That's only part of his goal, though. Mallory also wants to raise local awareness--awareness of the crowded conditions at the senior center now located on the civic center campus, and awareness that the city has very little open land left.

"It's bigger than the senior center," says Mallory, a former councilman in Saratoga. "It's that the city has no land bank for the future."

So he doesn't want to see the city sell off the North Campus property. If city officials are determined to sell, though, he wants to make sure it ends up in the right hands and doesn't become just another dozen or so new homes.

There's little doubt that the North Campus site would well suit the city's seniors. The trouble is, the city cannot afford to fund such a facility, even in strong economic times. And right now, the city needs the money it would receive in this land sale transaction.

While we continue to get conflicting stories from the senior spokespeople and city officials regarding financial and space issues surrounding the senior center now located at the civic center, one thing is very clear--the seniors need more space ... now, and for the ever-growing population of the over-55 set.

Our position on the North Campus has really never changed. We were publicly opposed to the initial purchase of the property for $4.5 million from the Grace Methodist Church. After the city went ahead with the transaction, it made sense to move the senior center to the location, allowing the city to negotiate a lease agreement for the vacant civic center space with the sheriff's department.

However, sheriff's deputies moved out of the city to relocate in Cupertino. Given the financial challenges facing the city government, it made sense for Saratoga to sell the North Campus at a tidy profit and use a portion of the proceeds to expand the senior center in its present location.

That's when Mallory and company stepped forward with what seemed to be a win-win proposal for the seniors and the city. The group would raise funds through donations to purchase the site from the city for the purpose of moving the senior center there. The city would recoup its initial investment and retain a large space at the civic center that could be rented to produce a revenue stream. Saratoga may not get the going market rate for the property, but it wouldn't have to invest a portion of its profit to build an addition for the current senior center.

Though the plan does have merit, the odds are long against its success. Not only would the group have to raise at least $4.5 million to purchase the property, it would need additional cash to upgrade the facility so that the seniors could move in.

"Our goal is not just to buy the land but to use it," says Mallory.

The awareness effort is certainly under way through a letters campaign to this newspaper, as well as by word of mouth throughout the city. Trouble is, awareness is not a check the bank will cash. So far, the donations don't seem to be pouring in, and time is running thin.

The city needs an infusion of resources, and unless someone steps up in a hurry, that cash will come from the sale of the North Campus facility to a developer.