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While the visit was designed to appease my concerns, it sadly did not. I need to give you details in order <br /> to help you fully understand my reservations; <br /> Gary Gibson,owner of section C and I, owner of section B had a 10:30 meeting at their Newark facility. <br /> No one representing section A or the City were present. <br /> We entered the main lobby of SVS's Newark site around 10:25. We proceeded to wait and out of <br /> frustration, I finally took a picture of Gary in the lobby at approximately 10:34 since no one even knew <br /> that we were there. Upon finally greeting us,the local director said that we should have rung the bell. <br /> The bell was behind their desk partition, not on the counter nor visible. Why bring this up? Because of <br /> one of our concerns;safety and security. <br /> During our wait,we heard a very persistent,sad and loud moaning,which I fully anticipated for this <br /> type of facility. We also heard a basketball being bounded constantly. <br /> Once greeted,the SVS representatives were very kind and gracious. As we toured, we came into one <br /> room with a drum set and the local director mentioned that their clients loved music, karaoke and <br /> playing instruments like the drums. Heartwarming, certainly understandable and expected. <br /> I address these issues because of one of our other concerns; noise, disruption of our business and that <br /> of our tenants. <br /> I asked the regional director if they have ever had violent clients, at which to her credit, she replied,"of <br /> course". She then explained that they have one room that is dark and basically empty for placing <br /> misbehaving clients. She could not answer if they had any clients with criminal backgrounds for privacy <br /> reasons. <br /> We asked about the staff and were told that most were basically minimum wage employees who <br /> typically receive 4 hours of training. If that was told to us to make us feel good, it most certainly did not. <br /> I was hoping to see highly educated, career healthcare professionals, such as the regional director. <br /> As we continued, I will admit that many of the clients were timid and even frightened by our presence, <br /> which I too anticipated and was especially respectful. <br /> We noticed that the back door was open and asked if anyone wonders off periodically. Again to their <br /> credit,the local director admitted that it happens frequently, but everyone in the area just calls them if <br /> they see that a client has walked out on their own. <br /> I hope now that I have somewhat painted a picture of what concerns me: <br /> So why am I opposed: <br /> What we were told and what is actually being proposed is 180 degrees apart. <br /> Many businesses and tenants in the surrounding area were totally unaware of this facility <br /> Security and safety—I have grave concerns since we have a responsibility to our staff for their <br /> safety. I am concerned for SVS's staff and clients because of the location and proximity to <br /> Johnson Drive,which is an extremely busy street. If you check the police records,I would guess <br /> that the corner of Johnson and Owens is one of the highest, if not the highest concentration of <br /> tickets given out by the Pleasanton Police routinely. <br /> 3 <br />