By Khalida Sarwari
A completed highway improvement project, tree program and the formation of a joint powers authority overseeing a stormwater program were all on the Saratoga City Council’s agenda this week.
At its Wednesday meeting, the council considered an agreement to form the West Valley Clean Water Program Authority, and will have to appoint a representative and an alternate to the authority’s board of directors.
This action follows a decision in May by the West Valley Sanitation District board of directors to withdraw from the West Valley Clean Water Program, which Saratoga, along with Campbell, Los Gatos and Monte Sereno, was a part of for many years. The program allowed the jurisdictions to work together to implement and manage stormwater services.
The district advised the West Valley communities to consider forming a joint powers authority to implement the stormwater program after it leaves the program on June 30, and is helping with the transition by agreeing to collect the storm drainage service charge for an additional three years until the communities develop an alternative funding source. Saratoga does not collect this revenue from its residents.
All four communities are leaning toward creating a joint powers authority because it would result in better coordination on solid waste issues. The recommendation is that the board of directors would be made up of elected officials from each of the West Valley communities, and the public works directors would act as technical advisers to the board.
In tree action, the council discussed giving City Manager James Lindsay permission to execute an amended agreement with Our City Forest for volunteer coordination and project supervision for events including plantings for Saratoga’s “2,020 by 2020 Tree Planting” program.
The city initially partnered with Our City Forest in 2016 when it kicked off its tree-planting initiative. The idea was to attempt to recover trees that were lost to the drought by enlisting the organization’s help in a cost-sharing tree-planting program, through which property owners can get a discount on one or two trees for their the front yards, to be planted by Our City Forest volunteers. According to the city, 1,450 trees have been planted since the start of the initiative, of which 92 have been planted through the cost-sharing program.
The city had committed to setting aside $10,000 for the program, but ultimately allocated an additional $20,000 to meet the program goals.
Finally, staff recommended the council accept the completion of the Highway 9 improvements project. The city had contracted with GradeTech Inc. a little more than a year ago to construct ADA-compliant pedestrian paths and install berms, retaining walls, driveway modifications, pedestrian-activated in-roadway warning lights crosswalk, signage and traffic striping and markings. The final contract amounted to nearly $850,000.
Link:
Saratoga City Council tackles highway project, tree program and clean water effort
