Alamo’s R7A and Zone 36 committees are back and they’re made up of all new committee members.
Contra Costa County Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District 3, recently appointed new members to R7A, the parks and recreation county service district, and Zone 36, the lighting and landscaping committee in Alamo.
Piepho terminated all of the existing committee members in August and asked residents to apply for the new openings. She also encouraged terminated members to reapply.
Committee members, some who were even appointed by Piepho originally, were shocked by the sudden termination. Piepho cited non-compliance with county rules and guidelines as one of the reasons for the action and said she believed a clean house would encourage more Alamo residents to get involved.
“This will open up the membership to the entire community of Alamo due to the increased interest that many residents have had in serving on these committees,” she wrote in her termination letters to committee members.
All but one of the former R7A and Zone 36 members reapplied for their positions. None of the former members was even interviewed for the positions, and not one of the former members was reappointed to R7A or Zone 36.
The new members of R7A are Marianne Sasso, Steve Mick, John De Maio, Tom Matthews and Gene Campbell, with Alicia Watson serving as an alternate. Terminated members of R7A are John Montgomery, Claudia Waldron, Randy Nahas, Vicki Koc, Craig Elliott and Nancy Kaplan.
The new members of Zone 36 are Valerie Schooley, Keith Wilson, Jon De Maio, Alicia Watson, and Margie Sparkman, with Steve Mick serving as an alternate. Terminated members of Zone 36 are Nancy Dommes, Vicki Koc, Victoria Lucido, John Moeller, Brad Waite, Steve Goodman and Claudia Waldron.
Craig Elliott had been on R7A for eight months before he was terminated. One of his main duties was disseminating budget information to committee members. When Elliott began on the committee, he said, he had to attend a county seminar about the Brown Act, the law that requires public access to meetings.
Elliott has worked with the Roundhill Swim Team, the San Ramon Valley Little League, Mustang Soccer, and the Monte Vista Athletic Boosters. He said he thought he was well suited for R7A because of his experience on various committees and his interest in the issues R7A addressed. He was appointed by Millie Greenberg, the former District 3 supervisor.
He reapplied to be on R7A and received a rejection notice.
“I thought it was a slap in my face simply because I hadn’t been there that long,” said Elliott. “If she (Piepho) had an axe to grind I didn’t feel like I was part of that group.”
Nancy Dommes, a terminated member of Zone 36, also reapplied for her position but was rejected. She said she was not surprised when she received the rejection letter.
“Even though in our termination letters, we were encouraged to reapply, I knew in my heart that they weren’t going to reappoint us,” said Dommes. She had been on Zone 36 for three months, appointed by Piepho.
“It was certainly her right to do whatever she wanted to do. She wanted to see who else was out there,” said Dommes. “But not reappoint one person?”
The newly appointed Zone 36 had its first meeting Oct. 25 at Hap Magee Ranch Park, and R7A had its first meeting on Oct. 26. Both committees have completed their first training workshop.
