 |
|
|
|
|
Hakone Trustees Ask The City To Renegotiate Contract
Board wants to restructure contract to boost funding
Donor activity increases
By Steve Enders
Trustees of the Hakone Foundation voted unanimously at their regular meeting July 27 to enter into negotiations with the city of Saratoga to restructure the agreement that binds the two entities together.
According to Lon Saavedra, Hakone Foundation's executive director, the current operating and management agreement between the foundation and the city does not serve the long-term goals of Hakone Gardens and makes it harder for the foundation to secure large donations from corporations and individuals.
Trustees last week designated board president Dan Pulcrano to enter into discussions with the city. Pulcrano is CEO of Metro Publishing Inc., parent company of Silicon Valley Community Newspapers and the Saratoga News. He said that he and City Manager Larry Perlin spoke last week, and described the initial discussion as "friendly and constructive."
Saavedra said the current arrangement just doesn't make sense anymore. "People just don't give money to the government," he said. "We need to be able to raise the funds that are more comparable to the nationally known cultural institution that we are."
Hakone Gardens is run by the Hakone Foundation, whose volunteer members are appointed by the City Council. The agreement outlining the structure of the relationship makes board members feel vulnerable--and potential donors uncomfortable--because it allows the city to dissolve the board at any time.
Saavedra said donors with whom he's negotiated will not make large gifts in perpetuity to Hakone Gardens because they see the board and gardens as a possibly short-lived organization.
Saavedra said that since he came on board earlier this year, trustees have made some progress in raising money but not as much as they could, because the foundation is not considered to be a financially independent, nonprofit organization.
"The interest is there," he said. "We're trying to develop a long-term plan. The cultural importance of Hakone Gardens is well recognized by philanthropists all over the West Coast. Hakone is the oldest Japanese garden in the Western Hemisphere, but we're just not known--not even in Saratoga."
Saavedra said the largest donation Hakone has received recently was from the Packard Foundation, which gave about $50,000. Other, smaller corporate gifts have come recently from the Hitachi Corporation, E*Trade and Silicon Valley Community Newspapers.
"We have an operating and trust agreement that only lasts another five years," Saavedra said. "It has to evolve past that. The potential to receive larger amounts, into the five- and six-figure range, are enhanced substantially when we can make a long-term commitment."
Councilman John Mehaffey, who was at the Hakone Foundation's meeting when the vote was taken, expressed interest in the idea, but also called it a "two-edged sword."
"I'm excited about what I hear, but I'm also a little concerned. It's great if they're planning a million-dollar budget, but what are you going to do during the next economic downturn without making the city look bad?" Mehaffey asked, adding that he hopes the city won't ever have to bail the foundation out.
The city acquired Hakone in 1966 to save it from development, and then turned operations over to the foundation in 1997 when the city was in the midst of a budget crunch. The move saved the city some $140,000 a year.
The vote by the Hakone board of trustees is the second time in recent months that it has somewhat surprised the City Council with an announcement.
At a joint meeting between the two groups in June, Saavedra said that trustees weren't happy with the arrangement over the caretaker's cottage, which was converted through a federal grant into an affordable living space. Initially, the city sought a long-term lease for a tenant in the cottage, but the Hakone board has since managed to whittle the lease down to six months. Eventually, the board would like to see it become a visitor's center.
The tenant was found only after a flap ensued over who would be selected to rent the property. The city then turned to an independent property manager to handle the lease, and the cottage is now rented.
Perlin and Saavedra have both acknowledged that the spat over the cottage in the gardens has largely been the impetus for the call to redraft the contract between the city and the foundation.
|
|
|
|
Saratoga, California Since 1955
