A recently saved boat is Bonfante/Gilroy Gardens. The Garden's board members (including retired members - founder Michael Bonfante and Bob Kraemer) couldn't find a way to make their mandated bottom line for myriad reasons and keep that venture afloat. Whether it was poor planning, poor marketing, poor management, or just plain old poor will never be known. What is known is the Gardens turned to the Gilroy City Council with a bucket in hand, hoping for someone to grab hold.

Through council, every Gilroyan's hand was lashed (tied, in pioneering terms) onto the bail to the tune of about $13 million in cold, hard cash, a lot of cold, hard cash. I agree that the purchase move was a good self-defense move on the city's part. Without guaranteed long-term park operations management contracts in place, the holes in the hull are plugged not with teak but chewing gum.

The huge red banner across a South County Housing model home shouted, "AUCTION" Auctions are a common theme these days in the wake of interest-only loans, a falling housing market, and the lending industry itself. Foreclosure occurrences are at all-time highs.

South County Housing, like other investors, bet on the come and lost. Unable to complete the high profit market-rate units and some affordable units, let alone the much-needed third stage of affordable units they promised, SCH also turned to the city with buckets and lashing twine in hand. If Gilroyan's hands weren't cramping from the non-stop bailing already, their fingers must now be blue. Gilroy decided to guarantee the state nearly $2 million in loan repayments. Are your feet beginning to blister from standing in waist deep water while lifting buckets of water? Mine are.

It is grand the city wants to help everyone out. My big question is who is going to help the city out when all the bailing buckets start coming up dry, the county? Not a chance. The county has its own woes. The county's idea of helping Gilroy is bringing the methadone treatment center for recovering drug addicts from the judicial facility in San Martin to that bright, shiny new building at Arroyo Circle and Sixth streets. Drug rehab is a worthy cause. Methadone clinics have a dismal success rate. As hypocritical as it may seem, when it comes to that particular subject, I am in the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) group. Many studies have proven that methadone users have much higher smoking habits than non users who smoke.

San Martin, in the throes of an incorporation battle, should welcome all cigarette sales they can get from a tax standpoint and refuse to let loose of that jewel of a program currently in their own backyard!

The city has budgeted on development based impact fees. The same market that caused the city to have to grab SCH's buckets and bail is also giving those developers slated to build soon great pause. What happens if the Glen Loma project doesn't pencil out.

Take a look at 7861 and 7891 Miller Avenue. Of the six Neil Mussallem units approved amidst much controversy, only one stands. I guess that project hasn't yet penciled out.

By the looks of Gurries and Hanna drives, Chris Cote's Hanna Square project pencil must've snapped in half. Maybe instead of penciling, developers should be sure they can Sharpie it out before jumping in. Ah, good old American capitalism. No development, no impact fees. No impact fees, no city income. No city income, no more city.

Pretty fast it is going to have to be checkbook budgeting rather than this future speculation budgeting that has worked for the city much like it has for South County Housing. There is one simple measure that might stave off doom and gloom. Remove buckets and lashing twine from the city list of approved purchases and reinstate simple adding machines to balance the city checkbook. It's a start.

Ben Anderson Columnist Ben Anderson is a long-time Gilroyan and father of two fantastic teens. You can reach him at heyben@bdkr.net. His column is published every Wednesday.