Oakley to sell downtown building to Skipolini's

Also, as consideration for terminating the lease early as a result of the sale, the buyer, Kent Ipsen, indicated he would offer almost half of the remaining lease payments as part of the sale, which equals $62,500. The family-owned restaurant chain has six other locations in Northern California with one in Reno, as well. The firm expected to invest $600,000 to $750,000 in building improvements at the site when it moved in.

City Manager Josh McMurray told the Council that managing the property had put a strain on city staff in an area outside their expertise and urged the sale.

In other actions Tuesday night, the Council:

• Heard a presentation from Planning Director Ken Strelo who announced that the city had received a tentative approval from the state Housing and Community Development on the city’s 2023-2031 housing plan. By state law, cities and counties must designate sites and plans to foster affordable housing developments. Receiving state approval has been rare for most agencies to date.
• Sal Evola of Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery told the Council that their organic green recycling program for residences will be launched in Oakley in June, earlier than originally projected, and will soon encompass commercial customers as well. The refuse company has begun an information campaign via mail and social media to inform customers of the new three-container service for collection. The service, mandated by state law, entails no increase in cost to customers.
•  McMurray outlined his plan to transfer the emergency management program from the Police Department to the City Manager’s Office and designate a new Assistant City Manager to serve as the Assistant Director of Emergency Services. The Council earlier authorized the hiring of an assistant city manager who will also be the city’s public information officer.
• Police Chief Paul Beard offered a report to the Council on his staffing levels saying he expects the department to soon hit its authorized staffing number of 40 officers including himself, two lieutenants, six sergeants, 31 line officers and one trainee. He strongly urged the Council to authorize ‘overhiring” of two positions in anticipation of expected medical retirements on the force. Most of the Council expressed their support of his plan.
• A spirited discussion on police mutual aid followed the chief’s report on staffing. At a previous meeting, Council member George Fuller, a former police officer, had questioned the wisdom of offering mutual aid to the neighboring city of Antioch. Fuller, at the meeting and through his social media postings,  expressed his frustration with police reforms instituted by Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe and said he didn’t want to place Oakley police officers at risk by sending them to answer crime calls there. Beard outlined in detail the legal documents each area agency signs that requires them to provide law enforcement mutual aid. Fellow Council members Shannon Shaw and Anissa Williams spoke out in support of the chief and the system of mutual aid. Beard also bluntly told Fuller that his statements had placed him in an awkward position with neighboring cities and his own staff. “I don’t want to get into disparaging comments about neighboring police departments,” he said. “It’s not my job to get into political debates.”

For more information: https://www.ci.oakley.ca.us/agendas-minutes-videos-archive/