Your Morgan Hill Weekly 411
News for the Week of December 21, 2020
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Happy Holidays and Happy New Year Morgan Hill!
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City Offices will be closed from December 24 through January 3 for our annual furlough. All emergency and essential city services will be available as usual.
This will be the last Weekly 411 for 2020. Look for the first Weekly 411 of the new year on Friday, January 8, 2021!
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Stay Updated on the Coronavirus and
Local Sheltering in Place
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Stay Home for the Holidays
More than 500 people in Santa Clara County have died due to COVID-19. That’s over 500 people who won’t be home for Christmas this year. With hospitals running out of room, essential workers running out of energy, and cases running up the charts unlike ever before, we need everyone to stay home for Christmas. Say no to holiday invitations so that the loved ones you are choosing not to see this year will have a better chance of seeing you next year.
Here's a few ideas for celebrating safely:
- Drop gifts off at loved ones' doorsteps
- Unwrap gifts virtually together
- Cook up a holiday feast with your household
- Bake some sweets and drink hot chocolate
- Watch a holiday movie at home
- Play games virtually with members of your family or friends
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Do Not Travel
To keep you, your loved ones, and our community as safe as we can, do not travel during this winter season—you should travel only if absolutely necessary.
If you travel over 150 miles, you will be required to quarantine for 10 days when you arrive back in the county, with limited exceptions. Get tested around Day 6 or 7 after return.
If at any time in the 14 days after arriving in the county you develop symptoms, get tested right away.
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Mental Health Resources
As numbers of cases of COVID-19 continue to increase and stricter orders are put in place, so does the associated anxiety, feelings of fear and uncertainty, and other mental health concerns around the developing situation.
We want to remind everyone that the mental health effects of COVID-19 are just as important to address as are the physical health effects.
Important numbers to keep handy:
- Mental Health Services 1(800)704-0900
- Substance Use Services 1(800)488-9919
- Suicide and Crisis Hotline 24/7 1(855)278-4204 Or Text RENEW to 741741
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A Tribute to Leslie Little…who spent her life building neighborhoods and serving communities
After 43 years in local government, including ten years of service as Assistant City Manager for Morgan Hill, Leslie Little retires at the end of 2020.
Leslie joined the City of Morgan Hill as Assistant City Manager for Develpment Services in 2011 overseeing the areas of Planning, Housing, Building, Code Enforcement, Economic Development and RDA Successor Agency development activities.
Under her leadership, the City’s Housing Department achieved regional recognition for innovation on affordability, quality housing, and homeless programs. She has brought together public officials, government agencies, private sector leaders and nonprofit executives to collectively leverage new dollars in permanent housing and resources to create new affordable housing units and programs. Leslie has cultivated public-private partnerships, safe parking programs, homeless outreach worker deployment, efforts to reduce family homelessness and reduce chronic homelessness, permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, cold weather shelter, the biennial homeless count, a homeless registry, a robust network of community and faith-based organizations, encampment response, relocation efforts, development of new construction, coordination with county Social Services and Mental Health departments.
Leslie is also credited with the revitalization of Downtown, including the restoration of the Granada Theatre, the addition of multiple mixed-used housing projects and commercial retail developments, including a boutique hotel. Leslie’s thoughtful leadership, dedication, and commitment to public service have shaped Morgan Hill into the wonderful, more affordable, livable, and welcoming community it is today. In addition, Leslie created a robust community development division that put sustainability at the forefront of every project. She always put employees first and fostered their leadership potential. Throughout her career, she has championed racial equity by mentoring young minority professionals.
Leslie Little has spent her entire career in the public sector in Redevelopment/Economic Development in Southern California, Northern California, and Florida. In Southern California, she worked for Redevelopment Agencies in South Gate, Monterey Park, and Long Beach. In Florida, she served as the Economic Development Director of Leesburg and Senior Director for the Economic Development Commission of Mid-Florida in Orlando. In Northern California, Leslie spent six years with the San Jose Redevelopment Agency within Industrial Development and subsequently as Director of Downtown Development, seven years as the Development Services and Economic Development Director for the City of Alameda and Alameda Naval Air Station Base Re-use Authority.
Leslie has also remained active on State Boards and committees, most recently she served as a Board Member of the California Redevelopment Association (CRA) and a member of the League of California Cities Housing, Community and Economic Development Policy Board.
“Leslie will be sorely missed by all of us in Morgan Hill. But her love, respect and dedication to public service will live on in her projects and programs and the people she mentored. We are grateful for her contributions to our community and we wish her a happy next chapter in her very well-deserved retirement” said Christina Turner, City Manager for Morgan Hill.
Leslie will now have time to spend time with her husband Nick Little, her daughter Elyse Little Morris, her son-in-law Tony Morris and her new grandchild, Aziel (Azzy) James Morris.
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Edith Ramirez appointed as Assistant City Manager for Development Services
As the City says farewell to Leslie Little, outgoing Assistant City Manager for Development Services, Morgan Hill’s City Manager, Christina Turner, announced on Wednesday the appointment of Morgan Hill Economic Development Director Edith Ramirez as the next Assistant City Manager for Development Services for the City of Morgan Hill.
Edith Ramirez has 24 years of community development, redevelopment, and economic development experience. Edith has been leading the City’s Economic Development efforts for the last nine years. She has been a key contributor to Downtown’s redevelopment and has led the City with an Economic Development Blueprint— a vision to increase economic prosperity and vitality, assisting with the attraction of multiple commercial and industrial projects. Edith has also supported the City in developing a vision for Tourism and led the Downtown placemaking efforts. More recently, she shepherded the establishment of the City’s first Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID), City broadband services, and currently is helping the Morgan Hill business community access critical resources to help with the impacts of COVID-19. Edith has established positive and meaningful relationships and is well respected amongst Morgan Hill’s development community.
Edith holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master’s in Public Administration. Edith was born in Mexico City and immigrated to the Bay Area as a young adult. She is bilingual and a mother of two young children, and lives in Morgan Hill.
Edith has a passion for creating sustainable and welcoming communities. Prior to Morgan Hill, she worked for the San Jose Redevelopment Agency for 11 years in Downtown Development, Industrial Development, Housing and Project Management. She also served as Policy Aide and Communications Manager for Council District Six, a community of 100,000 residents and 14 business associations in San Jose. Edith currently serves on the Tourism Business Improvement District Visit Morgan Hill Board, as well as the San Jose SPUR Policy Board and Fairgrounds Management Corporation. She is an active member of the Silicon Valley Economic Development Alliance, the Urban Land Institute (ULI), and International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
City Manager Turner said, “I am excited to appoint Edith Ramirez to the Assistant City Manager position. Edith’s passion for and commitment to Morgan Hill is evident in her work. Her experience in economic development, community engagement, stakeholder relations, strategic planning, and facilitation of complex projects will assist the City’s efforts to create a sustainable community. Not only is she a great communicator, but she is also a wonderful collaborator, and her background will enhance our communications and outreach efforts, in particular to the Hispanic community that makes up 31.3% of the population in Morgan Hill.”
As the City’s Assistant City Manager for Development Services, she will oversee the Development Services Department, and provide strategic guidance for the City’s planning, building, housing, and economic development programs, and initiatives. Ms. Ramirez will assume her new role effective January 1, 2021. Due to the current budget constraints the Economic Development Director position which Ms. Ramirez vacates will not be filled and will remain unfunded through the end of the currently adopted biennial budget ending June 30, 2022. This will also allow the organization an opportunity to better align work programs with current community needs.
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Morgan Hill Skate Park Closure
Effective Wednesday, December 16, 2020, the Skateboard/BMX Park is closed due to the Regional Stay at Home Order. The park will reopen when restrictions are lifted.
For updates, please visit our website. Thank you for your understanding.
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Teen Leaders Receive Youth Action Project Grant to Fight Vaping
Morgan Hill’s Warriors Against Vaping and E-Cigarettes (WAVE) team recently received a Youth Action Project Grant from Breathe California and the Santa Clara County Public Health Department to create a campaign to increase teen awareness of the health dangers of vaping and tobacco use.
This grant, in the amount of $3,500, will enable WAVE to purchase promotional giveaway items and provide support for various activities within the awareness campaign. Plans for the campaign include hosting virtual anti-vaping/tobacco awareness events addressing the reality of peer pressure and a variety of social media and virtual challenges that promote healthy competition among teens to engage in anti-vaping/tobacco activities, with the ultimate goal of getting teens to pledge not to vape.
WAVE’s first virtual event will be held on:
- Friday, January 15th, 6pm – 7pm and will be hosted through Zoom.
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Meetings and Opportunities to Engage |
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Tuesday, December 22, 2020 |
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Free COVID-19 Testing
Council Chamber Building
9:30 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.
Testing will be by appointment only. This testing site is not designed to test individuals with symptoms of COVID-19. Individuals with symptoms should contact their healthcare provider for evaluation and testing.
To make an appointment:
Once all appointments are filled, this location will no longer appear for scheduling on the website. You can schedule from your phone or from a computer using a web browser other than Internet Explorer.
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Planning Commission Meeting
CANCELLED
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Wednesday, December 23, 2020 |
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City Council Meeting
CANCELLED
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Library, Culture and Arts Commission Meeting
7:00 P.M
Library, Culture, and Arts Commission meetings are live streamed on Channel 17, on the City’s website and on the City’s Facebook page.
Those members of the community that would like to participate in the meetings remotely may do so by joining the virtual meeting at: https://bit.ly/LCACMeeting
or by calling in to: (669) 900-9128, then enter the webinar id: 874 0656 4997#.
Public comment may be provided in the following ways:
- Join the virtual City Council meeting via the link above, when public comment is opened, raise your virtual hard and be called upon to speak for up to 3 minutes
- Join the virtual meeting by calling in to the number above, dial *9 to raise your hand and be called upon to speak for up to 3 minutes
- Send public comments in writing to chris.ghione@morganhill.ca.gov * Please note that comments made on Facebook are not considered public comment.
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Wednesday, January 6, 2020 |
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City Council Meeting
CANCELLED
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Public Project and Maintenance Updates
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CAL FIRE Lifts Burn Permit Suspension
Effective Wednesday, December 16, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. the burn permit suspension in Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa Counties and the western portion of Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties will be lifted.
CAL FIRE Santa Clara Unit Chief Jake Hess is formally cancelling the burn permit suspension and advises that those possessing current and valid agriculture and residential burn permits can now resume burning on permissible burn days. Inspections may be required for burns other than agriculture burns. This can be verified by contacting your local Air Quality Management District.
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MHUSD Announces Virtual Drop-in Support for Students
Virtual "Drop-in" mental health support is now available for MHUSD students.
Motivational Mondays are held the 1st Monday of every month from 9:00am-10:00am.
Wellness Wednesdays are held the 1st Wednesday of every month from 1:00pm-2:00pm
View the flyer for information on how to join either session.
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VTA News
VTA operates essential service during Stay-At-Home Order
Check out the most recent news from Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)
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Morgan Hill City Hall
Office Hours
City Offices will be closed from December 24 through January 3 for our annual furlough. All emergency and essential city services will be available as usual.
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Elected Officials
County Supervisor
District 1:
California State Assembly District 30:
California State Senate District 17:
U.S. Congressional District 19:
City of Morgan Hill
Advisory Commissions:
City of Morgan Hill Advisory Committees:
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