If the CEC approves the construction of the power plant, which is to be located on 22 acres of the former DuPont property on Bridgehead Road, the community benefits agreement established between the city and CCGS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Radback Energy, Inc., states that CCGS will contribute approximately $6 million to the city to help fund capital improvement projects and establish a grant program to benefit local nonprofit organizations.
Under the agreement, CCGS will contribute $3 million for various transportation, landscaping and infrastructure improvements throughout the city. In the agreement, CCGS also commits to pay $2.8 million that will go toward potential environmental improvements.
The community benefits agreement will also establish a $250,000 grant program that will benefit local nonprofits that serve Oakley. Potential candidates for these funds include La Clinia, which is scheduled to open in June, 4-H, and Friends of Marsh Creek.
City Manager Bryan Montgomery said the community-benefits agreement is the result of hours of hard work, analysis and negotiation that also resulted in CCGS contributing $175,000 to pay for the city’s retainer fees for consultants and legal counsel that have been hired by the city to help City Council and staff better understand the CEC’s investigation process.
“There are certainly some aspects of the plan that aren’t exactly what the City Council desired on this property,” Montgomery told the council, “but the analysis has been conducted and what is being presented to (the council) is, with the community benefit agreement and the other economic benefits of the plan – it is worth our support. … I feel Radback gave more than they intended and we didn’t get everything that we wanted, but that’s how good solid negotiations take place and we recommend approval.”
Vice Mayor Jim Frazier said he liked the benefits of the agreement but proposed the council ask CCGS to contribute $500,000 to the grant program. When Councilmember Kevin Romick asked where the additional $250,000 was going to come from, Frazier said it could come out of the capital-improvements contribution. Montgomery reaffirmed that the offer was finite and funds could be substituted, but the council was not recommended to ask for more than what was offered. Councilmember Bruce Connelley agreed that after hours of negotiations, the council should accept the agreement as is and suggested additional partners for the grant program could be found at a later date.
Radback CEO Bryan Bertacchi agreed that this was a good offer for the city and urged the council to approve the agreement, offering to find additional partners to support the grant program. Mayor Pat Anderson was pleased to hear that Radback would help the city find additional partners for the grant program, as she too was hoping to offer community organizations more than $250,000.
Bertacchi said in a press release that the community-benefit agreement represents CCGS’s commitment to Oakley. “We believe it was important to help provide direct services to Oakley residents based on community needs. That’s how we ended up with the community grant program. That program, along with the other important investments in the city, will directly benefit Oakley residents for years to come.”
However, while the council received 20 testimonials from residents who supported the agreement, some members of the public disagreed with the agreement and the proposed plant.
In a message to the City Council, resident Eve Diamond wrote: “The CCGS estimates that ‘as much as 6 million dollars in one-time sales tax may come to the city as a result of the project.’ The cooperative word is may, and it might as well say ‘possibly, but hardly likely.’ Selling out its residents’ air quality for money is, in my opinion, no different than prostitution. When will the city wake up and listen to its residents instead of the almighty dollar?”
The comment drew whispers from the standing room only crowd of more than 120 people, as did the comments made by resident Paul Seger, who has openly opposed the project since it was publicly announced last year.
Despite the opposition, the majority of those in attendance were in favor of the power plant and the community-benefits agreement.
Oakley Chamber of Commerce President Steven Nosanchuk said Oakley’s community organizations are experiencing a funding void due to the recession, and the grant program established in the community benefit agreement is needed now more than ever.
“I think this community grant program will help create an official body and mechanism where people can present their good ideas and get some much-needed guidance and support, which in the long run, will benefit our community.”
Although the council has no say in whether or not the power plant is approved by the CEC, many speakers at Tuesday’s meeting voiced their support of the plant. Mayor Anderson encouraged speakers to discuss only the community benefits agreement, but most speakers simply wanted to reiterate their desire to draw a large local project to town that would generate hundred of jobs.
Whether residents support or oppose the project, Councilmember Carol Rios urged those in attendance to forward their comments to the CEC, as the commission – not the city – is the entity empowered to render the final decision regarding the power plant.
For more information about the proposed CCGS or to submit your comments or concerns about the proposed plant, e-mail CEC Public Adviser Jennifer Jannings at publicadviser@energy.state.ca.us or call 916-654-4489.
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