Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Letters

Buffalo building was determined not 'significant'

This is a response to Kathy Morgan's inaccurate letter about my proposed development which ran Aug. 14 in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times.

My project on Main Street and College Avenue has been designed with a great deal of care and concern for the history and feeling of our wonderful town. The site contains several historic buildings and structures that will be forever preserved as part of this unique mixed-use development.

These features include the historically designated brick wall, the original Puccinelli family home, the Soda Bottling building and several heritage trees.

The Buffalo Trading Co. building has been researched by one of the state's leading historic preservation firms. They found it not to be historically significant or worth restoration because it is not a regional building, but merely a poorly built storefront constructed from a mixture of salvaged materials that lacks any architectural or structural integrity.

We also have pictures and records proving that the building did not exist in the 1800s or in the early 1900s.

I believe the town, as well as the development, will be much better served with a new, "old-fashioned style" building that will meet current codes, provide handicapped accessibility and provide a clean, safe environment for citizens to park, shop and dine.

If anyone would like to see the plans for this project or review my photographs and documents, please call me at 354-3837.

Dave Flick
Los Gatos

Flick project would be a welcome relief

Regarding Kathy Morgan's comments about the Buffalo Trading Co. building in the Aug. 14 Los Gatos Weekly-Times: Give it a rest, Ms. Morgan! You asked for letters? How about this one asking for your resignation as a planning commissioner?

Using the newspaper to incite unjustified public concern by supplying inaccurate statements and dates in your opinion piece--shame on you. I have seen Mr. Flick's plans for this wonderful project and have reviewed the documents and photographs concerning the demolition of the Buffalo building. Perhaps you have not.

As a business professional and resident of this town, I have long awaited a good project for this dilapidated site, and I hate to see it jeopardized by people playing politics.

Perhaps you should step down from your podium and out from behind the safety of your school desk into the real world and see, as I have seen, what this builder has done for the historic feel of our town thus far.

Gary Kramer
Los Gatos

Byer Center parking already is inadequate

Were the Planning Commission and Town Council so blinded by dollar signs flashing before their eyes that they ignored parking space guidelines at the new Byer Center? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that parking is already barely adequate at peak hours.

Even in the middle of a quiet Tuesday afternoon, at least half the spaces were occupied. Once the bookstore and coffee shop open, it is obvious that parking will be totally inadequate. Employees alone will take up at least one quarter of the spaces, since there doesn't appear to be any other place for them to park, unless, of course, employers insist that they park at other centers, or on already crowded nearby residential streets.

Ah, yes, one can recall the "good old days," when the addition of only one or two more cars at the busy Los Gatos Boulevard-Blossom Hill intersection was considered adequate cause to reject any new project . But now that the council is strapped for dollars, it's a whole different ball game.

Marty Jacobson
Los Gatos

Downtown is filthy, dirty and disgusting

I am a resident of Los Gatos, newly arrived from Mountain View. I expect to be a permanent resident.

This is an open letter to the Town Council, the town administration, and the merchants of downtown Los Gatos:

Last week on a stroll along Santa Cruz Avenue, I was appalled to see the filthy conditions. The sidewalks are so stained and dirty. The streets and gutters need cleaning. The benches are too soiled for me to use. The planting areas have more debris than plants. In short, the area is disgusting.

A few years ago, when I had out-of-state visitors, Los Gatos was one of the places we usually went--to see the "quaint village" of Los Gatos. I doubt if my next visitors will be treated to the sorry conditions I saw last week. Instead we will be visiting places like Saratoga, Carmel, Mountain View, Los Altos or Palo Alto.

I suggest the town and the merchants take a hard look at these conditions I have mentioned and then decide if they can afford to have people see Los Gatos as such a dirty place. Perhaps they could visit Castro Street in Mountain View or Main Street in Los Altos or California Street in Palo Alto to talk with people there and learn how to do things right.

George H. Pfleger
Los Gatos

Facts lead to sound decisions about measures

Compliments to Katherine Petersen for her coverage of the proposed transportation ballot measures in the Aug. 21 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. Demographics show that Santa Clara County voters rank among the most highly educated in the world. When given the facts, we make sound decisions.

We made a good decision back in 1984 to tax ourselves in support of badly needed highway projects, and today we enjoy the benefits. We made another good decision in 1992 to renew that tax to build additional transportation projects. The state Supreme Court, however, decided we couldn't do that and invalidated the measure.

Once again, we have an opportunity to decide what we want locally. Measures A and B on the November ballot, when taken together, will provide for a host of critically needed transportation projects throughout the county, including fixing city streets and potholes, building the long-awaited Vasona light rail line and linking up with BART. Unlike the 1992 measure which was invalidated, Measures A and B will require a simple majority vote.

I sincerely hope the Los Gatos Weekly-Times will continue its prominent coverage of an issue as vital to this area as improving our transportation systems. When given the facts, we make sound decisions!

Susan Fitts
Los Gatos

Story gave false pay-raise figures for police officers

This is in response to the Aug. 21 article on the Town Employees Association contract negotiations that ran in the Aug. 21 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. In the article Kevin Flavia jumped on the Budget Bashing bandwagon.

Instead of concentrating on his own organization, he has taken to quoting false pay-raise figures for our members. We did not receive a 7 percent raise over a two-year period. We did receive 7 percent over a three-year period that did not keep us up with the rise in the cost of living but did put us as one of the lower-paid police organizations in Santa Clara County.

And in a previous contract, we gave back an annual pay raise to fund the hiring of an additional officer. That was money put back into the community by employees, an almost unheard of contract agreement. We have not gotten more than a cost-of-living increase as far back as I can remember.

The Los Gatos Police Officers Association is comprised of the working patrol officers;--not the "Police Department"--and does not receive any funding. Its town members pay $55 a month to belong to this organization and, in return, have the opportunity to contribute thousands of dollars a year to scholarships, service organizations, charities and even give some money back to the town budget to help out in the operation of the Police Department. When special training opportunities or special projects arise, the POA members quite often participate on their own time, unpaid.

When Animal Control Services were cut, who do you think took up the slack? When a ranger was cut, who do you think patrols the parks and locks them up at night? When virtually all of our traffic-enforcement officers were cut, who do you think made up for the loss? When the new bicycle patrol was organized, who paid for that? Who just held a charity golf tournament to raise thousands of dollars for the DARE program? I could go on, but ours is not an organization out for publicity or to become rich.

I would suggest Mr. Flavia turn his attention inward toward his own organization and seek reasons why its members deserve a pay raise rather than jumping on our backs for a free ride. I would also suggest if he makes the decision to go public with negotiation details, he get them correct. Does it sound like he raised my ire? Well, yes he did. We spent a lot of time and money training our leaders and negotiators, and I suggest he do the same to become a successful and accepted organization in our community.

Randal A. Villata
president, LGPOA

The reporter who wrote the story miscalculated the contract dates and incorrectly reported that the Police Department had received a 7 percent raise over a two-year period. It was, in fact, a three-year period. --Editor