The first item on Wednesday’s city council agenda is to accept
the results of the Nov. 2 election in which two new members will
join the dais.
The first item on Wednesday’s city council agenda is to accept the results of the Nov. 2 election in which two new members will join the dais. The second order of business will be to administer the oaths of office to those new members, Rich Constantine and Gordon Siebert, and to Mayor Steve Tate, who was re-elected in the same election.
Siebert, a former city staff member, is excited to attend his first meeting as a councilman.
“It was fun reading the agenda and seeing a lot of information, some based on some work I did years ago, some brand new,” Siebert said. “I look forward to being able to serve.”
Siebert is now a redevelopment program manager for Monterey County. He has also served as Morgan Hill’s finance director and public works director at different times during the 1990s.
With that experience, he hopes to bring some “history and background” to the discussion and possible approval of a development impact fee report that is on Wednesday’s consent agenda, as he helped oversee the city’s impact fee program when he worked for the city.
In recent days, Siebert has met with city staff members, including city manager Ed Tewes, who have helped him become oriented and updated on the city council’s ongoing and upcoming business.
Mayor Steve Tate will be sworn in for the third time Wednesday, but he’s still excited about helping the two new council member become acquainted with city business. In January, the trio will attend a three-day conference in Sacramento for new city councilmembers, where they will learn about statewide issues that affect Morgan Hill and other cities.
“There’s a lot of new challenges that are going to be facing us, with high-speed rail and the southeast quadrant (for example),” Tate said.
Siebert and Constantine will likely have their first chance to present their own ideas to improve, augment, cut, or otherwise tweak city services programs, for council discussion, at the council’s annual goal-setting retreat in January, Tate added.
Constantine, a fire engineer for the city of San Jose, is also looking forward to his first council meeting. In general, as a councilmember, Constantine said he vows to help the “citizens maintain and hopefully improve the quality of life here in Morgan Hill.”
One issue that may be on a council agenda later this month is a discussion of an ongoing study by the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy, Santa Clara County and Calfire to consider regionalizing fire and emergency medical services.
“As a firefighter, one of the things I’m going to be looking at is response time, and the best service,” Constantine said. “Also, I’m going to be looking at cost. Can we afford to provide those services that we have now on a regional basis?”
Tate said he and Tewes have already met with Constantine to update him on city business he is likely to vote on as a councilmember.
Siebert added that another item on Wednesday’s agenda, a possible solar power purchase agreement, appears to be interesting. If approved, the agreement will allow a solar power system installer, Borrego Solar, to install solar panels on city facilities at no cost to the city, but the city would agree to purchase the electricity generated at a fixed price over a contract period.
The agreement would put Morgan Hill in a consortium of cities in Santa Clara County who would participate in the agreement with Borrego Solar.
The council’s approval of the agreement could hinge on the potential cost savings. City staff indicated, however, that such savings could be large, or the agreement could result in no savings at all – depending on the unpredictable rate at which energy prices might increase over the long-term.
“There’s some potential financial benefits, and environmental benefits (to the agreement),” Siebert said.
