By Cecily Barnes
In response to storm damage that shut down Villa Oaks Lane, the Saratoga City Council declared Saratoga in a state of emergency last Tuesday. County Executive Richard Wittenberg declared the entire county in a state of emergency as well.
"With an abundance of caution, I asked the city council to make a statement of emergency," City Manager Harry Peacock explained. The statement permits the city to apply for emergency funding.
During Tuesday night's city council meeting, council members hadn't received confirmation of the county's emergency declaration. And while Peacock assumed the declaration would be made, he advised the city council it was better to be safe than sorry.
"If the governor declares the whole county a disaster area, then that includes all of the cities," Peacock explained. "But we did it just in case he doesn't."
And while Wittenberg made the declaration, it must still be ratified by the County Board of Supervisors and accepted by Gov. Wilson and possibly President Clinton.
The emergency status focuses on the neighborhood of Mt. Eden Estates. Badly damaged in the recent storm, Villa Oaks Lane was closed, forcing residents to use a dirt access pass, typically reserved for emergencies, to get to and from their homes. The declaration was made, Peacock said, because of the magnitude and expense of the damage."Right now our ballpark estimate is $300,000 to repair the road and clean up the landslide," Peacock said.
Having declared the city in a state of emergency, Saratoga can apply for repair funds from the state and federal governments once the declaration is approved.
"We make authorization requests to do the required maintenance to fix the road and then seek reimbursement from the state and federal government," Peacock explained.
Residents are anxiously awaiting repairs in their neighborhood.
"I want it fixed as soon as possible," said Willem Kohler, who lives near the damaged road. "It is really a dangerous situation."
Public Works Director Larry Perlin said the alternative access road is safe.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, January 15, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.