THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE CIT Y OF OAKLEY
The Oak Leaf Summer 2021
Volume 23, Number 2
Página 7 en Español
Oakley Welcomes K9 Harkon to the Force!
Inside this Issue
The Oakley Police Department is proud to announce the appointment of its newest K9 handler, Officer Tyler Radcliffe and introduce his canine, Harkon. Officer Radcliffe was selected for the assignment based on his continued dedication and interaction with the community of Oakley. Officer Radcliffe has volunteered his time to the canine program and his proactive approach to policing will make him an excellent K9 handler. Joining Officer Radcliffe and his almost 15 years of experience, is his partner Harkon, an nearly 2-year-old old German Shepherd. “I look forward to working Harkon and German Shepherd Harkon has
Calendar ..……..Page 6
joined Officer Tyler Radcliffe on the Oakley Police force.
Fleet Trucks .…Page 6 Gas Line News...Page 4 Laurel Road Update…………….Page 3 Marsh Creek Trail Safety………….….Page 2 Park & Ride...…..Page 2 Recreation Division News……………....Page 5 YMWO ………....….Page 5
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Meet Our New Economic Development Analyst Recently, the City of Oakley was fortunate enough to welcome Harumi Murata as our new Economic Development Analyst. Murata is a Concord resident and previously worked with the University of California Office of the President, at the UCSF VA Medical Center, and as an assistant to an ambassador in Tokyo. Her position is a new one and is designed to create and support inclusive economic op-
portunities and activities for community investors, workers, and entrepreneurs in the City of Oakley. “In other words,” said Murata. “My role is to help generate opportunities and improve quality of life for families.” Murata said her priorities include attracting and retaining businesses, while leveraging public and private assets to increase jobs in the Oakley community. (Continued on Page 4)
Harumi Murata recently joined Team Oakley as our Economic Development Analyst.
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The Oak Leaf
Park and Ride Construction Continues into 2022 The Tri Delta Transit Park and Ride Project started construction this past April and slated for completion by early 2022. The project consists of a Park and Ride lot with 167 parking spaces on a 2.15 acre site located north of the Main Street and East Cypress intersection. The project also includes widening of Main Street and the construction of median landscaping and street lighting for this section of Main Street. This project was initially approved in 2011, but was shelved due to funding constraints. Since then, Tri Delta Transit was able to secure a federal grant for their project. The park and ride is a great asset to the community and a benefit for all of the commuters in our City. Tri Delta Transit Park and Ride construc on has begun and will last through spring of next year.
Safety Improvements Made to Regional Trails The City of Oakley was recently awarded grant funds from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) allocating $130,000 of Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds to install various safety improvements and wayfinding signs to close the gap between Delta de Anza and Marsh Creek Regional Trails connection. The project improves safety for trail users at four locations. The improvements include 350 feet of bike lane gap closure, striping bike lanes at signalized intersection with high visibility green thermoplastic, installation of flashing beacons at mid-block trail crossings, and wayfinding signs for bicyclists. These improvements will bridge a gap between the two regional trails and also improve safety for bicyclists going to the Oakley Recreation Center, Creekside Park, and the various schools in the area. The foundation for the rapid flashing bea-
Solar‐powered and tail markers are making local trails easier and safer to navigate.
cons at the trail crossing at Laurel Road and at Delta Road was recently installed and solar powered poles have now been installed at these two crossings. Additionally, green bike lanes, additional striping, and wayfinding signs were installed in the spring. These improvements will enhance safety for all trail users.
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A Reminder About the Importance of Codes One of our veteran City of Oakley building inspectors prevented a potential tragedy recently when he stopped a gas leak on a new wall furnace that had caught fire in an Oakley home. This spring, Scott Sanders arrived at a home in Oakley at around 10:30 a.m. to do an inspection for a wall furnace that has been installed the day before. When Sanders opened an access panel to make sure it had the gas shut off valve required by code, he saw a three inch flame coming out of gas tubing in a place it shouldn’t have been. The real pilot light was located about a foot away and was lit. Sanders blew the flame out and let the gas keep leaking for a few minutes until it was cooled down An Oakley Building Inspector found a gas leak at home where a new furnace was being installed, preven ng a po‐ and safe to reach in and shut the gas valve off. ten ally tragic fire. “When we do inspections, we make decisions every day that affect people’s lives and property five, ten, 15 years from now by making sure everyApply to be a County thing is up to code and safe,” said Sanders. “We Transportation Advisor make serious decisions like this all the time.” The Contra Costa Transportation Authority Incidents such as this prove that building permit regulations are not just red tape, though they may (CCTA) maintains a Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) to provide involvement in the be time consuming. “Sometimes, people think that the City’s inspec- CCTA. To become a member of the CAC, you tion process is a lot of hassle, but this is the reason must reside within the City of Oakley Apply we have such high standards,” said Interim City at www.oakleyinfo.com. The deadline to apply is Friday, July 30th at 5:00 p.m. Manager Josh McMurray.
Resurfacing Continues on Busy Laurel Road
Improvements con nue to be made on Laurel Road, which is one of the busiest in Oakley.
The Laurel Road resurfacing project consists of resurfacing the road from O’Hara Avenue to Empire Avenue by grinding and replacing the asphalt and updating the signing and striping to accommodate bike lanes. Laurel Road sees about 22,500 cars per day with a direct connection to the Highway 4 bypass and is a designated truck route. In the area, Laurel Road has not had any maintenance treatments since it was widened from a 2-lane roadway to a 4-lane divided roadway. The road was designed to handle the then-current traffic loads. The City is anticipating construction to start in early August.
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Natural Gas Pipe Lines to Be Inspected, Replaced This summer through March of 2022, PG&E will be upgrading a portion of the natural gas distribution system that serves homes in the Gardenia and Ashwood neighborhood. This work is PG&E’s priority to keep residents safe by enhancing the integrity and health of the natural gas pipelines in this and many other neighborhoods. PG&E will assess and replace a portion of the residents’ natural gas lines, most of which are located under the street or on private property. This work may also involve upgrading gas meters. Prior to the start of work, to ensure safely in-
stalling their gas lines away from other underground utili-
ties, a qualified contractor will use video cameras to conduct sewer service inspections and verify locations. This inspection will also confirm important safety information to ensure
that sewer and existing gas service lines do not conflict. During construction, you may see PG&E, contractor trucks, and other equipment. All personnel are required to carry valid photo identification and provide identification upon request. While PG&E empties the lines for replacement, you may hear a loud, steady noise, and smell a small amount of natural gas. This is normal while crews are working, but we encourage anyone with concerns to call PG&E at (925) 348-3532.
Economic Development: A Foundation for Our Future
(Continued from the Front Page)
“I facilitate discussions on available properties for businesses to occupy including commercial space, industrial space, and open land and promote and support the City’s effort to attract and match businesses to available space, so that investors and business owners can envision their businesses moving to, or expanding in, Oakley,” said Murata. Murata said she’ll promote the idea that Oakley is diverse, dynamic, centrally located in the heart of the Delta between San Francisco and Sacramento for easy commuting, and that the City offers a natural way of life with a healthy outdoor living. “I believe Oakley offers the brightest prospects in the Contra Costa County,” said Murata. An exciting upcoming project Murata is working on is with Los Medanos College (LMC). This summer they will offer the Oakley Entrepreneur Workshop, which will cover topics and strategies that prepare attendees to start their own business ventures or to strengthen the community-based marketing plans.
The first workshop is scheduled for Friday, July 23rd from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This workshop is led by the LMC business faculty and will be held monthly. It’s broadcasted live from the Oakley Entrepreneur Center. More details are coming– look for them on the City’s social media or by contacting Murata at (925) 625-7006 or murata@ci.oakley.ca.us. Murata also wants to update the community on the Contra Costa Logistics Center – the Amazon fulfillment center in Building 1 opened last fall and construction on Building 2 recently was completed and half leased. Building 4 is under construction currently. A total of five buildings and nearly 2 million-square-feet are planned, which will bring 2,100 jobs to the community. “Economic Development is one of Oakley’s highest priorities and our scope is to welcome new development and business opportunities,” said Murata. Our vision has not changed due to the pandemic as we continue to promote new opportunities for growth and development in the community, while maintaining the small town character that residents enjoy.”
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Recreation is Offering More In-Person Classes! More and more fun, in-person classes are available from our Recreation Division as the
up with updates are through the Recreation Guide and our City’s social media. Stay tuned! UPCOMING EVENTS & CLASSES Kids’ GYM (Gym nastics, Yo ga, and Mo vement) begins July 26th Tai Chi for adults begins July 28th The kids’ Bike Rodeo is August 14th Biddy Sports Soccer begins August 14th. Online Driver’s Ed can be taken anytime through September 2nd. Would you like to register your child for one of these programs but cannot because of the cost? Scholarships are available to reduce the fee by up to 50%. Scholarships can be used for two programs per child per year. For more information, contact 925-625-7041.
City continues to open up post-pandemic. We are also working on bringing back more of our traditional City events. The best ways to keep
Now Accepting Picnic Area Reservations Picnics are now permitted in all City of Oakley parks unless otherwise prohibited by signs listed at the site. There are also four designated group picnic areas available for reservation: Creekside Park, Summer Lake Park, Crockett Park, and NunnWilson Park. Permits may be obtained no more than 90 days in advance and no less than 10 days in advance from the day of the event. The application and a $150 damage deposit are required at time of reservation. Please contact the Recreation Division at (925) 625-7041 for forms and availability. Current regulations require that all state and county protocols be observed, group size is limited to 50, no jumpers are permitted, and no alcohol is permitted at any picnic area.
You, Me, We Oakley! in partnership with the International Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA) will be hosting Citizenship Drives in the coming months, so please keep an eye on our social media for dates and times! At the citizenship drives, volunteers will assist eligible permanent residents in completing the N-400 (Naturalization Application), which is required to become a naturalized citizen of the United States. Training material is provided to volunteers in advance of the event thus no prior experience is needed. All the applications will be verified by certified immigration attorneys from IIBA before being sent to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The YMWO Program is now accepting volunteers for this event. Interested? Please email gaby@youmeweoakley.org. Volunteers need not be bi-lingual. Anyone with the time and willingness to help is welcomed and encouraged to volunteer!
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Oakley Introduces New Cost-Saving Fleet Vehicles Recently, new GMC pickup trucks arrived for use by our Oakley staff. This is a bold experiment that the City is undertaking to save money on our fleet costs.
Rather than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase these new vehicles, the City will be benefiting from governmental incentive programs that will allow us to lease them for one to four years and capture equity at the end of the leases, which is estimated to at least cover the cost of the lease payments made. At the end of the leases, these vehicles will be replaced with other new leased vehicles, which will also keep our fleet costs down by improving gas mileage and reducing maintenance costs.
K9: Harkon is on the Beat (Continued from Front Page)
getting to know him,” said Radcliffe. “Dogs have the ability to enhance an investigation, so Harkon will be a great asset to the OPD and Oakley as a whole.” Officer Radcliffe and Harkon recently completed an extensive training program, and now they are on the beat, providing the Oakley community with the continued excellent service it expects. “I am excited to have Harkon, join forces with a quality officer like Officer Radcliffe,” said Chief Dean Capelletti. “I know he is also excited to get out in to the community with his new partner and make Oakley an even safer place than it already is. Harkon is a great addition to our team.”
Because GMC offers governmental incentives of roughly $10,000 per vehicle on these pickups, Enterprise will be able to sell them after one year for more than “owed” on the leases, which could result in an equity payment that will exceed our total lease payments by $3,000 per vehicle. This will keep our fleet strong and our maintenance costs down, compared to the old model of purchasing vehicles and using and maintaining them for ten to fifteen years before selling them for next to nothing at auction. If this fleet vehicle lease program works out as well as expected, the City will expand the program. Although onlookers may assume that these attractive vehicles are costing the City a lot of money, in reality, they will be saving the City a lot of money that can be put to use to further improve the programs and services we provide to City residents!
Municipal Calendar August 6 & 20 10
City Hall Closed City Council Meeting
September 3 & 17 City Hall Closed 6 Labor Day 14 City Council Meeting October 1 & 15 12 & 26
City Hall Closed City Council Meeting
November 5 & 19 City Hall Closed 9 City Council Meeting 25 & 26 Thanksgiving Closure December 3 & 17 City Hall Closed 14 City Council Meeting 20 City Hall Holiday Closure
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Oakley Tiene un Nuevo Oficial Canino El Departamento de Policía de Oakley se enorgullece de anunciar la selección del Oficial Tyler Radcliffe como el nuevo Oficial K -9. El canino asignación es un pastor alemán, casi dos años con de nombre, Harkon. ʺEspero trabajar con Harkon y llegar a conocerloʺ, dijo Radcliffe. ʺLos perros tienen la capacidad de mejorar una investigación, por lo que Harkon será un gran adición a nuestro departamento en nuestro servicio a la comunidad.” El oficial Radcliffe y Harkon pronto comenzarán su extenso programa de capacitación. “Estoy emocionado del equipo y colaboración de nuestro canino, Harkon, con un oficial de tanta calidad como es el oficial Radcliffe”, dijo el Jefe de Policía, Dean Capelletti. “Sé que El está emocionado de salir a la comunidad con su nuevo socio y hacer de Oakley un lugar aún más seguro de lo que ya es. Harkon es una gran incorporación a nuestro equipo.”
Harkon es el canino de la policía de Oakley.
Actualización de Líneas de Gas de PG&E Este verano PG&E actualizará una parte del sistema de distribución de gas natural que sirve a los hogares en los vecindarios de Gardenia y Ashwood. Como parte de este proyecto, PG&E evaluará y reemplazará una parte de las líneas de gas natural. Antes del inicio del trabajo, un contratista calificado utilizará cámaras de video para realizar inspecciones del servicio de alcantarillado y verificar las ubicaciones. Esta inspección también confirmará información de seguridad importante para garantizar que el alcantarillado y las líneas de servicio de gas existentes no entren en conflicto. Durante la construcción, verá vehículos de PG&E, camiones de contratistas y otro equipo.
Mientras PG&E vacía las líneas para reemplazarlas, es posible que escuche un ruido fuerte y constante y que huela una pequeña cantidad de gas natural. Esto es normal mientras observe al equipo de personal trabajando. Si tiene preguntas, llame al (925) 348-3532.
Considera ser Voluntario con YMWO You, Me, We Oakley en asociación con el Instituto Internacional del Área de la Bahía (IIBA), organizará talleres de Ciudadanía en los próximos meses. Esté atento a nuestras redes sociales para ver las fechas y horas en cuanto se anuncien. En los talleres de ciudadanía, los voluntarios ayudan a los residentes permanentes elegibles a completar la solicitud de naturalización. Se proporciona material de capacitación a los voluntarios antes del evento, por lo que no se necesita experiencia previa. Todas las solicitudes son verificadas por abogados de inmigración certificados del IIBA antes de ser enviadas a los Servicios de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de los Estados Unidos. Considera ser un voluntario en uno de nuestros talleres y comparte de tus talentos con nuestra comunidad. ¿Interesada? Envíe un correo electrónico a gaby@youmeweoakley.org. Cualquiera que tenga el tiempo y la voluntad de ayudar es bienvenido.
POSTAL CUSTOMER OAKLEY, CA 94561 3231 Main Street Oakley, CA 94561 Oakley City Hall 925 625-7000/ info@ci.oakley.ca.us
City Meeting Schedule All City Council meetings are regularly held on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 3231 Main Street. City Directory Building.................................................. 625-7002 Code Enforcement................................ 625-7031 City Attorney......................................... 625-7000 City Manager......................................... 625-7025 City Clerk............................................... 625-7013 Economic Development....................... 625-7006 Human Resources................................. 625-7011 Parks........................................................ 625-7037 Planning & Zoning................................ 625-7000 Police Non-Emergency………...……...625-8855 Police Dispatch………………….......... 625-8060 Public Works/Engineering................... 625-7037 Recreation............................................... 625-7041 Business Hours
For More Information: Find detailed information on specific events and a current list of all events at the City of Oakley website at www.oakleyinfo.com and click on Eve nts & Classe s. Have a Community Calendar Item? Local non-profits, service organizations, public clubs, etc. can submit their events for our community calendar. To submit your event, visit the City of Oakley website at www.ci.oakley. ca.us, click Ho w Do I? and scroll down to City Info rm atio n and click View Mo re, then click Ad d an Event to the City Calend ar. Stay Informed! Sign up for the City’s weekly e-Newsletter or visit our website for the latest information.
Monday through Thursday: 8:00 a.m. - noon or by appointment. Friday: by appointment. City Offices are closed 1st & 3rd Friday of each month Community Services Chamber of Commerce........................ 625-1035 Oakley Library....................................... 625-2400 Oakley Seniors………………………... 626-7223 County Animal Services….................. 335-8300 Fire District (ECCFPD)......................... 634-3400 Local Utilities Diablo Water District............................ 625-3798 Ironhouse Sanitary District …………..625-2279 Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery……….682-9113