The City Council created a monster raise machine, while a Gilroy
Police Officer nabbed a late-night vandal defacing public
property
The following organizations and individuals deserve either CHEERS or JEERS this week:
JEERS: For the Gilroy City Council members who voted to pass the “best of the best” management pay increase policy. Mayor Al Pinheiro and council members Russ Valiquette, Dion Bracco, Peter Arellano and Paul Correa voted for the policy which states that the roughly 42 manager-level employees at City Hall should make 15 percent more than their employees and 10 percent more than the average pay received by peers in nearby cities. Only Councilman Craig Gartman voted against the policy. Councilman Roland Velasco abstained because his wife is a city employee. Just months after proposing the new policy, City Administrator Jay Baksa plans to bring raise proposals to the Council for approval – well, that’s sure a surprise. What a tangled web of rubber stamp approvals this Council weaves.
CHEERS: For Gilroy Police Officer Noel Lemus. He nabbed a spray-painting vandal near San Ysidro Park who allegedly defaced public buildings. Jason Orosco Narvaez, caught with gloves on, a backpack and seen by Officer Lemus tossing spray paint cans from his bag, was out and about at 1:30am. He’s 22 years old. Hopefully, jail time and restitution will get Narvaez to re-think his life plan. Great work, Officer Lemus!
JEERS: For the two housekeepers working for X-Treme Cleaning who were arrested for stealing $21,000 worth of jewelry – including a wedding ring – from a home on Honeycomb Lane. Maria Sepulveda of Morgan Hill and Nelly Perez of Eigleberry Street in Gilroy were arrested on burglary charges. Besides the obvious – take care who you hire to work in your home – the two put a pock mark on many other hard-working people who make an honest living housecleaning.
CHEERS: For the Fourth of July Gilroy style. We’re the only city in Santa Clara County that still allows fireworks. Sales start Sunday and benefit many community groups. It’s a proud tradition we hold dear. Let’s keep that tradition intact by demonstrating responsible and safe use of fireworks.
JEERS: For the latest proposal to turn Bonfante/Gilroy Gardens into a profit-making machine. That’s just what we need on beautiful and serene Hecker Pass – a road-clogging, water hogging, noise factory water park. The City of Gilroy should have never annexed Bonfante Gardens, never backed the bond sales to “save” the park and never approved the development of 100 more Eagle Ridge homes to pay off private debt. It’s a colossal, growth-inducing mess that has triggered a series of unnecessary proposals in west Gilroy in a corridor that should not have been developed for a long time.
