The Brentwood City Council voted 5-0 last night to move forward with trying to bring a community college to Brentwood. They will now be sending a letter to the Contra Costa Community College District encouraging them to begin construction as soon as possible.
Bob Kratochvil, President of Los Medanos College spoke of his support of the letter Mayor Taylor would send to the college district.
“We are here just to give our support of your letter of support. We are in position to start working diligently to get input of the campus. The process is lengthy and glad you are a gadfly for us to get us moving. We do have funds available to begin planning…This campus we are going to be building, the site is available and would like to move very quickly,” said Bob Kratochvil.
The College District is currently leasing 21,522 square feet at the Brentwood Education and Technology Center and we are in the process of finalizing the leasing of an additional 1,817 square feet to be used for a Science Lab. In addition to providing a larger and greatly improved campus for the College and the community, the move will allow the City to find a re-use for Brentwood Education and Technology Center which would include the space currently utilized by the College District.
At this time, The Vineyards/ LMC Subcommittee recommends that the City Council send a letter to the College District Board encouraging them to move forward with the new campus and to offer our assistance with this process.
Here is a copy of the letter of support from Mayor Bob Taylor
February 13, 2013
President Sheila Grilli and Members of the Board
Contra Costa Community College District
500 Court Street
Martinez, CA 94553Dear President Grilli and Members of the Board:
The Brentwood City Council would like to encourage the College District to begin construction on the Brentwood campus site at the Vineyards at Marsh Creek as expeditiously as possible. As you know, the City has been a staunch supporter of the new campus and anxiously awaits the beginning of construction as the new educational center will provide for expanded student support and academic offerings, much needed in far East Contra Costa County.
We understand the California Community College Chancellor’s Office has approved the Brentwood Educational Center as a state approved center with “center status”. It is the City’s understanding that funds are available from previous bond issuances that could be re-allocated to start this project now or could be used as seed money if alternate project delivery methods were utilized. The College District owns the property, all entitlements have been secured, utilities are in place and all project approvals have been accommodated, thus this project could begin the design work within the next several months. We would encourage the Board to consider expediting the construction of the Brentwood campus to the extent possible by moving the project up on your priority list of capital projects. By moving forward with the new facility, the College will be better able to accommodate your growing enrollment and prepare for the anticipated increase in demand for community college access. In addition to preparing for the expected growth in enrollment, the construction of the new facility will allow the City to explore opportunities for the existing campus building at Sand Creek Road, which is a key component of the City’s Economic Development strategy.
Brentwood staff will assist in processing any required approvals or project facilitation for the new campus and we appreciate the opportunity to partner with the College District on this project which will benefit the community and region for years to come.
Please do not hesitate to contact me or Paul Eldredge, our City Manager at (925) 516-5174 should you have any questions regarding this letter of support or require any assistance.
Sincerely,
Robert Taylor
MayorSource:
http://brentwood.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=35&event_id=60&meta_id=142145
Other items:
D-1: A Resolution establishing fees related to Chapter 5.72 (Computer Gaming and Internet Access Establishments Ordinance) of the City of Brentwood Municipal Code and revising the City of Brentwood 2012/2013 Cost Allocation Plan and Schedule of City Fees. (T. Hansen/M. Evenson)
Basically what this has to do with his the Police Department, Finance, and Information Systems Departments are seeking to recover costs associated with review of applicants, inspections, and compliance of ordinances of those establishments that fall under the Computer Gaming and Internet Access Ordinance.
The City estimates the special assignment rate for an officer will be $207.69 per hour while Computer Gaming and Internet Access Establishment Permit application costs the City $346.00 to review—they estimate it will take an investigator 100-minutes to review.
The city staff recommended the following fee schedule for Computer Gaming and
Internet Access Establishments
- Initial Application – $346
- Renewal – $346
- Appeal of Decision by City – $306
Councilman Erick Stonebarger questioned if 100-minutes was enough time for the police to investigate and give them enough flexibility. He urged them to come back to the council if it’s not working out under that estimated time. He also ensured this fee schedule would come back to the council each year for review.
Approved 5-0
E-1 Receive the Independent Auditors Report and Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2011/2012
Approved 5-0
E-2 Consider appointing Bob Brockman, John Fink, Kathleen Griffin, Bill Hill, Eileen Hofstadt, Dan O’Brien, Carissa Pillow, Claudette Staton, Fred Vogelgesang and Warren Williams to the General Plan Update Working Group, for terms expiring upon completion of the General Plan Update.
Let me first start by saying how appreciative I am that both councilmember Steve Barr and Joel Bryant stated their reasoning and thought process in their selections—this is huge as its something rarely explained with appointments. Kudos to both!
If you recall, last September, Brentwood approved a General Plan Update Work Program made up of four members—last night it was increased.
According to the staff report, a total of 26 applicants applied; however, three were living outside of Brentwood and were disqualified. It was clear to the Ad Hoc Committee at the conclusion of the interview process that the number of at-large members on the Working Group should be increased from the four that are currently identified in the Work Program. The primary reason for the increase is to enhance the representation of the community as a whole, and to provide a proper balance of views and perspectives.
“ The goal was to create working group of all segments of our population. Diverse in background and knowledge, even to the extent of looking at where they were located in the city. Length of time living in city to try and get a working group with a diverse opinions to get to a general plan to get to as close as we can do meet all the needs of the community,” said Councilman Steve Barr. “That is why we are asking to go from 4 to 7.
Vice Mayor Joel Bryant echoed Barr’s comments.
“The quality of the pool of applicants was astonishing; this was one of the most difficult endeavors I’ve been a part of. To narrow down to four was impossible. First of all, we came to a mutual conclusion in order to narrow it down to the original four we would be missing experience in other areas,” said Bryant. “Limiting to four would cause us to have an inferior general plan in the future. I want to thank everyone who did put their application in.”
Byrant and Barr explained that they had applicants living in same area with same expertise, tried to limit it to one which was difficult.
Stonebarger agreed with the idea of increasing the number from four to seven.
“Going from 4-to-7 scattered throughout the community will give that working group a much better taste of what the community wants. A lot of different opinions will be vetted out which is the intent of the process in formulating the general plan…. I support it and it’s the right move,” said Stonebarger.
Bryant also added that opposing views was also part of the decision making.
“We intentionally chose individuals who had opposing views so it balances out our future vision of the community. We have individuals coming from opposing preferences. We will have a much more balanced product in the end,” explained Bryant.
Maybe Bob Taylor was excited at the number of applicants and those wanting to participate while explaining how many meetings these folks will have to attend.
“When I heard how many applicants, I went oh my goodness… the important of this general plan will affect the city for the next 10-15 years,” said Mayor Taylor.
The ad-hoc committee made the following recommendations which was approved 5-0:
- Bob Brockman – Planning Commission member
- John Fink – Planning Commission member
- Kathleen Griffin – at-large member
- Bill Hill – at-large member
- Eileen Hofstadt – Park and Recreation Commission member
- Dan O’Brien – at-large member
- Carissa Pillow – at-large member
- Claudette Staton – at-large member
- Fred Vogelgesang – at-large member
- Warren Williams – at-large member
Frazier Looks for Contra Costa Office in Brentwood
Finally, the Brentwood Council via way of “head nodding” in approval agreed to allow staff to find office space within City Hall for Assemblyman Jim Frazier. Aside from Stonebarger questioning staff time and cost associated, all five on the council saw the value in having an Assemblyman in Brentwood.
“This request has value… having a presence here for our citizens is a positive” said Gene Clare.
Joel Bryant thought while City Hall would be great, the staff should also look into what other downtown office space was available. He also encouraged the staff to consider privacy issues for both the city as well as the assemblyman.
“We need to include city hall or within the city as well,” said Bryant.
Stonebarger stated this was a “no brainer” and wanted to know how quickly this process could begin ensuring it didn’t have to come back to the council and staff “could just make it happen”.
Staff will try and find a spot within City Hall
Next Meting: Feb. 26, 2013
3 comments
Not sure if bringing a campus to Brentwood is the best idea. Its nice to see an overview of the meeting for a chance for those of us who just don’t hvae the time to attend or watch th video. I agree with the council, putting an assemblymember in Brentwood is a no brainer.
Rather than building something new and in a time where the state can’t even afford colleges, the city of brentwood may want to consider paying of their city hall building first.
Makes sense they would make a bid for it, all the economic development that comes around the campus would be a benefit to everyone.
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