By Katie Hawks

Town Crier Editorial Intern

Los Altos Hills City Council members stood their ground at last Thursday’s meeting, supporting controversial design plans for a new Los Altos Hills Town Hall.

With a unanimous 5-0 vote, council members proved their plans could not be changed by a room full of opposing voices. After 3 1/2 hours of a back-and-forth debate over residents’ alternate design suggestions and complaints over costs, the council followed the planning commission’s lead from the week before by passing needed permits for the design.

Heading the opposition group LAH Outrage, Mark Breier proposed that the money for the new town hall be used to build a gymnasium at Bullis Elementary School, which could serve as both a recreational center for students during the daytime, and as council chambers at night.

Resident Joanne Sobel seemed to speak for the whole of the opposition when she strongly stated, “Put the revamping of the new town hall on the ballots for next fall, then we we’ll see who supports this plan.”

Rising to the council’s defense, Councilwoman Toni Casey addressed the residents saying, “We have spent a great deal of time trying to please the community.”

Councilman Steve Finn supported Casey. “We took 2,000 square feet off of the original design even before we got public input - there have already been tremendous compromises.”

Mayor Bob Fenwick wholeheartedly supported the design. Responding to complaints about lack of resident input in the designs, he said: The design for the new Town Hall was put in an article in the Los Altos Town Crier last December. I heard no complaints from resident’s regarding the plans at that time.”

Weighing in at a higher-than-anticipated $4.981 million, the total cost seemed to surprise more than a few residents. Mayor Fenwick himself stated, “I had no idea of the high amount of extra costs.”

Building architect John Goldman defended the design by stating, “There is nothing extremely expensive about this particular style.”

The council provided an array of possible payment plans. Among these a campaign to collect donations from residents, use of $5.4 million in the town’s general reserves and the possibility of long-term financing.