San Jose officials asked for the school board's blessing to use Morgan Hill Unified School District land for an air monitoring station at the trustee's Tuesday meeting.
The City of San Jose and Calpine agreed to jointly fund the installation of two air monitoring stations when the Metcalf Energy Center natural gas power plant opened in 2005. They planned for one each, north and south, of the power plant, located at Monterey and Metcalf roads in south San Jose. The two entities have been hard pressed to find a suitable location for either. Plans for a southern station have been scrapped; a temporary station that was at Los Paseos Park was removed two years ago.
Morgan Hill is downwind of the plant, thanks to wind patterns. While Morgan Hill doesn't have an air quality monitoring station, San Martin does - and the town south of Morgan Hill has the worst ozone violations in the valley, according to county officials.
While Los Paseos Park on Chantilley Lane is considered a preferred location, San Jose city staff has been unable to pick a spot on any city-owned piece of the park, saying possible locations are too close to trees, traffic and other objects that would hinder the station's ability to get a good read on air quality.
Instead, they would like to put the station on land owned by Morgan Hill Unified School District.
San Jose City Councilman Forrest Williams, who presented the non-action item at the meeting, said his real estate staff estimates the value of the land at $2,450 per square foot. The proposed plot would be seven by 10 feet, so at this price the space would get the district $171,500.
But trustees like Kathy Sullivan worry about putting a structure on a school area that could be dangerous for children. And the trustees hesitated in using school land for a purpose that isn't school related.
"There's no tangible benefit other than the quality of the air the kids are breathing," Williams admitted.
The trustees had mixed feelings about the proposal. School Board president Julia Hover-Smoot thought it was a good idea, noting that it would improve for the air quality for everyone - in San Jose and Morgan Hill.
Assistant Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini said school district staff maintain their long-held view that there is no incentive for the district to sell land for this purpose.
"We're not sure the city has investigated all options on their own land," she said, suggesting staff look into possibilities for swapping the land with the city. The item will be on a future school board agenda.
Currently, Santa Clara Valley boasts five air monitoring stations.
Natalie Everett Natalie Everett covers education and city issues for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
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