Mayor Highlights City's Accomplishments in Past Decade

Livermore is continuing to move forward, grow and progress despite the tough economic times.

That's how Mayor Marshall Kamena described the past few years in the city.

Kamena, who will be termed out this fall as mayor, presented his final State of the City address Thursday afternoon at the . The event kicked off the 's Wine Country Summer Luncheon Series.

But that progress is not coming without some tension, as the controversy over the location of BART's Livermore extension could be heating up.

The mayor, who spent a good portion of his presentation catching the audience up to speed on the , hinted that the City Council on Monday might be considering placing a competing measure on the November ballot. 

The measure would give voters a choice of keeping the long-planned downtown route, which Kamena supports. The meeting agenda for Monday has not been released so additional details weren't available.

The mayor highlighted partnerships in the Tri-Valley region that have helped the city grow. He also proudly pointed out the transformation of downtown Livermore, which helped bring in large revenue events such as the .

Kamena also thanked city leaders who have placed Livermore in a position to attract a much larger outside audience via projects such as the (See ) and the planned .

The mall is expected to open in the spring of 2013 and will feature businesses such as Lancome, Guess, Barney's New York, J. Crew, OshKosh and Tommy Hilfiger.

In addition, the mayor expressed excitement for the Innovation for Green Advanced Transportation Excellence, or i-GATE, and Innovation Tri-Valley.

The effort is a regional public-private partnership designed to support small businesses and maximize the economic potential of green transportation and clean-energy technologies, according to the i-GATE website.

Livermore's growing arts culture also was highlighted in the mayor's address.

The planned is projected to present up to 100 events annually, and generate $20 million per year across the Tri-Valley, Kamena said.