To sell or not to sell is the question before the City Council
Wednesday.
To sell or not to sell is the question before the City Council Wednesday.
In the spotlight is the 1911 farmhouse, built by the Acton family and donated to the city by the Williams family for use as the Morgan Hill Historical Museum.
The city owns the former farmhouse building; the Morgan Hill Historical Society owns the contents and operates the museum.
The problem is that the museum, now located on West Main Avenue behind the library, sits on the site of the new library and it must be moved. Redevelopment Agency staff has given council five options:
n Demolish the building – since this is an historical building, it can’t be torn down without an environmental impact report and incurring the interest of the active Historical Society.
n Buy vacant land, move and renovate the house. Staff estimates only an 80 percent return on investment if that option is selected.
n Make the museum building part of the library site plan – not recommended because it would mean unbudgeted costs.
n Sell it for relocation.
n Move the building up onto the Villa Mira Monte property at 17860 Monterey Road to continue its life as the museum. Villa Mira Monte is already designated as a city park and is home to the old Morgan Hill House, owned and operated by the Historical Society.
The council had previously set aside $350,000 to move the building and do some site work.
PG&E costs just to take down and reinstall overhead power lines for the move are $150,000, according to Gloria Pariseau, Historical Society president.
Pariseau estimates a $1 million price tag for a complete renovation.
Staff’s recommendation is to pursue two conflicting options: selling the building and working with the Historical Society to move the museum to the Villa Mira Monte site.
In other action, council will consider awarding a construction contract for $15,778,000 to West Bay Builders for an indoor recreation center on West Edmundson Avenue, next to Community Park. West Bay was the low bidder, 3 percent under the $16.2 million estimated construction cost.
The center is currently scheduled to open Sept. 30, 2006, with an indoor pool, gym plus a large area jointly used as youth and senior centers, including the senior lunch program.
After resident Frank Dutra had to remove several pet goats from his Diana Avenue pasture because of a restrictive animal ordinance, council considered changing the rules.
It will adopt an adjusted ordinance eliminating the requirement for a permit when keeping livestock for private use in residential zones. The ordinance will increase the number of livestock allowed per parcel space and impose the need for a corral 50-feet from all property lines for lots less than five acres and 100-feet for lots more than five acres.
Members of the public may speak to the council on any public hearing item.
City Council and/or the Redevelopment Agency meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday in City Hall Chambers, 17555 Peak Ave. Details: www.m organhill.ca.gov or 779-7271. Broadcast live on cable channel 17.
Carol Holzgrafe covers City Hall for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at cholzgrafe@morganhilltim es.com or phoning (408) 779-4106 Ext. 201.
