Santa Clara County and City of Morgan Hill officials announced Thursday they have finalized a settlement of a dispute related to the transfer of Morgan Hill Redevelopment Agency properties and cash to the newly formed Morgan Hill Economic Development Corporation in March 2011.
The City agreed to voluntarily reverse the asset transfers to the EDC, which the State Controller ordered in August 2012, according to a press release from Santa Clara County.
The agreement will result in the distribution of about $10.1 million in assets to the Morgan Hill Unified School District, the County, the City and 10 other public and educational entities, County staff said.
“I commend Mayor (Steve) Tate and the oversight committee members who worked tirelessly to comply with this difficult State mandate,” Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman said. “The agreement immediately provides Morgan Hill Unified School District with nearly $4.3 million, and also creates a process for working cooperatively in the future.”
Wasserman represents the district that includes South County on the board of supervisors.
“We are proud of the cooperative spirit demonstrated by all parties and look forward to investing our resources to further improve the Morgan Hill community,” Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate said.
The lawsuit involved the City of Morgan Hill, the Morgan Hill Economic Development Corporation, the Morgan Hill Successor Agency, the County of Santa Clara, the Santa Clara County Office of Education, the State Department of Finance, and the State Controller. All are parties to the overall settlement agreement, the press release said.
The seven-member Redevelopment Oversight Board, which was created by the State last year to wind down the affairs of the former RDA, unanimously approved the conceptual settlement agreement at a board meeting in April. Representatives of both the City and County, as well as state community colleges, the County Office of Education and the Santa Clara Valley Water District sit on the Oversight Board.
