Saratoga should strive toward greatness

By S. Srinivasan

My 2-year-old son and I came purposefully for the April 12 meeting called by the Friends of Saratoga Library. I came to propose a coffeeshop for the neighborhood, and Keshav just wanted a ride in Dad's BMW. Sure, more space for books and computers made a lot of sense too--after all Saratoga is probably going to be the place I and a lot of other immigrant Internet engineers will finally call home and build idealistic communities that demand the best of everything.

I wasn't thinking such lofty thoughts when I walked into the community center that night. I just wanted a coffeeshop. But when I entered and saw the other attendees, I wondered whether the 30-plus citizens would brush me off inconsequentially as not being representative of "their" community. I suffered a few pangs of guilt, too, because the proposal to raise $15 million would come from "their" incomes, too. So when I proposed the coffeeshop I hastened to soften the blow by keeping it low key. "Not Starbucks," said I. The panelists debated this little distraction and resolved--"well, you can have a coffee cart--just make sure you don't soil the books!"

And then something singular happened. In the far corner a gentleman of obvious authority gave what sounded to me like a eulogy about this young man and his son being the future, and his proposal to bring the community even closer together. The audience clapped and Keshav joined in exuberantly.

If a truncated coffee cart could do that, I mused, imagine the power of a real coffeeshop! Someone remembered to bring us back to the formal agenda (space for books and kids) which we discussed, and we all eventually dispersed.

Last night I determined that I would like something more substantial than a coffee cart.

Why does Palo Alto have to be the best student community in the valley? Why should we remain in envy of Cupertino's entrepreneurship in community building? Why is it San Jose can create the vision for a formidable city/university library? We must leverage the best of West Valley College and the assets of Saratoga to build a creative learning community utilizing the full power of the Internet and the entrepreneurs that drive it. So here is my proposal:

* Convert the current Saratoga library into commercial property patterned after our elegant little downtown Village. It is on a heavily trafficked road and will command premium dollars;

* Create a multimedia Internet data center (tons of bandwidth and books) at the Fruitvale Avenue/Allendale Avenue intersection of WVC. It will be a state-of-the-art, life-long, training and job center for all Saratogans;

* Make the Fruitvale/Allendale intersection an open plaza that embraces the Heritage Orchards and gets rid of all motorized traffic. Citizens of all ages will mingle spontaneously instead of artificial age-specific community rooms that are now the norm and serve more to isolate than integrate.

WVC is thinking of doing a bond issue for upgrades and renovations, and Friends of Saratoga Library needs to raise money for improving the city library. Let's get together and create a vision for what the community of the year 2050 is going to look like and build it. If that does happen, I might even consider expanding the mysterious first initial in my name to Saratoga.

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S. Srinivasan is a Saratoga resident.

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