IT’S YOUR PAPER
Park openings double the fun
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From the desk of...
October 27, 2017
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LAURA HOFFMEISTER
MAYOR
Base reuse planning is progressing
The Base Reuse Community Advisory Committee has been meeting on various aspects of the Master Developers specific plan land use information. The city recently held a third community workshop to gain further input, and the City Council held a public meeting to review the status of the project and respond to various issues. Topics covered by the City Council included confirming Tamara Steiner/Concord Pioneer the buffer area between Bailey The new playground at Ellis Lake Park is a big hit with the local kids. The improvements are part of a $1 milRoad and Willow Pass existing lion project which includes new restrooms at Ellis Lake and a 4900 square-foot playground next to the residences be retained at a minMeadow Homes Spray Park. Officials cut the ribbons on both projects on Oct. 7 imum 275 feet width and a buffer of about 75 feet north
See Mayor, page 6
Carondelet names new aquatics center for Alumna, Olympian Coughlin Hall JAY BEDECARRÉ Concord Pioneer
Photo courtesy Carondelet High School
Natalie Coughlin was already a competitor on the national and international stage when she swam for the Carondelet High Cougars from 1996-2000.
On Oct. 7, more than four years after a group of determined Monument area residents appeared before the city council asking for playgrounds and improved safety at Meadow Homes and Ellis Lake parks, city officials and representatives from First 5 of Contra Costa and Monument Impact officially cut the ribbons on both. The city council approved $1 million for the parks improvements in June 2015. Funding came from the Measure WW parks bond funds and Measure Q sales tax. A long, wet winter delayed construction and the parks were finally completed this summer. The 4900 square-foot playground at Meadow Homes opened in June adjacent to the Meadow Homes Spray Park on Detroit Ave. The playground includes play structures for tots and older kids. At Ellis Lake, a new large
See Parks, page 5
Community comes together to help North Bay fire evacuees find shelter and support KARA NAVOLIO Correspondent
The spirit of generosity and kindness was alive in Concord in the midst of the tragic fires in the North Bay earlier this month. Oakmont of Montecito on Clayton Road welcomed 75 of the 430 seniors evacuated from Oakmont senior living communities in Santa Rosa as fires chased them from their home early in the morning on Monday, Oct. 9. Many of the seniors arrived in pajamas, without any belongings or medications. Within a few hours after posting a message on Facebook, Montecito had received enough air mattresses, bedding and pillows for all 75 displaced residents. The Concord Police Association brought toiletries, and local dentists dropped off toothbrushes and toothpaste.
They were overwhelmed with clothing donations. “Many people who came to drop off donations stayed to help the evacuees get settled,” said Kurt Knauer, executive director of Montecito. “Some stayed until midnight, including many of our staff, to make sure the seniors felt welcomed. It was miraculous for us to see how people responded.” Two retired nurses volunteered to help the seniors get medications organized and new prescriptions filled. Montecito’s bus driver stayed late to retrieve them from local pharmacies. “It was amazing to see how a crisis brings out the best in people,” added Michaela Olson, marketing director at Montecito. Local businesses brought food, and others in the senior care industry – like Vitas Healthcare, Home Care Assis-
tance of Alamo and Suncrest Hospice – brought over supplies and food. When Carondelet High School’s Jefferson Awards, Students in Action (JA-SIA) Team heard about the evacuated seniors, they wanted to help. Community service coordinator Cindy Lawrence contacted Montecito to find out what items the seniors needed. The JA-SIA Team spent more than half of the club’s award money to buy T-shirts, socks and Chapstick for the residents. They also donated gently used men’s jeans. The students wanted to show the seniors that they care and support them during this difficult time. “My heart immediately went out to all of those who were forced to evacuate their homes from the fire. I could not imagine what they were going through,” said Adriana
Contributed photo
The ballroom and common areas at the Montecito senior community on Clayton Rd. were transformed to dormitorystyle accommodations within hours to shelter 75 seniors evacuated from sister facilities in Santa Rosa.
Conte, Class of ’19. “This service project allowed me and the Jefferson Awards team to make a valuable difference in someone’s life and bring happiness to them despite what they
Concord to add U.S. Coast Guard property to CNWS Reuse Project
Carondelet High School this month announced the naming of its new state-ofthe-art aquatics center for three-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer and 2000 graduate of the school, Natalie Coughlin Hall. The Natalie Coughlin Aquatics Center is a featured part of the school’s new, six-acre Carondelet Athletics Complex, expected to open early next year. “Natalie is an inspiration to countless young women around the globe and a role model to our students past and present,” said Carondelet President Bonnie Cotter. “Natalie is more than a world-class Tamara Steiner/Concord Pioneer swimmer and athlete – she Concord is negotiating with the U.S. Coast Guard to pur-
JOHN T. MILLER Correspondent
The city appears ready to move on negotiating a sale for a valuable piece of U.S. Coast Guard property that borders the former Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS) and Olivera Road. The property has been included in the Concord Reuse Specific Planning process. The 58-acre site contains 328 uninhabitable multi-family units that chase 58 acres bordering the Concord Naval Weapons Sta- the Coast Guard used for military personnel. See Coughlin, page 12 tion. The land will be included in the CNWS specific plan The parcel, formerly part of for multi-family affordable housing.
CNWS, was transferred to the Coast Guard in 2007. It housed enlisted personnel who worked on Coast Guard Island in Alameda until 2014, when the buildings were vacated. The existing housing was built in two parts. Both the 1950s-era Quinault Village and the 1980s Victory Village are not up to code, and, due to government exemptions, may not have been built to existing codes at the time. The buildings in the Quinault Village used asbestos and lead paint, while the utility
See CNWS, page 4
had been through. I could never pass up this opportunity.” JA-SIA is a nationally rec-
See Evacuee Aid, page 7
See Inside
East Bay Regional Parks Activity Guide
Inside
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Community . . . . . . . . . . .2
From the desk of . . . . . .6 Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Performing Arts . . . . . .16