April 2, 2007

Dear Menlo Park City Council Members,

I have lived at 156 Felton Drive for 20 years, and have happily lived next
door to Encinal School without issue all this time. I and my 3 sons have
been active in the Menlo Park City School District for 14 years - my sons as
students at Laurel, Encinal, and Hillview, and I as an active school
volunteer. I co-chaired, with Terry Thygesen, a successful parcel tax
campaign in 2000 and have consistently voted for each bond and tax measure
that supported growth and enrichment in our schools.

I am writing today to express my dismay, as a neighbor of the school, and as
a parent, that you are considering permitting an adult-sized artificial turf
soccer field to be constructed on school property. This is a problem for a
number of reasons. First, I believe there has been inadequate public
hearing and discussion on this matter and that this resolution is being put
forth without adequate public notice, research, or debate.

Second, $600,000 is a significant expenditure of taxpayer funds, and I
personally object to an expenditure of this magnitude to build a soccer
field for adults. Further, I believe this will have a negative impact on
traffic, noise, water quality, aesthetics and community services. I have
personally experienced the confusion that exists between the Atherton and
Menlo Park Police Departments as well as the Sheriff's department when I
attempted to report illegal activity at the school. I fear that an adult
field that attracts users who have no inherent investment in maintaining the
facility, or in respecting the neighbors who border on the school, may bring
the potential for trouble to the neighborhood, with resulting confusion as
to which agency provides services in the event of a problem.

Currently, the school provides a safe environment for the children of the
community. Encinal serves 3rd to 5th graders, with plans now to serve
children in grades K-5. These are young children who have so few places to
call their own in today's world. Dedicating a significant portion of
Encinal's fields to adult activities is an inappropriate use of property
that has been set aside for the use of the children. We must honor the
importance of not only creating but maintaining the school grounds as a
place dedicated to children and their activities, and not allow them to be
displaced by adult activities.

Finally, Encinal School works in harmony with the neighborhood because it is
a neighborhood school. Many of the people who utilize it have a sort of
pride of belonging which naturally constrains their behavior when they are
using the facilities. They have a respect for place that adults from
throughout the community may not demonstrate, including littering, loud
noise, and perhaps alcohol consumption and the resulting reckless behavior.

While I understand that the infusion of money to improve the grounds is very
attractive to the school district, it appears to me that more thought needs
to go into finding a more appropriate spot in our community for adults to
exercise.

Respectfully,

Laura L. King
Received on Tue Apr 3 00:36:11 2007