Morgan Hill Rotary Funds Park Improvements
Written By Sherry Hemingway
I
t was a warm sunny day in October
when several Rotarians were busily
“kicking the tires” on play struc-
tures under construction at one of
Morgan Hill’s wonderful new downtown
parks. The Morgan Hill Rotary Club
had recently donated $100,000 to fund
a really novel idea, a giant slide down
Nob Hill, as well as a bridge in Morgan
Hill’s improved Downtown Creek Park.
How fast would the slide be? What
would make it slower? What would
make it faster? A few of the Rotarians
reminisced about the days of sliding
down grassy hills on burlap bags during
their younger days. One thing’s for
certain, almost everyone in town, regard-
less of age, is going to give this 56-foot
slide a try when it opens in December.
Nob Hill helps to define the unique
skyline along the western edge of
Morgan Hill’s downtown. The starting
point for the City’s forthcoming plastic
slide will be located near the landmark
green water tank at the top of the hill.
It’s being constructed in two segments,
a slower 21-foot-long slide, followed by
a faster 35-foot slide. At the landings for
90
each segment are observation platforms
with spectacular views of the downtown
and the valley looking east.
Adjacent to the slide will be
meandering, wooded walking trails, with
a Second Street trailhead. Be prepared
for a cardio climb up the hill followed
by a descent down the other side of
Nob Hill to Fifth Street.
The trails are a part of the city’s
visionary new parks and trails system,
which will expand the downtown and
serve as a back yard for many Morgan
Hill neighborhoods. There will be
picnic tables at the base of the hill and
a separate playground for children just
one block from Monterey Road.
Rotary Club of Morgan Hill threw
its support behind the Nob Hill project
after learning that the slide might be
eliminated due to budget constraints.
Back in 2010, the club had created
a strategic objective to give a major
gift to the community. Six successive
club presidents set aside a portion of
donations from the club’s annual fund-
raisers with this objective in mind. The
Nob Hill project had the potential to
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
prevent a worthwhile project from bei ng
sidetracked and to serve the community
broadly in a positive way. This is Morgan
Hill Rotary’s largest gift since the club’s
founding in 1955.
Under the leadership of club board
director Jeff Perkins, a committee tasked
with identifying a worthy project sifted
through 14 proposals and chose the park
project. Championed by Rotarians John
McKay and Bob Foster, the proposed
donation not only included the slide, but
recommended the addition of a 30-foot-
long “Rotary Peace Bridge” over West
Little Llagas Creek in the downtown
area. The bridge will serve as a lasting
tribute to Rotary International’s work
toward world peace through human-
itarian efforts including literacy, clean
water, and the eradication of polio.
In late September, Morgan Hill
Rotarians proudly presented a jumbo-
sized $100,000 check for construction
of the slide and bridge to Mayor Steve
Tate at the regular meeting of the
City Council.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are
rich or poor, what building you go into
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