By Mark Kregel
The Saratoga Community Parade has been cut from the city budget, and Director of Recreation Joan Pisani recommended several other programs for the chopping block at the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting March 3.
Her recommendations include cutting the teen music festival, Togapalooza and the weekend teen dance, "The Boneyard," along with summer teen trips.
Pisani suggested that the commission not plan any special or community events for the upcoming year. This includes city participation in the annual Fourth of July Celebration and the Celebrate Saratoga! street dance.
However, the July 4 celebration will continue with volunteer staffing, and the Chamber of Commerce plans to continue Celebrate Saratoga!, its major fundraising event.
Also suggested for cuts were the youth theater, which stages performances with teens, and the after-school sports program at Redwood School. Pisani said the programs could continue with funds from other sources.
Pisani also recommended abolishing the music festival that takes place at Wildwood Park during the Celebrate Saratoga! festival.
"Lots of work needs to be done. We need to make a new priority list," Pisani said.
To enhance revenue, Pisani also suggested increasing fees, especially for nonresidents, and starting a bingo night. In addition, the Saratoga Little League and AYSO Soccer League will be asked to contribute more money to the City of Saratoga to offset costs, Pisani said.
"It's a great idea," Parks and Recreation Commissioner Jennifer Krotty said. "Any idea that has the potential for increasing revenue should be explored, and there should be at least a trial period."
Pisani said she is trying to set up a nonprofit organization, "Friends of the Warner Hutton House," to support the Warner Hutton House Teen Center. She said she hopes to encourage corporate donors to contribute.
The house, which could face reduced funding, is a historical landmark that has been converted into a teen activity center.
"It's painful for our commission to have to cut teen programs," Krotty said. "Our commission doesn't want to do this."
It has yet to be determined how much of the Parks and Recreation Department's budget will be cut, Pisani said. The proposed cuts are a response to a request from the Saratoga City Council to reevaluate which programs are essential in light of the repeal of the utility users tax, which generated some $1.4 million from residents' utility bills. The tax was defeated by a margin of 77 votes in the Nov. 5 election.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, March 12, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.