This year, resolve to help improve our city

January 9, 2004

The most common New Year's resolutions usually have to do with making a better life for oneself, one's family and one's friends. What better way to accomplish that goal than to help make one's environment better. Not just by resolving to commute to work with a friend to help keep the air clean, or by making sure to put all plastic bottles in the recycling bin, but by helping with the development of your city.

OK, so everyone is tired of hearing about Oakley being a new city, but relative to other Contra Costa cities, Oakley is new. With that comes a responsibility to see that it gets off on the right foot. Many times people complain that things aren't being done, that they wish it was done another way or that the city isn't taking care of anything. Here is your big chance to make a New Year's resolution about really truly making your life better, as well as the lives of those around you.

Our city leaders have a vision: "By 2007, the City of Oakley will be recognized as a model of civic participation and a vibrant Delta community where families live, work, play, shop and visit." Sounds simple enough. As a matter of fact, Oakley is nearly there or at the very least should be, but the council members want more, as well they should and so should you.

Over the past couple of months we have been hearing a lot about new homes coming in. Nearly 4,000 are planned for the next couple of years. We also are hearing about how the city is working on bringing new businesses into the area. The redevelopment people and council members have been attending conferences, making up displays, sending out brochures and talking to big and small businesses about coming to Oakley.

Each year the city works on department project updates and sets goals and resolutions. There are many things on their lists that they would like to complete this coming year, such as working with redevelopment bonds and staff reviewing software to track city inquiries and similar boring but necessary administrative operations.

Some of the more exciting things include designing guidelines for subdivisions, commercial and industrial properties. These guidelines will be instrumental in bringing business to Oakley. Another is working on traffic engineering programs and reviewing comprehensive traffic programs and coming up with a South Oakley infrastructure master plan.

Oakley's parks and recreation department is planning a very busy year by giving their final report on the implementation of the parks, recreation and trails master plan, working on park maintenance and small park renovation on Holly Creek by February. They also are hoping to have the bathrooms completed at Laurel Fields this spring, as well as the Freedom soccer fields.

The police department is continuing their crime prevention programs and looking for volunteers trained to promote Neighborhood Watch programs throughout the city.

Along with working on bringing businesses into Oakley, the redevelopment agency is continuing its work on downtown revitalization programs, economic housing development, and working on the first phase of the Civic Center by June.

While all of these plans are to be implemented by the council and the city staff, we as residents can do our part to help. We can attend council meetings, keep updated on current activities, offer our services where we can and even report problems and concerns to the council and staff when we see them, instead of sitting on the sidelines and complaining about the problems. It's not too late to make that New Year resolution and what better way than to help your city be the best it can be.

Roni Gehlke's column on life in Oakley appears each week in the Brentwood News.

Distributed by the Contra Costa Times

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