The Cupertino Courier
News
Special district could be nixed by agency
By Dominique Fong
Residents living in the Rancho Rinconada special district might lose ownership of their area if Santa Clara County officials decide to dissolve the district into the city of Cupertino.
The Rancho Rinconada Recreation and Park District, bordered by Lawrence Expressway to the east and Bollinger Road to the south, provides a public swimming pool, swim lessons, a meeting hall, and a facility for community programs.
According to Steve Wesolowski, vice president of the Rancho Rinconada board, a majority of the district's residents voted in 1999 to annex the area into the city of Cupertino to have closer access to city government. Before, the region had been an unincorporated part of the county.
Since Cupertino also provides pools and recreation programs, there is an overlapping of service provision.
The county's Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees city and special district boundaries, recommended in its July draft report on Rancho Rinconada a recommendation to consolidate the district into Cupertino's Parks and Recreation Department.
A second option keeps the special district as it is, under governance of the local residents and funded by property taxes.
Wesolowski and resident Jennifer Griffin attended the LAFCO meeting on August 1 and spoke in favor of the second recommendation.
Advantages to merging include eliminating the cost of maintaining a separate public agency like the Rancho Rinconada district. Property tax funds once earmarked for the Rancho facility could be redistributed to other agencies.
"There is a duplication of infrastructure," said Dunia Noel, LAFCO analyst. "It's about the efficiency of public services, especially when two agencies provide the same service."
The LAFCO review is more about reaffirming the districts' existing "zero sphere of influence" rather than dissolving the district, Noel added.
Stating that a district has a "zero sphere of influence" means that the area is not expected to expand.
However, Wesolowski disagrees and said that as families grow, Rancho Rinconada will serve more people.
"It doesn't make any economic sense to merge. We're a community based park and district. We've been here for 51 years," said Wesolowski, who has been a Rancho Rinconada resident for 31 years. His comments reflect his personal opinions, not those of the board.
Wesolowski is one of five members on the board of directors who are either elected by district residents or appointed by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors if no one runs for the board positions.
"Rancho Rinconada could better serve its purpose by remaining a separate agency," said Wesolowski. "We provide the same level of service within our budget. We have volunteers and part-time members but no full-time employees. It's hard to do it as inexpensively as we do."
Local ownership of the district has been providing the community with quality services, Wesolowski said. If the district were consolidated, residents would no longer govern their recreation area.
"What we do well is aquatics. We teach people to swim and we specialize in learning services," he said.
Cupertino city officials have no comments yet on the possible merge.
Amendments to the LAFCO draft report will be finalized at the next meeting on October 1.
Wesolowski hopes that the district will remain as it is.
"We would lose that tight connection with the neighborhood," he said.
