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Saturday, September 27th 2:00-5:00 p.m.
At the Benovitz home on Douglane Ave.
Question: What could be more American than having your voice be heard by casting a vote???
Answer: Stuffing yourself silly with ice cream while you
are doing it!!!
Please come and join in the fun at the ANNUAL SOFNA (all you can eat) Ice Cream Social. Not only will this be a great time to indulge in some sweet treats with your neighbors, but this will also give you the opportunity to vote for your 2009 SOFNA Board of Directors.
Bring your children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Please RSVP by September 24 (so we will have enough ice cream for everyone) to Debbie Benovitz. Need a ride? Ask about our Shuttle Service.
Prizes will be awarded to all kids 12 and under.
Calling ALL kids of ALL ages! This means adults too. Get in touch with your “inner kid.” Color, draw or create a picture of anything that has to do with your favorite treat… ICE CREAM!!!!! Bring that picture with you on Saturday to be displayed. Free Books for all kids 12 and under. Face painting and more...
All kinds of ice cream will be available (sorbet, sugar-free, soy, non-dairy) plus a huge selection of toppings and much, much, more. Ice cream sundaes, ice cream cones, banana split .. create your own. Don’t miss out on the fun at this popular neighborhood gathering.
Hope To See You There!
This Will Be Ice Cream Heaven!
On June 10, 2008, the City Council approved $3.2 million in the 2008- 09 Capital Improvement Project (CIP) Budget for the first phase of the SOFN street improvements.
2008 - 2009 Timeline
This schedule is based on information provided by Rajeev Batra, Director of Public Works, and Scott Thach, SOFNA street improvements project manager. Please note that the dates are tentative and may change due to future issues, requirements, unknown conditions, and changes that are required or imposed on the project as it moves forward.
August 2008
Neighborhood streets and sidewalks surveyed.
September/October 2008
Traffic study (car volume, speed) conducted. Preliminary master plan developed.
October/November 2008
City hosts neighborhood meeting to present an overview of the project and a phasing proposal. The phasing proposal will be based on several factors, such as: budget, schedule conflict with other projects, pavement condition, drainage, traffic calming study and recommendation, neighborhood impacts/
constraints, ADA requirements, etc.
November/December 2008
City hosts meeting with Phase 1 homeowners to obtain feedback and input to final design on items, such as: type of curb; sidewalks/no sidewalks/parking strip; street/ sidewalk width to accommodate ADA driveway slope requirements.
April 2009
Phase 1 design completed.
Phase 1 bidding.
June/July 2009
Award and construction of Phase 1.
The best time to underground the existing overhead utilities is while the streets are being reconstructed. However, the following criteria must be met by a street in order to proceed with undergrounding utilities according to Kevin Keating, Senior Electrical Utility Engineer, with Silicon Valley Power:
Assuming that the costs are apportioned on the basis of street frontage, each property has 70 feet of street frontage, and the service conversion cost is $10,000, for example, then the cost for each property would be between approximately $30,000 and $35,000.
If you are interested in undergrounding the overhead utilities on your street as part of the streets and sidewalks reconstruction project, please contact Mike O’Halloran at 408-660-5928 (cell) by Monday, October 6, 2008. If there is significant interest on a particular street or streets then the next step will be to get 100% of the homeowners on that street(s) to sign a petition in the next two months. Please contact Mike now if you’re interested.
This update is based on information provided by Gustavo Gomez, Principal Engineer. The City has drafted “Release of Covenant Running with the Land” documents for all the existing SOFNA properties encumbered with covenants.
The City has stopped the practice of requiring covenants for annexed residential areas such as SOFN and other similar neighborhoods that currently do not have required street improvements.
Following review and approval by the City Attorney’s Office and the City Manager, the documents will be recorded with the county, which should occur in the next two months. Homeowners will receive a letter when this happens.
1. Contact Mike O’Halloran at 408-660-5928 by Monday, October 6, if
you are interested in undergrounding the overhead utilities on your street.
2. Attend the neighborhood streets & sidewalks reconstruction project meeting in October/November. Date and time TBD
As the SOFNA neighborhood celebrates the Santa Clara City Council’s decision to fix our streets and sidewalks as a public project, one of the neighbors to whom we owe a big vote of thanks is Michelle Purviance, who made an outstanding case for the City’s responsibility at the Council meeting in May. Michelle is basically a quiet and private sort of person. So not many of the neighbors who attended the Council meeting knew what was coming when she took the podium. After nine minutes in which she covered the facts on who uses SOFN streets, the history of annexations in the neighborhood, the lack of documentation of what residents may or may not have agreed to at the time of annexation, and how the City has treated other neighborhoods in similar situations, those of us who know her had to suppress the urge to jump up and shout, “Yeah MICHELLE!!” Of course, we never doubted that she would make the case for the neighborhood. Michelle has been a stalwart of the SOFNA board since its founding, and when it’s time to get the facts in order, she is the one everyone looks to.
What motivated her to get involved in representing the neighborhood to the City on this and other issues? “I guess it’s the way I approach everything,” she said recently. The issue was frequently discussed at SOFNA board meetings. “When I heard people saying different things about annexation and the city’s and the property owners’ obligations, I was curious about what really happened. So, I did some research, and then I got more interested, and I started to find all these pieces of the jigsaw puzzle and wanted to see how it all fit together.” Backed up by neighbors who helped to identify key people to talk to and records to review, Michelle logged many hours at City and County offices looking through public records and microfilm. City officials, she notes, were always helpful, and affirmed her role as a City resident engaged in using public records to decipher historical obligations.
“At the beginning I had no idea it would take so long,” she says. “I thought after the first vote (in 2007) that it was done. But I learned, we all learned, that you need to stay the course. All of the other groups that have issues they care deeply about turn out at the City Council meetings, time after time, and after you’ve seen that, you understand. The Council changes, the issues change. They know who really cares by who shows up. If you’re not there, of course they are going to ask, ‘unless you care, why should we?’” Michelle credits the many neighbors who supported the SOFNA team at Council meetings, as well as the neighbors who signed and collected petitions to bring the streets and sidewalks to City standards, prepared remarks, worked on PowerPoint presentations, and distributed flyers for the overall success of the effort. “I learned a lot about the neighborhood,” she says. “We have many creative and talented people here.”
National Night Out in Royanna’s garden was again a memorable experience. A cool August evening and a beautifully manicured lawn provided the backdrop for what was truly a wonderful sight: children chasing balls; neighbors sharing conversations under the lawn umbrellas with color coordinated tables and chairs and neighborhood volunteers happily keeping multiple barbecues cooking tri-tip, chicken breasts, hamburgers, and hotdogs. SOFNA board member Joe Goschy and the Milquetoast Band got the evening off to a lively start. City dignitaries attending included Mayor Patricia Mahan, Police Chief Steve Lodge, Council Members Kevin Moore, Joe Kordner, and Jamie McLeod. SC police officers and firefighters were also on hand to support our neighborhood.
Joy Haas manned the HEAT table sharing valuable information about emergency preparedness. Thank you, Royanna, and the other volunteers who made the evening a success!
We are currently circulating informal Zipcode petitions for you to sign. One is to indicate “yes,” you would like to see our neighborhood have a Santa Clara 95050 address, the other is to indicate “no” you don’t want to change your San Jose 95117 address. Please contact Tracie at 247-1825 if you have any questions or to sign. SOFNA would like to have an accurate measure of what percentage of the neighborhood wants the address change and what percentage does not. Petitions will be available to sign at the Ice Cream Social on September 27th.
A campaign is underway to request the County Board of Education to transfer the South of Forest Neighborhood from the Campbell Union School District to the Santa Clara Unified School District. (Neighborhoods between Forest and Pruneridge, and between Westridge and Saratoga Ave., will also likely be included.) There will be more information coming soon. An email distribution list will be created to extend discussions and update the neighborhood on progress. A general meeting is also being planned.
Achieving this transfer would be a complex process involving different school committee’s input and decisions and at least two public hearings. A transition plan must also be decided so that children will be able to continue and finish in the Campbell Union if they wish.
The first requirement is to gather a petition signed by at least 25% of the registered voters in the defined area. Of course, down the line, the higher the percentage, the better. Address lists of the affected voter precincts have been obtained and plans are underway for the petition drive.
Although you may not have or plan to have school age children (K-12), or may intend to have your children attend a private school, in any case, please consider this issue as a neighborhood decision affecting current and future families as well as a broader community alignment with Santa Clara. Please contact Lisa Aguilar or Mike O'Halloran for more information. Provide your phone and/or email contact for future communications and updates.
Neighborhood businesses are invited to advertise in the print version of the SOFNA quarterly newsletters. If interested contact, Tracie Johnson at 247-1825.
We invite all residents and homeowners to join the SOFNA email group to exchange news and views about the neighborhood, ask questions, find an electrician or plumber, and generally communicate with your neighbors. To join, send an e-mail with your name and street address to southofforest-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to get started.
September
27 -- Ice Cream Social and Board Election -- Benovitz home on Douglane Avenue 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. RSVP 246-6694
27 -- Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off -- 1700 Walsh Avenue. Appointment required. Call 299-7300
October
20 -- Register to Vote (last day)
November
2 -- Change Your Clock (fall back)
2 -- Change Your Smoke Detector Battery
4 -- Election Day
This is your opportunity to weigh in – each vote counts. Our neighborhood has been effective working with the City of Santa Clara because of your involvement. When you show up at the Council meeting, you are being counted as voters. Make sure you can back that up!
On the local front, 4 of 7 Council seats are being decided. (Remember, our streets passed on a 4-3 vote!) A table at the Ice Cream Social will have Voter Registration forms, including a form for permanent absentee voter status. Those forms are also available at A Slice of NY pizza parlor, or you can call Mike O’Halloran @ 660-5928.
Will Kennedy (incumbent) www.kennedyforcouncil.org
Mary Emerson – business operations manager
www.maryemerson.org
Mario Bouza – businessman
(Pat Kolstad has termed out)
Jamie Matthews – www.jamiematthews.net
Brian Lowery – engineer www.lowery4citycouncil.com
Jamie McLeod (incumbent) www.jamiemcleod.org
Chuck Blair – businessman www.chuckblair.org
Ciaran O’Donnell – software engineer www.ciaran@alumni.uwaterloo.ca
Kevin Moore (incumbent) www.reelectmoore.com
Rod Diridon, Jr. (incumbent)
Steve Lodge (incumbent)
Joanne Anderson
Royanna Gazlay
Joey Goschy
Joy Haas
Tracie Johnson
Elena Morera
Arline Norsworthy
Michael O’Halloran
Michelle Purviance
John Shores
Thelma Sorich