Who bought those?
”
Hi Red Phone! I have a big question. I’ve seen that Mike Dorn
and some of the City Council members have these really nice jackets
with the city’s logo, their name and their position. They are very
nice jackets and I want to know who paid for this. Does the city of
Gilroy have so much money that they can dress the people who work
for the city?
Who bought those?
“Hi Red Phone! I have a big question. I’ve seen that Mike Dorn and some of the City Council members have these really nice jackets with the city’s logo, their name and their position. They are very nice jackets and I want to know who paid for this. Does the city of Gilroy have so much money that they can dress the people who work for the city? I’d appreciate you looking into this. I think we could use this money for the sidewalks and gutter repair rather than dressing the already well paid people that work for the city. Thank you and I love you so much because you do such a good job.”
Red Phone:
Interesting question, caller. The Red Phone contacted the City of Gilroy’s Mike Dorn and got the answer straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.
The City Council members, department heads and managers pay for their own jackets, which cost between $24 and $60 plus $3.50 to $5 for the embroidery work. The jackets were originally selected by the field crews, city employees who work outdoors in all weather conditions, due to their durability and usability. According to Dorn, the field crews receive a uniform allowance and some have chosen to purchase these jackets with this uniform allowance.
He added that he’s always thought of the jackets as being a positive for the community.
“Many of the managers … wear them around town when we are off duty so that people can recognize that we are city employees,” Dorn said. “I am routinely stopped while I am out or shopping on my own time to answer a question about the city.”
Vacancy inquiry
“I’d like to know what’s up with the empty building Wal-Mart was in before they moved to the Supercenter location. I thought the agreement with the city and Wal-Mart was that Wal-Mart would find a tenant for that building and now I see a big ‘available’ sign plastered above the Home Buffet sign on 101. Thanks.”
Red Phone:
The sales agreement does not require Wal-Mart to make any efforts to lease the building, good caller. But it does prevent the new owners, Hudson Jones Commercial Brokerage, in San Jose, from leasing to any big-box competitors.
The inability to lease the 125,000-square-foot building to a single large tenant also means that Hudson will have to spend up to $3.5 million in renovations to accommodate a series of smaller businesses, according to Bill Cann, a broker with Hudson. The renovations will likely include installing new loading docks, sprinklers, dividing walls, a new air conditioning system and windows at the front of the store. Cann predicted the building will someday house several 20,000- to 40,000-square-foot businesses.
More money for trees
“I want to talk about the street trees, which you recently featured. I understand the need to plant trees whose growth habits fit the width of the parkway strip, but honestly, I think the city needs to invest more money in their street tree program. Many people prefer shade trees and they actually increase property values. The crape myrtles are way overused. I’m getting really tired of them. They’re meant to be accent trees, not shade trees. … I’d like to see the city spend more money on its trees and not give us these dinky little things that aren’t very effective. Thank you.”
Red Phone:
Thanks for the call and your opinion. The Red Phone has recently covered numerous aspects of street trees and city landscaping and hopes you stay tuned for future updates.
