Dear Editor, Over the past few weeks, community members have
expressed concern regarding the future use of a 5-acre parcel of
land at San Martin Airport that includes the county-owned building
that is currently leased by the San Martin Lions Club.
Gavilan College, county and Lions Club could all get what they want
Dear Editor,
Over the past few weeks, community members have expressed concern regarding the future use of a 5-acre parcel of land at San Martin Airport that includes the county-owned building that is currently leased by the San Martin Lions Club. Gavilan College has expressed interest in leasing this parcel for their aviation program.
I have been in contact with Steve Kinsella, the president of Gavilan College, and I believe we will be able to find a solution that benefits everyone. Gavilan does not wish to lease the building, in fact, and would prefer to bring its own portable classrooms onto the parcel. This would leave the building available for use by the community.
Of course, this is all subject to conformance with applicable codes and regulations, but I believe we have found a workable solution. I will be working with Gavilan, the Lions Club and county staff to help make this happen.
Don Gage, Supervisor, District 1
Parents should drop lawsuit, teach sons a lesson about respect
Dear Editor,
I see that three families of the boys who were ordered to either remove their T-shirts or turn them inside out have sued the Morgan Hill Unified School District for violations of their civil rights. If true, this is indeed a sad commentary on our society. It seems to me that the school administrators acted out of concern for the safety of all students and did the right thing. Apparently, these boys, and their parents, have lost sight of the difference between the spirit and the letter of the law.
Certainly, under the letter of the law, they had every right to wear their patriotic T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo. But the spirit of the law is different. Most Americans don’t flaunt their patriotism on St. Patrick’s Day and, instead, wear something green in honor of Irish-Americans. And we don’t flaunt our flag-waving Americanism when we celebrate with our Japanese-American friends during the Haru Matsuri Festival (here in Morgan Hill), Columbus Day when we honor Italian-Americans, Octoberfest for the German-Americans and Chinese New Year’s. I hope these parents reconsider their actions, withdraw the lawsuit, and teach their sons a lesson about tolerance and respect for other cultures.
Robert Benich, Morgan Hill
Traveling in Arizona no more risky than here in Morgan Hill
Dear Editor,
In his June 25 column, Mario Banuelos expressed some unwarranted trepidation about traveling in Arizona.
My advice would be this: If you should happen to come in contact with Arizona law enforcement for some reason, you should do exactly as you would if officer (Steve) Pennington pulled you over for a traffic infraction on Monterey Road; cheerfully hand him your driver’s license when asked. I guarantee they won’t deport you to Morgan Hill. I seriously doubt Arizona police have the time or the inclination to stop every Latino in the state to check their legal status, regardless of their clothing.
Zenon Komarczyk, Morgan Hill
City should use reserves to balance budget, not make vital cuts
Dear Editor,
The austere budget that council has built is unnecessary. The only cuts that should be made are positions, programs or services that would never return under any economic condition. We already have the lowest employee per capital ratio of almost any city in the valley. We are already a low-service and low-tax city compared to others. We have a healthy reserve, more than many would consider necessary, and we should continue to utilize this reserve to keep needed programs and services in place as we rebuild the downtown, work with the public on recycling and have planners and inspectors make sure permits and processes are not delayed, and errors and omissions are avoided. Big government does not exist in Morgan Hill, but a small government can put us at risk and hurt special populations far greater than other cities because we had such little to begin with.
Council has taken this approach just as the economy is turning around. The housing market has improved dramatically, corporations such as HP are reporting significant improvements and the unemployment rate is turning around. It does not make sense to eliminate positions, programs and services that you would eventually bring back when you have the current capacity to support them with a health reserve.
National projections do not fit well for cities in the Bay Area, including Morgan Hill. Unlike other areas that are dependent on a singular industry, we have great diversity. We can weather economic downturns and recover faster and better. National forecasts should be scrutinized with caution.
Council adopted an approach that brings a balanced budget and the reserve to 15 percent by fiscal year 2014-15. That’s four to five years from now. Much will change between now and then. If the turnaround is not forthcoming, there is still time to make cuts. In the meantime, the city needs to work very hard to develop existing and new revenue resources. The city must fully utilize the RDA to remove the blight and importantly to improve economic conditions.
There is still time to austerity if necessary.
Mark Grzan, Morgan Hill
