2019 promises to be an exciting year for El Sobrante. We have an energetic, dynamic Board of Directors lined up for the coming year, and we are already making plans for completing projects and starting new ones that will enhance El Sobrante’s downtown.
We will kick off the new year with the annual Awards Dinner, honoring our Business of the Year and Citizen of the Year, and Installation of Officers and members of the Board on Saturday, January 12, 2019. Details are within the body of this newsletter, and on the Chamber website at https://www.elsobrantechamber.com/events/chamber-of-commerce-board-of-directors-installation-dinner/
We will continue to work on the installation of new ‘Welcome to El Sobrante’ signs at the El Portal/San Pablo Dam Rd and Castro Ranch/San Pablo Dam Rd locations. The Eagle Scout candidate had to drop the project due to his time constraints, so the Chamber is either looking for a new scout to pick up the project if interested, or we will move forward on our own.
In March, the History Channel documentary series “American Pickers” will be filming in Northern California, and they are actively looking now for treasures and stories to put on the air. If you or someone you know has a large, private collection or accumulation of antiques that the pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, the show’s stars, can spend the better part of the day looking through, send your name, phone number, location and description of the collection with photos to americanpickers@cineflix.com or call 855-OLD-RUST. Who knows, El Sobrante may make it back again on a national television broadcast. This past year, a home was chosen by Jonathan of Property Brothers fame to be on his Brother vs. Brother show, and the Santa Rita Rd. property in El Sobrante beat out brother Drew’s Pinole home to win the competition. El Sobrante is the place to be in 2019!
Opportunities are also coming this year with some commercial properties on San Pablo Dam Rd and also on Appian Way. Local community groups are trying to create community spaces at the former Adachi Nursery and also the long boarded up Arco station site on San Pablo Dam Rd. The Chamber stands ready to support local community groups who can demonstrate a willingness and ability to develop these projects. We have communicated about these projects in past newsletters, and will support these projects as possible.
We are also beginning a campaign to bring back a resident Sheriff’s Deputy to the community. As plans develop we will communicate how you can participate in having a more consistent law enforcement presence on our streets.
May we all enjoy a healthy and prosperous new year!
Scott Tuffnell