Saratoga News
Cover Story
Photograph by George Sakkestad
Former mayor Francis Stutzman was among the Saratoga residents who waged a successful campaign to save the North Campus facility.
2006
Year in Review
By Jason Sweeney and Shannon Burkey
The new year may bring with it the excitement of what is to come in the months ahead, but as 2006 gives way to 2007, it's also a time to reflect on the year just about completed. And in Saratoga, 2006 was certainly a year to remembe.
It was an historic year as Saratoga celebrated the 50th anniversary of its incorporation as a city. Residents commemorated the occasion with a series of events, including a fabulous parade through the heart of downtown Saratoga. There were 29 different events held throughout September to celebrate the city's anniversary.
The long-running saga of the Kevin Moran Park renovation seems to have been resolved, thanks in no small part to agreements made by the city with West Valley College and Prospect High School to use fields at the two sites for soccer.
A contentious city council campaign ended when voters selected incumbent Kathleen King and challengers Chuck Page and Jill Hunter over Marilyn Marchetti and Jim Sorden; King and Mayor Norman Kline led the effort that helped the city reclaim $1 million in Tax Equity Allocation payments from Santa Clara County; and a grassroots effort by Saratoga residents resulted in an overwhelming vote to overturn the city's bid to sell the North Campus facility at the old Grace Methodist Church site.
Green Valley Disposal lost its bid to continue to provide garbage service in town when the West Valley Waste Management Authority awarded a contract to West Valley Collection and Recycling; Cindy Ranii stepped down as the superintendent of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District; 13 stone pillars in the median on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road were removed before the $2.8 million Gateway Project, started in 2000, was finally completed; and Saratoga High School played its first-ever home football game under permanent lights at Benny Pierce Field on the school campus.
It was most certainly a year to remember.
--Dick Sparrer
January
Saratoga is a nice place to live. At least that is how a majority of respondents replied to a city survey conducted at the close of 2005. Five hundred Saratoga residents were randomly surveyed over the telephone. Ninety-four percent of respondents rated their city as an excellent or good place to live. Fifty-seven percent said things in Saratoga are generally headed in the right direction, while 22 percent felt things were seriously off-track.
Yale student and Saratoga native Chelsea Purvis was awarded a Rhodes scholarship.
The long-running saga at Kevin Moran Park heated up when the city council voted 4-1 to allow a full-size soccer field at the park. More than 80 people spoke out at a Jan. 4 council meeting that lasted late into the night. The council also decided that night to continue meetings of the Kevin Moran Task Force, ensuring that debate over soccer fields at the park would continue.
When Saratoga High School music director Michael Boitz was considering leaving the school, a large group of parents and students addressed the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union School District board in support of having him stay. "The excellence of Saratoga's music department is due to the dedication of music director Michael Boitz," said Maureen Barton, a parent addressing the board. Boitz remains at Saratoga High School.
The city council voted to permanently prohibit outbound turns onto Highway 9 from Aloha Avenue. The intersection had been the site of several traffic accidents over the years. Safety issues on Highway 9 were an area of concern for the city council and public works department in 2006.
Neighbors came out to the Saratoga Senior Center for a meeting concerning two registered sex offenders that reside near Kevin Moran Park. Officers from the sheriff's office and the county's Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Task Force informed neighbors that there are more than 3,500 registered sex offenders in Santa Clara County, and 11 reside in Saratoga. Officers told parents that the first thing they should do to protect their children is keep communication lines open, tell children what behaviors are inappropriate, listen to their children and remain vigilant. Then-Capt. John Hirokawa informed residents of the legal pitfalls that can arise when information found on the Megan's Law website is disseminated.
Kathy Phelan resigned as executive director of the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce. Phelan had taken the position in May 2005. She cited deteriorating finances and clashes with the Chamber board as reasons for her departure.
February
Neighbors came out to the Saratoga High School library for a meeting regarding new light towers proposed for the high school field. Principal Jeff Anderson and assistant principal Markus Autrey addressed concerns of neighbors, which included increased traffic and noise on Friday nights. Twenty donors provided funding for the light project. Eighteen of the donors were ex-football players from Saratoga High.
Saratoga is no high-crime area, but identity theft, mail theft and car burglaries were issues the Santa Clara County sheriff's office dealt with in 2006. "We have people going down the streets emptying people's mailboxes," then-Capt. John Hirokawa said, adding that outgoing mail in residential mailboxes was a target for identity thieves. "ID theft has been escalating over the last seven years," he said. "It's now our No. 1 property crime."
Then-mayor Norman Kline and Councilwoman Kathleen King were engaged in an effort to reclaim Tax Equity Allocation payments from Santa Clara County. Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Cupertino and Los Altos Hills struck a deal in the 1980s that sent a portion of their property taxes to the county to fund trial courts. The deal meant that the four cities received the lowest percentage of their property taxes compared to all other cities in California. Trial court funding had ceased to become an issue, but the money from the four cities was still going to the county. Kline took part in "delicate" negotiations with county officials to find a solution on how "to undo what was done in the '80s."
Representatives from Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Los Gatos and Campbell voted to dump Green Valley Disposal and negotiate a new garbage contract with West Valley Collection and Recycling. Green Valley Disposal had picked up the trash in the four communities since 1918. West Valley Collection and Recycling will take over from Green Valley Disposal in March 2007.
Saratoga fire investigator Jeremy Davis confirmed that arson was the cause of a fire that destroyed a house on Komina Avenue. Davis said a canine from the Santa Clara Fire Arson Task Force had located an area in the house where flammable liquid was used to start the fire. A previous arson at the same house had already been under investigation when a two-alarm blaze destroyed the 100-year-old house across the street from Saratoga Elementary School in September 2005. No one has been arrested for either arson.
March
Following negotiations with representatives from Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Los Altos Hills and Cupertino, the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to support Assembly Bill 117, which if approved by the state legislature would return approximately $4 million in annual property taxes to the four communities. Consultants were hired by the four cities to attempt to return Tax Equity Allocation funding that was going to the county. "This could really help the financial stability of our city," Councilwoman Kathleen King said, "but we still have a long way to go."
Cynthia Ranii, who had served as superintendent of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District for over a decade, returned part-time to her job after being hospitalized and then confined to a wheelchair by a virus that attacked her spinal cord. Today, she serves as an advisor to her successor, superintendent Cary Matsuoka.
The city council had voted 3-2 to sell a former church property, known as the North Campus, to a developer for $7 million, but a last-minute letter to the city put the sale on hold. A group of citizens wrote the letter that informed the city of their intention to gather 2,000 signatures needed to force a public referendum on the sale. The city had purchased the property for $4.5 million in 2002, but decided to sell it after initial plans for the property fell through and maintenance costs began to build. The city council decided not to wait for the group to gather the required signatures for a referendum and instead asked voters to decide on the sale in primary and local elections that June. The developer who had agreed to purchase the property was given a $250,000 price cut as an incentive not to back out of the deal before the June vote.
The Saratoga Historical Museum opened its 1906 Earthquake Anniversary Exhibit. Artifacts from the earthquake were on display at the museum, including diary entries from Saratoga resident Jennie Farwell, who had watched the sky turn red from the fires burning in San Francisco. After traveling from Saratoga into San Jose shortly after the earthquake, Farwell wrote, "We saw such dreadful sights." The museum hosted a series of exhibits in 2006 to commemorate Saratoga's 50th anniversary and mark significant events in the city's history.
Miya Glasauer's request to open a Subway sandwich shop at Corinthian Corners was denied by the planning commission in a 5-2 vote. The majority view on the commission was that Subway would not preserve the small-scale pedestrian character of the downtown Village and could cause traffic safety problems. Glasauer appealed the decision, which sent the application to the city council.
Thirteen pillars erected in the median on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road as part of the city's Gateway Project made some Saratoga residents uncomfortable. "Feedback in the community regarding this design element has not been positive for many reasons," public works director John Cherbone said. "Most of the comments received center on their height and massiveness." The city council decided to remove the pillars "and take the heat for it."
Four Saratoga High School graduates were inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. Bronze medalist Patricia Adura Miranda, physician Uri Ladabum, musician John Boswell and comedian Ed Solomon were the inductees.
April
Sacred Heart Parish was rocked by news that Father Randy Benas, a priest at the church, had been arrested on a rape charge. Benas had met an Oregon woman in a Sunnyvale hotel the night of March 27. The woman departed the hotel and ended up at a sexual assault unit at Valley Medical Center. Investigators questioned Benas at Sacred Heart before arresting him The arrest was widely reported in the media.
The burned-out house on Komina Avenue destroyed by arsonists was razed six months after it had gone up in flames. The Saratoga Heritage Preservation Commission determined that the blackened structure did not have historical value, and residents had complained to the city that the wreck had become a safety hazard.
The city council upheld the planning commission's decision to deny Miya Glasauer's application to open a Subway sandwich shop at Corinthian Corners. The council voted 3-2 against Glasauer's appeal.
It was a wet spring for Saratoga. Santa Clara Valley Water District spokesman Mike Di Marco said rains were 150 percent of totals in the county. Saratoga was deluged with rain, but flooding and mudslides did not become a problem for the city. However, the rain was blamed for toppling a 100-year-old oak tree on Highway 9. The large oak fell onto the roof of the Book-Go-Round, smashing roof tiles as about 30 people visiting the Saratoga History Museum's earthquake exhibit looked on and volunteer John McCartney scrambled for cover inside. The sturdy Book-Go-Round building, built in 1927, did not sustain serious damage. Ian Geddes of Ian Geddes Tree Care, Inc. supervised the removal of the fallen tree. "It was saturated soil, really," Geddes said.
The 13 controversial stone pillars erected in the median on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road were the subject of a city council meeting. Residents spoke out against the pillars, and against the city for allowing such an unpopular design to go forward only to be dismantled. The council voted 3-2 to take down the pillars and replace them with trees.
The Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District voted 4-0 to install permanent lights for Saratoga High's football field. Some neighbors voiced concerns with Friday night football games and other nighttime events disrupting traffic and increasing noise in their neighborhood. Principal Jeff Anderson said he hoped the lights and the football team playing at home would rejuvenate the school community on Friday nights.
May
Citing insufficient evidence, Santa Clara County prosecutors announced they would not file charges against Saratoga Rev. Randy Benas, who was arrested in March on charges of felony rape. Benas was put on administrative leave while the Diocese of San Jose conducted an internal investigation.
Fliers sent out to Saratoga residents by the Save Saratoga's North Campus committee, a group of citizens trying to convince their fellow residents to vote "no" on Measure J, caused controversy at city hall and were said to be "unethical and purposefully misleading." The fliers depicted Councilman Nick Streit and City Manager Dave Anderson along with quotes taken from 2002 issues of the Saratoga News, at the time the North Campus was purchased. The quotes and pictures from the two appeared with supporters of the "no" on Measure J vote. Streit said the quotes were taken out of context and might mislead people into believing he supported a "no" on Measure J vote. Streit voted to sell the campus and Anderson, as a city employee was supposed to remain neutral.
The city council voted 4-1 to approve a design for Kevin Moran Park, agreed upon by the Kevin Moran park Task Force, that included a 330-by-195-foot single soccer field in the northwest quarter of the park, to the dismay of many of the park's neighbors. The design approval replaced a previous one in which the council voted at its Jan. 4 meeting to approve a full-sized game field and a half-sized practice field. But wanting to include the neighbors in the design process, the council extended the task force meetings. Neighbor said they would continue to fight to keep a full-sized field out of the park.
June
Saratoga's historical Queen Anne style farmhouse, the Warner Hutton House, began undergoing much-needed renovations. The house, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was used as an after-school youth center from 1991 to 2005, and the youth commission used it as a venue where local teens could see rock bands. Saratoga Recreation Department Director Joan Pisani said the renovations are long overdue, and once they're complete, she is not sure if the house will be the proper venue for rock concerts. She said the city would look mostly at fee-generating options for the house.
Saratoga voters came out strong against the city's plan to sell the North Campus. In the June 7 special election, 75 percent of Saratoga voters said "no" to Measure J, which saved the former Grace Methodist Church property on Prospect Road from being sold to developer Majid "Mike" Masoumi for $6.75 million. With the "no" vote prevailing, the sale of the property was nullified, and the city would not be allowed to sell it for one year. Had the measure passed, money from the sale would have funded city infrastructure. Following the election, the city council said it would work with residents to decide how to use the property.
More than 50 members of the community showed up to speak to the city council at its June 7 meeting about why they were for or against the design plan that was approved by the council for Kevin Moran Park. Dave Nelson, the city's design consultant for the renovations, admitted his inability to create a plan for the park that suited the needs of all residents. Opponents of the plan said it was not fiscally possible. The city had allotted $390,000 to be spent on the renovation, but the total cost of the project was estimated at $1.8 million. But those on the soccer side said the city should break the renovations down into phases as funds become available.
Recycle bandits hit the streets of Saratoga, taking bottles and cans from recycle bins in front of homes not only in Saratoga but also throughout Santa Clara County. Then-Capt. John Hirokawa of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said people were taking the recyclables to supplement their incomes, but what they were doing could technically be considered petty theft. Green Valley Disposal, the company that collected the recyclables, said they only wanted people arrested if they were stealing the bins, not just the recyclables.
With 75 percent of Saratoga voters opting to keep the North Campus for public use, the city council voted 4-0 on June 21 to withdraw and rescind approval of a tentative subdivision map that had rezoned the property from public use to residential housing. The vote also directed the planning commission to consider a General Plan land-use map amendment that would change the designation of the North Campus property from medium-density single-family housing back to public facilities use.
July
More than 200 students from Saratoga High School, all members of the school's choir, band or orchestra, traveled to Australia on a 15-day trip to perform in one of the most renowned venues in the world--the Sydney Opera House. The school's music department was selected to participate in a prestigious music festival that celebrated Australia's friendship with the United States and with music, called "Present Australia." On the Fourth of July, the students performed "An American in Sydney" for a special gathering of over 500 Australian and American politicians, including the U.S. consulate general to Australia, as well as Americans living in Sydney.
The city of Saratoga received some extra cash this year. After the passage of Proposition 1A in November 2004, the state of California was forced to repay money it had taken from local governments. This amounted to Saratoga receiving $516,900 from a vehicle license fee reimbursement and $520,200 from state repayments of "take-away" money. Saratoga also received $176, 400 from the Association of Bay Area Governments for reimbursement of statutory disability payments. The city council decided to put $800,000 in the Capital Improvement Projects Fund and dole out $90,900 to outside agencies such as KSAR, the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce and the Saratoga Area Senior Coordinating Council.
The city council voted to amend an existing city code regarding the storage of boats and recreational vehicles in front yards and on driveways after complaints from residents who said their neighbors were leaving their boats and RVs in their driveways for extended periods of time. Per the amended ordinance, storage of a boat or RV is limited to five consecutive days and a total of 18 days per calendar year for storage in the front yard or driveway. A number of residents spoke at the meeting against the ruling, saying it did not give them time to prepare for a trip or do upkeep on their boats or RVs. But a number of residents said they were happy to see the city finally doing something about the problem.
After the June 14 installation of speed lumps on Pierce Road, residents and commuters turned against each other. Residents said the lumps caused traffic back-ups and air and noise pollution, but they also caused motorists--who were unhappy with the lumps--to honk, yell obscenities and make obscene hand gestures as they passed through the neighborhood. Although there were many complaints about the lumps, the traffic commission voted to give them a little more time while the city traffic engineer tried to come up with another solution.
The city council voted unanimously to allocate $500,000 to repair and improve the North Campus facility to get it up and running for Saratogans to use.
August
The city council voted to allocate $250,000 for soccer fields at West Valley College, thus alleviating the pressure to build a full-sized soccer field in Kevin Moran Park. Council members negotiated with the college to use the two existing fields on their campus for the city's youth soccer leagues on days the college would not be using them. The money the city set aside will be used to help care for the fields and make some necessary improvements. Because of the negotiations with the college, the council decided to table the Kevin Moran Park redesign talks until September.
In anticipation of Saratoga's 50th anniversary celebrations taking place in September, the city of Monte Sereno sprung for a makeover of Blaney Plaza. Monte Sereno granted Saratoga $80,000 of the park money it received from the state of California to help Saratoga make the necessary repairs to the plaza. The older benches throughout the plaza were removed and replaced with seven stationary 2-foot-by-2-foot redwood tables with ceramic chessboard tabletops and two redwood chairs for each table.
Six individuals, including a current councilwoman and past and current planning commissioners, filed nomination papers to run in the Nov. 7 municipal election for one of three Saratoga City Council seats that would open up in November. Mayor Norman Kline and Councilman Nick Streit's terms were ending in November, and neither was running for re-election. Councilwoman Kathleen King's term was also up, and she was the only incumbent on the ballot. Along with King, Planning Commissioner Jill Hunter, ex-planning commissioner Chuck Page, Marilyn Marchetti, Hab Siam and Jim Sorden all filed nomination papers.
A 65-year-old Saratoga man was the county's first confirmed case of the West Nile Virus in 2006. Two more cases were discovered in Cupertino and West San Jose. The cases spurred additional rounds of fogging in the neighborhoods where the men became infected. Santa Clara County Vector Control urged people to wear repellant, make sure their screen doors and windows were well fitted and eliminate all standing water on their property.
A newly formed group, the Citizens for Parks Preservation, filed a proposed ballot measure aimed at protecting and preserving the city of Saratoga's open parkland. The group of about 20 residents from different areas of Saratoga formed after the city council voted at its Jan. 4 meeting to put a full-sized soccer field in Kevin Moran Park. The decision left them feeling that the city process had broken down, group spokesperson Denise Goldberg said. To move forward, the group must get signatures from 10 percent of Saratoga's registered voters. The group said it hopes to gather enough signatures to have a special election called as soon as early 2007.
September
After a little more than a year of preparations, the celebration of Saratoga's 50th anniversary of its incorporation kicked off on Sept. 1 and continued throughout the month with more than 29 events sponsored by various community groups. The celebration drew thousands of people all month long to the events. One of the highlights of the celebration was the anniversary parade, in which nearly 3,000 people participated. Another main attraction was the Chamber of Commerce's 18th annual Celebrate Saratoga! Street Dance, one of the largest events during the anniversary celebrations, drawing nearly 40,000 people to the Village.
The Saratoga City Council and Planning Commission met at a joint study session on Sept. 6 to discuss the preliminary "Saratoga Village Mixed-Use Project" proposal. The Frank L. Burrell 1937 Trust proposed demolishing its current Saratoga Village Center that sits on a 1.3-acre site on Big Basin Way, where the Buy and Save Market and Wells Fargo Bank currently reside, and adding 13,500 square feet of retail space and 58,500 square feet of residential space to the Village. One of the issues raised at the session was that there would be too little retail space. The site currently has 25,000 square feet of retail. Residents were also concerned that the three stories proposed for the project would change the character of the Village. To date, the Trust has not come back before the planning commission with a redesign.
Saratoga's oldest house, the McWilliams House, received a much-needed facelift. Built sometime between 1855 and 1865, the redwood pioneer cottage has needed work done for some time, but the money to make it happen was not available until the Saratoga Heritage Preservation Commission received a $100,000 grant from the county. Now finished, the house is furnished with pieces from its era to make it look as it might have when the McWilliams family lived in it.
West Valley College may have helped solve the issue of soccer fields in Saratoga, but the issue of practice fields remained contentious. With the need for a full-size game field in Kevin Moran Park gone, the neighbors agreed to a practice field in the park as part of a new redesign, dubbed the "neighborhood plan," that would also include tennis courts, bocce ball courts, bathrooms and parking. But instead of giving the go-ahead to the "neighborhood plan" that they had approved in July, council members voted 3-2 at a Sept. 20 meeting to reconvene the original Kevin Moran Park Task Force, which included both pro- and anti-soccer field forces, and send them back to the drawing board. Both groups had hoped that at this point the plans that they had previously all agreed upon would move forward to a design consultant.
The $2.8 million Gateway Project that began in 2000 was finally completed, completing the beautification of Saratoga's gateway district. Along with road improvements, the beautification of the gateway area included a stone wall at the entryway that reads "Saratoga," as well as new medians, sidewalks and landscaping.
Saratoga will be receiving some extra cash each year. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's signing of Assembly Bill 117 on Sept. 21 meant Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Cupertino and Los Altos Hills will receive about $4 million a year previously allocated for Santa Clara County. The money came from tax-equity allocation funding that the four cities had been required to give to the county. With the passage of AB 117, the four cities will be getting that money back, possibly starting in January 2007. Council members estimated Saratoga will receive around $700,000 a year.
October
Two years ago the Saratoga Library had to close its doors on Mondays due to state budget cuts. But with a $326,000 donation from the Friends of the Saratoga Libraries, the library will soon be able to open its doors seven days a week once again. The library will be open on Mondays starting in January 2007.
The Saratoga Planning Commission held a study session on Oct. 10 to discuss updating portions of the city's General Plan that have long been outdated. The General Plan consists of seven key elements, and some of Saratoga's had not been updated since the 1980s. The city began to look at updating three of the elements to satisfy the state's requirements. However, members of the public expressed concern about the city's attempt to update the plan, worrying that it was happening too fast without much input from the public. Not quite ready to take the updates to a public hearing, the commission decided to take the talks to another study session.
The race for city council turned ugly when Saratoga City Council candidate Hab Siam learned of a "whispering campaign" against him, insinuating that he was a child abuser and was fired from a previous elected position. Upon hearing of the allegations, Siam sent out two emails to his supporters, to those he believed to be responsible for starting the "whispering campaign" against him and to the media, addressing each of the allegations. The emails each included a letter from him stating the allegations to be "false and malicious," with legal documents attached that backed up his statements. Although he declined to name those he believed to be responsible for starting the rumors, he said that they were part of a group in Saratoga that supported some of his opponents.
After being asked to reconvene, the Kevin Moran Park Task Force reached an agreement on the development of the park. The new plan for the park includes adding bathrooms, a half-size basketball court, tennis courts, a bocce ball court, a meditation garden and an area of flat grass to be used as a soccer practice field. Many of the items to be added to the park had been agreed upon by both sides for some time, but the issue of flat grass was holding everyone back. The neighbors and the soccer groups were not able to agree on the size of the area of flat grass that would be used for soccer practices. But the task force was able to agree on a 325-foot-long area of flat grass for practices that would take place only Monday through Friday. With agreement from the task force, the plans would go before the city council in November for approval.
As part of a continued effort to find more game fields for the city's youth soccer leagues, the city council approved an agreement with Prospect High School to utilize its new full-size turf field for soccer game play. As part of the two-year agreement, the city would have access to the field on Sundays to play games at a rate of $35 an hour. The agreement would allow for some scheduled practices the rest of the week at the same rate.
Although Saratoga Little League and the American Youth Soccer Organization, which both play at Congress Springs Park, had been displaying their sponsorship signs in the park for nearly two decades, the city removed all the signs after receiving a complaint about one particular sign. The trouble with the signs began when the Saratoga City Council candidates took a tour of the city's parks and facilities with the city manager and public works director. When the candidates arrived at Congress Springs Park, several of them noticed a sign from Councilwoman Kathleen King that read "Saratoga City Council member Kathleen King is a long-term supporter of AYSO and VIP soccer." King, who had sponsored the organization financially, had a sign up for the last three years, but some candidates felt that her sign was political and did not belong in the park. After complaints from candidate Marilyn Marchetti and a few other residents, the city removed all of the signs, leaving the youth sports organizations wondering how they would continue to receive the sponsorship money that helps keep them afloat.
Brand-new lights illuminated Benny Pierce Field as the Saratoga Falcons took on the Los Gatos Wildcats in the first game to be played under the permanent lights. Although the Falcons lost 49-13, the community's spirit was high due to the installation of the long-awaited lights.
November
A Saratoga group, which referred to itself as SaratogaNN and had been in existence for 20 years, chose a slate to run in each city council election on the "controlled growth," "preserve Saratoga" platform. This year the group backed candidates Marilyn Marchetti, Jill Hunter and Jim Sorden. Although several past council members said the group had worked behind the scenes to get their candidates elected for their own interests, members of the group said the notion was "silly." One way the group tried to be effective in getting its candidates elected this past November was by launching letter-writing campaigns to local papers. In email messages to the group, Councilwoman Ann Waltonsmith urged people to write letters in support of the three slate candidates. She then gave examples of letters that they could "take and make their own." Although she is on the current council, one example she wrote said, "As a longtime resident of Saratoga, I have been worried about the direction of the present city council." The next example she wrote said, "Saratoga City Council has lost its way."
The planning commission reconvened for another study session to discuss the update of the city's General Plan. Many of the items discussed at the study session pertained to the wording and placement of items in the document. Some items discussed were as simple as deciding whether Saratoga should be classified as a rural, semi-rural or suburban community. Many people at the study session did not seem to agree with the way the goals and policy section was written and asked to see more organization of that particular section. The commission decided to take the updates to a public hearing at its next meeting.
The city council voted unanimously to approve the conceptual design plan for Kevin Moran Park that was agreed upon by the park task force in October. The task force, which consisted of two soccer user group representatives, three neighborhood representatives and two community-at-large representatives, met twice in October to try to agree upon a redesign plan for the park that would be satisfactory to all parties. The meetings were successful, with all groups involved making compromises. At its second meeting, the task force unanimously agreed upon a conceptual design that they felt was ready to go before the city council for approval.
The city council election was a contentious one, filled with innuendo, name calling and "hit" pieces that targeted candidates who were not part of the three-person slate, but in the end Saratogans cast their ballots for the candidates with civic leadership experience. Finishing first in the polls was former planning commissioner Chuck Page. Incumbent Kathleen King, who has been a member of the council for the past four years and served as mayor for the 2004-05 term, finished second in the polls. Planning Commissioner Jill Hunter finished third.
After three study sessions and one public hearing, the planning commission decided it was not ready to move forward with the update to the city's General Plan and would take the discussions back to another study session. Although there had already been three study sessions, the commission planned to structure the next one differently from those in the past that had actively involved residents in the process from beginning to end. At the next session, commission members planned to discuss their ideas, then take public comment at the end. But residents still felt the city was moving too fast in updating the plan and urged the commission to slow the process down and take all public input into consideration. Chairwoman Linda Rodgers said she appreciated everyone who commented at the meeting and would like to hear from anyone who had any input as the process continued. But she also said it was time for the commission members to put their heads together and try to come up with something that everyone could be happy with.
December
The historic building on Oak Street in the Saratoga Village that housed the city's first library received a nomination to be added to the National Registrar of Historic Places. Before the building, which was built in 1927 and served as the community's only library for 51 years, can make it onto the national list, it must first be approved at the state level. The nomination would then be sent to the U.S. Department of the Interior for final approval. The Saratoga Historic Preservation Commission anticipates it being considered in January or February 2007. If approved, the building would join the Warner Hutton House as the other Saratoga building on the National Registrar of Historic Places.
Aileen Kao was unanimously selected by her fellow council members as Saratoga's newest mayor, and Ann Waltonsmith was named vice mayor at a special meeting of the city council on Dec. 6.
A three-alarm fire swept through a building that housed an art lab at West Valley College, destroying the building and art projects students had been working on all semester. The fire, which caused an estimated $300,000 in damages, was accidental, caused by one of the electrical appliances in the building, according to Saratoga Fire District investigator Jeremy Davis. College president Phil Hartley believed the quick work of firefighters saved the rest of the art complex from damage. Classes resumed in the surrounding buildings the next day.
It took four study sessions and one public hearing, but the Saratoga Planning Commission finally decided the city's General Plan, which has not been updated in 23 years, was ready to move forward. At its Dec. 13 study session to discuss the update of the Land Use Element and the Open Space/Conservation Element of the General Plan, the commission cleaned up some of the language to make the plan more reflective of Saratoga. After a four-hour study session, commissioners decided the plan was ready for a public hearing in January 2007, at which time they will vote on whether the plan is ready to go before the city council for approval.
