Uncategorized

Morgan Hill police are looking for the driver of a black SUV that struck a victim in a wheelchair and fled the scene of the traffic collision.

A Morgan Hill teenager returning home from senior prom was under the influence of alcohol when his vehicle collided with another car, sending both drivers and a passenger to the hospital with major injuries, according to police.  About 11:45 p.m. May 7, officers responded to the accident on Monterey Road near the intersection of California Avenue, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Miceli.Investigating officers determined an Infiniti sedan, driven by a 17-year-old male, was traveling south on Monterey Road when the vehicle crossed over the double-yellow line into oncoming traffic, Miceli said. The Infiniti collided head-on with a Saturn traveling north, which was driven by a 20-year-old Morgan Hill woman. A male, also 20 and a Morgan Hill resident, was the only passenger in the Saturn.After the collision, the Infiniti overturned, Miceli said. There were no passengers in the Infiniti.All three parties in the collision were sent to the hospital with major injuries, police said.The driver of the Infiniti is accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, Miceli said. “It’s a felony because of the injuries to the other people,” he added.Police declined to identify the driver of the Infiniti because he is a juvenile. Miceli said the teen, who attends a high school in San Jose, was driving home from his senior prom.The driver of the Saturn was not arrested and is not suspected of being impaired or any other traffic violation.

David Wolfsmith, a Morgan Hill resident and personal trainer who is accused of multiple counts of sexual battery, returned to jail following a May 13 hearing at South County Courthouse after the judge increased his bail.

“Do you think this is it?” The Husband asked, a little sadly, the first night.

For the first time in Morgan Hill history, the City Council is expected to adopt a two-year operating and capital budget. The council has until June 30 to adopt the budget, as the next fiscal year begins July 1.The city’s draft budget for for fiscal years 2016-17 and 2017-18, was initially presented to the council at the May 4 meeting. Councilmembers did not discuss the budget after city finance staff presented the highlights, but are likely to reserve their questions and suggestions for an all-day budget workshop scheduled for 9 a.m. May 20 at City Council chambers, 17555 Peak Ave.The city budget as currently proposed is about $126.5 million for 2016-17, and about $125.9 million for 2017-18, according to city staff.The general fund budget—which is financed by sales, property and hotel taxes and pays for basic city services—is proposed at $37.3 million for 2016-17 and $38.7 million for 2017-18. These figures are up from $34.7 million for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.The highest category of expenses in the general fund is public safety, which is typical for Morgan Hill and most cities its size or larger. This category includes police and fire/emergency medical services, and accounts for about 75 percent of general fund expenditures, according to city staff.The general fund budget for 2016-17 also includes the addition of six new full-time staff positions. These are a public safety dispatch supervisor, Land Use Data Administrator, Accounting Manager, Public Works Inspector, Senior Project Manager and a Municipal Services Assistant.Other funds in the operating budget—such as planning and community development—are funded by user fees, permit revenues and other “non-discretionary” sources.While the elected city council has traditionally approved city budgets one year at a time in Morgan Hill, the body earlier this year voted to switch to a biennial budget process that is increasingly common in other cities. Mayor Steve Tate said this transition is easier on city staff, and therefore more efficient. It also makes sense because the city does an annual five-year budget forecast anyway, and this step of the process is often updated at least halfway through each year.“We always find the first couple of years are pretty much right on” in those projections, Tate said. “So you have a good idea how the next year is going to go. Many other cities and companies have gone to two-year budget cycles for that reason.”The two-year budget cycle includes a mid-year evaluation of expenditures and revenues the last quarter of the first year, so that city staff and the council can consider making adjustments to the second year of the biennial spending plan if necessary, according to city staff.In addition to the May 20 budget workshop, the public will have at least two other chances to ask questions and provide input about the tax-funded budget. These include public hearings scheduled for 7 p.m. June 1 and June 15. Both meetings will take place at Council Chambers.

The City of Morgan Hill will hold two public meetings Wednesday, May 11 on downtown parking conditions. The announcement of the meetings follows the recent completion of the 2016 update to the Downtown Parking Resources Strategy, which acts as an assessment of the city’s current and future parking needs.A morning session will take place 8 a.m. May 11 at the Morgan Hill Council Chamber, West Conference Room, 17555 Peak Ave. An evening meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 11 at Morgan Hill City Hall, Grand Conference Room, 17575 Peak Ave. The public is invited to attend both meetings.The city has evaluated existing and future parking needs in downtown Morgan Hill in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008, according to city staff. In 2008, a Downtown Parking Resources Management Strategy was developed in conjunction with the 2009 Downtown Specific Plan.With the city and developers preparing for the redevelopment of several downtown properties and new public park spaces, an update to the parking strategy was completed earlier this year, city staff added.The 2016 downtown parking update, conducted by Hexagon Transportation Consultants, Inc., found that off-street public parking capacity in the downtown core increased from 1,237 parking spaces in 2009 to 1,560 spaces in 2016. These numbers include parking at the Community and Cultural Center.Most of this increase is attributed to the construction of the new 270-space downtown parking garage located between Third and Fourth streets, according to the study.On-street parking declined from 477 spaces in 2009, to 434 spaces in 2016, the study found.The study area is geographically bound by Main Avenue, Depot Street, Dunne Avenue and Del Monte Avenue.  “Overall, the city is well supplied to meet both its existing and future parking demands,” reads Hexagon’s 2016 update in part.The study included the following among its conclusions regarding future downtown parking needs:• The city should seek to create public-private partnerships to open relatively vacant private lots to the public during peak hours;• Increase parking enforcement to ensure public spaces in the downtown area are used by business, park, or commercial patrons;• Valet parking should be administered to better utilize lots further from the downtown center including the VTA/Caltrain lot.

The long awaited new downtown parking garage, which has been under construction since early 2015, is now open to the public.The 3.5-story garage features more than 270 free parking spaces, including a handful of electric vehicle charging stations. Public art is found throughout the building—not just on the outside where Napa artist Gordon Huether’s controversial “Tarantula” and “Poppy Jasper” pieces decorate the structure.The top floor of the garage is reinforced for future community events.The garage is located between Third and Fourth streets, behind Huntington Station, Trail Dust and Toto Trattoria restaurants. The vehicle entrance and exit to the garage is on Fourth Street, and pedestrian access is located on Third Street and a walkway that connects the structure to the nearby restaurant properties.The City Council awarded the construction contract for the parking structure to F & H Construction in 2014 for $8.6 million. The price included the two prominent public art pieces created by Huether. The city purchased the property on which the garage sits for about $2.1 million. Funding for the project came from leftover Redevelopment Agency money that was originally intended for such downtown improvement efforts."F&H Construction has delivered a safe, complete, unique, and quality parking garage to the Morgan Hill community,” City Manager Steve Rymer said. “We are very pleased to present the garage to the our residents, businesses, and visitors.”The project also includes the “Third Street Plaza,” located underneath the sprawling branches of a heritage oak tree behind Huntington Station. The plaza features new walkways, benches, tables, chairs and electrical outlets to facilitate outdoor work stations and entertainment. A wooden deck surrounding the oak tree’s trunk protects the roots and offers more gathering space for visitors and residents, according to city staff.“The opening of the garage is significant to the new redevelopment of downtown that has already begun and the upcoming $50 million of new private investment that will bring exciting restaurants, retail shops, entertainment, housing and a boutique hotel,” Mayor Steve Tate added, referring to other downtown projects under way at former RDA properties, including the Granada Theater, Downtown Mall, Depot Center and the former Simple Beverages property on the corner of Third Street and Monterey Road—just a few yards away from the garage.A community celebration of the garage and other recently completed city-funded downtown projects will be scheduled for the near future, according to city staff.

Jackie Orta closed out her final regular season home game on a high note.