The Morgan Hill City Council Wednesday agreed to extend its “due diligence” efforts by 120 days before purchasing more than 20 acres in the Southeast Quadrant for future baseball and softball fields.
The property near the intersection of Tennant Avenue and U.S. 101, abutting the east side of the freeway, is owned by NMSBPCSLDHB LP, of which Morgan Hill developer Gordon Jacoby is a representative.
City staff asked the Council to extend the 90-day due diligence period established in and August “letter of intent” with the owner, due to unforeseen environmental and site planning complications with the property.
These issues include a minor chemical contamination on a portion of the property that City staff and consultants want to examine more closely, according to Morgan Hill Program Administrator Anthony Eulo.
Also, City staff found during the initial 90 days found it might be difficult to house six baseball and softball fields (the preferred number), at least 450 parking stalls, supporting facilities such as lights and batting cages, and a commercial project on part of the site that the City and the property owner agreed to develop in the original letter of intent, according to City staff.
Eulo reported to the Council that the minimum cost to develop a baseball/softball complex at the site is $21 million. The City’s park impact fund, which is typically used for park-related capital expenses such as property purchases, currently contains about $8 million.
The City has not identified a funding source to develop the ball fields when and if it purchases the property, but staff and Council members noted that the project is only in the “land banking” stage, and converting the vacant property to ball fields might not take place for several years after a land deal.
Jacoby, who addressed the Council regarding the pending purchase Wednesday, called the unexpectedly high cost of about $2.6 million per field to develop the project the “elephant in the room.”
“I’m shocked by that price,” Jacoby said.
He added that the “benefit to the City is stunning” if the future ball field complex is able to host regional tournaments, which can draw thousands of visitors – and their wallets – to the site and to Morgan Hill.
One of the Council’s longtime goals is to build a new ball field complex that not only meets the needs of local youth baseball and softball programs, but can also drive economic development to the area. The proposed ball fields site is just down the street from the Outdoor Sports Complex and the Aquatics Center, both of which regularly attract competitors from out of town.
The Council declined to abandon the effort to purchase the NMSBPCSLDHB property and instead pursue a more local-centric effort to improve the City’s existing fields, or to look for another site inside the City limits to house a ball field complex.
“The quickest route to the quickest pitch – ultimately that’s what we want to do, the goal being more kids, and more sports,” said Councilman Larry Carr. A complementary goal for the project is to create a “regional draw for economic development purposes.”
Eulo also noted that as long as the NMSBPCSLDHB property remains outside the City limits, the City will have to pay property taxes which could add up to about $55,000 the first year after the purchase of the vacant land, based on the estimated current value.
However, the City has spent about the last six years developing a proposal to annex about 800 acres – including the proposed ball fields site – into the City limits. The environmental study report on that effort is expected later this month, according to City staff. The City does not have to pay property taxes on land it owns inside the City limits.
Council members are optimistic the County will eventually approve the annexation.
In other Council news from Wednesday’s meeting:
-The Council unanimously approved an approximately $1.5 million contract with Morgan Hill-based DRP Builders to renovate the existing Council meeting chambers at 17555 Peak Ave.
The project will transform the interior layout of the building, which contains vast empty spaces previously occupied by day-to-day City offices that moved to the Development Services Center last year, to accommodate a crowd of 280 spectators, and to upgrade the site’s audiovisual capabilities.
-The Council approved the use of a community block grant to undertake a long-term project to improve the City’s Galvan Park on Crest Avenue. The improvements would include upgraded playground equipment, more shade and better accessibility, according to City staff.
