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Brentwood Press - DiscoveryBayPress_07.25.08 - Index

The Discovery Bay Community
Services District (CSD)
board is considering a review
of staff time – and money
– spent on the processing and
cataloging of correspondence
received from the public.
The move comes in the
wake of a failed motion by
Director David Piepho during
the July 16 CSD meeting. The
proposal was defeated in a 3-2
vote.
Piepho said that in the past
year, the district has received
nearly 100 letters from resident
William Richardson. The
letters express concern over
matters such as the board’s
violation of the Brown Act,
Piepho’s “arrogance, boorishness
and childish” behavior
at the monthly meetings, and
frustration over what he calls
the board’s “stonewalling of
all the issues.”
Piepho said the volume of
YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 6, No. 30 Including Surrounding Communities www.discoverybaypress.com July 25, 2008
Board considers
clerical workload
by Ruth Roberts
Staff Writer
letters could be placing a fi nancial
burden and staffi ng strain
on the small district. “We have
a responsibility to the community;
we are custodians of their
dollars and I believe the public
has a right to know how their
tax dollars are being spent,”
said Piepho.
“These are fi scally challenging
times, and in light of
that, I believe it would be prudent
to back up a bit and see
what kind of fi nancial burden
such correspondence is creating
so we can properly adjust
our staff’s time.”
In addition to writing letters,
Richardson is currently
suing the district over claims
that the governing body continually
violates the procedural
letter of the law.
CSD Board President
Shannon Murphy-Teixiera
– along with directors Dave
Dove and Patty Knight – voted
against Piepho’s motion. “I
voted against singling out one
individual initially because I
want to know generally how
much we are spending,” said
Murphy-Teixiera. “This may
wind up having the result of
singling out one individual;
however, I won’t know that until
the numbers are in.”
Town Manager Virgil
Koehne agrees that Piepho’s
motion may have merit. “I
have to say that I agree with
David (Piepho),” said Koehne.
“I think it would be safe to say
that 98 percent of the letters
Officials fear train traffic may increase
by Dave Roberts
Staff Writer
East County residents living near the
little-used Moccoco railroad line will likely
need to get accustomed to the house-shaking,
horn-blaring roar of as many as 40
trains rumbling by each day. Those trains
also will lead to traffi c tie-ups at several
major intersections.
“This has a tremendously negative
impact on the community,” said Antioch
Mayor Don Freitas at the July 8 City
Council meeting. “That means that cars
will be stopped at Hillcrest, at ‘A’ Street,
at Somersville. There’s going to be issues
of circulation, fi re vehicles, ambulances,
school buses. This is a very big issue for
this community.
“People who have their houses backed
up to this line have not experienced a train
rumbling by and shaking their house and
backyard. We better clearly understand the
impact that it has. It impacts public safety,
economic development, quality of life. It
also becomes a nuisance.”
Freitas said that the Union Pacifi c
Lucky 11
“ Because of the high cost
of gas and congestion, a lot
of cargo is being moved off of
highways and onto trains. We
are looking at lines we have
had out of service and can be
used to relieve congestion and
help out the environment.
”
Zoe Richmond,
Union Pacific Railroad
Railroad’s Moccoco Line, which also runs
through Oakley, Brentwood and Byron,
has been primarily used as a storage yard
and hasn’t been maintained or repaired in
decades, forcing trains to travel no more
than 2 to 5 miles per hour on it.
“So when I read that no signifi cant
improvements are planned, that concerns
me from a safety perspective,” he said. “I
want to know exactly what they are going
Rachel
Tringali’s
11th birthday
had its ups
and downs,
not because
of her advancing
years
but courtesy
of the trampoline
she’s
seen here
sharing with
sister Samantha,
8, at the
celebration
in Discovery
Bay.
Photo by
Richard Wisdom
see Board page 21A
to do – because they have done nothing for
decades on this particular line. So this is a
big issue.”
Freitas said he’s also concerned about
noise.
“If we are going across Hillcrest, ‘A’
Street and Somersville, those trains will
be using their horns,” he said. “It’s a constant
source of irritation for many people
in this community. If there are 40 trains
that are going to be doing that all during
the day and night, it will exacerbate a nuisance
that a lot of people would like to see
stopped entirely. We are very concerned
about this.”
Union Pacifi c spokeswoman Zoe
Richmond said the plan to run trains on
the Moccoco Line, which has been out of
service for about 20 years, is still in the preliminary
stage.
But it looks like it’s going to happen
because high gas prices are forcing transporters
to switch from trucks to trains, she
said. A train can move one ton of freight
780 miles on a gallon of diesel fuel, and
see Train page 21A
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