Alamo (Un) Incorporated?

Clobbered

2009-03-04T13:01:00.000-08:00

The tally is in, and it was a lopsided NO, 66 to 33%. Somewhat surprisingly, there's not much difference in the mail vs. walk in votes Yes No Vote-by-Mail 1278 2534 Election Day 821 1540 Total 2099 4074 We'll know in a few years

We're behind, but Alamo Today steps up

2009-02-26T22:19:00.000-08:00

ELECTION TUESDAY, MARCH 3rd -- VOTE AND BE HEARD.I've been distracted by a lot of things in my other life, but I'm pleased to note, and happy to praise Alamo Today for stepping up, and covering the election well beyond their traditional innocuous format.In the March edition, the cover story is an observation about many of the changes that have happened in Alamo, many in recent memory. Some

A good FAQ

2009-02-07T23:13:00.001-08:00

Over at the Alamo Community Foundation, theres a good FAQ reviewing things. It's old and slightly out-of-date, but is accurate in most respects.

Which Reminds Us

2009-02-06T18:51:00.001-08:00

The Alamo Spotlight has still not put up the posting we made on October 9th. Could it be it is a one-sided organ of disinformation?For instance, one submission that DID get posted passes (or creates) a rumour that The Town Will Kill Your Pets, or at least outlaw horses.Biased, unsupported, rumor-mongering, trash.

The campaign begins

2009-02-06T17:23:00.000-08:00

There are starting to be signs up a lot of places, there have been articles, and now there's even some mail happening.There's another Candidates Faire on Feb 12th, 7-9pm at the Creekside Community Church.Alamo Inc. notes that Sharon Burke -- one of those most involved in getting the matter to a vote, and who is not running -- is hanging out to discuss things and answer questions. She's at

Thanks for nothing, Home Depot

2009-01-27T09:53:00.001-08:00

Haven't had time to say much lately, but today's news that the Yardbirds is being closed by the Despot is something of a blow to the town.The financial analysis that supported incorporation did not include Yardbirds sales tax revenue, because it was closed over the time the analysis looked at. Supporters had been hoping that this realization would calm any willies people felt, because there

Tidbits

2008-10-12T19:32:00.000-07:00

In July, the ultimate configuration of the Stone Valley/680 intersection was taken off the table, in no small part to community resistance. This either demonstrates the County really listening, or the County scared to do something that would drive the town immediately into Incorporation. We'd guess the latter.The redevelopment of the Danville Hotel site is an ongoing discussion.

SRV Fire comments

2008-10-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

We'd missed this before, and it was mentioned at the LAFCO meeting in September. With the boundaries as currently imagined, there is a slight overlap between SRV Fire and Contra Costa County Fire. As reported in Craig's semi-official SRVFire blog, it might be best if there were a realignment of service boundaries as well.At the LAFCO meeting, it was pointed out that this need not be done

Thanks for the Plug

2008-10-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

The mysterious "Alamo Ron" gives us a shout out at the Danville Weekly forums.

A fair point from Alamo Spotlight

2008-10-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

Since we last visited, Alamo Spotlight now says,On September 27, 2008, the Governor of California filed with the Secretary of State SB301, thereby eliminating the time constraint, June 30, 2009, LAFCO used to justify its decision at the September 18 hearing. This bill deletes the requirement that a city be incorporated before July 1, 2009, in order to be allocated Vehicle License Fee (VLF)

Alamo Inc's new material

2008-10-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

In contrast, the Alamo Inc has recently put up some reasonable and factual material.Their update 11 (here until they break the link, sigh) contains a bunch of discussion about the Sep 18 LAFCO meeting that corresponds to my recollection, and goes into details of the financial analysis.There is a letter from Sharon Burke, extolling voters to explore the issues and make up your own minds, and

Comment to the Spotlight

2008-10-09T16:44:00.000-07:00

After looking at the Alamo Spotlight, I submitted the following as a comment. We'll see if it appears, or vanishes into a hole.[Update: not added to their speak out page yet. I'll be surprised if/when it does show up.]It is sad if these are the best arguments that can be made in opposition.The main page here is discussed at:alamounincorporated.blogspot.comUnfortunately the comments here

Panic and Disinformation

2008-10-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

I've just taken another look at Alamo Spotlight, after the LAFCO decision, and I'm basically horrified by what I've found. It seems to have been transformed into a panic-stricken emotive content only zone, and lost whatever rationality it seemed to have when I first looked.(Curiously, it's a web-site that intentionally makes it hard to copy-and-paste content. This will not deter us!)Thank

Here's the Opposition

2008-09-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

Just found AlamoSpotlight.com, a rallying point for those opposed.The archives there seem to suggest concern over work at 76 St. Andrews Ln. in 2003 and 2004.The collected comments are few, and mixed. One says, emphatically, "IF ALAMO IS INCORPORATED BE PREPARED TO ATTEND MEETINGS OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES. " OK -- what is wrong with that? How is that different than at the county level?The

LAFCO Passed It, now to the Supes

2008-09-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

I'll have a more detailed report later. Feeling the pressure of the calendar, and not feeling that anything new would become available before they would need to decide, LAFCO passed the measure on to the Supervisors to put on the March ballot last night, 4-1.The informed opposition that emerged seemed focused on these arguments:The economy is tanking, let's wait.The expense projections are

LAFCO Hearing 18-Sep, 4:30

2008-09-18T07:04:00.000-07:00

ACF says,Contra Costa LAFCO is having a public hearing at the Creekside Church (1350 Danville Blvd.) on Thursday, September 18 at 4:30.The most important topic on the agenda is to determine if Alamo will be allowed to vote on incorporation next March. The commission will consider all public input at this meeting, so we'd encourage you to attend, even if you can only stop by for a little while.

Aug 7 meeting came and went

2008-08-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

And I was at home nursing a broken shoulder, unable to get down to the meeting.The Tri-Valley Herald covered it, and found some skepticism:[Q]uestions, written anonymously on note cards and passed to panel members, centered on the issue of Alamo's solvency.Residents pointed out the unpredictability of the county and state budgets, and the potential for other unknown factors to affect the

Draft EIR

2008-07-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

There are also new LAFCO documents related to environmental impact available: Notice of Intent to Adopt a Negative Declaration (pdf) Negative Declaration/Initial Study (pdf) Written comments on this Negative Declaration and Initial Study will be accepted from Monday, July 28, 2008 through Wednesday, August 27, 2008.The first is short, one page; the second is an 86 pager.Starting on page 3,

Quicker Step - Aug 7th info meeting

2008-07-29T15:18:00.000-07:00

AlamoInc says: On August 7 at 7:00 p.m., the Alamo Community Foundation will host a community meeting at the Creekside Community Church 1350 Danville Blvd. in Alamo. LAFCO staff and its consultants will be present to provide information and respond to questions. Public input is welcome.On September 18 at 4:30 p.m., LAFCO will conduct a public hearing at the Creekside Community Church on the

Next steps Sept 18 and Oct 28

2008-07-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

Based on the CFA, AlamoInc says the next steps are:A LAFCO meeting for public comment is scheduled for September 18 at Creekside Church in Alamo. At this meeting LAFCO will take public comment and is expected to vote on Alamo incorporation. If they vote affirmatively, the Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on October 28 to set an incorporation election date.If there's opposition, it ought

Financial Analysis Released - "No Worries, Mate!"

2008-07-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

The AlamoInc website has put up a copy of the anticipated "Comprehensive Financial Analysis" contracted by LAFCO, and paid for by supporters. It is the official, non-partisan, claimed to be objective report.No surprise that it thinks the original proposal is fiscally viable. Let's look at some of what it says.The 106 page report by Winzler and Kelly, of Anaheim, looks at two slightly

It's called Alamo

2008-05-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

The CC Times this morning reported on an accident today as follows:Bicyclist injured in hit-and-run accidentBay City News ServiceArticle Launched: 05/17/2008 12:31:16 PM PDT var requestedWidth = 0; if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.width = requestedWidth + "px";

Opposition?

2008-04-17T21:26:00.002-07:00

A number of people in the media have contacted me in search of opposition to incorporation, in an attempt to balance their stories. I've told them all I'm in the same boat, looking for someone who will go on record to make a case against. Nobody has found one yet.This does not mean there is no real opposition. The kind of opposition that should be feared is the kind that has a lot of money

AlamoInc FAQ

2008-04-17T20:47:00.001-07:00

The Alamo INC website has a "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) page that seems to has some answers that seem a little off to me. Some are offering more reassurance than I think can honestly be provided, and some others are trying to provide facts that talk around rather than directly to some mal-formed questoins.In the interest of dialog, here are some of those points: Frequently asked

Oh yeah

2008-04-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

There's been a little progress, mainly a meeting on April 8th that I missed by the pro's. I've still not seen or found anything like a credible opposition, which doesn't mean there isn't one lurking.I presume the meeting on the 8th went over some of the things discussed in the front-page article at alamoinc.org that might be linked to here on their web-site, being a reprint of something that got

Rabbit Hole

2008-01-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

I had coffee with some folks the other day, and it raised some explicit questions that had been bouncing in the back of my mind for a while.How real are these "Alamo Neighborhoods" and the people purportedly engaged in their secret existence?All the information I have on them comes from email, and is unverifiable. There's no web presence that has any traceability, and no one has been willing to

Disconnect

2008-01-10T10:57:00.000-08:00

For reasons that are as yet opaque, Hal Bailey has severed connections with the "neighborhoods". He'd been passing on comments from the e-chains to the Danville Weekly forums, but that has stopped, and he sent interested parties some email announcing the separation. There's almost certainly a story that has not been told there.(It seems to have happened after the "Don't believe everything

The Application

2008-01-07T16:20:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, we came upon complaints that the application as filed hadn't been seen.Thinking this was easy to resolve, this morning I asked for and received a FAXed copy from LAFCO, but haven't had time to scan and post it myself. This afternoon, I got email saying the application is now on the AIM website, along with a step-by-step of the process. That saves me the trouble of the

Media notice of "Silence" complaint

2008-01-03T20:22:00.001-08:00

The Danville Weekly ran a story about the "silence" complaints made against AIM, with quotes from Kenber/AIM, and "no comments" from some of the vocal complainers.The comments to the story say Kenber was self-serving, and that AIM is a "sick failure".Well, of course he was self serving. He's a partisan, and it's to be expected. Duh.At least, I think I understand what he is advocating, with

CC LAFCO Membership

2007-12-31T12:06:00.000-08:00

From the CC LAFCO site, we learn the current set of Commisioners includes two Piephos, Mary N., and David.Joy!

Danville Weekly Forums

2007-12-31T11:30:00.000-08:00

Digging around some more, there's lots of conversation going on at the Danville Weekly Forums. Here are some relevant topics:Don't believe all you read (started Dec 26 2007)A Silent Incorporation (Dec 20 2007); 33 commentsApplication is not what was promised (Nov 25 2007); 20 comments.Why Alamo Neighborhoods protect their confidentiality (Oct 29 2007); 5 comments.Murphy's Laws for Alamo

Curiouser and Curiouser

2007-12-30T20:01:00.000-08:00

Little did I know -- Alamo has a political underground, it seems. It's mind boggling to me. Apparently, there are a lot of people who feel intimidated by The Man, and have organized themselves like a revolutionary movement with "Neighborhoods" (cells) represented by a somewhat known individual, the members of which are held to confidentiality for protection against retaliation. Mail goes

Recent Non-events

2007-12-30T09:32:00.000-08:00

We had some friends over for dinner last night, and the Incorporation question came up.Our shared gestalt was that the significant opponents will be folks who are serial "flippers" in town. These are people who buy a property, fix it up somehow, then sell it quickly. They are fearful about increased review and inability to do the kinds of "improvements" they'd like to make. These are also

Tauscher has no opinion

2007-12-14T17:31:00.000-08:00

I wrote to Ellen Tauscher, our US Representative (D-Alamo), and got this response:Thank you for writing to me about the Alamo Incorporation Movement petition. As you know, the petition has been signed by more than 3,000 residents and the Local Agency Formation Commission has scheduled a December 19 meeting at which a consultant will likely be selected to analyze the feasibility of this proposal.

Petition officially in...

2007-11-18T19:23:00.000-08:00

Handed in on Nov 14th, says the organizer's site, also noted at CoCoTimes politics blog and the Danville Weekly.

A new wrinkle

2007-11-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

More actual news and information from the Danville Weekly, in the form of a Guest Opinion from Roy Gloss, an organizer in an earlier attempt at incorporation. Here's a paragraph that echoes concerns we've shared here:It doesn't take a college education to understand that this nearly half-century of voter negativism centers on one concept. Alamo residents may not cringe at the cost of

Symbolic Heart of the Town

2007-11-15T14:36:00.000-08:00

What everybody says they want to preserve are the drive-thru Alamo Hay and Grain, and it's neighbor, the shoe repair with the horse on top.Drive through and we'll drop a bale of hay into your pickup.(photo: Alamo (Un) Incorporated?)Shoe Repair AND Tack Shop.(photo: Alamo (Un) Incorporated?)About 10 years ago, there was also "Alamo Lumber" behind both with an entrance on Stone Valley, but it

Moving Forward

2007-11-06T09:23:00.000-08:00

Alamo Incorporated has the signatures, now they need the money. They say they have 3100 signatures compared to the 2500 required, and so can move forward. They need to raise $250,000 privately to fund the next steps.I think this is the part where some of the opposition was saying, "we can't afford it". But if it's private contributions, and some people don't contribute, how was it

Opposition emerges

2007-11-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

The Danville Weekly had a report of 20 folks gathering to organize oppostion."I like Alamo just the way it is. We know exactly what we're going to get from the county, we don't know what we're going to get from incorporation," said Tony Carnemolla, who opened the meeting with a speech.Jack Squat from the county is what we get, or plans to overdevelop. The apparent concern is that Alamo

Soaked?

2007-11-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

While looking at the County Public Works Dept for the previous post, I came upon this chart that appears to be traffic mitigation fees charged to projects.It is probably not surprising to see that Alamo gets charged more per single family house than most other areas. Now, it's reasonable that areas in unincorporated county get charged more than those in cities, but $9906? Ouch.

The Ultimate Configuration

2007-11-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

The November issue of the "Alamo Today" tabloid came in the mail, and contains the usual fluff and nonsense. The front page news is a plea for location of a bus bench that was donated by the Rotary and filched from Danville Blvd, complete with color picture of it before it went MIA. (The Danville Weekly is vastly more informative on local issues.)The only thing in the Alamo Today that is like

A Rohrshach

2007-10-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

Here's an example that will help you find your center on some of the issues. The Dec 18 2006 Oakland Tribune writes,Alamo man turns home into castle A MAN'S HOME is his castle, especially for an Alamo carpenter whose quirky home improvement project gives true meaning to the phrase. T.J. Baker may not be royalty, but he has king-sized plans for his pad. The master craftsman is transforming

Meeting Last Night

2007-10-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

I went to an information meeting at the Creekside Church last night, and signed the petition. That seems harmless enough. I was amused to see some literature that tickled my "clipboard crowd" sensors. The FAQ addressing the issue "but it's not broke, why fix it?" talked about a bunch of things they thought were problems The Town of Alamo ought to address:Lackadaisical traffic enforcement

Background reading

2007-09-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

The Big Orange Splot, by Daniel Pinkwater. Also see reviews at Amazon.

Both sides, critically

2007-09-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

If you found this blog, you're probably already aware of an effort to incorporate Alamo CA -- there's an official website devoted to this task at www.alamoinc.org.This isn't that site.We have no connection with the incorporation effort, or any active opposition.We're 14 year Alamo residents, and unredeemable bloggers who like to inflict our opinion and commentary on the public. Our intent is to