Press Interview

By "Sherm" Fishman

Contains several new ideas for meeting these problems.

A) There is no need to expand the redevelopment agency unless certain skills are needed. The area where the Montgomery Ward store is should be named Cooper Commons, honoring Paul Cooper, longtime city councilman. The Montgomery Ward building should be the anchor building. Buskirk Road should be straightened out, and the off-ramp from Interstate 680 should be opened into the parking lot as well as to Monument Boulevard. The new shopping center should be modeled after Sunvalley Mall. It should be a two-story structure and part of it could be built over Buskirk Road. At the very least, it should have a bowling alley. The street level could be stores and the second level a mixture of stores and offices. The roof could be tennis courts. That would seem to me to be the "highest and best use." Unfortunately, we lost Fry's to Concord.

What are your feelings about the proposed Crestwood mental health facility on Patterson Boulevard?. B) There is an evident need for such a facility (as Crestwood) to serve the families in Pleasant Hill who now have to travel considerable distances to visit their own. The issues raised by the neighborhood are real. Within the last few weeks, a person in Los Angeles was filling his tank at a gas station when an unknown person walked from the sidewalk and stabbed the motorist for no reason. All those who need treatment or incarceration are not institutionalized. Crestwood has to change to meet the concerns of the community. The unlocked facility should become locked from sundown to sunrise. No patient should be wandering the neighborhood in the dark. If housekeeping skills are to be taught, leading to independent living, then kitchenettes can be installed in the facility and patients can do their own cooking and shopping, under supervision. The register of patients should be approved in advance by a community representative to ascertain that no one with a violent history is admitted to this rehab facility. The main entrance to the facility should be on the front of the building facing Patterson Boulevard.

Q: Do you support the creation of a flood detention basin and where would you like to see it placed? I have met with Leary Wong and learned that Concept 7, 9 or 10 seems to have the best fit. If there is a flood basin built, it voids the requirement of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for each resident in the AO/AE zone to buy flood insurance at a starting premium of $800 per year. To support the basin costs and the drainage pipes that go along with it for miles, a housing development has been proposed. But, is there space for the basin and the housing? The basin on private property at the higher end of Oak Park Boulevard is a necessity. I have proposed Concept 11 which combines the flood basin and an underground garage for the housing into one unit. A system of drainage pipes are to be installed which terminate in the basin/garage. A water detector- alarm would alert residents to any imminent flooding and they would remove their cars to higher ground. Since this is preparation for the 100 year or 500 year flood, this inconvenience would be infrequent. This multi-use basin/garage would save the City millions in construction costs. Further, the housing development could have a number of units with under-market costs and assigned to the Mt. Diablo School District for affordable teacher housing. Q: There is currently a library needs assessment under way. Would you prefer that the city had a new branch library or a new county library facility? The library is bursting its bindings. Where are all these new books going to go? Since the Library was put in its present location because it is the geographical center of the County, it should remain where it is as a County facility. If it needs to be enlarged with the addition of a new modern building, then build it over the parking lot. This keeps the parking and has the additional advantage of providing shade. If a new location is needed for the County library, the Cooper Commons Shopping Center could have a 3rd level and put the library there. DVC might be induced to create a new Library Science major and put classrooms in the new library.