What does it take to get a pothole filled in this town? Carlton Court resident Rick Bawden found out the answer when he took his concerns about exactly that problem to the Los Gatos Town Council at its May 18 meeting.
A frustrated Bawden stepped to the podium during the public comment period to state his case. His presentation described a cul de sac where potholes made the street dangerous for children playing in the court and inconvenient for residents attempting to maneuver cars in and out of their driveways.
He also voiced the aggravation of a concerned citizen who has been trying unsuccessfully for four years to get the town to listen to his concerns and take care of the problem.
"Folks are telling me it's gonna get repaired, and it's not," he said. "The street is deteriorating—in my perception, rapidly."
Well, folks told him again that the street would be repaired. Town officials promised Bawden at that council meeting that the potholes would be patched before the end of the year.
This time they kept their promise—in fact, the street was repaired before the end of the month. As of May 28, Carlton Court was sporting a new surface of fresh, black asphalt.
Children's play equipment was scattered on the sidewalks surrounding the court—some of the equipment was even lined across the street to keep motorists from invading the soft, fresh surface.
It was nice to see that the street was repaired in time for children to play in the court over the Memorial Day weekend. But it was even nicer to see a caring town council and town staff react so quickly to a community concern—the four-year struggle notwithstanding. Bawden finally pleaded his case in the right place and his problem, and that of his neighbors, was solved.
There are many factors that make Los Gatos such a great place to live, work and play. And not the least of those factors is the caring leadership that is concerned with quality of life issues in town.
Local CCS champions
While we're in the cheerleader spirit, how about three cheers for the spring sports teams at Los Gatos and Leigh high schools. In this little corner of the Santa Clara Valley, these two schools seem to have the corner on Central Coast Section championships.
Los Gatos and Leigh combined for three CCS titles in the recently completed spring season. Los Gatos won section crowns in boys volleyball and boys tennis, and Leigh won a CCS championship in girls softball.
What's more, the Los Gatos doubles team of Lee Gerston and Chase Huebner won a CCS title in tennis, and Chris Little of the Los Gatos track and field team was the section pole vault champion and will now represent the Wildcats at the state meet.
Congratulations to all of these outstanding athletes for a sensational spring season.
