By Megan Ma

City officials have asked Keith Gutierrez, program director at Redwood Grove, to remove all mention of Redwood Grove from his fundraising materials. He is an independent contractor hired by the city. joe hu/town crier file photo

In his 13 years as program director at Redwood Grove, Keith Gutierrez has become a well-known fixture in the community. His name is almost synonymous with the tranquil park near downtown Los Altos.

So he said it struck him as odd that the city’s recreation department director, Dave Brees, would ask him to delete the Redwood Grove name from materials he created to raise funds for the program and instead use his own name. Gutierrez said his plan to raise $100,000 has been derailed and temporarily halted since May 23, when he received Brees’ letter requesting that the Redwood Grove name not be used in mailers or city publications to solicit funds.

“They told me I could not use the city address or program name (Redwood Grove), or advertise the fundraiser through city materials,” Gutierrez said. “With those restrictions, it killed the (fundraising) program.”

Brees said that the points outlined in the letter were simply restating longstanding city contracting laws.

“Keith is an independent contractor with the city,” Brees said. “The city does not have a fundraising campaign for Redwood Grove. We wanted to make sure that folks were clear they were sending the money to the right spot.”

Gutierrez said the donations would have gone toward

enhancing programs such as the Ohlone Indian and archery

classes and providing minor upgrades to facilities. Proceeds would directly benefit the programs he is hired by the city to run, he said.

“I told the city they would have no responsibility, that I’m covered by my liability insurance. I don’t understand why they would choose to limit fundraising for something that would directly benefit them,” said Gutierrez, who is up for contract renewal in September.

As a private independent contractor hired by the city to oversee programs, Gutierrez, like many other recreation department contractors, manages his own funds and contributes to the upkeep of the facilities.

In turn, the city compensates him for 80 percent of the total class fees - 10 percent more than the other independent contractors receive, because Gutierrez provides animals and extra class equipment.

Although Gutierrez considered changing the Redwood Grove fundraiser name to Programs by Keith Gutierrez, he said he’s somewhat discouraged.

“I’m sure the city is afraid of liabilities, but I’ve been here for 13 years and run the best programs. Personally, I believe this has something to do with me, because I’m not someone who just lays over,” he said.

Brees said he is open to negotiate a fundraising effort between Gutierrez and the city, but Gutierrez is reticent about such a proposal.