At its Oct. 5 meeting, the Saratoga City Council discussed the inclusion of questions regarding the sale of the city-owned property on an upcoming community survey. If questions regarding the North Campus are included, the planned sale of the property could be pushed back.

The community survey, meant to provide the city with public input, is tentatively scheduled for mid-November. A study session with a consultant will be held on Oct. 18 to determine what items will be included.

For Vice Mayor Norman Kline, the formulation of a survey is a "gut-wrenching" process. "Surveys are highly political," he said. "We haven't approved the survey because the survey hasn't been written. We approved the project of a survey."

Kline, Councilman Nick Streit and Mayor Kathleen King said the city had invested enough time and discussion on the North Campus and that it was time to go forward with a sale.

"I think the best thing for Saratoga is to sell the North Campus," Streit said. The sale would replenish the city's reserves that were lost when the city bought the property, he said. "This is a finance issue for me. Nothing more, nothing less."

The city bought the 2.6-acre property in 2002 for $4.5 million from the Grace United Methodist Church. The intention was to move the Saratoga Senior Center to the North Campus and move the sheriff's office into the Senior Center building at 19655 Allendale Ave. But those plans fell through and the North Campus remains unused.

"Leadership is making decisions you don't want to make," King said. "I just can't justify keeping another campus. We need that funding for our general fund."

The property could bring anywhere between $6 million to $9 million to the city if sold to developers. King, Kline and Streit said money from the sale is needed to improve the city's infrastructure, particularly its roads.

The Citizens to Create the North Saratoga Community Center have been attempting to raise money to purchase the property and keep the land for public use.

"We are not asking the council not to sell the property, but to sell it for public use rather than for a developer to build nine new homes," Saratoga resident Norman Siegler told the council. "We obtained over a quarter million dollars in support of our cause ... We want a win-win situation and we believe one is on the table."

Mike Story, a 30-year resident, called it a quality of life issue as well as an issue of strategic land use. "Why would you play chess by giving away a queen or a knight before you know the strategy of the game?" he asked. He said he believes the sale of the property is plain wrong.

Kline said that quality of life also includes having a fiscally sound city, but commended the Citizens to Create the North Saratoga Community Center for raising $250,000. "That's a great job," he said, "but it doesn't come anywhere close to what we need."

With the city behind $1 million in funding for roads, Kline said any survey of the public should include education on the city's financial situation.

Councilwomen Ann Waltonsmith and Aileen Kao have been proponents of having the North Campus kept for public use. Waltonsmith and Kao had agendized the discussion of survey questions regarding the sale of the property for the Oct. 5 council meeting.

Waltonsmith was on the city council when the city bought the North Campus. "We saw it as a great opportunity and it still is a great opportunity," she said. "There's all sorts of uses for it."