San Martin officials’ efforts to gain cityhood avoided delay
this month thanks to a car show and thousands of dollars in
last-minute donations, according to Sylvia Hamilton, head of the
San Martin Neighborhood Alliance.
San Martin – San Martin officials’ efforts to gain cityhood avoided delay this month thanks to a car show and thousands of dollars in last-minute donations, according to Sylvia Hamilton, head of the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance.
The annual Happy Days Custom and Classic Car show held Aug. 18 brought in nearly $20,000 in revenues, about $2,000 shy of its original goal. Proceeds from the event and a series of other fundraisers held throughout the year help pay for fiscal and environmental studies, which evaluate whether the proposed town can pay for basic municipal services and whether an independent town of San Martin would affect its physical surroundings.
Hamilton, who mailed out the latest installment of $37,700 in time for a Sept. 1 deadline, said the final $7,000-plus came in from 18 San Martin families. Delays in funding could put the city in jeopardy of missing state deadlines to complete the incorporation process.
“I had no doubt it was going to take place,” Hamilton said about the donations. “There’s a lot of momentum … and I knew they would step up to the plate.”
So far, the group has paid nearly $88,000 in required fees to the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission, the land-use agency overseeing the incorporation process estimated to cost $200,000 in its entirety. The last step in the process is a community-wide vote that proponents hope to hold in November 2008.
El Toro Saved
Morgan Hill – Supporters of the El Toro Youth Center have managed to save the program from closure through a fundraising campaign that has raised $88,000, according to Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate.
Catholic Charities has agreed to oversee the center’s operations starting this month. The local charity had said it could not take over the responsibility unless the community raised the first year of operating funds of roughly $100,000. Though that goal has not been reached, an Aug. 25 fundraiser brought more than $20,000 into the campaign and prompted Catholic Charities to accept the responsibility.
The center has been handed off from one organization to another over the years, and most recently operated under the auspices of nonprofit Community Solutions. After five years of providing financial and operational oversight, the agency announced it could no longer sustain the center.
Tate said supporters are still hoping to reach the $100,000 mark, and are encouraging continued support of the campaign. Donations can be sent in the form of checks to Catholic Charities, and mailed to El Toro Youth Center, 17620 Crest Ave., Morgan Hill, CA 95037.
– By Staff Reports
