Each Public School in Atherton Could get 1 million dollars

From: Colleen Anderson
Date: August 6, 2012 12:38:30 PM PDT
To: Athertonians Athertonians , Atherton lunch lunch group
Subject: [Athertonians] My understanding is each Public School in Atherton Could get 1 million dollars if we can convince City Council

The library fund is about 7-8 million dollars. What if we took 2-3 million to remodel & retrofit the current library. Then took the other 5 million and gave it to our public school libraries. At this moment in time it is my understanding that this could be an option. Selby Lane, Las Lomitas, MA,  Encinal, and any other public schools I might have missed. I just got off the phone with the principle of one of the schools, and she said that would be a miracle. Anyone have any input on this. Anyone want to help with this idea.

Atherton Awristachatz
Colleen Anderson
lovemypaws@yahoo.com
(650) 369-4949 Home

Term Limits

[Posted by Moderator]

From: Colleen Anderson
Date: August 3, 2012 10:36:54 PM PDT
To: Athertonians Athertonians
Subject: [Athertonians] Fwd: Term Limits

Begin forwarded message:

From: Anne McNertney
Subject: FW: Term Limits
Date: August 3, 2012 8:18:18 PM PDT
To: Colleen Anderson

Dear Colleen,
        
       Could you forward this attached Petition for Term Limits to members of the Awristachatz and ask them to forward it to their friends?  I need 100 signed petitions to present to the City Manager by August 15th, which would give her time to add this item to the August 21st Special Meeting Agenda.

                                       Thank You for your Co-operation,
                                                                         Anne McNertney
 

                                                                       

The Atherton Library and the Wednesday Town Council Meeting

From: Rick DeGolia
Date: July 24, 2012 5:14:26 PM PDT
To: Bill Widmer, Elizabeth Lewis, Jim Dobbie, Jerry Carlson, Kathy McKeithen
Cc: Didi Fisher
Subject: The Atherton Library and the Wednesday Town Council Meeting

Dear members of the Town Council:

I am writing to you for the first time, notwithstanding my having lived in Atherton for the past 12 years and my family having lived in Lindenwood for more than 40 years before that.

First, I am extremely disappointed that you have scheduled this very important town council meeting for 4pm in the afternoon.  You had to do this knowing that it would necessarily exclude many, many potential attendees who are concerned Atherton residents but who have to work and don't have the freedom to leave our jobs to correct the misjudgments of our elected representatives, no matter how much we would like to.  For myself, I live on Clay Drive and work in San Francisco.  I haven't attended a Town Council meeting, but I would have attended this one.  Please read these comments into the record at the Wednesday meeting.

We all know that the controversy regarding the library, its recommended placement in the Holbrook-Palmer Park and the issues surrounding this controversy have been extremely polarizing for the citizens of Atherton.  As our elected representatives, you should want to provide us residents with as complete, transparent and open a picture as you can.  The idea of building a new library is a tremendous opportunity for our community.  Of course, it is made much easier by the funds for the project being dedicated library funds that come from county taxes, but it nevertheless is a huge opportunity to gather input and ideas from your constituents to design something that can have a huge forward looking impact on all Athertonians.  And what an enormous, smart resource you have in the residents of Atherton to accomplish that task.  I appreciate everything that the library commission has done, but this isn't a finished project.  The Commission has built a foundation and established a framework for the engagement of many Atherton residents in this project.  They should be very happy with that accomplishment.  But this is only the beginning.  What has erupted is an enormous controversy principally about the library's location and secondarily about the town's needs and the form and content of the new library.

Rather than see this controversy as the extremely unfortunate event as you seem to view it, essentially as an imposition on your time and possibly a challenge to your authority, you should see this as a tremendous opportunity.  This is an opportunity to organize the people of Atherton as you have probably never seen before.  And, frankly, this isn't such a HUGE issue, but you now have an enormous number of people organized by this controversy.  Use this opportunity to further stimulate our population.  Open yourselves up to your constituency and restart this entire process.  Please, provide some leadership.  Rather than seeing this as the end, see this as the beginning.  Use this opportunity to get many more people involved in evaluating and designing what the new library will be and where it will be located.  Please don't take this down the path of a challenge to your authority.  Your authority is meaningless to most of us.  REALLY, we couldn't care less.  But if you help invigorate this community and rethink what this library project can be, you could launch us in a really meaningful direction.  Shouldn't our new library project seriously assess what the library of the 21st century should look like, how it can most effectively touch people and what it can do for our community, using all of today's and tomorrow's technology.  This is a project that be used to invigorate our community in a tremendously positive way. 

Please don't go down the narrow, paranoid path of stating the ballot proposition language in such a manner that you believe will most likely generate the votes as you want them.  This needs to be the most open ended question that it can be so that the people of Atherton can explore their thoughts and their creativity.  If you narrow this language in a manipulative way, then this language will be more about you, than about giving the citizens of Atherton an opportunity to explore this library project as being about them and their needs. 

Thank you, Rick DeGolia

New Town of Atherton Library Ballot Question

From: Scott Feamster
Date: July 24, 2012 4:00:56 PM PDT
To: Bill Widmer, Elizabeth Lewis, Jim Dobbie, Jerry Carlson, Kathy McKeithen
Cc: Didi Fisher, Charles Marsala, Paul Tonelli, Athertonians, Valerie Gardner
Subject: New Town of Atherton Library Ballot Question

Dear Bill, Elizabeth, Jim, Jerry, and Kathy,

Please read this email into the Town of Atherton City Council July 25, 2012, meeting record.

A proposed ballot question on the new Town of Atherton library reads, "Should the Town of Atherton construct a new library in Holbrook-Palmer Park, using funds dedicated for the Library purposes only, and not using any existing park open space for this purpose?"

To conform with best practices question methodology, the ballot question should be one simple question instead of a complex compound question, which is also incomplete and will complicate citizens's expressions of their opinions.  I recommend a ballet question that simply reads, "Should the Town of Atherton include a new library as part of a Town of Atherton master plan?"

Additionally I would greatly appreciate the Town of Atherton City Council finally responding to three (3) questions I've repeatedly asked since October 2011 about the functionality of the new Town of Atherton library.
*  Where are the comprehensive design assessments of user requirement, education, and high technology trends? 
*  How can we assure the most qualified consultants and committee members?
*  How can we increase total community usage?

In October 2011 I also suggested, "Atherton should build a world class town center with a community integrated library based on state-of-the-art technology.  Available information suggests that the proposed Atherton library and town center concepts are already obsolete.  Benchmarking state-of-the-art libraries and town centers is critical to form data-based opinions.  At  least two major needs seem unmet in current library and town center proposals.
*  Comprehensive integration:  a library integrated with the town center and with other knowledge centers.
*  Ubiquitous access:  technology providing anytime anywhere mobile global knowledge access."

For responsive and responsible Atherton government,
Scott

Scott Feamster
230 Park Lane, Atherton

Library end game is now: add your thoughts and concerns

Hi all,

Thank you for all the help on previous petitions. All of these efforts have helped to get the council to consider a vote.

The meeting is Wednesday, July 25 at 4 pm. It is important for all who can, to go. The wording on the proposed library issue is not objective. The proposal is: "Should the Town of Atherton construct a new library in Holbrook-Palmer Park, using funds dedicated for the Library purposes only, and not using any existing park open space for this purpose?"

It would be more objective to ask,"Should the Town of Atherton construct a new (county) library at Holbrook-Palmer Park?" The rest of the above question should be in the argument for and maybe that is also true of the word "county" which might be in argument against.

We need people to show up and speak to this. If you can't go, please send an email to the council members and ask them to read your email into the record:
Bill Widmer bwidmer@pacbell.net
Elizabeth Lewis lizlew08@gmail.com
Jim Dobbie jdobbie@ci.atherton.ca.us
Jerry Carlson ralijer@ix.netcom.com
Kathy McKeithen kmckeithin@ci.atherton.ca.us

The EIR certification is also on agenda. Any concerns over traffic, parking, use of space, control of park all need to be put on the record again for possible future litigation. So please go to the meeting and put your issues on record or email council at the above emails.

There will also be discussion on possible ballot wording for Little League improvements and possibly something about a new Town Center next Wednesday, July 25th. Wording was not included in information provided for agenda.

Thank you all for keeping the pressure on for an objective ballot proposition.

Didi Fisher


Sent from my iPad.

AGENDA for the July 25th Council Meeting at 4:00 pm

From Interim Town Manager Theresa DellaSanta, the agenda for Wednesday's Special Council meeting being held at the irregular time of 4:00 pm along with the agenda packet of information.

AGENDA

Town of Atherton

CITY COUNCIL/ATHERTON CHANNEL DRAINAGE DISTRICT

July 25, 2012

4:00 P.M.

Council Chambers

94 Ashfield Road

Atherton, California

Special Meeting

ROLL CALL   Widmer, Lewis, Dobbie, McKeithen, Carlson

4:01 P.M.       PUBLIC COMMENTS

4:10 P.M.       REGULAR

1.             RESOLUTION CERTIFYING THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

REPORT FOR ATHERTON LIBRARY BUILDING PROJECT

Report: Planning Department Staff

Recommendation: Certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Atherton Library Building Project is adequate and has been prepared in

accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act

2.             A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF

ATHERTON, CALIFORNIA ORDERING THE SUBMISSION TO THE

QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE TOWN OF ATHERTON A MEASURE

RELATING TO THE LOCATION OF THE NEW LIBRARY AT

HOLBROOK-PALMER PARK AT THE CONSOLIDATED GENERAL

MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6,

2012, AS CALLED BY RESOLUTION NO. 12-XX

Report: Interim City Manager Theresa DellaSanta

Recommendation: Approve Resolution 12-xx ordering the submission to

qualified electors of the town of Atherton a measure relating to the new library at Holbrook-Palmer Park at the Consolidated General Municipal Election to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

3.             A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF

ATHERTON, CALIFORNIA ORDERING THE SUBMISSION TO THE

QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE TOWN OF ATHERTON A MEASURE

RELATING TO THE MENLO-ATHERTON LITTLE LEAGUE

PROPOSAL FOR HOLBROOK-PALMER PARK AT THE

CONSOLIDATED GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE HELD

ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2012, AS CALLED BY RESOLUTION

NO. 12-XX

Report: Interim City Manager Theresa DellaSanta

Recommendation: Approve Resolution 12-xx ordering the submission to

qualified electors of the town of Atherton a measure relating to the Menlo-

Atherton Little League proposal for Holbrook-Palmer Park at the Consolidated General Municipal Election to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

4.             A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF

ATHERTON, CALIFORNIA ORDERING THE SUBMISSION TO THE

QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE TOWN OF ATHERTON A MEASURE

RELATING TO THE NEW TOWN CENTER AT THE CONSOLIDATED

GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY,

NOVEMBER 6, 2012, AS CALLED BY RESOLUTION NO. 12-XX

Report: Interim City Manager Theresa DellaSanta

Recommendation: Clarify the nature of the matter to be submitted to the electorate and direct staff to provide language for a Resolution 12-xx ordering the submission to qualified electors of the town of Atherton a measure relating to the new Town Center at the Consolidated General Municipal Election to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

ADJOURN

To: Athertonians Moderator
Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 7:26 AM
Subject: Fwd: July Agenda Packet and Information Release

Begin forwarded message:

From: Theresa DellaSanta <tdellasanta@ci.atherton.ca.us>

Date: July 20, 2012 1:42:59 PM PDT

To: Theresa DellaSanta <tdellasanta@ci.atherton.ca.us>

Subject: July Agenda Packet and Information Release

Attached is the Agenda and packet for the July 25 City Council meeting.

 

I have also attached an information release regarding inquiries about a phone survey on the Atherton Police Department.

 

Theresa N. DellaSanta

Interim City Manager/City Clerk

Town of Atherton

91 Ashfield Road

Atherton, CA 94027

650-752-0504

 

Council Meeting Wed July 25

From: "Paul Tonelli"
Date: July 21, 2012 6:21:24 PM PDT
To: Athertonians@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Athertonians] Council Meeting Wed July 25

Just a heads up to let you know about a critical Atherton Town Council meeting coming up Wednesday at 4p. Here is a link to the agenda: http://www.ci.atherton.ca.us/city-council/3794.pdf

At this meeting the council will discuss upcoming ballot proposals for the new library in the park, a little league expansion in the park, and the issue of a new town center.

These very important issues are ones that will impact Atherton, and the quality of life in Atherton for many, many years to come. Whether you are pro or con on any of these issues, please do what you can to attend this meeting and voice your opinion.

Of particular interest for everyone will be the choice of wording for all of these proposals on the November ballot. NOW is the time to step up and speak your piece. After this meeting it may be too late.