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Like all communities, public safety is of utmost importance here in Morgan Hill. At the top of the public safety list is our police department. They not only enforce our laws; they do so much more to establish a feeling of safety in our community. By being out on patrol, officers establish a sense of comfort and safety for our residents. Our officers are in our schools, interacting with kids on a personal basis, forming personal relationships that pay dividends in avoiding gang involvement.Although our PD is fully staffed, we need all the help we can get to assure that the feeling of safety in Morgan Hill stays vibrant. Volunteers are a huge part of making that happen. Our volunteer CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) is trained and ready to help on emergency situations. The Explorer program trains and uses young adults to supplement our officers when additional personnel are appropriate. The Volunteers in Policing (VIP) program trains citizens to support the department by doing administrative tasks and supplementing them on patrol. The PD also relies on residents to form Neighborhood Watch groups and report any situations requiring police intervention.The notion of community policing is that everyone is involved in keeping our city safe.There is one other group that is extremely supportive of our policing efforts: the Community Law Enforcement Foundation, or CLEF.  They raise money to donate to the PD for very specific purposes. The most notable example is our canine unit—the dog, Basco, his training and all his food and equipment is funded by CLEF.  CLEF also funds equipment, like license plate readers, that allow our officers to take advantage of the latest technology for law enforcement. Another area of funding provided by CLEF is for training, not only for our officers, but for citizens as well, including the very successful Parent Program.So you are probably wondering where CLEF gets the funds it uses to support our PD? Well, take out your wallet and prepare to have a whole bunch of fun! The annual Cops and Robbers Ball is coming up April 30 and it is truly a BALL! What better cause can there be than to support public safety in your home town by providing funds to this great organization that does so much for the MHPD, making us all safe.And what a great evening it is. CLEF has been doing this for a number of years and event chair Sharon Daniel knows how to do it right.  A great dinner followed by a brief but meaningful presentation of the annual Public Safety Award, honoring Mike Johnson and Frank Thomas for their stellar support of CLEF and our MHPD, followed by dancing. There is a live and a silent auction and some additional fun opportunities to spend money in support of this great cause.Please treat yourself to a really fun evening while helping to keep Morgan Hill safe.The Cops and Robbers Ball will take place 5:30 to 11 p.m. April 30 at the Community and Cultural Center, 17000 Monterey Road. Tickets cost $95 and are available online at morganhillclef.org or from Craig C. Van Keulen at Van Keulen & Van Keulen, 17600 Monterey Rd., Second Floor, Morgan Hill, CA, or by calling Sharron Daniel at (408) 891-7795. Steve Tate is the Mayor of Morgan Hill.

Like all of Santa Clara County, Morgan Hill has a rich agricultural history. Most of today's remaining actively grown agriculture (ag) is in South County. To preserve our region's proud history, residents throughout the county want to see active ag preserved to the maximum extent possible.   Our community has invested significant time and resources in evaluating alternatives to preserve viable ag. Morgan Hill's forward thinking, citywide Agricultural Preservation Program was developed with guidance from respected ag preservation and economic consultants. It includes a "stay ahead" provision requiring preservation to occur before development.Morgan Hill has pledged to invest millions of dollars in ag preservation from a fund that continues to grow as the city develops. We have a plan that effectively saves the most ag while providing other benefits to our community and region.It is unrealistic to think that if we don't change anything, South County ag land will remain ag. We have ample evidence to the contrary. Every parcel in unincorporated South County has development rights, including active ag parcels.San Martin is a visual example of ag land turned into housing on large acreage parcels. If you go to the south end of Trail Drive, you'll see five homes under construction. It is literally happening now! House by house, our ag lands will disappear unless we do something different.Morgan Hill is doing something different and innovative. One way to guarantee that these lands remain ag is to remove their development rights by recording a permanent ag easement on the deeds. Land owners will do this—for a price.The city will assure that any ag land developed in or around Morgan Hill preserves an equal amount of designated ag land in the area southeast of the city. It can do this by supplementing payments from an open space account funded by developers who compete for housing allocations in the city. Housing development in the city assists in preserving ag lands in the surrounding county.We are also working with landowners on other innovative approaches to compensating them for ag easements.Morgan Hill has a great reputation for providing high quality recreation facilities. Another creative way to fund ag preservation is to annex a small portion of the area (less than 180 acres) near the Tenant-101 interchange to enhance its family and youth-oriented recreation, sports and leisure offerings. Morgan Hill can leverage its reputation by expanding its active recreation facilities.This envisioned development will pay ag preservation fees, so it will assist in preserving ag in the surrounding county.Another planned use for the southeast area is a new Catholic high school on land owned by the church near the Tenant-101 interchange. It will be a tremendous South County asset, and its development will also help fund ag preservation.Morgan Hill's plans do not add any housing to these areas. None.Consistent with the widely accepted Santa Clara Food and Farmlands Resolution, Morgan Hill is working diligently to insure that small-scale ag remains viable in our sphere of influence. We are seeking the services of a third-party administrator to oversee easements and explore creative ways to provide ag infrastructure to small-scale farmers.To make ag preservation a reality, Morgan Hill is working closely with our Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to gain approval to annex the land for recreation and the Catholic high school. A hearing is scheduled Feb. 3. It is imperative for LAFCo to approve our application, as it proactively and responsibly preserves viable ag while also providing quality community-serving facilities.Steve Tate is the mayor of Morgan Hill. The Feb. 3 LAFCO meeting will take place at the county’s board meeting chambers, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose.

Some good news for a change! While we have begun to see some rain, rainfall levels and the snowpack are expected to remain far below normal. Some of our local reservoirs are nearly empty. Statewide water conditions are poor, and we are expecting some significant challenges in meeting our needs this year.

Do you ever wonder about the fate of San Martin? Many who live in this rural, unincorporated community certainly do. Annexation proposals and Urban Service Area boundary requests, submitted by the Cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy, have been unsettling to those within the unincorporated areas.

Anyone who has ever lost a pet knows how helpless it feels not to be able to locate their animal. Fortunately, it’s now easier than ever to prevent this from happening. Santa Clara County Animal Care and Control and VIP Pet Care are proud to sponsor a free registered microchip and free rabies vaccination clinic Sunday, July 17 at the County Animal Shelter, 12370 Murphy Ave., San Martin. Santa Clara County Animal Control Officers carry microchip scanners in their vehicles. When they pick up a stray animal, they scan it for a microchip. If the animal is wearing a license tag or has a registered microchip, the officers will return the pet to the owners if possible. For more information about this event, call VIP Pet Care at (800) 427-7973.Homelessness decreased 14 percent in just two years in our county,thanks to innovative programs and partnerships between government and local nonprofits. There is no question about it: Housing First works. The concept of Housing First has proven effective in our community; we know that by providing people with housing in conjunction with supportive services, they are significantly more likely to stay housed and off the streets. As recently reported in the press, a single homeless person often uses $67,000 in government services annually. Once housed, that number drops down to $24,000. The significant saving is due largely to homeless individuals relying on expensive emergency room services for basic health care. Once housed, this reliance drops dramatically. By focusing on housing for the homeless, we can save lives and taxpayer money.From July 4 to 10, the U.S. Women's Open—dubbed the Super Bowl of women's golf—will take place for the first time ever in Santa Clara County! The public can watch 156 of the world's greatest professional and amateur golfers compete for the sport's ultimate trophy. The 71st U.S. Women's Open, presented by the USGA and hosted at CordeValle, will draw thousands of visitors from around the world to our region. Kudos to all involved with bringing this event to our County.The county is partnering with Racing Hearts to place lifesaving heart defibrillators (AEDs) throughout the community. So far, 249 AEDs have been installed, each of which is supported by a 5-year program of supplies and service. This translated to protecting over 943,230 students and adults per year, at 185 sites! If you have a location in your area which is high risk that you feel would benefit from our county's matching grant program, Racing Hearts (Program Manager for the County) is available to answer questionsabout how to start work on bringing AEDs into your community.  Contact them at (650) 308-4183 or email [email protected]'t forget to submit a photo for my 2016 Summer Photo Contest. Grab your camera and show us your favorite summertime images of landscape, farmers markets, parades, county parks, neighborhood BBQs, pets and other fun images of summer. The deadline is July 29. Simply email your photo (ONE per person please) to [email protected] along with your name, address, and where you took the photo.Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman represents District 1, which includes South County, on the board of supervisors. He can be reached at (408) 299-5010 or [email protected].