.

Not everyone is pleased with the board’s action of reappointing Supervisors Glover to the MTC, especially Lafayette lawyer Jason A. Bezis, who at the supervisors’ January 19 meeting warned supervisors that their committee/commission appointment procedure was not in compliance with the Brown Act and that the supervisors should open up the appointment of a new MTC commissioner to the general public.

“I ask that (the) Board postpone the Metropolitan Transportation Commission appointment to the 2019-2023 term until the county (1) opens up the position to public applications, (2) issues a news release about the availability of the position and (3) carefully evaluates a pool of applicants, including a careful analysis of the incumbent’s twelve-year record at MTC,” wrote Bezis in a March 22 letter sent to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on March 12 and also sent to The Contra Costa Herald.

Bezis was not in attendance at Tuesday’s supervisors meeting.

Bezis has also been critical of Glover’s “severe absenteeism problem” at important MTC meetings. “The incumbent missed the January 24, 2018 Bay Area Toll Authority vote that placed the RM3 or bridge toll hike on the ballot. He missed the Dec. 19, 2018 MTC meeting at which the signing of the CASA Compact was approved. He was the only voting member absent at that important meeting,” the lawyer wrote.

“I don’t know what he (Bezis) is talking about, unless it has anything to do with my surgery recovery of several years ago,” responded Supervisor Glover to the charges of his absenteeism record at MTC meetings. “I’ve been at the MTC meetings.”

In addition, Glover said it would be inappropriate to fill the MTC position that he holds with someone in the general public. “It is better to have an elected official fill that seat,” the supervisor said.

Mitchoff Wants Pittsburg-Bay Point BART Ambulance Ride Probe

During an annual performance presentation of the Alliance Emergency Ambulance Medical Services, District 4 Supervisor Mitchoff of Pleasant Hill requested that officials investigate whether there has been an increase in the number of emergency calls from the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART station after 1:30 a.m. when the train system shuts down for the day.

Emergency personnel responding to calls at the BART station usually pick up homeless individuals who have been riding the trains all day, and at the end of train service call for an ambulance. While they are frequently taken to the nearest emergency hospital, the patient has the right to request a ride to an out of area hospital of the patient’s choice. That can increase operating costs for the ambulance service.

The supervisor is concerned the county’s Emergency Medical Service that responded to 105,377 calls in 2018/2019 compared to 39,496 in 1991/1992, is being financially burdened by out-of-county hospital rides. “I want to know where these ambulances are going. Are they going out of county?” she asked.

EMS Director Pat Frost and Contra Costa Count Fire Protection Chief Jeff Carman said they would give the supervisors a report about the ambulance situation out of the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART station.

Among a number of consent items supervisors approved were:

Concord Jet Service, Inc. inks $650,000 Sheriff Contract

Approved the Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston’s request to sign a sub-lease with Concord Jet Service Inc. in the amount of $650,000 to provide an aircraft hangar, office space and helicopter fuel for the period of May 1, 2019 through April 30, 2024. Concord Jet Service Inc. will provide aircraft hangar space at Buchanan Field Airport for the Sheriff’s helicopters and office space for the staff. The Office of the Sheriff will pay the contractor $1,948 for hangar rental per month and $2,262 for office space per month for a total rent of $4,210 per month. The sublease allows for the purchase of helicopter fuel.

Juvenile Hall, Orin Allen Facility Libraries Draw $20,000 Lesher Foundation Grants

Approval of a two-year $20,000 grant — $10,00 payable in 2019 and $10,000 payable in 2020 — from the Margaret Lesher Foundation to provide library books and materials at the Juvenile Hall Library and at the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facilitation Library for the period from February 1, 2010 through June 30, 2020.

Approved Periodic Five ½-Month Closures of Pacheco Blvd. at State Route 4

Supervisors approved a resolution for the periodic closure of Pacheco Boulevard at State Route 4 for no more than 20 nights between March 13 and August 31 from 11 p.m. through 5 a.m. for the purpose of demolition and girder erection for the Caltrans bridge widening project. The bridge demolition is part of the $135.2 million State Highway 4/Interstate 680 widening project.

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Contra Costa County Supervisor Diane Burgis’ surgery to replace her aortic valve was a success. (See related article).

The surgery performed on Monday, February 25 by a medical team at John Muir Hospital Concord began at 8 am, with the valve replacement completed just before noon. Supervisor Burgis was up and making jokes with friends by early evening.  She will be in the hospital for one week and then recovering at home before returning to work.

“We are excited and relieved that the surgery was such a success,” said Mark Goodwin, Supervisor Burgis’ Chief of Staff. “I’ll be speaking with her regularly over the next few weeks. I’m not sure what the greater challenge will be, keeping her away from the work she loves while she recovers or keeping up with her when she gets back, but I look forward to both. We’re grateful to the medical team at John Muir Hospital Concord and to everyone who has reached out to express their support.”

Goodwin will be the primary point of contact during Burgis’ recovery. Cards and well wishes may be sent to her main office, 3361 Walnut Boulevard, Suite 140, Brentwood, CA 94513.

Supervisor Diane Burgis represents District 3, the largest of the five Contra Costa County Board of Supervisor districts, which includes Antioch, Bethel Island, Brentwood, Byron, Discovery Bay, Knightsen, and Oakley in East Contra Costa County and Blackhawk, Diablo and Tassajara Valley in the southern portion of the district.