The atmosphere was no different at a meeting on June 1 when the council discussed a timeline for the development of the park and also talked about a reconstituted Kevin Moran Park Task Force that will help in the process.

At the meeting, the council voted 5-0 to appoint a task force consisting of two city council members, three neighborhood residents, two individuals representing organized sports groups and two Saratoga residents-at-large. The council also agreed to delay the formation of a the task force until mid-September.

Vice Mayor Norman Kline and Councilwoman Aileen Kao will be part of an ad-hoc committee that will start working with staff over the summer and help constitute the task force.

The park became a bone of contention in 2004 when the city proposed laying out two full-sized soccer fields at the park. The plans were put on hold soon after a community meeting in July of last year where neighbors showed up in force to protest the city's decision.

In May of this year the city started the process again with an informal meeting with the neighbors.

The city has about $400,000 to spend on the park as part of its Capital Improvement Project. The bulk of that money was given to the city by the state of California as part of the 2002 Park Bond Act.

Before the vote, several residents chided the city council and accused the members of underhanded tactics. Some pleaded with the council not to go ahead with plans for soccer fields. A mother and son team--Deb and Nicholas DiMaria--told the city council that they were against any soccer fields at the park.

"Life is just not soccer," Deb said.

"A few kids practicing soccer at the park is enough. We want the park to remain as it is," Nicholas said.

Naresh Kapoor accused the city of being overzealous. "I think there is a lot of behind-the-scenes maneuvering going on," he said.

Kline assured the neighbors that the council was not indulging in any secret activity. "There are specific laws to prevent that kind of thing from happening," he said.

Sandy Cross, one of the most vocal representatives of the neighborhood group, said accused special interest groups of taking over the city parks. "Please think about everyone else that doesn't play soccer. There are old people who use that park, there are people in wheelchairs," she said.

Some complained that soccer fields would add to the traffic on Scully Avenue, a residential street, and make accidents more likely.

Howard Miller, the Saratoga representative for the American Youth Soccer Organization, asked the city to separate fact from fiction. "There are 1,200 Saratoga children who play soccer. Many of them play in Cupertino because of the scarcity of soccer fields in Saratoga. The city owes it to those children," he said. Miller said that it was easy to get excited at a public meeting and said that he was looking at a compromise.

"We need to find places for our kids to play soccer," supporter Laura Watkins said.

Mayor Kathleen King and Councilman Nick Streit each suggested that all discussion about the Kevin Moran Park be held in public. "I want to open it up to everyone in the city. We owe it to the entire city of Saratoga," said Streit.

Kline said it was a great notion, but would be technically too difficult to do. He also said that smaller, informal meetings are more conducive to a compromise.