It's amazing to see what can be accomplished in this community when residents come together with a common goal and a sense of purpose.
Whether it's a playground in Redwood Estates, a bandstand at Oak Meadow Park, a new theater at Los Gatos High School or even a world-class aquatics center, this is a community with a can-do spirit, and there are people with the wherewithal to take a project to its completion.
A couple of prime examples are in the pages of today's Los Gatos Weekly-Times.
There's the story about how dilapidated playground equipment had been removed from two playgrounds in Redwood Estates, leaving the children there no place to play. Parents had to bring their children into town to use park facilities here.
But instead of just complaining about the situation, the residents of the mountain community went to work. They started a grassroots effort to solicit grants and donations for funding, then rolled up their sleeves for a little hard work. The result is that one of the playgrounds is near completion and is expected to open next month.
Renovation of the second park is not yet under way but is expected to begin and be completed early next year. And don't think for a moment that it won't be, given the spirit and dedication of the mountain residents.
It was the same community spirit that led the Los Gatos Community Pool project. The celebration of the dedication of that brand new facility is also detailed in today's newspaper.
Community members rolled up their sleeves to work on this project, too, but in a different way. While they couldn't actually participate in the actual construction of the new community swimming pool, residents and town and school officials worked hand-in-hand to ensure that the funding was in place—to the tune of $2.8 million—so that the project could be completed.
Similar to the situation in the mountains, swimmers had to go elsewhere for their activities. The high school swimming and water polo teams were forced to use pools at Saratoga and Lynbrook high schools and West Valley and San José City colleges because the Los Gatos pool was in such disrepair.
That meant that there was never a home game or meet for the Wildcats, and every day was a carpool day for parents.
But through the collaboration of the high school district, the town of Los Gatos, the Los GatosSaratoga Community Education and Recreation Department, the Valley Foundation and many hard-working and generous members of the community, the money was raised and a remarkable project was completed on schedule.
In the same issue of the paper today is a story about how community members—led by Monte Sereno residents Lana Malloy and JoAnne Peth—are trying to convince Caltrans to improve safety conditions on Highway 9 in the corridor that runs from Los Gatos to Saratoga through Monte Sereno.
Caltrans, you don't know who you're dealing with!
