At a meeting of the informal Neighbors of Saratoga High School group May 11, four residents met with Principal Kevin Skelly, secretary Sarah O'Connell and Los Gatos­Saratoga Joint Union High School District Board Vice President Ron Adolphson to discuss their concerns.

Mercedes De Luca brought a list of more than 30 questions she drafted about issues such as usage of the PAL Center, traffic and safety plans and neighborhood relations. Skelly addressed some of the issues, as well as questions about the farmers' market held at the school on Saturdays, improvements to sports fields and other issues that affect neighbors.

Parking problems, both from overflow onto streets and people leaving their cars at the school, were among the bigger concerns discussed.

Skelly said he has talked with city officials about parking, but they have not yet come up with a solution.

"The city seemed reluctant to get into issues of parking," he said. "This is something we need the help of the city on to make this work."

He did say that community services officer Steve Prosser recommended placing signs in the school parking lot letting people know what the parking regulations are, so that people are aware they are violating civil code if they do not follow these regulations.

De Luca and her husband Hugh Leo also mentioned their dissatisfaction with farmers' market vendors who drive loud trucks into the neighborhood and noisily set up equipment before the agreed-upon time of 7 a.m. on Saturdays. They also said people park in front of their house, making it difficult to get in and out of the area.

"Sometimes you can barely get out of your driveway," Leo said.

His wife said she didn't even mind the parking as much as the noise.

"I'm not bothered if people want to park in front of our house, as long as they aren't blocking our driveway," she said. "It's the metal clanging when they're setting up their tents."

Sandy Marostica, who lives on Camino Rico, said that the 7 a.m. limit needs to be enforced to send a message to the vendors.

"If they know they can push the limit, it will keep getting worse and worse," she said.

Adolphson said that in talking with the market's organizers and observing it one morning, he got the impression the early noise problems had dissipated quite a bit.

Neighbors also brought up the idea of forming an advisory committee to provide input to the district when it sets policies regarding PAL Center usage.

"At our last couple of meetings, there was a feeling that one should be formed," Leo said.

Adolphson agreed, and added that the district's existing finance advisory committee had been helpful. Skelly said he would like to see the committee become a reality, as well as other ideas brought up at the meeting.

"I like this idea about some sort of email alert when there's an event coming up," the principal said. "Most people communicate well by email."

He said the school or district should start soliciting neighbors' email addresses soon, and that they should be used to ask people if they are interested in the advisory committee. The committee would likely begin meeting in the fall, when the district has a clearer idea of when the PAL Center will be finished. Because of construction setbacks, he said that date probably wouldn't be sooner than spring of 2005.

Skelly thanked the neighbors for coming, and added that he wanted to make sure not only that they wouldn't be bothered by the school, but also that the school could provide them with some kind of value or enjoyment.

"I think people that buy places next to a high school should benefit from it," he said.