1 Jun 2026

CIA Minutes 5/5/26

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CROCKETT   IMPROVEMENT   ASSOCIATION

Minutes 5/5/26

By Sonja New, Recording Secretary

  1. Call to Order by Dale  at  6:33 pm, quorum  present.

Attendance

  • Present: Scott Bartlebaugh, Lisa Dwiggins, Julie Fisk, Carla Garbis, April Gray, Dale McDonald, Dolores Morales, Sonja New, Lindsey Pannell, Kent Peterson, Mary Wais, Iris Wesselmann
  • Excused: Jena Goodman, Daniel Haaf
  • Absent:  Melanie Anderson
  • Guests: Margaret Faria, Norma Black, Jim Gardner, Nancy Rieser
  1. Introductions: none.
  2. Additions/Changes of Order to Agenda: 1. Use of Plaza the third Saturday of each month added to New Business. 2. Use of Plaza 6/6/26 and hanging flower baskets on Second Ave. added after Announcements. 3. Update on Bridgehead added to Committee Reports.  
  3.  Minutes for 4/7/26  approved with no corrections.
  1. Announcements: There will be no July CIA meeting. Dale will not be able to attend in August; Mary will chair that meeting.
  1. Use of Plaza on 6/6/26 for Townwide Yard Sale: approved. Hanging of 12 Flower Baskets on Second Ave: Jena has advised that such approval should be sought from the Crockett Community Services District (CCSD), not the CIA, as the streetlights are under their purview. Dale referred Norma to the CCSD and advised her to inform the CCSD that the CIA has no objection to the hanging of the baskets.
  1. Treasurer’s Report: Scott submitted a Financial Report that stated, as of 5/3/26, there is $6,918.62 in the checking account and $42,119.98 in the savings account. Main expenses for April included $412.12 for fundraising T-shirts and $547 for general liability insurance. Income included $1130 from the membership drive and $439 for the memorial fund. Treasurer’s Report was approved.
  • Committee Reports
    • Beautification: Lindsey said that there would be a work party in the Plaza on Sunday. A question was asked about Kent’s comment from a previous meeting that the CIA would assume responsibility for trimming the trees on 6th and Pomona. There was some discussion about who is responsible for the trees, with some CIA members recalling the CIA planting them many years ago and pledging ongoing care of them. There was some debate about whether the CCSD or Public Works should trim the trees. By consensus, the CIA committed to taking care of the trees. It was stressed that all trees should be trimmed by first consulting a professional arborist, such as Molly or Steve Batchelder. As to the expense of trimming the trees at 6th and Pomona, Lindsey volunteered Beautification funds (there is $3,686.93 in that account) and Dolores stated that the Community Foundation may fund a small grant for such purposes in the next funding cycle.
    • Fundraising: Julie and Iris demonstrated the finished green T-shirts with the CIA logo in various styles and sizes. Again, there was some discussion about whether or not the T-shirts can be offered for donations prior to 6/1/26, for funding purposes. The committee has already collected $100 in donations. It was agreed that no further donations would be accepted until after 6/1/26.
    • Finance and Budget: Scott and Dale have not met formally as a committee yet but did note they have successfully obtained the general liability insurance required by the grant the Traffic Committee has applied for.
    • Traffic: Sonja announced that the grant application for $50,000 from the Phillips 66 Community Benefits Agreement was completed and submitted by the deadline of 4/30/26. The purpose of the grant is to contract with a civil engineer to evaluate the Port and Wanda Streets intersection to see if it is possible to re-route 18-wheeler traffic out of our downtown area and on to the Wanda Bypass when leaving town. Kent added that he had a very congenial discussion with Peter O’Malley, C&H executive in Baltimore MD, and was informed that C&H also is in favor of re-routing the truck traffic away from our heavily congested areas, mainly for pedestrian safety, if it is possible. Further discussions are anticipated, pending the decision of the grantors. Sonja announced the results of the traffic survey (updated version attached) that was sent out with the membership solicitation; 110 surveys were returned. When tabulated, it showed 88% of respondents wish that C&H would require the truckers to use the Wanda Bypass instead of our downtown area to leave the plant.
    • Membership: Dolores stated that, at last count, we had 76 members renew their CIA membership dues (92 was the final total last year), for an income stated in the Financial Report above. It is noted that expenses for the membership drive were listed as a March expense of $1,685.17. Dolores stated that she believes the income has now slightly surpassed the cost of doing the drive.
    • Bridgehead: Nancy asked about whose responsibility it is now to maintain the bridgehead. In the past, the CIA has assumed that responsibility, but the mixed messages from Caltrans and Contra Costa County have confused the issue. At present, Darcy with Crockett Public Services (CPS) is doing the mowing. It is uncertain about who is picking up the trash, other than on the bypass which the CPS has contracted to do. Nancy noted that the future of the Dog Park is unknown since Caltrans unobtainably raised the amount of insurance required for its operation.
  • Old Business
    • Townwide Cleanup 5/9/26: Julie stated that she still has to reserve a green bin for the event, at a cost of $386.27. It will be for the collection of green waste only, which is what the Cleanup traditionally nets. Trash will be disposed of by other means. Margaret suggested that, since participation in this event is progressively declining, we do more outreach by advertising on Facebook and Nextdoor; and requesting volunteers from local industry such as C&H, NuStar, the Boy Scouts, and the school district, all of whom have helped in the past. Dale suggested this be added to the agenda next month.
    • Residential Cleanup 6/13/26: Kent stated he will obtain the debris bins and he will contact Rapid Recycle and ask permission to use the high school student parking lot.
    • Membership Booth and Sale of T-shirts at the Townwide Yard Sale 6/6/26: it was the consensus of the group that this would not be a cost-effective use of our time as customers at this event are traditionally not willing to spend anything but bargain prices.
    • Brochure: Julie and Sonja announced they are willing to renew the effort to get this    published, after a hiatus of a couple of years of it being in production. We have a mockup of the original brochure entitled “Crockett and Port Costa, Public Information” and it was suggested that Jena has the PDF version. Also suggested was for us to contact the Chamber of Commerce to make sure we are not duplicating their efforts on a similar project.
  • New Business
    • Report on Reasonable Accommodations Request Regarding the Upper Terrace: Mary thanked Dale on behalf of the group for his extensive efforts in this ongoing issue. Dale gave a verbal report that a review of the accommodations requested was completed April 24. Determinations were made with the first two requests granted (advanced notice of activities in Upper Terrace and that all pertinent communication be in writing) but the third request (continued access to the upper terrace) was denied. The Upper Terrace is not open to the public and access is only given to CIA members and volunteers to perform maintenance, as needed. Dale noted that when he visited the site, he saw that trees there will need a fair amount of regular maintenance and suggested this be added to future agenda.
    • Request by Walk It, Shop It, in Crockett, to use the Plaza for their event every third Saturday of the month: the group approved the use of the Plaza for this  purpose for six months, then will review for future approval.
  • Parking Lot: (Solid Waste Issues returned to Committee Reports), Website, Bylaws.
  1. Adjournment: at 8:12 pm.

Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 2, 2026, 6:30 pm, Crockett Community Center.