Saratoga News

Letters & Opinions

Speak Out

Residents should vote
on park issues

Why does the city council get so concerned about spending $100,000 for a special election ballot for an initiative that gives the citizens the right to vote on how the city-owned parks will be treated, changed and enhanced?

If citizens voted for this, voters would get a say each time the city wanted to spend big bucks for special interest groups such as after-school sports (soccer, etc.) in which our parks would or could be converted to cater to organized activities.

Should Saratogans allow the council to make decisions to pay for children's after-school extracurricular activities? Of which, parents choose to send their kids to? How about piano lessons? Enrichment college prep?

The city spends in excess of $2.5 million for Congress Springs and El Quito for soccer. Then West Valley College $250,000 for two regulation size fields (user group claims only for games, but need more practice fields? It is for practice when available; there is no info to say enough or not!). The council spends many hours, attempting to satisfy the sports users, and actually recently secured a contract for use at Prospect High School.

But that is not enough. Now Kevin Moran Park, which houses soccer practice five days a week, two seasons a year (which only excludes two months a year!), and an extra million dollars above the needed improvement budget, so KMP can be designed to satisfy the soccer group requests (wants or needs?).

Current council members Kathleen King and Chuck Page are advocates for AYSO, etc. Aileen Kao and Ann Waltonsmith are focused on Heritage Orchard and the once-a-year Mustard Walk, even though the orchard costs about $50,000 a year to maintain for the benefit of looking at it as you drive by or the once annual Mustard Walk. And Jill Hunter, who even after elected is focused on her back yard and identity--the Village, was quoted in the Saratoga News that the recent survey the city took, prior to the West Valley, Prospect and KMP dollars being spent, that "close to 80 percent of the respondents felt that the Village was the 'heart of Saratoga.' "

This same survey stated Saratogans believe we should spend more money on sports was a whopping 3 percent. Also, 63 percent of respondents did not have any school age children under 19 at home.

Seems council pays attention to what they want to pay attention to!

Then I had the distasteful opportunity watching them haggle over providing funding to the Saratoga Adult Day Care Center of either $6,000 or $8,000 because Cupertino was not giving as much?

So, where are our city officials heads at? Mustard Walks, soccer fields and the Village (I do believe the Village needs support and as a community member, I do care about fare cycles and money be spent on Saratogans' benefits).

I used to want to live in Saratoga until I die. This type of representation we receive gets me thinking about moving somewhere that people have their priorities right. What's right? Not to spoil the few at the expense of the majority of community needs. If everyone is so darned sure that the community wants it, put it to a vote. At least they would listen to that, versus their own surveys.

Sandy Cross

Sobey Meadows Court

Residents need to help
work on North Campus

Remember when we went to the polls and voted overwhelmingly for Measure J (save the North Campus). Now it is time to take the next step. That is to make it presentable for use. On Jan. 27, eight of us (five men, three women) showed up at the admin building to take the next step. I was disappointed about the turnout. From the way we voted, I thought more people would be there.

We might have been small in number but we worked like dynamos! Just from what we accomplished, you can see the potential of the facility. We were right in saving it! It was not only great making new friends but it was also very satisfying doing community work.

You all still have an opportunity to take that step. Please join us by signing up at the Saratoga Recreation Department at 408.818.1249. The last class/hands-on experience is Feb. 10. You will learn how to properly paint a room.

Cecilia Andris

Terrence Avenue

Calling on everyone
to help Darfurians

This publication should devote more space to the worsening genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Readers here should know about the Sudanese government's brutal campaign of mass killing, systematic rape and forced starvation--crimes that have taken the lives of more than 450,000 innocent civilians.

There are some important things that we can do to help the more than 2.5 million Darfurians who have been violently displaced from their homes. For one, we should all write and call our senators and our representatives about Darfur on a weekly basis. Our public officials need to enact legislation that enables targeted sanctions against Khartoum's dictatorial rulers. They should call on UN peacekeepers to deploy to Darfur, with or without the genocidaires' consent. And finally, they should support in a vocal and forthright way an immediate NATO intervention--NATO's rapid-response forces can deploy to the region within five days or less.

Sherrie Rose Maleson

San Jose