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Letters
Saratoga councilwoman attacks college 'stadium'
Mike Fox's letter in the April 25 Saratoga News, suggests that the current controversy involving West Valley College is the result of just a few vocal people expressing negative opinions, and that the college has been a good neighbor over the years. I must disagree on both points.
The current controversy is because the college is once again trying to build a full-blown stadium in the middle of our city. This is in spite of their original promise and signed agreement that, if the city would allow them to use the land at Fruitvale and Allendale for their campus, they would never construct a stadium there. This is just the latest in a series of attempts to break that agreement, attempts that go back to the 1970s.
The recent formal resolution passed by the college board calls for a 5,000-seat stadium, including high-mast night lighting, permanent amplified sound systems, concession stands, bathrooms, electronic scoreboards, etc. It will be the kind of facility that could be used as a major outdoor venue for all sorts of loud and intrusive events that would be major problems for our community.
Fruitvale Avenue at Allendale and at Saratoga avenues already has the worst traffic problems in the city. How would we deal with even 2,500 additional cars getting out of an event, especially when parents were trying to pick up their children at Redwood, St. Andrews and Sacred Heart schools?
The college may try to portray the opposition as a "few vocal people," but that doesn't match the facts. In my opinion the vast majority of Saratoga residents oppose a stadium. When this issue was before the city council, the hearing room was overflowing and none of the people present favored a stadium. A fair number of those residents were from other areas of Saratoga that are distant from the proposed stadium.
When the Saratoga Woods Homeowners Association held their annual meeting recently, the approximately 40 members at that meeting voted unanimously to oppose the stadium. It is my understanding that the West Valley Homeowners Association, the new group that formed in response to the college's latest plan, includes over 100 families. In past years, when this stadium issue has come up, citizens from other areas of Saratoga always supported past city council's decisions to fight any stadium requests.
On the second point, about the college being a good neighbor, I must again disagree. The college has many fine instructors and staff, and West Valley has provided excellent educational services to many people in this valley, but this letter is not about their educational programs.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the college cost the city a great deal of money in litigation expense trying to break their signed agreement with the city. Now they are again costing the city resources and money that should be going to other city needs. In addition, the city had hoped for cooperative agreements with the college in meeting the citizens' need for youth playfields. However, the college did not negotiate in good faith, raising their demands in mid-negotiation.
Quite apart from the stadium question, the college ignores other city ordinances, cutting down mature trees on the campus without city permits and dumping concrete into Vasona Creek on the campus, also without the requisite permits. The neighborhoods immediately surrounding the college have had long-term problems with college traffic, noise and parking. These neighborhoods have been treated with disdain and arrogance by the college.
To my knowledge, the college has not had one meeting with any of these neighborhoods in the last 30 years. I suggest you attend one of the monthly college board meetings. Many of the trustees and the administration behave badly toward neighbors who are trying to discuss problems with the college.
So, rather than asking us to give the college a chance, perhaps we should realize that the college has had multiple chances for 35 years. It is time for West Valley College to honor their signed agreements, act like a good neighbor and give the citizens of Saratoga a chance.
Ann Waltonsmith
Councilwoman, Saratoga City Council
Saratoga Hills Road
Students help raise money to fight MS
As a school, Redwood Middle School has embraced the National Multiple Sclerosis ReadAThon. Under the direction of teachers Brian Safine and Caitlin Hoffman and the student leadership class, the entire school has raised funds to support people with MS and find a cure. Over 500 students participated. This was the largest single group that participated in Northern California.
At a time when we hear so many negative things about young teens, this is a refreshing piece of news to hear.
Peter Lycurgus
Regan Lane
Community will need county after earthquake
Supporters of the Saratoga Fire District (SFD) who've recently editorialized in The Saratoga News obviously don't know the reasons why many citizens support the merger with the county fire district. For them "the SFD isn't broke, so why fix it?" But the SFD is broke--the community is only one good earthquake away from learning firsthand the extent of breakage! The merger:
* won't cost taxpayers one penny more;
* will use the same great SFD firefighters we all support;
* will improve firefighter morale immensely;
* will operate out of the same reconstructed village facility;
* will provide substantially more firefighters/equipment/support;
* will unify our community fire-safety-wise; and,
* may just result in reversal of what we now see was a completely unnecessary Measure F bond measure.
So the question isn't "why make a change?" Rather, it's why keep what we've got (which, according to the Saratoga Safety Commission, is nothing more than "adequate") when for no increase in cost we can realize so much more? I suggest the community learn the real facts; find out where its tax dollars have been spent; and, support our beloved firefighters and the citizen's task force on this issue (FACT)!
Michael Hagley
Bohlman Road
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
