Opinion

“Travesty” is a word that is getting more usage these days and I am about to use it a whole bunch right here.For some reason, someone out there has decided for all of us that we need to change the way we select our School District Board of Trustees, and now City Council. Some party alerted an attorney who specializes in making money on “enforcing” the California Voters Rights Act (CVRA) that will forever change the way we elect our local officials. We are headed toward district voting for our city council seats, joining the MHUSD Trustees in this method of election.It’s a travesty because the well-intended CVRA is being used where it just won’t help. In fact, it will now limit our already limited pool of qualified candidates even more for our most important government bodies, and therefore possibly affect the quality of decisions made in our community.There is no way that a minority group can be represented as a majority in any way the city can be sliced up in any meaning manner—as was proven by a consultant. Mathematically, it just doesn’t work here folks.So what’s the purpose of the CVRA? To make sure that minorities are fairly represented.I look at our current city council and think that they are pretty darn diverse. We have a young professional mother, African-American firefighter, LGBT project manager, retired senior (sorry Mayor, you will be forever young to me) and a middle-aged caucasian man. They are one council member away from being entirely minority or an underrepresented group.What is going on? It’s a travesty.The focus of this application of the CVRA was to provide an opportunity for the Hispanic community to be better represented. We will have a Hispanic councilmember or mayor soon. I can virtually guarantee it but it won’t be because of the misuse of the CVRA. It will be because we have a good candidate at the right time. Unfortunately, that time may now be pushed out even further. This is serving to split up the Hispanic vote, not make it more powerful. What was somebody thinking?I have some nits to pick on this whole CVRA thing.First, what makes you think that an elected official has to be Hispanic to care about the Hispanic community? A good official cares about all of their constituents. I would almost hate to see the potential backlash from the public if there was an obvious bias on the dais on a regular basis.Second, just because the name of a candidate is Hispanic doesn’t mean that Hispanics will vote for them, I hope. Or do you think that minority groups only vote for members of their group? The CVRA is almost demeaning there.The travesty of district voting is virtually certain to be implemented due to the cost of litigation and precedent of success of the complaint filing party.The way we’re getting to a supposed solution is being forced down our throats in a way that is creating a great amount of resentment in the community. How is that a good thing?I hope it all somehow works out for the better, but I just can’t see it now. Nobody wins here, and that is the greatest travesty.John McKay is the president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance. He can be reached at [email protected].

The Gavilan College Board of Trustees is considering putting another bond before the voters in 2018. At the Aug. 8 board meeting the trustees approved an agreement with True North Research Inc. to provide a general obligation bond measure pre-election survey.I have always been a supporter of educational issues at all levels. However, I have also always believed very strongly that all elected officials must abide by the law to earn the trust of the voters who elected them.With the previous bond (Measure E), the Gavilan Board of Trustees violated Prop 39 by illegally spending bond funds to set up the South Bay Public Safety Consortium (the Academy) at the satellite site in Coyote Valley. Because Administration of Justice was not included in the bond, spending bond funds on Police Training Facilities was a clear violation of Prop 39.Prop 39 bond measures must list the specific projects to be funded. The South Bay Public Safety Consortium was never on the list of specific projects presented and approved by the voters. The evidence that Prop 39 was violated, I believe, is overwhelming.Because of the controversy over the misuse of Measure E bond funds, convincing the voters to support another bond will be a very difficult task.Aurelio ZunigaHollister

I made the mistake of turning on the TV during a mid-day break and all this bad news jumped out at me about misogyny, bigotry, religious intolerance and other things that don’t seem to fit in today’s world.All I could do was just shake my head and wonder about what’s happening now and what’s going to happen with civility breaking down all around us. It’s not okay, and we need to do something about it.Here in our community something is being done which directly contradicts what I just saw in the news. Next week will be Women’s Week in Morgan Hill. That’s right, we’re going to celebrate what others have been getting all misogynistic about—women just being women.Now that could be a dangerous thing to say but I mean it in only the best of ways—what were you thinking?I spend most of my time these days doing volunteer work in our community. That means spending the vast majority of my time working with women. Strong, smart and hard-working women.I sit on nonprofit boards and committees, the majority of whose members are women. I work with staff at City Hall—the majority are women. I work with a lot of downtown business owners and managers—the majority are women. I look to our local representatives in the State Legislature and Congress—the majority are women. This speaks volumes to me.Okay, so we’re going to have a week of events celebrating women, and who better to put this together than two smart, hard-working women, right?The idea came from our newest City Council member, Caitlin Jachimowicz, who teamed up with one of the smartest and hardest working women I know, Brittney Sherman. This pair has put a lot of energy into assembling a full week of programs and fun opportunities (I know there were others but these two made it happen).The week kicks off on Monday with a special showing of the movie “Hidden Figures” at the Cinelux Theater. That movie alone addresses and messes with the whole misogynistic and bigoted atmosphere out there.Tuesday is dedicated to effective communications with elected officials. Then, on Wednesday our City Council will formally proclaim this week “Women’s Week”.Thursday is a big night because there will be a “Leadership Professionals Panel” made up of women. Some of our finest will be sharing the stage with special guest Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren. We have some impressive local women leaders. Do not miss that!Friday and Saturday includes honoring women at the Friday Night Music series and celebrating the passing of the 19th Amendment (Google it), respectively.Sunday holds an event every woman should be a part of—the “When I grow up” mixer. Young women are invited and the adult women are asked to dress as they do when they go to work in their diverse responsibilities. This is an opportunity to inspire young lives and for women to mingle with their peers.Celebrating women in our society shouldn’t be the exception and a big deal, but unfortunately it still is.For more information about times and locations please go to: morganhill.org/womensweek.John McKay is president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, a city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Last winter’s drenching rain filled many state and local reservoirs, and dumped a healthy dose of snow on the Sierra Nevada. But the state’s fragile Delta infrastructure threatens the delivery of imported water throughout the state, which can become challenging for water agencies, especially in times of drought.The Santa Clara Valley Water District knows that to protect us from future droughts and dependency on imported water, we must continue to work toward securing reliable local water sources. That’s why the water district has been hard at work expanding its recycled and purified water program.Recycled water is wastewater cleaned through multiple levels of treatment. It can be purified to produce water that meets or exceeds all state drinking water quality standards. Through a series of advanced treatment processes, wastewater is stripped of contaminants, pharmaceuticals, viruses and bacteria to produce clean, safe and drinkable water.All of these advanced processes can be seen up close at the Silicon Valley Advanced Water Purification Center in San Jose. The largest facility of its kind in northern California, the purification center is a cornerstone of our recycled and purified water program. Since its doors opened in 2014, this state-of-the-art facility has been key in our efforts to increasing our drinking water supply with this drought-proof water source, independent of rainfall.There are two paths to do this: through indirect potable reuse or direct potable reuse. The first consists of replenishing our groundwater aquifers by allowing purified water to filter naturally through soil and rock layers, to be pumped later for drinking. The second is to send purified water directly to our drinking water system after it has been treated. Both options require further research and would require expansion of our pipeline system.Currently, recycled water is used for landscaping, agricultural and industrial purposes, such as irrigation or for cooling towers. This allows us to conserve drinking water.Since before the historic drought, the water district has made great strides expanding the recycled water pipeline network with several projects, such as the South County Recycled Water Pipeline Project. A partnership between the water district, cities of Gilroy and Morgan Hill and the South County Regional Wastewater Authority, this effort will add about 14,500 linear feet of pipeline in South County. When completed, it will increase the availability of recycled water in the area by roughly 50 percent, from 2,000 acre-feet per year to up to 3,000. (An acre-foot is about the same amount of water two families of five use in a year). The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently awarded $5.7 million in federal funding for the project, equating to about 25 percent of the total project cost.   The four agencies have been working on expanding recycled water delivery for over a decade, as laid out in the South County Recycled Water Master Plan, which was introduced in 2004 and updated in 2015.For more information on our progress in recycled and purified water, I invite you to a free tour of our purification center. Schedule your tour and find tasting events at purewater4u.org.SCVWD Director John Varela represents the South County district, which includes Morgan Hill, on the water district’s board of directors. He can be contacted at [email protected].

All things must come to pass. In some cases, it’s good because you want bad things to pass, but in too many cases it’s the good things that come to pass before you’re ready to let go.Right now we have a couple good things about to pass. One is short-term and satisfied the urge to have a good time eating with friends and family mid-week. The other satisfied a never-ending need for a leader and volunteer to help make and keep the community that place we’re all proud of and want to be.The first item that will pass is the Moveable Feast. It will end July 26 after eight consecutive weeks of providing a place for the community to gather and dine at an alternative location downtown.Going to the Moveable Feast nights were a lot of fun, filled with variety and new things. Next year’s events are being considered now so we can take comfort in knowing it will likely return just as good as ever. But for now, go out and enjoy it while you can.I hope you have developed a taste for the healthy habit of taking a mid-week mental break from your own kitchen—which includes all that cleaning. No reason for that to pass now…What will be passing and not returning is the ongoing leadership and volunteer work of Kathy Sullivan (no not the Historic Society Kathy Sullivan). Kathy’s just fine, but she will be leaving us to enjoy her retirement a little closer to family in the place where she grew up, Philadelphia.Right here is where I insert the old phrase, “Her absence will create a vacuum.” There will be a void like a sinkhole that will need many volunteers to fill.Kathy was the “universal volunteer.” She was involved with so many local nonprofit organizations and community efforts that I hear her going away parties are stacked up until well after she has left.The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce recognized Sullivan this year as the Volunteer of the Year. I don’t think there was ever a doubt that she would one day be the Volunteer of the Year, but little did we know it would be so soon.She will be honored for her work well into the future, her impact was notable and lack of presence will be noticeable across so much of the community. Another community will undoubtedly be getting a volunteer army of one. I hope they know how to utilize her well and appreciate her like we do.Kathy was also a leader. I got to know her leadership as the practical thinking strong board member of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association.Sometimes on the leading edge of pushing to accomplish what was considered best for the downtown, she was also one who was willing to reign in an idea whose wings might have needed some clipping. A leader does that. We count on our leaders to make the future a better place for the majority, and Kathy helped remind us of that time after time.Kathy will be missed in many ways as a volunteer, leader and friend to so many. Kathy, enjoy a great long life helping another community be its best.I wonder if they have a Moveable Feast in Philly…?John McKay is president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, chair of the city planning commission and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance.

This guest view is part of a periodic series on tips to prepare for wildfire season, which started May 1 in Santa Clara County.Will your home survive when the embers arrive? Wind driven embers ignite many of the homes destroyed by wildfire. Your home could be at risk!  BE EMBER AWARE and make changes to reduce the threat to your home. Remove leaves and pine needles from your rain gutters, keep your firewood a safe distance from your home and clean out debris from under your deck. You can learn more at emberaware.comMost people believe that wildfires ignite homes through direct contact with flames, but it is rare to have a home ignite this way. Flaming brands and embers can travel a mile or more ahead of the active front of a wildfire. Up to 60 percent of wildland/urban interface home ignitions result from embers.Tip Number 4: Deck dangerDecks are one of the parts of your home that are vulnerable to embers during wildfire. This applies to decks comprised of wood boards as well as those made from plastic and wood-plastic composite deck boards.If your deck ignites, the flames can ignite your combustible siding, break the glass on an adjacent window or sliding glass door, or climb to the eave and burn into your attic. If you have a deck and live in a high fire hazard area, you should consider the following:• Keep the gaps between deck boards free of pine needles, leaves and other debris. This tip also applies to the intersection between your deck and your house. Embers can become lodged in the gaps and ignite the deck. Also, don’t allow fallen pine needles and other dead plant material to accumulate on the deck surface during fire season.• The area underneath the deck is particularly susceptible to ember attack. Don’t store firewood, gas cans, lawn mowers, cardboard or other combustible materials under the deck and keep this area free of weeds, pine needles and leaves. Consider enclosing the deck with solid skirting, such as siding that is properly vented, or with 1/8-inch wire mesh to limit ember penetration and reduce maintenance. Don’t enclose it with wooden lattice.• Rotted or otherwise poor condition wood is more easily ignited by embers than wood in good condition. Replace deteriorated wooden deck boards and posts with new ones.• Install metal flashing between the deck and the side of the house. Be sure the flashing is installed to allow proper drainage of water.• If wildfire is threatening, remove combustible materials from the deck, including newspapers and magazines, baskets, door mats, dried flower arrangements, and place them inside the house or garage. Propane tanks should be placed at a distance of 30 feet or more from the house.Decks can contribute to the wildfire threat to your home. Take steps now to reduce the deck danger.Fire Marshal Dwight Good serves the Morgan Hill Fire Department and South Santa Clara County Fire Protection District and the CalFire Santa Clara Unit. He has 24 years of fire service experience. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Dear Mayor and Council members,

On June 27,  the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board voted yes to go forward with remediation on the Peet Road/Borello property, where the district plans to build a new elementary school. The vote was four in favor, three against. On June 28, an article was written in the MH Times that did not reflect some key concerns highlighted during the meeting that questioned the successful monitoring of the safe levels of the toxin dieldrin during the projected August remediation.I did an extensive research into the district’s Removal Action Plan (RAW), as I was concerned about several factors, namely: the placement of only three or four air monitoring units described; the environment unique to Morgan Hill, primarily our winds and gusts; the 24-hour turnaround for the actual results; and exceeding the fence line “stop work” number of .05 mg/m3.I spent a majority of my career working with designing/analyzing measurement and testing equipment. I saw a disconnect in the amount of air monitoring units proposed in the RAW, coupled with the lack of information about the accuracy of these units. These two factors alone are concerning. The RAW indicated prevailing winds in that region of Morgan Hill as 3 mph. This is incorrect; I have personally been monitoring winds and gusts in Morgan Hill on key meteorological sites for 60 days. The actual winds and gusts are in the area of 9 to 16 mph.I then called Thermo Fisher, the maker of the measuring unit. The technical expert indicated the accuracy is +/- 5 percent based on constant calibration (manual) of the temperature and humidity; this information was not indicated in the district’s RAW. The Thermo Fisher expert then indicated the diameter of the air chamber is only 1 inch wide by 3 inches long. This expert then asked the length and width of the area being measured. I replied, nine acres, and he suggested 91 units are needed to accomplish a 95 percent confidence level. I asked if we can reduce the number of units and he said you can halve the 91 units to 40 at a distance of about 5 feet apart, but the confidence/success level will be reduced. This information was not included in the RAW report.At the June 27 board meeting, I asked the consultant of the Peet Road project, with a Department Of Substances Control representative on the phone via teleconference, if he knew the accuracy of these measuring units and the answer was NO. I asked if he knew the diameter of the air chamber, and the answer again was NO.I expressed my concerns that the RAW is only recommending one-tenth of the air monitoring that the experts say we need to protect the surrounding community with a high degree of success. The consultant and DTSC were unable to answer my questions regarding the wind/gust factors relative to when dirt dries and becomes airborne given temperatures above 80 degrees.The district’s RAW raised many other questions that need answering including why the soil wasn’t retested in the area that encompasses the proposed grassy area that students will be playing on. This planned grassy/field area is almost 56 percent of the Borello property.Our children will be exposed to TOXINS on a daily basis unless DTSC initiates further testing to be absolutely sure of the level of toxicity/Dieldrin in this quadrant of the land. I have a duty of care as a Trustee, I voted not to proceed.Gino Borgioli is a Morgan Hill Unified School District Trustee. He was elected to the board of education in 2014. He can be reached at [email protected].