"We're still facing traffic and planning issues," said Willow Glen Neighborhood Association President Helen Solinski, who was elected for her second term. "And with the budget cuts we're wondering where the money for traffic mitigations will come from."

Solinski said other concerns are library cuts, the lifting of the ban on secondary units, potential loss of the San Jose Fire Department Station 6 hose truck and the traffic impacts of the proposed San Jose Giants stadium on Auzerais Avenue.

She added that the association's vision for the next year was to "continue to make Willow Glen a wonderful place to live."

And to achieve that goal, the association's nominating committee came up with the candidates' electoral slate, which the members approved.

Nominating committee member Kristina Cunningham said she and her four fellow committee members asked Solinski to serve again as president because she continues to seek out new board members.

"Helen is inclusive, has lots of energy and people like working with her," Cunningham said.

Solinski, who has a 10-month-old baby, said she expects her second board term to be easier than the first and sees her role as delegating responsibility.

With Ed Rast as first vice president and Ellen Santomauro as second vice president, Solinski said she has confidence in all her officers' leadership abilities.

"Ed could step into the president's position, and Ellen is taking on more and more," she said.

This is Rast's second year on the board, and he also is involved with the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative as a project area committee member and is a board member with the United Neighborhoods of Santa Clara County.

Santomauro, who grew up in Palo Alto, moved to Willow Glen eight years ago. Beginning her third year as a board member, she said her main interests in serving on the board are to support the downtown businesses, be involved with schools and preserve the single-family-home neighborhoods.

She said learning that there was a movement to put a San Jose Giants baseball stadium on Auzerais Avenue was a shock.

"It would have a tremendous impact on the area," said Santomauro, listing traffic, crime and infrastructure as concerns.

She added that what she likes about Willow Glen is the neighborly feel and seeing people she knows all over town. And that neighborliness is enhanced when the community comes together for annual events like Dancin' on the Avenue.

She hopes the board will continue to build on last year's momentum and that more members will attend the monthly board meetings and general meetings.

Another committed board member is treasurer Margaret Hardy, who has lived in Willow Glen for more than 40 years. She loves living in a community where "everybody knows your name." This is her sixth year with the neighborhood association.

And Sharon Fierro is another longtime San Jose resident, who previously served on the board as second vice president before retiring as board secretary.

"Willow Glen somehow avoided being redeveloped," Fierro said, referring to Lincoln Avenue, which still has decades of character. "That's why Al Gore and Bill Clinton visited here. This is the ideal."

She is on the staff at the Campbell Planning Department, and she wants to use her experience to look at development and budget issues.

"As cities get bigger, the focus is going to turn to the neighborhoods for quality of life and identity," she said.

Solinski said she was pleased to also have Joan Bohnett on the board for the first time. Bohnett is the fourth generation of her family to live in Willow Glen and has been active on the Palm Haven Restoration Committee. As a resident in the Palm Haven Conservation Area, she worked with neighbors, the San Jose Planning Department, homeowners and builders to ensure that new homes follow the design guidelines for historic neighborhoods.

Returning board member Charley Luckhardt joined the board two years ago after attending airport-noise committee hearings for years. As a former Air Force navigator, he realized as early as the 1960s that commercial flights were deviating from the flight pattern and cutting a corner by flying over Willow Glen. After meeting with airport directors decades ago, he has continued to monitor the airport's effects on the neighborhood.

"The reason I'm there is to make a difference in the quality of life," he said.

Luckhardt also said his personal opinion on secondary dwelling units is that "the city is trying to get free, affordable housing on the backs of subdivisions. If they're able to build a new city hall, they should be able to put up affordable housing units."

His main concern is the on-street parking issue, because, he said, the two rental homes on his street have had as many as 10 cars each parked out front.

"The city is ignoring the problems," he said.

Returning board member Hugh Graham is another individual who is using his career experience to help the neighborhood. A retired principal planner with Santa Clara County, he said he hopes to contribute knowledge of planning processes to ensure development enhances rather than detracts from life in Willow Glen.

And eight-year Willow Glen resident Matt Hall rejoins the board eager to see traffic calming and the Albertson's remodeling meet the community's needs.

Solinski also appointed two members to the board who have deep roots in the neighborhood. Larry Ames, the self-named "creek trail guy" and the association's e-list and website administrator, has been a Willow Glen Neighborhood Association member for 25 years.

And Jim Spence, who retired from the San Jose Police Department three years ago, brings his wealth of knowledge and contacts to serve the neighborhood. A lifetime San Jose resident, he remembers visiting his grandparents in Willow Glen, in the house that he now lives in. And as a retired police sergeant and licensed private investigator, he said, his goal is to improve public safety. He has been on the San Jose Traffic Advisory Committee and is helping Lincoln Avenue obtain lighted crosswalk signs from the city.

And with the city's $69.8 million budget gap, he said he's unhappy with the city's decision to eliminate the police department's entire crime prevention unit. The crime prevention specialists who help communities organize Neighborhood Watch programs give a lot to communities that uniformed officers don't have time to give, Spence said.

"I'm afraid the uniformed division can't carry the load," he said. "It's going to have an impact."

As city services continue to face cuts in dollars and staffing and become overwhelmed, responsibility is going to fall on residents, he said.

"It's going to be more important for neighbors to know each other," Spence said. "We'll need to find peaceful solutions to problems we have. But that's easier said than done."