A community is defined by the things it collectively values. It
is relatively easy to determine what that is for a given
community.
A community is defined by the things it collectively values. It is relatively easy to determine what that is for a given community. One has only to read the local newspapers, such as this one, to develop a sense of those things for which people are willing to spend their money or, more importantly, their time.
Morgan Hill obviously values athletics, especially highly competitive team athletics for young people. I am not sure that there are very many towns that has, through the years, sustained such high level participation in softball, baseball, water polo and volleyball. Though less sustained at a high level, the Live Oak football and basketball programs have had some success.
The City of Morgan Hill is spending a significant portion of its Redevelopment Agency funds on extending the scope of athletic offerings. The Aquatics Center that is now under construction and the planned Indoor Recreation Center will provide the opportunities for more competitive team development.
We also place a high value on music in this community. The unifying elements are the booster clubs that support the Emerald Regime and the Britton bands. Without the parental participation in these organizations, they would have long ago disappeared for lack of funding. They are in even more danger this year as educational funding is undergoing further cuts and music programs are always a target, even though there are a number of studies that students who are also musicians do better in academic areas than those who are not.
One common characteristic in this is that both the music and athletic activities that we support so well are team or group activities requiring an organizational structure to support them. Whether it is the Emerald Regime or the Orchard Valley Youth Soccer, the adult organizational structure brings together the supporters of these efforts to “get things done.”
Individual activities, whether in athletics or the arts, lack these organizations and therefore have a much more difficult time getting things done, or even getting attention. The lack of significant success in tennis is a good example. Tennis is much more of an individual sport and does not require the organizational structure. My own daughter led her local high school to its only New Jersey state championship in tennis. They were successful in spite of the coach, because two sets of parents had invested their personal time and money in the individual coaching and training to become good.
The lack of organizational power shows up even in the city parks, where the tennis courts at Community Park have had problems for years. The Parks Department has made efforts, within the constraints of their budget, to fix the problem, but has never had the funding to find a permanent solution. While the Pony League baseball has the organization to do a lot of work on its own, the tennis players do not and therefore do not have an excellent place to play.
The same result is apparent in the arts. The South Valley Civic Theater is a strong organization and has growing attendance. Thus, it was able to command the city funding to secure the renovation of the Temple Emanuel building into Morgan Hill Community Playhouse.
Individual artistic achievements are not so lucky. The City Council recently had a workshop on the subject of public art. The issues are clear and the largest one is financial. If overall tax revenues in the state are down and the City of Morgan Hill has less money coming in, then is it reasonable to spend any additional city funds on the arts.
Even more importantly, who would make decisions about what art is acceptable and what is not. We know that there is no funding available to support legal challenges such as are going on in Alabama over the 10 Commandments monument or in San Jose over a historical statue of Thomas Fallon who is viewed as being responsible for mistreatment of the Mexican and Indian populations.
Over one year ago, I made a proposal to the City of Morgan Hill to provide the ceramic tiles that would complete one portion of the Community Center. The space for the tiles was left during construction, but nothing has yet been done to create them. The proposal was sidelined last year for lack of a city policy on “public art.” The council workshop on Aug. 25 indicates that there will soon be such a policy.
I would like to renew the proposal, which offered to provide the tile work for an approximate $2,500. This seems reasonable in a city that can find the funds when the costs of the Aquatics Center exceed the budget by more than $1 million. We would hopefully prevent the controversies such as those in Alabama or San Jose by gathering public input as to any narrative content of such works. The actual work was planned to be done during a workshop for youth interested in art. Most of the funding was to pay a well-known tile maker to conduct the workshop.
One person spoke up at the council workshop and said that this community does not care about public art and that any money would be better spent on other things. I certainly do not believe this is a community that does not care about art. I will provide first $100 of the funding for this project. If there are others in this community who also care about the creative life of Morgan Hill, please contact me with a pledge to provide a share of the funding for this. I can be reached at 778-3024 or via the Internet at
wr*****@ch*****.net
.
“I find I have a great lot to learn – or unlearn. I seem to know far too much and this knowledge obscures the really significant facts, but I am getting on.” – Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Wes Rolley is an artist and concerned citizen. The Board of Contributors is comprised of local writers whose views appear on Tuesdays and Fridays.
