Now that the difficult election season is thankfully behind us,
we need a new agenda. Here is what I plan to accomplish in the
remaining two years of my term.
Now that the difficult election season is thankfully behind us, we need a new agenda. Here is what I plan to accomplish in the remaining two years of my term.
Downtown:
Our downtown is poised for success, but if we don’t move quickly it could just as easily degenerate. My focus in the next two years will be to take aggressive action to ensure our downtown becomes the vibrant hub we all desire. Here’s what we need to do to make that happen:
Increase residential development. Our current growth control measures make great sense for most of Morgan Hill, but they make no sense for downtown. We need to remove downtown from the constraints of Measure C and develop new guidelines for our downtown that allow us to meet the residential goals outlined in the downtown plan within the next three years. This will reduce development in our neighborhoods while helping to make our downtown a success.
Traffic calming. We should not divert traffic from downtown by removing lanes, but we do need to slow down the traffic that currently uses Monterey Road. We need to immediately use the funds already identified as city traffic calming resources to install traffic humps, lights, and other measures to slow down the traffic that travels through our downtown.
Other downtown improvements. We need to lower the median trees and landscaping to bring a more “human scale” to downtown. We need to move the bus stop on Third and Monterey to the train depot, and remove planters in front of key restaurants so they can make better use of our wide sidewalks to add outdoor seating. This will improve business and create a downtown where people will want to drive slow and visit frequently.
Economic development:
Our city wants new economic development, but no one has articulated clear goals for achieving significant, desirable economic development. Here’s what we need to do.
Auto dealers. We need to convene a task force to identify, once and for all, specific sites for two or (at most) three automobile dealers. It should include neighbors, commercial Realtors, community leaders and city representatives. They should consider all options but consider past promises and community realities so their final plan can be implemented quickly and without the opposition that has plagued efforts to date.
Cochrane Road and Coyote Valley. We have an opportunity to develop Cochrane Road in a way that meets current community needs and poises us to take advantage of Coyote Valley development. We need to move aggressively to develop these areas, bringing in high-end groceries, medical services, office serving retail and other goods and services that will serve our community for years to come. Priority should be the northeast Cochrane/101 intersection, then spread south and west.
New economic development strategies. We currently have several groups trying to do “economic development,” and none of them are doing it very well. We need to convene one group, consisting of the right city leaders, chamber leaders and other key economic development leaders, to develop specific quantifiable goals and come up with the strategies to make them happen.
Children and education:
Our School District has responsibility for our schools, but we all have responsibility for our children. We need a broader community discussion about our children and our schools. Here are some of the topics.
A superintendent who matters. As a parent, I care deeply about who is selected as our new Superintendent. We cannot settle for someone who will continue things as they are. We need an activist Superintendent who will push our community in positive ways to help us realize what we can become. This is not a City Council issue, it’s a community issue, and one all of us should be involved in deciding.
Britton. The Middle School is centrally located and larger than needed. It is now time to think about how we can make it a community resource that meets the long term needs of our children and our entire community.
New Youth Center. We must engage in a discussion now about how best to use our new Youth Center, so we create a dynamic facility that is attractive to young people and has the facilities they need to succeed.
Library:
We have identified $17 million for a new library and have decided on a location. But our remaining decisions will determine whether we have a library for the long-term or merely defer important decisions.
Library size. The library should be no more than 28,000 square feet, which will meet our community needs for years to come if we add space to expand the facility when the time comes.
Library site plan. The library will go just west of City Hall and the current library, but we have not decided what to do with the two existing facilities. We must make decisions about the future of these facilities before we build a new library, or we’ll be wasting money and failing in our role of making good long-term planning decisions.
Library operations funding. We’re relying on the county library system to operate our library, but the county library system is cutting back funding for staff and materials. We need to be supportive of the county library’s tax measures, but we should consider options that will provide long-term funding for our library. Those who call themselves library supporters have proven adept at collecting signatures; we should task them with the more daunting but important challenge of collecting funds.
Visioning. Some 10 years ago, the city embarked on a heroic effort to identify our priorities for future redevelopment funds. Before we begin a new visioning process, we must first examine the role of the Redevelopment Agency, and then identify the city’s future with and without future redevelopment funds.
These ideas are not complete, nor are they the only solutions. I wanted to lay out a comprehensive vision for our next two years that will help our community decide some of the most important issues we face. I welcome your suggestions via e-mail,
se*****@ga****.com
, or by phone at 778-4567. Vision without action is just dreaming. True leadership provides the guidance to make our dreams reality. My goal is to help provide that leadership.
