Chevron Renewal Project offers many benefits to the community

Council supports growers' goals to preserve County's agricultural core

In action at the March 21 Contra Costa Council Board meeting, and in support of a recommendation by the Council's Land Use Task Force, Directors voiced their support of efforts to preserve agricultural land and promote economic viability in the County's 12,000-acre agricultural zone. The Council's action supports the goals of a proposal offered by a coalition of organizations that includes the Contra Costa Wine Grape and Olive Growers Association, Harvest Time, Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust and others.

The Council will send a letter of support to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors that underscores its endorsement of both the goals and the concept of exploring potential measures to preserve agricultural land.  

"The Agricultural Core is a valuable resource to our County, but circumstances make it challenging to farm economically, and there are pressures to develop areas of prime agricultural soil. Any measure that could be effective in increasing the economic viability of agriculture should be explored," said Linda Best, President and CEO of the Council in her letter to the Board of Supervisors. 

"We support the coalition's recommendation to refer this matter to the Contra Costa County Agricultural Advisory Task Force for further consideration," she continued. "We look forward to reviewing the recommendation that may be forthcoming, and the Council will offer its feedback on specific recommendations or actions as appropriate."

Council offers support for Prop 99 and opposes Prop 98 eminent domain legislation

The Contra Costa Council Board of Directors voted to support Proposition 99 (Homeowner Protection Act) and oppose Proposition 98 (Rent Control Rollback) legislation at the March 21 Board of Directors meeting.

As noted in the Council brief by the Land Use Task Force, Prop 98 could negatively impact  public water projects because it prohibits the use of eminent domain to acquire land and water for these projects. In addition, the proposition's proposed changes to existing law could wreak havoc on local land-use planning and environmental protections and "appears to impair a broader class of environmental protections than did Proposition 90."

Prop 99, on the other hand, will have no impact on public water projects or any other traditional public works project, preserves the ability to protect public health and safety,  and permits the use of eminent domain to protect public health and safety. Should Prop 99 pass with more votes than Prop 98, the latter would be nullified.

Upcoming briefings

New and prospective Council members are welcome to attend Task Force meetings. Please notify a Task Force chair prior to the meeting to confirm time and location.

Here is a list of upcoming briefings, as currently scheduled:

Health Care Task Force . . . Thursday, April 3, 8:30 to 10 a.m. . . . Morgan Miller Blair, 1331 N. California Blvd., Suite 200, Walnut Creek. (The Task Force is planning next steps on the 2007 Community Health Indicators for the Contra Costa Report, under Frank Puglisi's lead; members will visit the East County health care facility in May and are currently discussing retail medical clinics and small business access to health care. Next meeting is Thursday, May 1; please confirm location with the chairs.) Contacts: Ron Wetter and Frank Puglisi, Jr.

Transportation and Land Use Task Forces (joint meeting) . . . Wednesday, April 9, 8 to 9:30 a.m. . . . Miles Imwalle and Michelle Moore, attorneys from Morrison & Foerster's Land Use and Environmental Law group, lead a discussion on the implications of climate change laws AB32, CEQA and SB375 on land use decisions. Morrison & Foerster, 101 Ygnacio Valley Rd. (opposite Walnut Creek BART). (The Transportation Task Force is also holding ongoing discussions regarding the potential of public/private partnership solutions for the Vasco Road corridor.) RSVP to Terry Shoaff at 925-246-1880. Transportation contacts: Hank Haugse and Terry Bowen; Land Use contacts: Dan Muller and Mike McGill

Environmental/Manufacturing Task Force . . . Tuesday, April 15, 8:15 to 10 a.m. . . . Chapman University, 2950 Buskirk, Room 307, Walnut Creek. The Task Force joins the Water Task Force and the Delta Vision Task Force for a presentation by Les Grober, Environmental Program Manager, California Department of Water Resources. (Next meeting is Friday, May 2.) Contacts: Peter McGaw and George Smith

Water Task Force . . . Tuesday, April 15, 8:15 to 10 a.m. . . . Chapman University, 2950 Buskirk, Room 307, Walnut Creek. The Water Task Force and the Delta Vision Task Force join the Environmental/Manufacturing Task Force for a presentation by Les Grober, Environmental Program Manager, California Department of Water Resources. Contacts: Ann Spaulding and Bob Whitley

Workforce Development & Education Task Force . . . Thursday, April 17, 8:30 to 10 a.m. . . . Discussion about the impact of the state budget crisis on public schools. JFK University, 100 Ellinwood, Conference Room S209, Pleasant Hill. Contacts: April Treece and Keith Archuleta

Small Business Task Force. . . Tuesday, April 22, 8:15 to 9:45 a.m. . . . Morgan Miller Blair, 1331 N. California Blvd., Suite 200, Walnut Creek. Jim Warrington, Director of Purchasing, Contra Costa County Central Sanitary District, discusses how to do business with the Sanitary District. Contacts: Stuart Bolinger and Zachary Sahar

Economic Development Task Force. . . Wednesday, April 23, 8 to 9 a.m. . . . City National Bank, 2100 No. Main St., Suite 200, Walnut Creek. (The Task Force is looking at the economic impact of the five "resident" institutions of higher education in the County and at the Green Economy Study being undertaken by the Economic Partnership, and will be scheduling a presentation for the upcoming Economic Indicator Report.) Contacts: Gary Craft and Mike Conlon

Nonprofit/Business Task Force . . . Thursday, April 24, registration at 7 a.m.; breakfast and presentation, 7:30 to 10 a.m. . . . Round Hill Country Club, Alamo. Presenting the Task Force's first ever breakfast forum on "Building Partnerships for Social Responsibility." Keynote speaker is Dr. Kellie McElhaney, Executive Director & Founder, Center for Responsible Business, Haas School of Business. Experts panel, moderated by Contra Costa Supervisor Susan Bonilla, includes Nicole Taylor, President & CEO, East Bay Community Foundation; Rod Mickels, President & Co-Founder, InVision Communications; Mike Hannigan, CEO, Give Something Back; and Tim Butturini, Market President, Wells Fargo. Contacts: Mike Erwin, Mark Hughes and Terry Shoaff

Nonprofit/Business Task Force: Working together for the greater good

At just over a year old, the Contra Costa Council's Nonprofit/Business Task Force is already the largest of the Council's 10 task forces, with an average attendance of from 30 to 40 people at monthly meetings. Membership of nearly 100 is proportionate to the Council's nonprofit and for-profit business representation.

Established to build and strengthen partnerships between for-profit and nonprofit business sectors in Contra Costa County, the Task Force is a vehicle for members to pursue shared public policy goals and to explore ways the two sectors can work together. The upcoming Building Partnerships for Social Responsibility event, to be held on April 24, from 7 to 10 a.m. at Round Hill County Club in Alamo, is being presented by the Council's newest task force (see Upcoming Events).

"Most nonprofits exist to improve the quality of life for residents, which meshes well with the mission of the Council--to promote the economic vitality of the County and the region," says Task Force Co-Chair Mike Erwin (pictured above, at right), President and CEO of the Mt. Diablo Region YMCA and a Council member for several years. Mike has been with the YMCA organization for 25 years.

Nonprofit presence

"In the last few years, we have seen greater participation in the Council by the nonprofit community, and we felt it made sense to formally recognize that involvement," Mike adds. "There is a real desire on the part of the nonprofits to connect with the business community and to create an understanding of their value within the business sector. There is a corresponding interest from the profit sector to better understand how nonprofits function. The groups have a lot in common in terms of what is important to them."

"Recognizing the common links between the two sectors is helping us improve our ability to achieve the Council's mission," says Task Force Co-Chair Mark Hughes (pictured above, at left), Manager of Public Relations for ConocoPhillips' Rodeo operation. A former Council Chairman, Hughes has held similar positions with Council members Shell and Tesoro. 

"You can't depend on government alone to serve the citizenry. It takes all of us--business, community-based organizations and government," says Hughes. "When we pool our resources, we can more effectively address public policy issues."

Getting organized

Members determined early on that the Task Force would focus on two main areas: (1) public policy and (2) partnerships between nonprofits and for-profits. As a member of the nonprofit sector, Erwin felt that it was important that the Task Force not focus on philanthropy, per se, but rather on issues related to public policy that directly affect how nonprofits function and their vitality within the County and the region.

"Having served as public relations manager for some really wonderful companies, I have seen firsthand the benefits of being a socially responsible corporate citizen," observes Hughes. "It makes employees feel good about themselves, their company and their world. Corporate citizenship also has bottom-line consequences, as it improves a firm's brand image and visibility, and its reputation with government, the community, stockholders and consumers. In addition, it increases a company's ability to attract high-quality people."

Building relationships

Since all Council task forces seek to build consensus on issues, the Nonprofit/Business Task Force members realized they needed to break down their organization into subcommittees to get their arms around issues. They decided to form two subcommittees: Information Sharing, which is co-chaired by Tom Silva of Wells Fargo and Judith Parker of California Symphony, the subcommittee that has worked on the April 24 event; and Public Policy, co-chaired by Liz Callahan of the CBO Center and Mariana Moore of the Contractors Alliance of Contra Costa. Among other issues, the latter subcommittee is currently reviewing the Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) issue in the County, with members reaching out to other Council task forces to determine what points of view are shared across the board.

"A lot of our work focuses on how to effectively build relationships. Both sectors need to do this in order to be successful," says Erwin. At each meeting, one member from the nonprofit sector and a member from the business community are allotted up to 15 minutes to talk about their organization or the company they represent, what it does, how it is structured, whom it serves, etc.

Seeing the big picture

"I believe that the potential is great for too many important things to roll off the table, and never get the attention they deserve, if we don't do this work," adds Erwin. "We can't all function independently. Everything that is going to be needed in the future will require partners and collaborators to move agendas forward. The Task Force provides us with a structure and a mechanism to bring folks together to look at the big picture, even though the individual member might serve a smaller area."

"People want to make a positive contribution to their communities. The Task Force is an enabler that brings people together in order to serve the greater good," says Hughes.

"The participation of members in the Task Force has exceeded our expectations," he adds. "It's so great to see such blazing energy and passion to make a contribution!"

© 2008 Contra Costa Council