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Pat Kohnen said she and her husband have lived in Dublin since 1978 and decided to move to <br /> Pleasanton because of the exceptional and unique project in Stoneridge Creek. She thanked <br /> everyone for working with the task force and asked the Council to vote in support of the project. <br /> Mayor Hosterman closed the public hearing. <br /> Councilmember Cook- Kallio said she is pleased with the Policy Statement. She thought <br /> everyone involved did an extraordinary job, and acknowledged the man hours involved in this <br /> type of decision. She said the statement addresses environmental, safety, noise, and traffic <br /> issues to her general satisfaction and provides the public with assurances that it will be done <br /> right and with thorough input. She stressed her appreciation for everyone's work, most <br /> importantly the compelling and effective engagement of the community. <br /> Councilmember McGovern said she is thrilled to see this level of public participation. All the <br /> agreements reached with environmental groups and Safe Streets of Pleasanton are quality <br /> agreements that she can honestly support. She thanked all staff for working with her so closely <br /> and said it feels good to be able to get this huge project underway. <br /> Vice Mayor Thorne concurred, said it is a great thing that everyone came together to reach <br /> these agreements and move this project forward. He said many people share in the <br /> responsibility for this taking as long as it has and suggested the following as ways to encourage <br /> this level of participation and cooperation from the get go: 1) Never consider the time it takes to <br /> get there as an appropriate measure of the quality of a project, and 2) Ask, "how can we get this <br /> done" rather than consider how many obstacles could be erected. He hoped that no one has <br /> lost their eligibility to reside in Stoneridge Creek as a result of the length of this process. <br /> Pleasanton is blessed with the range of commercial properties provided by the visionaries of the <br /> past, although that gravy train may well derail in this economy. He hoped they could come <br /> together as a community and embrace projects that provide a huge benefit, such as has been <br /> done with this project in the last several months. He offered his full support for the project, with <br /> the amendments recommended by Councilmember McGovern. <br /> Councilmember Sullivan concurred that these agreements are good ones and allow the project <br /> to move forward with the proper mitigation, provide assurances to the Stoneridge Drive <br /> neighbors regarding its extension, and allows the opening of Stoneridge Drive when the <br /> conditions are right. He said the conditions have always been of key importance to him and <br /> have been suitably outlined both in the Policy Statement and regional framework. He also <br /> thanked everyone involved, particularly Troy Bourne and Matt Morrison for kicking it off. He <br /> maintained his concerns over the ice rink and commercial site and said he reserves the right to <br /> work through those issues when they are discussed later. <br /> He agrees with the Policy Statement and part of tonight's action also includes acceptance of the <br /> regional framework which discusses the roadway and other regional improvements, and <br /> concurred that work on SR -84 is not part of the contingency of opening Stoneridge Drive but it is <br /> certainly part of the Council's policy in adopting this that the framework is adopted by all the <br /> region. He thanked Safe Streets Pleasanton in particular for their perseverance and <br /> commitment to this community. <br /> Mayor Hosterman said this has been a long, protracted, and sometimes painful journey. She <br /> said it has not always been possible to say "yes" and do all the wonderful things the Council <br /> would love to do for the community. This is the largest project in Pleasanton since Hacienda <br /> Business Park and required a tremendous amount of input from the entire region. She said the <br /> Special City Council Minutes Page 8 of 9 August 24, 2010 <br />