22 May Bay Point Residents Gather to Shape Community’s Future

Contra Costa County Public Works representative Chris Lau, left, and Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston, right, answered residents’ questions at a May 12 community meeting to set goals for Bay Point.

Story and photos by Emily Molina

Bay Point residents gathered May 12 to help shape the future of their community by identifying top priorities for projects that county departments could implement over the next 12 months.

Contra Costa County Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston hosted the community goal-setting meeting, where she shared a list of priorities gathered from earlier focus groups. Those include more parks and open space, beautification, bike and pedestrian access, economic development, and food access.

The meeting gave community members the chance to share their thoughts and ideas in transforming these priorities into projects. Funds for developing projects in Bay Point could come from the Measure X Parks Allocation, a $200,000 annual fund that each supervisor’s district receives, and restricted special purpose funds.  

Representatives from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department and Contra Costa County Public Works also attended, addressing the efforts to improve traffic enforcement and reduce illegal dumping in Bay Point. 

Kanwar Singh said that he has seen trash dumped near his temple, Gurdwara Sahib Bay Point, starting about a year ago, but cameras set up by Contra Costa Public Works have helped minimize the problem.  

High school student Randy Yanez Gonzalez provided input on the youth experience in Bay Point.

He expressed concern over the lack of educational resources for Bay Point high school-aged residents, especially since they have to commute out of town to attend school. Bay Point does not have a high school; the nearest are in Pittsburg and Concord.

“Not having a high school here for the students takes away the time from having sports, extracurricular activities, and getting more involved with the community,” Yanez Gonzalez said.

Another young resident, Samar Dhoaz, who grew up in Bay Point, came to the meeting to get informed and advocate for making it a nicer place to live.

Both Dhoaz and Yaney Gonzalez indicated they would like to see more parks when the attendees were asked to vote on their top priorities.

Gigi Dietrich, a Bay Point resident of over two decades who found out about the meeting by walking by, supported the idea of more walkable parks near Shore Acres because Lynbrook Park across the busy Port Chicago Highway is the closest to her. She said kids don’t have a place to enjoy playtime, and most school playgrounds are locked from being used by the public. 

“There’s no walkable green space or public space for any kids here who live here,” Dietrich said.

Residents can track the progress of these community goals through the D5 Community Goal-Setting Workshop webpage and Scales-Preston’s newsletter, which you can sign up for here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/saBFz1K/BOS5SignUp.