April 19, 2007

A dream comes true

City officials, neighbors celebrate grand opening of the
Pat Dando Hoffman Via Monte Neighborhood Center

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

After two decades of hard work, former District 10 City Councilwoman Pat Dando finally got to bring a longtime dream to fruition last Saturday by celebrating the grand opening of a community center for the Hoffman Via Monte neighborhood.

Current District 10 City Councilmember Nancy Pyle and former Vice Mayor and District 10 Councilwoman Pat Dando get ready to cut the ribbon officially opening the Pat Dando Hoffman Via Monte Neighborhood Center. Photos by Carol Rosen

The community’s residents were so happy about Dando’s work that they requested the center be named for her. More than 70 of them braved a rainy, windy day with their kids for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Actually, the weather complied with the April 14 ceremony to open the 900-square-foot center field office. The heavy rains that pounded the Bay Area in the morning let up for the 1 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony and didn’t return until the outdoor event ended.

It was a special day for the former vice mayor, Pat Dando, who is currently president and CEO of the San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce. She recognized by name many of the faces in the crowd and thanked them all for work together to make the neighborhood “a safe and wonderful place for children and their families.”

Dando also thanked members of the San Jose Police Department, including the two mounted policemen that attended, some that are new to the area and others that wanted to meet with the neighbors and residents.

“This is an exceptional day in my life and a humbling experience,” she told the crowd. “It takes a lot of people working” to make such ideas real, and this “neighborhood has the passion to make things better for the neighbors that are around now and the families that will come after.”

District 10 Councilmember Nancy Pyle opened the ceremony with several sentences in fluent Spanish, and then switched to English. She thanked the volunteers by name and noted that the area had found “a safe place free from drugs and gangs.”

Pyle noted that the community center is just the beginning and that she hopes it will continue to strengthen the Hoffman Via Monte community. “I will continue to fight for this community. We still have $1 million-plus in the bank for a new community center.”

Laura Munguia, from the Hoffman Via Monte Neighborhood Action Commission, served as the emcee and mentioned some of the new programs available at the center. One program is the mom and kiddies play date on the first Friday of every month where mothers and children under age 5 can socialize.

Encouraging reading is always important, so the library brought books to the grand opening. In the foreground, Vanessa Dominguez, age 8, from Toyan School and Angel Martinez, 10, from Hellyer School looked up at the camera from the books they were reading.

First 5 is also planning classes to prepare neighborhood children for pre-school and kindergarten. The center was also providing tax help to residents through April 14.

Planned for this summer are a movie night and a community summer program for neighborhood children. The program is expected to run from June 18 to Aug.10 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays at a cost of $25 for the entire summer.

The City Council voted unanimously Jan. 9 to remodel the property for the neighborhood center. The center is located at 1180 Blossom Hill Road, Suite 2 and offers meeting areas, a strong neighborhood field office, public computers, a storage room and a bathroom. Built at a cost of $321,353 by the city, it is designed to offer a gathering place as well as to provide services for the Hoffman Via Monte Community. The Redevelopment Agency has budgeted $1.25 million for future construction of a larger center.

Strong Neighborhoods Team Manager Eric Shaw is in charge of the center with help from Marta Dominguez on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and Greg Cajina on Tuesday and Thursday. The three will make sure the center is open and that residents have access to its services, said Shaw. In addition, the three will identify priorities and help develop programs for the neighborhood. Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services staff will run the center together.

Located in Almaden Valley, the Hoffman Via Monte Neighborhood is one of 19 neighborhoods chosen to participate in San Jose’s Strong Neighborhoods Initiative process. The Pat Dando Hoffman Via Monte Neighborhood Center is located at 1180 Blossom Hill Road, Suite 2. For more information, call (408) 267-4342.