City Beat
Grants Make a
Difference for City
of Morgan Hill
By Maureen Tobin,
Communications & Engagement Manager
Public Safety Command Vehicle purchased with State Homeland Security Grant.
A
n important and ongoing priority for the City of
Morgan Hill is maintaining fiscal responsibility. While
there are many ways the City works to maintain fiscal respon-
sibility and be good financial stewards, something that is rarely
receives attention is the City’s efforts in pursuing grants that
provide financial resources for things that make a positive
impact for the Morgan Hill community. Although the City
operates with a lean staffing model and does not employee a
full- time grant writer, the City has creatively found ways to
identify grants and submit many successful grant proposals.
Over the last few years the City has become more and more
successful in grant writing, often with a significant team effort
from across departments.
The City regularly applies for and receives risk management
grants, law enforcement grants, homeland security grants
and grants which supplement capital improvement projects.
Some are quite significant, as in the $2 million grant for the
inclusive playground and some are much smaller, but all make
a difference.
Examples of successful grant applications during the past
year include:
$2 Million All Inclusive Playground Grant
Early in 2018, the City of Morgan Hill was awarded a
$2 million All-Inclusive Playground Grant by the County of
Santa Clara Board of Supervisors. This funding was a huge win
for the Morgan Hill inclusive playground, which recently had
designs approved by the Morgan Hill City Council. The park
is tentatively planned to start construction later this year at
Morgan Hill’s Community Park.
$65,100 Transportation for Clean Air (TFCA) Grant
In September of 2018, staff received confirmation from the
Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) that the Main Avenue
Bike Lane and Sidewalk project would receive funding in
the amount of $65,100. The TFCA grant amount of
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GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
$65,100 will be applied towards the construction,
thereby reducing the City’s contribution. The proposed
bikeway improvements are intended to encourage walking
and biking and provide a safer east/west connection to El Toro
Elementary School, Live Oak High School, Butterfield Linear
Path and Downtown. It is anticipated that this could reduce
the number of single occupant vehicles on the road,
reduce emissions, and promote a healthy lifestyle.
$140,250 California Office of Emergency Services
(CalOES) 404 Hazard Mitigation Grant
In October 2018, the Federal Emergency Management
Administration (FEMA) notified CalOES, that the City of
Morgan Hill’s grant application for funding of part of the
emergency backup generator for the Centennial Recreation
Center was approved, and the grant would support approxi-
mately 60% of the estimated total project cost, or $140,249.80.
The Centennial Recreation Center (CRC) is a multipurpose
building that supports a range of uses and clientele. With a
backup generator, in times of natural hazards/disasters, the
CRC can also help provide continuity of service to 16,100
people. The facility has shower and kitchen facilities and is a
designated Red Cross Emergency shelter, making the backup
generator a significant priority.
$700,000 State Homeland Security Grant
The City of Morgan was awarded a total of $700,000 (through
two grant cycles) to purchase a public safety command
vehicle. The South County Command Vehicle will enhance
inter- operability for police/fire/medical first responders
enabling them to quickly provide required information to
the Emergency Operations Center during any type of crisis.
This will also bridge any communication gaps to effectively
communicate with other command vehicles in the Bay Area
such as those in Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Palo Alto.
The vehicle was delivered in December 2018.
february/march 2019
gmhtoday.com