Story didn’t reflect thoughts and feelings of many in attendance

Dear Editor, Unfortunately, the article in last Tuesday’s paper
about the previous week’s downtown project meeting was not really a
good representation of what took place in the two and half hours we
were there.
Story didn’t reflect thoughts and feelings of many in attendance

Dear Editor,

Unfortunately, the article in last Tuesday’s paper about the previous week’s downtown project meeting was not really a good representation of what took place in the two and half hours we were there. While the presentation was professionally done, it appears as if city officials already know what they want, and they are just patronizing us with their high-cost study (with all the talk of layoffs and decreased police protection, can this city really afford a quarter of a million dollars for a study?) It seems as if the consulting firm is the only one befitting here.

For example, no where in the article does it mention that the current street configuration received the most votes from the people in attendance (primarily because it is a main thoroughfare for people driving to the various nearby schools), nor that the main concern in the room was how much all of this was going to cost, plus how long traffic would be impacted by the construction (we are all painfully aware of how long Third Street improvements took and how much it hurt the businesses in that area).

The people in attendance felt that they were perhaps putting the cart before the horse, worrying about how the street is configured instead of figuring out how to attract people to Morgan Hill in the first place. The article didn’t bother to mention the many wonderful suggestions made by the people in attendance. The majority of the people agreed that we need to not only create an atmosphere (one great idea was a wandering pathway along the creek), but we also need a theme to make Morgan Hill a destination.

We could be, for instance, the gateway to the Santa Clara wineries, such as St. Helena is for Napa. Our downtown could be the origin of several “winery trails” to the east, west, and south of town. If we help promote the incredible wineries (over 20 of them!) we have in this area, they will promote the town – it would be a win-win situation. Our money should be spent on attracting good businesses and advertising what we already have – a charming small-town ambiance (which could actually be lost with some of the plans the city council has for redevelopment). Morgan Hill has so much going for it – fabulous festivals, home-town parades, free concerts, wonderful wine events, great theater, a quaint farmer’s market, unique shops, marvelous restaurants, etc. – but many people, even in Silicon Valley, are clueless of what we have to offer.

Let’s hope that the city starts listening to those whose input they elicit and that the local newspaper reports more accurately and thoroughly on what citizens say they want. One thing that makes Morgan Hill so special is the people and their involvement in this community – and those voices deserve to be heard and seriously considered.

Brooke Bailey, Morgan Hill

Thanks to everyone for a successful Thanksgiving canned food drive

Dear Editor,

The Live Oak High School Future Business Leaders of America thanks the Morgan Hill community for digging deep into their hearts and pockets which made a happier Thanksgiving for 127 families in the Morgan Hill Unified School District.

More than 50 students stood in front of three stores in Morgan Hill and collected cans and monetary donations Nov. 13 and 14 in three-hour shifts from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. This hard work enabled the group to pay for the needed 127 turkeys.

In addition, several of the classroom teachers did a great service by collecting cans from their students as approximately 1,900 were donated. A big boost was also given to this drive by a former FBLA member together with her friends with “Trick or Treat for a Cause” where more than 3,200 cans and staples were collected in the South San Jose neighborhood for the third consecutive year.

All of the cans and nonperishables were sorted and packed into huge apple boxes Nov. 22 and 23 after school by a hard-working crew of student volunteers. Each box weighed between 60 and 70 pounds. Additional groceries of tortillas, potatoes, rice, beans and other boxed items were put into large grocery bags for each family another 10 to 15 pounds of food.

The huge box of food, the grocery bag full of food, laundry detergent, a loaf of bread, and a turkey were delivered to each of the 127 families on Thanksgiving Eve.

The Morgan Hill Lions Club members provided the transportation as each driver took two students with them on the routes from San Jose to San Martin, covering the entire Morgan Hill Unified School District.

Kiki Nakauchi, FBLA volunteer adviser

Completing Santa Teresa corridor benefits the entire community

Dear Editor,

The west side of Morgan Hill has the highest concentration of public and private schools, convalescent care facilities, churches, health care offices and public facilities such as City Hall, Public Works Department, the city administrative offices, the library, etc. than any other part of Morgan Hill. This fact generates thousands of automobile trips daily.

However, one cannot say that those living in Jackson Oaks, Jackson Meadows, Holiday Lakes, Madrone, Paradise Valley and Sobrato high school area, as well as other areas of Morgan Hill, don’t frequently find need to visit these destinations as well.

This side of town, however, suffers significantly as the north and south sides of this section are not connected directly by any road. This forces all destination traffic to find routes through the miles of residential neighborhoods, interfacing with the vulnerable elderly and children participating at the many schools, churches, medical/dental offices as well as the town’s library. Add to this the residents living in the west side, trying to get their cars out of the thousands of driveways entering these streets to go to work or on errands, creating a 24-hour public safety dilemma which is getting worse every year.

The completion of Santa Teresa Corridor will provide more benefits than any similar road construction project in Morgan Hill. Among these benefits are:

• It draws off traffic from the neighborhood streets eliminating most of the unnecessary pedestrian-car interaction.

• It allows for faster response from the El Toro Fire Station on the north, to help the south side of town.

• It provides for swifter service of ambulances to Saint Louise Hospital for the entire west side of town.

• It gives the Morgan Hill Police Station off Tennant Avenue improved access to serve the entire west side of town

• It provides more efficient routes for our public school’s transportation system to better serve our students.

• It provides a needed alternative to our citizens should U.S. 101 becomes unusable due to major accidents.

• It has funding from the RDA and does not affect the city’s budget nor draw from city’s general fund.

• By creating more bike and pedestrian paths and by connecting the west side, it creates easy travel into downtown, supporting our local businesses.

• It creates more recreational opportunities and potential mini parks along its path with magnificent views of El Toro Peak.

• It will directly stimulate local economy by creating construction jobs with beneficial economic spinoffs from this project for Morgan Hill.

• Delays in moving forward on this project will drive up the costs of construction and materials needlessly. This present economic downturn provides an excellent economic opportunity for cost containment.

Despite the obvious benefits to our entire community, there are always a small loud minority whose interests are totally emotional and self serving. They wish to obstruct and deny the rest of the 40,000 residents in our community of the obvious needs and benefits this project fulfills. Planning for the safety and future of Morgan Hill should not be delayed any longer.

Don’t allow the short sighted to destroy our need for improved access, public safety, fire and police protection.

Your support is needed to guarantee its passage by our City Council now. Please e-mail your message of support to Public Director Karl Bjarke at

Ka*********@mo********.gov











. This is such a simple way to express your support of this worthy project. This proposal may be slated for action by our City Council Feb. 2, 2011. Please attend.

Jon Y. Hatakeyama, D.D.S., Morgan Hill