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Community Connection Committee
Events Annual Disaster Preparedness Fair Liaison Education/Cabrillo: Donna Ziel Community Connections news BC Rec District Making Great Progress Kudos to Christine Horvath, the new Director of the Boulder Creek Rec Hall! She is energetic and intelligent, and filled with exciting ideas for expanding programs for local residents of all ages, and for improving the District’s image after years of unwelcome controversy. Christine recently directed the efforts to repair the roof, redo the floors, install a new septic, and make the Hall more attractive with a $97,000 grant. With the help of the BC Family Network, a campaign to “Take Back Your Park,” has made Junction Park back into the clean, safe, fun place it was in years past. Plans are in the works for improving Garrahan Park (two miles north of town). New programs are being offered, as you will see in the Activity Guide coming in the Press Banner. New plans for trips to San Jose for theatrical performances for Senior Citizens are in the works. Teens are actively involved in creating a new program, and possibly a new teen center, and raising funds to do so. You are encouraged to check out the BC Rec and Park Department website and to join in the new activities being offered. VWC Supports Successful Measure O -- New School Library Funded SLV school improvement Measure O fits our mission precisely. Measure O funds will replace and expand the high school and middle school libraries, which were insufficient before the fire. Existing non-classroom space will be converted for music, drama, art, vocational and science programs. The performing arts center will be renovated and expanded for school and community use. Our kids deserve as much opportunity in arts and sciences as they do in sports. This measure will enable the school to make improvements now, rather than later when costs will inevitably rise. Good schools and libraries are essential for concerned and active citizens. Obviously the voters agree!
The new edition of AAA’s VIA Magazine for March/April 2008 has a Weekender article on the San Lorenzo Valley (page 23-24) with a mention of the San Lorenzo Valley Museum, its collection of antique logging tools, and Barbara Kennedy’s book Historic Homes of Boulder Creek. It’s a great article starting with our magnificent coast redwoods before there were settlers, then covering what someone can experience today, starting in Boulder Creek and traveling down to Felton. It’s nice to see the SLV in this popular magazine; please share it with your family and friends and encourage them to visit the SLV and the Museum. Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center Has A Lot Going On! Check out the Santa Cruz Mountain Arts Center website. You will find much of interest. The “Left Turns Only” exhibit will end before you receive this Newsletter, so watch for the next exhibit, ““Experiments in Print: – Reduce -> Reuse -> Recycle, “ appearing from March 5 through March 29. The Gallery hours are Wednesday - Sunday, 12 - 6 p.m. Admission is free. Ukulele classes, Life Drawing, “Mud Matters” (ceramics), Raku, and Youth Classes are ongoing. There will be an Acoustic Jam Session on WEDNESDAY, March 5 from 7 – 9 p.m., sponsored by the Ben Lomond Acoustic Society (BLAS), and hosted by Carolee Burrows. For information on any of the events, classes or shows at Mountain Arts, please call 338-4ARTS. Progress towards a New Library for Our Valley Felton Library Friends, the community group working towards a new branch library to serve the entire San Lorenzo Valley, continues to put the pieces together for the design and funding of the new library. FLF hosted a discussion in February to examine a variety of possible funding sources for a new branch in Felton. Supervisor Stone, library board member Nancy Gerdt, and our grant researcher, Jo Kenny, participated in the discussion. Advisors from our Community Foundation grant continue to help us focus our efforts and message as we prepare for eventual fundraising efforts. A design workshop in January was attended by about thirty community members and architect Teall Messer. FLF members presented slides and observations from their visits to six libraries in Central California. Architect Messer and library board members continue to work with the County Planning Department on preliminary approval of the site and building footprint. FLF is delighted with the passage of Measure O, which will fund, among other things, a state-of-the-art school library for Valley youth. FLF has consistently maintained that our children and teens need both an excellent school library and a fine public library. For more information, visit Felton Library Friends or call 335-1135. Felton Library Friends invites entries of poems on the theme of "friends" to the Fourth Annual San Lorenzo Valley Poetry Contest. Entries must be submitted by April 4 in four age categories: 4-8 years old (including dictated poems), 9-12 years old, 13-17 years old, and adult. Poems will be judged by local poet, Barbara Bloom. VWC Participates in Ben Lomond Fire’s Consideration of Bond Issue VWC Board Member, Donna Ziel, attended meetings of a Citizens’ Advisory Committee for the Ben Lomond Fire District, regarding their efforts to put a bond measure on one of the forthcoming elections this year. After hours of discussion, with advice from a professional consultant group, it was decided to have a Fire District Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, February 20th. At that meeting the Ben Lomond volunteers planned to present information on the deteriorating state of the 68 year old fire station, including its lack of seismic safety, the too short bay doors, lack of adequate storage and the threat of asbestos and lead contamination in the building. The fact that the School District just had a bond measure on the ballot, and that the County Library will soon be asking to extend its current ½ cent sales tax permanently, both work to discourage voters from supporting another costly bond measure. The Fire Department feels that the issues of fire safety, 9-1-1 response and the inadequacy of the fire station to provide the service the community relies on will persuade Ben Lomond voters to support the sales tax. Hopefully Ben Lomond residents will have turned out for the Town Hall Meeting so they can make a wise decision. Updated! Three proceedings were scheduled in the court case that the SLV Water District has brought against RWE and Cal-Am as a part of the process to regain public ownership of the Felton Water District, which is strongly supported by the community. All will take place before Judge Burdick of the Santa Cruz County Superior Court: The MOTION TO DISMISS was on Friday, January 18; Cal-Am claims that SLVWD did not include in its offer to purchase the water system the fair market value for the water treatment plant. It makes this claim even though the plant has been paid entirely from special fees paid by ratepayers. As expected, the Court denied the motion. The RIGHT TO TAKE TRIAL, where SLV Water would have had to prove that their purchase of the Felton Water District would serve the public interest, did not take place. CalAm backed out and did not contest the purchase. Now the focus is on the VALUATION (Jury) TRIAL starting June 2nd, where SLVWD must demonstrate that its purchase will serve the public interest. SLVWD will have to show that CalAm has inflated the value of the system and that the value SLVWD has carefully researched and documented IS what they should have to pay. This has been an extraordinary process, bringing international attention to the Felton community and the issue of public vs. private ownership of public resources.
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SLV Museum Featured in AAA’s VIA Magazine