My name is Sabrina McClain. I am the owner of THE annex Fine Furniture and Home Decor store, located in downtown Morgan Hill. I am writing this in response to the Sept. 23 Morgan Hill Times front page story headlined, "Downtown: Ghost Town."
When I was first approached about speaking to The Times in regards to downtown, I felt it would be a positive light on how the downtown merchants are supporting one another, and what we do to promote our beautiful downtown. The story that was published, however, only focused on negatives and does not encourage anybody to come downtown at all.
During the course of my being interviewed, I expressed very positive and encouraging views of downtown. I repeatedly talked of the new stores that are in downtown, and what I was doing to ensure the success of my store. In the article I am made to sound like I have very negative views of downtown and the plans that the city has for renovating downtown. I specifically stated that at this point in time I do not have an opinion of what the city's plans are, as I do not know what the plans are. In your article I am quoted as saying, "At this point I don't really care what (the plans are), just get shops downtown." Saying I do not have an opinion of the plans and the quote that is in the paper are two completely different statements. Of course it is important to fill any vacancies in downtown as it will increase foot traffic; however, there is a process to fill vacancies that has to be followed.
Another point that should be noted is that regardless of any vacancies in the downtown area, it is up to each of us merchants to promote our businesses. A vacancy in downtown should not be a reason to throw in the towel and give up on business. Any vacancy should be more of a motivating factor to become inventive about ways to increase downtown awareness. As stated in the article, I hosted a wine tasting event in my store to encourage people to come downtown. I host events such as these to increase the awareness of not only my shop, but my fellow neighbors as well.
As I stated in my interview, (which did not make it into the article) I want to see all of downtown succeed. Although I appreciate that downtown was a focus of the Morgan Hill Times, I think the positive aspects of downtown, such as the new shops, the merchants that are working hard everyday, and the events that take place should be the focus of an article. Making downtown sound abandoned and negative does not help any of us. As a business owner in downtown, I want to be here. I choose to be here and look forward to seeing everyone downtown.
Sabrina McClain, Morgan Hill
THE annex
Downtown on its way to being ghost town
Dear Editor,
My heart sank when I read the headline "Downtown: Ghost town" on the front page of the Sept. 23 Morgan Hill Times, yet it's completely true. We are well on our way down that path. The city's current RDA plan is so interconnected and precariously balanced that the image of a ghost town isn't that farfetched.
So what exactly are we looking at? We are faced with recreation centers that cost millions of Redevelopment Agency dollars, yet are not self-sustaining, so to keep those running we must use millions of dollars from the general fund. By depleting the general fund to cover those expenses, we don't have enough money to pay for basic services like road maintenance, police or fire. The city's solution is to increase our taxes with a 2 percent utility tax; which most people don't realize isn't enough to cover our needs, so there will be another 2 percent proposal next year and perhaps the next. Yet, we continue to pay for these failing facilities instead of doing what is right and either closing, or selling them to companies that can manage to run them at a profit. Then we have downtown merchants who've been told to be patient, because if we use more RDA money to build a Santana Row-esque downtown, people will come to live, dine and shop. Yet, oddly enough, we have merchants who can't wait for that dream to happen. They will have to close their doors long before the RDA or below-market-rate housing projects can be completed, built and sold. And yes, the housing problem downtown is also based on RDA money. Then we have issues with RDA funds being used to build "roads to nowhere" such as the Santa Teresa Boulevard extension and the widening of Dunne Avenue to four lanes. And, let's not forget that just around the corner is another RDA debacle waiting to happen, because following the Santa Teresa and Dunne will be the brilliant plan to use RDA money to reduce Monterey Road through downtown to one lane each way.
The path to destruction really is paved with good intentions. I do not envy our city governors and the tasks that are before them. But, they must recognize that they can not have a "build it and they will come" attitude. The demographics and economic situation of Morgan Hill doesn't support it. The city must have the courage to make a course correction and redirect the funds to support the city and in the process be fiscally responsible with our tax dollars. The Downtown Association and members are lamenting about Granada as well as so many other issues, why not take the RDA funds allotted to the Santa Teresa and Dunne projects ($24 million) and infuse that money into real downtown redevelopment and fix Granada first. There's no reason not to do what's right for Morgan Hill.
Pamela Harbell, Morgan Hill
Downtown story angered merchants
Dear Editor,
This letter is in response to your story "Downtown: Ghost town" which appeared in the Morgan Hill Times Sept. 23 edition.
The Morgan Hill Downtown Association Board met Sept. 23 for our regular monthly meeting. As you can imagine, your story became a prime topic of discussion at our meeting. We have been asked to write a response.
Many of our merchants are angered and outraged by the story. They are struggling mightily to have successful businesses and rightfully are fearful that this kind of publicity will further damage their businesses. The headline of your story, I'm sure, will hurt the business of some of these downtown business operators. Isn't there something you can do to help them rather than what you've done with this headline? After all, the Morgan Hill Times is a downtown business.
There are many very successful downtown restaurants. Have you been to Rosy's on Taco Tuesday, or Sinaloa's or Maurizio's on Saturday or been to the Thursday night Blue Grass Jam Session at El Toro Brew Pub. How about a little credit where it's due.
We often hear from our residents "What a lovely downtown we have!" Or "let's make it more like Los Gatos!" Or "Why aren't there more shopping opportunities in the downtown?" The reality is that, in its current situation, our downtown needs more foot traffic and shoppers to make it work. There are many reasons for this; from competing shopping centers, big box discount stores, dispersed public facilities to a lack of housing clustered in the downtown.
So what's the solution?
We believe that there are several critical actions that need to be taken to make the downtown work and that the city, through its Redevelopment Agency, is on the right track.
The downtown needs:
n More residents living there in a comfortable downtown setting, the classic downtown village concept.
n More shopping opportunities.
n More pedestrian and shopper-friendly streets and sidewalks. Think Santana Row or downtown Los Gatos or Willow Glen! Slow down the auto traffic, reroute the trucks and busses.
n Reopen the Granada Theatre. Most successful shopping centers have movie theatres as part of the center.
n Make the downtown a destination. A place where people want to be, to socialize, to shop, to dine, to meander.
The City Council and the city's Redevelopment Agency have acquired many downtown sites and will invite proposals from developers to invest and build "mixed-use" projects in the downtown, similar to the Santana Row concept. In addition, the 3rd Street Promenade is underway. This will transform 3rd Street into a pedestrian friendly corridor, connecting the train station, court house and Depot Street to Monterey Street. Further, by extending Butterfield Boulevard on the North and South, through traffic will be diverted away from Monterey Street making downtown safer and more pedestrian friendly. Plans are also underway to find a way to reopen a movie theatre downtown and saving the Granada marque.
A critical step in this process is to speed up the approval of housing in the downtown. That's why Measure H is so important. Measure H, if approved, frees up 500 housing allotments in the downtown, allowing mixed use residential, commercial and office buildings to move through the approval process faster than through the city's Residential Development Control System.
These actions will take time and resolve. Some people estimate that in today's economic climate, it will be at least two years before the first shovel of dirt is turned or an old building torn down. Certainly we don't want more vacant buildings or lots sitting unused while designs are made, contracts awarded or permits approved. We need a plan that protects those businesses that are willing to ride out the storm until the first new resident moves into their home in the reconstructed downtown. We need an interim plan that helps our businesses in the downtown survive while all this work is being done.
In the meantime, we encourage the Morgan Hill Times, as a downtown business, to be more supportive of the downtown and less disparaging. Gloom and doom headlines certainly don't help. We need the Morgan Hill Times to be a part of making downtown a wonderful place to be, not a detractor.
Dennis Kennedy, Former Mayor of Morgan Hill
Lesley Miles, President, Morgan Hill Downtown Association
Jorge Briones, Executive Director, Morgan Hill Downtown Association
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