After the state failed to grant our city matching funds to build
our library, a notion arose that if we abandoned our Indoor
Recreation Center we would have plenty of money to build the
library ourselves. As tempting as that notion sounds, abandoning
the Indoor Recreation Center would in no way help us build our new
library faster, but would instead be a monumental mistake and a
missed opportunity we will never get again.
After the state failed to grant our city matching funds to build our library, a notion arose that if we abandoned our Indoor Recreation Center we would have plenty of money to build the library ourselves. As tempting as that notion sounds, abandoning the Indoor Recreation Center would in no way help us build our new library faster, but would instead be a monumental mistake and a missed opportunity we will never get again.
The Times, in a recent editorial, called on the council to take on the role of Solomon. But Solomon used his wisdom to expose falsehood and make the wise choice. I call on the council to take that role and not waiver from what we have already determined is our community’s best long-term solution.
We developed a vision, as a community, through an extended, inclusive, well-publicized process. At the end of that process, we developed a list of community projects that were important. We did not prioritize them, because we felt they were all important, and that the sum of them would mean far more to the community than any individual project itself.
Now, as the vision is close to being realized, some people are getting cold feet and telling us we can’t do it all or our vision was perhaps too ambitious. Well, I wasn’t elected to come close to realizing that vision, to almost achieve our community’s goals. And I, for one, will not settle for the false choice that those of lesser vision are urging.
Here, then, in an attempt to bring rational consideration back into our public discourse, are the reasons why we should not abandon our community indoor recreation center merely to sate the immediate desire for a new library.
• Once we develop a new plan for our library, it will be built. Our existing library is small but is nevertheless meeting our needs for the time being. As Councilman Steve Tate points out in a recent guest column, the biggest reason we didn’t receive state library funds is that our library needs did not match those of other communities. And, as he says, county library building funds were reduced or given to other cities, but not to Morgan Hill. If it takes us longer to figure out funding on our own, these are the biggest reasons why.
In light of the state’s funding decisions, we need to reconsider our library options. There are several viable options, including a downtown site and the Britton Middle School campus. Most of these options are less expensive than the one we’ve been pursuing. Once we know the true price, we can decide on the best funding option to pay for it. All of these things will take place in the same time frame, regardless of what we do with our other public facilities.
• The Indoor Recreation Center is the best way to fulfill our commitment to build senior, youth and recreation facilities. Our visioning projects list has always included a senior center, youth center and recreation facilities. The Indoor Recreation Center is the best way to meet all of these needs.
The fact is, our senior center is extremely old. Propping it up would be a waste of funds and a great disservice to our seniors who expect a new facility. We have never had a youth center, despite having the highest percentage of young people in the county. Our existing non-profit youth facilities, though important, do not come close to meeting the needs that can be met by a youth center. Private fitness clubs do not meet any of these needs, and our seniors and youth would not go there even if they did.
By starting to develop interim youth facilities now, as Councilman Tate has suggested, we will create momentum that will ensure the success of our new youth facility. But if we build a youth gathering place without adjacent recreation facilities, young people like my children will have little reason to participate. I urge skeptics to visit comprehensive community recreation facilities, to talk with parents and educators here in Morgan Hill, or with fitness instructors like my wife, who agree the center as envisioned is a unique facility that is needed to meet the neglected needs of our young people.
• The Indoor Recreation Center will pay for itself, but that’s not why we’re building it. If built as conceived, the Indoor Recreation Center will not create a burden on the general fund. It is in the right location to allow for community interaction and future growth. If we piecemeal the facility, it will not only cost more to operate but will fail to meet any of our community objectives.
But the real reason to build it is that every component is needed. Our young people do not have a central meeting place where they can do their homework or play basketball in a gym with appropriate supervision. Our seniors do not have an adequate gathering place or an appropriate kitchen facility for lunches and other events.
Young parents do not have an aquatics facility where they can bring their infants to swim. And our citizens with limited income do not have a place where they can participate in recreation activities. If we do not build this community recreation center, our community will never have these important, needed facilities.
In the 1960s San Mateo County leaders had the chance to run BART through their county south to San Jose. They chose short-term gain instead, and made what I consider one of the colossal public policy mistakes of our era.
While our neighbors build generic shopping centers, we stand on the verge of creating a community that will meet the needs of our seniors and parents, children and grandchildren. We must not abandon this vision for short-term gain, or we will have failed our children, and generations to come.
Councilman Greg Sellers has three children and a very active spouse. He can be reached at [email protected] or 778-2370. Readers interested in writing a guest column should contact editor Walt Glines at [email protected] or 779-4106.
