City leaders share, debate ideas on how to spend discretionary
income and solutions for downtown parking among other issues
Gilroy – How would you spend a million dollars of the city’s money?
At first, the question frustrated city council members during a day of informal policy discussions. Some have complained they have too little time to mold the $120-million budget each year during the legislative sprint leading up to its June approval, and they seemed to view the mental exercise, proposed Friday by City Administrator Jay Baksa at the start of two hours slotted for budget talks, as a distraction from serious number crunching.
With a little coaxing, however, council played along: Mayor Al Pinheiro earmarked $650,000 for downtown revitalization; Councilman Craig Gartman devoted $800,000 to citywide sidewalk repairs; and other councilmen spread their dollars more equitably across a range of so-called “unfunded liabilities,” including repairs to alleys, roads and storm drains.
The total price tag to perform all improvements runs into the tens of millions of dollars.
“You as a council need to give me the priority of what you want to see happen, and then let me translate that into numbers,” Baksa told council members assembled around laptops and a projection screen in the conference room of the Corporation Yard.
Policies and projects are born, mature, and often die during the council’s three annual policy summits, and Friday was no exception. Officials started a mental exercise about how they would spend $1 million (and also $1.5 million), and ended the talk by asking City Finance Director Cindy Murphy about interest charges on a $22 million bond. The funds would be enough to repair all sidewalks, put the finishing touches on downtown revitalization efforts, and fix a healthy portion of the city’s cracked and uprooted storm drains.
Murphy’s off-the-cuff calculations showed the debt service on such a bond would come in at $1.5 million a year. Officials plan to run the numbers on various borrowing levels before discussing a bond proposal, potentially at the next policy summit in January.
Downtown Facades
A freshly paved Monterey Street has re-opened to drivers and sprawling new sidewalks along a two-block stretch of downtown are nearly complete. Now city officials are turning their attention to weather-beaten storefronts, crumbling stucco and faded awnings.
On Friday, council members gave staff members the green light to revive a program that offers low-interest loans and matching grants (so-called because they can only make up a portion of a project’s overall funding) to downtown business owners. The programs were last used in the late ’90s to entice businesses to upgrade their outward appearance.
Similar to the last go-round, council members disliked the idea of using public funds to improve a private business. Instead, they focused on low-interest loans, whether using city money or through arrangements with local banks. In the ’90s, the program offered loans of up to $35,000.
“We’ve done a lot for the downtown,” Councilman Peter Arellano said. “To give money away is out of the question. To give money out where the city does not lose money is something I would consider.”
Downtown business owners should also be prepared for a crackdown on sidewalk displays, as well as a new shuttle bus system that will connect the area to the outlets off Leavesley Road and the Pacheco Pass shopping centers.
Noise Ordinance
Homeowners with droning air conditioners and wheezing pool pumps will not face citations and fines under a new noise control ordinance. But new homes and residents upgrading old systems will face tougher restrictions on noise coming from their yards and garages under a draft policy that council members discussed Friday.
The decision was a disappointment for the Comito family on Hacienda Drive, who have lobbied city leaders heavily in the last two years for an ordinance that could stop their neighbors, the Harns, from operating pool pumps next door.
“I’m going to be very blunt about this,” Mayor Al Pinheiro said Friday, as both families watched the debate from the rear of the conference room. “Number one, we’re not going to take care of neighbor issues. We’ve got one happening, it’s going to continue happening. I’m also not on board with telling everyone in the city they have to get their pool equipment retrofitted.”
Instead, city officials chose to “grandfather” in all existing systems. They set a tougher standard, however, for new systems and upgrades, mandating that all new air conditioners or pool equipment only produce 70 decibels of noise, as measured from a neighbor’s property line. The sound level equates roughly to the sound of a noisy restaurant or highway traffic. Before making any decisions, officials ventured to the rear of the corporation yard and used noise meters to gauge the sound of traffic, a water pump and a leaf blower.
Officials chose not to set noise limits for “non-fixed sources” of pollution such as lawn mowers and leaf blowers, deciding instead to limit their operation to the hours of 7am to 10pm.
The new ordinance, which officials expect to approve in final form in coming weeks, does not place any restrictions on noise pollution from businesses.
Secret Gardens?
Mayor Al Pinheiro has agreed to step down from the Bonfante Garden’s governing board and hand over the appointment to fellow Councilman Dion Bracco. The changeover ends a controversial stint on the park’s board of directors for Pinheiro, who has come under repeated attack from the Dispatch editorial board for failing to report back on decisions to develop the park’s land along the scenic Hecker Pass corridor. The development plans are part of the park’s efforts to regain its financial footing after a near brush with bankruptcy.
Bracco’s two-year appointment will be formally approved by council in coming weeks. On Friday, council also clarified a policy about reporting on confidential information learned while serving on appointed boards and commissions. Some councilmen complained during Pinheiro’s tenure on the Bonfante board that he failed to notify them of development efforts that could have lasting effects on the scenic corridor leading into west Gilroy.
City Attorney Linda Callon reminded council members Friday that their first allegiance is to the city, and that they should consult with a city attorney when the broader interests of Gilroy citizens appear at odds with those of a board or commission. In such cases, council members intend to balance the privacy concerns of a board and the need for disclosure by sharing sensitive information in closed session.
Solar power
Gilroy will regain a top spot among Bay Area cities when it comes to lowering barriers to solar energy. Council members agreed Friday to change the fee system for processing plans for solar panels on homes and businesses. The current fee – on average $758 per project – is based on the overall valuation of a solar panel system. Officials plan to replace the “valuation method” with a flat $300 fee. They also plan to offer fee reductions to homeowners who replace single-paned windows with double panes and use other energy-saving techniques.
The latest changes come in response to an effort by the Sierra Club’s Loma Prieta Chapter to convince Bay Area cities to reduce solar power permitting fees. In Gilroy, the reduced fees make up one slice of a broader effort to protect the environment. The city’s efforts range from using energy-efficient light bulbs at City Hall to crafting policies that would require builders to recycle 50 percent of their construction debris.
The reduced permitting fee for solar panels takes effect in January.
