It seems like enough time has passed since our Community Center
has opened to look back and give feedback on the facility we have
opened. My husband, daughter and I attended the ribbon-cutting
ceremony back in December, and we decided to walk, since we thought
negotiating the parking lot was going to be a nightmare.
It seems like enough time has passed since our Community Center has opened to look back and give feedback on the facility we have opened. My husband, daughter and I attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony back in December, and we decided to walk, since we thought negotiating the parking lot was going to be a nightmare.

It never seemed that the parking allotted would be enough … imagine if a large wedding, a children’s birthday party and an outdoor concert all occurred on the same day – that could be up to 600 people all converging on the center at the same time – you do the math, but I digress …

As we walked down West Dunne, we walked carefully along the side of the road to avoid cars. I wondered to myself how our city could afford a $20 million community center, but still hasn’t found a way to put a complete sidewalk on West Dunne from Del Monte to Peak. It’s an area that many people walk frequently, including children, but it doesn’t seem to be a high priority for the city. I wondered why … I guess nobody in town visioned during the visioning process that people might actually walk on one of main thoroughfares into our downtown area.

As we approached the center, it seemed kind of quiet. We wandered in to what I would call the courtyard area. There were people milling about, still setting up, so we seemed to be early. I saw a friend there with her husband, daughter, sister-in-law and their dog. We chatted for a while, catching up.

A gentleman from the city approached us, communicating that there were no dogs allowed on the campus. We looked at him, a little befuddled, thinking that he couldn’t be serious. He repeated that there were no dogs allowed, and that the dog had to leave. My friend’s husband asked why, and then asked if he could speak to the city manager about this. The city guy, who was a bit rude, said he would send the city manager over.

Instead, he sent a police officer. My friend’s husband asked if he was the city manager, just to make sure we hadn’t misunderstood. The police officer said no, that he was send over due to a leash law violation. Well, my friend’s dog was on a lease, sitting quietly next to us, so I’m not sure what the problem was, but the officer said that the dog had to go. My friend and her family gathered themselves up, vowing never to return to the Community Center.

It’s a Community Center (unless you want to bring your dog).

While we waited for the festivities to start, I saw another woman I know from an organization in town. We talked about the event, and chatted about the rooms available, since our organization was going to rent one of the rooms for an event. She mentioned how there was a reservation processing fee, a four-hour minimum for the room, and wondered how even though our group is classified as non-profit, we would still end up paying quite a bit more than was in the group’s budget.

Later, my husband and I decided to find a rate sheet, which was provided to us at the staff’s desk inside. If you want to have a two-hour party for your kids in the Children’s Pavilion, it could cost anywhere from $60 to $100, not including the reservation fee. And the Hiram Morgan Hill Room, the largest room there, will cost from $200 to $600 for an event, according to the rate sheet. That seemed a little high to me for a room that has a view of East Dunne out the windows.

It’s a Community Center (unless you don’t have the budget for renting it)

So we watched through all the speeches, songs, rallying of the troops, waiting for the moment to actually see what my tax dollars had paid for and would pay for in the future. As we wandering through, we overheard a woman speaking to the staff at the desk, asking what had happened to the Senior Center that was supposed to be included in the Community Center.

We didn’t listen to the conversation, but I approached her after she finished her conversation. She related to me that before the Center was built, the big selling point that was made to her and her friends at the senior center in town was how the new Community Center was going to include senior facilities, like the senior lunch program. She was very disappointed that this was forgotten, overlooked, or just plain dismissed when all was said and done.

It’s a Community Center (unless you were expecting senior facilities, too)

So after visiting and experiencing the new Morgan Hill Community Center, I would say that it’s quite a nice facility. I’m not sure how well it fits in with Morgan Hill as it stands, and I’m not sure who the council and planners targeted for use of the facility, but my guess is that, based on the above, it may not be for everyday folks like you and me.

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A staff member wrote, edited or posted this article, which may include information provided by one or more third parties.

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