Updated Wednesday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m.
A drive in front of the new Target store to collect signatures from Alameda residents provoked a heated response from city officials today, Wednesday.
A press release, from Assistant City Manager Alex Nguyen, is headlined "Stupid Flier & Facebook Page Aimed at Scaring West Alameda" and reads:
"There is a flier and Facebook page being circulated in Alameda 'warning' people that a US Customs Examination Station is coming to the West End.
"This is NOT true.
"A small group of people are gathering petition signatures in front of the new Target store to fight the US Customs Examination Station from coming to, apparently, West Oakland.
"It appears that they are purposely misleading Alamedans in order to get signatures by asserting that the Station is coming to Alameda, next to the Target store.
"Neither the flier nor the Facebook page has any attribution. Whoever is behind this effort clearly does not believe in accuracy, facts, or truth."
The flier, which does not identify the protesters or provide any contact information, says that a US Customs examination station is moving to the BOBAC Building across the street from Target. [The Target store is located at 2700 Fifth St., in the Alameda Landing shopping center.]
It claims that the examination station will bring high-risk cargo and an additional 300 trucks a month into Alameda.
Examination stations are operated by private contractors licensed by the federal government to inspect imported cargo.
Bobac CFS Corp., a local trucking and warehouse company, already houses a U.S. Customs examination station at its warehouse behind Target, a station that has been in operation since 1989. It is also authorized to handle USDA and FDA examinations.
Bob Haydari, owner of Bobac, said today, Wednesday, that the Bobac customs station deals mainly with consumer goods such as toys, electronics and household items. Its most common task is inspecting for trademark infringements on imported goods, he said.
He said the station does not deal with hazardous materials, beyond occasional propane, and that cargo is checked for radioactivity before it arrives in Alameda.
Haydari said the business has no plans to move or to expand beyond its current size — although business is seasonal and tends to be heaviest during the holiday season, when many imported goods are being shipped to the U.S.
Bobac received the 2009 Best of Oakland Award in the merchandise and self-storage warehouses category from the U.S. Commerce Association, according to its listing on Alameda Patch.
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