Woodside giveth, and refuseth to give Woodside giveth, and refuseth to give (July 27, 2005)

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

The Woodside Town Council said no to library books but yes to homeless shelters when it fielded requests for grant money at the July 12 meeting.

Former Woodside Mayor John Blake, representing the Redwood City Library Foundation, asked the council for a donation to buy books for the new Redwood Shores branch library. Because library patrons can borrow books from any library in San Mateo County, by helping the new Redwood Shores library Woodside would be helping itself, Mr. Blake said.

"I would challenge anyone to find a more worthy cause than this," he said.

Council members turned down the request, but asked Town Manager Susan George to see if it would be legal to donate money out of the Woodside library's fund.

The council reacted more charitably to a request from Shelter Network, and voted 4-2, with Paul Goeld and Sue Boynton opposed, to give the organization $2,000 toward its programs. Joe Putnam was absent.

Mr. Goeld said he was uncomfortable with the fact that Woodside has no policy on making charitable donations out of the town's general fund, and pointed to the council's history of turning down such requests.

"It's an extremely worthwhile cause, but I don't believe we are here to make those judgment calls," he said.

While Woodside may not have an obvious homeless population, the many low-wage workers employed in town as housekeepers, gardeners and nannies are at risk, said Marcia Pade, chair of the Shelter Network's board of directors and a Woodside resident.

"Our typical client is a mother and her two kids," she told the council. "Woodside employs many people, I'm sure, who end up in our shelters. They have to pay one medical bill and then they are evicted."

Several council members said Shelter Network's services were unique and important enough to warrant the donation.

"The request is pretty minimal," noted Councilwoman Carroll Ann Hodges. "Besides, I'd hate to see the screaming headline in the Almanac (if we turned them down)."

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