PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID CLAYTON, CA PERMIT 190
IT’S YOUR PAPER www.claytonpioneer.com
June 17, 2005
925.672.0500
Keller House work underway GREGG MANNING
MAYOR’S CORNER
Everyone who’s a parent already knows that the birth of your first child changes your perspective on almost everything. As Kevin Parker said after the birth of JT, “I used to come home from work, change and go hike. I still do that, but now it’s all different.” We wanted to know what some brand new dads were thinking about their first Fathers Day. Here’s what they said.
The city’s maintenance crew--exactly what do they do all day? Funding for the current Landscape Maintenance District sunsets in 2008. The Blue Ribbon Committee has recommended that the issue be put on the ballot for a vote of the people. The Council is currently considering when to do this. A number of people have asked us what it is that the landscape maintenance workers actually do. Let’s take a look at their work schedule for the month of June. What follows is a general list of the maintenance activities that are planned for the month. All of the tasks may or may not be completed due to many factors including the demands of sick leave, vacations and jury duty, the difficulty of the task, equipment failure and other unforeseen emergencies or priorities. Clayton has five full-time maintenance workers who devote about 54 percent of their time to the city’s landscaping. So it’s as if three of the five employees worked full time on landscaping. Another way to look at this workload is to imagine that you and one of the homeowners on each side of you, three people in all, had to take care of all of the city’s turf mowing, shrub trimming, irrigation repairs, plant replacement, weed elimination, trail maintenance, open space and firebreaks. Of course in the summer you, unlike our city’s maintenance workers, could each have a couple of your kids help. So, let’s get started. First thing they do on Monday is
See Mayor, page A6
What’s inside The Pioneer is now in two sections. See below to find your favorite feature.
SECTION A Around Town . . . . . . . . . .A2 Directory of Advertisers . .A5 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A5 School News . . . . . . . . . . . .A7 Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . .A8 Music Notes . . . . . . . . . . . .A9 Food for Thought . . . . . .A10 Church News . . . . . . . . . .A11 Garden Girl . . . . . . . . . . .A12 Lookin’ Good . . . . . . . . . .A12 Tech Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . .A13 SECTION B Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2 Dining Around . . . . . . . . . .B4 Crossword Puzzle . . . . . . . .B5 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B8 Paws and Claws . . . . . . . . .B9 For the Birds . . . . . . . . . . . .B9 Hiker’s Haven . . . . . . . . . .B10
New dads reflect on Father’s Day
WORK
Tamara Steiner/Clayton Pioneer
TO PRESERVE AND WEATHERPROOF
TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
Last month crews began work to preserve and weatherproof the city owned historic Keller House. Disintegrating stucco, rotting wood and deteriorating walls have left the building vulnerable to the elements along with providing some cozy, inviting quarters for the town’s squirrel population. The squirrels have since been chased away and the exterior walls have been pulled off
the historic Keller House should be complete by the end of July.
down to the wood framing. The exterior stucco was too far gone to repair, reports Laura Hoffmeister, Assistant to the City Manager. “When the workmen pulled off a test area, it (the stucco) was pulverized—it was dust,” she said. The decayed wood members are being replaced and the house will be re-stuccoed and painted. Roof repairs and site clean up were completed last year. So far, the preservation work has cost the city $215,600, paid
for from Redevelopment Agency funds earmarked for the purpose. City Engineer, Rick Angrisani expects the preservation work to be complete by the end of July. Long range plans call for a complete renovation of the property when Redevelopment Agency money is available. This phase of the Keller House restoration project does not include any interior work. The craftsman style house was built by Charles Henry “Harry” Keller in 1929. Keller, a
Clayton native, was a butcher living in Concord until he and his wife Elodia acquired 1300 acres from the Frederick Denkinger trust in 1910. It’s said that the Kellers camped under the huge oak tree on the site while the house was being built. After passing through several hands, the property was acquired by the City of Clayton in 1991. The house sits on a little less than two acres of land across the creek behind the Library.
ROBIN
AND SON,
UDAI
ROBIN MINHAS: “I was never too comfortable with babies, until now,” says Robin Minhas who is the proud new father of a baby boy, Udaiveer. He used to celebrate Father’s Day in India by spending time
Slight increase for 2005-06 city budget TAMARA STEINER Clayton Pioneer
Reversing a two-year trend of budget reductions caused by the State of California’s repeated raids on city coffers, Clayton will actually see a small increase in revenues in the coming year. The proposed 2005-06 General Fund budget, which includes all of the operations of the city, actually reflects a 5.46 percent increase over last year. That’s the good news. The bad news is that any increase in revenues has already been eaten up mainly by a $63,000 increase in CalPERS retirement costs,
$15,000 increase in Workers Compensation Insurance premiums and $20,055 in employee health insurance. Performance merit raises will account for a miniscule $5,979 increase. The net effect of these increases is yet one more year of public services held at a barely adequate “bare bones level.” “In today’s turbulent fiscal times for all governments,” reads says City Manager Gary Napper in his June 7 report to the City Council, “the phrase ‘same old same old’ is a complimentary remark.” The anticipated general fund revenues will increase by
$176,000 over last year with the largest contributions coming from property tax revenues and vehicle license fees. However, despite the passage of Proposition 1A last November, the State will divert another $806,518 from Clayton’s revenues in the coming year. One can “only imagine what good these local monies could be generating locally to improve the lives and general welfare of our city,” says Napper. The police department, which accounts for 47 percent of the general fund budget, will, for the first time in two years, be fully staffed, pushing the total cost of the department to $1.6 million, up 6.5 percent from last year. On the wish list for the future is one more officer to work on traffic and speeding issues. While the General Fund Budget accounts for the operations of the city, there are several other Special Revenue, or “Enterprise” funds which are restricted to specific uses. The City cannot dip into one fund to make up a shortfall in another. Included in these funds is the citywide Landscape Maintenance District assessment, which will be $125.37. The District is due to sunset in
2007 and it is anticipated that the City Council will take the renewal of the District to the voters in November of this year. The Blue Ribbon Landscape Committee has recommended that the assessment be raised to $365 in order to fund the landscaping costs, complete some $2 million in deferred maintenance projects and pay for the projected $60,000 annual maintenance of the proposed downtown park. With increases in Redevelopment Agency funds, the city now has the $1.387 million needed to build the park, but construction won’t move forward until a source of maintenance money is locked in. Other Redevelopment Agency money will be available to establish a new fund to spiff up the downtown area. The City is considering several ideas, including a Façade Rehabilitation Program and the closing off and filling in of Morris and Diablo Streets to create a pedestrian zone and some outdoor dining areas. Other restricted funds include the Gas Tax Fund, Street Light Fund, Stormwater Fund, Measure “C” Fund, Selfinsurance Fund, Oakhurst
See Budget, page A4
PAUL
AND SON,
JUSTIN
with the family at a dinner or lunch. Since Robin is home now pursuing his medical licensure in the United States, he spends a lot of time holding and playing with his new son and he hopes to continue that
KEVIN
AND SON,
JT
close bond in the future. “It’s really nice to be a father,” he adds. PAUL GRAY: “I can’t wait to
See Fathers, page A6