A General Municipal Election will be held in the City of Oakley on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, for the following offices:

· District 1:    One (1) Council Member    Full term of Four Years
· District 3:    One (1) Council Member    Full term of Four Years
· District 5:    One (1) Council Member    Full term of Four Years

The nomination period for these offices opens on Monday, July 15, 2024 and will close Friday, August 9, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. There is no extension of the nomination period.

Nomination papers may be obtained from and filed with the City Clerk’s Office located at City Hall, 3231 Main Street, Oakley, California.

Appointments for obtaining and filing nomination papers are strongly encouraged prior to the August 9, 2024 filing deadline, and can be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office.

Appointments are available during business hours, Monday-Thursday, 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. and Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

The lobby at City Hall closes at 12 p.m. on business days. If lobby doors are locked, please contact the City Clerk’s Office for entry into the building.

City Hall will be closed Friday, July 19, 2024 and Friday, August 2, 2024 (non-business days).

During the November 2022 Election, the City of Oakley began its transition from at-large to district-based elections, with candidates in Districts 2 and 4 voted on during that election.

This election will complete the City’s transition to district-based elections for Districts 1, 3 and 5.

Due to transition to districts, there are no eligible incumbents for Districts 1, 3 and 5, and therefore, the City’s election official will not furnish nomination papers to incumbents for any office.

To contact the City Clerk’s Office:

Libby Vreonis, City Clerk, (925) 625-7013 or vreonis@ci.oakley.ca.us
Kim Snodgrass, Deputy City Clerk, (925) 625-7048 or snodgrass@ci.oakley.ca.us
Diana Kerr, Election Official, (925) 625-7000 or kerr@ci.oakley.ca.us

Candidate information will be updated at https://www.ci.oakley.ca.us/oakleyelection2024 each day that nomination papers are issued or filed or candidates qualify for the election.

It is time to organize your neighborhoods and get together for a safe evening of getting to know each other during National Night Out! City of Oakley officials and members of the Oakley Police Department will be out and about visiting registered neighborhoods from 6PM-9PM.

Your neighborhood is invited to be part of this fun on Tuesday evening, August 6, 2024. National Night Out is designed to:

• Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness.
• Generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime efforts.
• Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police/community partnerships.
• Send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Neighborhoods will be hosting a variety of events ranging from small potlucks and BBQ’s to large block parties. Some additional event ideas include, but are not limited to, ice cream socials, disaster preparedness, games, contests, discussing neighborhood issues or setting neighborhood goals, food or clothing donations, plan a clean-up day, beautify a common area, discuss or plan a Neighborhood Watch Program. 

It’s up to you, be creative, have fun and celebrate your neighborhood!

Register your neighborhood for this year’s event today. Registration is free and gives police and other city representatives an opportunity to attend local events as time and circumstances permit. You do not have to be a current Neighborhood Watch neighborhood to participate.  National Night Out is for everyone! 

Register here and begin planning your event as soon as possible!

We’re excited to have Major League Fishing in Oakley next week for the Toyota Series! The Toyota Series will be held on the Delta June 5th through 7th, 2024. The three-day tournament hosted by the City of Oakley is renowned for its premier competition and offering the largest payouts in national fishing tournaments. Read their press release at https://tr.ee/N_9tm-dkUy.

The City of Oakley has taken another step forward to bringing a new, state of the art library to the community. In July of 2022, Baker Tilly, now Management Partners, was hired to help the City prepare an initial feasibility analysis which was presented to the City Council on January 24, 2023. The City Council directed staff to focus on an option that would explore higher density, multi-family housing on the City block bound by O’Hara Avenue to the west, Acme Street to the north, 2nd Street to the east and Ruby Street to the south. The purpose of the housing portion of the project is to allow the City to utilize a Public Private Partnership (P3) model, which in this case would allow a developer to provide the City a public facility as part of a private development project. The new library would be located on the Civic Center campus, approximately in the location where the current City corporation yard sits. 

The initial analysis was promising, and in an effort to continue with that work, the City hired a consulting team led by Urban Field Studio with Economic Planning Systems and HKIT Architects to further study how we can best create the most value for the O’Hara parcel and site plan the future library on the Civic Center campus. The focus of the secondary analysis was to explore further both the residential component of the project and how much realistic residual value the City could generate to help fund the construction of the new library. A variety of densities and product types were analyzed, and that information was presented to the City Council in November of 2023. 

The City Council directed staff to continue to explore the project in addition to seeking funding opportunities. As part of this next phase of the project, our consultant team has prepared renderings of what the Oakley Library could look like as well as a conceptual site plan to give an idea of the potential floorplan of the facility. These renderings will be used by the City and supporters of this library effort, like the Friends of the Oakley Library, to gain support and secure funding for this exciting project.

Follow the progress of this exciting project on our Envision Oakley public engagement platform here.

The Shop Oakley 2024 Coupon Book is now available at all City facilities.

The Junior Recreation Leader Program is designed to give students, ages 13 – 15, a chance to gain first hand experience in the recreation field, which can prepare them for a variety of jobs in several fields.

Those interested in applying can click here to apply.

The City currently utilizes an at-large election system, which means that the electors from the entire City choose each of the five Councilmembers. The Councilmembers are eligible to hold office no matter where in the City they reside.  A district-based election system, in contrast, is one in which the City is delineated into separate districts, each with one councilmember who resides in the district and is chosen by the electors residing in that particular district. To learn more about Districting and learn how you can be a part of it visit the Districting page by clicking here.

FOUR STEPS TO TAKE IF YOU FIND A DEAD BIRD

Dead birds are often the first sign of West Nile virus

 Step One

You find a dead bird. What do you do? Here in Contra Costa County, the first step is to call 1-877-WNV-BIRD (1-877-968-2473) or go online to report the bird to the California West Nile Virus Dead Bird Hotline. As you submit the information, the Hotline operator determines if the bird could be a good candidate for testing.

Step Two

The District receives information about birds deemed suitable for testing soon after the report is submitted. We assign a District employee to pick up the bird.

Step Three

Once the bird arrives at the District, the laboratory staff inspect the bird to determine if the reported information is correct. On occasion, the bird is not the species that was reported and cannot be tested. Most birds, however; are the correct species and can be tested. Our entomologist performs a preliminary test and then sends the bird to U.C. Davis for confirmation of West Nile virus infection. U.C. Davis typically informs the District if the bird had West Nile virus within a week.

Step Four

Once the District receives confirmation that a dead bird was infected with West Nile virus, they post the results on the District website and District employees place mosquito traps in the neighborhood near where the bird was reported to collect mosquitoes to test for virus if needed. They increase efforts to find young larval mosquitoes in nearby water sources and we let the person who reported the bird know that the bird tested positive for West Nile virus.

A Few of Your Questions Answered    

What Makes a Bird a Good Candidate for Testing?

• The bird is a raven, crow, jay or magpie which is in the Corvid family and is a species that can be susceptible to West Nile virus.

When Will the Bird Get Picked Up?

• Dead birds are often picked up on the same day as the report, but may be picked up the following day if the report reaches the District late in the day.
• There are no bird pickups on weekends or holidays.

 What if No One Calls Me Back

• If a District employee picks up the bird, but within a week, no one has called back, the bird may not have been suitable for testing or did not have West Nile virus.

Even in cases when a District employee does not pick up a reported bird, the reports are still very important because they still provide information to help the District conduct prevention and control efforts. Not all birds are tested but all reports are valuable.

The City’s Graffiti Rewards Program rewards citizens with $300 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of graffiti vandals. For more information click here.