The city’s decision to spend a bulk of the remaining $19.3 million on renovating downtown over extending Santa Teresa Boulevard – otherwise known as the Hale Avenue extension – is the correct decision, however it’s not an either-or question.
The city council voted last week to spend the money on downtown parking improvements ($9.4 million) including a multi-level parking structure, Monterey Road streetscape and downtown side street improvements ($5 million), assistance to private developers to improve properties owned by the RDA-turned-Economic Development Corporation ($3 million) and utility undergrounding and median work on Monterey Road south of Dunne Avenue ($1.9 million).
Those are good ideas, except for the undergrounding of utilities. That money could be used to begin the planning design of the Hale Avenue extension and begin purchasing needed easements.
By improving downtown with needed upgrades, the city should see an increase in tax revenues. Some of those revenues can go toward the Hale Avenue extension, and once the project is shovel ready, perhaps acquiring funding from the state, the Metropolitan Traffic Commission, the Valley Transportation Authority an even from the increase in traffic impact fees paid by local developers would be possible.
But, any expenditures made by the city using former RDA assets, like the $19.3 million remaining in bond proceeds, have to be approved by the oversight board, according to the state law.
The county and state are currently conducting an audit of the former Morgan Hill RDA’s assets, and the council will know more about whether or not it can still spend the $19.3 million as it wishes in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, the council acted as it should, fulfilling promises made to voters when the RDA was extended.
“Our best approach is to be as assertive as possible, and to live up to the commitments we made to our citizens,” Councilman Larry Carr said.
He’s right. It’s better to keep the money local and improve Morgan Hill than to risk losing the money to the state.
