Thanks the person for providing the following info:
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I attended the 12/15 meeting this evening and took notes of what was discussed. Please note that these are minutes of the meeting as I heard it to the best of my ability. However the overall summary is that Warm Springs is in the As mind definitely the preferred site.
It seemed that the main reason for coming was to get signatures on standardized letters of support for the As before the Thursday 4.00pm deadline. Also As did not offer any specific incentives but made general statements of incentives to the community at large once they come. This meeting was clearly for soliciting support for the As to come to Warm Springs and
only open to those specifically invited. Now for the minutes and I apologize for wrongly spelled names:
Present and who spoke are:
Nina Moore, who is with the Chamber of Commerce - many probably
remember from school district days also. . She has been on the
committee of As for Fremont for the past two years. She states that
she believes that As is a good thing for economic purposes.
Jim Kaneen - consultant with the As
Paul Meneker - senior VP of Wolff Urbans and Senior VP of As
Steven Lloyd -Fremont Citizen, formed As to Fremont Support Group,
local realtor
Gloria Ritchie - consultant and resident of Fremont
Steve Cho was there as a guest and listener as was I.
There was about 12-15 other people there as guests.
Jim Kaneen and Paul Meneker spoke:
Need a baseball only stadium. First thought of Pacific Commons as
Cisco was ready to let them use their field. After great effort it
has now become apparent that there are legal obstacles as Catellus
have prohibited development of the baseball stadium on the land and
they have rights as to use of the land. So the baseball village idea
looks improbable after last Tuesday's city council meeting as that is
when Catellus officially voiced their objection. Also during the
course of research on pacific commons, feedback from other agencies
and regional leaders was that the stadium should be in a more transit
friendly site.
So now in their minds Warm Springs is the preferred site with pacific commons as the alternative.Warm Springs seems like a great place because
-allows them to stay in Alameda County
-being on the southern tip it reaches out to fans in the South Bay as
well as possibly getting new fans.
- is much more transit friendly as can ride bart, get onto 680 more
than one way, can get onto 880 more than one way
They want to build an intimate small baseball stadium with a capacity
of 32000, and this vision is the same whether it was pacific commons
or warm springs.
Fremont is perfect for all of us because-
-we want to play in Alameda County
- we can get south bay fans and new fans to come
-create new opportunities for Fremont - construction and permanent
jobs
- can create a transit friendly stadium if at Warm Springs as
recommended
-will have housing, complimentary retail and elementary school
brought to Pacific Commons, Fremont
-can incorporate Cisco into our plans.
We plan to study both sites in equal details and make a informed
decision based on the facts, even though realistically pacific
commons may be out as catellus has asserted their rights in this
matter after 36 retailers voiced their objections to the stadium.
The residents and people of Fremont need to understand that regardless of what we do, there will be development around the warm springs station. That land will not remain empty.Not decided exactly which part of the Warm Springs land. Only need
12 acres to build the stadium, so which 12 acres has not yet been
decided.
Bart expected in 2014.
Somebody asked if As have talked to Nummi. They said that they have met with Nummi many times and have had productive working sessions with us. Both sides are looking for win-win solution. This is in progress. Nummi' main issue is that they do not want housing at their site, but we plan on keeping the residential part at Pacific Commons anyway.
Also need to understand that Nummi would be against any development in that area, didnt want Bart, no development of any kind at warm springs, stadium nor anything else nor at pacific commons as they have the just in time delivery system.They also explained that there will be a sudden surge in traffic when entering and then when leaving but does not last long as we would have paid people quickly ushering fans' cars into parking lots.
Probably will be done in 15-20 minutes.Oakland Colliseum has about 9000 parking spots and the most that they have ever had is 8000. Cars come in quickly and leave quickly and with all the exits, traffic shouldnt be a problem.Also most games will be evening games so less of an imposition.Bart ridership currently to As games is 20%
When moved to Warm Springs expect Bart ridership in the short term to be 15-20% in the short term but then move to 30-40% in the long term.
There will be 81 games and the season is April through September.
Will not allow access to the residential neighborhood except for residents and can possibly have resident stickers to distinguish.We will work actively on transportation issues with our resident neighbors.
Regarding Noise -will do a technical studyon sound source. As sounds from stadium and sounds from freeway may not necessarily be additive due to bouncing, in fact may there may be some noise cancellation even
Lighting - thanks to new technology there should be limited glare
Security - will have our own private security or police - not sure
which but we will definitely have a lot of security.
Havent made detailed plans yet on parking. May come up with plan of shared use parking with Bart. Need to discuss as this may be good for us and extra revenue for Bart.
Guest asked if they would build a parking structure? They said it is too early to say. Maybe not if there is lots of land, then can just have surface parking. Have to wait and see - not got that far in
their plans.
Steve Lloyd from the As for Fremont spoke
He said that no money is to come from the Fremont Tax payer. It is on this condition that As are allowed to come here. [blogger note:
THIS IS BIG LIE! They claim this, so it "
does not require" city wide referendum,
just need the decision from the five council members. We can still call for city wide vote!]
Stadium is to be privately financed by the Wolff family and private investors.They love to support Fremont Communities -have already done a health fair with Washington and some other community event.However the Warm Springs Area will get special treatment including the businesses, Little League, Schools etc.
Someone asked timeframe and Paul Meneker replied not sure. Originally thought 2012, but this may be a little optimistic, as will have to file all over again and depends if there are hurdles along
the way etc.
Stadium will be available for concerts and community events such as high school graduations, Little League playoffs etc
Someone again voiced their concern of noise for the residents and the As repeated that study will have to be done and they have a feeling noise may not increase by much and may even have noise cancellation.Another guest put forth that the main problem is that the residents are very unhappy and how are you going to convince and satisfy them otherwise? The As replied that they realize that they need to reach out to the residents and plan to do this in small groups and listen to their concerns and address them by finding solutions.Some guest pointed out that it may be inconvenient to get access to their neighborhood. Residents will always get access was their reply.
Again the As pointed out that here would also be either security guards or police, signs, resident stickers etc
Another guest, Michelle from Baskin Robbins stated that you need to understand the resident concerns and need to solve the traffic issues.
Paul Meneker answered saying that when they built the San Jose Sharks, the residents of the Rose Garden there had the same concerns and now they are so happy and not one complaint. This is because we made sure all their concerns were addressed.Nina Moore mentioned that the main thing to be done tonight is to get letters of support for the As in before the deadline of December 18, 4.00pm. If you can please sign the letter we hand out and give it back to us before you leave preferably.
Nina also mentioned that she would love to come into our homes and talk to small groups of residents about your concerns.
Nina - don't worry about residential to be built at Pacific Commons. Will have their own elementary school and will feed into Walters Middle and Kennedy High School.Steve Cho asked - When is an economic study to be done? Wasn't clearly answered and As clarified that the Wolff family will 'front' the funding of the stadium until the money comes through on the building and sale of units of the residential complex at Pacific Commons.
Guest asked - When will the decision to "can" the original proposal of the stadium at pacific commons take place. Since Tuesday it has been pretty obvious that Pacific Commons will not work due to legal obstacles and that Warm Springs has now become the preferred
alternative.
The As again asked if before leaving if we could sign the standard letter and leave with them before we leave. I have a copy of the blank letter if needed by anyone. Also Steve Lloyd asked us to sign up for www.TheFremontBaseballVillage.com with your name, address, email, phone etc and they will keep us updated on developments and city council meetings etc
Adjourned 7.30pm
End of minutes
Well it looks like the fight is on!!!
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