Westwind Barn volunteers hope to raise as much as $10,000 at the 30th annual Hoedown scheduled Saturday. The event, which revolves around horses and family fun, includes silent and live auctions whose proceeds will fund capital improvements at the town-owned barn in Los Altos Hills.
This year, the committee has an additional goal, according to Hoedown Chairwoman Kathy Evans.
“We are building bridges with the town and the community, and trying to make this public horse barn a real community asset for residents and neighbors of the barn,” she said.
The city council agreed to sponsor the event, planned by Friends of Westwind, and to direct proceeds from the event’s auction into the barn facility.
The town’s involvement in the Hoedown is part of a reconciliation process between the city council and Friends of Westwind, a social organization that has managed the barn for 30 years. The barn’s future hung in the balance last year when the council considered removing Friends from the Barn’s management and taking direct control after a series of politically sensitive events at Westwind led to multiple lawsuits.
Los Altos Hills City Councilmen Breene Kerr and Jean Mordo negotiated a new contract between the town and Friends that they anticipate will smooth future management at the barn.
“We can look forward to a future when we have much higher participation from our community,” Kerr said. “We’ve spent a lot of time and energy resolving the governmental issues (at the barn), (now) we can move on to promoting larger use by our residents.”
“We are not talking about subsidizing the activities of the users, we are looking to restore a building that is an asset to the town,” said Mordo, who with Kerr and Councilman Craig Jones has pushed for barn renovations as part of the town’s parks and recreation development.
Supporters of Westwind Barn, a non-profit fundraising organization, raises funds for improvements for the historical facility. The council applied for a $40,000 grant from Supporters at its Aug. 7 meeting. The funds would cover approximately half the fee for a professional architect’s draft of
a master plan for barn renovations.
The divided council voted 3-1 to approve spending up to $74,920 on the architectural plans, with half donated by the Supporters. Councilman Dean Warshawsky recused himself because of his home’s proximity to the barn.
Councilman Mike O’Malley criticized spending public money on the barn.
