Zone 7 building could become part of Sports Park Zone 7 building could become part of Sports Park (February 10, 2006)

If city's willing to wait eight years
by Carol Bogart

As Zone 7 Water Agency settles into its new multimillion-dollar digs in Livermore, some in Pleasanton are scratching their heads, wondering what will happen to the building the agency left behind on the corner of Hopyard and Parkside.

The building is directly across from the Sports Park. There have been discussions between Zone 7 and the Parks Department about the possibility of leasing the building to Pleasanton for use as a parks facility.

The hitch is that, as of right now, Zone 7 isn't free to do that unless the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says it can.

Zone 7, which is bound by a conditional quit claim deed, will own the building free and clear in 2014--provided that it meets the federal government's conditions. The terms of the deed dictate the building can only be used for water-related or water resources purposes.

Eight years from now, explains Zone 7 general manager Dale Myers, if Zone 7 maintains the conditional uses set down by the federal government, the water agency will then be free and clear to use the building any way it wants to.

Myers said the agency has had discussions with the Parks Department, as well as Health and Human Services, about whether activities at the park constitute "health related services," which, he said, the federal agency might go along with as an acceptable use for Zone 7's building across the street.

Right now, even though Zone 7 might like to see that happen "sooner than later"--especially since it's paying $28,000 a year to maintain the now-nearly vacant building--Myers said any decision remains in the discussion phase with Health and Human Services.

Meantime, Zone 7 will store old documents at its former site. Plans also include using it for training exercises related to water treatment technology, planning, maintenance and operations beginning in May. The agency is also considering whether to use the property as a "wellhead demineralization" facility to remove minerals from well water.

Zone 7 spokesperson Karla Nemeth said, "(It) would be similar to a facility already planned for another wellfield near the intersection of Stoneridge Drive and Santa Rita Road."

Minerals can percolate down into groundwater as a result of urban run-off and when people water and fertilize their lawn, she explains. By removing "hard water" minerals--calcium and magnesium--from well water, softer water can be delivered to west-side customers, she said.

Zone 7 leases its new property in Livermore and has an option to buy at the end of that 15-year lease. Nemeth explains that the location cut down on drive time to other Zone 7 sites, and that a build-to-suit, long-term lease with a purchase option best fit Zone 7’s needs. The plan allowed the agency to get in a completed building sooner, pay less up front, defer its development and financing risks, and, through competitive bidding, keep down construction costs. Meantime, she adds, the agency will be banking the money it needs to buy the building when its lease is up. The estimated purchase price is $12-million.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.