Published in the September 17-30, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Cheri Devlin
Cheri Devlin
It’s not often a community is invited to help decide how millions of dollars will be spent in its downtown. This Friday Sept. 19, take the opportunity to participate in a creative Placemaking Community Symposium at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center.
The afternoon session will kick off at noon and wrap up at 3 p.m. The evening session will start at 6 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. You won’t want to miss this unique opportunity to hear from seasoned consultants leading interactive discussion from everyone in attendance, with the primary objective of shaping downtown Morgan Hill’s future.
Residents who have called Morgan Hill home for a number of years might recall being invited to what seemed like a similar type of community event in past years.
The difference now is that there is an added layer of motivation because of the spending requirements set by the IRS.
The bond money that will be funding these projects must be spent by December 2015, so there is an even greater sense of urgency to hear from the community, evaluate the next steps and ensure the money isn’t lost.
Breakout sessions will showcase and debut design proposals already in the works, but not yet final — with the goal of soliciting discussion with the attendees and to provide the consultants with meaningful feedback from the community.
Before the symposium sessions wrap up, the city intends to highlight general feedback as part of the closing remarks.
In addition to the panel discussions planned and open house sessions, the symposium agenda also includes the rollout of its mini-grants program.
In conjunction with the Library, Culture & Arts Commission, the city plans to award project grants ranging from $500 to $1,000, totaling $30,000 in available funds.
These mini grants will encourage the Morgan Hill community, including local schools, seniors, artists and business owners to bring their ideas to life — creating a culture of inclusiveness utilizing downtown as their innovative and creative playground.
They want to hear your ideas and help fund them at the same time. The application process and initiative timeline will be outlined during the event.
The timeline is tight. However, if we take a step back and focus on the glass as half full, it can certainly be viewed as a blessing that will ensure our downtown improvements will be executed and achieved in a timely manner.
Sept. 19 was chosen for the symposium because it’s Global Park(ing) Day. This worldwide event encourages artists, designers and residents to transform parking spots into temporary parks.
For Morgan Hill’s Park(ing) Day, artists Dionicio Mendoza and Pilar Aguero will convert several downtown parking spaces into a social and interactive courtyard open for community participation. CANCIóN Courtyard will also be the reception location following the symposium.
For more information for the event, visit www.MakeitYours.MHDowntown.com.
Cheri Devlin is a Morgan Hill resident and president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association Board of Directors.
