Around Oakley: Recently retired Dennis Nunn worked quietly behind the scenes for Oakley

By Roni Gehlke
For the Contra Costa Times

Sometimes it is hard to believe how quickly time goes by. Over the past month on several occasions I've had the opportunity to see old Oakley friends whom I haven't seen in quite a while. Some are still working quietly behind the scenes in Oakley to keep the town running. In many cases, the public doesn't even know their names.

Before Oakley was incorporated into a city more than a decade ago, there was a small group called the Oakley Municipal Advisory Council or OMAC. OMAC consisted of five Oakley residents who met a couple of times a month, like the Oakley City Council does today, and listened to the concerns of the people, and with the help of the Contra Costa County staff and supervisors, made decisions for the town.

These people had far from local control, but they were the only advocates Oakley residents had to fight for their concerns. The leader of that group for many years in the 1990s was Dennis Nunn.

Last week Nunn retired from his staff position at the Ironhouse Sanitary District, but I couldn't let him leave without making sure that people realized what an important role he held, not only at the district, but also for the city of Oakley. A role that, for the most part, has gone unnoticed over the years.

Nunn may not be part of the City Council those know today, but he was an important part of shaping the city of Oakley. As part of OMAC, he worked on many committees and spent countless hours going to meetings and speaking for those who normally didn't have a voice with the county supervisors.

He also worked for many of the beginning years on the Oakley Incorporating Committee and helped Oakley become a city. He worked as the chair of the committee alongside another dedicated Oakley resident, Kathi Baladad.

Before taking on the job at the Ironhouse Sanitary District, he sat on the district's board for seven years. This was back in the late 1980s when a lot of changes were being made at the district, which was working on incorporating with Bethel Island into one special district and building its first plant.

In the early 1990s Nunn took time out of his already busy schedule to chair the Oakley Almond Parade for the Oakley Almond Festival committee, and he briefly served on the Oakley Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

Nunn also volunteered on the board of directors of the Delta Family YMCA in the 1990s.

In 1996 he received a special lifetime achievement award for his service to the community from the Oakley chamber. It's an award that has only been given out to three people over the years.

As he retires from the sanitary district he will also be retiring from the levee district RD830, a position he has held for nearly two decades.

Nunn was an employee of the sanitary district for 17 years, working as the administrative services manager. Also retiring from the district last week was John Mitosinka, who worked for 11 years as the vehicle/equipment mechanic.

There are so many others, like Nunn, who aren't remembered as much as they should be for all of the important work they did for their community. Even though that work was done years ago, it is no less important than the work that is done now. The legacy of their work lives on in the community where you live today.