Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Letters

Water district should blame itself for duck problem

There is a plan by which the Santa Clara Water District and the Department of Parks and Recreation is to kill "the new and strange ducks" at Vasona Park in Los Gatos.

These birds are neither new nor "strange."

The origin of these ducks can be found mainly at Lexington Reservoir, the result of years of thoughtless draining of Lexington. For example, the water district drained the reservoir three times in the middle of the drought.

In 1993, Lexington had 46 ducks, both Peking and mallard. Also, Lexington has two blue herons and two white egrets and two night herons (all of which are seasonal).

Today, at Lexington, we have 12 of the original ducks that were born and raised here. The rest are either at Vasona or eaten by the dogs and coyotes.

For the district and the department to say they are going to kill these birds is pure bureaucratic buck-passing, or worse, just making sure they can kill them and avoid the blame.

It is obviously absurd when these people in charge of the water say the birds foul the water; and then to use that lie as an excuse for killing them. The reason they chose to kill them is that it is cheaper than taking responsibility for the mess they themselves have caused.

These birds should be returned to Lexington! And the water district and the Parks Department should be responsible for them.

At Lexington, the ducks are fed what they are supposed to be fed by just a few people. There is no problem. They are at home where they are supposed to be.

I can't say where the other ducks come from, except that strange ducks show up in the spring and leave. No one thinks that's a problem or a deadly sin. Right now there is a group of four teal and heron crossbreeds. They do look bad, but they're no different from the rest. They'll move on soon.

Next time the Santa Clara Valley Water District decides to drain a reservoir above Los Gatos, they should develop a plan to protect these ducks. They are very sweet and innocent and should be given the protection they deserve.

We as humans are the ones who are messing it all up, so we should at least take the responsibility for babysitting all the other animals we are dislodging.

My house is right on the water at the south end of the lake. If the water district or the parks department want to come here and let these little guys off, they are welcome; the door is open.

Jeren Corsaul

Lexington Reservoir

Former Lodge employee takes issue with story

I am writing in response to the article about Los Gatos Lodge in the March 13 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. In the article, manager Ron Nelson states: "Some of those on staff for many years considered coming back but changed their minds when they realized it's a new venture and a new way of doing business, and they decided not to return after all."

I was one of the "displaced" employees who enjoyed the Los Gatos Lodge and the wonderful customers we had. One of my former coworkers had received a phone call from Mr. Nelson offering him a job. The job was to be a dining-room supervisor, a function he had never performed while employed at the Lodge. His response was to ask Mr. Nelson if he was sure he had the right person. Mr. Nelson's response was that the [new owners] have no intention of hiring any of the old food and beverage crew back.

We heard rumors that the "numbers didn't match," meaning the percentages of food and beverage sold did not match the cost. The inventory for these departments was tallied and calculated by the upper management. The staff (myself included) had nothing to do with this function; we simply waited on customers and treated them like family.

I have received calls from former customers, as well as other former employees, asking if it was true that some former employees had decided against returning. Our response to them is absolutely not. Each and every former employee left an application for the owner(s), and we were later told they had no intention of contacting us.

So, in a nutshell, this "manager" has plenty of story variations he obviously tells to swoon the locals in an attempt to bring business to the Lodge. Well, good luck. They are brighter than you think, Mr. Nelson!

Roy DeJarlar

Former Lodge restaurant manager

Town Council attacks were painful to hear

In my role as director of one of the nonprofit social service agencies serving Los Gatos, I was present at last night's Town Council meeting to participate in the public hearing on the Community Development Block Grant funds.

I have attended many town meetings over the past 12 years, and have never before witnessed the uncomfortable, confrontational character assassination that took place at this meeting. It was distressing enough to compel me to write this note of support for the councilmembers who were so unfairly attacked.

One of the most treasured hallmarks of this country is the right to vote. While we may differ in our views as to solutions to societal issues, we each have the privilege to believe, campaign and, ultimately, vote for our position. Holding public office does not cancel out this privilege. The councilmembers who promoted and worked
for the passage of a utility-users tax did so out of their personal conviction and their knowledge of how desperately the town needs additional revenue to maintain the level of public services at an acceptable level.

The attacks leveled at those on the council who worked for this measure were painful to hear, and, in the case of the mayor, had to have been beyond embarrassment. Surely public service, and the degree of commitment that this council demonstrates, should not ever include being subjected to this
kind of abuse.

It was so disappointing to see this go on in Los Gatos, where, heretofore, I have witnessed only genuine commitment to cooperation, and differences of opinion treated with respect. Los Gatos has a good thing going; don't let this level of public dissent ruin it!

Leta Friedlander

Executive Director, Live
Oak Adult Day Services

Citizens need to participate in budget talks

I want to congratulate and thank Egon Jensen and Councilmember Steve Blanton and the volunteers whose joint efforts culminated in the 2-1 defeat of Measure C.

Throwing good money after bad has never solved any financial problem.

Now, residents must take the time to attend the budget meetings in May and have a say in where the money is spent. Some expenditures I'd like to suggest for the budget include: repair of residential town streets and/or sidewalks, installation of new storm drains, overall upgrade of the town's infrastructure, the insistence on honestly negotiated garbage rates and services and tree-trimming services on town and residential streets. Money can be saved by allowing residents to cut and/or remove their own trees on their own property, thus reducing the staff in the permits department.

Town Council members should consider the defeat of Measure C a wake-up call. Los Gatos residents are tired of being nickeled-and-dimed to death with one tax after another to make up for the obvious misappropriations of town funds.

After reviewing some recently authorized fiscal expenditures, I can understand why the town is projecting a $500,000 shortfall, but we can learn from our mistakes. Here are a few suggestions:

* Would the town be $525,000 richer if it had not floated interest-free loans for the town manager and police chief to purchase homes in town? Perhaps it's time to call in those interest-free loans. Both gentlemen make over $100,000 annually and can easily secure their own bank loans. [A variable interest rate loan tied to the rate paid by the Local Agency Investment Fund is due and payable at the time of the sale of the homes, if the homes are refinanced or within six months of either leaving employment or 24 months of the police chief's death or retirement --Editor]

* Perhaps it's time to seriously redevelop downtown. The present businesses in town are stagnant in generating yearly increased revenues, so the owners should consider remodeling the interiors of their stores and putting on new exterior facades to draw customers.

* The town rejects many small businesses because they don't reflect the character and ambiance of downtown, but the town already lost its charm when it closed the Lyndon Hotel and the train station. Now we are the coffee bean/restaurant capital of the West Coast. What are the yearly tax revenues generated in such limited establishments? On the flip side, the council goes off the deep end trying to attract warehouse-size businesses to town.

* Parking regulations need to become shopper-friendly.

The way the town has been going in a downward spiral for the last seven years, perhaps a good spring cleaning of the overall town government might not be a bad idea. How much worse will the residents fare with a general overhaul of the old guard?

Lucille Weidman

Los Gatos

Word choice can cloud the truth

I attended the April 1 Town Council meeting at ch former Trails and Bikeways Committee Chairwoman Carol Ann Weber read aloud the statement that appeared under her name in the April 3 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times.

I was extremely disturbed by the reaction of several members of the council to Ms. Weber's remarks. In particular, Council members Joanne Benjamin and Linda Lubeck took a blame-the-victim approach, chiding Ms. Weber for what they called "divisive" behavior when Ms. Weber had done no more than report the substance of remarks made to her by Mayor Randy Attaway--remarks that led to her resigning her committee position.

No conscientious person approves of divisiveness for its own sake, so I would be glad to see our councilmembers use the word "divisive" with greater care in the future. It makes an all-too-handy label for tellers of inconvenient truths.

Nancy E. Llewellyn

Los Gatos

CORRECTION

A story in the April 3 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times incorrectly reported that a court ruling left Eleanor Nilsson unable to market her VF-11 fertilizer locally. In fact, in a settlement with the District Attorney, Nilsson agreed not to make unsubstantiated claims for the product in advertising or on labels--including a specific brochure that had been packaged with the product. The settlement does not prohibit her from marketing the product.

Opinion Policy

The Weekly-Times strives to present a full spectrum of community opinion on these pages. Letters to the editor, commentary pieces and cartoons reflect the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the editorial opinion of the Weekly-Times.

Letters to the Editor

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