Laserfiche WebLink
From: Ellen Holmgren <br /> To: Kim Hereld;Mayor and City Council <br /> Cc: Ellen Clark; Meaan Campbell;Shweta Bonn; Sachiko Riddle;Steve Hernandez;Becky Hookins <br /> Subject: RE:The Donlon Field and The Big Yellow Taxi <br /> Date: Tuesday,April 5,2022 9:14:50 AM <br /> Dear Kim Hereld, <br /> Thank you for your email regarding Donlon Field. <br /> This email acknowledges receipt of your email to the Pleasanton Mayor and City Council, the <br /> Interim City Manager, and City staff. <br /> Thank you again for your interest in the City of Pleasanton. <br /> Regards, <br /> Ellen Holmgren, Administrative Assistant <br /> City of Pleasanton <br /> From: Kim Hereld [mailto:[email protected]] <br /> Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2022 10:53 AM <br /> To: <br /> Subject:The Donlon Field and The Big Yellow Taxi <br /> School Board Members, City Council Members, Superintendent, and Mrs. Gates, <br /> As I sit at my kitchen table on a quiet Sunday morning, the song Big Yellow Taxi comes on. <br /> Joni Mitchell wrote it in the 70's and The Counting Crows covered it in 2019. When I have <br /> heard this song in the past I have teared up as I thought of how many trees this song could <br /> be written about. It starts with the lyrics "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot". <br /> This morning the song made me think of my neighborhood. I live just to the East of Donlon <br /> Elementary. One of the reasons we moved to this neighborhood was that it wraps around <br /> Donlon and has green fields that open up to the open area of Val Vista Park. Unfortunately <br /> it seems as though there are some who are interested in selling the western Donlon field to <br /> build townhouses. The money would benefit the school district and the townhouses would <br /> benefit the city by building some much needed low-income housing. These are important <br /> benefits but what is the long term benefit to the community, the students and the future? <br /> I believe we need to keep the field open to the students and community. We need green <br /> grass, open space and a place to play and learn. We can't replace those things after <br /> building townhouses and the parking area they would need. We can't magically make more <br /> room for the Donlon students to move about. <br /> Many of the schools in Pleasanton send their 5th grade students to Outdoor Ed. Many of <br />