Town won't commit to placing Lyndon cupola on bandstand
Community Foundation sought official support
By Nathan R. Huff
A surprised Paul Dubois, president of the Los Gatos Community Foundation, left the Oct. 4 Town Council meeting without the official motion of support he assumed the council would give the foundation to place the Lyndon cupola on a bandstand in Oak Meadow Park.
Council members expressed uneasiness over committing to a project that was still in the fundraising process, when the possibility remained that another group could come forward, funding in hand, after the council committed itself to the Community Foundation.
The cupola, a historical artifact from the estate of the late John W. Lyndon, has been resting on a concrete pad in Oak Meadow Park since early 1998, after it was returned by the city of San Jose to Los Gatos, and restored by the Los Gatos Parks Commission with county grant money.
The Los Gatos Community Foundation, which was created by several members of the Parks Commission in order to apply for the county grant, has proposed that the cupola be placed on a bandstand in Oak Meadow Park.
Members have put together a "concentrated funding program," according to president Paul Dubois, and currently have roughly a third of the estimated $150,000 cash needed to fund the project. He said that the cost has been kept to a minimum because commitments have been made for donated labor and reduced prices on materials. While final figures are not yet available on the foundation's recent garden party--a fundraiser for the bandstand project--Dubois told the Los Gatos Weekly-Times that it was very successful and that he believes it will take them closer to the 40 percent or even the 45 percent mark.
Council members said they would prefer to wait to give their official support for the foundation's gazebo project until fundraising was complete and the foundation returned with a complete project design. While council members indicated a desire to finally put the cupola matter to bed--the final location of the cupola has been debated since 1995--they also expressed their belief that immediate action was not necessary. "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it," Councilwoman Linda Lubeck said.
However, Dubois said the cupola will be broke if the town does not act quickly. "It's being vandalized," Dubois said. "There was a lot of time and effort put into restoring it, and it's all going for naught." Flats have been broken off the wooden cupola, and there is evidence people have been attempting to sleep in it.
Lubeck was also concerned about the vandalism, telling the Weekly-Times, "I think we need to try and do as much as possible to protect it, but even a gazebo won't necessarily keep it from being vandalized."
In short, Lubeck said, the council needed more details, including plans, cost, funding, location and a timeline. "I've never seen a full-blown proposal," Lubeck said. "We can't always give an organization the go-ahead to build something in one of our parks without knowing what it looks like."
Dubois said he was "shocked by the council's lack of support." Without the council's express backing, Dubois said, a "definite damper" will be put on fundraising. "It's very difficult to convince the community to put money into a project that may or may not go forward."
Councilman Joe Pirzynski, who serves on the Community Foundation board, did not participate in the discussion, nor did he vote. Sue Farwell, who earlier proposed that the cupola rest on top of her new building on S. Main Street, did not respond to phone calls for this story.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
