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Letters: Supporting sales tax to increase police services in city

May 9, 2008
By The Community

Supporting sales tax to increase police services in city
Dear Editor,

Contrary to Councilman Mark Grzan's belief that there is no need for additional police officers in the city of Morgan Hill, I believe there is a need and the need is immediate!

The fairer avenue tax wise would be to impose a sales tax rather than a utility tax. The reasoning is simple. The Morgan Hill Police Department is not going to respond to incidents that only involve Morgan Hill residents and businesses, if they did, then, a utility tax would be the logical solution. But, since they respond to incidents involving non residents like visitors, shoppers, sightseers, tourists and the like, then, a sales tax is the fairer tax and would act as a catch-all tax. There is no need to tax the local residents for police services that involve non residents.

One need only read the twice-weekly police blotter reports in the Morgan Hill Times to learn about the many responses our local police engage in during the course of a week. Further and on another related note, the need for continued police buildup could be curtailed in the future if the city of Morgan Hill would stop being in the social engineering business by imposing and promoting below market rate housing in Morgan Hill whenever someone wants to build multiple housing units. And, before someone responds by saying that inclusion of BMR housing is mandated by the State of California, mandates can be challenged and overturned. It has been done. It just takes a little intestinal fortitude aka guts. The low-income housing developments in this city receive a significant amount of police responses. A simple check of the weekly police reports will verify this fact. The Morgan Hill police officers are overworked and placed in jeopardy more than necessary.
Bruno Martino, Morgan Hill

Iraq War's price tag not just financial but human as well
Dear Editor,

Five years after " Mission Accomplished," 106 Americans killed in Iraq in January, February, March, 47 Americans killed in Iraq in April. It cost the United States $40 billion, borrowed from China, to sacrifice these brave Americans.
Frank Crosby, Morgan Hill

BART project is the target
Dear Editor,

With the Valley Transportation Authority assessing which of the projects on its to-do list it can still afford, BART's position as the most expensive proposal makes it a big target.

That's not an unfair starting point, but simply looking at cost omits a critical consideration: what the project will do for the money.

Extending BART from Fremont, through Milpitas and downtown San Jose and into Santa Clara, would cost more than all the other proposed projects combined. It also would carry more riders than all the other projects combined - nearly 80,000 average weekday trips. The extension of a light rail line into East San Jose is expected to generate 2,100 average weekday trips. The electrification of Caltrain would add 4,000.

The members of the Valley Transportation Authority, and the larger community, face difficult decisions. They must apportion the available funds among a variety of potential projects, with the goals of reducing traffic congestion and air pollution, and of helping Silicon Valley's housing and business locations evolve into a more efficient and environmentally friendly pattern. They must determine what combination of projects will accomplish the greatest good for the entire county.

The best decisions will emerge from a vigorous discussion of the alternatives. All should be subject to a reality test as columnist Lisa Pampuch argued on April 29. BART passes that test when the benefits are weighed along with the costs, and when the proposed alternatives to BART are given the same scrutiny BART has received.
Laura Stuchinsky
Senior Director, Transportation and Land Use
Silicon Valley Leadership Group

Forget the appraisal, we need economically robust downtown plan
Dear Editor,

The fact that the city has purchased property in the downtown area is not the real issue. The Morgan Hill City Council knows it paid too much and they were very open about it up front. In addition it is not clear that they could have obtained a really sound appraisal given the lack of good comparable sales. In addition they were dealing with sellers who were not motivated to sell. The council could have entered into a hard line negotiation and might or might not have gained but what is done is done.

To me the real issue is to have an economically robust plan for downtown, one that will result in the city recovering its investment while leaving a downtown where a good business person can operate a profitable business without the city providing support. I don't believe that such a plan exists and am very concerned that it will not be feasible. It appears that the downtown businesses are totally focused on parking and I suspect few of them have a plan for their business from which they could provide the city input on what they need.

The emphasis should be shifted immediately to turning the redevelopment over to a private party or consortium of private parties selected on the basis of the plan they submit being economically viable with a reasonable risk.
Chuck Dillmann, Morgan Hill

Luxury town homes raze two heritage trees
Dear Editor,

I am writing to you regarding my concerns about the recent removal of the two large Live Oak trees on the corner of Main Street and Butterfield Boulevard. The trees were once part of the former Morgan Hill Flea Market property that is currently being developed into "luxury town homes."

The two trees were 22.5" and 24" in diameter, which qualified them as "significant trees" (i.e. heritage oaks) as per Morgan Hill code 12.32.020. To put it in perspective, those trees were already mature when the City of Morgan Hill was founded in 1906. I believe that those two trees were not only valuable as living historical monuments, but defined that intersection, and contributed greatly to the unique character of Morgan Hill.

I have reviewed the development plans, including the arborist's report, which recommended the removal of those two trees. What I did not find however, was a peer review of the arborist's report (a common practice when heritage oaks are involved). It is a shame that the City Council did not consider these trees valuable enough to request a peer review, which could have provided mitigation measures that could have saved the trees. I recommend that any future development with heritage trees on the property require a second arborist's opinion. Being old trees, they have endured years of drought, wet years, insect infestations, fire, and even roads and sidewalks. I find it extremely sad that they could not survive a Morgan Hill housing development.
Nicky Austin, Morgan Hill

The Community
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