By Khalida Sarwari
Under the mayorship of Howard Miller this year, Saratoga opened a new 64-acre park, welcomed new directors, managers, superintendents and principals, said goodbye to former ones, and came together with neighbors for numerous engaging community events. This was the year when a few standout teens made national news, such as 13-year-old Grace Chung and 18-year-old Monica Mallon. Issues such as short-term rentals, air traffic noise and Verizon cell tower installations were the source of a few ruffled feathers. And, while the removal of the city’s century-old signature Italian stone pine tree caused a few tears to be shed, the accolades the city garnered at the America in Bloom contest provided sufficient solace to those that are invested in the city’s aesthetics.
Here are some of the stories that gave residents a reason to celebrate, show up at civic meetings, sit back and reflect, and mostly, be proud of being a Saratogan.
Astronomer Jill Tarter stopped by Saratoga High School in January to speak to students about life on other planets and her work on a number of major scientific projects, most of which are related to the search for extraterrestrial life. Tarter holds the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI Research at the SETI Institute and has been named one of the most influential people in the world by Time magazine.
Erwin Ordoñez, who for 2½ years was senior planner for the town of Los Gatos as well as its acting advanced planning manager, replaced James Lindsay as Saratoga’s community development director. Lindsay was promoted to city manager.
Grace Chung, a 13-year-old Saratoga resident and budding photographer, edged out nearly 17,000 people from around the world to win the grand prize in National Geographic’s international photography contest for kids with her photo of her pet gecko, Tiger.
Saratoga City Council members approved a budget adjustment resolution on Feb. 18 to appropriate funding for a $3.3 million payment toward the city’s share of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System “unfunded accrued liability,” making Saratoga one of the first cities in the state to take action to secure its future finances.
The Hakone Foundation hired Shozo Kagoshima to replace Lon Saavedra, who had stepped down. Kagoshima took the reins on March 30, becoming the foundation’s second full-time executive director.
Expressing concerns about safety and the impact on the cohesion of their neighborhood, some residents urged the city council on April 1 to continue to ban short-term rentals, which are defined as a type of new “sharing economy” where people rent out rooms or their entire homes. The council decided to put off making changes to its ordinance at least for another year.
Ninety-one-year-old Saratoga resident and decorated World War II veteran Donald Gustafson was awarded the Legion of Honour from the French consul general in San Francisco on April 21 for his heroic efforts during the war and surviving imprisonment at the hands of the Germans following the battle of Selestat.
Saratoga High School came in first place at the National History Bee and Bowl championship for the first time since the school began participating in the competition four years ago. The academic competitions, which test students’ knowledge in all fields, eras and locations in history, took place April 24-26 in Arlington, Va.
Saratoga and Cupertino filed lawsuits against Caltrans in May, claiming that the agency didn’t comply with the California Environmental Quality Act as part of the Highway 85 express lanes project. The proposal, which seeks to add express lanes to Highway 85, continued to meet resistance from West Valley officials and residents.
Mary Lou Snowden retired in mid-June after 33 years at the preschool behind the Saratoga Federated Church on Park Place, where she was director. Mary Ward, who held a dual position as the school’s assistant director and pre-kindergarten teacher, hung up her hat on May 29 after 32 years. Both educators started their careers at the school as teachers.
After 12 years as superintendent of the Saratoga Union School District, Lane Weiss resigned his post at the end of June for a superintendent position at Aspire Public Schools in the Central Valley area.
Saratoga’s century-old signature Italian stone pine tree was removed in June due to its declining health, which was exacerbated by harsh drought conditions. Earlier in the year, an arborist had noticed the presence of wood-boring beetles. A local tree company came out to remove the tree on June 11, ending a 100-year era during which visitors and residents alike had enjoyed the stone pine’s embracing canopy in the entranceway of the Saratoga Village.
The approval of several new Verizon wireless antennas in the city by Saratoga’s planning commissioners earlier this year sparked controversy among some residents, some of whom regularly showed up at planning commission and city council meetings to express concerns about health risks associated with the installation of the antennas. Verizon representatives said the antennas address a demand for data capacity.
Another concern for some residents this year was air traffic noise. Saratoga joined cities spanning from Palo Alto to Capitola to complain about the planes flying over their neighborhoods, saying they are too low, too loud and too many. According to the SFO noise abatement office, Saratoga went from reporting no complaints last year to 20 this year, while Los Gatos went up from three to 5,448.
Barbara Neal, who most recently served as principal at Nordstrom Elementary School in Morgan Hill, was appointed the new principal at Redwood Middle School, replacing outgoing principal Kelly Green.
Monica Mallon, an 18-year-old from Saratoga, announced her candidacy in August for Santa Clara County District 5 supervisor on YouTube, where she posts weekly vlogs. She said she plans to use the video-sharing site and other social media apps to get her name and message out there, as opposed to raising money for campaign ads.
Members of Saratoga High School’s class of 1965 came together for a reunion in September. The impressive group not only included the usual cast of judges, lawyers, teachers and doctors, but also owners of companies, a Spanish TV star, a criminal investigator, a missionary and a museum curator.
Twenty-six-year Saratoga resident Nancy Johnson, who most recently served as the associate superintendent of human resources in the Cupertino Union School District, was appointed the new superintendent of the Saratoga Union School District, replacing Lane Weiss.
The cities of Saratoga, Monte Sereno and Cupertino and the town of Los Altos Hills each received a share of $2.5 million after lawmakers approved SB 107, a bill that effectively eliminated a discrepancy in the law that’s lasted for more than 30 years whereby those four municipalities were given 2 percent less than the minimum allocation of 7 percent in property tax revenue.
Months of preparation for the America in Bloom competition paid off handsomely for the city, which in September nabbed several awards at the annual award ceremony. Saratoga won the America in Bloom award in the 30,000 to 40,000 population category, as well as the “best tree canopy” and “best overall impression” in the same category. Saratoga was also a finalist in the “city with the best overall impression” category.
Steve Albright was named Madronia Cemetery’s new general manager, replacing Gary Reed, who retired after working at Madronia for 27 years. Albright came on board at Madronia as an assistant manager in 2013 after serving at the Los Gatos Cemetery for nearly three decades.
Saratoga officially opened its new 64-acre Saratoga Quarry Park on Halloween morning to the delight of the nearly 300 sneaker-clad residents who showed up to take part in the historic occasion. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was led by Mayor Howard Miller alongside Ann Walton Smith, a former mayor who started the project years ago with the goal of promoting public access and recreation.
Three San Jose residents were arrested in November for bringing over people from Spain to work at TapaOle on Cox Avenue and Utopik Salon on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road. Santa Clara County prosecutors have charged the oppressors with three felony counts of human trafficking and one count of wage theft in a rare criminal case involving allegations of labor exploitation.
With the nearly year-long impasse in negotiations between the Saratoga City Council and the city’s top directors having finally been exhausted, the city council in November resorted to imposing its last, best and final offer on the four employees. The directors make between $155,657 and $189,217 annually, excluding benefits, according to a database on the city’s website.
The city council appointed Manny Cappello as the city’s next mayor in December. Cappello, a Saratoga resident since 1992 with a background in business and education, has served on the council since 2010. He replaces outgoing mayor Howard Miller.
On Dec. 18, West Valley College broke ground on the Jean and E. Floyd Kvamme Planetarium, named after the Saratoga couple who donated $3.9 million to the college to modernize its aging planetarium. The proposed state-of-the-art facility promises to offer students and local residents an immersive environment for learning astronomy when it opens in late 2017.
Link: What were the city’s biggest events and accomplishments of 2015?
