$2 million from county means nonprofit has $4.1 million, now needs $1.4 million to reach goal
Published in the January 31 – February 13, 2018 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Thanks to a vote by the Santa County Board of Supervisors Jan. 23, the South Valley came $2 million closer to building a Magical Bridge Playground at Morgan Hill’s Community Park.
Once it’s completed, the Inclusive Playground Project will provide a state-of-the-art facility for children and adults of all physical and emotional abilities to play together in a fun and healthy environment.
The project got its start about four years ago when longtime Morgan Hill residents Ron and Shirlee Locicero saw a TV news report on the opening of the Tatum’s Garden “inclusive playground” in Salinas.
“My reaction to the Santa Clara Board of Supervisor’s donation of $2 million to the park? Wow! This makes a dream a reality,” Ron said. “We now have more than $4 million committed to the park. Our goal is $5.5 million, which we hope to reach soon.”
Many people in the Santa Clara and San Benito counties worked for the past three years on the project, he said. These include city of Morgan Hill staff members Chris Ghione, Nicole Martin and others who helped prepare the application, Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate and all the members of the city council, members of the Parks and Recreation Commission, Verde Design, the Morgan Hill Unified School District and the children of Morgan Hill who helped designed the park. Special thanks go to Olenka Villarreal, Jill Asher and the staff at Magical Bridge for helping to complete the application for the county grant, which enables the city of Morgan Hill to provide another $2 million in matching funds, Ron said.
Special thanks also go to Albert Balagso, Claudia Rossi, Dana Ditmore, Matt Wendt, Pamala Meador, Rick Scott, Craig Cuffee, the Junior League of San Jose, the Intero Foundation, the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill, Mission Bell, Minute Press, and the Morgan Hill Community Foundation.
“A huge thank you goes to the many Morgan Hill community members who stepped up to write letters to the board, call supervisors, and attend the meeting,” Ghione said. “Morgan Hill has by far been the most represented city through this entire process and I believe that is what helped to ensure we received the full grant funding. Supervisor Mike Wasserman made the motion on the funding recommendation in support of our grant.”
The city expects 20,000 people a year will visit the playground. So far, Magical Bridge has raised about $100,000 in individual and business donations to add to county and city funds.
“It’s a win-win for everyone — and a great new asset to the city of Morgan Hill and the South Valley,” Ron said.
