inside
IT’S YOUR PAPER
Neighborhood Patrol program bids farewell to founder, seeks new volunteers
www.concordpioneer.com
From the desk of...
July 21, 2017
925.672.0500
CARINA ROMANO Pioneer Staff Intern
Laura HoffMeiSTer
MAYOR
City moving forward on many street repairs
Over the last couple years, the City Council has worked to prioritize areas for road repavement, repairs and intersection improvements. The Great Recession severely impacted our ability to have sufficient funds for many needed projects. But with slow local economic recovery and the passage of Measure Q local sales tax, the City Council has begun to move forward on many projects. There are still more needs than funds allow, but I will update you on the many projTamara Steiner/Concord Pioneer ects recently completed or INSPIRED BY HIS SERVICE IN THE MILITARY POLICE AND POST-MILITARY LAW ENFORCEMENT, Concord resident Doug Schuster underway. saw a need for a corps of volunteers to bring more police presence to the community. Now, finally retiring in Federal transportation earnest, Schuster is hoping his experience will encourage others to step up and volunteer for Neighborhood Patrol. funds were used for repaving sections of Concord Boulevard, Arnold Industrial Way, Oak Grove Road and Salvio Street. The latter included new sidewalk on the north side, buffered bike lanes and
See Mayor, page 9
City approves two-year budget, with eye toward the future PEGGY SPEAR Concord Pioneer
They are the friendly faces in uniform you see walking through the park, stopping to say hello and making you feel a little bit safer. They are the volunteers who are more than happy to watch over your house while you are on vacation, keeping an eye out for suspicious activity so that you can relax on the beach with peace of mind. And they are the ones who drive through your neighborhood in black and white volunteer patrol cars, helping to keep our community safe. They are the Concord Police Department’s Neighborhood Patrol. The Neighborhood Patrol is a volunteer program that assists officers with critical tasks in order to help the police department function and keep Concord a safe place to live. The program was put
See Patrol, page 7
Matteo’s Dream celebrates ten-year anniversary JOHN T. MILLER Correspondent
The Bay Area Lions clubs and the city of Concord hosted a celebration marking the 10-year anniversary of Matteo’s Dream, one of the first playgrounds in the Bay Area for children of all abilities. Liz Lamach had the idea for the park after she and partner Rene Henderson adopted Matteo, who was blind, had cerebral palsy and a digestive disorder. “I had to carry him into parks, and I wondered why there could be no place where he could play alongside his cousins,” Lamach recalled. Last Friday’s event featured a visit from Lions International first vice president Gudrun Yngvadottir, who is set to become the first female presi-
Two phrases have been bantered about in Concord’s finance circles in the past few years: “balanced budgets” and “Measure Q.” That is no different for the two-year budget cycle that kicked off July 1, as the city approved nearly $100 million expense plans for the fiscal years 2016-’17 and 2017-’18 that are balanced, albeit precariously, on the shoulders of Measure Q – the half-cent sales tax voters extended in 2014. In 2016-’17, the city plans an $84,766,000 revenue plan, aided by $7.5 million from Measure Q funds for a total of $92,266,000. Next year, it increases to $92.8 million, with the same assistance from the sales tax measure. Unfortunately, the long-term look is a bit gloomier, as the sales tax is set to expire in 2025. That will leave shortfalls of up to $13 million due to rising pension costs. Concord finance director Karan Reid made that fact glaringly evident in budget reports, which she unveiled in May and THE STARSHIP ROBOT was greeted were approved June 27. with a round of applause when In the 10-year forecast, it delivered the gavel to Mayor
dent of the international group next year. She praised the efforts of Lamach and the local Lions clubs. “One woman with one disabled child has a dream that comes true and benefits others around the world,” she said. In 2001, Lamach shared her idea in an interview with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department and caught the attention of current mayor Laura Hoffmeister. She was told she needed to build this park, and the city let her choose where it would go. Lamach, who was born in Concord and grew up playing at Hillcrest Park, decided to build an all-inclusive park there. But time after time, she was told that it couldn’t be done. After exhausting local sources, she finally found a
See Matteo page 17
John T. Miller
LIZ LAMACH AND HER PARTNER RENE HENDERSON FRAME A LIFE-SIZE PHOTO of their son Matteo at the celebration last week. Matteo was able to enjoy the park for four years before passing away in 2011.
Autonomous delivery bots to roll into town
See Budget, page 9
Laura Hoffmeister at the July 11 Council meeting
TAMARA STEINER Concord Pioneer
The City Council signed off last week on a year-long pilot program with Starship Technologies to begin using 12 driverless robots to deliver groceries, food and small parcels in a 4-mile radius of downtown. The Personal Delivery Devices are already in use in Washington D.C., the UK and several European cities with test centers closer to home in Sunnyvale, Redwood City and San Carlos. “This is the heart of Silicon Valley, the technology hub, and I’m excited about Concord being a part of that,” said Mayor Laura Hoffmeister. “Starships’s decision to seek
Concord as a pilot city…shows that Concord is friendly to new business concepts and supports Concord’s position as a leader in autonomous technology development,” said Economic Development Specialist Pedro Garcia in his staff report. The PDD made its first public appearance in Concord at the July 11 council meeting, where it rolled down the center aisle to deliver the gavel to mayor Laura Hoffmeister. “What’s its name,” she asked Garcia, who said it didn’t have one. Council member Ron Leone took up the challenge and quickly came up with the acronym SPOT, for “special personal operating transport,” he said with a grin.
SPOT weighs 25 lbs and can travel up to 4 mph on six wheels using sidewalks and crosswalks on routes pre-mapped by the nine on-board cameras. When an order is placed with a participating business, SPOT is dispatched from its docking station to pick up the order. Customers pay online and can track the order with their smart phones. SPOT will send a text when it rolls up to its destination. During the pilot project, the robots will have a “human handler” at all times, either accompanying them on deliveries or monitoring remotely. Eventually, SPOT will “learn” the city, traffic patterns and obstacles and will operate with only remote monitoring. The robots are equipped
with alarms and sirens. If a thief tries to grab one, a siren will sound and police will track it within minutes. Starship boasts a 100 percent safety track record, said company spokesman David Catania. “In 40,000 miles traveled and 7 million human interactions in 73 countries, we’ve not had a single issue of foul play.”
Inside
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Community . . . . . . . . . . .2
From the desk of . . . . . .8 Schools . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Performing Arts . . . . . .12