City Looks to Prioritize Downtown Restroom, School Traffic Safety Improvements, New Trees Among Upcoming Capital Projects

Also, Benicia refinery plans to cease operations next year, which would leave PBF Energy's Martinez facility as one of only two in the Bay Area still producing gasoline; and social media post of week

The following item by freelance writer Tom Lochner is made possible through the financial support of paid subscribers and other donors to the newsletter. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber if not already to support more local news coverage of Martinez.

By Tom Lochner

The City Council earlier this month made a few tweaks to a long list of proposed Capital Improvement projects, prioritizing some while modifying or postponing others.

Among the matters that generated the most discussion was a downtown public restroom, school safety-focused traffic improvements, trees and other elements of downtown beautification, and the prospect of a traffic circle at Morello and Center avenues.

The April 2 discussion was designed to give the city staff direction so that it could move forward with a proposed Five-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for fiscal years 2025-26 through 2029-30. It followed a March 12 City Council CIP workshop that looked at a draft list of projects provided by the Public Works Department, Assistant City Manager Lauren Sugayan told the Council, and that also yielded some parks-related ideas that will be addressed during an upcoming preparation of a Park System Master Plan. The City Council adopts an updated five-year CIP program every two years.

The CIP Program is scheduled to come up for adoption at a public hearing before the City Council on May 7. Prior to that, the Planning Commission on April 22 will be asked to approve the CIP projects’ consistency with the General Plan – "a perfunctory step that will not consider any of the funding of those CIP items," according to City Manager Michael Chandler.

Annual funding for CIP projects is prioritized according to the following criteria, in order of importance: regulatory mandates; health and safety; and alignment with City Council goals, according to a staff report and a PowerPoint presentation by Assistant City Manager Lauren Sugayan and Public Works Director Joe Enke at the April 2 meeting.

Among the council goals that the proposed CIP most suitably addresses, Sugayan said, are financial sustainability; a vibrant, sustainable waterfront and marina; and a strong downtown and commercial centers.

The Council currently has just over $1.3 million available for priority projects that are unfunded (such as when they don't qualify for other funding sources like, say, the gas tax). The $1.3 million is above the $5 million in reserves that the city holds as required under its Budget/Reserve Policy, according to the staff report, which is at https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/3240359/Staff_Report_-_Proposed_Five_Year_CIP_Update.pdf

The $1.3 million includes $1.1 million in Infrastructure Reserves and just over $200,000 in Facility Reserves, Sugayan reported. But she cautioned against exhausting all of those funds in the current budget cycle, noting that some reserves also will be needed in years three through five of the CIP.

For the downtown restroom, the council went for the quicker and cheaper option of a leased, single-stall model to be installed by late summer over a more expensive, permanent two-stall model that would be built next year. The council also put the kibosh, at least for the time being, on a traffic circle at Morello and Center avenues that would cost more than $1.5 million.

The projects discussed on April 2 are just a small portion of the proposed five-year CIP program, which totals $51.6 million for 71 projects; the biggest year is the first, fiscal year 2025-26, with $19.7 million for 28 projects.

The staff report includes a summary of projects the City Council has indicated support for in the upcoming two years, including near-term and long-term costs, and proposed next steps. The projects are:

• Downtown Restroom/Potential Pilot Project for Single Toilet License Model

• Downtown Plaza improvements

• Bike Park Conceptual Design

• ADA Transition plans for Public Buildings and Parks

• Senior Center Improvements

• Waterfront Park Stage

• Traffic Safety Improvements

• Annual Street Tree/Landscaping

Among those projects, four would be financed from infrastructure reserves: Downtown Restroom, Plaza Improvements, Bike Park and Senior Center.

For the restroom, the council was presented two scenarios: a single-stall, lease model at $6,000 a month or $72,000 for the year, and a first-year budget of $100,000, with the balance allocated to design of a possible two-stall, permanent future restroom such as an "Exeloo;" or building the two-stall model right from the start, at a cost of $450,000 to $750,000, with maintenance and cleaning provided by city staff. The lease model could be in place before the end of this summer, Enke said, while the two-stall version could go for design in 2025 and construction in 2026.

The council opted for the single-stall lease model for the time being, with the possibility of a future permanent two-stall restroom remaining in abeyance. If there's a surplus in coming years, let's do the two-stall version; for now, do the single-stall, Councilman Greg Young suggested. The consensus was that it would be prudent not to spend too much of the reserve money so early in the CIP cycle, combined with the desirability of getting a restroom installed by the end of summer.

City Manager Michael Chandler, addressing a concern about the lease conditions from the March 12 workshop, noted, "If (the restroom) gets totally trashed, are we covered? And yes, we are."

For the Downtown Plaza, Enke assumed a two-year total of $100,000, with $25,000 to $50,000 for design in the first year and $50,000 to $75,000 for construction in the second year. He suggested retaining a landscape architect and doing outreach to the public.

For the Bike Park, $50,000 would go for a conceptual design, with possible sites and trails evaluated throughout the city and some of the costs perhaps included in the Parks Master Plan.

For the ADA Transition Plans — "one of the regulatory plans that we can't kick down the road any further," according to Enke — a total of $125,000 for the park facilities and public facilities, with the former falling under the soon-to-be-created Parks Master Plan.

For Senior Center Improvements, $250,000 over two years.

The other projects scheduled for the next two years, and their proposed funding, are as follows:

• Waterfront Park Stage, $400,000, to come out of Cultural Impact Fees. Private donors have expressed interest, Enke said, which could expand the scope of the project.
  

• Traffic Safety Improvements: Originally slated for $100,000 a year, the proposed allocation was doubled to $200,000 a year, with school safety a priority; the funding increase could lead to a reduction in street paving. The next steps would be to apply Safe Routes to School grant money to traffic safety projects and, with school districts' collaboration, identify high-risk areas near schools that need safety-related infrastructure improvements. Funding would come from the gas tax.
  
  Councilman Satinder S. Malhi strongly advocated school safety-focused traffic improvements, which he said should occur at all of the schools in the city – most are in the Martinez Unified School District; one, Hidden Valley Elementary, is in Mt. Diablo Unified. He also suggested to contact the county supervisor representing Martinez, Shanelle Scales-Preston, to advocate that similar improvements be made at Las Juntas Elementary, which, although part of the Martinez USD, is in an unincorporated area just outside city limits.
  
  The council also shelved for the foreseeable future the proposed traffic circle at the intersection of Morello and Center avenues, intended to result in traffic calming, enhanced pedestrian crossings, and green infrastructure improvements. Such a project would eat up $1.5 million in Measure D funds to start, with long-term cost still to be determined, and various council members deemed it too costly.
  
  "I think we're all in agreement it needs better striping and better pedestrian crosswalks, but going all the way to a $1.5 million traffic circle may not be necessary," Mayor Brianne Zorn said.

  She noted that the project would reduce available funds for other street work, as also noted in the PowerPoint, and suggested reallocating them to other street-related work. Malhi agreed that the intersection is beset with problems but that a $1.5 million traffic circle isn't necessarily the solution.
  

• Street Trees & Landscaping: The consensus was to double the previously proposed annual Street Trees and Landscaping budget from $200,000 to $400,000 for a total of $800,000 over the next two years. Enke suggested to knock off the "low-hanging fruit," i.e. fairly uncomplicated projects like isolated tree replacements, while developing a larger project that could be embarked on later in the year. He noted that some medians that should have trees have been without them for 15 years.
  
  "That's exactly the problem," commented Vice Mayor Jay Howard. "That's why we're trying to fix the downtown. That's why we're trying to beautify our city because it has been left this way for too long. And it gets overlooked. … It's time to do something. …. We're asking you to make that a priority."

In the public comment period, merchant Bernadette Fernandes of Busywork Craft Supply on Main Street commented on several of the evening's issues. She lamented what she perceived as sparse public participation in the meeting.

"Nobody's here. And these are really big things that are really deeply impactful to the quality of our lives" she said, adding that "I think you guys are not doing a good enough job telling people … that this is what we're going to be talking about at these meetings."

She also said that earlier in the day, as she was walking through the plaza past Five Suns Brewing on Main Street, she saw a group of about 25 cyclists waiting in line at a porta-potty, prompting the person attending the nearby business to invite the cyclists to use the bathroom inside. She noted that her store often takes on that kind of burden, too.

She also said that, "A lot of what you guys are calling beautification, I would absolutely put into the public health and safety category," lamenting that "we have a downtown that has basically no trees or really lame trees" like "the gingko trees that are totally curled up and sad and dying. They don't provide shade in the heat of the summer.

"There's so many studies out there about the mental health and well-being of people who live in places with trees. And, we don't have them. It's a bummer. It totally sucks.

"So…I would just…reevaluate that priority. It is absolutely a public health concern."

The following items were produced by Craig Lazzeretti

Valero refinery to close in Benicia

While calls to shut down PBF Energy’s Martinez refinery in the wake of multiple accidents and hazardous releases have gone unheeded to date, the refinery across the Carquinez Strait in Benicia appears destined to shutter its operations next year.

In a shocking announcement, the city of Benicia said on its website Wednesday that the Valero refinery, which has operated in the city since 1969, has submitted notice to the California Energy Commission of its intention to “idle, restructure, or cease refining operations” by the end of April 2026.

“The city will work with Valero to seek clarity around the timeline and scope of the proposed operational changes, while continuing to keep the community informed about any potential economic impacts and challenges this may present for Benicia and its residents,” a news release issued by the city stated.

As the number of traditional petroleum refineries in the Bay Area and state continues to dwindle, PBF’s Martinez Refining Co. now seems destined to play an even greater role in meeting California’s gasoline needs — at the same time that regulators continue efforts to enhance safety and accountability at the mishap-plagued facility. Contra Costa County is planning to conduct a “full facility audit” of the refinery following a major fire on Feb. 1 that triggered a shelter-in-place advisory for the surrounding community. That accident came on the heels of a series of other hazardous materials incidents that started with a toxic “spent catalyst” release on Thanksgiving night in 2022.

Even before Valero’s announcement, concern about the state’s gasoline supply had been growing as a Phillips 66 refinery in Southern California prepares to shut down by the end of the year. A Los Angeles Times article last year on the impending closure of that refinery noted that California is increasingly relying on imports of gasoline from out of state to meet demand.

Asked for comment in October on the planned Phillips 66 refinery shutdown, MRC spokesman Brandon Matson said “lost production from any instate refinery shutdown must be backfilled by imports due to the supply and demand imbalance caused by the recent conversions of the Marathon Martinez and Phillips 66 Rodeo refineries to renewable diesel, as they have stopped making gasoline. This situation, loss of production, will be aggravated whenever Phillips 66 shuts down its Los Angeles-area refinery.”

Matson noted at the time that “California is losing its gasoline supply at a faster rate than demand is declining, which has become a serious problem.”

In a follow-up email on Thursday, Matson said the “Valero announcement will exacerbate the state’s worsening gasoline supply/demand imbalance.” If Valero does cease operations, PBF’s Martinez refinery and the Chevron refinery in Richmond would be the only remaining ones in the Bay Area that produce gasoline. The Martinez refinery has been largely shuttered since the Feb. 1 fire, with some operating units unaffected by the fire only resuming activity this month. The units damaged by the fire are not expected to go back online until the final three months of the year.

Severin Borenstein, a UC Berkeley energy economist, told KQED that the planned Benicia closure is “a harbinger of the larger issues that California faces. We should be seriously concerned about how all that gasoline supply is going to get replaced.”

The Benicia refinery has been embroiled in its share of controversies over the years, including being hit in 2024 with an $82 million penalty by air pollution regulators “for at least 15 years of unreported toxic emissions and other alleged air quality violations,” according to another KQED article. It was the largest penalty ever issued by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

Shoshana Wechsler of the Sunflower Alliance, a Bay Area environmental justice organization, noted in an email Thursday that Valero’s announcement came “shortly after Benicia’s City Council approved a groundbreaking municipal Industrial Safety Ordinance many years in the making. This can only call into question the Valero Energy Corporation’s sense of accountability.”

She also raised the question of what would become of Valero’s 400 workers.

“For the sake of communities and workers both, a truly ‘just transition’ away from fossil fuel production cannot merely be an imperious one-sided action on the part of a refiner to 'idle, restructure, or cease’ its refining operations, as Valero intends to do within a year’s time,” she said, noting that Valero is a huge source of tax revenues for the city of Benicia.

“How will that revenue loss impact city services? A sudden and far-reaching financial crisis is a lousy trade-off for the promise of clean air. And what about remediation of this highly contaminated industrial facility? What plans are currently in place, if any? And who, pray tell, will pay?”

In a statement reported by Business Wire, Valero CEO Lane Riggs said, “We understand the impact that this may have on our employees, business partners, and community, and will continue to work with them through this period.”

Some among Valero’s highly trained refinery workforce could find employment opportunities on the other side of the bridge that spans Benicia and Martinez. MRC has experienced significant staff turnover since PBF purchased the refinery from Shell in 2020, and has increasingly relied on contract workers to perform a range of tasks, including during big “turnaround” projects where processing units are shut down and overhauled. It was during such a turnaround that the Feb. 1 fire occurred.

Matson said Thursday that while MRC was unaware of Valero’s workforce plans, “we are always looking for high-quality, highly skilled people with refining experience to join our team. As we have future openings, we’d certainly be interested in hiring from within the area to fill those roles.”

Social media post of the week

In a new feature of News and Views, we’ll highlight a Martinez-related social media post each week to give readers a taste of of what’s happening around town. To kick things off, congratulations to Alhambra High softball ace Willa Adler on reaching the 300-strikeout career milestone while tossing a 3-0 shutout over Northgate on Aug. 15. Quite a feat for Willa and a creative Instagram post to boot.