So here you go - the first obvious swing of the proverbial bat by the A's - your local school board has an interest in creating a safe and comfortable environment.  The Wolfe's are interested in not allocating too much space to the school because . . . .  well, because that's land that could be SOLD if developed for condo's.  

Who wins this debate ?   Who is interested in "the community" well being ?  Who is interested in financial gain ?  Think, think, think people -  watch your City Council and how they support each faction (the School Board or the land developer).


Trustees, A's discuss plan for school
Team proposes smaller urban design; Fremont board envisions larger suburban campus
By Linh Tat, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 10/26/2007 07:03:22 AM PDT


FREMONT — The Oakland A's may envision a 4-acre urban-style school as part of its proposed ballpark village, but if the Fremont school board gets its way, the campus would be twice as large and more closely resemble a suburban school.
Sharing their vision for the new school for the first time,

trustees agreed at Wednesday night's board meeting that they would like 41/2acres of play area alone, and Trustee Larry Sweeney said he would like the entire school to encompass a minimum of 8 acres. Typical suburban schools are spread over 8 to 10 acres.

No one from the A's attended the meeting, but team co-owner Keith Wolff said Thursday, "We're willing to discuss anything with the district, but (8 acres) is getting more toward the size of a traditional school. We're looking for a school that's more appropriate for the ballpark village. It's not really (supposed to be) a suburban school."

The A's ownership has been looking at Horace Mann Elementary School in San Jose as a model. Horace Mann is a multistory campus that sits on about 4 acres.

While each board member supported the idea of a multistory campus, which is more common in urban neighborhoods, Trustee Ivy Wu said she would not want the building to be more than two stories. Having attended a multistory elementary school, Wu said she witnessed kids falling off balconies.

"Space was very tight. I saw kids pushed down the stairs," she said.

Wu also said she's concerned about how long it would take to empty the building in the event of an evacuation.
"It doesn't matter how much training you give the kids. When there's a fire, there's going to be panic," she said.

No elementary school in Fremont is multistory, nor are there any buildings that are more than two stories at the high schools.

The team wants to build a ballpark village near Interstate 880 and Auto Mall Parkway that would include a 32,000-seat stadium and a mix of retail shops, offices and residences.

Plans have not been submitted to the city for approval, but A's officials have talked about building 2,900 high-density residential units, such as townhomes. Based on that figure, the district estimates that the project would generate 621 to 931 new elementary students.

But wary that enrollment may turn out to be higher, board members requested that the school be designed to accommodate 840 to 1,000 students from the start, with the possibility for future expansion.

In fact, Sweeney said, "I would like to see the school that we need to have built be completed by day one rather than be added on later."

"As a trustee, I feel we have an obligation to try to get as much as we can up front," he said.

Wolff said the A's ownership is committed to providing a school large enough to accommodate the students living in the ballpark village, but "we don't want to build something a lot bigger because it will be a poor utilization of space."

Comments from the school board will be shared with A's representatives, who are expected to hold future community meetings about the proposed school.


Staff writer Linh Tat covers education

bigT   wrote on Jan 1^st, 2036, 8:00pm:


This poll was taken by the A's organization, designed by the A's organization,
paid for by the A's organization
That should tell you something. Plus the fact that they only revealed a few things about the poll/survey.
They claimed the data is there's and they do not feel the need to reveal the entire poll / survey.
I am for the A's organization to move the Team to Fremont, If they design the Baseball Stadium/Village
to the Green Building Principal and as a goal to achieve the Leeds Platinum Level. For more information
about Green Building Principles , go to     http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19
GO A's
Do you think they might be putting pressure on the Fremont City Council, Planning Commision?

This is what I said......

I am for the A's organization to move the Team to Fremont, If they design the Baseball Stadium/Village
to the Green Building Principal and as a goal to achieve the Leeds Platinum Level. For more information
about Green Building Principles , go to http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19
GO A's

Brianchang   wrote on Jan 1^st, 2036, 8:00pm:

2007 may be done, but our effort to assist the A's in bringing the team to Fremont is not!

As a first call to action, the A's and Cisco would be grateful if you can make every effort to attend the Fremont City Council meeting on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. to show your support for the A's efforts to move the team to Fremont!  The City Council Meeting will be held in the City Council Chambers.

http://www.ci.fremont.ca.us/CityHall/CouncilMeetings/default.htm <http://www.ci.fremont.ca.us/CityHall/CouncilMeetings/default.htm&gt;

Now that the A's have submitted their formal application to the City of Fremont, the formal process will begin and the City Council will be discussing the upcoming Environmental Impact Report (EIR).  

Your effort and support have been great and we want to continue to build on the momentum that we built in 2007!   We would like to make sure we have as many A's to Fremont supporters in attendance as we can get!  We need to show the Fremont City Council that the citizens of Fremont want the A's to come!

The Biggest Misconception people have about this effort is: "It is already a done deal!"

Many people have mistaken the Cisco Field naming rights press conference that took place over a year ago, as the teams formal announcement that the team is coming to Fremont.  The A's have been working closely with the City of Fremont to gather as much information a possible to assist them in finalizing their plans, but we have much work to do!  Your support is vital in helping the A's make this dream a reality!

I hope we can count on your continued support and look forward to seeing you Tuesday night at the Fremont City Council Meeting!

Go A's!

I found this "ECONOMIC and FISCAL REVENUE IMPACT" study on the Fremont web site.  It is an nteresting document that projects the REVENUE side of the proposed Cisco ballpark - but without ANY discussion or projection as to the impact on CITY EXPENSES ! ! ! ! !  

This REVENUE study was completed and presented over a year ago.
There is NOTHING on the city web site that attempts to explain the EXPENSE side of the equation that you and I will be paying !!!!  Oh, and Mr. WOlfe when and if you ever do an EXPENSE projection - please include the "multiplier effect" for those projections just as you did in the revenue analysis, please.

I am shocked that our city leaders have not yet seen fit to present the most important portion of a proper economic impact analysis and yet are SO QUICK and ready to present the INCOME side. . . . but this is the way our city coffers get sold down the river - again.

Here's the link - if it works great - if not go to the Fremont city web site and look around under A's Cisco field.


http://www.ci.fremont.ca.us/NR/rdonlyres/e6kywwnj5erxzs3n53jcgep5wzgsgjdqhxqt...

good call Big T.

Here's my thoughts on it:

Reply to the TCB post on the City proposing the new A's site, opinions welcome!

First of all, I would like to start by saying that it seems the City has abandoned ship on all those who work at NUMMI. What happened to the whole fighting till the end concept spewed at the save NUMMI rally? This isn’t moral, it isn’t right, and it isn’t how Fremont politicians should conduct themselves. They can wave around all the benefits they were supposedly a part of securing, but it all boils down to the fact that most of them never ever gave saving nummi their full attention. It was always all talk, no substance.

So it seems to me that these are the main points:

-How will the City purchase the land?
-How will the environmental cost be accounted for?
-Those two being taken care of, will those of you who opposed the ballpark last time, reconsider your opinion now due to the new location?

Many politicians went crazy the last time this opportunity presented itself. They rushed, made decisions without consulting the people of Fremont, and ended up destroying any possibility of anybody gaining anything from the situation. That is what seems to happen when you pay more attention to attracting campaign donors than you do the needs of your constituency.

I am open to the idea of a ballpark in Fremont. But, I demand that all these major concerns are addressed CLEARLY before we proceed with matters. None of the vague answers we were assured the last time around; I want cold hard facts coming out of City Hall. The incumbency has lost the people’s trust.