Emeryville City Council Update, Meeting of Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Here is a summary of some of the major actions taken by the Emeryville City Council at its meeting of Tuesday, March 15, 2011.
City Attorney Review. The Council completed its closed session review of City Attorney Michael Biddle and will vote to reauthorize his employment contract at the next Council meeting. Councilmember Ken Bukowski objected to the performance evaluation and voted no to approve it.
Chamber Presents Earthquake Preparation Materials. Bob Canter, President & CEO of the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce, again reminded the community of the urgent need to be prepared for a major earthquake. In light of the huge earthquake and resulting tsumanis that have cripple northeaster Japan, Canter reminded everyone that the Bay Area is never more than a few seconds away from an earthquake of a similar magnitude. “The Japanese earthquake reminds us once again — if we really needed a reminder — that we are only seconds away from a major earthquke along the Hayward fault, just a few miles from Emeryville.”
Canter brought copies of the US Geological Survey’s excellent publication, Protecting Your Family From Earthquake — The Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety, and left copies in the Council Chambers for everyone to take. He also brought copies of Red Cross emergency information as well. Additional copies can be obtained by contacting the Chamber office at 510-652-5223 or via e-mail at info@emeryvillechamber.com.
SEIU Members Show Up; Complain About Slow Pace of Contract Negotiations. Many members of SEIU Local 1020, which represent most of the City’s clerical and office employees, where in the Chamber to protest the City’s handling of contract negotiations. Several union representatives made presentations on behalf of the Local.
Redevelopment Agency Contract with the Chamber of Commerce. Michelle DeGuzman of the City’s Economic Development and Housing Department provided the Council with an update on the Redevelopment Agency’s contract with the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce. In response to a request from Mayor Nora Davis, Chamber CEO Bob Canter provided the Council with a brief update on the Chamber’s work in coordinating a meeting with the staff from U.C.-Berkeley on Cal’s updating its vendor procurement system. [See related story elsewhere in this issue].
Grant to work on transit guideway system. The Council gave the City staff the go-ahead to apply for a grant to study the feasibility of a fixed, transit guideway system connecting portions of Emeryville, Oakland and Berkeley (“EBOT”). John Scheurman, and Emeryville resident and a member of the City’s Planning Commission, has been the major proponent of the EBOT system.
Chamber, City, Rideshare 511 host free transportation expo
The Emeryville Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Emeryville Redevelopment Agency and 511 Rideshare, is sponsoring an Business Transportation Expo and Workshop on Tuesday, March 29th.
The event will be held at the Woodfin Suite Hotel, 5800 Shellmound Street, beginning at 8:00 a.m. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments and a continental breakfast will be available.
Promoting alternative commute options to single-vehicle trips remains a key component of implementing Emeryville’s Climate Action Plan. It is in this vein that the Chamber is partnering with the City’s Redevelopment Agency and 511 Rideshare to host this event.
Transit providers exhibiting at the March 29th Expo and Workshop include BART, AC Transit, the Emery-Go-Round, Rideshare 511, Zipcar, the East Bay Bicycle Coalition and the Alameda County Guarateed Ride Home Program, among others. There will be presentations by transit providers and several corporations which have taken the lead in providing alternative commuting options to their employees will be featured as well.
The Transportation Workshop and Expo is ideal for corporate H.R. managers and transportation coordinators, but is open to anyone interested in getting the latest information on transit providers and transportation trends in the East Bay. The event is free and open to all; no advance registration is required.
For more information please contact the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce at 510-652-5223.
Chamber facilitates Cal vendor meeting with Emeryville businesses
The Emeryville Chamber of Commerce facilitated a meeting with the senior staff of U.C.-Berkeley to help introduce Emeryville businesses to a new Cal vendor procurement system and procedure.
Labeled “Operation Excellence,” the new vendor procurement system Cal is now implementing is driven partially by huge funding cuts the University is facing and partially by a need to modernize and streamline its vendor procurement system. Meetings are being conducted in Berkeley and surrounding cities where U.C. borders or has facilities, including Albany, Oakland, and Richmond.
The Emeryville meeting was held on Tuesday morning, March 8th at Emeryville City Hall. At the request of the Cal Community and Public Affairs staff, the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce helped to facilitate the meeting.
Associate Vice Chancellor Ron Coley is leading Operation Excellence and patiently explained the background of the new program to over 30 businesses who attended.
“We can save over $100 million over several years,” Coley stated, “and $25 to $40 million just over the next year.”
Coley stated that overall Cal currently uses 18,000 vendors — 13,000 of which do less than $10,000 of business annually with Cal. “We may be able to steer more money to our local communities, but to a smaller number of vendors overall,” he stated.
Coley said that Cal has developed three categories of vendors: Big corporations — which can offer Cal consider savings and economies of scale for certain commodities; local vendors; and underrepresented groups, which include disabled veterans, women, and ethnic minorities.
Coley and his staff went on to explain that existing vendors will need to reapply and meet specific criteria to remain a Cal vendor. Eventually, he is looking to integrate the purchasing systems for both U.C. – Berkeley and U.C. – San Francisco, and hopes to have the system completed by the Fall of 2011.
The Emeryville Chamber of Commerce worked closely with the U.C. – Berkeley staff to arrange this meeting, which was held in cooperation with the City of Emeryville. Michelle DeGuzman of the City’s Economic Development and Housing Department was especially helpful in arranging the use of Emeryville City Hall for this meeting.
Bob Canter, President & CEO of the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce made some introductory remarks prior to Vice Chancellor Coley’s presentation. “Emeryville is Bear Country” Canter said. ”We very well understand the huge economic impact U.C.-Berkeley has on Emeryville, and we’re more than happy to work with Chancellor Coley and his staff to make sure that our Emeryville businesses understand the new vendor procurement system and have a chance to remain as quality providers of products and services to our friends at Cal. The Chamber is very proud of our strong relationship with U.C.-Berkeley and we look forward to making sure that we are the conduit for essential information to our Emeryville businesses.”
Information on Cal’s procurement process can be found at the Campus Procurement Services web page: http://businessservices.berkeley.edu/procurement.
Killing redevelopment makes no sense
VIEWPOINT — AN EMERYVILLE CONNECTION EDITORIAL OPINION
On November 6th of 2010, California voters, fed up by years of the State Legislature taking local funding to balance the State budget, approved Proposition 22 with more than 60% of the vote. Without delving into the details, the basic premise of Prop. 22 was a message to the State Legislature from the voters to “Leave our local government revenues alone. Stop taking them.” Or you can come up with your own interpretation: “We LIKE our local government,” or “Our city/county is well managed,” or “Our local government folks are creative and work hard for their revenues.”
Or any of those, but they can all be summed up in five words:
HANDS OFF OUR LOCAL REVENUES!
We have long noticed that loss of long-term memory seems to be a chromosomal condition of the Generation Xer’s and Yer’s in America. For the post-Baby Boom groups, “history” usually means nothing older than what was on MTV last night. But regardless of what year they were born, we would find it hard to believe that any current member of the California State Legislature would be so memory-challenged as to forget the messages voters clearly sent to them just last November with the passage of Prop. 22.
The further irony is that a whole bunch of our State Legislators were at one time local government office holders themselves, and we will absolutely guarantee that when they were mayors, city council members or other local officials, many of them screamed their heads off and moaned ad infinitum when the State conducted its yearly raid of local government finances.
But somehow, getting sent to Sacramento seems to be an open invitation to strip members of the Legislature of any memory of local government service and the challenges of keeping their cities solvent and moving forward. Arrive in Sacramento and BOOM: all that counts is the State budget, and local governments be damned.Even our Back-From-the-70’s Governor, Jerry Brown, put in eight years as Mayor of the City of Oakland, during which time he used several tools available to local government, including redevelopment, to help achieve some specific rebuilding goals that he laid out for that city.
So, given the overwhelming passage of Prop. 22, just about two and a half months ago, and the local government experience of many of our State Legislators, you’d think they would understand the value of retaining two of the most valuable economic development tools that the locals have: redevelopment, and enterprise zones, right? Right?
Right?
Wrong.
In its zeal to get a bunch of numbers on a sheet of paper — called the “Budget” — to balance, Governor Brown has put everything, and we mean EVERYTHING, on the table for cutting. While we applaud the Governor for finally grappling seriously with attempting to balance the State’s budget, we cannot endorse his proposed elimination of redevelopment and enterprise zones as part of the “solution.”
For over 60 years, local governments in California have used redevelopment to a degree of success unimagined by its founders. Statewide, almost 400 Redevelopment Agencies have been formed for the purpose of revitalizing our communities, cleaning up toxic waste sites, building affordable housing and bringing jobs, tax revenue and rebirth to areas that were filled with boarded up and abandoned buildings, blight, grafitti and crime. The track record of success has been extraordinary, and the fact that California truly became the “Golden State” in the post-WWII era can be attributed in large part to the achievements made possible by redevelopment.
The City of Emeryville has been the national model for how redevelopment can be used productively, wisely and thoughtfully to achieve the intended aims of the program.In Emeryville the track record is clear and the numbers are telling:
– Cleaned up over 133 acres of contaminated soil, making these parcels avaiable for productive development
–Created over 7,000 jobs in seven projects between 1989 – 2007
–Provided millions of dollars in badly-needed local revenues. One major redevelopment project alone generates $1.3 million in sales tax revenues annually. (Remember, the bulk of sales tax revenue goes to the State)
–Created over 750 affordable housing units
–Created parks, greenways, bicycle paths, community gardens and other civic amenities
But that is what has already been built. The City has moved forward aggressively to plan and approve a new level of exciting projects which will continue to move this community forward, generate tax revenue, provide jobs and beautify our community. A partial list includes:
–The Emeryville Center for the Arts. Formally a metal plating factory, the Center for the Arts will be a 30,000 square foot arts and cultural center that will highlight Emeryville’s emergence as a center for the arts and perhaps best symbolizes this community’s transformation from a dying, industrial city to a thriving, modern community.
–Bay Street Expansion, a 180,000 square foot department store, 120-room hotel, 520-space parking garage and 16,000 square feet of new retail space.
–Transit Center: 358,000 square feet including office and laboratory space, 300 parking spaces, retail space and improvements to the existing Amtrak station.
–Marketplace Expansion: A high-density, mixed-use urban neighborhood consisting of 1.2 million square feet of new and existing space, including 670 new homes.
The Emeryville City staff estimates that losing the ability to complete these projects will result in the loss of $2,900,000 of sales, property and hotel tax revenue annually.
There is more to the story, and the above numbers reflect ONLY the impact on Emeryville, a city of 1.2 square miles with a resident population of about 10,000. The cumulative numbers taken statewide are staggering.
The bottom lines are: First, clearly, redevelopment works — and has worked for decades — in Emeryville, the Bay Area, and around the State to transform our cities into better and healthier places to live, work, locate our business, send our kids to school, shop, and entertain.
Second: Partially in realization of the success of redevelopment, voters have told the politicians in Sacramento to keep their hands off this invaluable local economic development resource.
OUR message to our State representatives: HANDS OFF! Get your own fiscal house in order; do NOT do it by penalizing y0ur local constituents who have used redevelopment so well, and successfully, and remember the strong message the voters sent to you last November with Prop. 22.
The General Plan and the Economy
Rich Robbins
Guest Opinion
April 2009
First, there is no question that we all respect and commend the General Plan Committee for its effort, commitment and sacrifice of time to update the General Plan for the City of Emeryville. That being said, we at Wareham Development have grave concerns about moving forward with the proposed draft without material modifications to parts of the Plan that will adversely impact the City’s economic health. We have participated, testified and written about these points many times. Four of the points in the General Plan draft that need further serious review and scrutiny are:
1) The proposed Floor Area Ratio (FAR) calculation changes to include above-grade parking structures were an attempt to increase density but instead have effectively created unhealthy down-zones that will substantially discourage further development and commitment to the City. We have publicly contested these calculations to the General Plan Committee and warned of the consequences to the City of no new development to fund important services, the schools and the Emery-Go-Round.
2) The density and design guidelines proposed for east of the railroad tracks in the central core from 65th Street to the Novartis campus to the south, from Hollis on the east to Overland and Horton, impede smart design and function and are unnecessarily costly. We believe the “waterfall” zoning of the entire part of the City west of Hollis, and the effects of different building heights are impractical and would restrain Emeryville’s opportunity to create well-designed and functional technology and research space.
3) We expressed concerns about the economic model with regard to its projections being realistic and the accuracy of the timing of projects even before the financial collapse. Obviously, the credibility of this model must be reevaluated in light of the calamitous impacts of late. It is even more urgent that this model be credible given the need to maintain and improve the economic health of the City in light of the collapse of the economy.
4) The disappearance from the General Plan of street widening that was proposed by both the Fehr & Peers and the Nelson/Nygard cumulative traffic studies is significant. We have all known, compromised and dealt with the restriction of narrow streets for traffic to flow and the quality of life for pedestrians. Emeryville needs the evaluation and implementation of a plan to accommodate street widening as recommended by two different traffic consultants. This would make an extraordinary difference in the City.
We certainly appreciate how much time has elapsed in outreach and review to bring the General Plan current. However, the above four issues are so profoundly critical to the long-term health of the City that we suggest an open forum be scheduled to discuss how they can be positively modified. The challenge of maintaining and even improving quality of life issues in Emeryville is inextricably linked to the health of the City’s budget. Emeryville’s ability to continue to augment its budget with redevelopment funds has a finite period of time remaining. Without a General Plan that is in lock step with this concept, and given that help cannot be expected from the State, the County and Federal Government for the foreseeable future, this General Plan and its need for modifications is critical to the City.
The views expressed in this column are those solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect the view of The Emeryville Connection.
Making History
Special to the The Emeryville Connection
February 2009
January’s historic Inauguration Day brings a renewal of America’s promise of equality and opportunity. Billions of people in the United States and around the world watched as President Barack Obama made history on January 20th, but it is incumbent on all of us to join with him in moving our nation forward over the next four years.
Few presidents have entered office with so many expectations waiting to be fulfilled. President Obama already shares history with some of our most challenged presidents. Like FDR, he assumes responsibility for fixing an economy that has fallen to its nadir. Like JFK, he faces evolving threats to American foreign policy and national security. And like Ronald Reagan, he is surrounded by a nation that is yearning for hope and optimism. Our nation is not on the precipice of a civil war, but it is clear that our new president is the culmination of Abraham Lincoln’s legacy and the bearer of his goal for a united nation that is committed to equality and opportunity for all of its citizens.
The key moments in our nation’s history were not driven by great leaders alone, but by great people assuming a collective responsibility. Fortunately, we have many examples to guide us. Our forebearers’ determination more than 230 years ago successfully fought the largest superpower on earth to win their freedom. Families tore themselves apart in order to keep our nation together during the Civil War. Our parents and grandparents coupled stoic sacrifice with intractable pride to survive the Great Depression and World War II. And four decades ago civil rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched in peace to remind the American people that we had miles to travel before achieving the legacy of President Lincoln.
President Obama’s inaugural speech became this nation’s vision statement for change and progress. But the results will only come through hard work, sacrifice and resolve. While all eyes are on Washington, D.C. today, the contribution that most of us will make to this transformation must be done at home, at work, in the community and within ourselves. On January 20th we watched history in the making. Now, we must join in making it ourselves.
This editorial was printed with permission of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.
Helping Prevent Crime is Everyone’s Job
Emeryville Connection Staff
June 2008
Crime is a common enemy and no community is immune from criminal activity. Recent increases in local crime, particularly a spate of restaurant robberies, have captured the attention of the media, business community, and city leaders.
Crime is part of the human condition and criminals have been with us forever. But that does not mean that there are not specific action steps any citizen can take to help becoming another crime statistic.
With that in mind, here are a number of steps and resources everyone can use – starting today – to help mitigate criminal activity, and keep themselves safe.
Common Sense. We are amazed by how often crime can be prevented by some very simple steps. At home, be sure to keep your doors and windows locked, and do NOT leave your garage door open for any length of time. If you can afford it, install an alarm system; studies show that just a decal or yard sign saying “this home is protected” by an alarm system will deter a potential criminal.
When out at night, avoid dark and isolated streets, and try to park under or near a street light. Avoid traveling alone in dark or out-of-the-way locations.
And whatever you do, PLEASE do not leave valuables – laptop computers, cell phones, gift-wrapped presents – exposed on the seat of your car in plain view while you run a short errand. Either take these items with you, or at least lock them in your trunk. Car burglaries are becoming increasingly common in our area, and leaving valuables in plain sight on a car seat – even with the doors locked – is a virtual invitation to a crook to break in and steal.
Watch Out for Each Other. No one wants to be a snoopy neighbor, and we all value our privacy. But that doesn’t mean that we cannot keep an eye out for our neighbors. In an earlier era, Americans knew their neighbors and were wary of strangers. Today, we tend not to know our neighbors and in an increasingly transient society that can result in less neighborhood bonding. But we can still help each other. If you know that your neighbor across the street is away on vacation, and you see the “moving crew” taking items from their house, do not be afraid to report that to the police.
Police Department Website. The Emeryville Police Department maintains an excellent website filled with tips and other valuable crime prevention information. Check it out at www.emeryvillepolice.org.
Security Coalition. The Emeryville Police Department years ago organized the Emeryville Security Coalition in conjunction with businesses and citizens to meet on a regular basis to share information and resources on crime detection and prevention. The Security Coalition meets the third Tuesday of each month from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. at various locations around Emeryville. The meetings are free and open to the public and no registration is required. Meetings are posted on the Police Department’s website in the “Community Outreach” section, and are also posted on the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce website, www.emeryvillechamber.com, in the “Calendar of Events” section.
Emeryville in general has a record of being a City that is safe to live, work, and conduct business. Living without fear of being a crime victim is a key quality of life element, and while not explicitly contained in our General Plan, living without fear of crime is at least as important as building heights and pretty views of the Bay.
Working to prevent crime is everyone’s job. We do NOT advocate vigilantism, nor citizens putting themselves in harm’s way. Leave that job to the police. But we can all work to help mitigate criminal activity by adopting a few simple, common-sense steps and using the resources available to us. Together, let’s all work to build a safer, more secure community.
Green Corridor Partnership More Than Symbolic
There was plenty of substance to go with the style when then-Mayor Nora Davis added the City of Emeryville’s name to the Green Corridor Partnership agreement.
The Green Corridor Partnership (see related article in this issue, on page 2) is an agreement among the cities of Oakland, Richmond, Berkeley, Emeryville, U.C. Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The signatories all pledged to coordinate a major new regional green job training and placement effort, hold an annual green economic summit, and set quarterly meetings of the directors of economic development, work force development, and technology-transfer offices.
Emeryville’s partnership in this historic agreement has both tangible as well as important symbolic implications.
Tangibly, this means jobs and new businesses locating here. Emeryville is already seeing the benefits of the emerging Green industry in this City. The new EmeryStation East building at 5885 Hollis Street houses Amyris, an exciting new company that is a leader in the fast-growing biofuels industry. It is also the headquarters for JBEI – the Joint Biofuels Energy Institute – that was the subject of the cover story of the November issue of The Emeryville Connection. JBEI’s presence alone puts Emeryville on the statewide and national map as a leading center for biofuels industry research.
Additionally, there are several very important symbolic implications of the Green Corridor Partnership.
First, it makes a clear statement that Emeryville can play with the much larger jurisdictions around us. This was evidenced by Emeryville finishing the in Final Four as the home of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. We might be small in size but we’re in the major leagues when it comes to political representation, civic and business leadership and advanced urban planning.
Second, the Green Corridor Partnership represents another huge step forward in changing Emeryville’s image from the old, gritty Rust Belt town of decades ago to the modern, cutting-edge City of the 21st Century. In recognition of the importance of the Green Corridor Partnership, the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voted unanimously to endorse the Program and pledged to work closely with City officials and the private sector to support and advance the goals of the Partnership. The Chamber’s Healthy City Initiative Program contains an “Environmental Health” component to which support of the Green Corridor Partnership Program will now be added.
Years ago, labeling Emeryville a “Green” anything would have been unthinkable. Today the opposite is true – Emeryville is now a leader, and a recognized leader, in the “Green” movement, replete with green buildings, green jobs, green businesses, an active City environmental program and a Chamber of Commerce that is one of the most active promoters of the Bay Area Green Business Program and itself a Certified Bay Area Green Business. How times do change – and for the better.
General Plan Should Embrace 21st Century Opportunities
Updating Emeryville’s General Plan is not exactly the kind of issue that gets a lot of folks excited. Most members of the public, and perhaps many readers of this paper, probably don’t even know what a “General Plan” is, and may not care. But for local governments and businesses in California, a City’s General Plan, and the process of updating it, can dictate the City’s economic health for decades.
State law requires all cities have a General Plan and that these plans be updated every 20 years. Each plan must contain certain “elements”, including traffic, housing, open space, noise, air quality and public safety, among others, and cities can add additional elements at their discretion. The specific update process can vary widely, but typically involves an update task force, with Planning Staff assistance and an outside consultant, followed by approval by the Planning Commission and ultimate adoption by the City Council. The General Plan determines residential and commercial development, traffic, and the heights and sizes of buildings.
Emeryville has been in the process of updating its General Plan, and now, after almost three years of study, reports, hearings and deliberations, the General Plan Update Task Force is getting ready to approve a draft General Plan revision that will go to the Planning Commission and ultimately to the City Council for final review and approval.
We propose a new vision for Emeryville’s General plan to the Planning Commission members, City Council members, City staff and the public at large. Emeryville of the 21st Century doesn’t operate in 20 year economic and land use cycles. For example: decades ago few could have foreseen the rise of the biotechnology or biofuels industries. Ten years ago no one could have predicted that the voters of California would approve a $3 billion stem cell program, or that U.C. – Berkeley would receive a $500 million grant to develop alternative fuel technology. Emeryville has been especially successful in recruiting these new industries, and other new fields, such as nanotechnology, which present much promise as the next growth industries. Rethinking the General Plan as a vehicle for facilitating economic growth provides Emeryville decision-makers the flexibility they need to capture cutting-edge businesses and technologies that cannot be anticipated today.
The private sector stopped long-term strategic planning years ago. Today, 20-year plans no longer make sense; “long-term” planning now means 6-9 month cycles. A flexible, streamlined General Plan must be thought of in the same way to provide Emeryville the flexibility to capture new industries and realize the benefits of modern economic trends that are impossible to predict now, but for which we need to be prepared to capture in the future.
There are those who are still locked into a 1950’s mentality and treat the General Plan as if it were a sacred document. But some visionary government and business leaders, like those we have in Emeryville, understand that in the 21st Century world it’s not the big who eat the little, it’s the fast who eat the slow. Hopefully, they will adopt a General Plan that is just that – a “General” plan for future economic diversity and strength which allows for the capture of yet-unvisioned business opportunities, including strategically located Planned Unit Developments. By adopting this approach, an entrepreneurial, fast-acting city like Emeryville will reap the benefits of new economic growth, and our residents will realize the improved quality of life that comes with it.
No Non-Profits Without Profits
Non-profit organizations play an integral role in American society. Hundreds of thousands of non-profit organizations operate throughout the United States. The U.S. tax code section governing non-profit organizations lists 27 different types of non-profits for tax purposes. These organizations run the gamut from social welfare, educational, religious, artistic and scientific groups, to “business leagues” (chambers of commerce) and labor unions, and many others. They provide, in different ways, a vital community-support function that has become an integral part of the social fabric of America, often delivering more direct, economically-efficient services to those in need than do expensive, report-laden government programs.
In a wealthy country such as ours, we often take this sophisticated network of non-profit organizations for granted. But we should all remember that it would be impossible for the non-profit sector to exist without profits. Strong companies generating profits – money left over after all salaries, taxes, utility bills, raw material purchases, rents and many other expenses are paid – are the lifeblood of the non-profit world. Creating an economic climate that promotes and facilitates this profitability and job creation should be at the forefront of everyone’s agenda, regardless of your political affiliation or philosophy.
Non-profit organizations play a vital part in making Emeryville the vibrant city it is today. The Emery Ed Fund, Emeryville Community Action Program, and the Emeryville Celebration of the Arts are three of the notable Emeryville-based non-profit organizations that the business community is proud to support and who play a critical role in making Emeryville a special place.
This fact was perhaps best brought home in October during the 21st Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition. This is Emeryville’s oldest and largest community-wide event and a symbol of civic pride and progress. Yet as hard as the strong corps of volunteers work on the Exhibition, the fact is the event would be impossible without the generous contributions from the business community, profit-generating sector of our City. There is currently no permanent home for the Exhibition, and each year Sharon Wilchar and her volunteers scour the City for a suitable location, and once again the business community came through. Wareham Development generously donated the space for the Exhibition in the beautiful new EmeryStation East Building at 5885 Hollis Street, at least the second time in recent years that Wareham has come through for the artists. [See related story on Page 1].
But business support for the arts does not stop there. Literally dozens of local businesses, such as IKEA, Ruby*s Café, BRE Properties, TMG Partners, the Oaks Card Club, Quadric Group, All Emeryville Properties, the Townhouse Restaurant, Courtyard by Marriott and dozens of others contributed cash or valuable in-kind contributions, and this list is only a small percentage of the many generous business donors who made the event possible.
Businesses in Emeryville have demonstrated their generosity many times over, and continue to do so. They recognize the importance of giving extra to the community in which they do business, and why these partnerships are so vitally important.
Remember this the next time you request a donation from a business for your favorite cause. You can’t distribute wealth that isn’t there. Our civic, government and business leaders need to do all we can to ensure that Emeryville remains a City that welcomes business, investment, jobs and profits – so that our strong non-profit sector can remain just that: strong, and thriving.
Our congratulations to Sharon Wilchar and her team of volunteers for an outstanding job on this year’s Art Exhibition. The business community looks forward to working with you on the 22nd Annual Exhibition in 2008.
