Questions for Athertonians

Defense of Free Speech by the Athertonians Email List and Group Moderators

Athertonians is a an electronic (email) message group started in 2004 to facilitate communication by and between residents of Atherton. We send residents email on important or time-sensitive matters and events pertaining to our town neighborhoods and community. We are not affiliated with or controlled by any specific town group or Atherton town staff and have always been clear about that.  As a resident-run email list that is privately organized and managed by Atherton residents, we owe the existence of this group to the volunteer efforts of its Moderators. 

While this email list is moderated to be non-partisan with respect to town issues, we are aware that the town's political climate is extremely unhealthy.  Rather than a town council that listens to and openly addresses concerns raised by residents, the council majority (Widmer, McKeithen and Dobbie) has ignored expressions of concerns from both fellow council members (Carlson, Lewis) and residents and suppressed requests by residents and council for opportunities to vet these concerns.  This is particularly acute regarding the rather broad-based unhappiness with the proposed Library Project, which is being pushed through, despite much opposition, by council member McKeithen, who is also an author of the plan. 

There have been a number of surprisingly aggressive actions taken recently to attack individual residents, council members and even town committees, related to the Library Project.  Unfortunately, the lack of a permanent Town Manager, the revolving door of City Attorneys, and a staff that is comprised of nearly all contract temporary consultants, provides little ballast against inappropriate actions taken by entrenched council members.

With this as the backdrop, Athertonians has begun to embrace an additional mission—which is to serve the important rights of Atherton residents to have a channel of truthful and reliable information, to balance town-supported sources deemed unreliable, and to allow residents to air concerns and points of view that are dismissed by their elected representatives.  We reserve the right to not send messages deemed misleading or disrespectful, no matter who they are from.  Currently, in what seems like a direct effort to counter Athertonians' efforts to inform Atherton residents about what their leadership is doing, council member McKeithen has now threatened the Athertonians group directly with legal action from the town. 

Fortunately, the Supreme Court stands behind our right to Freedom of Speech and our ability to use a name reserved for the denizens of a locale, in our case Athertonians, which is distinct from the name used by the town for its infrequent newsletter, "The Athertonian."  As such, we have no hesitation in assuring you that we are not discontinuing our use of a name we have held for over 8 years.  Furthermore, we will gladly assist those who are discomforted with the type of information that we provide and remove them from the list. 

We value informed civil discourse and its benefits to good governance, which this town is currently not enjoying. When facts and opinions get freely shared, this enables people to discuss such information amongst themselves.  Thus, we welcome messages from residents towards that aim and we occasionally send alerts ourselves.  If we send out information and members have corrections to suggest, we would happily consider such points and issue corrections.  We do not claim either to be infallible or to have no opinions.




From: Renee Batti
To: athertonians_moderator@yahoo.com
Sent: Monday, May 7, 2012 5:06 PM
Subject: Questions for Athertonians

Greetings.

I'm interested in talking with the moderator/moderators of the Athertonians Yahoo group. Could you call me or, at least, respond to this email? I'll be doing an article about the town's interest in shutting the site down if it continues to use the name Athertonians. I'd like to get your comments about that.

Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks, Renee

--
Renee Batti
News Editor
The Almanac
3525 Alameda de las Pulgas
Menlo Park, California 94025
(650) 223-6528

Atherton's Use of Library Tax Funds

Two Items brought to our attention pertaining to the Library JPA:

MEMO for the May 7, 2012 Meeting of the San Mateo County Library JPA Governing Board (Kathy McKeithen representing Atherton)

1.  Donor City: Town of Atherton
Balance of Donor City Library Revenue on June 30, 2011: $5,574,263

The Town of Atherton proposes to utilize SMCL Donor City revenue in an amount estimated at $1,004,950.  Revenue will be used to offset facility costs incurred in Town related general maintenance, utilities, custodial services, landscaping services and associated supplies for the library building.  Included in this amount is also an appropriation estimated at $957,000 to capture costs related to the new library building project.  These activities include project management services, architectural design related activities, town planner services, activities related to the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), and advertising and public notices. [Emphasis Added.]

2.  Recommendation:

Recommend JPA Governing Board approval of the FY 2012-13 Proposed Uses of Donor City Library Funds and that, beginning in FY 2012-13, the Library creates separate Trust Fund accounts for new excess Donor City Library revenue. [This motion means that funds in excess of the amount required to operate a branch will no longer be distributed directly to Atherton to be held in its own separarte library account.]

New Site of Atherton Library

Note from Moderator:  This is an example of the kind of thoughtful and creative ideas for "re-imagining" the Atherton Library that our town truly needs.  We find these ideas worth sharing with the community, however, for such ideas to have any impact on the process at this stage, they MUST be submitted to Lisa Costa Sanders specifically as comments on the Draft EIR by May 7th.  Luckily, comments on the Draft EIR may be submitted by anyone in the broader community and need not be just from current Atherton residents.  

(To comment on this post, click the light colored "comments" link at the bottom, and write your comment into the box.  Then to sign your comment, click on "Comment as" and scroll down to the "Name/URL" option. If you click that, you can enter your name in the Name dialog box.)

From: Nic Dell
To: "lcostasanders@ci.atherton.ca.us" ; "bwidmer@ci.atherton.ca.us" ; "elewis@ci.atherton.ca.us" ; "kmckeithen@ci.atherton.ca.us" ; "jcarlson@ci.atherton.ca.us" ; "jdobbie@ci.atherton.ca.us" ; "meo@rjoster.com"
Sent: Thursday, May 3, 2012 10:48 PM
 
Subject: New Site of Atherton Library

Dear Atherton Town Council and Whom It May Concern,

I believe the Town of Atherton is missing an opportunity to create a great public library if the Town decides to use Holbrook Palmer Park as the new home of the Atherton Library.  The park does have space for library; it’s clear that this is the primary advantage of the park if it is to be used as the new home of the library.  However, there are other locations that may be better mainly because such locations would not necessitate any transformation as significant as the one that has been currently proposed for Holbrook Palmer Park. The park will change drastically if a library is built there, and these changes will harm the park, not help it.  The Town Council and the Atherton Library Building Steering Committee must not allow such unnecessary and avoidable changes to occur.

One location that is potentially better for a new library is the site of the current town administrative offices.  The building that houses these offices could be demolished and replaced with a two or possibly three story library building (one level could be partly or completely underground).  The administrative offices could in turn be moved to the current library building.  If more space is needed for the administrative offices than the current library building can provide, an additional building and/or wing can be erected in the reading park that is adjacent to the current library building.  This idea has some advantages over the current proposal of Holbrook Park as the site of the new library.  First, it would not require demolishing the Main House currently on the grounds of Holbrook Palmer Park, which is of greater historic and architectural value than the building that houses the town’s administrative offices.  Second, if the library is built where the town administrative offices currently stand, Holbrook Palmer Park’s tranquil ambience would be preserved. Third, it could be less expensive to demolish the town administrative offices than the Main House in Holbrook Palmer Park.  Fourth, if the library is built on the site of the administrative offices, the Town of Atherton would have more buildings than if the Main House in the park were demolished and replaced with a library building: the town would still have the Main House in the park, an attractive, practical and well-used park facility; the current library building (which would be converted into offices); and a new library building. In contrast, in the current proposal, the town would lose the Main House at the park and have a library that would potentially be more difficult to get to than in another, more practical location.  Fifth, if the new library building is erected on the current site of the town’s administrative offices, there would be far more parking available than in the park and the library would be more accessible because it would be built on a town street, rather than inside a public park.  This location would completely eliminate the traffic problems associated with the proposed site.

I have been a library employee for over ten years.  I care about public libraries.  Like public parks, they are a priceless resource that must be preserved and cared for.  Although I am no longer a resident of Atherton, I feel very loyal to the town because it is very much a part of my heritage.  Holbrook Park and the library are both very important assets to Atherton.  I urge the Town Council and the Atherton Library Building Steering Committee to take more time to consider other locations for the new library that are more accessible, more practical and that will preserve the character of the town.

Thank you for your time.

Respectfully,

Nick Dellaporta
Former Resident of Atherton
Library Support Specialist, College of San Mateo Library         

List of Residents who oppose the current library plan

[Added by moderator, by request of Jill Fogelsong]

If a list could be created of reasons why this library building should not be built, I would sign it. There are probably other Atherton neighbors who feel the same way, that there are many reasons why this building should not be built. This list of Atherton residents who oppose the library construction could then be presented to the Atherton Town Council. There is probably a majority of Atherton residents who oppose construction of a new library building.

Note: To add your name and your comment to Jill's list, please click on the blue "comments" link right at the bottom of this post and type your  comment in the box. To add your name, click on the "Comment as" button and select "Name/URL" from the drop-down menu.  Enter your name in the Name dialog box.  You do not need to enter a URL but you need to click the "Publish" link.

Residents need to submit Library EIR comments by May 7th

Dear Residents,

The 45-day comment period for the Library EIR ends on Monday, May 7th.  All comments submitted by 5:00 pm on that day have to be answered by the town and the Final EIR must include a copy of your letter and the town's answer.  If the answers provided are not adequate and the city council certifies that they are, then residents have a basis for appealing the council's decision.

Whether you are in favor of the proposed plan to build a much bigger library in Holbrook-Palmer Park (an areas zoned as Open Space) or against this plan, the only way to insure that the final implementation addresses the significant impacts you care about is to read the draft EIR and write your comments.  Any errors, inadequate analyses, misstatements of fact or omissions must be commented on before the 7th, for the town to have to address them.

If you are under the impression that the EIR is being done completely impartially, think again.  A quick glance at the "Contacts (p. 182)" cited by LSA, the consultants working on the EIR, show that the ONLY residents listed are Library Committee members, all of whom somehow knew to write to Neal Martin, Town Planner, between January and March with their thoughts about the project, which have subsequently been cited and factored into the draft EIR. That seems rather skewed and, in fact, the bias of that group is indeed reflected in the draft EIR.

The bad news is that writing an effective EIR Comment Letter takes some time and discipline. Simply complaining about the way the Library Committee handled the community engagement phase won't help change the project at all.  You must comment only on the facts as presented in the EIR, the analysis of the EIR and factual or significant omissions pertaining to significant environmental impacts (which may include: aethetics, biological resources, public services, cultural resources, hydrology, noise, recreation, air quality, land use/planning, population/housing, traffic and a few other areas).  A close and careful reading of the EIR and some critique of the facts and analysis provided there is what is appropriate. 

For a project of this significance to the town, there has been surprisingly little guidance for residents about the overall process or the impacts of the project going ahead as designed. The town has not made any extra hard copies of the EIR, which means that everyone who has an interest in seeing the EIR has to access the electronic version, which has been posted on the Town's website (in five separate .pdfs on the lower right side of the home page) as at: http://www.ci.atherton.ca.us. 

For a quick overview on how to provide effective comments, take a look at How to Comment on an EIR, from Greenbelt Alliance (http://www.greenbelt.org/advocacy/planning-for-change-how-to-comment-on-an-environmental-impact-report/).

For really good detailed and helpful information, go to the PCL Foundations website, and their publications called Get Familiar with CEQA.  There you can acess a number of the key forms that can help you understand the process, write a compelling comment letter, and learn when opportunities exist for public comment.  PCL's Community Guide to CEQA is considered the bible for community members who want to have an impact on how a project is done but it has to be ordered and it is a big volume.

A sample of a professional, hard-hitting EIR comment letter for a different project has been kindly provided to us as an example of the kind of letter that can be effective to force the town to address significant impacts. A letter crafted along this model, delineating each essential comment with supporting facts, can force the town to have to defend their responses at subsequent public hearings. We have attached it to this message for your edification.

After the Final EIR process has been certified, there is very little that can be done by residents to prevent a determined council majority from moving ahead with the project, no matter how unhappy residents are about it, unless those issues have been raised during this comment period.  If you have concerns about this project, you must submit those in the form of an EIR comment letter by Monday for the town to be required to address them.

(Note: The attached EIR Comment Letter has been made available in the Files area of the Athertonians website at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Athertonians, which you may access if you are a member of the Athertonians email list). 

Street Signs need more maintenance

[Posted by Moderator from message to Moderator]

Athertonites:  I think that we should clean up the street signs.... the vertical black letters on the white post should be cleaned up more often.  Some signs need to be also repainted.   For a quality city like Atherton, we should have signs that are clean and that stand out so that people can read them and get a better impression of the inhabitants of this upscale city.   Clean and distinct signs are critical to helping people spot streets.....Something that doesn't cost a lot but really changes the perception of the city.....   Sincerely,  

Larry Chew
Lwchew@aol.com

EIR library in park

 [Added by Moderator]

As a 46-year Athertonian I visit both park & library more than once a week.  Here are two points:

Parking in the park was impossible until our council outlawed its use recently.  Every spot was filled and many parked illegally.  Is our council misleading us?

The EIR says in one place (page 20) that when the library moves to the park, the existing library building will be used by the town for storage & staff offices. Then later this EIR (pp 129-130) rejects use of the existing library because it needs seizmic upgrades of 5 types.

        

Both cannot be correct.  This EIR is flawed.

Added points:

Our council, the council's library committee, and the Almanac editor seem to favor putting the library in the park.  If we are allowed to vote, I fear we who oppose putting our only library in  our only park will not be heard by uninvolved Athertonians who are probably the majority. 

Access to the park is via one street (Watkins) and one entrance.  Access to our existing library is via 5 or 6 alternative routes.

Our council, mostly lawyers or real estate developers, opposes a vote because it can only make them neutral or foolish.  A vote against lib-in-park would show our council wasted the high cost of the EIR. 
              

 -   Thomas A. Croft, Ph.D.    76 Moulton Drive     Atherton  


P.S.   Thanks to many of you for helpful comments and to my wife Rachel, the best editor I ever encountered, a version of my earlier email has been sent to Lisa Costa Sanders which makes it official, they say: 

to LCOSTASANDERS@CI.ATHERTON.CA.US