I attended the Sept. 27 Morgan Hill City Council meeting.
EDITOR:
I attended the Sept. 27 Morgan Hill City Council meeting. Before the presentation of the subject that motivated me to attend (I admit I am not well infomed about what goes on from month to month in my city), Councilwoman Hedy Chang recognized a citizen who was not on the agenda. This attractive, vital, purposeful woman strode to the podium and launched into an articulate and informed questioning of the infamous “Fry golf course” issue. She knew her facts and figures and quoted from the excellent articles presented in the Morgan Hill Times.
She made me think and rethink this issue as she spoke. I then got up and told the council that it seems that the rich and powerful do not have to “follow the civic rules” while the humble working class go through bureaucratic hell to get their needs met. At that same meeting, I talked with a Hispanic woman who recently built a small room on her house (with permits) and is now trying to make some extra money by doing hair in her home. She has gotten nothing but grief from the powers that be because she took the trouble to ask for a small business permit.
I mentioned to the city attorney that the Fry issue looked to me like closing the barn door after the horse had gotten out. The city attorney appeared upset with my metaphor and said that the city was going to do an environmental impact report and ask Mr. Fry to remove one of the buildings on his place.
Isn’t that the definition of the metophor – trying to fix something after the deed has been done? I recently passed by the golf course driving down Hill Road and was struck by the incredible green of the course. In this semi-arid climate, that unnatural “weed-free” green can only be accomplished with the aid of thousands of gallons of scarce water and pounds and pounds of pesticides.
In conclusion I want to thank Cindy Gobin, the woman who spoke. She is a true citizen and an example to me of democracy in action from someone who walks her talk.
Natasha Wist,
Morgan Hill
