Letters

District has operated as an 'old boys club' for years

The Saratoga Fire District Commission and its administration has for many years operated like an "old boys club". Their meetings have not complied with California's Open Meetings Act, as they are required to do by law. Instead, meetings have been held in secret and without notice or minutes, and crucial decisions have been made without formal meetings.

They put a $6 million bond issue on the ballot for a new fire station, but neglected to tell the community that the fire district's revenues (based on a percentage of real estate taxes within the district) had increased so dramatically in recent years that the district probably could have amortized the cost of the new fire station from its existing budget without the necessity of a bond issue.

The Saratoga Fire District also neglected to tell the community that $2 million of the $6 million bond issue would be used to pay for the Contempo Building which, once the new fire station was constructed, would largely be leased to create an additional revenue stream for the fire district. That is an improper use of bond funds.

This same kind of high-handed and secretive approach to managing the fire district has undermined the credibility of the fire commissioners with their firefighters. Saratoga's professional firefighters support David Dolloff and Barry Ford for fire commissioners because they are honest, open and professional.

David Dolloff and Barry Ford are longtime Saratoga residents who have management experience and will bring honesty, integrity, open and positive leadership to the Saratoga Fire District.

On Nov. 6, David Dolloff and Barry Ford deserve your vote for fire commissioners.

T. M. Blaisdell
Junipero Way

Why didn't the district apply for state funds?

When the issue of the proposed new fire station was before the heritage preservation commission, I abstained from voting on it as I was a newly appointed member of the commission. I did, however, state my discomfort with the plans. I felt the new building would "hit Saratogans in the eyes" when it was completed.

I later learned, as did the planning commission, that the administration of the fire district hadn't set forth the whole truth. It develops that, far from the post office being unwilling to sell their adjacent property, they are very willing to sit down at the negotiating table. And Caltrans, it appears, has no objection to trucks exiting onto Saratoga/Los Gatos Road--as long as the building is sited well on the property. This is perfectly feasible with a proposed safety plaza. In addition, I'd like to offer my admiration for the presentation my fellow heritage preservation committee member, Robert Peepari, made to the city council!

Two very important questions beg to be answered: Why did the fire commission wait for five years after the Loma Prieta earthquake before having a structural engineer examine the station? And why didn't the fire commission bother to apply for funding from the statewide $250 million Earthquake Safety and Public Buildings Rehabilitation Fund of 1990, for which we paid but from which we derived no benefit? Apparently the question of an emergency only recently arose!

Dora Grens
Old Oak Way

Local district spent bond in an appropriate manner

This is in response to a letter to the editor raising questions about the fiscal responsibility of the elementary school district regarding the use of facility bond funds.

Through the generosity of Saratoga voters, our community adopted Measure D in 1997. Since then, we have built more than 30 new classrooms, constructed new science labs, renovated the Redwood Middle School Library and multi-purpose room, completed seismic and foundation work at Saratoga School, and are under construction for the expansion and modernization of Argonaut and Foothill Schools. In addition, the district has been successful in securing more than $2.5 million in matching state bond funds.

We are extremely pleased at the value that we have earned for our community's dollar. While some adjustments in our Measure D plan have been required due to skyrocketing construction costs and additional seismic work, we are proud of what we have accomplished. Our priority is the health and safety of our students and the effectiveness of their learning environment.

Any implication that our district has been less than responsible with Measure D funding is simply not true. We promised to build new classrooms, science labs and other safe, effective learning spaces for our children, and we have kept that promise. Specifically, our master plan, prepared in 1997, called for 30 additional classrooms district-wide. To date, 35 classrooms have been completed with Measure D funds.

More recent demographic studies identified the need for even more classrooms. Some of these are now under construction at Foothill and Argonaut Schools. To cover all the needs identified in this later study, would take more funds than Measure D was planned to provide.

We are particularly concerned about any suggestion that Measure D funds have been used for fancy or posh administrative buildings. Our renovation has included administrative spaces as basic as teacher's workrooms, nurse's exam rooms for sick children, and rooms for special study and conferencing. To save costs, we have also converted usable space whenever possible.

As we continue to access the future facility needs of the school district, we look forward to keeping the community informed about our progress.

Stephanie Petrossi
President, Saratoga Union School District Board of Trustees

Correction

In the Sept. 26 Saratoga News, an article on the arrest of a suspect in a case of animal abuse should have said that a total of three cats were burned, not four.

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