Community leader Elizabeth 'Liz' Goldberg dies at ... - Almanac News

Short
takes
We want some Mo!
Wonderful children’s
author/illustrator Mo Willems
is coming to Kepler’s in
Menlo Park on Friday, Sept.
21, for a pajama party with
his young fans. The Caldecott
Medal winner will read his
new book, a sequel to “Knuffle
Bunny” called “Knuffle
Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken
Identity.” The party starts
at 6:30 p.m. and attendees are
strongly encouraged to wear
their jammies and fuzzy slippers.
Kepler’s promises it will
be “the best story time ever.”
Call 324-4321 or go to www.
Keplers.com.
Atherton is No. 1
In the latest Forbes Magazine,
Atherton tied with
Miami Beach, Florida, and
Kenilworth, Illinois, as America’s
richest neighborhood,
with a median annual income
of $200,001 and a median
home sale price of $1.74 million.
Atherton beat out Diablo
and Rancho Santa Fe, both in
California, for the top honor.
Promises, promises
The two architects designing
the new $20 million complex
at Portola Valley Town
Center got a grilling Wednesday
night, Sept. 12, over the
use of about $150,000 in
contingency funds. Councilman
Ed Davis wanted reassurances
that it wasn’t going
to become a habit.
In the dialogue, architects
Larry Strain and Jim Goring,
while not complaining,
attributed the expenses to
requests from the town that
went beyond the agreed-upon
tasks, and that more such
charges were not expected.
“What I’m getting from
Jim is it’s unlikely,” Mr. Davis
said.
“It’s unlikely we’ll be asking
for the money,” Mr. Goring
replied wryly.
“Larry has learned to say
‘No,’” Town Administrator
Angela Howard added.
“You guys are doing a great
job,” said Mayor Ted Driscoll.
“We’re very, very happy with
your work.”
Ms. Howard had one last
special request: Could they go
to the Blues & Barbecue Festival
on Sunday?
“I’ll buy you your food,”
offered Mr. Driscoll.
M E N L O P A R K | A T H E R T O N | W O O D S I D E | P O R T O L A V A L L E Y
Phillips Brooks School buys 10 acres
near Portola Valley, town official says
■ Portola Valley council members, residents express
concerns about possible new school campus.
By David Boyce
Almanac Staff Writer
Phillips Brooks School, the
private preschool-throughgrade-5
school now operating
at 2245 Avy Ave. in Menlo
Park, has purchased a 10-acre
undeveloped parcel along Los
Trancos Creek on unincorporated
land in Santa Clara County,
according to Portola Valley deputy
town planner Tom Vlasic. The
property is just across the creek
from the Alpine Inn parking lot
in Portola Valley.
The school bought the property
without having decided
“exactly what to do with it,” Mr.
Vlasic said he was told.
Mr. Vlasic said in a report to
the Portola Valley Town Council
that he spoke with Phillips
Brooks Trustee John Shenk, a
Woodside resident, on Sept. 10.
Mr. Vlasic noted that, according
to Mr. Shenk, the school has not
yet submitted a plan to Santa
Clara County and is aware of
the lengthy planning processes
facing the school and the need
to work with concerned neighbors
and communities.
Repeated phone calls from
the Almanac requesting comment
from Mr. Shenk and from
Phillips Brooks School were not
returned.
Phillips Brooks leases its current
campus on Avy Avenue
from the Las Lomitas Elementary
School District.
Portola Valley concerns
Some Portola Valley residents
are raising concerns that Phillips
Brooks plans to move its
campus to the new site. If a
school is built there, it could
increase traffic through Portola
Valley.
Mr. Vlasic said in an e-mail
to Portola Valley council members
that the school could face a
number of issues in applying to
the Santa Clara County Planning
Commission for a use permit to
operate a school. Among them:
■ The site adjoins a perennial
creek that would be vulnerable
to rainwater run-off
from impervious surfaces at the
school.
■ The site is right across the
creek from the outdoor eating
and drinking area of the Alpine
Inn, a popular tavern.
■ An engineering consultant
to the school
concluded that
just four acres
of the hilly site
are suitable for
development.
■ Santa
Clara County
may require
the school to
serve the local
“rural” community.
A
2007-08 school
directory
shows 93 percent
of Phillips
Brooks’ 192
families living
outside Portola
Valley and 50
percent living
in Menlo Park
and Atherton.
■ The site
is about 300
feet south of Arastradero Road
and near the intersection with
Alpine Road — a junction with
tight, narrow curves and a short,
steep uphill grade. Improving
the intersection would require
an encroachment permit from
Portola Valley.
The school would also have to
win agreement from neighbors
to widen the one-lane private
Some Portola Valley residents are alarmed about
the possibility that Philips Brooks School may be
seeking to build a campus on 10 acres along Los
Trancos Creek, the county boundary. The site is in
unincorporated Santa Clara County opposite the
Alpine Inn parking lot in Portola Valley.
road that fronts the site, said
Georgia Bennicas, who owns
five acres between the site and
Arastradero Road. She lives in
Portola Valley.
“They’re never getting access,”
Ms. Bennicas said in an interview.
“They’re not coming
across my land; they’re not buy-
Grand jury looking into Atherton’s affairs, again
By Andrea Gemmet
Almanac Staff Writer
The current turmoil in the
town of Atherton, involving
Finance Director John
Johns, appears headed for the
scrutiny of the San Mateo County
Civil Grand Jury.
Two Atherton residents told the
Almanac that they have been called
in to be interviewed by the grand
jury this week.
The turmoil erupted on Aug. 27,
when Finance Director John Johns
was placed on paid administrative
leave reportedly because of complaints
that he created a hostile
work environment.
Mr. Johns denies the allegations
and said that he himself
has been subject to threats and
hostility following his audits of
the Atherton Building Department
and his questioning of
other town financial records.
Sam Goodman, the chair of the
Atherton Audit Committee, and
Bob Jenkins, a former audit committee
member and director of the
Atherton Civic Interest League,
confirmed that they would be
speaking to the civil grand jury.
Three members of the grand
jury, including its foreman, attended
the public portion of a closed
session Atherton City Council
meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 12,
said Mr. Jenkins. He said several
other town officials and residents
are scheduled to be interviewed by
the grand jury, as well.
The civil grand jury is a watchdog
group that investigates city
and county governments, issues
reports and makes recommendations.
Although it’s an arm of the
courts, a civil grand jury cannot
hand down criminal indictments;
it can recommend that a criminal
San Mateo
County
ALPINE ROAD
Rossotti
soccer
field
grand jury do so.
Civil grand juries work in secret
— anyone who has been interviewed
by a grand jury is not
allowed to discuss it, and the
reports are the only publicly available
information that result from
their investigations.
Earlier this year, the grand jury
issued two reports on problems
surrounding Atherton’s building
department. The first report condemned
lax procedures and a lack
of communication between the
town’s building department and
inspectors with the Menlo Park Fire
Protection District, claiming that
safety hazards might exist in some
Atherton homes. Atherton officials
vigorously disputed the report’s
charges, but later agreed to work
more closely with the fire district.
The grand jury’s final report,
issued in July, criticized City Manager
Jim Robinson for a lack
parking lot
PRIVATE ROAD
GOLDEN OAK DRIVE
LOS TRANCOS CREEK
Alpine Inn
P
ALPINE ROAD
PRIVATE ROAD
ARASTRADERO ROAD
Possible
school site
Santa Clara
County
See PHILLIPS BROOKS, page 11
of supervision over the building
department staff, not intervening
in a case of serious employee misconduct,
and failing to keep council
members informed of significant
matters. Mr. Robinson retired at
the end of July, and the council
appointed his assistant, Wende
Protzman, to serve as interim town
manager until a permanent one is
hired.
Currently, attorney Mary Topliff’s
investigation into the complaints
against Mr. Johns is ongoing. City
Attorney Marc Hynes said he did
not know when the investigation
would be completed.
If any disciplinary measures are
taken against a department head
such as Mr. Johns, they will be
meted out by Ms. Protzman, not
the council, Mr. Hynes said. He said
he did not know if the City Council
would view Ms. Topliff’s report on
her investigation. A
September 19, 2007 ■ The Almanac ■ 5