Letters

Councilmember's comments 'insulting'

My wife and I attended Mayor Steve Tate's State of the City address Feb. 25. I was disappointed to see the low turnout of residents at this very important event. The speech was very long on vague, lofty goals and very short on budgetary specifics related to these goals. That opinion aside, what really irked me were a couple of statements noted in the handout flyer distributed to the attendees: "The City is committed to engaging the community and being responsible stewards of public resources" and one  of the “ongoing priorities” is "Preserving and cultivating public trust.”In my opinion, there have been many questionable misuses and squandering of public resources, with a great number involving the myriad of wasteful downtown projects. (The $3.6 million Third Street Promenade comes to mind along with the recent $200,000 “Spider.”) But one of the most flagrant, if not at least questionable spending decisions, involve the compensation package and perks given to our City Manager. As reported by the Morgan Hill Times July 17, 2014, the City Council not only gave Steve Rymer a 3-percent raise after only one year of service, but they also voted July 2 of that year to give him a 30-year, $900,000 home purchase loan at 3 percent interest with no points or other mortgage fees that average homebuyers pay. Mayor Steve Tate justified this decision "because we could provide incentives in terms of his longevity here in Morgan Hill." I think a $200,000-plus salary with generous municipal benefits would provide more than a bit of incentive to quite a number of qualified, experienced city managers.Then, even more outrageously, after four closed session meetings, the City Council on March 18, 2015 announced and approved giving the City Manager a $110,000 home improvement loan at a below market rate of 5 percent, in addition to a $3,200 per year raise. City resident Doug Muirhead justifiably voiced concerns regarding this at the sparsely attended council meeting, but it was a done deal regardless.More recently, as reported by the Morgan Hill Times, an additional $10,800 raise was approved 4-0  by the City Council in its March 2 meeting. Mayor Tate was absent. This all could be seen as blatant cronyism, if not at least excessive misuse of public funds. Besides, how is someone earning $228,000 per year not able to manage securing a  $900,000 mortgage from a private lender?My purpose is not to disparage Mr. Rymer or his work, but to point out that without public input, those we entrust with our hard-earned money often spend it very unwisely. Our streets are in disrepair, our water and waste infrastructures are soon to be overburdened and our quality of life in this town will suffer. This is not the time to be spending excessively on questionable artwork, pop-up parks or extravagant public payrolls.It's disheartening that more Morgan Hill residents don't get involved in city affairs unless it affects their immediate neighborhood, but city planning and spending affects us all eventually. Other than city officials and employees, there were maybe a handful of residents that attended the meeting in addition to a couple of dozen high school students there getting their civics certificates.The city's outreach program is weak at best. These important issues should be announced to all residents by either citywide mailings or methods other than the "Nextdoor" or City of Morgan Hill websites, which I doubt many people visit, or short blurbs in the local paper.I encourage Morgan Hill citizens to make an effort to get involved and come see and hear how their city operates and spends their resources before making their choices for city officials in the November 2016 election.Ask for specifics and don’t just accept lofty platitudes. It's your money they'll be spending.Zenon KomarczykMorgan Hill

Much has been written in the Morgan Hill Times regarding a proposed deal for the county agriculture land in the Southeast Quadrant of Morgan Hill. This plan will cover 229 acres of prime farmland for a Catholic High School, as well as for sports, recreation and leisure areas.

Deadlock censure vote a sign of disrespectAccording to the dictionary, the verb “recuse” means to withdraw from a position of judging as to avoid any semblance of partiality or bias. Trutee David Gerard recently voted in his own disciplinary reprimand (at the Feb. 2 Morgan Hill Unified School District board of education meeting). Not surprisingly, he voted against the motion. Two of his other board members voted with him to deadlock the board from taking action.Here is the real important story, not the unfortunate incident involving Trustee Rick Badillo and the police. The story is about how three board members did not view the outrageous disrespect shown to Superintendent Steve Betando and their fellow board members to be worthy of censure. They all agreed that using racist and sexist comments as well as encouraging a parent in the recall of Board President Bob Benevento is just satirical fun protected by freedom of speech and not breaking the law.The argument that Mr. Gerard did not expect the emails to become public is a little ridiculous based on the fact he was copying his comments to others and using a MHUSD server.The fact Mr. Gerard saw no ethical problem and did not recuse himself from his own disciplinary action, speaks to why he is still a threat to the good governance of our children. The fact that two of his fellow board members, Mr. Badillo and Trustee Gino Borgioli, are not even willing to censure him for his admitted actions speaks to their acceptance of these violations of education codes and agreed upon board norms as OK.Mr. Gerard gave his verbal apology but took no responsibility for his actions.Instead, he went on about mob mentality and how the attacks on him were orchestrated and not a true reaction of community members to his behavior. He called out names of citizens who reacted to his offensive behavior and claimed they were threatening him. He continues to see himself as the victim and martyr, and refuses to see the damage he is responsible for to this community and the good work MHUSD is trying to do.Censure is not taken lightly. It does not keep the elected official from attending meetings or voting. It monitors and limits the damage the elected official can do when they have violated policies and procedures in a grievous manner. It is a shame three of our board members do not see Mr. Gerard’s violations as being important enough to warrant this step.I wonder if it is because they recognize their complicity in these events since two of these board members were copied on these emails?Kathy Sullivan, Morgan HillTrustee not a victimI went to the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 2 hoping to see David Gerard resign from the board. For the past two months a parade of Morgan Hill residents and district employees have spoken to the board asking, and even demanding, David Gerard's resignation over his despicable and hate filled email messages to some parents and trustees Gino Borgioli and Rick Badillo.Instead, the entire audience at the meeting was subjected to ridiculous arguments by Borgioli and Badillo justifying Mr. Gerard’s horrible behavior and trying to avoid a censure resolution up for a vote before the board.Acting as apologists for Mr. Gerard, these two trustees embarrassed themselves with twisted logic trying to say that Mr. Gerard was entitled to free speech and simply made an error by sending his hateful emails through the district server and that Mr. Gerard never intended for these emails to be published.Unfortunately, Trustee Badillo failed to recognize the fact that, as elected officials, their communications sent through district channels are public records which are open to inspection by the public.Finally, David Gerard made us endure a 27 minute rehash of the other trustees arguments and attempted to make himself look like a victim. Well, let's be very clear about this, Mr. Gerard is no victim and his insulting, hurtful and racist language used to describe his fellow trustees and district staff members have caused a great deal of anger within our community, justifiably aimed at him. Trustees Badillo and Borgioli appear to tacitly condone Mr. Gerard’s horrible behavior by attempting to explain his unacceptable actions as freedom of speech and a mistake.I think most everyone at the board meeting recognized Mr. Gerard’s arguments for what they were: a pathetic attempt to shift blame and attention away from his despicable acts and claim to be a victim of mobbing behavior by members of the community.Apparently, Mr. Gerard will force members of the community to mount a recall campaign against him, culminating in a special election which will cost thousands and thousands of dollars from the district’s general fund.Anyone in the community who has not read the horrible emails that Mr. Gerard wrote needs to educate themselves and read those emails! Community members need to attend upcoming board meetings and demand Mr. Gerard’s resignation. Mr. Gerard is no victim in this and he will ultimately be held accountable for his behavior both in the emails and his refusal to do the right thing and resign.Steven SpencerSan Martin

Friends and Family of Nisei Veterans (FFNV), a Japanese-American WW II veterans organization, will host a meeting 12:30 p.m. Feb. 13, at the rear building of the Morgan Hill Buddhist Community Center, 16450 Murphy Ave. Potluck lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m., and the public is invited.  The highlight of this meeting is to feature four speakers on the subject of a legendary segregated Japanese-American unit—the 442nd Regimental Combat Team—rescuing the “Lost Battalion.” The 442nd  RCT, formed in 1943, was initially engaged in Italy and quickly became a formidable and well-respected fighting unit. “Go For Broke” was its motto.  For its size and the length of service, the 442nd  RCT became the highest decorated unit in U.S. Army history with 21 Medal of Honor awards.On Oct. 24, 1944, the 1st Battalion of the 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Division (originally the Texas National Guard), became surrounded and trapped by German forces in the Vosges Mountains, France. The 1st Battalion was deemed “lost” because repeated attempts by 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 141st Infantry Regiment failed to rescue the 1st.  The Division Commander then ordered the 442nd RCT to rescue the “Lost Battalion.” Even though the 442nd RCT just came off bitter battles to liberate nearby towns and thus was severely short of manpower, they smartly saluted and valiantly pressed on. It was another opportunity to prove their loyalty to America after being classified as “enemy alien” after Pearl Harbor. On Oct. 30, after taking extremely heavy casualties, the 442nd RCT broke through and rescued the “Lost Battalion.”Tom Graves, professional photographer and the author of “Twice Heroes”, will introduce other speakers. He will give the overview of the 442ndRCT, and present the importance of the battle to rescue the “Lost Battalion.” He will also comment on why this rescue lives on in history.Franz Steidl, author of “Lost Battalions”, will give an introduction to the regional military situation, military motives behind the battle and its results. He will also make an audiovisual presentation.Al Tortolano (soldier of the 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry, the “Lost Battalion”) will talk about his side of the battle, what his fellow soldiers faced and knew and what they went through before the rescue by the 442RCT.Lawson Sakai (a 442nd RCT vet) will talk about the Regiment itself—its origin and training. He will then focus on his role during the battle to rescue the “Lost Battalion.”Brian ShiroyamaMorgan HillSurvey data in contextThe Times recently published an article about the Godbe Research survey commissioned by the city to gather data to assess the overall perceptions of living in Morgan Hill, to gauge satisfaction with the city’s performance and obtain opinions about a variety of city characteristics. In that article, the following was written:“About 62 percent of survey respondents said they would support an ordinance to update the city’s Residential Development Control System, extending it to 2035 with a population ceiling of 64,600 for that year. The current RDCS or growth control ordinance sets a population cap in Morgan Hill of 48,000 for the year 2020.”The actual language in the survey that resulted in the 62 percent figure reads as follows:“Shall an ordinance to update the city’s voter-approved Residential Development Control System (RDCS) and extend it to 2035, including a population ceiling of 64,600 for the year 2035 (consistent with the current growth rate) and policies to encourage more efficient land use, water conservation, sustainable transit-oriented development, and better implement the existing voter-approved RDCS allotment system, be adopted?”The omission of language from the survey has the potential of creating a false perception of what the 62 percent supports, especially when another part of the survey indicates support for a growth moratorium. Regardless of which side of the growth issue residents favor, it’s important that the information being made available is accurate.Chris MonackMorgan Hill

Clear plants from creekMy property—as well as many more, including the Woodland Estates Senior MobilE Home Park—backs up to the Llagas Creek between Santa Teresa Boulevard, and Olive Avenue, which is all part of the city.In 2010, I brought up the issue about the overgrown vegetation to both the Santa Clara Valley Water District, as well as the City of Morgan Hill. This vegetation could create possible fire danger in the summer, and also the impairment of the water flow in the creek.I was impressed with the immediate response from both the city and the Water District. The city was out there the next day to cut down the tall grass up to or about 30 feet from the property lines for weed abatement, and the Water District set up a plan to cut down the overgrown berry plants and remove some of the dead vegetation—which they did a couple months later.In March 2011, we had a lot of rain in a short amount of time, and with Chesbro Reservoir already filled, the water was not only going over the spillway but some water had to be released from the dam. In doing so, Llagas Creek was totally filled with fast running water, within two feet from flooding my property, and had encroached onto other properties along the creek. Water was also bubbling out of the storm drain at the end of our cul-de-sac, putting the end of our street two feet under water.In the last couple of years, the berry plants have come back. Even though they are not nearly as tall as before, they are tall enough to impair the natural water flow in the creek.I have meet with both the Water District and a representative from the city of Morgan Hill, and have had no luck because of the bureaucracy getting in the way. I have even sent an email to Mayor Steve Tate of Morgan Hill, over a month ago with no reply!With El Nino in the forecast this winter, we are expecting more rain than we have had in the past. If the creek isn't cleaned out once again there is a definite potential of flooding of the properties along the creek as well as some mobile homes lifting off their foundations and floating away.Because of this urgency, the bureaucracy needs to be put aside, and matters to take care of the creek area is a must before this negligence causes thousands of dollars of damages. If this were to happen, someone will be and should be liable!Roger MartaranoMorgan HillSpaceX landing an historic eventI want to congratulate Elon Musk and SpaceX for making history by landing the first stage of a rocket back on Earth (in one piece this time) after deploying a payload into space. This is an historic event because the cost of getting stuff into space just got at least three times cheaper.In a world where news is dominated by ISIS, mass shootings and Donald Trump, it's time the smart people get the spotlight and we have good news to report. This event is another milestone representing the progress of humanity on a road that will eventually lead to the human colonization of the planet Mars. All of humanity rejoices tonight at this great accomplishment.Thank you Elon and the team at SpaceX.Marc PerkelGilroy

City should repair road hazard

Gerard should resign

Dear City of Morgan Hill,My understanding is that the Catholic Diocese is to begin construction in 2016 on the South County Catholic High School. This is very positive news of a project brought to fruition. We needmore projects that benefit all of humankind in the Southeast Quadrant (SEQ).In September, I met with the founder of a national Montessori franchise to view sites in the BayArea. His franchise is opening several new locations in the U.S.There is interest in Morgan Hill, but in order for a Montessori franchise to be profitable, there needs to be 85 to 100 students enrolled at all times. We agreed to stay in contact; with SiliconValley so close to Morgan Hill, this type of academic program seems so vital. This academic application would be a positive complement to the academic environment of the Catholic High School.I am happy with this progressive forward advancement, as it benefits my family's property as well. We have encountered setbacks beyond control in the past, but I am determined to one day bring a very positive and lucrative business to my family property, as I also hope to work with our government officials to present laws and bills, that are taken seriously and passed.If not for what my family endured, I would have a custom home business to serve as a senior residential or other allowed land use built on my family property by now, generating a very lucrative income and serving both the community and our family trust and business.Best regards,Julie Borina DriscollMorgan Hill

Clean up local parking lots