YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER ward Winning News al A pa
Vol. 9, No. 13
Antioch, California
www.antiochpress.com
Community Center project breaks ground
A groundbreaking ceremony for the Antioch Community Center was held Saturday morning in Prewett Park. From left are Councilman Reggie Moore, Councilwoman Mary Rocha, Reddy Prewett, Mayor Jim Davis and Councilwoman Martha Parsons. In the foreground is an artist’s rendering of the $26 million dollar which should open next year.
by Dave Roberts Staff Writer
The economic downturn is bad news for a lot of people, but it’s good news if you’ve got money to spend for a major construction project like the Antioch Community Center. Because contractors are desperate for work in the slow economy, the construction bids for the 35,000-square-foot facility in Prewett Park on Lone Tree Way have come in well below the estimate, freeing up an additional $4 million to spend on extra amenities like an amphitheatre and possibly a plaza, a learning center and additional landscaping. “The actual construction estimate was $17.6 million,” said Project Manager Lonnie Karste. “Construction costs came in 25 percent below – the current bid
Photo by Dave Roberts
amount is around $12.4 million. That’s typical of what they are seeing in the industry right now. Projects of this size are coming down (in cost) all over the place. “We have an additional $4 million (available) to continue to develop the rest of the master plan. There are several elements that were not going to be constructed, but now we are building in additional amenities. So we were fortunate; that is very good news.” A groundbreaking ceremony was held Saturday morning for the community center, which will begin construction next month and is scheduled to open in August of 2010. About 100 city officials, community leaders, center designers and interested residents were on hand to listen to speeches, eat refreshments and get their picsee Center page 16A
Time marches on in far East County by Rick Lemyre Staff Writer This is the third and final installment of a three-part series on the efforts of two far East County towns to retain their heritage and remain rural and small in the face of regional growth and changing local politics. For a look at parts one and two, log on to thepress. net. The meetings could not have been much more different. In Byron, the new Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) members – Linnea Juarez, Al Beltran, Don Della Nina, Ron Schmit and Dennis Lopez – quickly appointed Juarez chair and Beltran vice chair. They got a rundown on county business from District III Supervisor Mary Nejedly Piepho, reports from police and
Photo by Stacey Chance/DiscoveryBayStudios.com
Downtown Knightsen awakens one recent weekend morning. Proponents hope to keep the hamlet small and rural. the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District, and stopped the meeting briefly to file outside and inspect a new fire engine. In
front of an attentive but mostly silent audience, the MAC talked briefly about meeting space, park dedication fees, code enforce-
Check it out!
ment and the Brown Act, and was done. Six days later and a few miles away, the new Knightsen Town Advisory Council (KTAC) members – Linda Weeks, Jack Burge, Chantel Tieman and Mike Walko (one seat remains unfilled) – picked Weeks as chair and Walko as vice chair. The agency reports and updates from Piepho ran about the same, but the crowd of about 100 was anything but sedentary. Before the evening ended, there were arguments, complaints, loud voices and an impromptu, nearunanimous show-of-hands vote to return things to the way they had been. Occasionally, shouts ricocheted around the room like shrapnel, but in the end, Robsee Time page 12A
rs
Na t
pe
ion
March 27, 2009
THIS WEEK
Get the jump on spring
From red-hot rods to high-tech orange tires, our Spring Auto Care Guide will put you in the fast lane.
Page 1B
Delta dustup gets gritty Local boaters and anglers left no doubt that their disapproval of a Delta ecosystem plan runs deep.
Page 3A
Dawgs pound opposition
A pack of local ballplayers hounded the competition into submission and took home the first trophy of the season.
Page 23A
INSIDE Business ...........................17A Calendar ..........................19B Classifieds ........................13B Entertainment .................. 9B Food .................................10B Health & Beauty .............19A Milestones ......................... 8B Opinion ...........................14A Sports ...............................21A Spring Auto Care Guide .. 1B
Dive into our new site.
Read the news. Watch videos. Search classifieds or the business directory at www.thepress.net.
FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A