Monte Sereno explores sister city relationship
By Gloria I. Wang
Los Gatos has some. So does Saratoga. So do most of the other municipalities in the area. Now, Monte Sereno wants to jump aboard and adopt a sister city in another country.
"It's a chance to share ideas and cultures and exchange citizens," Mayor Jack Lucas said.
With a sister city, Monte Sereno will be able to "do some cultural trade and hopefully build some community spirit," Councilman Erin Garner said, adding the city could definitely use more community spirit.
Garner had proposed the concept when he was elected to the council in 2000. Garner said he had friends who worked on building sister city relationships in other cities and had developed an appreciation for the program's benefits.
As a result, Lucas added the sister city adoption to his list of things to look at in 2002.
Garner, who had attended high school in Kabul, Afghanistan, said adopting a town in Afghanistan would be a possibility and appropriate in light of world events.
Councilwoman Barbara Nesbet had also recently traveled to Ireland and brought back information about the town of Athy in the county of Kildare. The town, which has a population of approximately 5,000, is another potential sister city for Monte Sereno, Lucas said.
On Feb. 19, the Monte Sereno City Council appointed Nesbet and Garner to a sister city subcommittee; they will research the feasibility and costs of forming such a relationship. Garner said they will hash out issues such as a student exchange, the regularity of meetings between the two cities and a cost estimate.
"We want to start simply," Garner said about the budget, although he said he has no idea what the approximate costs will be.
Lucas anticipates that the subcommittee will return to the council with a report on March 19.
For the past several years the town of Los Gatos has actively pursued relationships with its five sister cities: Listowel, Ireland; Chungho, Taiwan; Tallinn, Estonia; Zihuatanejo, Mexico; and Liaoyang, China.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
