City Moves Toward Public-Private Partnership Model for Marina as Budget Pressures Escalate
Also, the $8.2 million jury verdict against city from 2019 tree incident; a tale of two very different 72-hour refinery fire reports; $400,000 coming for road repairs; and former supervisor dies
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By Tom Lochner
As maintenance and infrastructure costs continue to weigh on the city's budget, officials appear to be moving toward a future public-private partnership arrangement for the marina, a trend reflected throughout the Bay Area and elsewhere in the state and nation. The discussion at the May 7 City Council meeting came amid approval of the latest in a series of loans from the General Fund to address growing upkeep costs that exceed the revenues generated from marina business activity.
The Council unanimously approved some mid-year amendments to the Marina Enterprise Fund along with a $76,400 loan from the General Fund. The action was preceded by a detailed discussion of the public-private partnership scenario as a possible solution to the increased burden on the city's General Fund exerted by the over-60-year-old marina.
City Manager Michael Chandler said the city is still working to pay off state loans dating back to the 1960s – some $1.7 million, according to the most recent negotiations. Moreover, over the past two years, the marina has increasingly run at an operational deficit, forcing it to turn to the General Fund for help.
"The General Fund is the backstop for the marina," Chandler said, adding that it has paid for big-ticket items such as "all the dredges, Master Plan processes, seawall and breakwater design and permitting" that run from hundreds of thousands of dollars to $1 million. An example: At the start of the current fiscal year, a $216,002 General Fund loan paid for repair of a water main leak.
"What's fundamentally different now," Chandler said, "is that also on an operational basis, we're seeing deficits now."
During the ensuing discussion, city staff and Councilmembers alike lavished praise on F3 Marina, the company that the city hired in November for a two-year term to manage operations and help develop a long-term strategic vision for the marina. Early last year, the city's marina contractor of almost 20 years, Almar Management, was acquired by Suntex Marinas. In June, Suntex gave the city a 60-day notice of termination, according to a July 11, 2024 posting on the city website at https://www.cityofmartinez.org/Home/Components/News/News/272/15 .
Built in the 1960s as a recreational and economic asset to the community, the Martinez Marina has fallen into disrepair and has long exceeded its useful life, according to a staff report by Community and Economic Development Director Jill Bergman and Finance Director June Du, presented at the May 7 Council meeting by Bergman.
Over the years, many marina-related facilities have been shuttered or removed altogether because of physical deterioration, Bergman said, citing a restaurant (Captain Blythers), amphitheater and bait shop; others have required significant maintenance. The marina has also been battered by environmental factors, such as king tides and sea level rise and increased siltation. Impacts include frequent flooding of parking areas, the staff report notes.
Storm damage on Dec. 13, 2024, along with increased staffing costs under the new contract, have further strained the marina's financial resources. The Marina Enterprise Fund, with its various sub-funds, projects an accumulated shortfall of $454,578 for the current fiscal year, according to a preamble to the resolution passed by the Council on May 7.
As costs of upkeep increase, and reserves decrease, the marina's reliance on the support of the General Fund for capital and other projects may not be sustainable in the long term, leading to increasing discussion to establish some sort of public-private partnership to run the marina. Just recently, the city had to pay $270,000 out of the General Fund for consultant services to complete final designs and permit submissions for the long-planned seawall replacement and breakwater repair projects, according to the staff report.
Over the current and past two fiscal years, the city, thanks to strong reserves, was able to allocate about $1.7 million from General Fund unassigned reserves to the marina, according to the report. It includes $750,000 for the Fiscal Year 2022-23 dredging project; $495,000 for development of the Waterfront Marina Trust Lands Use Plan; $250,000 for the Seawall Replacement and Breakwater Repair project; $88,900 for temporary repairs to the fishing pier; $59,500 and $50,000 as loans for repairs to the entrance of Dock D and supplemental funding for Almar's management.
"Given the scale of infrastructure needs and the financial constraints of the City, a traditional public funding model is neither adequate nor sustainable," the staff report reads in part. "As such, the City is actively pursuing a fiscally responsible and future-focused solution: a public-private partnership that will attract private investment for future revitalization.
"This approach has the potential to not only alleviate financial pressure on the City's General Fund and prevent future burdens on taxpayers but also deliver a transformational project for the Martinez community which enhances recreational access, revitalizes waterfront amenities, and provides economic vitality."
Between August 2024, when Almar departed, and January 2025, the city continued operations with the help of temporary staff under Bergman's supervision. In November 2024, the City Council awarded a two-year contract to F3 Marina, which came on board in January and assumed full operational control of the marina in March, according to the staff report. F3, which also runs the Vallejo Municipal Marina, has amassed an array of kudos in just the first few months of its Martinez gig.
Since January, F3 "has conducted a comprehensive assessment that identified numerous critical safety and maintenance issues and has done a stellar job enhancing safety for the public at the Marina," reads an excerpt of the staff report. A PowerPoint slide lists some of F3's accomplishments over a 90-day period, including software-related work and building a four-person employee team. It also lists safety improvements such as removal of tripping obstacles on Docks A, B and C; screwing more than 50 pounds of screws into dock planks and reseating protruding nails; elevating the gangways to some of the docks; reinforcing the east-west gangway; repairing dock lighting; and painting yellow lines on all steps, in compliance with ADA requirements. Also, an array of plumbing repairs and paint jobs. Additionally, F3 removed some sunken and damaged boats.
The two-year agreement with F3 includes options for extension and is also "structured to prioritize the City's goal of identifying a private development partner capable of fully reinvesting in and rebuilding a new Marina."
"The time is now," Council member Greg Young said in support of a public-private partnership. "This is a can that has been kicked down the road for as long as I've lived here, and it's been close to 25 years."
Young also gave "a shoutout to F3 and the amazing work that's been done down there" and added praise for Bergman and her team. "Everybody agrees that something needs to be done," Young said. "Well, let's do it."
Young's compliments followed a rave review of F3 by Vice Mayor Jay Howard, and comments in support of a public-private partnership by Councilmember Satinder S. Malhi
"I just want to thank Jamie," Howard said, referencing Jamie Baugh, F3's general manager for the Martinez Marina, who was in attendance at the council meeting. "You are killing it, man.
"Every time I go down there, him and his crew are into something big," Howard continued, "even pulling the weeds on that walkway."
Malhi said that to make the waterfront into the city's crown jewel, it's time for "courting a viable developer to do the public-private partnership."
"We don't have 30 years," Malhi said. "That work needs to start now.
"We can't undo the past, but we sure as heck can help shape the future."
Councilmember Debbie McKillop praised Bergman and said the occasion calls for taking not a baby step but a giant step forward, with the goal of making the marina "an amazing showcase for the whole community."
The Martinez Marina spans approximately 70 acres within the Martinez shoreline. It features 332 boat slips, a park, fishing pier, open space, and marine-related businesses. An additional 65 acres of Trust lands, managed by the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) and leased to the City, have baseball fields, bocce courts, trails and a horse arena. Overall, the waterfront area covers about 135 acres, according to a Waterfront and Marina page on the city website at Waterfront and Marina | Martinez, CA .
Baugh said the Martinez Marina boasts something that no other marina in the Bay Area or Delta has: a great, nearby downtown and a guest dock with utilities – water and power hookups. Neither Suisun City nor Benicia have that whole combination of assets, he said. Moreover, "This is geographically a great location to bring boaters from both sides (San Francisco Bay and the Delta)."
Baugh said he has envisioned a bike rental program at the marina, or transport via golf cart or a marina staff-run shuttle to the downtown. He also noted that there is enough depth at the guest dock: about 3- to 3 1/2-feet at mean low tide – "ideal for power boats," although "sailboats have to be a little cautious, but it is doable."
Mayor Brianne Zorn noted that the last dredge performed at the marina was focused on the guest dock. Earlier, Bergman noted during her presentation that some boaters only go out at high tide.
The following items were produced by Craig Lazzeretti.
City hit with huge jury verdict
The city of Martinez was ordered by a jury last year to pay $8,165,042 in monetary damages to two people who were seriously injured when a large tree fell on several attendees during the Farmers’ Market on Main Street in 2019.
The verdict was handed down by a Superior Court jury in September, but the city’s liabilities from the incident went further than the judgement. There were originally eight plaintiffs in the suit filed against the city, five of whom settled their claims before the case went to trial. One other defendant, Caleb Owens, settled for $851,000 after a jury trial was ordered.
Jurors awarded Christina Sosa $4,147.521.39 in damages and Gena Wilson (Owens’ wife) $4,017,521.83, according to court documents.
The incident occurred on the morning of Oct. 27, 2019 while the plaintiffs were attending the annual “Trunk or Treat Spooktacular.” The plaintiffs alleged that the city failed “to properly plant, maintain and inspect the tree,” according to the lawsuit. While the city acknowledged liability, it contested the suit over damages owed to the defendants from the injuries they suffered.
According to the suit, Wilson’s injuries included several fractures, a collapsed lung and broken rib. She was awarded $67,521.83 in past medical expenses, $450,000 in future economic damages and $3.5 million in past and future noneconomic losses, including pain and suffering.
Souza suffered a serious ankle fracture that impacted her job as an occupational therapist. She was awarded $71,235.39 in past medical expenses, $283,500 in lost earnings, $132,786 in future medical expenses, $160,000 in future lost earnings and $3.5 million in past and future noneconomic losses, including pain and suffering.
Mirador Law, the firm that brought the suit to trial, said in a news release that the judgment against Martinez ranked No. 27 among the top 50 personal injury jury verdicts in California during 2024.
In response to an email from Martinez News and Views about the verdict, City Manager Michael Chandler wrote the following:
The City through its risk-pooling Joint Powers Authority – the Municipal Pooling Authority of Northern California – tried diligently to formally resolve the claims of all the plaintiffs stemming from the October 2019 tree incident, including the two that went to trial. After multiple attempts, however, the parties unfortunately could not reach an agreement prior to trial.
Chandler went on to explain that the $8.2 million verdict cost won’t be borne by Martinez taxpayers alone, saying that because Martinez “pools” its insurance with 20 other area cities, “the costs for large claims like this are spread across the entire risk pool.” He did acknowledge, however, that “there is definitely a correlation to higher costs of insurance when the pool gets hit with large settlements like this one.”
Further, the insurance claims for each city in the pool over the most recent three-year period are used to determine whether that city pays a surcharge or gets a discount when calculating insurance premiums. Because the incident in question occurred in 2019, Chandler explained, it won’t factor into Martinez’s next premium calculation.
Nevertheless, he said, “large settlements (whenever they occur) most definitely affect the cost of insurance to the entire risk pool going forward.” He also noted that “because the insurance costs are managed through a Joint Powers Authority, these costs are all taxpayer-funded dollars and not simply ‘insurance dollars’ as people commonly think.”
The upshot is that the verdict and settlements stemming from Martinez’s failure to maintain the tree that fell on the victims in 2019 is expected to have budget implications for the city in 2025-26. Rising insurance costs continue to weigh on the city’s budget, an issue that is expected to be discussed at a City Council Budget Workshop on May 28.
“The cost of insurance continues to be a big driver in our operations budgets, as it has been for the past several years, and will be covered as part of the May 28th Budget Workshop,” Chandler said.
A tale of two 72-hour refinery reports
After the major Feb. 1 fire at PBF Energy’s Martinez refinery, Martinez Refining Co. (MRC) came under public criticism for the sparse details released in its required 72-hour report to Contra Costa Health officials about the incident. The report totaled only three pages, with much of the space dedicated to a list of agencies that responded to the fire and their contact information. It lacked such basic details as the name of the processing unit where the fire occurred and the types of chemicals that leaked and were released in the fire.
In contrast, Valero’s 72-hour report from the May 5 fire at its Benicia refinery — which by all appearance was much less significant than the Martinez fire and was brought under control much more quickly — came in at 33 pages, including specific details about where and how it occurred, as well as extensive discussion regarding what was known at the time about materials released and community impacts along with safety data sheets on the various materials involved.
Here are a few snapshots from Valero’s report (each category included additional information beyond what is listed below).
Description of incident
At approximately 8:45 a.m. on Monday, May 5, the Benicia Refinery experienced a fire near Furnace 701 (F-701), the Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Unit’s Pre-Heat Furnace.
The furnace was isolated, water was put on the fire at 9:05 a.m., which resulted in the fire being minimized, and upstream process streams were isolated as of 10:12 a.m. An all-clear notification was sounded with a refinery alarm at 10:38 a.m.
The City of Benicia Fire Department declared a shelter-in-place for the entire city of Benicia at approximately 9:33 a.m., and it was subsequently lifted at 10:50 a.m.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation but is believed to have been initiated as a result of part of the furnace stack falling to grade, striking equipment and causing a loss of containment.
Material released from fire
Because of flaring arising from the unplanned shutdown of the FCCU, in order to safely respond to the incident, greater than 500 pounds of sulfur dioxide was released.
Data from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Particulate Matter (PM) website (https://www.baaqmd.gov/en/about-air-quality/current-air-quality/airmonitoring-data/#/aqi?date=2025-05-05&id=316&view=hourly) indicates that the Air Quality Index (AQI) increased from 18 to 37 AQI. See Attachment 2. Each cell in this chart shows the estimated hourly AQI values for PM2.5. As established by the U.S. EPA, the AQI for PM2.5 is based on 24-hour concentrations, therefore hourly readings are calculated estimates. The column at far right of Attachment 2 shows the AQI value for the day, based on the 24-hour average concentration. If the number in the far right column is greater than 100, it means that PM2.5 levels were over the federal health standard. The values for 5/5/25 were significantly below this limit.
Data from the refinery’s fenceline website (www.beniciarefineryairmonitors.org) is available and reported in parts-per-billion (ppb). The website data indicates minimal readings of H2S from the event with a maximum 5-minute average <10 ppb. The Reference Exposure Level (REL) for H2S listed on the website is 30 ppb, based on an OEHHA 1-hour threshold. Benzene, Ethylbenzene, Toluene and Xylenes were below the REL at 0 ppb, on all paths. SO2 also did not exceed the REL for the duration of the event. Data after final QA/QC is submitted to the Air District within 60 days of the end of the quarter.
Valero also noted that the hydrocarbon material released was Cat Cracker Feedstock (Gas Oil), and it provided a safety data sheet explaining in detail the types of chemicals found in that material and various potential health impacts.
Community impact
The refinery received 13 inquiries related to the fire in the community.
One Benicia resident, upwind of the fire, requested cleanup of unidentified material on their deck, and an industrial hygienist was sent out to sample the site on May 6.
One Benicia business resident downwind of the fire was told to evacuate (vs. shelter-in-place) and inquired about a claim for loss of business revenue. He was provided the claim number for this incident.
One Vallejo resident, upwind of the fire, experienced headache and watery eyes.
The refinery was made aware of over 100 inquiries made to the city of Benicia Fire Dispatch. The refinery was made aware of 10 inquiries to the BAAQMD regarding smoke/fire and/or odors.
By comparison, here is the extent of the information provided by Martinez Refining Co. under these headings in its 72-hour report for the Feb. 1 fire.
Description of incident
At approximately 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 1, 2025, two workers were opening equipment at the refinery in preparation for planned maintenance on one of the refinery’s process units, which had been shut down on Thursday, January 30, 2025. It is currently believed that, while (the two workers were) opening the equipment, hydrocarbon material started to leak. The two workers immediately evacuated the area, and the material subsequently caught fire, which spread within the immediate vicinity. Both of those workers were transported offsite for medical evaluation and released.
Material released from fire
SO2 > 500 lbs
Community impact
18 calls on the community hotline.
Approximately 32 off-site air monitoring events conducted by MRC for multiple potential air contaminants resulted in no significant levels above background readings.
No Ground Level Monitoring (fixed monitoring sites required by BAAQMD Air Regulations) or Fenceline Monitoring (Fixed and path based monitoring locations required by BAAQMD regulations) results above typical background levels.
In a follow-up 30-day report, MRC provided more details about the hydrocarbon chemicals that it believes were released during the fire, listing the following:
• Light Cat Cracked Naphtha
• Light Cat Cracked Distillates
• Intermediate Cat Cracked Distillates
• Light Thermal Cracked Naphtha
• Isobutane-rich C3-C4
In an April 30 update to the latest report, MRC said that it believes an estimated 1,160 barrels of hydrocarbon materials were involved in the fire. It also said that completion of its internal investigation into the cause of the fire, which was expected by April 30, has been delayed as it awaits outstanding information, "including analysis of the metallography test results from the laboratory conducting the forensic review of the pipe spool where the release occurred."
A major difference in the emergency response to the two fires is that Valero’s triggered a citywide shelter-in-place advisory by the Benicia Fire Department roughly 48 minutes after the fire was reported. In contrast, Contra Costa Health did not issue a shelter-in-place through the county Community Warning System for impacted areas of the Feb. 1 MRC fire until roughly three hours after that fire was reported.
The operation of the Contra Costa Community Warning System has been the subject of scrutiny since the November 2022 spent catalyst release by MRC, in which the CWS was never activated. The refinery explained at the time that it did not alert the public or local health authorities because it was unaware that the release had occurred until it was informed by community members who found dust on their property.
However, the ensuing investigations into that incident largely skirted the failure to activate the Community Warning System and whether the refinery should have acted more quickly to inform the public. Contra Costa Health officials referred the matter to the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office and said it was hamstrung from investigating it further because it was in the D.A.’s hands, a decision I criticized at the time. Two and a half years after that incident, the D.A. has still not announced any findings into whether the refinery broke any laws through its failure to activate the CWS and alert the public.
Meanwhile, it was MRC that initially activated the CWS on Feb. 1 as a Level 2 alert, meaning that the advisory to stay indoors only applied to those with respiratory sensitivity. Contra Costa Health officials maintained that Level 2 for the next several hours, until deciding that smoke from the out-of-control fire was of significant enough concern to elevate the advisory to a Level 3 shelter-in-place.
Caltrans to fund $400,000 in city road projects
The California Transportation Commission on Friday allocated $400,000 in Martinez for pavement resurfacing and rehabilitation in the downtown and northwest areas, including improvements to 3.9 miles of local roads and upgrades to 53 curb ramps to enhance accessibility and extend pavement life, according to a Caltrans news release. The allocation was part of nearly $1.7 billion statewide to help improve safety, increase mobility for all users and strengthen the state highway system.
Former County Supervisor Federal Glover dies
Federal Glover, the first African American elected to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, died Sunday. He was 69. Glover, who served on the board for 24 years before retiring following the expiration of his sixth term in December, represented District 5, which includes Martinez. Glover was succeeded on the board by Shanelle Scales-Preston, whom Glover actively campaigned for during the 2024 election.
The Contra Costa Board of Supervisors issued the following statement on his passing:
We are deeply saddened to learn today of the passing of former Supervisor Federal Glover, who served our community with distinction and dedication during his time on the Board of Supervisors. Federal’s leadership and tireless commitment to improving the lives of residents left a lasting legacy that continues to benefit our County today. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with his family, friends, and all those who had the privilege of working with him. Federal will be remembered not only for his contributions to public service, but also for his compassion and integrity. We honor Federal’s life and the positive impact he had on our community. Further details regarding services or ways to pay tribute will be shared as they become available. Thank you for joining us in reflecting on Federal’s lasting contributions.
Condolences to Federal Glover's family.