Dear Editor, It is evident from attending the informational
hearing on the Santa Teresa Corridor held Nov. 9, that more
citizens of Morgan Hill need to be informed of the benefits of the
Santa Teresa Corridor Project.
More residents need to know the benefits of Santa Teresa extension
Dear Editor,
It is evident from attending the informational hearing on the Santa Teresa Corridor held Nov. 9, that more citizens of Morgan Hill need to be informed of the benefits of the Santa Teresa Corridor Project.
It is a normal one lane in each direction street commonly found in all neighborhoods in Morgan Hill with way better than normal bicycle and pedestrian walkways and landscaping. It has the common speed limit of 35 miles per hour with every safety feature available.
This connection will provide improved safety, law enforcement and fire protection to the west side of town. It will also add great convenience to the entire community.
In addition, studies commissioned by the city of Morgan Hill say it is needed. The funding for this street has been allocated by the city from the RDA funds, thus it will not impact the city’s operating budget nor distract from any current city project.
I invite all interested citizens to visit our office at 370 W. Dunne Ave., Suite #3 during regular business hours to view a large rendition of this project. We also urge everyone to sign our petition in support of this project.
We hope to meet you soon!
Don Nguyen, DDS, Morgan Hill
Barrett classmates honor those who served with patriotic songs
Dear Editor,
On Nov. 9, Mrs. Karen Crane, our music teacher, took myself and five of my classmates to sing to veterans at the (Centennial) Recreation Center. We sang patriotic songs such as “God Bless America,” and “America the Beautiful.” We sang other songs too, like “We are Grateful for the U.S.A.,” “We Honor Those who Serve,” “Free Like Me” and “America, America.” We sang so well that some of the veterans were crying! We were wearing red, white and blue clothing. I love singing patriotic songs. They make me feel happy in my heart.
Julia Marie Terrazas, third grade student at Barrett Elementary School, Morgan Hill
Resident says he has the best Christmas decorated home
Dear Editor,
I love Halloween and the missus has been a great enabler. The missus loves Christmas and so like a dutiful husband I reciprocate.
So this year I really, really, really reciprocated.
And starting Thursday, when I place a candy cane tree in the front yard while she places the last of the candy cane arches, I will officially exclaim that I have the best decorated home in Morgan Hill.
My home features a cornucopia of snowmen, candy canes and many things red and white.
I have enjoyed meeting residents of our fair city as they drive by. So come on by 2755 Fountain Oaks Dr., and take a picture of the place.
To my fellow residents, I dare you to prove me wrong in my assertion that my home is tops.
Happy holidays.
Paul Pascoal, Morgan Hill
Writer’s arguments are fallacious
Dear Editor,
In a recently published letter, Jon Hatakeyama offered an argument for the “completion of the Santa Teresa Corridor” benefitting “the entire community.” Were that to be truly the case, then I would not oppose, but the reality is that this project is a waste of taxpayer’s monies and resources.
The author’s inference that the completion of the corridor would improve emergency response times, may or may not have validity. Certainly, the city hasn’t made those claims in the 30-plus months that they have been flogging this project. Nor, has the city ever claimed that the existing response times in those neighborhoods were unsafe, substandard or dangerous or released any information that would support those claims. If they thought they could (to support their argument), they certainly would have. After all, this project has been on the books for 40 years.
The fact of the matter is that the driving force for this project is the city’s desire to close Monterey to two lanes from the present four, between Main and Dunne avenues. All of the property acquisitions with Redevelopment Agency monies, the West Dunne widening, the extra 500 residential units downtown that they got the citizens to exempt from the Residential Development Control System have been done with an eye toward closing rerouting it around town on Butterfield Boulevard to the east and Santa Teresa Boulevard to the west. Why? In an attempt to create a Santana Row like experience downtown.
There has been no demonstrated need for the “completion of the corridor,” and oh, by the way, this project does not “complete the corridor.”
The author’s assertion that the project “has funding from the RDA and does not affect the city’s budget nor draw from city’s general fund” is fallacious. Those RDA monies, which are borrowed against the “incremental tax” from future property tax revenues, actually decrease the general funds’ share (police, fire, emergency services, road maintenance, schools, etc.) of property tax revenues for the life of the RDA, 25 more years in this case. Thus our police, fire, schools, are reduced to begging for additional funds, via election measures, propositions, as well as special taxes and fees.
“This present economic downturn provides an excellent economic opportunity for cost containment.” Really? The city’s budget in May of 2008 for this project (for four lanes) was $10.2 million. Now, in Dec. 2010, the projected budget for two lanes, is $17.6 million, an astonishing 72 percent increase before final engineering has even been undertaken. Perhaps, it’s the city’s lavish use of ‘consultants'” to run these meetings.
Preservation of this corridor as a greenbelt, with pathways that connect to the proposed West Dunne improvements, would allow the citizens of these neighborhoods to get downtown more safely, without automobiles, which would further diminish traffic and parking burdens and their associated ecological ills. Furthermore, it could be done at a fraction of the cost and the savings could be put to better use for a long neglected project that would benefit the downtown and the community – flood control.
Frank Manocchio, Morgan Hill
