"Where are we now?" asked Ken Reynolds, a resident of the area. "When are we going to be put on the town's plans?"

During the past year, residents of the La Rinconada neighborhood have been pushing the town to address their concerns. In many ways, they face common issues: too much traffic, badly designed roads and poorly paved streets. They also contend with more unusual and serious problems, like massive flooding during the rainy seasons and flyaway golf balls from a nearby country club.

But despite their finding a receptive audience in the Los Gatos Town Council and staff members, the neighborhood's residents have yet to see any improvements.

They aren't alone. Their experience is one that other neighborhoods pushing for less traffic, better streets or anything that requires more maintenance during a time of economic constraint will most likely face as well.

"We could probably spend $15 million to improve the roads, but we can't do that," Los Gatos Parks and Public Works Director John Curtis told La Rinconada residents during last week's meeting with the neighborhood. "We have to pick and chose."

Adding to the problem is the sheer amount of work the town has to do. On street conditions alone, the town identified 100 miles of road to repair—so far only 60 percent of that work has been done. The remaining 40 miles are currently being prioritized in terms of need.

But some residents at the meeting were not entirely convinced that need necessarily translates into priority. Many complained that their location on the north side of town and on the border of Campbell and county property leaves them excluded from the town's improvement projects, more heavily concentrated downtown.

"Why are we not part of this town?" asked one La Rinconada resident. "When you live on the north end and you're on the boundaries, I think that you feel like you are the stepchildren. It makes you ask, where are our tax dollars going?"

For now, officials at the parks and public works department say they will put some of the La Rinconada repairs—such as a better drainage system—at the top of their list for 2004­05 funding. Residents believe that despite the promises, they will still have to lobby their cause with the town council.

"The meeting gave us a better guide to where we need to go, and that's convincing the town council that the priority for funding needs to go where there are safety concerns," said Chris Delaoassa, a La Rinconada resident.

The other possibility: get the nearby La Rinconada Country Club to help pay for some of the work. Neighbors in the area say that when it rains, water from the country club rolls down the hill and onto their front lawns—something the country club should help correct.

Residents see this approach as a strong possibility, since the country club is planning extensive renovations in the future. Pointing to the recent negotiations between the Sobrato Development Companies and the town council to build an apartment complex on Winchester Boulevard, many residents felt that if Sobrato had to provide some amenities to its neighbors, the country club should have to do the same.

Rick Forney, a spokesman for the country club, said that the club would attempt to work with its neighbors.