The following letter was submitted for publication ahead of the upcoming Brentwood City Council Meeting regarding the Brentwood Veterans Memorial Building
October 3, 2024
Brentwood City Council
150 City Park Way
Brentwood, CA 94513
[email protected]
Brentwood Veterans Memorial Building
Honorable City Council Members of Brentwood,
It has come to our attention that several rumors are circulating, suggesting that veterans are opposed to having a fire station downtown. This information is misleading. The Brentwood veterans strongly support the need for a new fire station near downtown. However, we are firmly opposed to using land purchased exclusively for veterans with taxpayer funds for this purpose.
There have also been false claims that veterans canceled a meeting with the county on August 30th. In fact, when one of our members contacted Supervisor Burgis’s office to request the meeting agenda, we were informed that the meeting had been canceled by the Supervisor’s office.
We urge Brentwood residents to demand that the county and fire district conduct proper due diligence in identifying a suitable location for the new fire station. There are three critical considerations regarding the proposed location:
- The land was purchased using a special tax designated exclusively for veterans’ use, and neither the county nor the veterans have the authority to repurpose it, even if misused in the past.
- The proposed location is not optimal for emergency response, and the county and fire district have not evaluated alternative sites for suitability.
- This development would irreversibly alter the character of downtown Brentwood.
To be clear, our opposition is not against the firefighters, many of whom are veterans, or the need for a new fire station. Our opposition is against a County bureaucracy that disregards the specific purposes for which taxpayer funds were allocated.
We encourage you to visit our website at www.bvmb.org, where you can review the original documents and correspondence with the county on our blog. Do not let misinformation mislead you; the county cannot arbitrarily decide the use of land dedicated exclusively to veterans by the taxpayers of Contra Costa County.
We respectfully urge the Brentwood City Council to vote down any proposal related to the fire station presented to you and to demand that the county conduct its due diligence in identifying an appropriate location. The council’s decision can ensure that taxpayer funds are used responsibly and in accordance with their original purpose, protecting the interests of our veterans and preserving the integrity of our downtown. We need your leadership to hold the county accountable to its commitments.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Respectfully,
Daniel R. Duran
Chairman, Brentwood Veterans Memorial Building
cc
Diane Burgis, Contra Costa County Supervisor, District 3
Eric Angstadt, Chief Assistant County Administrator
Aaron McAlister, Deputy Fire Chief at Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Assemblymember Timothy S. Grayson
Senator Steven M. Glazer
Brentwood Chamber of Commerce
Downtown Brentwood Coalition
The Press
Contra Costa News
https://www.bvmb.org/post/letter-to-brentwood-city-council-3-oct-2024
Editors note – previous stories
- Jan 12, 2024 – Brentwood Gets Update on Two Future Contra Costa Fire Stations
- Oct 13, 2023 – Burgis: New Fire Stations Will Make Brentwood Safer
2 comments
Very scummy of Brentwood board to try to steal this land from veterans for general public use.
Numbers two and three above, how so?
Based on those two where would be a better fit?
Keep in mind the importance of location.
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