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Twenty-one candidates have submitted applications to take over the District 1 seat on the Santa Clara Valley Water District board of directors.The applicants are vying for the seat formerly occupied by SCVWD Director Dennis Kennedy, who resigned in November due to health reasons.The remaining six board members on the seven-seat board will interview the applicants in an effort to narrow down the field to a single candidate, who will sit in Kennedy’s former director’s seat until November 2016. At that time, the board will call an election to ask the voters to fill the seat through the remainder of Kennedy’s term, which would have expired in November 2018.The board has until Jan. 4, 2016 to make the appointment.District 1 encompasses the area of the SCVWD service boundary that includes all South County, plus unincorporated areas in eastern Santa Clara County. The SCVWD provides wholesale water and flood protection to the county’s 1.8 million residents.Some of the names on the list of 21 applicants—such as Morgan Hill City Councilmember Rich Constantine and former San Jose Councilmember Forrest Williams—are familiar to those versed in South County politics and agriculture.Below is the list of applicants, as posted on the district website at valleywater.org. More information on the applicants will be published as it is available.• Rolando R. Alvarado• Charlie Andrews• Joseph Carrillo, media production professional and former candidate for Morgan Hill City Council• Joe Cassibba• Rich Constantine, City of Morgan Hill Councilmember• Jeffrey R. Cristina, City of Campbell Councilmember• Tom Cruz, a Santa Clara County employee who ran against Kennedy in the November 2014 election for the District 1 seat• Jenny Derry, former Executive Director of the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau• James Dill, Morgan Hill training and education consultant• Joe Eisenman• Carol Fredrickson• Erin Gil, owner of Grass Farm, a sod growing company based in Morgan Hill• John Haniotis• Trina Hineser, President of the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance• Fernando Huerta, Sr., Morgan Hill Realtor• John B. Perez, D.D.S., dentist with a practice in Gilroy• Laura F. Quemada• Ken Ragghanti• Glenn Stansbury• John L. Varela, former mayor of Morgan Hill and Chamber of Commerce board member• Forrest Williams, former San Jose City Councilmember, Oak Grove School District Trustee, candidate for Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.

A man with a gunshot wound sought treatment at an area hospital, and told police he was attacked in the area of Spring Avenue and Monterey Road, according to authorities.About 3:30 p.m. Dec. 2, a 17-year-old male walked into Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy with a firearm wound to his foot, police said. The victim told the nurse he was in Morgan Hill when he was shot.Police interviewed the victim, who told officers he was in a verbal argument with a suspect near Spring Avenue and Monterey Road, when the suspect pulled a gun and shot the victim in the foot, police said.The suspect is still on the loose. He is described as a young Hispanic male, 17 to 20 years old, about 5-foot 7-inches tall with a medium build, according to police. The shooter was wearing  black sweatshirt and blue jeans at the time of the incident, and was last seen running on Spring Avenue in an unknown direction.Anyone with information about this crime can call the Morgan Hill Police Department at (408) 779-2101, or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.

If a property owner’s first installment of the 2015-16 property taxes are not paid by 5 p.m., Dec. 10, they will be considered delinquent and a 10 percent penalty—as well as a $20 fee—will be added to the tab, according to the Santa Clara County Office of the Tax Collector.Tax installment payments should be mailed, along with the first installment stub, to the Office of the Tax Collector, 70 West Hedding Street, 6th Floor, East Wing, San Jose, CA 95110. The postmark must be Dec. 10 or earlier to avoid penalties.Taxpayers who send their payments by mail are cautioned that the United States Postal Service only postmarks certain mail depending on the type of postage used, and may not postmark mail on the same day deposited by a taxpayer. To ensure timely payment of your tax bill, mail your payment early enough to account for unforeseen delays in mail handling.If a payment is received after Dec. 10 with no USPS postmark, the payment is considered late and penalties will be imposed in accordance with California Revenue and Taxation Code.Checks are accepted by mail, but cash is not. Cash payments must be made in person at the Office of the Tax Collector.To pay taxes with a credit card, debit card or e-check, visit the Office of the Tax Collector website at scctax.org.If you have not received your bill and need a duplicate, contact the Office of the Tax Collector at (408) 808-7900. Property owners whose taxes are paid by their lending agency usually receive a copy of the tax bill indicating that the original statement was sent to the lending agency.For more information, visit scctax.org or call (408) 808-7900.

Morgan Hill is going to continue to grow for at least the next 20 years, but how much and how quickly?These are chief questions for which city staff and residents will search for answers over the next 10 months as they refine the Morgan Hill General Plan Update. The 400-page draft General Plan Update was published this week, and the first community workshop on the document is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 10 at Council Meeting Chambers, 17555 Peak Ave.Anyone who is interested in the type and amount of growth that Morgan Hill will allow through 2035 is invited to the workshop and subsequent meetings that will take place through August 2016.The city’s draft General Plan Update—which is required every 10 years—establishes the 20-year vision for the future of land use and delivery of public services in Morgan Hill. Among the topics it addresses are the density of residential construction, how much commercial and industrial land the city should have in 2035, what types of housing will be most needed and other long-term impacts on services such as streets and public safety.The draft plan was developed over the last two years by city officials, consultants and residents. The volunteer General Plan Update Committee has held 20 meetings, and the city council and planning commission have held a number of workshops to address some of the document’s key growth questions.GPAC Chair Katie Hardt-Mason said the committee has a lot of work ahead of them before recommending a final draft of the update.“I would tell the average resident to sit down and go through it, and think of the broad picture 20 years from now,” Hardt-Mason said. “It’s not something that’s going to happen tomorrow. Don’t focus on one thing and look at the big picture.”Mayor Steve Tate said a difficult question the community will have to answer in the coming months is how dense the city’s housing should be in order to accommodate a growing population. Currently, the General Plan states that new housing in Morgan Hill should be 70 percent single-family homes and 30 percent multi-family (higher density) dwellings.But with a need to raise the population cap set out in Morgan Hill’s growth control ordinance, Tate said the percentage of single-family homes might need to be revised downward starting in 2017.“We found that the community isn’t in favor of (a lot more) multi-family housing,” Tate said. “We like what we’ve had in the past, with the 70/30 ratio. But if you’re not going to be as dense, you’re not going to have the population.”Another central component of the city’s long-term growth strategy will be an update to the Residential Development Control System. This voter-approved ordinance currently sets a population cap of 48,000 in Morgan Hill by 2020.City Hall hopes to send a new growth control measure to the voters in November 2016. The draft General Plan Update “is looking at” increasing the population cap to about 65,000 by 2035, Tate said. But these numbers are not set in stone, and the mayor said he would prefer a cap around 60,000.“That’s why you do a General Plan Update, is to get the pulse of the community and figure out where you want to go,” Tate said.Stopping growth is out of the question, according to the mayor. State laws require cities to provide a certain amount of housing units to accommodate population growth, or suffer financial penalties.City staff and consultants noted that the draft published this week is far from a final document. Many aspects of the plan could change through the public review process before its approval is required in late 2016.More information about the city’s General Plan Update process can be found at morganhill2035.org.

Auto burglaryA thief or thieves broke into a Toyota 4Runner and stole a wallet, medical documents, cash and a battery, according to police reports. The crime was reported 8:08 a.m. Nov. 21 on the 100 block of Ciolino Avenue.Someone smashed the window of a Honda Accord and stole luggage, which contained clothing, and a briefcase, according to police. The crime was reported 8:52 a.m. Nov. 22 on Rocca Court. AccidentA motorcyclist suffered minor injuries after his vehicle was involved in an accident on the 16700 block of Monterey Road, according to police reports. The accident was reported 3:28 p.m. Nov. 21.A 2004 Ford Mustang collided with a tree and sound wall near the intersection of East Dunne Avenue and Peppertree Drive, police reported. The female driver was cited on suspicion of speeding and unsafe turning.FraudTwo women tried to purchase items at Staples, 1023 Cochrane Road, using fraudulent credit cards, according to police reports. The transaction was declined at the time of the purchase. The crime was reported 4:42 p.m. Nov. 25.Dine ‘n dashA family of three skipped out on a $91.08 dinner bill at Siam Thai restaurant, 17120 Monterey Road, police said. The crime was reported 7:35 p.m. Nov. 25.TheftSomeone stole coins from washing machines and/or driers at Sunlight Laundromat, 17865 Monterey Road, according to police. The crime was reported 5:06 p.m. Nov. 25.BurglarySomeone broke into a home on the 600 block of Diana Avenue and stole a flat-screen television, according to police reports. The thief or thieves entered the home through a broken back window. The crime was reported 6:10 p.m. Nov. 26.A thief or thieves stole between 10 and 15 propane tanks from Home Depot, 860 East Dunne Ave., according to police. The suspect or suspects cut into an outdoor “cage” where the tanks are stored. The crime was reported 9:42 a.m. Nov. 30.Recovered stolen vehicleA 2005 Honda Pilot, which had been reported stolen, was found on the 16900 block of DeWitt Avenue, police said. The recovery was reported 8:41 p.m. Nov. 26. The vehicle had been reported stolen the previous day.Stolen vehicleA 1993 Toyota pickup was stolen from the 15200 block of La Alameda Drive, police reported. The crime was reported 8:13 a.m. Nov. 27.A thief or thieves stole a white 1991 Honda Civic from the 17700 block of Park Way, police said. The crime was reported 11:57 a.m. Nov. 28.Someone stole a gold 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe from the 17700 block of Del Monte Avenue, according to police. The crime was reported 9:11 p.m. Nov. 28.Grand theftA suspect tried to leave Safeway grocery store, 235 Tennant Station, with a cart full of $1,300 worth of groceries, according to police reports. Store employees stopped the theft from occurring, but reported the incident about 7 p.m. Nov. 28.All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

The Morgan Hill City Council will consider a revised report on proposed water and sewer rate hikes, and discuss the process by which ratepayers can block the increases at the Dec. 2 meeting.The council is also being asked by staff to set a public hearing on the matter Jan. 20, 2016, and to send out “Proposition 218” notices to the city’s 13,500 water and wastewater rate payers. These notices give the residential and commercial customers a chance to protest the proposed rate increases; if more than 50 percent of ratepayers submit written protests, the city cannot enact the rates.City staff and consultants presented a five-year water/wastewater finance plan Nov. 18 that includes rate hikes for each of the next five years. The largest water rate increase during this time would be a total of 15.25 percent in 2016, with each subsequent annual increase projected at 7.25 percent through 2020.If the council approves the rate increases Dec. 2, the city will mail Prop 218 notices to customers by Dec. 5. The notices will include a description of the proposed rates and information detailing the protest process. The deadline to protest would be the close of the public hearing, which is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 20.For the Dec. 2 meeting, staff and the consultant “reexamined” the calculation of costs for customers in the various zones at higher elevations served by the city’s water and wastewater system. These costs are proposed to be added to these customers’ monthly bills as “zonal surcharges,” in order to pay for the electricity and infrastructure costs associated with moving water uphill.This reexamination resulted in a decrease in the proposed charges by 55 to 80 percent, though some customers in the hills could still see their monthly bills go up more than $100, according to the staff report to be presented to the council Dec. 2. The suggested zonal surcharges, as calculated for the Dec. 2 report, do not include personnel costs associated with the service delivery.The water/wastewater fund is in need of more revenue because while the city’s 13,500 water customers have cut their water use by as much as 30 percent since 2013, the city’s costs to deliver water have not gone down, according to city staff. The new rate model would rely more on recovering the city’s “fixed costs” associated with delivering water and removing wastewater.Also on the Dec. 2 city council meeting agenda:—A zoning amendment to allow a residential and commercial development at the southwest corner of East Third and Depot streets in downtown Morgan Hill. The property owner and developer, Rocke Garcia, has proposed building a 43-unit multi-family development and up to 6,600 square feet of commercial space on the site. The property, known as the “Sunsweet” site, is located next to the city’s Fourth Street Garage project.—An ordinance to tighten up the reporting requirements for hotels when they submit transient occupancy tax (TOT) revenues and data to the city. A Nov. 18 staff report indicated that many of the city’s hotels are incorrectly reporting these taxes, thereby resulting in less revenue for the city’s general fund.The city’s local TOT levies a 10 percent per room, per night tax on guests who stay in hotels within the city limits.The council meeting will take place 7 p.m. at City Council meeting chambers, 17555 Peak Ave.