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The ongoing debate over whether a Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) was coming to Alamo reached its end Tuesday as members of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors approved a board order creating the advisory body.
The resolution before the Supervisors came from District 3 Supervisor Mary N. Piepho. Piepho said that having the advisory council would put the wide variety of services in Alamo under the auspices of one group, allowing a greater degree of communication and accountability.
“A Municipal Advisory Committee creates an identity for Alamo, and a centralized voice to provide input and feedback to the district supervisor, the Board of Supervisors and county staff,” Piepho stated.
Around a dozen Alamo residents attended the Aug. 11 meeting and many spoke to the board regarding the institution of a MAC. Testimony was a mixed bag of support and opposition, with those against it offering concerns of how the council will maintain current service levels, and those in favor exhibiting excitement about centralizing services in Alamo.
Long-time resident Bob Myrhe explained to the board how a MAC was first attempted in the 1970s but failed because Alamo was part of an incorporation effort with Danville. Myhre said earlier this year he opposed incorporation for Alamo, but he is strongly in favor of bringing in a MAC.
“It’s time, it’s way past time for a MAC,” Myhre stated. “If we’d approved it on back in the 1970s, we’d have the best one in the county right now.”
Nancy Dommes agreed that having a MAC would be good for Alamo as it would allow residents to have one authority to address their concerns.
“I’m excited about the possibility of a MAC in Alamo,” she enthused. “I can go to just one meeting and find out what’s going on in my community.”
Another supporter, Cecily Barclay, said she believed the MAC was a good thing because it provided much of the oversight of a local government without having to pay to hold an election every two years. She added that she is a firm believer in the Brown Act and having a body like the advisory council provides transparency while giving residents a means of having their voices heard.
“I am very confident that Supervisor Piepho will pick a diverse group of people for the advisory council,” she said.
Others in attendance were doubtful that the seven-member board would have the time or the energy to take on the workload currently being shared by groups like P2B, R7A, Zone 36 and the Alamo Improvement Association (AIA).
“I don’t believe that an appointed MAC can meet our needs as well as the groups that have been doing it already,” said Sandra Fink. She pointed to the efforts of the AIA, a watchdog group whose membership is open to anyone in Alamo, over the past 50 years to serve the Alamo community, saying that it is not easily replaceable.
Mike Gibson, a member of AIA, agreed that it would be difficult for a MAC to duplicate the hours of work put in by the various groups. He also expressed concern over the fact that the MAC would not be able to divide that workload by creating sub-committees.
“Current MAC policy prohibits formation of sub-committees that don’t have MAC members on them,” he said. He called on the Board of Supervisors to adopt language to allow for the council to have sub-committees before approving the resolution.
Another AIA member, Roger Smith, cautioned that taking away those committees and putting their responsibilities under the MAC could have a detrimental affect on the community.
“The community has grown accustomed to a high level of service and access,” Smith stated. “It is not possible for a limited number of people to do all the work of these sub-committees.”
Supervisors debated the issue for several minutes. Supervisor John Goia addressed the opponents of the MAC. “Change is never easy, but I agree with Supervisor Piepho that the MAC is a positive step,” he offered.
Goia said that the work being done by the AIA could be a complement to that done by the MAC.
The board gave its unanimous approval to the MAC. As part of the same discussion, the board approved two subsidiary resolutions that would take the duties of the Zone 36 Lighting and Landscaping Committee and the R-7A Parks and Recreation Committee and fold them into the new MAC.
After the approval, Mike Gibson said that he continues to have reservations about the incoming MAC, but he intends to move forward as the new council is appointed.
“We’ve got to make it work,” he said. “I don’t know how this is all going to fall out. Over time we’ll see how things evolve.”
With the MAC approved, the application process for the seven member board will begin immediately. Supervisor Piepho’s Chief of Staff Tomi Van de Brooke said applications can be found online or in Piepho’s Danville office. She added that she would have applications as well as copies of the board resolutions at the Aug. 13 meeting of the Alamo Community Council. That meeting will be held 5 p.m. at Hap Magee Ranch Park.
Applications will be taken until Sept. 15. Then Piepho will compile a list of nominations that must be approved by the Board of Supervisors. Van de Brooke said that she is expecting that the members of the MAC could be approved by the end of September with the new council holding its first meeting in early October.
Appeal over redevelopment project at old Chevron HQ coming to San Ramon councilApril 6, 2026 10:32 pm
Just Remember everyone, we the people have the power. It doesn’t matter if someone was just elected dictator-for-life of Alamo, they still have to have our support, whether proactive or merely passive. And by passive I mean not making a stink when the leaders try to shaft us. Believe me, we must do as the illegal immigrants do. The laws on the books say that illegal immigration is just that – illegal. However, the illegals just march on over the border, then have the nerve and sense of political efficacy to march by the tens of thousands in the streets to get their way. Thus, the laws are irrelevant. All that matters is what the biggest mob wants. It sucks, but that’s the truth. So, we must form the largest mob. We must take to the streets whenever the county tries to take more of our tax dollars, none of which goes to us. We must harangue the politicians wherever they go. WE THE PEOPLE ARE THE POWER!!!! You politicians think that the nationwide town hall meetings are getting hairy? You ain’t seen nothing yet. You have awoken a sleeping giant. Time to pay the piper
More information on the Alamo MAC and an application form are available on my community website:
http://www.alamore.org
-Steve
Actual information on how a locality of unincorporated area as a designated zipcode such as Alamo is taxed is not only educational but relevant to citizen decision making and even on a MAC.
This is tax course 100. All of this information is available on the Contra Costa County website on Allocation of Basic 1% Property Tax by using your parcel number or address you can find out your tax rate area and allocation.
Generally there are many tax rate areas for each locality which determine how your property tax is allocated.
99% of your property tax goes to Sacramento.
1% remains local.
On average out of the 1% about 15% to 18% goes to the county general fund.
About 52 % goes to local schools and community colleges.
18% goes to the San Ramon Valley Fire District for San Ramon Valley Fire District areas.
That totals 85+% of the 1% of your tax bill.
Various agencies from flood to mosquito to sanitary to EB Mud divide up the remaining 15+%.
Each of these agents are dedicated areas. You can not mix the property tax from Fire to another area or vice versa. The 99% that goes to the state of California is a different story, but mixing of local taxes is strictly upheld and comments above seem to ignore those facts and should stand corrected.
Cities share with the county and other agencies amongst the 1% local share; and that allocation depends on when they incorporated. Alamo would have received somewhere in the 8% range – Walnut Creek gets about 15% due to its much earlier incorporation. Other cities fall between those ranges.
My goodness Rick, you as a Danville resident commenting on a blog about the Alamo MAC and posting threatening comments is scarey! It is always better to post constructive criticism about how to positively influence the article’s words rather than writing “you ain’t seen nothing yet”. Your words make it seem that you plan on making “things hairy”. You are not someone I’d like on my side.
Hey Rick…cool it. You live in Danville, we the people of Alamo will handle it. You have your own problems living in Danville…focus on those.
Alamo’s right next door. Crime is like pollution. It does not obey borders. The closer the polluters, the more pollutants flood in. Incorporation will result in two major things that I will not tolerate sitting down. One: the county dictators will have more power to put a multitude of group homes in Alamo. They will lower the already pathetic guidelines for allowing in these “troubled youths,” so that instead of having just one cold-blooded murderer for every dozen, you’ll have six. Two: the county will bring in endless section 8 housing and advertise said housing in murder capitals from Oakland to Richmond to even salinas. To incentivize a draw of illegal immigrants, they’ll create things like the farm developments. Here’s the rub, they’re not doing these farm developments for any other reason but that they want an excuse to flood in illegal immigrants and the like. You may ask “to what end do they do this?”. Well that is the end. For those who don’t know look up “white flight” and “sundown towns.” these are myths constructed by liberals to make white people look racist and make nice, predominantly white towns out to be nothing but racist creations. White flight, to summarize, is the notion that when whites fled many urban areas, it was because they were racist, because minorities were moving in. This is absolutely false. White people fled because they were scared to live in crime-riddled areas. Sundown towns are completely taken out of context. Yes, were there probably some towns where minorities didn’t feel completely safe at night because the cops would harass them? Probably. However, white people can’t walk the streets of Oakland, Richmond, San Jose and the like at night without often being attacked. And the hoods there do target whites, and not because of the money, but because they’ve been taught to hate us. Let me tell one anecdotal story. My friend was walking through Berkeley one night and sees a white couple suddenly jumped by four black guys. This was in full view of a multitude of locals, none of which were white. Everyone stood by and did NOTHING. The womans hair was ripped out, the mans head stomped on, both bleeding profusely. Finally, my friend holds up his phone and says yells that he’s called the cops. The hoods then run over and beat the piss out of him. A cop car happens to roll by and the hoods run. My friend runs after and catches the cop at a light. The cop, who happens to be black, does not even pull over. He gets out for a second and shouts to the crowds around, asking what happened. No one will step up as witnesses. The cop, seeing my friend bleeding from the nose and mouth, tells him to “get lost.”. Turn that story around and you have the optimal civil rights story. But when it happens to whitey, well we say he probably shouldn’t have been there at night. Anyway, liberals will always disregard such stories, while harping on something similar that was done by whites to minorities. This is how they construct these false notions of white flight and sundown towns. This is why they feel they must “integrate” us at all costs, forcing criminals and disease carriers in our midst. And I’m sorry but illegal immigrants do carry diseases that are dangerous. Swine flu comes to mind. The public hospitals in Oakland and whatnot are flooded with people who can’t speak English and have diseases such as tuberculosis. They are not a small percentage. Again, I’m sorry if the truth hurts. This is why I’m taking a stand on this issue. Alamo is my “Alamo.”
Again, Rick keep the fire going, this is the only way to get to the hard heads and bleeding hearts….maybe. Unfortunately these people will only move when it happens to them, then it may be too late.
Actually Rick has made some valid points in regards to what goes on in Danville. Really, would we have known there were group homes in our town? Where was the vote on that? Did the “powers that be” (Danville City Council) know about them? Also if you (the neighbor) knew that a group home of troubled teenagers were going to be living next door to you, would you be ok with that? I don’t begrudge helping those who want to be helped with a fresh start in life, but not all want to be helped! It took the murder of a young man to see that…So, Rick is angry..maybe he has the right to be! You can’t tell someone how to feel.
Julia: Are you the same who posted the comment supporting Rick in regards to the Alamo homeowner who was attacked. I think it’s safe to say that whether you live in Danville or Alamo, we are neighbors and we should look out for each other and be concerned about what goes on in each other communities.
I see alarming similarities in the degradation of dialog here and on the national level that parallels what took place in the 1980s. We were in a tough economic time. The middle class was under attack. Anti-government sentiment was being stirred by corporate and political interests for selfish motivations. They tapped into the visceral.
Out of the shadows of that came a man named Timothy McVeigh and we know that ended badly. Coincidently, at the time he was picked up, he was wearing a t-shirt with the Jefferson “tree of liberty” quote that Rick used here earlier.
I will fight as hard as the next guy for the right to free speech, within limits. But it is reprehensible for any respectable newspaper or forum to allow the hate speech and white supremacist mentality that is verbalized here.
This country still hasn’t healed from the last time we allowed the dialog and behavior to degrade to this level. The government is noting a 300% increase in recruitment within white supremacist/militia type organizations since Obama took office.
Clearly racism’s ugly underground is busy. It may only take a spark. Let’s work to not light that fuse.
Askidoo has good information so I looked up my tax bill and Tax Rate Area and here is what I found:
This does not include the Ad Valorem portion of your tax bill which includes things like school bonds, regional parks, etc. Sorry that the numbers don’t line up but tab characters don’t make it to the comments area.
Alamo Tax Rate Area 66009
Allocation of Basic 1% Property Tax
Agency- – – – – – -Percent
COUNTY GENERAL- – – – – – -15.08%
COUNTY LIBRARY- – – – – – -1.55%
C C FLOOD CONTROL- – – – – – -0.18%
FLOOD CONTROL Z-3B- – – – – – -0.73%
SERV AREA P-6- – – – – – -1.20%
CO SERV AR P-2ZB- – – – – – -0.49%
SERV AREA R-7 ZA- – – – – – -2.12%
CO WATER AGENCY- – – – – – -0.04%
SAN RAMON VLY FIRE- – – – – – -18.17%
CC RES CONSV- – – – – – -0.02%
CO CO MOSQUITO ABA- – – – – – -0.16%
CENTRAL SANITARY- – – – – – -1.90%
ALAMO LAF CEMETERY- – – – – – -0.06%
EAST BAY MUD- – – – – – -1.56%
BART- – – – – – -0.66%
BAY AREA AIR MGMNT- – – – – – -0.19%
EAST BAY REGNL PK- – – – – – -3.12%
CO SUPT SCHOOLS- – – – – – -1.90%
K-12 SCHOOLS ERAF- – – – – – -13.11%
SAN RAMON UNIFIED- – – – – – -30.96%
CO CO COMM COLLEGE- – – – – – -4.84%
COMM COLLEGE ERAF- – – – – – -1.95%
– – – – – – –
Total- – – – – – -100.00%
Shameful, I wanna stop child-killers and women-stranglers, so I’m like mcveigh, who bombed and killed innocent people including children? Try to label me again. Maybe one will actually make sense. Let it be known that I condemn such violence to the fullest. Not only is it deeply immoral, but also immensely couterproductive. It only serves to give credence to those who label us right wing nuts. No, the worst thing for our movement is such violence. Self defense is a wholly different thing.
PS: I voted for Obama. I still am proud of my choice. I hate the big corporaations. They pollute our air and water, they outsource our jobs, and they fight to keep illegal immigration so that they have cheap labor.
Thank you re:Rick and Concerned. My sentiments exactly
Wow, Rick voted for Obama. I guess that’s supposed to nullify all his xenophobic ranting. Um, no.
Rick, you’re irrational, paranoid, offensive, and quite clearly sitting in front of your computer all day buying into all the conspiracy theories coming your way via spam email. Why don’t you visit a group home and see how “terrifying” it really is before you theorize the threat it poses to a neighborhood? Try connecting with some recent immigrants, even (cough) illegal immigrants, and learn what drives them to risk their lives and leave their families behind in order to pick fruit in our scorching valleys for meager wages. There’s a reason oranges cost 99 cents per pound – and it’s not because the folks in Danville are picking them. Lord help you, Rick, you might actually be able to see something from a different perspective, rather than the tunnel vision you suffer from the propaganda you absorb and blindly spew.
Blah blah blah. I didn’t say that I voted for Obama to nullify anything. I did it merely because shameful said that people like me sprang up strictly because Obama took office. Things are far more complex than that and you all could see that if people like you could see through your own tunnel vision
And I would gladly more for fruit to stop illegal immigration
Dear Dolores,
The announcement of CCC-BOS decisions, made behind closed doors in March/April, on August 11 is simply fulfillment of the Brown Act after the fact. There is nothing that can be believed from the result of CCC-BOS decisions or the illegitimate district 3 meetings conducted as Alamo Community Council. We will have seven volunteer staff members of District 3 that are going to effect the policies, projects, planning and positions of Mary N. Piepho in her focused service to her financial supporters and her own political ambitions. A list of 17 candidates was prepared in June and only seven from that list will be MAC members.
Is there any doubt in Alamo that is reality?
Hal Bailey
halbailey@yahoo.com