Finishing touches on police camera system
Police Chief Chris Wenzel reports that the city entryways police camera system is now largely in place and being tested.
The department is working to add the communications link to patrol vehicle and office computers and to Concord’s Police Department Dispatch to assure information is being received. When that is complete, we move to training police personnel on its use and setting protocols for officer responses to the data.
During its initial setup, the system already acknowledged three stolen vehicles coming through Clayton, plus about six reportedly lost or stolen vehicle plates.
BBQ Cook-Off a hit
The 8th annual Clayton BBQ Cook-Off provided another successful event for residents. Event chair Rory Richmond noted that more than 30 competitors demonstrated cooking skills to more than 5,000 attendees.
The Tone Pony and Gun Powder & Lace country bands provided music. Several exhibits offered a close-up look at the Clayton Police Department’s vintage police car, Morgan Territory’s vintage Fire Engine No. 51 and the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District’s new Mobile Command Center. Thanks to Assistant Chief Lon Goetsch, Battalion Chief Robert Lutzow and Communications Specialist Jeff Davis, the mobile unit was open to the public for tours. The state-of-the-art command center is deployed to coordinate and direct fire activities during major incidents throughout Contra Costa County.
Drinking water update
In 2016, the treated drinking water delivered by Contra Costa Water District was better than all drinking water standards set by the state and federal governments. A new report, which includes water quality data collected throughout 2016, shows you can be confident your tap water is high quality.
Recent reports about lead in the water systems of communities like Flint, Mich., have people understandably concerned. CCWD reduces the potential for lead to leach from your home’s water pipes through proactive monitoring and corrosion control.
The results from more than 270 water samples collected from five agencies in 2015 and 2016 are on the district’s website at www.ccwater.com/DocumentCenter/View/4043.
Replacing City Hall HVAC/heating
The City Council unanimously voted to award a competitive bid contract to Servi-Tech Controls Inc. of Fresno for $253,398 to replace City Hall’s 20-year old HVAC units and heater/boiler unit. The high bid was $372,000.
The historic building’s heating system has failed, and the air conditioning is operating at about 40 percent of its design capacity. The council approved the allocation of project gap-funds of $170,126 from the Clayton Finance Authority’s unrestricted-use funds (Fund No. 405).
Road resurfacing delays
The city recently advertised for competitive bids to perform street and sidewalk repairs on a portion of El Portal Drive and also repave Keller Ridge Drive starting at Eagle Peak Avenue. With the sizeable amount of construction work occurring in the Bay Area this year, contractors are evidently very busy. Each project only received one bid, and in each case the bid was significantly over the project estimate and money available.
The El Portal Drive Restoration Project is estimated at $265,000, but the bid was $399,520. The Keller Ridge Drive Repave Project is estimated at $250,000, but the bid was $599,939.
The city has not abandoned these long-awaited local street projects and will rebid each during late summer/early fall when contractors are concluding other projects and may want to keep crews busy on smaller projects.
Send comments to the mayor at jdiaz@ci.clayton.ca.us.