In a special session Wednesday, the Morgan Hill Downtown Economic Development Corporation announced its picks for the new seven-member board.
Announced by Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate and nominated by the subcommittee of Tate and councilman Gordon Siebert, via teleconference from Scottsdale, Ariz. the new members are Greg Sellers, Brad Krouskup, Laura Gonzales-Escoto, Doug Moffat and Howard Allred.
The five-member city council before served as the EDC’s board, but the council and city staff wanted to create some independence between the private nonprofit corporation and the city itself.
The two city council members to complete the board will be Larry Carr and Gordon Siebert, both nominated by Tate and approved by the council.
Sellers is a former city council member of 12 years. He is also president of Burnham Energy. Krouskup is president of TBI Development, a real estate investment and management company. Gonzales-Escoto has knowledge in redevelopment agency leadership, said Tate. Moffat brings real estate experience to the group, said Tate, and has worked at banks before, including Pinnacle Bank. He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill. Allred, the CFO at Specialized Bikes, will bring a general financial knowledge to the group, according to Tate.
Because of time constraints, the council agreed that the new board should be appointed in one single action and not go through an application and interview process.
One member of the public who spoke at the meeting Wednesday, former city council member Marby Lee, asked why the process for choosing these members was not more open.
“It’s a little bit outrageous and disturbing from my point of view, that there was not much publicity about this,” said Lee. “Why is it not open to the public for other members (to join)?”
Carr said that it was not the first time this was talked about. He cited both the Feb. 27 meeting and the city council retreat.
“I’m not saying the process is perfect,” he said. “But we’ve talked about this … What we’re doing tonight is setting up an independent board by bylaws that were just adopted.”
He said the appointment process was not typical because they were not appointing a city council commission, but a separate entity to receive autonomy from the city council itself.
With these new appointments, it will improve the city’s chances of keeping and redeveloping the Granada Theater, Downtown Mall, Royal Clothiers and other sites as it has long planned, according to council members and city staff. Otherwise, the city faces a possible takeover of those properties and about $20 million in cash if the state decides to employ a strict interpretation of the law dissolving the RDA that took effect Feb. 1.
