Infrastructure

By Michael R. "Mike" Dupray

Infrastructure is broad based and includes all aspects of planning and implementation of the city's Growth Management Plan and General Plan.

To make our city vibrant and economically viable we must bring in businesses which provide long term living wage jobs. We need more small businesses. Lets populate downtown with small businesses and promote home businesses. The whole stretch of Main Street from Rose to Ohara on the South side of Main is in desperate need of a face lift. It also has a lot of empty buildings that need filling. Our Chamber of Commerce needs more participation and support. Developing the property between Rose and Ohara along the tracks could make Oakley a destination for tourists and visitors. An AMTRAK station with boutique shops and farmers market would bring a steady revenue flow and jobs to the city. Joining with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Technical Transfer group could bring businesses which could make Oakley the High Tech Delta. Developing the DuPont property and bringing in PGE power plant will do the same. Upon approval of the PGE power plant, a $3.1M payment will be made to the City and after it is in operation the annual revenue to the City would be somewhere between $2M and $3M. The School District (Antioch District because plant is west of Empire) will receive over $300,000 per year. The East Contra Costa Fire Protection District will also receive a significant annual payment. This plant will employ people who will be most likely inclined to live in Oakley, spend in Oakley.

Emergency Services

With increasing costs to support the contract with the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Department our City management is considering developing a program for our own Oakley Police Department. We must make sure that they are adequately compensated to ensure we attract and keep them here and living here, in Oakley. We currently have an excellent police to citizen ratio. The crime rate is low and Oakley is considered on of the 50 safest city's in the US. Lets keep it that way.

Our fire departments have lost funding because the property values in this area have dropped 65% during the housing market crash. This severely reduced the tax dollars going to the Fire District which resulted in closures and reduced response times. We must find a legal way to increase the funding.

Homes

Home building should continue as needed and within the controls of the Oakley Housing Element, the CCTA General Growth Management Plan (via the compliance checklist) and the applicable State laws.

The Affordable Housing element of the plan is mandated by the state. It requires the city to provide space for Above Moderate, Moderate, Low and Very Low Income. IT DOES NOT INCLUDE SECTION 8. This means the city must zone according to the needs of the city and includes all levels of income. The city is very proactive and open in making these zoning decisions. Zoning for homes should allow for maintaining a rural atmosphere. Lower density moving east from city center. Building homes and businesses also must allow for ease of access and egress, emergency services, schools. Water availability must be thoroughly addressed prior to building. Traffic issues must be ameliorated as well.

WATER

We absolutely must protect our water supply. Balancing building with quality water is essential. We must not allow rich corporate farms in Southern California force us to pay for their water. Nor should we allow them to let our Delta farms to go fallow, our fisheries to die, our local Delta economy to fail to satisfy the unquenchable desires of the rich and corporate farms of southern Ca.

Communication

We must keep our city government open to the public. The City's website is excellent and always improving. Our city staff is small. They do an outstanding job with very little. Many do double duty. And they do not hesitate to provide immediate answers or assistance. We must help them by removing as much of the public communication burden or enhance it technologically as much as possible. The internet is another way to reach the community. We have Oakley Facebook sites, and Nextdoor neighborhood sites. I plan to expand these and make a central access point to all available for public comment and free speech. These can also be used for blanket City community information delivery and promotion of civic issues.