International Cuisine, Retail to Open

New specialty boutique shopping, along with additional international cuisine, will be opening at Pacific Commons over the next few months. The following retail and restaurants, located in the part of Pacific Commons just off of Auto Mall Parkway and Boscell Road (across Boscell from Costco), will open by the end of June:

• Baby Hugs (Open June 16)
  


• Family Dentistry


• Focus Beauty


• Healthy Dessert


• Keneyama Sushi & Teppanyaki


• Shanghai Restaurant

Asian Pearl Seafood, a dim sum restaurant, is slated to open in the fall.

Residents invited to submit shop local videos

Residents invited to submit shop local videos:

"Shopping in Fremont is important to us," Mayor Bob Wasserman said. "There isn't as much as we'd like now, and there isn't as much as we'd like to see. But the more people shop here, the more people who build businesses will know people shop here. And then more people will build here."

Fremont Police Department Officer Matt Snelson appeared in a video where a father was hesitant about giving his daughter shopping money. Snelson informs the pair that she can shop in Fremont, as 1 percent of the sales tax goes toward funding public safety.

The father then happily hands over shopping money, as long as his daughter shops in Fremont.

A second video features Fremont Firefighter Brian Guernsey confronting a young woman as she leaves a department store checkout counter.

Dressed in full firefighting gear, he loudly thanks her for shopping in Fremont, and won't let her leave until she hears how her purchase has helped public safety.

The final video features the father from the first video, fastening pillows to his car to "prepare for potholes" as he leaves for a shopping expedition. His wife questions his motives, and explains the sales tax is going to public safety.

Fremont maintenance engineer Derick Fisher then explains 1 percent of the tax helps public safety.

"Shopping in Fremont is important to us," Mayor Bob Wasserman said. "There isn't as much as we'd like now, and there isn't as much as we'd like to see. But the more people shop here, the more people who build businesses will know people shop here. And then more people will build here."

Tsui said the videos can be seen on the city's Web site at www.fremont.gov/Business/ShopFremont/default.htm.

They will also be shown on local channels 26, 27 and 29, and are posted on the popular Internet site YouTube.

Another component of the campaign is that locally-owned coffee shops, juice bars and bagel/doughnut shops will give Shop Fremont cup holders with coffee purchases.

As for residents making videos, the contest began Wednesday, and will end on Friday, July 13.

Winning entries will be posted on the city's Web site at Shop Fremont.biz, along with the three city videos. Winning entries will also be broadcast on channels 26, 27 and 29.

Contest Rules

Redevelopment agency

Redevelopment agency is awarded $200,000 grant:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it has awarded a $200,000 grant to the Fremont Redevelopment Agency for soil remediation at the former Union Pacific Railroad yard in the Niles District. The city's redevelopment agency is scheduled to begin removal of contaminated soil at the site in late summer, in preparation for construction of the Niles Town Plaza.
The Fremont project was one of 17 selected to receive a Brownfields grant from EPA Region IX, which covers California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii.

Redevelopment budget is $85 million:

Redevelopment budget is $85 million

by Wes Bowers

Article Launched: 05/25/2007 11:47:56 AM PDT

Fremont Redevelopment Agency received a first report on the agency's budget at a May 22 meeting.

Convening as the Redevelopment Agency, Fremont City Council learned it will have $74.5 million in the 2007/2008 fiscal year for non-housing projects, and $10 million for below-market rate housing projects.

The redevelopment agency's budget is incorporated as a component of the city's budget. A second public hearing on the budget will be held June 5.

Elisa Tierney, Fremont Redevelopment Agency director, said some of the highlighted projects in the budget include Irvington District's Bay Street Streetscape.

The project, slated to cost about $5.3 million, is anticipating an additional $810,000 in appropriations, according to Tierney.

She added the project's first phase is scheduled to start this summer.

Tierney also highlighted the Greenbelt Gateway project along Grimmer Boulevard.

Estimated at $200,000, the project aims to make the streetscape along Grimmer more attractive.

Another highlight Tierney touched on was exploring commercial enhancement options in the Centerville area.

"This includes options for the Center Theater," Tierney said. "But we'll come back on June 26 with more detailed plans for the theater."

Other commercial enhancements in Centerville include streetscape improvements and pedestrian linkage areas.

The last highlight Tierney noted was the Niles Canyon Railway pedestrian bridge.

Currently, the project description on staff reports states redevelopment and engineering staff will assess the best options to locate and then design a pedestrian bridge. It is estimated to cost $350,000.

Resident Ed Pentalari said the agency should make the Greenbelt Gateway project a priority.

"It's an important thing for us to begin looking at," he said. "It's one of the main gateways into Irvington. As I drive into it, I always think what other people must be thinking when they drive into Irvington."

Family Water Play Facility

On March 27 2007 bids came in several million dollars higher than expected.

What the newbor reported March:
The city has just under $15 million allocated for the park. The $11.75 million bid was almost $3 million higher than what the city had expected bids to come in at.


What is the water park?

The 4-acre Family Water Play Facility would be built at the Puerto Penasco Swim Lagoon, at the southwest corner of Central Park. It would feature 4 large slides - the tallest of which would be 45 feet, a lazy river for people to float around the park on rubber tubes, a swimming pool, a youth play area with slides, and a "sprayground" for tots. There also would be picnic areas, an education center, and other amenities.

"The purpose is not to be Water World or Raging Waters, but small enough for a family to enjoy and afford," Parks and Recreation Director Annabell Holland said.

The water park originally was approved by the City Council in 2001. But, as the economy headed into a downturn, city officials became worried about the public's perception of adding amenities, and whether they even would be able to afford to visit the park if it were built.

"What would have happened is something so positive would have had so much negative energy around it," Holland said.

The project came to life again last year, and city officials had planned for the park to be completed and open by next summer. If the City Council accepts one of the new bids that come in, the park now would open in 2009.


Where is the money coming from?

Some have questioned how the city can afford a $15 million water park while essential services such as police and fire protection have been reduced. The answer is in where the money comes from. Or maybe more appropriately, where it doesn't come from.

None of the money to build the park would come from the city's General Fund. The General Fund is the city's largest source of unrestricted money. Most of it is used to pay for the city's operations, such as payroll.

The bulk of the park's money - more than $9 million - is from money taken in by the city's recreation department and from fees paid by developers. The first, about $4 million, can only be used for recreation projects that will generate revenue. The second can be used only for parks.

The rest of the money mostly comes from grants and donations targeted for parks - or in some cases for the water park specifically.

So if the city decides to not build the water park, it would need to find other recreation-based uses for the money.

"Even if the park is killed, the money can't be used on police or fire," Holland said.

She also pointed out that, once built, the park will bring in enough revenue to completely pay for its operation.


Water Park Site Plan Water Park Section


New Bid

Project Name: Family Water Play Facility

City Project Number: PWC 8464

For Bids Opened: 05/01/07

Project Manager: Roger Ravenstad

Contractor	Base Bid Total	Rank
Sierra Bay Contractors, Inc.	$10,496,000	1
West Bay Builders, Inc.	$10,698,000	2
BRCO Contractors, Inc.	$11,400,000	3

What's next?

By reopening the bidding process, the Council gave construction companies until the end of April to once again submit a bid for building the facility. City officials say there are several reasons they expect bids to fall within their budget this time around.

The decision is scheduled for city
council on June 5, 2007.


We giving more detail soon.

Coming Soon

Coming Soon:

Retail international cuisine at pacific commons
(Late May-Early June)

1)Photo has not been Post.( No Photo)
2)Retail Has not been Post.
(List of the retail has been Release)

I will post This Week or Next Week. It will be at ASAP.
I do not have list of the Retail. But I know all the Retail.
I do visit the Retail Site. But not all the Retail Site.

Please Note All Retail has not Complete.
The Store has been Construction. But Project Did not Complete.
It may take Few Weeks. I think around 2-3 Months.
One Store openedJune 16,2007

City pitches guidelines for A's ballpark

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City of Fremont staffers presented a list of general guidelines Tuesday for the proposed ballpark village to be built by the Oakland Athletics. Many of the guidelines had already been discussed previously by A's owner Lew Wolff, most recently during a May 8 Fremont City Council meeting.

After a total of 19 guidelines, broken down into three groups, were presented Tuesday, city council unanimously approved them.

A few of the items presented under "Financial and Business Guidelines" included:

Any transaction with the A's for the development of the ballpark village project should be a prudent business deal, protect the interests of the taxpayer, and be of benefit to the Fremont community.

All impacts of the ballpark village project such as public safety, traffic and environmental, should be addressed by the project developer.

The city and A's should consider opportunities for public use of the ballpark when the ballpark is not in use by the A's

Any future baseball team and/or ballpark name should include "Fremont." For example, "_______ A's at Fremont" or "Cisco Field at Fremont."

Other guidelines included Fremont not bearing any construction costs, no future un-reimbursed general fund financial obligations imposed on Fremont or its residents, and that there should be no new taxes imposed on Fremont or its residents.

Under the group of "Planning and Public Review Process," staffers noted the ballpark should be a high quality, intimate, state-of-the-art facility.

Additionally, the project should include alternate transportation to and from the site, including Bay Area Rapid Transit or Alameda-Contra Costa Transit bus service, the guidelines state.

Also, the guidelines indicate that the review process for the project will include a public process open to the community, and that the design and potential impacts will be reviewed by the city.

A third group of guidelines, named "Other," simply state that the city will work with regional partners, and that the city manager will be responsible for negotiations consistent with the guidelines.

Finally, according the guidelines, negotiations will be conducted privately and confidentially, not in the public forum. But proposals resulting from negotiations will be explored in the public forum.

During the council meeting, some wanted the guidelines to be more specific.

Carrie Hamill, a representative from BART's general management team, wanted the city to ensure there would be a large capacity transportation system, such as a bus line, between the stadium and the future Warm Springs BART station.

Resident Douglas Cattaneo suggested the city add a guideline that ensures A's owner Wolff promise to build a stadium.

"We want to make sure Mr. Wolff builds a ballpark," he said. "We want this ballpark, and we want to make sure we get one. We don't want him to come in, rezone the site, build houses and leave, and we never get a park."

Fremont City Manager Fred Diaz and Mayor Bob Wasserman both pointed out that there is a guideline that states "The A's should guarantee that the ballpark will be built and should make a long-term commitment to play its home schedule in Fremont."

Cattaneo said that guideline should be more explicit.

"These guidelines are not specific, and nothing is set in stone," Diaz said. "These are merely for the council to review, and for (city staff) to come back with more detailed guidelines. These are still evolving."

Some council members expressed concern over the lack of detail in the guidelines.

Councilwoman Anu Natarajan had concerns with the lack of a defined process to the project.

"We've all heard Mr. Wolff's interest in expediting this project, but that can only happen with a defined process," she said.

Councilman Steve Cho expressed concern over what would happen if some of these guidelines did not take shape.

"We're developing an agreement that is supposed to be a win-win for everyone," he said. "All the principles I've read so far are with positive outcomes. What about the what-ifs? We don't address the consequences if something here does not happen."

City Attorney Harvey Levine said the city has brought in consultants to brainstorm potential problems that will be handled in different documents.

Wasserman reiterated to his concerned council colleagues that the document before them was merely a list of guidelines.

The mayor added the guidelines will return in the future as a memorandum of understanding, which could be as many as 200 pages long.

"I guarantee that when this comes back, it will be more comprehensive than anything you've ever wanted to see," Wasserman said. "This isn't going through any different process than other developments in Fremont."

The entire cost for the 32,000-seat ballpark and its "village" are estimated at $1.8 billion.

Broken down, the ballpark would cost $450 million. A 100-room hotel would cost about $30 million, and a 2,900-unit residential housing development would cost $1.1 billion to build. About 550,000 square feet of retail would cost $198 million to construct, according to Wolff.

City budget forecast is slightly improved

City budget forecast is slightly improved

by Wes Bowers

Article Launched: 05/18/2007 02:07:10 PM PDT

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City staff breathed a sigh of relief, if only for a moment, when it reported to Fremont City Council that there would be $133.7 million in Fremont's general fund for 2007. Catherine Chevalier, the city's budget manager, said this figure was $600,000 more than what had been reported to the council in March. However, expenditures will remain at $130.5 million, as was reported in March, leaving the city with $9.3 million in its general fund by the end of the 2006/2007-fiscal year. Chevalier said the primary reason for the income increase is due to some $800,000 in other revenue sources, such as reimbursement for state-mandated services like the animal adoption program. Fremont Finance Director Harriet Commons said because the governor's May revise for the state budget was released May 14, the city had no time to review it. This results in the city not knowing when it will receive $800,000 in other revenue. The increase in an ending general fund balance comes a year after the city reported that it was virtually broke. Last year, city officials reported $118.8 million in revenue, but $122 million in expenditures. As a result, the city had to transfer $1.4 million from its Budget Uncertainty Reserve, a "rainy day fund," to bring it out of the red. Also, city officials projected this fiscal year would be even more uncertain. Although city officials said they are happy with the revenue and general fund increase, more spending is forecast for next fiscal year. For the 2007/2008-fiscal year, the city projects bringing in $141.4 million in revenue, but spending $147.2 million. However, the city will still be in the black overall, with $3.5 million remaining in its general fund by the end of the year. The general fund balance will then again increase by the end of the 2008/2009-fiscal year, as the city expects to generate $149.3 million in revenues, and only spend $146.2 million. That will leave the city with an estimated $6.6 million in the general fund by June 30, 2009. According to Commons, the city is not worried about the drop in next year's general fund balance. She said next year property taxes are expected to increase from $45 million to $48.2 million, although there haven't been as many home purchases in Fremont as there have been in recent years. Additionally, sales taxes are expected to increase from $34.6 million to $36.6 million. With this budget increase, city staff is proposing 18 new public safety positions. On Tuesday, city staff will officially propose that the city hire 10 new firefighters and eight new police officers. But these additions will still not give Fremont the same amount of public safety positions as other cities in the area, Commons said. According to staff reports, the additions will only give Fremont 2.2 public safety personnel per 1,000 citizens. In comparison, Newark has 3.5 safety officers per 1,000 residents; Oakland has about 4.25. Additionally, staff is suggesting turning seven temporary city positions into permanent positions, including three in Fremont's Human Services Department, two in Fremont Community Development Department and two in Fremont Transportation and Operations Department. "Based on this information, we think revenues will be enough to absorb the ongoing costs of these new positions," Commons said. Fremont City Manager Fred Diaz said the city is pursuing retail opportunities throughout the city to help increase revenue, as sales tax is the city's primary driver.

Diaz mentioned projects like the Central Business District and Centerville Market, along with the Oakland Athletics' ballpark village, as potential revenue generators.

"We've been through some challenging times in the last few years, and we remain skeptical," he said. "We're approaching next year with caution, but things are looking up."