Town of Discovery Bay Community Services District Newsletter • Vol. 2 APRIL 2014
Message from the General Manager As 2013 fades further and further in our rear view mirror, 2014 is shaping up to be a milestone year for the Town. In the first three months alone, there have been a number of items that have shined bright for the Town. In January, the Town’s Board of Directors received kudos from
the California Special Districts Leadership Foundation for having achieved a high level of Special District Governance education and training. Also in January, the new Community Center opened its doors with a full slate of recreational based programming. Located at 1601
The Community Center’s ribbon-cutting ceremony in February was a huge success.
Discovery Bay Blvd., the Center offers a wide variety of programs - from Aerobics to Zumba, the Community Center has something for everyone. Rooms are available to reserve for parties, meetings and other activities. There are tennis courts; a sand volleyball court; Bar-B-Ques; and community swimming pool that opens Memorial Day weekend – and the entire facility is available for public use. For more information about the Community Center, see the “Flip Side” of this newsletter or visit our website at www. todb.ca.gov and click on the Community Center Logo. Earlier this year, Contra Costa County approved two new residential projects for Discovery Bay. Newport Pointe, a private community on Newport Drive across from Newport Lane will consist of 67 single family residential Continued on page 2 >
Town Takes Action to Stem the Use of Salt Based Water Softeners
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In February, the Town’s Board of Directors passed a new law banning the installation of sodium, potassium, or chloride based regenerative water softeners for new home construction and new water softener installations. After an extensive study, it was determined that salt based water softeners are the cause of excessively high levels of salt entering the wastewater treatment
stream. Once the highly treated wastewater is discharged into Old River, the salt content is too high and exceeds state of California Water Quality limits for discharge to the Delta. Membrane based or carbon based water softeners are allowed. For further information, you can contact the Town office at 925-634-1131.
Check out the
Discovery Bay
Activity Guide on the flip side!
Come and Get ‘em While They Last! Town of Discovery Bay The Town of Discovery Bay Board of Directors meets at 7:00 p.m. on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month at the District Office
Show your pride as you drive by purchasing Discovery Bay “Live Where You Play” license plate frames – in silver and gold, the frames are $10.00 each. Keep those summer beverages cool with Discovery Bay logo koozie cups and adorn that flagpole with a logo flag. The koozies are $2.00 each and the flags are $30 each. All items are available for sale at the Community Center, and proceeds from the sale of these items goes towards the Community Center building fund.
DISTRICT OFFICE 1800 Willow Lake Rd. Discovery Bay, CA 94505 Located behind Delta Community Presbyterian Church BOARD President: Mark Simon Vice President: Chris Steele Director: Kevin Graves
Continued from pg.1 Message from General Manager opment plans and anticipate construction units and open space areas on 20 acres. Director: Marianne Wiesen beginning in late 2015. Pantages at Discovery Bay is a 292 single family residential project encom- As was reported in the last issue of STAFF the Pipeline, the Town is in the middle passing 171 acres at the end of Point General Manager: Rick Howard of a renovation and upgrade of its wasteof Timber Road. The development will Water/Wastewater Manager: water facilities to meet stringent water include almost 90 acres of open space, Virgil Koehne quality standards imposed by the state. environmentally sensitive wetlands, Finance Manager: Dina Breitstein The upgrades are all a part of a $14.1M walking trails with water views, and a Parks & Landscape Manager: capital improvement program aimed to Sheriff Marine Patrol Station. Pantages Fairin Perez make sure that our facilities are up to the will be gated and will include 105 deep task and that they operate as efficiently water homes that will be made possible PHONE: (925) 634-1131 as possible. The most visible of those by the widening of Kellogg Creek. www.todb.ca.gov projects are the two new greenhouses Both projects are finalizing their develthat have sprung up at our treatment plant along Highway 4. Those greenhouses are actually drying chambers that are an integral part of the wastewater In the event of an emergency, it’s always comforting to know that when help arrives, treatment process. it arrives to the correct address. The street name and address number help make that a I’d like to invite you to attend one reality. But, what if first responders arrive via water? A fire boat, or sheriff’s patrol of our Board of Director’s meetings. vessel may be first on the scene. In that instance, without knowing the exact location, The meetings are held at the Town response times can be delayed. Contra Costa County District III Supervisor and the Office, 1800 Willow Lake Road on the County Department of Public Works are offering Discovery Bay residents the opporfirst and third Wednesdays of the month tunity to purchase dock address signs for $50 that can be affixed to your patio or dock at 7:00 p.m. and that tells emergency personnel exactly where they are. For additional information If you have any questions about and to learn more about this important safety program, visit the Town’s website and what’s happening around Town, drop me click on the Dock Sign logo to get started! a line at rhoward@todb.ca.gov. I’d be happy to assist you in any way possible. Director: Bill Pease
Dock Address Signs
Sincerely, Rick Howard PAGE 2
Employee Spotlight: Dan Meewis is a familiar sight around the Commu-
W
ater is California’s most precious natural resource. How we manage it today will affect nearly every aspect of our future.
When our state enjoys a year of abundant rain and our reservoirs are full, it is easy to think that our water supply is endless. But in California, the next drought may be just around the corner. After three consecutive dry years, California is now experiencing a serious drought. We simply cannot afford to waste any water. Even in normal years, some areas of the state find it difficult to meet all demands for water. Our state’s population continues to grow, with 60 million Californians expected by 2050. That means more people, farms and businesses will rely on our rivers, reservoirs and groundwater basins for their daily needs. Climate change already is affecting California’s water resources. Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada - the source of much of our runoff and our largest “natural” reservoir could shrink by as much as 25% by 2050. Experts say the changing rain and snowfall patterns will result in longer periods of drought. As a Californian, we cannot take water for granted. While state and local leaders continue to work on long-term solutions to our water challenges, saving water on a daily basis helps stretch supplies. In wet years, that helps keep water in reservoirs for the inevitable dry years to come. In dry times, conservation is a critical tool to help ensure that we have enough water for our communities, our environment, our farms and other important parts of our economy. It’s easy for every Californian—young and old—to save water every day. To learn more about the current drought conditions and ideas on how to conserve, please visit www.saveourh2o.org.
nity Center these days. Dan recently joined the Town of Discovery Bay in January 2014 as the Town’s Recreation Programs Coordinator. Prior to coming to Discovery Bay, Dan worked with the Livermore Area Recreation & Park District. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Recreation Administration from Humboldt State University, and has been working in the recreation and leisure services field for over 15 years. Drawing from his experiences in Livermore, Dan brings to Discovery Bay a creative outlook on recreational programs for the community. Along with ever popular adult softball and bocce ball leagues that will start this summer, he is also focusing his energies on establishing soccer, kickball, and basketball leagues as well as hosting youth summer camps, and added senior programming. Dan has indicated that while the sky is the limit when it comes to the types of programming that can be offered here in Discovery Bay, he wants to concentrate on those programs that are the most popular and will attract the largest number of participants. Dan is married and the father of two young children. Stop by and say hi, and see what he has planned!
What We’re Working On • Town staff is working on bringing a mid-week Farmer’s Market to the Community Center this summer. Details are not finalized at this time, but hopefully the market will become a reality in the coming months. • Construction of Well No. 7 continues on Newport Drive. It is anticipated that the new water production well will be operational late summer. • Renovation of Lift Station “F”, located at the corner of Willow Lake and River Lake Roads will begin this summer. The oldest of the Town’s sewer lift stations; this lift station is also one of the most critical in Town. Construction will take place while Discovery Bay Elementary School is on summer break to limit any potential traffic impacts. PAGE 3