Saratoga News

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Legion Post 99 struggling to pay off loan,may be sold

By Koren Temple

Veterans of the American Legion West Valley Memory Post 99 are in the middle of a battle and are fighting to stay alive. The fight is to protect their 88-year-old home on Dell Avenue and prevent it from being sold.

Members of the Legion met Feb. 1 to vote on whether to sell Post 99 to South Bay Developers or to continue raising money to pay off a $800,000 debt with a mortgage of $7,000 a month. The Legion took out the loan to pay for renovations three years ago, and with a lack of revenue from rental fees, the facility could be closing for good.

"If we're going down, we're going down with a fight. We put too much blood, sweat and tears into this building," Gene Gaeta, second vice commander, said.

Post 99 serves 700 veterans from Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga and West San Jose.

The members of Post 99 voted for one last shot at saving their home. The vote was forwarded to the Building Board, a company that owns title to the 5,000-square-foot building and has the final say in selling the property.

Members are giving themselves 60 days to raise money to go toward a tenants-in-common, a property ownership arrangement in which members of Post 99 can own the property jointly. The money raised will go into an escrow account to be used toward the purchase of the property. A committee was formed in the late summer to oversee the TIC agreement.

"If we had more time, we could raise enough funds so we can eliminate the mortgage totally. If the post was marketed and exposed, we could save it," said Dennis Nunes, who's been a member of Post 99 for two years.

Member Bob Bourdon announced at the meeting that he would personally pay the taxes and the upcoming insurance payment for Post 99.

"If we lost this post, where are our 700 members going to go? I put a lot of time into this place. We can't just lose it like this," he said.

Congress chartered the American Legion in 1919 as a patriotic, mutual-help and wartime veterans' organization. At that time Campbell Post 158 was established. Two other posts in San Jose and Saratoga merged with the Campbell Post in 2000 because of declining memberships, according to Chuck Berls, a former post commander.

At the time of the merger, renovations were done to update the kitchen, rental hall and overall appearance of the old building. After the renovations were complete in 2004, a marketing plan was enacted to produce revenue from rental fees. But within two years, the marketing plan fell through and rentals declined, leaving Post 99 with a hefty loan.

Jerry Lalonde, a representative of the Building Board, was still optimistic Post 99 could get back on its feet. He said he would make the February loan payment in order to give more the post more time.

"We have some great interest from others who want to invest, so we can't just say this is a done deal. I believe we can do this in 30 days," Lalonde said.

In the last two weeks more members have committed to the TIC agreement. Members hosted a spaghetti dinner at the end of January to raise additional funds.

But some members of Post 99 were skeptical about the agreement, which was first proposed in August 2006. To date, $76,000 has been put into an escrow account, yet members have committed to investing between $200,000 to $300,000 in the agreement. To establish this particular TIC agreement for the property, $900,000 would have to be raised.

Seven months after the agreement was proposed, there is still not enough money to proceed with the buyout, and some members do not think they can fulfill that obligation.

"We do not have sufficient funds in the trust for the tenants-in-common during the past six months, said Vince Bradley, chairman of the ad hoc committee. For the agreement to be effective as a private offering 20 individuals were needed as investors, Bradley added. South Bay Developers offered to buy the 1.16-acre property for $1.6 million to build industrial condos. As part of the contract, Post 99 would buy back part of the land to build a new 2,500- square-foot building. "We have an opportunity to stay here," Bradley said.

Still, member Raymond Morales said Post 99 was his home, and he did not want to leave. Charmaine Pick, whose family has been a part of the original Campbell Post since its inception in 1919, said she couldn't imagine never walking through the doors again.

"The post is not the building; it is the people sitting within its confines," she said.

The need for a veterans' facility in the West Valley is crucial, said Marsh Wagner of Women's Auxiliary unit.

"We need to keep this post for those coming back from Iraq. They can replace a leg or a hand, but what about their minds? They will need our help," she said.

For more information on donating to the American Legion West Valley Memory Post 99, 1344 Dell Ave., or for rental information, call 408.379.6420.