Los Gatos Weekly-Times Police Chief Larry Todd talks with John and Dawn Evans as they arrive to see their house, damaged by a mudslide the night before. Inset from top: Ann Burns was one of many neighbors near the proposed Vasona substation who argued against the project at the PUC hearing on March 23. Jack Lucas (left) was elected mayor of Monte Sereno; in the traditional rotation, the job would have gone to Joel Gambord or Gordon Knight, but things are anything but traditional in Monte Sereno these days. Jan Hutchins (right) became mayor of Los Gatos without controversy. Jay Butler of Underwater Resources Inc. emerges from the bottom of the outlet pipe at Lexington Reservoir as several of his co-workers continued to crawl up inside the 52-inch pipe on a mission to install pressure sensors and take hourly pressure readings after the pipe began to buckle. Year in Review Los Gatos was serene, but not Monte Sereno By Dale Bryant If the financial picture in Los Gatos had not been so rosy, it might have been a much more contentious year. As it was, there was plenty of grumbling about too much growth and a variety of other issues, from the location of a proposed PG&E substation to that perennial favorite--lack of parking downtown. But good times in Silicon Valley resonated in Los Gatos with a building boom that saw planning fees nearly double over the previous year. That meant long-delayed repairs were made, and the potholes that drew so much fire in previous years ceased to be an issue. Old sewer lines were replaced; even the leaky roof at Town Hall was repaired. SummerHill Homes, a major development mired in protest as the year began, became a model for cooperation between neighbors and developers--the developer donated 89 acres of open space to the town and made a number of concessions to protect views and improve traffic congestion along Blossom Hill Road. The promise early in the year of an embattled election gave way to a near-lovefest with candidates vowing to maintain the town's character. Both Randy Attaway and Steve Blanton easily won third terms, and Planning Commissioner Joe Pirzynski moved into the seat vacated by 16-year veteran Joanne Benjamin. Things weren't so friendly, however, in Monte Sereno, where city manager Gay Strand--often targeted for criticism by councilmembers Joel Gambord and Gordon Knight, resigned, and a battle raged over a proposal favored by three councilmembers to hire a $3,000-a-day consultant for a goal-setting session. The consultant, the three said, was necessary to maintain a level of civility between them and the Gambord-Knight team. If the Los Gatos election was a lovefest, the Monte Sereno election was anything but. It turned into a battle between the Gambord-Knight forces and those who favored incumbents Jack Lucas and Suzanne Jackson. With the election of Lucas and Jackson and newcomer Barbara Nesbet--the candidates not endorsed by Gambord and Knight--the council scrapped its tradition of rotating the mayor's seat, and instead, the three in the majority elected Lucas and Jackson mayor and vice mayor respectively. The divisiveness that characterized the council all year seemed destined to continue. There was plenty of good news for the schools last year, thanks to optimism about the economy. Voters approved a renewal and increase in the parcel tax for the Los Gatos Union School District, and the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District passed a $79 million bond. As the year ends, the Toll House Hotel appears headed for expansion, and Diane Ogilvie's proposed hotel--which has been in front of the Planning Commission in various incarnations for eight years--was approved by the Town Council in its final meeting of the year. It was a year that brought a commitment to build a new parking structure. That commitment was due in no small part to the improved economic picture, but also, no doubt, to a revitalized business community. Since the Town of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce hired Sheri Lewis earlier this year as part-time executive director, the organization has gained visibility and respect and has become a key player in the local political scene. The Year in Review: A month-by-month look back at 1998 in Los Gatos. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, December 30, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.