Willow Glen
Neighborhood
Association
P. O. Box 7706,
San Jose CA 95150
408/294-WGNA
May
General Meeting
Wednesday, May 13, 7 PM
(on
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Ice Cream
Social… and more
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Election of the
2009-2010 WGNA Board
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Ice Cream Social… and more
General
Meeting Agenda
7:00 pm Call to Order –
Joan Bohnett, WGNA Board Chair
7:10 pm Introduce Mayor Chuck Reed —
Ed Rast, Chair Public Safety and Transportation Committee
7:20 pm
8:00 pm Nominating Committee
- ballots counted
8:05 pm Ice Cream Social—Hosted by
WGNA and provided by Baskin Robbins
WG
Historic Films running during social time
8:50 pm Election results---Joan
Bohnett / John Gibbs
9:00 pm Good Night
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The SJFD in partnership with the Sudden
Cardiac Arrest
The
·
Early Access- dial 911 within 30-60
seconds
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Early CPR-recognize the need and
begin CPR with 30-60 seconds
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Early Defibrillation – Use Automatic
External Defibrillator(AED)within four minutes from time of
collapse
·
Early advanced Car- 8 minute response
of Advanced Life Support (City EMS response)
Key strategies
for supporting the above are dependent on distributing defibrillators, educating
citizens in Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation efforts and quick response from the
fire department to your home, business or school or public assembly.
During the general membership meeting on May 13th the San Jose Fire Department will present a training module to those first 30 people in attendance who would like to be trained. This is not a certification process but a familiarization and training to recognize and react to a cardiac event. It is important to react as fast as possible to someone having a cardiac related incident in order to keep the individual savable until the Fire Department arrives and takes over medical care. The arrival of the Fire Department may take up to eight minutes. As stated above the chain of survival is critical and CPR or the AED must be initiated quickly when the need is identified. The training will cover how and when to apply an Automatic External Defibrillator
The first 30 people who sign up at the General Meeting for the training will receive the training that evening and receive a kit to take home. Signups will be at the meeting.
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“SAVE OUR
TRAILS”
LAUNCHES
FIGHT TO PROTECT WILLOW GLEN SPUR TRAIL
Save Our Trails is a public group of residents and neighborhood associations dedicated to assisting local governments to defend, acquire, construct and maintain the trails established by the City and County General Plans.
The
organization’s first initiative is to ensure the creation of a multi-purpose
trail along the railway property – Willow Glen Spur Trail – stretching from
“We realized that several significant forces were working together to
destroy our chances of a trail that would connect the Los Gatos Creek, Guadalupe
River and Coyote Creek Trails,” said McMahon. “A developer had begun planning a
set of houses along the northern part of Willow Glen Spur Trail,
Members of Save Our Trails have divided into subcommittees to build membership, create publicity and outreach, develop a Website, establish a formal organizational structure and charter and to liaise with appropriate City and County elected officials and staff.
The organization believes importance of this trail is not just local. By
joining up the three river/creek trails that run through
Save Our Trails is planning events such as trail/creek clean-ups and presentations in the community to build awareness of the threats to the trail and the importance of saving this irreplaceable green space. For more information, see the Save Our Trails page on Facebook, or e-mail saveourtrails@gmail.com.
Contact: Elisabeth Handler -- 408 309-1298 -- elisabethhandler@yahoo.com
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WGNA SUPPORTS LOS GATOS CR. CLEAN UP
EFFORT
As of this writing, Save Our Trails with the support and sponsorship of
WGNA is hosting a Saturday morning clean up effort on the Gatos Creek between
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Western Pacific Railroad through Willow The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class 1 railroad in the United States San Jose , California and Sacramento Western Pacific Railroad was founded in 1903 to create a transcontinental railroad.
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Smart Growth
Management Policy Committee
Leaders from each of the neighborhood
associations in District six held their first meeting with Councilperson
Pierluigi Oliverio this month. Neighborhood residents understand that we are key
to building a sustainable future.
With local projections stating we are going to grow by 1/3rd in the next
few decades, we know those people have to live and work somewhere. Our District
six has some of the most accessible and vital properties to ensure continued
growth.
With growth comes a variety of issues to
address. The work group concentrated on policies that will make San Jose a
premier place to live and work without creating a negative impact on
existing infrastructure ,business districts, residential areas or
transportation.
Staff, elected officials and programs will come and go, but residents are
constant. By knowing the policies and projects that got us "here", we now know
what to focus on to assure our city is developed with the greatest
sustainability and the least numbers of problems.
This group is currently working on the
effects the new Diridon Station, H.P. Pavilion,
It is important that we make development decisions predictable, fair and
cost effective, while encouraging community and stakeholder collaboration in the
development decision making process.
Smart Growth means "building healthy
communities and increasing economic opportunities can only occur when the entire
community comes together with a plan for the future. The Smart Growth Management
Policy is a partnership vehicle to make this happen and encourage residents to
play a role in improving our quality of life".
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More information
on Smart Growth and Sustainable Urban Development can be found on the following
web sites.
http://www.shifting-ground.com/Home.html
http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=3222&res=1024
http://www.kqed.org/w/baywindow/homefront/urbangame.html
For an example of how
neighborhoods, City and County government have been able to increase jobs,
housing and quality of life with little impact on traffic or the environment,
Google Arlington, VA and Smart Growth.
For more information
about the WGNA Planning and Land Use committee, contact Richard Zappelli, boar@wgna.net or zappelli0180@sbcglobal.net
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High Speed Rail (HSR) Scoping Input
WGNA Supports Consideration of Alternatives to the
UPRR/Caltrain Path
See Full Text of Position
Letter on http://www.wgna.net/
Over
the last several years during the HSR Program Level planning process, the City
of
The Willow Glen Neighborhood Association (WGNA) Planning and Land Use Committee in conjunction with the work group of the Public Safety and Transportation Committee presented to the HSRA a Scoping Letter requesting HSRA review and consider two routes into Diridon Station from the south.
Through a combination of research, satellite mapping, design work and cooperation from the HSRA, Caltrans and the San Jose Department of Transportation staff, two possible alternative routes (alignments) were filed with the HSRA before the deadline of April 10th 2009. These two alternatives are:
1. An alignment from Tamien station that generally follows Highway 87 to the interchange at Interstate 280 where it would thread through the flyovers and descend underground to Diridon Station, with rail for HST, Caltrain, and the possibility of moving Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR).
2. An alignment
for HST, Caltrain, and UPRR which begins its descent
into a trench adjacent to the UPRR Right of Way near
Driving factors in the design of these two options were:
a) They offer the best approach for HSR for the next 50 to 100 years in terms of speed, security, elegance and simplicity.
b)
They provide
The WGNA letter not only requested these alternatives be given serious consideration, but went on to request that the HSRA explain how the cost of these will be weighed with 14 specific environmental factors.
Over the next year and a half the HSRA, counties, cities and others will work through the many trade-off and design possibilities to hammer out the best footprint. There is no assurance or expectation that the final Project Level HSR plan will incorporate the wishes or ideas of the community. At this time there are too many factors in the mix, and it’s way to early to tell. There is much we do not know right now; but there is one thing we do know: Willow Glen and neighborhoods near the UPRR-Caltrain alignment have responded thoughtfully and constructively in its efforts to help our city have the best possible outcome.
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From Councilmember Pierluigi
Oliverio
SJ Dist. 6 [northern and central Willow
Dear
On March 12, I hosted my second annual budget meeting in Willow Glen with Mayor Reed and City Manger Debra Figone. My goal was to inform the community about the budget process, the size of our budget, where the revenues come from and different options on trying to deal with the current deficit of $78M (Half the Budget of the Fire Department or nearly three times the library budget).
The
major message from the residents that attended the meeting was that the city
needs to change employee policies and compensation (including sick leave payouts
and pensions) before cutting services. Residents brought newspaper and magazine
articles about how other cities are facing major financial issues, including
bankruptcy, due to pension obligations. Many people brought up analogies
to
The
residents continuously asked when the City of
Recently,
I read how union employees at the San Francisco Chronicle took pay cuts,
fewer vacation hours and eliminated seniority just to keep the paper
alive. They did this so that more people could keep their jobs and
therefore keep the Chronicle operating. I hope these examples set
the tone for
The presentation I gave is available on the District 6 website: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/District6/budget.asp
Some
of the major facts:
• In the last seven years there has been a 58 percent
rise in total compensation.
• In the last seven years the average salary
went from $73K to $117K.
• In the last seven years our contribution towards
pensions has more than doubled.
• We have a $1.4 BILLION dollar unfunded
medical liability.
• To fix the budget deficit via economic development we
would need to build 15 Valley Fair or 24 Oakridge malls. (That would require
750-1,200 acres of land, they would all have to be equally successful and
residents would have to accept more traffic and parking in their neighborhood.)
At the end I made my own suggestions of how to balance the budget:
•
Wage freeze for the next three years.
• Freeze Step and Merit increases for
the next three years.
• 5 percent pay reduction for all 2,663 employees that
make over $100K.
• 2 percent pay reduction for all employees making under
$100K (includes city council and staff).
• Make changes to sick leave and
vacation payout. ($9M in sick leave payout this year alone)
• Raise fees on
card rooms but allow them nine extra tables which will bring the city $5.5M
every year on top of the existing $13M. (Bob Brownstein, a union leader and Pat
Dando, the President of the Chamber agree on this.)
• Sell the
• Retain industrial land for job growth and slow down housing growth.
However we cannot provide core city services without more revenue:
•
Therefore I proposed that we raise utility tax 1 percent on electricity, gas and
water only. This would bring $11.43M a year that would go to police only.
•
Spend 70 percent of new revenue on new officers and the balance on non-sworn
police employees and technology so more police officers can be out on the street
versus behind a desk.
• Also I believe we should do a $100M bond to pay for
street repairs only, since we have a deferred backlog on maintenance of $457M,
and the longer we wait it will cost us even more to fix streets since we will go
from repaving to rebuilding.
The journey is far from over on the budget so stay tuned.
Please feel free to contact my office with any questions or concerns you may have 535-4906.
Warm regards,
Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio
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From Vice Mayor Judy Chirco’s
Office
Councilmember SJ Dist. 9 [southern Willow
The Great American Litter Pick Up will be held Saturday, April
25th. This is a city-wide event and a great opportunity to help clean
up your community. Registration sites will be available at the
The
Celebrate Cambrian Community Festival is coming. This will be a great family
event where you can enjoy live music, food, children’s fun zone, arts and
crafts, car show, class demonstrations, children’s art show and a resource fair
all for FREE. This event takes place at the
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Report
of the 2009 Nomination Committee
The
Nominating Committee consists of five WGNA members who are chosen the previous
year in the Spring General Election. Our charge is to recommend to the
General Membership a slate of candidates for the Board of Directors and Elected
Board Members, as well as recommend the next Nominating Committee. The
General Membership may vote for these candidates by either mailing in a ballot
or voting at the May General Meeting. The ballots
received by 8 p.m. May 13, 2009 will be counted at the General Meeting by at
least two members of the Nominating
Committee and the results
reported to the membership.
The
Nominating Committee was fortunate to have a number of excellent candidates to
consider as nominees for the WGNA Board. We are pleased with the people
who have stepped forward to serve on the Board, both the new candidates and
those who are returning. In light of potential changes in the nominating process
it was difficult to recruit new volunteers to serve on the Nominating Committee,
and I appreciate that the current Committee has agreed to stay for another term.
I would like to thank the other members of the Nominating Committee: Kris
Cunningham, Helen
Solinski,
Margaret Hardy and Steve Kaylor in helping with this year’s slate and for their
willingness to continue to serve.
John Gibbs, Chair of the Nominating Committee
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Biographies
of the Nominees
Ed Rast,
President - Willow Glen in the next 5
years will be facing the most challenges to our neighborhood's character and
quality of life since WGNA was founded.
We have the lowest number of jobs and tax revenue per person with the
highest business and residential taxes, fees and user charges in
Jim Carter,
2nd Vice President - I have been serving in the capacity of a board
member for the past two months and have been attending the Public Safety and
Transportation meetings as well as the Public Land Use committee meetings. I was born and raised in Willow Glen,
attended Willow Glen Elementary, Edwin Markham Jr. High, and
Richard
Zappelli, Secretary - My family are
fourth generation Willow Glen residents. Have successfully improved the Willow
Glen community, quality of life and public safety, while serving as WGNA
Co-Chair of Public Safety & Transportation committee, by working with city`s
Planning, Code Enforcement, Transportation and Police Departments, other
neighborhoods, and Council on Land Use, public safety. Successfully partnered
with the Willow Glen Business Association on projects and events. Will continue
to do so. I presently Chair WGNA Planning and Land Use committee, and Chair the
WGNA Neighborhood Business committee. Member District 6 Leadership Group,
Executive committee. Served on the West Valley College/Mission College
Advisory Board. Retired Food Service Executive.
John Kelly,
Treasurer - John is a software developer for a
small startup company in
Mike
O’Conner, Elected Boardmember - I graduated from
Bob
Mulvany, Elected Boardmember - My name is Bob
Mulvany and I am interested in serving on the WGNA Board. I have lived in Willow Glen all my life
with the exception of High School and College. My wife and I have been quite
active with Willow Glen Elementary; I put in a tremendous amount of time
attending all the school board meetings and bond oversight meetings trying to
lobby the school district to give WGE its fair share of the measure C and
measure F bond money for school construction. Rather than just replacing the
existing portable classrooms we were able to get an additional 7 million dollars
to build the new two-story classroom building on the corner of
Kasey Stewart, Elected Boardmember - Kasey has lived in Willow Glen since 2005 and has loved every minute of it. He has a B.S. in Economics from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and owns a company that is located in Willow Glen. Since he both lives and works in Willow Glen, he is adamant about preserving Willow Glen’s character and charm for future generations and knows that by being actively involved in the WGNA will allow him to achieve this goal. He is particularly interested in PLUC and Safety/Transportation.
Thomas W. Rossi, Elected
Boardmember - Originally
from
Nominating
Committee Candidates:
·
John Gibbs: past WGNA President (2001-02 and 02-03.
·
Kris Cunningham: past WGNA President (1997-98 and 98-99.
·
Margaret Hardy: past WGNA Treasurer (2003-04 and 04-05).
·
Steve Kaylor: past WGNA Treasurer (2006-07 and 07-08).
·
Helen Solinski: past President of WGNA (2003-04 and
04-05).
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Mark Your Calendar
1.
Dancin’ on the Avenue – June 20th
2.
Italian Festival –
August 29th &
30th
3.
Founders day events –
September
26th
Is Your Membership up-to-date?
Check
the “Membership Expires” line on the mailing label. If the date has passed, it’s time to
renew. Membership dues support the
expenses of WGNA.. Here’s a form to
complete and mail with your check to
WGNA,
And check the front page where the working committees and their chairs are listed. Here’s where important community issues are addressed and members get involved.
Yes! I/we will join/renew our membership in
the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association.
Name____________________________________________________________
Street address________________________________________ Apt #________
Day phone (______) ________________ Evening
(______)_________________
e-mail____________________________________________________________
I/we
are interested in information related to:
Airport noise, Art, Bike routes
and safety, Tree planting, Emergency
preparedness,
Graffiti abatement, Traffic/parking,
Zoning and land use, Parks, recreation and
trails
I/we can help with the following
activities:
_____Writing or mailing the newsletter
_____Neighborhood clean-up and beautification
projects
_____Graffiti paint out
_____Tree plantings _____Special event
volunteer
_____Willow Glen History
WGNA membership dues:
individual: $10 /one year; $25/ three years
household: $20 /one year; $50/ three years
associate outside Willow Glen
additional donation: ___________ Thanks!
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