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Margene Gerton Rivara, a member of the Firehouse Arts Center Taskforce, said there is a tremendous amount of support favoring this design. Members of the Task Force who represented various groups worked diligently together to make sure the community has a well planned and thought out art center. Part of the planning process encompassed looking at various uses for various age ranges that the Art Center would ultimately serve. The Task Force reviewed the functions and how it might function for the individual areas of the arts. The Task Force wanted this Arts Center to be cohesive for all ages and venues served. The Task Force worked with ELS Architecture to begin the design process. During the design process, the Task Force and ELS Architecture held many meetings discussing all aspects to be considered to what is now the ultimate design. Aspects of the design considered: (1) function, interior, form followed function, exterior, how would the building open onto the Park, and how it would open to Railroad Avenue and Main Street. The Task Force mentioned on several occasions that the Arts Center should have a natural, soft and sculptural look from the Park side. Also considered at great length were the historical aspects of the original building and the aspects of the historical downtown with the many original styles of architecture and the many copycat renovations of architecture. The Task Force discussed how to preserve this magnificent piece of history and to showcase it as well as bringing back the original elements of the building that had been lost over the years. The Committee also considered how the designed complimented and connected to the old Firehouse and the new structure that is to be built. It was stressed frequently that the new portion of the building not look like the old portion of the building but instead, compliment it and showcase it while at the same time bring a new exciting, timely, timeless, and fresh structure to the downtown that would be considered a positive addition to the downtown. Charles Huff, a Pleasanton resident, agreed with the concept that the project will be a positive aspect to the City. He believed the design process for this project did not follow the Downtown Design Review Guidelines or go through the staff process that he typically had to go through when building a project in the downtown. He presented a sketch to Council that depicted a rendition of a scaled down project in terms of total square footage and how it related to Railroad Avenue and Division Street. He agreed that the Arts Center needed to have a large presence in terms of the glass enclosure at the entry. He disagreed with the signage cutting through the presentation and suggested that the signage be located off to the right side of the front of the building. He wanted to see more use of brick on the left side of the building and some semblance of the architectural elements of the original Firehouse, possibly a small tower or ornamentation as mentioned by the Architects. He was opposed to the overall process for this project. He suggested that this project go back through staff similar to what other projects have been requested to go through and be re-evaluated. Mr. Sullivan shared some of the similar concerns as expressed by Mr. Huff. He pointed out that it is difficult and expensive to match the brick for the old Firehouse. He asked if there was another way to do something to the newer portion of the building to have a more classic design while meeting the Downtown Specific Plan Guidelines using other materials. Mr. Huff said scored stucco could be used to resemble brick and have the same color. In response to an inquiry by Ms. McGovern, Mr. Huff suggested recessing the fa9ade away from the buildings and emphasizing the glass structure in the front. Pleasanton City Council Minutes 14 04/04/06