The banquet room was packed with people sitting at tables sponsored by Allied Waste, the City of Fremont, Fremont Police Officers Association, Kaiser Permanente, RESONATE and Washington Hospital Healthcare System. AT&T, Cargill Salt, Groco, Marriott, Custom Exteriors, Inc., Santa Clara Development and Solyndra were also event sponsors.
The preliminaries included new officers and directors for the Fremont Chamber of Commerce being sworn in with Joseph Joly, Chairperson, retaining his post. Cindy Bonior and Fred Penning also presented the Green Award, an award to a business that focuses on green technology, to the Fremont Marriott. Joseph Joly presented his Chair's Award to the staff of the City of Fremont.
Fremont Mayor Bob Wasserman Commends the City of Fremont
The mayor then rose to speak, addressing financial issues first, saying he was cautiously optimistic for future revenues since construction had picked up significantly in 2010. "We have already collected almost as much as all of last year," he said proudly. He also noted Fremont's low crime rate among cities of the same size.
Wasserman discussed the accomplishment of significant goals, such as the Kristi Yamaguchi Always Dream PlayPark, the Niles Plaza and new Fire Station in the Niles District, and especially the amazing Aqua Adventure Waterpark in Central Park, which has already turned a profit, giving the City of Fremont $113,000 in addition to bringing more customers to local businesses.
Amid the many achievements, however, the mayor acknowledged the unfortunate, impending closure of the NUMMI plant, one of Fremont's major employers. Fremont is looking to help Nummi's employees find new work while also studying the future reuse, planning, and job creation at the NUMMI site and surrounding area. The A's of Major League Baseball have renewed their interest in moving from Oakland to Fremont with the 850-acre site in need of new ownership.
Fremont California Bart Extension Under Lake Elizabeth
Over the next twenty years, Fremont will be transitioning from an "auto-oriented suburb into a transit-oriented city," said Wasserman, with Bart (Bay Area Rapid Transit) as the transportation hub. Bart has begun building the extension to Warm Springs and is expected to be completed in late 2014. Afterward, Bart will extend towards the Irvington District of Fremont and also to San Jose, making public transit much more accessible to residents.
Fremont also received over ten million dollars in federal stimulus funding from Recovery Act funding, which it used for repairing four miles of roadways.
City of Fremont Lacks a Downtown
Since Fremont incorporated in 1956 from five disparate cities, it lacks a unifying downtown. Plans to create one have languished for years, but Mayor Wasserman said fees have been reduced ten to twenty-five percent to encourage businesses to locate in the Midtown District, which would create a downtown. The area is bordered by Walnut, Paseo Padre, Mowry and Fremont Boulevard, and the development would occur incrementally.
The mayor closed his address saying that the past year had been the worst he'd ever seen in his fifty-seven years of government service. However, he believes the City of Fremont is fiscally restrained and the General Plan is exciting, which should lead to more productive days ahead and a brighter future.
Read more about Fremont:
- Saving the Niles Post Office
- A New Church Plant in Fremont
- Niles Art Walk In Fremont, California
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