LETTERS LETTERS (November 23, 2005)

Study Bayfront golf option before opposing

Editor:

I am grateful that the Almanac lasted the whole City Council meeting council November 1, as many of us did, and rendered a fine report. But oddly your November 9 editorial tells me you weren't the one there or you wouldn't have fallen in with the orchestrated "what's the rush?" line.

The decision to get an extensive environmental report (administered by the city but the significant cost covered by the applicant) is exactly the process of study and discussion that we are all calling for. In the next year, we will see whether this proposal will harm or help migrating birds and any and all wildlife in and/or related to Bayfront.

And with real information -- as opposed to the conjecture of many that night and since -- we'll get to talk about this further at the Parks Commission, and of course more council public hearings. That's what the council approved, to see if its possible to share these uses at Bayfront, not to contract to build anything.

Many speakers went to the meeting with a preset agenda to oppose without information; several said so. It is a disservice to hop on an opposition bandwagon just for the rhetoric. The information gathering has barely begun. So I ask in return: What's the rush to damn three years of effort by city staff and commissioners without gathering the information?

Henry Riggs

Callie Lane

Schools lower tax costs by refinancing bonds

Editor:

Thanks for your recent articles about the Menlo Park schools. As a parent, it is encouraging to see that our school board and district officials are working to meet the future needs of the district.

It is also encouraging to see that our school board and district officials are acting responsibly and conservatively in managing the resources that have been entrusted to them by the community. As some in the community may already know, the school board recently completed the refinancing of the 1998 Series B School Bonds saving taxpayers approximately $400,000. This action combined with an earlier refinancing of the 1996 Series A School Bonds will save taxpayers approximately $1 million. These refinancings were made possible by falling interest rates (and by the terms in the original bond financing agreements).

It is interesting to note that many districts in California and the Bay Area have taken similar actions to refinance school bonds. Some of these districts have returned the money to taxpayers through reduced taxes. Others have kept the money for the district.

It must be tempting to keep the money, especially in the face of rising costs and rising enrollments. Our school board is to be commended for returning money rather than using it for new projects (that were not explicitly approved by the voters).

Mark Box

Hillview Drive, Menlo Park

Hats off to Stanford

Editor:

As a longtime resident of Portola Valley and with my office at 3000 Sand Hill Road, I am a longtime "customer" of the Sand Hill - Alpine Road intersection which just reopened a few weeks ago.

I want to compliment Stanford for the outstanding construction, design, workmanship of the job and for the very efficient handling of traffic during the project. The landscaping is beautiful, from bedding plants to large trees and rockwork, which makes for an outstanding (and I would guess award-winning) all-purpose intersection. And, the design greatly adds to the safety and convenience of automobiles, bicycles, and pedestrians. It is really a tour-de-force of efficiency and excellence.

Stanford's multi million dollar support for the whole project and supervision by its Land Management Co., with cooperation from Menlo Park, were critical for success. And while it properly serves some of the university's needs, the intersection also expedites cross-community traffic and will serve as a vital link between two interstate highways. It will benefit the livability and economy for the whole mid-peninsula area. There is no question that the whole Sand Hill corridor is world-famous, benefiting our area far beyond Stanford's 8,241 acre Palo Alto Stock Farm, still largely open space.

Having served on the PG&E Board, I recall a comment by one of its workers on the job when he confided, "I have worked on many road projects -- but none with the quality and beauty of this one. I am proud to be a part of it." Quite a tribute.

Bill Lane

Westridge Drive, Portola Valley

E-mail a friend a link to this story.