Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Citizens need to communicate with council

By Connor Vlakancic

There is a consistent pattern of front-page news in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times covering, after the fact, poorly attended Town Council meetings. The paper frequently reports that the council concludes a "loud and clear message" from this limited citizen participation.

When the budget crisis was "just a blip on the radar screen," (according to an editorial in the May 1 issue of the Weekly-Times), the people who showed up to say "Don't cut services" might have been the only ones who had been informed of the imperative importance of the meeting.

To conclude, as the editorial did, that the rebuff of Measure C means that "Los Gatans are happy to let town officials do whatever with the budget--just don't levy new taxes" is an oversimplification of the message from our value-conscious citizens. It was more a rejection of taxes that did not have a clearly defined purpose yielding coordinated progress on a Next Century City Development Plan (that doesn't even exist). Worthy taxes that deliver comprehensive solid value, for a substantiated price, are well within the means of most Los Gatans.

Indeed, without long-term town strategy, problems still on the horizon will become vicious animals intent on biting our bottomside. Properly identified and comprehensively communicated, such problems can be transformed into opportunities that would turn any such taxes into a municipal investment that would: increase our standard of living, add new businesses to the tax base and enhance the resale value of our homes.

While Robie Lane residents recently defended the inaccessibility of the Planning Commission as "keeping the system democratic," I believe their inaccessibility makes them cloistered. That's how they could be so poorly advised as to approve the Byer Center, a structure that crowds a sense of personal space.

As much as we should all be paying close attention to what issues our Los Gatos Town Council has on every agenda, the truth is that living an active life takes a daily toll on the personal bandwidth required to stay informed. But when citizens don't participate, the council can be misinformed about the will of the people and thus reach poor conclusions.

Since government of the future must do better than get out of the way, it needs to provide and encourage every interactive means possible to involve each and every resident in participatory citizenship."

Toward such a goal, perhaps the Weekly-Times could take--should take--an attitude of "front-page coverage importance" to upcoming town meetings, content and schedule, and for that matter, any other meetings that affect (or inflict) development influence on Los Gatos.

Residents should talk to their neighbors; start a conversation with that stranger in the grocery checkout line or at a bus stop and gather some consensus.

Write a letter, even a brief note, and when your kids go to the library, have them stick it through the mail slot at Town Hall and save a stamp. Send letters to the Weekly-Times' email address: lgwt@vval.com. (Email messages to the Town Council are given the same weight as letters written by local citizens weighing in on issues, according to the Town Clerk's office. That email address is: lg_town_clerk@vval.com--Editor)

If you don't have email, you should consider it; it's even less expensive than stamps.

Connor Vlakancic is a Los Gatos resident. Email address: connor@siliconvalley.xo.com.