Like you, we care a great deal about Alameda. Some of us worked to secure funding to build the new Main Library and keep Alameda Hospital open. Some worked to generate stable local funding for our schools. Others worked to improve parks and sports fields for children. Others of us are active in programs that benefit seniors and children.
Now we have come together to tackle another critical issue for Alameda—revitalizing Alameda Point.
You have probably heard talk about plans for the future of Alameda Point, the site of the former Alameda Naval Air Station on the west end of Alameda. The Naval Air Station closed permanently twelve years ago. Since that time, many plans have been developed but little progress has been made to transform the base into a safe and productive part of our community. Costs to maintain the crumbling infrastructure and decaying buildings at Alameda Point continue to grow, making it a burden on the city and Alameda taxpayers.
But now there is an opportunity to change that.
We are writing to tell you about a plan that we believe will enable Alameda Point to become a tremendous asset to our community and to ask you to join us in making this plan a reality.
The City, the Navy, and SunCal, the planning and development firm hired by the City to plan the revitalization of Alameda Point, are working out the final details of the Plan. The Plan will then be put before the citizens of Alameda as an initiative to be voted on by our citizens. Voters, not city council members, developers, or special interests, will have the final say on whether this plan makes sense for our community.
The Plan to revitalize Alameda Point is based upon input from the citizens of Alameda over the course of many years. It will clean up the toxins at the site to a safe standard.
It provides civic and recreational amenities for all Alamedans in the form of hiking and biking trails, a new library, a fire station, schools, and sports and recreational facilities. It will create jobs, provide an array of housing choices and, over time, generate significant revenue for our city and our schools. Restoration of historic buildings are also part of the plan.
We feel confident that if you study the plan for Alameda Point you will support it as well. But we need your help to make sure that voters approve this important ballot measure.
Working together we can make Alameda Point an asset to our community and a part of our community that we can all be proud of.
Working together we can make Alameda Point an asset and a part of our community that we can all be proud of.
Thank you.
Doug Siden, Diane Lichtenstein, Helen Sause, Josh Cohen, Kathy Moehring, Jon Spangler, Doug Biggs, Ron Matthews, Brad Shook, Barbara Kahn, Honora Murphy, Kevin Gorham, Chris Seiwald
