Letters

Poundmaster struck a chord with reader

I enjoyed your article about John Baggerly in the Oct. 4 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. I remember poundmaster Fox as a kid when I often rode my bike down to the end of North University Avenue to visit the pound.

There was a box with an attached hose that hooked up to the poundmaster's tailpipe for dispatching unclaimed dogs (today you would go to jail for that).

By the way, in the sixth-grade I worked for the Times a short while delivering papers on my bike. My immediate boss was an older, experienced paperboy by the last name of Fremier (spelling?) who's well-known father owned a real estate agency in Los Gatos.

Franc G. Fallico
Anchorage, Alaska

Decker, Abkin deserve vote of Los Gatans

Of the candidates for Los Gatos Town Council, we feel that Mike Abkin and Sandy Decker are the most qualified.

Mike has had the most experience in serving Los Gatos through his volunteer work on the community service and planning commissions. Mike also is the most knowledgeable candidate on the important problem of providing more housing alternatives in Los Gatos, preserving the character of the different residential neighborhoods.

Finally, Mike is showing his commitment to Los Gatos by walking in the neighborhoods to get a person-to-person understanding of our concerns. Sandy Decker has a unique ability to understand both the commercial and residential neighborhood issues in Los Gatos. She has demonstrated leadership in dealing with tough problems on the planning commission. She has lead by example in renovating her home and in her business efforts in Los Gatos. She is accessible and approachable.

We hope you will join us in voting for Mike and Sandy.

Mimi and Eric Carlson
Los Gatos

Great idea, but a bad location

Skateboard park in Los Gatos at Lark and Winchester? Great idea! Wrong location! Great idea expanded:

Reminiscing on my youth, I recall every teenager's dilemma, too much free time, too little excitement; especially in Atherton, with no recreational facilities, not even a basketball court!

Country club, yes, members only, tennis and golf (I love both). Athletics can keep our youth from mischief, alcohol and drugs. Stereotyping skateboarders seem to be on the rougher side, but they are our kids (Los Gatans).

From observation, of the athletic talent required to skateboard (just try to stand on one!), alcohol and drugs would not complement one's abilities; or perhaps that's how they do those amazing tricks? Na.

Bad Location expanded: Because it's near our homes in La Rinconada. No, I don't think anything could compete with the traffic noise or those dozens of tennis courts (lit well into the night). Because it will attract "undesirables," you mean our kids (Los Gatans), or perhaps those from surrounding communities: Saratoga or even Campbell! No, it's a bad location from the safety of kids getting to and from the park.

Lark and Winchester with kids and skateboards thrown into the mix, YIKES! There is a better location out there, Oak Meadow among one. I am afraid the skateboard park idea will join Peggy Fleming's ice rink, as "nowhere to be found."

Mark Harrington
Monte Sereno

Campaign finance reform is most important issue

What is our most important health-care issue? Prescription drug coverage for seniors? Ensuring that every child has adequate health coverage? Making sure that HMOs are responsive to the needs of patients? Actually, the most important health-care issue facing our country is campaign finance reform.

Why? Because campaign finance determines who our elected representatives listen to first. Will our elected representatives be responsive to the needs of voters, or to the needs of big-money contributors?

What is our most important environmental issue? Is it global warming? Is it drinking water safety? Is it sprawl that is engulfing our neighborhoods? No. The most important environmental issue is campaign-finance reform because we live in a system that allows special interests to give our elected officials virtually unlimited sums of money to pay for their election campaigns.

What is our most important tax issue facing us? Is it the need to continue to expand the tremendous economic growth that has occurred with the reduction in the federal deficit? Is it the need of families to save and invest to ensure their children can go to college? Is it the distribution of wealth in our society? We in the League of Women Voters understand that the most important tax issue facing our country is campaign-finance reform.

The way we fund our campaigns has a profound effect on our country. That is why we are asking you to join us in looking at whether candidates will, after elected, vote for campaign finance reform. Help us reform our political system so that it puts the voters first. Find out where your candidates stand on campaign-finance reform. Hold their feet to the fire, and ask them to vote for campaign-finance reform if they are elected to represent you.

To see how members of Congress from the California delegation have voted on campaign-finance reform and other key public policy issues, log on to http://www.lwv.org/ takeaction/keyvotes.html. To find out what the candidates are saying about campaign finance and other election issues, check www.smartvoter.org.

Marjory Bunyard
President, Los Gatos-Saratoga-Monte Sereno League

Thanks for support of community

As a Trustee I would like to thank the Los Gatos community for its help and support of the West Valley-Mission Community College District Advancement Foundation. We are very grateful for the assistance we have received this year. We are under way with several major facilities projects to enhance the quality of life for students on both campuses. These projects could not have been realized without community involvement. Although much has been achieved, there still is much to do.

Our district always welcomes support and advice from companies and individuals in this important partnership to build educational excellence. We must all play a role in the improvement of our schools to realize a better future for our children. Through education, we can sustain the high level of prosperity we enjoy in Silicon Valley.

Silicon Valley serves as a major economic engine powering our national economy. We must continue to keep the fire burning bright in the engine of opportunity. Our investment in education will serve as a key component in determining whether we move forward as a society.

The task ahead is to begin in earnest planting the educational seeds of opportunity, through business, community, investment and student mentoring. In this way, the succeeding students will begin to bare the fruit of full preparation necessary to achieve in the highly competitive world economy.

Frank Jewett
Trustee, West Valley-Mission Community College District

Metering lights everywhere would be fair

I understand Sandy Decker's concern over traffic problems. We all face them every single day. Just this morning I faced a 20-minute backup to the metered on ramp at Bear Creek Road due to commuters getting off or choosing not to take the highway so as to avoid the backup on Highway 17.

I will face this every morning there is rain or a traffic problem many more times than will occur in the town of Los Gatos.

These commuters don't live here; they live far away. Just like in Los Gatos.

What I cannot understand is her belief that inconveniencing community members outside the town limits every day (because I do go into town every day) is helping anyone. Since Sandy Decker believes it is no small thing to take another exit for every trip to town, I suggest that for three months she take another exit off the highway rather than the one she normally would and spend that extra time going over streets she wouldn't have had to and then report back if she liked this or not.

Only then can she appreciate the added stress she will be imposing on others every day for a problem that occurs three or four times a year.

Since Decker believes inconveniencing others should not be tolerated a few times a year, I would like to see the metering lights to Highway 17 at Highway 9 turned on. This situation is an inconvenience to all the commuters who are already on Highway 17 every single work day. So everyone around Los Gatos is suffering on a regular basis so that Los Gatans don't have to wait to get on the highway. So let's make things fair to everyone. Let's turn on all those metering lights.

Kim Gardner
Los Gatos

Council set up roadblocks to creative solution

Our town council on Sept. 18, sent the 130 Nina Court subdivision proposal back to the planning commission. This action was taken because the results of a study session identified much new information and demonstrated there was a workable middle ground where the developer, Dividend Homes, and concerned neighbors could potentially create a compromise position. Town council directed the planning department to facilitate the study session. Council gave specific instructions to Dividend Homes to meet with neighbors in a constructive format, which Dividend had refused to do, and specific instructions to the neighbors to form a consensus on a compromise position they could support.

It was a big step forward for two reasons: it revealed the council's desire to force developers and neighbors to work in collaboration to resolve issues; and it demonstrated that a study session can produce valuable results. The council sent the matter back to the planning commission to be reviewed as a three-lot subdivision.

Then the council took a big step backward by placing a limitation that only a plan based on a new road was to be considered. When directing the study session to occur back on Aug. 7, Councilman Joe Pirzynski specifically clarified the motion such that all reasonable alternatives could be considered. In the study session the neighbors had proposed a driveway-based solution, the developer had proposed a road-based solution.

The road itself is the root cause of neighborhood concern for reasons of safety, privacy and its inconsistency with town guidelines intended to preserve the quality of life and value of our homes. The neighbors have been consistent in expressing their concerns with a road-based proposal throughout the entire review process and had expressed the exact same concerns, which led to the denial in 1998 of a Planned Development proposal of the same property. The location and configuration of the road have remained essentially identical in the 1998 proposal, the 2000 proposal and now again as it goes back to the planning commission.

We must ask the council--why conduct a study session, then disregard the results? Why limit the creativity necessary to reach a fully workable compromise position between the developer and the neighborhood?

Another aspect the council should consider of a road-based subdivision on this property is the precedent that it will set.

This property is oddly shaped, relatively small at 1.5 acres, topographically challenging and has limited street frontage. Subdividing this property by using a new road will place the road along the back property lines of existing homes and force the siting of homes on the new lots to their rear setback limits, and both these situations will create issues with privacy, property values and the quality of life.

There are no subdivisions in the R1:10 zoned areas designed with public roads that have the fronts of homes on one side of the street and the backs of homes on the other side of the street. If this proposal is approved with a road-two things can be predicted: many other three- and four-lot subdivision development proposals of existing oversize lots based on roads will come forward; there will be a lot more roads literally in our backyards.

Willis Flood
Los Gatos

Community would benefit from new pool

I am a parent of a Los Gatos High School student, as well as a long time resident of Los Gatos. Twenty years ago I took my oldest child to swim lessons at the LGHS pool. I had registered him through the Los Gatos Recreation Department and both of us were pretty excited.

For the past two years my youngest child has been on the water polo and swim team. The water polo team has had to practice at the West Valley College pool, and while we are lucky to be able to use their facility their practice is at night due to pool availability.

As far as the swim team goes, one only has to look at the LGHS pool to understand the shortcomings of the pool. No one is excited about this pool anymore. What I'm sure was a state-of-the-art pool 50 years ago, is now pretty pathetic.

There is a pool committee that has been working diligently for the past year to raise funds for a new pool. The site would be at the school, but the pool really serves and would benefit the whole community. We have not had the success other similar communities have experienced in their fundraising efforts for a new pool. Los Altos High and Saratoga High have completed their new pool installations to the great appreciation of both high schools and communities.

We could really use some help. The pool is currently used by the school and the Rec. Department. I'm sure many of us and/or our children have gone through one or the other swim programs. A new pool would mean that these traditions could continue as well as being able to offer additional programs for seniors, adults, masters AND have the high school water sports practice and host events in their own pool.

Our existing pool that was once (50 years ago) wonderful, could again be a wonderful facility and benefit our community. Any contribution of time, money or ideas from you or the community would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for allowing me to bring this to your attention.

Sally Spencer
Los Gatos

A Place for Teens endorses skateboard park concept

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