There are no stars here for the city of Sunnyvale. The city wastes money, has no desire to help small business, smiles at you when you're in line downtown filing something then sticks it to you in email. Such is the case with a friend of mine, a business owner. He and other businesses are being shut down for a municipal park. He and all of the other business owners were never told a park was being built there. Most of them now are loosing their life savings they invested into their businesses because of withholding this important information.
The park funding as posted in sunnvale's notice is 4 million dollars but because of a recent environmental testing, it's been reported that arsenic and lead have been found on the site. It was also posted that it would cost several million to clean up. If we low ball that figure to 3 million dollars, add the 1.5 million spent on building upkeep in 2006 and 2007, the cost of sunnyvale's park, this little piece of land is now close to 9 million dollars. 9 million dollars for a little tiny park, WHY? Where did sunnyvale get all this extra money, or do they really have it. Are they going to differ money from other projects as they've done for the past 20 years with the buildings these businesses are located in and what about those projects, those other communities? It's known by a few that they're already going to differ money from a nearby neighborhood and that neighborhood is very upset about it. The businesses that have tried to reestablish within the city have had property after property turned down by sunnyvale and now do not know what they're going to do, how to feed their families, provide shelter, make a decent living. In this economic hardship we have right now, the city of sunnyvale is squandering money, 5 million dollars, more than double what the funding was, on a little park and only 15 years ago they tore up Murphy St. only to do it again, how much did that cost? And what about that mess they call Town Center Mall? Wouldn't that 5 million be better suited there? According the news there was talk of foreclosure. That would have made a great eyesore for us. Sources have told me a friend that works for the city knows that the Fair Oaks Industrial park was making a large sum of money for the city. In my opinion it would be wise to leave the buildings up for another 2 or so years and put that money toward the park clean up instead of differing from other projects, their endless cycle of grief to the community, and allow the businesses there that time to prepare themselves better to make a proper move to new locations. The city owes that to them for lying about the status of those buildings. Yes I said lying. If sunnyvale decided last year or the year before that they were going to build a park there it would be a legitimate reason to move out those businesses, but sunnyale knew when they first acquired the buildings 20 years ago, when they took the buildings from the previous owner, they were putting in a park; therefore tenants from then to now should have been told they would have limited time and now these people are going to suffer the hardships of starting over, if they even can. Lawyers have called this immoral and unethical conduct but legal. I ask you, can something immoral and unethical be legal? sunnyvale is going to tear down buildings that have been making money, a lot of money to build one over priced park, tearing down buildings, by the way, that they spent 1.5 million dollars on upkeep just 2 years ago! 1. 5 MILLION DOLLARS!! Who's REALLY benefitting from this park?! Maybe we should ask council member Jim Griffith who lives in the neighborhood or why the neighborhood association president, Adam Berkin, also minister of the new hope church would so aggressively petition to have this park project go through during these tough economic times? Is there something he wants he can't have right now, at least not until the park is finished? We'll just have to watch and see. Is there more to be gained by individuals more so than just the neighborhood getting a park and if so, it's at the expense and hardship of these businesses that have to move. If there is, it will be with the deaths of these businesses foreclosures of their homes and financial hardships that these families' will now have to face. I have no stars for Sunnyvale unless the stars are for disappointment. Unfortunately I had to put a star to rate. Please remove this star. read more