By Tim Persyn
The city-sponsored Fourth of July celebration planned at Villa Montalvo is generating fireworks between Mayor Paul Jacobs and the venue's neighbors, who believe the holiday event will cause excessive noise and crowds in their neighborhood.
The dispute began in early May with a series of letters to the editor published by the Saratoga News. Jacobs continued the argument on May 11 with a note on city letterhead, which he sent privately to Montalvo neighbor Wolf-Andre Wanka.
This week, Wanka is publishing Jacobs' letter and a rebuttal to it in a full-page advertisement that appears on page 9. Wanka said that neighbors, friends and other city residents helped pay the $972 cost of the ad. He declined to provide the number of contributors or their names.
In the ad, Wanka takes issue with Jacobs's attitude toward those who are protesting the celebration at Montalvo, the first civic event of its kind. Montalvo offered the use of its grounds to the city at no charge.
According to a copy of the letter, Jacobs asked Wanka: "Why should the rest of the community kowtow to selfish, petty little whiners who never give anything to the community... ."
In his rebuttal, Wanka replied: "So this is what you, Paul Jacobs, the mayor of Saratoga, thinks of your fellow Saratogans who do not agree with your agenda ... for Villa Montalvo?"
Wanka continued: "The audacity of the Saratoga City Council to select this particular venue, especially in light of all the inherent problems associated with it ... defies credulity."Jacobs said that he was acting in his official capacity as mayor when he sent the letter to Wanka on May 11.
"The mayor expresses his opinion and lets people know how he feels. That's what leadership is about," Jacobs said.
The conflict between Wanka and his Montalvo neighbors and the city is the latest episode in an ongoing dispute. The villa's neighbors object to the noise that comes from Villa Montalvo during concerts and other events, particularly those that involve amplified noise.
According to a Superior Court judgment handed down in 1995, Villa Montalvo must keep the volume level at or below 65 decibels during concerts on its front lawn.
City Manager Harry Peacock said the city has applied for a "noise-exception permit" for the Fourth of July event, which will take place throughout Montalvo's grounds. The permit must be approved by Paul Curtis, community development director for Saratoga, who will determine how much noise the city can make.
Curtis said that he typically allows special events to reach 85 decibels.
Wanka said that what sets the current dispute apart from the ongoing noise problem is that the city is sponsoring this event--and, therefore, contributing to the problem.
"The neighbors think that the city doesn't care about the neighborhood," Wanka said. "It sold our neighborhood out."
City officials said they simply want to hold a community celebration on the holiday and that Montalvo offered the use of its grounds. The event is scheduled to take place on July 4 from 1 to 6 p.m. Visitors will be bused in from West Valley College to minimize traffic.
Neighbors also maintain that Villa Montalvo needs to obtain some type of city use permit for outdoor concerts.
Marcia Rinaldi, business manager for Villa Montalvo, said Montalvo does not legally need to obtain a city use permit for its outdoor concerts and does not need to obtain a use permit for the Fourth of July celebration.
"This is not our event. This is a city event. We offered the lot free of charge. If there's a permit that is needed, the city will need to get it," Rinaldi said.
Michael Riback, city attorney for Saratoga, said the city does not need to obtain a use permit for the Fourth of July function because the city is sponsoring the event. The city did apply for a one-day liquor permit from the Sheriff's Department.
Wanka said he did not intend to respond to the private letter from Jacobs, but that friends and neighbors urged him to. He asked the Saratoga News to publish his reply to Jacobs' letter as a letter to the editor.
Carolyn Leal, editor of the News, said she did not run either letter because both were addressed to private individuals and not to the editor of the paper. Leal said she offered to publish Wanka's response if he resubmitted it as a letter to the editor.
Wanka said friends and neighbors encouraged him to publish the letters in a paid advertisement.
Montalvo neighbor Joanne Geggatt said she was shocked by the language Jacobs used in his letter. "I'm sure I'm not the only neighbor who would be offended by the tone of the mayor's letter," Geggatt said.
"We've never objected to the use of Montalvo. We've only objected to amplified noise," she added.
In a recent interview about the Fourth of July celebration, Jacobs expressed dismay at the neighbors' opposition to the event.
"I hate to see what is intended as a community get-together be a source of contention," Jacobs said.
Wanka dismissed the notion that he is making too much noise about the issue. "People say I'm so inflamed. I say you come up to my house, listen to three or four concerts, then give me an opinion," he said. "I have people come here and they are shocked."
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, June 26, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved