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October 7, 2021

Grand Opening Celebration and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for New Fremont Downtown Event Center and Plaza

Join the City of Fremont for an outdoor community event to celebrate the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the new Downtown Event Center and Plaza! The public is invited to attend the celebration at 3500 Capitol Avenue. The event will take place on Friday, October 8 from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in conjunction with Fremont Street Eats (this will be its new location throughout October) and will include live music by the Groove Doctors, facility tours, outdoor plaza games, and several food trucks will be on site. A food truck voucher will be offered, one per person, to the first 400 attendees (some restrictions apply). For more information, visit the Fremont Downtown Event Center webpage or view the event flyer. 

New Fremont Police Chief Sworn In

On Saturday, October 2, 2021, Sean Washington became the City of Fremont’s eighth police chief. On Friday, October 1, 2021 in a small private ceremony, Chief Washington took the oath of office and was officially sworn-in before his immediately family and members of the Fremont City Council. We look forward to celebrating Chief Washington’s promotion with our community through a virtual ceremony that will take place November 18; details for the event will be made available in the upcoming weeks.

Participate in Fremont’s Internet Availability Study

Access to reliable internet is a necessity for most individuals, households, and local businesses in our city. To better serve the community, Fremont is conducting a study around internet availability and needs your feedback. The study is aimed toward understanding internet access and use by households and organizations to help ensure everyone has access to the services they need. Your responses will be valuable in developing the City’s future broadband initiatives.

To respond to the survey, participants must have already set up and/or pay for internet services for their home or work organization location. If you do not have access to a computer, you may obtain a printed version of the survey at Fremont City Hall, 3300 Capitol Ave., Building A or call 510-284-4000 to have one mailed to you.

Information collected in this survey is confidential and will be used only for the purpose of the City of Fremont's broadband planning. No personally identifiable information will be reported publicly.

FPD Wants to Hear from You!

Fremont Police Department would like you to participate in our community survey! Please give us your input, and let us know how we can best serve you! Your valuable feedback will help us improve services and identify primary concerns our community would like to address. The survey is available through November 5, 2021.

Fremont City Council Passes Afghan Refugees Support Resolution

The City of Fremont, home to one of the largest Afghan communities in the US, established the Afghan Refugee Help Fund to support refugees in coordination with local non-profit organizations, for needs such as housing, food, clothing, and other items or services, as they are expected to arrive in the Bay Area. To further show its support, at the regularly scheduled City Council meeting on October 5, 2021, the Fremont City Council passed a resolution urging state and federal leaders to act immediately to bring at-risk and vulnerable Afghans to the US for safety and prosperity and be afforded full benefits including waiver of application and filing fees, to transition into American life. The City supports and welcomes refugees from Afghanistan into our community and calls upon our residents, community leaders, businesses, faith-based organizations, and community-based organizations to provide similar welcoming support.

Affordable Housing Ordinance Update

The City is in the process of updating Fremont’s Affordable Housing Ordinance. The purpose of the ordinance is to address the need for affordable housing related to market-rate housing production and to foster an adequate supply of housing in Fremont for all persons at all economic levels. Based on technical studies, stakeholder input, and direction from the Fremont City Council and the City's Planning Commission, City staff has developed a proposed ordinance. Staff will be bringing the draft ordinance to the City Council for adoption at their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, October 12 at 7:00 p.m. View the Council agenda and instructions for participating in the meeting.

Fremont Celebrates International Walk and Roll to School Day

Students and families across Fremont joined with the rest of Alameda County and the world to walk and bike to school on Wednesday, October 6 as part of International Walk and Roll to School Day. The day celebrates walking and biking as a healthy, green, and fun way for students to get to school. Fremont elected officials and community leaders were present at schools across the city to help greet students and distribute giveaways and prizes to thank them for walking and biking. Students tallied how they got to school by placing dots on a sticker chart, to track the number of students arriving by active and shared modes of transportation. International Walk and Roll to School Day is one of the major annual events celebrated by schools to encourage walking and biking as part of the Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools Day and is also a fun part of the Active Fremont campaign.

COVID-19 Corner

Alameda County will lift the indoor masking requirement in public spaces not subject to state and federal masking rules when all the following occur:

• The jurisdiction reaches the moderate (yellow) COVID-19 transmission tier, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and remains there for at least three weeks; AND
• COVID-19 hospitalizations in the jurisdiction are low and stable, in the judgment of the health officer; AND
• 80% of the jurisdiction’s total population is fully vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson (booster doses not considered), OR Eight weeks have passed since a COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by federal and state authorities for 5- to 11-year-olds.

Read the news release: Bay Area Health Officers Issue Criteria for Lifting COVID-19 Indoor Masking Requirements

The FDA has recommended Pfizer boosters for people aged 65+ and people at high risk, at least six months after full vaccination.

• Eligible residents are encouraged to visit their health care providers and pharmacies for boosters.
• Boosters can roll out more slowly as most vaccinated persons have substantial protection against severe disease and vaccine is more readily available than it was last year.
• Alameda County is assessing the capacity of the broader countywide health care system to accommodate boosters to leverage our health care partners and systems.
• Alameda County will focus on people who are not yet fully vaccinated and vulnerable communities and share more information as it becomes available over the next few weeks.

Many commonly celebrated Halloween and Día de los Muertos activities carry risk for spreading COVID-19. Limit yourself to small gatherings and implement extra safety measures—especially when everyone is not vaccinated—to help reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. Helpful suggestions include:

• Get fully vaccinated.
• Stay home if you have, or think you may have, COVID-19.
• Wear a face mask: A costume mask is not a substitute and should not be worn over a protective cloth mask.
• Gather outdoors; If participating in traditional trick-or-treating, wear a face mask or keep your distance from others, and sanitize your hands to help reduce your risk of getting COVID-19.
• Keep gatherings small and follow California’s Mega-Event Guidance for events with 1,000 attendees indoors or 10,000 outdoors.

Together, we all need to do as much as we can to protect ourselves and those around us, including young children who are not yet eligible for vaccination. Check out these recommendations on How to Celebrate Halloween and Día de los Muertos Safely
(English I Spanish).

Alameda County strongly supports the Governor’s announcement to require K-12 students to get the COVID- 19 vaccine to come to school. Students will be required to be vaccinated for in person learning starting the term following FDA full approval of the vaccine for their grade span. The State’s action highlights the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines which remain our best tool to end this pandemic by protecting individuals against severe illness, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19. Visit the County's Youth Vaccination Facts webpage to find a vaccination clinic or answers to frequently asked questions.

Last week, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a new State Public Health Officer Order requiring all workers in adult and senior care facilities as well as workers in settings where direct care and services are provided to be vaccinated. This new order applies to all workers in:

• Adult and senior care facilities licensed by the Department of Social Services.
• All in-home direct care services workers, including registered home care aides and certified home health aides (excepting those who live-in or are family members), all waiver personal care services (WPCS) providers as defined by the California Department of Health Care Services
• In-home supportive services (IHSS) providers (excepting those who live-in or are family members).
• All hospice workers, and all regional center employees as well as service provider workers who provide services to a consumer through a network of regional centers serving individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities (excepting those who live-in or are family members).

All individuals must have the first dose of a one-dose regimen or the second dose of a two-dose regimen by November 30, 2021.

Helpful Resources

Vaccine Guidance and Resources and COVID-19 Testing in Alameda County.

Funds are still available to help Fremont renters. If you or someone you know is having trouble paying rent or utilities due to COVID-19, please visit our Keep Fremont Housed webpage to apply or call the Fremont Family Resource Center at 510-574-2028.

In Case You Missed It ...

Fremont Ranked 6th Greenest City in America – Fremont is ranked No. 6 overall in WalletHub’s list of the greenest cities in the country. The data they used set ranges from greenhouse-gas emissions per capita to number of smart-energy policies and initiatives to green job opportunities.

Traffic fatalities across the US rose in 2020 but not in Fremont. What did the City do differently? Western City Magazine highlights the success of Fremont's Vision Zero program.

Planned road closures in effect:

• Centerville: Closure of Fremont Boulevard at the Centerville railroad tracks between Peralta Blvd. and Bonde Way from Thursday, October 7 at 6:00 am to Monday, October 11 at 8:00 pm.
• Warm Springs: Full Closure October 7-12 of Old Warm Springs Boulevard between Tavis Place and S. Grimmer Boulevard starting at 8:30 am Thursday, October 7 until Monday morning October 12.
• Downtown: Road closures in effect on Walnut Avenue between Paseo Padre Parkway and Liberty Street on Saturday, October 9 from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm for Festival of India.
  
  

County of Alameda Redistricting Process – The County of Alameda is also currently conducting a Redistricting Process to solicit public input on drawing equitable election districts for the Board of Supervisors district lines. The County of Alameda is hosting its next public input meeting on Tuesday, October 12 at 12:00 pm. Visit the County website for more information. (To learn more about Fremont's redistricting process please visit the City of Fremont website.)