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Ms. McGovern asked if the Fair Association would be willing to try and works towards <br />resuming the fireworks in the year 2007? <br />Mr. Pickering said the Fair Association is willing with the assistance of the City Manager <br />and Pleasanton Police Chief. <br />If consensus was reached by Council, Mayor Hosterman believed it was important for <br />Council to give direction to staff to work with Mr. Pickering and the Fair Board in creating a letter <br />outlining arguments why the timing is right to bring this event back to the County Fairgrounds <br />and the City of Pleasanton. <br />Mr. Fialho pointed out That Mr. Pickering is requesting more flexibility in working with the <br />City. He believed Mr. Pickering would appreciate working jointly with the City Manager, the <br />Pleasanton Police Chief and the Alameda County Sheriff to discuss the prospects of <br />reinstituting fireworks on the Fourth of July in 2007. Rather than submitting a letter as a <br />formality, he suggested it be approached first informally and if no progress is made, staff would <br />return to Council with a status update and Council could then decide to take another approach. <br />Mayor Hosterman had no interest in following up with any of the other recommendations <br />as mentioned in the staff report and thanked staff for making them available to Council. <br />Mayor Hosterman invited public comments. <br />Kurt Kummer, a Pleasanton resident, said the only reason he had pushed for this item is <br />because there is no fireworks display on the Fourth of July in the City. He did not believe <br />sending a letter to members of the aameda County Fair Board would make a difference as its <br />hands are tied. He believed the City should be able to figure out another avenue to reinstitute a <br />fireworks show on the Fourth of July. <br />Mayor Hosterman closed the public comments. <br />Since the incident in 1998, Mr. Brozosky believed the Fairgrounds are safer and the Fair <br />Board has done an outstanding job in making this a safe venue for families. He believed the <br />Fair Board needed to continue to work with the Sheriff to request a reevaluation of the event. <br />He saw a potential to resume the Fourth of July fireworks show but believed it needed to be <br />done when it is right and when the Sheriff's Department believes it is appropriate for the safety <br />of the patrons and for the liability of the Fairgrounds. He did not desire to place any undue <br />pressure on the Sheriff's Department or the Fair Association but wanted to continue to keep the <br />dialogue open. He did not believe the DSRSD site was an appropriate location to hold a <br />fireworks show. <br />Mr. Sullivan supported directing the City Manager to work with the Pleasanton Police <br />Chief, Mr. Pickering and the Alameda County Sheriff to discuss the options. <br />Mr. Thorne concurred with Mr. Sullivan's comments. He supported keeping the dialogue <br />open and making it happen as soon as possible. <br />It was moved by Mr. Sullivan, seconded by Mr. Thorne, to direct the City Manager <br />and Police Chief to pursue with Fair General Manager Rick Pickering and the Alameda <br />Pleasanton City Council 29 09/06/05 <br />Minutes <br />