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Mr. Kierstead mentioned that he has been operating at the Park for 23 years. The Park and the water slides need to improve in order for the lease to be continued. The lease agreement expires in April of 2006. He could not sustain a $10,000 to $20,000 loss on the property and continue to operate. The benefits for maintaining this water slide are substantial to EBRPD. The community should feel fortunate to have a facility within its limits that is totally funded by the EBRPD. He believed the response to crime at the existing water slide park in the past year was very low. These types of issues are normally handled on-site. Pleasanton residents, particularly those who live near the Park, benefit from the assets of the Park, which include hiking, swimming, and fishing. In his opinion, the value of the neighboring properties would be higher because of the Park. This fact has been substantiated by a report from a realtor who mentioned that houses directly around the Park had a $40,000 higher value than those homes located three or four miles from the Park with the same square footage. The youth of the community would benefit from the expanded water park. California Splash LLC has adopted the Community of Character and has tried in its representations and presentations to Council to be truthful and correct. The consultants that were used were selected because of their qualifications and experience. He was comfortable with the engineer that was used for this project based on his experience in the water slide business. At the request of Council, he has become more proactive in this community. With respect to this proposed project, he left literature about the proposed project at every residence in Shadow Cliffs and Diablo Vista, which are the two communities closest to the water park. He discovered that about 48 percent of the people he talked to were in favor of this project, 24 percent were opposed, and 26 percent had no opinion or did not provide an answer. He initiated focus groups, which were held at the tennis center with limited participation. California Splash LLC appeared at the Farmers Market to display its project and make the community aware of what it was proposing. California Splash LLC also had a booth at the First Wednesday events, which was very successful with over 125 people signing their petitions. He mentioned that over 680 Pleasanton residents have signed the petition for an expanded water park and another 200 people from outside of Pleasanton have also signed the petition. The proposed expanded water park will remain on the 10.77 acres that the Califomia Splash LLC has been operating for the past six years. The water park has gone through several phases. After operating the water park for four years, California Splash LLC realized it needed additional land, which was increased to five acres. Based on a request from a group that wanted to promote company picnics, California Splash LLC added the remainder of the acreage to accommodate this request, which was fenced and irrigated. To his knowledge, the expanded water park will not affect the environment, and any natural habitat will not be deslxoyed. The walking path is a service road for the EBRPD and emergency vehicles. California Splash LLC will be providing additional walkways outside of the fenced area. He pointed out that there are alternative walking trails that lead to the dry summer wetlands. California Splash LLC will be improving the quality of the Park, the quality of the entertainment and the overall quality for the City of Pleasanton. The water park is in operation 110 days out of the year. The 255 days that the water park is not in operation, anyone may use any part of the improvements that are not in the fenced area, including the excess parking for special events. California Splash LLC is improving 66 percent of its total build out program, Pleasanton City Council 25 Minutes 03/23/04