27 Aug Crockett Residents Voice Longstanding Concerns in Ice Cream Social With County Supervisor

Crockett residents spoke with Contra Costa County District 5 Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston, center, during an “office hours” session she hosted at the town’s community center.

Story and photos by Joe Porrello

After years of feeling ignored by county leaders, some Crockett residents say they’re finally being heard.

About 25 people gathered Aug. 20 at the Crockett Community Center for office hours with Contra Costa County District 5 Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston. The two-hour session, which doubled as an ice cream social, gave residents the chance to share concerns and ideas for improving the unincorporated town of 3,300.

Scales-Preston met with attendees privately and in a group circle, listening as they described issues including crumbling infrastructure, struggling businesses and sanitation costs. The event’s frozen treats were provided by Crockett Community Services.

“The cool thing about the ice cream social is getting younger folks here,” said Jena Goodman, general manager of Crockett Community Services. “One thing you don’t see a lot of in local governance is youth participation, so this was a really great way to kind of bridge that gap.”

This was Scales-Preston’s second time holding office hours in Crockett in as many weeks.

“I just want to make time for the community, and I come to them so they don’t have to worry about coming to me,” said Scales-Preston. “It seems like they’re happy they can voice their concerns because it doesn’t seem like they had that in the past.”

Sonia Rivas, the district secretary for Crockett Community Services, said Scales-Preston’s presence marks a shift from what she described as years of inattention from previous supervisors.

“We’ve seen her more in the last six months than we saw the last supervisor in years,” said Rivas.

Scales-Preston noted that although residents live close together, their priorities vary widely. Several expressed a desire for more public access and economic investment along the Crockett waterfront.

“People want to be able to enjoy these spaces recreationally like I did at the waterfront in Pittsburg where I was born and raised,” she said.

Rivas said while some new shops have opened, small businesses face an uphill climb.

“We lost The Nantucket years ago, which was a waterfront restaurant very beloved by lots of people,” she said. “It’s an opportunity waiting to happen and we don’t have the funds — we really need help from the outside.”

She said Crockett’s economic stagnation is tied to its aging infrastructure and the shrinking footprint of C&H Sugar, the once-dominant local employer that employed about 95% of residents in the 1920s but now has fewer than 500 workers in the town.

Representatives from the Port Costa Sanitation District also attended, raising concerns about high fees and aging sewer systems.

“The challenge here is that we have a very old sewer system and Port Costa’s is even worse,” said Rivas. “We need grants for that because it’s a big burden on taxpayers.”

Other concerns included the state of animal shelters and Crockett’s deteriorating roads.

Irina Dyatlovskaya, an advocate for shelter animals, called for stricter spay and neuter policies to reduce overcrowding and euthanasia rates.

Rivas said unpaved roads are a constant source of frustration and danger.

“Our streets have not been repaved in decades,” she said. “I live on a really steep street that gets very slippery and I fell because there’s so much loose gravel that hasn’t been cleaned up.”

And, she said, there are giant potholes next to sidewalks, so residents need to illegally park their cars to not get stuck.

Goodman said Crockett’s status as a township — with no mayor and minimal local governance — contributes to its challenges.

“We have a very unique governance here as a township; we don’t have a mayor or anything like that,” she said. “I’m probably the closest thing to a city manager.” 

Despite the challenges, both Goodman and Rivas said Crockett has plenty to offer.

“Crockett has a lot of charm and we’re surrounded by East Bay Park open space, so that’s really great,” she said. “It’s a nice laid back feel, you can come here and unwind — it’s so unique because it has that small town feel which is so rare in the Bay Area.”

 Rivas agreed.

“As small of a town it is, there’s always something going on, lots of activities and events,” she said.

The “crown jewel,” as Rivas put it, is the Crockett Community Center pool, which opened in 1966.

Scales-Preston, who left Crockett to head to a roundtable meeting in Rodeo, said she’s focused on connecting the dots between communities in her district.

“I’ve been trying to hit the ground in every community and connect the dots to solve some of the issues or be helpful in creating separate vibrant communities,” said Scales-Preston.

Goodman, who’s been in her role for about six months, said collaboration is key.

“One thing that can be difficult here is getting everybody to communicate and all sit down at the same table,” she said. “Getting everyone to collaborate and buy in to what’s going on — I think that’s really the key to success here.”