Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Editorials

Monte Sereno City Hall is getting a reputation

The Monte Sereno City Council acted wisely when it decided not to make a final decision on a replacement for its departing city manager, Gay Strand, until after the November election.

With three council seats open, and the Citizens FOR Monte Sereno grooming candidates with an eye toward a council majority, it's anybody's guess what a new city manager might be walking into.

Even without a majority, the two councilmembers currently representing the views of the Citizens FOR Monte Sereno have made City Hall a difficult place for any city manager.

Strand never knew when her nemesis Joel Gambord might pop up around a corner with a list of complaints, including a harangue about weeds in the City Hall garden.

Then there was the 11th-hour budget hearing at which Gambord and Gordon Knight proposed eliminating Strand as a cost-cutting measure.

In Strand, Monte Sereno had an experienced professional who understood that a city, no matter its size, is not an island. She believed it was a city manager's responsibility to be vigilant to how decisions made in the larger arenas of county, regional and state government would impact her city.

Monte Sereno's biggest challenge after November will be to attract qualified candidates who are willing to take on a job with a reputation for mixed signals from the council and micromanagement by some councilmembers.

Stick to the issues

When planning commissioners voted against the proposed expansion of the Toll House Hotel, their primary consideration was whether the project's value to the community justified violations in setbacks, height and parking codes.

Given the impact the proposed structure would have had on the neighborhood, the commission made the right decision.

Unfortunately, during the public-debate portion of the meeting, emotions took over, and some speakers veered away from the issues, resorting to character assassination of both the hotel and its management.

Owner Wayne Levenfeld was painted as a demon for asking a public relations firm with which he has an ongoing relationship for advice on communications strategy. This was not the act of a demon; this was common business practice.

Other speakers trashed the hotel's food and decor.

Since Levenfeld took over the hotel, it has undergone a complete renovation. He has turned a not-so-attractive hotel into a tasteful and pleasant community gathering place, which enjoys a high occupancy rate.

We hope he will return with a scaled-down proposal that could enhance the downtown business community without imposing on the residential neighborhood. And we hope this time the debate will remain focused on the issues.

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