$1 • Friday, July 28, 2017 • Vol. 123, No. 30 • morganhilltimes.com • Serving Morgan Hill since 1894
Minnesota city picks Rymer for top staff position MORGAN HILL CITY MANAGER TO RETURN TO NATIVE STATE Michael Moore Editor
➝ Rymer, 12
Robert Eliason
Morgan Hill City Manager Steve Rymer was selected as the Rochester, Minn. City Council’s top choice to fill their city administrator position, according to news reports. Rymer, a native of Minnesota who has worked for the City of Morgan Hill since 2006, was selected for Rochester’s top staff position by a unanimous vote of the council July 24, according to a report from the Rochester Post Bulletin. Rymer and the council will be negotiating his salary and employment agreement this week, with the Rochester City Council expected to approve a deal by July 31. Rymer was appointed as Morgan Hill City Manager in 2013, when the city and state of California were in the midst of liquidating the Redevelopment Agency, which the governor shut down in 2011. Resulting from that process was the development and revitalization of downtown Morgan Hill, which was funded by $25 million in leftover RDA funds that the city was able to keep through negotiations with the state. Mayor Steve Tate said the council will discuss how to go about replacing Rymer in the coming days, perhaps by calling a special meeting. Tate praised Rymer— who has received glowing annual reviews and a number of salary raises from the Morgan Hill council over the years—for his ability to rally others to join the city’s efforts and for being accessible to his staff and the public. “He has built a really phenomenal team that is doing fantastic work,” Tate said. “There is a lot of team spirit, a lot of dedication to moving the city forward. Steve is the cause
GROUNDBREAKING City officials, contractors and library staff share a light moment July 22 during the photo opp for the groundbreaking of the Morgan Hill Library’s upcoming expansion project. Pictured, left to right, at the library’s 10-year birthday celebration are Morgan Hill City Councilwoman Caitlin Jachimowicz, City Councilman Rene Sprint, Lesley Miles of Weston Miles Architects and Santa Clara County Librarian Nancy Howe. Not pictured are Morgan Hill Community Librarian Heather Ann Geddes, Mayor Steve Tate and Friends of the Morgan Hill Library President Theresa Stephenson.
Library celebrates 10 years EXPANSION PLANS IN DESIGN PHASE Scott Forstner Reporter
A 10-year anniversary celebration of the Morgan Hill Library took place Saturday, as did a ceremonial groundbreaking for the future expansion of the facility. Local families enjoyed
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birthday party, and we’re really excited about getting this expansion going.” The party included games for children, music by the Frank Dicker Band and Sandoshin Taiko, Germer the Magician and Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center’s educational ambassadors. Plenty of birthday cake and refreshments were served for everyone who attended.
“The birthday celebration went fantastic. We had a great turnout,” said Heather Ann Geddes, Morgan Hill Library Community Librarian. “The community really showed their support for the library and library services.” Geddes said special events such as the 10th anniversary celebration are made possible by The Friends of Morgan Hill
Library, a group that generates more than $40,000 per year for library programs and events. Mayor Steve Tate, along with councilmembers Rene Spring and Caitlin Robinett Jachimowicz, participated in the ceremonial groundbreaking for the library expansion along with others including Stephenson. ➝ Library, 14
Council mulls recreational pot regs Michael Moore
GARLIC FESTIVAL
an array of entertainment and activities throughout the three-hour event at the West Main Avenue library. The event was organized by nonprofit The Friends of the Morgan Hill Library. “It was great. It turned out really well. We had a lot of people come out and they had fun,” said Teresa Stephenson, President of The Friends of Morgan Hill Library. “It was a good
With recreational marijuana now legal in California, the Morgan Hill City Council updated the city ordinance regulating the drug’s medical use at their latest meeting. At the July 19 meeting, the council and city staff also agreed to host an upcoming workshop on recreational marijuana and whether the city should consider allowing marijuana manufacturing, cultivation, retail sales or delivery services in Morgan Hill.
Since voters approved Proposition 64 legalizing recreational marijuana in November 2016, “several individuals” have inquired with city staff about marijuana-related business opportunities in Morgan Hill, according to a staff report presented to the council by Police Chief David Swing. The upcoming workshop discussion will aim to weigh the potential harmful impacts of an increased presence of marijuana— such as youth access and impaired driving—with the potential tax revenues available to the city if it allows retail sales, cultivation and manufacturing. Swing said staff has
reached out to HdL Companies to facilitate the workshop. HdL Companies is a consulting firm that has worked with about 70 cities in California in providing advice on “best practices for marijuana regulation and expectations for potential revenue and impacts,” reads the city staff report. Council members commented July 19 that they are interested in hearing more about what other cities and states are doing to regulate recreational marijuana in order to inform them on how to impose further regulations in Morgan Hill. The state is expected to develop more regulations
and guidelines on the sale and production of recreational marijuana by early 2018. The city has previously taken a more restrictive approach to regulation than many cities in the area when it comes to medical marijuana. “I think we should regulate it right along cigarettes and alcohol in Morgan Hill,” Mayor Pro Tem Larry Carr said. “I don’t want to increase smoking in Morgan Hill. I don’t want to breathe your smoke and we should be regulating that (and) decrease smoking in Morgan Hill, no matter what they’re smoking.” Carr also suggested
inviting some marijuana advocates to the upcoming workshop, which is tentatively set for Sept. 6. Morgan Hill resident Joy Joyner spoke as a supporter of medical marijuana at the July 19 meeting. She said she currently has to drive to San Jose to obtain her marijuanaderived medicine, which she needs to alleviate chronic pain and other symptoms associated with a number of autoimmune and nerve disorders. “Every few weeks I go to San Jose, and my tax dollars go to San Jose,” Joyner said. “I would much rather my tax ➝ Marijuana, 12