Morgan Hill’s new mayor wants to improve sewers and roads
Morgan Hill – Adjusting to a new job takes some time, but Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate already feels at home at City Hall.
The 62-year-old public official knows the turf well after two four-year terms on the Morgan Hill City Council.
“I’m a retired guy,” he joked. “I only want to make the long drive down from the Holiday Lake Estates (in the eastern foothills) once a day, so I stay here longer.”
One month into his two-year term as mayor, Tate said hasn’t had too much of an opportunity to get his hands dirty.
“I haven’t really made any big decisions,” he said. “The next big thing is the city council retreat coming up at the end of the month.”
The two-day retreat at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center is a yearly opportunity for the council members to set objectives for the next 12 months. This year’s retreat is scheduled for Jan. 26-27.
Last year’s goals included implementing the Downtown Master Plan, constructing one or more artificial fields at the outdoor sports complex on Condit Road, exploring a partnership with the YMCA to operate the Centennial Recreation Center on Edmundson Avenue and maintaining “budget discipline.”
“We did pretty well with last year’s objectives,” Tate said. “I’ve been reflecting on issues I think we should talk about.”
Tate didn’t go into details, opting to share his thoughts with other council members first and hear their ideas, too.
“I don’t want to be a mayor that says, ‘This is how it will be,’ ” Tate said.
He did say he expects the conversation to include Morgan Hill Redevelopment Agency projects and improvements to police and fire services.
Long-term changes to other city services are up in the air with another round of community conversations planned for this spring.
The city paid Viewpoint Learning, Inc. $74,500 last year to find out what sacrifices residents are willing make to help balance the budget.
Last year, the outreach effort by the city showed residents may want more services but don’t want to be taxed to pay for them.
Critics said the series of forums and focus groups was not inclusive of all groups in the community.
“We’re going to have the community conversations again, but we’re going to do it differently,” Tate said.
Changes might include skipping the expense of hiring a consultant, holding more sessions to increase involvement and identifying specific service costs.
Other things that could be discussed at the city council’s get-away are the effectiveness of various committees on which elected officials serve.
For the time being, Tate is spending his time organizing his new office at City Hall. Former mayor Dennis Kennedy, who held the post for 10 years, left quite a few boxes of paperwork behind him.
“I haven’t put up my family pictures yet,” Tate laughed. “There are a lot of files to go through … It’s going to take a few months.”
On Wednesday Tate will join City Manager Ed Tewes and Morgan Hill City Councilwoman Marby Lee at a conference for elected officials in Sacramento. The two-day event is sponsored by the California League of Cities.
He said he looks forward to meeting other new mayors and maintaining regional ties to cities in the Bay Area.
On the homefront, Tate said he’s excited about meeting the public. He wants to have regular office hours, perhaps on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but he’s unsure at this point what days will work best.
Meanwhile, he said he’d return phone calls and be happy to make appointments. City Hall’s number is 779-7271.
“Unlike (newly elected San Jose Mayor) Chuck Reed, who can’t return all his phone calls, I’m in a much smaller city where I can do that!” Tate said, adding he recently spoke with Reed about sitting down to discuss Coyote Valley and other regional issues.
At the end of the day, Tate has high hopes for 2007.
“I think it’s going to be a great year,” he said. “The library is opening in 2007, and we extended the RDA last year. We could get started right away on the completion of Butterfield Boulevard by extending it south to Watsonville Road and one block to the north.”
But decisions like that, he added, would only be made by the council as a whole.
“We’ll be seeing where the priorities are,” he said. “The retreat is a really significant step.”
Tony Burchyns covers Morgan Hill for The Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 201 or tb*******@*************es.com.
