The campaign to protect the Morgan Hill Library is looking for
friends and a bit of help, but, in turn, is offering a glittering
evening of wine and local celebrities.
The campaign to protect the Morgan Hill Library is looking for friends and a bit of help, but, in turn, is offering a glittering evening of wine and local celebrities.
Gearing up to prepare voters for a two-question ballot due to be mailed April 4, Support Our Library campaigners are hoping to entice people to sign up for phone banking parties during March and April at a gala event Sunday, March 6, at Guglielmo Winery’s Heritage Room, 5-7pm.
But people are also welcome just to attend for information or for an entertaining time. However, the crush may not mean just wine making so supporters are encouraged to buy their tickets soon.
Much depends on two-thirds of participating voters checking the “yes” boxes on the mail-in ballot – that must be in the Registrar of Voters office by 5pm May 3, according to Carol O’Hare, the campaign committee co-chair and president of the Friends of the Library. She is doing everything possible to let voters know what their vote means and how to interpret the ballot.
The local parcel tax that pays for 21 percent of county library budgets, including those of the Morgan Hill and Gilroy libraries, which also serve San Martin and unincorporated areas, is due to expire this June.
n Measure A asks: Do you want to extend the $33.66 for 10 years, with no cost of living increase possible? There would be no change in the current tax bill and the library would continue to be closed on Sunday and Monday only but have no further cuts to hours, staff or acquisitions at this time. Current tax bills would not increase.
n Measure B asks: Would you approve increasing the tax to $45 – adding $1 a month? This would allow the library to be open on Mondays again, continue to buy new materials and services and not have to lay off employees.
To restore and continue library services, both measures would have to pass.
April 5 is the first day to return a marked ballot.
No trip to the polling place is necessary – or possible; the entire election is handled by mail.
To find voters likely to support the measures, the campaign will spend several weeks phoning voters and reminding supporters to send in their ballots. Clubs, church groups, neighbors and friends can gather together for an hour or so of calling.
“We want them to have fun but still get the job done,” O’Hare said.
A March 2004 ballot measure received only 61 percent approval countywide, short of the needed two-thirds majority. The Morgan Hill vote was 61.75 percent, the third highest in the county; Gilroy was the lowest at 56.6 percent. That defeat resulted in all county libraries closing on Mondays and reducing book, video and CD buying.
County Librarian Melinda Cervantes said that she’s never confident about a two-third’s vote.
“It’s very difficult to achieve,” she said. “I think there’s significant support for renewing at the same rate, but this is all highly dependent on people understanding the mail-in ballot and deciding whether or not the library is valuable to them and their lives.”
The measures have already won the support of County Supervisor Don Gage, who said Thursday that libraries have a positive impact on communities and provide invaluable resources for children.
“It’s an excellent tool that’s used mostly by school-aged kids, and those who can’t afford computers or to buy books,” Gage said.
The Support Our Library committee stresses that a public library is important to the community with story times for small children, computers, books, magazines for schoolchildren plus music, DVDs and videos for all.
The parcel tax campaign has nothing to do with the effort to build a new library building for Morgan Hill.
“But there’s not much point in building a new library if we don’t have the money to keep the doors open,” O’Hare said.
All proceeds from the March 6 gala will benefit the library parcel tax Morgan Hill campaign.
The event includes wine tasting and winery tours, hors d’oeuvres from local restaurants, and a silent auction that will offer a Thomas Kinkade print, crystal wine decanters, rabbit ear corkscrews and baskets of goodies donated by local merchants.
Tickets are $35 and should be purchased ahead of time from campaign committee members, including Marby Lee, 779-2824, ma*****@****ic.com, and Carol O’Hare, 782-9029, cb*****@****ic.com), at BookSmart, 17415 Monterey Road (open every day) and at The Morgan Hill Times, 30 E. 3rd St. during business hours.
Details and/or offers to help: Carol O’Hare, 782-9029, cb*****@****ic.com/ Santa Clara County Libraries: www.supportourlibraries.org
