Supervisor Karen Mitchoff's January e-Newsletter

The Board of Supervisors recently held its 2016 Reorganization Meeting on January 5th. I am happy to congratulate Supervisor Candace Andersen was sworn in as Board Chair for this new year. In addition, Supervisor Mary Piepho was elected and sworn in as Vice Chair. Outgoing Chair, Supervisor John Gioia, shared some of Contra Costa County's accomplishments in 2015. Chair Andersen outlined the Board of Supervisors' goals for this year.

I want to thank the Board and my colleagues; it is a privilege to serve with them. Even though we may have differing opinions on matters, this is what we want to see in this work. We want an exchange of ideas. We enjoy working with one another and I am proud of the work that we do. This includes our County Administrator David Twa and all of our County employees who so diligently serve our community. Contra Costa is seen as a leader throughout the state and on a variety of issues. I am proud of this and I look forward to our work in this new year.

From left to right: Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, Former County Supervisor Sunne Wright McPeak, Supervisor Candace Andersen, Susan Hurl, and Bielle Moore

Contra Costa County 2015 Year in Review

Capping a year of progress for Contra Costa County, our office wanted to share some of the major accomplishments achieved across the County in 2015. Thank you to the hard work and dedication of the County staff that help make these accomplishments possible. These are just some of the ways in which county government provides services to you. I look forward to an even more productive 2016!

2015 Bond Issuance:

County AAA bond rating affirmed by Standard & Poor's.
Secured $20.5 million to fund new addition to the West County Health Clinic and County participation in the Regional Renewable Energy Project (RREP) at a low total interest cost of 2.67%.

Animal Services

Beth Ward was hired as new Animal Services Director.
Thanks to a new mobile adoption vehicle with viewing areas, the department is transporting animals in a more comfortable environment, enhancing its exposure at weekly adoption events, and brining cats to mobile adoption events for the first time.

Department of Child Support Services

The department's child support collection exceeded $70 million for the first time. A 5% increase from last year.
Due to the department's innovative partnership with MoneyGram, there are over 40,000 locations to pay child support in the United States.

EMS Ambulance RFP:

Approved public-private partnership between ConFire and American Medical Response to provide EMS ambulance services to the majority of Contra Costa County.

Emergency Operations Plan Modernization:

The Board adopted a new and modernized Emergency Operations Plan for Contra Costa County that streamlines responsibilities and takes a more practical approach to emergency response.

EMPLOYMENT & HUMAN SERVICES

Digital Divide. The Board passed a resolution allowing the Employment and Human Services Department to provide surplus personal computers to its low-income customers. EHSD partnered with a nonprofit to refurbish the computers and make them available. In addition, the nonprofit provides training and maintenance of the computers along with free or low cost internet access to help low income families in Contra Costa County bridge the digital divide. Approximately 600 computers are being refurbished and will be made available to low-income families in the near future.

Food Access. Low-income people with immediate family food needs have their CalFresh applications processed within three days in Contra Costa (vs 30 days for the standard application).

Expanded Child Care. Received a $1.1 million federal grant to provide Early Head Start services to 72 infants and toddlers. This grant is unique in that CSB is partnering with the Childcare Council to provide these services in family childcare homes throughout the county.

FINANCE

Adopted a balanced County budget in excess of $3 billion for 2015/16.
Awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the fifth year in a row.

HEALTH

The successful implementation of the Medi-Cal expansion authorized by the Affordable Care Act:
- Increased enrollment in CCHP to 185,000, with the majority of members being seen in CCRMC and 11 Health Centers.
- Opened the George and Cynthia Miller Wellness Center in Martinez and a planned new Health Center in Antioch soon.
Participated in the negotiation of a new 1115 Medi-Cal Waiver providing increased funding to California's 21 Public Hospital Systems over the next five years.
Behavioral Health's development and implementation of Laura's Law and further integration of Mental Health, Substance Use Disorder and Homeless Programs.
The Hazardous Materials Division participated in the development of new amendments to the Industrial Safety Ordinance to better ensure that local refineries and chemical industries are operating safely.

PUBLIC WORKS:

Public Works delivered $13.5 million of roadway and airport projects that include safety improvements on Marsh Creek and Alhambra Valley Roads as well as complete streets projects in Pacheco, Richmond and Alamo to improve bicycle and pedestrian access to schools and to improve walkability in El Sobrante on San Pablo Dam Road.
Public Works completed 33 projects on County facilities totaling $42.5 million. These include solar installations at 7 sites to further the County's goals to be more energy efficient and reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as completion of the Antioch Health Center (by end of 2015).
Public Works worked with PG&E to convert streetlights in unincorporated communities to LED to improve reliability, energy efficiency and lighting.

TREASURER-TAX COLLECTOR

Developed a Property Tax Online Program (PTOP) for processing multiple bill payments in a single transaction, making it more efficient and cost saving to the taxpayer and our office.
Received Standard & Poor's highest pool credit quality rating for the County's investment program, AAAf, making it a total eight (8) years in a row we've consistently maintained such rating.

VETERANS SERVICES OFFICE

Served 5,618 Veterans in four locations including Martinez, San Pablo, Danville, and Brentwood, which included 2,883 claims filed for VA benefits, which were valued at $23,891,107.
In cooperation with CCTV, produced a monthly live one-hour Veterans talk show titled "Veterans Voices. This show received a CSAC Merit Award.

2015 Holiday Open House

2015 was a lively year and I was thrilled to end it with our Holiday Open House. The Open House was held on December 9th and invited community members and local leaders to share in warm coffee and snacks at our Downtown Concord office. My staff had fun transforming our workspace into a winter wonderland and I was glad to share in such warm conversation with so many of you!

While

Office Food Bank Display

our Holiday Open House was free, we did provide an opportunity for guests to donate to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. Every guest that donated $5 received a reusable bag from the food bank and their name on our office door. Thank you to everyone who helped us raise over $500!

We also took an opportunity to thank the gracious volunteers who serve as our appointees on County Commissions. Each commissioner received a special name badge and a pin with the county seal - a small token our gratitude for their commitment to Contra Costa.

Our 2015 Holiday Open House was the perfect start to the season and we're grateful for everyone who came to celebrate with us!

Supervisor Karen Mitchoff & the District IV Staff

Volunteers Needed for the

Annual Homelessness Count

The Contra Costa Council on Homelessness is looking for volunteers willing to help with the annual census (Point in Time Count) of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness. Your help is needed because the census provides important data that can inform programming, resource distribution, and housing inventory needs. This year our count will be conducted over a two-day period (1/28 and 1/29).

On Thursday, January 28th and Friday, January 29th, volunteers will be conducting the Service and Community Site Canvas.

If you are interested, there will be volunteer trainings in sites throughout the County the week before. To sign up and volunteer and for information about training dates, click here.

If you have any questions, please email Jaime Jenett by clicking here.

Around the District

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Reorganizations in District IV and

Upcoming Events

In December, our office attended each City Council reorganization in District IV. We congratulate our 2016 Mayors and look forward to serving with them in this New Year.

Mayor Laura Hoffmeister, City of Concord

Mayor Howard Geller, City of Clayton

Mayor Sue Noack, City of Pleasant Hill

Mayor Loella Haskew, City of Walnut Creek

Several of these cities will also be hosting, along with their respective Chamber, their State of the City Address and Luncheon:

Concord Mayor Luncheon

Thursday January 28th, 11:30 AM - 1:30 AM

Concord Hilton

1970 Diamond Blvd.

Concord, CA 94520

Pleasant Hill State of the City Breakfast

Friday February 19th, 7:30 AM

Pleasant Hill Senior Center

233 Gregory Lane

Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

Walnut Creek State of the City Luncheon

Tuesday January 26th, 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

Walnut Creek Marriott Hotel

2355 N. Main Street

Walnut Creek, CA 94596

If you would like more information on any of these events, or to RSVP, please contact the City's Chamber of Commerce.

Volunteering in the Community

This December our office had the opportunity to volunteer our time with local community organizations. It was a unique opportunity to experience the important role these organizations play in District IV, and to participate in spreading the spirit of the season. Below are two organizations that we had the pleasure of volunteering with.

Volunteer with VESTIA

In Mid-December we volunteered to sort donated toys and clothing with VESTIA - Volunteer Emergency Services Team in Action. VEST IA works closely with the County's Employment and Human Services department to identify families in need of extra assistance around the holidays. The majority of the recipients are local residents nominated by Family and Human Services. These families are given food, new clothing, books and toys. This operation relies on the generosity of donors and volunteers whom help to sort and "shop" for families. We were grateful for the opportunity to take part and hope everyone takes time to "give-back" this winter.

District IV Deputy Chief of Staff Lia Bristol and Chief of Staff Krystal Hinojosa with VESTIA organizer.

Monument Crisis Center's Senior Moments

The Monument Crisis Center was founded in 2003 by a group of concerned citizens. Their objective was to form an organization that would serve low-income families and individuals within Contra Costa County. The Monument Crisis Center provides low-income families and individuals the opportunity to receive nutritious food, education, general assistance and referrals. The Center is able to achieve their goal through some of the programs that they provide. One of the many programs that they provide, is called Senior Moments. Senior Moments allows qualifying seniors to participate in receiving additional food in a casual environment. The program provides seniors with a healthy lunch, time to socialize, blood pressure screenings and a sense of community all with providing much needed groceries. The Senior Moments program was able to serve 384 at-risk seniors in fiscal year 2014-15.

This December, our staff volunteered at the Monument Crisis Center's Senior Moments. We were fortunate enough to serve these at-risk seniors during the holidays, which was a special opportunity for us. Some of us served the seniors their hot turkey lunches while others were organizing the food bags of groceries in the pantry. We also played bingo with the seniors, while engaging in casual conversation with them. It was an honor to help the Monument Crisis Center during Senior Moments and it was our privilege to help these at-risk seniors.

If you are interested in volunteering at the Monument Crisis Center or are interested in helping during Senior Moments, then please contact the Monument Crisis Center at (925) 825-7751 or at monumentinfo@gmail.com

District IV Chief of Staff Krystal Hinojosa and District Representative Dominic Aliano with Monument Crisis Staff and Volunteers.

Volunteers busy sorting and packing groceries for the seniors.

5th Quadrennial Contra Costa County

Watershed Symposium

On December 3rd, more than 300 people all committed to caring for the County's watershed, participated in the Fifth Quadrennial Contra Costa Watershed Symposium. The event, held at the Pleasant Hill Community Center, included an awards program that spotlighted the work of leaders, champions and projects that were each making a significant contribution to the wellbeing of the watershed.

The timely topics discussed by panelists and speakers included:

Climate Change in the East Bay and its impact on the waterways.
River Restoration, drawing on global experiences that can be applied locally.
A Look at Lower Walnut Creek, including a history of the area and a review of its Restoration Project which will return it to a more natural setting, and how that will help future flood control.

I was happy to welcome this group and open up our program, along with Pleasant Hill City Councilman Tim Flaherty, and State Senator Steve Glazer. Educators from the Lindsay Wildlife Experience also entertained the audience with visiting critter ambassadors that live at the museum and help teach people about the needs of nature. Also recognized were teachers who work on environmental projects and students from the Urban Tilth program, which mentors emerging environmental stewards and professionals through a training and hands-on learning program.

The symposium is held every four years to draw together local groups, community members and representatives from the public and private sectors that are interested in creek and watershed health. Information sharing, networking and problem-solving opportunities are integrated into the symposiums. Ongoing work related to these topics is conducted by the Contra Costa Watershed Forum, which was borne out of the first symposium. The Watershed Forum is an open committee of around 50 organizations that work together with the County to make our water resources healthy, functional, attractive and safe.

Award winners included:

2015 Watershed Champion

Bob Simmons

Watershed Leadership Award

Ron Brown, Jim Hale, Lesley Hunt, and Igor Skaredoff

Watershed Project Award

Wildcat Creek Daylighting Project

Watersheds in Education Award

OWL Program, Paul Lindeman, Kate Perry, and Nick Marple

Special Recognition Award

Abby Fateman and John Kopchik

My staff enjoyed the opportunity participate along with the organizers and steering committee members that did such a fabulous job making this Symposium the successful event that it was. If you would like more information on the Contra Costa Watershed Symposium, and how you can get more involved, please contact my staff, Lia Bristol, at (925) 521-7100.

Supervisor Mitchoff speaking to the audience at the Symposium

Walnut Creek Seeking Applicants
for Various Commissions

The City of Walnut Creek is currently seeking applications for vacancies on three Commissions and one countywide board.

These include the Park, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Commission; the Planning Commission; the Transportation Commission; and the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control Board.

Applicants for all positions must live in incorporated Walnut Creek and be registered voters. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27. More information about the application process is available under the news items on the homepage of our new and improved website, walnut-creek.org . Commission appointments are fora term of four years; the appointment to the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control Board is for two years.

Here are the main duties of each commission/board:

The PROS Commission advises the City Council on the general direction and emphasis of park, recreation, creek, trail and open space needs, facilities and programs.
The Planning Commission reviews projects for compliance with the City's land use and zoning regulations, and has approval authority for subdivision maps, use permits and variances. The Commission prepares, and recommends for adoption by the Council, the City's General Plan as well as Specific Plans.
The Transportation Commission advises the City Council on issues affecting parking and all modes of transportation, from pedestrian to bikes to cars and other vehicles.
The Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control Board is established to govern the Mosquito and Vector Control District in their role of responsible handling of county-wide control of mosquitoes, rats, skunks and ground nesting yellow jackets.

Click here to access the application.

County Commission Vacancies

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors has established many boards, committees, and commissions to which it appoints Contra Costa residents to serve, on a volunteer basis, to advise the Board on the myriad of programs and issues under the Board's jurisdiction. Contra Costa residents are encouraged to participate in their County government, and to put their expert knowledge and experience to work in their communities by applying to serve on a Board advisory body.

Supervisors appoint individuals to various boards within their district. Currently there are vacancies for District IV representatives on five different boards, as follows:

1. Alcohol and Other Drugs Advisory Board

2. Contra Costa Centre Municipal Advisory Committee

3. Emergency Medical Care Committee, Alternate Seat
4. Fire Protection District, Alternate Seat

5. Local Planning Council

If you or someone you know might be interested in applying for a seat on one of these commissions, please visit my website for further information or contact my office at (925) 521-7100.

District IV Supervisor Karen Mitchoff

                         2
                         151 Salvio Street, Suite R
                        

                         Concord, California 94520
                        

                         (925) 521-7100
                        