Bernal party a success, thanks to Kurt Kummer Bernal party a success, thanks to Kurt Kummer (May 21, 2004)

by Jeb Bing

M ore than 5,000 turned out for the festive Bernal Block Party last Saturday, and we have Kurt Kummer and his team of more than 30 volunteers to thank. Kummer is the 12-year Pleasanton resident who likes to attend City Council meetings. So last June, when civic activist Rudy Johnson spoke at one of those meetings and suggested that the city hold a type of neighborhood block party to show off the newly acquired public lands on Bernal, Kummer followed him to the lectern to endorse the plan. Councilwoman Kay Ayala was just as enthused and asked Kummer if he could help. At the time, Kummer thought he'd be frying hamburgers at a food booth or sweeping up afterward. But then the phone started ringing with offers from volunteers to join his committee for what city officials had already named the Bernal Block Party.

The rest is history. Although Kummer had never been active in a community group or, as the father of three teenage girls, never even had experience as a Cub Scout leader, he turned out to be a perfect choice. As a leading salesman at European Jaguar in Walnut Creek, he knows how to work with others to drive sales, is skilled at promotions and is used to working late hours, which was part of the requirement in working on the party.

His passion for keeping the 318-acre Bernal site free of clutter and more focused on pathways, parkland, ponds and natural habitat also kept Kummer moving. While not opposed to athletic fields on some of the land, he agrees with Johnson and many others in the community that they shouldn't dominate the property. After all, this piece of nostalgic farmland was given to the people of Pleasanton free of charge for public purposes. Two task forces had collected lists of more than 40 priorities from individuals and groups that wanted to use part of it, ranging from an ice hockey arena to a cemetery to a minor league baseball park. Even the Community Park Task Force, with its plan for lighted baseball diamonds and lacrosse, football and soccer fields, wants to take about a fourth of the main part of the Bernal property, which is roughly 200 acres, across from the Fairgrounds. Kummer thinks that's too much, and his committee made sure that exhibits and presentations at Saturday's Block Party offered a variety of options.

In planning the party, Kummer also faced challenges other event planners seldom encounter. Unlike the Pleasanton Downtown Association's First Wednesday street parties on Main Street or rallies at Sports Park, the Bernal property is still farmland. That meant that even though Kummer's plan was to let party-goers walk the land, we actually ended up walking down two paved streets: the southwest end of Valley Avenue, that will eventually connect to Junipero when a railroad underpass is built, and Laguna Creek Lane, a new street not yet on all city maps that leads from Valley under I-680 and connects to the Greenbriar Homes development along the west side of the freeway.

Besides the temporary electric lines, which were provided by city workers, the city also allocated $30,000 to cover services and equipment that were not donated. Still, using his persuasive sales skills, Kummer talked merchants, companies and developers into contributing what his team needed. Greenbriar Homes and KB Home, whose residences occupy part of the site, contributed public relations and cash. Portable lavatories came from A-1 Enterprises; a logo from Studio Blue; waste receptacles from Pleasanton Garbage Service; free parking by the Fairgrounds and frequent shuttle service, courtesy of Black Tie Transportation.

Fortunately, we'll be seeing more of Kurt Kummer and his talents. Mayor Tom Pico has just named him as an alternate on the city's Parks and Recreation Commission, a group that will play a key role in determining how the Bernal site is developed.

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