Open Space measure could nearly double the size of land purchases

Numerous candidates lining up to run for various positions

Published in the August 6 – 19, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life

By Staff Report

Morgan Hill voters will decide this November whether or not to fund the protection of open space and the natural environment in Santa Clara County after board directors at the Open Space Authority unanimously decided July 24 to place a $120 million parcel tax measure on the ballet.

Ballot language of the Open Space, Wildlife Habitat, Clean Water and Increased Public Access Funding Measure reads: “To protect and preserve natural open space areas for future generations by: improving parks, open spaces and trails; protecting land around creeks, rivers and streams to prevent pollution and improve local water quality; preserving wildlife habitat; expanding public access; enhancing environmental education; and protecting scenic hillsides, shall Santa Clara County Open Space Authority levy a special tax of $24 annually per parcel for 15 years, with citizen oversight and all funds benefiting local open space?”

According to the OSA, the parcel tax is estimated to annually generate about $7,883,760. All funds would be spent in San Jose, Milpitas, Santa Clara, Campbell and Morgan Hill, and the unincorporated portions of Santa Clara County covered by the OSA. Funding could not be taken away by the state of California. The measure would expire in 15 years and could not be renewed without voter approval.

Up to 25 percent of the funding — estimated at about $7.9 million annually for 15 years — would be provided as grant money to support open space, recreation and outdoor education efforts in various cities, schools, nonprofits and the county  to support more open space, recreation and outdoor education efforts.

If passed by local voters, the measure would provide the funding to allow the OSA to nearly double the size of protected open space land from 16,000 to 30,000 acres. The measure could also add more than 25 miles of trails to OSA parks and natural preserves in San Jose, Milpitas, Santa Clara, Campbell, Morgan Hill as well as unincorporated Santa Clara County.

If passed, the measure would create an independent citizen oversight committee and require annual accountability reports to the community to ensure such funds are spent as promised.

The Santa Clara County Open Space Authority was created by the California Legislature in 1993 to balance growth by preserving and restoring open space. It is governed by a seven-member voter-elected board and serves the majority of the unincorporated area of the County and the cities of San Jose, Milpitas, Santa Clara, Campbell and Morgan Hill.

For more details on this measure, visit www.openspaceauthority.org/about/openspacefunding.html.

In other election news, various local races have seen candidates filing for elected positions. The filing period started July 14 and ends at 5 p.m. Aug. 8.

Here are the candidates who have announced that they will run in the Nov. 4 election or according to the Santa Clara Registrar of Voters have pulled papers.

Morgan Hill’s Mayor Steve Tate will seek a fifth two-year term. He is the only candidate to have filed with the Registrar for this position.

Incumbent City Council members Gordon Siebert and Rich Constantine have filed to seek re-election in November. Morgan Hill resident Joseph Carrillo, who owns a video production company, said he will run but has not yet filed with the Registrar of Voters. This is Carrillo’s third time running for the seat.

Morgan Hill resident Dennis Kennedy and candidate Tom Cruz have both filed to run for the District 1 seat for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which includes all of the South Valley. Last year, Kennedy was appointed to the water district’s board after Don Gage left to serve as mayor of Gilroy.

The four-year terms of Morgan Hill Unified School District Board President Don Moody, Vice President Shelle Thomas and trustees Claudia Rossi and Ron Woolf will expire this year. An incumbent, Woolf has filed to run for re-election. Four other candidates have also filed: David Gerard, Donna Foster-Ruebusch, Stephen F. Klem, and James E. Borgioli.

Rossi has filed to run in the Santa Clara County Board of Education race for the seat currently held by Julia Hoover-Smoot, who announced she is also running for re-election. Hoover-Smoot has not filed with the Registrar of Voters as of July 31.

Incumbents Walter A. Glines and Laura Perry have both filed to run for their current seats on the Gavilan Joint Community College District’s governing board.