Council Briefs Council Briefs (June 17, 2005)

Senior center contract approved, for real this time

The city council voted 5-1 Tuesday night to hire McCrary Construction Company of Belmont to build the new senior center. McCrary's bid, the lowest of three submitted, came in at $10.5 million, slightly less than the city's construction budget for the project. Construction of the center will take place in stages to allow the interim center and the Avenidas senior day health center to continue operation.

Council member Greg Perry, who has in the past called the center a waste of money, registered a no vote against the contract. Tom Means was absent from the meeting.

'Urban hike' set for late June

Mayor Matt Neely will join developers and a coalition of pro-housing groups on a tour of transit-oriented developments in Mountain View. The "Livable Communities Tour" will start at the San Antonio Caltrain station at 9 a.m. on June 25.

Featured sites will include The Crossings and several other spots downtown. Participants will receive free train passes. Lunch will be provided at picnic tables on the HP campus, the site of a controversial Toll Brothers proposal for 630 units.

To register by the June 22 deadline, go to www.svlg.net and print out a copy of the invitation, or call (408) 501-7864.

City chips in to housing fund

City council members backed a proposal by Mayor Matt Neely to donate $450,000 to a nonprofit housing fund for the county, but not without criticizing it first.

Noting that even residents above the median income level are eligible for a subsidy from the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County, council member Perry voted against the contribution, calling it "an illusion of action."

Council member Matt Pear was even more critical.

"This is useless," he said. "It's not going to do much for anybody."

Even so, the council voted 5-1 to approve the transfer. Pear voted in favor, but he threatened to oppose proposals in the future unless they address his concerns about the impacts that developer fees have on the cost of housing.

The money will come out of the city's affordable housing funds -- accrued from fees charged to developers -- and on top of $600,000 the city has donated to the Housing Trust over the last three years.

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