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Brentwood Press - OakleyPress_10.10.08 - Index

YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
National Award Winning Newspapers
Vol. 8, No. 41 Including Surrounding Communities www.oakleypress.com October 10, 2008
Parks may depend on taxes
C
by Dave Roberts
Staff Writer
The good news for people living
in the Teakwood neighborhood
and near Walnut Meadows west
of Vintage Parkway is that city
offi cials plan to spend more than
$500,000 to provide recreational
amenities in what are currently unused
open spaces.
The bad news is that offi cials
are reluctant to provide those
amenities unless residents near
Teakwood Basin Park and Legless
Lizard Preserve agree to tax themselves
to pay for the ongoing maintenance
of the parks.
Plans for the basin area behind
the shopping center between
Teakwood Drive and the Summer
Creek senior residential complex
include outdoor fi tness equipment,
kids play areas, turf, trees, game
tables, a walking path and usable
open space. Currently that area is
fi lled with weeds and is closed to
the public.
Park plans for the lizard preserve
that snakes along Walnut
Meadows Drive, which is also currently
weed-fi lled and closed to the
public, include a kids play area, a
basketball court, a picnic area, turf
and a walking path.
While state grant funding is
available to construct those amenities,
there is no funding for the
ongoing annual maintenance of
the parks, which is expected to cost
between $10,000 and 20,000 at
each site.
City Council members said
at their Sept. 30 meeting that they
are not willing to dip into the
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city’s General Fund to pay for the
$20,000 to $40,000 annual maintenance
for the two parks. The city’s
other parks were built by developers
and are maintained by property
taxes on the residents living near
the parks.
Council members said they
prefer to wait on providing the
recreational amenities until at least
two-thirds of the residents living
near Teakwood and Lizard parks
agree to form lighting and landscape
assessment districts to pay
for maintenance.
“My main concern about all
‘L-No!’ launched against tax hike
Photo by Dave Roberts
Aaron Meadows has plastered the area around
his Coldwell Banker offi ce with signs opposing
Measure L, which would raise taxes on most
Oakley businesses.
by Dave Roberts
Staff Writer
Oakley voters will not only decide on
Nov. 4 who should comprise a majority
of the City Council; they’ll also determine
whether most of the businesses in the city
should pay higher taxes.
Measure L has the backing of all fi ve
City Council members, who point out in a
ballot argument that Oakley needs more
revenue because the city only receives a
little more than a fi fth of what other cities
in the county receive per capita from their
business license tax.
A ballot argument opposing Measure
L was not submitted. But a business
group called the East County Coalition has
launched an “L-No!” campaign that argues
that the tax unfairly targets landlords
and that this is the wrong economic time to
be raising taxes.
If approved by a majority of voters,
the way the city assesses taxes on business
will change. Instead of being based on a fl at
fee plus $10 for each employee in a business,
the tax will be based on the business’s gross
receipts. The other major change is that
previously exempted landlords and farmers
will now be paying the business tax.
A Measure L statement on the city’s
Web site reads, “The change may lower the
see Tax page 25A
Photo by Dave Roberts
The Legless Lizard Preserve along Walnut Meadows may be converted into a park, but nearby
residents may need to agree to increase their taxes to make it happen.
see Parks page 25A
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THIS WEEK
Fest to entice
the senses
Marvels to delight the eye,
palate and ear are on display
this weekend at Brentwood’s Art
Wine & Jazz Festival.
Page 12B
Olympian
achievement
Her client lost to Michael Phelps
by the narrowest of margins, but
this local fitness expert brought
back treasured memories from
her trip to Beijing.
Page 8A
Falcons get
goal-oriented
Midway through the season, the
Freedom water polo team is
plowing the sweet waters of
success.
Page 1B
INSIDE
Calendar ..........................23B
Classifieds ........................17B
Community .......................3A
Education ........................10A
Entertainment ................22B
Food ................................ 12B
Health & Beauty............... 9B
Milestones .........................7B
Opinion ...........................18A
Public Notices ..................20B
Sports .................................1B