Community

It’s clear skies ahead for the 2016 recreational boating season, which opened on schedule April 15 with optimism of remaining that way through the summer months and until Oct. 14.

Join local veterans and their families as they remember those who died while serving in the armed forces with a ceremony 9 a.m. Monday, May 30 at the Downtown Morgan Hill veterans memorial, at Monterey Road and First Street. The remembrance will start with a flag raising, followed by patriotic songs performed by local school children, a prayer, a reading of the names of Morgan Hill residents who have died during combat, a wreath- laying and a performance of Taps.

While Affordable Housing Week came to a close May 20, the City of Morgan Hill is preparing to implement and formalize its Below Market Rate (BMR) home development program.The city has had an affordable housing program since 1977, when voters approved the Residential Development Control System. That ordinance requires developers to compete for a limited number of annual building allotments by adding features to their projects that gain points. One way residential developers can gain points is by committing a portion of their proposed units for low- to moderate-income buyers.On June 1, the city council will consider adopting a formalized BMR program that wraps up existing policies into a single effort, administered by nonprofit contractor Nyanda & Associates, also known as HouseKeys.“What they’re being asked to approve is not new; it’s just tying it all up with a nice neat bow,” said Morgan Hill Housing Manager Rebecca Garcia.On May 18, the council approved a two-year contract with HouseKeys for $500,000 per year. The contractor runs a website, housekeys.org, that serves as a resource of information and services for potential affordable home buyers.A previous contract with the same nonprofit was approved for $272,000 for one year, which ends in July.The need for an increased contract cost is due to realizations over the last nine months that the city’s portfolio of 500 units will take more effort and resources to manage, according to city staff.Also on May 18, the council held an affordable housing workshop and declared the week of May 13-20 Affordable Housing Week.At the workshop, Mayor Pro Temp Rich Constantine noted he was pleased to see that Morgan Hill has more affordable housing units (500 out of a total of 13,241 households) than every city in Santa Clara County except San Jose (1,385 affordable units). But he said there is more work to do in a region where housing prices have reached levels that are increasingly prohibitive for many Silicon Valley residents.“Housing isn’t a privilege, it’s a right,” Constantine said. He noted that in Morgan Hill, it takes a combined family income of well over $100,000 to afford a new home. “It’s very important that we get affordable housing in Morgan Hill, because we want people who live here to work here. I want my firefighters, teachers and police to live in Morgan Hill.”For many years, the city’s affordable housing program was administered by the Redevelopment Agency. But the state shut down that agency in 2012. Since then, the city has searched for the best way to keep its BMR efforts organized, and staff thinks they have found the right match with HouseKeys.‘Huge’ programThe city’s contract with HouseKeys, a private nonprofit, pays for three full-time staff, plus half the salary of a city employee to administer the program, according to Assistant City Manager Leslie Little.“They process applications, qualify applicants...assist with refinancing and desale of properties, conduct homebuyer education classes,” Little said by e-mail. “They sell new (affordable) homes and resale homes, conduct lotteries of qualified applicants when a home is ready to be sold, they review public records for notices of default and anything else that may affect any BMR property every day…”The contractor also audits the city’s stock of BMR units annually, interacts with Homeowners Associations and help prepare grant applications and “much more,” Little continued.“It’s a huge program,” she said.The funding for the HouseKeys contract comes from a variety of city housing funds and former RDA loans. No general fund dollars are spent on the program.More affordable homes are on the way in Morgan Hill. In December, construction is expected to begin on a “non-contiguous,” 41-unit affordable rental housing project to be developed by EAH. Those units will be scattered on four sites throughout the city.Urban Housing Communities holds 39 building allocations, awarded in 2015, for another affordable project on the corner of Monterey Road and Bisceglia Avenue. The developer is in the process of seeking funding for the project, according to a May 18 city staff report.Affordable homes are restricted for sale to households with annual incomes up to 120 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). The AMI in Morgan Hill is $74,400 for a one-person household, and $106,300 for a family of four. Affordable homes are further split into four categories characterized by the income level of permitted buyers: very low (0 to 50 percent of the AMI), low (51 to 80 percent AMI) and moderate (81 to 120 percent AMI).From 2007 to 2014, most affordable homes built in Morgan Hill were for moderate-income buyers (260 units), while very low-income homes accounted for 82 units.Regional crisis needs regional solutionsCity officials are so proud of their affordable housing program that they hope their partnership with HouseKeys can serve as a “model of best practices” for other cities, at a time when many experts acknowledge the Silicon Valley crisis needs regional collaboration.During Affordable Housing Week, affordable housing advocates—including event host and nonprofit SV@Home—focused on the need for a regional approach as a key solution to the problems many residents face in a region where rents increased by 60 percent from 2010 to 2014, and the median monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $2,800.SV@Home spokeswoman Alina Harway applauded Morgan Hill and other cities in Santa Clara County for approving proclamations supporting Affordable Housing Week. SV@Home and other advocates spent the week conducting 24 activities, workshops, seminars and discussions about how to achieve solutions.“We’re really inspired and motivated by the fact that it seems like there is a renewed focus” on affordable housing, Harway said. “Housing has been a problem in Silicon Valley for decades, but the situation has changed to the point that it’s not just a problem—it’s a crisis.”

House of Thunder Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership invites the Morgan Hill community to support the men and women who have served in the military for an Armed Forces Day party Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 21.

American Buddhist monk Ajahn Chandako, who is the Abbott of Vimutti Monastery in Auckland, New Zealand, will lead a half-day meditation workshop at the Morgan Hill House at Villa Mira Monte, 17860 Monterey Road, 9 a.m. to noon May 22.

Roberta Kracht has been an active member of the Morgan Hill community for more than 30 years, but she can never predict when she might suddenly be bedridden for half a day or more due to a chronic condition that she and about 1.5 million Americans suffer from.Kracht, 64, was diagnosed with lupus in 2010, but she had been in pain for many years before that. The disease, for which there is no cure and about which little is known, can cause a variety of debilitating symptoms. For Kracht, she has rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, a condition that causes muscular and skeletal pain and fatigue.“I don’t know what I’ll be able to do for the day,” Kracht said. “In five minutes, it comes over you and you have to go to bed. In the summer, when it’s really hot, I don’t go outside.”She added that she can’t work at her private psychotherapy practice for more than a couple hours a day.Other lupus patients—nearly half, in fact—end up suffering from kidney failure, added Erin Badillo, Executive Director of the Lupus Foundation of Northern California. Some other patients experience lung and skin ailments. Others can’t work at all and rely on disability insurance to make ends meet. Existing treatment options often make the patient even sicker.But Kracht’s illness doesn’t stop her from trying to raise awareness of lupus, assist other patients and support funding for research for improved treatment options. Kracht is one of 12 volunteer members of the board of directors for LFNC, a nonprofit organization that works to advocate for lupus patients and raise awareness of the “invisible” disease.“Roberta inspires a lot of our board members,” Badillo said.May is Lupus Awareness Month, and Morgan Hill and surrounding cities are in the process of issuing proclamations to that effect. Kracht and Badillo, who sat down to talk about their awareness efforts recently at Kracht’s Butterfield Boulevard office, were at the state capitol in Sacramento in April to commemorate the declaration of May as statewide Lupus Awareness Month.Lupus is classified as a “chronic autoimmune” disease that gives patients an “overactive immune system,” Kracht and Badillo explained.“Whenever your cells feel threatened, they attack the other good cells, thinking they’re going to be harmful,” Kracht said.Senate Resolution 65, presented by Sen. John Moorlach, passed with a 36-0 senate vote and seeks to bring greater awareness, understanding and insight to the devastating effects of lupus.Also in attendance for the signing of the resolution April 25 were members of LFNC, the Lupus Foundation of Southern California and Lupus Los Angeles.The City of San Jose proclaimed May as Lupus Awareness Month earlier this month.“I’ve seen upfront the toll this disease takes on loved ones in my family,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who happens to be Kracht’s son-in-law. “The small but mighty team at Lupus Foundation of Northern California has done astounding work educating those affected by lupus while supporting external research. I commend Erin (Badillo) and her team’s efforts, and am confident that the most innovative community on the planet will discover a cure.”Despite funding for research gaining momentum in recent years—resulting in the first drug developed specifically for lupus about four year ago—the disease, which is not contagious, remains an enigma. About 90 percent of diagnosed lupus patients are women, Badillo said. People of color are most likely to have lupus. These phenomena remain a mystery.“It seems to be hereditary,” Badillo said. Kracht noted that her mother exhibited symptoms similar to those of lupus patients, but she was never diagnosed with the disease because it was unheard of at the time. Her mother died at the age of 34.Kracht has lived in Morgan Hill with her husband John Kracht since 1985. Their seven children grew up in Morgan Hill. Although Roberta Kracht was diagnosed with lupus about six years ago, most patients are diagnosed in their 20s or 30s.LFNC is a highly active organization that promotes and organizes numerous efforts throughout the year to support lupus patients, Badillo explained. The organization sponsors 21 patient support groups throughout northern California, and is working on starting more. They also hold two conferences annually in Sacramento, with the next one coming up May 21. These conferences are live-cast over the internet for those patients not feeling well enough to attend.They have also instituted a “buddy program,” which is about a year old and matches new patients with longtime lupus sufferers who act as mentors, Badillo added.On June 12, the “Drumbeat to a cure” 5K run/walk will take place at West Valley College in Saratoga. The event, sponsored by LFNC, is intended to raise awareness and funds for research.“Awareness is making a difference,” added Kracht. She noted that earlier this month, the U.S. Congress appropriated $5 million to establish a special committee on lupus research. “It’s very interesting how this is growing so fast. We’re going to see some good things soon.”For more information about lupus and LFNC, or to register for the June 12 5K, visit lfnc.org.

Commuters on U.S. 101 through Morgan Hill will gain relief from the cracks and potholes on the freeway by this fall, but until then overnight roadwork is likely to slow down traffic.The California Department of Transportation will begin the maintenance project Wednesday, May 18, according to Caltrans spokesman Bernard Walik. The project will consist of grinding the existing concrete pavement and replacing damaged concrete slabs on U.S. 101 in Morgan Hill and San Jose.The project is intended to replace the severely damaged broken concrete sections and resurface the existing asphalt concrete pavement on the freeway’s mainline, according to Walik. The project will also replace crash cushions, install metal beam guardrails and modify traffic loop detectors at various locations.The work should be completed by the end of October.Work will be performed Monday through Thursday nights from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following morning, and on Fridays from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. the following Saturday.The project will require various freeway lane and ramp closures, but Caltrans will always provide at least one open lane in either direction of travel and never close two consecutive ramps, Walik said. Noise will be inevitable during the project, but it will be kept “within approved construction noise limits.”Caltrans officials say the project will improve the quality of travel for motorists on U.S. 101 and extend the service life of the existing driving surface.Signage is in place to warn and assist motorists traveling through the area, and drivers are urged to use caution while moving through the work zone.

The 37th annual Mushroom Mardi Gras food, art and wine festival will take place Memorial Weekend, May 28 and 29 in downtown Morgan Hill.

A $524.4 million budget was adopted by the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors May 10 for the coming fiscal year.

As Morgan Hill continues to grow and embrace the latest in high technology and other commercial pursuits, there remains a small—yet vital—slice of town that predates the city’s founding, to which a dedicated group of volunteers is intent on preserving for future generations.