Harsh reality of the local housing market scares off library director
House-hunting ordeal was too much for the new-hire
Grimes will stay on-briefly
By Nathan R. Huff
Los Gatos planned to have a new library director in place this month, but as most employers around here will confirm, plans often go up in smoke when out-of-town arrivals experience the full brunt of the Silicon Valley housing crunch.
After several unsuccessful house-hunting experiences--including a scarring bidding war--West Palm Beach resident and would-be librarian Pam Smith decided Florida wasn't so bad after all. Smith withdrew her application just days before her scheduled first day.
Smith, now back in Florida, did not return calls for this story.
The town is now faced with going through the process of calling back the other top applicants, doing another round of interviews and then trying to persuade someone else to move to the area. If the town can't settle on an existing applicant, the position will be readvertised. In the meantime, outgoing library director Gloria Grimes has volunteered to stay on a while longer.
"Right now we're meeting to review our options," Grimes said. "[The cost of housing] is a serious recruitment problem. I don't see how they can recruit out of state. Even coming from L.A. is a shock."
The starting salary for the head librarian in Los Gatos is close to $90,000 a year and rising, according to the town's human resources manager Gary Rogers. "We're having to go higher and higher than ever before because we just can't get anyone," Rogers said.
Both Grimes and assistant town manager Jim Piper said the town warned each applicant repeatedly about the housing situation in the valley and gave out the names of local real estate agents.
"We had exact conversations on that very topic and we stressed the situation to them," Piper said. "[Smith] indicated she was aware of it and had done research, but I think the reality didn't become clear until she was here."
Once here, Grimes said Smith and her husband became embroiled in a bidding war on a condominium, and when one of the buyers offered to put down $250,000 in cash, Smith decided she wasn't cut out for this housing market.
Grimes, who lives in Scotts Valley, said she and the town had not discussed how much longer she would stay on. Grimes and her husband are moving to Oregon for health and financial reasons.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
