Opinion

Don’t push a ‘blank check’ on votersEditor’s note: The following letter was addressed to the Morgan Hill City Council regarding an agenda item at the July 20 council meeting, to consider a “resolution of necessity” for $38 million in bonds for city street repairs and maintenance—a precursor to placing the bond measure on the November ballot. The council approved the resolution unanimously, and will discuss a possible bond measure at the July 27 meeting. While this resolution is only a step allowing the council to preserve the option of placing a bond measure on the ballot, it is a step in a direction away from another issue that needs to be addressed. Issuing a bond doesn't resolve the problem of city leaders not being more attentive to their fiscal responsibility. These funding gaps have been a known issue for Morgan Hill for years, particularly with respect to street maintenance. Every budget available on the city's website, from 2008 to the present, has identified funding for street maintenance and repair as insufficient. Those same budgets continually noted increases in street maintenance backlogs.Yet other than minor attempts to reduce costs, such as the LED streetlight conversion, it's only been recently that the city has purposefully addressed the funding gaps through contracted analysis.I have heard many excuses for the decrease in infrastructure funding: economic downturn, elimination of the Redevelopment Agency, decline in gas tax revenue, lowest per capita tax level among cities in Santa Clara County. While all may be valid contributors to this deficit, there has been little mention of proactive steps to address projected funding shortfalls.Maintenance has continued to be deferred, maintenance backlogs have increased, and the funding gaps have grown larger. The response by the city has been to publicly advertise community engagement and use designed surveys as crutches to excuse their decisions as to what the community has voiced as its needs and priorities.What the city has not done is publicly advertise their responsibility for this fiscal problem.As the City of Morgan Hill has continued to grow, so has the infrastructure funding gap. It seems apparent the city cannot continue to grow at the rate proposed and add to an infrastructure it cannot already support. During the period of updating the General Plan and Residential Development Control System, the city council had the opportunity to make adjustments to the city's long-range plans that could have helped narrow these funding gaps. One of those adjustments should have included slowing Morgan Hill’s growth rate in order to lessen the burden of demands on city services and the associated costs. That the city council and planning commission continued their insistence on maintaining a similar level of growth that contributed to increases in these funding issues is irresponsible.The "quality of life" categories presented through the Godbe survey and the city's own attempts at community outreach are not things to be voted on or prioritized or subject to being questioned about their importance to the community. These are services expected to be provided by the city and managed accordingly. Paying off this debt with more debt is not a financial plan; it's a reaction.As the city has somehow been able to determine the amount of this potential bond at $38 million, officials should be prepared to explain to the community how the number was arrived at and explain the spending plan that comes with it.I will not support a "General Obligation" bond that does not detail where, how or for what my money is being spent. I will not support a blank check.Chris MonackMorgan Hill

Thank you Morgan HillI would like to thank the citizens of Morgan Hill for entrusting me with the elected position of City Treasurer over the past 19 years (five elections).It has been a unique opportunity for me to serve the community while having professional experiences that were outside of my private sector employment and for me to meet many of you, plus elected officials and city staff, whom I may not have otherwise met.I have decided not to seek elected office this year but look forward to the spirited campaign I believe will ensue as others in the community seek this elected office.Thank you again.Michael J Roorda, City Treasurer City of Morgan Hill

Like the rest of our countrymen we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4. The difference is that we add in a huge dose of local pride and make it a patriotic event done the Morgan Hill Way—and then we invite the world to come visit us.Back in the old days it was usually the local government that put on the big Fourth of July events. We’ve defined the Fourth with the imagery of parades and fireworks, and maybe a picnic with watermelon too.Most of those sources of funding are long gone and in most communities the parades and fireworks are gone too. But not in Morgan Hill! We now have more going on in our “little” community than ever.The grandest local events surrounding July 4 are put on by the Independence Day Celebrations (IDC) nonprofit organization. They have not only shouldered the work of organizing the parade but are also solely responsible for making sure that our nighttime sky is still filled with fireworks to complete the day of memorable patriotic images.I couldn’t go to all of the events but from all reports I can tell you that on the evening of July 3, the IDC started throwing a party!Sunday’s Patriotic Sing was punctuated by remembrances of former mayor, and dear friend, Dennis Kennedy, and local attorney William Brown. Both men are known for their giving to the community and are sorely missed.I was there for the Family Street Dance and I’m telling you that bringing it back to the downtown was the right thing to do—not easy but right. The move back downtown was for the benefit of the community, but it put a huge burden on the IDC staff. They needed to break down all of the stages and tents, and clean it all up before the next day’s parade—a huge job that doubtlessly leaves many volunteers sleepless that night.The next morning everything looked great; of course, it was a little difficult to tell since the streets were buried under tens of thousands of people (maybe 50,000 I heard?).Our 140-year-old parade is officially the epicenter of Santa Clara County on July 4. By extension I think we can claim that we are Silicon Valley’s official Fourth of July Parade.  So it was an incredibly beautiful day and the parade had over 150 entries—it was the perfect day and place to sense that small town America still means a lot to everyone.I was on the Downtown Association float and I’m telling you that we had an incredibly cheerful crowd in attendance. We had decorated our float to look like the ever popular pop-up park, which everyone seemed to recognize, so it was almost a given that we would feel nothing but love. I’ll never forget that parade it was like being in an old-time movie.We missed the fireworks since we spend every Fourth of July evening with our dogs. They fear those loud explosions and stuffing them back into their skins can be mighty tough.We might have missed the fireworks but we got an opportunity to reflect on a great day and toast our community for countless reasons. Here’s a toast to Fourth of July done right.John McKay is a Morgan Hill resident, interim president of the Downtown Association, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance.

The 47th TheatreWorks Silicon Valley season starts out with a strong production that fits well with current events. Confederates is set during a presidential campaign with a “snag.” The people who find it, work it, providing an example of how far the media will go get the story while staying within the law. It’s a story of how one almost innocent mistake can upset an entire future. Superbly written by playwright Suzanne Bradlbeer, three magnificent actors show how they manage the situation at hand.

The city of Gilroy Recreation Department and the Gilroy Children’s Theatre, led by director Hillary Little, have brought the Disney musical production of Beauty and the Beast Jr. to Gilroy High School Theatre. Fifty-plus kids 6 to 16 gather and have as much fun as the audience. Mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles and grandparents in the audience whoop it up and support the kids in a formative theatrical adventure.

Cordevalle deserved better than the finish it got on Sunday to close out the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open.

FOMO, or the fear of missing out, prompted my husband and I to abandon San Jose and move to Gilroy. With approximately 50 wineries between Morgan Hill and Hollister, the dizzying array of music, wine and food events throughout the summer—many of them free or at very low-cost—offers something for nearly everyone.

California has some of the most beautiful weather in the country, but those beautiful sunny days can expose us to harmful side effects if we aren’t prepared.Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the main cause of skin cancer in children and adults, and is the most common cancer in California and the nation. Tanning beds and some welding equipment are also known to cause skin cancer.  Approximately 128,000 Californians will get skin cancer this year and one out of every five people in California will get skin cancer in his or her lifetime. The federal government has classified UV rays as a known human carcinogen because of their extreme likelihood of causing skin cancer.UV rays can be harmful to both adults and children, but children are particularly sensitive, especially before age ten. Children’s risk of developing skin cancer later in life is increased if they get sunburns and/or tan.The good news is that skin cancer caused by UV radiation can be prevented. The California Department of Public Health suggests that to prevent skin cancer you should decrease the time you spent outside from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., wear full-length clothing and a hat with a wide brim and neck flaps, wear UV-protective sunglasses, seek shade, apply sunscreen SPF 30 or higher to exposed skin, use lip balm SPF 30 or higher and avoid tanning beds.Additionally, people should be aware that cancer-causing UV rays are the strongest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., from mid-spring through mid-fall, at higher altitudes, concentrating an extra 6 percent per 1,000 feet gain in elevation and with a lack of thick cloud cover.You can find additional information about UV safety on the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) website:  https://www.cdph.ca.gov. The website provides resources and tips on how to stay safe from cancer-causing UV radiation.The better prepared you are, the more likely you are to have a fun and safe summer, and I encourage everyone to take the steps necessary to become educated on this issue to protect yourself and your family.  Monning represents the 17th Senate District, which includes all of San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz counties, and portions of Monterey and Santa Clara counties.

SAN MARTIN—So first of all, I cannot oversell just how amazing it is to walk around Cordevalle and hear the languages being spoken and the accents of those speaking.

With media credential in tow, I spent a couple of hours walking the golf course at CordeValle on Thursday for the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open. So what’s the spectator experience for a tournament like this? Pretty enjoyable—and that’s an understatement.